Obama: Buyer's Remorse?

[BigBadBrian]

For those of you that voted for Obama in the primaries as opposed to Hillary, do you now regret it?

I voted for that Socialist, terror-enabling, Musslim-worshiping, not born an American citizen, son of a bitch and now wished I had voted for that carpet-munching closet lesbian HRC.

I reluctantly voted for Grandpa McCain in the GE simply because he was the lesser of two evils.

How about you?

[Terry]

No regrets.

Am not opposed to voting Republican, but none of the candidates in the 2008 primaries (with the possible exception of Ron Paul) had the combination of character, ideas and substance to be the kind of President I think America needs today. The lot of them, by and large, seemed like one conglomerated Reagan Redux. Reagan was adequate for his times and circumstances, but looking backward to that particular template isn't what is required at present.

Also, I wasn't willing to vote for McCain and take a chance that Caribou Barbie would have to possibly fill his shoes, because it became apparent fairly quickly that she would not be ready to do so. Tapping her for the VP slot was a vivid illustration of the type of decision-making McCain would bring to the table - erratic, shortsighted and impulsive.

[ZahZoo]

Also, I wasn't willing to vote for McCain and take a chance that Caribou Barbie would have to possibly fill his shoes, because it became apparent fairly quickly that she would not be ready to do so. Tapping her for the VP slot was a vivid illustration of the type of decision-making McCain would bring to the table - erratic, shortsighted and impulsive.

That VP element... Your last sentence could apply to Obama/Biden as well...

[Nickdfresh]

At least Biden knows "The Marshall Plan" wasn't a self-help guru...

Don't even go there, in the battle of the heart beat away, the last thing on earth taking over I'd wanna see is "Bible-Spice."

[sadaist]

I reluctantly voted for Grandpa McCain in the GE simply because he was the lesser of two evils.

How about you?


Same. I am not a Palin supporter. The moment the news break came across the wire that she was his choice, I said "it's over". Not because she is a woman. But she was a complete unknown. Which had they kept it that way they might have stood a chance. Once they started letting the public really get to know her it only got worse with each wink. Had McCain swallowed his pride & chosen Romney, I would have felt better about my choice.

Obama has been a really bad President his first year. We can only hope that was the inexperience. Hopefully now with a good year under his belt and having felt the fire, he will settle into some sort of groove and do some great things over the next 3 years. And no, I don't want him to win a second term. But I would like him to do some good while he is there.

Right now I honestly don't see any Republicans that can truly give him a run for his money for 2012. It's a weird time politically for me. I'm mostly conservative, yet I find myself just as angry at so-called conservative politicians as I do the liberals. Just as I'm sure many liberals are screaming at the TV when they see their representatives selling out.

[FORD]

Out of the choices the corporate media allowed us to have, Obama was still the best of them. Hillary would have had as at war with Iran by now, and considering corporate mandates was her starting point on health care. God only knows how her plan would have been even worse than the clusterfuck shit we have now.

But I still wish either Howard Dean or Al Gore had been options. And if Dean were to take a page from Ted Kennedy and bring a primary challenge in 2012, there's no question whose side I would be on.

President Obama has time to change my mind about that. Firing Rahm Emanuel, Timmy the Keebler Elf, and that other turd $ummers would be a good start. Also he should veto that abomination of a health care bill, assuming Harry Reid doesn't grow a spine and strip out all the bullshit in the reconciliation process.

[FORD]

Just as I'm sure many liberals are screaming at the TV when they see their representatives selling out.

You have no idea. I'm sure my neighbors are about ready to call the men in the white coats to take me away. :(

[Terry]

That VP element... Your last sentence could apply to Obama/Biden as well...

While Biden (or "Obiden" as Palin referred to him) could be rightfully pegged as being past his expiration date in terms of his prime - and might not have been the BEST choice Obama could have made - Biden is just miles above Palin in terms of capability and experience.

Sorry, but your analogy wasn't even close to the mark, least not the way I see it.

[Terry]

"Bible-Spice."

:biggrin:

[Terry]

Out of the choices the corporate media allowed us to have, Obama was still the best of them. Hillary would have had as at war with Iran by now, and considering corporate mandates was her starting point on health care. God only knows how her plan would have been even worse than the clusterfuck shit we have now.

