Obama: Yay or Nay

[ThorHera]

not to mention - he has UPPED those policies - such as Spying. A paranoid Pres, govt.

He has not done ONE good thing FOR the PPL (obamaCare is NOT good), but he surely has done all he could for Big Corps, which of course - the ppl suffer for, as they get richer, we get poorer, (& again - helping to poison the ppl w/Big Pharma, the Big 3 (food: Nestle, etc), the Other Big 3 (chems: Monsanto, Dupont, etc).

and i get tired of hearing the Bush/Obama comparison. SO What - it is pathetic when one cannot stand on its own Merit w/o being compared. But then, when you have a Pres that keeps on blaming others/bush for his hard times (as IF no other pres had to deal w/last admin). Cant blame the LAST admin this term, as he can only blame himself. Also, IF he thinks bush is to blame for all his troubles, HE COULD fix them, but he hasnt, as.... he has extended all of bush's stuff AND ADDED to them.

IF you think ObamaCare is good -then you think Romney is great - cuz Obama copied RomneyCare almost to the Tee (which IS failing badly, and Romney wont take credit for it - as HE POINTS the fingers at the Mass.Dem's for passing it, ha ha).

[HambreEterna]

Isn't it possible that a lot of people are disappointed because they thought Obama was one of those rare people that was incorruptible (see President Jose Mujica for an example, or the people of Iceland that jailed the bankers during the financial crisis), and instead it turned out that he was just another part of the establishment?

[shockkkk]

Isn't it possible that a lot of people are disappointed because they thought Obama was one of those rare people that was incorruptible (see President Jose Mujica for an example, or the people of Iceland that jailed the bankers during the financial crisis), and instead it turned out that he was just another part of the establishment?

Lol, jailing the bankers is not exactly what I would associate with being incorruptible. In fact, it's the exact opposite really.

[IriClowd]

I think that there is a fair amount of negative sentiment towards our leaders in general, and unfortunately if you don't watch C-SPAN(the most boring form of media created to date) regularly, it can be somewhat difficult for the people to associate a face with the troubles they encounter with the governement/administration currently making the rules. Lets be realistic here, the president is the most publicized political figure in the US and association with our country's problems is almost guaranteed, regardless of the fact that obama, aside from the executive orders(a privilege he has abused more than any other president to date) can't really deliver on anything he says without the help of constituents in the other branches. Did he inherit a shitstorm of economic and military issues? Yes. Did he promise to fix them? Yes. Was he afforded the appropriate atmosphere and bipartisan congress to do so? No. In my opinion, obama is most likely the only president who should be removed from the "good/bad" scale we tend to apply to our politicians, because realistically, he has essentially been a charismatic placeholder and nothing more. If you give a handcuffed man a shovel and dirt, and tell him "fix this hole", but refuse to remove his bonds, the probability that he will accomplish anything, good or bad, is slim to none. Was he a "better" option than McCain or Romney? I'm not sure, as they may have faced the exact same roadblocks Obama has. In my personal opinion they all serve the same masters anyway.

[oneofthesun]

All politicians are just out for themselves; before he got into office, Obama was just better at hiding that than most. Sometimes I wonder if Romney wouldn't have been better for the simple reason that he's totally transparent. He says or does whatever he thinks will benefit him the most at the time. Obama is smart enough to be sneaky about his real goals.

Besides that, though, it took Obama five years to figure out that trying to compromise with the GOP is useless. He's a pushover.

[thylacine]

In general, I think the President is trying his best even though "certain parties" have done their own best to block everything he tries to do. While I don't agree with everything he says or does, I believe that "Obamacare" is better that "no care" in this country. It is not perfect, but if it helps lower income people get medical coverage, then fine. Remember that this was copied from "Romneycare" in the first place. The imperfections will have to be fixed. While he did not start a war over weapons of mass destruction that may or may not exist, I do wish he would close down Guantanamo Bay one of these days...

Also, I am pretty sick of all the nutjob conspiracy theories out there -- that he is "not American" (you can just read this as "not white American"), that he is a "secret Muslim" (you can read this as "terrorist"), that he is a "Communist," on and on and freaking on... man, a black guy in the White House sure does bring out the nuts in this country. They have even said he is a "CIA creation" and that he has an "alien body guard." And oh, yeah, he's coming for your guns! And all this free birth control is a plot to "kill white babies," isn't it?

