Has Obama failed at everything?

[Beavah]

In the parent thread, packsaddle writes:

 

Obama looked like he had statesman qualities but his actions...what can I say? Let's face it, he was elected partly because he was NOT Bush and to many seemed to be the farthest from Bush. But his embrace and continuation of so many Bush policies has put him into some other category. He came in with strong criticism of - and pledge to end - the Bush tax cuts. Now, with the compromise, he's likely to elect to keep all of them through his entire first (and possibly only) term. We're not 'out' of Iraq and there are more troops in Afghanistan than there were under the Bush administration. Gitmo still is, and likely will remain, open. There's not much, if anything, different under the Patriot Act. The response to the economic crisis can hardly be called 'bold' or 'decisive'. In foreign policy he wouldn't even qualify as a dilettante. Even something as peripheral as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is likely to whimper into the next administration as is.

 

I certainly know a few liberal folks who are disgusted with him. "Pre-emptive caving in" is what they call his approach to negotiation.

 

I confess I'm disappointed in his lack of follow through on da Patriot Act and Gitmo abuses.

 

And his lack of real leadership got us a Financial Reform Bill and Health Care Bill that were written by committees of lobbyists... and read incomprehensibly just like somethin' created in da worst committee you've ever experienced. I can't even read sections without shakin' my head.

 

So what do the rest of yeh think? Especially those of yeh who supported him in 2008?

 

B

 

[perdidochas]

I didn't support him, but I think he has far from failed. I think he's done way too much, and honestly, I don't think that his leadership will serve the country well in the future.

[eisely]

I did not vote for Obama, but it is too early to judge his presidency. Further, what is the standard for judging? Should he be judged on what he set as goals or on his overall impact on the country? Every president comes into office with a long list of goals, but in reality achieving anything requires a great deal of cooperation from a great many players.

 

Ultimately every president will have some successes along with some failures. Although I consider Jimmy Carter to have been both the worst president of the 20th century and the worst ex president ever, he too had a couple of accomplishments for which he deserves credit; namely facilitating peace between Israel and Egypt, and seeing the Panama Canal treaty through to ratification.

 

One of Reagan's great strengths and a key to his success was his ability to set priorities and truly focus on what he decided was most important. Obama seems to lack that ability.

[sherminator505]

To be fair, Reagan also set the precedent for runaway deficit spending based on the erroneous belief that deficits don't matter AND ALSO began the paradigms of declining real wages and deregulation of trade that has led to the loss of our manufacturing base, but I digress...

 

Obama has probably met or exceeded every realistic expectation that was placed on him. What he has failed at is living up to the expectations of the liberals who expected more than he ever promised or campaigned on.

 

As for conservatives, they will never be happy with him. He failed to "play ball" the way Clinton did, so to them he will always be cast as the socialist secret Kenyan/Muslim/radical black Christian bent on destroying America.

[sherminator505]

"I didn't support him, but I think he has far from failed. I think he's done way too much, and honestly, I don't think that his leadership will serve the country well in the future."

 

Funny, I would describe our previous President in EXACTLY the same terms.(This message has been edited by sherminator505)

[GernBlansten]

Obama has failed...

 

to turn a 700,000 per month job loss into a 900,000 per month job loss.

 

to invade another country or even threaten one.

 

to allow two thirds of the domestic auto industry to fail.

 

to allow the US economy to self correct it's way out of an impending devastating depression.

 

to live up to the republican label of being a socialist by passing a retreaded republican healthcare plan.

 

to engage in high crimes and misdemeanors, denying the republicans a reason impeach him.

 

to allow terrorists to attack and kill our countrymen, denying the tea party the schadenfreude they so deserve.

 

 

 

 

[GernBlansten]

Forgot the biggest failure.

 

Obama has failed to understand that republicans will not cooperate with him and are only interested in making sure he has no successes and a one term president.

[acco40]

The President has failed to wear a mouth guard, something I try to teach my daughter with no success, while playing basketball. He's paid for his mistake so I guess there is justice.

 

Also, he still can't find that foreign born, Muslim birth certificate but I'm sure he is still lookig.

[vol_scouter]

Gern,

 

Obama didn't need the republicans for the first year of his presidency. He had substantial majorities in both houses and still could only pass a healthcare bill that it a disaster and required bribes that became public knowledge to pass it because it is such a bad bill. Democrats are not joining republican initiatives so therefore they are blocking the republicans carrying out the will of the people. Blocking important legislation or protecting the republic is a matter of point of view. If a congressman is the way that his or her constituents would likely vote, then they are ding their jobs. If they are not voting the way that their constituents vote, then they have no business being in office in a representative democracy and should be voted out of office. The democrats refused to listen to their constituents and got what they deserved as had the republicans four years before. The republicans are not the cause of Obama's legislative failures. Obama's failures are his fault alone.

[GernBlansten]

Vol you are so correct.

Obama and the democrats decided to re-brand a republican health care plan (the Romney and Dole plan) and try to shove it down our throats. He failed to pass something the people really supported, single payer health care. He failed to trust his instincts and capitulated to the lies the republicans and the insurance lobby threw against him. I think the public saw through that and chucked them out in 2010. They didn't vote FOR the republicans, they voted against the moderate dems who didn't give us single payer.

Obama's biggest failure, running right instead of left.

[vol_scouter]

There are twice the number of self described conservatives to liberals. The country is still a center right country. Keep thinking that way Gern. If all democrats will only continue to think that way, the party will soon become a minor party. If you were correct, moderate democrats would have lost by the hordes in the primaries followed by trouncing their conservative competition in the general elections. That is clearly not what happened. The people did not want the healthcare bill - single payor or not - and made their displeasure known only to be treated arrogantly by the democrat party. The democrat party paid dearly for their arrogance as the republicans had four years before.

[GernBlansten]

Moderates lost in 2010. From both parties. The teaparty bagged the moderate GOPers in the primary. Leftists remained in office. See Pelosi, Frank, Reid.

The public didn't like the rebranded GOP healthcare plan. I don't either, but its better than allowing the health insurance companies rule my life.

It wasn't arrogance, it was ignorance. Ignorance that the American people wanted change and they got republican lite.

[vol_scouter]

Why did the democrats adopt the GOP healthcare plan? They did everything without GOP or conservative input or involvement. The healthcare plan is all democrat. It is a disaster as you and others will discover if lawsuits do not successfully halt this travesty.

 

Obama has not failed at everything. He got socialized medicine through which was part of his agenda. His foreign policy is a total failure. His economic plan is certainly not a success. Fortunately, he did not pass cap and trade and other terrible plans. He did not end the Patriot Act that he campaigned upon. He is the worst president that I have lived under which dates back to Eisenhower.

[GernBlansten]

So the plan Dole pushed in the 90s and the plan Romney signed in Mass are socialized medicine?

[vol_scouter]

Obama. Pelosi, and Reid pushed through a bill that was not wanted by the people of the USA. They did not ask for any republican input. If the bill does not satisfy you, blame the democrats. Had they had good leadership, they could have passed most anything. Had it been a good bill instead of this disaster, it would have passed easily. You might want to watch this:

 

http://video.foxnews.com/v/4449244/exodus-of-physicians-in-america/