Obama has only ever wanted to close Gitmo itself, not the entire monstrous policy of indefinite detention without trial. He wanted to close Guantanamo Bay only to subject its victims to the same treatment in the continental US (“Gitmo North”) and was refused funding precisely because his strategy was little more than a PR move. He deserves no credit for this.
Patently untrue:
After a stalemate and criticism over trying people in the US, he finally capitulated… Not to indefinitely detain, but to use military trials. How is a military trial not a trial? It may not be the trial Obama wanted or the best option, but it was the only option he had.
He is far too willing to try to work with the very people whose goal in life is to destroy him.
Haven’t read the responses. I’m moderately liberal. Here’s what I don’t like:
-his tax/budget policy will not reduce the deficit. I still favor his policy over Romney’s, but it’s very much a ‘lesser of two evils’ choice. Putting the highest-earning American’s taxes back at Clinton levels won’t raise enough revenue.
-He wants to be a conciliator, and never hold a grudge, which I think he consciously patterns after Lincoln. Lincoln was better at making his own case, though, and eventually did accept Salmon Chase’s resignation when Lincoln realized he wasn’t doing anything but sabotaging him. Obama has the communication advantages of the 21st century. Clinton and Reagan could serve as better examples for how to ‘explain stuff’ than *always *trying to be like Lincoln.
-Although he’s not warrantless wiretapping American citizens, he’s violating due process. Holding prisoners without promise of trial, getting phone meta-data (from, to, when) (which is technically not illegal, but damn we need some law around it) and other invasions of privacy are beneath a free country.
The OP did not ask why conservatives dislike Obama. That ground has been covered.
The civil rights things are bad, but a side issue at present. Wall Street fricking OWNS Obama and the Democrats. I’ll vote for Obama and the Democrats, but only because I think they are marginally better than the Republicans and the progressives have no viable opposition (especially here in Georgia). After this election, I am done with them. If we want progressive policies in America, we’re going to have to build a strong third party to force the Dems to knuckle under. No other way will they do more than make cosmetic efforts to restore the middle class.
Wow, not a single true statement in this entire post. Kudos!
He is only a tiny amount, if any at all, better than Bush on issues with this imagined “War on Terror”. He has authorized the extrajudicial assassination of US citizens, he has relied too much on drone attacks, he has continued the travesty that is Guantanamo, and he has done nothing to limit the expansion of presidential powers the idiotic Congress has given them.
Add in his continued kowtowing to financial institutions and big business and allowance of settling with the right and he’s nothing like the President he campaigned as or I had hoped he would be.
[ul]
[li]The execution of citizens without Due Process[/li][/ul]
[INDENT]As others have said, regardless of how much he may have deserved it, the execution of a citizen is a decision that needs to be processed by the Judiciary and representatives of the citizenry[/INDENT]
[ul]
[li]The continued enforcement of minor drug offenses[/li][/ul]
[INDENT]Moral arguments aside, in a time of scarce resources, I struggle to understand why prosecution of possession offenses continue to receive so much time, money, and space in our prisons. With (in)direct control over both the FDA and DEA, he has the ability to either get innocuous drugs re-classed, or refuse to enforce the regulations.[/INDENT]
[ul]
[li]The criminal enforcement of Copyright Infringement[/li][/ul]
[INDENT]I suppose that we can thank Biden for this, but it is absurd that we are using the criminal justice system to lock up people for what had been a civil offense. And the fact that we are actively perusing extradition requests just so that we can house and feed someone for posting an aggregation of links is absurd[/INDENT]
[ul]
[li]The continued use of Patriot Act provisions[/li][/ul]
[INDENT]He didn’t pass it, and he can’t abolish it, but he can refuse to take advantage of it[/INDENT]
Yes, the man inherited a bad situation. And yes, he has done a lot of good. He might even take credit for proposing some legislation. But that’s not why I vote for a President. The President is the Commander In Chief of the Executive Branch of the United States.
I cast a vote for Congressmen/Congresswomen to pass new legislation and declare war. I vote for a President to enforce the good laws. But more importantly, I vote for a President to refuse to enforce terrible laws. The office should be the first check against oppression - not the instrument by which it is carried out.
It’s an interesting point, and one that I haven’t fully considered. On the one hand, my cynicism allows that one vote won’t be making a difference and that I can indulge my selfish desire to support that in which I believe. On the other, I secretly hope that enough people will vote with me to affect a real change.
And, you’re right, of course - Obama is not evil. His platform last time was one of dramatic, sweeping changes (and got my vote). Things are a little more muted this time around, and I just feel sometimes that it’s a choice between people debating on stage that, “Your three cent titanium tax goes too far!” and, “And I say your three cent titanium tax doesn’t go too far enough!”.
I’m willing to reward a principled platform with a principled vote. Though I disagree with the assertion “if you think that your principled stance **is more important than **making this country better”, I’m willing to admit that my hope that “my principled stance **is **making this country better” might be a bit naive.
Maybe, but at least he had the decency to strip out the four hashtags.
My gripes with Obama have pretty much already been covered by others in this thread, so I won’t bother me-tooing. They’re sufficient that I won’t be casting a vote for President this time, though, as an empty gesture of protest.