Please welcome to the blog contributor Bertel King, Jr. You can find out more about him at the About page.
The two things that stick with me the most from Obama’s speech last night both came at the end: that “some [American soldiers] were teenagers when the war began” and that the 4,000-plus people who died in Iraq had worked alongside the “nearly 1.5 million Americans who have served in Iraq.” To me, those are sad figures for what was ultimately a mistake. However, the decision to invade was not Obama’s, nor was the decision to withdraw, so I will search the speech for what I thought was worth commending the president:
His rhetoric.
Yes, what was one of the biggest attack points used by conservatives during the 2008 election is what I consider Obama’s best strength. The man can speak, and when he does it he speaks in a way that will not haunt America for years to come and ruin our credibility around the world. Following are a few bite-sized chunks of his speech.
Of course, violence will not end with our combat mission. Extremists will continue to set off bombs, attack Iraqi civilians and try to spark sectarian strife. But ultimately, these terrorists will fail to achieve their goals. Iraqis are a proud people. They have rejected sectarian war, and they have no interest in endless destruction. They understand that, in the end, only Iraqis can resolve their differences and police their streets. Only Iraqis can build a democracy within their borders. What America can do, and will do, is provide support for the Iraqi people as both a friend and a partner.
I felt that this claim was necessary. While I question those who declare that we have won in Iraq, I do see some reason to be proud of the military’s accomplishments thus far (though I do think it is ironic that a victory for our mighty military is to be able to get out of a mess that it started with some dignity intact). However, never again should the United States declare “Mission Accomplished” prematurely, and Obama has made it explicitly clear that there will still be combat ahead.
… I am mindful that the Iraq War has been a contentious issue at home. Here, too, it is time to turn the page. This afternoon, I spoke to former President George W. Bush. It’s well known that he and I disagreed about the war from its outset. Yet no one could doubt President Bush’s support for our troops, or his love of country and commitment to our security. As I have said, there were patriots who supported this war, and patriots who opposed it. And all of us are united in appreciation for our servicemen and women, and our hope for Iraq’s future.
This is a post-partisan moment for Obama. Politically, it’s safe to bash Bush — even conservatives do it. But Obama has chosen the high road. And in doing so, he has bucked against the conservative tactic of branding politicians who disagree as traitors, a tactic that helped Bush defeat Kerry in 2004 and prevented Democrats from gaining a majority in Congress at the time. Obama has chosen not only to stand up for his fellow Democrats, but to make the respectable decision to honor those politicians who disagree with his policies.
Within Afghanistan, I have ordered the deployment of additional troops who-under the command of General David Petraeus — are fighting to break the Taliban’s momentum. As with the surge in Iraq, these forces will be in place for a limited time to provide space for the Afghans to build their capacity and secure their own future. But, as was the case in Iraq, we cannot do for Afghans what they must ultimately do for themselves. That’s why we are training Afghan Security Forces and supporting a political resolution to Afghanistan’s problems. And, next July, we will begin a transition to Afghan responsibility. The pace of our troop reductions will be determined by conditions on the ground, and our support for Afghanistan will endure. But make no mistake: this transition will begin — because open-ended war serves neither our interests nor the Afghan people’s.
Here Obama learns from the mistakes of Kennedy, Johnson and Bush. Afghanistan will not be another Vietnam. We cannot afford to stay in a country once we’ve realized it is hopeless. There are good things that can come out of the war in Afghanistan, but if it becomes clear that they’re not going to happen, or that the ability to accomplish them lies not in our hands but rather the Afghani’s, than we need to count our losses and leave. America has more to lose from its drudging economy and crippled credibility than from the Taliban at this point.
Unfortunately, over the last decade, we have not done what is necessary to shore up the foundation of our own prosperity. We have spent over a trillion dollars at war, often financed by borrowing from overseas. This, in turn, has short-changed investments in our own people, and contributed to record deficits. For too long, we have put off tough decisions on everything from our manufacturing base to our energy policy to education reform. As a result, too many middle class families find themselves working harder for less, while our nation’s long-term competitiveness is put at risk.”
I think this paragraph sums up what has been and will be the Obama legacy. Bush was a war president, and while Obama has inherited both wars they are not where his priorities lie. His efforts have been on domestic issues — economic recovery, health care, tax cuts — and his ambitions remain domestic — energy reform, education reform, economic recovery. Obama hasn’t charted a new path when it comes to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and he doesn’t have to. They will bring themselves to an end with time, and they will never be his babies. With the economy in the shape that it’s in, Obama has bigger fish to fry.
You can read the entire text of Obama’s Tuesday night speech here.
I found the insertion of the economy when speaking to the nation about being at war against Islamic terrorism to be tacky at the very least. But then again, perhaps I should not be too harsh. The president’s greatest failure (the economy) apparently weighs on his mind so much that he can’t help himself to improperly bring it up in a speech that was supposed to be about the war against terrorism.
I don’t understand your train of thought in finding bringing up the economy “improper”. I thought it was segued well when he mentioned that “We have spent over a trillion dollars at war, often financed by borrowing from overseas. This, in turn, has short-changed investments in our own people, and contributed to record deficits.”
