Do you belive in obama?

[echoboom]

nope i have no faith in him as a president whatsoever i did not vote for him anyway

[spyder2k5]

Do I like Obama? I think hes doing a good job, and will continue to lead us into the right direction. I know most people I speak to do not. But seeing all he has done in the short time he has been in office, it is hard to deny the good things he has done.

[eSineM]

If the president was a real man... he would not be taking a fricking vacation while other men fight a war. If I was there, I would truly want to end the war that people are living and dying through, so I would be sure not to rest until I get them out.. that means if they have a mission to do, I would get it carried out immediately to bring them home... or else just bring them home... I wouldnt be wasting a single day on 'vacation' while they were dying... each day I took vacation could mean more deaths, and even ONE death over my vacation wouldnt be acceptable....

He's not Eisenhower. He's not sitting around a table drawing up battle plans.
His daily involvement has nothing to do with a single U.S. casualty or lack thereof.

And if you think burning yourself out is the most effective way to operate a command position, you're wrong. That makes your entire overall effort of poorer quality.

dont tell me about burning out, there are people who are on call 24 hours a day for years haha. Then there are firemen, emergency workers etc... then there is those in the war... Think about the troops? When was their last vacation? some have been in the middle east over 4 years without a 'vacation'. You cant tell me that Obama has a more stressful job than those seeing their buddy blown away in front of them and waiting for the next letter from their wife of husband....  Obama has not even been in office a year yet!!... and your right he doesnt sit around drawing out plans, but he should be making sure those who need to be drawing out plans, are doing so! He is not called the commander and chief for no reason.. if he was "real" and about getting our family members out of the war, he would do his job, Im not asking him to burn out, Im just asking him to not take a damn vacation in the middle of a war before working even a year, while servicemen die and get no releif. Its really not a lot to ask right? He has the power to make changes, thats why he bragged about it in his campaign?!... and thats why he promised he would bring the troops home from IRAQ etc.. because he has the power right and wants 'change'? So why dont he work on that instead of going on vacation? thats a legitimate question I think... maybe he will talk about it more after the vacation is over, if he is not busy meddling in local police affairs and inviting people over for beer while the unemployment rate continues to rise, war and economy continue to get worse...

[mgarmstrong]

I believe in him, he exists.
Do I believe anything he says?  No, he's a politician.

[eSineM]

 

[rcbrad]

Off hand I think he is doing a good job, considering what he has to work with.  No one president is an end all though. (good or bad)

[dark8872angel]

Do I beleave in Obama? Well, I beleave he exists.. and I beleave he likes to spend money, but I don't beleave he's doing anything good for this country.

[liljp617]

Do I beleave in Obama? Well, I beleave he exists.. and I beleave he likes to spend money, but I don't beleave he's doing anything good for this country.

Elaborate on what he's doing wrong (anybody who has said this exact statement feel free to chime in as well).

[julieheiter]

He is a joke to this country

[WEATHER34]

I believe in Obama.  I think he is doing an excellent job so far.  It will take time to get things running smoothly, but I know he can do it. He is a great leader for our nation. 

[eSineM]

Do I beleave in Obama? Well, I beleave he exists.. and I beleave he likes to spend money, but I don't beleave he's doing anything good for this country.

Elaborate on what he's doing wrong (anybody who has said this exact statement feel free to chime in as well).

I already typed a few examples... and you are ignoring the Obama Deception documentary also..

[sarahflanagan]

I don't think Obama deserves to be president...

[leftiness]

The following is a very conservative post. If you aren't conservative, please read with an open mind. If, afterwards, you feel like arguing with me, by all means enjoy yourself. I like to argue. Challenge the points established. Present information from your side of the argument. However, understand that I don't take unsupported evidence as final, either.

Elaborate on what he's doing wrong (anybody who has said this exact statement feel free to chime in as well).

Gladly.

Yes, I believe we all need to change to solve our own problems.

True. We do need to change.

Now, I started out arguing with all of you, but, in the midst of finding sources, I found this article to be more... final.

I had a URL here, but I decided to read the forum rules and wonder if it's allowed to post links to references in an argument... It is a download of a pdf file, but I'm going to be safe. Run a google search. "USCA Barack Obama Inherit" ... The first item, it's a pdf, is the article.

The following is a group of quotes and responses that I was going to use in my argument. Personally, I find them... quotable, if that's a good enough description.

It's been 6-7 months. Very few President's have done anything useful in their first year of Presidency.

Yes, it does take a while to do something useful... to build something. Look how quickly President Obama has knocked it down.

He has done what he is allowed to attempt to make things right, but many times he has been denied the opportunity!

Where did you learn this? How has he been denied an opportunity? The only people with the power to deny him anything are Congress members, and almost the entire Congress is of the Democratic party. No, he hasn't been denied any opportunity.

Either way, if you really think the President has this crazy power to destroy everything you should go take a few more political science classes.

The entire government is working perfectly together. Explain to me what they can't do to our country.

