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Nov-04-2009No Walk in the Park: For Obama One Year Later, It's the Slog of Governance(topic overview)
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WASHINGTON — A majority of Americans still feel their country is faring badly one year after President Barack Obama's White House win, but their ranks have been dwindling steadily since the financial crisis broke last year, a CNN poll has found. Sixty-three percent of 1,018 adults surveyed in the poll released late Tuesday said things in the United States were going pretty badly to very badly, against 37 percent who thought they were going fairly well to very well. Both opinions had been changing gradually since mid-2008, when the financial crisis began. In a November 6-9 poll last year, the number of Americans who thought their country was faring very badly peaked at 83 percent, while those who thought things were going well bottomed out at 16 percent. That survey was conducted just days after Obama won the presidential elections on November 4, 2008. The latest poll coincided with a Commerce Department announcement last week that the U.S. economy had rebounded from recession in the third quarter, posting its strongest economic growth in two years. Obama claimed the upswing was a result of the 787-billion-dollar stimulus package passed by Congress shortly after he took office in January. [1] Washington (CNN) -- One year after he won a historical presidential election, a slight majority of Americans approve of the job Barack Obama's doing in the White House. Fifty-four percent of people questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Tuesday approve of how Obama is handling his duties as president, with 45 percent saying they disapprove. "Obama's approval rating of 54 percent is nearly identical to the 53 percent of the vote he won a year ago," notes CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "And in nearly every demographic category, the percent that approve of Obama today is within two to three points of the percent who voted for him in 2008. It's a different story when we turn to ideology. His approval rating among liberals is 7 points higher than the number of liberals who voted for him. Among conservatives, the number who like Obama today is down 10 points compared to his share of the vote among that group in 2008."[2]
WASHINGTON — Wednesday marks one year since Barack Obama was elected America's first black president swept to power on a promise of change, but it will be just another day for the U.S. leader battling a deep recession and two wars. On November 4, 2008, Obama was feted by a joyous crowd during his victory speech in a Chicago park after beating Republican John McCain to the White House in an election that promised to reshape his nation.[3] This time last year, Barack Obama was about to be elected the first African-American President of the United States, in an event that was hailed as reshaping his country. A huge majority of the population seemed to be ready for his change agenda. "It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America," Mr Obama said. The U.S. President has since discovered some of the promises he made during his campaign have been tough to keep and his popularity rating has fallen from its stratospheric highs to a more politically realistic level.[4]
Bina Mangattukattil 33, with husband Osama Siddiqui, North Side, domestic violence counselor When the jumbo screens in Grant Park flashed news that Obama had been elected president, Mangattukattil jumped off the ground and let out a scream. Convinced that Obama would correct the country's course, she had canvassed for him during the election and was thrilled to see her candidate win. As she took in the diversity of the crowd, it struck her as living proof of Obama's message of inclusiveness and change. One year later: Mangattukattil feels just as positive about Obama, but the hostile ideological divisions among Americans have eroded her optimism and sense of unity. She feels like shouts of joy in Grant Park gave way to political screaming across the country that stymied reform of health care, Immigration and the economy. "I really hoped that our nation as a whole would be united, but there still seems to be this big divide between liberals and conservatives that makes me very sad," she said.[5] The survey suggests that the president's approval rating remains over 50 percent even though most Americans disapprove of how Obama is handling the economy, health care, Afghanistan, Iraq, unemployment, illegal immigration and the federal budget deficit. "By retaining a reservoir of goodwill left over from his election to the White House a year ago. Six in 10 say Obama inspires confidence in them; six in 10 also call him a strong leader who is honest and trustworthy. Sixty-three percent say he is not a typical politician.[2]
Incredibly, Vice President Dick Cheney''''''''s approval numbers reached even lower at 13 percent. It is no wonder that Republican nominee John McCain rarely mentioned the Republicans in the White House during his campaign against Obama. Just last week Republicans in Washington could only shake their heads at news that Obama has spent more time golfing that President Bush, done about six times more political fundraisers in his first year, spent only four hours in New Orleans on his only trip there in his first year in office -- after criticizing Bush for lack of attention after Hurricane Katrina-- and yet seems immune to the negative public perception that made Bush such a political liability.[6] Two smartass answers jump to mind. There is more truth to them than the nation, Democrats, Republicans and independents, might want to admit. He is still not President George W. Bush. Obama''''''''s biggest achievement after one year remains that he pushed Bush and the Republicans out of the White House. For a lot of voters that is all it takes to get their continued support.[6]
A year ago, almost to the minute, I was here in New York, watching television reports of the aftermath of the election of Barack Obama as 44th President of the United States of America. I recall the sight of a lachrymose woman from the Midwest, standing outside her run-down house as the sun rose, giving thanks for her deliverance: not from George W Bush, but from the threat of foreclosure. I have no idea whether this poor woman kept the roof over her head; all I know is, if she did, it would have been no thanks to Mr Obama. On the anniversary of his election, he is busy with unpleasant confrontations with reality.[7] Well not that much actually, according to a new poll on Canadian attitudes toward Americans. The survey to be released Monday suggests Canadians view U.S. President Barack Obama far more favourably and with considerably less contempt than they did his predecessor, George W. Bush. According to the poll, Obama has had little by way of a halo effect: Canadians view Americans in much the same light as they did four years ago, when Bush was at the height of his presidential reign.[8]
Obama''''''''s on going contribution to the shifting look of American politics is also why Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. To quote from the Nobel committee''''''''s award citation, Obama is to honored for his extraordinary '''''''efforts'''''''' at building cooperation among people. -- No achievement is cited only '''''''efforts.'''''''' In his first year, a laundry list of Obama''''''''s success at change might include expanding children''''''''s health care, a pledge to stop the use of torture on detainees, passage of a stimulus package and budget and an equal pay law. -- He is still at work at health care reform and is way behind on climate change and immigration legislation. As his first year comes to a close the biggest claim President Obama has to actual transformative achievement that fulfills his pledge for '''''''change'''''''' is that for most voters he remains NOT George W. Bush.[6] Obama is a total failure both as a president and as an American. He has embarrassed the citizens of this country by bowing to a Muslim king that supports terrorism and the debasement of women. He has embarrassed we veterans by apologizing for American actions and demeaning former President Bush in Europe and the middle east. He has lied about America when he said we were not a Christian nation. He has sucked up to people like Chavez and been cowardly with Iran. He has turned his back on Israel. He has embraced homosexuality, against the wishes of the Christians of this nation. He, along with his pro socialist staff and friends in congress, have put this nation into the biggest debt we have ever known. He and his liberal friends in Congress have had the government take over private companies and banks. Neither he or the liberal congress has listened when the people of this country that actually work for a living have told them to leave their health care alone. Obama is the worse thing that has ever happened to this country including both world wars. He is a disgrace to this nation and has made us the laughing stock to all world leaders. He is an arrogant egomaniac who was elected by people that wanted handouts of other citizens' money.[9]
Obama has the soul of an ideologue. He wants to be a transformational president -- unconfined by the limitations of conventional politics and determined to put a lasting mark on his era. In his first year, he has presided over more new domestic spending than Bill Clinton, the last Democratic president, did in eight years. The "big bang" agenda he laid out earlier this year on health care, energy and financial regulation unmistakably signaled his ambition to vastly expand the role of government in American life.[10]
Let'''s not kid ourselves. Even a year ago he just wasn'''t that into you or me. Obama'''s brilliance as a candidate was that he made a sufficient number of people believe that despite his lack of experience, despite the little we knew of him as an individual (some of it troubling, including his longtime associations with radical figures), he had the glow about him of a winner. It was the glow of FDR, JFK and even, some said, of Ronald Reagan. It was all about him. As with all unrealistically inflated expectations this one'''The One'''has bumped into inconvenient truths. The same depressed economy that lifted Obama'''s boat is causing it to sink. Because he is so much into himself and just not that into you, Obama persists in obsessing about a government-run health care program rather than focusing on the one form of change most Americans want now: jobs and economic development. These times call for a leader who is more of a '''hedgehog''' than a '''fox.'''[11] The president sent more than 20,000 more troops to Afghanistan and is considering sending more. He has ordered the Guantanamo Bay prison closed, though he's likely to miss his self-imposed January deadline. On the domestic side, two issues have dominated the first 10 months of the Obama era -- health care and the economy -- and the president can claim progress on both. The economy was stoked by a nearly $800 billion stimulus bill, which he promised "will likely save or create 3 to 4 million jobs; 90 percent of these jobs will be created in the private sector."[12] As president, Obama has had bruising political fights over economic stimulus and health care reform. He has been the target of angry personal attacks from conservatives, in a deeply polarized political environment that hardly represents the kind of change Obama promised. Mounting job losses remain his biggest domestic challenge.[13]
Washington: U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday said his administration has been successful in '''pulling the economy back from brink''' but sounded a cautious tone on unemployment, saying he expects job losses to continue for some more time.[14] On Nov. 4, 2008, Barack Obama won the presidential election, capping his historic bid to become the 44th president. A look at where he stands, nearly one year out: Stimulus: In February, weeks after taking office, Obama signed into law a $787 billion stimulus bill meant to ease the effects of the recession, create and save jobs, and invest in infrastructure projects.[15] In the face of increasing heat from Congress for decisive moves to create jobs, President Barack Obama on Monday pushed his economic advisers to come up with job-generating ideas that can be hustled up to Capitol Hill. With unemployment rising and expected to be in double digits as lawmakers run for reelection next year, Obama conveyed a sense of urgency as he met with business executives, labor officials and economists who sit on his economic advisory board.[16]
A year after electing Barack Obama president, and five years after his star turn at the Democratic National Convention, we are still trying to figure him out. We could, of course, write that first sentence another way: Only a year after electing Barack Obama president, and we are already trying to figure him out. Rather than it being kind of late to attempt a rigorous analysis of President Obama'''s psyche, his political philosophy and his managerial style, perhaps it'''s a little too soon.[17] Very interestingly enough, the editors left that article long enough in the front page of the Sunday Telegraph, as an editorial preference for me to write a rebuttal late in the evening for me and early in the morning in Great Britain. The point I made was, for readers, much as President Barack Obama is in deep trouble in popularity and policy, they should see the presentation for what it is: A propagandist partisan policy paper produced on behalf of a Republican- supporting think tank, solely designed to tarnish Obama legacy. Democrats, of course, have their own think tank like Campaign for American Future, headed by Clinton administration former chief of staff. The point I'm trying to make is that, when these kinds of presentations appear in the Telegraph, readers not familiar with the perennial nasty, polarized, hyperpartisan nature of American politics which seems now to penetrate the British, political landscape, would digest the whole content as relative truth.[7] "What surprises me most is the loss of Barack Obama as movement leader," Malika Saada Saar, a human rights organizer, said on POLITICO’s Arena forum. As Obama's campaign reached its climax, in Saar's memory, it conjured up echoes of Martin Luther King Jr. and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Now that he has entered office, she finds that spirit missing: "During this time of economic decline, two raging wars and an uncertain future for so many Americans, we need a movement-leader president who can call forward our courage and relentlessly move us toward making the difficult policy changes that we need."[10] No president is immune from intense criticism, and Obama has been no exception. He takes pot shots every day from both left and right. The Huffington Post called for his Vice President to resign if we send more troops to Afghanistan. Gays are impatient for the change he promised them. Progressives in general are upset over his healthcare reform efforts. FoxNews so obviously hates him that the president is stupid to waste time pointing that out. Now, I like Jimmy Carter for his willingness to speak his mind and tell truths others dare only tiptoe around. Though his race comments were twisted out of context, I don'''t agree with everything he said. He was correct to point out that the crazier signs and comments are racist and should be strongly condemned by all leaders. He went too far when he said, "I think an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man, that he's African-American."[18]
