If you have read this blog for long, then you have seen me disagree with the president on some issues. That's because I am a progressive and the president is not -- he's a moderate. But don't misunderstand my criticisms of President Obama. I supported him in 2008 and I still support him. While I wish he had gone further in some areas (like health care reform and Wall Street reform), I don't want to denigrate the president's accomplishments. In fact, I think he's accomplished a lot, especially considering the massive Republican obstructionism that he has faced.
The folks over at Washington Monthly have been good enough to compile a list of President Obama's 50 greatest accomplishments. I urge you to go to their site and read their discussion of these 50 accomplishments, but for your edification I will simply list them here. You may not agree with everything the president has done (I don't either), but he certainly can't be called a "do nothing" president.
1. Passed Health Care Reform
2. Passed the Stimulus
3. Passed Wall Street Reform
4. Ended the War in Iraq
5. Began Drawdown of War in Afghanistan
6. Eliminated Osama bin laden
7. Turned Around U.S. Auto Industry
8. Recapitalized Banks
9. Repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
10. Toppled Moammar Gaddafi
11. Told Mubarak to Go
12. Reversed Bush Torture Policies
13. Improved America’s Image Abroad
14. Kicked Banks Out of Federal Student Loan Program, Expanded Pell Grant Spending
15. Created Race to the Top
16. Boosted Fuel Efficiency Standards
17. Coordinated International Response to Financial Crisis
18. Passed Mini Stimuli
19. Began Asia “Pivot”
20. Increased Support for Veterans
21. Tightened Sanctions on Iran
22. Created Conditions to Begin Closing Dirtiest Power Plants
23. Passed Credit Card Reforms
24. Eliminated Catch-22 in Pay Equality Laws
25. Protected Two Liberal Seats on the U.S. Supreme Court
26. Improved Food Safety System
27. Achieved New START Treaty
28. Expanded National Service
29. Expanded Wilderness and Watershed Protection
30. Gave the FDA Power to Regulate Tobacco
31. Pushed Federal Agencies to Be Green Leaders
32. Passed Fair Sentencing Act
33. Trimmed and Reoriented Missile Defense
34. Began Post-Post-9/11 Military Builddown
35. Let Space Shuttle Die and Killed Planned Moon Mission
36. Invested Heavily in Renewable Technology
37. Crafting Next-Generation School Tests
38. Cracked Down on Bad For-Profit Colleges
39. Improved School Nutrition
40. Expanded Hate Crimes Protections
41. Avoided Scandal
42. Brokered Agreement for Speedy Compensation to Victims of Gulf Oil Spill
43. Created Recovery.gov
44. Pushed Broadband Coverage
45. Expanded Health Coverage for Children
46. Recognized the Dangers of Carbon Dioxide
47. Expanded Stem Cell Research
48. Provided Payment to Wronged Minority Farmers
49. Helped South Sudan Declare Independence
50. Killed the F-22
I have a tough time with President Obama.
ReplyDeleteI want to like him.
I probably will not be able to bring myself to vote for him.
But I'm in Texas, so that doesn't really matter anyway.
Exactly. You can vote for the man in the moon if you want. I used to live in Texas and always voted 3rd party because it didn't matter. Now I live in California and the situation is the same but opposite!
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