Our poor economy is unquestionably due in part to our war spending. That isn’t a question.
I’m also curious as to how you consider the economy’s failure to be Obama’s fault. Yes, maybe he hasn’t acted quickly enough in the U.S. citizens’ opinion to completely turn it around, but he was not the one to blame for its demise.
“Our poor economy is unquestionably due in part to our war spending. That isn’t a question”.
Total bunk!!
http://politix101.wordpress.com/
@clayjar: The war on terrorism and the failing U.S. economy (issues Obama inherited, not created) are directly related.
You can’t spend trillions of dollars at war overseas, putting the nation into further debt, and not have it affect the situation back at home. Many are furious to be funding a losing war where the lives of our soldiers are sacrificed, while our economy – lack of jobs, lack of pay, lack of health care, lack of corporate and environmental responsibility – continues to take a backseat.
The President’s supportive remarks concerning former President Bush took a lot of balls. It didn’t just take us a year to get into this debacle, it took eight and Obama could have buried him for that and been wildly applauded by the left – but he didn’t. He took the high road without compromising his own agenda.
The August 31st speech for me was making a statement, that we need to finish what we started, but not at the expense of our own county. It’s time to clean up our mess, get the hell out, and move on towards a future where we work on getting our own house in order.
Natina
http://humansareassholes.wordpress.com/
I highly commend the President for all he is doing. There seem to be so many Americans who are happy to blacken his name and scream hate slogans about him but I don’t think any of us would want to take the job. He has so much weighing on his shoulders and it would be simply impossible for him to fix the country in so short a time and with so little support. It saddens me that so few people are willing to give him a chance. Wake up America – we are supposed to be a nation united but clearly is no longer the case.
He is a man……period, not a god, not a super hero, and certainly in way over his head. Wake up, educate yourself and understand; deputy dog can be president if enough useful idiots vote for him. Obama is nothing special and nothing new. Obama is the same old, same old, progressive idea-log who thinks he finally has the magic formula to make socialism work. Smarten up!!
http://politix101.wordpress.com/
The media and the right wing was on his back about the
economy so somehow he had no other choice but to say something about. In other words I don’t his statement was tacky at all.
I think Obama is doing the right thing turning to the home issues. Being a charismatic and broadminded leader, he will avoid polarizing comments. Thank you for your disinterested view on him which is lacking in most Americans now.
Smile 🙂
http://ninjawiththeorangetshirt.wordpress.com/
Thank you for taking the time to be objective. It is hard to say we are giving up on war without a clear victory. But is it a victory when the price is our domestic economy in shambles?
I think that this is the worst president we have ever had in the History of the US. This man is a disgrace to this country along with his czars! The Democratic agenda is to ruin this country. Now I know there are alot of you who think that is crazy but I truely believe it. This country was founded on Godly principles, Liberty and Justice for All! So where is that in this government run healthcare or the socialsitic ideaology of this administration? I think this speech is just more of the same from Obama and nothing more. The Economy is not all his fault but you know he has not made it any better. In fact, he has made it alot worse than it could have been and his views are so distrubing. Well, that is my two cents and thank you for letting me post! God Bless!
Solu, I agree pretty much with you. I do feel Obama wants to “change” our country to more of a socialist style with his Marxist ideas. That will rob us of the liberties and freedoms that allowed us citizens to pursue greatness individually which in turn created the greatest county ever collectively. His government takeovers of programs will saddle us with debt for years to come. They will slow economic prosperity to a crawl. He doesn’t seem to know that we don’t need to be taken care of by a nanny state, which he wants because it centralizes power for him, but we need to be as free as possible. That is what creates motivation, ingenuity and prosperity.
Yes, because we didn’t lose any freedoms under the Bush administration. Our soldiers went into a dangerous situation with all of the equipment they needed. When they came home from the service disabled mentally and physically, they got every bit of disability pay due them. Oh, and Walter Reed was always a state-of-the-art facility in every nook and cranny.
Wake up! Were you making these statement when Bush was in office making a muck of things or were you hiding your head in the sand as Corporate America sent factories and jobs overseas because they were given tax breaks to do so.
Obama is fixing what happened before him. It is going to take time. He did not promise a quick fix or that it would be without sacrifice. MAYBE that is the real message we Americans need to hear.
You wouldn’t survive in Europe. In your eyes we are communists.But its socialism not Marxist ideas!
Whats wrong with welfare? doesn’t it feel bad that all ppl in your state dont have enough money to get care at the hospital? Or their pains?
You need to pay more taxes to give the ppl that freedom. I live in sweden and i may not like the socialists but I love that they made the Medical care almost free.
But for that we need high taxes.
Can you please substantiate which one of the Obama’s “Marxist” idea you are referring to.
But please, no rhetoric, just proven facts.
If you can’t, than please, stop polluting the web.
Solu West,
I totally agree with your comments, it’s probably (Bush’s fault).
i didn’t see it so I thank you for posting some of the key points. he is a great speaker and this is a well constructed speech. he raises awareness about our nation’s problems and some people just can’t take it. but look at other countries, they started to have faith in us again and that says a lot about Obama.
