Under Carter no American soldier fired a shot at any human being. For that alone he's better than all the presidents that came after him.
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Under Carter no American soldier fired a shot at any human being. For that alone he's better than all the presidents that came after him.
I think that too much was expected of Obama in 2008, it is profoundly difficult to enter office with so much hope for change when the system itself is not designed to work that way. Guantanamo being a prime example of system failure. That said, it seems trite to say there have been successes and failures, so to condemn Obama as 'the worst' since any other President is meaningless unless there is an agreed checklist of what constitutes success and failure.
It also means that for political reasons, some Americans may believe that providing Affordable Health Care is in the long term a major advance for most people; or it is a scam; or a good idea poorly executed. It must be a good thing that the US does not appear to send 'special forces' into Latin American countries to support military governments and dictators; it must be a good thing to be adult about Cuba -if anything, it is the Cubans who are more worried about change than the Americans-; I think most Americans believe that the reality of social change means that gay marriage is really not that big a deal, and was long overdue; but I do wonder what Americans think of the law enforcement services, the war on drugs, and the apparently impossible task of reducing the volume of firearms that people think they need to own. And when it comes to the Middle East, and in spite of the fact that Carter brokered the Treaty between Egypt and Israel in 1979 (somebody tell Marc Rubio) and Clinton muscled in on the treaty between Israel and the PLO in 1993, one wonders if the US is doomed to fail in the region?
This article by Emma Sky presents a damning picture of the Obama administration's exit from Iraq, in which haste and poor decision making is seen as paving the way for the current crisis. None of the key players -Obama and Mrs Clinton specifically- emerge from this without blame. And the drones are still flying. Winners and losers indeed.
http://www.politico.com/magazine/sto...l#.VS3LUpMTalc
Saw refreshing, thought that would mean not on vacation or a golf course
Operation Eagle Claw.Quote:
Originally Posted by trish
Bumped....
in honor of prospero
Does this mean, after Clinton's 'prayer breakfasts', George W Bush's apocalyptic visions, and Amazing Grace that the US Presidency is now Christian in all but name?
Well the Reagans dabbled in Tarot...not sure if that's compatible with Christian principles or not...but yeah, it would take one Amazing (presidential) Race to put a professed non-Christian in the White House.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stavros
A self-proclaimed atheist in the White House - that would be Heaven
It's amazing how far away from this we are (at least I think). A few years ago I was talking to someone in a fairly liberal city. We got to talking about religion and I told him I'm an atheist. He paused and said, "that's so strange, you seem like such a nice person." I told him I think I am, that I still have a moral code and believe I can tell right from wrong.Quote:
Originally Posted by martin48
He didn't say it stridently or angrily either. He said it as though he was puzzled that someone could be an atheist and not (insert description..I don't know what he expected an atheist to be). It was a big wake up call because in my own head I couldn't imagine it was a big deal that I don't believe in God.