Nice analysis, except for this part: > Ultimately, it is economic freedom, minimal government intervention, and > greater individual liberty that can put America back on its feet, rather than > endless bailouts, higher taxes and suffocating government regulation, all > hallmarks of the Obama experiment. Ultimately, the world needs a powerful > United States that is a beacon of hope to the world, rather than a basket > case of failed liberal policies. >
Last I checked, it was failed conservative policies that got us into this mess in the first place. Yeah, yeah, I know in a perfect libertarian free market bankers would never abuse the public trust by reckless investments or pay politicians to screw their competitors. Tell it to Teddy Roosevelt... -- Ernie P. On Oct 18, 2011, at 12:43 PM, [email protected] wrote: > > > > > > London Telegraph > Barack Obama’s disastrous first 1,000 days > > By Nile Gardiner World Last updated: October 18th, 2011 > > If recent polls are any indication, it is doubtful that President Obama will > enjoy another 1,000 days in the White House. And looking at his track record > over the course of his first 33 months in office, it is not hard to see why. > It is hard to think of a presidency in modern times that has done more to > damage the United States both at home and abroad than the current one, with > the possible exception of Jimmy Carter’s. Like his Democratic predecessor in > the 1970’s, Barack Obama has left the world’s dominant superpower on its > knees, with faith in US leadership now being questioned across the globe. > > Since taking office in January 2009, President Obama has ushered in a period > of relentless economic decline for the United States. His administration has > added $4.2 trillion to the national debt (now standing at $14.9 trillion), > lost 2.2 million jobs, introduced a vastly expensive health-care albatross, > and spent nearly $800 billion on a failed stimulus package. At the same time, > house prices across the country have tumbled at an unprecedented rate, > consumer confidence has plummeted, and millions more Americans are now > dependent upon food stamps. International confidence in the US economy has > fallen to its lowest levels in decades, with credit agency Standard and > Poor’s downgrading of America’s AAA credit rating for the first time in 70 > years in August this year. As I noted in a piece at the time: > > Since President Obama took office in January 2009, the United States has > embarked on the most ambitious failed experiment in Washington meddling in US > history. Huge increases in government spending, massive federal bailouts, > growing regulations on businesses, thinly veiled protectionism, and the > launch of a vastly expensive and deeply unpopular health care reform plan, > have all combined to instill fear and uncertainty in the markets. > > Is it any wonder that just 17 percent of Americans now believe the country is > moving in the right direction, according to RealClear Politics? Or that 81 > percent of Americans “are dissatisfied with the way the country is being > governed”, according to Gallup? As a series of major Gallup polls have shown, > public disillusionment with the federal government has now reached an > all-time high, with 69 percent of Americans now saying “they have little or > no confidence in the legislative branch of government”, with 46 percent > believing “the federal government has become so large and powerful that it > poses an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens.” > > And President Obama’s record on the world stage has also been poor. Despite > two high-profile successes in taking out al-Qaeda leaders Osama bin Laden and > more recently Anwar al-Awlaki (both upon the foundations of President Bush’s > war on terror), US foreign policy under Obama has been a confusing mess. The > shameless appeasement of Iran has allowed the rogue state to advance > perilously close to nuclear weapons capability, while the naïve “reset” > approach towards Russia has only encouraged a more aggressive and assertive > Moscow. At the same time, traditional alliances with Great Britain and Israel > have been downgraded, and key allies in eastern and central Europe thrown > under the bus to feed the Russian bear. While America’s defences have grown > weaker, China’s military might has grown significantly stronger, as have the > offensive capabilities of hostile regimes in both Asia and Latin America, > including Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela. > > As Barack Obama approaches the remaining 14 months of his presidency, there > is a distinct air of US decline. It is of course a state of decline that can > be reversed with the right policies and leadership in place. There is nothing > inevitable about the demise of the United States, but its renewal must rest > upon a dramatic reversal of the most Left-wing agenda of any American > presidency since 1979. As Gallup’s polling has emphatically demonstrated, > Americans are overwhelmingly rejecting the Big Government agenda of the Obama > presidency, which has spectacularly failed to create jobs, generate wealth, > and instill economic confidence. > > The biggest failure of this administration, and there have been many, has > been its central belief that government knows best, and that the way to > prosperity is to spend ever greater amounts of taxpayers’ money on the backs > of hard-working Americans. As a result, the United States is a nation on a > precipice, facing towering debts and the threat of a double dip recession at > a time when 14 million Americans are already out of work. Ultimately, it is > economic freedom, minimal government intervention, and greater individual > liberty that can put America back on its feet, rather than endless bailouts, > higher taxes and suffocating government regulation, all hallmarks of the > Obama experiment. Ultimately, the world needs a powerful United States that > is a beacon of hope to the world, rather than a basket case of failed liberal > policies. > > > -- > Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community > <[email protected]> > Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism > Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
