There are plenty of things I do not like about Obama's policies, but they are dwarfed in comparison to the things I do like about his Presidency thus far. (And btw, I'm not a democrat, I'm a liberal independent, just for clarification. Most dems are too conservative for me).
1. he extended the portion of the patriot act law that allowed for warrantless wiretaps and surveillance of private companies (this was only about 20% of the actual law, the other 80% was already permanent).
2. He stalled his push to close guantanamo bay.
3. He caved on his negotiations to end the Bush-era tax cuts in 2010 at the end of the legislative session.
4. He caved on the healthcare bill in 2009 and didn't fight hard enough for the public option, when that was the flagship item on the bill he campaigned on.
5. He's left too many appointments open that a GOP controlled house has not confirmed, and the GOP in the Senate continue to filibuster. For every filibuster they exercised on a critical government post, Obama should have exercised his ability to recess appoint starting back in 2009.
6. I did not approve of the drone bomb campaign he began in Libya. We should have worked with NATO in a support capacity from the start, rather than clandestine bombing to a congressional stopwatch. That made him look like a bit of a warmonger.
7. We should have been out of Afghanistan by now.
Democrats- Is there any thing you don't like about Obama ?
2012 Obama
2012/03/05 23:37:29
Now probably all Democrats have been accused at some time of worshiping President Obama as a God and I am here to set the record straight that I do not see him that way and while I think he is a good man he is just a man with all the normal failings of humanity.
I am a moderate with fiscal conservative leanings and I voted for Bush I and Bush II the first term but gave up on his policies in the second election and was disillusioned by conservative politics as I watched the wars and economic collapse unfold. I voted for Clinton and was disappointed by his philandering but encouraged by his economic plans and a vision for the country.
When Barack Obama came along I was ready for some serious change to the status-quo and he offered promises and a vision that were in line with my principles and values. I also admired his family values, obvious intelligence and the fact that he was a Black man and was willing to step in to the presidency knowing full well there would be a lot of backlash from racists in our country made me see he had courage.
President Obama stepped into the office under terrible circumstances beyond his control. two wars, an economic meltdown, abysmal health care and predictions by economists that another great recession was under way and would get worse.
I was resolved to at least 10 years of bad economic growth and long drawn out wars but President Obama surprised me. He took the bull by the horns and in the face of a lot of negativity and resistance he pushed through Health Care Reform, TARP, small business tax cuts, Vet benefits, extended unemployment, student loan deferral, and Auto manufacturer loans and these programs worked and are still working.
Now I am not under any illusion they were perfect and they could have been better but the fact is they worked and in under 3 years President Obama's plans turned around the recession which was declared officially ended and for 2 of those years we have had positive economic growth, millions of people now have insurance that were not covered, and unemployment is going down with many states below 6%.
Not only did President Obama's plans save the economy but his plans and the military plans ended the Iraq war, ended the reign of Bin Laden and most of his terrorist leaders, and has set a deadline for an Afghanistan pull out. He handled Libya very well not risking a single soldier on the ground and not one successful terrorist attack has happened on US soil.
There are also many social issues President addressed for gays in the military, women's right to health care contraception, and more student and education benefits for Veterans that will be needed as these soldiers come home.
So is there anything I do not like about Obama or his policies ?
I did not like that he backtracked and supported the Democrat Super PAC and I wish he would have stood on his principles which would have helped him more than any money they collect for advertising.
I did not like that he did not close Guantanamo but I understand the military wanted it and it would have made housing those detainees on US soil a bad proposition.
I do not like that he has not put forth a plan to deal with illegal immigration that encourages legal immigration while securing the borders.
I did not like that he maintained the Patriot Act that Bush pushed through but he did make it to only be enacted in war time or a declared national emergency and he said he would not detain anyone indefinitely under his administration.
I did not like that he went along with renewing the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy but I know he had to make a compromise and I think he will not make that mistake again.
So that is what I like and dislike about President Obama and when I weigh the positives against the negatives my choice is easy.
I will vote for President Obama in 2012!
