What has Obama done well?

[12thMan]

Originally Posted by CRedskinsRule

pardon us while we resume our normal thread discussion

He has served the first 7 months effectively, I think it would be interesting to have a candid discussion with all the president's about the position of POTUS. For as much political bs that is spewed, it is a great responsibility to lead this country, and to be looked at daily to answer detailed questions on every topic from the latest threats, to healthcare to -- every other topic under the sun. Everyone who sits in that seat deserves a basic healthy respect from the country.

Agreed. I have a daughter who is of age and she watches a lot John Stewart. Obviously this program is shaping her political or non-political views to a certain extent. I stopped her dead in her tracks one day when she called Bush dumb in front of me. For a variety of reasons I felt it was inappropriate, but mainly I think the office should be held in higher esteem than it has been in recent years. It's almost become trendy nowadays to bash the president. We take sides to see who loves America the most or who's more Christian. Who's more this or not enough that. And consequently we draw conclusions about the entirey of one's political beliefs and values based on issue like abortion. Never realizing that a person who may lean left on the issue of choice also has child and family that they cherrish very much.

I just don't think someone would run for the highest and most powerful office in the world because they don't love their country or somehow feel inadequate. On the contrary, it's a great expression of patriotism and national pride. People that run for high office feel they are uniquely qualified for a unique role. So I get tired of the spin, the hatred, and hyperbole that I hear day-to-day.

That being said, open and honest --sometimes heated and passionate--debate is the American way. Let's just keep it real.

[firstdown]

Originally Posted by saden1

The poor soul is confused as always, he is unable do the necessary calculation required to conclude that it's not a snub but rather an introduction of the American delegation to the Russian president (quite obvious by the last handshake).

Looks like a snub to me and who ever did that is an a$$. Like Obama or not he is the president and deserves the respect from who ever he was introducing and to do that in front of the Russian Pres is just total disrespect for the office. That was my issue with Bill and Monica was the total disrespect for the whitehouse and what it stands for. He was getting a BJ in the same office that Regan respected so much he would never enter the office withou his coat on.

[saden1]

Oh oh, here is the the beginning of the "handshake snub" that wasn't there... notice the Russian delegation shaking his hand and "snubbing" Medvedev :

[firstdown]

So a thread about what the pres has done right has become a thread about maybe getting snubbed and if he should or should not have bowed. I guess that says it all sbout his first 7 months in office.

[FRPLG]

Originally Posted by firstdown

So a thread about what the pres has done right has become a thread about maybe getting snubbed and if he should or should not have bowed. I guess that says it all sbout his first 7 months in office.

I think it says more about the state of political discourse on this site and throughout our country more than anything.

[ArtMonkDrillz]

Originally Posted by FRPLG

I think it says more about the state of political discourse on this site and throughout our country more than anything.

I agree with this.
From the initial post it seemed clear that this entire thread was set up as a way for people to point out Obama's downfalls more than anything else. It's a lot easier to prove someone else is wrong by poking holes in what they say than it is to prove yourself right. Read jsarno's intro post again:

Most of us know that Obama has done a poor job thus far as president (at least those that are willing to look at things objectively). So to be fair, and objective, what has he done right thus far?

Please note, this is not a bash Obama thread, we could fill up a ton of pages with what he's done wrong, this is purely a thread to show the positive Obama has done to this point...I'm sure Obama has done some good, so here's your chance to voice it.

It seems like he's just trying to bait people into giving their opinions as to what Obama has done well thus far only so others can bash those ideas. It reminds me of taking classical philosophy in college and learning about the Socratic Method. Socrates would basically ask people who claimed to be intelligent questions just so he could dissect and discredit their answers. Instead of really adding his own ideas he would just shoot down their's until they had no leg to stand on. In this case it set up a framework so that any little thing that Obama has done can easily be turned into a negative and so any rational debate or dialogue has just turned into petty bickering about crap.

At this point I can't wait until the robots take over!

[KLHJ2]

Originally Posted by ArtMonkDrillz

I agree with this.
From the initial post it seemed clear that this entire thread was set up as a way for people to point out Obama's downfalls more than anything else. It's a lot easier to prove someone else is wrong by poking holes in what they say than it is to prove yourself right. Read jsarno's intro post again:
It seems like he's just trying to bait people into giving their opinions as to what Obama has done well thus far only so others can bash those ideas. It reminds me of taking classical philosophy in college and learning about the Socratic Method. Socrates would basically ask people who claimed to be intelligent questions just so he could dissect and discredit their answers. Instead of really adding his own ideas he would just shoot down their's until they had no leg to stand on. In this case it set up a framework so that any little thing that Obama has done can easily be turned into a negative and so any rational debate or dialogue has just turned into petty bickering about crap.

At this point I can't wait until the robots take over!

They are going to have to get passed my son and his personal T100 first!

http://www.moviecritic.com.au/images...g-machine1.jpg

[CRedskinsRule]

Originally Posted by FRPLG

I think it says more about the state of political discourse on this site and throughout our country more than anything.

I agree.

[Slingin Sammy 33]

Originally Posted by saden1

p.s. What does the Office of Protocol say about the Commander in Chief and citizens not bowing to heads of states (monarch or otherwise), where can I find the protocol text?

As with most protocol or custom much is unwritten. However I would say the "not bowing to a monarch/king" is pretty well known. Even the Washington Post writers understand it.

