It was just over five years ago that then candidate Obama told us that his goal as president was to fundamentally transform America. Let's look an see how well he has done.
1. We have to start with healthcare, the principal focus of Obama since he has been in office. Today, four years after the passage of Obamacare, three important things have happened. First, a smaller percentage of Americans have health insurance than did on the day Obama took office. Second, the cost of healthcare to the nation has continued to rise. Third, the numbers of doctors leaving the profession has soared. Fourth, the incursions into the healthcare system by Washington have skyrocketed. In short, the healthcare system has continued to decline with less coverage for fewer people at greater cost, and the trend is accelerating.
2. Next we need to turn to the economy. In 2008, America was in a terrible fix, but by the time Obama took office in 2009, the worst of the crisis had passed. In the old America, the one before Obama, we would have seen a strong economic bounce as the country recovered from the recession. With the Obama transformation, we have seen only stagnant, slow growth. We have seen millions upon millions of discouraged people who have just given up on the idea of getting a job. We have seen individual initiative decline and reliance on government support grow. We have watched a big chunk of a new generation learn that their future is not bright; they need to continue to live at home while they struggle to find a way to make it on their own. It has been quite a transformation.
3. Then we have America's position in the world. When Obama took office, America was the dominant world power everywhere on the globe. Obama has changed that. In the Middle East, America is now almost irrelevant. Due to his plans (or lack of them), Syria has changed from a tightly controlled autocratic state which was held in check, in part, due to fear of what America might do into a killing ground replete with a mad dictator slaughtering tens of thousands of his own people, equally mad rebels who seek the reappearance of the Islamic Caliphate run by al Qaeda and its murderous thugs, and the presence of both Russian forces and Iranian troops and advisors to help with the killing. Saudi Arabia, once the closest of allies, is now estranged from America because of Obama's transformation of our foreign policy. Israel, another close ally, is now threatened more and more at the behest of Washington than anyone could have thought imaginable. Iraq, where thousands of Americans died to bring peace and freedom, is once again under assault by the Islamic terrorists we had driven out, all thanks to the Obama transformation. Even in Afghanistan, Obama's "good" war, we have watched as the killing has spiked and unrest has spread. Despite the surge in Afghanistan (or maybe because of it), Obama has managed to transform what had been a backwater battle area into a major killing ground.
4. Obama also promised a transformation to a more open and tolerant society. What did he bring? The level of intolerance coming from the political elites and their allies is at an all time high. Look at MSNBC. In the last few months, we had one host fired for threatening reporters and shouting gay slurs, another fired for literally calling for governor Palin to be force fed excrement, another who tearfully apologized for a prepared segment that mocked interracial adoption because the family involved was Mitt Romney's, and the official Twitter feed of the network that called conservatives all racists. This is a new low not a new high. Then there is all the spying being done on folks across the land. Did anyone realize that when Obama said he would transform America that it was into a police state where reporters are spied on and even called criminals in the courts just for doing their jobs? Did anyone realize that the transformation was to modify the government so that the treatment citizens get from agencies like the IRS depends on their political affiliations?
5. Obama has also succeeded in transforming the office of the President of the United States. Forty years ago, it was a big deal when the president lied during the Watergate era. Since then, there have been ups and downs in respect for the president, but Obama has now set a new standard. The nation has been divided into two camps: one which supports and believes Obama and another which neither supports Obama nor believes anything he says (and with good reason). But it is not just the honesty of the president that Obama has modified. Americans used to think that the president could achieve things; he was in control and could really take steps to help. Obama, however, has created a new mantra for the Chief Executive. Instead of "Here's what we need to do," Obama presents "I knew nothing about it." There has never been a president who has been "surprised" more often by bad news in modern history. Oh each president has had bad moments. Think of 9-11 or Pearl Harbor. But Bush and Roosevelt reacted and took care of it. Look at Obama's response to the "surprise" of Benghazi. Look at his response to the "surprise" of the IRS targeting of conservatives. Look at his response to the "surprise" surveillance of the AP and Fox News. Look at his response to the use of chemical weapons in Syria. There was no response. Oh, there were statements and a lot of talking points, but there was no ACTION. NOTHING WAS DONE. The president has been transformed from an action figure to a talking head. Americans no longer believe that their president will do anything to help.
So Obama has actually made good on his pledge. He has fundamentally transformed America. Sadly, he has made things much, much worse.
