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Why should Obama be reelected?

applecorped

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applecorped
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Mar 8, 2008
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There are plenty of threads about the Republican nominees and their various faults/issues/reasons to not be elected.

Why should Obama be reelected? Without mentioning any Republican nominee tell me why should Obama serve another term. What do you hope he accomplishes in his next term?
 
Almo said:
Obama is a reasonable guy. I like not having an extremist as President.
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This is about Obama and not about any supposed other candidate, extreme or not.

Your reason so far is that he is a reasonable guy. Okay.
 
Because in spite of the active attempts by the GOP to undermines everything
he does, even when it is in the best interests of the country, he's done a pretty good job given the conditions when he took office.
 
Alferd_Packer said:
Because in spite of the active attempts by the GOP to undermines everything
he does, even when it is in the best interests of the country, he's done a pretty good job given the conditions when he took office.
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I'm hoping people can state why Obama should be reelected on his own terms without mentioning the opposition.

So , your position is he's done a pretty good job. Okay.
 
Reasons Obama should be reelected so far:

1. He's a reasonable guy
2. He's doing a pretty good job
 
applecorped said:
Try harder. Surely you can mention something as to why he should be reelected without mentioning the opposition.
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Why? Ultimately the choice comes down to who one considers the best for the job, and that's impossible to determine without considering the other contenders as a frame of reference.

I'll most likely vote for Obama because while I think he's been too willing to compromise and push Congress to act, when it comes down to it I prefer that to forcing things through. He has made generally very good choices with international affairs, and I grudgingly have to even agree that Libya wasn't a complete mistake. Many of his stances still more closely align with mine than any serious contenders.

In the end, the alternative is much worse. There is no reason to ignore that as it is the ultimate over-riding factor. Who was it that said, 'always attack, never defend'?
 
Bin Laden's dead.

I would have preferred that he were also stuffed and mounted but I suppose that would not be practical.
 
applecorped said:
There are plenty of threads about the Republican nominees and their various faults/issues/reasons to not be elected.

Why should Obama be reelected? Without mentioning any Republican nominee tell me why should Obama serve another term. What do you hope he accomplishes in his next term?
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I think this is an awkward way to phrase the question. Perhaps better would be: "What has President Obama done, or will do, that would make him a good choice in the next election?"

By phrasing it "Why should he be reelected", it naturally brings into question comparison of his traits over others, making answering problematic. If you want to exclude the traits of the other potential candidates from the discussion, I think the question is better rephrased.
 
Things that are important to me include:

- A support for and lack of political interference with science, and policy decisions based on rational, objective analysis of scientific evidence
- A sober, rational foreign policy not based on war-mongering and pre-emptive invasion
- A return to a fair and equitable tax system
- Significant overhaul of our financial regulatory system to prevent a continuation of the rampant fraud and corruption that caused the worldwide financial crisis
- An overhaul of our for-profit health care insurance system into a system that provides universal care
- Environmental protection
- Religious liberty, meaning an absence of religious influence in public policy
- Equal rights for minority groups, including homosexuals

Given these considerations, Barack Obama, though clearly not ideal, is far and away the best choice of those available. Electing any one of the lunatics running for the GOP nomination would be a huge step backward for this country.
 
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This seems like a passive/aggressive attempt to turn a seemingly benign thread into an Obama-bash thread. I could be wrong though.


applecorped said:
Try harder. Surely you can mention something as to why he should be reelected without mentioning the opposition.
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The current crop of GOP candidates are a joke. That's plenty if reason, although not the only reason. If you don't like the opposition being mentioned, maybe you should demand better quality candidates from your party.

jj said:
To prevent the takeover of the USA by right-wing religious extremists, since all the viable republicon candidates appear to be such.
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I agree with this.
 
I am fairly libertarian in my views and support some extreme views (pro negative rights, anti positive rights). I voted for libertarians for president the last two elections. But I am thinking I will vote for Obama.

Under his admin, many moderate changes have occurred that I agree with to some level. Healthcare mandate, Iraq drawdown, OBL, Siemens controller attack in Iran, unemployment extensions, free trade agreements, reasonable court appointments, etc.

