Politics Obama - Actually doing a good job?

rogue49 · Jun 20, 2014

Street Pattern said: ↑

To be fair, most of those were the same thing, over and over and over again -- private bills to grant pensions to Civil War veterans who had been rejected by the Pension Board.
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Ok, good to note...and I understand the higher number for FDR who had 3.# terms and a WWII...but what about Truman, was that WWII too?
And Eisenhower too, the WWII aftermath? Seems that Grant had a high number also.

rogue49 · Jun 27, 2014

He really does better with off-the-cuff remarks.
He should stick to them.

What can he lose? The opposition is going to scream & blame no matter what he does anyway.
Besides the public fell for him because he related better to them back at the start.

President Obama: ‘I just want to say what’s on my mind’
By: Jennifer Epstein - June 27, 2014

President Barack Obama has been looser in recent weeks, less guarded in what he says and more eager to venture outside the presidential bubble — and he confirmed Friday that the shift isn’t an imagined one.

“Sometimes I’m supposed to be politic about how I say things, but I’m finding lately I just want to say what’s on my mind,” Obama said in a speech Friday in Minneapolis.

While Obama has been more relaxed publicly for the past few weeks, his mood fits with a deeper shift this year, which POLITICO noted earlier this month, as he comes to grips with the realities of being a second-term president struggling to get his priorities through Congress.

Obama went on to express what was on his mind, including his irritation over the House GOP’s plans to sue him for using his executive power. “I might once have said, ‘I want to raise the minimum wage so sue me if I do.’ I just didn’t think they would take me literally,” he said Friday.

He also offered congressional Republicans an opportunity to work with him on immigration reform. “You’re mad at me for a broken immigration system? Let’s hold hands” and make progress, he said, before moving to dismiss that possibility.

“They don’t do anything, except block me and call me names,” Obama said.

As he did Thursday during the first of his two days on the road in the Twin Cities, reaching out to ordinary Americans with a day-in-the-life tour, Obama railed against cynicism.

“The critics, the cynics in Washington, they’ve written me off more times that I can count,” he said. “Don’t think that we’re not making progress. So yeah, it’s easy to be cynical. In fact, it’s kind of trendy. Cynicism passes for wisdom.”

But, he added, “cynicism doesn’t invent the Internet. Cynicism doesn’t give women the right to vote. Cynicism is a choice — hope is a better choice.”

© 2014 POLITICO LLC
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rogue49 · Jul 1, 2014

This goes along the theme of the previous post...

Obama seems to be getting more comfortable in his shoes...and getting more outgoing in his posture & statements.
Heading towards Teddy Roosevelt's way of doing things. (although I doubt he'll ever get that cocky, it's not in his nature)

I don't mind it...actually, it's kind of fun to watch.
GOP may be having heart attacks soon from high blood pressure. (if they didn't have it already...)

Obama vows to act alone, taunts Republicans
By Jim Kuhnhenn, Associated Press

Obama vows to act alone if Congress gridlocks, taunts Republicans: 'So sue me'

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama defiantly dared congressional Republicans on Tuesday to try to block his efforts to act on his own and bypass a divided Congress that has thwarted his policy initiatives.

"So sue me," he taunted on a sweltering day, as he pushed lawmakers to pay for road and bridge repairs. "I'm not going to apologize for trying to do something."

Obama struck an aggressive tone in the face of a lawsuit threat from House Speaker John Boehner and in the wake of two defeats before the Supreme Court, including a unanimous decision from the court that he overreached when he appointed members of the National Labor Relations Board while the Senate was in recess.

His remarks came a day after Obama declared that he would act on his own to address weaknesses in the nation's immigration system after Boehner informed him that the House would not take up an immigration overhaul this year.

He has already taken a series of executive actions, including an order requiring federal contractors to pay a higher minimum wage and initiating steps to to lower carbon emissions in coal-fired power plants.

"So far this year, Republicans in Congress have blocked or voted down every serious idea to strengthen the middle class — not ideas that are unique to me," he said. "But the Republicans have said no to raising the minimum wage, have said no to fair pay. They've said no to extending unemployment insurance for over 3 million Americans looking for a new job."

Earlier Tuesday, Obama met with his Cabinet secretaries and urged them to "be creative about how we can make real progress" on issues where Congress won't act.

Obama said he would prefer that Congress act on issues such as immigration and infrastructure because laws are more sweeping than his own administrative actions.

"We're not always going to be able to get things through Congress, at least not this Congress," Obama said. "I want to make sure we emphasize not what we can't do, but what we can do in the coming months."

Speaking at Washington's Key Bridge, Obama in shirt sleeves and his tie undone made a pitch to fix the nation's bridges and highways.

He called on Congress to close tax loopholes and use the money on infrastructure projects, a long shot idea that has little if any support among congressional Republicans.