What messy worlds politics and war are.
http://csabi09.wordpress.com
I’m personally baffled by those who say that Obama and his administration are responsible for the economic situation today. Economies do not mend overnight. At all. They don’t even mend within 2 years. Americans are irrationally impatient on this issue. When he was running, Obama clearly stated several times, including in his inaugural address, that what he hopes to accomplish with our economy cannot happen overnight. He even said, paraphrasing here, that within his own presidency, the changes we see may seem minimal. BUT we will be headed in the right direction which is the whole freaking point.
Thank you for your very rational break down of parts of the speech, very nicely done.
Dora,
I just read “On Mosqueaphobic Shenanigans.”
It’s right and beautiful at the same time since is written from the heart .
I agree , there is no compromise possible. At the beginning of the Civil Rights Movements there were also good people asking to go slow, to compromise. Imagine what a compromise could have been: THE MIDDLE OF THE BUS?
No compromise is possible with the First Amendment.
Unfortunately, under President Obama, our mindset has become that we are in the land of entitlement, rather than the land of opportunity. Socialized medicine is set out as some sort of panacea that will cover everyone’s health care. It’s going to destroy our economy. Please look at the crummy VA system, the crummy bankrupt Medicare system, the crummy bankrupt Social Security system – the horrors that are taking place under socialized medicine right now in the UK. Really? You really want the gov’t doing all this for you? You simply can not have health care “reform” without tort reform, of which there has been zero. The elderly will now see severe rationing based on the idea that the money for the rest of the health care entitlements will come from “Medicare abuse.” If this is the case, why can’t there just be Medicare reform and then see if the money starts magically appearing to cover everyone’s insurance? We needed reform, but this was a horrible way to do it. And yes – Bush started the ridiculous stimulus money spending, but please remember that he was aided by a majority Democrat congress for the last 2 years of his term. Obama was absolutely wrong to continue the boondoggle of stimulus money. Do you not understand that all the money comes from you the taxpayer? When my family spends too much money, we have to rein in our spending. The gov’t should be expected to do the same. It’s out of control, and unemployment is higher right now than at any time since the Great Depression. If that’s doing a good job, what do you consider doing a bad job? And please, it’s time to stop blaming Bush for everything. Obama has been in office long enough to stop the childish Bush bashing and start taking some responsibility. He’s a Democrat president with a majority Democrat congress. Enough excuses already. Where are the jobs?
Good points Sue.
Thanks for the sanity!
Sue Presidents don’t create jobs companies do and, thanks to the republicans and their so called free trade policies, the ceo’s of US companies are only interested in creating jobs in China and other countries instead of here at home. It’s time for a reality check for both conservatives and US corp.’s: No job = No money to spend = A very slow economy.
It’s always amusing hearing Americans go on endlessly about socialist Europe, marxist Europe, the horrors in the UK blah blah blah. Wait until you’ve heard Europeans go on about the horrors of the US medical system (no help if you have no insurance), reckless gun killings, massive prison system, poverty on a scale not seen in western Europe, the most corrupt political system in the western hemisphere, crazy religious fundamentalist beliefs and so on.
While no economic system is perfect it’s a fact that to date capitalism has created more wealth across a population than any other system. It’s also a fact to anyone vaguely literate about world affairs that all western European countries are capitalist and yes that includes Germany, France and the Scandinavians. It’s true they are not laissez-faire capitalists and they may pay more taxes and receive more benefits but about everything outside of health care is privately owned. And they live well too.
On the US economy it’s true the US needs to put its house in order. But running a country is not like running your private finances. Governments that try to balance their budgets in the middle of a recession will end up with a depression or worse a revolution. They tried it in the 30s and in more recent times all over Africa and South America and it did not work. What works is a mix of peace, good government, capital infusion and investment in people and infrastructure. For heavily indebted nations you also need: lucky breaks (like massive oil finds in Russia), debt forgiveness (Germany after WW2, Africa, South America) or tactical default. Since the US isn’t going to default outright it will have to do so through inflation and a significant fall in the value of the dollar. Cutting back on the military may also help.
Those who keep harping on about what made America great are stuck in traffic. The loss of an empire is painful. Ask Rome or London. The world has moved on and America’s relationship vis-a-vis everyone else is not what it was at the beginning of the 20th century. The old ways are gone never to return. However the future is as always full of promise and those who face it with courage are the most likely to benefit from it.
Cannot agree more.
We should talk, exchange ideas
Pierre
Conversations with Popov
http://popov1121.wordpress.com/
Thanks for a well-thought out and rational review of Obama’s speech. There is absolutely nothing on earth that Obama can do for the good that would have some people change their mind about him. Their ideas are set in stone. It’s a shame, especially when words like “socialism” and “communism” are thrown around so freely. It simply shows a complete misunderstanding of what socialism and communism are. The European countries that have socialized medicine are not in economic ruin. They are not socialist. They are not communist. They have sound economies and strong democratic systems of government. And another item: If you eat too much and gain 20 lbs in a month, it takes a lot longer than a month to lose it. A large number of irresponsible (and dangerous) government decisions were made for eight years. It is ludicrous for anyone to believe that Obama or any other administration could turn that around in 20 months or less. I can’t think of any president who has been handed so many problems upon taking oath or one who has worked harder to resolve them.
” Silence is the ultimate instrument of power” Charles De Gaulle dixit. My President don’t need to rush and answer every lie or misinformation coming from the Right.
THIS IS OUR JOB, the voters.
He better be busy bringing back …..Obama , the candidate, and take some bold action NOW.
No one can fix the economy, create jobs and reduce the deficit in the same time. We must make a choice. What should be done first? Your take.
But before answering, one must ask himself, how long the American people can take…this.
Don’t ask those having dinner in this extra-private club where only 2% of the population has membership, ask the hungry, the jobless, the without houses, the foreclosed mortgagees, the 99rs whose dignity is taken away by millionaires politicians just finishing dinner. Ask them.
Of course the dialogue between the hungry and those just finishing dinner is difficult at best, and ACTION not speeches is urgently needed before the charlatans we watched last weekend at the Mall, hiding behind the Bible they use shamelessly for ungodly purposes and riding the wave of popular discontent, succeed into closing the ………last kitchen left open. There is not much time left till …November.
Man, am I happy to be a Canadian…. 🙂
I’ve heard that from other Canadians!
Although, even being Canadian is a little scary these days. We just got lucky that our greedy banks were less greedy than the American banks, I suppose.
I’m pretty over hearing what the “fiscally responsible conservatives” have to say. The fiscally responsible Republicans are a memory of their former selves and the modern day Republicans, Conservatives and Tea Partiers are a whole other animal. Republicans of yester-year should out these people and put them in their place so as not to continually spout this crap about Marxism and Socialism. This president has passed bills that don’t get covered by the so-called Liberal media because it’s dominated by all the Faux news hate speech. The mess this president walked into was inherited. The truth hurts but just because a certain group wants everybody to believe that the sky is red just because they say so, doesn’t make it so. I’m not jumping on the bandwagon of “Obama Sucks” just because of a popular drumb beat.
And you shouldn’t. We have a duty as voters: make sure that all affirmations are backed by facts and immediately denounce all lies, misrepresentations and factual inaccurate statements, regardless where they come from. So that our President don’t need to honor lies and insinuations with unnecessary denials and start making good use of Charles De Gaulle reflection : “Silence is the ultimate instrument of power.”
I see a world of difference in Obama the President and Obama the Candidate. The Candidate seemed more skillfull
and confident with an inspiring message. The President
seems more aloof, professorial, and detached. That
is the main difference, as the Candidate their was this
connection that seemed at times almost magical. Now there
is this disconnect that seems almost, well, sad.
It started with all this optimism. After all didn’t he have
this Congressional majority of epic proportions? All he
had to do now was do what he seemed to do best on
the campaign trail and that is sell. The problem became
not enough people were buying. The reason not enough
people were buying is because in his efforts to make
what he was selling as inclusionary as possible, somewhere along the way that package that he was
selling became seen as too exclusionary to far too
many.
He came within a hair of losing out on the centerpiece
of his agenda, and that was health care reform. The
main reason for this is because he couldn’t explain
it, and never garnered anywhere close to having
bipartisan support. He passed the Bill without one
Republican vote, and with the minimum fillibusterproof
majority, which included the votes of three Senators
that were appointed, and one that was a former
pundit, the Left’s version of Rush Limbaugh and Glen
Beck, Al Franken.
The reason he could never explain the bill is because
he and this Congress could never quantify it, and
assure those that already had access to the kind
of health care quality that only the rich in the so called
civilized world had, could keep it. What he failed
to realize is THAT WOULD BE MOST OF US. Now he
had the albatross on his head of selling a piece
of 3000 pages of pure pork laden legisturese and
forced the people that didn’t want it, and who would
end up PAYING FOR IT to BUY IT.
So in effect, he used high pressure sales techniques
to sell something, that if he was not smarter, but
MORE SAVY to know, would have and should have sold
itself. He became kind of like the architect at a punch
list meeting. The building users, the contractors, subcontractors, project managers all complaining
about the flaws of the building. You know, the usual,
the roof leaks, the AC isn’t properly sized, not enough
parking provided, too much practicality given up for
aesthetics. When the architect was cornered, and
could no longer explain himself or blame anyone,
anymore, said in his exasperation, “but you don’t
understand my work.!”
This Congress has obviously ventured too far to the
Left. In their zeal to please everyone, they have
pleased no one. They demonize the oppositon as
the “Party of No”, when they question why the
economic policy has become writing checks to everyone
all the time for everything.
The Democrats (my party) have become the Party of
Poor Little Old Me. As in poor little old me, I don’t
have health care. Poor little old me, it has been two
years and I still can’t find a job. Poor little old me,
they want to arrest me in Arizona for being here
illegally. Poor little old me, some creep got me pregnant
and my family won’t or can’t support me and I need
welfare or an abortion. Poor little old me I am living
over my head and can’t pay off my credit card debt.
Poor little old me, I can’t pay off my 500K mortgage
on 50K a year. Ad nauseum, etc. etc. ….
He should have picked one thing, and worked with the
other side and fixed it. Reagan did it, Clinton did it.
Even Bush before his ill fated Iraq venture managed
to do it with the tax cuts. Right now his agenda is too
frenetic, and his blame and shame game on Bush has
run its course, it’s his baby now.
He uses metaphors like “the Republicans ran the
car in the the ditch and now they want the keys
back.” That is true, but to many including me, the
Democrats have wrecked the transmission of that
car by recklessly going back and forth, blew out the
tires, bent the rims, and wore out the rotors because
brake pads weren’t changed in time. WE WERE BETTER
OFF IN THE DITCH!
Right now there is a grass roots movement Ie. The
Tea Party gaining some momentum. The people
that attended last week ends rally riled the supporters
of Obama by their display. I get it that the people
at that rally ALREADY HAD all of those things that I
mentioned in my above paragraph on the pitfalls
of poor little old meism. I can see how their efforts
and the them of “restoring honor” could be misunderstood.
It is human nature to be offended by this display
of the “haves”, when you are the “have nots” It’s
kind of like someone shamelessly bragging about
how much money they make, how nice of a car they
drive, how big of a house they live in, how thin they are
or how pretty they are. I see people these people
being offensive as only an example of using poor
taste to express themselves.
The media and the Left, of course see it differently. They
see it as opposition to Obamanomics of the most horrific
kind. They see it as racism, ignorance, and villify
those as dangerous. BIG MISTAKE. By doing this
they give new meaning to the term “sour grapes”,
from the Aesop’s Fable “The Fox and the Grapes
summed up in the below mentioned poem:
The fox who longed for grapes, beholds with pain
The tempting clusters were too high to gain;
Grieved in his heart he forced a careless smile,
And cried ,‘They’re sharp and hardly worth my while
I could also tell about the other Aesop fable of
the Ants and the Grasshoppers, nut I’ll leave that
for another post.
Harry,
We were not in the ditch, for the 8 years of Bush.
We run TOWARD the ditch for 4 years than we sit LOOKING DOWN for the next 4 years, making speeches.
Finally, when Obama become President, the crowd around the DITCH was so dense, every one pushing to have a glimpse at the DITCH, until finally most of us ” poor little old me” the stupid middle class, the one in question in “The Ants and the Grasshoppers”, fell down.
Nevertheless, you are right, pointing the finger don’t solve anything, by now only “vendetta” hungry people would care to know who’s fault it is. What people want to know is
WHO IS BRINGING A SOLUTION.
Before you answer, take a good look at this new brand of conservatism hiding behind the Bible.
“What the current right has on offer is far worse than anything Bush put forward” E.J.Dionne Jr. dixit – from Washington Post, August 23, 2010.
Before you award the House and Senate to “a movement gone over the cliff” ( E.J.Dionne Jr.) think again.
Check my blog for the link on Christian Reconstructionism,
you’ll be in for some surprise.
Dabir Dalton – I completely understand that presidents don’t create jobs. Gov’ts don’t either. But, the policies they put in place can make or break the private sector. The policies of the current administration are job killers, while at the beginning of his term Obama was promising that the stimulus bill was absolutely necessary to keep unemployment from going up to 8%! 8% is looking pretty good these days! The stimulus is a boondoggle. The burden put on companies AND individuals by this 2000-page monstrosity of a health care bill that no one has even read all the way through, for instance, hurts the economy. As you grow the gov’t, you put a strain on the private sector. For the last couple of years all we’ve heard about are the big bad companies. Ummm…most people work for a big, bad company. Remember Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? They needed regulation, but the Democrats wouldn’t allow it. Kind of interesting the timing of the meltdown right before the election, eh? Especially when it was some Republican by the name of John McCain (who I can’t stand, BTW) who had been lobbying to put regulations on those two entities that, while operating as private companies, had the implicit backing of the federal gov’t. As I recall, the Democrat, Maxine Waters, was quite prominent in the fight against regulating these two entities.
Yep everything is Bush’s fault…including the two years Obama’s been in office.
I do agree with an earlier comment that Obama has not governed the way he campaigned, but then, I think that’s true of most politicians. Obama campaigned pretty heavily, as I recall, on health care reform, and I think the end result is a lot more conservative than what he campaigned on, which disappoints me, but I understand that even in the partisan rancor we live in today, democracy is about compromise.
this comment section has gone far afield from the President’s speech, but I will say that I feel that the Democrats are split between (rather than cite any particular issue) answer 1 and answer A to a question, while the Republicans are split between Answer 1 and the President isn’t a citizen, he’s a Nazi-Marxist who hates America and is a Muslim (because, apparently, being a Muslim is inferior to other religions? I guess thats what they’re saying, and wow, what balls) – so not much help from the Republicans. half the tv media is obsessed with ratings (cnn, nbc) and the others are obsessed with ratings and controlling the message, creating news (looking at you, fox)
ugh. i could go on, but…
Obama could do better.
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I missed the speech but thanx for the update…nice synopsis:)
The war in Iraq is very linked to the economy as it kept us from funding basic services here in the U.S.
Nice post.
Obama and his rhetoric.
You know we have come from extremely dark days when everyone is excited simply because the President can form coherent sentences one after another.
That having been said, this is likely another one of many instances in which the President is talking a great game and saying the right things and making people feel good yet inreality, little will come of it. Little that is real, good and truly constuctive at least.
Iraq will be occupied by US forces for years and years. That is a given. It doesn`t matter what people CALL it: if it looks and acts like an occupation, guess what? Thats right, it is one. Simply sanitizing the language does not change facts.
In addition to legitimate US military forces in the country, we will also be dealing with the army of mercenaries working for the Department of State and Department of Energy (read: CIA) that will, like the military, be going no place.
Obama is clearly an intelligent, accomplished man however, he is just another money puppet (politician) and he, like so many others has an agenda he is not going to tell the general public about.
In closing, a couple things regarding other comments I read on here….
“If you eat too much and gain 20 lbs in a month, it takes a lot longer than a month to lose it.” Referring to Obama having walked into a situation that would take much more time to correct. this is first, factually incorrect. Actually, you can lose 40 pounds in a month. A dramatic REDUCTION in CONSUMPTION coupled with a dramatic INCREASE in OUTPUT and voila- big weight loss.
Intensity and dramatic change are the key.
Two things we are seeing none of.
“I see a world of difference in Obama the President and Obama the Candidate. ”
Of course you do. He had a massive and tremendously succesful marketing super machine pumping him up during the campaign, he could promise anything and make wonderful statements that made you feel great and essentially leave the slate blank for you to fill in. Now, things are different. He is still employing similiar tricks but his strokes cannot be as broad, he is the President of the USA, he has to say something of substance.
Let’s hope “chivalry” and good manners will be appreciated equally on both sides of the aisle. Our Commander in Chief gave a free lesson of graciousness to a GOP not accustomed to operate at such high altitude. And pissed off (again) his own base whose main worry is that his best qualities will be interpreted as weaknesses by the multitude of “Joe the Plumber” populating our Union. And yes, he’s right; there is much to do at home. He detailed a grocery list and now we have to find ……the cash, since credit seems to have been devoured by the same mysterious force (ha!) that helped the billions of the “bail out” disappear without trace.
It is time for action. It is time for Obama to welcome his haters, let them know that he has a job to do and intend to do it. It’s time for some bold actions.
Remember Franklin Roosevelt? It is time for action, my President.
Popov
@Matt
I’m sure that you already found someone you’d like as our next President, last Saturday at the Mall.
Rev. John Hagee was there and so many other…celebrities.
I wonder what you guys hate most about Obama:
1. His skin color?
2. His middle name?
3. His intelligence making you feel inferior?
Or all of the above?
@Sue
How can a Healthcare bill with 90% of previsions becoming Law in 2014, hurt the economy in 2010?
How about 2 wars, deregulation allowing Banks to turn Wall Street into Las Vegas, smart traders packaging securities that never existed, insured by AIG , who thought it will never have to pay claims on non-existing securities, large multinational corporations forcing our domestic labor force to compete with workers in China, India and Vietnam making $0.10 an hour? Should I continue?
Can we have an intelligent conversation based on FACTS and not slogans?
There must be a time – and it is the time now – to forget about political parties and try to have a national debate honestly, on how to get out of this recession, and not on who’s to blame. We ALL know who’s to blame but pointing a finger would not bring back our jobs or our houses.
Obama was right not to blame Bush. It makes no difference; unemployment and foreclosure do not differentiate between Republicans and Democrats?
Sue, Sue, don’t forget that guy who bilked people out of $50 billion dollars and hid it so well his former customers will never see a cent of their money again,
Obama the anti-war option. It’s like Woodrow Wilson the anti-WWI option all over again. Ah, history repeats.
No bourgeois office is going to change that.
Fighting the battles that need to be fought on the home front seems like the wisest decision made by a President who clearly cares greatly for his country and for his people. After the wreckage of the Bush administration the American people should be down on their knees in gratitude to whatever god they believe in that there is someone in the White House again who is on their side, not the side that has the most money.
With regards.
Ending of this operation is a lesson to lot of nations. What a character, a nation who use to receive donations, dole, sympathy became and thought that big, that they started to have an evil eyes even on the donors. And end is shame, wastage of nature resources and human beings.
Another example is of our Big Brother, and in the name of chemical weapons, had “daada-giri” and went thru Iraaq. Damage have been done and will public forget it. One can fool one person for one time, can fool whole world for one time but not and never can fool all the world for all times.
Time is still there and truth, justice, honour and peace should prevail before it is too late. Think…..
faruqi – photojournalist – noida – 098 103 15813
We all know Obama was different as a candidate and is different as A President.
He knew what is there on the plate and what is he going into. In his over enthusiasm he declared stimulus packages to unworthy companies who just took advantage of the situation, spent those funding in partying and granting Huge Bonuses to their CEOs and all.
The irony is even after knowing this Gov. didn’t back off or stop funding or took any action or inquired about the exact state of the companies.
He not only continued sending more troops rather than withdrawing them slowly which indented (added extra trillion worth burden)more in already damaged economy.
