President Obama said if he became President - that he would be the President not of blue states or red states, but that of the United States. As we draw our political lines in the sand, step back and look at what this man is faced with, how he has handled the big issues we face, the Congress he has had to work with and the results.
Let's take a look at just what this President has done in only two years.
- Stopped an economic free-fall.
As President Obama took office, the country was in a economic nose dive. Former President Bush, to his credit had worked with the President elect to craft TARP. While not the best tasting medicine, it stopped a depression. Did it make bankers rich....yes - but have you ever borrowed money from a poor person?
- Aiding the US Auto Industry
LIke the banks, our auto industry was on the brink of failure - and along with the Big three would have went thousands of supporting industry business. They fast-tracked bankruptcy - preserved the pension funds and halted investor recourse. The results are that the big three are thriving once again.
- Health Insurance Reform
I've been a critic of this, but if I step back and look at it - for 30 years politicians have talked about doing something - well, Obama did something. Is it perfect? No. Might we be better off with nothing? We don't know yet but we do know that it mandates certain types of coverage for children, pre-existing conditions etc. It's a starting point that hopefully will be improved upon.
- Credit card reforms / Wall Street reforms
Both are consumer oriented and will end a lot of the nonesense and bring some confidence back into investing. But these reforms just don't take place with the snap of fingers.
- Iraq
Sure we still have a force there, but there are still troops in Europe and everywhere else in the world. Combat is over. The country has their opportunity.
- Afghanistan
Through his entire campaign - he said the focus should be in Afghanistan - progressives supported him and now we're pissed over Afghanistan. We're not pulling out, we're not letting the Taliban back and we're going to be there a long time. If you didn't like this, then you shouldn't have votred for him. Fact is, he's putting resources into fighting terrorism where we argued Bush should have.
- CO2
The EPA under Obama now regulates CO2.
I understand the frustration but I don't understand how extending the Bush Tax Cuts for the rich is such a Waterloo moment. The President could not play politics with the majority of Americans (even if the Repugs and the Dems wanted to). Tax tables need to be printed, all this should have been taken care of months ago...it's December 7th - payroll managers had no idea what to do for FY2011 withholdings.
I agree that people expect politicians get things done and not play politics. President Obama has put himself beyond the Tea Partiers, the GOP and his own base. Why? Becasue he is ther President of all people - like it or not.
He is the President for those who will never vote for him. I am proud that I did vote for him becasue he is human enough, smart enough and compassionate enough to realize that he has to do what best for everyone, not just a few.
Getting UE extension is a big deal. Keeping tax rates low for the other 98% of people is a big deal.
Barack Obama is our President and he's my President. I think he has done a pretty good job considering the times. He isn't perfect but no one is.
Critisism is fair - and as citizens, we should be critcal. ALl I ask is that you be fair in your analysis of what he has done overall and not get caught in the negative wave of momentum against this man.
Judge fairly.
Thank you for reading.