I find the news that President Obama went to Hawaii for a vacation the moment after the fiscal bill was signed very disappointing. While the victims of Hurricane Sandy are still suffering, I don’t think he deserves a beach party. And what is the urgency to take vacations? His term will end in 4 years, and for the rest of his life he won’t have that much to do.
At least, Boehner will stop being the Speaker, so there is some good news in all of this.
He’s never seemed interested in day to day operations or the details of what’s happening. That much was clear during the 2008 campaign. On the other hand he doesn’t seem like a good administrator either so his presence or absence is probably not a major factor in the daily grind.
He was a known quality in 2012 so don’t be surprised now that he’s kind of disconnected from anything that isn’t all about him.
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Barack is just another politician and now a lame duck president, so that’s probably giving him a bigger excuse to be very lazy with his presidency. That’s what this all proves. He was really good at marketing himself and using social networking to get what he is, but at the end of the day, he’s hardly any different from many of the other politicians out there. I hope this wasn’t what he meant by “change we can believe in,” because this is laughable at best, but at least we haven’t waged all out war with Iran, severed diplomatic ties or threatened them directly like that lunatic Michele Bachmann wanted to do, so in that way, he’s been far more conservative than people think he’s been. There was absolutely no excuse for Arab Spring, and his behavior regarding NDAA has been deplorable.
John Boehner leaving? I haven’t heard about that at all, but he did apparently tell Harry Reid to “go fuck himself.” What a pathetic piece of shit that man has been and he’s spit all over the face of the GOP, tarnishing their reputation even further. I hope they get someone more sensible who can actually stand up for the party and reinvigorate it.
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It’s not just the victims of Hurricane Sandy who will suffer. What happened to Obama’s vaunted support for LGBT?
“Despite a late-stage intervention by Vice President Joe Biden, House Republican leaders failed to advance the Senate’s 2012 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, an embattled bill that would have extended domestic violence protections to 30 million LGBT individuals, undocumented immigrants and Native American women.
“The House leadership would not bring it up, just like they wouldn’t bring up funding for Sandy [hurricane damage] last night,” said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), a key backer of the Senate version of the bill, in an interview with HuffPost. “I think they are still so kowtowing to the extreme on the right that they’re not even listening to the moderates, and particularly the women, in their caucus who are saying they support this.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/02/violence-against-women-act-_n_2398553.html
Brand Obama is just a pretense.
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It is strategic. By going to Hawaii he signals that he is relaxed and in control.
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“At least, Boehner will stop being the Speaker, so there is some good news in all of this.”
Nope.
“Rep. John Boehner was voted by his colleagues into another term as House speaker Thursday despite receiving harsh criticism from some conservatives over his handling of the deal to avoid the fiscal cliff.
There were a few scattered votes for other names – defeated Rep. Allen West, the tea party favorite from Florida, and GOP Majority Leader Eric Cantor both received nods – but the vast majority of Republicans in the House shouted Boehner’s name when called upon by the House reading clerk. In total, 220 Republicans out of a conference of 234 went for the Ohio Republican during the tension-filled vote on the House floor.”
He got so choked up on the opening of the new congress today that he started crying in gratitude.
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Well, it does seem insensitive, but practically speaking, if a president were to postpone or cancel their breaks until there were no crises happening in the US, (nevermind crises affecting US interests on non US soil! ) they would never get a break at all during their terms of service. And notwithstanding the vested corporate interests which would like holidays in general to be seen as lazy, unpatriotic and un-American, I think most people recognise rest as essential to proper performance of one’s duties.
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“if a president were to postpone or cancel their breaks until there were no crises happening in the US, (nevermind crises affecting US interests on non US soil! ) they would never get a break at all during their terms of service.”
– So? In this country nobody is guaranteed the right to a vacation during their entire lives. What’s the big deal with not having a vacation for just 8 years when you can spend the rest of your life snoozing at the beach?
“And notwithstanding the vested corporate interests which would like holidays in general to be seen as lazy, unpatriotic and un-American, I think most people recognise rest as essential to proper performance of one’s duties.”
– Most people have to work their entire lives and beg for an extra day off when they are too sick to get out of bed or have a death in the family. Sorry, I’m not prepared to feel the pain of an ultra-rich man whose salary is paid with my taxes and who has done nothing to ensure that people who pay his expenses have even 1 guaranteed vacation day.
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I’m being pragmatic, not empathetic. I’m a little surprised actually, I class holidays as a component of mental hygiene and would have thought you did too.
Hope you’re having a good time in Montreal 🙂 btw, haven’t been commenting much because my internet has been spotty.
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I’m sure Obama has all the resources in the world to take care of his mental hygiene. In the meanwhile, people on the East Coast remain homeless and their entire region is destroyed by the hurricane. Who will take care of their mental hygiene?
We are back from Montreal and happy to discover that there is a little snow here in Illinois. Well, we will take whatever we can get! 🙂 🙂
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What could he, as president, do in DC for the victims of Hurricane Sandy that he cannot do from Hawaii?
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I’m sure he could find a couple of things to do if he tried really hard. 🙂
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There is a petition around the web asking President Obama to nominate Paul Krugman as Treasury Secretary. What’s your take on this Clarissa?
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A conservative literary critic and college professor
Clarissa's Blog 
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