Obama named 15th best president by 238 Presidential Scholars

[QUOTE="Engrish_Major"][QUOTE="aransom"]

If they put FDR above Lincoln and Obama above Reagan, they're just a bunch of liberal hacks.

aransom

1. Ordered all federal agencies to undertake a study and make recommendations for ways to cut spending
2. Ordered a review of all federal operations to identify and cut wasteful spending and practices
3. Instituted enforcement for equal pay for women
4. Beginning the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq
5. Families of fallen soldiers have expenses covered to be on hand when the body arrives at Dover AFB
6. Ended media blackout on war casualties; reporting full information
7. Ended media blackout on covering the return of fallen soldiers to Dover AFB; the media is now permitted to do so pending adherence to respectful rules and approval of fallen soldier's family
8. The White House and federal government are respecting the Freedom of Information Act
9. Instructed all federal agencies to promote openness and transparency as much as possible
10. Limits on lobbyists' access to the White House
11. Limits on White House aides working for lobbyists after their tenure in the administration
12. Ended the previous stop-loss policy that kept soldiers in Iraq/Afghanistan longer than their enlistment date
13. Phasing out the expensive F-22 war plane and other outdated weapons systems, which weren't even used or needed in Iraq/Afghanistan
14. Removed restrictions on embryonic stem-cell research
15. Federal support for stem-cell and new biomedical research
16. New federal funding for science and research labs
17. States are permitted to enact federal fuel efficiency standards above federal standards
18. Increased infrastructure spending (roads, bridges, power plants) after years of neglect
19. Funds for high-speed, broadband Internet access to K-12 schools
20. New funds for school construction
21 The prison at Guantanamo Bay is being phased out
22. US Auto industry rescue plan
23. Housing rescue plan
24. $789 billion economic stimulus plan
25. The public can meet with federal housing insurers to refinance (the new plan can be completed in one day) a mortgage if they are having trouble paying
26. US financial and banking rescue plan
27. The secret detention facilities in Eastern Europe and elsewhere are being closed
28. Ended the previous policy; the US now has a no torture policy and is in compliance with the Geneva Convention standards
29. Better body armor is now being provided to our troops
30. The missile defense program is being cut by $1.4 billion in 2010
31. Restarted the nuclear nonproliferation talks and building back up the nuclear inspection infrastructure/protocols
32. Re-engaged in the treaties/agreements to protect the Antarctic
33. Re-engaged in the agreements/talks on global warming and greenhouse gas emissions
34. Visited more countries and met with more world leaders than any president in his first six months in office
35. Successful release of US captain held by Somali pirates; authorized the SEALS to do their job
36. US Navy increasing patrols off Somali coast
37. Attractive tax write-offs for those who buy hybrid automobiles
38. Cash for clunkers program offers vouchers to trade in fuel inefficient, polluting old cars for new cars; stimulated auto sales
39. Announced plans to purchase fuel efficient American-made fleet for the federal government
40. Expanded the SCHIP program to cover health care for 4 million more children
41. Signed national service legislation; expanded national youth service program
42. Instituted a new policy on Cuba, allowing Cuban families to return home to visit loved ones
43. Ended the previous policy of not regulating and labeling carbon dioxide emissions
44. Expanding vaccination programs
45. Immediate and efficient response to the floods in North Dakota and other natural disaster.

Engrish_Major

Only have problems with those points that are bolded:

4) I don't want this to come back and bite us in the rear.

9) We've been lied to repeatedly concerning the health care reform, and Congress has continued to do business behind closed doors. That's not transparency.

13) The F-22 could replace almost every single one of our war-planes. I see no reason operate decade old equipment when we can upgrade to the F-22 and F-35s and retain our air superiority for decades to come.

21) And those who were detained at Guantanamo Bay have tried to go back to terrorism. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE50C5JX20090113

22) Should have let them fail.

23) Should have let Fannie and Freddie fail.

24) Didn't work. Unemployment went even higher than they said it would. Joe Biden has even said we won't be getting those jobs back. Another lie from the Administration.

26) Banks should be left to fail. The reform is useless since it doesn't fix the people who screwed us to begin with. http://blog.heritage.org/?p=37050

30) I don't think we should stop with our missile defense programs entirely. Hopefully this doesn't bite us in the rear.

33) Don't believe in Global Warming anymore since that scandal. I think it's all just a ploy to get cap and trade put through.

