We are now closing in on the one-year anniversary of the election of this nation’s first black president.
Now we must start bickering about his successes and shortcomings in order to make our own political orientations (or racism, as the case may be) look better.
After all, we are closing in on another election year.
There is no question: Obama inherited the largest pile of the proverbial “bull excrement” from the previous administration of any president in a very long time.
I did not expect anyone to be able to move into the White House and immediately fix two disastrous wars, a worldwide economic collapse, a failed health care system, skyrocketing national debt, ridiculous tax policies, a virtually non-existent energy policy and a general ethical standing in the world akin to that of a dim-witted antichrist.
But this does not mean that we should not hold Obama to scrutiny based on his campaign promises. Yes, he still has a long way to go before his first term is up.
In the meantime, though, I think it would be helpful to fill out a little progress report, if only to allow us to put things in perspective.
‘The Iraq fiasco’
As far as the Iraq fiasco goes, Obama seems to be holding more or less to his campaign promises … for now.
The president promised to “safely and responsibly” end combat operations in Iraq within 16 months. He added a couple months onto that timeline shortly after taking office and declared that by Aug. 31, 2010, we would have 35,000 to 50,000 troops stationed in the country for the purposes of training, equipping and advising the Iraqi Security Forces which would then assume full responsibility.
This would mean close to 100,000 troops would be getting out of that hellhole the Western world has created in that country.
Hopefully Obama sticks to his guns on this one, and a year from now we get to see a few less ribbons on doors around the holidays.
Afghanistan
Regarding Afghanistan, I will give Obama credit for holding to his promise and then some.
During his campaign, Obama pledged to send two more brigades of troops into the country, and he did. Then he sent 30,000 more troops.
Now, I do think we should do everything that we can to salvage some sense of victory in the region.
However, I begin to wonder about our strategy when the U.S. military feels the need to remind those in charge that we still have not caught Osama bin Laden and that al-Qaeda will be a persistent threat in the region until he is captured or killed.
I would also like to see an outline of what “victory” or “success” actually entails. The current estimates of al-Qaeda in the country place its membership somewhere around 100 people. When exactly should we turn our national security back over to the people in the intelligence community?
Gitmo: ‘Failure’
In a related issue, Obama has admitted that he is going to miss his own deadline for having Guantanamo Bay closed by January 2010.
Although the president did sign an executive order that bans the use of torture and provides further oversight on the practice of extreme rendition, Gitmo is still a sordid black mark on the image of this nation. This missed deadline is one of the biggest failures of Obama’s first year.
Don’t ask, don’t tell
Another failure of our Commander-in-Chief lies in the current standing of the absolutely ridiculous “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in the military. I understand wanting to prioritize things, but I am really sick of seeing sorely needed Arabic translators kicked out of the armed services for something as trivial and stupid as their sexual orientation.
The economy
The economy issue is anyone’s guess.
The stock market has stabilized relatively, but unemployment is climbing. Bailout money was spent to help people keep their houses, but it was also spent on $18 million government Web sites, non-existent congressional districts and the vile scum at Goldman-Sachs who screwed us in the first place. I think this will have to go under the “wait-and-see” category.
On the plus side, though, we should see an increase in government revenue starting in 2011. Obama has announced that he intends to help fund his socialist health, energy, and education programs by getting rid of the idiotic “Reaganomics” tax cuts for the top 1 percent that were implemented by the Bush administration.
If you still think the “trickle-down” rationalization for Republican tax cuts holds water, then I would advise taking a gander at our economy during the Reagan, Clinton and Bush administrations.
Keep in mind: Clinton raised taxes on the top 1 percent, too.
Climate change
And if Clinton’s V.P. hadn’t been undercut by a farce of a Supreme Court case, we might have already figured this global warming thing out.
But as it stands, Obama is doing a good job making sure that he actually leaves a world behind for our children to inherit.
Tens of billions of dollars of the economic stimulus are going towards renewable/efficient forms of energy. Tax credits are projected to help spur more than $100 billion in private sector investments.
And we’re trying this crazy new approach that actually involves talking to other countries about global climate change. It’s a radical idea, I know, but it seems to be working.
Healthcare
Finally, there is healthcare. I do not have the slightest idea what to think about Obama’s performance regarding this first year key issue anymore.
I admired his speeches. I admired his ability to tackle baseless criticisms openly. I detested some of the half-truths he utilized.
I hated his inability to get his party behind him to make sure that no more Americans are forced into bankruptcy because of despicable insurance bureaucrats employed to connive against their clients in order to maximize profits off of human suffering.
Now I fear that democratic dissention, combined with Republican stall tactics, are going to leave me unable to obtain or pay for insurance based on pre-existing conditions.
Don’t get me wrong; this has been a great year for this country. But any year would have looked great after the oil fire that was the Bush presidency.
I would like to base my judgment on the leader of my country on more than his being literate. I want someone who can get the right things done. So I’ll give Obama the benefit of the doubt for now.
