As I said before: truth by its very nature is controversial. And since my first column with this title, I have had to defend a president of whom I have been critical at times; and with whom I disagree on quite a wide range of policy-approaches and position-takes in both foreign-policy and domestic spheres. Look; I am a man who loves to give Jack his jacket and Jim his gym shoes: thus I must give President Barack Obama his props (as they say in the hood).
On paper, none of the current Republican challengers should defeat BO next year November; but paper is very thin, so I hold my reservations. Plus the republican base is smelling blood -and that’s not a good sign for perennially lethargic democrats. Republicans are motivated like hell; at this point in time democrats are not.
I have argued before, that of all the republican challengers, the ex-governor from Utah (Huntsman) makes the most sense to me; but I doubt he will get to be the nominee. In my not so humble opinion, the 2011 version of the Republican Tea Party doesn’t make much sense to rational thinkers.
I have also argued that Rick Santorum has been the most consistent conservative (albeit extreme at times/especially on the abortion issue). If he upsets this field I will not be surprised. I don’t think he can defeat Obama; but any republican nominated this year will have a puncher’s chance of winning- all because of the horrible state of the US economy today.
I was surprised to see Tim Pawlenty drop out so soon. I thought he had a chance of pulling off an upset here. I know Mitt Romney is the big favorite, but I feel that his two chances of defeating Barack are these; (1) slim; and (2) none. How do you draw an honest contrast between BO and MR?
And there goes Mitt again! Now he is flip-flopping on the “flat-tax” issue. This man, who once said that the flat tax will only benefit fat cats, now embraces it because of Herman Cain’s success with his 9-9-9 tax plan (a la Steve Forbes/2000). If you are trying to keep score on the many flip-flops of Mitt’s political career, then you may have just run out of fingers and toes to count on. I will be very very surprised if Americans of all ilks, vote for man without core values.
I think Rick Perry and Herman Cain are both assholes. I think they are also intellectual midgets: just like Michelle Bachman and a few other entrants who don’t get much media coverage. Beyond those we see in the debates, there are quite a few other republicans running folks.
Ron Paul has always been interesting to view and listen too; but after a while, you kinda feel that you have heard the CD before: too many times before. Plus, once you start to really scrutinize his positions, you find an intellectual convenience that’s disturbing. His constitutional rigidity scares me as a black man. His intellectual gymnastics leaves me befuddled at times. He often contradicts himself. He is going down in flames again. He is becoming another sideshow. This is unfortunate. I think he makes a lot of sense relative to the war powers used and abused by US presidents. Plus, his position on the Federal Reserve Board interests me a lot.
Newt Gingrich is a bright guy, but he has the most character flaws of any challenger here. In my eyes he has already disqualified himself over the years: given all the baggage he brings to the table. Newt has evolved into a pathetic national political figure. He keeps trying to be still relevant; he keeps failing.
So this is your republican field people: step right up; take your pick. It is a strange election year coming up. A year from now it is very possible that Barack Obama could be leading the polls by double digits. All it would take is only slight improvement with this economy. All it would take is for these challengers to further distinguish their mediocrity and nonsensical position-takes. Whoever wins the republican nomination will be destroyed in the presidential debates. Even Jon Huntsman is as boring as watching paint dry.
And yet, Barack Obama is no sure thing. At this point in time (and it could change rapidly to his benefit) there is no real energy on the streets for him: not like in 2007. I see him campaigning like mad, and there is a slightly-discernible anger (and disappointment) beneath his demeanor. I hear him pounding the republican obstructionists. I hear him castigating the “do-nothing” Congress. I hear him chiding democrats; but he needs to blame himself for many of his political problems; he should have grown some balls like I admonished him earlier in his tenure (go see my column on www.r8ny.com). He loves to take the last shot in the basketball game, but he missed a few wide-open jumpers.
I am going to help out in this column by listing a few things that should help him get re-elected. These are things he accomplished that Americans (in general) should appreciate. As much as I do have some issues with some of his approaches to both foreign and domestic-policy, I must admit that Americans love the military (and foreign-policy) successes of their commander in chief. In this regard BO has had three extraordinary years, though not all his successes have come from his initiatives. He continues to be an extremely lucky politician despite inheriting one of the worst economic conditions ever. And even there he has had a little luck. In his domestic policy he has also had quite a few luck-driven victories.
Just consider all these things (and people): Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, Zakawi, Khadafy, Mubarak, Sudan, the Arab-spring, and even Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez (due to cancer) have been relatively quiet. He has bombed the shit out of Pakistan and Afghanistan with Drones; and despite many civilian casualties he has scored some remarkable hits on known terrorists and their sympathizers. Regular folks in the USA love this kind of stuff. Only the intellectuals dig deeply into the whys, wherefores and therefores.
Of course I understand that “Americans vote their pocketbooks”; and I know that the state of the economy one year from now will have a tremendous influence on the outcome of the next presidential election; but I can’t help but feel that despite his early campaigning, BO knows he is in as good a position as he could ask for: when all things are considered; and when all the counts have been counted/LOL.
It could have been much worse. A candidate like Chris Christie could have spelled trouble with a capital T. A viable primary opponent from the left could have left him exposed like a flasher in the NY subway. Barack Obama is a semi-progressive only.
This is a list of about three dozen solid accomplishments BO has achieved in less than three years:
…………a new START treaty with Russia………………….showed leadership in dealing with the BP oil leak and obtained 20billion dollars for the clean-up effort…………repealed “DON’T ASK DON’T TELL” in military policy………….. expanded on gays in the military ………………….…appointed first Hispanic member to the Supreme Court……. first president to appoint two women to Supreme Court………created a consumer protection agency on the federal level of government…………..expanded loan programs for small businesses………..passed many tax breaks for small businesses……………..extended unemployment benefits for the chronic and long-term unemployed……………….passed new benefits for veterans……………..has essentially ended our Iraq military involvement as promised…………………has offered a sensible exit strategy for our Afghanistan involvement (unlike John McCain’s 100-year war promise)……………………..has opened up Cuba for ex-Cubans to visit and send back monies to their relatives on the island…………………….saved the auto industry…….. stabilized the banking industry………….expanded SCHIP (State Children’s Health Insurance Fund)………..………….on his watch the stock market has almost doubled ……………………passed the most comprehensive health reform laws in decades (Obamacare)………………………stabilized the economy………………….……approved a White House coordinator for nuclear security…………… revamped student loan laws……………………………….secured loose nuclear weapons from the dismantling of the former-Soviet Union……………….passed laws to give new rights to credit card holders………………………………………………………
Consider that BO has accomplished all this (and more) with practically no republican help. Consider the possibilities if republicans (and some democrats too) were more amenable to following his lead. You can question his style of leadership (from behind at times), and you can sure question his tactics: but you cannot question his accomplishments. The list I just gave can be even tripled when you add up the executive orders he has utilized to get other things done. It is more impressive than many republicans would like to admit.
Stay tuned-in folks.