OT: not another political thread!

Not as bad predicted

Not as bad as predicted

I'm not going to touch the purely political side of this question with 20 foot pole, though I certainly have my opinions. I will say though that he is the 3rd president in a row who'd love to have a beer / go to the club with. I bet "Barry" would be quite the smooth talker with the ladies.

I won't comment regarding your observations in your preamble other than I think several are wrong, but I will answer your question.

The American people elected a smooth talking inexperienced empty suit.
He talked about improving race relations, IMO they're worse now.
He talked about closing Gitmo, it's still open. His policies regarding Gitmo have released several terrorists who have returned to fight against Americans.
When he was running he said that the deficit increase under Bush was treasonous or criminal, I don't recall his exact words but he has increased the deficit beyond Bush and all of the previous Presidents combined.
He has tried to appease enemy countries and alienated friendly countries.
He ordered the release of upper echelon Taliban commanders in a trade for a traitor, Bo Bergdhal who actually went AWOL to join the Taliban and men died searching for him and men in his own unit have stated he was a deserter.

I could go on and on if I devoted the time to think about it but I have other things I have to do now so I have to log off of TUSCL. I'll bet others will fill in the blanks.

Sum it up, bad president!

I agree with motor and I am tired of all of the political bashing that some members constantly visit on anyone who has a different opinion than their own

I think Obama has done a good job bowing and apologizing to world leaders for America being a bad country

Motor- not as bad as predicted? He was supposed to be the savior. Or are you saying not as bad as you predicted?

TheeOSU- I agree with you that race relations are worse off now. You make some good points, but once again you say the bad stuff, but you don't mention the good. Unless you think he hasn't done anything good?

I would say quite a bit of what his critics are saying is correct, but there is context and that is very simply that the opposition has fought every initiative tooth and nail refusing to concede simple courtesy and doing their utmost to wreck any accomplishment. For better or worse reasonable people are shouted down on both sides and the extremists on both side seem to have the upper hand.

I am going to take this opportunity not to comment on political threads.

I'm having trouble finding any good in just about anything he has done.

On the domestic front, Obamacare is a train wreck that has had disastrous effects on other forms of personal consumption; his regulatory agenda has been the most anti-business in modern times and possibly since FDR; and he has almost doubled the national debt to a whopping 19+ trillion. All the while we have been witness to the most anemic so-called recovery in the modern age. So contrary to what someone else said, he has been every bit as bad as I feared and even worse.

I won't even delve deeply into the foreign policy side of the equation. Suffice it to say that his approach of pissing on the legs of our allies and sucking the cocks of our adversaries has left the world a much more unstable place. His various betrayals are going to be remembered by other world leaders for a long time to come.

I am admittedly a right winger, but my views are not purely ideological. I am willing to give credit where credit is due. For example, I thought that Clinton ended up being a pretty decent President, all things considered, particularly as he was a centrist who was smart enough not to get in the way of economic growth. But Obama did a shit ton of damage and the only thing that kept him from doing even more was his loss of a Congressional majority early in his tenure. Heck, if Mitt Romney didn't suck so bad as a Republican nominee then Obama probably would have lost the White House far sooner as well.

So yes, I'm ready for something a bit different now.

I have mixed feelings on the Affordable Care Act / Obamacare. As someone with a few health issues, I like the fact that I can now change jobs and without being denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition.

But my company's health premiums have skyrocketed. Despite claims that prescription drug costs are down, I don't see it. My drug costs have increased. Especially generics. Some formerly inexpensive generic drugs have gone up 300 to 400 percent. Is it coincidental?

On balance, was it worth it just to insure another 16 million people or so?

Dugan- you're probably right about if there was a better Republican candidate then it would have been tough for Obama to get re elected. Just to balance it though, if Obama was eligible to run in this upcoming race, he would win by the most lopsided race in history.

Since Bush:
Stock market is up
Unemployment is down
Crime rate is down
Millions more covered by health insurance
Weed is legal in 4 states
Congress is the biggest clusterfuck in the country's history
Inflation is slowed
Wealth disparity is growing
Two wars are still costing lives and Billions$$
Most other country's leaders are expressing positive feelings towards USA ( major exceptions- Isreal & Russia)
Some of the above may have been influenced by our President - some not.
My grade after 7.5 years: B+

Since Bush:
Stock market is up
Unemployment is down
Crime rate is down
Millions more covered by health insurance
Weed is legal in 4 states
Congress is the biggest clusterfuck in the country's history
Inflation is slowed
Wealth disparity is growing
Two wars are still costing lives and Billions$$
Most other country's leaders are expressing positive feelings towards USA ( major exceptions- Isreal & Russia)
Some of the above may have been influenced by our President - some not.
My grade after 7.5 years: B+

Since Bush:
Stock market is up
Unemployment is down
Crime rate is down
Millions more covered by health insurance
Weed is legal in 4 states
Congress is the biggest clusterfuck in the country's history
Inflation is slowed
Wealth disparity is growing
Two wars are still costing lives and Billions$$
Most other country's leaders are expressing positive feelings towards USA ( major exceptions- Isreal & Russia)
Some of the above may have been influenced by our President - some not.
My grade after 7.5 years: B+

Actually Fuck our allies. We don't need allies if we get the Fuck out of the middle East. One of the reasons Islam wants "death to America" is because we(conservaties) can't just leave shit alone, no we have to flex and show how our military isn't weak.

Gawker- you mean since Obama right?

I have nothing to add on the abysmal Obama presidency. My comment is on this ludicrous remark by the OP:
"Right side: Hillary is a criminal! I guess using your personal email for work makes you a criminal nowadays lol!"

What a frivolous thing to say! The issue isn't just using an email server in her house for conducting State Department business. The issue is receiving and sending hundreds (if not thousands) of classified emails on a personal email server. She has treated national secrets with culpable negligence that borders on treason. Anyone else behaving with similar negligence would be rotting in prison by now.

Dugan wrote: " I thought that Clinton ended up being a pretty decent President, all things considered, particularly as he was a centrist who was smart enough not to get in the way of economic growth. "
-----------------------------
Such a vague statement that it's almost meaningless. But it brings to mind the repeal of Glass-Steagall, which occurred under Clinton / Rubin, which was probably the single largest factor in the 2008 financial collapse. Obama and Fed was left to clean up the mess.

Shit at McD's