But I still wish either Howard Dean or Al Gore had been options. And if Dean were to take a page from Ted Kennedy and bring a primary challenge in 2012, there's no question whose side I would be on.

President Obama has time to change my mind about that. Firing Rahm Emanuel, Timmy the Keebler Elf, and that other turd $ummers would be a good start. Also he should veto that abomination of a health care bill, assuming Harry Reid doesn't grow a spine and strip out all the bullshit in the reconciliation process.

The health care bill should just be scrapped at this point, if proposing legislation that actually means something is the objective.

Politically, it'd be a setback to do so, though. No doubt about it.

Honestly, there really hasn't been that much Obama has done thus far that is even close to radical or unconventional, in terms of effecting substantive "change". His track record since taking office makes all those conservative doomsayers who were red-faced with rage overdrive in the weeks leading up to the election last fall seem like a bunch of chicken little chuckleheads, foaming at the mouth over what amounted to little more than their candidate not winning.

[Nitro Express]

Voting in the last election was like trying to decided which ugly woman to fuck and what kind of STD you would get from her.

[Nitro Express]

The health care bill should just be scrapped at this point, if proposing legislation that actually means something is the objective.

Politically, it'd be a setback to do so, though. No doubt about it.

Honestly, there really hasn't been that much Obama has done thus far that is even close to radical or unconventional, in terms of effecting substantive "change". His track record since taking office makes all those conservative doomsayers who were red-faced with rage overdrive in the weeks leading up to the election last fall seem like a bunch of chicken little chuckleheads, foaming at the mouth over what amounted to little more than their candidate not winning.

Yup. Obama has broken most of his campaign promises. Business as usual in Washington DC. If he actually told the truth we would be in shock.

[Nickdfresh]

Yup. Obama has broken most of his campaign promises. Business as usual in Washington DC. If he actually told the truth we would be in shock.

I have my own complaints about Pres. Obama, but too be fair, he hasn't "out-in-out" broken all that many promises as he's been in office for about a year. You can't just peg all of the negative shit on him without acknowledging that most economists believe the Stimulus minimized our mini-Depression and helped avert years of potential economic disaster. While saddled with all this, how the fuck can one reasonably expect all that much in a year?

[chefcraig]

I can't say that I regret voting for the guy, given the meager choices that were available. Am I disappointed in his spectacularly crummy first year in office? Not really, as I didn't buy into the "Happy days are here again" baloney, nor the "Change" concepts in the first place. I believe all politicians to be as phony and corrupted as a used car salesman at a light bulb lot, so having little faith to begin with, I'm neither surprised nor disappointed in the man's performance.

As for the next three years, I'll adopt the same attitude I had with my first marriage: Close my eyes, pray for the best, and when it really gets humiliating and truly degrading, order another round and act as if all is well.

[Nitro Express]

I have my own complaints about Pres. Obama, but too be fair, he hasn't "out-in-out" broken all that many promises as he's been in office for about a year. You can't just peg all of the negative shit on him without acknowledging that most economists believe the Stimulus minimized our mini-Depression and helped avert years of potential economic disaster. While saddled with all this, how the fuck can one reasonably expect all that much in a year?

Mini depression? Dude, the whole banking system went bust and they haven't fixed shit. Most of the bailout money has gone off to overseas accounts and the Fed isn't telling us where those are. Not to mention all the derivative debt these institutions are hiding. It's bought time using our future taxes as the collateral. It hasn't fixed shit, it just bought some time selling our future out in the process. It's just going to cause a tax revolt down the road.

[Nitro Express]

Obama is just feeding the military industrial complex, the banks, and the health insurance industry. The healthcare legislation coming out of congress is a discrace and only empowers those who are abusing us now. Obama will waste no time signing it into law because he doesn't give a shit about the American people. He will live well off the payola the big boys are giving him even if he is a one term president. He's bought and paid for.

[Nickdfresh]

Mini depression? Dude, the whole banking system went bust and they haven't fixed shit. Most of the bailout money has gone off to overseas accounts and the Fed isn't telling us where those are....

