What a marvelous time it has been. Two years of listening to one of the greatest orators in U.S. political history state his case for becoming our 44th president. President Obama has proven to be not only a great orator but, even more than that, he may be a master illusionist. During the campaign, his many supporters, myself included, believed in his message and happily contemplated what America might become with such a visionary leader. But something seems to have happened on the way to that rebirth of America.
One good definition of an illusionist is: a conjurer or magician who creates illusions, as by sleight of hand. So, what we were watching was an act, a sleight of hand? His performances on our national and the world stage were masterful. He promised many things, he promised real change and doing away with business as usual. He was going to put lobbyists in their place, bring all Americans together, and do away with dissension in Congress. Healthcare would finally become a reality for every American.
Yes, a new America would be born under President Obama, the agent of change. But it just hasn't happened, not yet. To be objective on this supposition, let's judge his performance on four critical issues that cry out for real change.
Iraq War " Don't look for all American troops to be withdrawn by the end of 2011. There are emerging signs that 30,000 to 50,000 troops will remain in Iraq indefinitely. That should be no great surprise to most of us since the U.S. still has over 71,000 troops in Germany, 37,500 in Korea, 47,000 in Japan and multi-thousands spread all over the globe. Iraq will be just one more U.S. military outpost in the world.
How can Obama keep thousands of troops in Iraq when the SOFA (status of forces agreement with Iraq) calls for all troops to be totally out of Iraq by the end of 2011? That's easy to answer; I predict that agreement will be renegotiated before very long and I venture to say that it is being worked on right now. Anyone who thinks that this nation will just walk out of the center of the world's petroleum reserves, when in the years to come the entire world will experience massive problems with tighter supply and escalating costs of oil, needs to think more deeply.
Sure, Mr. Obama was against the Iraq war from the start. He did promise while campaigning that he would bring all our troops home. Will he make good on this solemn promise? The jury is still out.
Economic crisis, bailouts " what significant, real changes have come to America's financial system? President Obama and his two chief financial advisers, Lawrence Summers and Timothy Geithner, both formerly closely connected to Wall St, were instructed to devise an appropriate plan to combat the economic crisis that had descended upon our nation. What did they do?
Well, they funneled hundreds of billions of dollars of bailout funds into the coffers of the largest banking institutions; and did it with no real, concrete conditions attached. "Here's the money, take it and do what you think is best was the message. And what happened? Those bankers used the bailout funds, primarily, to rebuild their capital foundations when that money should have been used to help homeowners facing foreclosures and to extend badly needed credit to small businesses and to Americans in general.
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