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Will Obama Lead to the Downfall of the United States?
Will Obama Lead to the Downfall of the United States? LadyLeo1949 had an interesting graphic which she posted yesterday at [post 3540354] in which she asked people to comment. This is my response there to a comment which was made stating that the current regime would be the downfall of this country. Back in November, 2006, I posted Why George W Bush Is the Worst President We Ever Had in my blog. In my blog, I said, "that it will take us decades to clean up the mess he left behind." I explained exactly why I felt that way then. I still feel that way now. That graphic you posted Lady Leo is COMPLETELY accurate! When Barack Obama became president in January, 2009, the economy was facing its worse crisis since the Great Depression. It was on the verge of total collapse, with at least a half million people having lost their jobs over each of the last four months of the Bush administration, with that figure being over 600,000 jobs lost in each of the last three months before Bush left office. When the latest unemployment figures were announced last week, 321,000 jobs were added in November, with over 2.73 million jobs added in the past 12 months. November was also the 50th straight month of positive jobs growth, the longest such period since 1939. Obama also inherited the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The war in Afghanistan was justified, as the Taliban had been harboring bin Laden and al Qaida, who were responsible for the 9/11 attacks on the US. The war in Iraq was not. Bush's claims that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction and was aligned with bin Laden were total fabricated Bushshit. Yes, Obama did oversee the withdrawal of our combat troops from Iraq. That withdrawal however, was done because the Iraqi government wanted our troops withdrawn and it was done by the terms of an agreement signed by the Iraqi government and George W. Bush in the last days before he left office. Bush was also totally irresponsible when he used the national credit card to pay for the two wars, for his huge tax breaks for the wealthy, for Medicare expansion and a number of other things in the course of his presidency. It got to the point where Bush's last budget ran a deficit of some $1.4 trillion. Obama has overseen the largest deficit reduction since the end of World War II. The deficit has been reduced by about $800 billion since Obama took office. Over $400 billion of that has been in the past year, in large part due to the savings for health care costs arising from Obamacare. The United States is probably more polarized now than at any time since the Civil War. Part of this is the fault of Obama and the Democrats, but I feel that a much larger share of the blame for the political paralysis we are suffering through has to fall on the shoulders and heads of the Republicans in Congress. When Obama first took office, Republican congressional leaders met and consciously decided that they would not cooperate with Obama on ANYTHING so that Obama would appear to be ineffective as a leader and to try to ensure that he would be a one term president. It got so bad that on several issues, when Obama had endorsed Republican sponsored proposals, the Republicans who had sponsored the bills renounced their support and opposed them just so that Obama would not get any credit for them. There are many things with which I disagree with Obama. His endorsement of a continuation of the so-called Patriot Act continues the erosion of the Bill of Rights which has been going on for a long time under presidents of both parties. His use of the NSA is a direct assault on the 1st and 4th Amendments. His failure to criminally prosecute the bankers responsible for the financial meltdown in 2007 and 2008 allowed the guilty ones to again hold us hostage to their risky ventures to the point where another collapse is quite possible. There are a number of others, but this comment is already too long as it is. I don't feel that this regime is going to be the downfall of this country. I think that what is going to be the downfall of the country will be the polarization, which has caused the gridlock and paralysis in Washington. Because of this, the serious issues facing our country are not being addressed, to the detriment of all of us. THAT is what will lead to the downfall of this country. I welcome any comments you may have. Please try to keep things civil without any name calling or personal attacks. I have found that the first side in a debate to resort to personal attacks is normally the side with the weaker arguments. |
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Interesting post. As an outsider, I like Obama's presidency. I think he handled the financial crisis quite well and his foreign policy is far more nuanced than his predecessor's war (sorry foreign) policy. He has also introduced health care reform, albeit limited. I think George W Bush and his neo-cons totally mishandled the so-called war on terror. I fully appreciate that Americans see their Presidents different than outsiders.
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Would the "DOWNFALL OF AMERICA!!!" be such a bad thing? I've had family members shedding their blood in this country's wars going back over three hundred and twenty five years. Sometimes there were trying to make it a better place- the "shining monument to humanity" that Hunter Thompson wrote about. Sometimes not so much. Patriotism can be a fine thing, but let's try to get a grip. We should all take a few minutes to go read "Ozymandias" to try to get a little perspective. Hyperbole about road taxes and animal control may be politics as usual in America but it's still hyperbole, i.e. exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally, and it's taken on an extra-hysterical tone lately. We've had a chance to make a nation that was different and special here. But we aren't the only people who ever tried that, and we aren't God's Special Chosen Children. I think America needs to get out of the house once in a while and meet some new people, do some new things and get over herself. Really. it wouldn't do her any harm to have a makeover either, and do something different with her hair. Enough of this "mirror, mirror on the wall" shit. I'm proud of my ancestors' attempts to build something good here. If it doesn't work we can dust off our hands and try again. The notion that Barack Obama will be the downfall of this country is too fucking ludicrous to take seriously. We will ruin it ourselves. Become a member now and get a free tote bag.
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