Obama exceeds all reasonable expectations

[The Dane]

Obama threads have apparently become a trend on this board.. So here's a Danish editorial :)



We live in impatient times – not least in the media.

In a couple of months, it will have been a year since Barack Obama became president – and neither the financial crisis, the climate crisis nor peace in the world have yet been resolved.

And here was a man who said he could deliver change... How dare he?

The many critical analyses of Obama’s situation are unrelenting – the United States and the world face a long list of unsolved problems. On the other hand, they seem reluctant to name all the solid progress that he has made, or to find concrete mistakes.

At the beginning of December, the United States and Russia will enter into an major nuclear disarmament pact. Next year the agreement is expected to result in even more extensive decommissioning of nuclear weapons on both sides, as well as American acceptance of a Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

At the same time, and for the first time in 30 years, the United States and Iran have begun direct negotiations and drafted the outline of an agreement that for the first time gives positive hope that the brakes can be applied to Iran’s nuclear programme before it results in a nuclear arms race in the Muslim world.

Disagreements within Iran’s leadership have meant that Iran is hesitant in signing off on the agreement, but the progress achieved is one that neither the American sabre-rattling of the Bush era, nor years of European diplomacy, have ever even come close to achieving.

In the Israel-Palestine issue, the United States has maintained the minimum requirement that can get the Palestinians to negotiate peace – that Israel must stop stealing their land while negotiations are under way.

The fact that the President has not yet resorted to threats of violence or sanctions to get Israel to understand what is in its own interest – something that Congress would never allow anyway – cannot meaningfully be blamed on Obama.

Competent president showing initiative
This week, Obama got the Health Reform that the United States has been waiting for since World war II through the House of Representatives.

And yes, the Senate must also agree – but Obama has already got further on this issue than any of his predecessors.

In Afghanistan, Obama has chosen a period of deep reflection on the way forward. How disappointing given that the way forward is so obvious to everyone else…..

The fact remains that the United States has an unusually competent president, who is full of initiative and who is battling with the gigantic problems that he has inherited – so far with much more success than could reasonably be expected.

http://politiken.dk/newsinenglish/article831904.ece

[Stainless Steel Rat]

Interesting take that will shorly be assailed from other members of the forum....

I would note that several members have already expressed a view that Obama will be a one-term president. While not impossible (if the economy/jobs goes further south, a major terrorist action takes place in the US, Monica Lewinsky gets a job in the White House, then he may well be toast), I would note that if by 2012 (1) The economy has rebounded-not unlikely, given the cyclical nature of same (2) We're pretty much out of Iraq and there is no collapse--shaky, but no collapse and (3) If Afghanistan begins to settle down under whatever strategy is chosen, then Obama beats whoever the Repubs throw up there.

But it all depends on the economy. IMHO.

We shall see.

[Clockwinder]

But it all depends on the economy. IMHO.

We shall see.

Absolutely. Despite the rhetoric he is by far and away actually doing a difficult job well. But the American public is fickle and have only one driver - their money! Everything they do and say and believe in can be bought. Unless the employment situation improves and therefore the economy, he's in for some rough times.
The situation on Wall St., right now with record bonuses being paid is a disgrace and a farce. I offer another scenario - the people (yes, US) may just storm the castle and burn the fvcker to the ground!!!! Let's see if Obama responds to public opinion then!

[len173]

Yup, people only care about their money, and seem out of touch with reality. I don't think many realize what a gongshow the economy is, and that NOBODY can make it rebound tomorrow.

Assume for a second that the GOP runs Palin in 2012. Just give it to Obama now . . . please.

[SoliDeoGloria]

granted nobody can make it rebound by tomorrow, but Obamas policies have done nothing short of creating ZERO new jobs, padding(and thats being VERY, very generous) the national debt, allow failing businesses to stay in business all the while creating an environment hostile to small businesses if not putting them out of business. (a good example the new federal regulations on lead testing, which has done nothing but strain or kill small businesses.)

so while you are right that it cannot be turned around by tomorrow, you are sadly deceiving yourself if you think he's doing anything to better the economy.

[Soldat_Américain]

And here I was thinking this was Ordie...love the European perspective btw Danskeren.

[dindin]

This World turbulent cant fixed only by the US.... He need more support abroad

[seraosha]

This World turbulent cant fixed only by the US.... He need more support abroad

Thanks Yoda.

[kimujnr]

Thanks Yoda.

Haven't laughed that hard in ages!

[2Sheds_Jackson]

At first I thought this article was from The Onion and was supposed to be funny. Then the sorry truth set in - that mental retardation knows no geographic boundaries.


