Thursday, October 11, 2012

Why I will not be voting for ...

This is a purely political blog post from a politics junkie. Feel free to skip it if you are not into it.

On that unusually cold day (for the DC area) we made our way to the National Mall to celebrate the swearing in of the first black president in American history. The schools in the area were all closed so the kids could take part in the historical event. The previous night we wrote tags with phone numbers and addresses and pinned them to the inside of the DDs jackets. Innumerable crowds the likes of which DC had never seen before was expected and people with little kids were advised to take precautions. The next day dawned chilly and cold and DD was feeling under the weather but lost interest when we said we might not get anywhere near to seeing anybody, we dropped them off at our friends house and proceeded along with hundreds of thousands of others to the nation's capital.

I was not an enthusiastic supporter of Barack Obama by any means. During the campaign there were two things that left me with a bitter taste, one was him his campaign calling of President Clinton a racist and second was his refusal to accept public financing. No one knew what he would do besides blind hope because there was nothing that people knew about him other than the speech at the 2004 Democratic convention. He was an extremely careful politician while he served in both the Illinois senate and US senate in the way he voted. The press had taken on a voluntary gag order afraid to ask even the most obvious questions and everyone was left in the dark where he as politician stood. Is this how Manchurian candidates are made?

For me the high point of his presidency started and ended with his inauguration. The national mall was filled with emotion, hope and yearning for a better tomorrow. Every African American near me had moist eyes and to see so much pent up emotion up close gave me goose bumps. I guess that was the last time they had tears of joy in their eyes in the next four years.

I am a genXer and in this election what matters to me is not entitlement reform, immigration reform or foreign affairs. What is done with Medicare and Social Security is not my priority because I do not expect either of those entitlement programs to be around for my retirement years. Immigration reform, President Bush did more than him and this president is good at symbolism rather than real action. Foreign affairs - America and American Presidents do what is primarily important for the country be it supporting dictators or toppling them. Yes there are those presidents who get the country into unwanted wars and dig a deep hole.

Obama came into the White House with lot of people thinking if he can't fix the problems ailing America no one will (well I did). A lot of young people had so much faith in him. This perhaps in my mind his biggest crime, turning off a generation of youngsters to politics. He used them effectively to get elected and did little else for that constituency. Sad! He came to power with a lot of political capital but he chooses to squander his good will on the Health Care reform. This healthcare reform had small slices of give outs for each constituency be it insurance providers, hospitals or who ever, no wonder there was no big opposition from them. I bet you will be hard pressed to find a handful of people who know what is in the health care reform law. This unpopular fight left no good will for his bigger fights. If he had tackled financial reform instead there would have been no Republican opposition, at the height of the financial debacle to pick fights on financial reform would have been political suicide for them. Will he do it in his second term? Wells of cash from the financial industry confirms that it will not happen.

Obama promised to reform Wall Street but did absolutely nothing about it. He had everything going for him and had once in a lifetime opportunity to bring financial reform and it is criminal that he chose to do nothing. Healthcare reform could have waited, only he knows why he took that one on. To show Hillary Clinton he could do where she failed? Judging by the people he chose to give him advice on financial matters, William Daley from JP Morgan (not to mention the corrupt Chicago political machinery that he comes from,never mind that Obama came from the same place), Timothy Gaithner an ex New York Stock Exchange head and Lawrence Summers, the less said about him the better. The last but not the least was his appointment of Eric Holder as Attorney General, he coming from a law firm whose clients include many of the same financial firms. No wonder he is more into Fast and Furious. Once his term is over where does he go back ...?

During President W.Bush's term for all his faults, those who did criminal activities were prosecuted, remember Enron?. What does that tell about Obama's values? His heart bleeds for the voiceless poor and the middle class? You bet?.

The press more than anybody has a lot to blame to take. Obama and his team learned early on that crying racism will make the liberal press back off. Where is the press which is happy revealing every minute detail about Romney's life including his family dog that took a trip on the hood of the car has simply gone silent where Obama is concerned. Well with Obama do you know anything about his college life? How he got into college or what did there?. We were also fed this line about him being a great orator. It simple astonishes me though because I haven't seen proof of that great oratory. No wonder I am still undecided!! Teleprompter anyone? Well in his real test without a teleprompter even the liberal media gave him failing grades!.

If you are political and mystery thriller junkie like me I have a book recommendation for you.

20 comments:

  1. I am undecided too and I agree with you 100% but Mitt Romney does not impress me as well. He looks even worse so we do not have a choice or do we???

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    1. Very good analysis, I feel the same way like you, Health Care Reform could have waited. After seeing the first Presidential debate I have mixed feelings about both the candidates. Can you give out the name of the book, as I am interested.

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    2. I will soon. The author was someone I met at one of DD2 games.

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  2. I am not a political junkie but if the mass do not understand the value of healthcare reform it is their loss. I think he took a lot of risk and guts to get that done even if it was not a popular agenda. If he would have waited on it, it would never have got done.
    And reforming Wall Street in 3 years is not an easy task.

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    1. Sandeepa other than the popular provisions that the law provides I am in the mass that does not understand the law. If you get it all the more power to you.

      Seriously IMO 3 years is a long time to have done a lot of things towards financial reform.



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    2. Aren't the popular provisions enough to believe in the greater good the reform will bring ? For me it definitely is. I really do think he took a big step risking his popularity with the healthcare reform but that is something that was necessary and could not be done with the current bi-partisan govt.
      I admire him all the more because he chose to do something for the good of the people at the cost of his own.