More than half have a positive view on Obama on only three of the 14 issues noted in the survey. Obama does get a 62 percent approval rating on the environment and -- despite recent vaccine shortages - 57 percent approve of how he has handled the government response to the H1N1 flu. A bare majority -- 51 percent -- approve of how Obama is handling foreign policy overall even though he gets some of his lowest scores on Iraq and Afghanistan. Three days after winning the election, then president-elect Obama said he would succeed "if we put aside partisanship and politics and work together as one nation. That's what I intend to do." Do Americans think the president will unite the country? The poll indicates Americans are divided, with 51 percent saying Obama will unite the country and 48 percent feeling he will not succeed in ending partisanship. Another factor that may be boosting Obama's overall rating is the inevitable comparison with the man he replaced in the Oval Office.[2] "While Obama talks almost daily about green jobs and green technology, one panel member argued that such a transition may not benefit the United States unless policies spur American companies to become stronger competitors in the area." Is it possible for this guy put his ideology aside for five seconds to consider taking a common-sense approach to tackling critical problems for the good of his country, rather than the relentless pursuit of his own personal dreams and goals!?!?! It's not that I think his ideas are all bad, but his priorities are totally screwed up. I'm not a wing-nut anything, but the man has surrounded himself with people who share his progressive goals and dismisses all dissent even if it is the eptimone of common sense. I was opposed to some of his policies, but thought he was capable to being a good President; now, I'm increasingly frightened by him, as well as profoundly disappointed that he just another pol.[16]
"People were expecting a romanticized version of the Kennedy Administration." One of those growing impatient with Obama is immigration reform activist Herbert Moreno, who runs education and literacy programs in Chicago's Hispanic community. Moreno worked for Obama's election; now he wants action. "A lot of people are disappointed, especially because we heard those promises," said Moreno, a 50 year old naturalized American from El Salvador. "We had high hopes for real reform and we're beginning to feel let down by the no action by this administration towards immigration reform." The new president has been warmly received overseas, and even unexpectedly won the Nobel peace prize for his "efforts to strengthen international diplomacy." Obama couldn't snare the Olympic prize for his home town. His efforts to break the Middle East peace process deadlock have floundered ; and his pledge to shut down the prison at Guantanamo Bay within a year now seems likely to be broken. The biggest challenge in Obama's Year Two--and perhaps the rest of his time in office--remains Afghanistan.[13] Washington's partisan rancour seems worse than ever. Opinion polls show that Obama is the least popular president at this point in his term since Gerald Ford before the US's ignominious exit from Saigon. Despite all these negatives, history may well end up being much kinder to the first year of Obama that will be marked tomorrow by the anniversary of his historic election. Obama inherited a mess and he has fought his way doggedly through it, always taking the disciplined long view even when this has played poorly in the 24/7 news cycle.[19] Senators Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Evan Bayh of Indiana, Ben Nelson of Oklahoma, Blanche Lincoln-Chaffe of Arkansas, Independent and former Democrat and Al Gore 2000 election running mate, Joe Lieberman are just some of the Bluedogs that act like conservative Republicans among Democrats. This family feud among Democrats have created stagnation, gridlock and, sometimes, deadlock in Washington, and spilling over into mainland America that now has the growing impression that Democrats can't do much with their sizeable majorities in both chambers of Congress. And, now, it seems the chickens of Democratic obstructionism are coming home to roost early with heavy losses in the Virginia gubernatorial race where Republican Bob McDonnell has defeated Democrat R. Creigh Deeds, and as I'm writing this commentary, MSNBC has projected Republican Chris Christie the winner in the New Jersey governorship race. This is a stunning defeat for Democrats, who barely a year ago swept victories in the presidential election and others across the nation. Exit polls suggest Obama was not a huge factor in these local election; the economy was. It doesn't matter. It's a warning to the incumbent Democratic administration to end the family feud and do something before next year mid-term congressional election--next November--or else, risk losing the Congress.[7] There is no way to spin it. This is a huge defeat for Democrats; especially in heavily Democratic Blue State of New Jersey where no Republican has won a statewide office since 1997. Joe Cozine--a former chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs--who raked outrageous fortunes and became a mutlimillionaire, and now spending an estimated $400 million to finance all his campaigns has fallen in hard times when ties to Wall Street, no matter how remote, is a political baggage. Along with a bad economy, they doomed Cozine's chance of re-election. Even, the most surprising development is that former Democrat, turned Republican and now Independent Mayor of New York City, muiltimillioniare Michael Bloomberg--owner of Bloomberg News--who takes only $1 a year from his about $195,000 mayoral salary--giving back the rest to the city--is now running neck and neck with his African-American poorly financed challenger in an election many thought Bloomberg will win handily. Bloomberg, also, like Cozine, has spent nearly $400 million financing his mayoral campaigns. This would have impressed New York City voters. Because he's working for them free of charge, and seemed to run an ethical administration in hard times.[7]
Now, with the economy beginning to grow again that intense, singular concern from the electorate is down to 40 percent, according to Gallup. That is very good news for President Obama if it gives him more time for the economy to pick up before voters stop looking back at President Bush and start to blame him for the nation''''''''s financial woes. Even with the declining interest in the economy, the economy is still the number one issue for voters there is no way for President Obama to hold his current 50 percent approval rating in a recent Gallup daily tracking poll without the strong memory of President Bush and dark economic news of the fall of 2008.[6] Without President Bush to blame there is no way voters would not be holding President Obama to blame for not keeping to pledge to hold unemployment under 8 percent. A year ago, when voters were specifically asked about the economy by Gallup, more than 60 percent said the economy had to be his top priority.[6]
Yeah. In one short year, Obama's slogan has gone from, "Yes, we can," to "Wow, this is freakin' hard." Reporters are saying President Obama has been skipping meals lately, and now photographs show he has lost a lot of weight. Folks, if this is true, then maybe Obama really has lost touch with the American people. Former President Bush is in Japan, and he was met with protestors carrying signs that said, "Arrest Bush" and "Bush is a war criminal."[20] By the time Mr. Obama was elected, almost one year ago, an anxious nation was ready for answers. Could Washington stave off a full-fledged depression? Though Obama would not take office for 2-1/2 months, Americans hung on his words as if he were already president. Fast-forward to today, and President Obama faces debate about what exactly he has achieved since taking office. '''Saturday Night Live''' lampooned him as having checked no boxes on his '''to do''' list. The surprise announcement a week later that he had won the Nobel Peace Prize, an award he himself said he did not deserve, only enhanced the notion that Obama was more about hope and hype than substance. Some academics defend him.[9] Monologue Aired Tuesday night on "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon": In his first year in office, President Obama has traveled to 16 foreign countries, more than any other president in history. Bush only traveled to 11, but most of those were just different parts from the "it's a small world" ride.[20] The lack of public support for the war in Afghanistan is directly tied to the last 8 years of U.S. involvement there under President Bush with no clear change for the better. My second smartass answer to what the president has achieved in his first year in office is that he remains the nation''''''''s first black president. He is still the fresh face of the rising mix of blacks, Hispanics, immigrants and young idealists that is creating a massive makeover for the national identity. Those voters as a power base constitute a huge shift from the mostly white, older voters who make up the heart of a shrinking Republican party.[6] 12 months on the administration has no plans to celebrate Obama's historic victory, perhaps sensing there is little appetite for a party amid the worst U.S. recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Obama plans to take part in a diplomatic ceremony on Wednesday at the White House, before traveling north to a school in Wisconsin to take up the fight for another of his key priorities -- education reform. A year ago his message was one of "Change We Can Believe In." Today he has honed his words to stress that "change is hard." The first anniversary since his election comes as the unemployment figures for October are set to be unveiled on Friday.[3] The high and mighty Goliath was finished ' dead. When virtually unknown first time senator Barack Obama declared his intentions to vie for America's presidency not too many people believed he could make it to the White House. What made Obama make it to the White House was his belief in himself and the support of his best friend and wife Michelle.[21] Obama's story has been lost, because the man now in the White House has lost touch with the brand that the people elected. Obama the candidate had a story to tell America that said that we were different, a nation founded in freedom and wedded to opportunity, a nation that was facing challenges that weren't systemic -- they were temporary and they could be fixed, just like others we had faced and fixed so many times in the past.[22]
Barack Obama has not transitioned into the White House. Even his staunchest supporters don't really feel like the man in the oval office is the change they have been waiting for.[22]
Obama the candidate promised openness and a new way of doing business. One particular foe was lobbyists whose power he vowed to reduce. Obama the president follows Obama the candidate's advice and releases the White House visitor's log to underscore his administration's new "openness."[22] You don't! Of the three White House web sites that have existed, that being President Clinton and President Bush (43), President Obama's White House web site is the least transparent and least user friendly.[23] '''We have pulled the economy back from the brink,''' Obama said during a meeting of the President'''s Economic Recovery Advisory Board at the White House.[14] Obama also agreed to make public the names of visitors to the White House, a level of openness that good government groups said far exceeded that of past presidents.[15] The Obama White House also points in the rear view mirror to justify the president''''''''s on-going struggle to decide whether to send added troops to Afghanistan.[6]
Speaking Monday at the White House, Obama said: "We anticipate that we're going to continue to see some job losses in the weeks and months to come." Afghanistan : Obama has not settled on a strategy for conducting the 8-year-old war in Afghanistan. He is weighing options, including significantly raising troop levels and targeting terrorists who pose a direct threat to U.S. interests.[15] The connection between jobs and votes is not lost on the administration. When the White House was debating whether to prop up Chrysler this spring, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel could recite which congressional districts had large Chrysler plants. Monday, Obama again stressed that he won't rest until economic growth is accompanied by job growth. "This is my administration's overriding focus," he said during a meeting with his Economic Recovery Advisory Board.[24]
"We don't need politicians who'd rather sit on the sidelines and point fingers than offer any answers, any real solutions." There's no doubt that the president's words are aimed at many of the Republicans he believes are standing in the way of some of his reforms. Of course, it is the president's job, always has been, to overcome those opponents. Those few elections are being seen as something of a referendum on his leadership so far. That is probably unfair because of their limited scope. Obama's fans say he needs to show a lot of more of the sort of fight he demonstrated in New Jersey to keep the country on his side. [25] Filmmakers Amy Rice and Alicia Sams started shooting film in 2006 with an Illinois Senator who had made a popular speech at a convention. As it progresses into the primaries, the filmmakers got a probably unmatched amount of time with Obama's family'''particularly daughters Sasha and Malia, who have since been in the press only sparingly'''and with his campaign operation, which provides the film's real meat and emotional impact. Spending late nights with exhausted volunteers who gave themselves to the campaign'''and watching them as they gradually discover they actually have a chance to win'''the film puts a human face on an often-maligned job. I watched By the People at a screening over the summer, and while I was impressed with the access and sometimes moved, I was also'''and I say this as somebody'' who voted for Obama '''a little unnerved by the general feeling of self-congratulation in the film. (The title is one hint.) As the film moves into the general election, the candidate and the mechanics of his campaign move into the distance (a result, probably, of the access drying up in the national stage of the campaign), and the film starts to take a hagiographic tone, as if honoring its viewers one last time for electing Obama President.[26]
Any excuse, we must suppose, will do. For his part, Mr Obama is engaging in acts of deference to the Democratic majority in Congress - as a Chicago machine politician probably has to, for genetic reasons - that are exceeded only by his acts of deference to the unions, who have never had it so good, and who were the reason for his absurd decision to put tariffs on tyres imported from China. By the time you read this you will know whether the Democrats have lost a series of key elections held yesterday, including the governorships of Virginia and New Jersey. If they do, it will reinforce the point that Mr Obama won last November because he was not the heir of George Bush, and for no other reason. The President starts to risk comparisons not just with Jimmy Carter, but with Lyndon Johnson, felled by a combination of a foreign war and welfare reform, and even, with his list of enemies, Richard Nixon.[7] The large divide between Republicans and Democrats is a reflection of the biggest single area of disappointment with Obama among voters. In November of last year 54 percent of voters said they expected the new president to heal the partisan divide in the nation and now only 28 percent see him as capable of that feat.[6] Monologue Aired Tuesday night on "The Jay Leno Show": Do you believe it's been a year since Barack Obama was elected president? Amazing, huh? Well, actually, there's been some changes. His new slogan is now, "Yes, we can, but don't hold your breath."[20] Folks, we're at the one year mark. It's been exactly a year since Barack Obama was elected president and the question must be asked: How is Brand Obama doing? Take a look through the marketing lens and you'll see that there are really two brands that make up today's Brand Obama: Obama the candidate and Obama the president.[22] When Barack Obama was elected president a year ago this week, the country was already mired in a long recession. Even his top economic advisers didn't know how bad things were going to get.[24] In the year since he was elected president, Barack Obama has revealed himself as one of the boldest leaders to occupy the Oval Office in the modern era.[10]
