Bob Gorrell for September 26, 2009

^ shouldn’t that be “fewer”? It is a countable number?

You mean respected around the world but hated by the warmongering jingoists on the right wing of his own country? Yeah, I’ll buy that. Good cartoon!

tj, ditto.

As a “Warmongering jingoist” I think he’s a disaster that may end up making Carter look good.

tj, I agree w/your post.

With terrorist plots thwarted in the U.S., Iran on the hotseat, China giving concessions, Russia’s cooperation, the U.S. economy back from the brink to name a few things, why would y’all be snarking on the president? Is it just fun to see big lips and lots of teeth in a cartoon? If Bush had a list like that in the first few months of office, you’d be pointing to cojones and progress. Weird how you just can’t find anything good to say about the president of the U.S. You even find Palin’s, Cantor’s, King’s and other repubs anti-U.S. speeches overseas patriotic somehow, and our president a traitor. Very weird!

“If Bush had a list like that in the first few months of office, you’d be pointing to cojones and progress.”

Actually, he did, and REAL progress, but you wouldn’t know it from the press who never give him credit for anything.

But look at the hard numbers, i.e.: Unemployment, inflation and ACTUAL SUPPORT of our foreign policy, with foreign troops and such …

0bama is loved overseas because he is the first anti-American president in history of the USA.

I’m sure glad you widemouthed teapots are in the minority. There’s some hope for humanity.

Obama is getting China, Russia, and basically the rest of the world to work together to bring pressure on Iran to cooperate. Bush 41 got help, 43 got us into Hell, alone in point of fact in Iraq- the coalition of the incompetent.

Diplomacy can work, the larger the group on our side, the greater potential for success. That is the opposite of the Bush/Cheney effort, and it is about time.

Wait, scottf, if nothing has changed during all these years, how do you figure dems are to blame? Wasn’t there a repub president and congress for many of those years?

If ignorance was dynamite, scottf would be gone.

ezdeb:

You don’t have to sign your quips. They are self-explanatory.

bho gave up protecting east europe and did not even get a thank you from russia – he did tell iran when they started up new improved bomb building plant they were bad – SO WHAT

Petergrt says “0bama is loved overseas because he is the first anti-American president in history of the USA.”

I don’t see that. When I talk politics with people who like Obama, they actually have no idea why they like him.

And now that he’s in charge of making real decisions, left wing nutjobs are starting to protest against him; According to them, Obama was just pretending to be a leftist to get elected. One of those groups in Montreal are putting up pictures of him with a Hitler mustache and the caption “I’ve changed”. They’re telling people he’s a marionette for the IMF.

For me, it was a relief to see the sign because it means he’s not one of them. But it goes to show that the hype about him is just some kind of mass-hypnosis. It makes no sense for a politician to get so much fan fair before he does anything.

stebon, your facts are wrong. The hostage release was already hammered out, but the Iranians held the actual release till Reagan’s inauguration day. They did this to insult the U.S. for the installation of the shah.

Read Wikipedia or any other actual report of the events. The idea that Reagan simply walked up to a mic as president, stared ‘em down like the duke would, and they cowered and gave in is just uninformed. So, yeah. Jimmy Carter had a great deal to do with getting hostages out of Iran. All the work was done beforehand, and Reagan got the credit. Just like he singlehandedly tore down the Berlin Wall.

And you tell me I “worship” the current president!

peter: “Unemployment, inflation and ACTUAL SUPPORT of our foreign policy, with foreign troops and such ”

gotta say this one more time, the economy tanked in 2008 and massive job losses started in November and continued through Jan., job losses have slowed since then. Obama inherited a plunging economy, inflation is actually very low because of it, most economic experts believe the actions taken under Bush (TARP) and Obama (stimulus) put a floor under the plunging economy and it is recovering, though job creation is lagging behind.

Why do y’all continue to fault Obama for things that began and continued under a prior president? It discredits whatever valid points you would like to make.

question to others: I’m still trying to figure out precisely what Gorrell’s commentary is with this toon .. ??

” … Obama (stimulus) put a floor under the plunging economy and it is recovering, though job creation is lagging behind.”

Aren’t those the very experts that argued in support of the $787 billion boondoggle - to save or create jobs, or else the unemployment would rise to 8%?

Look, there is no question that 0bama got a bad economy, regardless of its causes.

