A year in review

My Thoughts

Dr. Bill Atwood

(Updated: Thursday, January 28, 2010, 4:51 PM)

Last week we passed a milestone -- President Obama has been our leader for one year and so now it should be fair to look at what has happened under his watch.

Gitmo is still in operation. The man of change made it a point of telling us and the world how he was closing Gitmo in one year and that people would see that his administration was going to show that America was through operating such a camp. I wrote one year ago that I was concerned with where those inmates would go. Well it seems that the president ran into a problem with the closing as it appears more difficult than he thought.

Unemployment is up. The president said that passing his administration's stimulus package would keep unemployment at or below 8%. Failure to pass it would lead to 9% unemployment. We are now above 10% and it appears that we will live with that number for most of this year.

Let's see, we spend $1 trillion dollars on a scheme to save jobs and fix the economy and the benchmark of the president is now 25% worse than he told us it would be if we supported his plan. Fixing the economy was more difficult than he thought.

National Security -- I don't know about you but I feel less secure than I did even one year ago. Had it not been for an inept terrorist along with the brave actions of a couple of passengers the underwear bomber would have killed all on the plane and many on the ground.

Fort Hood saw a terrorist attack and the present occupant of the White House was fast to say the massacre was caused by a lone figure and was an isolated incident. Evidence has proven the president wrong. National security is more difficult than he thought.

The Health Care Package -- The president's party was swept into office the same night of his election. They have had one year since the inauguration and he had a majority control of both Houses of Congress until Scott Brown sent shockwaves to the White House. Reid and Pelosi were brought in and the American people have seen the change that our leader promised during the election.

Late-night back room deals with hundreds of millions of dollars promised different legislators for their votes. Exemptions made for some state populations in exchange for other votes. The good Lord only knows what other promises were made for other deals to buy the votes for the president's plan to give free health care to everyone.

He sends the message that the health care plan won't raise taxes one dime. He promises not one illegal alien will get health care and we know differently. Passage of health care seems more difficult than he thought.

Trust in the government -- Open and transparent administration. These have also eluded the current leader of the free world. It is more difficult than he thought.

The president received the Nobel Peace Prize for his desire for peace. Apparently those in Oslo "thought" that the president's "hope" for peace was enough to select him just a few days into his administration. Even many of his supporters thought it too early.

The wars aren't going too well. The president thought for weeks about following his chosen general's recommendation for troops in Afghanistan. He checked the polling data and had to send some troops in but also satisfy his liberal supporters with fewer than requested troops and he told our enemy when he will pack up his tent and go away. They will wait us out. Being commander-in-chief is more difficult than he thought.

The national debt -- This president and his party have spent such huge numbers of dollars this year beyond our ability to repay it is scary. Now they want to get permission to borrow $1.9 trillion more. Obama is finding that paying for his programs is more difficult than he thought.

President Obama thought he could sway three elections, grab the Olympics for Chicago based upon his "star power," and get an agreement in Copenhagen regarding global warming. He thought wrong. It was more difficult than he thought.

I wonder how many of those who voted for him last year are having second thoughts.