A champagne socialist reflects on Western culture and the Universe... and whilst gazing at his navel, he comes up with a lot of useless lint. It is the fruits of this navel-gazing that form the substance of this blog.
Published on January 17, 2012 By Champas Socialist In Politics

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/01/15/andrew-sullivan-how-obama-s-long-game-will-outsmart-his-critics.html

I'm an Australian. I don't know in great detail what Obama is or isn't doing, but I probably know as much as most Australians know about their own Prime Minister.

I'd love to hear Americans' response to this article arguing that Obama is doing a better job for both conservatives and liberals.

It's better if you just click on the link, but he basically says that the stimulus package stimulated jobs and averted a depression, that he has cut discretionary spending, that Obamacare is fiscally conservative and prudent, hacked a chunk out of Al Qaeda, assisted gay rights, and done more on the financial system than the Republicans are promising. But read the article, it's far more detailed. Then tell me what you think.


Comments
on Jan 17, 2012

Catchy title. And mind you, Bush wasn't conservative enough for me!

Obama is an Alinski radical Leftist who doing his level best to make the USA  Socialist....that's the "change" ; the "long game, if you will, he hopes for and talked about during his 2008 campaign. 

Well, he didn't quite get the job done and needs another 4 years and therefore his re-election campaign is in full swing and he knows that in order to get re-elected he must talk this way. 

You see, bamboozling us by his wording is his number one achievement.

It got him elected once, let's see what happens the next time around.

 

 

on Jan 17, 2012

Good to see you again Champas!

As for the Newsweek article it is being widely discussed - and as you might expect, soundly thrashed.  Andrew Sullivan is a former blogger that went mainstream.  He is entitled to his opinion, but Obama is not more conservative than Bush. Whether you support Obama or want him gone, one thing most (as Andrew is evidence of the fact it is not all) people do acknowledge and understand he is more left than Bush was (although Bush was not very right of center either).  American Conservatives do not believe in nationalizing 1/6 of the economy in the name of "Universal Health Care" (actually insurance - but most do not realize that distinction).  Whether you agree with Obamacare or not, most (again Andrew so not all) admit it is a growth of government which is the antithesis of conservatism, but a pillar of liberalism (American style).

As most conservatives will tell you - they were disappointed with Bush not being far enough right (I think I already did).  And so, as most liberals will tell you that Obama is not far enough left.  But just because there are always going to be some to the right of the conservatives and to the left of liberals does not mean that all conservatives or liberals are the opposite.

We have an expression: "He is so far left, he thinks anyone right of Mao is a conservative".  That is half of Andrew's problem.  He fails to understand that through philosophy or pragmatism, Obama is not on the extreme left and will gather scorn from those who are (even though they will vote for him come November).

While Sullivan is entitled to his opinion, the truth, as stated by economists on both the left and right (including in the administration) the Stimulus did not prevent anything.  Mostly because it was not a stimulus, but a pay back. The few benefits it did have in it, were offset by the sucking up of working capital that private industry could have used to restart the economy, and the additional regulations that stifled any hope of a quick recovery.

A couple of years ago, newsweek sold for $1.  It appears to have been over priced even at that.