Obama Thus Far

Well, I guess you told HIM!

Obama has just shown another dickless move. Unbelievable.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1209/30572.html

I don't find it unbelievable.
The Obama administration is full of dickless men that have never worked in the private sector.
I expect to see more dickless moves from this bunch.

Read this book to see what future dickless moves Obama has planned.

With President Obama’s first Oval Office address coming up tonight, and with the substance of that address probably going to be the BP Gulf Oil Disaster, it occurs to me that I have some things to get off my chest. I may not even watch the damn thing - out of pure frustration.

First, I am absolutely sick to damn death over some of the public reaction to Obama’s reaction to the crisis. He isn’t mad enough? He didn’t act quickly enough? Okay, I have to agree in hindsight (and it’s a damn shame this thing is going on long enough for there to even BE a ‘hindsight’ already) that he could have used some of the same urgency with which he pounced on the banks to pounce on this problem – getting more skimmer ships from more countries faster to attack the scooping up of oil from the ocean surface, etc. But, is there anyone out there who honestly doubts that this man has not agonized over how to solve this problem from the first moment he became aware of it? Do any of the detractors honestly believe that this President has not been actively engaged in grappling with finding solutions? I don’t see how anyone can honestly doubt his intention to try to fix this problem.

Second, I want to rip someone’s face off every time I hear someone being hyper critical of Obama’s handling of the problems (and I know they don’t want to hear this) THAT HE WAS HANDED BY THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION. The stimulus to address the tanking economy; the shoring up of forces in Iraq and Afghanistan – these were actions taken out of necessity to address ongoing crises that were plopped into his lap from day one of his presidency. They would not have been happier if he had simply done nothing, but I’m 100% convinced that they would not agree with ANY approach he takes.

Also, I want to scream when I see the arguments on A2K by the usual suspects that suggest Obama hasn’t been doing anything in his nineteen months in office. It makes me wonder what they would consider “busy” enough.

-passed economic recovery bill which is repairing our economy
-expanded children’s health insurance
- working to overturn Ledbetter vs Goodyear (SCOTUS ruling that curtailed women’s and minorities’ ability to challenge pay discrimination)
-established a credit card ‘bill of rights’ that bans unilateral changes, bans universal defaults, insures prompt crediting of payment, and eliminates much of the ‘small print’ in billing
-expanded loan programs for small businesses
-closed the ‘doughnut hole’ in Medicare that made 4 million seniors pay full price for prescriptions
-made insurance companies cover pre-existing conditions
-established tax credits to give help to those who need it to pay health premiums
-expanded eligibility for Medicaid
-Increased the VA budget to hire and retain mental health professionals
-Insured the VA budget is prepared as “must-pass” legislation
-fully funded the Violence Against Women act
-allocated Homeland Security funding according to risk
-stood down nuclear forces that are to be reduced under Moscow Treaty
-initiated a grant and training program to deter cyber crime
-nullified Bush administration attempts to make release of presidential records more difficult
-reduced subsidies to private student lenders and protected student borrowers
-Increased funding for national parks and forests
-expanded Pell Grant Fund
-expanded access to areas to hunt and fish
-Reformed mandatory minimum sentencing laws to better reflect actual crimes
-Increased funding to NASA
-Rebuilding schools in New Orleans
-banned lobbyist gifts to federal employees
-raised fuel economy standards
-enact tax credits for hybrid cars and other green technology
-reverse restrictions on stem cell research
-passed Hate Crimes Prevention Act
-passed Climate Change legislation
-appointed first Hispanic on Supreme Court
-passed healthcare reform – most sweeping governmental domestic policy legislation since LBJ
- in 1st year, had highest success rate of legislation passed of any president in any year since the congressional quarterly has measured it (that means that he got what he wanted from congress more often than any other modern pres in one year)
-AND this is NOT a complete list…

So, tonight he states his position on this oil spill disaster. I am personally hoping that he steps into the breach like LBJ did with civil rights and makes it the jumping off point of new sweeping legislation on clean energy, once and for all. I suspect he can’t – too much of congress is too invested in making this disaster his political waterloo, and getting short-term political gain from it; the country’s long term economic and environmental health be damned. But whether I watch him tonight or not, I still have no doubt that he is an honorable man trying to do a good job. And I still will feel like ripping the windpipes out of some disingenuous and hateful people’s throats.

