Americans are going to have a choice to make between President Obama and a very likely Mitt Romney candidacy. But for all of the talk of where the economy IS…it’s like everyone forgets what got us here in the first place. And to make matters worse – Mitt Romney has doubled down on nearly every single economic policy from George W. Bush and the Bush era Republican party….even though those are the same policies that led our country into an economic crisis in the first place. Amnesia is apparently quite contagious.
Kevin Drum boils down President Obama’s top 13 accomplishments:
“These are all big deals. Big fucking deals, to quote our vice president.”
~Kevin Drum1. Passed Health Care Reform
2. Passed the Stimulus
3. Passed Wall Street Reform
4. Ended the War in Iraq
5. Eliminated Osama bin laden
6. Turned Around U.S. Auto Industry
7. Repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
8. Reversed Bush Torture Policies
9. Kicked Banks Out of Federal Student Loan Program
10. Boosted Fuel Efficiency Standards
11. Passed Mini Stimuli (July 22, 2010; December 17, 2010; December 23, 2011)
12. Created Conditions to Begin Closing Dirtiest Power Plants
13. Achieved New START Treaty
Paul Glastris wrote a great article entitled The Incomplete Greatness of Barack Obama. Great read…one excerpt:
In short, when judging Obama’s record so far, conservatives measure him against their fears, liberals against their hopes, and the rest of us against our pocketbooks. But if you measure Obama against other presidents—arguably the more relevant yardstick—a couple of things come to light. Speaking again in terms of sheer tonnage, Obama has gotten more done than any president since LBJ. But the effects of some of those achievements have yet to be felt by most Americans, often by design. Here, too, Obama is in good historical company.
Just a reminder of what Obama inherited vs where we are today:
12 Comments
then why has he signed into law two bills that have all but hamstrung the Bill of Rights? if he is such a great president, then why has he committed treason against the very Constitution that he swore an oath, as president, to uphold and protect? not once, but twice. voting for him is voting for a traitor. one who so light-handedly signs away liberties that are supposed to be OUR unalienable liberties by birthright. he has single-handedly gutted due process and Habeus Corpus, and now the 1st Amendment has fallen under his pen. don’t believe me? pay attention to something other than mainstream media. you’ll get the real picture of what’s going on that way.
Somehow I am both completely confused by your comment and turned off to your point of view. Which two bills hamstrung the Bill of Rights?
Obama is a constitutional scholar, in general, I assume he’s spent more time reading and learning about the constitution than anyone commenting on blog posts online. With that said, chances are none of what he’s done is treasonous, even if you don’t like it.
you might wish to read the Patriot act, sir .. you might also wish to readAmendments Four thru Eight of the US Constitution .. and ask yourself, “what IS the difference between an idiot on the Left and one on the Right — other than which side holds the whip” ..
Quick question:
How has healthcare been reformed? To pass legislation that does nothing to provide tangible benefits to citizens seems like no victory to me. My wife just had a baby and the entire thing was a nightmare in dealing with the healthcare systems. We were both uninsured and things are definitely not resolved. Have you tried purchasing insurance or tried to use state sponsored healthcare programs lately? Nothing has been done and no progress has been made based on my most recent experience. But I’m not sure that my wife’s pregnancy or my healthcare should be an issue addressed by the federal government.
Wall St Reform? The fed bailed out everyone who was responsible save Lehman. Banks and Wall St are flush with cash.
Cool the stimulus was passed… where’s the bump in jobs or should we just continue to run up the defect for fun? Passing crap that provides no real tangible benefit isn’t victory.
Reversed torture policies? Guantamo Bay is still open and in operation.
Stopped Iraqi war…yea almost 2 years after being in office.. who hoo! We’re still in Afghanistan, and we’ve bombed Libya. We’ll probably be in Iran within a few months.
He turned around the US auto industry… How? Sure he bailed out GM but GM isn’t the only car manufacturer. Is he going to take credit for Kia, Ford, Hyundai and other car makers too? Seems far fetched. Sure he saved GM but how does that help the other car makers?
The problem is Romney and Obama are different sides to the same coin. Nothing will continue to get done, deceits will continue to rise and our freedoms will continue to be sacrificed. If you want change you gotta go with Ron Paul, he’s the only one who won’t sell out.
Admittedly, I know very little about individual coverages influenced by the Affordable Care Act, but I’m pretty sure not much for people over 25 has gone into effect yet. I think most of it will start in 2014 – and I’m pretty sure that has to do with the large amounts of time insurance companies, hospitals, and networks wanted to have before switching the way things work. Best of luck with the new baby!
On Wall St. reform, just quoting the article this blogpost referenced, “In 2008, the International Monetary Fund studied past financial crises in forty-two countries and found that their governments spent, on average, 13.3 percent of GDP to resolve them. By that measure, it would have cost the U.S. government $1.9 trillion. The Obama plan got the banks back on their feet at essentially zero cost to the government, and in historically near-record time. Let that sink in.”
Since it all got paid back, with interest, I’m less wont to be upset about the bailout – then again, I also agree with the Obama decision to bailout first, restructure second.
Most of the effects of the Affordable Care Act won’t go into effect until 2014. If you think the healthcare system is so bad now, why wouldn’t you want reform of our healthcare system? If you are uninsured, wouldn’t you want heath insurance to be provided for you? Heaven forbid something happens to your baby and you would need to go to the hospital, won’t you be relieved that she/he has coverage and that you won’t be burden with the unexpected costs of taking her to the hospital?
