Obama looks like a badly distracted schoolboy. There are so many things on his "To Do" list and he increasingly looks lost all the time like a school kid who has taken on one too many classes.From healthcare to the public option, from unemployment to the economy, from immigration to the twin wars, from Iran to North Korea, from education to regulatory reforms, from domestic security to global warming and the list goes on and on. One would think that Obama has no time to even sleep tackling all these issues, but you guessed wrong. He even took a day off to go and campaign for Chicago for the Olympics (well, we know how it went by now).
Frankly, Obama is starting to bring back memories of Bush for me. The former president was so distracted that he took off on vacation whenever he had to deal with something (Bush spent 1020 days - 35% of his presidency on vacation). With Obama it’s starting to look the same now. We don’t see him in public often anymore and no one knows what he is up to. It’s going to be a year and the president has literally done nothing except talk or he really has to rethink his communication strategy to the American people.
As a presidential candidate, Obama spoke a good game on resolving the war situation and often referred to Afghanistan as “the forgotten war.” He wasn’t just talking about strategy, though he made it clear in no uncertain terms that he believed the Bush administration had badly mishandled both Iraq and Afghanistan. But now, almost after a year and the war situation is just getting worse. Public anxiety over the war is increasing by the day as the casualty count rises. And what is more dangerous is that the White House’s deliberation in not knowing what to do is playing out against a backdrop of scary pictures of life on the ground there. Looks like things have gotten worse. Where is the change?
Iran and North Korea are freely testing missiles and showcasing their nuclear technology. Heck, Iran even has a second secret nuclear facility and is dangerously coming close to declaring itself as a nuclear power. While Obama has been saying he is open to talking to Iran, they are busy testing missiles and upgrading their military. Looks like things have gotten worse. Where is the change?
Healthcare is becoming another disaster. People are confused, Lobbyists are winning and the democrats seem to be a losing the battle against republicans. Even with a democratic supermajority, it looks doubtful if any meangful and real healthcare "reform" will be passed at all....umm..Where is the change?
Immigration Reform - president said that he expects that after completing work on health care, energy and financial regulation, to draft immigration bills this year. He said plans to get the the measures passed in 2010. While nothing is being done, illegal immigration is on the rise and as strange as it may sound, it is getting more difficult to come here legally.
Educational Reform - A new education reform was announced about 6 months back. Now with all the stimulus money being spent, here we are with nothing to show. He has taken a politically promising stance, by promising to work with teachers, promoting pre-kindergarten education, grants etc.. he has spoken a great game and has clearly avoided any concrete proposals – not exactly a promising sign that real change is coming anywhere soon.
Climate change - during his UN speech Obama said his administration is "determined" to do more to address the nation's climate change obligations. But left out of the speech was the political reality the president faces in trying to keep that promise. While the House passed a sweeping climate change bill this year, it has stalled in the Senate as health care reform dominates the domestic agenda. Powerless to do anything right now, rest assured, no change is coming on this front
I am not even going to mention the ACORN mess and bad publicity Obama has been linked to. The recent videos showing some of ACORNS's workers advising people how to set up a prostitution business is def beating up his image. One up...the voter registration fraud they were accused of last year. Though Obama has no direct involvement, the fact that they are one of his biggest supporters certainly won’t go down well with the people.
What is surprising me is he is putting off making real decisions that may actually have positive impacts. There are so many czars in his administration that no one knows what the other is doing and the public is frankly clueless. He may have a talent for giving soul stirring speeches whenever his ratings fall, but he seems to be all over the place from government meddling in the housing market to the auto industry to the financial markets to the banks to the never ending Fed printing presses, to the educational reform attempts to the bailouts.
Obama needs to GET OUT of the business of business. The government needs to be the referee, not another player... and its time to actually make some changes, especially with the elections coming around next year. If Democrats lose control, forget it, the only change that is going to happen in Washington is Obama going from a president to a lame duck president.