Read a fucking newspaper once in a while and not tinfoilwingnutfuckfest.com! The banking system is stabilized and they've actually turned a slight profit on some of the TARP funds sent out (as much of it was returned!) Am I happy about all of this?

NO! I think there is still a severe lack of regulation and accountability. But get a clue and actually complain about real problems and not the silly shit...

[LoungeMachine]

I for one think it's beyond time to have The Fed audited.....

:gulp:

[LoungeMachine]

He's bought and paid for.

Other than Bernie Sanders, they all are......

[Va Beach VH Fan]

After one year in office, I think it's crystal clear that the shit sandwich that Bush left behind absolutely fucked ANYONE that ended up winning the election....

If somehow McCain and the Alaskan sportscaster would've won, they would have had just as much, and probably more difficulty in trying to straighten out the economy.... But because Obama won, of course he's a terrible leader...

And forget about health care reform, in their eyes there's nothing wrong with it....

[LoungeMachine]

After one year in office, I think it's crystal clear that the shit sandwich that Bush left behind absolutely fucked ANYONE that ended up winning the election....

If somehow McCain and the Alaskan sportscaster would've won, they would have had just as much, and probably more difficulty in trying to straighten out the economy.... But because Obama won, of course he's a terrible leader...

And forget about health care reform, in their eyes there's nothing wrong with it....

I still believe the RePukes threw this election....

and picking Caribou Barbie with no vetting was the perfect plan.

Who the fuck in their right mind would want to come in after the kinghell clusterfuck 8 years of Bush/Cheney/Rove left us?

:gulp:

[Nitro Express]

Read a fucking newspaper once in a while and not tinfoilwingnutfuckfest.com! The banking system is stabilized and they've actually turned a slight profit on some of the TARP funds sent out (as much of it was returned!) Am I happy about all of this?

NO! I think there is still a severe lack of regulation and accountability. But get a clue and actually complain about real problems and not the silly shit...

We only know where $2 Billion has gone. The US Treasury gave the Federal Reserve a blank check with no accountability. They can say anything but the reality is there is hundreds of trillions of dollars of derivative debt world wide and every central bank on the planet is issuing money like crazy.

You can't keep printing money out of nothing and hide hundreds of trillions of dollars of debt forever and this is a worldwide problem. The question is who's currency collapses first and all this who owes who causes. It's going to be a huge mess when it hits and nobody has fixed shit. The job loses will continue.

The only thing driving the stock market is all the money being issued out of nothing. It's got to go somewhere and it's going into the financial markets. Try getting a loan though. Jobs are going down, taxes are going up, and we are headed for a bad inflation fiasco. If people think the bankers robbing us blind is progress then I have some beach front property in Wyoming for sale.

[Nickdfresh]

Calm the fuck down, Nitro...


Fed makes $46 billion in profit (http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/12/news/economy/fed_profits.fortune)

[hideyoursheep]

No, I don't regret it.

There are some things I do not approve of, but not quite as many as the last regime.

That's what was meant by change...regime change. Or was it?

Unless we collectively start marching in unison and elect a majority 3rd party senate, nothing is ever really going to change drastically enough to make a difference.


However, unlike Chicken Express, I don't believe the sky is falling.

Find someone who will legalize ganja, throw him or her up on your shoulders, and carry him or her to the Capitol on election day.:baaa:

[Igosplut]

I'm still pissed about the credit card thing. Those motherfuckers take gov money to bail their asses out, then immediately stick it hard to the people that have been the most responsible with their fucking credit. I'll pay MORE money just to keep a fucking dime out of their hands now. I switched everything away from cards, and have been using paypal, COD, or just mailing in money orders for stuff I just would have put on a card. Any of my vendors that wouldn't bill me (only a couple wouldn't) I dropped them completely. There isn't ANY benefit to good credit anymore so I give a fuck about maintaining any good paper trails..

[Seshmeister]

I still believe the RePukes threw this election....

and picking Caribou Barbie with no vetting was the perfect plan.

Who the fuck in their right mind would want to come in after the kinghell clusterfuck 8 years of Bush/Cheney/Rove left us?

