Obamassiah or Obamessy?
Not yet one month into his presidency, our savior has already exercised a great deal of power. How is he doing? Exactly what did we vote for? Should we still believe?
1. Just days into office, Obama approves an attack into Pakistan, killing children. Find analysis of that action here.
2. Obama allows his treasury secretary nominee Timothy Geithner to say that the president believes that China is manipulating its currency. I argue that although China may be creating dangerous imbalances in the financial world, China also stands to suffer the most when these imbalances unravel. We should unobtrusively offer techinical assistance rather than confrontational rhetoric, which could lead to even more serious problems.
3. Obama improves human rights protections in the war on terror through a variety of popular measures. No complaints here.
4. Obama hedges on his campaign promise to get American troops out of Iraq in 16 months. Granted, he inherited this messy situation, and it is not entirely clear whether a quick pullout is best for the long-term security of all involved parties, especially considering recent security improvements in Iraq.
5. Obama appears to be screwing up the economy with an increase in government programs. Even the Congressional Budget Office, a highly-respected non-partisan federal agency which evaluates the financial costs and implications of government spending, says that Obama's proposed stimulus will make us worse off ten years down the road.
6. Obama has done little to push along the process of bailing out the troubled financial sector, which most experts claim is necessary to get at the root of our problems and begin a lasting recovery (with additional regulations for the future, of course).
I suppose Obama still beats McCain, but by how much?
1. Just days into office, Obama approves an attack into Pakistan, killing children. Find analysis of that action here.
2. Obama allows his treasury secretary nominee Timothy Geithner to say that the president believes that China is manipulating its currency. I argue that although China may be creating dangerous imbalances in the financial world, China also stands to suffer the most when these imbalances unravel. We should unobtrusively offer techinical assistance rather than confrontational rhetoric, which could lead to even more serious problems.
3. Obama improves human rights protections in the war on terror through a variety of popular measures. No complaints here.
4. Obama hedges on his campaign promise to get American troops out of Iraq in 16 months. Granted, he inherited this messy situation, and it is not entirely clear whether a quick pullout is best for the long-term security of all involved parties, especially considering recent security improvements in Iraq.
5. Obama appears to be screwing up the economy with an increase in government programs. Even the Congressional Budget Office, a highly-respected non-partisan federal agency which evaluates the financial costs and implications of government spending, says that Obama's proposed stimulus will make us worse off ten years down the road.
6. Obama has done little to push along the process of bailing out the troubled financial sector, which most experts claim is necessary to get at the root of our problems and begin a lasting recovery (with additional regulations for the future, of course).
I suppose Obama still beats McCain, but by how much?
posted by My Freakwentness at 2:01 PM
3 Comments:
Sobering.
oh pulleeze, he has been office for all of 3 weeks and he has been given a huge pile of problems and this is the toughest job in the world. lighten up. he has a belly-button; he is a mere mortal.
dear dr perfection,
george bush too was a mere mortal; this is no excuse for obama to waste his brains on pleasing the masses instead of listening to knowledgeable advisers. the saying is that anyone with a hammer sees everything as a nail. bush's hammer was the military, and obama's hammer is government spending. it is a truly great president who can lead with restraint. tisk tisk.
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