Obama appeared to be a hit at G-20. I not saying this makes a good president or justifies him being elected (that is TBD) . . . Im just saying it is so nice to see the president of the United States get the kind of praise and respect Obama got in London. What a change . . . LONDON — Maybe it should have been called the O-20. Just over two months into his presidency, Barack Obama commanded center stage at this high-wattage gathering of the world’s industrialized nations, vacuuming up attention both inside the summit and throughout a sophisticated city not easily star-struck. ********* After the press conference, a beaming Swiss reporter turned to an American colleague “Your president is just so impressive,” she said. “Is he always so relaxed and open?” Earlier a Moscow TV crew had come around to the American section of the press file center asking if reporters would go on camera to discuss Obama. But it wasn’t just reporters swooning. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, leader of the world’s largest democracy, used part of his one-on-one session with Obama to ask for an autograph on behalf of his daughter (or so he said). Nor was the adulation limited to the president. An afternoon visit to an all-girls high school by Michelle Obama prompted shrieks, cheers and even tears among the students. “Michelle Is Mint Green Queen of Fashion” read one Daily Telegraph headline over a story showing three pictures of the first lady Throughout London, locals strained to catch a glimpse at the hottest new American import. http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20823
Man, I wish we could go back to having a president that would massage the German prime minister, swear, wink at the queen, garble speeches and have to sneak in and out of countries for fear of riots. The best leaders are always douches.
Man, I wish we could have a President that would do what he felt was right rather than what he felt was popular. The best leaders are always ones with backbone.
How do you know what Obama feels is right? You've said (over and over) that you can't figure out what motivates him or what he plans to do. Maybe he is doing what he feels is right, but it just doesn't happen to agree with what you feel is right. Can a person both have backbone and not agree with you?
First of all, the president is the elected representative of the people. This isn't a dictatorship. Popular opinion carries some weight in the equation. Second of all, if you think everything Obama is doing is popular, you haven't been paying attention. -Pop
I find the original post refreshing. Because a person was rational. What a relief. I did not vote for Obama because I disagreed with him on too many issues. He's done some things I like and some things I vehemently disagree with him on. But I believe in judging him on what he really does and says. The hate spewing, a symptom of which if the 5 or so new threads a day excoriating Obama, has nothing to do with reality. Those are people who hated Obama before he was even nominated, much less elected or inaugurated. Those are the people who famously "hope he fails". Their attacks have little or nothing to do with reality. Like all the bullshit rumors that were circulated during the campaign. They don't concern themselves with facts or issues, they hate him. Period. They call him a liar but can't point to an actual lie. They call him a traitor based on disagreeing with him. They are outraged because Bush was divinely chosen, they were promised a permanent conservative majority, and now some skinny black guy with a Muslim middle name has the gall to get his ass elected! We can laugh, but when wingnuts talk about buying guns to fight the president, when a US Congresswoman says she's in enemy territory, I do get concerned. Political violence is not unknown in this country. And throw in the disease of racism, like the shit post copied and pasted about the "ice cream cone" and it's a lethal blend. The simple fact is, Obama could succeed beyond his and anyone else's wildest dreams and those people would still hate him. If in 4 years the economy is booming, the deficit cut in half, Iraq and Afghanistan wars come to peaceful resolution, Al Qaeda gone, health and education funded, environment starting to be fixed, greater equality, US respected worldwide, Israel and its neighbors coming to a compromise, those people will still post 5 threads a day about their hate for Obama, because it is not rationally based.
You know what I wish? I wish you could actually bring up a subject and discuss it if you have problems with it, rather than making generic charges against our president with no meat on the bone. So what did he do that was "popular"? I would go so far as to say that many of his economic bailout changes he made, were not so popular, so in fact, you are full of crap. Obama is charismatic. That is exactly what we need right now, because the world isn't going to get through this with only the USA pulling it's weight.