"It's not crazy. It's not socialism," he said, mocking the criticism from some conservative quarters. "You know, it's not, you know, the imperial presidency or no laws are broken."
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And another...
Obama mocks Congress on highway spending

Oh geez, I hope he gets this...it would be wonderful to have some infrastructure spending and action.
(jobs and it would help businesses too)

rogue49 · Jul 10, 2014

Is Obama’s Foreign Policy Too European?

This article is bullshit...just because Obama isn't going "neo-con" all over the place, doesn't mean he's not involved or pushing for things.
Oh god forbid the US doesn't do a cannon ball into every splashing pool of foreign events.
Look before you leap? See how the water is? Perhaps wait after eating (uh, war)...

I don't even know if the sentiment about Europe is correct anymore. They're getting involved here and there...remember, it's many countries, not one.
Brits, France...even Germany, those that are capable...most others really aren't.

No one should be a policeman...perhaps other countries should solve their own problems for a change.
Besides, those that do get involved, usually get burned for it anyway.
Money, History, Public Sentiment, Consequences and more...is it really worth it???

--------------------

Then you've got this one, where the GOP and conservatives are screeching again...about a reality that's not real.
In border crisis, Obama is accused of ‘lawlessness’ for following law

Listen idiots...IF you're going to accuse him of something, at least make sure it's real.
This is national politics...not a cartoon.

I hate it that people think the US President is a magician or a superhero.
How about they just focus on other things for a change. And are held to it as a real human, not an immortal.

rogue49 · Jul 12, 2014

US reports $71 billion surplus in June; projected to have smallest annual deficit in 6 years

"Thanks Obama..."

redravin · Jul 12, 2014

rogue49 said: ↑

US reports $71 billion surplus in June; projected to have smallest annual deficit in 6 years

"Thanks Obama..."
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I'm sure the Republicans will insist he cooked the books somehow.
Either that or they will stick their fingers in their ears and go, nah, nah, nah.

rogue49 · Jul 13, 2014

Frankly, I don't know how the man keeps going...I'm punch drunk and worn just reading this shit daily.

For every piece of good news, there's 2 more of anger and stupidity focused at him.
For every step forward, there's 2 more trying to drag him down.
Everyday a new crisis to "cure" or "fix"

I think he really believes the title of his book, "The Audacity of Hope"

Me, I'd be a mess...probably end up saying some really bad stuff on TV in my anger & frustration.

No wonder GWB went into hiding. (probably had PTSD from the whole economy debacle...and Katrina & Iraq)
As his dad did near the end of the first term, before he lost. (Kennebunkport became his haven)
Reagan wasn't "all there"

At least Clinton had his narcissism & ego to "protect" himself.

So you say you wanna be President???

rogue49 · Jul 15, 2014

Here's the difficulty...it's been this way for a while...the problem is the opposition has the louder drumbeat.
You've the GOP constantly harping on every negative...or twisting everything into a negative.

The "allies" of Obama are disorganized and have no voice...or at least are not using it.
They don't have a message and they don't repeat it constantly for the public and media.

That and they are wishy-washy and nit-pick on things that are "not quite" what they want. (mostly in a liberal/progressive context)

Or to use the cliche..."With friends like these, who needs enemies?"

The GOP has poor policy and intent...no ideas, other than tear down Obama and get back into full power. (and I'm independent, a GDI)
The Dems have no will to implement ideas, no resolve to battle, cater to "interests" themselves...and have no spin or message to shout.

As a matter of fact, all the news is on the GOP, their faces are everywhere...stupid stuff, haranguing, nothing useful...but STILL on the news.
You don't see shit on the Dems.
And you see things on Obama...but it's constant questioning. Always doubt.
Even this title implies things are "not quite" what they should be.

Here's another cliche for the public, "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth."

Obama finally has some good economic news to deliver
By Rick Newman

President Obama has talked about the economy for so long you can be forgiven if you think he was first elected during the Panic of 1907. Many voters, no doubt, have learned to tune him out. But after six years in office, Obama finally has an upbeat story on the economy to tell, which could give Democrats at risk of losing the Senate a desperately needed edge in the upcoming midterm elections.

Despite infinitesimal odds of Congress passing any of his big economic ideas, Obama continues to barnstorm the nation calling for more infrastructure spending, a higher minimum wage and other kinds of stimulus. His economic speeches also include a lengthy list of bullet points touting his accomplishments on the economy — something that was in very short supply until recently.

Here are seven of Obama’s major claims on the economy, with a bit of fact-checking and analysis:

“Our businesses have now created nearly 10 million new jobs over the past 52 months.” That’s true, but why the 52-month cutoff? Because that starts the count at the low point for employment in early 2010, making the gain since the bottom as large as possible. If you start the count from the first month Obama took office, businesses have created only 4.8 million jobs. And if you count from the high point prior to the recession, the economy has only added 415,000 jobs, on net, during the past six-and-a-half years. Still, Obama obviously started his presidency in a huge hole, and, so far this year, employers have added an average of 231,000 new jobs each month, a healthy pace of growth.

