The Successes And Failures Of The Obama Presidency Politics Essay

The Successes And Failures Of The Obama Presidency Politics Essay President Obama is seen as a successful President according to the website Politifact.com, out of the 502 promises he made during the 2008 election campaign he has so far kept 134, compromised on 41, broken 40, stalled on 69 and still has 220 in the works. He may, therefore, be seen to be a successful President. However, this was not reflected in the mid-term elections where the Democrats lost a considerable number of seats within the Senate and lost their majority within the House. In this essay I will assess the successes and failures of the Obama presidency against what he promised during his election campaign of 2008 and during his subsequent State of the Union address. I will also judge some of his successes and failures by reference to opinion polls from various news outlets, particularly whether the public approved of his handling of certain situations such as unemployment and the BP oil disaster. I will first assess his domestic successes and failures then his foreign policy successes and failures, while assessing what it means to his presidency specifically and the American political system. President Obama knew when he came into office that his first priority was to fix the economy after the recession of 2008-2009. He introduced the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 which provided a stimulus to the country; it was split into three parts at a cost of $787 billion. One-third in tax cuts and tax credits to help overcome the hardships of the recession, such as an increase in food stamp benefits and unemployment benefits; one-third on the infrastructure of the country, which included projects on transport and highway and bridge construction and repair. Finally, one-third on state stabilization to stop the states cutting essential services that the public need, such as teachers.  [2]  President Obama also bailed out the car industry, specifically Chrysler and GM, at a cost of $17.4 billion.  [3]  The necessity to save the car industry was evident as it could have led to a double dip recession. GM alone employed 300,000 workers within the United States, an d if it was to fall into insolvent administration it would have had a large impact on the economy. President Obama also initiated Cash for Clunkers scheme in which owners of cars could trade them in for more fuel efficient cars. This was very popular as the initial $1 billion in subsidies for this program was supposed to last for 90 days but actually only lasted for 9.  [4]  He also brought in measures to help nine million homeowners facing foreclosure on their homes and who could not afford to repay their mortgages. The purpose was to offer mortgage companies subsidies and incentives to help troubled home owners.  [5]   Obama also brought in regulation to control the banks after they started making profits again. He stated: We are not going to let Wall Street take the money and run  [6]  and imposed conditions before the banks could escape George W Bushs Troubled Asset Relief Programme (TARP) in which money was given to the banks in total costing $700 billion.  [7]  Even though the stimulus was intended to create jobs, they were not planned to be created until 2010-2011. In 2009 unemployment was 10% of the workforce and as of March 2011 the unemployment rate still hovers around the 10% mark.  [8]   Overall Obama has kept most of his promises regarding the economy, with very few promises broken.  [9]  However, in a poll of how he handled the economy his approval rating is only at 45% (January 2011) with 54% disapproving.  [10]  This shows that the public thinks he is handling the economy quite badly. Critics have pointed out that he has done well on the economy with Nouriel Roubini in an article in the Financial Times pointing out that he has inherited the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and that the stimulus did the right thing early and avoided another depression  [11]  Without the stimulus Jonathan Alter makes the point that 8.5 million workers would have lost their jobs. He has done well in regulating the banks and TARP with the loans with added interest that were made having now been paid back. The figures are seen as impressive as instead of $700 billion being owed to the Government, the Government is owed just under $100 billion. The Clash for Clunkers programme is estimated to have saved 120,000 jobs.  [12]  The auto industry has also been greatly improved creating 55,000 new jobs and GM paying back its bailout money five years ahead of schedule.  [13]  Obama recalls that It wasnt an easy callà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦But we decided that while providing additional assistance was a risk, the far greater risk to families and communities across our country was to do nothing.    I knew this wasnt a popular decision. But it was the right one.  [14]   The way he dealt with the housing crisis was seen to go not quite so smoothly as of the 9 million homeowners the plan hoped to assist, only 3 million were actually helped. This was due to the fact that the legislation was directed at people who the Obama administration saw as having a good reason to stay in their homes; these people often worked full time and had received sub prime mortgages. The legislation helped stop house prices falling by the predicted 20% and instead increased them by 5% although house prices are still of considerable concern to the US economy.  [15]   Where Obama has failed is in job creation. It is at its worst since 1982. Newt Gingrich of the Republican Party commented If were still at 9 or 10 percent unemployment in 2012, this is a one term president no matter how articulate he is. The unemployment rate is furthermore one of the factors why the Democrats failed in the mid-term elections losing control of the House.  [16]  As Alter states, for Obama even to be considered a success he must bring down unemployment.  [17]  Obama has been able to pass all of his economic legislation quite easily due to his previous super majorities within the House and the Senate after the election of 2008. However, as he has now reached the mid-terms and the Republican party have a majority hold within the House, he will have a much difficult time as the Republican party are likely to resist his legislative proposals. This is becoming apparent in the differences in Congress over this years budget proposals and points to the difficulty when any president is faced with his party being in a minority within Congress. One of Obamas major pledges was to reform the ailing healthcare system, as it would greatly increase the countrys debt. Healthcare spending has grown to such an extent that it is predicted to rise from one-sixth of GDP in 2009 to one-third in 2035, and by 2080 nearly half of U.S. GDP would be spent on healthcare according to the Congressional Budget Office.  [18]  Healthcare premiums had also doubled and the numbers of uninsured Americans would surpass 50 million. Families have told of being bankrupted by paying for the medical care, and of the bad treatment from insurance companies.  [19]  Obama and a Democrat Congress implemented a healthcare plan which contained new federal regulation of insurance, help for states on Medicaid, an increase in the affordability of healthcare and higher fees on employers who do not provide insurance.  [20]  This was met with fierce opposition from some on the right of the political spectrum such that no Republican congressmen voted for it , mainly encouraged by those from the extreme right of the political spectrum, such as the Tea Party movement. The healthcare plan was seen as a success as it was one of Obamas key campaign promises to ensure that some sort of healthcare plan became law, and he again mentioned in his 2010 State of the Union Address that he wanted to implement some healthcare reform.  [21]  He got his wish with the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. Although seen as a success in that he got the Democratic Congress to pass the necessary legislation, it proved unpopular with the public with one poll giving 38% approving of the healthcare plan and 53% opposing it.  [22]  However, different news organisations reported different numbers at separate times. President Obama had to rely on his presidential powers of persuasion and bargaining to get this legislation through Congress, as he influenced Senators, House members and even tried unsuccessfully to get Republicans on his side. At various times he tried to influence public opinion that such legislation was necessary. The legislation is also subject to numerous court challenges with Judge Roger Vinson in the Federal District of Pensalcola, Florida ruling that the whole legislation was void, not just the provisions for compulsory insurance.  [23]  It is likely that the Supreme Court will eventually be called upon to rule on the legislation. The importance of a president leading on controversial legislation and using all of his powers of persuasion to carry Congress and the public with him is demonstrated by the healthcare legislation. President Obamas other domestic policy initiatives include bringing in legislation on the repeal of dont ask dont tell, which stops the military from infringing on the rights of homosexual citizens if they choose to join the military; his education reforms which gave the power to close poor performing schools (which Bill Gates rated him a A for); and the equal pay legislation which promises equal pay for jobs that have equal standing. Obamas biggest domestic disaster came with the BP oil spill. Obama could be said to have handled the BP oil spill poorly as he was slow to respond and criticised for not being more emotive on the issue, saying in an interview that This is not a theatre.  [24]  Polls at the time showed a low approval rating of just 41%.  [25]  Nevertheless once the issue was resolved, it was quickly forgotten about by the media and the Government. President Obamas foreign policy is one of both successes and failures. One of Obamas main campaign promises was to withdraw from Iraq which he successfully completed on the 31 August 2010 with only a handful of troops staying in Iraq to advise Iraqi forces.  [26]  Afghanistan was the most controversial foreign policy decision during his presidency with Dick Cheney accusing him of dithering. Obama after much deliberation sent 30,000 more troops into Afghanistan with the decision to withdraw some troops in summer 2011. The President of Afghanistan accepted cash bribes from Iran which caused embarrassment to the Obama administration and General McChrystal and his staff criticised the Commander in Chief in a magazine article, calling him unimpressive and uncomfortable and intimidated. He was dismissed and replaced by General David Petraeus. Obama has made positive steps to improve U.S.-Russia relations which saw a dispute with the Bush administration over the missile defence system i n Eastern Europe which Russia strongly opposed. Obama scrapped this idea and began talks with the Russians and these resulted in good levels of cooperation with Russia over issues such as Iran and North Korea, and the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) which was approved by the Senate and became effective on the 5 February 2011.  [27]  28He made the aid funding to Pakistan conditional on its controlling terrorist activities. Obama has been successful in banning torture as an interrogation technique. He has been criticised from the right as being slow in supporting the Iranian uprisings in 2009. However, he was said to have exercised restraint on the issue as he did not want the Iranian government claiming that it was an American sponsored uprising.  [29]  Again he was criticised over his handling of the popular uprisings for democracy in 2011 in the Arab nations, such as Egypt and Tunisia, with Christopher Hitchens calling the slow response to these uprisings as a dithering responseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦[which has] been both cynical and naive.  [30]  The same too could be said about Obamas response to the Libyan rebellion. However, it is clear that Obama wanted a multilateral response, particularly from the Arab League, and UN approval before rushing into another war.  [31]   Obama has tried to enhance relations with other countries, unsuccessfully in the case of Iran and North Korea, but successfully with Europe, China and more particularly with Russia. His meeting with the Russian President in June, 2010 at the White House was said to mark the highest point of Russian-U.S. relations since Bill Clinton went to Moscow to mark Victory Day.  [32]   Obama is said to be badly at odds with Israel with the Financial Times stating: Mr. Obama initially played tough with Mr. Netanyahu but then backed downSettlement expansion puts out of reach an agreement on borders The US veto at the UN badly damaged Mr. Obamas credibility. The resolution, after all, reflected the White Houses own stated position..Mr. Obama must choose between prevarication and the chance to sustain US influence in the worlds most troubled and strategically vital region.  [33]   His biggest failures to date are Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay. Obama acknowledges that progress in Afghanistan is limited and fragile although there has been success in resisting the Taliban and Al-Qaida.  [34]  It is still unpopular with the American public with just 31% of the American public thinking Afghanistan is worth fighting for.  [35]  Obamas most problematic issue comes with Guantanamo Bay with the website Politifact.com listing it as a broken promise. Congress and the President remaining at odds over where to put the prisoners due to the refusal of Congress to allow detainees to be imprisoned within the United States . On the 7 March 2011 Obama signed an executive order making a number of changes to his policies, with a number of news outlets noting that it is an acknowledgement that he could not keep his campaign promise of closing Guantanamo Bay.  [36]   President Obama has overall seen far more successes than failures during his Presidency although he has yet to convince the American people. Although this could all change with the losses during the mid-term elections as he will find it a lot harder to pass his legislation. His recent reforms are under threat from the Republicans, such as Healthcare and environmental legislation which they want to scrap.  [37]  The President has been nicknamed no drama Obama but as the Financial Times states this is often perceived as him having a sense of aloofness and on the national and international stage a sense of unwillingness to lead.  [38]  At the end of last week 64 senators, 32 Republican and 32 democrats, asked the President to lead on a comprehensive plan to deal with fiscal policy. As the Financial Times points out in a leader, Mr Obama should be embarrassed that the Senate finds it necessary to ask him to do his job.  [39]  The importance of a president providing leadership is again emphasised. His priorities should be to deal with the issues facing Afghanistan, the US debt burden and the unemployment crisis, because as Newt Gingrich stated he will have a hard time becoming re-elected in 2012 if he does not solve these issues. These issues will no doubt have to be grappled with by any president elected in 2012.

