Rate the Obama Presidency (year one)

[Darth Ultor]

War on Terrorism: Not once did he refer to this conflict as the "War on Terror", and he handles it as a very unimportant issue. First of all, why the **** are there troops still in Iraq when he clearly stated that there will be a withdrawal within the year? He has seldom made contact with the top General in Afghanistan, whereas Bush, who allegedly ignored Afghanistan, was on the phone with him every day. The only reason he's not getting an F is because he's finally sending troops into Afghanistan, and I can only hope he'll let them take a proactive role.

National Security: He's approaching the issue with a pre-9/11 frame of mind. This display we saw with the attempted attack on Christmas Day and how he didn't interrupt his surfing vacation only proves that.

Economy: Jobs are scarce, the value of the dollar is dropping, gas and food prices are going up, and everyone is holding on to what little money they have. His little stimulus packages aren't doing much, if anything.

Health care: I need to see how this works out first, because government-run health care works in some countries.

His general attitude: This man is very left-wing, yet he claims bipartisanship. There's no reaching across the line, only partisan politics. His associates are radical lefties, and if I were him, I would chose my friends more carefully. Most of all, he's very naive and he still acts like a Senator from Illinois, not the President of the United States. I especially don't agree with how he represents America abroad. He promised transparency and change in Washington and all we get is lefty instead of a tool. All I can say is, he'd better wise up.

Overall, he's doing a very poor job, and he can make all the inspirational speeches he wants. It's what's on paper that matters and the results of his decisions.

[Alpha]

I agree with his position on the political spectrum, so it doesn't really matter about the man himself, just that a Democrat is in power of the most powerful nation.

Healthcare reform is in the right direction. From what I can tell of American politics, it is mired down in congressional debate. As it should be. I'm just concerned that it will be watered down until it satisfies neither party. But this isn't Obama's fault.

Guantanamo. He promised to close it. It's still open. Alpha no happy. But I also acknowledge that there is no easy solution. At least he isn't planning to expand it. The solution to terrorism isn't locking up 'terrorists', it lies in not sowing the seeds of terrorism. For example, by giving more aid money. I have to investigate if Obama plans to do this.

The economy. I love Keynesian economics. If the recession isn't lifting after a short amount of time, one can't just blame his approach. This is a wide-ranging and deep economic bust period. Give it time. And it doesn't just rely on America, so Obama (or anyone) can only do so much.

The wars. Why he was pressured to listen to General McChrystal about Afghanistan, I can't understand. Find Osama with a small taskforce. Then get out, but leave plenty of aid. Don't force your political systems and ideologies down their throats. They're far more likely to listen to the West if we utilise soft power. I'm in no way supportive of the way the Taleban wish to organise their society, but we can't be imperialistic about ours.

Overall, I give him a 'good'.

[Walter Sobchak]

He has been far too right-wing for my tastes, but it is hard to judge him. If we judge him by what can and should be done in comparison to what he has accomplished, then he is doing poorly. However, if we compare him to all post-World War II Presidents, he is in the top three.

[Che]

I don't really know how he's doing.

I don't think it's just him that we have to evaluate. How much can an elected politician do? We haven't really had a president since Abe Lincoln.

For things to happen, it takes way too much ****ing time these days. Way too much convincing of the less intelligent people to get shit done. And yes I'm going to go there.

In a 4 year presidency term, what can a politician really accomplish? I'd like to see someone sit down and map out what all exactly can be done in 4 years.

Takes way too much time, and retarded ****ing debates between 80 year olds in office. Because you know what? All they HAVE is time. They keep the same issues going on and on and on, unopen to change because they're ****ing old and "by God if I will let anyone change my ****ing old ass mind on this issue."

Times always change, the problem is we don't change fast enough with them.

[Darth Ultor]

The whole point of a democracy is for elected officials to bring their views to the table and discuss what is in the best interest of all the people (regardless of your personal feelings), and then vote on it. It's been a very long time since a real democracy existed. I blame Congress for the shit we're in mostly.

[Sasquatch]

I agree with his position on the political spectrum, so it doesn't really matter about the man himself, just that a Democrat is in power of the most powerful nation.

That ... says a lot. "I don't care what kind of person he is, just that he's a Democrat".

The solution to terrorism isn't locking up 'terrorists', it lies in not sowing the seeds of terrorism.

Right -- and the solution to crime isn't locking up rapists, it's buying everybody hookers so nobody has to rape, right? I can't understand how some people still don't get that the "seeds of terrorism" are the United States not being run by shia law and the existence of Israel.

For example, by giving more aid money. I have to investigate if Obama plans to do this.

The United States give more aid money to other countries than any other country in the world. In TWO ways -- not only does our government decide that people around the world need our money more than we do, but also American charitable donations add up to more than those of any other nation.

If I was ever President, the first thing I'd do is cut all foreign aid. Sorry, we've got our own shit to spend it on.

The economy. I love Keynesian economics. If the recession isn't lifting after a short amount of time, one can't just blame his approach. This is a wide-ranging and deep economic bust period. Give it time.

And I'd be willing to bet that when time passes and the economy cycles back through -- just like a Capitalist economy does, that's how it's designed -- you won't be crediting Capitalism, you'll be crediting Keynes.

The wars. Why he was pressured to listen to General McChrystal about Afghanistan, I can't understand.

You can't understand why a politician with absolutely no military experience is supposed to listen to the top commanding General on the ground in a war zone?

Don't force your political systems and ideologies down their throats.

Yes, our evil ideologies, like ... women should have the right to not be beaten daily, or stoned to death for being raped. Or that everybody should have an opportunity for an education. Or that a person of a different religion should not fear his government.

I guess those little brown people just aren't ready for that, huh?

...

Anyway, let's see here.

The bad: Obama has already massively increased the size and power of the federal government, raised taxes on those who earn money and issued credits to those who don't, quadrupled the national budget deficit, and created programs (such as the beginning of the socialized medicine program) that will rob people of the money they earn to provide substandard services to the fiscally irresponsible for decades to come. He's also stood around with his thumb up his ass instead of making decisions on the War on Terror -- Gen. McChrystal's report sat on Obama's desk for months while Obama met with the Olympic Committee more than a dozen times trying to lobby to get them in Chicago, and Chicago was the first city out of the running.

The good: The American people -- and even some Democrats in Congress -- are opening their eyes and abandoning Obama and his policies. The country should start getting more conservative during the next few elections -- also meaning, the Republican Party might put some actual conservatives on the ballot. They've been supporting more liberal candidates for the last couple decades, hoping that a more moderate candidate will attract more liberal voters, while abandoning the conservative voters.

So I'd say "horrible" is just about right. Of course, ignorant people are going to credit Obama for everything remotely good that happens while he's in office and still blame Bush for everything bad that happens, but that's to be expected. Obama has dilly-dallied on our military conflicts, tried to spend the country out of debt, raised the debt cap, quadrupled the deficit, expanded the power of the federal government, dipped the government finger into private business, and has done absolutely nothing to repeal any of the (actual) bad things that Bush did.

[Calvan]

He's doing an awful job as president.
However he's making a fine dictator.

[Pete]

It's the USA not USSR.

You really can't blame Obama for the dumbass plane bombers. That's really the TSA being asleep on the job. He's not the guy searching people. What irks me though is that the underwear bomber's own dad told the US that he was an extremist. That should've been an automatic "shoot on sight" instead of "hey, lets offer him a lighter."

As for the wars, and the US "spreading the seeds of terror," I'm going to agree with Sasquatch. They hate us because we're considered a Christian state and we don't govern ourselves under their types of laws. Plus we're allies with Israel. I don't agree with that alliance at all, mostly because I think it would be a stepping stone to ending a lot of our problems if we ended it.

I think that in order to preserve this country we need to quit with all of the socialist bullshit. If you owe thousands in credit card debt, you're an idiot and you don't deserve a bailout or "stimulus." The problem is that the majority of people are too dumb for their own good and plain old irresponsible. I understand that a lot of people had lost their jobs, but at the same time, why on earth would you live beyond your means in the first place? Why would you not have money socked away in emergency savings?

With Obama giving away free money to idiots, all he's doing is ensuring that people won't learn. People will just learn that it's ok to max out your credit cards because the government will save you.

I also really don't see why we can't just be isolationist. We hemorrhage money away in aid to countries who truly don't give a damn about us or flat out hate us. I say **** em. We've got our own problems to deal with. I also think that in the same vein, we should stop really dealing with other countries altogether. I'm pretty confident that throughout the US there are enough climates to grow any crop necessary, at least the ones necessary to our sustenance. Do we really need imported kiwis, mangoes or pomegranates? I understand that there probably isn't enough land to provide enough for everyone, but at the same time, farmers are getting screwed over and having to shut down farms because corporations are getting stuff for cheap from the third world.

The enitre problem with the US right now is that the majority of people lived beyond their means and while the rich continued to get richer, nobody decided to question it. I don't think Obama is doing all that great of a job, but it wouldn't be easy for anyone really. I really think that we need to create more public works jobs. Why don't we build a high speed railway throughout the country? Why don't we rebuild our bridges that have been around since FDR? Why don't we expand our roadways and hell, add an extra lane where possible? I think if we actively work to create more jobs that will physically improve the country, it'll work wonders.

My main problem with him though is that instead of really buckling down and digging into his paperwork or whatever, he's been Mr. Popularity. When people can't afford to put dinner on the table for a week, don't go throwing out the first pitch at the MLB all-star game and stop going to your Wizards games. I get it that he's a sports fan and "just like us," but at the same time, HE's the one who is responsible for the direction this country goes in. I'll go to my Mets games, HE should be figuring out how to fix the economy without bankrupting the country.

[Jin]

They hate us because we're considered a Christian state and we don't govern ourselves under their types of laws. Plus we're allies with Israel.

Is this really how simplistic you believe the situation to be? It's far more complicated than that. You're taking a snapshot of the situation at a particular point in time and ignoring both the context and history of the snapshot. Furthermore, you aren't bothering to scratch past the surface of the snapshot to determine what everything in the snapshot really means and most importantly, what it means to the individuals in the snapshot. I'm not going to pretend that I'm a middle eastern historian or even that I know 2 things about the situation, but there are people who dedicate years of study to answering these questions. There's no way it's as simple as "because they're bigots".

He's doing an awful job as president.
However he's making a fine dictator.

This post made me lawl.

[Walter Sobchak]

Pete, Muslim fundamentalists don't give a damn about our system of laws. If that was the case, why are Denmark, Sweden, and many other European countries even standing? They have much less restrictive social laws than we do.

Look at the attacks that did take place in Europe. Both the United Kingdom and Spain had deployed troops to Afghanistan as well as Iraq.

Osama bin Laden and other leaders are not fatalistic, they are farmers. The support of Israel is part of it, but it is also support of Saudi Arabia.

Calvan, I am sorry the education system failed you. To date, Chancellor Obama has not requested emergency powers from the Senate, nor has he shot Mace Windu out of a window. Relax, the dictatorship is only in your head.

[Pete]

Oh I understand that there is much more involved, but that really is the bare bones of it. I know why bin laden hates us, because we trained them and then left them to die against the Soviets in the 70s and 80s. We also could never get our facts straight about the Taliban, supporting them when they first proposed bringing a unified Afghanistan, as opposed to tribes. They also said they were going to destroy the poppy fields, which are a major source of heroin in the world. Now they just kind of sell it to spite us. We've dicked over enough of the third world for all of them to hate us, and yeah, we're paying for it. What we should've done with bin laden was pull a MW2 after Afghanistan. "You're no longer useful to us *bang* dead."

I also understand it's a lot more than just that as well, but I haven't had dinner yet and I'm exhausted.

[Chaos_Weapon]

I'm not protecting him, at all, but the United States did just come out of many economic and tragic conflicts that basically sent our efforts to repair the nation down the drain. Bush is a douchebag, Chaney had no right to bare alliance with him, and Obama has to now pick up the pieces. In his mind, he's taking this lightly because he think its gonna be easy to bring back what we've lost. He's trying to be the best President without taking any real initiative. Words clam the people, but proof creates revolt and opposition. He figures, since he's in "the chair" that he can say what he wants and we'd believe him. I'm not big on politics, but I do know you're right. Obama needs to act fast and choose his alliances wisely or he may fall harder than Bush ever will.