Obama macht einen guten Job

   [Le Soleil, Canada]

 

 

Der Standard, Austria

Regardless of Criticism, Obama is Doing Fine

 

"Amid the cadences of disappointment expressed in excruciating detail, these days the unfortunate man in the Oval Office no longer seems able to get anything right … And in spite of all that: Barack Obama is doing a good job."

 

By Christoph Prantner

 

Translated By Stephanie Martin

 

January 19, 2010

 

Austria - Der Standard - Original Article (German)

Under the gun and weakened by the loss of Senator Ted Kennedy's old senate seat in Massachusetts, President Obama talks jobs and the economy, Jan. 8.

 

BBC NEWS VIDEO: Obama one year on, Jan. 19, 00:02:43RealVideo

A sort of Obama-bashing festival is being celebrated on the first anniversary of the American president’s inauguration: He's allegedly plagued by declining polls, hasn't kept his promises, has disappointed his supporters, and is too soft on dangerous potentates and the superpower's emerging global competitors. Amid the cadences of disappointment expressed in excruciating detail, these days the unfortunate man in the Oval Office no longer seems able to get anything right. Dissatisfaction, unfair judgment and the kind of malice only bona fide overachievers can expect is all Obama can be sure of. All sense of proportion appears lost.  

 

And in spite of all that: Barack Obama is doing a good job.

 

A year ago when he took charge of the economic crisis, things reached a climax. There were rampant fears of a major depression and the sense of doom was spreading. Meanwhile, the situation has somewhat stabilized. Obama, who was able to wring an $800 billion stimulus package out of Congress, can take some of the credit for this. In addition, the United States again has all of its international policy options open. In terms of the miserable political and economic situation he U.S. found itself in, Obama has done a lot.

Posted by WORLDMEETS.US

 

Those who have absolutely no recollection of the period before Obama might want to review recent television images in which alongside Obama, a smirking George W. Bush appears in the White House Rose Garden as a Haiti relief worker. We’ve experienced both and there is no comparison.  That can be the only conclusion drawn from such a review.

 

President Obama discusses his first year in office with ABC News

host George Stephanopoulos.

[CLICK HERE OR CLICK PHOTO TO WATCH]

 

That doesn’t mean Obama hasn't made mistakes last year. The one Obama's critics complain about the least is probably the fact that the cool-headed president, in his emphasis on pragmatism and the new realism with which he governs, seems to have forgotten politics. With his assumption of office, it almost seems as if the brilliant campaigner has lost touch with the people. The New York Times diagnosed that between April and June 2009, the polls show that Barack Obama and the administration that reflects his views lost their connection to the voice of the people - or seen in a more charitable light - wanted to lose it.     

Posted by WORLDMEETS.US

 

In the first twelve months of his presidency, Obama also had to tackle some unpopular things. Health reform as well as the troop surge in Afghanistan, among others issues, were a hard-sell even for someone like Obama. Added to that is the “enthusiasm gap,” i.e. the major disillusionment with which any president would likely have to struggle. That’s partly why the Democrats got themselves into such a fine mess in the Massachusetts Senate election.

 

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In addition to Obama-bashing, historical comparisons of presidents are a much-enjoyed discipline in Washington these days. Such a comparison shows that according to the polls, only Ronald Reagan fared worse than Obama after his first year in office. Yet in 1984, the Californian won reelection by a wide margin. Nothing speaks against the same thing happening in Obama’s case. For the final tally of the Obama presidency will not be made after a year in office, but only in 2012.

 

CLICK HERE FOR GERMAN VERSION

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[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US January 21, 6:11pm]

 

 

 

 







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