Posted on 05/30/2009 8:45:38 AM PDT by yongin
Admittedly, I was one of the moderate conservatives who was wooed by Obama during his PR campaign to become the country's next president. Sadly, even though I was still unsure of my vote until the week before the election, I know better now. I truly had no idea he would turn out to be the radical tax and spend liberal he's revealed. Since the beginning of his presidency, Obama seems more interested in making policies and decisions that grab headlines than those in the best interests of the country. The announcement of his whopping $3 trillion budget, trailing the $800 billion bank bailout, was shocking and yet the media seemed to rally around him. The president wants to do everything at one time, national healthcare, economy, taxes (wealth redistribution), clean energy, infrastructure, education and more. He acts very king-like, expecting Congress to endorse everything he floats their way, but his high octane PR strategy--loaded with smiles and good oratory may be fading.
Mr. Obama spends money like its coming out of his own piggy bank and expects Congress to rubber stamp his agenda at every turn, which they have been doing except when it came to the closing of Guantanamo Bay prison. This is when the pie in the sky headline grabbing Obama style of governing met reality. Mr. Obama asked Congress for $80 million to build a new prison (it's just more money to pile on the ginormous debt) but they paused, scratched their heads and couldn't just go along with this brazen request without more details from King Obama. Even more hilarious was when the administration said it would just relocate these terrorists to state prisons but governors stopped that bad idea --- "not in my back yard." Even FBI Director Mueller nixed the idea as highly risky because terrorists could easily plot attacks on the US from within prison, recruiting other terrorists, organizing, fundraising etc.
Before this miscalculation, the President listened to his faithful servant Rahm Emanuel and released CIA memos about harsh interrogation tactics used on terrorists under the Bush administration. Many people including Defense Secretary Gates thought this was a bad idea and would endanger our troops needlessly not to mention reveal interrogation methods to our enemies. Once again, the president got great headlines from the partisan press which bashed President Bush and the interrogation methods he endorsed during his administration.
But as the reality of keeping this headline grabbing story going began to sink into President Obama's head, he started walking backwards on the topic weighing the risk in the reality of the situation. This is when the administration had Attorney General Eric Holder tell the media that the Justice Department wasn't going to prosecute former Bush officials. Shortly after this, the president announced he wouldn't release photos of detainees being interrogated. Why engage in any of this in the first place? Releasing interrogation memos and detainee photos only harms our intelligence community and puts American's at risk. Incidentally, the Wall Street Journal was the only paper to relentlessly criticize the administration about taking this action.
These recent events, the planned closing of Gitmo and "CIA-gate", have made the president look very inexperienced and unpolished in his ability to lead the nation and only widened the partisan bickering in Washington. Oh, yeah and Speaker Pelosi's memory lapse over when and what she knew about waterboarding looks sloppy, as if she's trying to hide the truth. It doesn't help the president and certainly doesn't look like change we can believe in or need.
On a side note the president's comments about his nominee to the Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor, are also cause for pause. He said he picked her because she would show empathy. While Supreme Court justices are human and bring experience to their work, they're tasked with finely reviewing cases, considering the Constitution and using their intellect to arrive at rulings. Emotion isn't part of the job. Even more disturbing are Judge Sotomayor's comments that judges make policy.
It seems like the president's image is unraveling in recent months and we're getting a look at the real Obama underneath the PR, razzle, dazzle veneer he sports so well. I think Americans are growing weary of the sparkle, shine and high-spending policies this president is selling and want to see something more. Every week he is on TV holding a press conference for this or that announcement on funding, bailouts or programs to expand government exponentially. As my father exclaimed recently, "when does he have time to run the country, if he's on television everyday." This is a question to be pondered. Team Obama may have won the presidency through an innovative public relations campaign but winning over the confidence of Americans and setting the country on the right course will require careful thought, temperance and bipartisan collaboration.
A smile and eloquent speech won't make it all right.