[.........................]

I don't like him, because he is bombing brown and black people, and jailing and torturing them without cause. Well, not him personally, but you get what I mean. lol

[Xenopsyche]

From what I've seen of past presidents (and leaders in most other countries to be fair), people rarely speak well of them until several years after they've finished their term in office. It's a form of the grass is always greener syndrome. My hunch is that Obama will be looked back on as a pretty decent president.

I'll never understand why so many of you are against social healthcare though, the NHS is freaking awesome. From my point of view it's like Obama is offering you Blu-ray and you're fighting to keep your Betamax.

[IriClowd]

From what I've seen of past presidents (and leaders in most other countries to be fair), people rarely speak well of them until several years after they've finished their term in office. It's a form of the grass is always greener syndrome. My hunch is that Obama will be looked back on as a pretty decent president.

I'll never understand why so many of you are against social healthcare though, the NHS is freaking awesome. From my point of view it's like Obama is offering you Blu-ray and you're fighting to keep your Betamax.

The main issue with obamacare is that it is 700+ pages of earmarked taxpayers dollars, and about less than 100 pages of actual policy and reform, and to this day most of our politicians and the people have absolutely no idea as to what is actually going to be changed by the law. Its very opaque in scope and structure and its making alot of people nervous.

[Xenopsyche]

The main issue with obamacare is that it is 700+ pages of earmarked taxpayers dollars, and about less than 100 pages of actual policy and reform, and to this day most of our politicians and the people have absolutely no idea as to what is actually going to be changed by the law. Its very opaque in scope and structure and its making alot of people nervous.

Lol, sounds about right. Trust politicians to vague up the simplest of concepts.

[Guest]

From what I've seen of past presidents (and leaders in most other countries to be fair), people rarely speak well of them until several years after they've finished their term in office. It's a form of the grass is always greener syndrome. My hunch is that Obama will be looked back on as a pretty decent president.

I'll never understand why so many of you are against social healthcare though, the NHS is freaking awesome. From my point of view it's like Obama is offering you Blu-ray and you're fighting to keep your Betamax.

My hunch is that pushing through "Obamacare" against all Republican jerkassery will be considered the main saving grace of an otherwise disappointingly average president.

Let's face it, it's no accomplishment to be a better prez than Ol' Dubbleyoo. The lack of stark contrast between the background of that mess (worst president at least since Nixon, and yeah, possibly of all time) and the "huge hopes, but precious little net effect" of Obama's presidency... to me, it's very sad and sobering, and cannot be completely chalked up to the idiotic stunts of Tea Party hardheads opposing him every step of the way, even though that is a real problem (which I hope will eventually lead to the Republicans' political suicide in their current form).

[ThaHoward]

I think he's a below average president.

At least in my social circle, whenever someone criticizes him his supporters rush to defend him claiming he's better than Bush. Having said that, its pretty bad when you're greatest accomplishment after five years in office is that your not George Bush.

And then you compare him and Bush. Oh yeah, Obama have been better at Bush. Better than him since he extended his policies.

Right... because everything Obama has done in office is to extend Bush's policies.

Never said that, but his policies even worsen the recession, he's in bed with big corporations, WAY more aggressive foreign policy, he wanted to renegotiate budh had made with Iraq, since Obama wanted to be their longer. Oh and it is this new act that is way worse than patriot act. And all the while the anti-war left disapperead. He's is by far one of the worst presidents, and the most hypocritical.

[ThorHera]

I'll never understand why so many of you are against social healthcare though, the NHS is freaking awesome. From my point of view it's like Obama is offering you Blu-ray and you're fighting to keep your Betamax.

