At what point will we hold Barack
Obama accountable for the many issues we are facing in our country
today? As an Obama voter, I must admit I have been a tad bit
unsatisfied with the progress the country is making right
now.
At what point
will we hold Barack Obama accountable for the many issues we are
facing in our country today? As an Obama voter, I must admit I have
been a tad bit unsatisfied with the progress the country is making
right now.
I voted to
elect him into office, not because he’s black, but because I felt
he was the best man for the job. However, I feel that the black
community is supporting a man because of his race, not his quality
of work. Because in all honesty, if we stepped back and looked, we
are probably in worst shape now than we were in 2008 when he was
elected.
Before I am
called an Obama hater let me explain myself. I acknowledge that he
has come into office after eight years of one of the worst
presidencies in our country’s history. In addition to that, he has
adopted the problems of a country that has been piling on debt for
years that precede even the Bush administration. However, after
three years in office, I have seen no visible, or invisible for
that matter, signs of progress abroad or at home.
I feel that the
excitement of our first black president has come and gone. Now it
is time for him to do the job we elected him to do. And for the
ladies and gentlemen who will be quick to accuse me being a sellout
or trader I challenge you to ask yourself, what major moves has our
president made since being in office?
If the man
makes mistakes we must hold him accountable to them. Every time
George W. Bush dropped the ball the black community were the first
people to say what a terrible president he is. For every mistake he
made, we held him personally responsible for the mistake and told
him he needs to fix it.
Now, in 2011,
if the Obama administration fails to do what has been promised to
the American people, we sit back and declare that the problems with
the Obama administration is the fault of his predecessor and this
task will take more than four years to fix. And although I agree
with that statement to an extent, what positive moves forward have
we made as a country that would show that our president is making
strong visible strides?
For starters,
last week, new census data showed the nation’s poverty rate rose to
more than 15%, the highest level since 1993. More than 46 million
Americans are now considered in poverty, 2.6 million more than last
year.
In an attempt
to save us from an economic crisis, the Obama administration put
into place the stimulus package. However, many economists have
proven that this program was a failure in terms of saving us from
the economic crisis we were trying to avoid.
Need more
evidence to the struggles of his presidency? Well let’s not forget
about the debt ceiling and how it is basically non-existent now.
Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said “Never again will any
president, from either party, be allowed to raise the debt ceiling
without being held accountable for it by the American people and
without having to engage in the kind of debate we’ve just come
through.”
In addition to
that, our relations abroad have not improved. What significant
things have we seen done to improve our relations with countries in
the Middle East and Africa? Many, if not all, of the same issues we
faced abroad during the Bush years are still here.
The Obama
administration can hang their hat on the assassination of Osama Bin
Laden and seemingly calming issues in Iran and Iraq. However with
the exception of that, the war on terror is still a very likely
threat.
The Obama
administration has had quite a few accomplishments in these last
three years. However, in terms of the major issues (economy,
education, issues overseas, etc.) the Obama administration has
failed to meet the standards many Americans would like for him to
meet.
His approval
rating is at an all time low right now. Although I do not feel that
he should lose the election in 2012, I do believe the Obama
administration needs to step up to the plate and take care of the
issues we have been facing during his entire term.
I do believe
the Obama administration when they say they are working around the
clock to help our country. However, I also believe what people do
more than what people say. And thus far, I do not see much
doing.
We have so many
people of color who are still on this high of having our first
black president, that we forget that all of the issues we voted him
into office for in 2008 are not only still here, but are
significantly getting worse by the day. I support our president,
but it would be nice for that change he promised the American
people to come sooner than later.
- Trumaine McCaskill, Opinion Editor