Will Obama be a one term Democrat President like Carter was ?

[JollyRoger]

Generic Republican is going to be polling a lot worse once the media gets wind of his weekend spent at the airport men's room.

 

[Takhisis]

Dom if you want in, with Ron Paul as your pick, your're more than welcome. Are you game for it?

What're we betting?

 

[MobBoss]

Pertinent opinion piece on topic: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/08/07/obama-is-jimmy-carter-20-56179038/

The evidence is mounting more than ever to suggest that President Obama is morphing into failed Democratic President Jimmy Carter.

The latest comparison was made by dour New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd in her column on July 30. This is some of what she said:

"Democratic lawmakers worry that the Tea Party freshmen have already 'neutered' the president," as one told me. They fret that Obama is an inept negotiator. They worry that he should have been out in the country selling a concrete plan, rather than once more kowtowing to Republicans and, as with the stimulus plan, health care and Libya, leading from behind.

As one Democratic senator complained: 'The president veers between talking like a peevish professor and a scolding parent.' (Not to mention a jilted lover.) Another moaned: 'We are watching him turn into Jimmy Carter right before our eyes.'"

Dowd who once loved Obama is now souring on her liberal-media-created sensation and now she believes that the comparison of Obama to Carter is a valid one.

So what are the valid comparisons between the presidencies of Obama and Carter that allow for even a Democratic Senator to allege it?

Management Style

Carter: Ineffective. He was seen as a micro-manager who even had to decide who was allowed to play on the White House Tennis Court.

Obama: Ineffective. He is the ultimate delegator who likes being president but doesn't like the work. He rather sub-contract presidential leadership to Reid and Pelosi on health care and the vice President on spending and the economy and Secretary Clinton on foreign affairs.

Iranian Hostages

Carter: He was paralyzed by the Iranian Hostage Crisis where 52 Americans were held against their will for 444 days from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981, (the day Ronald Reagan was sworn in as president). During his presidency he was consumed by the crisis and in the end was powerless to end it.

Obama: He ran on a platform of apology to foreign enemy powers for past American "aggression" and pledged to usher in a new approach toward Iran that would bring better relations between the U.S. and Iran.

President Obama has failed to bring Iran around and in fact, today, two American hikers have been held hostage for over a year and a half by the Iranian government

Iran continues to crack down on its people and is accelerating their plans to build nuclear weapons. The country's leadership also continues to arm rebels in Iraq, Syria and other Middle East hot spots and destabilize the region.

Energy Crisis

Carter: In 1979 America faced an oil crisis in the aftermath of the Iranian Revolution. OPEC reduced production and as a result oil prices shot through the roof and supply was severely curtailed.

Carter, instead of taking on OPEC and demanding increased production, imposed rationing on gasoline, and home heating oil and placed tariffs on imported oil. America literally ran out of gas and what gas could be purchased was paid for at outrageous prices.

Obama: In the aftermath of his sluggish response to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico the Obama administration ceased drilling in the Gulf and set in place a moratorium on new offshore drilling. This action was being taken in spite on America's dependency on foreign oil. Gas prices have risen over 120 percent since Obama has taken office.

Economic Crises

Carter: Because of his failure to lead and his failed economic policies of government spending and indecision, the "misery index" - unemployment plus inflation - crested at 20 percent, the highest number since WWII. Add double-digit interest rates into the mix and you have "stagflation." Stagflation is defined as a situation in which the inflation rate is high and the growth rate is low. The result was high prices, high unemployment, low confidence, and low growth.

Obama: There is no doubt that Obama like Carter inherited a recession, however, it is equally apparent that both leaders made their situations much worse by their actions and inaction.

Obama, like Carter, went on a government-spending spree in response to the recession with little to show for it.

Obama promised that if his $800 billion stimulus were passed the national unemployment rate would not exceed 8 percent. Our country's unemployment rate has not dipped below 8% since Obama has been president and has spiked above 10% well after the stimulus was passed.

Instead of dealing with high unemployment, soaring energy prices, a record number home foreclosures, bankruptcies and record setting debt, Obama turned his attention to health care and started a third war in Libya.

The president caused the current self-inflicted crisis on the debt ceiling increase this summer by failing to lead well in advance of the deadline. He could have taken the recommendations of his bi-partisan commission as a starting point to lead on spending and deficit reduction over a year ago when their report was delivered to the White House.

Public Opinion

Carter: At the time of his re-election campaign his approval ratings was below 30% and a majority of Americans felt that America was on the wrong track.

Obama: Today the president's approval rating averages 42% and a majority of Americans believe we are on the wrong track.

The hallmark of the Carter years was the word "malaise." Malaise is defined as "a feeling of uneasiness, indisposition, and distress." All these symptoms existed during Carter's tenure and we can clearly see these same symptoms -- and some additional new ones -- manifesting themselves under Obama's tenure.

President Obama has governed at a time of America high unemployment, low GDP growth, inflation on the rise for consumer goods, falling housing prices, a stalled housing market, home foreclosures and bankruptcies at record levels, high gas prices, 3 wars, and a government that spends too much and takes in too little.

While "malaise" may have defined the Carter years perhaps the word "funk" best describes the the Obama years so far.

 

[JollyRoger]

Wait, the fact that Iran is not on most people's mind = Iran Hostage Crisis. Is there a shortage of straws?

 

[Takhisis]

Morphing into Jimmy Carter? I didn't know Skynet had replaced Obama with a T-1000.

 

[GamezRule]

Management Style

Carter: Ineffective. He was seen as a micro-manager who even had to decide who was allowed to play on the White House Tennis Court.

