Obama And Congress Report Card

[Guest]

On Wednesday many news organizations will be grading Obama's performance for the first 100 days. I'm including Congressional Democrats and Republicans as well in this. As usual polls are anonymous unless you add a comment.

Laura

[Guest mia 1]

Up until the Katrina and the Terri Schivo fiasco I hadn't voted for a Democrat for national office since George McGovern(Yes I am that Old) but Obama swept me off my feet and in January of "08 I signed up and volunteered for hi state wide campaign in Colorado I am still in awe of the man's abilities to paraphrase Dylan's LIKE A ROLLING STONE he did go to the finest schools and he DID NOT get juiced at it.....Obama makes me proud to be an American....I look forward to the next 8 yrs...and hope to live long enough to see him finish his second term.......Mia

[Guest DanM]

So far he is doing a great job, lets see how he gets us out of this recession and back to work. Plus now he had a flu pandemic to worry about. In all reality I am glad I am not him. Bet he doesn't sleep much at nite with all this on his shoulders.

[Guest Alex2]

Overall I think he's done a commendable job. Even if his actions haven't been revolutionary as far as public policy is concerned, his presidency seems to be helping the way Americans are perceived by themselves and others.

Huffington Post had a few good points though. As far as his work in the GLBT community goes he could use improvement.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/emma-rubysac...o_b_192590.html

[Guest Eth]

I have to agree with Alex.

[Carolyn Marie]

So far, I like what I've seen. A steady hand, thoughtful approach, not afraid to admit a mistake (remember when Bush said, after about 3 years, that he couldn't recall a single one?), willing to make bold moves when needed, and able to express himself in clear, complete sentences. What more could you ask for? Oh, yeah, and a stylish wife and unspoiled kids to boot.

Sounds like.....wait for it.....CAMELOT!

Carolyn Marie

[Guest Okapi]

Obamma is doing a good job, but liek most poloticans he promised a lot more during the campagin.

[Sally]

He has been doing a good job of patching the holes in our image around the world - we are actually being talked about kindly in some of the countries that have been against us for a long time.

As far as our issues, they will always come after wars and money!

I am still trying to understand how invading Iraq and ousting Hussen really did much toward getting Bin Lauden who was supossed to be in Afghanatan at the time - just more bad intell I guess.

Love ya,

Sally

[Guest LightNebula]

I rated them all D. I almost wanted to give Republicans a higher grade, and I would've too, if they didn't feel so strongly about Christianity as they do, and by allowing that to influence their decisions (at least to the degree that they do) outside of mainly fiscal matters.

[Guest Katrina Reann]

I am going to try and resurrect this thread since more time has passed since the last post. Many things have happened since the last post from rising unemployment to Health Care Reform.

I for one am not happy with Obama, the Democrats, or the Republicans and I rate ALL of their performances with an F. None of them are listening to people at all, all they are interested in is their party stances and making themselves look good. And as for Obama he needs to open his eyes, the recession is not over, unemployment is not dropping, the deficit is growing, our soldiers are still fighting and dying, and this Health Care bill has too many questions and loopholes. I know he walked into a mess when he was elected but he needs to stop placing blame and trying to make himself look good, in my opinion. Because it has caused massive division in Congress and among the American people. He has been so focused on Health Care that he has not addressed other things like immigration. He promised a transparency on his policies yet up until recently refused to be interviewed by Fox News. I know Fox is a ultra conservative view point but the only reason he chose to be interviewed by them was to push his Health Care program. So in essence it benefited him.

But again I say it is not just him I am upset with, I am upset with all politicians. And to be honest I feel our country has turned the corner from Democracy to dictatorship. Our Federal government now owns big business in the Automotive sector and Banking. They tell us how to raise and discipline our children. And now they are telling us what we have to spend our money on. What's next??? Telling us what we can eat and drink? May I go to the bathroom Mr President or will I get fined for using it too soon, using too much water to flush my crap down the drain???

