OppResearch

Obama’s Performance – First 100 days

So far Obama’s performance has been good. Initially there were some missteps on the economy front but he quickly took ownership of the economic turmoil and his team acted quickly and took bold steps in trying to fix the economy and psyche of the nation. The challenges facing the current administrations are plenty and enormous. There are wars going on in Iraq and Afganisthan which are straining the armed forces and our economy, Pakistan is becoming another breeding ground for terrorists and turning out to be a bigger threat than Afghanistan and Iraq, economy is in turmoil, America is up to its eyeball in debt, Climate change is impacting the whole world,  America is loosing edge in science and technology, Iran and North Korea are making advancements in military technology and flexing muscles, Consumer confidence is at rock bottom and last but not the least Swine Flu outbreak could turn into an epidemic. So far Obama has been tackling most of the challenges head on. The following are the Pros and Cons of the first 100 days of performance.

Pros

Direction of the Country: The most important aspect of this presidency in the first 100 days has been to change the perception of the people regarding the direction the country is headed and infusing confidence in the government. The percentage of people feeling that country is heading in right direction has increased from 40% in February to 48% in April as per AP Poll. This is a tremendous achievement especially since prior to his presidency the mood was full of doom and gloom. Obama was able to translate the change and optimism promised in his campaign into action. When we are talking of direction it encompasses all the aspects of presidency: world leadership, economy, fight against terrorism, ideals of democracy, respect and prestige in world community and last but not the least investment in alternative energy and green initiatives.

Engaging the world: America had been isolated in the world stage due to unilateral policies of the prior administration. After 911 America had the sympathy and goodwill of the whole world in its favor but it was squandered away recklessly. Terrorism is the biggest threat facing mankind and it needs collective effort to eradicate all forms of terrorism. “United we stand, Divided we fall” is an age old phrase that has advocated the basic concept that unless the people are united, it is easy to destroy them. This is a counter to the maxim divide and rule ( policy of the British Raj). All those who have read history are well aware of this basic concept that in order to fight external or internal threats people have to be united. Terrorism is a threat not just for America but for the whole world as well. America had been playing into the hands of terrorists by using unilateral approach. Terrorists had been thoroughly relishing the fact that the whole world was divided with regards to the approach to fight terrorism. Obama in direct contrast to the prior administration seems to be willing to talk to everybody other than the terrorists. This approach is the right way to isolate the terrorists.

Economy: It seems Obama and his team faltered earlier on but then quickly came to grip with  the situation. Initially they were too focused on blaming the prior administration rather then taking ownership of the situation. Also in doing so they were talking down the economy and were negatively impacting the psyche of the investors. It is probable that the subsequent sharp decline in the stock market  was direct ressult of their skirting the ownership and talking down the economy. Also initially there was not enough clarity on the steps taken by the treasury secretary Timothy Giethner. The market has since then recovered those losses and there is a sense of optimism. The consumer confidence is up, the unemployment rate is in retreat, there is some clarity in relation to stress tests conducted on the banks and probably lot of uncertainty is behind us. Can we attribute all the positive events to Obama? Not sure on this one. It is possible that the economy has just gone through its normal cycle and all the actions of the prior administration and the fed reserve have enabled the economy to recover (or seem to recover) and Obama has been just in the right place at the right time. There was lot of fear and pessimism already accounted for in the market prior to Obama becoming the president.  Although it is not possible to ascertain that Obama and his administration is solely responsible for the change in mood but we have to give him high marks for the way he and his administration quickly came to grip with tremendous challenge and acted swiftly. The debt burden and continued spending of the country is another ugly story. I will leave it to the economic pundits to decide if the economy is headed in the right direction or not. Are we out of the woods? Time will tell.

Green Initiative: The global climate change is a significant threat to the existence of mankind. It is real and there has to be a strategy to deal with this threat. So far Obama has been delivering on its campaign promise for the green initiative. He has already halted or reversed many of the prior administrations rulings, his economic stimulus bill and budget are loaded with green initiatives. There is a boost in funding for alternative and renewable energy, tax break and credits for solar, wind and geothermal programs. There is a significant thrust towards Smart Grid and fuel efficiency and tax breaks for fossil fuels have been slashed. Unlike Bush, Obama has taken up leadership role in the green revolution at the world stage. There is lot of expectation from this administration in steering the world towards greener technology.

Cons

Alienating the Republicans: Obama had promised to bridge the gap between two parties and work hand in hand with the Republican party to resolve the complex problems facing the country. He has failed in that effort. Republicans feel totally alienated from this presidency. Obama has the opportunity to get the republicans on board while tackling the economic turmoil but the overtures made by him to the other side were half hearted. He lacked in diplomacy in dealing with the republicans and more effort should have been made in involving them in charting out the plan rather than trying to get them on board after the plan had laid out to tackle the economic issue. The concern of Republican party as regards to excessive spending by this administration is somewhat valid and all effort should have been made to involve them. He and his administration did not engage the republicans early on and the diplomatic effort were seriously lacking. One can not engage the opposition by looking down on them, the right way is to treat them as equals and setting a level playing field. He has failed to get the respect of republican party.