I am a moderate with fiscal conservative leanings and I voted for Bush I and Bush II the first term but gave up on his policies in the second election and was disillusioned by conservative politics as I watched the wars and economic collapse unfold. I voted for Clinton and was disappointed by his philandering but encouraged by his economic plans and a vision for the country.
When Barack Obama came along I was ready for some serious change to the status-quo and he offered promises and a vision that were in line with my principles and values. I also admired his family values, obvious intelligence and the fact that he was a Black man and was willing to step in to the presidency knowing full well there would be a lot of backlash from racists in our country made me see he had courage.
President Obama stepped into the office under terrible circumstances beyond his control. two wars, an economic meltdown, abysmal health care and predictions by economists that another great recession was under way and would get worse.
I was resolved to at least 10 years of bad economic growth and long drawn out wars but President Obama surprised me. He took the bull by the horns and in the face of a lot of negativity and resistance he pushed through Health Care Reform, TARP, small business tax cuts, Vet benefits, extended unemployment, student loan deferral, and Auto manufacturer loans and these programs worked and are still working.
Now I am not under any illusion they were perfect and they could have been better but the fact is they worked and in under 3 years President Obama's plans turned around the recession which was declared officially ended and for 2 of those years we have had positive economic growth, millions of people now have insurance that were not covered, and unemployment is going down with many states below 6%.
Not only did President Obama's plans save the economy but his plans and the military plans ended the Iraq war, ended the reign of Bin Laden and most of his terrorist leaders, and has set a deadline for an Afghanistan pull out. He handled Libya very well not risking a single soldier on the ground and not one successful terrorist attack has happened on US soil.
There are also many social issues President addressed for gays in the military, women's right to health care contraception, and more student and education benefits for Veterans that will be needed as these soldiers come home.
So is there anything I do not like about Obama or his policies ?
I did not like that he backtracked and supported the Democrat Super PAC and I wish he would have stood on his principles which would have helped him more than any money they collect for advertising.
I did not like that he did not close Guantanamo but I understand the military wanted it and it would have made housing those detainees on US soil a bad proposition.
I do not like that he has not put forth a plan to deal with illegal immigration that encourages legal immigration while securing the borders.
I did not like that he maintained the Patriot Act that Bush pushed through but he did make it to only be enacted in war time or a declared national emergency and he said he would not detain anyone indefinitely under his administration.
I did not like that he went along with renewing the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy but I know he had to make a compromise and I think he will not make that mistake again.
So that is what I like and dislike about President Obama and when I weigh the positives against the negatives my choice is easy.
I will vote for President Obama in 2012!
Top Opinion
-
scbluesman13 2012/03/06 22:29:21
That is why the GOP is fighting so hard to repeal it before 2014 because they know once people get it it will never go away.
I agree that it should be ended but in a time of war and with military and GOP pressure he did what he could. When the wars are ended the patriot act is no longer in effect thanks to Obama.
AFAIK, Mr. Obama's memo only promoted the idea that they'd TRY to not rendition people to other physically torturing regimes. How is it possible to know that someone we rendition to another country will not be tortured? Why not just eliminate rendition altogether and have the guts to deal with people in our own country?
That's all I'm saying.
1. he extended the portion of the patriot act law that allowed for warrantless wiretaps and surveillance of private companies (this was only about 20% of the actual law, the other 80% was already permanent).
2. He stalled his push to close guantanamo bay.
3. He caved on his negotiations to end the Bush-era tax cuts in 2010 at the end of the legislative session.
4. He caved on the healthcare bill in 2009 and didn't fight hard enough for the public option, when that was the flagship item on the bill he campaigned on.
5. He's left too many appointments open that a GOP controlled house has not confirmed, and the GOP in the Senate continue to filibuster. For every filibuster they exercised on a critical government post, Obama should have exercised his ability to recess appoint starting back in 2009.
6. I did not approve of the drone bomb campaign he began in Libya. We should have worked with NATO in a support capacity from the start, rather than clandestine bombing to a congressional stopwatch. That made him look like a bit of a warmonger.
7. We should have been out of Afghanistan by now.
I also wish he would push a little more for LGBT rights, obviously there are more important things right now that affect many more people, but it's still VERY important to provide equal rights.
I will stick to being the straight guy
My bad!
Be well