Could Barack Obama have done more?

[kentuck]

Would John McCain have done more?

Would any Republican do more in the future?

Isn't that the reality we face? Although I may think that Barack Obama could and should have done more in several areas, that is really not the choice we have in 2012.

Even though some may be pissed off to the max at Barack Obama, what other choice can they make? Are we willing to turn the government over to the radical and insane Republicans once again?

Could Barack Obama have done more? Yes. Should he have done more? Yes. But that is not the issue at hand.

[Firebrand Gary]

1. So for me

Being I have asked myself this question. I am no longer asking if he could have done more, I am asking what is the quantity and quality of what he has achieved thus far. When I ask myself in those terms I am genuinely impressed.

If he gets reelected (and I think that he will) from today he would have 5 more years in office. Hopefully we can add some seats in the Senate and obviously the house and start tackling real issues again. But most importantly, it is imperative that we not allow the further privatization of the Supreme Court.

http://youtu.be/-MwyErsB6Oo

[TheWraith]

17. Well said.

Measured against an ideal, everybody falls short.

Measured against the real world, we accomplish what we can and see what the results are.

[dkf]

2. I'm sure he is the first person to admit his team underestimated how many jobs would be lost.

And the ACA really doesnt help to encourage hiring, because it takes so long to implement and that leaves uncertainty as to what the impact will be.

[Scuba]

3. I'm not sure he could have achieved much more, but...

... he could have fought harder for some of the things upon which he based his campaign.


I think he just may lose in 2012 because millions of disappointed 2008 voters will stay home. Sad, I know.

[musiclawyer]

4. Bit late to the party eh

Seriously. Your post is a variation of a thousand others
Bottom line POTUS did not have the character to be transformational
Not enough street fight in him. Too embedded in east coast privilege and perspective. Which is funny because bg all rights he should be an outsider
But harvard law will coopt anyone who gets in I imagine
Doesn't mean he is not way better than the alternative.
But his base wanted him to kick ass. Not invite the criminals to the party
Alone at night when POTUS stares at the ceiling he knows people are in the street because of him! ( He could have done many little things that would have given people hope enough to stay home). Think about it. .... I think it makes him work very hard every day now

[kentuck]

8. No later than Obama....

:-) Hope tends to overstay its welcome.

[TBF]

5. The issue we face is how long we are going to put up with capitalism.

nt

[randome]

6. Of course he could have done more.

The same could be said about me. About you.

A life lived without regrets or missed opportunities would be a dull life, indeed.

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[kentuck]

9. They don't accept responsibility for anything...

If a Republican is elected President and they win both branches of Congress and then all the banks go under and the economy totally collapses and the unemployment rate goes up to 20%, it will still be the fault of Barack Obama...It will not be their responsibility.

[sendero]

11. Polls used to show...

..... that a large majority of Americans blame the Republican party for the current economic malaise. You are correct that Republicans are genetically incapable of accepting blame, even when the evidence is overwhelming and incontrovertible, but that doesn't mean the American people will agree with them.

Americans correctly expected Obama to improve the situation. He has not. He cannot, it's simply not in him.

[Motown_Johnny]

10. If the blue dogs didn't defect at every opprotunity then maybe he could have done more

but he did a lot



my standard copy and paste response follows, even though it is getting very old now and should be updated.




Two great choices for Supreme Court.

The Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

The Matthew Shepard Hates Crimes Prevention Act (which they said could not be done)

Children's Health Insurance

Tobacco Regulation

Credit Card Reform

Student Loan Reform

The Stimulus (including the largest tax cut ever, the largest investment in clean energy ever, the single largest investment in education in our country ever)

Health Reform

Wall Street Reform

The New G.I. Bill

The Food Safety Modernization Act (the most expansive food reform bill since the 1930s)

The Don't Ask Don't Tell Repeal

The New Start Treaty (even when the (R)s said he would never be able to get it passed)

Locking up over half the loose nuclear material in the world in less than half of his first term, something most (R)s thought impossible.




Most of that list is from The Rachel Maddow Show and is included in this clip
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#4077 ...

In that clip she also estimates that ~85% of what President Obama said he wanted to accomplish in his first term had been accomplished in the first half of his first term.

[kentuck]

12. Yes, he did all those things.

But, people were looking for something to be done about the jobs. They were looking for something more substantial to be done about the big banks. They were looking for help for the people losing their homes. They were looking for the wars to end sooner and the policies of George W Bush to end immediately. These were big ticket items.

After all, most folks understood that the economy had collapsed when we were losing 750,000 jobs in one month. Most folks knew something was terribly askew when the stock market hit 6700. They remembered just a few months before when it was over 14,000.

Instead, the President and the Congress debated insurance reform for over a year and the Republican Party and the Tea Party were permitted to re-group and start their same crap all over again. In the end, the people did not get "healthcare" reform and the same insurance scam was still in place.

People were looking for some type of reform of the banking system that would permit people to stay in their homes. They never got that. Instead, the banks got the goldmine and the people got the shaft.

These were huge, important, immediate issues that needed addressing. Yes, Obama had all the achievements you mentioned, but the ones that were the most urgent and critical were not addressed in any substantive way.

Granted, he had to deal with an obdurate opposition but he missed a window of opportunity when he took office. He underestimated the seriousness of the economic situation and he relied on the wrong people for advice.

All the achievements you mention are to be celebrated. But, we cannot overlook what was not done and what needed to be done. These were the most important and critical issues facing our country.

[Motown_Johnny]

13. That is based solely on your personal opinion that providing affordable health care

is/was less important than the other problems this country was facing. Health care was a major issue all through the campaign, to have ignored it would have been a disaster. It should have been done under the Clinton administration and if it had been he would not have needed to address it now.

He ran on changing key pieces of our economy so that the long term health of our nation would be stronger, not on stop gap measures.


Besides, without proper care, people die. Maybe you should factor that into the equation when prioritizing our President's achievements.

[kentuck]

14. I don't mean to minimize what was done but...

it was more insurance reform than healthcare reform. My insurance costs went up in all areas, including co-pays and drugs. All the bills you mentioned were important. But when your house is burning down, the priority is to put out the fire first, then do your other chores. Yeah, that's just my opinion.

[samrock]

16. This is NOT a dictatorship..

Any policies that add jobs need approval from congress and with blue dog Democrats blocking any REAL measures, along with republicans he has done as much as he could.. IMHO

[kentuck]

18. In my opinion...

He could have done more to persuade the blue dogs. I'm sure they had programs they wanted in their districts, etc..? I have a difficult time understanding how pressure could not be put on members of your own Party if it was important enough to fight for?

[Rex]

15. He could have done something.

[BrendaBrick]

19. Maybe some creative types

could come up with a futuristic mock 2012 election video in which a republican wins, and play out what would likely ensue ~ Kind of in the vein of "The War of the Worlds" model, to a certain extent.

Now THAT"S SOMETHING I would like to see!!!!!

[applegrove]

20. Like someone said last week on RealTime - look at all Obama accomplished

on foreign affaires where the GOP could not block him. He did great.

[Number23]

21. Wow. That is simply an excellent point

look at all Obama accomplished on foreign affaires where the GOP could not block him.

Absolutely. I agree with you that he's done "great" on foreign affairs and I agree with MotownJohnny (and Rachel Maddow in absentia) upthread that noted that he's done well domestically but could have done more without the insane and unprecedented levels of Repub obstruction.

[applegrove]

22. +100