:gulp:

If something comes down to either a politician/government agency fucking up or a big secret conspiracy you can be sure that 99% of the time it will be the former.

It's amazing how useful that rule is in modern life on the internet. :)

As was said earlier a presidential candidate only makes one major decision during the 2 years they spend campaigning and when McCain made his he showed how completely fucking unsuited he was for the job.

[Seshmeister]

After one year in office, I think it's crystal clear that the shit sandwich that Bush left behind absolutely fucked ANYONE that ended up winning the election....

If somehow McCain and the Alaskan sportscaster would've won, they would have had just as much, and probably more difficulty in trying to straighten out the economy.... But because Obama won, of course he's a terrible leader...

And forget about health care reform, in their eyes there's nothing wrong with it....

Although I still think Obama should have had the guts to go on TV and say to the American people "I want to extend Medicare to everyone but your cunt politicians are being bought by insurance companies. I need your support to tell them to go fuck themselves. Yes we can, blah de fucking blah..."

He could have got that kid that writes all his stuff to come up with something good with less swearing than I would use... :)

[bueno bob]

No regrets at all.

You see, I wasn't like most of America who just kinda decided that electing Obama would instantly usher in a new age of Utopian paradise within the first seven months.

I wasn't like most of America who thought that the economic problems and overseas engagements would suddenly vanish in the blink of an eye.

I wasn't like most of America who thought that the solutions to all of our problems (or, predominantly, the problems in my own back yard) would disappear because he'd directly show up at my house to fix them.

I wasn't like the minority of America that thought "staying the course" would be a great idea to solve the same problems it was already creating.

I wasn't one of those clueless Americans that thought Obama would have complete autonomy in his position, or that he'd have an awful lot of choice in some of the decisions he'd have to make.

I'm not one of those Americans that currently thinks he's doing ANYTHING different than what John McCain would have probably done, to greater or lesser extent.

And I am STILL not like most of America that seems to have forgotten in the span of a year that eight years under George W. Bush and his (and Cheneys too!) fucked up policies and decisions have created the fucking borderline catastrophic mess that Obama's actually TRYING to sort out.

Fucking amazing. I am never more baffled by anything else than I am the flimsy, moment to moment memories of those who consider themselves politically active. You know what? If so many people hate the direction the country is going in so fucking much, vote another cocksucking religious zealot/big business supporting/middle class eliminating Republican into the White House and be fucked with you. That goes for Republicans and Democrats alike.

You deserve EVERYTHING it's going to net.

Myself, perhaps I'll move to Sweden.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Now THAT was a post....

[Blackflag]

Calm the fuck down, Nitro...


Fed makes $46 billion in profit (http://money.cnn.com/2010/01/12/news/economy/fed_profits.fortune)

That's a crock, nick. You can't print billions and give it away, then print some more billions, buy U.S. treasuries with it, then claim the interest on the treasuries is "profit." That's not profit, that's a shell game. And, interestingly, we can't see their books to see what this "profit" really is.

[ace diamond]

i did not vote for barry odumpa.
i am very proud of that fact.
i knew from watching the debates that he was full of hot air and didn't have a fucking clue.
but noooooooo, y'all said he was just soooo great, and that his
"change" platform was just sooooooo what the country needed right now,
and nothing else would do.
:rolleyes:
well, to all of you who voted for barry odumpa, i say this:

be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.

translation:
if you voted for him, you have no room to bitch.
you put him there.
you got what you asked for.
deal with it.

[bueno bob]

i did not vote for barry odumpa.
i am very proud of that fact.
i knew from watching the debates that he was full of hot air and didn't have a fucking clue.
but noooooooo, y'all said he was just soooo great, and that his
"change" platform was just sooooooo what the country needed right now,
and nothing else would do.
:rolleyes:
well, to all of you who voted for barry odumpa, i say this:

be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.

translation:
if you voted for him, you have no room to bitch.
you put him there.
you got what you asked for.
deal with it.

The question you have to ask very carefully is:

Do you think you would have gotten much different had you voted the other way - and the other way went all the way?

Aside from the health care business, my careful answer is honestly, no; but the end results would unquestionably be much worse.

