Dear President Obama,

You seem to be getting some heat right now for all of the things you have done wrong, haven't done yet, or haven't done quickly enough. So, i'd like to just give a quick Thank-You for everything that you & your administration HAVE done since 01/21/09 that I know would not have been done if things had gone differently on 11/04/08. A quick THANKS for the following:

* Starting to close down GITMO
* Allowing Caskets to be photographed when the return from Iraq with family approval
* Working on getting us the heck out of IRAQ by next year
* Not having us embroiled in a new war with Bomb-Bomb-Bomb-Bomb-Bombing Iran or N. Korea
* Filling the SCOTUS seat with Sotomayor instead of a 6th Right Wing Justice
* Having the guts to attempt to fix the financial welfare of our country without giving more tax cuts to the wealthy & corporations
* Not drilling in ANWAR as a knee jerk reaction
* Pushing like heck to actually get a new Healthcare plan for this country
* Getting Partner Benefits for GLBT Government Employees
* Getting Netanyahu to accepted a two state solution
* Inspiring the youth of Iran to revolutionize their own Government (still pending),
* Hezbollah lost in Lebanon,
* Getting France to rejoin NATO,
* Getting Russia to agree to cut nuclear weapons
* Lifting the ban on Stem Cell Research
* Banning Torture / Waterboarding
* Protecting Wilderness Areas
* Actually "talking" with dictators he doesn't like (Chavez) to negotiate
* High Speed Rail Plan
* Lily-Ledbetter Act,
* Supporting clean and alternative energy sources,
* Assisting the Auto companies, and keeping thousands of Union employees employed
* Increased funding for sciences and education
* Struck fear into Pirates Everywhere
* Created a foreclosure prevention fund for homeowners
* Established a credit card "bill of rights"
* Opened the White House as "The People's House" with Jazz Nights, Poetry Readings, etc.
* Expanded loan programs for small businesses
* Extended and index the 2007 Alternative Minimum Tax patch
* Expanded eligibility for State Children's Health Insurance Fund (SCHIP)
* Expanded funding to train primary care providers and public health practitioners
* Gave a speech at a major Islamic forum in the first 100 days of his administration
* Granted Americans unrestricted rights to visit family and send money to Cuba
* Restored funding for the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne/JAG) program
* Released presidential records
* Required new hires to sign a form affirming their hiring was not due to political affiliation or contributions
* Pushed for enactment of Matthew Shepard Act, which expands hate crime law to include sexual orientation and other factors
* Created a White House Office on Urban Policy.
* Increased funding for the NEA
* Appointed an assistant to the president for science and technology policy
* Funded a major expansion of AmeriCorps
* Banned lobbyist gifts to executive employees
* Investment in all types of alternative energy
* Enacted tax credit for consumers for plug-in hybrid cars
* Provided grants to encourage energy-efficient building codes
* Extended unemployment insurance benefits and temporarily suspend taxes on these benefits
* Appointed more than 60 openly LGBT persons to positions in the executive branch
* Got his daughters a puppy & an awesome new swingset!


If you can do all of this (and much more that i've forgotten, i'm sure) in under 5 months.. I can only imagine what you will be able to do in the next 7 years, 7 months.

DU Friends - please post all other POSITIVE Obama initiatives below that i've forgotton... there are enough negative threads going right now - we can keep this one positive, right?

*** Edited to add a slew of great additions from many great DUers Posts Below ***

I took a stroll through DU circa July, 2004 after Obama gave his speech at the Democratic National Convention. Many of us were impressed... and saw him as the future of our party. But, not many dared to even hope that he'd be president so quickly. Here are a few threads that I thought were pretty fun... enjoy!

THE OPTIMISTS


These threads are all from 07/27 & 07/28 2004:

OBAMA FOR PRES IN 2020
.... "he can be Edwards VP from 2012 - 2020"

OBAMA!!!!!!!!
.... "Edwards/Obama in 2012"
.... "Ladies & Gentlemen, the first AA president" (gauguin57.. congrats & good call!!)
.... "Folks, we just met our future president"
.... "Didn't go far enough on the war.. disappointing" (concern trolls were alive & well in 2004 as well

OBAMA Getting Interviewed on PBS right now
.... I wonder if there was a poll posted right afterwards "Will this guy be a future president"

OBAMA = Future President of the United States
.... "OK, Reality Check.. he gives a great speech, but let's see what he's like after 4 years in the senate first"
.... "Disagre.. he's a good speaker from a teleprompter, but IMO is to detached. Not in the same leauge as Jesse Jackson" (Well.. technically that's true.. definitely not in the same leauge as Jesse anymore.. )
.... "Even Chris Mathews said tonight that Obama will be our first Black President" (So THAT'S when Tweety fell in love.. LOL)

No Doubt in my mind now... President Obama IS the future
.... But, I REALLY like Elliot Spitzer as well.. he pisses off the repugs and they hate him



THE PESSIMISTS

And THESE are the threads from 11/03/04... who knew we'd come so far, so fast, eh?

Our Hope in '08 lies with ONE PERSON: Barack Obama
.... "Absolutely NO WAY, They will pounce on his lack of experience. He's not on deck at least until 2012"
.... "Obama can't do it.. our only choice is Edwards. But, who as VP.. Obama, or cross over and get McCain"... Ahhh the forsight THERE is hysterical... LMAO!
.... "You're living in a dream world"
.... "You're kidding, right?" Not even a 4 year senator.. oh, and did I mention that he's BLACK"
.... "As an Illinois voter who voted for him, HELL NO! 2 years experience in a post 09/11 world.. I don't think so"
.... "Not a good choice... we can only win with a White Guy"

POLL: Would a black president win in '08 (ie Obama)
.... 5% said yes, 78% said no, 6% said not sure
.... No Chance in Hell
.... He won't run in '08.. perpaps '12 or '20

What about this... Barack Obama in '08?
.... If the war is going on.. he'll be hammered on Inexperience, he'd be another Edwards
.... The south won't vote anyone from the north - how do you think they'd vote for a black guy?
.... If this country can't elect a gun toting vietnam vet, I fail to see how we're going to vote for a black man 4 years from now
....