When somebody tells me "Obama isn't waiting for a disaster, he's going to create his own," it implies they believe he actually has this unlimited power to create global or national disasters in the snap of a finger...

The collapse of a superpower with economic influence on the entire world... That's a global disaster. Thankfully, it's taken about a year for it to work.

if he "has no choice" after some sort of attack,

The Congress, mostly of the Democratic Party at the time, was completely for an attack against terrorism. It's their decision whether or not we go to war. The president only gets to ask them if we can. Only now, when the people are anti-war are Democrats saying things like "I never knew" to keep themselves favorable... They knew.

Government debt has little bearing on anything.  Consumer debt is the problem.  The government has the capability to get itself out of debt fairly easily if it chooses that course of action; consumers do not have this capability.

Government debt is a bad thing. China, and other nations, want their money back. We can't just keep borrowing forever. Now, with consumer debt so high, the government doesn't have an easy way to get out of debt, since taxing us isn't very effective, and that debt turns to inflation, meaning our money is worth less to other nations, so we need to pay them more dollars. Explain.

Do I like Obama? I think hes doing a good job, and will continue to lead us into the right direction. I know most people I speak to do not. But seeing all he has done in the short time he has been in office, it is hard to deny the good things he has done.

Explain to me. What good has he done?

Thank you Elizabethar.

Having re-read this post, I feel as though it looks like I'm specifically targeting you, liljp617... I'm not. You just post the most.

[liljp617]

Yes, it does take a while to do something useful... to build something. Look how quickly President Obama has knocked it down.

What did he knock down?  You truly believe the economic downturn/recession started in January 2009?  You truly think the recession was brought on by the Obama Administration?

What has been knocked down solely by this administration?

The entire government is working perfectly together. Explain to me what they can't do to our country.

1.  Define perfectly, please.
2.  Who is they?
3.  The President does not have untapped power to do whatever he wants.  As I'm sure you're aware, there are very simple checks and balances on his powers as President.  There are a number of things the President can't do.  It would take a year to type them out here; go read the Constitution if you want a list of what the President can do.  Anything that the President/Executive Branch has the power to do is written in the Constitution; if it's not in the Constitution then it cannot be carried out legally by the Executive Branch.

The collapse of a superpower with economic influence on the entire world... That's a global disaster. Thankfully, it's taken about a year for it to work.

Again, if you really think the downturn and recession we've been experiencing started in January you should take another glance at the facts.

We've had dozens and dozens of recessions.  They're not rare.  They're part of the capitalist economic system.  And not a one, in history, has been caused by a single individual in a position of power.

Government debt is a bad thing. China, and other nations, want their money back. We can't just keep borrowing forever. Now, with consumer debt so high, the government doesn't have an easy way to get out of debt, since taxing us isn't very effective, and that debt turns to inflation, meaning our money is worth less to other nations, so we need to pay them more dollars. Explain.

I didn't say it wasn't a bad thing, I said it wasn't the problem.  As in, government debt is not the reason the global economy went down the hole.  That said, there's no real logic in talking about the state of the economy then throwing in how the government spends/borrows too much.  In reality they're not too related.

For example, currently the national debt is 66% of GDP.  At the end of WWII it was 120% of GDP.  It remained at/above 60% of GDP throughout the 1950s and 60s.  I think we can agree that the 50s were quite a prosperous time for the US economy, which in turn led to the even more economically prosperous 60s.  Yet our debt relative to GDP was quite similar to what it is currently.

As of January 2009, 31% of the US federal debt is owned by the US private sector (firms and citizens).  41% of the US federal debt is owned by...the US government.  29% is owned by foreign governments (with China gradually purchasing less US debt and Japan gradually purchasing more US debt).  It's not as if that gigantic number we see labeled "US Federal Debt" is all owed foreign countries; only a fraction is and it would hurt them to immediately pull out of these investments.  The situation of US debt is not nearly as grave as it is portrayed by the media.

There are numerous ways the US can cut down its debt by "creating" money, somewhat related to how banks "create" money.  Selling bonds, changing the reserves ratio, taxing, fractional-reserve banking, the multiplier effect, etc. *It should be noted that when one says the government creates money, it doesn't mean somebody is sitting at a printing press shooting out dollar bills.*

It's hard to take "alarm cries" of inflation seriously given the past year or so.  Everybody was screaming about how much inflation there would be if the stimulus plan was passed.  And yet there is NONE.

Let's assume there is, however, in the near future (some are calling for it in late 09, early 2010, but we'll see).  With inflation, the value of our dollar decreases.  Depending on how much this occurs, it's a good or a bad thing.  

In simple terms, if there is a "little" inflation, it prompts people to invest more rather than keep their money "in their mattress."  This in turn creates more money for the banks, in turn allowing them to make more loans.  If more loans are made, more people are purchasing homes, starting businesses, buying cars, etc.  In addition, if our dollar is worth less, more US goods will be purchased abroad, tourists would make the US their destination, and so on.

