What has Obama done well?

[Slingin Sammy 33]

Originally Posted by Angry

1. Iraq had nothing to do with the attack on American soil. You cannot fight a war against terrorists on a typical battlefield. The terrorists that attacked the U.S. were sent by a man hiding in Afghanistan. But you are right, Bush had the balls to persuade less intelligent people like you that going into Iraq was what we needed to do. Now before you start questioning my patriotism, realize that I was there. I could argue on and on about the war, but I would rather point out that you’re a hypocrite.

A lot more to the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 than links to 9/11.

Iraq Resolution - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

George Tenet (Clinton hold-over) provided the intel to Bush, Colin Powell, Sens. Tom Daschle (sponsor), Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Diane Feinstein, John Kerry, Joe Liberman, Harry Reid, and Jay Rockefeller (Intel Committee) must all be included in the "less intelligent" category too. And Obama must be at least partially included too for voting to approve over $ 300B in funding for the war.

2. You said thanks for telling you how to spend your money. Isn't that what America does every day by telling countries that they cannot invest in their nuclear programs?

No. You may want to read up on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

3. You say that I want money for healthcare and I am for abortion. Let’s get one thing straight. I am for healthcare, but nobody is for abortion! There are just people out there that realize that there are circumstances that exist in which abortion is the lesser of 2 evils. If a woman is raped and she does not want to keep a child...I understand. If the mother has 50% chance of survival and the child has zero...I understand. You guys have to stop thinking in terms of it's this way or that way, and realize the grey areas out there.

As firstdown mentioned, the VAST majority of abortions are completely voluntary. For those that view abortion as murder, they don't want to be forced to participate or fund abortions through their tax dollars.

4. Only you can prevent narrow mindedness. Do you really think that by adopting universal healthcare that we would actually allow a person into their 90's to just die? We as a society would not allow this. You guys bitch about how much money Obama is spending and how much is coming out of your pocket and you truly believe that the government is just going to take your money let grandma die? That's good old Republican cynicism at its best. Nothing like some good ole hell and damnation preaching! Grandma is going to be OK, so are your son, your father and anyone else. The good news is that there are also going to be people that never had healthcare before that are going to be OK as well.

When providing treatment is done via a cost-benefit analysis in terms of "life years", then there will be a reduction in services to the elderly and treatments may not be provided that would either enhance life (hip-replacements, etc.) or prolong life (transplants, etc.). I have first hand experience in watching services to my father be reduced when he was forced to transfer from a private insurance plan to Medicare. So don't be naive, reduction in services to the elderly will happen and happens everyday in the UK & Canada.

Good article from the WSJ:

ObamaCare Will Lead to Rationed Care for Elderly - WSJ.com

I'm sure you wouldn't want this in the U.S.
Elderly left at risk by NHS bidding wars to find cheapest care with reverse auctions - Times Online

Also, here is some information on the Complete Lives System and by Emmanuel's own words this system "disrciminates against older people". The "death panel" thing is Glen Beck-esque garbage, but the fact is under a Gov't option services to the elderly will be reduced.

Ezekiel J. Emanuel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The framework for the cost-benefit decision-making has already been approved in Obama's stimulus bill:

From the link:
Elderly Hardest Hit
Daschle says health-care reform “will not be pain free.” Seniors should be more accepting of the conditions that come with age instead of treating them. That means the elderly will bear the brunt.
Medicare now pays for treatments deemed safe and effective. The stimulus bill would change that and apply a cost- effectiveness standard set by the Federal Council (464).
The Federal Council is modeled after a U.K. board discussed in Daschle’s book. This board approves or rejects treatments using a formula that divides the cost of the treatment by the number of years the patient is likely to benefit. Treatments for younger patients are more often approved than treatments for diseases that affect the elderly, such as osteoporosis.
In 2006, a U.K. health board decreed that elderly patients with macular degeneration had to wait until they went blind in one eye before they could get a costly new drug to save the other eye. It took almost three years of public protests before the board reversed its decision.
Ruin Your Health With the Obama Stimulus Plan: Betsy McCaughey - Bloomberg.com