Where is the change we voted for?
In the past few months, I have seen an increasing, almost apologetic, number of posts saying, Obama isn't doing a good job - but..., isn't getting things done - but..., isn't actually living up to his promises/potential - but..., etc... but then defending the inaction/inability or failure, (depending on your stance) by stating "he is so much better then Bush".
When a year ago America voted for change; voted I would hazard for a President and his ideal rather than against the other candidate/party what was the expected outcome? Why today are people so discouraged, disenchant and angry? How does Ted Kennedy's MA seat get lost after 40 years to a Republican? Voters handed Obama and the Democrats one of the largest mandates in American history, the power to achieve, the likes of which we have only seen 4 or 5 times in modern history and what did we get back?
Call me cynical, but when I look at the past year, I cant say Obama is all much better, let alone all that different in action, (sure, I know some of you are lighting the torches and getting out the pitchforks, but just hold out a second before you storm my house). What exactly has Obama done? When I look at promises kept, I don't count what someone says they are going or not going to do, it is the final product that counts.
It is the American people’s job, it is our job, to be more critical, unapologetic and call out Obama and the Democratic leadership’s failures then ever was done with Bush/Cheney and the Republican last administration. Why? Because not holding the Democrat leadership to same or higher standards is hypocrisy in the worst way. They have had the ability and have not produced.
When Obama said on "my first day in office, I would give the military a new mission: ending this war" he certainly kept his promise by "promising to end the war", but until every last American is home, I cannot say he has lived up to this. Now I might be inclined to believe that Obama will get us out of Iraq completely before his term ends, IF he had not also promised to close GITMO before the Jan 2010 which should have been a no brainer compared to Iraq. There are 200 some men (I think 215) still being held and thePresidential task force came back a week ago and recommended indefinite trial for only 40 of them, leaving 175 looking at detention without relief. But I guess it is much harder to release people or conduct trials then to just leave them locked away without hope. Or if he had not just enacted a bush-lite surge in Afghanistan.
Obama did talk during the election about sending 2 more divisions to Afghanistan, but what about the recent additional 30,000 man surge? I don't recall that being part of the plan. I thought we were getting out, not ramping up. In the 8 years Bush was in Afghanistan 630 Americans died and countless Afghan people. Since Obama took office 332 Americans have died and a unknown number of civilians. If American deaths had risen by this percentage during the Bush Presidency the call to get out would have been defending. My friends and family would have been spitting mad, but I haven't heard a peep from a single soul. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and for almost 8 years of Bush we had a certain corner in San Rafael where almost every Friday people gathered to protest the war and needless deaths. Since Obama was elected, where have all the believers gone? Did it stop being necessary, did people give up, or does peace just have to be proposed to mollify us?
Comparing Vietnam, who is Obama imitating? Kennedy or Johnson? Is he Kennedy for remained committed in action (if not words) to the previous administrations foreign policy or is he a modern Johnson for ramping up Afghanistan? He sure hasn't gotten us out.
When we were told during the election that Obama reduce earmarks to 1994 levels, that the public would have 5 days of comment before signing any bills, so what happened? I am sorry, but when there is no chance of the other party doing anything except stomping their feet, crying foul and complaining, (so what is new)... why did we need to rush the stimulus bill through, why the big hurry to vote on healthcare when the bill is crap? Who was Obama, Nancy and Harry scared of...the other party who was going to yell and call them names if they passed it and if they didn't pass it, they were going to yell and call them names? And why exactly did the American people vote to put these people in the position? to pass meaningful legislation or was it to pander to the party we just kicked out?
I am sorry but besides continuing the Bush bailouts, the Obama economic and domestic policy seems to have been "lets name a bill X (insert important policy name) and give everyone in Congress their Santa wish list without thought, rush to pass it without review, debate or question so then we can say we passed X important policy. If anyone is buying this, I want some of what they are smoking. We have been treated like idiots.
We let the banks to basically take as much free taxpayer money as they wanted, at no interest and then buy treasury bond's where the Fed PAYS THE BANKS INTREST ON THE MONEY THEY WERE GIVEN. Good lord what the hell is going on? So we give away the farm, raise the deficit, give into lobbyists, line the pockets of the banks, corporations and insurance companies and then are going to ask the guy who lost his job and his house to pay for it? Oh but we are going to give you healthcare... right we all know where that is going.
So to sum everything up,
War still going in Iraq... Check
War ramping up in Afghanistan... Check
GITMO still open... Check
Banks given loads of tax payer money.... Check
Insurance, Corporations, big business and CEO’s all protected from taking the fall... Check
Economy still in the crapper... Check
Healthcare Bill compromised to be next to meaningless and still unpassed... Check
Year lost... CHECK
I guess a huge majority in both houses, the Presidency and a overwhelming mandate I guess is not enough.