bigronaldo
11-04-2009, 09:11 AM
In an Esquire article posted yesterday titled, Whddaya Mean Obama Hasn't Done Anything? (http://www.esquire.com/the-side/richardson-report/obama-timeline-110309), John Richardson tries to explain that, despite the myth that Obama hasn't done anything, he has done quite a bit of things in his time as president. Below is the article, with my responses in bold.
A week before he was sworn in, Obama jammed part two of the bank bailout down the throat of his own party — a $350 billion accomplishment.
I don’t know that I would consider taking $350 billion dollars away from average citizens to bailout banks as an accomplishment. But to each their own.
Two days after he was sworn in, Obama banned the use of "harsh interrogation" and ordered the closing of Guantánamo.
Unfortunately, the Gitmo facility still exists. With prisoners. So while he may have “order it closed”, it is still running nine months after the fact.
A day later, Obama reversed George W. Bush's funding cutoff to overseas family planning organizations — saving millions of lives with the stroke of a pen.
While many may agree with women having abortions, many taxpayers still feel it is immoral. Forcing ALL taxpayers to pay to “perform or promote” abortions overseas doesn’t strike me as a good accomplishment. However, I guess it is something.
Three days after that, Obama gave a green light to the California car-emissions standards that Bush had been blocking for six years — an important step on the road to cleaner air and a cooler planet.
Yes he did. Right in the middle of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. He forced car manufacturers to spend more money on fuel efficiency instead of try to stay afloat as a company.
Two weeks after that, Obama signed the stimulus bill — a $787 billion accomplishment.
Absolutely correct. And as ABC recently pointed out, it cost taxpayers roughly $160,000 per job “saved or created”. Not necessarily efficient.
Ten days after that, Obama formally announced America's withdrawal from Iraq.
Except for the 50,000 troops that are to stay there indefinitely.
A week later — we're in early March now — Obama erased Bush's decision to restrict federal funding for stem-cell research.
Yes he did.
In April and June, Obama forced Chrysler and GM into bankruptcy.
Yes he did. I'm not sure we should be cheering for a president to force a company into bankruptcy, but at least he allowed them to "fail" instead of giving them even more money. Too bad they still get to keep their bailout money.
In June, Obama reset the tone of our relations with the entire Arab world with a single speech — an accomplishment that the Bush administration failed to achieve despite a series of desperate PR moves (anyone remember Charlotte Beers?) and a "public diplomacy" budget of $1 billion a year.
Well, that is still yet to be seen. He’s talking about going to war with Iran, has angered Pakistan by killing hundreds of civilians in aerial assaults, and has frustrated Palestinians by continuing our same policies in Israel.
Also in June, Obama unveiled the "Cash for Clunkers" program, a "socialist" giveaway that reanimated the corpse of our car industry — leading, for example, to the billion-dollar profit that Ford announced on Monday.
It is true that Obama helped increase Ford’s profits, but it cost taxpayers $24,000 per car to do it.
I haven't even mentioned Sonia Sotomayor, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the order to release the torture memos, Obama's push for charter schools, his $288 billion tax cut, or the end of Bush's war on medical marijuana. Or the minor fact that he seems to have — with Bush's help, it must be said — stopped the financial collapse, revived the credit markets, and nudged the economy toward 3.5 percent growth in the last quarter.
Where to start on this one? Yes, he selected a Supreme Court Judge, as he is obligated to do. And yes, the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was the first act he signed as president. And he did release most of the torture memos, but just blocked the release of photos depicting detainee abuse. As for the drug raids, though he said from day one they would end, he only JUST ended them.
The stopping of the financial collapse needs a paragraph of its own. It is still entirely up in the air if our economic crisis is beginning to mend. All indications seem to show that the past few months have been merely another bubble in a down economy (there were several during the Great Depression). The credit market still sucks. Except for mortgages, lending is still a mess. Credit card companies have raised rates on even their best customers. Banks are still hoarding the bailout money, despite the fact they were given the money to get rid of their toxic assets, which they still have. We may have had a “3.5% growth” in GDP, but unemployment is the worst yet. No matter how you try to spin it, there is no good news regarding the economy and the bailouts/stimulus package.
Oh, and one more thing: President Obama is now a month or two from accomplishing the awesome and seemingly impossible task that eluded mighty presidents like FDR, LBJ, and WJC — health-care reform.
While it is possible that health-care reform may pass, he would have done it against the will of 54% of Americans who oppose the current efforts by the Democrats.
Obama's early returns also include a host of remarkably cautious and prudent national-security decisions that seem, these days, to have been completely forgotten:
Appointing a conservative Bush holdover like Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense.
Appointing an establishment centrist like Leon Panetta at CIA.
Appointing a hard-ass like Stanley McChrystal to head up our military forces in Afghanistan, despite McChrystal's dubious involvement in torture and the cover-up of Pat Tillman's death.
Increasing the number of drone attacks on Al Qaeda — more in the last year than all the Bush years combined.
Reinstating, with tweaks, Bush's military tribunal system for Guantánamo prisoners.
Fighting, in another unexpected defense of a controversial Bush policy, lawsuits against the "warrantless wiretapping" program — as recently as this weekend with a decision that a leading civil liberties group called "extremely disappointing."
Sending, way back in February, seventeen thousand more soldiers to Afghanistan. As Fareed Zakaira recently pointed out, this was just three thousand fewer soldiers than Bush sent to Iraq for his famous "surge."
How can any of that be construed as a good thing? He reinstated military tribunals, where everyone is guilty until proven innocent. He continues to allow the government to spy on its own citizens through the “warrantless wiretapping” program. He has increased troops in Afghanistan, despite more and more of their citizens wanting us to leave them alone. I wouldn't put this under "accomplishments", but under "blemishes".
