Obama: Less than Expected - Publicus

The fact that the election of a black president was a momentous occasion for the people of the Untied States, one that truly portrayed the American Dream, must be taken into account by both Democrats and Republicans. However, now that we have overcome this racial obstacle, it is time for the American people, as direct upholders of their government, to question what the head of the executive office has actually done in his tenure so far. Without twisting facts, Obama was elected at a rough period within our history and it should be well known that it takes time to germinate change. Despite this, Obama has made less than stellar attempts to progress our country in the way that he promised during his election campaign.

Democratic presidents have always been good at improving the foreign outlook on the U.S.A., but have never been good at standing up for what is best for the American people. Still, we must credit President Obama for dealing with international affairs in a prudent manner. He knows when he will win a situation and when he won't. A prime example was the abandonment of a missile defense shield in Eastern Europe which warmed ties with Russia, a powerful player in the region and a necessary pawn in the preservation of regional American interests. Also, abandonment aided in the retardation of the Islamo-Facist Theocracy of Iran's nuclear endeavors, which greatly threatened our ally Israel and the sanctity of world peace.

His domestic policies, on the other hand, are lacking. Obama has been in office for ten months and has nothing to show for it. It seems he has simply neglected the issues surrounding illegal immigration and, despite raising taxes, he's not done much in the way of fixing our healthcare system either. While his stimulus bills was not something we as conservatives wanted to see, Obama at least was acting on his goals.

While we realize that running a nation isn't as easy as it seems, I speak for us all when I say that we would like to see SOMETHING done. With pressing issues concerning national debt, immigration, healthcare, terrorism, and more, we realize that it may be difficult to make the right decisions, but attempts must be made. Andrew Jackson, Ronald Reagan, and George Bush, while they didn't always make prudent decisions, at least truly believed their actions were for the best of our country. I was hoping we could at least expect this from President Obama, but he's not acting at all. I didn't support Obama in the last election, and I still don't, but he has four years to change my mind. I truly hope he does.

Obama gets a B- from the Left - Civis

Obama has failed the left. 

Yes, I am a liberal. And I do support Obama and most of his

initiatives.

However, I have been disappointed by his accomplishments, or 

rather lack thereof, so far this year. 

SNL, quite appropriately, called him out on the issue.

The truth is, SNL is right on this. Unfortunately, the honeymoon 

period from last November is ending. And he has little to show for it. 

The SNL skit summed up everything he's failed to do. Today, men and women who are desperately willing to serve their country are being 

forced to leave because they want to openly serve. Obama has the 

power, at least temporarily (this means weeks, or longer) to suspend DADT. He has used the bully pulpit in Congress to encourage the 

Defense of Marriage Act to be repealed, nor has he done so for 

financial (regulatory) reform, which has become very neglected. The 

list simply goes on and on. I can't list 6 things he's done. The Lily 

Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was good, but within his first two weeks as 

Commander n' Chief. And then there's the stimulus, budget and 

TARP. He also repealed the Exec. Order on stem cell research.

There's only five.

Obama turned out to be an extremely moderate president, the only

liberal thing about him is his "encouragement" for the public option.

But he can redeem himself. He's needs to work on gay rights, address civil liberties (seriously), do SOME regulatory reform, sign a 

healthcare bill but only one WITH a public option, close Gitmo 

(actually), end the wars before 2012 ends. I'm convinced that if he can end both wars swiftly and safely and bring Americans to at least some form of pubic healthcare, he will be regarded as one of the top seven 

presidents in American history.

So, for now, a B minus. It's not horrible, but if he's gonna pass, then 

he can't let it slip much further.