Every man and his dog is lining up to assess where Barack Obama is, a year on from that historic election. Fans of the president are delighted that Obama himself has given signs at last of coming out swinging against some of his opponents.[25] The gathering of nearly 250,000 in Grant Park on election night last year was hailed as a historic moment for Chicago, and not just because Barack Obama, the first African-American president, gave his acceptance speech there.[5] It was a night to remember: In Chicago's Grant Park one year ago, I watched as a giant surging crowd celebrated Barack Obama's election as the 44th president of the United States.[13] One election day ago, Barack Obama was elected President of the United States, and TV is marking the anniversary with two earnest documentaries'''and an alien invasion.[26]
Obama was viewed favorably by 86 percent of respondents, compared to only 21 percent for Bush in 2005. "What's striking about these findings is how Canadians have detached their personal view of Barack Obama, whom they quite like and respect, from the United States, which they still view with skepticism, even distrust," said Andrew Cohen, president of the institute.[27] OTTAWA — Canadians are no more loving of the United States under its current leadership than during George W. Bush's presidency, suggested a poll published Monday. They do like President Barack Obama a whole lot more than his predecessor, said the Historica Dominion Institute survey of 1,018 Canadians.[27]
"I think people still feel like we're the great city that produced Barack Obama." Michael Stewart 33, West Side, director of a nonprofit that works to eliminate homelessness among children worldwide Obama's campaign stirred little emotion in Stewart. Having moved to Evanston from Jamaica as a child, he grew up overwhelmed by the vast racial and economic disparities in the United States. He was pessimistic about racial progress in America and didn't think a single individual, such as Obama, could transform the country.[5] On the streets of Washington there are mixed views from people like Roberta Meighan and Curtis McNish as to whether Barack Obama has met expectations. "I think he's been doing a great job considering what he was left with, the legacy that was given to him, I think he's doing a great job," Roberta Meighan said. "I think he's doing the best that he can at this point considering the environment he has to work with and the enormous challenges," Curtis Mcnish said.[4]
Isn't it lovely to be right? All those people who said a year ago that Obama was the wrong man for the job because he was out of his depth. Have they been proved right simply because he has achieved doodly squat so far? I think so.[7] Obama the candidate had a unifying vision that was ultimately pro-American. He won the support of many conservatives because he insisted on the importance of the free market and the strength of rugged American individualism. He was the kind of man who appreciated people like Warren Buffet and entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs.[22] He's revealed himself to be a Marxist. That hateful reverend of his, the one who's Institution Obama sat in for 20 years, where the Obamas got married, that hateful reverend is on video from Sept. 17, 2009 praising Marxism. I know, I knnow, Obama never heard of any of those hateful things. We who knew better than to vote for the Marxist-in-Chief knew it before the election when he told an innocent American that spreading the wealth is good for everybody. WE THE PEOPLE don't like Marxist ideology (excluding the wacked out liberals and left-wing zealots who care only for themselves) and we are going to toss out the rest of the Marxists who someone were voted in to make unconstitutional laws to fulfill their twisted agendas.[10] The joy and unity of the diverse crowd in Grant Park awakened in Stewart a newfound patriotism and hope for race relations. One year later: Stewart feels like his doubts about Obama were confirmed, especially by what he perceived as the bailout of the banks. He remains tremendously excited about the American people and race relations. "It's all about the coalition of the willing," he said. "I've come to appreciate people as individuals, not by their race.[5]
In real life, the well intentioned and naive character gets the blame and the nasty people get away with murder. The economy doesn't do well? They will blame Obama. Conflicts are not solved and America is forced to beat retreat? They will blame Obama. There will be those who will certainly say: He had an African American President, and you know what? Sounds familiar? Those who know will say: he didn't stand a chance because everything was arranged before he arrived.[7] Bought honey made in Peru. President Obama and the Congress both Republican and Democrat alike don't get it. Most of the World subsidizes its economy. Germany is a heavily unionized country and they have a healthier economy than we do here in America.[16]
Again, ties to Wall Street and outrageous fortunes seem to aggravate many voters reeling from recession. As I started editing this commentary, and almost ready to submit it, same MSNBC projected a narrow victory for Bloomberg. Obama may be on probation, because, he was elected with people's money and grassroots mobilization and campaign organization--few of whom turned turned out to vote for Democrats in current local-state elections in various part of the country. This is a wake-up call for him and Democrats. Republicans should relish their victories tonight. They must be bracing for civil war of their own, between right-wing extremists who now dominate the party and moderates calling for Big Tent more accommodationist policies of Reagan era that even enticed Reagan Democrats.[7] On the eve of that historic election, there seemed to be so much popular goodwill towards America's first black president but it has not taken long for that to evaporate. "There was an enormous amount of goodwill and a sense of almost self congratulation in America that we could have done this dramatic thing and elected an African-American president," Mr Ornstein said. "Obama won with what by our normal standards would be close to a landslide and certainly in electoral votes and he got almost 53 per cent of the popular votes. "But the fact is that early goodwill which was built on moving to a 17 per cent approval, which meant 17 was people who had not voted for him but were really eager to give him a chance, began to move down towards its natural dorm and at this point Obama's approval, which took a steep decline because he had been so high, is back where you might expect it to be, which is around 53 per cent or so - the people who supported him in the first place." Mr Obama's political honeymoon may be over but some of his historic reforms are still tantalisingly within reach.[4] Had it not been for the huge expectations in the United States and abroad, Obama's first 10 months in office might seem more of a success. "He has delivered more than most presidents, and more quickly than most," said Bruce Buchanan, a professor of government at the University of Texas. The ugly political mood he promised to quell, however, rages louder than ever and dictated that only three Republicans voted for the 787-billion-dollar economic stimulus bill passed in February.[3] Children's health care: Obama signed a State Children's Health Insurance Program bill in February. In doing so, he continued coverage for 7 million children in lower-income families and extended it to an additional 4 million. Changing U.S. image abroad: Beginning with his election, Obama sought to boost America's reputation overseas. Foreign leaders who objected to what they saw as Bush-era swagger and unilateralism welcomed Obama's emphasis on partnership and cooperation. His efforts were rewarded last month with a Nobel Peace Prize. Appointing a Supreme Court justice: With the retirement of Justice David Souter, Obama got his first chance to name a Supreme Court justice. He chose Sonia Sotomayor, a federal appeals court judge who grew up in a Bronx housing project and excelled at Princeton University and then Yale Law School.[15] Most distressing is the fact that job growth continues to lag." Another of his key platforms, health care reform, has been bogged down in testy negotiations in Congress, but there is hope that a landmark deal could be reached before year's end. That would prove a real coup, after successive administrations struggled unsuccessfully with the issue. Abroad, Obama's policy of engaging U.S. foes has so far yielded few breakthroughs, although the promise of his fledgling presidency won him the Nobel Peace Prize last month.[3]
The U.S. is drowning in debt, with government debt slated to double to 100 per cent of GDP over the next five years. Higher taxes, less spending, higher interest rates, higher inflation, a sinking greenback - these are Obama's invidious choices. Candidate Obama said he believed in fair trade, not free trade. President Obama joined his G20 colleagues in solemnly forsaking protectionism. The Obama administration has not moved on any of the free trade deals on its docket, including the Doha Round, while succumbing to domestic pressure to get tough on trade with China.[19] President Obama's approval rating of 54 percent is nearly identical to the 53 percent of the vote he won a year ago.[2]
Obama has lost his virginity in Virginia thank goodness. The man is not some kind of messiah because he is half black, he is actually a very ordinary President, which is not bad when you consider whom he succeeded. He appears to have unravelled over the first 12 months and now the Nobel Peace Prize looks a truly foolish decision. Now the hype is over perhaps Mr Obama can settle in and prove over the next 3 years that he can cope and is a reasonably competent President. Simon Heffer is just pointing out that he has not really done that much yet and what he has done has often lacked competence.[7] The gloves are not just off; the knuckledusters are on. To use another old cliché, Mr Obama looks like a man who has made the mistake of believing his own publicity. His adherents in the media are now so defensive that they have started complaining about the rules - implying that the exercise of free speech by the likes of Mr Limbaugh verges on the traitorous, and is preventing the President from doing his job properly.[7] Empty rhetoric cannot. Why all the radical friends and the radical proposals and the radical rhetoric if he'''s not himself a radical? Because his lack of conviction and his inability to forge his own philosophical and theological identity, have made him incredibly susceptible to external influence and pressure. He is easily led. He is, as such, the perfect prospect for someone like Bill Ayers or Reverend Wright, whose radical agendas require vulnerable recruits who are malleable and willing. I don'''t know if President Obama is a man of conviction, if he is a man of faith, or if he is the intellectual giant the left really wants him to be. He very well may be all of those things.[17] President Obama still goes to work every day, many people believed that he would be denied that privilige. Why blame the President, he is only the leader of a team and like the rest of the World there are not many real talented people going into politics, he has to select the best from a pile of rubbish. I would pay President Obama's air fare to come and head up the UK instead of this useless Brown and his sycophantic International Socialist friends.[7]
MOST headlines these days are bad news for Barack Obama. After Hillary Clinton's arrival in Pakistan was met with a bomb blast killing a hundred people, her next stop in the Middle East only poured more cold water on the peace process. No sooner had Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai agreed to a runoff to settle his dubious re-election than his main opponent withdrew to destabilise the process still further.[19] The list of differences goes on and on, but you get the picture. Where do we go from here? The real question is does Barack Obama want to be a one-term president? If the answer is no, then we will have to see more of Obama the candidate and see him fast. New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman observed recently that Obama has lost his "narrative."[22]
Sarah Palin and John McCain find themseves on opposite sides. Florida Governor Chris running for the U.S. Senate is, also, targeted, because he's a moderate. Worse: He endorsed President Barack Obama's $787 billion economic-stimulus package. This is the state of contemporary American politics. There is family feud in both parties--both ideological and policy-oriented.[7] I reckon Obama has been used by the American establishment that flooded his electoral campaign with money to make sure that he could become President. Why? Hillary Clinton made the argument that she could be the first Female President of the United States. Those who supported Obama said that he could be the first African American President of the United States.[7] 'Under the most intense scrutiny and attacks ' Obama showed the temperament, judgment, intellect and political acumen that are essential in a president that would lead the United States,' one American paper is quoted to have said. Mc Cain, on the other hand was considered by many as impulsive or hot headed if you like, which makes him volatile.[21]
"There are underlying, enduring currents of skepticism, distrust and even perhaps anti-Americanism in Canada which (Obama's) election has not fundamentally changed," said Andrew Cohen, president of the Historica-Dominion Institute. The Innovative Research poll for the institute, which coincides with the first anniversary of Obama's milestone election as the first black president in the U.S., finds 86 per cent of Canadians asked view him favourably. Just seven per cent don't like what they see.[8] Healthcare reform and Afghanistan policy also hang in the balance. The resolution of both will say a lot about how Obama operates as president ''' and whether his first year is perceived as successful or not. '''A decent-seeming would redound to Obama'''s advantage and reduce the buzz over whether he is '''tough enough''' and perhaps lead to a spike in public approval,''' says Fred Greenstein, professor emeritus of politics at Princeton University in New Jersey.[9] '''We got good news last week showing that for the first time in over a year the economy was actually growing once again. We have seen some (economic) indicators that manufacturing is beginning to pick up,''' he said. '''That'''s all good news and we are pleased that the actions that we took swiftly through the Recovery Act helped to stem what could have been a disastrous situation for the economy and we are starting to see stabilisation and, indeed, some improvement,''' Obama said.[14] The time has come for Obama to put a stake in the ground on an open global economy. The past year has been full of headline-grabbing crises for Obama, many that were not of his making. All things considered, he has coped well with them in a quiet manner belying his global rock star status. In the coming year, Obama will have to deal with a bed he has now made.[19]