“Manufacturing is adding more jobs than any time since the 1990s.” This uptick in hiring Obama likes to talk about conceals a broader trendline that’s much more discouraging. Manufacturing employment was steady in the 1990s but began to fall like a stone starting around 2000. The number of manufacturing jobs remains about 1.9 million less than the tally right before the recession, and 5.5. million jobs below the peak level in 1998. Manufacturing is in the middle of a long transition toward more automated and tech-driven production, which has completely changed the job requirements and nature of work in this important industry.

“Housing is rebounding.” True, but housing still has a long way to go. Home prices, on average, have regained less than half the value lost during the housing bust. Many first-time home buyers remain shut out of the market, and the wealth of the typical family is still about 40% lower than it was before the recession. The housing recovery needs to pick up or it could threaten the whole economy.

“Our auto industry is booming.” Auto sales have been stronger than many analysts expected and are now close to peak levels from before the recession. Part of that improvement comes from car buyers needing to replace aging, unreliable vehicles, but the sales gain also stems from generous credit and low interest rates available to many buyers — something that’s not yet common in the market for homes.

“There are families with health insurance who didn’t have it before.” Indeed there are, and early surveys seem to show the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, is fulfilling its goal of expanding health insurance to several million additional people. What remains to be seen is whether Obamacare will do anything to reduce medical costs and help the nation deal with an expected explosion in healthcare spending as the baby boomers retire. And many Americans deeply opposed to Obamacare may never like it, no matter what.

“For the first time in nearly 20 years, we produce more oil here at home than we buy from abroad.” Obama likes to take credit for the U.S. energy boom, but new drilling technology such as hydrofracking is really responsible. Obama has done virtually nothing in terms of policy to help boost oil production.

“By almost every measure, we are better off now than we were when I took office.” Almost is the key word here. Median household income, adjusted for inflation, is still about 5% lower than it was at the start of 2009. Since there are more jobs now, that means a lot of people are earning less money than they did before the recession, which clearly puts a strain on household finances. That could still be the case when Obama leaves Washington in 2017.

Obama critics, of course, argue that the pace of recovery during the past six years has been far too slow and we ought to be much better off than we are now. If Obama’s approval ratings are any indication, voters agree, since the president’s popularity is near the low point hit during the disastrous rollout of Obamacare last year. Job gains don’t seem to be helping Obama’s ratings as much as job losses and other problems hurt it.

Still, Obama now has some facts he can point to as evidence of a recovery, which is much better than merely promising it will arrive soon. That may be the best economic news Obama has delivered yet, and it can’t come a moment too soon for his struggling Democratic party.
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Aceventura · Jul 15, 2014

Given how popular Palin is around here I thought I would share this, in case anyone missed it.

The next time you hear politicians denounce Barack Obama as a lawless, imperial president with a scandal-riddled administration, ask them what they’re going to do about it. Their gnashing of teeth over Obama’s self-granted omnipotence is repetitive.
Let’s agree with our ninth president, William Henry Harrison, who said there is nothing more corrupting, nothing more destructive than the exercise of unlimited power. We understand the problem. The only way for politicians to fix it is with a little less talk and a lot more action.
The Constitution provides the remedy for a president who commits “high crimes and misdemeanors.” It’s impeachment.

The only thing necessary to transform America into something unrecognizable is for good men to do nothing!
To be clear, “high crimes and misdemeanors” are not necessarily ordinary criminal offenses. Our Framers used the term to signify a dereliction of duty, and the first duty of the president is to enforce our laws and preserve, protect, and defend our Constitution.

Alexander Hamilton described impeachable offenses as those “which proceed from the misconduct of public men, or, in other words, from the abuse or violation of some public trust.” He explained that they are “political” offenses “as they relate chiefly to injuries done immediately to the society itself.”

No serious person who is paying attention can deny that Obama and his administration have abused and violated the public trust and disregarded the Constitution. Let me count the ways.

Without notifying Congress as required by law, he set free terrorist prisoners at a time of war when they can return to the battlefield to kill our troops.

In violation of our Constitution, he regularly ignores court orders, changes laws by executive fiat, and refuses to enforce laws he doesn’t like, including our immigration laws.

When Congress declined to pass amnesty for illegal immigrants’ offspring, he unilaterally enacted his own version of it, which created the current crisis on our border as illegal youth pour into our country to receive what he illegally promised them.

He committed fraud on the American people when he promised that if we liked our health care plan we could keep it.

He got us into a war in Libya without Congressional approval. When our ambassador begged for security at the consulate in Benghazi, he was ignored and then murdered when the consulate was attacked as predicted. Americans were left behind to die, as the president did nothing to rescue our people there. Afterwards, he helped spread the lie that a spontaneous protest over a YouTube video was to blame for this highly organized, premeditated terrorist attack.

Obama’s IRS targeted his political opponents for harassment. Then the agency lied to and stonewalled Congress and likely destroyed subpoenaed evidence, while Obama falsely declared there’s no corruption there, not even a smidgen.

