Posted on 07/02/2010 9:25:45 PM PDT by smokingfrog
I can't wait for Barack Obama's second term.
Oh I know, 2013 is a long time from now and it would be nice to have decisive leadership to help deal with the odd double dip recession, Iranian nuclear threat, massive fiscal imbalance, remaking of the world order, that sort of thing.
But honestly, I just don't expect it. It is clear from events of the past few weeks that while it's July in most of America, it's already November in Washington. Every decision is cast in the context of the mid-term elections. No risk is too small to sidestep. No decision is too trivial to triangulate.
Getting reports of growing unemployment rolls? Compounding them with signs of sluggish growth and appalling developments in the housing market? A time for action? You might think so. But instead this president and this Congress hem and haw and propose effectively nothing. It's not just the Republicans blocking with appalling callousness the extension of unemployment benefits (while also fighting hard to ensure that big banks don't have too much of a tax burden). It's that the Democratic leadership is content to let the Republicans beat back the bill figuring they can use it against them in the election.
Lost in all this? Oh, right, the 9.5 percent of Americans who are "officially" unemployed not to mention the almost equally large number who don't make it into government statistics.
Is the reason for this fear of the exploding budget deficit? While one can debate the merits of government intervention vs. battling that deficit, we know the president and his team are not letting the economically disenfranchised suffer purely for reasons of economic orthodoxy.
(Excerpt) Read more at rothkopf.foreignpolicy.com ...
I second the motion...
I can't either - as long as it is a life term in jail.
But what might we expect in 2013 if Obama wins? All the intelligence of Obama plus four years of experience he didn't have when he started. An experienced team and most importantly, a focus on legacy that might drive him to think bigger ... and historically often drives presidents to be more creative and effective on the foreign policy front. Obama was a formidable candidate and has been an earnest first-term president. But relieved of concern about his own reelection and fueled by his great reserves of ambition, he could be a great second termer.
I try my best!
Hard work for sure but glad you are doing better!
Typos jump up from the page and attack my eyes. I cannot skip over them.
I can literally glance at the computer screen where someone is working, point out some typos to them, and not have a clue what they're writing about.
When I was leaving one job, the lab supervisor lamented, "Oh, no! Now who's going to spellcheck my documents?"
:) !
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