In the face of royalty, don't bow to bad manners | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com

Encyclopedia of the modern Olympic ... - Google Books#

The Washington Post Writers Group

At the end of the day it was a mistake by Obama, for whatever reason he did it.

[firstdown]

We have to scratch off the cash for clunkers as something Obama has done well.
CASH FOR CLUNKERS NOT PAYING DEALERS

Think this is the same goverment that some people want to handle our health care and they cannot even get this right.

[GMScud]

Originally Posted by firstdown

We have to scratch off the cash for clunkers as something Obama has done well.
CASH FOR CLUNKERS NOT PAYING DEALERS

Think this is the same goverment that some people want to handle our health care and they cannot even get this right.

I also read somewhere that it's done more for foreign automakers than domestic.

[CRedskinsRule]

Originally Posted by firstdown

We have to scratch off the cash for clunkers as something Obama has done well.
CASH FOR CLUNKERS NOT PAYING DEALERS

Think this is the same goverment that some people want to handle our health care and they cannot even get this right.

Sorry, a delay past the 10 days to wait to get reimbursed isn't the end of the world. I would rather they get it after 30 days, and we make sure there isn't any fraud going on.

It still seemed like an effective program, and I would not "scratch it off the list".

[KLHJ2]

Originally Posted by firstdown

We have to scratch off the cash for clunkers as something Obama has done well.
CASH FOR CLUNKERS NOT PAYING DEALERS

Think this is the same goverment that some people want to handle our health care and they cannot even get this right.

It is not all the Govt's fault

How to Avoid the 'Cash for Clunkers' Snarl - Yahoo! News

NHTSA also has to make sure nobody's claiming that a rusty tricycle constitutes a clunker worth $4,500 toward a new ride. Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting that anybody would ever attempt to take advantage of wanton congressional spending and defraud the U.S. government. But do we trust car dealers and their customers enough to go by the honor system? Many of the rejected clunker claims are being sent back to dealers because of paperwork snafus like unsigned sales agreements, mismatched serial numbers, and forms that fail to include the make, model, and year of the clunker being traded in. Hmmmm. Those are all harmless mistakes, no doubt. But if people at NHTSA weren't eyeballing every application, chances are that there would be a newspaper headline somewhere declaring "Man Gets Clunker Rebate for Matchbox Car." It still might happen.

Dealer groups have been meeting with NHTSA to straighten out the foul-ups and make sure their own members are following procedures and playing by the rules. Odds are this will all get sorted out soon, the pace of rebates will pick up, and dissident dealers will quiet down and rejoin the program.

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

I voted for Obama and think he's done a reasonably good job thus far. First and foremost, I am pretty convinced that Bush and Obama brought us back from the brink of the Great Depression II. We were staring down a deep abyss and, although we spent a lot of money on our lifeline (i.e., the various stimulus packages), it was likely a necessary evil.

That said, I don't agree with everything he's done and plans to do. For example, I like the idea of universal health care coverage, but I see this latest effort as a "bridge too far." We're facing record deficits, fighting two wars, and just coming out of the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression. Whether the goals are laudable is irrelevant; the entitlement spending being contemplated by any iteration of the health care plan is exhorbitant. I also feel uncomfortable with the bailout of the auto industry. Whereas we could not have afforded to watch the banking system collapse, I think we would have been okay had we let inefficient auto companies file for bankruptcy and reorganize on their own.

But, I must say, that the right is doing a major disservice to itself by waging an ugly war against Obama. Sure, the left did it to Dubya, but two wrongs don't make a right. Calling Obama unAmerican or Hitler, or blasting him for bowing to king, is childish and, frankly, stupid. Talking about recession, carrying firearms to town hall protests, or talking about "watering the tree of liberty" is repulsive and, ultimately, will push moderates to the left.

[KLHJ2]

Originally Posted by Sheriff Gonna Getcha

I voted for Obama and think he's done a reasonably good job thus far. First and foremost, I am pretty convinced that Bush and Obama brought us back from the brink of the Great Depression II. We were staring down a deep abyss and, although we spent a lot of money on our lifeline (i.e., the various stimulus packages), it was likely a necessary evil.

That said, I don't agree with everything he's done and plans to do. For example, I like the idea of universal health care coverage, but I see this latest effort as a "bridge too far." We're facing record deficits, fighting two wars, and just coming out of the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression. Whether the goals are laudable is irrelevant; the entitlement spending being contemplated by any iteration of the health care plan is exhorbitant. I also feel uncomfortable with the bailout of the auto industry. Whereas we could not have afforded to watch the banking system collapse, I think we would have been okay had we let inefficient auto companies file for bankruptcy and reorganize on their own.

But, I must say, that the right is doing a major disservice to itself by waging an ugly war against Obama. Sure, the left did it to Dubya, but two wrongs don't make a right. Calling Obama unAmerican or Hitler, or blasting him for bowing to king, is childish and, frankly, stupid. Talking about recession, carrying firearms to town hall protests, or talking about "watering the tree of liberty" is repulsive and, ultimately, will push moderates to the left.

Good post. I concur.

I want to see a more rapid withdrawl from Iraq at this point. Giving them control was a step toward that, but it cannot happen soon enough. I feel that if Obama is successfull with that then he can chalk up a win in my book. If he does not get the majority of US troops out of Iraq within the next 6 months to a year I will be very disappointed. He said August 2010, so we will see.

Once the troops are home it will cut down on a major national expense, which should make some deficit clock watchers happy.