Run Obama in 2008 or the Party can go to hell!
.... Welcome to HELL. You're delusional if you think he'd pick up a SINGLE RED STATE (Can we do retroactive DUZY'S?????)
.... What do you call a party that relies on new voters? Losers! (Ohh we were so pessimistic in 11/04!)
.... Being reckless & absurd isn't the answer
.... A black guy? What are you smoking? Might as well run an athetist or a gay person. Hell, I doubt a woman could win either.

Barack Obama will NOT be on a presidential ticket in 2008!
.... I'm getting really sick of these posts saying that Obama should run in 2008.. it's rediculous.
.... I agree.. let him get some experience, he's not superman!

Okay, Enough with the Obama '08 Stuff!
.... He's 41.. he could run in 2024 (hahahaha.. he'll be out of office for 8 years by then!)

I actually posted this back on Oct. 10th, but now that the election is over.. I think it's pretty spot on.

Here was the original post: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discu...


To explain my point, let's start with democrats. Back in February, 2008 we had 2 candidates remaining with nearly identical views, but opposite approaches to achieve those views. They looked opposite (black male vs. white female) and they had very different backgrounds. But, at the end of the day - their political view of this country is so similar that part of the reason that the primary got so ugly was because the only way to differentiate between the two was in style - not substance.

Although the democratic primary seemed rough (and it was!) it was easy for us to gel back together.. because most people care more about the destination then the vehicle they take to get there. We're now riding along in the Obama car.. but most would have been fine with the Hillary SUV as well.

Now let's look at the REPUBLICANS:

The Republicans are going to have a much bigger problem. They have two very different sets of ideals - and i'm not sure if many in the party even realize it. There are SOCIAL Conservatives, and FISCAL Conservatives.. and the two sides are increasingly becoming more at odds with each other (and then there are the Neocons as well). They will co-habitate if it helps them get a republican elected.. but frankly that only works if both sides are getting what they want. In George W. Bush - the Social Conservatives got everything they wanted.. and the Fiscal conservatives got fucked. Of the 30% who still support GWB, 99% of them are Social conservatives. Almost none of them are Fiscal.

Additionally, the likelihood of them winning the '08 election is quickly fading (they DIDN'T!!). If they don't win (and they won't) - they are going to have to blame someone or something. The media will be fun for a while.. but eventually they're going to realize that the same media was in place when George won 2 elections.. so maybe they need to look at something else. And THAT is when they're going to start pointing the finger at each other.

Fiscal Conservatives are going to point at Sarah Palin (Happening TODAY ON FOX ALREADY). She's a total idiot, and completely incompetent, they will say. She got nailed with an ETHICS violation for God's sake! Ohh, and how "fiscally conservative" is she, if she had no problem asking for that Bridge to Nowhere before she got caught and said "Thanks but no Thanks". They're going to paint her as a bible-thumping check writer.. just like her predecessor - George W. Bush (the least popular president in modern history). Additionally, Fiscal conservatives tend to be on the higher end of the IQ (and earnings)scale. Many are in the banking & finance or doctor / lawyer sectors, and they appreciate a quality Ivy League education. They've stood by and watched their base call the Ivy League Democrats like Obama "Elite", but secretly they are hoping for a candidate of their own who has Harvard, Yale or Stamford someplace on their resume, and actually has the brain power to back it up (unlike Bush who got in on Daddy's good name). Because of this, they will want to see a Mitt Romney or someone similar (fiscally) nominated.

Social Conservatives are going to point that finger right back at the Fiscal ones. They're going to say that Sarah was their savior, and McCain would have lost by a much LARGER margin then if she wasn't on the ticket. The "Fiscal" conservatives are responsible for the horrible recession that we're currently in (along with the democrats of course) because they're the ones who kept pushing the "deregulation" memo, watched and applauded the wall-street greed, and reaped the rewards from it. Many social conservatives are on the lower end of the IQ (and earnings) scale, and do not like their "rich" conservative cousins much better then the snobby, elite & well educated democrats. Fiscal conservatives are always calling for smaller government with less influence - and how can they possibly push through their social agenda if everything is left up to the states? They need to be able to get SCOTUS judges on the bench who will happily turn over Roe v. Wade, and ensure that a constitutional amendment is added to protect the sanctity of marriage. This must be mandated EVERYWHERE.. not just the red states. To Social Conservatives, it does them no good if the people in Utah can run to California to have a quickie abortion and then drive through to get a gay marriage (ironically, I don't think those two activities happen in conjunction with each other very often)!! Because of this, they will want to see a Sarah Palin or Mike Huckabee nominated (with the new addition of Prop 8 getting passed, Social Con's are going to think they're even MORE right.. the country isn't as liberal as people say it is).

THIS is going to make it much more difficult for the two sides to come together. They no longer have the same philosophical views. They never really did, but in Reagan and Bush 1, they were able to kid themselves, and force the two sides together into an awkward but functioning relationship.

George W. Bush and Sarah Palin have ruined the ho-hum conservative marriage, and Obama is going to be like Child Support & Alimony all wrapped in one. It's time to pay up!

The question is what do they do to transform and build up again? How do they regain power after Rove is to old to care and his policies and tactics to outdated to keep up with the internet age?

Discuss: