Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I don't see any real leadership qualities in him either. He seems more of an intellectual better suited to a life of academia than to the job of being the leader of a country.
Throughout humanity, there have been many natural-born leaders, as well as people who have grown to become effective leaders. With the Presidency, the learning curve is mighty steep for sure, but after more than two years in office, is it safe to concur that Barack Obama is niether a natural-born leader nor a person who has grown into the true definition of a leader?
To me, President Obama is a failed experiment. I'd be more than happy to give him credit if there were elements of his Presidency that convinced me that a true leader was at the helm. I personally have not seen anything that would give me that impression.
What say you?
Yes, he is not a leader. Even his supporters have given up on that hope.
He has stood by healthcare reform, and he was elected largely on that platform. People wanted wider access to healthcare, and that is going to happen.
The problem with the Right is that they think anyone who can't afford healthcare doesn't deserve it. That's not a particularly kind position to take, particularly for the Christians who make up a huge percentage of the Right.
As for the "War on terror", I think Obama deserves an A+. How many high-profile terrorist attacks have been thwarted on his watch by the federal government? The Xmas tree bomber in Portland was stopped by an FBI sting. This was a direct result of better coordination among the CIA, Homeland Security and the FBI, which Obama supported. And nailing bin Laden was pretty decent, no?
He ordered air strikes on Libya to prevent a massacre in Benghazi. That's a leadership move, period. It was unpopular, but he did it because it was right. Leadership.
The economy is the one area where you'd argue he has failed, but then again, no president has ever been able to turn the economy around by fiat. TARP and the stimulus were needed to save the banking system and prevent unemployment from topping 12% -- this is a view widely held by qualified economists. Obama put the stimulus through, and it was unpopular. Leaders do the unpopular thing if they think it will help the country.
Obama is an excellent leader, and the people largely give him credit for that. Think about it: Under what circumstances would any president have a 50% approval rating while the unemployment rate is over 10%?? I can't think of one since FDR, particularly in the modern TV age where leaders are beat to death, 24/7.
Although I don't agree with you...this is a good post.
I would hardly classify Barack Obama as having "led" the healthcare reform movement. Barack Obama was actually Missing In Action throughout much of the debate. He steadfastly let Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi dictate the conversation. One could argue that the President has no place in the crafting of legislation, but I disagree with that assertion as well. Lyndon B. Johnson was relentless in his pursuit of the Great Society, often spending MANY hours in Congressional offices making deals to get what he wanted. I recently read an article the other day in which one of the first sentences was "President Obama made a rare visit to the Russell Senate Office Building today...." RARE? Why is it RARE? A good leader leader would be intimiately involved in the legislative process, just as LBJ was, if he really wanted to have a say in the outcome. Barack Obama was no such thing during the yearlong healthcare debate.
I would classify Obama's actions on the "War On Terror" (terminology that he banned as soon as he was elected) as being tough decisions that come with the job, not leadership. He had no choice in the matter, really. Afterall, he campaigned that Afghan was the "good war."
Libya is in no way, shape, or form an exercise in leadership. Obama explicitly waited for Arab support before making a decision, and after that tiptoed so as to not look like a warmonger.
One may be able to attribute a little bit of leadership to the creation of the Stimulus, although we know the results were underwhelming. The act of pushing the policy may warrant a little bit of credit, even if a person disagrees with the overall premise.
its tough to even make an effort to engage the OP when he already has an agenda.
the OP is also a republican anyways, so its just the typical partisan rhetoric.
Believe it or not, I can see past my own personal politics when assessing whether this President merits a "true leader" designation. The real question is....can you look past your own personal politics to do the same? So far, only a couple of response have justified why they disagree with me. Why do you disagree with me? Tell me why you believe he's a true leader? Who would you compare him to?
Ask any liberal what America should be, and he'll chew your ear off. Ask him what's wrong with America, and he'll offer you a reading list. But ask him what America is-- besides a massive social service center or a collection of war crimes and corporations, and he'll have no real answers and just go to the liberal handbook and deflect as usual.
Some people have the vocabulary to sum up things in a way you can understand them. This quote came from the Czech Republic. Someone over there has it figured out. We have a lot of work to do.
"The danger to America is not Barack Obama but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the Presidency. It will be far easier to limit and undo the follies of an Obama presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to a depraved electorate willing to have such a man for their president. The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails America . Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince. The Republic can survive a Barack Obama, who is, after all, merely a fool. It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who made him their president."