From the VA scandal to his unconstitutional recess appointments, to his DOJ wiretapping reporters and giving guns to Mexican drug cartels, to violating religious freedom exercised by businesses and ignoring in-house illegal fundraising, the list of abuse goes on and on.

Barack Obama’s administration is proving itself a festering boil of scandal. The Constitution is rock solid in holding the president responsible for the executive branch. He can’t just vote “present” while shrugging and feigning ignorance about all these abuses of the public trust, any more than a mob boss can claim innocence because he didn’t personally do the hit. The buck stops with the guy at the top.

Impeachment is the ultimate check on an out-of-control executive branch. It is serious, not to be used for petty partisan purposes; and it is imperative that it becomes a matter of legitimate discussion before the American people lose all trust in our federal government.

Impeachment requires moral courage to advance what is right, and it requires political will. A complacent or disheartened electorate may silently endure these abuses from the administration, the permanent political class is only too happy to maintain the status quo, and the mainstream media is not a fair watchdog. So, the nation’s last line of defense is for We the People to rise up and say, “enough is enough.”

Obama’s lawless encouragement of illegal immigration should be the tipping point for that political will because it impacts all Americans – native-born and legal immigrants of all backgrounds who followed the rules and now watch rewards go to rule breakers while they’re forced to compete for limited jobs and resources. It’s the tipping point because the forgotten working class is hurt most by this lawlessness; and these good Americans deserve the strongest, most effective tool to defend the livelihoods they’ve so honorably built!

Some are arguing for cautious inaction and dismiss even a discussion of impeachment. With Obama’s poll numbers in the tank and his liberal policies exposed as failures, why rock the boat? But that argument misses the point.
The president is radically changing the way the executive branch does business. He is setting a dangerous precedent that will fundamentally change us. With his “pen and phone,” he’s abrogating Congressional authority in violation of the Constitution’s separation of powers. He’s making himself a ruler, not a president. We had a revolution back in 1776 because we don’t like kings.

Some argue we should wait for midterm elections and hope a big victory by Republicans in both Houses of Congress will rein in Obama.
Been there, done that in 2010. If Congress refuses to use the power the Constitution gives it, Barack Obama will continue to rule however he wants.

Some argue that at best the House might vote for articles of impeachment, but the Senate is unlikely to convict. But that is no argument against holding a president accountable and sending the people’s message to all successors.
Obama can keep laughing and say, “so sue me” to the House’s tepid lawsuit threat. Let’s hear him laugh off impeachment. At the very least, despite his mocking the Constitution, this Constitutional process will put him on notice.

The only thing necessary to transform America into something unrecognizable is for good men to do nothing! If not these violations and the president’s promise to continue to “go it alone” in ignoring the separation of powers and rule of law, what will it take for you to take a stand? How bad does it have to get?

We live in an America where the NSA spies on our communications, the IRS targets us because of our political beliefs, the border is overrun by foreign nationals, terrorist leaders are released to the battlefield, our health care is taken from us and we’re forced to buy a plan we don’t want and can’t afford, Catholic nuns are targeted by the government simply because they adhere to their Catholic faith, the Justice Department arms Mexican drug lords, and the president keeps a “kill list” of people he’s authorized to be executed on sight.

If you’re comfortable with all that, then by all means sit back and hope for the best. Those concerned about America want change. That comes with healing the injuries done to society by an unchecked president; that starts with impeachment.
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The case for Obama’s impeachment: The Constitution’s remedy for a lawless, imperial president | Fox News

I love the way this woman thinks - to all the Republican complaining about President Obama's abuse of power, what are you going to do about it?

redravin · Jul 15, 2014

The sad part is that when she was governor of Alaska, she was a moderate Republican.
What we call a Bush Republican in the tradition of Jay Hammond.
I know you don't know who he is but Jay is considered one of the best governors we've ever had.
Anyway, even some liberals voted for her because she promised to put it to the oil companies and she did!
Most people here are convinced she was lobotomized when they made her part of the John McCain campaign.
You think I'm kidding but those are Republicans talking, in a state that hasn't gone for a Democrat since Johnson against Goldwater.

rogue49 · Jul 25, 2014

I'd say Obama's got his hands full right now...as the world has gone loco.

Russia & Ukraine
Syria & ISIS
Israel & Palestine
Mass Child Migrations from Central America

Friggin' the "usual suspects" of NK, Iran and Afghan/Pakistan aren't even in the radar at the moment. (actually, they're "behaving" themselves)

And on the inside...
VA
Lawsuit
Obamacare ruling (recent one...)
Pending Elections (which give the GOP a slight edge...and a chance to take the Senate)

And the typical screaming of the Barbarians at the Gate...and trying to coax Congress to actually be productive.
Yet the IRS & Benghazi are just "red herrings" at the moment.

----------

The only thing going good for him right now is the economy.
But the public isn't getting the gold trickling down...so they aren't satisfied.

...And the Dems are pulling in the money to match the GOP
But the Dems are also pulling back and covering their own asses, trying to play it both ways.

