11-05-2012, 05:55 PM
Well it does seem like Max and Mick E would agree that Obama can't possibly be the "worst" president, if what he has failed to do is curb the abuses of power by Bush. You also seem to be overlooking what has occured and why.
Illegal war in Iraq: ended
closing Guantanamo Bay; attempted, blocked by republicans;
setting up process for trying detainees lawfully: attempted, blocked by republicans;
torture of prisoners: ended
I don't really have a strong view on the issues of domestic "spying" and e-privacy. This seems grossly overblown to me, but maybe it is significant. Certainly can be revisited as we work through the issues over time. These e-privacy issues seem trivial though in comparison to slavery, dropping an atomic bomb on civilians, or even drone strikes on innocents in Pakistan.
But a fundamental difference is that Obama is mostly operating in accordance with validly passed US laws. Those laws are quite likely to be constituational. You may be unhappy with those laws, but that is a huge fundamental difference with Bush that operated without any such authority.
Illegal war in Iraq: ended
closing Guantanamo Bay; attempted, blocked by republicans;
setting up process for trying detainees lawfully: attempted, blocked by republicans;
torture of prisoners: ended
I don't really have a strong view on the issues of domestic "spying" and e-privacy. This seems grossly overblown to me, but maybe it is significant. Certainly can be revisited as we work through the issues over time. These e-privacy issues seem trivial though in comparison to slavery, dropping an atomic bomb on civilians, or even drone strikes on innocents in Pakistan.
But a fundamental difference is that Obama is mostly operating in accordance with validly passed US laws. Those laws are quite likely to be constituational. You may be unhappy with those laws, but that is a huge fundamental difference with Bush that operated without any such authority.