[carlmarks]

Well, it has been a year since BHO was innaugurated and so far, he has accomplished nothing, nada, zero. Guantanamo is still opem, we still have troops in Iraq, we have no cap and trade bill, we have no card check and we have no health care reform. And all this non-action was done with a Super Majority in the Congress.

He does, however seem to have a knack for being in Hawaii when something huge happens that needs his attention, and like Pres. Bush, he doesn't seem to be in any hurry to return from his vacations.

I said to a friend of mine before the election; "I support him but he is going to have to prove to me that he is for real and not just another rich guy running for office." So far, he's just another rich guy, probably getting more and more wealthy as I write this.

I sincerely hope I am proven wrong....I really wanted to see some change, all I see is man with a different party affiliation in our highest office. This is really getting old.

Carl

[Thoughtful]

carlmarks, on Jan 21 2010, 11:46 PM, said:

Well, it has been a year since BHO was innaugurated and so far, he has accomplished nothing, nada, zero. Guantanamo is still opem, we still have troops in Iraq, we have no cap and trade bill, we have no card check and we have no health care reform. And all this non-action was done with a Super Majority in the Congress.

He does, however seem to have a knack for being in Hawaii when something huge happens that needs his attention, and like Pres. Bush, he doesn't seem to be in any hurry to return from his vacations.

I said to a friend of mine before the election; "I support him but he is going to have to prove to me that he is for real and not just another rich guy running for office." So far, he's just another rich guy, probably getting more and more wealthy as I write this.

I sincerely hope I am proven wrong....I really wanted to see some change, all I see is man with a different party affiliation in our highest office. This is really getting old.

Carl

There are so many ways to reply to your thoughts.

I could say that I understand your frustration, being taken in by the fast talk of a slick Chicago politician, but that oversimplifies the situation.

I could say that today's result is what happens when a man is elected president because people are dissatisfied with the war efforts by the previous president, even though in the end, there was vindication for Bush in this matter.

But in my opinion, the truth lies in viewing an administration that believed it had a mandate and could force through whatever legislation it wanted to, that it could disregard the majority of the American populace, that it could blatantly disregard the minority party while trying so hard to impress all of us that the president was bending backwards to accommodate Republicans (it's my bat and ball and we're going to play my game is not bi-partisan). The truth is that the administration believed it had a mandate to "fundamentally change this country" and never recognized the fact that America is a center-right country and that Progressives only account for about one-fifth (at best) of his base.

President Obama needs to decide whether he wishes to be an effective president, which would mean governing closer to the center. What appears to be happening is that he is taking a page straight out of the Alinsky playbook and putting the pedal to the metal, pushing harder than ever against the fact that less than 50% of the populace currently views his performance as favorable (including Progressives and people such as yourself who hoped for something different, and not just another four years of the same old Washingtonian politics. Chicago backroom deals only add to the quagmire.

I stated a year ago that I believed at 18 months, President Obama's popularity would be low. This is probably the only area in which he has outdone himself.

[titi22]

u know america has always been against social reforms.this go back to american values which are i will state some of them such as individualism hard working risk taking the survival of the fittest;that is if u do sow u shall reap otherwise u'll blame only urself.and this i don't think would change bcs what should change is people mentality which deeply entrenched by that spirit of individualism and competition and there is no perfect example to describe these values than that of frontier thesis written by frederrick turner.Mr O. is doing his best towards these obstacles,that is toward those rich who r not willing to make share of their wealth with those who have nots bcs these values are not ready to be changed in a wink of an eye.after all that is america is full of paradoxes n obama or not obama things will go like this there would be no changes n even suppose maccain was elected u think he would do changes! i assure u nada.i end up to see that politics is play with words nothing true can get out from a politicians they r good for perfect seducing speeches without effective deeds.the change must not come from gvt but must be from people who want real change n the role of gvt is to cooperate n also the power must be for the mass n not for the few.