Now, at this time, Reagan was oblivious, GHWB hid, Clinton cheated & impeached, GWB panicked & kicked Cheney away
What's he going to do?? Can't really control the stupidity going on. He's not magic.
Keep smiling?
Man, is his hair going to be REALLY grey by the end of this...

Me, I'd keep up with the "those idiots" rhetoric speeches and going to good restaurants.
Seems to be working for him, spirit-wise.
At least he can get his ya-yas out.

rogue49 · Jul 29, 2014

PSA - The President of the United States Does Not Control the Economy

This means ANY president, not just Obama.
Now, they can help or hinder it...but for the most part, they only can control what's under them.

Or the bureaucracy already established...and even then, it's under the limitations of law & budget from Congress
and working with the multitude of bureaucrats that "live" there through various administrations.

Tone & policy, that's what helps or hinders...sometimes they push or pull back...what they choose to emphasize and enforce. (what they "can" choose...)

Now this president, I know has made an effort to save money and make govt more efficient.
No matter what the pundits, opponents, petty nit-pickers and yellow journalist say...I've seen it for myself, directly.
And I've seen the results too...there have been substantial savings. (numbers prove it)

And IMHO...the blame for stagnation, if on government, would most be on Congress, or more specifically The House.
But most of it, is not government to blame really...mostly it is business itself.
For some reason, they have been hesitant to move forward and invest.

So, in a vicious circle, since they don't invest...they don't get people buying...so they don't grow...and so on.
The only thing the President can do is...say "Get off your ASSES!!"

And that's what Obama hasn't done well...encouragement of investment.
Should he have to?? No...but still it would really help.
Kind of like a parent of an older adult child...should they "have to" help??? NO...but it would help get them straight and going again, after a fiasco.

That's truly where government can affect the economy.
Like Jerry Maguire saying, "Help Me, Help You" and vice versa.
You think we're all on our own...you've got a limited mindset...

rogue49 · Jul 30, 2014

And he's starting to call them out even more.
Stop the Hate.

I do agree about something..."Get some work done!"

Obama to GOP: Stop hating
By: Kendall Breitman -July 30, 2014

President Barack Obama had some blistering words for congressional Republicans during a speech Wednesday in Kansas City, saying they need to stop “hating all the time.”

“We could do so much more if Congress would just come on and help out a little bit,” Obama said. “Stop being mad all the time. Stop just hating all the time. Let’s get some work done together.”

The president’s speech to a crowd of 1,500 at Kansas City’s Uptown Theater comes on the day that the House is set to vote on whether they will be moving forward in a lawsuit against Obama.

“Now everybody knows this is a political stunt,” Obama said of the lawsuit, “but it’s worse than that because every vote they’re taking like that means a vote they’re not taking to help you. And by the way, you know who is paying for this suit they are going to file? You!”

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) announced in late June plans to move forward with a lawsuit against the president for misusing his executive powers, citing instances where Obama did not consult Congress and implemented policies on immigration, health care, energy, foreign policy and education. Boehner called the actions of “king-like authority.”

“The main vote that they scheduled for today is whether or not they decide to sue me for doing my job,” Obama told the laughing audience. “So, you know, they’re mad because I’m doing my job. And by the way, I’ve told them, I said ‘I’d be happy to do it with you. So the only reason I’m doing it on my own is because you don’t do anything.’”

He added, “Imagine how much further we’d be, how much stronger our economy would be, if Congress was doing its job too. We’d be doing great.”

Obama said that by the time anything came of the lawsuit, he probably wouldn’t be in office.

“Instead of suing me for doing my job, I want Congress to do its job and make life a little better for the Americans who sent them there in the first place. Stop posturing,” Obama said. “I know they’re not happy that I’m president, but that’s OK. Come on. I’ve only got a couple years left. … Let’s get some work done. Then you can be mad at the next president.”

The president made no mention of impeachment, despite chatter reaching new heights in recent days.

At the start of his speech, Obama was interrupted by a woman shouting from the balcony of the venue, “Jesus is the God of Israel. He is fully God,” according to the White House press pool.

“I believe in God,” Obama responded before the woman was escorted from the building. “Thanks for the prayer.”

© 2014 POLITICO LLC
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rogue49 · Aug 4, 2014

Boy, did Obama take his blunt pill today...
Like he realized that noone else is being nice or trying...so now he's just putting it out there.

Obama: 'Russia doesn't make anything,' West must be firm with China
Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama dismissed Russia as a nation that "doesn't make anything" and said in an interview with the Economist magazine that the West needs to be "pretty firm" with China as Beijing pushes to expand its role in the world economy.

Russia is the world's third-largest oil producer and second-largest natural gas producer. Europe relies heavily on Russian energy exports, complicating the West's response to the Ukraine crisis.

Obama downplayed Moscow's role in the world, dismissing President Vladimir Putin as a leader causing short-term trouble for political gain that will hurt Russia in the long term.

