I will not be the first nor the last to state this, but as a lifelong Democrat of a fairly liberal bent, I feel that, thus far, the Obama administration kinda stinks out loud. It’s almost stunning how disappointing the whole bunch has been.
Most people I’ve talked to are amazed that Obama has managed to squander virtually all of the good will that accompanied him into office. Some try to hedge their bets by claiming that since expectations were so sky-high in January 2009, it would have been impossible for him to live up to them. While that’s probably true, he hasn’t even come close, and more often than not, he doesn’t even appear to be trying. If I had to provide three adjectives for him thus far, they would be aloof, arrogant and tone-deaf … and I voted for the guy!
(I feel compelled to mention that I supported Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary. Now, more than ever, I feel she would have made a better president.)
While the “He’s not George W. Bush” argument remains fairly compelling, the more-important matter of note is that Joe Biden isn’t Dick Cheney.
I called a bunch of people I know who were (are) big Obama supporters and asked this question: If Barack Obama was a 100 in your mind on Inauguration Day, what is he now? The highest response I got was a 70, which is a C- where I come from. The mode (the most common response) was a 51, and nobody gave him less than a 50. People are clinging to hope, but without a whole lot to back it up.
The person who gave him a 70 is a college student in Washington, D.C., who once claimed to be his biggest fan.
“I’m tired of always defending him. There isn’t a whole lot that he’s done that is worth defending,” she says. “At the same time, I’m appalled by the attacks he has to put up with. In all honesty, he hasn’t done very much that people can attack him on. He really hasn’t done much of anything.”
I gave him a 50, which is about 50 points higher than I gave his predecessor, mostly because Obama hasn’t invaded any new countries; his Supreme Count nominees aren’t atrocious; and he at least pretends to stand up to the banks. But otherwise, what has he done? Let’s take a look:
• The stimulus. Have you felt the stimulus? I’m pretty sensitive. I felt that Mexicali earthquake a few months back. I sensed its approach; I felt a little queasy as it rumbled underneath our house; and then I noticed the change as it continued on its way, leaving the chandelier in our dining room swaying ever so slightly. That pretty much describes the stimulus package as well. I heard that it was coming. Then, one day, while turning onto the eastbound Interstate 10 onramp near Orange Grove Road, I saw a sign by that big hole in the ground that said the government was doing something, and then … nothing. The $750 billion has left me and the American economy feeling less than stimulated.
• The war(s). We’re getting out of Iraq. Big whoop! We never should have gone there in the first place. It will forever mean a black mark on the Bush administration, and lots of black ink for Halliburton. I don’t care if Iraq becomes a democratic paradise where soda pop comes out of the water fountains; we should never have been there. The sooner Obama gets U.S. troops out of there, the better.
As for Afghanistan, we absolutely should have gone there, and we should have emerged a few months later with Osama bin Laden’s head on a pike. And then we should have left, because it’s a giant sinkhole of a place that’s unconquerable, mostly because there’s nothing there worth conquering.
• Health care. OK, so what emerged from Congress wasn’t as bad as the legislation which motivated that famous phrase, “weaker than a soup made from the shadow of a crow that had starved to death.” But neither is it a whole lot to brag about, especially since he burned through all of his political capital to get it. If this is the legacy on which Obama wants to hang his hat, he’s got a very small head.
• Education. As mentioned here before, he’s dead-wrong about throwing money at charter schools. The phrase, “Hey, let’s try this new thing!” might be OK for marital relations and weapons research, but it has proven to be not such a good idea in education.
• The oil spill. President Obama didn’t cause the oil spill, just like Bush didn’t cause Hurricane Katrina. But, gee whiz, Mr. President, you’ve got the Ultimate Presidential Screwup template right there in front of you, and it’s not even five years old. It’s still fresh in people’s minds. Why are you following it?
You should be doing the opposite. Show up at a relief center, and say something like, “You’re doing a horrible job here, Brownie.” Send in the military. Convene a panel of experts. DO SOMETHING!
