Obama Presidency Prediction Thread

[NorthSideSox72]

Lay it all out here. What are your predictions for Obama as POTUS?

 

Ideally, try to provide both what you think he will do well, and what you think he will do poorly.

 

Begin...

 

[kapkomet]

This is one of the hardest things to say about Obama. He will "represent" us well simply because he's extremely articulate and "likeable".

 

I know his policy is one I will not like. I know that I disagree wholeheartedly about "we'll talk to anyone" deal - because that's a trap waiting to happen.

 

But he is charasmatic, and that will get him a long way no matter how awful his presidency is or is not.

 

[lostfan]

I think he's whip-smart and he will approach each problem independently after asking a lot of other smart people what he should do. This is what he did during the campaign and said he'd do as president, and between the election and now, he seems like he's been following that MO.

 

I think the federal budget won't get any better under him. Some of this will be his fault because of his general feeling towards spending, some of it is because of the economy he inherited.

[RockRaines]

I'm betting my life he doesnt live up to expectations.

[BigSqwert]

Way to go out on a limb Rock.

[RockRaines]

Way to go out on a limb Rock.

I'm right 75 percent of the time, everytime

[NorthSideSox72]

I'm betting my life he doesnt live up to expectations.

Depends entirely on whose expectations you are referring to.

 

[lostfan]

If he can navigate us through the current mess we are in (which goes beyond the economy) with improvement, I'll say he was one of the better presidents we've ever had. If he can navigate us without sustained damage to the country as a whole, then I'll say he was successful. If things get worse (and if the problems can be attributed to him by people other than right-wing talk show hosts), or if he goes against American principles for whatever reason, I'll consider him a failure.

 

Those are my expectations and I say they're reasonable. I expect him to tread water and get us through the mess, I think he's capable of doing more than that though, whether he can remains to be seen.

[DBAHO]

He'll instantly improve America's standing across the world, just because Bush had become so unpopular and Obama is the complete opposite.

 

I think he'll eventually fix the economy, but it will take time, and people need to be prepared for that and not a "quick fix".

 

I think overseas policy wise, it's good he knows that Afghanistan is a real problem and become a bigger one than Iraq. That's an issue that needs addressing ASAP.

 

I am interested to see what he does in the Middle East and with North Korea also.

 

Global Warming and Climate Change is another issue that I think he needs to look at and take a greater stand on, but I don't know if he'll do that if it's going to negatively effect the economy, which is probably the #1 issue right now.

[NorthSideSox72]

Global Warming and Climate Change is another issue that I think he needs to look at and take a greater stand on, but I don't know if he'll do that if it's going to negatively effect the economy, which is probably the #1 issue right now.

IMO this is one of the great fallacies pedaled by the conservative base, and unfortunately its believed by many. Going over to renewable energy sources will do wonders for the economy on all sorts of levels, and you don't even have to do things that will add taxes or fees or credits if you don't want to. Going over to reliance on alternative, renewable energies would:

 

1. Create tons of new jobs, and good paying jobs (high tech jobs), not just unskilled labor.

 

2. Dramatically reduce the ongoing cost of energy in this country (which effects everyone), once established.*

 

3. Reduce healthcare costs by reducing pollution.

 

4. Reduce some of the defense spending needs by establishing internal security and being able to walk away from certain regions of the world when things get messy.

 

5. Make US industry a leader in a technology which will then be sold to the rest of the world, generating income and helping correct trade imbalance.

 

Note the * on #2, and keep in mind it is tied to #1. In the short run, there is a lot of cost associated with establishing new infrastructure, but the cost is exactly something that any stimulus money should be going to because of job creation.

 

Basically, the idea that addressing climate change and fossil fuels is a complete no-brainer.

 

[whitesoxfan101]

A very safe prediction for Obama is he will be a significant upgrade over Dubya, and he will improve our standing worldwide with his charisma, oratory ability, fresh ideas, and of course, ethnicity and it's representation of how America has moved forward from a lot of (not all, but a lot of) it's past racial scars. The two big questions for me, and the ones which will define his presidency in my opinion, are national security (I mean that in a broad way, including how he handles the wars in the middle east and security on American soil) and how he does with the ecomonic mess he inherited. I don't think it's realistic to predict how either of those will go for Obama at this point, but I sure as hell hope they go well. He'll do some good things with renewable energy/the enviornment, as well as technology and job creation, but national security and the overall economy are how I think he'll be judged.