You asked where the bump is from the stimulus package… Look at the consecutive increase in job creation since Obama has been in office. Look at the jobs added monthly and compare that to the jobs added during the Bush Administration. Fewer people are applying for unemployment benefits. These trends show more than a “bump” that are you looking for.
Guantanamo Bay is still open because conservatives in the House attached the condition the defense bill. It was basically a compromise and the president’s hands were tied (He even threatened to veto the entire defense bill because of it or do you know remember that part?). If you want Guantanamo Bay closed, talk to the GOP house and senate.
Obama ended a war that he did not start. Can he have credit for it? Ending the war was something the Bush administration claimed (remember “Mission Accomplished”?) but didn’t actually achieve. Better late than never? Honestly, if we were to elect any republican candidate (other than Ron Paul), we will be in Iran in a matter of weeks due to the fear mongering of the GOP. Is that the better option? Also Afghanistan is not a war he started. We should leave strategically rather than suddenly (there are repercussions for a sudden departure) and that is what Obama has promised.
In terms of the auto industry, you said it yourself, he bailed out GM (and you forgot Chrysler). Something that Mitt Romney was adamantly against. What happened to the other manufactures? If I remember correctly, it was only GM and Chrysler who had filed for bankruptcy at the time, GM is the world’s LARGEST automaker, and that was the immediate issue. Kia is Korean and if I’m not mistaken, so it Hyundai…Why would that be America’s problem? Saving GM saved jobs and it gave American confidence again in their own cars and manufacturing. Is it just me, or does it seem that you have a problem giving Obama credit for ANYTHING?
Finally, there are several reasons why I would never vote for Ron Paul. Some of the reasons you may care about and a few others that may you not. As an African American woman, I find Ron Paul repulsive. The fact that he is clearly racist is a reason for concern. He is endorsed by white supremacists, his newsletters written in the 80s and 90s under his name (if you believe the crap he says about him not knowing about it, look at his defense of the newsletters in the interviews conducted during that era), and he is one of the few politicians today who still support his original disapproval of the Civil Rights Acts. He is in favor of repealing the Civil Rights Acts and the Fair Rights Act. Both Ron Paul and Obama have promised to end the wars…is Obama not fast enough for you? Do you believe that wars can end in one day? And when it comes to women’s rights issues, not of the GOP candidates (including Paul) will ever have my vote. I don’t think I need to explain why, you can look it up yourself. Also, Ron Paul wouldn’t support helping Americans in need. I’m not just talking about social programs, but have you heard his rhetoric about people who have been affected by natural disasters in America? According to Paul, they should basically fend for themselves. He wants to eliminate minimum wage, which basically enables companies to lower wages below livable standards (and if someone says just quit, you must not know the reality of the situation that poor- middle class Americans live in. I do.) I can not support a president who does not care about the lives of his citizens. Cutting taxing for the rich, unrestricted drilling, allowing business to discriminate against minorities, eliminating the little safety net that poor and middle class citizens have, denying women rights, ending benefits for the working class, severing the separation between church and state, withdrawing from the UN and other international communities, ignoring international treaties, discriminating against the LGBTQ community, worsening our already failing education system? Do you really know about Ron Paul and his policies? Is he really the one you want? Because if so, that is just scary.
Why is Georgie so into this stuff?
This same list keeps getting regurgitated all over the place, but it justifies nothing.
Health care reform has passed. I’d say it’s a little bit early to tell whether or not this is actually a success.
Yes, he did pass the stimulus bill, but it wasn’t the first one.
Wall Street reform. It needed to happen, and overall it is a good thing. However, Obama is in Wall Streets pockets as much as any other politician, and so far it seems like nothing more than a nice gesture, as things really haven’t changed.
Yes, the war in Iraq ended during his presidency. It probably would have ended no matter who was president, as a timeline was established prior to his election.
Osama Bin Laden. This one pisses me off. The CIA and other intelligence agencies did all the leg work here, starting way back in 2001. The culmination of a decades worth of work by these agencies and Obama gets the credit for it? Please.
Now that I think of it, why isn’t his Noble Peace Prize award on this list? Or have even his biggest supporters come to terms with the fact that he never deserved it in the first place?
The rest of this stuff I can more or less agree with being good things, despite the actual effect they will ever have. However, to judge a president just by the amount of bills or legislation he passes is ignorant. Bush passed a lot of stuff through in his term, but I rarely hear him being touted as a success because of it. This pretty much just amounts to Kevin Drum, and every other pundit who recycles this same list, as performing cyber fellatio on their hero to make themselves feel better about the situation we’re in and to justify supporting the Obama administraion.
[...] And I’ve already made my case that President Obama has been a successful President HERE. [...]
[...] we have shared in “President Obama has been a successful President” – here are 13 major accomplishments of the Obama administration via Kevin [...]
I support Obama. I work phones. I will vote for him.
But!
I would be happier if he had gone farther to the left.
Stop prosecuting the WikiLeaks guy. Stop Marijuana raids in states that support MJ legalisation.
And give us back our civil liberties. The ones that we complained that Bush had taken away. I think this is a common left and right complaint. But he has gone for security, including the stupid and worthless TSA (see
http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2007/12/refuse_to_be_te.html
).
So, yes, I support this Bush-LIte person. The other is just so much worse. But you can see my enthusiasm is not at the level it was in 2008.
[...] found this list here, and it seemed like a good topic for discussion. So, the next time you hear someone say [...]