The problem is that the left has been yapping for 8-years about how bad the economy was, and that is simply factually wrong.

well, I haven’t yelped about the economy being bad, though I agree with Sen. McCain and Bush’s 1st Treasury Secy that it was irresponsible to enact two massive tax cuts during a protracted and unfunded war.

And reform Medicare (part D) without a way to pay for it, during massive tax cuts and during protracted and unfunded wars.

So, Bushes’ deficits are bad, but you are OK with 0bama’s tripling it - in 9 months? And, however a rosy projections into the future, it does not seem to get it under ‘control’ anytime soon.

It is important to note that Iran released the hostages five minutes after Reagan took an oath to support the Constitution. This was months after his team arranged for the Iranians to keep the hostages. Iran/Contra WAS payback for handing him the election- he, and Ollie North than gave them weapons, which they used against OUR MARINES in Beirut!

North confessed to treason before the Senate committee- he should never have been seen after that day.

Beirut is the quintessential comment on the ability of the republican presidents to concern themselves with anything other than their own monetary gain. Look at Cheney and Haliburton and Iraq.

“sorry I can not give this one a free pass. Just like I blame Clinton for 9/11 I have to give Bush credit.”

I can’t quite agree there, HQ. Obama has continued, more or less, some Bush policies, and modified/discontinued others.There is some inertia from the Bush years, but it is a litlte arbitrary to say that Bush deserves FULL credit for what is happening now.

And as for the cartoon, so far Obama’s foreign policy seems fairly average. Actually, except for the pledge to withdraw from Iraq (partially, and one of these days), there aren’t that many differences with his predecessor. Did anyone else catch the “no options are off the table” remark about Iran?

HQ, how will you give credit to Preznit Bush for the terrorist plot thwarted in Colorado/New York?

I know you would choke if I suggested that the successful investigation and arrests happened under President Obama.

” … Obama’s foreign policy seems fairly average.”

Apology tours; America is only one of the members of the UN - end of exceptionality, no leadership role; Rewarding UN - fully funding and then some: War on Terror is no more - now its some kind of police action (the name escapes me); Eastern Europe thrown under a bus, again; Embracing America’s enemies at the expanse of our friends - particularly in Latin America; and on and on.

As I said before, 0bama is the first anti-American president.

An’ here all along I thought he was the first African-American president!

But then again the rest of the foregoing post seems kinda confused.

Never shoulda been a “war” on terror in the first place. Wasted time and energy. More effective to treat things like 9-11 as criminal acts (like the WTC bombing).

Eastern Europe, really? Bob Gates doesn’t think so.

The UN can seem silly at times, but that ostracization approach from the previous folks at 1600 accomplished little or nothing.

Have a seat and watch the show. This movie has a long way to go, with a lot more promise than the one we were watchin’ before.

“Never shoulda been a “war” on terror in the first place.”

I agree - it should be on militant Islam. But that would have made the very people that the militant Islamists would cut throats of first, to screen racism or some other nonsense …

“Eastern Europe, really? Bob Gates doesn’t think so.”

I am sure that Chamberlain didn’t feel that way either, after Munich, nor did FDR, after Yalta …

UN has become a collection of amoral despots. Geo-politically it no longer stands for or is effective in supporting its core founding principles. UN affiliates produce very little good - at an incredibly high price compared to private charities, doing the same things.

Howiee, Just because he’s not Pungo Texas’ favorite son it dosen’t affect the rest of the world.

“I agree - it should be on militant Islam”

Sure, but just because it’s not called “The war on militant Islam” does not mean it can not be going on. Or that it’s not. Obama has stepped up Afghanistan and the drone strikes in Pakistan - how he wants to call it is for his PR department to decide.

“UN has become a collection of amoral despots. ”

The UN is a forum of the countries that are UN members. If said members have despotic government, that’s not the UN’s fault. As for which charities are more effective, that is highly debatable. Actually, from what I’ve seen the UN ones tend to be fairly efficient, for what little money they have.

“If said members have despotic government, that’s not the UN’s fault.”

So what’s the purpose of the UN?

Name one accomplishment of the UN, within the last 20 or so years.

“UN ones tend to be fairly efficient, for what little money they have.”

Simple nonsense. The fact is that it is the most corrupt international organization. Food for oil was one of the greatest examples …