Today the White House deemed it prudent to prepare the country for an apology in the upcoming State of the Union address. It might not be the apology you're looking for, though. The President is set to acknowledge his responsibility for missteps (read: the missteps of others who continue to work for him) in pursuit of the administration's agenda. Since presidents sometimes omit details from statements of contrition (maybe for brevity's sake?) here's a little list of things that he may (or may not) actually be sorry about.
1. Iraq
As candidate, Barack Obama promised that on "my first day in office, I will give the military a new mission: ending this war." Pretty clear, no? I'm wondering whether the men in uniform got that message. But even more I'm wondering why we still appear no closer to withdrawal than during the previous administration.
2. Afghanistan
You'd think that a Nobel peace laureate would be more than a little reluctant to escalate a costly war where he personally bore responsibility, where there was no vital national interest, and where the odds are long indeed. Terrorists can operate freely from Pakistan (not to mention many other countries) so the argument that we are keeping Americans safe is pretty thin. And the argument that we are helping the Afghani people -- who in material terms are among the worlds poorest -- by conducting military operations there, is tough for me to buy.
3. The "Bailout"
Trillions spent and unlimited amounts promised to major banks who then (1) lavished bonuses upon themselves with our money and (2) tightened our credit. It's the biggest wealth transfer in United States history, but in the wrong direction and at a time when the public is feeling pretty stressed about jobs and income. This was economic and political incompetence of the first degree.
4. Guantanamo
How hard is it to close a prison, guys? Even if you have absolutely no respect for the fundamental principles embodied in the law of civilized nations that forbid detention without trial, the symbolic benefit of closing Guantanamo and transferring the inmates somewhere else, anywhere else, would be well worth it. And are you really more afraid of those scary "detainees" than the sociopaths, child molesters, terrorists and serial killers we grow at home?
5. Financial Reform
Given the biggest financial collapse since the 1920s and widespread consensus that regulatory reform is essential, so far we don't have much in the way of change. The moment is slipping away. It's convenient to blame congress, but the ugly truth is that there are a host of actions that an aggressive and committed executive branch could already have taken to promote the safety and stability of our financial system.
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If he needs to apologize for anything, that would be it.
Had he, like logic would state, taken the structure of the bill that passed the Senate Finance Committee in early October, and built onto it a subsidies platform that followed what the Senate HELP committee had been able to come with in mid July, the Senate bill would've practicall
Why should the President apologize for responsibl
Why should the President apologize for continuing to stick to the frame work, that will have all U.S. forces out of Iraq and will go through with his plan for a massive drawdown of all fighting forces in Iraq after Iraq's parliement
Why should the President apologize for following through on what he pledged in his campaign are recommitti
Why should the President apologize for the actions that needed to be taken to prevent a complete collapse in the banking system in this country, and stave off a 25% unemployme
Why should he apologize for not rushing through financial rules that could threaten the already fragile beginnings of a recovery, even if the banks are being foolish with cash bonuses?
But, in my opinion, outside of the healthcare push, I feel the Administra
And that's why, outside of the pace of the healthcare push, I see no need for apologies from the Administra
It is not about time but about fresh ideas - the cast of characters in his administra
Those reforms and a jobs oriented stimulus shoul have preceded health care.
GWB is out of office. He will face the verdict of history. he was one of our worst Presidents
Obama has three more years to do something effective. We face hard times.
As for Afghanista
This president does indeed have a lot to apologize for.
As to Afghanista
This could turn out to be an awfully big if, considerin
With regard to Iraq, Obama obviously felt that his decision to leave thousands of combat troops behind (which directly contradict
If he said that he lied maybe. He is and always has been on the timetable agreed to by Bush and Al Maliki before he came into office.
As for Afghanista
He should apologize for the spending spree and plunging us into debt for a stimulus that wasn't a stimulus.
The bailout on the other hand, actually was put in place before he got in office, and it's largely worked. The banks didn't fail and most of them have paid it back with interest.
Gitmo-- he's working on it. It'll only cost us a few hundred million to open Gitmo North. It has to be remodeled.
http://www
2. On his Web site's "Blueprint for Change," it said "Obama has been calling for more troops and resources for the mission in Afghanista
Concerning Afghanista
5. Financial Reform - What? There isn't a single Republican that knows how to spell that let alone do it. Where is their apology for their raiding of America’s coffers to pay for illegal wars all the while paying peanuts in taxes, denying 52 million Americans (real Americans) health care and for putting Americans on the streets without homes or jobs?
NONE OF THESE THINGS WAS STARTED BY OBAMA OR DEMOCRATS BUT REPUBLICAN