34) Had an apology tour across the entire world when we have nothing to apologize for.

38) Cash for clunkers has ended up hurting us. http://blog.heritage.org/?p=12324

45) Didn't respond to the oil spill for nine days. And didn't do anything for North Dakota. The National Guard and Air National Guard did all the work.

Like Major things, Pulling troops out of war, getting us out of this economy.....Hes been mainly a celebrity.

Foxi911

Are you seriously saying "all of that doesn't count"? The health care reform bill that was passed was probably the most major piece of legislation in years.

And even beyond that, he has begun a drawdown in Iraq, and has passed both a stimulus bill with a financial reform bill in progress, so... he's doing what you consider "major", too.

How about from now on we refuse to elect people not named "Roosevelt".snowman6251

:lol: This is a good plan.

[QUOTE="Stevo_the_gamer"]Communication ability? Having a nice voice don't mean much when you don't even write your own speeches. Just me two cents.JML897

When was the last time a President wrote all of his speeches by himself? I don't know the answer, it's an honest question.

Only have problems with those points that are bolded:

4) I don't want this to come back and bite us in the rear.

9) We've been lied to repeatedly concerning the health care reform, and Congress has continued to do business behind closed doors. That's not transparency.

13) The F-22 could replace almost every single one of our war-planes. I see no reason operate decade old equipment when we can upgrade to the F-22 and F-35s and retain our air superiority for decades to come.

21) And those who were detained at Guantanamo Bay have tried to go back to terrorism. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE50C5JX20090113

22) Should have let them fail.

23) Should have let Fannie and Freddie fail.

24) Didn't work. Unemployment went even higher than they said it would. Joe Biden has even said we won't be getting those jobs back. Another lie from the Administration.

26) Banks should be left to fail. The reform is useless since it doesn't fix the people who screwed us to begin with. http://blog.heritage.org/?p=37050

30) I don't think we should stop with our missile defense programs entirely. Hopefully this doesn't bite us in the rear.

33) Don't believe in Global Warming anymore since that scandal. I think it's all just a ploy to get cap and trade put through.

34) Had an apology tour across the entire world when we have nothing to apologize for.

38) Cash for clunkers has ended up hurting us. http://blog.heritage.org/?p=12324

45) Didn't respond to the oil spill for nine days. And didn't do anything for North Dakota. The National Guard and Air National Guard did all the work.

Only guy that comes to mind in that regard is Nixon. Don't know any Presidents before him to make an accurate guess.Stevo_the_gamer

Communication ability? Having a nice voice don't mean much when you don't even write your own speeches. Just me two cents.Stevo_the_gamer

I didn't comment on the virtues of any of those, and except for the few that you dispute are actuall his "accomplishments", they are still accomplishments nonetheless, regardless of whether or not you agree with them.Engrish_Major

Are you trying to say that accomplishing something bad is just as good as accomplishing something good? I mean, by your logic, so long as it's an accomplishment...

I don't like that philosophy all that much.

[QUOTE="Engrish_Major"]I didn't comment on the virtues of any of those, and except for the few that you dispute are actuall his "accomplishments", they are still accomplishments nonetheless, regardless of whether or not you agree with them.airshocker

Are you trying to say that accomplishing something bad is just as good as accomplishing something good? I mean, by your logic, so long as it's an accomplishment...

I don't like that philosophy all that much.

Many of the things you commented on are not objectively "good" or "bad", as would be losing a war or something catastrophic of that nature. They are all debateable, and are supported by a great many people.Engrish_Major

Putting us even further in debt is not a bad thing?

Leaving a country that might not be ready to fend for itself to the wolves isn't a bad thing?

Allowing detainees to become terrorists again isn't a bad thing?

Huh...where have I been.

[QUOTE="Stevo_the_gamer"]Communication ability? Having a nice voice don't mean much when you don't even write your own speeches. Just me two cents.-Sun_Tzu-

Obama wrote his speeches up until the inaguration - I assume it is a time-saving thing. And, part of "communication ability" surely has to do with how he performs diplomatically when scripts are not present, i.e., with foreign leaders, advisors, congresspeople, open press conferences, etc.Engrish_Major

[QUOTE="GodofBigMacs"]

Oh my... looks like he won't back in this thread for awhile.

GabuEx

I've never understood the whole "Obama hasn't done anything!" line. It's the most provably false statement one can possibly level towards Obama, yet it's an incredibly popular one to make...

Putting us even further in debt is not a bad thing?

Leaving a country that might not be ready to fend for itself to the wolves isn't a bad thing?

Allowing detainees to become terrorists again isn't a bad thing?

Huh...where have I been.

[QUOTE="Engrish_Major"]Many of the things you commented on are not objectively "good" or "bad", as would be losing a war or something catastrophic of that nature. They are all debateable, and are supported by a great many people.airshocker

Putting us even further in debt is not a bad thing?

Leaving a country that might not be ready to fend for itself to the wolves isn't a bad thing?

Allowing detainees to become terrorists again isn't a bad thing?

Huh...where have I been.

Clearly you have not visited Super Obama World yet.

No, debt is not objectively a bad thing, especially in a recession. Engrish_Major

No, debt is not objectively a bad thing, especially in a recession. I don't know what you are referring to re: wolves. Allowing anyone to become a terrorist is certainly bad.Engrish_Major

I'm not of the philosophy that spending gets us out of a recession.

Allowing Iraq to fend for itself while surrounded by countries who would love to see us burn is most certainly leaving them for the wolves.

Obama has done some good things. He's done bad things too. Just saying he's accomplished a lot is not a measure of how good of a President he is.

Clearly you have not visited Super Obama World yet.

Snipes_2

Clearly.

My mind boggles at the people who say Obama hasn't done anything. He's probably done more in one year than Bush did over his entire presidency. Ninja-Hippo

[QUOTE="Engrish_Major"]No, debt is not objectively a bad thing, especially in a recession. I don't know what you are referring to re: wolves. Allowing anyone to become a terrorist is certainly bad.airshocker

I'm not of the philosophy that spending gets us out of a recession.

Allowing Iraq to fend for itself while surrounded by countries who would love to see us burn is most certainly leaving them for the wolves.

Obama has done some good things. He's done a lot of bad things, however. Just saying he's accomplished a lot is not a measure of how good of a President he is.

[QUOTE="Snipes_2"]

Clearly you have not visited Super Obama World yet.

airshocker

Clearly.

That is very true, but having a full time staff of staff writers just doesn't give me much to go off of in regards to one's communication abilities. Anyone can have a nice voice when the foundation of wording is laid out before you. Stevo_the_gamer

But he has shown to take a very active role when it comes to writing his own speeches, I'd say more so than the Great Communicator himself, Ronald Reagan.

[QUOTE="Stevo_the_gamer"]That is very true, but having a full time staff of staff writers just doesn't give me much to go off of in regards to one's communication abilities. Anyone can have a nice voice when the foundation of wording is laid out before you. -Sun_Tzu-

But he has shown to take a very active role when it comes to writing his own speeches, I'd say more so than the Great Communicator himself, Ronald Reagan.

Kennedy should not be that high. He is beloved for his charisma and remembered for his tragic death but if we're realistic or objective about it he accomplished very little in his time in office and failed to get congress on his side. Ninja-Hippo

We're not living in a fallout3 world now because of his handling of the Cuban missile crisis. I'd say that's pretty awesome.

[QUOTE="-Sun_Tzu-"]

[QUOTE="Stevo_the_gamer"]That is very true, but having a full time staff of staff writers just doesn't give me much to go off of in regards to one's communication abilities. Anyone can have a nice voice when the foundation of wording is laid out before you. Snipes_2

But he has shown to take a very active role when it comes to writing his own speeches, I'd say more so than the Great Communicator himself, Ronald Reagan.

Reagan used prompters too.

[QUOTE="Ninja-Hippo"]Kennedy should not be that high. He is beloved for his charisma and remembered for his tragic death but if we're realistic or objective about it he accomplished very little in his time in office and failed to get congress on his side. topgunmv

We're not living in a fallout3 world now because of his handling of the Cuban missile crisis. I'd say that's pretty awesome.

I'd say the most significant thing he did so far was making the world like the US again.

I was not necessarily using it as a measure of how good he is. It was in direct response to another user that stated that he has not done anything. I had to prove that inherently incorrect. Also, there are still many people that are of the philosophy that spending gets us out of a recession. So, that's still not an objectively bad thing.Engrish_Major

When the American people spend money, that's a good thing. When they have no money to spend because of higher taxes and ridiculous legislation like cap and trade(hopefully that will never pass), that's a bad thing.

