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Was Obama a good president?

tlwwake

tlwwake

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Oct 29, 2008
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Going off @AC2017 question.. i wanted to pose this to the board.

We are now a year+ removed from the Obama admin. Will he go down as a good president in comparison to the others? Lots of positives and negatives as listed below... some can flip flop depending on whether you're conservative or liberal.

Affordable Care Act
Iran Deal
2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change
Repealed 'Don't ask, Don't tell'
Normalized Cuba relations
Reversed stance on torture
Passed 2010 Fair Sentencing Act
Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009
Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009

Allowed IRS to target conservative groups
Adding $7 trillion to national debt
Underestimating threats in Russia and ISIS
"If you like your healthcare plan, you can keep it"
Distancing US from Israel
Operation Fast and Furious
VA waiting list
Solyndra subsidies
 
Was Obama a good President?

Does JD pick a side in an argument...
Does NZ double check his posts before hitting enter...
Is davidallen skinny...
Does c cup make any sense at all...
Does clintoon have a utility bill in his name...
Does AC really think we're doomed...
Is syssy a man of his word...
Is Trump conservative...
 
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long-duc-dong said:
Was Obama a good President?

Does JD pick a side in an argument...
Does NZ double check his posts before hitting enter...
Is davidallen skinny...
Does c cup make any sense at all...
Does clintoon have a utility bill in his name...
Does AC really think we're doomed...
Is syssy a man of his word...
Is Trump conservative...
Click to expand...


images
 
tlwwake said:
Going off @AC2017 question.. i wanted to pose this to the board.

We are now a year+ removed from the Obama admin. Will he go down as a good president in comparison to the others? Lots of positives and negatives as listed below... some can flip flop depending on whether you're conservative or liberal.

Affordable Care Act
Iran Deal
2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change
Repealed 'Don't ask, Don't tell'
Normalized Cuba relations
Reversed stance on torture
Passed 2010 Fair Sentencing Act
Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009
Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009

Allowed IRS to target conservative groups
Adding $7 trillion to national debt
Underestimating threats in Russia and ISIS
"If you like your healthcare plan, you can keep it"
Distancing US from Israel
Operation Fast and Furious
VA waiting list
Solyndra subsidies
Click to expand...
you could actually group all those together as being bad...he was the worst president ever....
 
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I think he was the worst in my lifetime (not including Trump since only one year of him). Simply because Obama pushed identify politics, like other presidents had, but he did it on steroids. The left complains that Trump is devisive, but conveniently forget that Obama changed the game of past Presidents and was extremely decisive (You can certainly argue about Bush, Clinton, Bush, Reagan, Carter and Ford successes or failures - but they were not intentionally devisive)

Obama legitimized some of the most ardent members of BLM and actually brought them into the White House. He had a great opportunity to improve race relations, but made them much worse (many national polls on this). In the history of the most recent past Presidents, he did the most harm IMO to the country.
 
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long-duc-dong said:
Was Obama a good President?

Does JD pick a side in an argument...
Does NZ double check his posts before hitting enter...
Is davidallen skinny...
Does c cup make any sense at all...
Does clintoon have a utility bill in his name...
Does AC really think we're doomed...
Is syssy a man of his word...
Is Trump conservative...
Click to expand...

I pick plenty of “sides”. They’re just not binary either/or like so much of the discussion on this board.
 
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syskatine said:
I give him a B. C+ on foreign policy. A on leadership and example. B- on domestic policy.
Click to expand...

I'd give him an A for being presidential, but not for leadership and example. As an African American president, he had the opportunity to lead the entire African American community to a better place in regards to race relations, yet when the opportunities arose, he didn't play moderate but chose race over values ("Trayvon could have been my own son").

In addition, he didn't lead the political discourse in the country. He chose his path and was happy to sign EO after EO to enforce the policies the way he thought they should be rather than actually trying to get legislation passed.

Finally, as for foreign policy, he's a D or F. Yes, he improved relations with our allies who were already our allies by continuing support of the one world agenda. However, beyond that, his management of the middle east was an absolute CF. He did nothing to reign in China or NK. He disregarded any Russian threat (yet now that's every day news). Still don't get how he gets a pass for Russia.

He's a "C" president imo.

And before you ask, I'd rank Reagan #1 and Clinton #2 as presidents in my lifetime.
 
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I've noticed a lot of you have "commenting on the race of a slain teenager" as very heavily weighted on your grading rubric.
 
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07pilt said:
I've noticed a lot of you have "commenting on the race of a slain teenager" as very heavily weighted on your grading rubric.
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Huh? Only one person has mentioned a slain teenager as an example of race relations. "A lot of you" and "heavily weighted" seem rather hyperbolic for one person and one example. Is the Martin death something personal to you?
 
07pilt said:
I've noticed a lot of you have "commenting on the race of a slain teenager" as very heavily weighted on your grading rubric.
Click to expand...

It was simply a clear example of a leadership opportunity where he failed imo. Would you have preferred me to use the example of the AA professor who was arrested and Obama proceeded with no real knowledge of the case to denigrate the arresting officers simply because of each party's race? Or how about calling for the understanding of the grievances while we mourned the death of five police officers in Dallas. Would that have been a better example for you? They all point to the same thing.

