Make America Normal Again

There was a three part tv series on Obama which demonstrated the degree of negotiation skills he needed to get anything done against a hostile Republican party. He wasn't perfect but he was a million times better than Trump. Which is why Trump hates him and has destroyed many of his achievements eg Medicare and the treaty with Iran.

Thank you BlessedArt.
Obama was 'blocked' and so could not initiate big change.
Trump controls both Houses.
There are no controls over him.

I didn’t have to be embarrassed to be American under Obama and didn’t have to explain the whys and wherefore of a Trump presidency while living abroad. Utter Bliss !!

👍

@MaizeD

I’m not sure you have a decent grasp on US domestic politics if you believe that wildly simplistic statement is accurate. A sitting president needs a cooperative congress. Unlike Trump, no other US President in recent history had bypassed and sidestepped Congress in the manner that Trump has with (illegal) executive orders. It wasn’t a done thing. I was there. Obama was blocked at every turn, and yet the American people still had lower unemployment and lower costs of living. If you are talking about what Obama did globally economically, well it was never his role to prop up the global economy in the first place.

Chocolatelovinggran

I don't know enough about the USA to comment on fiscal policy, but I do see both Mr Obama and Mr Biden as men of integrity, who were doing what they thought best for their fellow Americans. I do not feel that about the current President.

Obama and Biden and many others US leaders had global allies and they seemed to respect other peoples (somewhat) and all of nature -environmental and species. They didnt cause planetary chaos.

Chocolatelovinggran

I don't know enough about the USA to comment on fiscal policy, but I do see both Mr Obama and Mr Biden as men of integrity, who were doing what they thought best for their fellow Americans. I do not feel that about the current President.

Just that.
That's where our system where the leader is the person who commands a majority, is more effective.
Good compromise between the ultimate USA way where they choose representatives / senators & then they choose a leader (which can lead to the leader being toothless) and the Chinese way where they don't choose anyone, but the government can make necessary but unpopular decisions (yes , such things exist) and long-term decisions without being swayed by personal interest (Will I lose my job?)

Another handshake

Obama was a Harvard graduate, taught Constitutional Law at a University of Chicago and was a servant to the people (not himself).

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202604/medium-g0in5d-1000041353.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202604/medium-5231d8-1000041363.jpg

Then and now: handshakes.

A decent normal human being.... bring it on ....

Would those changes have had the votes to get them through?

I think that the fact that he did not subscribe to the way you would prefer countries to be managed economically does not mean that he actually failed though MaizeD.

‘The American economy experienced a significant, sustained recovery during the Obama administration (2009–2017), transitioning from the depths of the Great Recession to a period of stable growth, though the recovery was often described as slow or uneven. Obama inherited an economy losing roughly 700,000 jobs per month and oversaw a recovery that produced 75 consecutive months of job growth—the longest streak on record at the time—and lowered the unemployment rate from a 10% peak in 2009 to 4.7% by the time he left office. ‘
Wikipedia
+2 other sources

BlessedArt

MaizieD

I reiterate, Obama had no ideas about changing the direction of US economic policy, Biden did, had he been younger he could well have made it to a second term and done more for the disadvantaged.

Obama inherited an absolute economic disaster and dealt with an obstructionist Congress. Context matters. People are comparing apples to oranges and oversimplifying too much.

Inheriting the aftermath of the GFC was absolutely no excuse for not changing his economic policy. He had 2 terms, 8 years, in which to do it.

Are we just saying Obama was a good President because we , as Brits don't really know if he was or not? Yes on the surface he seemed great I for one thought as a US President he and the first Lady looked the part, but perhaps as MaizieD said the economy wasn't that good under him. I hate Trump and what he stands for which is very much money money money at any cost. I have always thought the American way of life is very monetary & success orientated. I wonder what the everyday person in America thinks of him are there pockets in each state of Trump supporters? Do they think the war with Iran is right? how is it affecting them on a day to day basis. I don't think the UK government should be getting involved in his foot stamping tbh but I am not up on the fined points of the politics of it all, we didn't like it when Blair got together with Bush did we why should this be different.

Maremia

Unless Obama had a majority in both Houses, he would have had great difficulty in making major changes.
Does anyone know his situation in this?
He did manage Obamacare, which seemed to be impressive.

Absolutely. I was still in the US at the time. It was shameful how Republicans did everything in their power to block so much of the good he was trying to accomplish, regardless of how beneficial it was to the majority of Americans. His presidency opened my eyes to how insidious the Republican agenda was.

MaizieD

I reiterate, Obama had no ideas about changing the direction of US economic policy, Biden did, had he been younger he could well have made it to a second term and done more for the disadvantaged.

Obama inherited an absolute economic disaster and dealt with an obstructionist Congress. Context matters. People are comparing apples to oranges and oversimplifying too much.

imaround

Random, and I know this is Glamour Magazine, but...

Our girls deserve better than this current world.

www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/these-feminist-books-risk-being-banned

Very worrying. I have read some (but not all) of the books on the banned list and the ones I have read are not subversive or harmful in my opinion.

I think this subject warrants a thread of its own.

Unless Obama had a majority in both Houses, he would have had great difficulty in making major changes.
Does anyone know his situation in this?
He did manage Obamacare, which seemed to be impressive.

Random, and I know this is Glamour Magazine, but...

Our girls deserve better than this current world.

www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/these-feminist-books-risk-being-banned

It will never be "normal" again. We have seen too much of each other now.

What our new normal will look for k like remains to be seen.

I wonder what will happen post Trump. Maybe , hopefully, things might return to normality so long as he doesn’t alter their constitution to favour his own family ( that is my fear)

MaizieD

Obama had sterling qualities but he didnothig for the US economy; just continued the disastrous neoliberal free market economy, as imposed by Reagan and subsequently followed by all presidents, Republican or Democrat. The inevitable consequences of this economic ideology is wealth concentration in the hands of the already wealthy, loss of jobs and industry as manufacturers transfer production to places where labour is cheaper, cheap imported goods are encouraged and growth in enequality.
Obama's inability to change economic direction just further nurtured the discontent which enabled Trump.
I actually think that Biden was the best of recent presidents when it came to improving the US economy for the disadvantaged, but his efforts were too little, too late. It's a shame he was too old and too frail to impress.

I agree with all of that.

I reiterate, Obama had no ideas about changing the direction of US economic policy, Biden did, had he been younger he could well have made it to a second term and done more for the disadvantaged.

Obama became president just as the 2008 global financial crash was hitting. This unlucky timing must have hampered a lot of the policies for good that he could have made.