Hi Snood! I sure miss seeing you around here, but when you speak, you speak volumes.

Thank you.

How are you doing amongst all the oil mess?

Will PrezBO mention how Al Gore and Laurie David conspired to deceive
the world about Global Warming during his oval office speech tonight?

Will PrezBO ignore the facts and press forward with crippling taxes for green house gasses?

Will America wake up and see PrezBO for what he really is?

Hi Butrflynet,
Well, I haven't been up close and personal, so to speak, with the "mess" yet. I can scarcely bear to look at what it's doing to those poor birds and animals on tv.

Well ... two points:

1. Obama arguably didn't pounce on the banks with enough urgency. At the time, numerous economists suggested that the US government do what Sweden's did during its last banking crisis: buy the banks at their depressed market prices, clean up their balance sheets, wait until the panic blows over, and sell them back to the stock market---possibly with a profit. But that's not what Obama did. Instead, he enacted a lame compromise that socialized the losses of the banking crisis, but privatized the gains from the tax-funded fix.
   
   Hence, in dealing with the oil crisis, Obama isn't braking with a pattern of "acting boldly and swiftly" (his words, not mine). He's continuing a pattern of acting indecisive and lukewarm.
   
   
2. Leaders aren't judged by how much they agonize over a problem. They're judged by what they do about it.

That's a fair point. I agree the stimulus was good for the country as far as it went. But again, there has been valid criticism, and not just with hindsight, that it didn't do enough. Reputable economists like Paul Krugman and Brad deLong pointed that out as soon as Obama proposed the stimulus plan to Congress: The economy was suffering from a $2,000 billion spending shortfall, and that Obama wouldn't be able to plug it with his $800 billion program.

By the same token, observe Obama not seek a 2011 stimulus program that's even in the $800-billion ball park, needlessly risking a double-dip recession.

I'm sorry it makes you sick to see Obama criticized. But there are things to criticize about him, and shutting up is not going to help correct them.

Yes, but recall that your criticisms are the exact opposite of what he is being criticized for by the vast majority of others, both in the media and the political sphere.

Cycloptichorn

OK, fair point. The criticism that Obama governs from too far left is indeed nonsense.

I agree.


Ditto.

Thomas:



You typically characterize what I wrote sort of flippantly, but the mere fact that anyone criticizes him doesn't sicken me. I've said some things myself about him I don't like, and some actions he's taken that I think were wrong.

What makes me angry is the disingenuousness with which he's criticized - how out of proportion the criticism is. He has been attacked as a communist and a dictator; as illigitimate and foreign; as the mastermind of some sort of subversive plan to topple "our America", and all I see is someone genuinely trying the best he can with what he has been dealt.

You mentioned nothing about disingenuousness criticism in your previous post. There was nothing flippant in Thomas' post; your post WAS flippant.


Also, I'm sure I could create a similar list about the Bush administration that you'd agree with too (without some big hitters like healthcare for sure, but still most of your list is pretty petty/simple stuff). That doesn't make Bush a successful president, any more than "expanded loan programs for small businesses" makes Obama successful. I'm sure Bush did the same thing (or very similar), for example.

John Stuart gave a funny but still critical critique of Obama's use of presidential power and some of Obama's campaign promises the other day. Sure, Stuart is a comedian, but he and his staff very good at following people over time and calling them out when necessary. Sometimes the jester is the only one who can get away with speaking the truth.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-june-15-2010/respect-my-authoritah

I love Stewart. And that was spot on, and funny as hell. Obama has done some twisting and turning on his moral absolutes, and I'd like to see him answer for those things.

He won't answer for any of them...and people here and elsewhere who rightfully criticized Bush for those things, have been pretty silent on Obama's identical and worse policies.

Here's Stewart again, another great and funny video.
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-june-8-2010/ass-quest-2010

Obama thus far is equivalent to Hugo Chavez

Obama is setting up his own legal system for the US.