There is still time, and there is still hope, but President Obama is running out of the former, and we’re running out of the latter.
This article appears in Jul 1-7, 2010.
Tom, Obama took office after Bush and the Republicans drove the country into a ditch. So Obama wants to get the country out of the ditch and there are the Republicans still sitting in the bus bitchin’ and screamin’ that they like it this way and it’s Obama’s fault that the country is in this ditch. Whatever Obama does they want and try to make sure it fails. If he tries to change the tires, they’re over trying to kick out the jack. What criticism he gets is unjustified considering the amount of lies and propoganda he has to overcome…The Daily Show with Jon Stewart 6/29/10, just had a segment where Fox News blames everything wrong on the Clinton or Obama Administrations.
One thing about the Republicans they back their guy to the end. He maybe the biggest fuck-up, bigot of all time, they still defend him to the end. The Dems have to get it together. In reality, we have the Republicans on the run, running to right. We got to keep exposing their lies and their play on our fears. They have no new ideas and all their old ideas have been exposed as unworkable bullshit.
Stein, you are 180 degrees wrong. When I read the first part of Danehy’s piece, I was thinking that at least the Dems aren’t defending Obama mindlessly, like the party of one of our previous presidents. That alone is enough to make Obama a breath of fresh air. The fact of the matter is that Bush’s screw-ups were NOT the fault of Clinton and Obama, and Obama’s screw-ups are NOT the fault of Bush and (whichever Republican is elected next). Until we admit that, and hold each president accountable for his/her own actions, we will not have integrity in that office.
This oil spill is unstoppable with anything short of huge explosions that may make it worse:
http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6593#commen…
There are only so many hours in the day to spend giving useless oil disaster news conferences, and Bobby Jindal can take that gig on the road as much as he wants to do so.
I felt the stimulus when I got a tax cut this year. The extra billion dollars sent to Arizona also helped many teachers and state workers like myself from experiencing even more budget setbacks in our workplaces. I have many unpaid furlough days to look forward to, but I’m not complaining because I have a job. (Also, there will be many more furlough days in the coming Spring unless the Congress sends the states even more money. I’ve already penciled in those days on my calendar.)
Getting out of Iraq is a Big Whoop or a Big…what Biden would say. We’ve accomplished all our goals: we’ve turned Iraq from a secular dictatorship with Muslim undertones into a Muslim theocracy with democratic undertones but at least the ethnic cleansing is done so everyone is in their place (or Jordan or Syria.) As usual with Iraq, Iran won. (On the other side of Iran, in Afghanistan, it now appears that China won thanks to all the mineral discoveries. We’ll receive their thank you along with all the lithium batteries we’ll be ordering from them in the coming decades.)
Charter schools can suck, but I choose them. I’ve had my children in public, private, and charter schools, and they all suck in different ways. Charter schooling works for my sons, they’re learning, and that’s what matters.
Health care was a Congressional failure or success. The President only writes legislation when the Republicans are in power. And even then, it takes the Crayon Recognition and Outside-the-Lines Coloring Subcommittee to figure out the original intent of their “founders”. Could healthcare be better if the pursued policy was just called “Medicare for All” and paid for in similar ways? Of course, but that would still be a Legislative Branch thing.
Call me up next time. I give Obama an 90 on substance and 75 on presentation.
see tom……you voted for O and that was your buying into his campaign rhetoric that has now turned into utter failures in all aspects of his presidency…O has reneged on every campaign policy..as lomg as americans feel sorry for losers there will be americans who will look everywhere and stretch every action to give O a ” good job”…people need to be objective and they aren’t……O is the worst president in past 200 years asnd we need to salvage what we can while planning for a new potus in 2012.
