President Obama can thank Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton for his growing popularity

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
Yeah. For real. Once you look past the Republican hyperbole and rhetoric, he hasn't been that bad of a President. In fact he's actually been a pretty good one. I rate him around a B- or a B as far as Presidents go. He certainly should get props for turning our economy around. That # was a disaster when Bush left office. Plus, listening to him talk, he really sounds like a down to earth dude.

You rate him higher than I do. I don't think he was a disaster, mostly he was ineffective because he couldn't overcome the Congressional bickering. For that I give him a C. If a leader can't get anyone to follow them, they're just not worthy to be a leader.

originally posted by: nobunaga
home values down 12%

please give me one thing that obama has done that has improved the life of any american

From your list, that's one good thing. Home prices cannot continue to rise, that's how homes become unaffordable, the idea of a home being an investment that appreciates is one of the most flawed ideas we have in the country. In this case they went down 12% while income fell from 55 to 50 which is pretty close to 12%. Homes became slightly more affordable under his term.

originally posted by: Aazadan

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
Yeah. For real. Once you look past the Republican hyperbole and rhetoric, he hasn't been that bad of a President. In fact he's actually been a pretty good one. I rate him around a B- or a B as far as Presidents go. He certainly should get props for turning our economy around. That # was a disaster when Bush left office. Plus, listening to him talk, he really sounds like a down to earth dude.

You rate him higher than I do. I don't think he was a disaster, mostly he was ineffective because he couldn't overcome the Congressional bickering. For that I give him a C. If a leader can't get anyone to follow them, they're just not worthy to be a leader.

You can't really blame Obama for Congress being petulant children and throwing temper tantrums. Here came to Congress constantly to offer compromises for his positions. His ultimate compromise was trying to get an agreeable Obamacare, but the Republicans still didn't vote for it. Sure there are things he could have done better there, but Congress is mostly to blame for not working with Obama. Not the other way around.

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
You can't really blame Obama for Congress being petulant children and throwing temper tantrums. Here came to Congress constantly to offer compromises for his positions. His ultimate compromise was trying to get an agreeable Obamacare, but the Republicans still didn't vote for it. Sure there are things he could have done better there, but Congress is mostly to blame for not working with Obama. Not the other way around.

I blame him mainly because I'm not convinced there was ever a time where Congress didn't act like children. Our better leaders have been able to overcome it.

With the ACA, Obama just got duped. He thought he worked a compromise and didn't see how it was going to be used as a tool for division during his entire administration. Largely because he was mostly a political novice at that time (or as much a novice as you can be to become President). He got a lot better in sidestepping those sorts of traps over time.

originally posted by: Aazadan
I blame him mainly because I'm not convinced there was ever a time where Congress didn't act like children. Our better leaders have been able to overcome it.

Well like I said, there are things he could have done better and I'm not letting him off the hook for this either. But keep in mind that many historical political experts agree with this as well. Congress, and politics in general, hasn't been this divided in a VERY long time. Navigating the traps Obama had to navigate would be more on par with a pre-Civil War President trying to navigate Congress and get them to work for them.

With the ACA, Obama just got duped. He thought he worked a compromise and didn't see how it was going to be used as a tool for division during his entire administration. Largely because he was mostly a political novice at that time (or as much a novice as you can be to become President). He got a lot better in sidestepping those sorts of traps over time.

This is a well reasoned breakdown of what happened there and I agree. The Republicans certainly DID take advantage of Obama's inexperience when it came to Obamacare.

I find this irrational.. Obama hasn't gotten any better. He's the same gay Muslim warlord he's always been.

I don't like Trump. I can see him as less likable/popular than Obama.

That won't stop me from voting for Trump.

*shrug*

originally posted by: Aazadan
With the ACA, Obama just got duped. He thought he worked a compromise and didn't see how it was going to be used as a tool for division during his entire administration. Largely because he was mostly a political novice at that time (or as much a novice as you can be to become President). He got a lot better in sidestepping those sorts of traps over time.

Got duped.

riiiiight

Political novice.

riiiiight

*wink wink*

originally posted by: Teikiatsu
Got duped.

riiiiight

Political novice.

riiiiight

*wink wink*

Let me explain. Obama had plenty of political experience due to the state legislature. The problem is that all of his experience was in what was effectively a 1 party system. It was all Democrat control, and even in the primaries he was never dealing with a party that was running their own counter goals, it was all about making the strongest possible party. There were no true adversaries. Obama's first experience with that happened with the ACA and he really screwed it up.