Is too much being expected from Barack Obama?
Republican
Trickle down works with control and that hasn't manifested itself. Social manipulation hasn't worked due to the funding issue. If we cannot get across the board participation this country will fail. True economic reform comes from the sacrifice of the many....democrats and republicans alike. The government cannot solve all social ills and in fact creates most of them.
Posted by: zapperdudeYes, the President of the United States is not God.
The President of the United States should be, at best, an administrator. Presidential power has grown way past what the Constitution envisioned. President Obama (and, indeed, no President) should not be expected to solve all of our problems.
Posted by: 5h4bbyCorrYes, amazingly people are forgetting what a rotten mess he came into when he was elected.
Although people always expect great things from a new president, few in recent memory came into the office with such a load of problems to overcome. The economy was in terrible shape, the housing market was in crisis, jobs were disappearing, and somehow people think he can take care of all this right away. He got a health care bill passed that will help many people in this country, the last combat troops are out of Iraq, he's working hard, and not looking like a moron. Unfortunately he came into office following George W Bush, not Bill Clinton, and there is so much to overcome but people expect miracles.
Posted by: PinkMychHe can't change the rules by himself; he has to work with Congress.
Barack Obama expressed a lot of idealism in his campaign, and a lot of people agreed with his ideals and hoped that there would be an immediate change when he was elected. However, he can't change laws or make new laws without going through the proper process. Representatives from the House and Senate have to vote on everything, and sometimes it seems to take forever.
Posted by: N Schroeder 60I feel too much is being expected from President Obama.
President Obama made so many promises while campaigning that will never come to light. Health care for all Americans is the biggest crock I ever heard of. People need to wake up and understand that the President is unable to make policies on his own, it takes all branches of the government to pass bills and make laws. Obama is not living up to all the hype that was placed on him. All politicians make promises that they surely will never be able to keep. We all expect more from any President than they will ever be able to do for us.
Posted by: JasmynBIs too much being expected from Barack Obama?
Yes too much is expected from President Barack Obama. Previous President Bush was elected for two terms, a total of 8 years, and destroyed our economy. How can America expect President Obama to fix 8 years worth of problems in 4 years? He did not drag America into this problem, he stepped into office much like FDR, once the mess was already made. He has created many programs to try to fix the economy. Not every program will work. Not every program installed by FDRi n the 1930s worked. But there has been progress on part of President Obama. All of Americas problems can not be fixed overnight. Too much blame has been put on President Obama and far too much is expected of him.
Posted by: TrishaGI believe that too much is expected of every president, including Barack Obama.
I believe that our customs during presidential campaigns cause every president to have too much expected from them. It has become required for every presidential candidate to emphatically declare that they have the solution to every problem. A presidential contender who, during debates or campaigning, said, truthfully, that a problem was too complex to be understood, or too wide-ranging to be fixed by one man or one country would be hammered by his or her competitors, each proclaiming that he, or she, had the answer. So, it is always the case that person who wins the presidential election has previously promised that he had the plan, the solution, the answer, to every unsolvable issue. That, now, is Barack Obama's situation.
Posted by: KiPPConsPiracyYes, I agree that too much is expected of Obama, because he is expected to perform miracles with very little to work with.
Obama is doing the best anyone could expect of another person with what he has to work with. Nobody can heal eight years of damage left by someone else, especially someone with a sketchy personal agenda such as Bush had, in just a couple of years. It's safe to say this country will never fully recover from the fiasco that is the war on Iraq. Obama has not been given the support and time needed to accomplish much of anything.
Posted by: N3vinFaceYes, Obama inherited a country in shambles, it will take a long while to correct all the mistakes that have been made.
The country was in dire trouble financially and in the eyes of the rest of the world. It took 8 years to get to the point that it was in when Obama took office and will take a long time to be corrected. It is unrealistic to think that he can come in and fix everything. Perhaps just raising our status in the eyes of the rest of the world is a good first step which I think is being accomplished.
Posted by: 54IInfernoIt was impossible from the beginning for any man, including Barack Obama, to meet the overwhelming expectations set for the Obama presidency.
There was little chance that Barack Obama would meet his own expectations for his presidency, let alone those set by others. A rank newcomer to the broken political process in Washington, Obama had high hopes for curing society's ails too fast. Instead, with little personal experience to draw on, he took on key issues like the faltering economy, ending the Iraqi war, major health care reform, energy independence and immigration reform. He got a slow start on his own agenda, because of the disastrous economy he inherited, and his ability to deliver new reforms died when the House lost its democratic majority. The fact that the world expected too much of an untested Barack Obama showed vividly in the premature award of the Nobel Peace Prize. The mere fact that he wasn't George Bush was enough for the rest of the world. Perhaps it should have been enough for us, too.
