See: Huffpost link
To the President, an open letter:
The post by Robert Scheer today is about the Madoff scandal and how it reflects one of many measures of the Obama presidency.
Your grades are listed below for the first and second quarters of your presidency.
Have you restored banking and financial institution regulation, reversing the trend of the last 20 years to deregulate, and restore faith in the economic engine?
Your grade so far: D
Will you replace the malfunctioning health insurance system with a health care system [single payer]. You stated again this week that you are afraid to do single payer, the only reasonable fix for the broken system, because it risks one sixth of our economy. Is the health insurance industry also too big to fail? They do not deserve to be rewarded for their bad behavior. Anything less than single payer isn't healthy for anyone [except Congress and your family].
Your grade so far: F
Have you prosecuted war criminals and the war profiteers from the Bush administration?
Your grade so far: F
Will you get us out of foreign wars and curtail unnecessary military spending? Still following Bush's plan in Iraq, expanding in Afghanistan. Still not finding bin Laden.
Your grade so far: C
Have you stopped persecution and unnecessary job loss in the military due to homophobia? DADT still in force.
Your grade so far: F
Will you restore the power of the EPA and carry out the full intent of environmental laws ignored and thwarted by the Bush administration? Legislation watered down to reduce and delay compliance in response to global climate change needs.
Your grade so far: C
Will you stop the failed War on Drugs and concentrate on treatment programs and decriminalization that has proven of value in other countries? Raiding the homes of medical marijuana users in California has occurred on your watch by your DEA.
Your grade so far: D
Will you stop the 'Pay for Play' politics habit and bring real campaign finance reform? More lobbyists than ever have converged on Washington.
Your grade so far: F
There have been some triumphs with the stimulus package (slowly being implemented), but many Obama legislative 'victories' have been apparently watered down by lobbyists even before the debates on the floors of Congress. Important points have been lost by selling out to the morally and idea-bankrupt Republicans in the name of bipartisanship. After the utter contempt for reality and progressive ideals demonstrated by the Bush administration, this is a bitter pill to have to swallow to see Bush policies even given a thought by the Obama administration, much less continued.
Your GPA is pretty low Mr. President compared to the ideals voiced during the campaign. Please try to do better next quarter. We didn't spend all that time last year on the phones, out in the streets door-to-door, volunteering time, money and emotion to get you elected just to see you continue failed Bush policies and sell out to the lobbyists. Don't get me wrong, most progressives like me are still pulling for you to succeed. Next week you'll have Al Franken to help out in the Senate, so let's get a move on and make some changes.