So this guy is probably a total conservative shill, but he does have a pretty damning litany of bad Obama decisions in this article. And Obama’s poor popularity is undeniable. I think the simplest explanation is the obvious one – it’s the economy, stupid! – but I must agree that the debt situation is seeming pretty terrifying right now.
Is Obama’s presidency in meltdown? I definitely don’t think he’s the worst president since Jimmy Carter – Bush Jr. gets that award – but is he actually fairly crap?
The media has been owned by the right since (at least) the mid 70s, no democratic president has had any chance with the public. So it is hardly shocking that the populace is starting to turn against Obama.
It was a miracle that Obama got elected in the 1st place, without the well timed financial collapse he likely would have lost to McCain (and we would have done something nutty against Iran and the economy would be doubly fracked).
It’s amazing how vast the chasm is between the reality of what Obama has genuinely accomplished vs. what his opponents and their braindead tea party followers would love to have you believe he’s accomplished. Truly incredible PR accomplishment by the GOP.
Yeah that article is pretty much nonsense from start to finish. You’ll notice that his actual list is nothing but vague, unproveable assertions like “Obama is out of touch.”
not so much that obama is doomed, just this country. or at least the middle class as we know it (or knew it if you are over 30). and its completely beyond his control. not an excuse just a reality. there is a status quo that won’t let the ‘hope and change’ happen… whether its sara palin, barack obama or even some libertarian dreamer like ron paul. us politics is just divide and counquer these days, and this is the worst time for this to happen…
yeh ive been a hardcore pessimist since the fall 2008. i don’t think any politician can fix the mess this country is in.
You know, there really are legitimate reasons to criticize Obama. Like continuing Bush’s wiretap policy, waffling on his campaign position on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, or how he’s handled Guantanamo Bay 18 months after he signed an order to close it. But that article? Full of empty bullshit. It’s just a list of Republican talking points, complaining because he isn’t adhering to their failed policies.
#1 “Obama is out of touch” is deeply ironic, since the author is completely out of touch when he’s complaining about health care reform. It’s particularly hilarious that a rant against a “European style vision of health care” appears on a British newspaper site, given that health care in the UK is completely free.
The closest the article comes to making an actual, legitimate point is concern over the debt. So I’m guessing this guy and all the Republicans crying about the debt are in favor of letting Bush’s tax cuts for the rich expire. Right?
That’s one of the most frustrating things I’ve seen since Obama took office and that includes, “Keep your government hands off my healthcare, oh, except for my medicare check”.
The article misses the larger point. It doesn’t matter if you’re d0m3d in politics. You just have to be less d0m3d [I]than the other side.
[/I]Yes, Obama is not doing as well as he should. But the Republicans are doing far worse in the polls. And they’re completely directionless and rudderless. Their “leaders” at the moment are an empty-header quitter, a has-been who was kicked out of politics on ethics charges and has never run in an election outside his home district, and a very dull rich guy who will never be nominated because he’s not crazy enough to appease the extremists who have taken over the party apparatus.
So it doesn’t matter whether Obama is perceived as unpopular and only marginally competent. What matters is that people perceive him as more popular and competent than the other guy. It may not be much but hey, it was enough for W to slip into office twice.
Obama said he’d end DADT and make it so gays can serve in the military. By all accounts we’re as close to that becoming reality as has ever been. There is widespread support for ending DADT and lifting the ban on gay service persons throughout all branches of the military…
…but Obama is also listening to those ranking officers from all branches who are in favor of ending DADT, and those officers are telling Obama what should be obvious to anyone who does any study of the issue: this is not exclusively a top-down issue with the military. The military cannot just order young men and women throughout its ranks to stop being prejudiced, especially when so many of those men and women come into the military bringing with them the fears and misconceptions they were raised with about homosexuality.
The reality is this: Obama can sign an executive order allowing gays to serve openly in the military today…but it won’t make life any easier or more pleasant for gay servicepeople, and could in fact make things even more miserable. Instead of that, he’s allowed the military heirarchy to start laying the groundwork so that when DADT does end in the near future, it actually really does end. He’s giving the military time to make it so that “coming out” as a member of one of the branches of the armed forces is actually a legitimate and workable option.
His popularity with me is at all an all-time low because his flight to LAX today will shut down the highways around the airport during rush hour. Of course it’s the night I’m supposed to meet my in-laws for dinner nearby…
