Obama so far

[paisleychick]

I haven't really commented much on American politics since Obama was sworn in. I find it a little early to pass final judgment - he's not even had 100 days yet, but there are some definite pluses and minuses and I'm sure I'm going to miss a lot, but here's my take so far. Overall I'm pretty positive, but there are some major things that give me

Comments

Re: good list!

[plymouth]

Also, (+) Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. I know this was mostly a done deal by congress so he didn't have to do anything besides sign... but could you see McCain signing that?

I was gonna say the same (-).

[catachthonian]

On the minus side, I think there may have been some executive power issues, esp. relating to detaining people, where Obama's lawyers haven't backed off from the Bush position. I'm sadly hazy on the details right now.

I imagine you know about the Obameter:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/

[apostle_of_eris]

My own list is less happy:

⇓  He blew it on the economy. Ten trillion dollars to the bankers who made the mess, leaving not enough for real remedial action; all run by some of the guys who made the mess in the first place.

⇓  Maintaining the Imperial Presidency. He's conserving the preposterous powers claimed by the Bushies.

⇓  Premature surrender on health care. Only single-payer can fix the mess, and it's "off the table" before the wrangling begins. Total win for the insurance companies.

⇓  Dishonesty about the War on (Some People Who Use Some) Drugs, the testing ground for further annulment of the Constitution, a major enforcement of racism, a trillion-dollar sink into the prison-industrial "law enforcement" complex, destabilizer of important allies like Columbia and Mexico, etc.

◊  Foreign relations look like they're getting sane, but

◊  It's still not clear that he understands that what Afghanistan needs is reconstruction and stability.