Meh. I’m disappointed with the whole bailout thing and where a lot of that money went, not to mention the whole stimulus package in general, but I’m a fiscal conservative in some ways and that’s to be expected. Not thrilled with the whole heathcare debacle in Congress right now, which is not entirely his fault but I wish he could show some shades of LBJ and jerk Congress around a little. And I wish he’d pull through and abolish DADT, put some freakin’ transparency into the White House, and clear out Gitmo.
But I do like what he’s been able to do with foreign policy. I feel like America’s reputation in the world, especially the Muslim world, hasn’t been higher for a long time, and I think this is half that non-Americans like Obama and half that they like that he’s not Bush or McCain, who was seen in some ways as Bush-by-proxy. I feel like there’s a concerted effort to put control of Iraq back into Iraqi hands, and that more emphasis is on Afghanistan, even if the latter hasn’t improved much yet. As much as I sympathized with the dissenters in Iran, I appreciate Obama steadfastly keeping us out of it (American support of something seems to be the kiss of death in the ME) and his handling of the Somali pirates a couple months back was picture-perfect, in the face of screaming media and pundits demanding immediate action.
Generally, I think Obama has a very good sense of the long game, and that will make him a good president in the long run if he gets a chance to keep steering the ship.
I knew there was something hinky about that Hawaiian birth certificate!
I was (and remain) a strong supporter. There are countless issues on which I wish he would move more quickly, and distance himself further from the prior admin. But I guess the last few admins have lowered my expectations of presidents. And I realize it is very early in his first term.
I’m concerned about the bailout, but Paul Krugman isn’t, so I’ll let that slide for now.
Otherwise, he doesn’t seem to be doing too badly considering that the economy is doing so badly. He’s scaring the shit out of the crazy right, which is generally a good sign.
I voted for him and would again (‘President McCain’ is scary, ‘President Palin’ is bloody terrifying). I didn’t expect a Messiah, just an intelligent leader, and he is that.
Foreign Relations- repairing the damage done by Bush/Cheney- is I think his greatest strength so far and his A+ area.
The Economy- I’ll just say that I hope he is doing well. I read one analysis of the Obama Administration’s economic plans that that seems well researched and thoughtfully written that makes me want to scream STOPPP! and another that seems well researched and thoughtfully written that makes me think “okay then, carry on…” but personally I’m just not well informed enough on complicated economic matters to judge well, plus many of these are long term and rely on many unknown variables. I will say I think it’s ridiculous how the bailouts and mortgage crisis are already being regarded by so many freepers and wingnut bloggers and Foxites as something Obama did when most pre-date his presidency.
I thought his Cabinet choices were a blessed relief- mostly very well qualified individuals.
He’s made a couple of comments he shouldn’t have but I can’t think of a president who hasn’t and he’s intelligent enough to address them so I see this as a no-value/no-plus thing ultimately.
And of course he’s finding that Iraq is a quagmire but I think he already at least strongly suspected it, and he’s a president and not an absolute monarch.
So all things considered I’m giving him passing marks on his 6 months review but I’m not willing to put him in for a raise or promotion just yet.
Well, apart from jacking the deficit to unsustainable levels, picking a racist for the Supreme Court, and attempting to bankrupt my children and grandchildren with a ruinously expensive health care plan that will achieve nothing of what it is supposed to do, not too bad.
I voted for him as the lesser of two evils. He hasn’t completely pissed me off yet, but I’m not thrilled.
I’m disappointed that he hasn’t taken a stronger stance on Guantanamo/indefinite detention/health care reform/Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Those were some of his biggest talking points during the campaign, and while I don’t really blame him - because he’s not a dictator, after all - it’s frustrating that he’s like every other politician and just playing a game. I do grant that my hopes were probably unreasonable, but that can’t change how I feel.
I think his work internationally has been pretty good. I’m not enthralled - but again, I know that my ideals aren’t likely to be represented in the real political world - but I’m not disappointed, either. He’s done a lot of work already at fixing our international reputation, but I’m convinced he accomplished much of that solely by not being George W. Bush or John McCain.
I neither like nor dislike his proposals about what to do with Afghanistan, because I sincerely believe that no one in the world has any good ideas about how to salvage anything worthwhile from that clusterfuck. He could have Gandhi, MLK, Winston Churchill and God himself as advisers and still wouldn’t come up with a good solution.
His appointees, for the most part, have been good. He put scientists in scientific positions, which is good. I think Sotomayor might have been a deliberately inflammatory pick, but I personally think she’s a good candidate for the job. I really liked his pick of Sebelius for DHHS.
Economically, I think he’s doing the best that he can. I’m an idiot when it comes to economics so I really can’t judge. I’m not thrilled with the bail out as a matter of principle, but when it comes down to reality I’m not sure what other options he had.
For the most part - with a few exceptions including one that’s still in the news - he seems to think both before acting and speaking, so that’s a nice change.
He’s OK, I suppose. He strikes me as cannier than Carter and more upright than Clinton. If he keeps it up, he’ll have a good rapport with the military, which strikes me as pretty important in this day and age. I agree that he handled the pirate situation very well. And again, I have to respect him for running a clean campaign. I think he’s a genuinely good and sincere man.
That said, I believe he’s a novice making novice mistakes. His cabinet picks with their tax problems, his shooting his mouth off last week about the Cambridge arrest, and his waffling on issues such as releasing those memos point to a president who hasn’t quite learned attention to detail. And I’m looking forward to the long-term ramifications of his economic and health care decisions the way baby seals look forward to clubbing season.
I’ll join the crowd calling for giving him time. He’ll have to work pretty hard to beat Dubya’s incompetence, and in a weird way, it warms my heart that he’s got the Freepers baying for blood. He’s got a lot to learn about the political game, but he seems to be a quick study.
The economy is going to tank, though. It’s going to tank hard.
I was very enthusiastic about his campaign and remain very enthusiastic about his administration so far. I think the very short time period we have so far to judge his administration has gone pretty well, and it is impressive that he has accomplished as much as he has already.
There are a few things that made me cringe, but more because I wish there was a way for supporters to be able to give him do-overs. He seems to recognize and learn from mistakes quickly, in addition to admitting to many of them.
The saddest thing is that so much of his attention has to be spent on fixing the disasterous accomplishments of the Bush administration (at least, so far).
I’m impressed with what has he has done. He’s inherited some incredibly difficult to manage crises, and has been honest and energetic in confronting them. He’s done huge work to repair the damage done to U.S. prestige internationally by the Bush administration. He hasn’t gotten everything right, but few presidents do in the first year.
He’s doing exactly as I expected. He’s very much an idealist, which is adorable, but I knew he wouldn’t be able to make good on all or most of his ambitious promises in reality. I don’t expect him to fix the world, I just expect him to take things in an overall better direction and I am still confident that his administration is doing that and will continue to do so.
The way he ran his campaign, no man (or woman) on Earth could live up to those kinds of expectations.
I voted for him but am in the “too early to tell” category. I’d like him to hit harder on some issues (like SSM), but am at least mollified on a few others (like pulling out of Iraq). We’ll see.
He’s a better President than John McCain would have been.
Speaking as an outsider, though, he could be doing better. He hasn’t moved to end Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. I think the health care plan is an awful idea (as a Canadian I’m a big fan of universal health insurance; what Obama’s proposing is not that, but just another bandage solution). It was highly inappropriate of him to comment on the Gates thing. He’s not pressuring Congress to be fiscally responsible at all. Most of the ongoing “Stimulus” money is wasted.
Obama is, if nothing else, very, very smart. I think the second half of his term will be more focused and successful that the first, even if you adjust for the economy.
Why the personal attack on Shodan? You don’t like it when the Messiah is criticized?
Exactly how do he embarrass himself?
This is what Shodan said, “Well, apart from jacking the deficit to unsustainable levels, picking a racist for the Supreme Court, and attempting to bankrupt my children and grandchildren with a ruinously expensive health care plan that will achieve nothing of what it is supposed to do, not too bad.”
Why don’t you offer a point by point analysis of exactly how Shodan is wrong about Obama instead of just attacking him?
Knorf, stop embarrassing yourself.
(And why are the Moderators allowing personal attacks in IMHO?)
I disagree that he’s doing as well as he could under the circumstances. The stimulus fiasco alone shows that he started messing up early on. I don’t expect miracles, but the whole stimulus ordeal was ill-conceived from the get-go and doesn’t appear to have pleased a great many people.