But feel free to judge my position Pilt, but I noticed you haven't actually posted your own assessment for review yet. What's your grade on him, other than he is better than Bush?
 
Medic007 said:
Huh? Only one person has mentioned a slain teenager as an example of race relations. "A lot of you" and "heavily weighted" seem rather hyperbolic for one person and one example. Is the Martin death something personal to you?
Click to expand...
Sorry, I was conflating some comments the other Obama thread with this one. I'd be curious besides, not tiptoeing around the issue of race during the Trayvon Martin case, what the people who think Obama was horrible for race relations think he did that was so bad for race relations? Off the top of my head, he sided with the guy who was arrested for trying to get into his own house.
 
aix_xpert said:
It was simply a clear example of a leadership opportunity where he failed imo. Would you have preferred me to use the example of the AA professor who was arrested and Obama proceeded with no real knowledge of the case to denigrate the arresting officers simply because of each party's race? Or how about calling for the understanding of the grievances while we mourned the death of five police officers in Dallas. Would that have been a better example for you? They all point to the same thing.
Click to expand...
If you are being honest with yourself, do you hold Trump to the same standard on race issues?

I mean damn:

"Now, I've – I don't know, not having been there and not seeing all the facts, what role race played in that. But I think it's fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry; number two, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home. And number three, what I think we know separate and apart from this incident is that there is a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately. That's just a fact."


aix_xpert said:
But feel free to judge my position Pilt, but I noticed you haven't actually posted your own assessment for review yet. What's your grade on him, other than he is better than Bush?
Click to expand...
A on foreign policy, B- on domestic.
 
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07pilt said:
If you are being honest with yourself, do you hold Trump to the same standard on race issues?

I mean damn:

"Now, I've – I don't know, not having been there and not seeing all the facts, what role race played in that. But I think it's fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry; number two, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home. And number three, what I think we know separate and apart from this incident is that there is a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately. That's just a fact."



A on foreign policy, B- on domestic.
Click to expand...

Yes. I haven't judged Trump in this thread nor ranked him vs. other presidents. In prior threads, I do think I graded him an incomplete but currently at a 'B-'. I have been critical in other threads regarding his lack of 'presidentialness' and it goes beyond just the twitter trash.

As for Obama, I love the quote you posted. It clearly shows that even though he doesn't know the details behind why the Cambridge police are arresting his friend, but he clearly correlated that its due to racial stereotyping. I think that's exactly the point I was making.

That said, this is just one point against Obama. Just like Trump's behavior is one point against him.

As for the A on foreign policy? How does a president that loses 4 diplomats in the middle of the Arab Spring fiasco (that his state department supported), allowed the rise of ISIS from JV squad to Caliphate, and provided dark-of-night cash payments to Iran who immediately increased their terrorist activities in Yemen rank an A? Is your whole grade based on killing OBL?

I also note that he supported (promoted) communist regimes (Venezuela) as being models for our own society, yet I'm pretty confident there's not an American around that would trade their situation for what's going on in Venezuela now.

All this is reflected in my review of Obama.
 
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aix_xpert said:
As for Obama, I love the quote you posted. It clearly shows that even though he doesn't know the details behind why the Cambridge police are arresting his friend, but he clearly correlated that its due to racial stereotyping. I think that's exactly the point I was making.
Click to expand...

It was in response to this question: "Recently, Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. was arrested at his home in Cambridge. What does that incident say to you? And what does it say about race relations in America?"

It would be pretty hard to say he is the one that made it about race.

aix_xpert said:
As for the A on foreign policy? How does a president that loses 4 diplomats in the middle of the Arab Spring fiasco (that his state department supported),
Click to expand...
I judge foreign policy on a more strategic level than "diplomats lost." Though their deaths are a tragedy. What do you think the long term strategic implications of the Arab Spring are for the US?

aix_xpert said:
allowed the rise of ISIS from JV squad to Caliphate,
Click to expand...
Yeah we ended up making quite a mountain out of that mole hill. What do you think the long term strategic implications of the Caliphate are for the US?

aix_xpert said:
and provided dark-of-night cash payments to Iran who immediately increased their terrorist activities in Yemen rank an A?
Click to expand...
You say terrorist activities in Yemen, I say proxy war with KSA in Yemen.

aix_xpert said:
Is your whole grade based on killing OBL?
Click to expand...
I actually didn't consider that. It is based on the Iran deal, the destabilization of the Middle East, the improved relations with Southeast Asia and Cuba.

aix_xpert said:
I also note that he supported (promoted) communist regimes (Venezuela) as being models for our own society,
Click to expand...
This is facebook grandpa shit.
 
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syskatine said:
I give him a B. C+ on foreign policy. A on leadership and example. B- on domestic policy.
Click to expand...