"I do think it's important to keep perspective. Russia doesn't make anything," Obama said in the interview.

"Immigrants aren't rushing to Moscow in search of opportunity. The life expectancy of the Russian male is around 60 years old. The population is shrinking," he said.

Obama told Putin last week that he believes Russia violated the 1988 Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces treaty designed to eliminate ground-launched cruise missiles.

Speaking of Russia's "regional challenges," Obama said in the interview: "We have to make sure that they don't escalate where suddenly nuclear weapons are back in the discussion of foreign policy."

Obama described U.S. tensions with China as "manageable."

China is engaged in territorial disputes with its neighbors in the oil-rich South China Sea, and frequently skirmishes with the West over intellectual property issues.

"One thing I will say about China, though, is you also have to be pretty firm with them, because they will push as hard as they can until they meet resistance," Obama told the Economist.

"They're not sentimental, and they are not interested in abstractions. And so simple appeals to international norms are insufficient," he said.

Obama said he believes trade tensions will ease when China shifts "from simply being the low-cost manufacturer of the world" and its companies begin making higher-value items that need intellectual property protections.

"There have to be mechanisms both to be tough with them when we think that they're breaching international norms, but also to show them the potential benefits over the long term," he said.
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I'd say maybe they'd get the hint,
but Obama doesn't have the luck to have discrete opponents, foreign or domestic.

rogue49 · Aug 21, 2014

"We want our President to LEAD."
"He should be a better LEADER."

Now this is often legit...but it is more often a case of unrealistic expectations.
People want their cake and it eat it too.

Yes, it would be "nice" to have someone go in and get everything done perfectly with no issue.
But it doesn't work that way.
Leaders have restrictions on them...plus they have opposition...plus they have a staff, good & bad...and finally, they aren't psychic.

And as this article states...do you REALLY want one that shoves everything through???

We want our politicians to act like LBJ. But not really.
By Matt Bai

President Lyndon B. Johnson shakes the hands of soldiers as he visits American troops in Vietnam, 1966. (Photo …
The problem with Barack Obama, people are always telling me these days, is that he just doesn't love the full contact sport of politics. He has no capacity for the inside machinations or tactical brutality we associate with a more sophisticated and celebrated president like Lyndon Johnson.

What we really need, I guess, is an executive in the mold of a Chris Christie or an Andrew Cuomo or a Rick Perry, all of whom are more extroverted and more brazen about wielding their power as governors than Obama is — and all of whom, not incidentally, are now fending off prosecutors and investigations while scrambling to keep their national ambitions afloat.

And this illustrates an interesting paradox of modern politics: We love this idea of the ruthless and effective political operator, right up until the moment we're confronted by the reality.

There are differences, of course, among the governors I just mentioned and the controversies in which they find themselves tangled. Christie's closest aides rained down havoc on the good, unsuspecting people of Fort Lee, N.J., just to prove a point about the perils of crossing the governor (though Christie has maintained he didn't know about the infamous bridge closure, and no one has yet turned up evidence to the contrary). Cuomo unceremoniously closed the doors of an anti-corruption commission he himself created less than a year earlier, arrogantly proclaiming that it was his commission and he could do what he wanted with it.

And then there's Perry, whose macho mug shot ricocheted around Twitter this week. He'll soon be indicted on charges that he tried to bully a Democratic district attorney from office after she was picked up for drunken driving, first by vetoing her state funds and then by offering to restore them only if she quit. Apparently, obnoxiousness is now a crime in Texas, albeit one of the few that can't get you executed.

But there's a common theme in all of this, which is that all three governors were doing exactly the thing Obama's Democratic detractors and sympathetic commentators so often pound him for not doing — stretching the boundaries of your authority in order to outmaneuver adversaries and ultimately get your way. (Ironically, it's also the thing Republicans insist Obama actually does too often, which is why they're suing him, but that's another story.)

You want the kind of elected executive who's going to make the machine work the way he wants it to, even if he has to grab a sledgehammer and bang a few parts into place? Well, this is what it looks like. It's not especially ennobling, and it never was.

Lately there's a lot of admiration for Johnson, who's often portrayed, in this age of entrenched dysfunction and colorless politicians, as a charismatic, needy rogue who knew how to make Washington work. The truth is that the things Johnson did for the purpose of amassing power would make Rick Perry quiver like a little girl.

Take it from Robert Caro, who is Johnson's foremost biographer and probably our greatest living authority on the use of power, period. "Johnson's life is filled with incidents of cruelty — savagery, really — that go beyond any specific relationship to a noble cause," Caro told me this week, taking a short break from writing his fifth volume on the Johnsonian era. "There are things Johnson does that you would just recoil at, no matter how used to ruthless politics you think you are."

Caro reminded me of the example of Leland Olds, on whom he spent three chapters in "Master of the Senate," his third installment. A passionate New Dealer, Olds was up for another term as federal power commissioner in 1949. The oil companies loathed him, in part because he advocated price controls on the growing supply of natural gas.