I will get my wish. I just don’t know when it will happen. I have no hope of surviving obama myself but I take great solace in knowing that the bastards that inflicted him on me will also get it in the end.
No, she was watching “Judge Judy”, Oprah, American Idol, and Dancing with the Stars.
Nope. I live in DC. I see what the idiots in the Bush administration did. Our economy was sinking like a rock long before O even thought of running. Who did that? A bunch of bushies going around putting rocks in eveyone's backback to make sure thata no one could run very fast so it would be easier to catch the terrorists. Well guess what. Out of a population of 300,000,000 in the country how many are terrorists? Suppose I spot you 1,000, which I don't actually believer. That is one in 300,000.
Now suppose we increase the drag line on the US economy by 1% per capita for counter terrorism - it is a lot more than that actually. What is the cost? About $100B is the answer. What is the cost per potential domestic terrorist that I spotted you? About $100M. Think there might have been a cheaper way? Think this strategy was pure genius or pure stupidity.
Have any idea how much this idiocy costs? No, I didn't think so.
I am not in the 0 camp. But You idiots need to know how Republicans dug their own grave.
LOl, my mistake.
“Out of a population of 300,000,000 in the country how many are terrorists? Suppose I spot you 1,000, which I don’t actually believer. That is one in 300,000.”
This logic seems reasonable to you?
Lucky for you DC is a prime terrorist target. W kept you alive. Hope you don’t get killed on Obamachev’s watch, but I would argue your odds aren’t good.
GHWB was one of the brightest, hardest working, decentest, most intelligent men to hold the office of President of the US. His appointees were comptetent ladies and gentlemen of high character and caliber. He was, however, a trust fund baby, a bit out of touch with the real economic situation of the average American and lost his bid for reelection.
GWB on the other hand was shoot from the hip, intellectually lazy and sloppy who never really did anything hard in his life. He thought that his job was to have folks bring him choices and then he would make them, rather than participate in the hard work of generating strategies and plans for operation. He was not a delegator, but a shirker. So, he put Cheney in charge and after 6 years realized that it was the ruin of his presidency. He brought in Gates at Defense, who is a competent decent hard working man. But that was about it. The other cabinet agencies collapsed around his ears and what's his name at Treasury - o yeah, Paulson, that's right - blackmailed Bush for a cool $850 B. Nice work if you can get it, but it's not steady employment as it turned out.
I know. The bombs have been going off left right and center. It's a bitc4 dodging the crater holes as one drives to work. You know, maybe, actually, the most effective anti-terrorist strategy was blowing up the Taliban and demonstrating to the world that yeah you can hurt us, but we will find you and you will die. It's the old strategy that the best defense is a good offense. If they hurt you, you go pay them a visit back at home. It's amazingly effective. Sheeese it's only been our strategy since Barbary pirate days.
But you know. I agree that that is not enough. I won't feel really safe until I send someone around to inspect your sock drawer and make sure you don't have a bomb in it. A bit intrusive, I know, but hey, its for national security and its what true conservatives believe in.
Who should we hire as sock drawer inspectors? Well that is an interesting question. Who do you think we did hire to go rummage through your sock drawer?
Oh, entirely. Please explain to me how it is unreasonable to you. You just stepped in the trap. We are going to see how much it hurts when it slams on your ankle.
I voted pubbie McCain, but I have to tell you that I am gratified that the Rs are going to spend their time in the wilderness finding their god and contemplating their future. Their past wasn't so great.
7 1/2 watts.
It's that hopey, changey thing.
Is there any other kind of liberal?
What the heck is a moderate conservative? (scratches head)
There are "moderates", "moderate Republicans", "conservatives" and "conservative Republicans but "moderate conservative" is just an oxymoron like "jumbo shrimp".
“moderate conservative” is just an oxymoron like “jumbo shrimp”.
Exactly. Or like... Vegetarian Hamburger
Fools Sticker... Nice, I think I’m going to order a couple of packs and start placing them around the Obama voter zones.
WTH is a moderate conservative?
Sounds mythical, like a unicorn.
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