July 10, 2009 3:01 PM
Unplugged: President Obama's "Honeymoon" Phase Over?
Posted by Stephanie Condon CBS News Link
President Obama's "honeymoon" period is over, David Rothkopf, a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment, told CBS News Chief Washington Correspondent Bob Schieffer on 'Washington Unplugged' Friday.
"He's had the benefit of good press coverage from around the world and... riding the crest of his election," Rothkopf said. "Now we're getting into the weeds of a lot of policy issues... issues that have bedeviled people for decades."
He said the leadership of Kim Jong Il in North Korea and the prolonged war in Afghanistan exemplify areas in which Mr. Obama's popularity is useless.
"Barack Obama might be a fresh breeze to Washington, but around the world that breeze blows pretty softly," Rothkopf said.
An end to Mr. Obama's "honeymoon phase" isn’t a bad thing, according to Rothkopf.
"This honeymoon is not really optimal from the perspective of the American people because the scrutiny needs to start from day one," he said.
What are your thoughts?
Quote:
"This honeymoon is not really optimal from the perspective of the American people because the scrutiny needs to start from day one," he said.
Oh! I missed this the first time around ..... so to all of you say that it's too early to judge, "read 'em and weep!" Now maybe we can start learning from the mistakes of the last 8 years .....
George W. Bush! Republican! War President! Cowboy! Terrorist's Worst Nightmare!
TYRANT!
"When the government has a knife to your throat and a hand in your wallet, it matters not whether it is the right or left hand."
The past eight years have been a roller-coaster to say the least. It was a time when America changed; an election questioned; an attack on our sovereignty; an emboldened people; a proud military; a slowing economy; a conspiracy showing through; a number of White House staff resign; the lowest approval rating for our Congress in history; questions unanswered; change needed; an angered people; a new beginning .....
But the beginning of what?
Oh! I could throw out the "S" word, but that would just reek havoc in the comments and people would loose sight of the point. President George W. Bush will likely go down in history as one of the worst Presidents ever. Sure he might have made some superficial decisions that made a portion of us happy, if even for a moment. Sure he had an unusual war to deal with, and assumabley dealt with it the best way he could (assumabley). But along with the sparse niceties that he brought came a calamity so intrusive that most Americans can't even see straight anymore.
If the last eight years are chalked up to a mistake, then it is not entirely Bush's fault. Oh yes, the Congress can be blamed - there is plenty of blame to go around. But lest you forget, this country was founded on the ability to govern ourselves; the ability to be responsible for one's actions and the ability to keep a necessary evil bound to the one and only mandate that is legal in this country, The Constitution of the United States. You see, my dear sisters in liberty, only part of the blame can be placed on the Congress and the Bush Administration, because although they should have read and understood the Constitution prior to entering office, it was We the People who voted them in. That's right! A large portion of the blame can be placed on the American people for sitting back with their media remotes firmly in one hand, lattes in the other, and their political blinders on. Sure we had a number of protests, but what good did they do? The protesters simply went home at the end of the day after the government doing nothing, and planned for the next ineffective protest. How can Congress buckle under the deafening noise of protester rally, when their is no deafening noise beyond all of the whining.
What was the mistake of the last eight years?
We the People voted a man in office, who said, "let me take the reigns from here ... I'm a cowboy, this is what I do ... you don't get more American than a cowboy." And we let him. We let our Congress pass pieces of legislation without reading them, we let the President have his way with our military based on his words, charisma, and charm.Oh you Democrats, don't sit their with your proud grins saying, "yay, stick it to the Republican!" No. You are also to blame. You thought whining was enough. You thought simply bitching and moaning and saying, "he's not my president," was good enough. You failed the party that Thomas Jefferson started!!! How dare you!
I am just as much to blame as anyone else here, I voted for the bastard! I, just like so many others who also voted for Bush, said, "well, I've done my civic duty, won't have to do that again for another four years," and we put our faith in Bush. Those who voted for Bush said, simply said, "our guy won, we trust him to do the right thing." And look at what he did.