[ace diamond]

The question you have to ask very carefully is:

Do you think you would have gotten much different had you voted the other way - and the other way went all the way?

Aside from the health care business, my careful answer is honestly, no; but the end results would unquestionably be much worse.

bob, i honestly don't think it really would have mattered either way.
this country is fucked after 8 years of the chimpministration as it is.
the only difference is since i did not vote for obama, i have every right to bitch, and i also have complete deniability.
i didn't vote for the winning candidate, so if he/she fucks up, it isn't my fault.
but it is everyone's problem.
either way, in the 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008 presidential elections,
i have not voted for a winner yet.
not intentionally.

1996 and 2000, h. ross perot.
2004, write in vote of no confidence
2008, john mc cain.

maybe one of these days i'll vote for someone that actually wins,
but until then, it is what it is.

[LoungeMachine]

STFU ace

:gulp:

[Seshmeister]

I did wonder what sort of a fucking idiot would vote for Palin.

Now I know. :)

[ace diamond]

STFU ace

:gulp:

not in your lifetime.
:fufu:

[Hardrock69]

No remorse here. The first intellectual we have had in the WH in years.

Has the balls to take on the insurance and healthcare industries. Someone needed to do it. McCain would not have bothered, as they give him too much money.

And I, like everyone else, felt McCain shot himself in the foot by choosing that trollop as his VP/running-mate. McCain has a heart attack.....you really think ANYONE would want some idiot soccer mom to be PRESIDENT?

That would have been unacceptable by any measure.

Obama has accomplished more in his first year in office than many presidents do in two, three or four.

Too bad the Republicans are trying to destroy America by voting against EVERYTHING he is trying to do.

In the healthcare thing, it is not Republicans vs. Democrats.
It is not conservatives vs. liberals.

IT ACTUALLY IS THE HEALTHCARE AND INSURANCE INDUSTRIES VS. THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!

SOMEONE has to stand up for "The People". And Obama is actually doing that.

The Republicans are doing their best to insure that the healthcare and insurance industries CONTINUE TO ASS-RAPE THE AMERICAN PUBLIC.

The Republicans are acting in a quite ANTI-AMERICAN FASHION.

If they TRULY cared about this great nation and the people who live in it, they would be going out of their way to help reform the healthcare system, and to regulate the insurance corporations.

But NO! They are completely in favor of Corporate America (with Financial Slavery and Profits For A Chosen Few), and are in favor of making the poor and middle-class even POORER than they already are.

I was already disgusted with conservative asslickers.

And seeing the Republicans try to harm the American People in this manner makes me feel even moreso.

The Republican Motto is "Keep The Power Out Of The Hands Of The People, And Keep The Money In The Pockets Of The Corporations Whose Cocks We Suck".

So, no. I have no regrets.

In fact, I hope America sees how the Republicans are trying to destroy this country, and I hope The People Of The United States Of America revolt against their asinine efforts.

[Blackflag]

Has the balls to take on the insurance and healthcare industries.

. . .

Obama has accomplished more in his first year in office than many presidents do in two, three or four.

:lmao:

[ace diamond]

No remorse here. The first intellectual we have had in the WH in years.

Has the balls to take on the insurance and healthcare industries. Someone needed to do it. McCain would not have bothered, as they give him too much money.

And I, like everyone else, felt McCain shot himself in the foot by choosing that trollop as his VP/running-mate. McCain has a heart attack.....you really think ANYONE would want some idiot soccer mom to be PRESIDENT?

That would have been unacceptable by any measure.

Obama has accomplished more in his first year in office than many presidents do in two, three or four.

Too bad the Republicans are trying to destroy America by voting against EVERYTHING he is trying to do.

In the healthcare thing, it is not Republicans vs. Democrats.
It is not conservatives vs. liberals.

IT ACTUALLY IS THE HEALTHCARE AND INSURANCE INDUSTRIES VS. THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!

SOMEONE has to stand up for "The People". And Obama is actually doing that.

The Republicans are doing their best to insure that the healthcare and insurance industries CONTINUE TO ASS-RAPE THE AMERICAN PUBLIC.

