"What has Obama ACTUALLY done so far ?" My Response to a FaceBook friend

The following is my Response to a FaceBook Friend asking "what has Obama actually done so far and would I actually vote for him again"

A little perspective is important in evaluating what has and has not been accomplished in the 2 years since Obama has been President. 

In regard to the economy, it is very relevant to realize that the state of the economy at the time he took office in January of 2009 was THE WORST since The Great Depression by all  statistical measures. Millions of jobs were been shed every month, the value of the stock market was LITERALLY half of what it is today (which affects people's 401Ks, pension plans, savings, etc.), record home foreclosures, credit markets frozen meaning banks would loan to NO ONE (i.e. small businesses, credit unions, etc.), and several other indicators of pending economic Armageddon. That type of economic situation will not turn around in a short amount of time NO MATTER WHO was President. Now, with that said all the moves made by the economic team not only LITERALLY prevented a 2nd Great Depression but the economy is now growing again by ALL MEASURES of economic progress. The bailouts of banks and of GM, like it or not, prevented a very bad situation from getting A WHOLE LOT WORSE. If we ran into a situation where Bank of America, Chase, General Motors, all went bankrupt (very real possibilities at the time) then we'd be pretty much looking at hell on earth in this U.S. of A. I supported the bailouts originally proposed by the Bush Administration cause I understood the consequences of doing nothing and in retrospect I am STILL convinced it was the right thing to do.

Now, regarding the deficit, don't believe the hype that Obama quadrupled the deficit in 2 years. First off, the Bush administration did some tricky financial math that left the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars along with a $600 billion Prescription Drug  Bill OFF THE BUDGET so when Barack and his team got in there and put these expenses RIGHTFULLY on the budget, that alone put the deficit at record levels. So that's before 1 bill was passed and any action taken by Obama, that by correcting the deceptive bookkeeping of the past administration that a TRUE PICTURE of the deficit was given. Now what has since been added to the deficit are additional bailouts and the Economic Stimulus package. You can question whether these were necessary or not although it is FACTUAL that the bailout of GM not only worked but it LITERALLY saved the US Auto Industry and the ripple effect throughout the economy that would've taken place had nothing been done. The Stimulus package both created and save close to 2 million jobs and saved many states from being damn near bankrupt because of their budget shortfalls which would've forced them to layoff policemen, firefighters, teachers, etc. Imagine the HELL if that took place ? Yes this added to the deficit but the way I view this is that if a storm came and blew the roof off my house and I was flat broke I would have 2 options. I could either sit there and make a bad situation worse and allow the rain to continue and destroy all my property or I could get a credit card (i.e. add to my household deficit) and pay for someone to come replace my roof and prevent a worsening situation. This is precisely what the Obama administration did. They could have done NOTHING and not borrowed any money to address some immediate concerns and allow things to get worse or they could've "put it on the card" for the sake of the economy. Yes this added to the deficit but HELL YES it was necessary.

Now, regarding Healthcare, keep in mind that Democratic Presidents dating back to JFK have been trying to pass SOMETHING to improve the troubling state of healthcare in this country. Amidst FIERCE opposition from the Republicans who want NOTHING done on Healthcare and hence why their administrations NEVER EVEN ATTEMPT to do anything to fix the nation's healthcare crisis, Obama and the Democratic Congress GOT IT DONE !! Is it perfect ? HELL NO !! Is there more to be done ? HELL YES !! BUT it's a good first step and one that many have tried and just as many have failed. That's HISTORIC in and of itself.

Now I certainly DO NOT agree with Obama on everything he does (i.e. it's time to get THE HELL out of Afghanistan AND Iraq) and I got no problem criticizing and calling him out when need be but in regard to the question "what has he actually done" I hope this LONG ASS ESSAY answers that question. If not, check out this website which does a simpler job of addressing that question. -> http://whatthefuckhasobamadonesofar.com/