So it seems we are now deep in the doldrums of a presidency. I guess this is what people mean when they say the second term is always a problem.
And a problem it is indeed. I’m not happy about a lot of things. I’m not happy about the situation with Russia. I’m not happy with the IRS losing e-mails. I’m not happy about the flood of kids coming across our border, although in that case I’m unhappy with both sides for a muddled immigration policy. And I’m very unhappy about the conditions at the VA.
And, with all that being said, I still don’t regret my vote for the President’s re-election. With all the things I’m unhappy about, would I have voted for Romney/Ryan? Nope. I would not have voted for someone who would’ve done his best to repeal the ACA–definitely not voted for someone whose budget plan would have cut Medicare and Social Security. And I would not have voted for someone who would possibly have gotten us involved in another war with Iran.
Politicians are flawed, so they will not always make me happy. As long as I’m less unhappy than I was during the W years, it’s all good. Happiness, after all, is the absence of pain. It will remain to be seen what Obama’s legacy will be in the end, and we will not be able to determine that until his presidency is over and some time has passed. All I know is that one day, when we have a Republican in the White House again? I will miss this guy soooooo much.
eurobrat 
07/18/2014 at 4:27 pm
Great points. And we might even miss him already if Hillary is President..
I think he just wanted to go home.. sail through the last years – but I think he got several “bowl of shit” at his plate now – to borrow from “The Wire”.
He’ll probably hate it but handle it ok.
It’s a painful job….
07/18/2014 at 8:29 pm
Yes, that is exactly it–I do get the sense that he is tired of being President at this point. Can’t blame him for that, perhaps.
That being said, I actually think he’s better at handling the “bowls of shit” than people give him credit for. Would Romney really be all that great at dealing with Putin? I doubt it.
07/21/2014 at 1:59 am
True, things could’ve been handled a lot worse..
I’m almost done with the “Blood Feud” btw, there’s a lot of gossip and fiction in it, but it’s a fun read.
07/21/2014 at 5:55 pm
Really now! I’ve been thinking about reading that one. Sounds like I should add it to my reading list. I won’t lie, I will probably vote for Hillary, but I doubt I’ll ever read Hard Choices 🙂
07/22/2014 at 1:24 am
Hard Choices is very diplomatic and boooooooring 🙂
07/22/2014 at 7:16 am
Just as I suspected 🙂
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07/22/2014 at 9:37 am
“A Fighting Chance” by Elizabeth Warren on the other hand is crisp, forceful, engaging and inspiring!! Especially the tone and the attitude – it’s a bit heavy on economics and financial details, but she’s very driven!
07/22/2014 at 8:48 pm
Good to know! I don’t mind some hard data in my reading, but I don’t like it when people are completely diplomatic and neutral (as Hillary will have to be for now).
07/19/2014 at 12:08 pm
And, with all that being said, I still don’t regret my vote for the President’s re-election.
You say that as if there was actually a choice involved. Of course there wasn’t! You had the “choice” between the moderate Republican and the elitist douche ready to feed The Poors to the pet tigers of The Job Creators.
Well, I guess you could have chosen not to vote. Actually, that was the #1 choice the American populace has been making for decades. Literally nobody talks about this, but more people would rather pass on the ONLY input they’re allowed to have in the running of their nation than vote for any of the options presented to them. I find it harder & harder to write non-voters off as “just lazy and not worth worrying about” like nearly every insider has. (even though Obama’s first election showed what you can do just by snagging a small percentage of them.) I now vote with the same mentality that I purchase a lottery ticket. “I got a spare couple of minutes and there’s always a one-in-10 million-chance something good might come out of it.”
Maintaining the illusion of democracy is the crowning achievement of the American Empire. There’s virtually no choice in a highly gerrymandered electoral system that renders the vast majority of incumbents incapable of losing. But even elections are illusions. With Congress so gridlocked, the only way to get anything done is to buy off enough politicians. This ensures the Powers That Be remain The Powers That Be, regardless of whether Team Blue or Team Red win an election.
Obama is an excellent example. Here’s a mixed race, community activist, who came across like Shaft and was going to change everything. Unfortunately, he turned out 100% French. Even though he went in with majorities in both houses, he started surrendering from the very first shot and has been doing so ever since. Obamacare, his greatest achievement, was progress measured by the millimetre. He didn’t even pretend he was after anything better. Perhaps because he knows there’s only so much The Powers That Be will tolerate. Maybe he didn’t want to be the next JFK.
Maybe that explains his lack of desire to rock the boat, even with the strong mandate he was given. He gave the Bush Crime Syndicate a free pass. He gave Wall Street criminals a free pass and a blank cheque. He just let the Military Industrial Spy Complex kill & spy on whoever they feel like and waste as much money as they could. The guy just rolled over and showed his belly like a puppy every chance he had.
That said, I’d still have to seriously consider voting for him in an election. And that says a LOT about the system.
07/19/2014 at 1:01 pm
It was a choice…just a very limited choice. I guess I’m cynical enough after my totalitarian childhood not to expect to be granted more than that 🙂 And I completely agree about Obama. Obama…the “Socialist”? Don’t make me laugh hysterically. I work in medical insurance and Obamacare was a huge gift to private industry. I only disagree with the French reference…the French do have backbone sometimes, you know 😉
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07/20/2014 at 2:25 pm
The French? Backbones? OK, maybe if you screw with their baguettes and stinky cheese. So, perhaps the French DO have more backbone than Obama.
07/19/2014 at 1:04 pm
(And even with his very minimal boat rocking, look at how hated he is)
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08/05/2014 at 8:20 pm
Gee, eurobrat . . . I thought all leadership in high places eventually gets to the point where they enjoy blowing stuff up.
08/06/2014 at 9:54 pm
They probably do. There’s still a lot less blowing up here then there would’ve been under President McCain 😉 Thanks for visiting, John!
Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2014 03:20:31 +0000 To: missvixiev@hotmail.com