Mistakes have generally come from positions or ideas that seem reasonable but fail in execution. Sting operations can work but F&F did not. The loss of the drone in Iran at least stems from a foreign policy I agree with.

His politics has not trampled any of my principles that would be an automatic failure. I totally support the lack of religiosity in his administration.

Obviously, he doesn't influence all of these and he isn't perfect. But under the pass/fail system, he gets a pass from me. That is not something I can say about the last guy.
 
Obama, and Democrats as an extension, are the most vocal mainstream supporters of LGBT rights. Off the top of my head:

- Obama's administration were instrumental in the repeal of the Don't Ask Don't Tell law, as well as issuing an executive order barring discrimination against people serving in the military on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. This is huge, it has a tangible benefit for many 1000s of service men and women.

- He argued that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional and would not be defended by the state if challenged.

- He's nominated an openly gay federal judge, at least one person in his cabinet is a transgender woman, at least 150 other LGBT officials.

- His cabinet has been instrumental in promoting gay rights as human rights overseas. He issued a directive to consider support of gay rights in the allocation of foreign aid to specific regions or countries, and for US agencies to protect foreign LGBT asylum seekers.

I think Obama's presidency has led to some of the greatest inroads toward gay rights than we've ever seen in any other presidency. He really does support the community -- a community that is composed of LGBT and numerous straight and cisgender allies --, I can appreciate it.
 
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The OP and subsequent responses by applecorped show he's not interested in rational discussion preferring to shoehorn responses to match his bias.

Having said that, I agree with most of the other responses. You can't judge a president without considering the obstacles in the way of the president executing on his ideas. In this case the No No No, refuse to compromise and/or attach politically charged **** to standard/boring votes (see debt ceiling, Consumer Affairs boss and now the tax extension) Republicans.

You also can't ask why a president should be re-elected without considering their opponent.
 
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Puppycow said:
Bin Laden's dead.

I would have preferred that he were also stuffed and mounted but I suppose that would not be practical.
Click to expand...

The list is getting better and more comprehensive now:

1. He's a reasonable guy
2. He's doing a pretty good job
3. Bin Laden's dead
4. greatest inroads toward gay rights than we've ever seen in any other presidency
5. Healthcare mandate, Iraq drawdown, Siemens controller attack in Iran, unemployment extensions, free trade agreements, reasonable court appointments
 
I recently heard the election described in two terms: A referendum, or a choice. If this 2012 is treated as a referendum (voting on the presidents performance), most of the population has a negative view. If you view it as a choice (between him and others), most of the population has a positive view of Obama. So while the OP question may have some relevance as a referendum, the media environment will insure that it is the vote as 'choice' that will guide the election.
 
  • Passed a health care bill.
  • Ended "Don't ask don't tell"
  • Honored the pledge to get us out of Iraq
  • Faced down Somali pirates
  • Took out Osama bin Laden
  • Worked with allies to get the solution we wanted in Libya without losing a single American life.
  • Compromised to try to get things done in Congress, but didn't go so far as to completely knuckle under.
  • Soothed relationships with our allies
  • Had no major scandals (Nothing of Iran-Contra or Watergate level)
  • Didn't flaunt his religion in our faces or claim that God had told him to take a certain action.
  • Wasn't afraid to appoint his competitors and even members of the previous cabinet to high-level positions in his cabinet.
  • Was tough with Israel without giving in to Palestinian/Arab demands.
  • Institued "Cash for Clunkers" and other actions which probably saved our auto industry.
  • Helped to pass Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.
  • Would admit mistakes, like he did with the Beer Summit.
  • Didn't try to defend wayward Democrats, like Blagojevich and Weiner just because they are Democrats.
  • Never (to my knowledge) made a homophobic comment or insisted that his idea of marriage should be the only one.
  • Didn't kiss Pelosi's ass, even though she responded by eviscerating his health bill.
I'm sure I can come up with a few more. That being said, he's done some things I strongly disapprove of too, especially his continuation of the coddling of the wealthy class and of polluters. Still, all-in-all, I don't think any of the Republicans could do nearly as well.
 
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