The power needs to go back to the people and if these present people in Washington DC would rather represent their party that the people, WE THE PEOPLE should vote all politicians out, go back to the roots of America, the streets and the backhills of this great land and find people who will listen and represent us from every walk of life. I know their would still be problems because people are always going to have differing opinions. But maybe a new group of people in DC could actually work together better than those who are in office now. If they don't we could always vote in our favorite cartoon characters and we can write their scripts...

[Guest Esperanza Xochitl]

In my eyes, Obama and the democrats have been mediocre at best. But I guess I'm hard to please and have a disdain for all politicians. Tranarchy!!!

[Guest Elizabeth K]

This TOPIC is a year old.

Just a reminder.

Lizzy

[Sakura]

it may be a year old but still very relvent so long as hes in office .i to got caught up in the obama craze heck i voted for him but in the time that has now passed, i realize that obama is a flat out liar and no better than bush... infact he is expanding on most everything bush did

durning his campaign his slogans was bring the troops home now not tomorrow. whats he do ? he sends 30000 more troops into afganistan tripling the number there already .

he swore there would be no lobbiest in his administration. he has jam packed it to the brim with lobbyist

* Eric Holder, attorney general nominee, was registered to lobby until 2004 on behalf of clients including Global Crossing, a bankrupt telecommunications firm [now confirmed].

* Tom Vilsack, secretary of agriculture nominee, was registered to lobby as recently as last year on behalf of the National Education Association.

* William Lynn, deputy defense secretary nominee, was registered to lobby as recently as last year for defense contractor Raytheon, where he was a top executive.

* William Corr, deputy health and human services secretary nominee, was registered to lobby until last year for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a non-profit that pushes to limit tobacco use.

* David Hayes, deputy interior secretary nominee, was registered to lobby until 2006 for clients, including the regional utility San Diego Gas & Electric.

* Mark Patterson, chief of staff to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, was registered to lobby as recently as last year for financial giant Goldman Sachs.

* Ron Klain, chief of staff to Vice President Joe Biden, was registered to lobby until 2005 for clients, including the Coalition for Asbestos Resolution, U.S. Airways, Airborne Express and drug-maker ImClone.

* Mona Sutphen, deputy White House chief of staff, was registered to lobby for clients, including Angliss International in 2003.

* Melody Barnes, domestic policy council director, lobbied in 2003 and 2004 for liberal advocacy groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the American Constitution Society and the Center for Reproductive Rights.

* Cecilia Munoz, White House director of intergovernmental affairs, was a lobbyist as recently as last year for the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic advocacy group.

* Patrick Gaspard, White House political affairs director, was a lobbyist for the Service Employees International Union.

* Michael Strautmanis, chief of staff to the president’s assistant for intergovernmental relations, lobbied for the American Association of Justice from 2001 until 2005.

to name a few and the list constantly grows

he vowed to abandon the patriot act that bush signed . he turned around and voted for its reienstament.

and has since done away with the posse comitatis act that has been around since the civil war. it forbids armed military troops policing or streets and naibor hoods and plans to depoly 20000 armed troops into the united states

and he is also building thousands of femma dention camps all around the usa and long term military bases in africa iraq and afganistan.

the bailouts that were only 800 billion dallors has expanded to 9.6 trillion dallors that his admisitration has no clue were it went and has no intentions of finding out.

he said no new taxs but he is preparing to instate over 200 new taxs including the fedral emissions bill. were as your car will be fitted with a GPS tracking unit and you will be taxed by the mile . they will soon be taxing farmers for how much their cows fart. seriously a life stock methane emissions tax

he is preparing and executive order that mandates all US citizens under the age of 65 be scripted into some form of federal service and citizens 18 to 35 under go some form of boot camp training.

he is also trying to drastically alter, modify or abolish the 1st and 2nd amendments

don't take my word for it this stuff is all on the internet from respectable news outlets also two good documentaries to watch is terrorstorm and the obama deception both and be found on google video youtube and netflix

Sakura

[Guest Steven22]

I find that all their jobs are still incomplete, politics is a tug o war between the 2 parties its not efficient but its fair. Incomplete all the way around. As an aside however, being the president is a thankless job.

