# Poll: What do you think of Obama? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 1, 2010, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-obama/534546 "2010-04-01T08:00:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-obama/534546/41 "2010-04-02T14:00:22Z")
I put ‘‘Ok, all things considered.’’ I was very disappointed in his first year and think he could have shown better leadership, but ever since the Health Care bill passed he’s been getting an alarming rate of shit done. If the momentum continues, he could be great. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-obama/534546/42 "2010-04-02T14:42:27Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > He’s slowly taking all of my money and giving it to other people that don’t deserve it. Everything else pales in comparison. Translation: He’s doing OK, all things considered. ---
**Author:** ![raindog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@raindog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raindog)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-obama/534546/43 "2010-04-02T15:05:25Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Well, let’s see - > [ol][li]he added $787 billion to the deficit his first year[/li][li]he is currently proposing a deficit of $1.56 **trillion** [/li][li]IOW, he wants to increase the national debt by more than every other President in history _combined_[/li][li]his health care bill costs a lot and does essentially nothing about health care inflation[/li][li]he closed Yucca Mountain and then proposed more nuclear power[/li][li]openness in government - ha![/li][li]Other stupid shit I am too irritated to bother about[/ol][/li] > On the up side, he now supports off shore drilling, and he has not closed Gitmo (yet). > > I’m hoping for large gains for the Republicans in November so that he will be prevented from further acts of stupidity. > > Regards, > Shodan I have no dog in this fight, really. What was the Federal Debt when W took office? What was it when he left? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-obama/534546/44 "2010-04-02T15:09:03Z")
> [@raindog](#): > > I have no dog in this fight, really. > > What was the Federal Debt when W took office? > > What was it when he left? The Republicans arranged matters so the bills would come due after Bush left office, so that doesn’t reflect on Obama. Obama would have to be a literal miracle worker to have a lower debt after what Bush and friends did. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-obama/534546/45 "2010-04-02T15:19:20Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I don’t think you can really get on him for nominating people late when the Senate won’t confirm any of his nominees. Maybe, but it’s been a year and a half and he hasn’t nominated anybody yet. The board doesn’t exist. ---
**Author:** ![otternell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecc23a/32.png) [@otternell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/otternell)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-obama/534546/46 "2010-04-02T15:24:33Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > I voted that he’s the Anti Christ. Mostly because I could. But also, cuz it’s Easter, and if Jesus sees His shadow on Sunday, then it’s still about 3 weeks till the NFL draft. Or something. I never was good at religion. This was funny! I really had to clamp down - if the boss heard me giggling, he’d want to know what about - and he would NOT find this amusing! ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-obama/534546/47 "2010-04-02T15:27:19Z")
> [@raindog](#): > > I have no dog in this fight, really. > > What was the Federal Debt when W took office? > > What was it when he left? ```auto Year Gross Debt in Billions undeflated[8] as % of GDP Debt Held By Public ($Billions) as % of GDP 2001 5,769.9 57.4 3,319.6 33.0 2002 6,198.4 59.7 3,540.4 34.1 2003 6,760.0 62.6 3,913.4 35.1 2004 7,354.7 63.9 4,295.5 37.3 2005 7,905.3 64.6 4,592.2 37.5 2006 8,451.4 65.0 4,829.0 37.1 2007 8,950.7 65.6 5,035.1 36.9 2008 9,985.8 70.2 5,802.7 40.8 ``` [Cite.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_public_debt) I will assume a strictly factual answer does not make this a debate. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![raindog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@raindog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raindog)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-obama/534546/48 "2010-04-02T15:45:38Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > ```auto > > Year Gross Debt in Billions undeflated[8] as % of GDP Debt Held By Public ($Billions) as % of GDP > 2001 5,769.9 57.4 3,319.6 33.0 > 2002 6,198.4 59.7 3,540.4 34.1 > 2003 6,760.0 62.6 3,913.4 35.1 > 2004 7,354.7 63.9 4,295.5 37.3 > 2005 7,905.3 64.6 4,592.2 37.5 > 2006 8,451.4 65.0 4,829.0 37.1 > 2007 8,950.7 65.6 5,035.1 36.9 > 2008 9,985.8 70.2 5,802.7 40.8 > > ``` > > [Cite.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_public_debt) > > I will assume a strictly factual answer does not make this a debate. > > Regards, > Shodan So we went from 5.7 trillion in debt to just under 10 trillion under his leadership? More importantly, the debt grew substantially faster than our economy; so much so that the debt went from 33% of GDP to 41% of GDP. As to Obama, I suppose there is a debate as to whether Keynesian spending in recessionary periods is valid or not. My point is simply this: Democrats and Republicans alike, Presidents and Congress alike (including the beloved Ronald Reagan) have been spending money like sailors on leave for 3+ decades. Sure the numbers are eye popping. But lets not pretend that Congress and the Executive branch haven’t been liquidating the future generations of this country for a long, long time. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-obama/534546/49 "2010-04-02T16:05:28Z")
Bush inhertited a budget _surplus_ of over $400B from Clinton, and let office with a half trillion dollar deficit. Really Bush’s deficit is a lot more if you count his spending on Iraq (which he used creative bookkeeping to keep from showing up on the deficit, but which Obama has put back on the books) and the bank bailouts which happened on his watch. Bush’s real total deficits were in the trillions of dollars. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-obama/534546/50 "2010-04-02T16:13:20Z")