Proposals moving through Congress would empower federal officials to seize and dismantle large firms whose failure would pose a risk to the economy, as well as to create a new agency that would protect consumers in the financial marketplace. Ethics and transparency: Though government watchdog groups tout the strides he has made, Obama has not delivered on specific promises to reveal the workings of government. As a candidate he said he would hold health care meetings in full view of C-SPAN cameras.[15] In just about every specific policy category, Obama's approval rating has declined significantly since the last time pollsters checked. On the economy, it's down to 46%, compared with 54% in September. On health care, it's 42%, down from 51% in September. On the federal budget deficit, it's 39%, versus 46% in September (although up from 36% in August). On Afghanistan, it's 42% versus 49% in August. The percentage saying his policies are too liberal (42%) is also up slightly, although 44% still say his policies are just about right.[28]
The best political decision now, however, was to abandon that for a more docile public option. Once that failed to garner the groundswell of support his advisers thought it would, he appeared altogether indifferent to it. If he were really a radical, he'''d be rallying us around universal health care right now, not some watered-down 1990-page bureaucratic hodge podge that is neither revolutionary nor practical. His impassioned pledges to end '''Don'''t Ask, Don'''t Tell,''' close Gitmo, bring troops home, end military tribunals, and myriad other promises, suddenly seem less like the stuff of real political conviction, and more like political headaches that require a clever exit strategy. His reaction to any kind of opposition ''' from the right, from the citizenry, from Fox News ''' is equally telling. If Obama'''s agenda were based on conviction instead of political expedience and an unquenchable thirst for popularity, criticism would bounce right off him. Instead he seems frighteningly flappable. That'''s because leadership without convictions is leadership of empty rhetoric.[17] Obama turns out not to be a Bill Clinton-style centrist or a Paul Wellstone-style liberal. His plans for health care and his trillion-plus dollars in new spending have earned the ire of Rush Limbaugh for being too grandiose and of Arianna Huffington for not being grandiose enough. Obama is the president as grand improvisationalist: a leader of epic ambitions who -- when faced with a difficult choice -- almost always pursues his aims with a pedestrian strategy and style. This may be a shrewd approach to governing. It manages almost by definition to defy and disappoint the huge -- and wildly divergent -- expectations Obama encouraged supporters to harbor for his presidency.[10]
Health care: Obama is waging an epic fight to pass a bill that would revamp the health care system and extend coverage to most of the 46 million people now uninsured. Legislative proposals have faced numerous snags as they move through Congress.[15]
I'm amazed by those that infer that Obama should have taken on more. He assumed control of TARP, bought General Motors, raised the $700B stimulus in 3 days, passed a $700B budget, took on health care and kicked off the discussion on cap and trade. and then there are two wars and the probes by the DOJ. While the far left of the Democratic Party grouse that they wanted more, the conservatives are on fire thinking he's a madman that is on the verge of destroying the country. Obama is not the unifier he billed himself at all, and his programs are far from moderate.[10] "This is our moment," President-Elect Barack Obama told electrified crowds in Chicago's Grant Park, and around the globe, a year ago. His 2,050-word speech took care to point out that stark realities were colliding with the night's giddy celebrations, and he reminded of "the challenges that tomorrow will bring''two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century." On what was the 287th day of his young presidency, those challenges were indeed his reality, not mere rhetoric, and commanded his attention in back-to-back meetings that began with a daily briefing from the CIA. After that off-limits session, Obama allowed Chicago Tribune photographer Nancy Stone to record most of his work day.[23] Aired Tuesday night on NBC : A year ago today, Barack Obama was elected president. It's been a year, can you believe that? Yeah.[20] We may not get there in one year or even in one term," Barack Obama told the crowd in Grant Park. He still needs time to turn a myriad of campaign promises into policy.[12] One year after Barack Obama won the presidency his campaign pledge of '''''''Change You Can Believe In'''''''' has gone from an inspirational pledge to a laugh line for critics.[6]
HBO's By the People: The Election of Barack Obama, airing tonight, is better made and more engrossing, mainly because it had extensive access to an actual political campaign.[26] Many of President Barack Obama's campaign promises remain unfulfilled, and the national unemployment rate is approaching 10 per cent.[13] John D. McKinnon reports on presidential popularity. President Barack Obama's overall approval rating has stabilized in the latest CNN/Opinion Research poll ' at 54%, it's still roughly where it's been since late summer.[28] When Barack Obama campaigned for president, the first-term senator from Illinois set a high bar for himself.[9]
How anyone can think Obama a great man is completely beyond me. He's a pawn, put in place by the bankers of America with which to do his bidding. It's all a charade I'm afraid. Time for a change they said - a black president (although he's mixed race) instead of a white one. That's the only difference Cllr Ken Tiwari. I'm sure the Black Panthers, supremacists and the racist Black rappers/hip hop artists are overjoyed he's the president.[7] The new law is a laudable accomplishment for President Obama, but more significantly, for women who merely seek a level playing field in the workplace. At a time when women are STILL paid only 70 cents for every $1 that a man is paid, the act can be seen as a glimmer of hope for equality from both the Whitehouse and Congress.[15] Today President Obama got the message from the voters of New Jersey: it is now longer a safe state for the Democrats.[7] The GOP racks up major wins in Virginia and New Jersey. President Obama is navigating his own contradictions.[10]
Where Obama the candidate was bold, fresh and new; Obama the president seems like a big helping of big-government Democratic leftovers served cold. This is a dish virtually none of the electorate wants to eat and no one voted for.[22] Forward Motion is embodied by energizing slogans like "Yes, We Can." Obama the candidate made people forget that passing legislation is hard work and that ideological differences are real, because he promised to bring us all to some place much better than the present. Obama the president has lost his forward motion. Instead of telling Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Barney Frank to either join his change wagon or get lost, he puts the Democratic establishment in charge and decides to play follower instead of leader.[22] Mr West says change has been harder to bring about that what Mr Obama anticipated. "People saw the President having big democratic majorities in the House and Senate and just assumed it would be easy to pass his agenda and that simply has not been the case," he said.[4]
Interesting article. I wonder how much of Mr. Obama's perceived ineffectiveness is due to the wariness with which much of the American public still views his vision for our nation. Although one wouldn't know it from most of the press the President gets, a sizable portion of Americans remains unconvinced that his definition of progress is not another step backward. Until he can make that case in the way that Roosevelt, Reagan and even Bush did, his hopes for real change are just pipe dreams.[9] George W. Bush cut taxes, passed the No Child Left Behind education reform, and pulled the nation together after 9/11. Bill Clinton passed a major stimulus and deficit-reduction program, was on his way to passing the North American Free Trade Agreement, and presided over a historic Arab-Israeli handshake. George H.W. Bush'''s term, in many ways Ronald Reagan'''s '''third term,''' got credit for his successful stewardship of the end of the cold war. President Reagan launched his '''revolution''' by enacting the largest tax cuts in history. It is the start of Jimmy Carter'''s presidency that serves as Obama'''s cautionary tale.[9]
It's been a year since I was completely obsessed with the American general election. A year ago tomorrow Americans voted Obama to be their next president.[29] Obama the president certainly doesn't seem to believe that it is the small business owner who is the backbone of the economy. He also doesn't seem to recognize that the American dream has a lot to do with the freedom to risk it all in the marketplace.[22] Obama the president doesn't seem to care about capitalism or small businesses at all. His vision of a renewed American marketplace seems to have a lot to do with the government running and regulating everything.[22]
In one sense I get it: the movie was made in the spirit of Nov. 5, 2008, the generalized, post=election good feeling and best wishes for the Obamas, plus happiness that'''politics aside'''a country with a history of race troubles had elected an African American president.[26] Simon Heffer-write about USA-president dear Barak Obama- He says:-First anniversary&there's is nothing to celebrate? But I say,there's a lot to-celebrate-Simon old boy! For your information-and-other- haters of this Great-man:- the 44th president of USA-he did united his Country, by bringing his main challenger-in to-his Government-Hillary Clinton, and he is tackling Health-Care! I think Barak Obama is working- very hard,according to my relations in America.[7] When America is confronted by a resurgent, bellicose Russia, an emerging Chinese superpower and assorted murderous Islamo-fascists, now would not seem to be the best time to have your foreign policy run by a cringing apologist for past U.S. "misdemeanours". Having trashed his own country's reputation, the new foreign policy course on which Obama has so boldly embarked seems to consist of little more than attempting to bring eternal peace and everlasting justice to the world with the sheer force of his messianic personality.[7] Why not. He was participating in the destruction of mortgage standards in the 1990s by suing Citibank for ACORN with charges of discrimination Plus Obama was a U.S. Senator. and so he passed all the budgets of the past few years. He voted for TARP, which the democrats created from 3 pages from Tresury Dept outline. ALL of Obama's proposals are designed to increase unemployement, increase people flocking for more welfare. these Democrats seek to bring Marxist Collectivism to America buy totally destroying our economic system Mission almost accomplished.[7] The Wall Street Journal, the newspaper here of serious money, has just savaged the Bill as perhaps the worst inflicted on the American people since the era of Roosevelt. Its projected cost - $1.055 trillion over 10 years - is regarded as madness when America has a level of debt so astronomical that it (just) exceeds, per capita, that of Britain; and few outside a hard core of Obama devotees see it delivering what is needed, where it is needed.[7]
Simon, your article shows just how deluded you and the Obama hate camp are. If you hadn't noticed, the U.S. was well on it's way down a path of distruction before Obama came into power but still, Americans and others are daft enough to blame Obama for the mess America is in.[7] Here comes the man whose father was Moslem, born in Hawaii, who lived in Asia and who was educated at the best American Universities. What a propaganda coup! They chose him as the face of a redeemed United States of America. What the Establishment didn't say is that Obama is the face and they continue pulling the strings. Where did I hear the story before? Hollywood produced plenty of movies in which the well intentioned and often naive main character is used by those trying to promote their vested interests.[7]
Unemployment keeps rising, the situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated, efforts to reinvigorate the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have hit a brick wall. The vice-president and director of Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution in Washington, Darrell West, says Mr Obama has delivered on several aspects of his change agenda. "He certainly has improved the economy. The United States officially is out of recession and just report 3.5 per cent GDP growth in the last quarter so that is something all Americans look forward to," he said.[4] Panel members told Obama that the administration should look to three areas to spur job growth: exports, infrastructure and energy-efficiency technologies. While Obama talks almost daily about green jobs and green technology, one panel member argued that such a transition may not benefit the United States unless policies spur American companies to become stronger competitors in the area.[16]
'''But I want to emphasise I am confident that having moved the economy on the right track, that if we apply some good common sense and reinvigorate that sector of our economy that'''s based on innovation and dynamism and entrepreneurship, that there'''s no reason why we'''re not going to be able to not only create jobs, but the kind of sustainable economic growth that everybody is looking for,''' Obama said.[14] By the time Obama was sworn in two months later, the economy had shed an additional million-plus jobs.[24] "We anticipate that we're going to continue to see some job losses in the weeks and months to come," Obama stressed Monday. He highlighted that the actions taken by his government had "helped to stem what could have been a disastrous situation for the economy," adding "we are starting to see stabilization and indeed some improvement." He acknowledged that "we are still seeing production levels that are significantly below peak levels.[3] "Given the severity of the job losses that took place at the beginning of the year and the need for us to make up a whole lot of job loss, is going to require, I think, some bold, innovative action on our part and on Congress's part and on the private sector's part" to boost employment, the president said. "This is my administration's overriding focus. We will not rest until we are succeeding in generating the jobs that this economy needs."[16]
Two broad indicators -- President Obama's public approval ratings and the nation's unemployment levels -- may hint at voters' mind-set. Jobs -- or the lack of them -- have become the key political yardstick for the president and his party.[24] President Obama and his aides still find the Bush administration a convenient foil when facing political trouble.[6]
President Obama will go to history a ones of the worst President this country ever have, follow by Jimmy Carter, O convince by the time he left the presidency this country is going to be very divide and broke.[9] Viewed through the prism of how '''Obama so far''' stacks up against past presidents, the issue of high expectations sits front and center. Twice since Obama'''s election, Time magazine has run cover stories on what he can learn from Franklin Roosevelt, the last president to tackle both economic crisis and war. On one, Obama'''s face is Photoshopped onto a famously jaunty picture of FDR. Obama himself has wrapped his image in the mantle of Abraham Lincoln.[9] What I am opposed to is a rush war. What I am opposed to is the cynical attempt. to shove their own ideological agendas down our throats, irrespective of the costs in lives lost and in hardships borne.' Obama promised to immediately begin to remove American troops from Iraq and that within 16 months after his election, all American combat brigades would be out of there. Despite this glaring reality, McCain was so obsessed with the Iraq war that he scoffed at the withdrawal time table as 'foolish and premature'. These, and many other issues endeared Obama to the Americans.[21]