His Character and his Policies have dictated his fate
not even the 'MISGUIDED' liberals like being lied to.
Yes, I do expect to be taken seriously. If you re-read, I also said "What say you?" at the end of the post....which indicates your opportunity for rebuttal.
Your response is just one in a long line of people who obviously don't believe the President is a good leader. Because if you did, you'd provide all kinds of examples of why he meets your "true leadership" litmus test. I've yet to see a single example of what poster's on this thread consider to be "true leadership" from this President.
It seems that you agree with me, and that frustrates you to no end.
If you expect to be taken seriously, then don't come on here posting "objective" things like, "Can we all agree that all objective people would agree with my opinions?"... It's ridiculous.
As for providing examples - I notice, interestingly enough, that you didn't provide any examples relating to your "litmus test" before making the statement that you expect us all to agree on. Hmmm. But I'll probably humor you later - I have to actually do some work now.
Although I don't agree with you...this is a good post.
I would hardly classify Barack Obama as having "led" the healthcare reform movement. Barack Obama was actually Missing In Action throughout much of the debate. He steadfastly let Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi dictate the conversation. One could argue that the President has no place in the crafting of legislation, but I disagree with that assertion as well. Lyndon B. Johnson was relentless in his pursuit of the Great Society, often spending MANY hours in Congressional offices making deals to get what he wanted.
LBJ also made plenty of compromises along the way. And what makes you think obama didn't spend hours in congressional offices attempting to get his health care plan pushed through? I'd argue he led the way on this in a manner that no other modern president could. Democrats have been attempting to pass broad healthcare reform for 60 years, and he's the first president to get it done. If that's not leadership, what is?
Quote:
I recently read an article the other day in which one of the first sentences was "President Obama made a rare visit to the Russell Senate Office Building today...." RARE? Why is it RARE? A good leader leader would be intimiately involved in the legislative process, just as LBJ was, if he really wanted to have a say in the outcome. Barack Obama was no such thing during the yearlong healthcare debate.
The VP is the president of the Senate. The president doesn't necessarily have any reason to visit the Senate office building. He's an executive, not a legislator. If he spent a great deal of time in the Senate office building, a lot of people would criticize him for being the "Senator in Chief" and not the commander.
What he HAS done is represent the U.S. admirably all over the globe. The U.S. has a more favorable view in the eyes of the international community than it did under GW Bush. I don't see how anyone could argue against that point. And that's precisely because Obama talks to the international community with some measure of humility befitting a diplomat.
Quote:
I would classify Obama's actions on the "War On Terror" (terminology that he banned as soon as he was elected) as being tough decisions that come with the job, not leadership. He had no choice in the matter, really. Afterall, he campaigned that Afghan was the "good war."
So even though he "makes tough decisions that come with the job of being president" he's "not a leader"? This sounds like a knee-jerk rationalization from someone who has an allergy to giving credit to Obama for anything. Taking the lead on international military missions is leading. Carter was decried as a poor leader for his handling of the Iran hostage situation. Obama has faced crises similar to that and come out with an A+ in every instance: killing bin Laden, stopping Gaddhafi, saving the captain from Somali pirates, etc.
But he gets no credit for this? Because it's his job?
Again, all of this criticism comes from one place: Frustration over the economy. But people who let their rage over the economy fuel their hatred of a president rarely take the time to understand how cyclical and complex our economic system is. Our economy's downfall has been in the work through decades of irresponsible consumption and greed. It even came to a head during Bush's waning presidency, but the turd sandwich gets placed on Obama's doorstep. That's a head-scratcher to say the least.
Quote:
Libya is in no way, shape, or form an exercise in leadership. Obama explicitly waited for Arab support before making a decision, and after that tiptoed so as to not look like a warmonger.
During his candidacy he said he would obtain international support and use diplomacy over brute, unilateral force at every turn. He has fulfilled this promise, and you declare this a lack of leadership? LMAO! Just admit you're unwilling to give the mand credit for anything. You're intellectually dishonest here.
Quote:
One may be able to attribute a little bit of leadership to the creation of the Stimulus, although we know the results were underwhelming. The act of pushing the policy may warrant a little bit of credit, even if a person disagrees with the overall premise.
How do we know that? Forecasters said the unemployment level couldn've hit 15% if not for the stimulus. And barely half of the stimulus money has even been spent! Honestly, you would do well to educate yourself about the actual timeline and impact of Obama's policies before declaring them failures.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It's ridiculous.