Johnson was a brand-new senator who felt the need to prove himself to the Texas-based oilmen. So even while soothingly reassuring liberals that he would protect Olds, Johnson schemed to disgrace him publicly by airing old and bogus claims of communism — something he did with such cunning and efficiency that the man, his family and his reputation were irreparably destroyed in a matter of days.

"I hope you understand there's nothing personal in this," Johnson told Olds during a break in the hearings, according to Caro. "It's only politics, you know."

Yet somehow Johnson is the president we'd like Obama to be. And Perry is just a perp.

There are reasons we mythologize one kind of bully while disdaining the other. Caro makes the critical point that Johnson manifested his ugliness — or at least the evidence of it we tend to remember — in the service of "some of the noblest advancements in government in the 20th century." When a guy uses brute force to enact civil rights, Medicaid and Medicare, and a war on poverty, maybe you tend to look the other way.

Today's embattled governors, too, have done their share of intimidating in the service of significant accomplishments; Christie won bipartisan compromise of a controversial plan to reform public pensions, and Cuomo did the same on gay marriage. But what gets the most attention are the petty transgressions that come with no higher purpose.

What we want, apparently, is a swaggering politician who can be maniacally manipulative when it comes to the big and noble stuff, but who can simply switch it off when the stakes aren't as grand. Good luck with that.

But there's another explanation for why we're so much less tolerant now of exactly the kind of politics we extol in long-dead leaders. And that has a lot to do with what came after the Great Society.

Caro is just getting around to exploring Johnson's cataclysmic role in Vietnam in his work, but as he points out, that period of Johnson's presidency marked an outright perversion of power more than a righteous wielding of it. And thus began the long unraveling of our trust in public officials. Johnson's successor, Richard Nixon, dramatically accelerated the process.

At this point, 40 years after Nixon resigned, our distrust for politicians and our political institutions is so profound and ingrained in the culture that it's hard to imagine our giving any elected leader the license to scheme that Johnson enjoyed. And in this moment of the 60-second news cycle, when every backroom confrontation seems to spill into public view instantaneously, the sordid means of politics almost always overwhelm the end.

If our idealized version of Johnson himself suddenly came back to life and reappeared on the scene today, we wouldn't admire him as roguishly competent. We'd probably refer him to a grand jury.

It may be, as Caro suggests, that lesser politicians simply get less latitude. "Real political genius doesn't come along very often," he told me. "How long has it been since we had a leader who not only enunciated what government should do and laid our specific ends that people could unite behind, but also had the tactics and the determination to achieve those ends?"

But it might also be that if Obama really were this type of political genius, we'd reject and revile him. Such is the contradiction in our politics. We pine for leaders who strong-arm the system, just as long as they don't get caught.
Click to expand...

IMHO, Obama has struck a nice balance, considering everything he's had to deal with...and everyone he's had to play with.
Probably, the only thing I'd critizes him for is two things.
One, he gave the benefit of the doubt to the opposition for way too long.
Two, he was poor in communicating things he was trying to get done to the public. (Obamacare and other items...)

But no one is perfect...and I "try" to have realistic expectation of my leader.
However, unlike most of the public, I know how the system works...so I know it's not magic.
It's complicated...and it's a heavy life.

And no, it's not likely to get easier...no matter what you "want".
Why?? Because, it's complicated because it's representing ALL people...ALL situations...and it's pushed by TONS of conflicting agendas.
You think it's hard just cooperating with your SO??
Try dealing with millions of other people...

rogue49 · Aug 21, 2014

As a followup on the article above...another from Foreign Policy.com

Is Barack Obama More of a Realist Than I Am?
This president isn't weak and waffling. He's calculating, coldhearted, and decisive when it counts.

For the most part I agree...but I don't think that Obama truly has the power attributed him, just like Nationally, Internationally, it's what he CAN do or control.
US Presidents are not magic, nor all-powerful...and perhaps Obama is wise enough to realize this...unlike many failed Empires.
Actually, I like we are hesitating before acting. (God knows how many wars we'd be in if McCain/Palin would have won... )

An especially funny quote at the end...
"As Andrew Sullivan likes to say, Obama's greatest political genius has been his Road Runner-like ability to let enemies beat themselves."

rogue49 · Aug 22, 2014

This follows my argument and equal criticism of Obama,
that he and his administration are very poor at marketing their agenda and successes.

Obama Cares. Look at the Numbers.

Things are happening, they are actually improving. Improving what they have control over. (I cannot speak for corporate and their affect on others...aka "trickle down")

And if they fuck up...I call them on fucking up.
But if they do good...I allow that they did good. (it's not like the opposition where nothing is good and no credit given)

Obama & the Dems have allowed the GOP to set the tone. (or petty people on "their side"...ex: "It's not good enough, It's not fast enough...")
The GOP has the spin, the byline, the mindset...all through CONSTANT and CONSISTENT harping and yelling. The same thing, again & again...spin, spin, spin.