When the people don't invest because everything Obama does scares the **** out of them, that's a bad thing too. I wish I could set my IRA to a more aggressive level, but I'm not willing to take 10 - 20% losses everytime Obama makes businesses **** themselves, which seems to be the norm.

[QUOTE="Snipes_2"][QUOTE="-Sun_Tzu-"]

But he has shown to take a very active role when it comes to writing his own speeches, I'd say more so than the Great Communicator himself, Ronald Reagan.

topgunmv

Reagan used prompters too.

Well, You better get on that. I hear some people are already on world 6 :oSnipes_2

I refuse. =]

[QUOTE="-Sun_Tzu-"]

[QUOTE="Stevo_the_gamer"]That is very true, but having a full time staff of staff writers just doesn't give me much to go off of in regards to one's communication abilities. Anyone can have a nice voice when the foundation of wording is laid out before you. Snipes_2

But he has shown to take a very active role when it comes to writing his own speeches, I'd say more so than the Great Communicator himself, Ronald Reagan.

[QUOTE="Snipes_2"]Well, You better get on that. I hear some people are already on world 6 :oairshocker

I refuse. =]

When the American people spend money, that's a good thing. When they have no money to spend because of higher taxes and ridiculous legislation like cap and trade(hopefully that will never pass), that's a bad thing.

When the people don't invest because everything Obama does scares the **** out of them, that's a bad thing too. I wish I could set my IRA to a more aggressive level, but I'm not willing to take 10 - 20% losses everytime Obama makes businesses **** themselves, which seems to be the norm.

Kennedy should not be that high. He is beloved for his charisma and remembered for his tragic death but if we're realistic or objective about it he accomplished very little in his time in office and failed to get congress on his side. Ninja-Hippo

[QUOTE="Snipes_2"][QUOTE="-Sun_Tzu-"]

But he has shown to take a very active role when it comes to writing his own speeches, I'd say more so than the Great Communicator himself, Ronald Reagan.

-Sun_Tzu-

You know what kind of irks me about Obama? All of these small business incentives. Let's be realistic for a second: how many people actually use small businesses on a regular basis? I would wager that almost anyone in here spends more of their free money in big business than small business. Sinking money into incentives for things people won't use? That doesn't seem economically sound to me.jalexbrown

You know what kind of irks me about Obama? All of these small business incentives. Let's be realistic for a second: how many people actually use small businesses on a regular basis? I would wager that almost anyone in here spends more of their free money in big business than small business. Sinking money into incentives for things people won't use? That doesn't seem economically sound to me.jalexbrown

[QUOTE="topgunmv"]

[QUOTE="Snipes_2"] Why can't he remember anything from them without a Prompter though :o?Snipes_2

Reagan used prompters too.

Do you have an instance where one broke down on Reagan to make such a comparison?

I don't know about you, but my taxes are lower. As far as cap and trade goes, that has worked quite well in the past. I don't see why we can't use it to solve emissions problems in the future. And last time I checked, the stock market has been quite stable the past year-and-a-half.Engrish_Major

My taxes aren't. And they'll go up quite a bit more in 2011.

How will making gas cost five bucks a gallon be a good thing? I don't understand that.

Stability is not the same as growth. I have no confidence in the market right now. Not until the feds stop futzing around with it.

[QUOTE="Ninja-Hippo"]Kennedy should not be that high. He is beloved for his charisma and remembered for his tragic death but if we're realistic or objective about it he accomplished very little in his time in office and failed to get congress on his side. topgunmv

We're not living in a fallout3 world now because of his handling of the Cuban missile crisis. I'd say that's pretty awesome.

[QUOTE="-Sun_Tzu-"][QUOTE="Snipes_2"] Why can't he remember anything from them without a Prompter though :o?Snipes_2

It's a good game I hear. So far it has a 8.5/10 from most reviewers. I quite honestly can't see myself playing that game, just doesn't appeal to me. :)Snipes_2

I bet GS gave it a 10. Libs. :D

My taxes aren't. And they'll go up quite a bit more in 2011.

How will making gas cost five bucks a gallon be a good thing? I don't understand that.

Stability is not the same as growth. I have no confidence in the market right now. Not until the feds stop futzing around with it.