Comments on The Ostroy Report: One Year After Election Day: The Verdict on Obama

With the looming commercial mortgage collapse peer...

2009-11-03T23:10:26.867-05:00

With the looming commercial mortgage collapse peering over the event horizon, all assessments of any successful rescue of the economy are premature. Obama's administration continues to cater to those whose malfeasance cause the crisis, ignoring the will and emotions of an angry and undefended populace whose well-being has been shattered and whose trust has been abused.

Obama's first priorities should have been to use the power the voters gave him to get the American people back to work. He did not.

He should have bought all the bad mortgages that we are going to pay for anyway and relieve the banks from carrying bad debt on their books. They would then have had no reason to hoard all of the taxpayer-funded TARP money. He did not.

He continues to promote and defend legal fallacies foisted upon the American people by the Bush cabal, and there is a growing concern that renditions have again occurred while under his watch. He is sworn to protect and defend the Constitution, yet he continues to treat it like a soiled piece of recycled paper. Just who is he president of?

It's easy to forgive him for the wars continuing, for there is evidence that the US military officer corps is about to mutiny. There is evidence to demonstrate that Obama would have made a much better Secretary of State than a President, as so many of his predecessors did. But there is no evidence to show that Obama cares one whit for those who took a risk and voted for him, hoping against hope that he would make things better as he implied he would.

On the issues which count most to Americans, Obama is failing - and the votes in VA, NJ, and maybe even in NY-23 indicate as much. Watch for the GOP resurgence fueled by these victories, and watch Obama trip over his clay feet. He has led the Democrats from victory to the edge of defeat, and it will be the American people who pay for his hubris. In this, he fails us the most.

Obama deserves an incomplete at best. I agree wit...

2009-11-03T12:30:29.421-05:00

Obama deserves an incomplete at best.

I agree with you Andy - his priorities are misguided. Health care ought not to be the issue that is getting the administration and Congresses undivided attention.

The economy is the issue that is front and center in the minds of the largest segment of Americans. Health care is only a subset of that.

Yet he is a very bright man and is surrounded by very bright people. I believe that his priority is extremely farsighted, which is not a good thing.

I believe he wishes to define his presidency by pushing America more towards a statist social democratic society. Taking over health care is a crucial foundation block. Many activities that are related to health can thus then be regulated and I believe that is what is first and foremost on his mind - expanding the role of government in the everyday life of Americans.

In an emergency we need 911 or and ambulance to ru...

2009-11-02T10:20:15.504-05:00

In an emergency we need 911 or and ambulance to rush us to a capable doctor, no matter how we got into our position of need.

I am no better off than I was when Obama became President and I see things only getting worse for me and others in my "demographic."

Americans still want instant fixes and the mess Ob...

2009-11-02T08:13:01.705-05:00

Americans still want instant fixes and the mess Obama was handed does not lend to instant fixes.

I believe with all the NO Repubs he and the congress has had to deal with, they have done pretty good. If health care reform can be passed with a public option, then it will be a win for Obama.

The Repubs will use tomorrow's elections as a referendum on Obama. I'm not so sure.

The image of the country has dramatically changed ...

2009-11-01T20:45:38.080-05:00

The image of the country has dramatically changed abroad. Even before the elections, in France students had organized the French Support Committee for Barack Obama with 3,500 members including Bertrand Delanoe, the mayor of Paris and former Prime Minister Edith Cresson. The founder of the group said “ I am a world citizen, and what you do will affect us ... If we see that the U.S. is changing, it's good for all of us. ..Everything is moving. Obama is a symbol of this new evolution."

And evolution is what –I believe- his legacy will be built on. Although universal health is not news to Europeans, they sure take the lead from us on alternative energy initiatives and the promising job generator prospects this evolution entails. In his MIT visit he spoke of the global competition in the technologies that will power the 21st century. “The nation that wins this competition will be the nation that leads the global economy,” he said.

The message has been strong and more kids want hybrids, more people are looking into installing double-paned windows and solar panels, and students are travelling to Denmark to see from up-close innovation in wind power.

Imagine if we pull this one off. What kind of legacy, all of us, will leave to our children!

PS. The competion on solar energy is immense. Take a look at Massive European Solar Project Set for Launch