Obama silently saluted as flag-draped coffins were carried in procession - a president bearing witness to the return of American soldiers killed in a long war in a land far away.[13]
Obama the president is the incredible shrinking commander-in-chief, who has deferred to old-time politics (and politicos) and yielded to disproven big-government ideologies. Let's compare these two brands within a brand and try to gauge where this presidency goes from here: The Winner and The Loser: Obama the candidate was an impressive figure. He possessed powerful charm, eloquence and, for many people, a Teflon image. When painted into a corner, this is the man who could find a doorway to the future and walk right out. He did this with Rev. Jeremiah Wright and at many other pivotal moments in his campaign.[22] '''What they'''re going to try to do is make you scared of me,''' Obama said. '''You know, he doesn'''t look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills.''' '''We know what kind of campaign they'''re going to run. They'''re going to try to make you afraid. They'''re going to try to make you afraid of me.[18] ' Someone DID look behind the campaign, and found the ex-Weather Underground terrorist William Ayers, and the race-baiting anti-American preacher Jeremiah Wright, and some other sleazy Chicago friends headed by a fraudster named Tony Rezko. A chap named Stanley Kurtz did brave and lonely work exposing Obama for what he is -- but alas, the mainstream media did not wish to broadcast the facts and the American people by and large either did not know or did not want to hear. Those of us that were paying attention from the beginning are not in the least surprised.[7] What the dilemma illustrates is that governing is not so easy as it might once have seemed; that you cannot please all of the people all of the time, so there is little point trying; and that the expertise of the Obama campaign in managing image is useless when managing a country. Tony Blair, had they asked, could have told him that.[7] Obama also has the soul of an operative. He and his West Wing team -- dominated at the top by people whose expertise is in the world of campaigns and Washington maneuvers -- have proved to be far more familiar political types than they admit to themselves or than was forecast by his insurgent campaign and the expansive, at times almost messianic, rhetoric that powered it.[10]
"I think a lot of people at that time bought enough, at that time. I don't think it has got anything to do with his popularity or anything," she said. "People walk past and they still like him. it is just that maybe everybody got a piece of what they needed then." Ms Kagwa says she supports Mr Obama. "I think he is doing good.[4] Well good luck with that one. I have to confess I have always been so appalled by Obama's hubris that I am taking a certain sadistic delight in seeing his Presidency unravel so quickly. That much was predictable, but I still never cease to be amazed that so many supposedly intelligent people were ever taken in by all that narcissistic "we are the change" claptrap in the first place.[7] Obama also set the bar high by imposing deadlines. On his first full day in office, he ordered the Guant''namo Bay prison camp closed in one year. In May, Obama was outmaneuvered in a congressional vote that bars the transfer of Guant''namo detainees to the U.S., hindering his ability to place them in other countries as well.[9] Truth be told, Mr Heffer, you were against Mr Obama's election from the very outset - and your numerous objections are well recorded on these pages. It's no surprise to me that you're blaming him, effectively, for inheriting the current unemployment situation in his country less than a year ago from your ideological soulmate, Mr Bush.[7] Part of the assessment of the Obama-story-so-far will come in a handful of 'off-year' elections around the country, including a couple of governors' races. In campaigning in one of those in New Jersey, Obama aimed some strong words at those who have been trying to get the knife in. His record on the economy, on healthcare, on climate change, on Afghanistan and Iraq are all up for question, of course, but he cautioned some with short memories.[25] What, do you miss the days of GW Bush? He's the one who put the country in that situation, and Obama's just trying to pick up the pieces! As for Fox news, the trashy mouthpiece for Murdoch's financial interests, I agree Obama's administration shouldn't stoop to their level and engage with them, but hey, he's human after all.[7]
Fifty-seven percent say Obama has been a better president than George W. Bush ; only a third say Bush's track record was better.[2] "Compared to Obama, Bush does fairly well among southerners and rural voters. Even in those categories, a majority still says Obama has done a better job than Bush," says Holland.[2] "Congress is going to be looking to act," Obama told the committee during an hourlong meeting in the Roosevelt Room. "To the extent that we have very clear, crisp recommendations that we can present before them and do so soon, the better off we're going to be." While the administration has fended off talk of a second stimulus bill, Obama made clear he's concerned that the stimulus legislation passed in February won't do enough to turn the jobs picture around.[16]
Ability to identify with the voters Obama, through experience, knew what it meant to worry financially. He had, for a big part of his life, lived that way himself and therefore it was easy to identify with many middle class Americans with genuine convincing empathy. Under the circumstances, Michelle could not have been a better wife and friend for she backed him up all the way. In sharp contrast, both John and Cindy McCain were rich and had been so for their entire lives. They were so out of reach with reality, drawing the voters to the'saviour' Obama who understood them better. Personality Obama has a calm and steady personality which allows him to think through his decisions and gives a major boost to his leadership qualities as it rightly portrays him as mature. 'He is able to listen to good advice and make careful decisions,' another supporter commented.[21] Mr. Obama has fostered open debate, most of which has been very positive. He is a world thinker who has impressed world leadership and world culture in positive ways which have set the stage for possible world peace. He has positioned his administration (and America generally) as a relevant force for global change and human advancement. His early initiatives do indeed have great potential to calm world tensions, ease conflict, and to begin to advance values and further initiatives for building a better planet. He does in fact deserve the peace prize, and the committee responsible for selecting him has shown intense wisdom.[9]
Britain also suffered the same humiliation although the taxpayer remains hopelessly ignorant of the consequences. Where Prez Obama stirred a hornets nest was demanding ISREAL stop building illegal settlements and confiscating property of Arabs in EAST JERUSALEM. America needs accessible healthcare but that corporate lobby is willing to discredit the President to get its way.[7] After one year of no drama Obama, the answer is a quiet yes - though without any of the delirious triumphalism of last year's Obamamania. Looking ahead to next year, the challenges Obama will face will be of his own making. He will no longer be able to hide behind the notion that he is making the best of the bad lot he inherited. In many ways, this might prove a tougher hurdle for the President to clear.[19] You had to laugh at the slogan Change You Can Believe In. What the hell does that mean? Anybody elected on that ticket was not going to be an intellectual heavyweight were they? Obama is media friendly, but that is unfortunately not the key attribute a president facing todays problems needs. Is he much more? Probably not, though it is unfair to say he will fail after just one year, and he has of course inherited lots of problems. He probably needs another year before a more realistic judgement can be made.[7] President Obama could not possibly have solved the following in one year and you know it: 1.[7] President Obama and Congress still don't get it. Republicans are brain dead because they still think that "free markets" exists.[16] President Obama and his "experts" are giving Americans the same old same old.[16] Monologue Aired Tuesday night on "Jimmy Kimmel Live": A lot of people have been noticing that president Obama is getting very skinny. Have you noticed this? And he is thin. If it wasn't for his ears he'd weigh less than 100 pounds.[20] I can remember the electricity in the air, the anticipation of history in the making, the chants of "OBAMA! OBAMA! OBAMA!", the tears that streamed down many people's faces, the roar when the new president elect and his wife and children walked out onto a brightly lit stage. "This is our moment. This week I returned to Chicago, to stand in the empty, windswept space of Grant Park.[13] Obama the candidate was a man who effectively united millions of people from different political camps and won with the promise of a new kind of politics. This man is still a winner.[22]
Obama'''s election itself raised expectations, says Russell Riley, a presidential historian at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville. '''There was a miracle at the ballot box, and people expect those miracles to continue later,''' he says. '''But don'''t help themselves by setting deadlines early on that they then don'''t meet.''' Obama'''s immediate predecessors can all claim some victories in their first nine months in office.[9] The first in line at Grant Park, Krieglstein had arrived the night before Election Day and camped out. From his front-row seat, he marveled at the respectful behavior of the growing crowd. It was as if people were ambassadors for Obama.[5]
He''did it''with 53 percent of the vote. Today, on the first Tuesday of November 2009 as voters go to the polls for a handful of off-year elections, his approval rating is in pretty much the same spot: 54 percent, according to a CNN poll. "In nearly every demographic category, the percent that approve of Obama today is within two to three points of the percent who voted for him in 2008," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.[30] In that critical six month period the poll found the biggest slippage in support for the president among independent voters, 13 percentage points, but more than half of Independents, 52 percent, still approve of Obama.[6]
Obama himself is smart enough to have learned by now what political dynamite the issue is. He needs no more Reverend Wright'''s, or beer summits. It'''s obvious why these pundits continue to harp on this alleged reticence against an African-American president. It'''s true that the more race is discussed, the more some of their base'''s most base instincts get pumped up. The real hope, however, is to snare those voters on the fence. If they can convince white independents that Obama is being treated with kid gloves because he'''s black, they might win some converts who are tired of the whole race issue. Their argument about Obama is an illusion.[18] When it comes to policy, Obama is more willing than any Democratic president since Lyndon B. Johnson to propose expansive goals -- but is insistent always on preserving flexibility in the name of realism or political self-protection.[10]
Early failures don'''t always portend a failed presidency. '''A president whom we all admire like John F. Kennedy had to get through the Bay of Pigs before he moved on to his record of accomplishment,''' says Mr. Widmer of Brown University. At least, he adds, Obama has not endured disaster, even if he has yet to pull off a signature piece of legislation in the vein of what Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson achieved early.[9] The couple are vocal supporters of healthy living and Mr Obama goes regularly to the gym. As he came out of the gym in Fort McNair, he was wearing a large jacket which may have contributed to his skinny look. A Washington insider told the Drudge Report that the president was not chain-smoking - his one vice - but does occasionally skip meals because he is "working non-stop for the country". A week ago, Mr Obama talked about his physique as he hit back at critics in a speech in Miami. He said: "Just 'cause I'm skinny doesn't mean I'm not tough.[31] Until Obama stepped on stage, Krieglstein had never felt so connected to the president and the country.[5]
"Almost half of us don't believe America is a force for good in the world, even with Obama as president."[27] President Obama has demonstrated his abilities on a global scale as a transformational leader, (see Collins, Jim., Good to Great; or Ford, Leighton., Transforming Leadership).[9] Just because President Obama is our first African-American commander-in-chief, that'''s no reason to walk on eggshells.[18] President Obama, please do the world a favor and resign!! As in, TODAY. This afternoon! Write your letter of resignation and email it to Joe Biden. He's always wanted to be President anyway.[7] "Unemployment is still as high. That is a problem and Congress is still working on President Obama's top domestic agenda which is healthcare."[4] I did not vote for President Obama but really hate the vitriol in the comments. We are instructed to pray for him.[31] Most of these remarks about President Obama show a remarkable lack of class on the part of those writing them.[31]
Obama the president is an increasingly embattled figure. He's a man whose charm, eloquence and even Teflon image are becoming liabilities -''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' the over-used tools of a man now putting out fires instead of lighting the bright beacons of change.[22] I am not particularly an Obama supporter but to condemn the man after 12 months in office when he inherited the biggest global financial crisis in a generation is quite ridiculous. What does Mr. Heffer believe that he should have achieved by now? A complete reversal of the financial cisis and world peace seems to be the criteria. I doubt very much that even this would be enough for Heffer and co. All the totally negative comments are from those who have been waiting to knock Obama off his perch from day one. He was voted in largely because the Republicans in the form of McCain/Palin did not offer a strong alternative.[7] Mr Obama might have won the Nobel Peace Prize, but the less said about that the better. The award was apparently decided in February, days after he entered the Oval Office. He gave up his missile defence system in eastern Europe: we all imagined the Russians would give something in return, but we are still waiting. He went to Copenhagen to try to secure the 2016 Olympics for Chicago, and failed. While this did little more than provide amusement to many, it damaged him in America, and outraged his true believers: perhaps the emperor had a small wardrobe after all. Now he is immersed in a deliberative exercise about whether to send more troops to Afghanistan. As is the lot of politicians, he will be damned if he does and damned if he doesn't.[7] Obama the candidate carried himself with a Reagan-like belief in America's virtues and its exceptionalism. We assumed he would carry this belief with him into office just like Ronald Reagan had.[22]