Copper Sulphate Calibration

Method As per laboratory protocol. Rest Its and Discussion From the table and graph it shows that there is a linear relationship between concentration and absorption (Beer-Lambert Law). As the concentration increases so does the absorbency. The line of regression fits into the averages of the UP Absorbency, the RE is 0. 9538 this shows that the data is accurate as it is very close to the regression line. Taking the averages of the CIVIC Absorbency allows the data to become more accurate and reliable. Cavetti MM cuscus (ml) Distilled Water (m L)Concentration (M) XIV Absorbency (Average) Dividing the unknown solutions by y is the way to find the concentrations of the unknown solutions. Plotting the unknown solutions On the graph Can test the reliability of the results of the concentration. The results are close to the line of regression, this indicates that the values which were calculated are accurate. The results which were gathered could have been skewed from the way the cavetti was placed into the spectrophotometer.For instance, if the puttee had fingerprints on it, the wavelength would not penetrate the cavetti properly as the fingerprints may modify the way the light penetrates the solution, thus gathering an incorrect concentration reading. One way to avoid this is to clean the cavetti before placing it into the spectrophotometer, plus making sure that it is placed into the apparatus the right way. Whilst the 1 mol of Copper Sulfate was measured with the Gilson there may have been a small chance of the measurement being inaccurate, however, a Gilson is more likely to give an accurate measurement of a solution than a pipette old.When using a spectrophotometer it is essential that the apparatus is switched on and left to warm up for at least 15 minutes, if this is not executed and the experiment is done with a ‘cold' spectrophotometer the readings may be unstable. Between each reading of the solutions the spectrophotometer transmittance needs to be set back to O, if this is not done the reading will be incorrect, therefore jeopardizing the accuracy and reliability of the results. Conclusion Within this practical the aim was achieved, the absorptions of the diluted solutions were determined and accurate.

Environmental Science and Human Populations Worksheet Essay

Using the textbooks, the University Library, or other resources, answer each of the following questions in 100 to 200 words. 1. What would you include in a brief summary on the history of the modern environmental movement, from the 1960s to the present? Rachel Carson, an author, brought to light the harm in using a pesticide called DDT. The pesticide was sprayed to control Dutch elm disease, a fungus that kills trees. The pesticide accidentally killed birds and other wildlife in the process.In 1969 the Environmental Policy Act was passed by Congress. Shortly after that President Nixon recommended the creation of an agency named the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In 1970 the Clean Air Act was passed, in 1972 the Marine Mammals Protection Act was inducted, and the Endangered Species Act was passed in 1973. In 1974 the Safe Drinking Water Act was passed and the Superfund Act was passed in 1980 as a result of a hazardous waste problem in New York. 2. Explain the primary concern over exponential population growth. What promotes exponential population growth? What constrains exponential population growth? The primary concerns for the exponential population growth is how to feed, clothe, house, and support the growing population with gainful employment. Economic growth between and within countries is extremely unequal hindering the overall progress.The promotion of exponential population growth can be done with advances in education, health care, and more freedom and opportunities for women. Exponential population growth is constrained by the abuse and overexploitation of ecosystem resources. This can be improved by provisioning, goods obtained from ecosystems; regulating, services obtained from the regulation of ecosystem processes; and cultural, nonmaterial benefits from ecosystems. 3. What is carrying capacity? Compare predictions for human population growth in developed countries versus developing countries. What will occur if carrying capacity is exceeded? Carrying capacity is the population that can be supported indefinitely by an ecosystem without destroying that ecosystem. According to our textbook, policies and actions that reduce infant mortality increase the availability of family planning. Thus improving air quality, providing abundant and pure water, and preserving and protecting natural ecosystems. It will also reduce the erosion of the soil, reduces the release of toxic chemicals to the environment, and would restore health coastal fisheries which all move that society in a positive direction: a sustainable future. Exceeding the carrying capacity is detrimental in many ways. The world is already using a substantial amount of fossil fuels thus emitting more carbon dioxide. Society would not be able to sustain natural resources. Food and water supplies would be diminished or tainted. Disease and famine could also spread faster without cures or medicines to control them. 4. How do individual choices affect natural ecosystem? Provide examples from your personal or community experience. We as individuals have exponential power to support and help the ecosystem. Cultivating your own food is a great start. Growing up my family always planted a garden. We grew a multitude of vegetables including corn, potatoes, onions, and peppers. What we didn’t use right away we canned or froze so that we would have vegetables year round. I have other family members that raise cows, chickens, and pigs for food. Being able to provide your own food source is self-reliability but it is all organic; no fertilizers or pesticides. Other ways to help the natural ecosystem is by recycling; this would decrease the harvesting of other natural resources. Using alternate transportation such as bicycles, electronic cars, and hybrid cars will help diminish the use of fossil fuels that emit carbon dioxide.