This message is for ALL Americans; both Democrat and Republican, whether you voted for Obama or not. DO NOT repeat the mistakes of the last eight years! If we do, we likely find ourselves at a point where we will not be able to bring change peacefully. Wake up! If you didn't vote for Obama, then keep a close eye on what he and this Congress and administration do. If you voted for Obama, you have that much more reason to keep an eye on him, not to see if he will give you what he promised, but to see that he is not violating his Oath of Office to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States.
Do you know what is going on in Congress right now? Are you aware of the legislation being voted on that violates our liberties? You better make yourself aware. And if you see any one's liberties being violated - whether it affects you or not - then tell your Representatives to vote against it. Get Active! The worst thing we did was become inactive!
President George W. Bush will likely go down in history as one of the worst Presidents ever, but that doesn't mean that he is the last.
I think the problem Obama is having is that he promised too much and it impossible for him to deliver. He campaigned on this promise of "change" and transparency withinhis administration... what ever happened to his promise of posting every piece of legislation for 5 days before a vote would be taken? That hasn't happened and instead we have a Congress who doesn't even READ bills before they pass them.
He promised no taxes for the middle class... that's one he won't be able to keep... there's no way he can with all of the spending he and Congress have been doing and want to do... He made promises to the Gay community that he isn't keeping (He promised to get rid of Don't ask, Don't tell as soon as he got into office... that promise has been put on the back burner). I could go on and on...
Bottom line is he's making promises to everyone, even when those promises contradict each other and the public is starting to catch on...
Quoting Nana54:
Change that is what obama was all about, those who voted for him get ready, YOUR CHANGE it is coming and hell is coming with it!
1. Hell is coming regardless.
2. Obama has been held under a microscope since Election Day. Everyone is just WAITING for him to fail so they can say "I told you so".
3. We expect him/his administration to reverse 8+ years of regression in just 7 months.
4. I say give the guy a chance. It can't be much worse than before.
"She who has a thousand friends has not 1 friend to spare."
I think he'd doing a LOUSY job! He's already got our country in more debt than any other president in history! He clearly doesn't know what the heck he's doing. Why do you think he's appointing all these ridiculous czars? LOL
I may not know what my future holds, but, I do know
the One who holds my future ♥ JESUS
Quoting ladybug3803:
Quoting Nana54:
Change that is what obama was all about, those who voted for him get ready, YOUR CHANGE it is coming and hell is coming with it!
1. Hell is coming regardless. How do you figure?
2. Obama has been held under a microscope since Election Day. Everyone is just WAITING for him to fail so they can say "I told you so". He's the President, he should be under the microscope... being Pres doesn't allow you to not be held accountable with the public
3. We expect him/his administration to reverse 8+ years of regression in just 7 months. The last 2 years... things didn't start going down hill until the Dims got control of Congress 2 years ago...
4. I say give the guy a chance. It can't be much worse than before. Can't be worse? If you think it isn't worse, you haven't been paying close enough attention...
Obama was a horrible choice for this country. He only won because he recieved the ignorant vote. Tell an ignorant person that they will give them more money and jobs and what not and they would vote for you to. I guarantee that about 80% of the people have no idea WHY they voted for obama. Its pathetic. Obama thinks he is a movie star. I have yet to actually see him accomplish anything. The only time you see him is when he's wasting tax dollars to fly his wife all over the country. I can't wait for 2012 to see his ass gone... if we make it that long we will probably be bought out by another country or something because obama would of screwed us royally.
My Body My Choice
This country was in hella trouble back when Obama was just a senator. I do not agree with everything he's done. With what president will that happen? But because he came into office during this "economic downturn", everything he does (or his wife wears) is wrong or is picked apart.
"She who has a thousand friends has not 1 friend to spare."
Meet Kelseyciarah
This Virginia mom never wanted to get married or have kids - but now she's a happy a SAHM of two little ones!
Eight Year Old Girl Given "Catastrophe Award" By Teacher
Should P. Diddy's son return $54,000 college scholarship?
- Cafe GroupAdmin
on Jul. 12, 2009 at 12:00 AM