When ppl are out of Job and Homes left and right, he kept on spending millions of our hard earned $$ (about $650 millionon or more) just ad campaigning for health reform…What a waste…! Those millions could have saved so many households if help has been offered to ppl directly. Where is the Common Man in this..!?
I see no need to send money to other countries like Pakistan- $$ 150 millions/month…!? (I hope I am wrong about the no.)when your own ppl are fighting and struggling to save their jobs,homes and families.
Unemployment rate is going higher and higher and no jobs are created or will be created in near future. Why not bring those jobs back form overseas?? why such a dilly dally policies in that matter..!? Why always all policies are made keeping Big Giants in mind and not A Common Man…!? In that case-Economy will take double dip it seems.
Obama has already started his campaign for next term and sudden change in his attitude to focus more on reform at Home Front is the part of it, it seems. He had an opportunity to get re elected on its own ,without campaign if he played his cards right but he blew it….just my opinion… nothing personal…
I wasnt going to comment until I read someone write that “Yep everything is Bush’s fault…including the two years Obama’s been in office.” Whoever wrote this should do a little more research before posting such an uneducated comment. Look at some of the Bills that Clinton Supported and signed before Bush took office, then say everything is all Bush’s fault. No one likes Bush, conservatives bash Bush, but he’s not the only person that should have finger’s pointing at him. And it’s not always president’s that should have finger’s pointed at them either, it runs deeper into the veins of what we call “government”.
@monalisa
It’s Ok to express your legitimate frustrations with the economic situation and the surprising ” neutrality ” of our President in matters requiring partisanship,
but it is not OK to flatly disregard the facts.
Obama did not spent $650 million advertising his / our national healthcare reform, and you KNOW IT.
What is the purpose of spreading such lies?
I wander why so many people of modest means support those who’s stated policies are aimed at making them an underprivileged proletariat.
Masochism, ignorance or both.
Popov 1121 You are correct to cite examples of
spreading misinformation as a poor approach for
stating a point of view convincingly. Although, Obama did
give an enormous amount of speeches touting
healthcare reform, fifty-four to be exact.
That said, you are not helping your cause by
using terminologies like “underprivilidged proletariat”
to make your points. Did you read about
those economic concepts in some college course
that assigned reading Karl Marx as one of its
requirements?
By the way how did you come up with your
handle? Is that your name? A reference to
cheap vodka? Or some alter ego of yours
based on some Bolshevik character standing
on a soapbox and shouting down the Czar
in 1917 St. Petersberg? …… Just kidding
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@Harry Elliott
Thank you for taking the time to reply to my comments.
First, Popov is a beautiful huge black cat with green eyes. He has been named after the famous Russian born clown Popov who used to dress always in black. The nature of our relation is complicated since Popov is convinced that I am his pet and my efforts to convince him of the obvious ( obvious for me) never succeeded.
We both are political junkies and watch TV together. Which channels ? ALL of them, hopping to discover the truth or anything as close to it as possible.
I consider myself a moderate Democrat while Popov is most often to my left. As a true feline , Popov has none of the human holds and can be extremely blunt and insensitive. He’s not encumbered with nuances, he sees things his way, mostly in black and white, calling a cat …….a cat. I try to bring in a more moderate perspective.
I can easily understand your sensitive reaction to
“underprivileged proletariat”( sorry for misspelling the word in my original text); I had a much more violent reaction to words like… Democracy, when I arrived in Paris after spending my first 17 years of life in a Eastern European “Popular Republic” (Traslation: under Soviet occupation); my reaction was to look for a gun.
It took me years to finally understand that what is called Democracy in the West have nothing to do with the “Popular Democratic paradise” where I had the misfortune to be born.
My family belonged to the intellectual bourgeoisie and had been the target of all kind of humiliations and persecutions due to our socio/cultural status. I hate extreme left ideologies with an intensity you cannot possibly understand and I don’t expect you to.
So let’s leave it at that.
So back to “underprivileged proletariat”. Words in their original context cannot hurt anyone, as long as no distortion occurs; lies, disinformation and vicious propaganda hurt , having the potential to mislead the masses, as history – this professor no one wants to hire – has prove it so often.
Let me ad that knowing and using your enemy vocabulary in the correct context not only can help your cause but shows that you understand the meaning and the power of words and are not afraid of it.
Ah, I forgot. Political science was part of the journalism curriculum at Sorbonne University and the name of Karl Marx was mentioned few times. It was not really necessary in my case, because my first 17 years of life have had at breakfast, lunch and dinner, all the Marx-Engels utopia they could possibly ingest.
With a background like that, you would ask, why do I mix into politics? Well, as Charles De Gaules said :”…politics are too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.”
Before I forgot, I wasn’t around in 1917 St. Petersburg, but if I could have been, you will have found me fighting on side of the “White Russians” killing as many Bolsheviks as possible, hopping to alter the course of History, for reasons you can understand now.
My name is Pierre Lupesco and you can find me on Facebook or if you are interested in my Conversations with Popov and want to let us know your point of view , you are more than welcome.
You can find us at: http://popov1121.wordpress.com/
Again, Popov and I, thank you for your comment.
@ Harry Elliott
My dyslectic fingers are responsible for “traslation”
I guess they meant “translation”.