1. We have to start with healthcare, the principal focus of Obama since he has been in office. Today, four years after the passage of Obamacare, three important things have happened. First, a smaller percentage of Americans have health insurance than did on the day Obama took office. Second, the cost of healthcare to the nation has continued to rise. Third, the numbers of doctors leaving the profession has soared. Fourth, the incursions into the healthcare system by Washington have skyrocketed. In short, the healthcare system has continued to decline with less coverage for fewer people at greater cost, and the trend is accelerating.
2. Next we need to turn to the economy. In 2008, America was in a terrible fix, but by the time Obama took office in 2009, the worst of the crisis had passed. In the old America, the one before Obama, we would have seen a strong economic bounce as the country recovered from the recession. With the Obama transformation, we have seen only stagnant, slow growth. We have seen millions upon millions of discouraged people who have just given up on the idea of getting a job. We have seen individual initiative decline and reliance on government support grow. We have watched a big chunk of a new generation learn that their future is not bright; they need to continue to live at home while they struggle to find a way to make it on their own. It has been quite a transformation.
3. Then we have America's position in the world. When Obama took office, America was the dominant world power everywhere on the globe. Obama has changed that. In the Middle East, America is now almost irrelevant. Due to his plans (or lack of them), Syria has changed from a tightly controlled autocratic state which was held in check, in part, due to fear of what America might do into a killing ground replete with a mad dictator slaughtering tens of thousands of his own people, equally mad rebels who seek the reappearance of the Islamic Caliphate run by al Qaeda and its murderous thugs, and the presence of both Russian forces and Iranian troops and advisors to help with the killing. Saudi Arabia, once the closest of allies, is now estranged from America because of Obama's transformation of our foreign policy. Israel, another close ally, is now threatened more and more at the behest of Washington than anyone could have thought imaginable. Iraq, where thousands of Americans died to bring peace and freedom, is once again under assault by the Islamic terrorists we had driven out, all thanks to the Obama transformation. Even in Afghanistan, Obama's "good" war, we have watched as the killing has spiked and unrest has spread. Despite the surge in Afghanistan (or maybe because of it), Obama has managed to transform what had been a backwater battle area into a major killing ground.
4. Obama also promised a transformation to a more open and tolerant society. What did he bring? The level of intolerance coming from the political elites and their allies is at an all time high. Look at MSNBC. In the last few months, we had one host fired for threatening reporters and shouting gay slurs, another fired for literally calling for governor Palin to be force fed excrement, another who tearfully apologized for a prepared segment that mocked interracial adoption because the family involved was Mitt Romney's, and the official Twitter feed of the network that called conservatives all racists. This is a new low not a new high. Then there is all the spying being done on folks across the land. Did anyone realize that when Obama said he would transform America that it was into a police state where reporters are spied on and even called criminals in the courts just for doing their jobs? Did anyone realize that the transformation was to modify the government so that the treatment citizens get from agencies like the IRS depends on their political affiliations?
5. Obama has also succeeded in transforming the office of the President of the United States. Forty years ago, it was a big deal when the president lied during the Watergate era. Since then, there have been ups and downs in respect for the president, but Obama has now set a new standard. The nation has been divided into two camps: one which supports and believes Obama and another which neither supports Obama nor believes anything he says (and with good reason). But it is not just the honesty of the president that Obama has modified. Americans used to think that the president could achieve things; he was in control and could really take steps to help. Obama, however, has created a new mantra for the Chief Executive. Instead of "Here's what we need to do," Obama presents "I knew nothing about it." There has never been a president who has been "surprised" more often by bad news in modern history. Oh each president has had bad moments. Think of 9-11 or Pearl Harbor. But Bush and Roosevelt reacted and took care of it. Look at Obama's response to the "surprise" of Benghazi. Look at his response to the "surprise" of the IRS targeting of conservatives. Look at his response to the "surprise" surveillance of the AP and Fox News. Look at his response to the use of chemical weapons in Syria. There was no response. Oh, there were statements and a lot of talking points, but there was no ACTION. NOTHING WAS DONE. The president has been transformed from an action figure to a talking head. Americans no longer believe that their president will do anything to help.
So Obama has actually made good on his pledge. He has fundamentally transformed America. Sadly, he has made things much, much worse.
1 comment:
Yes Obama is a true disaster to the U.S.
Now, You may as well start thinking about who will be running the Country in 2016.
Will Jeb Bush run?
Do any of the GOP candidates or potentials really have the RIGHT STUFF?
If any change is actually going to be possible, The GOP needs to control the Senate & House in 2016otherwise, SAME OLD SAME OLD
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