This week, Obama got the Health Reform that the United States has been waiting for since World war II through the House of Representatives.Have I been waiting for it? I don't recall waiting for it at all, and I've been here for the last 46 years at least. Even if I had been waiting for it - the pile of @#$ can in no way be called "reform" - it's nothing more than wealth redistribution and a gift to the insurance industry.


Disagreements within Iran’s leadership have meant that Iran is hesitant in signing off on the agreement, but the progress achieved is one that neither the American sabre-rattling of the Bush era, nor years of European diplomacy, have ever even come close to achievingProgress? Ohhh..they're referring to the endless shell game. Yes, it's progress, not an accomplishment. It's progress, exactly like Sisyphus makes progress in hell - endlessly rolling that rock up the mountain, only to have it roll back down. Oh well, as long as it makes us look good, who cares if Iran has it's nukes before we get that rock over the top.


In Afghanistan, Obama has chosen a period of deep reflection on the way forward. This is the one decision that he can't foist upon somebody else - and of course it's where his inability to make difficult decisions is most apparent. His narcissistic nature won't allow him to do something that may damage him politically...and since he's more interested in endless campaigning than in leading, he's in the throes of a full-blown existential meltdown. This may take a while.



The fact remains that the United States has an unusually competent president, who is full of initiative and who is battling with the gigantic problems that he has inherited – so far with much more success than could reasonably be expectedBy what measure can this be called success? Unemployment that's nearly 3% higher than he said it would be if we bailed everybody out? A war being waged with no direction? Healthcare reform that's not reform? Millions of jobs saved or created....or actually virtually none? The guy could probably lock himself in a bank vault for the next two years and things would continue to be just as successful.

[Soldat_Américain]

2Sheds...how long do you think it took to formulate the surge strategy, if it isn't painfully obvious we'll be increasing our commitment there by a lot. And well let's just say some of us might not be able to enjoy MPnet because of it.

[Special-K]

I really don't see how he's been competent in much of anything he's done. He's been a disaster so far on just about every level from his appointees to political corruption to what he has done with the economy and our national debt.

I really like the comparison between 0bama and Iran last Summer and Reagan and the Polish Solidarity Movement.

Night and day.




-K

[brainplay]

Unusually competent President... Why didn't they just come out and say "Bush suxxors".

Of course, you know, it's unusual for the U.S. to have a "competent" President...

[tluassa]

I may add that on the field of "World Ecomonic crisis" Europe is already out of the red when it comes to economic growth, and the jobless rate in the US is also stabilizing (though at a high level) In 2012 it may very well be enough for Obama to pull another stimulus package the year before election, point to the few percentages of growth and declare himself victorious over the crisis.

[shocker1]

My God what kind of flopping revisionist hard on kind of article is this? It's easy for people not in this country to tell the ignorant unappreciative Americans how great the new leader is. All the while ignoring the ugly truth of it all. The health care legislation threatens to eat what little room I have to keep the doors of my business open. Goldman Sachs cronies abound in this admin just like the last, just different people play musical chairs with one another. The deficit has sky rocketed to record levels and little if any job growth outside of government leaves vast swaths of America in serious pain. He has allowed the Hill of incompetence to take the lead on getting his agenda through and is receiving the expected fail Congress continues to deliver.

Admittedly this President seemed very smart and a refreshing change to the past 8 years but after the election he seems unable to make hard decisions. Unable to speak without his minions laying out the words for him. Then when he must speak from the hip the inconsistencies and half facts insult the intelligence of the more informed among us. That is unless your colored partisan view gets in the way. I am not going to place full blame on him for the health care bill since he has little to do with writing that mass of confusion and wealth destruction. I can hold against him his continuation of Bush policies like spying on the American people, media manipulation, new levels of polarization, explosive debt and leaving our efforts in Central Asia in limbo. People who lobbied an end to Glass Steagall are advising him, weird admitted communists advise him, eugenicists who advocated sterilization and drugging of the nations water supply advise him. It is really sick.

The so called reinvestment act spent much money on nifty signs but in many areas those are hidden by the over growth of road side weeds. The best thing that can happen to the President is a Republican congress in 2010. Maybe then when can get real effective legislation out of there as history shows a split government does. Single party leadership never results in good policies. Go ahead gloss over the facts. This is really a waste of time posting as the paradigm is set in stone it seems. Partisanship has destroyed all logic in Washington. This began long before Obama and has only shifted left with his election.

[Ordie]

My God what a flopping revisionist hard on kind of article is this. It's easy for people not in this country to tell the ignorant unappreciative Americans how great the new leader is. All the while ignoring the ugly truth of it all. The health care legislation threatens to eat what little room I have to keep the doors of my business open. Goldman Sachs cronies abound in this admin just like the last, just different people play musical chairs with one another. The deficit has sky rocketed to record levels and little if any job growth outside of government leaves vast swaths of America in serious pain. He has allowed the Hill of incompetence to take the lead on getting his agenda through and is receiving the expected fail Congress continues to deliver.