Read more: http://www.esquire.com/the-side/richardson-report/obama-timeline-110309#ixzz0Vq8UByNl
There is no doubt that Obama has “done things” since his first day as President. The question is, are they the right things?
A week before he was sworn in, Obama jammed part two of the bank bailout down the throat of his own party — a $350 billion accomplishment.
I don’t know that I would consider taking $350 billion dollars away from average citizens to bailout banks as an accomplishment. But to each their own.
Two days after he was sworn in, Obama banned the use of "harsh interrogation" and ordered the closing of Guantánamo.
Unfortunately, the Gitmo facility still exists. With prisoners. So while he may have “order it closed”, it is still running nine months after the fact.
A day later, Obama reversed George W. Bush's funding cutoff to overseas family planning organizations — saving millions of lives with the stroke of a pen.
While many may agree with women having abortions, many taxpayers still feel it is immoral. Forcing ALL taxpayers to pay to “perform or promote” abortions overseas doesn’t strike me as a good accomplishment. However, I guess it is something.
Three days after that, Obama gave a green light to the California car-emissions standards that Bush had been blocking for six years — an important step on the road to cleaner air and a cooler planet.
Yes he did. Right in the middle of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. He forced car manufacturers to spend more money on fuel efficiency instead of try to stay afloat as a company.
Two weeks after that, Obama signed the stimulus bill — a $787 billion accomplishment.
Absolutely correct. And as ABC recently pointed out, it cost taxpayers roughly $160,000 per job “saved or created”. Not necessarily efficient.
Ten days after that, Obama formally announced America's withdrawal from Iraq.
Except for the 50,000 troops that are to stay there indefinitely.
A week later — we're in early March now — Obama erased Bush's decision to restrict federal funding for stem-cell research.
Yes he did.
In April and June, Obama forced Chrysler and GM into bankruptcy.
Yes he did. I'm not sure we should be cheering for a president to force a company into bankruptcy, but at least he allowed them to "fail" instead of giving them even more money. Too bad they still get to keep their bailout money.
In June, Obama reset the tone of our relations with the entire Arab world with a single speech — an accomplishment that the Bush administration failed to achieve despite a series of desperate PR moves (anyone remember Charlotte Beers?) and a "public diplomacy" budget of $1 billion a year.
Well, that is still yet to be seen. He’s talking about going to war with Iran, has angered Pakistan by killing hundreds of civilians in aerial assaults, and has frustrated Palestinians by continuing our same policies in Israel.
Also in June, Obama unveiled the "Cash for Clunkers" program, a "socialist" giveaway that reanimated the corpse of our car industry — leading, for example, to the billion-dollar profit that Ford announced on Monday.
It is true that Obama helped increase Ford’s profits, but it cost taxpayers $24,000 per car to do it.
I haven't even mentioned Sonia Sotomayor, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the order to release the torture memos, Obama's push for charter schools, his $288 billion tax cut, or the end of Bush's war on medical marijuana. Or the minor fact that he seems to have — with Bush's help, it must be said — stopped the financial collapse, revived the credit markets, and nudged the economy toward 3.5 percent growth in the last quarter.
Where to start on this one? Yes, he selected a Supreme Court Judge, as he is obligated to do. And yes, the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was the first act he signed as president. And he did release most of the torture memos, but just blocked the release of photos depicting detainee abuse. As for the drug raids, though he said from day one they would end, he only JUST ended them.
The stopping of the financial collapse needs a paragraph of its own. It is still entirely up in the air if our economic crisis is beginning to mend. All indications seem to show that the past few months have been merely another bubble in a down economy (there were several during the Great Depression). The credit market still sucks. Except for mortgages, lending is still a mess. Credit card companies have raised rates on even their best customers. Banks are still hoarding the bailout money, despite the fact they were given the money to get rid of their toxic assets, which they still have. We may have had a “3.5% growth” in GDP, but unemployment is the worst yet. No matter how you try to spin it, there is no good news regarding the economy and the bailouts/stimulus package.
Oh, and one more thing: President Obama is now a month or two from accomplishing the awesome and seemingly impossible task that eluded mighty presidents like FDR, LBJ, and WJC — health-care reform.
While it is possible that health-care reform may pass, he would have done it against the will of 54% of Americans who oppose the current efforts by the Democrats.
Obama's early returns also include a host of remarkably cautious and prudent national-security decisions that seem, these days, to have been completely forgotten:
Appointing a conservative Bush holdover like Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense.
Appointing an establishment centrist like Leon Panetta at CIA.
Appointing a hard-ass like Stanley McChrystal to head up our military forces in Afghanistan, despite McChrystal's dubious involvement in torture and the cover-up of Pat Tillman's death.
Increasing the number of drone attacks on Al Qaeda — more in the last year than all the Bush years combined.
Reinstating, with tweaks, Bush's military tribunal system for Guantánamo prisoners.
Fighting, in another unexpected defense of a controversial Bush policy, lawsuits against the "warrantless wiretapping" program — as recently as this weekend with a decision that a leading civil liberties group called "extremely disappointing."
Sending, way back in February, seventeen thousand more soldiers to Afghanistan. As Fareed Zakaira recently pointed out, this was just three thousand fewer soldiers than Bush sent to Iraq for his famous "surge."
How can any of that be construed as a good thing? He reinstated military tribunals, where everyone is guilty until proven innocent. He continues to allow the government to spy on its own citizens through the “warrantless wiretapping” program. He has increased troops in Afghanistan, despite more and more of their citizens wanting us to leave them alone. I wouldn't put this under "accomplishments", but under "blemishes".
Read more: http://www.esquire.com/the-side/richardson-report/obama-timeline-110309#ixzz0Vq8UByNl
There is no doubt that Obama has “done things” since his first day as President. The question is, are they the right things?