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People and Politics by Patrick Roberts

Barack Obama at 50 -- is he a failed president? Giving in to Republicans is currently his major legacy

Posted on Thursday, August 04, 2011 at 12:44 AM

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Barack Obama is 50 today and celebrated with a huge party and fundraiser in Chicago last night.

He is an amazing success story, first ever African American president and at a very young age too so much so that it seems certain he will be younger than his 2012 Republican opponent no matter who it is.

The GOP front-runner Mitt Romney already has a dozen years on him.

But when it comes to his political legacy there is precious little to be happy about.

A cartoon in the McClatchy group of newspapers said it all. It showed Obama with a fat lip after being punched by a Republican elephant wearing boxing gloves.

“Read my lip, no new taxes” went the caption.

That pretty much summed it up. Obama was supposed to go fifteen rounds with the Republicans on the debt ceiling but threw in the towel halfway.

In the end it was his vice president, Irishman Joe Biden, who negotiated the bill that passed

But the bill that eventually got passed had only cuts, no new revenues in it.

The net result will be that Obama will be weakened by his inability to bargain with his opponents.

He has been seen as weak, as incapable of standing strong.

It is a deep shame because never has America needed a tough negotiator more.

The most vulnerable in society will be hit by the trillions in cuts now on the way.

And the wealthiest will not pay a red cent more, nor will the oil companies or special interests.

As Warren Buffet, America’s richest man has said, it makes no sense that he pays less tax than his secretary.

But he does.

Americans know there is a deep unfairness in how the rich and the poor are treated.

The recent banking collapse has not led to any convictions of those who caused it.

Yet Joe Six Pack knows that if he were to default his house would be hoovered out from under him.

Obama is seen as complicit in these sweetheart deals that the rich and the mighty have created for themselves.

That Is not the platform he was elected on.

Obama has revealed himself as a surprisingly poor negotiator, intent only on getting a deal, even a bad one so he can move on.

But move on to what? A Democratic president’s major function must be to protect those most needy in this life, the young, the elderly, and the infirm.

Former House Speaker Thomas ‘Tip’ O’Neill spelled it out when he said it was government’s role to defend those at the dawn and end of life.

Obama has palpably failed to do that

Those are the people who will most adversely be affected by the cuts he signed off on.

Obama tried to put a brave face on it by coming out on Wednesday and demanding taxes on wealthiest Americans to offset citing the income and programs for poor people.

But stable door and horses are the two images that come immediately to mind.

Fact is the Republicans have won this battle and they look likely to win the war too unless Obama manages to don his big boy pants and take them on head to head.

I won't hold my breath.

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RinehartS | Aug 17, 2011, 10:35 AM EDT

What happened to all those Bush supporters who said, only history can decide if one is a good or bad President? So, very, funny, how some just have very, very short memories.

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stusharon | Aug 12, 2011, 09:28 AM EDT

President Obama is not a failed President. According to all who think so, President Obama was a failed President even before he took office. It is so scary to know that these people are putting their own county at stake by not supporting our President just because they are racist and haters. Obama was brave enough to announce his running for President knowing how chaotic previous Presidents had left the county so far he has done a great job. My entire family and friends will give President Obama our vote for the next election.

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RinehartS | Aug 09, 2011, 05:54 PM EDT

I do like to think Obama is looking at the long term instead of the here and now that most republicans seem to focus on. Just read an interesting piece on how Limbaugh has totally forgotten the legacy that George W. left Obama... I think most republicans forget as well, or they are just "ditto heads." "After all, following eight years of spectacular Republican failures, Obama took office when the nation was in freefall. Arguably no president in American history started his first day with a list like this: the Great Recession, two deadly wars, a jobs crisis, a massive deficit and budget mess, crushing debt, a health care system in shambles, a climate crisis, an ineffective energy policy, an equally ineffective immigration policy, a housing crisis, the U.S. auto industry on the verge of collapse, a mess at Gitmo, a severely tarnished global reputation, an executive branch damaged by corruption, incompetence, and mismanagement, and an angry, deeply divided electorate."

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hancock | Aug 09, 2011, 02:09 PM EDT

Empty suit Obama , you couldn't build some bridges with the first trillion?

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MATEOMIGUEL | Aug 09, 2011, 01:23 AM EDT

...meow...(...Honorable President Obama is not a failed president nor does he give into Republicans - a good president listens to others and makes a decision upon her or his better judgement - but a great Honorable President, much like Honorable President Barak Obama, realizes the genius of each governmental representative whether Democrat, Republican, or other affiliations and establishes the best long term decisions upon equality mindedness. Not every solution will be immediately seen but those long term solutions will be seen, as most Economists state, "...in the long run the benefits will be evidence of the implemented solutions."...)