The Republicans are acting in a quite ANTI-AMERICAN FASHION.

If they TRULY cared about this great nation and the people who live in it, they would be going out of their way to help reform the healthcare system, and to regulate the insurance corporations.

But NO! They are completely in favor of Corporate America (with Financial Slavery and Profits For A Chosen Few), and are in favor of making the poor and middle-class even POORER than they already are.

I was already disgusted with conservative asslickers.

And seeing the Republicans try to harm the American People in this manner makes me feel even moreso.

The Republican Motto is "Keep The Power Out Of The Hands Of The People, And Keep The Money In The Pockets Of The Corporations Whose Cocks We Suck".

So, no. I have no regrets.

In fact, I hope America sees how the Republicans are trying to destroy this country, and I hope The People Of The United States Of America revolt against their asinine efforts.

obama is a puppet for the bilderberg group.

[Nitro Express]

I'm still pissed about the credit card thing. Those motherfuckers take gov money to bail their asses out, then immediately stick it hard to the people that have been the most responsible with their fucking credit. I'll pay MORE money just to keep a fucking dime out of their hands now. I switched everything away from cards, and have been using paypal, COD, or just mailing in money orders for stuff I just would have put on a card. Any of my vendors that wouldn't bill me (only a couple wouldn't) I dropped them completely. There isn't ANY benefit to good credit anymore so I give a fuck about maintaining any good paper trails..

Exactly. If we refuse to do business with crooked institutions, they eventually will wither and blow away.

[Nitro Express]

obama is a puppet for the bilderberg group.

There are many groups. Bilderberg was founded in 1954 to consolidate Europe and put it under a common currency. Some of the American corporate and financial elites are involved with this group, the Rockefellers being the better known. The World Bank, Federal Reserve, and other large financial institutions are well represented at Bilderberg each year. Obama and Hillary did attend Bilderberg two years ago when they met in Virginia. What went on who knows.

[Nitro Express]

I get why people voted for Obama. They were sick of eight years of Republican rule that was a complete disaster and they were hoping Obama would be a monopoly breaker who would break the grip of the big corporations.

[Seshmeister]

There are many groups. Bilderberg was founded in 1954 to consolidate Europe and put it under a common currency. Some of the American corporate and financial elites are involved with this group, the Rockefellers being the better known. The World Bank, Federal Reserve, and other large financial institutions are well represented at Bilderberg each year. Obama and Hillary did attend Bilderberg two years ago when they met in Virginia. What went on who knows.

They probaby exchanged bug recipes and talked about banning lizard skin handbags...

[Seshmeister]

The year of presiding impressively
by Andrew Sullivan
Sunday Times of London
January 17, 2010

A year ago this week, in even colder temperatures than now, a young, charismatic president-elect gazed across the Mall in Washington, DC and gave an inaugural address that some felt was anti-climactic. It feels like an age ago and so I went back to see what my first impression was: “From the moment he gave his election night victory speech, Obama has been signalling great motion in the face of immense challenges. The tone is humble. . .He is not a messiah and does not act or speak like one. He's a traditionalist in many ways."

A year on, that seems like a good call to me. Those on the left who foolishly saw him as a revolutionary are in a sulk right now. Those on the right who still see him as a leftist ideologue keep railing against the reality in front of their eyes - as if contemplating a small-c conservative black Democratic president is too much for their brains to grasp. To those who hadn't observed or read or listened closely enough to Barack Obama, the first year remains a baffling record. But to my mind it is almost exactly what I expected and yet much more than I could have hoped for.

Obama is a liberal pragmatist in politics and a traditional conservative in his understanding of the presidency. Once you grasp this, his first year makes much more sense. He has marshalled conservative constitutional norms- against the radical claims of George W Bush and Dick Cheney with respect to the presidency- in defence of a liberal restoration of the importance of government. This has made for a frustrating year for those who want instant results, because he has often deferred to Congress; or for those who want short-term tactical political coups, because he prefers strategy to tactics. But for anyone taking the long view, it is hard to see where Obama has really gone wrong.

What mistakes has he made?