Iraq Quagmire: Probably the biggest mistake of Obama was to commit to a time line for Iraq withdrawal. It may have got him the presidency but could prove to be the biggest thorn. Obama was totally right in saying that this was the wrong war but the fact is we are now in Iraq and it is a lose lose situation. He like Bush has underestimated the complications of the situation. If we withdraw too soon we will create a vacuum which will be easily filled by the terrorists and if we stay too long we will create extreme animosity. It is an extremely complex situation and putting an artificial time line for withdrawal was a grave mistake. I predict he will not be able to keep that promise. If he is able to keep the promise and also improve the situation in Iraq then hats off to him. Again remember he has his plate full and with the emergence of Pakistan as another volatile area and a stronghold of terrorists the situation is getting even more complex.

Fight Against Terrorism: America can no way fight terrorism alone. Obama should push for a world coalition against terrorism either as part of UN or an independent charter. The coalition should treat any part of terrorism however small in any part of the world as a threat to the mankind. Also it is in best interest of every country to get rid of terrorism. A country sponsoring terrorism can easily become a target of the same terrorists. The most recent example is Pakistan. The terrorists which were being supported by some elements within Pakistan against India are now a threat to Pakistan’s existence. The war against terrorism has to be a global initiative in order to be successful. It is unfair to expect much in first 100 days but if the current administration follows a path similar to the prior administration then the failure is certain. Also it is not in interest of America to blow holes in the prior administration’s handling of terrorist prisoners and trying to hold the prior administration accountable in court. There is no point in looking back instead we should aggressively pursue the terrorists without sacrificing our ethics and values. We should put in the changes and fix what was wrong but not look back. We should not loose sight of our real enemy. It is time to bring the country together. So far we have not seen a strategy which screams success. Next hundred days will be important and we will have to wait and see.

Spending: The spending consists of 460 billion appropriations bill, 787 billion stimulus bill and 3.7 trillion budget. We are already upto our eyeballs in debt. How much more can we spend? Who is going to pay for this? Our grand kids? During the third presidential debate Bob Schieffer had asked both the candidates what programs they are willing to sacrifice in order to accomodate the current economic issue. Obama as usual went around the question and did not really answer the question and just reiterated all the programs he is going to implement inspite of the economic turmoil. He is doing the exact same thing. The speding plan of Obama is continuation of the policy of reckless spending by the prior administration. America is in desperate situation and continued spending is not the answer. This is going to come back and haunt the president.

Hype and high expecations: There was lot of hype around this presidency. The majority of the media outlets throughout the country had been hyping in favor of Obama ( only exception being Fox for obvious reasons). The situation is so bad that there is not a single media outlet which can be trusted to tell the news as it is. There is rampant corruption in media. All the positive news regarding Obama were featured during the campaign and all the negative news were conviniently ignored. The partiality was clearly evident in major media outlets like:CNN, NBC, CBS, Newsweek, Time etc. He was never asked tough questions. The only tough interview he ever faced was with Bill O Rielly at FOX which I think he performed well. He was given a free pass by the media. There was lot of hype regarding the change he was promising. There have been lots of promises. His team was able to exploit the frustration of the american people in channeling it towards the change they had been advocating. It all looks and sound good but the reality can be very different. The first thing Obama tried to do once he became the president was to bring down all those starry eyed teenagers to the ground. His speeches suddenly became sober compared to the lofty speeches he gave during the campagin. The foundation of this presidency has been optimism and change but the reality is not as rosy and change will not come easy. The high expecations of this presidency can prove to be a disadvantage for Obama. It is always easier to exceed expecations when the expecations are low but it is extremely difficult to meet the expectations when they are so high.

Related links:

http://earth2tech.com/2009/04/29/obamas-100-days-the-10-greenest-acts/

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/

Influence

The following snippet is from “The Prophet” by Khalil Gibran.  This sums it all.

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let our bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.

-The Prophet (Khalil Gibran)

Independent Minds

My interest in politics began with the 2000 elections. I had been closely following the 2000 elections and was extremely frustrated by how the whole thing played out. My candidate lost the election. I still remember that concession speech, one of the best speeches I had heard of my candidate. I remember I had recorded it from the TV. I was disheartened and unsure of the workings of American Politics.

Over the years my interest in politics has been centered around observing the intriguing political process in America and based on those observations I want to share my thoughts. The 2004 and 2008 elections also had a lasting  impact on my thinking. I have to admit that when I started following American Politics, my principles were more aligned with the democratic party, but over the years I realized I need not be boxed into a particular party. I do not need any party or media to decide for me what is right for me and my country. Yes I do need their input in the form of information, but that is all I need from them. I can take it from there onwards, dissecting that information, getting rid of the bias and overtures of forced influence and decide for myself  by only taking what is real and useful in that information.

I feel we have the power to transform the political arena by making the candidates cater to our needs and requirements rather than we being driven totally by them, in keeping with Lincoln’s  spirit of “government of the people, by the people, for the people”. I have decided to look at both sides of the coin, being attentive to opposing views, have an open mind and choose a candidate not based on party affiliations, media push, popular choice or superficial charisma. My choice will be based on critically examining the candidate’s ideas, observing his/her integrity and ethics, content of the character and last but not the least, how the candidate is going to improve the lives of people in America and the world ( Yes, what happens in America still impacts the whole world ).

It will be wrong on my part to say that I do not have bias or that independent voters are not biased. We all have our biases probably nurtured by our upbringing and the people we interact with. Yet it is possible to overcome some of your bias by critically examining opposing views. Independent voters have the power to unlock a well deserving candidate from being rooted in his/her party’s base, being totally aligned to his/her party and bring the candidate out of the shackles and get the best out of him/her.