Posted by: StandingGerald60Everyone expects him to fix everything instantaneously.
He is one man who is working very hard to try to fix the economy but the economy is in a very bad place. There is so much to fix and it isn't an easy job. Yet everyone is outraged that he doesn't have the whole economy situation fixed yet. I would like to see someone fix the economy in 4 years time. I believe cutting the taxes on the poor and slightly raising them on the rich will help the struggling middle class.
Posted by: AnonymousBarack Obama inherited a mess when he took office, and the nation's expectations are unrealistic.
When Obama took office, he had a failing economy to deal with and a war on several fronts. At the same time, as the first African-American President, he had many citizens expecting either a miracle, or a complete failure, during his tenure. He has been blamed for the economy in many venues, but, in actuality, the economy was failing before he took office, due to the actions of private business and his predecessors. Expecting one man to reverse and fix the mistakes of years, while having to fight for support within the government and the public, is unrealistic.
Posted by: ElfinDamien34I believe too much is being asked of Barack Obama in the form of expecting him to fix everything, and to do it now.
Barack Obama stepped into the presidency during one the worst economic collapses in this nations history. There's no easy fix for a situation like that, especially one that is beneficial for the majority of citizens. Now, add to that the out-cry for health reform, the outrage over military deployments (which is the cause of the previous president, in case anyone has forgotten), the highest unemployment rates ever seen, and Fortune 500 companies begging for your tax dollars to keep afloat, and he now has more problems to try to solve in four years than any of us will ever have in a lifetime. The Presidents job is not to put band-aids on amputations for a quick fix. His job is to thoroughly look at the problem, seek information from experts in every field, and then make decisions that will help or benefit the majority of American citizens. This takes time and careful thought.
Posted by: BrianDjYes, it is too much to expect a single leader, with however broad and competent a staff, to take responsibility for every dimension of American life.
I am very disappointed that our country in general is so demanding of its president -- be that President Obama or previous presidents. I am especially troubled that the country blames President Obama regarding the BP Gulf oil spill. He inherited a large group of intractable problems, particularly the wars abroad and both domestic and foreign financial problems. It is going to take a lot of cooperative effort to solve these problems, along with improving the health care system and addressing other issues, including immigration. Patience and mutual commitment, rather than bickering and selfishness, would be really helpful on both sides of the aisle.
Posted by: baltuteDue to the condition our country has been in for the past several years, I do believe that too much is being expected from Barack Obama.
Our country has faced many new challenges in addition to the issues which have been controversial for years. These issues include health care reform, big business industries and social services. In my opinion, Barack Obama has faced one of the toughest terms that any president in history has had to serve. Despite trying to amend our challenges overseas, he has also focused on the issues at hand, the issues which face Americans on an everyday basis. These are issues which can not be solved in one term of presidency.
Posted by: CortezMEven Obama expected too much of himself and the system
Just like all of the other people who voted yes said, the state of the country was on a sharp decline when he entered office. He at least managed to greatly slow the decline after he entered office. Obama thought he would do better because he mistakenly believed others in the system would help him. But with Republicans not compromising on policies that would be for the good of the country, because they went against their views, the state of the country continues to decline. One way he did vastly improve the country is that he improved how other countries view the united states. Overall he is a good president and it would be ridiculous if he did not get the chance of having another 4 years to improve the state of the country.
Posted by: Anonymous
Helping With Welfare
No, he has not really helped create jobs and puts people on welfare, giving them money to sit around and do nothing (some people do actually but others do not). Not just anyone should be on welfare. I think Mitt Romney should be president to lower taxes on the rich so that the money they spend can trickle down to the poor to create jobs and help them spend more money on other people's products.