[Guest Melisiris]

Mccain would have been way worse.

from a european perspective, i think there are some positive things obama has done. He restored a lot of the damage bush had done to the american reputation. Yes we europeans like him. And i notice a change in the perception of the people over here in the perception of americans in general.

It is hard to unlock the 30 year old gridlock that has been in american politics since reagan and it is hard to undo bush's mistakes.

Healthcare...it's a start, a step in the right direction though in my eyes universal healthcare was a better option.(not that it is so much better in dutchieland, very expensive but atleast everyone has access to it, unlike my girl in florida)

i heard there has been a lot passing of new legislation recently, give him some time.

[Sakura]

"i am self editing this post because the post i was replying to was not approved "

once a lobbyist always a lobbyist , the point being is another one of his campaign mantras was NO more lobbyist on capital hill. former or not. i'm sure they made ties in their lobby, that are not severed, simply because they don't do that any more .

and as for the , bloggers, talk radio blow hards, and other liars out there that apparently are your sole source of disinformation.

well, i have to say. i get my disinformation right from the source ........ their lips

and how exactly am i hijacking a thread that has in its title " how you "YOU" grade obama's first 100 days ?" i graded them an f and gave my reason why .

Sakura

[Guest Melisiris]

i think something got deleted?

because i was not picking your grammar or spelling...

[Guest Steven22]

Someone once told me I expect too much from people. Now I expect nothing and sometimes I get it and sometimes I get more.

For a pessimist is never disappointed only proved right or pleasantly surprised.

I will not bore you with a politics lesson as I assume you know how a democratic republic works, to expect a president to complete all campaign promise in the time he says he will do them is unrealistic.

[Sakura]

yeah that wasn't directed to you melisris, a post that didn't make it i guess

unfortunatly though , opinion of obama is much higher in other countries than in the usa its self . he had a 80 % approval rating in the usa at the time he took office. in almost all the polls that have currently taken place it has dropped to under 50% meaning under 50% of the US people disaprove of his job performance. lower than one what bushs was, when he left office

and less than 25 % of people wanted his health reform bill, a couple of my friends have read it, cover to cover , one is a former politician and worked in goverment banking , still does kinda. i guess . it gives empowerment to the Gov and these insurance companies. to decide what treatments we are entitled to . and all us citizens will be requiered by law to carry it

steven . i don't expect much from any one. but from the man that is supposed to lead our nation... can we really afford to be pessimistic with a man that controles the largest and most powerful military force in the world ? a man who he and his secratary of deffence are working out plans to move ICBMs to the borders of russia china korea and iran ? a man that gives power of our economy to a private bank, that has been stated on record by its chairman that it is above the law and even congress and awnseres to no one not even the president?

you don't need to watch this whole clip go to the 7 minute 34 second mark

im not hating on obama for the simple sake of hating on him, he is prolly a really nice guy in real life i mean who couldn't like him. he is handsome charismatic and has a friggin beautiful smile but i don't believe the president or congress has any real power in our goverment any more, and is in the hands of bankers and corporations

there was a plot in the 1930's summer of 1933 i believe. to over throw president rosevelt, and instate their own fascist GOV. the conspiritors of this were . george bush grand father , and the chair men from these companies morgan, du pont, goodyear, maxwell house, heinze. i wont go into the full details you can find more info on google

two speechs, i love one written by thomas jefferson and the other written by our last true president JFK .

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs." Thomas Jefferson

im starting to get off topic so, i will stop here

Sakura

P.S just stating more of my opinion not griping at any one . i respect all opinions its just that im compelled to state my opinions to

[Guest SusanKG]

The comment(s) in question was indeed directed to nothing Melirisis or any other poster said; it was something I said in a post that was rejected, though I am not sure how a rejected post can none-the-less be responded to and quoted. I appologize to Melirisis for the confusion I partly caused. I appologize to the original poster Sakura whom I responded to in the intercepted post inappropriately, in a manner inconsistant with forum rules and common courtesy.

Susan Kay

[Guest Melisiris]

no worries, Susan...