If "a lot" of inflation occurs, it pushes people away out of economy-driving investments and into inflation-proofing investments (gold, collectibles, etc). For instance, if you knew inflation was going to be 12% and you were getting 10% on your investment, you might pull your money and buy gold (which does nothing for the economy).

Of course, everything is relative.  One might argue that inflation reduces the value of savings; the other side of this says that it depends on the inflation rate vs the interest rate.  If the interest rate is higher than inflation, the real value of savings isn't effected.  One might argue that inflation makes everything more expensive and harder to afford; the other side says this is the case only if nominal wages do not keep up with the rate of inflation. So on and so forth.  It's not black and white.  Everything has to be taken at a relative standpoint.

[eSineM]

Ok here is my rant since I saw some logical flaws in the post I thought I should address. Mostly theory versus reality.

Only now, when the people are anti-war are Democrats saying things like "I never knew" to keep themselves favorable... They knew.

The democrats who had a vote on the war are recorded in public record? Do they really lie and say they never knew? I hadnt seen that one yet... haha

3.  The President does not have untapped power to do whatever he wants.  As I'm sure you're aware, there are very simple checks and balances on his powers as President.  There are a number of things the President can't do.  It would take a year to type them out here; go read the Constitution if you want a list of what the President can do.  Anything that the President/Executive Branch has the power to do is written in the Constitution; if it's not in the Constitution then it cannot be carried out legally by the Executive Branch.

This is very far from reality, but looks good on paper... Can you explain the military commissions act which takes away your right to a court trial? can you explain "free speech zones" and why you cannot express free speech OUTSIDE those zones? Can you explain the patriot act and how it allows warantless search and seizure, warantless wiretapping, indefinite inprisonment without notification or right to a lawyer? How can all these bills and laws exist and you still believe the president is bound by the Constitution? They obviously have been ignoring the Constitution before 9/11 and continue to do so to this day.  There are dozens of examples.

We've had dozens and dozens of recessions.  They're not rare.  They're part of the capitalist economic system.  And not a one, in history, has been caused by a single individual in a position of power.
I didn't say it wasn't a bad thing, I said it wasn't the problem.  As in, government debt is not the reason the global economy went down the hole.  That said, there's no real logic in talking about the state of the economy then throwing in how the government spends/borrows too much.  In reality they're not too related.

Government bailouts, flooding the market with money backed by nothing, and excessiuve spending on war, has a lot to do with the economy?  Also recessions are normal, but they used to be natural, now days they are man made with the fed setting interest rates behind closed doors... flooding the economy or taking money OUT of the economy to try and balance it manually... remember that we went along fine for well over 100 years without the federal reserve in existance, and all money backed by actual substance... soon after the federal reserve began we ended up with the great depression, and you can see the constant devaluation of the dollar ever since...

$1779.93 in the year 2001 has the same "purchase power" as $100 in the year 1913.
$113.33 in the year 1913 has the same "purchase power" as $100 in the year 1776.

That's over 125 years and only 13$ change in value... then now in less than 100 years since the FED we see a 1679.93$ change in value... that is some SERIOUS inflation and devaluation of the dollar.
The Fed sounds like a good idea to some,  but the history and statistics, the TRUTH of the matter, the FACTS, and what we have SEEN through time prove otherwise...

Everybody was screaming about how much inflation there would be if the stimulus plan was passed.  And yet there is NONE.

are you serious? there is ALWAYS  inflation with a bailout, the money is literally printed out of thin air yes (or put into bank accounts) it is not backed by anything, this is what people are referring to when they say thin air.. it is backed by nothing but air.  The inflation is pure math and not something that is a 'theory'... this pattern goes on and on, more money flooded, the less the dollar is worse... Your parents bought gum for a penny, I myself bought it for a nickel, etc etc. The prices go up constantly? gas? food? all going up... even now I see them going up! Inflation is real... even with simple following the money flow, you see that the people who get the bailout get to spend it with no inflation... it sits in the big bank collecting interest... as they spend it and put it into circulation, it ends up in other local banks who have to pay interest, so they dont get as good of a deal when they have this money, it lost some value as they pay back interest... but then they pass on this loss to us, so we pay the interest as well, the highest amount.. and by the time we get it, the money is in circulation and prices of everything has gone up.. so we get the slim pickings of the money on the bottom of the tree, and the least value of that money we get... This is done by design so that the banks and those at the top are impacted the least by the inflation.  All this aside, the value of the dollar has been dropping steadily for a very long time, watch the EURO price rise... this isnt just the EURO rising, this is the dollar dropping...

One might argue that inflation makes everything more expensive and harder to afford; the other side says this is the case only if nominal wages do not keep up with the rate of inflation.

This is (nearly?) always the case, as minimum wage does not go up since there is no 'specific event' of the prices being raised and it is gradual. Inflation is referred to as the "silent tax" because it happens behind the scenes and as prices go up your checks seem to get smaller.