Many people think Obama is the worst president in recent US History.
The angry reasons, which are coming from both the left and right, can include one or more of the following:
1. He panders too much to the conservatives.
2. He pushes too much leftist agendas.
3. He's the biggest presidential liar in recent history (some claim all of US History).
4. He is the harshest president on immigration in history despite him paying lip-service to the Hispanic community to get their votes in 2008 and 2012.
5. He's a war-monger president that directly lied about his anti-war positions during the 2008 election.
6. He's corrupt because he supports the unconstitutional detention of "enemy combatants."
7. He's the worst presidential spender in US History.
8. He supported or turned a blind eye to the corrupt handling of the bailout money.
9. Produced/approved substandard healthcare reform that did not meet with his campaign promises.
10. Sanctioned war-crime torture.
11. He supported and expanded the spying that Bush started: NSA. He lied about what he would do about this and, instead, went the exact opposite direction.
12. Has continued to support the slaughter of innocent people in our various wars that he promised to end: drone strikes.
Those are just reasons I hear and read from others: they are not necessarily my positions. I'll address each one in a separate post.
Did I miss a few of the talking points? Please, don't limit yourself to one side or the other (regardless of which side you feel you fall on).
Please contribute more. Dispute these points and future points. Agree with and/or support the points. Whatever! This thread is intended to discuss Obama's 2 terms and whether or not you think he is really the worst US President in modern History.
1. I can see how some leftists would believe something like this. We only need to turn to Affordable Healthcare Act for an example of him pandering to the conservatives (he neutered what could have been his biggest and longest lasting legacy as US President). So, yes, I can see how this functions as him appeasing conservatives.
2. This seemingly contradicts #1. I can see how it contradicts 1 and I can also see how it applies. I believe it is best represented with individual situations instead of making blanket statements like this. Sometimes, he panders to the left, sometimes, to the right. That's kind of what you'd expect a president to do.
3. This may be true. This may be true because of the information age and how it immortalizes everything you say. But I think part of the problem is he is broken so many promises that of course people are going to call him a liar. I feel that this criticism is coming more from the left.
4. This is a fact. This talking point is not disputable from either side.
5. I can see this criticism. In fact, this is one of my direct criticisms of Obama's presidency. He made big promises about our global wars and not only did he not stop them, he expanded our military conflicts. I do not see how anyone can dispute this talking about and be taken seriously. He won the Nobel Peace Prize...laughable. I bet you guys are regretting giving him that Peace Prize, eh?
6. This criticism is also true. Gitmo is probably one of the most shameful and obviously corrupt things we do as a country.
7. While this may be factually correct, there are mitigating factors that have contributed to Obama's atrocious spending record.
Obviously, now things are leaning a bit more towards the Forbes article than the recordpub article as spending has continued as a blistering pace under the Obama administration. I'd say that my position falls somewhere along the lines of "Obama directly lied about fixing the deficit" and "Obama is a corrupt president that said anything to get elected and impeachment proceedings should be undertaken."
I don't think he should be impeached but I think he lied so much, just to get votes, that he's pretty much not credible in the slightest, anymore.
8. This is partially true. Maybe he didn't implement the greatest oversight? See #1 and #2 for why both sides can argue it was to support the other (which I have seen). I think the truth is closer to incompetence than it is corruption.
9. This is partially true. It was the GOP's fault for butchering the ACA but it is also Obama's fault for not being a stronger president to get the healthcare reforms the US needed, wanted, and Obama promised. The blame is on both sides for this one.
10. Well, yeah, he kind of did/does because he is commander in chief and there's really no way he doesn't know what goes on. In fact, the is direct evidence that he's covering up some of the torture:
So I average 8.5 out of 12 (with some only counting as half) on that 12 point (as far as whether or not I agree with the points). I probably have a worse score with that list because I have complaints from the fiscal right and the social policies left. So I will tend to be harsher on Obama than others.
he is not a bad pres.. the whole country is corrupt... why have two partys when it doesnt take common sense to see you need to help ppl and save the planet by all means... its really that simple...
From the outside it looks like he's had the legs cut out from under him at every turn. Any kind of genuine reform is opposed by republicans not on the basis that it's bad policy but because it's proposed by a democrat. Or that it would hit the lobbyists who pay congress and senate members campaigns. You end up with a president who can pass no legislation without compromise that makes it ineffectual. So i don't think he's wilfully bad. Just completely unable to do what he set out to.
Gender: Male Location: Southern Oregon,
Looking at you.
This is exactly what happened to Bush. The Republicans do it to the Demarcates, and then the Demarcates do it to the Republicans. Then they start over!
Not that comparable, the Dems let Bush do a lot, too much some would say. Remember all the jabs on how jellyfish the Dem party was when it came to dealing with Bush?
I think he's better than what we've had in the last 8 years
I think he's better than the 8 years we would have had with McCain and the ignoramus Palin, who now (McCain) wants to go to war with Russia
I think he should have kept more of his campaign promises
I think he should be a bit less moderate and a bit more left-side, cos that's what he was voted in for
I think his blackness painted a target on his head that the Rep/Conserv machine couldn't resist in making sure he comes off as an utterly complete failure
Gender: Male Location: 4th Street Underpass, Manhattan
Bush started a war based on lies and conducted it without any effective opposition. Obama was getting criticized for wanting to send small numbers of troops on observation missions. They definitely did not receive the same treatment from the opposing party during their terms.
Bush: he was elected and people knew he would do war-stuff because he epitomized the "guns, Jesus, and 'merica" GOP candidate, to the max.
Obama: on the other hand, he ran for president under the auspice that he would be a peace maker, end the wars, and bring the US into better relations with the world. His message was so well-received and loved by the world that it won him a Nobel prize.
Guess what? Under Obama, the US has expanded its war efforts.
Both Bush and Obama are liars. But you can add a "ginormous ****ing hypocrite" to Obama's resume. I don't care that Obama would have been fought with his peacemaking policies. If he would have stood by his promise about military stuff, he'd be more respected, imo.
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This thread is intended to discuss Obama's 2 terms and whether or not you think he is really the worst US President in modern History.
Jul 28th, 2014 03:38 AM