This is the same issue many jobhunters have...they don't toot their own horn, claim their accomplishments on their resumes.
Guess what...if you don't say it, they won't know it.
Also guess what...if you allow your opposition or nitpickers to nag and complain...without sincerely noting your own gains...they win.
The tone & perception goes their way.

I'm not saying "grandstand" or overkill before it's real...(ex: Mission Accomplished...)

But hell, let people know what the hell you're doing for them.
They are not psychic.
AND they are distracted by the chaos of life.

Now, fortunately for Obama, the GOP has a bad habit of being blatently wrong, picking the wrong battles and going overboard on issues.
So the public notes this for it's VERY significant bad calls by comparison.
But do you really want to wait until your rivals screw up to allow your "bosses" to know you're doing good???

Baraka_Guru · Aug 24, 2014

If there is any decent argument for Obama's failure as a president, it is this. But it still raises the question of what a president is capable of. The important aspect to consider, I think, is what Obama wanted vs. what he got. I'm often not sure which is which.

Obama, the neoliberal centrist.

"No, the thing is he posed as a progressive and turned out to be counterfeit. We ended up with a Wall Street presidency, a drone presidency, a national security presidency. The torturers go free. The Wall Street executives go free. The war crimes in the Middle East, especially now in Gaza, the war criminals go free. And yet, you know, he acted as if he was both a progressive and as if he was concerned about the issues of serious injustice and inequality and it turned out that he’s just another neoliberal centrist with a smile and with a nice rhetorical flair. And that’s a very sad moment in the history of the nation because we are—we’re an empire in decline. Our culture is in increasing decay. Our school systems are in deep trouble. Our political system is dysfunctional. Our leaders are more and more bought off with legalized bribery and normalized corruption in Congress and too much of our civil life. You would think that we needed somebody—a Lincoln-like figure who could revive some democratic spirit and democratic possibility."
Click to expand...

Cornel West: “He posed as a progressive and turned out to be counterfeit. We ended up with a Wall Street presidency, a drone presidency” - Salon.com

Aceventura · Aug 25, 2014

rogue49 said: ↑

But hell, let people know what the hell you're doing for them.
They are not psychic.
AND they are distracted by the chaos of life.

Now, fortunately for Obama, the GOP has a bad habit of being blatently wrong, picking the wrong battles and going overboard on issues.
So the public notes this for it's VERY significant bad calls by comparison.
But do you really want to wait until your rivals screw up to allow your "bosses" to know you're doing good???
Click to expand...

Was Romney wrong about the Russian threat? Obama mocked Romney.
Was McCain wrong about keeping some troops in Iraq? Obama mocked McCain.

When the GOP goes overboard on issues, from my point of view, it is because Obama and many others take simple common sense positions and turn those thoughts into over the top ridiculous ideas. For example, we have had military presence in Japan since WWII, it is no big deal - but OMG if we have military presence in Iraq...For example, Russia is being lead by a power hungry leader with virtually total political control, we need to recognize the potential threat that creates - but OMG, Russia, Russia, that is oh so 1980's....

Obama is not doing anything. He should be the comedian-in-chief - we don't need a President making political satire on people with different views than those he holds. Some with more experience and different perspectives may have some legitimate reasons for the views they hold.

redux · Aug 25, 2014

Aceventura said: ↑

Was Romney wrong about the Russian threat? Obama mocked Romney.
Was McCain wrong about keeping some troops in Iraq? Obama mocked McCain.
Click to expand...

Romney and his war hawk/neo-con kitchen cabinet was demanding that the US arm Syrian rebels with no idea of how those rebels groups were interacting, including some pretty nasty guys.
Obama will not arm Syrian rebels; Romney sees a 'lack of leadership' | TheHill

McCain met with some of those nasty guys
ISIS Post PR Photos They Took With John McCain

When the GOP goes overboard on issues, from my point of view, it is because Obama and many others take simple common sense positions and turn those thoughts into over the top ridiculous ideas. For example, we have had military presence in Japan since WWII, it is no big deal - but OMG if we have military presence in Iraq
Click to expand...

How did we get to the point of having a military presence (invasion/occupation)?

I'll keep it simple and just go back to Reagan years (but feel free to go back even further and both parties):

Our support of overthrowing an elected government in Iran and replaced with the Shah --> leads to the Ayatollah/Iran theocracy.
To counter the Iran theocracy --> cozy up to secular Saddam (remember the photo of Rumsfeld and Saddam all buddy-buddy?)
Intervene militarily and get red of Saddam --> result in more terrorists (Bush NIE), alienation of Sunni population (and/or temporarily paying them off (Anbar), the rise of the authoritarian Maliki regime with ties to Iran, further sectarian violence against Sunnis who were left out in the cold by the Iraqi government --> more terrorist (ISIS)

To be clear, both parties have played this game over the last 50 years ...since Eisenhower warned us about the "military industrial complex"

"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition
of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-
industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced
power exists, and will persist."

And we never learn!

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