Aaaand we're off... Obamania (or Nobamania) 2012

So... guys. In order to be completely honest with the all of you, I need to come clean. A bit. On my own shifting views of our current president.

You'll remember that I had great love and respect and admiration for Barack H. Obama in 2008 when he was elected.

And that I defended him as a centrist when the left jumped off his wagon and the right began using nasty words like communist.

But I have to be honest...while I still believe that

1) Obama is a good person. Brilliant, informed, and with the right heart about our country and our foreign policy, and people working together etc etc

and

2) He likely made one heck of a harvard professor and community planner,

I have to conclude, at this moment, that Obama is

3) Not the right president for right now.

When we elected Obama (OK, not all of us did... in fact many of you, reading this, did not)...

When I voted for Obama, it was in a culture of emphasis on foreign policy. Obama was the man to elect to change the way we were headed... war in two countries, horrible relations with the Middle East, a declining reputation in just about every other area of the world. And... let's just say, I agree (mostly) with the foreign policy decisions Obama has made in his presidency. I have never believed that we should constantly side with Israel. I have never believed that we should keep fighting in Iraq... and Obama has done his dardest to get as many troops out of Iraq as he could, without causing disaster. We also have to remember that this presidency is the one under which (yes, it's been overadvertised) Osama Bin Laden was captured and killed. To me, Bin Laden was the ONLY reason we were in Afghanistan in the first place--we were attacked, and we couldn't just sit around and not do anything in response. Afghanistan was harboring, for a while, the man responsible for the attacks, therefore, we went into Afghanistan. And... to me, mission accomplished.

(So why do we still have troops in Afghanistan? And President Obama... seriously, the patriot act? Gitmo? You have dissappointed me...all topics for another day.)


At any rate, what we failed to predict was that the main issue/concern/threat to our country would turn from diplomacy and foreign relations to the economy. Obama did not campaign on the economy... and it's a good thing, because, as far as I can tell, he can't do math.

SO, when our biggest issue switched to the economy, in my mind that's when Obama went from being a great leader, a godsend, someone who could change the destructive course our politics have taken...

to not the right guy.

Well, and I'm not BLAMING our current economic crisis entirely, or even slightly on Obama either. I mean, we know what caused our problems. It's called speculation, it's called overconsumption. It's called a bubble that burst, and we all know (those of us who are smart and willing to examine reality behind propoganda) that no president or politician could have predicted or stopped it from happening. OK, there were some politicians who made it worse:

a) the chairman of the federal reserve

b) the previous president, who sponsored tax cuts that made taxes historically low (Like... since the 1950's) and at the same time, started wars in two countries. (He also wasn't all that great at math... could it be a sign of our declining school systems when two men who got the most important job in the country don't seem to be able to do simple arithmetic or balance a budget? George--if you don't make money, then you can't spend it. And Barack... Barack, Barack. My friend. It's wonderful to want to feed and clothe people, and give them health care, but... well, you need money to do it.) which leads me to my next point-

c) Obama has continued the trend. Of overspending without trying to recoup costs. Of trying to throw monopoly money at problems that require real solutions. But you have to admit he's got a tough road ahead of him, with the democrats refusing to cut any domestic spending on some of the programs that take a lot of our budget, and the republicans refusing to raise taxes to gain more revenue, and the tea party causing ruckuss and proposing drastic cuts in spending that they know they won't get votes for. It's all posturing... and it's killing our economy. What can a president really do, if he doesn't have a legislature that wants to cooperate instead of slinging stones at each other? Not much.



So.... anyway... never thought I'd say this but... Obama out.

So who next?

That's a discussion for another post. But for now I'll just say...

Rick Perry makes me puke.