But as any senior on this campus can tell you, four years goes by quickly.
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Rhology 2 years, 5 months ago
Um, haven't you seen that anthropogenic climate change has zero evidence in its favor? Why does it take so long for people to get these things?
irishcarbomb 2 years, 5 months ago
Rhology
I usually find that you have something of philosophical or intellectual value in what you say...even if I think that it is grossly shortsighted and containing vastly more rationalization than reason.
However, this is the single stupidest thing that you have ever posted...
There is a basic chemical process that occurs when you pump massive amounts of CFCs into the atmosphere.
The ozone layer is made up of O3 molecules. When UV light from the sun passes through them, those molecules are broken down into O2 (regular oxygen) and a free radical O. Normally, the free radical is so unstable by itself, that it immediately bonds back with the O2 to form O3 (ozone) once again.
CFC's that contain chlorine, fluorine, ad carbon are broken down in the atmosphere by radiation. In the process, radical molecules like Cl+O are formed (ClO), and these particles (along with others) end up binding with that radical O that is broken down when UV light passes through the Ozone, thus destroying the Ozone layer.
Now, to complicate matters, as the Ozone layer is broken down, less energy from the sun is reflected back into space, and instead gets all the way to the earth's surface. The earth's surface absorbs the visible light, and emits energy in the form of infrared radiation.
That infrared radiation is absorbed by compounds like CO2, methane, and nitrous, that we pump into the atmosphere with the burning of fossil fuels. Those compounds then re-emit the infrared radiation back towards the earth...heating the lower atmosphere.
This has all kinds of really ugly possible effects including the shutdown of the Thermohaline Circulation in the Northern Atlantic, which could cause a rapid shift into an ice age.
For every action, there is a reaction. Do you really think that pumping all of those chemicals into the atmosphere has no effect?
It is commonly accepted in the worldwide scientific community that global climate change is being affected by humans. What is unclear is how much effect we are actually having, and what we should do about it.
Seriously dude. Read a book. Glen Beck is not a great scientific resource.
Perkyshai 2 years, 4 months ago
Weather != climate. The difference involves math and time, usually more than 10 days.
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/noaa-n/climate/climate_weather.html
kdbp1213 2 years, 4 months ago
global warming? i froze my a-- off dec 24, 09 to jan 8, 10.
mustafa 2 years, 4 months ago
ITYS -Somewhere in my archives I said that it IS important to have a first Black president. But that it is also important that he, at the very least, be a mediocre president. I stated that Obama had the signs of being absolutely the worst president ever, and that such a reality would have a devastating impact on race relations. Stay tuned for that.
Hopefully the boat will also dock on: ever giving a known liberal an opportunity to bring about vague “change.”
As result of this guy, it may no longer be wise to allow a president to go unchecked by the voters for even a two year period.
mustafa 2 years, 4 months ago
The first half of my original post was either edited out or accidentally deleted by me ..but whatever:
Irishcarbomb- Other than slipping in depleted ozone as a given, you clearly have Chalkboard-Syndrome. As evident by yesterday’s prang-ing, the boat is docking on the most incompetent and corrupt president in modern history. Hopefully the boat will dock also on electing liberals with only some vague talk of change.
Thanks to Obama we may have to rethink allowing anyone with such power to go unchecked by the voter for two whole years
Consider for a moment how terribly different our country would be, if not for conservatives repeatedly saving liberals from their own policies. Today, fortunately, we can laugh at thoughts of what society would be like if the Equal Rights Amendment hadn’t been defeated or that Clinton hadn’t been stopped in 1994. Liberalism was spared having to defend the outrages caused by the implementation of ERA and the humiliation of Clinton being crushed in 1996. Like a great broken-field runner it bounced off would-be tackles and kept running. But now looms the threat of being flatten irrevocably, by Obama’s call for a Kamikaze attack on capitalism and our sovereignty.
If the liberal Democrat party can survive this presidency it will only be because conservatives stopped them in time.
irishcarbomb 2 years, 4 months ago
Mustafa,
All I can say is WOW. Your insanity is hitting new peaks all the time. Please just tell me- is there anything factually incorrect about my previous post? Do you just not trust those devious scientists in lab coats? Or is it the liberally biased science that you hate?
You can argue that Obama is not doing a good job as president. I wouldn't expect you to be able to come up with one, but good arguments can be made on both sides. However, you cannot actually believe that corruption has increased. The 109th Congress was the most unethical group of incompetent degenerates that modern politics has seen in this country. They were in session the least number of days of any congress since WWII and had scandals left and right. Ney, Cunningham, Jefferson, Foley, Delay, Abramoff...the list goes on and on.
You really need to pull your head out of Rupert Murdoch's colon and actually think before you speak. Even that imbecile pledged to make all of his media outlets "carbon-neutral" by 2010 because even he recognizes that his vast wealth doesn't bode well for his heirs if they are all dead.
I am really starting to believe that some people should be forcibly sterilized.