[Stern Moderator Note]Take the budget debate to Great Debates. If the only way to keep this poll open is to issue infractions, I’ll do so.[/Stern Moderator Note] ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-obama/534546/51 "2010-04-02T16:13:44Z")
I think he’s doing OK. I think he’s a politician. I think the other side is in such a lather to prove him wrong in everything they are standing in the way of important things without even thinking them through. I think he could do better if the other side remembered to think down the line. I hate politics in real life. No one ever listens to the other side. Argh, I hate being first on the second page. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-obama/534546/52 "2010-04-02T18:31:44Z")
I am not totally pleased, but a couple of the things that he promised to do and hasn’t (like closing Guantanamo and ending DADT) have run into some legal problems that I think a lot of people didn’t anticipate. I mean, I didn’t realize how complicated repeating DADT would be, for instance, although I think Obama could have been more forceful on the issue. (OTOH, he seems to have stepped it up lately.) We’ll see. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-obama/534546/53 "2010-04-02T18:41:20Z")
> [@raindog](#): > > I have no dog in this fight, really. > > What was the Federal Debt when W took office? > > What was it when he left? On-topic GD thread [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=558175). > [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > Maybe, but it’s been a year and a half and he hasn’t nominated anybody yet. The board doesn’t exist. You’re upset that he hasn’t nominated anyone to positions which don’t exist? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-obama/534546/54 "2010-04-02T19:11:08Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > You’re upset that he hasn’t nominated anyone to positions which don’t exist? 😕 I’m sorry. I wasn’t clear. The positions exist. The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board is a five member board. Currently, though, all five positions are vacant. Congress has appropriated money to pay the salaries of the board members, but President Obama hasn’t nominated anyone to the board. I’m upset that he hasn’t done that. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-obama/534546/55 "2010-04-02T19:23:55Z")
Meh. [Sounds like](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privacy_and_Civil_Liberties_Oversight_Board) something the 9/11 Commission recommended just to make their conclusions look more substantial. There are plenty of people in the DoJ already doing essentially the same job. Other than reporting to Congress each year it doesn’t look like the board has any actual power; do we really need another advisory body? ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-obama/534546/56 "2010-04-02T20:00:55Z")
[QUOTE= Attack from the 3rd dimension] Hey by the way, if the Antichrist goes to a Catholic service and eats the host, does he explode in a massive Christ/Antichrist reaction? [/QUOTE] > [@Oakminster](#): > > Not if Sister Mary Knucklecrusher can reroute warp power through the altar. The SDMB is just So full of **Win**. I think Obama is doing pretty well, all things considered. People are complaining at the costs but seem to forget you have to spend money to make money. You can’t jumpstart a dead economy when folks are afraid to do anything about it. Doing something beats doing nothing. It’s also trivially easy to hand wave the money spend in the middle east over the last 10-ish years. And the Housing Bubble. And the oil industry money-grab. And things like Enron. And Blackwater. And Halliburton. I’d much rather sign up with someone trying to make things better than someone trying to be overly greedy. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-obama/534546/57 "2010-04-02T20:09:50Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Meh. [Sounds like](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privacy_and_Civil_Liberties_Oversight_Board) something the 9/11 Commission recommended just to make their conclusions look more substantial. There are plenty of people in the DoJ already doing essentially the same job. The DoJ is the organization this board is supposed to police, though. They’re the ones who are supposed to blow the whistle when the DOJ signs off on illegal searches and other restrictions of civil liberties. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-obama/534546/58 "2010-04-02T21:22:47Z")
I went with “doing OK, all things considered”, but came very close to choosing “not doing as much as I hoped”. The biggest disappointments for many progressives have been: 1. Not getting a robust public option in HCR. (And, starting with Single Payer not even on the table). 2. Initiating a surge in Afghanistan 3. Not ending Don’t Ask Don’t Tell BUT, he HAS made progress even on these 3 issues, especially in HCR (obviously), and in DADT (a kind of “half-revoking” of the policy). As for Afghanistan, it’s hard to tell if a Republican president would have been more hawkish or not. Perhaps a Pubbie would have initiated the same sort of surge, but would not have been quite as insistent on a kind-of-timeline for eventual withdrawal. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-obama/534546/59 "2010-04-02T21:30:32Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > The DoJ is the organization this board is supposed to police, though. They’re the ones who are supposed to blow the whistle when the DOJ signs off on illegal searches and other restrictions of civil liberties. Hmmm. I’m not sure I see the point of an oversight board for the executive branch which is also part of the executive branch, and also appointed by the Prez. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2010, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-obama/534546/60 "2010-04-02T22:11:41Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Hmmm. I’m not sure I see the point of an oversight board for the executive branch which is also part of the executive branch, and also appointed by the Prez. Neither did Congress, which is why they got rid of the executive branch advisory board and replaced with the current board, which is a legislative branch agency, whose members are nominated by the president and approved by congress (or would be if President Obama nominated any). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-obama/534546.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-do-you-think-of-obama/534546.md?page=4)