His inheritance is one even Republicans concede was the worst since Ronald Reagan’s: a global economy spiralling into a possible second Great Depression; a deficit exploding just as long-term debt was poised to enter the red zone; failing banks; an imploding car industry; two flailing wars; a deeply polarised country; a mortgage crisis; a collapse in America’s moral standing after the Cheney torture regime; 30m Americans with no health insurance; crumbling domestic infrastructure and eight wasted years in the fight to mitigate climate change.

Where did he go wrong? Was the stimulus too big or too small? In retrospect, it looks like a pretty good balance in putting a bottom under the economy without adding too much debt. Was the bank rescue insufficient, as many liberals at the time argued? Nope. If you judge by results, Obama got it right: no nationalisation and targeted bailout money led to a stunning turnaround in which many of the recipients of aid were able to pay it back within a year. Last week he announced a big new tax on banks to get back the rest and is preparing a bill for financial re-regulation.

In other words, he didn’t succumb to leftist populism or right-wing ideology. He neither attacked the banks nor let them off the hook. And it worked. The global economy has since stabilised – something that was by no means inevitable.

Did Obama make a mistake by sticking with his campaign pledge to reform and expand health insurance in such a perilous economic time? My view is: no. He crafted a compromise bill that would provide insurance to 30m people, reduce the deficit and bring the drug and insurance companies along. Such a result enraged the left and sent the right into a tizzy of fury. But it will endure as the biggest social reform since Lyndon Johnson. Did he err by allowing Congress to take the lead? Well, the Clintons tried dictating to Congress and look how that turned out. No president has succeeded in this area before, in good times or bad. Obama got his reform in a year of economic crisis. The further you remove yourself from this, the more impressive the achievement is.

His first Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor, was a smooth, shrewd choice, rewarding Hispanics (who support health reform by massive margins, by the way) and elevating a competent, moderate liberal. His war management? Again, you see the caution of the first Bush, led by Hillary Clinton and Robert Gates at the departments of State and Defence. Obama kept the second Bush’s timetable for Iraq withdrawal, dispatched three Somali pirates, intensified the drone attacks on Al-Qaeda, saw a huge drop in Al-Qaeda's popularity in the Muslim world, a huge rise in pro-American sentiment around the globe and re-crafted an Afghanistan strategy that won both Democratic support and the enthusiasm of General Stanley McChrystal.


I retain severe doubts about Iraq and Afghanistan and suspect the efforts to create stable states in both are doomed. But I have to reserve judgment in the fog of war and neither of Obama’s big decisions here seemed obviously misjudged. They seemed like the least worst option on the table.

More broadly, his quiet demotion of inflammatory rhetoric in the war on Jihadist terrorism in favour of talking softly and taking one Al-Qaeda leader out at a time strikes me as a shrewder way to win this war than Bush's grandstanding. On Iran, he helped the green movement immensely by removing the “Great Satan” card from the leadership’s weakening hand. If he can target sanctions precisely at the Revolutionary Guards, he could help some more. But his breakthrough was in understanding, as any conservative should, that this is the Iranians' revolution, not America’s. The job of the West is to get out of the way.

His only obvious failure has been Israel. He misjudged the intransigence of Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, and the power of his support on Capitol Hill. But he will keep persisting in trying to rescue the Jewish state from the perils of its own hubris and paranoia.

On social issues, he has stepped back to help to unwind polarisation and allow society to evolve and federalism to work. By merely refusing to use federal agents to police states where medical marijuana has been legalised, he has all but ended cannabis prohibition in large swathes of the country without lifting a finger. Although his term saw marriage equality lose in Maine, it also saw gay marriage rights come to Washington, DC and the debate shift so much that we are now watching Ted Olson, a Reaganite conservative. argue that the California initiative that denied marriage to gays violated the equal protection clause of the federal constitution.

He has also failed to end the cultural and partisan polarisation in America. But he has not empowered it. The energy for this polarisation has come from the hard left (which is angry with him) and the hard right which, to a great extent, has gone completely bonkers in the wake of its defeat in 2008.