Admittedly this President seemed very smart and a refreshing change to the past 8 years but after the election he seems unable to make hard decisions. Unable to speak without his minions laying out the words for him. Then when he must speak from the hip the inconsistencies and half facts insult the intelligence of the more informed among us. That is unless your colored partisan view gets in the way. I am not going to place full blame on him for the health care bill since he has little to do with writing that mass of confusion and wealth destruction. I can hold against him his continuation of Bush policies like spying on the American people, media manipulation, new levels of polarization, explosive debt and leaving our efforts in Central Asia in limbo. People who lobbied an end to Glass Steagall are advising him, weird admitted communists advise him, eugenicists who advocated sterilization and drugging of the nations water supply advise him. It is really sick.

The so called reinvestment act spent much money on nifty signs but in many areas those are hidden by the over growth of road side weeds. The best thing that can happen to the President is a Republican congress in 2010. Maybe then when can get real effective legislation out of there as history shows a split government does. Single party leadership never results in good policies. Go ahead gloss over the facts. This is really a waste of time posting as the paradigm is set in stone it seems. Partisanship has destroyed all logic in Washington. This began long before Obama and has only shifted left with his election.

Go to sleep.....

[shocker1]

Go to sleep.....
Sleep? I am getting up to go to work. If that's all you can say, you disappoint me. Or there is nothing to say but tell the messenger to go away. Did I get mud on your rosy glasses?

[acosta]

nope, he at least saved the stock market.

dow is now above 10000, that means more confidence and more investment, possibly more jobs.

[shocker1]

nope, he at least saved the stock market.

dow is now above 10000, that means more confidence and more investment, possibly more jobs.
Dow was 10000 ten years ago and adjusted for the devaluation of the dollar means less than nothing. Wall Street on the one hand is the evil enemy till some numbers can be used for partisan revisionism. No thanks.

Look if things get better by 2012 I will eat crow gladly and keep him in. I would not want a Republican partisan hack screwing up any progress. At the moment it appears heading in the wrong direction.

[the_Wicked]

In the Israel-Palestine issue, the United States has maintained the minimum requirement that can get the Palestinians to negotiate peace – that Israel must stop stealing their land while negotiations are under way.

This says all I need to know about the article's writer.

[Ordie]

Sleep? I am getting up to go to work. If that's all you can say, you disappoint me. Or there is nothing to say but tell the messenger to go away. Did I get mud on your rosy glasses?

No offense intended.

It was late at night and it was my bad attempt at sarcasim..p-)

[Hollis]

At first I thought this article was from The Onion and was supposed to be funny. Then the sorry truth set in - that mental retardation knows no geographic boundaries.

Have I been waiting for it? I don't recall waiting for it at all, and I've been here for the last 46 years at least. Even if I had been waiting for it - the pile of @#$ can in no way be called "reform" - it's nothing more than wealth redistribution and a gift to the insurance industry.

Progress? Ohhh..they're referring to the endless shell game. Yes, it's progress, not an accomplishment. It's progress, exactly like Sisyphus makes progress in hell - endlessly rolling that rock up the mountain, only to have it roll back down. Oh well, as long as it makes us look good, who cares if Iran has it's nukes before we get that rock over the top.

This is the one decision that he can't foist upon somebody else - and of course it's where his inability to make difficult decisions is most apparent. His narcissistic nature won't allow him to do something that may damage him politically...and since he's more interested in endless campaigning than in leading, he's in the throes of a full-blown existential meltdown. This may take a while.


By what measure can this be called success? Unemployment that's nearly 3% higher than he said it would be if we bailed everybody out? A war being waged with no direction? Healthcare reform that's not reform? Millions of jobs saved or created....or actually virtually none? The guy could probably lock himself in a bank vault for the next two years and things would continue to be just as successful.


Well said, Just well said.

I don't worry too much, even a lot of Americans do not understand the politics and how the government works in the US.


If chicken little can get a following, then there would be protected laws passed to keep the sky from falling.

[Wimbly]

nope, he at least saved the stock market.

dow is now above 10000, that means more confidence and more investment, possibly more jobs.

1200 DOW and 5% unemployment under Bush got nothing but bad press. How do you explain that? How in the world did Obama" save" anything? Its gotten worse after his actions!

[Jobu]

nope, he at least saved the stock market.

dow is now above 10000, that means more confidence and more investment, possibly more jobs.

Actually the TARP bailouts were Bush's doing. I wouldn't be so quick to say they saved the market, investment, or are creating jobs though.