I think the healthcare bill is a start, hopefully obama gets the chance of making it better later in his term, it has been watered down too much.

The wallstreet reform bill also passed recently, that is positive too. Obama and the dems are cracking the republican fillibuster more and more. Thereby finally surpassing the gridlock in place since reagan...a lot of babyboomers thought it was neat to vote in a presidential candidate from one party and then for the senate vote for the other party, that way no one ever got things done with as a result a gap in the healthcare system(too poor to get insurance on your own but too rich for medicare, like my darling in florida experences everyday, she needs a full medical check-up, her health is poor, but as long she lives under the roof of her parents nothing can be done) and a delay of 30 years in the development of a fair social security system.

And where does that fear of socialism in America come from? That is something i have been wondering since i became interested in politics. I'd rather have big government(not that socialism is synonimous with that) than big cooperations in charge, I really hope the influence of cooperations in politics will be decreased as much as possible. A big A for Obama if he could succeed in that.

[Guest SusanKG]

Yes, there have been some real improvements for our citizens (all citizens, not just the richest 1 or 2 percent) in the past 18 months. Unfortunately, there is a way too timid attitude by the administration in fighting back against the right-wing smear and lie machine. This "we all need to get along" posture works only when both sides truely want to get along. The right wing only wants to destroy anyone that doesn't bow down to their facist agenda.

As for the fear of socialism? There has been a long history of commerical tycoons and corporations buying government power to go after organized labor, health and safety regulation, fair practices laws, in fact any action that might possably affect their profits by a dime. They spend billions to ensure the perpetuation of a dog-eat-dog, every man for himself mentality that is accepted by many who never seem to realize they are many times the victims of those very policies and philosophy, being the eaten dog.

Of course I've never seem any evidence that anything in the U.S. Constitution prohibits the adoption of socialist policies and practices. Since all these strict constitutionalists can not justify blind opposition to socialism simply because it is, well, socialism, they gin up scapegoats, false accusations - oh they are good at false accusations; keep making them up, maybe something will stick, and generate as much as hate and discontent against any group or individual not totally in agreement with their position. Progressives need to realize that the right wing has declared was on us, and fight. Leave the negotiating to the State department. Let real freedom ring - for all.

Susan Kay

[Guest Pól]

Susan, I know you've got some very strong views here, and I also know that I don't have a fantastic understanding of American politics from half-paying attention to the news for three years. However, I'd ask you (and the other people on the thread as well) to just try to keep things toned down and respectful-like. Using phrases like "lie machine" and "facist agenda" is only going to get people more upset with what is being said, and that will end up distracting from your discussion anyway.

Let's keep the focus on the political issues here.

Thanks, everyone!

Pól

[Guest KimberlyF]

I bought into the Obama hype back when he was running for the senate here. He was so different. Until he got elected. Then it's was same old same old. He's a typical politician, D or R doesn't matter as they've both divided up the country into little voting blocks that they'll do the min they can for so their block is both not totally PO'ed at them and think they're the better option, but still not give them everything so they have to come back to the polls.

A perfect example of the Obama Presidency just happened. Daniel Choi lost his job because of DADT. Obama is against DADT. He told congress to fix it.

In about half the time it would take him to go on television to give his NCAA tourny picks he could have signed an executive order preventing anyone from being discharged over DADT. It would still be on the books until congress tossed it, just not enforced. There was a conference of lawyers, most in the military that backed this path to overthrow DADT.

Obama did nothing but say there's gridlock and Congress has to act. This is also such an easy piece of legislation, it could have been passed through Congress back when the Dems were veto proof last year.

Oh and the Rs are against abortion, which is why there was that huge bill and fight over it early in Bush's term when they had the House and Senate. No really they are. Unless they decide to switch parties cause 'their party left them'. Then they'll start voting and believing in a whole different set of things.

Toss them all out.

Kar

[Guest Donna Jean]

I used to care passionately about all of this....

But, now, it seems to be just more of the same all of the time....

Now, I'm just trying to get through my own life....

Donna Jean