In 2008 I voted for Obama. I didn’t really believe the “Hope and Change” (aka Unicorns and Rainbows) but it was nice to hope for a change anyway. And at the time the alternative included Sarah Palin so there wasn’t much of a choice.
Now in 2012 I find that I am disappointed in Obama as president. He doesn’t seem to stand for anything since Obamacare. Here are a few examples.
The Promises
Every candidate promises things that they don’t follow through once elected. Some are minor, some are not. The ones that stick with me are closing Gitmo and ending the wars. But you say he ended the Iraq war! Not really. It was over before he took office and they pretty much followed the schedule they had under Bush. And yes, the troops mostly left but they were replaced by about 15,000 mercenaries (“security contractors” like Blackwater).
The NDAA:
If you don’t know about this let the ACLU summarize:
On December 31, 2011, President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), codifying indefinite military detention without charge or trial into law for the first time in American history. The NDAA’s dangerous detention provisions would authorize the president — and all future presidents — to order the military to pick up and indefinitely imprison people captured anywhere in the world, far from any battlefield.
To me a president will stand up for what he believes and hopefully look out for the American people. Obama didn’t do either. Here is what Obama said at the time:
The fact that I support this bill as a whole does not mean I agree with everything in it. In particular, I have signed this bill despite having serious reservations with certain provisions that regulate the detention, interrogation, and prosecution of suspected terrorists.
Keystone Pipeline
The idea is to build some big pipeline bring oil from Canada to refineries in Louisiana. Republicans tend to favor it (jobs, cheap gas, drill baby drill!) while democrats are concerned about the environmental impact. The State Department has to approve it since it crosses national boundaries. Very simple: approve or deny, right? What does Obama do? Delay the decision for six months. When the time for a decision comes, yup, let’s put off the decision for another year (after the elections).
Libya
There are a lot of conspiracy theories about how it was set up and Obama was watching live video while it happened. I don’t really buy into it (they had live audio but the video was only recovered later apparently). When it it happened Obama and the State Department was very vocal in denying it was terrorism on the anniversary of 9/11. He was very clearly linking it to a youtube video with some saying he was apologizing for the first amendment in the US. His response or lack of a response just looks weak to the world and Middle East in particular.
And what is with Hilary standing up and taking the heat for it? Obama should have stood up and taken responsibility himself. Letting Hilary do it makes him look even weaker.