The little Democrats want stuff for free no matter. They are parasites and brats kind of like helpless 8 year olds and Obama speaks to them that way.[7] In that same year, Obama also has revealed himself to be an innately self-protective, constantly calibrating and, in some surprising ways, supremely conventional politician. Who is Barack Obama ? The drama of this presidency -- in sharp relief with Wednesday's one-year anniversary of his 2008 triumph -- revolves around how Obama navigates his own contradictions.[10] One year after Barack Obama won the election, millions of voters are still waiting for the candidate they voted for and believed in, to show up and get to work.[22]
Abraham Lincoln could run this country in 2009 better than Barack Obama is running it in 2009.[7] Let me first assuage the fears of many of my conservative friends and colleagues: Barack Obama is not a left-wing radical. He is not a socialist, a communist or a Marxist, and he'''s not a black liberation theologist.[17] About a month ago, there was an article from a staff of America- based, conservative Heritage Foundation and Telegraph columnist published here on online Daily Telegraph trashing Barack Obama. And, in short, it went as far as ridiculing him in a way I feel that portrayed him as a foreign-policy nonentity with a short-lived and tarnished legacy.[7] It is this very question that started the labeling of those who question Barack Obama and his non-record as a racist, hater, bigot. Who is Barack Obama? What does he bring to the table besides an eloquent speech reading tongue.[10]
I was in America when the story broke about the song sung in a New Jersey school("Mm, mmm, mn! Barack Hussein Obama).[7] Obama will very likely end the year by signing a new healthcare act that will constitute the biggest expansion to American healthcare coverage since the 1960s.[19] Ethics and transparency: Obama set up new rules to slow the revolving door between government service and lobbying firms. He signed an executive order barring lobbyists who join the administration from working on an issue for which they had lobbied in the past two years.[15] Let's see, a domestic violence counselor, a fundraiser for gay interests, a consultant (looks to be education consulting from his LinkedIn profile), a student magazine publisher, and a non-profit director. What is the common thread? Ah, yes, each is very much dependent on government funding for their interests. What do you think anyone in the real private sector would say about Obama one year later? I don't know any serious person who is in favor of his policies.[5] David Axelrod, a senior Obama adviser, has allowed that the push for passage of healthcare by summer might have been too ambitious. '''I might rethink that if we were to start over again,''' he said Oct. 20 at Harvard University'''s Kennedy School of Government. The real test will come by year'''s end, when Obama needs to have something to show for all his effort before the midterm election season kicks into high gear.[9] One year later: The LGBT community has suffered some major defeats, and Woodward is disappointed that Obama has not done more to advance the cause. He feels the momentum from Obama's election and the Grant Park celebration when he sees increasingly diverse crowds at gay rights rallies.[5] The whole thing about Obama walking on water and curing the sick was a distortion played by a desperate losing party. They needed something to counteract their guy being associated with the past eight years of incompentency. Anyone who seriously looked at Sen. Obama, and who voted for him, knew him as a centrist with some liberal leanings. After the far Right and far wrong government we had previously, he got saddled with so much expectation and hope that it became ridiculous and fodder for alien allegories.[26] Does anyone remember Ronald Reagan's inauguration speech: "the governement are not the solution, the government are the problem"? It's still early days in the Obama presidency to claim hubris but the past year has been a dreadfully inauspicious start.[7]
Obama the candidate told us a story that connected all the points in our great national story -- not points in a long, dull legislative checklist with a socialist twist. Candidate Obama told us that he would listen to Republicans and involve them in the way forward. He knew we were a center-right nation that wanted to stay in the middle because we believe that capitalism works and big government doesn't. This simply isn't 1932 and we don't need another FDR. In 1932, our nation was center-left and people were in much more desperate straits than they are now.[22] Obama's public approval ratings dropped sharply for months until inching upward just recently. "There was a lot of expectations and it's probably hard to meet all of them," shrugged Obama supporter George Takhtayshe. Barbara King defended Obama saying, "He's done all he can, from the way it started, what he had to go pick up." Tracy Theodopoulos complained, "It seems like some of the campaign promises haven't been met, and I'm a little disappointed."[13]
For starters, electing a big government socialist like Obama at a time when the U.S. is crippled by grotesque levels of public debt is a bit like asking an arsonist to take charge of efforts to extinguish the Great Fire of London.[7] Georgie boy did everything economically for the U.S. that Simon Heffer wants for us in the UK. And before we forget, the worlds worst recession was caused in the U.S.,no matter how many times planks like Simon Heffer blame Brown. Another reason the vitriol and bile will grow and grow against Obama,especially in the U.S.,is that he is not white no matter how often his detractors deny this.[7]
Must be all of that arugula he and Michelle are eating at the White House. Perhaps he can get some $540 shoes like Michelle and go to a soup kitchen. At this rate, either the dying Fidel Castro or the dying Kim Jong-il would each be able to floor Obama with a single bitch slap.[31] Even though the election is long over, Obama the candidate is still hanging around. His promise and influence might be waning fast, but we find traces of him all over the White House. More important, many voters are still assuming that he is bound to show up sooner or later and take full command.[22] "Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it," wrote Obama. I guess he can afford more than "a little blow" now, eh? Must be getting some really good cocaine in the White House.[31] I turned around, joined Telegraph View in the editorial opinion, and even Simon Heffer to challenge the award, claiming there are other more deserving winners. Even, Obama holds the same view in his informal acceptance remarks in front of the White House. This subtly indicates that what I do in my commentaries is pursue the truth and objective facts of old-fashioned journalism; instead of advocating a one-sided viewpoint.[7] Obama is all about cosmopolitan deliberation. When Obama won the White House, expectations for his presidency were sky high. The reality he faced was daunting.[19]
Even the Dem that won the NY 23 House race, polling less that the RINO and the real Republican combined, campaigned AGAINST Obamacare. Obama is a lame duck, one year in to his Presidency. He can't get anything passed now and after 2010 he'll have even fewer Dems in Congress.[7] Cook likens next year's election to another recession year: 1982, when President Reagan's Republican Party lost 26 seats in the House. A loss of that magnitude next year wouldn't be enough to cost Democrats their majority.[24] Saw a liberal commentator infer there was "chaos" in the Republican Party. because in New York State's 23rd Congressional District (somewhere up near the Canadian border) a Democrat won a seat to the House of Representatives.[7] The polls don't show any big jump in support for Republicans. Last month, White House economist Larry Summers argued in a letter to Boehner that Republican missteps in the last administration are what put the United States in this deep economic hole.[24] The White House incumbent has had little effect on how Canadians feel toward Americans.[8]
Corporate America has one value and that is the bottom line. If you have a family, house mortgage, kids to put in college, then find a job somewhere else other than with Mr. Freemarket INC. He sells American jobs to the lowest bidder in Asia. Walmart, according to statistics, has 80% of its products made in a foreign country.[16] How can you ever win with some Americans, you try to come up with policies to help with job creation and even before they are out you are criticize Mr. President, if sit back and let the free market do it'''s think Mr. President you would be criticized for not doing anything. If you don'''t believe me Mr. President you Just watch the post that would be written on this story. The same people who think it is your responsibility to create jobs also think that you are a Socialist.[16] The president has been alternately criticized for not doing enough to create jobs and for spending too much money. Congressional Republicans voted almost unanimously against the stimulus package, and they're quick to pounce each time new job losses are reported.[24] President Reagan spent no time blaming President Carter. Nor did President Clinton blame President George HW Bush. Nor did President Bush spend time blaming President Clinton. It gives one a sense of pettiness on the part of the president. He campaigned for the job, he won it, now it is time for him to take responsibility for the results.[9]
It is about time that the Obama bubble was pricked. I felt frankly nauseated by so much hype surrounding him, particularly because his politically correct genetic inheritance obscured the fact that the man simply lacked substance. You can hardly imagine better proof of that than the fact that he demeaned and debased himself by picking up childish rows with the media. If nothing else, it shows how much he lacks in self-confidence. We are left wondering what would be his reaction if he were so universally reviled and castigated worldwide as Bush was.[7] Read up on the bills passed and who created them! Oh there is so much you don't understand! Space and time (or energy) don't permit further comment on your extemporaneous writings. Regarding your challenge,I cannot speak for Mr. Heffer, but I would imagine that being the obviously intelligent and well educated man that he is, he would not institute any of the numerous socialist/marxist policies that Obama is persuing, of which there are too many to mention here (I also don't have the energy to explain basic and simple economic truths).[7]
I don't see why everyone is giving Obama such a hard time. He has to reverse eight years of destructive Bush/Republican policies.[7] I checked the production notes to make sure Glenn Beck was not credited as the screenwriter, and that the aliens are not secretly from Kenya. I'm not sure if V intends these parallels to be a running theme of the series, or if they were just played up in the pilot to get attention from writeups like this one. (Also, some of them may ring familiar because certain of Obama's critics have been throwing around the same kind of'' fascism comparisons that were in the original V.) Either way'''again, speaking as an Obama voter'''I have a hard time getting particularly worked up over the B-movie politics of V. They're not always entirely coherent, either.[26]
To many, Obama's political shrewdness and course reversals look like outright distortions, all the more so when revisiting the election tapes. It's a soundbite nightmare that will surely haunt him when the next elections come round.[10] Obama may not have promised change would be easy. He did convey what now looks like a too-glib impression that he could unite opposites and reconcile contradictions by the power of personality -- hard to do when his own personality has competing strands.[10]
People like Obama. Why not, he is good looking, personable, and a good speaker. They hate his policies.[30] I don't blame Obama, I blame Bush. At least with the tire tariffs he stood up for American workers and the American people.[7] It's funny how people keep talking about Michelle Obama's butt. She is an African American woman.[31]
Or. will Obama just hire people in the gov't that don't actually create anything, don't produce a consumable product, and are just a continued strain on the economy. Don't hold your breath that Obama will ever figure out that Employees NEED Employers other than him.[16] Now begins the drip drip of negative articles by froth at the mouth Conservatives against Obama. Why?Because he wants to introduce a health system that is enjoyed by all major countries in the world and that the U.S. economy is struggling under the mismanagement of free marketeer,market forces rule,lax regulation of Heffers fellow bedfellow George Bush.[7] Some historians are dubious that Obama deserves all the kudos for saving the economy. '''If he gets credit for that, you also have to give credit to Paulson and Bush for rescuing the financial system in the fall,''' says Alvin Felzenberg, author of a book on presidential ratings, '''The Leaders We Deserved.'''[9]
At a Democratic Party fundraiser on Oct. 20, Obama expressed chagrin at '''collective amnesia on the part of some folks''' over where the economy stood nine months before. '''We were seeing an economic crisis unlike any that we had seen in generations,''' he said. The stimulus, he added, has '''made a difference in the lives of families across America.'''[9] Since Mr Obama was elected the U.S. economy has climbed out of recession and he has won the Nobel peace prize.[4] I usually give the Obama stuff a wide berth but I remember Noam Chomsky analysing his cabinet team. He said that the choice of Robert Rubin and Larry Summers to sort out the economy was in the words of the economist Dean Baker akin to "Selecting Osama Bin Laden to head up the War on Terror".[7] A year after your election, it is time for you to stop blaming your predecessor, George W. Bush, for the economy, the war in Afghanistan, public and political incivility and everything else you say you have to '''mop up.'''[11] Last week, the Commerce Department reported that the economy had begun growing again for the first time in more than a year.[24] The government reported that the economy grew 3.5 percent from July through September, the first growth recorded in more than a year.[15]
'''He'''s had a good first year,''' says Ted Widmer, a presidential historian at Brown University in Providence, R.I., and a former speechwriter for President Bill Clinton. '''Two of his biggest accomplishments are easy to overlook, but they were both important. He kept the financial crisis from becoming worse. He vastly improved the way the rest of the world thinks about America.'''[9] I think we need to worry about other matters more important than Obamas weight. I wish no harm to our President even though I do not agree with his policies.[31] Huh? What kind of calendar do you have? Your premise is no only simple minded ludicrous but your math is incorrect.all the way around. Comparing Obama's challenges to those of any other president (ever) is just plain ignorant. This might be the silliest article I've ever read.[9] Obama the president jets off to Europe to use the power of the oval office to back Chicago's Olympic bid and still loses, diminishing the status of the presidency in the process.[22] Afghanistan is increasingly the US's, and Obama's, war, but the President still lacks a clear objective and strategy. His generals want many more troops to fight a major counter-insurgency war to stabilise Afghanistan once and for all. His Vice-President advocates a more focused counter-terrorism strategy only designed to keep Afghanistan from becoming again a global launching pad for terrorism.[19] Obama was a perfect fit. Bush believed Iraq was the right war while Obama's meteoric ascent was based on his pristine anti-Iraq credentials. Bush demanded to know whether you were with or against him; Obama is always looking for points of connection with even his most bitter opponents.[19] Under Obama, 71 per cent indicated a favourable view of Americans, just three points higher than under Bush in 2005.[8] The poll found that a majority of Americans have a positive view of Obama on only three of 14 issues: the environment, the H1N1 swine flu pandemic and overall foreign policy.'' Six in 10 say Obama inspires confidence in them and describe him as a strong, honest, trustworthy leader.'' Overall, he gets the thumbs up on 11 out of 12 personal characteristics.''[30] More and more Americans are beginning to understand that Obama and his rhetoric are nothing more than political theatrics for the unwashed masses to focus on while those who are truly in power plunder Americans' freedoms, their savings accounts, and their futures.[7] Cllr Ken Tiwari 10:45 AM Obama has not united his country. He might have won 70% of the vote, but now many Americans dislike him.[7] "People have a slightly more positive view of the U.S (under Obama)," Simon McDougall, senior consultant with Innovative Research, said from Montreal. "But really, the big story is that it hasn't changed that much what they think of the country."[8] Obama had brought together people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds. As she looked out at the sea of smiling faces, Keegan proclaimed it the beginning of racial healing in the country. Chicago, with its history of severe segregation, was born anew.[5]
