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writing for godot

Six Reasons to Stand By Barack Obama

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Written by Thomas Magstadt   
Saturday, 22 November 2014 02:02
Face it, Barack Obama is not cut from the same cloth as the Roosevelts. Teddy, a Republican, broke the stranglehold of the Robber Barons on the US economy. FDR, a Democrat, embraced Big Business when the nation faced a two-front war against two murderous adversaries armed to the teeth and bent on world domination.

Teddy was not perfect. As an unabashed imperialist, he was not always a good man (Google the Balangiga massacre, for example). But he was a great man – arguably, one of our greatest president. He had the moral fiber and political courage to take on the titans of corporate capitalism and, in so doing, restore a measure of decency/sanity/fairness to America's business and banking systems.

FDR steadied a panicked nation reeling from the twin shocks of a stock market crash and the Great Depression, then sucked into the vortex of the Second World War. Together, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt changed the country for the next half century. The legacy of these two great leaders lasted until the Reagan Revolution began the Great Unraveling in the 1980s.

By all accounts, Obama does not have the kind of fighting spirit we associate with the three Roosevelts. Nor has he displayed the consistency of policy and purpose they embodied. He has been too slow to recognize that moderation in the face of extremism is a losing strategy; that compromise is impossible when the other side is only interested in obstruction; and that the fences surrounding the White House not only protect but also isolate him from the people.

Obama has reportedly made little effort to counteract the politically debilitating effects of that isolation. His missteps and policy lapses both at home and abroad are a consequence of the narrowness of his inner circle and the height of the walls he has allowed (encouraged?) them to build around him.

But considering the alternatives, he's still the best thing a deeply corrupt Washington has to offer. Here are half a dozen reasons to back Obama in the last two years of his presidency:

1. Health care: the ACA is not the comprehensive national health care system we need, but it's at least a step in the right direction;

2. Climate change: the recent bilateral pact between the US and China is not going to save the planet, but it's a welcome move on the part of the world's two biggest polluters;

3. Net neutrality: President Obama has declared himself unequivocally in favor of it. NPR blog: "The dissonance between Obama and Wheeler has the makings of a major policy fight affecting multibillion-dollar industries. The president wants clear rules to prevent Internet service providers from auctioning the fastest speeds to the highest bidders, a scenario that could favor rich Web firms over start-ups. Wheeler, a former lobbyist for the cable and telecommunications industry, has floated proposals…". Enough said?

4. Immigration: The White House has tried in vain to find a reasonable and humane solution acceptable to House and Senate Republicans. Now, according to the New York Times: "President Obama will ignore angry protests from Republicans and announce as soon as next week a broad overhaul of the nation’s immigration enforcement system that will protect up to five million unauthorized immigrants from the threat of deportation and provide many of them with work permits…" Bravo!

5. Judicial appointments: Possibly the most significant change Obama has made in the service of a fair society is to appoint some two hundred and eighty new federal judges, "…which represents about a third of the federal judiciary." Besides naming two women to the Supreme Court, "fifty-three [judges] were named to the circuit courts of appeals, two hundred and twenty-three to the district courts, and two to the Court of International Trade. When Obama took office, Republican appointees controlled ten of the thirteen circuit courts of appeals; Democratic appointees now constitute a majority in nine circuits. Because federal judges have life tenure, nearly all of Obama’s judges will continue serving well after he leaves office."

6. Avenging the victims of 9/11: Let's not forget that it was on Obama's watch – not George W. Bush's – that Osama bin Laden was killed and reportedly deep-sixed.

There's another reason not to abandon this president – it's something every honest person knows to be true, but no one in public life dares mention. It's what was behind the disgraceful questioning of Obama's citizenship – who can forget it? And the scurrilous hints that he was a secret Muslim – after all, with a middle name like that! And the determined effort to pin the "socialist" label on everything he touches. You know about his father, right? Never around. Born in Kenya. Married how many times?

Despite a concerted, often vicious, Republican campaign to oppose, obstruct, discredit, blame, and belittle this president, Obama garnered nearly 5 million more votes than Mitt Romney in 2012. That makes him a two-time winner in our nation's biggest popularity contest. Guess where Congress ranks in opinion polls? (Hint: Somewhat higher than cockroaches and whooping cough.)

We can pretend that racism has nothing to do with the refusal of Republican leaders, Fox NEWS, and the conservative commentariat to treat this president with respect. But we all know the truth.

Note: This article originated as a "Talking Points" column at nationofchange.org.
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