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seanomelbourne | Aug 08, 2011, 07:27 PM EDT

RinehartS the right will not give POTUS a "fair go" they are so blinded by hate they can't see past their teacups.I hope the teahadist are proud of their downgrade debacle.The market was looking for $4trillion in cuts and they refused to co-operate knowing that they would have to agree with taxing millionaires. The same millionaires who bankroll the teaparty.They have sank their country in a financial quagmire just weaken the president,no wonder they are been called economic terrorists

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RinehartS | Aug 08, 2011, 09:54 AM EDT

This may not get through and post, but gotta try. First, kaydog1, you would be wrong to assume I think he's done nothing wrong. I believe anyone in position to become President has some corporations in his pocket and I do not agree with that a bit. AND that's only the tip of the iceberg as far as things done wrong...he's compromised with the Republicans way too much. His failure is not sticking to his guns (so to speak). And as far as failing to keep any of his promises... just do a search for Obama campaign promises and you'll find he's kept a few, compromised on a few too many and failed on a few others... pretty much like any other President... except maybe for George W who failed at everything he has ever done... well except for somehow duping the voting American public into re-electing him. I'm still curious how the collective memory of most (if not all conservatives) completely ignore... or maybe possibly just forgot... it was the past three or four presidential administrations... but especially George W. who created the gigantic amount of national debt we are dealing with right now. To say the US is crumbling due to Obama is not only an exaggeration but is misguided at best, but more like a total lie if you were to truly think things out logically... but I forget sometimes that's not a Republicans strong suit... and beyond possible for tea-partiers.

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OleSarge | Aug 08, 2011, 06:35 AM EDT

Is Obama a failed president? Without a doubt. Do not pity Obama, his failure is self inflected. Fail sorry for all those who answered his ego driven "Change we can believe in" call. they have been duped and defrauded.

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seanomelbourne | Aug 07, 2011, 06:58 PM EDT

Tea party rally last week 100 turned up to discuss the "teaparty credit downgrade"

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CarolMaske | Aug 07, 2011, 06:17 PM EDT

I do NOT think Obama failed - I think Congress failed and failed big! Yeah, Obama could have vetoed this budget mess, but then where would we be? If you want to point fingers, I think the "Tea Party" has raped the United States of America. And, it's time to get rid of them.

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OleSarge | Aug 06, 2011, 06:35 AM EDT

Obama is a weak and deplorable president. We deserve so much more than this untalented street organizer. He has been pampered his whole life and thinks he deserves it. He has done nothing, produced nothing and by a quirk of fate became president. And we the people of the United Sates suffer. But there is hope, we are waking up to the reality that Obama is an empty suit. One term and he's out!

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seanomelbourne | Aug 05, 2011, 08:35 PM EDT

The bigoted racist teahadist crawl out of the woodwork at the very mention of Obama. They haven't got a modicum of truth in their collective brains.

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casualMBA | Aug 05, 2011, 05:27 PM EDT

Hey, Roberts, I don’t think we talk about failed enough -- failed presidents, failed economies, failed initiatives, failed compromises, failed marriages, failed religions, failed life issues, failed reconciliation, failed Petri dishes, failed cloned sheep, failed robotics, failed apps, failed safety nets, failed heroes, failed structures, failed priests, failed hunger strikers – could we have some more of that, please?

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kateorourke | Aug 05, 2011, 04:39 PM EDT

He is a failed president by his own bad decisions. he should never have been voted into office, our country is in a mess because of his bad decision. Biden saved the day? Biden is an idiot, as is Pelosi.

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kaydog1 | Aug 05, 2011, 01:31 PM EDT

Is Barack Obama a "failed President"? I'm actually shocked a Leftist/Progressive would even ask such a question. Progressives tend to fall into two approaches re: Obama's "accomplishments": one camp (like RINEHARTS) will insist that he's doing a GREAT job, and that everything is absolutely FINE. (You can't find a Black man in Philadelphia who doesn't say he's the BEST PRESIDENT EVER!) The other camp acknowleges that 16% nationwide Black unemployment, $4.00/ gallon gasoline, annual 1.5 TRILLION dollar deficits, and no job growth are not actually GOOD things, but they insist it's all someone else's fault. Most blame Republicans, Racists, and "Haters", in general, but Obama himself seems most often to blame "rich folks" and George Bush. (I have NEVER had a job where I could get terrible results for 3 years and people would still defend me as it being my predecessor's fault.) I would be too humiliated to offer up such a defense for myself, but Brother Barack seems to suffer no such sense of embarrassment. As to actually ANSWERING the question, it all hinges on what you mean by the word "failed." Certainly, Barack has failed to keep any of his promises - to anyone. He's not "TRANSPARENT", not a "UNITER", not "TRANSFORMATIONAL", certainly not "POST-RACIAL." For his first 15 months he had control of House, Senate, Presidency, yet he did nothing for Gays, Illegals, Blacks, the Anti-War Movement, GITMO, etc. On the other hand, he HAS paid back his FINANCIAL supporters a thousandfold - Labor Unions, Insurance Companies, Bailout Banks, GM, AIG, Goldman Sacks, Corporate Shills, etc - they all LOVE the guy. So I guess his leval of success kind of depends on your point of view.

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