Disarming Fundraising and communication campaign. In a rather captivating manner, Obama undertook a disarming fundraising campaign where he raised a staggering $656m (sh131b) out of which $500m (sh100b) was from online sources ' primarily through emails. Obama had an email list of 13 million people and his campaign team had a one-on-one relationship with all its online supporters. A big chunk of the funds he raised were invested in TV airtime and grassroots communication. In a rather unusual approach, instead of putting their candidate in the spotlight, Obama's campaign team aimed and focused on shining a light on the people who made the movement, soliciting their stories, comments and questions.[21] The Pulitzer Prize-winning Web site Politifact.com tracks more than 500 Obama campaign promises. The majority of them are rated "no action." Obama has three years and two months to take action on them.[12] One year later, Krieglstein still feels a strong sense of connection to Obama. When he gets stressed out about work and other pressures, he'll draw inspiration from how calmly Obama seems to juggle his even more important responsibilities. Obama's supporters don't seem as civil as they were that night.[5] Bottom line: a year later, millions of voters are still waiting for candidate Obama to show up and get to work. If he doesn't do so soon (and the experience of being in office doesn't help do the trick), my prediction is that even his core supporters will defect.[22] As we prepare for the presidential elections in 2011, Uganda's politicians aspiring for presidency, parliament or any other elected office, may want to borrow a leaf or two from Obama.[21] As the election anniversary approached, Obama several times in public remarks acknowledged the sense of letdown and pleaded for patience.[10] LOL. Ah, that just made my day. Seriously though, 'cousin Obama' can't seem to catch a break these days. Maybe it's time for a family intervention.[26] "'Well, why haven't you solved world hunger yet?'" Obama said in New Orleans the other day, mimicking the cries of critics. "'Why -- it's been nine months.[10] Republicans, however, were scenting blood in gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia as well as a battle for a New York congressional seat with the polls set to close later in the day. Opinion remains divided as to whether the votes will really prove a bellwether on his popularity with local personalities and politics so much in play in the three races. The results are likely to be closely scrutinized as both Democrats and Republicans gear for key mid-term congressional elections in November 2010, which could mark a shift in power.[3]
Among Republicans the drop in support is nearly as large at 11 percent but the GOP support for Obama started at a lower level and is now at only 20 percent. His support among fellow Democrats remains stratospheric at 87 percent, down only 4 percent.[6] Mr. Carter, like Obama, came in with an ambitious agenda ''' but in Carter'''s case, it fell flat but for passage of the Panama Canal Treaties. His inner circle accompanied him from Georgia and did not mesh well with the barons of Capitol Hill, even though all were Democrats. Obama, in contrast, has peppered his administration with Clinton veterans, including chief of staff Rahm Emanuel.[9] Then Obama gets the poisoned chalice of Presidency. When he fails to repair the irreparable damage done to this country by the current administration, we'll blame it all on him and the Democrats.[7] In some ways being black has been an advantage for Obama. This way be an area in which his race worked to our benefit. There are so many ways in which he couldn't or didn't live up to his promises. Perhaps the country gave him too much advantage - an almost super majority in Congress and wildly popular poll numbers.[9] Obama was viewed "very favourably" by almost one in two Canadians, compared to just one in 20 feeling that way toward Bush, according to the poll obtained by The Canadian Press.[8]
About reelection time, Bush was polling slightly higher than Obama is polling now.[28]
Struggling to get a climate change which passed the House through the Senate. Struggling to get another package of financial regulations in place," he said. "I think Obama is likely to get at least two of the three of these within the next six months or three months even.[4] Unsurprisingly, a piece of highly distorted partisan hackery. I think Niall Ferguson gave one of the better, more honest rightist accounts of Obama's situation when he talked of the success of the economic management of the recession being highly fortunate, and that Obama has not had particularly tough decisions yet.[7] I think that you guys sre so ignorant. you would much rather a white man destroy this country kill your white troops and take away your health care before you would let a black man lift us higher and make u better. Its crazy how people think so damn selfish.[31] It's about time - I hope the administration realizes that this country needs real jobs, not taxpayer money being thrown at the problem. I guess if the easy fix of using others money (stimulus bill) doesn't work, it's time to do some real work on jobs. This should have been the top, top priority of this administration. If the government had spent all the time, energy and $$that they have spent on health care reform, everyone would have a job.[16] If you were more into us rather than you, you'''d make jobs your number one job (instead of health care reform). He is also dashing around, like a fox, chasing policy rabbits such as climate change.[11]
The U.S. has the chance to make a no nonsense health system i.e. no free nose jobs and free tatoo removal. He should ignore the climate change nonsense of which I have heard loads on the BBC this a.m.[7]
I am amazed how quickly everyone seems to have forgotten the Bush farce. It took the U.S. 220 years to run up a debt of5 Trillion Bush doubled that in 8 years? Good effort. The U.S. already has a socialist health system.You don't see 000's of non insured dead people on the streets? They are treated free. Those insured pay through high premiums.[7]
Plese,Please, Please, back off and let him try to make sense of a mess no of his own doing. You People e.g. people in positions of entitlement make me absolutely sick when I hear these critiques. You create the mess, wipe your hands clean of the mess, lay it at the doorstep of a man who at worst is trying his best (16hr days, constant criticism) to fix all of the mistake our dubious presidents before him have made. Criticize all you want, you have that right, but our president has attempted to do more with less than bush did with all the marbles in his pocket.[9] The poll has a margin of error of four percentage points. One key to the president's continued popularity is the personal confidence he inspires in people. Over half ' 57% ' agree that he's been a better president than George W. Bush so far.[28]
The Ranting Nat is well self-described. If Ranting Nat is interested in some objective discussion of what the American Republican party is actually about, and what George Bush for one actually did as president, he can find some rather surprising discussion of the evidence in today's article by Jonah Goldberg in National Review Online, entitled 'True Conservatives Just Want A Turn'.[7] Follow us on Twitter. I am totally confused about the time measurement the msm and fox are using for this President's time in office. If he took office on January 20 2009 and today is November 2, my calculation says he has been in office nine months and thirteen days. Am I missing something here? I am disturbed that he is expected to turn this country around, fulfull all his campaignn promises in nine months and thirteen days. I guess Americans did believe that he was born in a manger and can walk on water.[9] The time to get to work on jobs was months ago. Only now after the failed stimulus and continuing unemployment this adminstration decides it needs to do something? Jobs should have been this presidents priority from day one, or is he just slow out of the gate.[16]
A CBS News/New York Times poll gave the president a similar 56 percent approval rating at the start of October. That is down from April when the new president had a 68 percent approval number.[6] What ever happened to Afghanistan, the 'good war', the public option that was 'too extreme'; what about 'no new taxes' and a health bill negotiations you could 'watch on CSPAN'. If the recent elections tell us anything, this president may need to do some real callibration if he intends to survive the upcoming midterms.[10] Mr Obama seems also to have made another bad mistake. Apparently shocked by the virulence of Fox News Channel's attacks on him, he has declared war on the network.[7] Yes - he is rather a disappointment - seems he has either been got at \ too stupid to know he's been got at \ or is afraid of standing up for his platform promises - gun shy ? Generally, though, it seems that america is greatly lacking in talent and ability - it's not just Obama - the republicans couldn't come up with viable alternatives.[7] It'''s about disagreements over the proper role of government, taxes, bureacracy, and revolving around a central debate of social needs vs. libertarian freedoms. Those who say race is the main factor in opposing Obama, are sticking their head in the sand about these taxpayer resentments. Those who say race is no factor at all are also sticking their heads in the sand, about the racism that still poisons portions of our populace. Is America a racist nation, angry over the takeover by this black interloper? Of course not. That'''s nonsensical, because America elected this man.[18] America needs diliverence from Obama and his cronies. Pray for America and the world to be this mile whide in ch deap man.[7]
From the onset, Obama fought a difficult primary against Hilary Clinton, America's former first lady.[21] Obama has lost a lot of weight? Wouldn't it be tragic to have the first HIV positive POTUS? Then again maybe it's just the chain smoking? By the way "fags" are just another term for cigarettes, it's used more as an insult to gays in the States, but in the UK it is used more as slang for smokes.[31] Obama's popularity appeared to have had little influence on whether Canadians see the United States as a force for good in the world.[8] Obama is sitting silent in the middle, knowing full well that the policy drift cannot continue for long. Obama said the GFC was too good a crisis to waste, piling an ambitious and expensive reform agenda on top of his mega GFC-fighting package.[19] Well George we can both agree that Obama is bad for America but I find your reasoning to be a bit simple minded and reactionary. To begin with many Christians do not want their gay children (yes Christians have gay children)discriminated against.[9] Well its pretty obvious that Obama was hysterically over-hyped, mainly because he is black, though this term really does not seem to fit with his actual skin colour.[7]
Very importantly, Obama knew how much the average American was tired of the Iraq war. So he said to his voters: 'I don't oppose all wars.[21] The national unemployment rate is approaching 10%. Many of Obama's campaign promises remain unfulfilled and he faces what might be the most momentous decision of his presidency: how to fight the war in Afghanistan.[13] October was the deadliest month of the war for U.S. troops. "Theres a real potential for the war in Afghanistan to become the defining moment in Obama's career, in terms of how he is viewed domestically and internationally," Dawson says.[13]
Anne Kagwa sells presidential memorabilia, including Obama beanies on a Washington street corner. She says demand has dropped since the heady days of the election and the inauguration.[4] Bearing in mind that Obama inherited a system virtually broke beyond repair from the DT's beloved Republicans, Obama's remedies and philosophies are yet still more right wing than Cameroon's proferred policies and world view.[7] Obama decided early on that that doing too much was better than doing too little in response to the global financial crisis. Twelve months later, this was the right call.[19]
Obama will go to the summit in good position to chart a path to a global climate change deal.[19]
More than half give Obama a thumbs-up on 11 of the 12 personal characteristics tested," adds Holland. Only 45 percent say he has a clear plan for solving the country's problems -- the only item on which a majority has a negative view of him. It's a different story when it comes to issues.[2] The unemployment rate has increased from 7.6 percent when Obama took office to 9.8 percent.[15]
"Most people don't know what GDP is," says Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report. "But they know what the unemployment rate is." The unemployment rate is expected not only to top 10 percent this year, but also to remain high through next year's midterm elections. "It's an ugly situation to be in, and we're going to have about a year and a half of unemployment at a really high level," Cook says.[24] Compared to results of a similar poll taken four years ago, Canadians have a marginally improved view of Americans as individual people, with 71 percent expressing a favorable view in 2009 versus 68 percent in 2005. Fewer Canadians (17 percent versus 24 percent in 1995) also said they felt Canadian and American values are diverging.[27]
Ordinary? I feel like all those that voted for this lying community organizer junior senator turned miserably failing president owe us true red blooded americans an apology, and last nights voting statistics also state that at least a quarter of the people that voted for him feel let down, "Oh he lied[10] I think he looks great from an African point of view - just look at how sickeningly fat America is - besides, he is just human - the presidency should not take this away from him. Help him pull you (USA) out of the downturn challenges - help him help us all in ADOPTING TO A CHANGING CLIMATE. If he is sick fix him like you did to president Regan - simple.[31] And, Mr. President, we appreciate your sensitivity to your critics. That'''s all about you. On that subject, with all due respect, please be humble enough to concede that while you are intelligent, the brilliance of America isn'''t in its government, filled with technocrats and bureaucrats. It has been (and remains) in its people, especially those who are bold.[11] The economy would rebound a lot faster if government would get out of the way instead of "punishing" the people who create jobs.[9] Government can serve. It is people outside government who do the major creation and innovation in society, especially when it comes to the economy and jobs.[11]
