Originally posted by Time-Immemorial
JFK, RIP
I do like him, I think the problem is he never got a chance to really shine. I think he could of potentially done some great things, he wanted to change things..perhaps to a naive degree, but it was nice to see.
It is also unfortunate about RFK as well, I have a lot of respect for Bobby and I actually think he was the more intelligent of the two.
LBJ was pretty awesome on civil rights, so he's up there.
Originally posted by Raisen
Can someone please list what they like about president Obama and what they don't like
What I like is a... loooong list.
Here's an article going through stuff he's done with little fanfare
"record aid to the vulnerable that directly boosted 13 million Americans out of poverty; record aid to states that averted 300,000 teacher layoffs; hard-hat projects that upgraded 42,000 miles of road, 2,700 bridges and 6,000 miles of rail;"
"But with little fanfare, the stimulus also poured cash into Obama’s long-term agenda for reshaping the country. It transformed the U.S. clean-energy sector, blasting an astonishing $90 billion into renewables and other long-neglected green priorities, while birthing a new research agency called ARPA-E." Carbon emissions have dropped even while the economy grows.
"I was aware that Obama was doubling fuel-efficiency standards for cars, and I even knew he was pushing a flurry of lower-profile efficiency mandates for appliances. But I had no clue that just one of those rules, for commercial air conditioners, will singlehandedly reduce U.S. energy use by 1 percent."
"The deficit has shrunk by nearly $1 trillion, and Medicare’s long-term solvency has been extended by 13 years. The resuscitated auto industry produced 11 million vehicles in 2014.""A stark example from the stimulus was Making Work Pay, an $800 tax cut for most workers. His economists wanted to dribble out the cash to recipients a few dollars a week in their paychecks, because studies showed they would be less likely to spend the windfall if they realized they were getting it. His political advisers argued that it would be insanity to conceal middle-class tax cuts rather than send Americans fat envelopes with Obama’s name on them. But Obama sided with his policy team, and later surveys showed that less than 10 percent of the public had any clue he had cut their taxes."
In tax cuts and other policies, he aimed for effectiveness over popularity.
"already extended medical coverage to some 18 million uninsured Americans.""And so far, the cost curve is bending even faster than White House officials had dreamed. Health care is still getting more expensive, but since 2010, the growth rate has slowed so drastically that the Congressional Budget Office has slashed its projection for government health spending in 2020 by $175 billion."
175 billion!
"One recent report found that infections and other “hospital-acquired conditions” have declined 17 percent since 2010, when Obamacare created financial incentives for hospitals to avoid them."
And that's not at all a complete list even of stuff in the article, which doesn't cover the basics like 'cut our unemployment in half and helped prevent a second great depression'. Obama's policies have done us a heck of a lot of good, most of it in direct, numerical, I can point to and definitely say it helped it's not just a matter of opinion sense.
Lesse, what I don't like... drones, spying, and handling of whistle blowers.
Originally posted by kevdude
Yes, I know that. If the Western Allies pushed they could have forced the Soviets to their demands. They would have been digging their own graves messing with the west who has nuclear weapons. Roosevelt's appeasement though and our leaders caring about life is what stopped it from escalating. Without the western aid the Soviets received, Germany would have over run them.
Lend lease certainly helped the Soviets, especially early on, but I think there are much larger factors to explain why Germany didn't conquer the Soviet Union, the biggest being that a sizable part of the Soviet Army (and many of its best generals) weren't in the European theater in 1941, and it was their arrival from Siberia that started turning the tide after the initial German advance stalled.
Originally posted by Omega Vision
Just how many ready-to-deploy nuclear weapons do you assume the Americans had near the end of the war? The Soviet Union was easily the most powerful Allied Army on the European continent, and Stalin was quite firm on making Eastern Europe part of his sphere. America would have never been willing to pay the price of containing Soviet empire building in 1945, so acting like FDR is some kind of horrible shill for making a deal with Stalin is disingenuous to say the least.Lend lease certainly helped the Soviets, especially early on, but I think there are much larger factors to explain why Germany didn't conquer the Soviet Union, the biggest being that a sizable part of the Soviet Army (and many of its best generals) weren't in the European theater in 1941, and it was their arrival from Siberia that started turning the tide after the initial German advance stalled.
Well Major Leslie Groves expected to have another atomic bomb ready for use on August 19, with three more in September and a further three in October. I already did admit America didn't want to pay the price to forcible retake eastern Europe. My problem with him is that he didn't try anything to stop it before Stalin's forces had a chance to get to take eastern Europe. Churchill was warning of him, the Poles was warning of him, and still FDR kept living in his fantasy world, Stalin's this trustworthy guy.
He even re-established diplomatic relations with the USSR, Stalin having promised not to spy on the US but did it anyway. Germany could have possibly overwhelmed Russia if it was not for Italy attacking Greece and making Germany shift resources away from Operation Barbarossa.
Originally posted by Lord Lucien
I love judging the decisions of historical figures through a 20/20 hindsight lens. It just feels so fair, and accurate, and understanding, ya know?
Considering FDR had enough knowledge to know Stalin and Soviet Russia wasn't to be trusted, look what they did to Poland in the 1919-1921 war. It should have been crystal clear. Its okay though him and Stalin was buddies. 🤪
Originally posted by Stigma
Obama belongs to the worst presidents ever list. Not sure why people mention him here lol.Clinton was mediocre (not factoring him being a chauvinist), so was W. Bush.
Good ones were FDR and Reagan.
And I hahe a soft spot for Teddy Roosevelt.
what makes obama one of the worst