      Only I think he is too polite and well mannered, he should have been more aggressive.

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    3. The problem is he does not get respect from his ex-colleagues in the Senate and Congress because he got to be President too easy without any real achievements on his part.
      He is the president he should NOT have taken a reckless risk.

      It will be more painful when employers stop paying for healthcare and all you have is the government sponspored health exchange.

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    4. Every civilized country has a NHS. I feel there is a greater good there.I know personally it has given me a lot of ease of mind for my children in the future.
      And it was a "risk" not a "reckless risk" but of course it is one's viewpoint and there is no point arguing :)

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    5. Thanks for the debate Sandeepa.

      NHS the likes of those in UK and Canada are not perfect solutions and they are going through changes in those countries. Everything in the US healthcare system is not bad. I do like the fact that I get a doctor's appt without having to wait in line forever.

      Where reform would have helped is not having to be tied to an employer to get private insurance. Yes you guessed it Obama did not do anything about that.


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  3. I agree with Cilantro.. I am really disappointed with the two current options.
    Infact I am worried if Romney comes to power there will be lot more Oil Drilling, Pipe lines from Alaska...not good for the environment!

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    1. That is my worry too, his environmental agenda will be dismal but what did Obama do?

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  4. Health care reform is so desperately needed. One only has to imagine being sick and uninsured, being uninsurable because of pre-existing conditions, being uninsured the minute you are unlucky enough to lose a job.

    If Obama was a disappointment, it was because he was stuck with a Republican majority congress; a Romney government will be a million times worse. I get chills just thinking about it. They will cut funding to public television, to basic science research and to women's health services.

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    1. Nupur, I do not deny that healthcare reform is sorely needed. Not the one there is now.

      I am one of those with a pre-existing condition exclusion with individual coverage and a very high deductible and I had to sign off on the condition before getting coverage.

      Not entirely, Obama chose the wrong battle at the wrong time. The more I learn about Obama the more I think he and Romney are not all that different. The difference Obama makes the right sound bites.

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  5. I agree that we are not where we thought we would be when Obama took office but on the other hand I don't like Romney and many of the 'nice sounding' things he says are just that...esp since he has no proper plan to back his propositions. I don't feel that he is trustworthy.

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  6. I read your blog sometimes because I am a political junkie too. But I completely disagree with your assessment. Healthcare reform was needed. Period. There is never a right time. Instead of doing small reforms for wall street and for other stuff, he took a big risk in going for the health care reform. I believe he is a sincere and honest human being. If you have a pre-existing condition, you should be happier that it is done. Now when I take my kids for well visit, I don't have any co-pay. Thank you President Obama. And in the end, always look at the alternative. A person who talks depending on the audience and lies. A person, who has gone around in circles on every position, a person who equates wealth with success, who wants to control the women't bodies. They don't want government controlling anything, not oil compainies, not environment, but they are all in agreement that the government should be telling the women on what to do.

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    1. As President he should have done what is best for the country which was when he came into office was clearly financial reform and not healthcare.

      Most politicians speak what is expected of them at them moment. I do not think Obama is any better than any other politician. He is perhaps the most secretive president in modern history. How many of his press conferences have you seen say compared to President Clinton or President Bush?

      Where Environment and Women's Health is concerned I know and suspect what Romney would do but for me the bigger fear is not knowing what Obama will do.

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  7. As a physician, I am disappointed in the process by which the Obama administration chose to revamp the health care system. Something new is desperately needed, and there will be a lot of bitter pills for everyone to swallow. I don't love nor understand Obamacare, but I also don't like the way things are going now and I'm willing to give it a try.
    As a father of teens, I'm concerned about college education, prospects in the job sector and environmental choices our country is (mostly isn't, actually) making. The Obama administration has been short-sighted and compromised in ways that disappointed me terribly.

    All that said, I've seen how Romney panders, and I know who his political base is. That scares me far worse than anything Obama has done. Despite his failures, I believe that the president's vision for our country is more in line with my ideals than anything I've heard congressman Romney say. A nation led by FOX News mentality gives me nightmares. I'll take the devil I know over the devil I don't, and I'll hope for a miracle in 2016.
    Sadly, our current political system breeds professional politicians, not visionaries.

    YogiDance (I don't understand why I don't have a profile yet... I've registered with Blogspot, and I've written to your blog several times)

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    1. YogiDance yes blogger behaves irrationally a lot of times. Sorry about that.

      I have lot of debates with my brother who is doctor, read and read and I still fail to fully understand everything that is entailed in this healthcare reform.

      I totally agree Romney and his brand of extreme followers scare me as a woman, as a mother and a citizen of this country.

      What also scares me more is someone like Obama who seems weak and who is so insulated from criticism that he does not talk to reporters or anyone else unless it is in a controlled setting. I only wish what we assume he stands for is what he really stands for. I have a very fundamental doubt if he really is the person he portrays himself to be. I do not trust him. There I said it.

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  8. I for the first time will be casting my vote as a naturalized citizen & my vote is not for Obama..
    Completely agree with ur analysis, also have found that Romney is not as bad as the dems portray him to be. Never have seen the press fall head over heels as they have done since 2008 towards Obama & he cant do no wrong according to them .. this attitude of the press has pushed me further from him.
    Gimme Bill Clinton again... I'd vote for him in a heart beat!!!

    Aruna

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    1. Yes, Obama has completely used the press's infatuation with him to not do anything. Bush was ridiculed made fun of criticized (rightly fully so) but Obama gets a fress pass and it shows in what this country has come to.

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