I think this a fairly reasonable grading. B- overall. If you asess him based off expectations, then. D+. As the first AA president, there were unreasonable expectancies (like "fixing" all race-related issues). He had some massive weaknesses that were easy to see. His appearance to foreign leaders (bowing, etc) was not awesome. Bending on Iran was pretty unforgiveable to me. He was far from the worst ever. Carter set that bar way up there. Obama had a clear love or loathe trait that was not just down party lines, though many here hate him no matter what, unless he was a Republican. Personally, I was not a fan, but I could not call him an overall bad president. It is fair to say he was not good. He and Holder said and did enough to make it impossible for me to call him good. Mediocre? That seams to be the best we get these days.
 
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cableok said:
Pilt - Obama CLEARLY made that incident about race. And he did several other incidents.
Click to expand...
Spell it out for me, who in this scenario is making it about race:

Q: "Recently, Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. was arrested at his home in Cambridge. What does that incident say to you? And what does it say about race relations in America?"

A: "Now, I've – I don't know, not having been there and not seeing all the facts, what role race played in that. But I think it's fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry; number two, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home. And number three, what I think we know separate and apart from this incident is that there is a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately. That's just a fact."
 
blbronco said:
I think this a fairly reasonable grading. B- overall. If you asess him based off expectations, then. D+. As the first AA president, there were unreasonable expectancies (like "fixing" all race-related issues). He had some massive weaknesses that were easy to see. His appearance to foreign leaders (bowing, etc) was not awesome. Bending on Iran was pretty unforgiveable to me. He was far from the worst ever. Carter set that bar way up there. Obama had a clear love or loathe trait that was not just down party lines, though many here hate him no matter what, unless he was a Republican. Personally, I was not a fan, but I could not call him an overall bad president. It is fair to say he was not good. He and Holder said and did enough to make it impossible for me to call him good. Mediocre? That seams to be the best we get these days.
Click to expand...

Rather than rank on A-F scale (which allows for too much quibbling by myself and others on minuses, pluses and whatnot), this is how I would rank the more recent Presidents:

Bad
Nixon
Carter

Good
Reagan
Clinton

Mediocre
Bush 1
Bush 2
Obama
Trump (though truly an incomplete since it could change
 
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- economy improved under Obama. That’s not debatable, despite increased deficits (much of that was encompassed in the first years of his presidency recovering from W’s economy.

- Pathway to a semblance of state sovereignty in marijuana legalization/decriminalization/reprioritization of drug war/mandatory minimums reforms. Negatively, marijuana is still a Schedule I drug, which even many conservatives would agree is just silly. Legal marijuana isn’t just a “liberal” or “socialist” ideal, it’s also a capitalist endeavor that can help wake up starving state economies.

- Foreign policy is a mixed bag. There’s obvious good and bad to the Iran deal (important to note its support from allies and even some Republicans). Troop levels decreased under Obama (which is not just a positive from the sentimental standpoint but also a fiscal standpoint). That said, we haven’t stopped fighting wars in the Middle East for nearly 2 decades. It’s been a monumentally destructive deficit-bloating drain on us. Defense spending isn’t always the

- the ACA gave more people healthcare. That’s a fundamental improvement over Republican policies and agendas, which is unfortunate. Negatively...at what fiscal cost?

- Welfare reform was pretty marginalized under Obama, as was urban redevelopment. This should be a platform both sides agree on, and it’s not.


If you really consider my political positions, I’m actually quite conservative fiscally, which is most important to my measuring stick of POTUSes. Bill Clinton was a lying, slimy, adultering SOB...but he balanced the budget. Bush didn’t do that (2001’s balanced budget, let’s be honest, was a natural byproduct of Clintonomics, and then the 9/11 and the ensuing ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq), Obama began to lower deficits but still didn’t balance it...and I’ll start my own praise thread if Trump ever achieves this (not likely, and I’m confident many would agree).
 
07pilt said:
A: "Now, I've – I don't know, not having been there and not seeing all the facts, what role race played in that. But I think it's fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry; number two, that the Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home. And number three, what I think we know separate and apart from this incident is that there is a long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately. That's just a fact."
Click to expand...

So he doesn’t know if this is about race, but proceeds to go ahead and link it to issues about race (even though there was no evidence that it was race related) ... and you think he didn’t make it about race?

What is I said “I don’t know if Angela Merkel is a Nazi, but I know we would all be mad if she did that to us. Also, there is a long history of Nazis being from Germany. That’s just a fact.”
 
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About 2 weeks or so before the Dallas Cops getting shot by an African American, Obama basically made a statement that all LE agencies in the country had elements of racism and it was a big problem. He threw all of LE under the bus. I believe this was coming off BR and heightened emotions. I told my wife the second he said it there would be cops shot by African Americans.

For me, that was the worst thing he did, it was just awful.
 
CowboyJD said:
Rather than rank on A-F scale (which allows for too much quibbling by myself and others on minuses, pluses and whatnot), this is how I would rank the more recent Presidents:

Bad
Nixon
Carter

Good
Reagan
Clinton

Mediocre
Bush 1
Bush 2
Obama
Trump (though truly an incomplete since it could change
Click to expand...


Jimmy was bad, but he was very humble and from all accounts was a good man. That said, being a great lovable guy does not cut it.
 
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