This rabid conservatism - one that seeks more tax cuts as debt spirals, that thinks Guantanamo is an asset in the war on terror, that wants no extension of health insurance, no bailouts, no stimulus- may well ride some populist anger to short-term success at the ballot box (watch the Massachusetts by-election on Tuesday). But under Obama, the Republicans have become whiter, more extreme, more religious and synonymous in the public mind with polarising figures such as Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck. This may be a good ratings strategy for a cable network like Fox News, but it's a highly risky one for a party attempting to win back the centre.

And Obama himself? Suffice it to say his first year revealed something we already knew. He is a cool customer and a shrewd strategist and has also managed to marshal the stagecraft and elegance to inhabit the role of the presidency with more ease and grace than anyone since Reagan.

Two years ago a black president was unimaginable. Now it seems like background noise. As with all of Obama's revolutions, this was a quiet one. But in the eye of history, my guess is it will be seen as game-changing for America and the world.
Reply With Quote

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[bueno bob]

What Andrew said. Spot on.

[Hardrock69]

Yup. Good rational analysis.

[LoungeMachine]

obama is a puppet for the bilderberg group.

STFU ace

:gulp:

[Unchainme]

I get why people voted for Obama. They were sick of eight years of Republican rule that was a complete disaster and they were hoping Obama would be a monopoly breaker who would break the grip of the big corporations.

Agree with this. I think it's a huge reason why the Democrats control congress as well.

This nation is not a "leftist" country persay despite what a lot of people towards the left of the isle insist on. People were fed up with the bullshit that Bush was producing and sort of cast their votes in such a way that they were sick of this garbage.

That's not say that we as a country don't hold liberal ideals, hell, we were founded on quite a few of them!

I feel there's a lot of anger on both sides of the aisle towards people holding office today. Not so much a "left" v. "right" type of deal Just moreso tired of the corruption.

[Sgt Schultz]

The year of presiding impressively
by Andrew Sullivan.

Wow Andy.....get a room. :barf::sick0020::uck::puking-smiley:
:anal:

[Seshmeister]

I feel there's a lot of anger on both sides of the aisle towards people holding office today. Not so much a "left" v. "right" type of deal Just moreso tired of the corruption.

The same thing is going to happen in the UK in the next few months the other way around with the right getting in for the same reason of people being sick of politicians.

[Seshmeister]

Wow Andy.....get a room. :barf::sick0020::uck::puking-smiley:
:anal:

He's not adverse to cock but also an ex Republican writing for the News International people so kind of sitting on the fence...pole. :)

[ace diamond]

STFU ace

:gulp:

never.

to quote you,
"i don't do what you tell me to".

[Baby's On Fire]

I did wonder what sort of a fucking idiot would vote for Palin.

Now I know. :)

About 100 million idiots. That's what's so fucking scary.

Probably the same fucking idiots who voted in Chimpy...Twice.

[bueno bob]

Wow Andy.....get a room. :barf::sick0020::uck::puking-smiley:
:anal:

Logic and Schultzy don't usually go well together.

Example A.

[Nickdfresh]

never.

to quote you,
"i don't do what you tell me to".

You're getting close to having your mindless attention whore spam removed from this forum...

[ace diamond]

About 100 million idiots. That's what's so fucking scary.

Probably the same fucking idiots who voted in Chimpy...Twice.

i did not vote for chimpy either time.

[ace diamond]

You're getting close to having your mindless attention whore spam removed from this forum...

can I suck your dick, Nick? I can't find mine

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Get back on topic, and fucking quick.....

[ace diamond]

go suck your boyfriends' dick.

way to change the words of my post, lounge.

[LoungeMachine]

way to change the words of my post, lounge.

Then knock you shit off, or find another thread...

:gulp:

No one here needs to be told to suck your dick.

Done with your crap.

[ace diamond]

Then knock you shit off, or find another thread...

:gulp:

No one here needs to be told to suck your dick.

Done with your crap.

RIGHT AFTER YOU TAKE YOUR OWN ADVICE.
That'll never happen.
so fat fucking chance, cumstain.

[Seshmeister]

You're getting close to having your mindless attention whore spam removed from this forum...

Please...

[LoungeMachine]

Please...

He's on his last gimp leg.

:gulp:

[bueno bob]

dupe, sorry