Popov 1121 Thank you for your articulate, well thought
and skillfully crafted response to my teasing of you in
my previous post. Wow, what can I say? In a way
I am envious of your varied life and educational
experiences. This explains a great deal as to how
you have arrived at your intelligent and well informed
viewpoint. Again, thanks for not responding in
a narrow mean, and judgemental post.
To me, that is the major problem with today’s Left
in America. They lecture and pontificate on the
virtues of tolerance as long as it is they that
get to be the tolerator. They accuse those that
are elitist and exclusionary as being racist,
ignorant and dangerous, yet when they gain power
become exactly what they railed against. When
called on it they excuse their tactics and mindset
as that of human nature. You can’t have it both ways.
I have enjoyed reading your posts, especially
the last one. I wish you the best, and would
like to pay you one of what I consider the
ultimate Gringo compliments. “You sir, are
a good sport.”
@Harry Elliott
Thank you for your kind comments, I will try my best to deserve them. I cannot deny that my dear Party, the Democrats are disappointing…again. Whatever the issue, regardless of the indisputable achievements – impressive, considering the “heritage” left by the Right – the Democrats tendency for playing Jesus, tending the other chick, on matters in desperate need of IMMEDIATE solution and requiring to be resolved with ferocious partisanship if necessary, is…..yes, disappointing.
Watching today’s Press Conference and seeing our cool, educated, intelligent and inspirational President, forced to make a public display of his faith, not required by the article 6th of the Constitution – in fact PROHIBITED – but because the bigots who voted for him, require that our President must be a person of faith, and not any faith but a Baptist or something similar, was heartbreaking.
But, regardless, a simple look at the “new GOP”, should be enough to convince even Joe the Plumber, that what those guys have in mind for us – Glen Beck appeal to more.. RELIGION in our public life – would make Bush’s years look like a vacation in the Caribbean.
We just had an example of what Religion extremism mix
with the Right to free speech, the Freedom of the Press and the Freedom of Religion can do. Deadly cocktail.
Between the Mosque in New York and the idiot in Florida
we created a precedent that would define our Foreign Policies for the years to come. Not to mention the unknown number of innocent people around the word who will be harmed or killed for… WHAT?
Yes, Democrats didn’t deliver as expected, but for God sake, let’s make sure that this new version of GOP don’t have the opportunity to deliver what they have in store for us.
PS.
I am preparing a piece on the international implications
of the actions of this irresponsible idiot in Florida.
If you are curious or want to ad a comment , check my blog in few days at: http://popov1121.wordpress.com/
It’s called “Conversations with Popov (11)” – Burning the Koran>
Popov 1121
Instead of being judgmental and jumping the gun at me you could have done some research and thrown the actual number if you feel the figure i have given is not right. No one has any intention to spread any kind of lies. So be careful with your choices of words, before putting any kind of allegations on any one.
Abuse is an abuse no matter how much in refined and sophisticated manner it is done ! So is it not better if you refrain doing it again ? May I suggest a better solution to that- that if you don’t like my post for some reason you can always skip that rather than reacting to it so violently for no reason.
Do I know you from somewhere?
@Monalisa
I am sincerely sorry if I offended you in anyway, it was not my intention.
However, the content of my reply stands on its own merits:
1. $650 million is a huge number and no Government ANYWHERE will ever spend this kind of money to promote any kind of Law. We elect Presidents for a fraction of that. I thought you knew it.
2. The amount of disinformation, flat lies and vicious insinuations makes any rational dialogue between Liberals and Conservatives impossible and obviously If I have overreacted is due to the impossibility of a rational dialogue.
3. It’s really discouraging to watch some of the people who would be most hurt by the “new and improved” GOP, advocating for those intending to hurt them.
That said, most likely my dyslectic fingers went ahead of my good judgment and accused YOU of spreading lies, when my intention was to complain about the climate of lies surrounding all of us and the surprising amount of disinformation hurting our good judgment.
It is the nature of the political dialogue to escalate and inflame passions but no abuse is committed when one expresses his opinion, regardless if his opinion is right or wrong.
And no, you don’t know me. If I knew you, you would have already received a bunch of roses, as appology instead of this reply.
@Harry
About the word…. ELITIST.
Most politicians come from the social elite; ALL our media tenors are …..the intellectual elite.
Obama is not the first President being accused of being elitist. Somehow in political circles the word have negatives connotations.
How hypocritical is that? If is so bad to belong to the elite, so dishonorable to be elitist……than why……….?
Why are we not calling this bluff? Because if we don’t , we deserve everything this….elite is preparing for us.
I know we agree on this, I just could not resist to the temptation to …..call a cat… a cat.
His efforts have been on domestic issues — economic recovery, health care, tax cuts. And his ambitions remain domestic — energy reform, education reform, economic recovery. Obama hasn’t charted a new path when it comes to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and he doesn’t have to.
In time, I’d like to think that speeches like this will be unnecessary. Rather, the speech du jour will be focused on the wonderful ways our society is growing and the ways that we are going to make it better.
With Love and Gratitude,
The Intentional Sage
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Great Article! I just wrote one myself about a way we can improve our relationship with Iraq: Baseball.