I'm hedging my bets for a while. No jobs = no spending and what investment we have seen driving up the market has a lot to do with commodities purchases since the dollar was at 0% rates. It was free money.

If this healthcare monstrosity passes it will add costs to small businesses who are already struggling. Do you think they'll be hiring new, even more expensive employees anytime soon?

Meanwhile gold is skyrocketting which tells you all you need to know about how unstable this market truly is. People don't buy gold when they're planning to spend. People don't buy gold when they're confident of the near to medium future of the economy and markets.

[TallGuy]

This says all I need to know about the article's writer.
Hmm.....p-)


US 'objects' to Jerusalem settlement work


WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States opposes Israel's decision to expand a Jewish settlement in annexed Arab east Jerusalem and urges both sides to refrain from unilateral moves, the State Department said Tuesday.
"We object to this and we object to other Israeli practices in Jerusalem related to housing, including the continuing pattern of evictions and demolition of Palestinian homes," said spokesman Ian Kelly.
"We find the Jerusalem planning committee decision to move forward the approval process for the expansion of Gilo, in Jerusalem, as dismaying," he said.
"We believe that these actions make it more difficult for our efforts to succeed."
The decision announced by Israel earlier Tuesday to approve the construction of 900 new units in Gilo, one of a dozen Jewish settlements in east Jerusalem, further troubled US efforts to restart Middle East peace talks.
"Our position on Jerusalem is clear. We believe that Jerusalem is a permanent status issue that must be resolved through negotiations between the two parties," Kelly said.
"This kind of unilateral actions are exactly the kind of action that we think both sides should refrain from," he added.
"We understand the Israeli point of view about Jerusalem but we think all sides right now (...) should refrain from these actions," he added.
"We're calling on both parties to refrain from action and from rhetoric that would impede this process. It's a challenging time and we need to focus on what's important."
A senior US official, who asked to remain anonymous, said later that US envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell had been told about the imminent decision in talks with Israeli officials in London on Monday.
He had informed them of US concern over the project.
Israeli news reports said hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had rejected a request from his US ally to halt construction in Gilo. It was not clear whether the request concerned the project approved on Tuesday.
The Palestinians have demanded that Israel freeze all settlement construction in the occupied West Bank, including annexed east Jerusalem, before any resumption of talks but Israel has so far offered only a limited reduction in new building.



http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091117/pl_afp/mideastdiplomacypoliticsus_20091117194313

[kamaz]

Interesting take that will shorly be assailed from other members of the forum....

I would note that several members have already expressed a view that Obama will be a one-term president. While not impossible (if the economy/jobs goes further south, a major terrorist action takes place in the US, Monica Lewinsky gets a job in the White House, then he may well be toast), I would note that if by 2012 (1) The economy has rebounded-not unlikely, given the cyclical nature of same (2) We're pretty much out of Iraq and there is no collapse--shaky, but no collapse and (3) If Afghanistan begins to settle down under whatever strategy is chosen, then Obama beats whoever the Repubs throw up there.

But it all depends on the economy. IMHO.

We shall see.


It doesnt even have to go that far. Things could be pretty bad here and Barry will still win again since Republicans have no one, and I mean no one that is a feasable candidate. Palin is running around like an idiot now making things worse every day.

[shocker1]

No offense intended.

It was late at night and it was my bad attempt at sarcasim..p-)
None taken bro, I like your sarcasam. we can harp on one another and never get mad. It's all good you know. Just getting home btw.:|

[Zarak]

Shocker and 2Sheds covered it pretty well already so I'm left without anything to say. Cheers guys.

[Ordie]

None taken bro, I like your sarcasam. we can harp on one another and never get mad. It's all good you know. Just getting home btw.:|

Have a few cold ones on me.


http://files.myopera.com/erosan/blog/duff%20closeup.jpg

[shocker1]

Thanks, working on the last of my Dos Equis. Got some Sam Adams Lager to but that is for eating BBQ. Obama likes Bud Lite, he needs to break out of that. Maybe burn one to get his head right.lol

[shocker1]

Shocker and 2Sheds covered it pretty well already so I'm left without anything to say. Cheers guys.
Notice no one else has much to say either. p-)

[budgie]

Agreed. The OP is a general opinion on how well Obama's doing, but the specifics have already been debated ad nauseum all over these forums, so most members don't feel a need to weigh in.

The President hasn't solved all the world's ills yet and that should be a wakeup call to those who blindly supported him, but nor has the Obama presidency been an unmitigated disaster. It's too early to say he's failed as a leader and far to early to say he's succeeded.

What we have in the OP is the writer's opinion of which areas Obama has made progress in, but other people may not share his enthusiam or agree that it's 'progress'.

Pretty ho-hum really.