Obama: Ineffective. He is the ultimate delegator who likes being president but doesn't like the work. He rather sub-contract presidential leadership to Reid and Pelosi on health care and the vice President on spending and the economy and Secretary Clinton on foreign affairs.

And Reagan was effective, I suppose?

 

[Zack]

Pertinent opinion piece on topic: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/08/07/obama-is-jimmy-carter-20-56179038/

Stopped reading at "foxnews.com". Use respected sources, please.

Moderator Action: This is a RD thread. No more "I don't like the source you're using" talk - Grisu
Please read the forum rules: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=422889

 

[Cutlass]

And Reagan was effective, I suppose?

Polar opposites, really. Reagan delegated to the point where he had no real contact with what his people were actually doing. Many of the Reagan administration's problems came back to the fact that Reagan himself was usually out of the loop.

 

[kochman]

The people are pissed with an Obama because he does not rule as a Democrat and gives too many concessions to Republicans. It would be pretty dumb to then turn to Republicans as an alternative, them being the main thrust of the disfavour towards Obama.

The people are pissed with him because he has failed. We have terrible unemployment, we just got downgraded... he has failed, and spent previously unthinkable amounts of money to accomplish this shining failure.

There are only 4 GOP candidates with a shot against Obama - Romney, Huntsman, Pawlenty, or Rick Perry. None of those are exactly Reaganesque, so I just do not see him losing. If he does lose, it will be closer than the 1980 election ended up.

True, no Repub is really exciting... this is in Obama's favor.

The coming election would be won landslide by Obama if the President were to be elected directly instead of by an electoral college, since Conservative states are overrepresented in proportion to their inhabitants. Just a thought though.

Uh... first off, that's totally a guess. His approval is about 40% now, you need 51% to win the popular vote...

He might perform better , in his second term when he can act freely without thinking of political impact of each decision he makes .

That's not a good reason to re-elect him. That's like leaving in a pitcher who just gave up 8 runs in one inning, because he might do better in the next inning.
He's failed, kick the bum out of office, try our hand with a new bum.

Bush rode 9/11 into the '04 elections, just as Obama will ride getting Osama into the '12 elections.

??? The Anti-Iraq War sentiment that had already kicked in almost allowed Kerry to win in 2004...

I think Obama's approval ratings are lower then the elections would say because he doesn't exactly have the approval from the mainstream Democrats, but they will still vote for him over the Republican any day.

His approval amongst independents is where he loses. He'll always have the left, WHOEVER the repubs put in, that person will get the right...
The battle in elections is for independents, and Obama has been hemorrhaging independent voters for quite some time now...
He's done, unless some massive event happens... barring that, he's done, and we should be glad.

 

[ParkCungHee]

No other President in the history of our nation has been re-elected with such a sustained period of high unemployment and economic problems.

FDR.
Five char.

 

[JollyRoger]

He's done, unless some massive event happens... barring that, he's done, and we should be glad.

That massive event will be the GOP primaries . . . as much as we woud like to bar that, I think it is unavoidable.

 

[MobBoss]

Stopped reading at "foxnews.com". Use respected sources, please.

I plainly stated it was an opinion piece. Stop being needlessly difficult.

FDR.
Five char.

So, if WWIII breaks out between now and 2012 Obama is a shoe in?

But your're also incorrect. Things got better under FDR not worse. For example, unemployment went from the low 20% at the start of FDRs first term to under 9 percent in 4 years. Also, the economy grew under FDR (increase of 58% from 1932 to 1940), unlike Obama.

So, your're a bit incorrect on your offer, but it was a valient try.

 

[JollyRoger]

So, if WWIII breaks out between now and 2012 Obama is a shoe in?

FDR won re-election twice before the U.S. got pulled into WWII.

 

[GamezRule]

So, if WWIII breaks out between now and 2012 Obama is a shoe in?

Wow. Just wow.

 

[Dreadnought]

Stop needlessly using atrocious sources.

You watch MSNBC, don't ya?

FDR won re-election twice before the U.S. got pulled into WWII.

Wow. Just wow.

FDR had a bunch of flashy policies that at least gave the impression that the US was recovering. WW2 was the real stimulus.

 

[JollyRoger]

FDR had a bunch of flashy policies that at least gave the impression that the US was recovering. WW2 was the real stimulus.

Yep, the spending cuts we made to fight WWII did the trick. Good thing we had a Tea Party and a Balanced Budget Amendment back then to provide guidance.

 

[TopGearFanatic]

Stop needlessly using atrocious sources.

It's not bad, you're just refusing to read it. If it said "MSNBC", you probably would've read it.

Yep, the spending cuts we made to fight WWII did the trick. Good thing we had a Tea Party and a Balanced Budget Amendment back then to provide guidance.

If there had been no World War II, those spending cuts would've been pointless.

 

[SimSimSalabim]

At the end of the day, Americans elect the government it deserves....

 

[amadeus]

If there had been no World War II, those spending cuts would've been pointless.

Erm.

That wasn't...
He didn't...

I'm glad to see all of the "conservatives" come out of the woodwork to endorse FDR and military Keynesianism, though.

 

[TopGearFanatic]

Erm.

That wasn't...
He didn't...

I'm glad to see all of the "conservatives" come out of the woodwork to endorse FDR and military Keynesianism, though.

I'm not trying to say FDR was a bad president or that teh policies were completely pointless, I'm just saying that World War II is what really got the economy back on track.



Not that anybody will really care...