President Obama 2012

Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor

President Obama inherited a mess of global proportions thanks to the dismal administration of George W. Bush and his embedded corporate cronies.  President Bush declared war on Iraq after the Al Qaeda attacks on September 11, 2001 and this opened the flood gates to massive rape and pillage of another country by American corporations and the deaths and permanent injuries of thousands of American soldiers.

Wall Street had a field day creating unsustainable financial articles that moved paper and electronic transactions the way the wind moves sand.  There was barely any consistency of direction and location, the idea was to move volumes, inflate the worth of goods and create instruments that investors would assume were solid financial investments.

Just like drug-addicted parents, the kids pay the heaviest price and shoulder the massive burden of a dysfunctional family.  In this case, the Middle Class in the United States of America payed with blood and treasure and we are still paying for the reckless behavior of those who hold the keys to America's wealth.

We have seen it all, the good, the bad, the ugly and the unbelievable.

The unbelievable includes the hypocrisy of an elected Congress that almost caused the financial default of America because their political ideology trumps the welfare of the country.  Making President Obama a "One time president" has been their goal from the beginning.

The blatant attacks on Unions, teachers, policemen and firefighters all around the country have left many speechless and propelled recall elections and demonstrations by the working people, the poor and unemployed.  The goal here, from my perspective is two-fold: dismantle "the base" that supports the President and enrich the coffers of corporations in one fell-swoop.

As Democrats, we find unbelievable how the media manages to drown everything positive President Obama has accomplished and continues to hammer the message of corporations and the Right Wing on how every ill that afflicts our country must be blamed on President Obama.  

Many on the Left are buying this rubbish and playing a game in which the rules are set by someone else.  The divisive technique is meant to fracture the base as much as possible and put the corporate puppets in entrenched positions in key government sets at both the local and federal level.  

President Obama can only do so much with the cards he was dealt and the opposition he continues to face from Congress.  When Congress was composed of Democrats, many failed to acknowledge (and to this day, this is true), the obstructionism of the GOP and the stupid rule of reaching consensus with 61 votes - Which the Democratic Congress failed to get time and again.

We forget, and we must remember, President Obama's accomplishments:

• Don't ask, don't tell (bye-bye) and thank you President Obama
• Signed the Mathew Sheppard Hate Act.
• Stimulus money to stabilize the economy and prevent a total collapse of the banking industry.  Most people's 401K have rebounded since they became 101K under George W. Bush
• Saved the auto industry - Jobs saved, created, loan paid back.
• Appointed the first Hispanic woman to the Supreme Court
• Updated the military by restructuring how we fight in a cyber-world.
• Tracking stimulus spending through Recovery.gov
• The SCHIP program covers 4 million more CHILDREN (thank you President Obama)
• Effectively responded to Haiti Earthquake and National disasters.
• Improved the benefits for Veterans, increased quality & efficiency in Military hospitals.
• Donated the $1.4 million dollars from his Nobel Peace Prize to Non-profits.
• Provided tax-credit to first-time homeowners.
• Partnered with banks to reduce the principal of homeowner's whose houses are worth less than what is owed on them - thank Wall Street Banksters for this and Thank President Obama for not having MORE foreclosures than what we already have.
• Granted regulatory powers to the FDA re: Tobacco products - This reverses George W. Bush policy. (One of the many reversals from the previous administration)
• Cuban families have more freedom now to travel to Cuba and see their families.
• Reduced and froze salaries of White House aides.
• Lowered the cost of prescriptions drugs for seniors on Medicare.
• Negotiated a deal in which the US will be able to track tax evaders who use Swiss banks.
• Stabilized the banks WITHOUT federalizing them - Which was the ONLY solution viewed by many "in the know"
• Bye-Bye F-22 and other obsolete weapons the military is forced to purchase and don't use.  Tax payer's dollars saved in the billions.
• Embryonic cell research restrictions removed - Bye-bye Bush stupid policy.
• Funding medical research and development (see above)
• Passed the Lilly Ledbetter Act - Equal pay for Equal Work (Women and their families rejoice)
• Has restored a better view of Americans in the world - Your college kids do not have to pretend they are Canadian when traveling abroad.
• One bullet took care of Somali pirates. (How is this for decisiveness?)
• One Navy Seal team killed Osama Bin Laden. (Good-bye Bush Excuses)

President Obama in Minnesota - 2011

There are a ton of things this president has done that are swept under the rug as if it did not matter and I surmise that no one is that forgetful, but certainly we can become spoiled by expecting the right things to be done ... yesterday.  For pages filled with legislative achievements, don't trust me and go to the source: The White House. 

In the meantime, let's give credit where credit is due and start balancing the negative nonsense with the facts and see who comes out on top.  I wager it would the Middle-Class, the poor, the under-served and President Obama.

Keep in mind that the reason President Obama does not act unilaterally and behaves like a dictator-in-chief is because, unlike his predecessor, he takes Democracy and our Constitution seriously.  

This is one man that as a constitutional professor and lawyer, KNOWS the constitution and upholds it - unlike all the fake patriots who invoke it when it suits them and conveniently forget what it all means when it clashes with their warped ideology.

Thank you Mr. President for your leadership, patience, and thoughtfulness.  Most of all, thank you for keeping your cool as the rest of us lose ours and struggle to starve the beast devouring our Democracy and stalling our progress.

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