President Obama has flaws

[ProSense]

Presidents have flaws, but in the face of the worst economic disaster in more than 70 years, having inherited two wars, and despite an increasingly volatile political climate, President Obama is rising to the occasion to become one of the country's most effective leaders.

He withdrew 100,000 troops from Iraq and ending the occupation is in progress:

- In June 2009, U.S. Forces occupied 357 bases. U.S. Forces currently occupy 121 bases, and are expected to reduce that number to 94 bases by the end of August.

link

In Iraq, Biden Reaffirms Deadline for Troops’ Exit

He add troops to Afghanistan, which is what he said he would do, but he has also announced the withdrawal will begin in summer of this year.

Obama Plans $42 Billion Cut in War Costs With Iraq, Afghan Troop Reduction

The Obama administration’s plan to reduce the number of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan will cut the Pentagon’s war budget by $42 billion -- a 26 percent decrease from this year’s level, according to government officials.

The proposed $117 billion for fiscal year 2012, which begins Oct. 1, would be the lowest expenditure for the wars since fiscal 2005.

<...>

The Pentagon today has roughly 97,000 troops in Afghanistan and 47,000 in Iraq. The 144,000 total is the lowest since July 2006, when the U.S. had about 148,100 deployed, according to military data compiled by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. U.S. troops are scheduled to leave Iraq by the end of this year.

The war-spending number is the smallest since Congress approved $102.6 billion in fiscal 2005, said Amy Belasco, war cost analyst at CRS.

<...>

President Obama promised to close Guantanamo, and he is still trying to do so, but not everything goes according to plan: President Obama Correctly Rebukes Congressional Attempt To Hinder Transfer Of Guantánamo Detainees To U.S.

In addition to ending the wars and reversing Bush policies, the President's biggest challenge is going to be creating enough jobs to reverse the huge job losses of the recession.

President Obama will make mistakes, but his missteps do not detract from his efforts or his character.




edited typo

[hedgehog]

1. All during the primary and election campaign, Obama supporters were accused of

thinking he was the Messiah. Now, he is criticized from the Left and Right because he isn't the Messiah!

[Bluenorthwest]

3. Actually I criticized Obama supporters during the primary for

defending and rationalizing the introduction of hate preachers who accuse gay people of horrific crimes and call for war against us into the mainstream of the Democratic Party. I continue to criticize him for being opposed to the equal rights of my community, for his dogmatic prejudice towards millions of people.

[hedgehog]

6. And we should continue holding his feet to the fire over that issue!

Obama isn't perfect, but I think on most issues he's a hell of a lot better than any of the alternatives on offer.

We could sit in a corner and wait for a Messiah, or we can do the best we can with what we have.

[Name removed]

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[barbiegeek]

23. +100,000

[Andy823]

2. Excellent post!

Nobody is perfect, yet I see more and more " bashing" going on around here of the president, and talk of finding someone to run against him in the primaries, and to me that just plain insane! He is by far better than "ANY" republican, and having a primary fight will only help republicans, not democrats!

He has one hell of a task ahead of him, and it won't be easy.

[ProSense]

20. Thanks

and kick. :)

[barbiegeek]

24. It's like they want a Republican in office versus the reality of how

hard it is to get anything in D.C. done. The fact we got anything at all amazes me. The power the richest 1% have is amazing. They plunder this country & our people and still somehow manage to Dems against each other.

[Armstead]

4. In case you missed it....

This is a response I posted a short while ago. I think it bears repeating, because not all criticism is really about just Obama and his merits or flaws as a human being.

If more of us had pushed back at Presdient Clinton when he was pushing some bad stuff at the time, we would not now be stuck with the results.

If Clinton had been pressed harder to incorporate real reform into Telecom Deregulation Act in the 1990's, we would not now have a handful of right wing corporations owning almost all of the nations radio and TV stations.

If Clinton had been forced to pursue Fair Trade policies instead of the rightwing corporate scam of "free trade" our economy would be a lot sounder today, and the working and middle class would be in a lot better shape in terms of employment and living standards.

If Clinton's feet had been held to the fire when he was deregulating the financial industry, we would probably not have seen the rise of "too big to fail" bank/Wall St. Monopolies -- and we would have likely have avoided the recent financial meltdown,

Personally, I believe it's important to keep after those who supposedly represent us, so we don't let them do things we regret down the road.

[ProSense]

9. The OP has nothing to do with

not pushing back.

A successful push back led to the President vetoing the foreclosure bill.

Also, pushing back isn't the same as ignoring things that have happened and are in progress. The majority of Americans want the war to end. People want the President to stick to the plan to begin withdrawal from Afghanistan this summer, and speed it along.

Do you think there is a chance that there will be no push back against this President?

[rug]

5. His escalation in Afghanistan cannot be rationalized with blue links.

It can no longer be said he inherited it, particularly since he supported the invasion of Afghanistan.

[ProSense]

8. Here's another "blue link"

The Obama-Biden Plan

•Afghanistan: Obama and Biden will refocus American resources on the greatest threat to our security -- the resurgence of al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan. They will increase our troop levels in Afghanistan, press our allies in NATO to do the same, and dedicate more resources to revitalize Afghanistan’s economic development. Obama and Biden will demand the Afghan government do more, including cracking down on corruption and the illicit opium trade.

[rug]

14. "the greatest threat to our security -- the resurgence of al Qaeda and the Taliban"

I don't know if that rationale is more simplistic or more jingoistic. Maybe it's plain bullshit.

These wars he is prosecuting are the singlemost destabilizing actions he can take, economically, diplomatically and militarily, and collectively pose a far greater danger to this country's security and wellbeing than all the "terra" combined.

Here's a blue link.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/07/al-qaida-taliban-threat-afghanistan

[ProSense]

15. The comment was made during the 2008 election. n/t

[rug]

16. These actions are in 2011, going on 2014 and beyond.

[ProSense]

17. And so are

these.

[BlueIris]

11. Oh, good luck. nt

[barbiegeek]

25. He said he'd withdraw from Iraq & focus on Al Queda where the real war is

I voted for that. Saying that he promised to leave Afghanistan when he never did was a lie. Trust me I went to every speech in my state and he NEVER promised that.

I voted to be out of Iraq and to fight in Afghanistan. You can't let Bin Laden get control of Pakistan's nuclear/atomic power. Pakistan is unstable & they will nuke India.

And I know I can't spell Al Queda but I'm tired.

[FrenchieCat]

7. Since his numbers have started rising,

the same old suspects have to work harder in convincing others (and themselves)
that this President is a great big danger to us.

They don't see it as an attempt at undercutting his support, and even those who
have worked for the past two years at turning folks against this President,
don't care to look at where we would end up in 2012, if we, like them, would turn on this President
as they wished.

[TheKentuckian]

10. Who asks perfection? Not doing things that are damaging, discontinuing damaging things from the past

and protecting the little good we have scratched out over the years isn't the pursuit of perfection but rather demanding the critically necessary.

[ProSense]

12. You're right

Bush invaded Iraq and President Obama has to end it.

Pointing out that the President has flaws doesn't imply that anyone expected perfection. The state of the country is really too screwed up to demand perfection. He can end the wars and bring down unemployment, but that's only a start.

[Armstead]

13. Amen

[Name removed]

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[Pisces]

21. Excellent post!!

[StarsInHerHair]

22. it is too soon to make such claims

nt