Posted by: AnonymousPresident Obama
Of course he inherited a mess. Every president inherits the consequences of previous presidents. The only president who made significant changes that carried through to the next presidency was President Roosevelt and I believe he served 8 years. There was time to allow a “change” to evolve….and it was positive. I don’t believe we show vote on the methods of leadership. We should vote on the results of the leadership. It is simply a difference in how economics work. Does the basic formal of economics work in government? I would like to believe it does. Candidate Romney maintains that the government must (1) reduce spending, (2) take away the tax loop holes for the wealthy and reduce taxes for the middle class. This makes more sense than Obama’s plan to simply increase the tax rate for the wealthy. I believe that all Americans need to remember that it is the “wealthy” who contribute sizeable amounts of money to charities (yes, I know it is tax deductible, but does it matter, considering who benefits from the giving?), who contribute huge money to start up enterprises. This is very important to the poor and struggling people of this country. Because Steve Jobs made (a well-earned) huge income does not entitle me to be given some of his income. No, it does not. And I would also like to say, God bless this country whose government allows this type of free speech without negative consequences. What a great country!!
Posted by: hello1purpleWho's expecting what of him?
I don't think any large segment of the population holds ridiculously high expectations from Barack Obama, for instance I don't hear anyone clamoring that he create world peace or fix the economy to 0% employment and no debt, but Obama's bombed many expectations he himself set, as well as other modest expectations that people hold, such as "not increasing the debt by a massive amount". Additionally, liberals are constantly trying to play up Bush's role in the current climate, and play down Obama's role, so I would say that, with the possible exception of a few extremists, too much is not being expected from Obama.
Posted by: AlwaysMoreThanYouNo, I got approximately what I expected.
Lets see, he has destroyed our health care system. he has his boot on the neck of our moribund economy. Look at the diasaster in the gulf, between Obama and his Corporate contributers at BP, the people of the gulf will suffer for years to come. Add to this a hostile and nuclear armed North Korea and a hostile and soon to be nuclear armed Iran, no worries?
Terrorist trials in NYC, Afganistan falling in the toilet, Iraq is on the cusp of revolution, but the hungry kids act is now law, yeah.Posted by: AnonymousI saw all of this coming.
People say Bush ruined this country but that is not true, no one looks who is behind the scenes running the show. Its congress that needs to be blamed for the issues that Obama has to "deal with". He made so many promises about getting us out of the war and look at where he is headed now, right into Lybia to start another one. I realize that these things take time but to be a complete hypocrite of your own policies just makes you look like a two-faced moron. I do believe that he did not know what he was getting into and once he got there he realized that all of his promises to make things better quickly turned into false hopes for the American people.
Posted by: AnonymousBeing the President comes with great responsibility and expectations, no matter who is in the role.
I don't think too much is being expected of Barack Obama. He is a politician who promised great change and yet many things are slow moving. People are getting impatient and that is why his moves are being scrutinized. The situation with the oil spill depicts him as emotionless and too careful. He knew the responsibilities of the job and what would be expected of him so he must not understand that people expect a lot from him. He can rise to the challenge or make excuses; those are his only two choices really.
Posted by: D35GeneralHe is a man that should have known what he was getting into.
I would just like to say one thing on this.... Was President Obama truthfully born in the United States? Or was he born in Kenya?
Posted by: AnonymousHe's been the President for four years
Obama has been the President for four years now and his time is now up. Barack Obama gave himself overwhelming expectations for the Presidency and has broken those promises. He said that in his first term, he would cut the deficit in half -- obviously that has not happened.
He stated that the stimulus package would keep the unemployment rate down below 7% -- it has been over 8% for a record period of time (note, the real unemployment rate is actually over 10%!).
President Obama: Your Time is Up.Posted by: MicrosuckPresident Obama promised so much, and he has delivered so little.
President Obama was very vague on what he was promising, other than hope and change, but he did make grand promises on what to expect. He actually promised that this would be when the Earth would start to heal itself and the rising oceans would start to turn. He has delivered almost nothing, and things are worse now than when he took office. Everything he seems to touch seems to be worse now than it used to be.
Posted by: ddeathnoteToo much is not being expected from Barack Obama, because he is our president, and we have every right to expect him to be a proper leader.
I just do not understand everyone's allowance for weakness with Barack Obama. He is our President and he is expected to be our leader. There is so much that goes along with this, and he knew it coming into this. There should be a lot expected of him, and then some more. He knew what state our economy was in, what our standing on the international front was, and what would be expected of him, and it is his responsibility to follow through.
Posted by: eyeslikethatAbsolutely not.
He is the President. For now. He is expected to fulfill the duties of the President and no one has asked him to do anything more. Unfortunately, he hasn't lived up to his duties. Lots of Presidents inherited "messes". Some made tem better in the time that they had. Some, like Obama, made them worse. It's not that he has been asked to do more than he should, it's that he isn't equipped to do the task he signed up for.
Posted by: DAC