Objective, Kazman???? Your e-mail is totally emotional with no specific objective points. And, Tom, you too are mostly assumptions, etc. Who says Obama didn’t call on the experts about the oil spill? He very much has. I was against going into Afghanistan, but Obama said from the beginning that he would do that, so I knew what I was getting when I voted for him. The fact that I still have a job, that would be one to go away in this economy, is enough for me to “feel” the stimulus, but I also personally know people who have benefited from it. But yes, money is very very tight courtesy of Wall Street robber baron shenanigans brought to us by deregulation (Reagan but also Clinton and everyone in between were involved in that loosening of oversight.) And, yes, Mr. Meade, HealthCare is on Congress, but I disagree in that I would have liked to have seen more leadership towards “Medicare for All”. However, I realize that none of us are on Capitol Hill and Med. for All didn’t have the ghost of a chance. It appears to me (again WE don’t really know) that Obama tries too hard to get cooperation across the aisle, when there is none and will be none. I am disappointed that more has not been done, but realistically speaking, my idea of progress is very progressive and may take more time than I have left on earth. Obama has always been too conservative for me, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t respect him or that he wasn’t the best choice-no holds barred–over McCain/Palin. But he was a MUCH, MUCH better choice. I don’t see racism in your point of view, Tom, but its pretty obvious in many of the attacks against him in the media.
I somewhat agree with you that he hasn’t lived up to our expectations but he doesn’t exactly have a functional congress to work with. My take on the issues you mentioned: 1. The stimulus – I was able to save four jobs that would have otherwise been eliminated and recall four other employees that had been laid off. 2. – The wars – I didn’t really expect more than what he’s given us; I did expect him to close Guantanamo- WTF!. 3. Health care – Kudos for doing something. I agree with you it’s not the package I wanted but he did twist arms and make threats just to get it through. It’s a start. 3. Education – I tend to agree with you on that but the public system hasn’t exactly been a model of achievement. 4. The oil spill – You have to realize this is new territory. Neither the government nor BP have the experience and knowledge in dealing with this. What would you have him do? Send the military? What are they going to do? Gulf Coast civilians are currently employed in clean up activities. If the military takes over the clean up, the civilians don’t have jobs. Makes a bad situation worse. You left out Immigration Reform – he’s got to do something. Sending more troops is not the answer but he’s got to throw the conservatives a bone. If he thought health care was tough, this may be the mother of all issues. I am disappointed but I am also realistic. The Republicans are obstructionists and the Democrats don’t have the guts to do the right thing. I’ll rate him a 78.
Let’s see, Health Care passed which couldn’t be done in the last 40 years. Stimulus package passed with large amounts of it being paid back already or in the process of being paid pack. Time line set for exiting Iraq and Afghanistan. Clear statements about BP’s responsibility for the oil spill (Any Republicans saying that?) and a $20 billion liability fund set up. The elimination of don’t ask/ don’t tell. All the while dealing with the political equivilent of a limp, screaming three year old in the Republican party.
Saying he hasn’t done enough means that you are starting to believe the conservative talking heads.
I challenge you to name one other president who has done that much while dealing with 2 wars, a failing economy, a nation and congress entrenched on idiological lines and a natural/manmade disaster of that proportion. And don’t forget, all in less than 2 years.
What do you want from the man?
Still torturing,
Still wiretapping,
Still bombing,
Still lobbying,
Still spying,
Still drilling,
Still whaling,
Still censoring,
Still war mongering,
Still disarming the public,
Still assassinating,
Still subverting the judicial process,
Still contracting wars,
Still restricting social security
Still lying for Israel,
Still globalizing the economy.
Those who voted for Obama?
Still fools.
Tom D
PLEASE READ
The Domino Pizza Theory
July 13, 2010 by Jeff Winbush
I voted for Obama, and I’m not that disappointed with his performance. Why? Because I never had unrealistic expectations of him. He might be our young, eloquent, history-making president, but he’s still a politician, and they are always going to disappoint you several times.
I expected him to (1) attempt bipartisanship, (2) pass a good health care bill, (3) reverse some of the deregulation George W. Bush put in place and (4) be a better president than George W. Bush. I think he’s done a good job with 1,3 and 4; he didn’t do so great with 2 but members of Congress in both parties deserve blame as well.