Now we're out a blown trillion buck, have no economy worth a hoot, no jobs and STILL have 30 million people uninsured.[16]
First we gotta save the economy. They didn't and now they will inherit the wind. Did you know that this is the first time since the 1930s that the Democrats took office in the middle of a recssion? And they screwed that one up too. [7] Virginia went to the Republicans for the first time in 12 years by 18%(!) and New Jersey to the Republicans after 8 years by 4%.[7] One year later: Keegan remains hopeful that race relations are improving in Chicago and nationally. She volunteers in Englewood and notes how welcome she feels as a white woman in an overwhelmingly black neighborhood. For the first time, she saw African-American children trick-or-treating in her overwhelmingly white neighborhood on Halloween. For her, those are indications racial healing is under way.[5]
Compounding problems on the president's lengthy to-do list is that 2010 is an election year, generally an inefficient time for lawmaking.[12] Three off-year elections taking place Tuesday are being seen as a mini-referendum on the young president's first year in power.[3]
A resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, Norm Ornstein, says the President has endured a tumultuous year. "He's struggling to get his signature priority of health reform through.[4] American workers have been sold out by Congress and CEO's over the years. It is not protectionism Mr. PResident, it is about survival.[16]
In November of last year President Bush had the lowest approval rating -- 22 percent -- of any president since 1938, when the Gallup polling organization began measuring public approval of the nation''''''''s leader.[6] I haven'''t seen proof of any of it yet, and neither have you, because there hasn'''t been any. The only thing we do know for sure, one year after anointing this relative unknown the forty-fourth president of the United States, is that he'''s a politician, pure and simple. Calling him a radical gives him way too much credit.[17] You're quite the author yourself, writing "The Audacity of Hope", etc. Hey, Michelle could even write a cookbook or two! And Sasha and Malia can re-write "My Pet Goat". You are not steering America away from the iceberg, you are intentionally crashing this Ship of State right into it! With all due respect, Mr, President, Sir, You are a pathetic failure.[7] America's image had been tarnished by a patronizing President George Bush Jr. with a disastrous foreign policy.[7] MJ: You are a complete idiot to say Bush was the worst president ever. You have not lived through every presidency, and therefore it is irrational to make such a statement. I wasn't happy with his presidency either, but, nobody alive today can say he was the worst ever, because nobody (alive or dead) have lived through all of them to make a statement like that.[28] How did Bush stay in office 8 years? From dumb people like you guys who are worried about the wrong things.[31] I see a couple of people (I'm assuming Dr. or medical field types) have posted the obvious signs of a serious smoking or lifestyle habit. I'm personally not surprised. any one with an ego the size of his thinks that he can do and get away with anything he wants. Don't ya know that being the messiah means you are invincible? Well if he is as seriously ill as he looks than can't he be said to be unfit for office? Oh great. than we have Bidden and Pelosi and Reid behind him so I guess it really doesn't matter.[31] Looks like the BO bubble has well and truly burst for many of our U.S. friends! Very good news.[31] All I can say is that Michelle better not gain weight or she will be featured in one of those news stories showing the fat behinds because she looks like she can pack the weight on.[31]
Not the boldness of politicians like you; but the boldness of entrepreneurs and risk takers, of job creators and new business developers.[11] Unless America's job market shows a big improvement in the next 12 months, a lot of Democratic lawmakers could be looking for new jobs themselves.[24] We also simply stop investing altogether, as the government begins to confiscate more of the investment returns that we would otherwise use to make available to businesses, large and small, who seek to expand, grow and create more jobs. The government has NEVER created a job in all of it's existence, unless you are talking about the 125,000 new hires by the federal government over the past 10 months. That is hardly economic recovery. It is a disaster in the making and you are witnessing it.[31] Why not, economic history and theory teaches us that raises marginal tax rates, regulations, and increasing government entitlements are all negative for growth, prosperity, and jobs. The bottomline is this, the republicans should go after his policies but not the man.[30]
Oh isn't this clever, lets all worry about someones apperance not how they run their country. He is a sigh of reflief to America after 8 years of a Republican government.[31] The entire thing is sickening, and is an attempt to restrict political freedom of speech. Dare to say that any policy decision is a bad idea, backed up with the facts, and you are a racist, and are called any number of other childish names by those who are supposed to be leaders in this country. Most of those who say things like this deserve to have their mouth washed out with soap and sent to bed without supper just like a four year old throwing a tantrum and using every curse word they ever heard, whose behavior they are emulating.[18] I am so sick and tired of being called a racist simply because I disagree with the socialist stance that this political hack is shoving down the throat of our country. It seems to be the only thing liberals are left with as a defense. I personally believe that it was high time that a black man was given his shot, but not this black man. How about Alan Keyes, JC Watts, Michael Steele? They have my utmost respect and endorsement but this liberal shell of a human being that we have elected should be impeached for the way he is destroying our country.[31] Aw, what's wrong, Adrian? Fingers get tired after typing so much useless conjecture? The most pathetic counter argument ever thought of by man is simply saying 'Who has the time or energy to actually come up with a coherent response to your argument?" Only you managed to do that in more words. (Big words and your lack of reasoning aren't good grounds for not knowing what you're talking about on a public forum.) The way I see it, he's been in office 12 months.[7]
"Historically, midterm elections are about the party in power, not the party that's out of office," Cook says. "And it's generally a time when people vent spleens."[24] Two things the president opposed in the campaign, mandatory insurance and fines for people who don't have it, are likely to end up in the bill. If 10 months is too short a time to keep promises, it's been plenty of time to break them, starting with transparency. Promised negotiations televised on C-SPAN didn't happen nor did the promise of posting bills on the Web before he signed them.[12] Never in my memory has a new president spent so much time and effort in blaming the past president.[9]
The survey also suggests that by 24 points, Americans think that Joe Biden is a better vice president than Dick Cheney.[2] By 24 percentage points, the poll said Americans consider Joe Biden to be a better vice president than''Dick Cheney.''[30]
As a professional therapist who deals with people who have eating disorders, this one looks a little too familiar. As always, the central issue is CONTROL, CONTROL, CONTROL! Would to God our President would relinquish some of his desire to control our lives. [31] You can't really put "politics aside" when discussing the election of a President. Seeing the film this summer'''after the realities of governing a country full of contention had settled in'''the film already seemed anachronistic.[26] Please do not forget one of his first actions as President, and a strong statement to women around the country that he supports their continuing struggle for equality -- the Lilly Ledbetter Act. The act, endorsing Justice Ruth B. Ginsburg's (the foremost supporter of women's equality on the Court) interpretation of the law, effectively broadens the time-frame that employees have to bring discriminatory pay claims against their employers.[15]
The crown jewel of the president's promises, health care reform, is a work in progress.[12] Democrats' problem is family feud. They elected Republicanized Democrats known as Bluedogs. Now, Democrats have huge problems getting them on board on health care and other big-ticket legislations, because Bluedogs represent Red State, conservative, Republican consituencies carried by John McCain by wide margins. Whatever decision they make, they will factor conservative, Republican, constituency instincts--even though they are Democrats.[7] Cohen called that surprising "given all that we have in common as two peoples." Among Canadians, Quebecers in particular, are likely to feel out of place in the United States, with only one in three saying they feel at home south of the border. The roiling debate over health care in the United States appears to have made Canadians feel even better about their own system. In 2005, 71 per cent of Canadians said they would get better care here in case of serious illness. That pecentage has now grown to 77 per cent.[8]
Nothing more, nothing less. We can also look at the shift in his policy positions over the past few years. He was once quoted as saying that he supported a single-payer health care system.[17]
The problem may be one of immaturity and inexperience. If so, he had better learn fast. At this rate, next year's congressional elections start to look more than challenging for him.[7] Leo neque imperdiet ipsum, a eleifend eros mi vel arcu. Before the votes are even counted on Election Day November 2009, analysts are debating the meaning of this year'''s elections.[9]
Policy arguments like the one between Boehner and Summers may not matter much by the time voters go to the polls a year from now.[24] Every time Pres. Bush went for a bike ride, jog, whatever he was lambasted by the press for his "fanatical devotion" to fitness. Now we have this guy, plays more golf in 9 months than Bush did in two years, is looking anorexic, and the press fawns all over him.[31] Dear Simon, How right you are! Nothing much done in the year past. This in turn reminds me of a previous unremarkable first year in power by a G.W. Bush.[7] If he's played more golf in 9 months than Bush did in 8 years, he is NOT working nonstop for this country.[31] Leave that man alone. He's doing his best to help fix a country that was screwed up for the last 8 years.[31]
Two new Republican governors in liberal states. Conservative Mayor Bloomberg of NYC retained his office in an unprecedented THIRD term, against an African-American Democrat challenger. [7] The economy gets better, the world loves us again, and we still want to kick out the Democrat and bring back the Republican? I knew we were stupid, I just didn't realise how much so.[7] The Tory party is held out as the great saviour of the UK economy by much of the UK media; yet regardless of one's political stance, logic would dictate that the Tory party should become at least as right wing as the Democrats before allowing DT posters to contemptuously dismiss the current leadership in the USA as dangerously left wing.[7] Helen Nisbet at 11:58 PM asks, 'Missing George W. yet?' My answer: YES! P. S. Interesting what some posters consider 'far right': self-defence, a robust economy, freedom of speech (i.e. political speech, even if porn purveyors try to abuse that right). The Leftist desire to link these goods with fire and murder in the streets just doesn't wash, I'm afraid.[7]
We've been reminded to pray for our Pres. I do pray he does the right thing for our Country,but he doesn't seem to get the message so, what's wrong with pointing out his failure? It's all about HIM I think, and the only good thing about his wife is it makes me feel better about myself when I see her thick waist and big butt.[31] Actually, I don't think their Mr. President has lost any weight, but his lovely bride seems to have put on a stone or two.[31] I don't know how presidents seem to work out daily at gyms travel vacation frequently on tax payers money and work 4-5 hours a day max and get away with it. They have no clue what real work life is about.[31]
Now the 48-year-old president, who came to power vowing to end one war, in Iraq, is mulling whether to escalate another -- in Afghanistan. Despite everything though, he is still standing, with his approval rating above the crucial 50 percent barrier that defines a viable presidency. [3] Perhaps most importantly of all, Pakistan President Asif Zardari is taking the fight to Taliban and al-Qa'ida extremists the way the U.S. has long wanted it to.[19]
Democrats smell big trouble among the American electorate. Republicans' problem is that it's predominantly white and right-wing, tries very hard to expand into non-white constituencies with little progress in recruitment and enrollment. [7] "If that pattern holds up, then the fact that people don't really like Republicans and that Republicans don't have a whole lot to say is irrelevant. People are going to be voting against Democrats," he says.[24]
TO Ezinne: "Look at the economy. It is the best this quarter that we have seen in a long time." [31]
SOURCES
1. AFP: Fewer Americans feel nation is doing badly: poll
2. CNN Poll: 54 percent approve of Obama - CNN.com
3. AFP: Little fanfare for anniversary of Obama's election
4. Obama struggling in post-honeymoon phase - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
5. Witnesses to historic moment for Chicago reflect one year later -- chicagotribune.com
6. Obama One Year Later -- Small 'Change' - FOXNews.com
7. It's Barack Obama's first anniversary - but there's precious little to celebrate - Telegraph
8. The Canadian Press: Obama love-in has little impact on how Canadians view Americans, poll finds
9. One year after his election, what has Obama achieved? | csmonitor.com
10. 'Change has come' . or has it? - John F. Harris - POLITICO.com
11. Obama One Year Later -- He's Just Not That Into You - FOXNews.com
12. Months into Obama's presidency, promise of 'change' is a slow go - CNN.com
13. Big challenges in Obamas year two | Al Jazeera Blogs
14. Job losses to continue for some more time: Obama - International News - livemint.com
15. 1 year after Obama's victory -- chicagotribune.com
16. Obama: Time to get to work on jobs - Josh Gerstein - POLITICO.com
17. Barack Obama -- Empty Vessel - FOXNews.com
18. It'''s not racist to criticize President Obama | Midwest Voices
19. Obama can now tackle his own agenda | The Australian
20. 'When He Saw the Signs' - Laugh Lines Blog - NYTimes.com
21. New Vision Online : Want to win in 2011? Borrow a leaf from Obama
22. Will Obama Ever Become President? - FOXNews.com
23. Behind the scenes with Obama - chicagotribune.com
24. Fate Of Democrats' Majority Rests On Job Growth : NPR
25. Obama Comes Out Swinging | united_states | barack_obama | politics | American Pie | Sky News Blogs
26. TV Marks Obama Anniversary with Documentaries, Aliens - Tuned In - TIME.com
27. AFP: Canadians still 'distrust' United States: poll
28. Public Opinion on Key Obama Policies Sinks - Washington Wire - WSJ
29. Obama. One year since the US presidential election. | Minor Matters
30. Front Row Washington » Blog Archive » Obama enjoys reservoir of public goodwill - CNN poll | Blogs |
31. Has President Barack Obama lost weight? - Telegraph
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