I don't dislike Obama in the least. That said, I was up at 4AM (usually am) and on C-SPAN the other day they had a live press conference with Obama and Gordon Brown. Brown spoke first and it was quite obvious he is not a big fan of Obama. I particularly liked his bit about how FDR's policies failed for 15 years and that we don't want to go down that road again - a direct swipe at Obama administration policies or policy ideas. Turns out Obama had Brown as a guest earlier (last month) and outright insulted him and the British people in general. If you want examples of these insults, one would be that Brown brought Obama gifts that are rare items and quite thoughtful/appropriate. Obama gave Brown a bunch of DVDs from the $5/each bin. On top of that Obama apparently had a statue/bust of Churchill sent to the British embassy because he didn't want it in the White House. It's fine that he wants to decorate the WH to his liking, but they do take things that the current resident doesn't want and store them in case the next one wants them. Churchill was one of Britain's greatest leaders/heroes, and it is a clear insult to have sent the thing back like he did. It is good to know that a country with 1.3B people and is one of the biggest beneficiaries of our outsourcing has a leader that knows which cheeks to kiss.
I can't believe I bothered to look this story up, but I did. Seems that the bust was on loan (from Blair to Bush, a bit of 9/11 symbolism). So returning it was in fact the right thing to do - taking something someone loaned you and putting it in your storeroom for eight years doesn't make a lot of sense. I doubt anyone was insulted except those that were looking for excuses to be insulted. barfo
I know, isn't it terrible - we have an articulate, intelligent, thoughtful president whom the world admires, who strives to live up to the ideals of the country (see, respecting the 4th Amendment, enforcing and not suppressing the Freedom of Information Act, for starters) who is building alliances and counfounding enemies. What a mess he is!!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...ton-Churchill-on-its-way-back-to-Britain.html Barack Obama sends bust of Winston Churchill on its way back to Britain Barack Obama has sent Sir Winston Churchill packing and pulse rates soaring among anxious British diplomats. A bust of the former prime minister once voted the greatest Briton in history, which was loaned to George W Bush from the Government's art collection after the September 11 attacks, has now been formally handed back. The bronze by Sir Jacob Epstein, worth hundreds of thousands of pounds if it were ever sold on the open market, enjoyed pride of place in the Oval Office during President Bush's tenure. But when British officials offered to let Mr Obama to hang onto the bust for a further four years, the White House said: "Thanks, but no thanks." Diplomats were at first reluctant to discuss the whereabouts of the Churchill bronze, after its ejection from the seat of American power. But the British Embassy in Washington has now confirmed that it sits in the palatial residence of ambassador Sir Nigel Sheinwald, just down the road from Vice President Joe Biden's official residence. It is not clear whether the ambassador plans to keep it in Washington or send it back to London. American politicians have made quoting Churchill, whose mother was American, something of an art form, but not Mr Obama, who prefers to cite the words and works of his hero Abraham Lincoln. Indeed a bust of Mr Lincoln now sits in the Oval Office where Epstein's Churchill once ruled the roost. Churchill has less happy connotations for Mr Obama than those American politicians who celebrate his wartime leadership. It was during Churchill's second premiership that Britain suppressed Kenya's Mau Mau rebellion. Among Kenyans allegedly tortured by the colonial regime included one Hussein Onyango Obama, the President's grandfather.
That's all well and good. We're going to need strong alliances to support us with this insane debt that he is destroying our country's future with.
He's a rhetorical mess when he isn't reading off of a teleprompter. It's Bush with some "uhhhs" added.
Have you actually listened to any of his press conferences? He's incredibly articulate off the cuff. Did you watch any debates last year? Careful of those talking points - they are not always accurate!
It cracks me up when people talk about how smart President Obama is. Compared to Bill Clinton, he's swimming at the shallow end of the pool. And don't confuse eloquence with intelligence. He stopped debating Senator Clinton after Pennsylvania because the likes of Charles Gibson and George Stephanopolous embarrassed him.