Is Active Euthanasia Ever Justified - 2440 Words

AUTHOR: Norm Edwards Whilst the issue of active euthanasia (or assisted suicide) raises a number of arguments, for and against, the dilemma faced by doctors, parents, the individuals themselves and lawmakers is, should active euthanasia be allowed or ever justified? To answer this, justification of good cause requires analysis in terms of the pros and cons as well as the role that moral consideration plays in terms of how we value life, and to what extent we place emphasis on that value and at what point do we say that suffering is good for life. The notion that prolonged suffering is not good for the value of life is assumed here, as is the propensity to save life without causing further distress and pain. Given that several†¦show more content†¦As already discussed, the term killing appears to be worse than letting die in the moral sense. However at what point does the morality of killing not exceed the allowing of insufferable pain and agony that a patient must endure, even though it is p robably already known, as in the throat cancer patient example, that the patient will die anyway. Moral consideration, I believe, is what society deems to be acceptable and what is not. I would argue that if society wants to accept that active euthanasia is morally wrong, then they must also accept that in doing so they are supporting the notion of unwanted pain and suffering to those that are experiencing that pain and by doing so are at best contradicting what they term as being morally correct. It is ridiculous to accept that society would allow pain and suffering; therefore, the term letting die should be equally applied to active euthanasia as it is to passive euthanasia. The AMA does allow passive euthanasia, as already explained, but again, at what point should the moral view of the termination of life disregard pain and agony? In my view, any causing death argument is flawed in terms of who is responsible for the death. With active euthanasia a doctor actively takes ac tion to cause death; but wait, passive euthanasia effectively does the same because the doctor is still taking action, albeit passive, by not administering medicine, therefore, the causing death argument does not convince.Show MoreRelatedEuthanasi Active And Passive Euthanasia1562 Words   |  7 PagesEuthanasia, also known as voluntary or assisted suicide, is used for terminally ill patients to end their lives instead of undergoing painful treatments and torment of waiting for death. There are, however, two different ways in which A can bring about B’s death. 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Euthanasia and assisted suicide is a way for family members and friends to be able to say their goodbyes to their loved one and know that they won’t be suffering for much longer. First, this essay is going to explore what euthanasia and assisted suicide is, and what the laws are in Canada involving this topic. Secondly, this paperRead MoreAssisted Suicide Should Not be Legalized1633 Words   |  7 PagesTreatments typically focus on pain management and quality of life, and include medicatio n and various types of therapy. When traditional treatments are not able to eliminate pain and suffering or the promise of healing, patients will often consider euthanasia or assisted suicide. Assisted suicide occurs when a person is terminally ill and believes that their life is not worth living anymore. As a result of these thoughts and feelings, a physician or other person is enlisted to â€Å"assist† the patient inRead MoreThe Ethics Of Patient Treatment2450 Words   |  10 Pageswith the ethics of patient treatment. I am sure I would not feel comfortable ending the life of someone as it in my views it is not morally correct. However, there are many people who believe preventing suffering for others justifies the act of euthanasia. Also, patients can refuse treatment and die of natural causes although these are cases where they cannot decide for themselves. There are many factors to take in to consideration when looking at this issue. When it comes to ethics in many situ ationsRead MoreThe Issue Of Euthanasia And Euthanasia2073 Words   |  9 Pageslife is beyond toleration or they feel as though there is no point to living, the issue of euthanasia often arises. Euthanasia is technically defined as â€Å"the act or practice of killing someone who is very sick or injured in order to prevent any more suffering†. In america people have the right to end their life. The topic of euthanasia is one that is highly disputed among people over the world.† Euthanasia means killing someone who is very sick to prevent more suffering† (Weaver 1). An example of