ObamaCare is NOT social healthcare - it is FORCING the ppl to PURCHASE health insurance - which is fine, IF you can afford it. Yes, it is subsidized, except BY the sliderule and the subsidy is UP TO 30% discount. The reason ppl DONT have insur is cuz they CANT afford it. The govt is basically saying - yes you can. My g/f has 3 kids, a husb - they both work. For a family plan (cheap, the bronze) they will somehow have to come up with 14 grand (IF they had that much money, they would have bought a decent car, not a clunker) AFTER the DISCOUNT, and that is BEFORE the $3,000 DEDUCTIBLE (for a total of ..... 17 grand). and ..... NOT all medications are included in THAT plan. So.... WHO is this helping? It is helping make those ON THE FRINGE of poverty INTO poverty.

My mother, who is 80 some yrs, also HAS TO PURCHASE health insur (& she is on medicare). Her health insur is taking $175 per month, and again, does NOT include all medications. HOW is she, who is on a fixed, SocSecur income, suppose to come up w/HER SHARE (the 175, after the discount). Especially since they/govt has also reduced the inflation rate of her SocSecur/medicare (on the fixed income)?

- - - - - - - ________ - - - - -

Believe me, i will never think Obama is/was a good president. A good president would be able to TALK to, Convince Congress, negotiate etc - and he is worthless at that (worse than any pres thus far during my life - all others were able to make deals, negotiate). Big Talk - NO action. WHAT exactly IS good about him? As i said, he has done nothing for ME (or many), except make life harder, more depressing.

[Xenopsyche]

I'll never understand why so many of you are against social healthcare though, the NHS is freaking awesome. From my point of view it's like Obama is offering you Blu-ray and you're fighting to keep your Betamax.

ObamaCare is NOT social healthcare - it is FORCING the ppl to PURCHASE health insurance - which is fine, IF you can afford it. Yes, it is subsidized, except BY the sliderule and the subsidy is UP TO 30% discount. The reason ppl DONT have insur is cuz they CANT afford it. The govt is basically saying - yes you can. My g/f has 3 kids, a husb - they both work. For a family plan (cheap, the bronze) they will somehow have to come up with 14 grand (IF they had that much money, they would have bought a decent car, not a clunker) AFTER the DISCOUNT, and that is BEFORE the $3,000 DEDUCTIBLE (for a total of ..... 17 grand). and ..... NOT all medications are included in THAT plan. So.... WHO is this helping? It is helping make those ON THE FRINGE of poverty INTO poverty.

My mother, who is 80 some yrs, also HAS TO PURCHASE health insur (& she is on medicare). Her health insur is taking $175 per month, and again, does NOT include all medications. HOW is she, who is on a fixed, SocSecur income, suppose to come up w/HER SHARE (the 175, after the discount). Especially since they/govt has also reduced the inflation rate of her SocSecur/medicare (on the fixed income)?

It sounds similar, in that everyone pays what's called National Insurance on a sliding scale relative to what they earn. $14,000 does sound a bit mad though. How much of their combined earnings would that represent?

[Texace 12]

Hands down worst president ever with current approval ratings heading that direction as well. I voted for him in 2004 because I was sick of the war mongering ways of GWB, and was interested in change for this country. All I've seen him do (wait, let me clarify for some people who say, "Oh, it's just one man, he can't do that all by himself.") ALL I've seen him do is fork over money to big corporations (the bailout), increase welfare programs and entitlements for undeserving people (yeah, some people truly need it, but a system has been created where you can make more money on welfare than advancing yourself in society, so it is getting abused), and placing us technologically behind where we were in the 1960s with the cancellation of our space program. As a country, we had more hope for the future back when JFK was president and the excitement of the great space race. Heck, even in Bush's administration, he promised we'd have a man on Mars by 2018!! Don't get me started on Obamacare; I work a minimum wage job and my health insurance would have doubled, but I declined service for 2014.

So in 2008, I voted for Romney, seeing HIM as the lesser of two evils. I'm sure he'd have broken his promises too as they all do, but I was sick of Obama's games. Now, I consider myself mostly Libertarian with some Green Party environmental views as well as... I'm not sure what it falls under but I favor scientific advances using embryos and T-cells, etc. (something GWB adamantly opposed). But look at where we are today! The poor are getting poorer, the rich are getting richer, I don't know HOW this healthcare thing is gonna play out, and space exploration (which is important to ME, I dunno about others) is dead. We have to hitch a ride with the Russians, for Pete's sake! (Nothing against Russians. Love the language and the culture, and especially this ushanka I just ordered! :D ) Bottom line, we were further along, technologically speaking, in the 1960s than we are approaching 2014 (Save for a few iGadgets). There was hope for the future in the 1960s. The outlook for the future today looks bleak.

