Barack's first 6 months


Does it seem so long ago that George W. Bush was running the country? Doesn't it seem as if Barack Obama has been at the helm for years? Ah, it's only six months, but who's counting? Of course, he's been taking a beating because, well he's not the Messiah after all -- or maybe not the anti-Christ. Either way, he was supposed to solve all our problems over night -- without us having to lift a finger.

We hear that his popularity index is down. Well, what did you expect? Sure, he's made some missteps, but overall things are going better -- not that any one is paying attention.

But, let's just think about a few items.

1. Economy is on an uptick. Maybe that stimulus is starting to have effect. Housing starts are up, car sales are up (thanks to cars for clunkers), two auto companies survived bankruptcy, the stock market is on the rise, jobless claims are down more than expected. So, a few things happening.

2. American prestige around the world is up. And that seems to be almost totally because of Obama, who has ventured to places like Africa that Americans don't go, and gave a speech in an Arab capital. We've still got a lot to do if we're going to get ourselves out of holes in Iraq and Afghanistan (neither of which he put us in).

3. Tackled Health Care Reform -- now, I realize this is unpopular in some quarters, but I don't understand why. I mean, I find it interesting that many of the people speaking out against this proposal are senior citizens -- calling it socialized medicine. I mean, what do you think pays your medical bills? Medicare is a government run program. You seem to like it, why can't Americans without health care have another option? Indeed, in many parts of the country there are no options to private health insurance companies. I don't think these companies are necessarily villainous, but I do think they like living without competition. They want us to believe that the government will mess things up, but what they fear is competition. So, I want to commend the president for taking on something we've been fighting about for decades. And once again, I'd like to remind Republicans that the plan proposed by Richard Nixon was essentially Medicare for all. Last time I checked, the late President was a Republican, not a Democrat!

NY Times columnist Gail Collins has gotten it right I think. People want to blame Obama for all that's gone wrong in America since the 1960s, but hey, he's only been in office for 6 months. George W. and Dick had 8 years to get us to this point!

Comments

Anonymous said…
I'm not yet a senior citizen, but I am on medicare. You do pay a monthly premium. It does not cover all medical needs nor a whole lot of the cost. For example, it only covers 1/2 of mental health visits. If you want prescription coverage, then you have to pay more in order to get one of the plan D plans all of which have bad donut holes in them. My 78 year old mother gets a little over $500 a month from Social Security and less than that from her NC Teacher's plan. Without her State Insurance Teacher's Health Insurance, she would not be able to afford her medicines.

Obama care is socialized medicine and one not very well thought through with input from other places in the world nor people who actually practice medicine.
Gary said…
The economy is NOT on the uptick. It will get much worse. Can obama survive a worsening economy? We'll see.

I don't desire to be liked better by Muslims and petty dictators, but I guess some people do.
John said…
Bob,

I have to agree in part with Gary, I don't perceive the economy to be improving at all. They say there are indicators that prosperity is around the corner, but it sure ain't here yet.

As for tackling health care, such was attempted at the start of the Clinton adminstration with zero results. The jury is out on this aspect as well.

But we are getting along better with our neighbors and, more importantly, our neighbors are once again beginning to looked up to us as a worthy model. That means something to me, even if not to others. And it hopefully will pay dividends in terms of cooperation when the need arises. Neo-imperialism obviously got us nowhere.

John
Anonymous said…
Gary,

Lumping Muslims in general with petty dictators like that is pretty outrageous. It's like linking Bush/ Cheney to myself.

My parents spend a fortune on meds too. There has to be a better way.

David Mc.

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