"Obama's ambitions outpace his effectiveness"

[WhiskeyGirl]

By historical standards, the president's first year wasn't bad. But graded against his own lofty goals, he fell short.

He promised to save the economy from ruin, redesign the healthcare system, reregulate the financial industry, retool energy policy, slow global warming, reform education, write a new immigration law and serve as midwife to a new era of bipartisan cooperation. He said he would close the prison camp at Guantanamo, organize an orderly withdrawal from Iraq, stave off defeat in Afghanistan, negotiate with Iran, make progress toward Israeli-Palestinian peace, convince the world's Muslims that America was their friend, launch a new drive toward global nuclear disarmament -- and, while he was at it, bring the 2016 Olympics to Chicago.

Obama turned out to be masterful at launching new policies but inconsistent at getting them to work. His presidency threatened to fall into a worrisome pattern: the announcement of a lofty goal, the delegation of implementation to second-rank officials, a missed deadline or two, last-minute intervention by the president to rescue the effort from collapse, and, finally, mixed results -- followed by a statement claiming victory.

Take the $787-billion economic stimulus plan that Obama muscled through Congress as his first item of business in February. It was big, bold and ambitious -- but in political terms, it's been a failure. Most economists say the stimulus has saved at least half a million jobs, but Obama hasn't convinced most voters that the impact is real. A program to save homeowners from foreclosure has mostly been a bust. The most visibly successful piece of the administration's economic rescue plan has been its bailout of Wall Street -- a favor investment bankers repaid by awarding themselves huge bonuses.

Economy and safety should have been job #1.

He might have served himself better by making fewer trips to Scandinavia and more to construction sites in Middle America.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-mcmanus27-2009dec27,0,3930020.column

Nothing for Main Street, everything for special interests.

No jobs for Americans, just outsource the stimulus to foreign and global businesses, foreign workers...

[WhiskeyGirl]

Obama send taxpayer money, debt burden on future generations of Americans, to Korea in the form of stimulus funded battery grants.  IIRC, he sent the majority of the money to foreigners - less than half to American special interests.

Why does Korea need the money?

Hyundai Motor Co. and other South Korean carmakers may sell 1.4 million vehicles in the domestic market this year from an estimated 1.37 million in 2009, the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association said in December. Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., the world’s biggest shipbuilder, aims to win $17.7 billion in new orders in 2010.

...

For 2009, the country’s trade surplus reached $41 billion as imports dropped 25.8 percent while exports declined 13.8 percent, according to separate figures released by the ministry.

...

South Korean exports will increase 13.2 percent this year, after a 13.9 percent decline in 2009, the finance ministry said last month. Earlier reports showed industrial production climbed 1.4 percent from October while an index of leading economic indicators and manufacturers’ confidence increased.

South Korean President Lee Myung Bak said Dec. 30 the nation’s economy is likely to expand more than 5 percent in 2010, the fastest pace in three years helped by exports and domestic spending. Both the finance ministry and the central bank in December raised economic growth forecasts for 2009 and 2010.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2009-12-31/south-korea-exports-rise-at-fastest-pace-in-17-months-update1-.html

Why isn't Obama supporting American workers?  Main Street?  AMERICAN families?

No jobs for Americans in Obamaland.

Sounds like South Korea is pretty healthy compared to America.

No jobs for Americans.  No opportunity.  Just one bail out after another for Wall Street and special interests.

Higher taxes for Main Street to pay for it.