On September 12, 2001 the whole country was alert and anxious to retaliate against those who committed the dastardly act in New york and Washington. But the fear and anger gradually turned to apathy and antagonism toward President "George Bush"s War".
The media and academia along with the "grown up" hippies of the anti-war 60's kept up a steady drum beat for withdrawal from Iraq and the need for Change.
The electorate turned against Bush and the Republicans, and the result was the election of the well spoken junior Senator from Illinois who offered withdrawal from Iraq and the closing of Guantanamo Prison camp. His motto was Change.
Barack Obama made 510 promises when he was running for president, a list that is stunning in its scope and leaves almost no part of the executive branch untouched, according to a new analysis by PolitiFact.
The analysis found that Obama made more than twice as many promises as George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, whose campaign pledges were examined by other news organizations. Bush made 177 promises in 2000 and Clinton made 204 in 1992, as reported by the Knight Ridder Washington Bureau (now McClatchy).
Obama made sweeping promises like ending the Iraq war and cutting taxes on the middle class, and narrow ones like establishing programs to help animals survive global warming, weatherizing 1 million low-income homes per year and increasing tax deductions for artists.Specific promises like ending the tax breaks for the "rich",
The promises reflect a philosophy that government can, and perhaps should, play a role in solving problems at all levels.
• Obama calls for more regulation, new agencies and at least 11 new groups that would have "corps" in their name, including: an America's Voice Corps to foster international diplomacy; an Artists Corps to work in low-income schools and communities; and a Health Corps to improve public health.
• Of the 510 promises, most deal with foreign policy (87); followed by health (76); the environment (59) and energy (51). He's also fond of transparency (33) and government efficiency (32).
• He likes advice. We found he plans to create at least 10 new advisers such as a director of urban policy, a special adviser on violence against women, the nation's first chief technology officer and an American Indian policy adviser.
• Even before the need arose for a major economic stimulus bill, Obama proposed hundreds of billions in new spending. His ideas include $150 billion over 10 years on green initiatives, $60 billion for roads and bridges; $50 billion for the global fight against AIDS; and $25 billion more in foreign aid. He also promised billions in cost savings by ending the war in Iraq, reducing earmarks and reforming federal contracting, to name a few.
• He likes green. Overall, Obama hopes to create 5 million "green" jobs as part of a more energy-efficient economy. He wants to retrofit federal buildings to save energy. For veterans, there's a "Green Vet Initiative" to help vets get jobs in renewable energy. He even has a plan to help spur a "Green Revolution" in Africa.
Obama's high level of detail — and the large number of promises — reflects the need for a newcomer to establish his credibility.
"Obama was relatively unknown at the national level," said Martha Joynt Kumar, a professor of political science at Towson University, "so he had to have a greater degree of specificity about what his plans were. You've got to let people know who you are."
Although at times ridiculed by opponents as little more than a gifted speaker who emphasized abstract platitudes like "change," Obama and his policy team laid out an extremely detailed agenda for America. He was well-known for his pledge to end the war in Iraq, but his position paper on the issue details eight other promises, including a specific pledge to provide at least $2 billion to assist Iraqi refugees. Likewise, his broad health care plan includes a pledge to name a coordinator to oversee all federal efforts to combat autism.
Lost in all this plan for the USA becoming a "welfare state", is the ever growing threat from radical Muslims. He has even dictated that the words "enemy combatant"not be used in any government communication to the public.
Then he nominated and the Senate confirmed the ex-governor of Arizona, Janet Napolitano, 51, as new Homeland Security Secretary.
This is the woman that said when asked about the building of a high fence to keep out illegals. "Show me a 50 foot high fence and I will show you a 51 foot ladder"!
She was interviewed in Berlin recently on her visit to Germany to consult with German officials about their experience with "home grown" terrorists.
She contributed this revealing insight into the way the Obama administration views the terrorist threat to the USA.
"In some ways, the problem( terrorist) in Europe is greater than in the United States. But the questions are the same. How do you identify a youth who is susceptible to becoming radicalized? How do you work with that youth, his family and community to give them alternatives to radicalization?
You have to avoid over-simplification from the far right and from the far left. Ultimately, you need to deal with the underlying immigration law and a reasonable immigration policy. At some point, when the time is appropriate, our president and congress will re-engage on the underlying immigration law. Right now, my task is to make smart enforcement decisions on the law that we have.
I presume there is always a threat from terrorism. In my speech, although I did not use the word "terrorism," I referred to "man-caused" disasters. That is perhaps only a nuance, but it demonstrates that we want to move away from the politics of fear toward a policy of being prepared for all risks that can occur".
Secretary, it is more than "nuance"! What you and Obama are doing is reducing the threat of Radical Muslim terrorists to that of a criminal event that can happen on any street in America every day. This over simplification in the day of nuclear weapons small enough to put in a suitcase that could wipe out whole cities is almost criminal!
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