Bottom line, we have to stop voting for the lesser of two evils. I did that. I should have voted for Johnson. This antiquated republican and democrat system is killing our country. I'm going to be voting for who I truly think is the best candidate for the job from now on, even if they have a snowball's chance in hell!

[5_♦♣]

Uh, FYI: It was Kerry vs Bush in 2004.

[Texace 12]

Oh snap. I just woke up. Anywhere I put 2004, put 2008, and anywhere I put 2008 put 2012.

[oneofthesun]

From what I've seen of past presidents (and leaders in most other countries to be fair), people rarely speak well of them until several years after they've finished their term in office. It's a form of the grass is always greener syndrome. My hunch is that Obama will be looked back on as a pretty decent president.

I'll never understand why so many of you are against social healthcare though, the NHS is freaking awesome. From my point of view it's like Obama is offering you Blu-ray and you're fighting to keep your Betamax.

Obamacare isn't really socialized medicine though. It's an example of what I meant by trying to keep Republicans happy by compromising.

[runester]

A "Yay" from me because I believe he is a good man, with a fine immediate family and he's a Democrat.

[Shaggy]

"There are too many leaders who claim solidarity
with Mandela's struggle for freedom,
but do not tolerate dissent from their own people."

​Barack Obama ... December 10, 2013

Americans In Prison ... Chelsea Manning, John Kiriakou ...
Americans Persecuted ... Edward Snowden, Thomas Drake, ...

Obama's homilies are invariable well delivered, he "talks the talk",
but he doesn't always "Walk the Walk".

[Satan]

i kinda want hillary clinton to become president

[Red Sun Rises]

I'm a libertarian - fiscally conservative, socially liberal (although I myself am not really all that liberal - I just believe in the rights of the individual). I was behind Ron Paul all the way.

Bleh, I don't like the President's policies, but I also realize that this isn't a one man show. I think he has a great personality, and I love his relationship with his family (rather, what I have seen of his relationship), but he's not cut out to be the POTUS.

[Braydin]

Nay but only because he is a politician and I have a warped view of the world. We don't all have to farm or starve to death or travel days to participate in a civic society, the political system is centuries outa date and I don't believe we "need" representatives.

[Sally]

Obamacare isn't really socialized medicine though. It's an example of what I meant by trying to keep Republicans happy by compromising.

Obama wasn't trying to keep the Republicans happy; he was simply trying to get the legislation through a divided Congress and into law. That was done through compromise (as it always is).

[Lies_As_Lau]

Obama was a better choice than Romney, in my opinion. But in the end, he's still a politician

[MoraDollie]

Obama has really helped the LGBT+ social cause in america. Besides that, I'm really not that much of a fan of him. He's also helped move our troops out of the Middle East.

My parents considered switching me over to Obamacare (strictly for my birth control), but overall, they saw the plan would actually make them pay more, than the insurance I'm currently on (Blue cross blue shield). As a lot of people say "I don't want free health care, I want affordable care". If Obamacare was forced on everyone, taxes would likely go up in an effort to pay for it :/ Our country was founded on hatred for taxes xD

[ThaHoward]

Fun fact: USA had to go out of Iraq because of the deal Bush bad with Iraq. Obama tried to renegoatiate to make them stay longer in Iraq. Also he have a very aggressive of drones, missiles and special forces in allied and neutral countries in the middle east. 300% or something more tham Bush.

[MoraDollie]

He's taken out a large chunk out of troops because at least 80% of Americans are opposed to the war.

[ThaHoward]

How do you explain that it was the deal between the last government and the one in Iraq that got them out? And that Obama tried to let stay there longer?

[AshenPhoenix]

How do you explain that it was the deal between the last government and the one in Iraq that got them out? And that Obama tried to let stay there longer?

Can we have a link as to where you got the info?