Edited January 21, 2009 by whitesoxfan101

[NorthSideSox72]

I think a major X-factor to watch out for during the next 4 or 8 years is a major natural disaster. Katrina had a huge effect on Bush. Its been a long while since we've seen a major earthquake in the lower 48 and it seems that every passing day increases the chances. And hurricanes are only getting worse and more frequent. if Obama uses his smarts, he'll make sure that FEMA is given real leadership, that it is removed from DHS (where it never belonged), that it aligns well (or is even part of) the national and coast guard systems, and that it is in better shape then it is right now as an agency. Its one of those "can only hurt" things where you need to mitigate risk, or else you could potentially see your Presidency destroyed by something you have no way of preventing.

[DukeNukeEm]

IMO this is one of the great fallacies pedaled by the conservative base, and unfortunately its believed by many. Going over to renewable energy sources will do wonders for the economy on all sorts of levels, and you don't even have to do things that will add taxes or fees or credits if you don't want to. Going over to reliance on alternative, renewable energies would:

 

1. Create tons of new jobs, and good paying jobs (high tech jobs), not just unskilled labor.

 

2. Dramatically reduce the ongoing cost of energy in this country (which effects everyone), once established.*

 

3. Reduce healthcare costs by reducing pollution.

 

4. Reduce some of the defense spending needs by establishing internal security and being able to walk away from certain regions of the world when things get messy.

 

5. Make US industry a leader in a technology which will then be sold to the rest of the world, generating income and helping correct trade imbalance.

 

Note the * on #2, and keep in mind it is tied to #1. In the short run, there is a lot of cost associated with establishing new infrastructure, but the cost is exactly something that any stimulus money should be going to because of job creation.

 

Basically, the idea that addressing climate change and fossil fuels is a complete no-brainer.

$. And I think this one of the biggest actual policies issues that are killing the Republican party right now. They're trying to make the discussion on alternative energy sources about global warming and framing the debate around that. But really this issue is so much bigger than just climate change and I dont think the party ever distanced themselves enough from Bush's policies there.

[kapkomet]

$. And I think this one of the biggest actual policies issues that are killing the Republican party right now. They're trying to make the discussion on alternative energy sources about global warming and framing the debate around that. But really this issue is so much bigger than just climate change and I dont think the party ever distanced themselves enough from Bush's policies there.

I agree. It's not about global warming. I'll address NSS's stuff later because I tend to disagree with parts of it and agree with other parts.

[NorthSideSox72]

IMO this is one of the great fallacies pedaled by the conservative base, and unfortunately its believed by many. Going over to renewable energy sources will do wonders for the economy on all sorts of levels, and you don't even have to do things that will add taxes or fees or credits if you don't want to. Going over to reliance on alternative, renewable energies would:

 

1. Create tons of new jobs, and good paying jobs (high tech jobs), not just unskilled labor.

 

2. Dramatically reduce the ongoing cost of energy in this country (which effects everyone), once established.*

 

3. Reduce healthcare costs by reducing pollution.

 

4. Reduce some of the defense spending needs by establishing internal security and being able to walk away from certain regions of the world when things get messy.

 

5. Make US industry a leader in a technology which will then be sold to the rest of the world, generating income and helping correct trade imbalance.

 

Note the * on #2, and keep in mind it is tied to #1. In the short run, there is a lot of cost associated with establishing new infrastructure, but the cost is exactly something that any stimulus money should be going to because of job creation.

 

Basically, the idea that addressing climate change and fossil fuels is a complete no-brainer.

As a follow-up to my #3, a report was published yesterday stating that a drop in pollution over the 1980 to 2000 period added, on average, 5 months to our lifespans, reducing numerous medical complications.

 

[Cknolls]

He'll instantly improve America's standing across the world, just because Bush had become so unpopular and Obama is the complete opposite.

 

I think he'll eventually fix the economy, but it will take time, and people need to be prepared for that and not a "quick fix".

 

I think overseas policy wise, it's good he knows that Afghanistan is a real problem and become a bigger one than Iraq. That's an issue that needs addressing ASAP.

 

I am interested to see what he does in the Middle East and with North Korea also.

 

Global Warming and Climate Change is another issue that I think he needs to look at and take a greater stand on, but I don't know if he'll do that if it's going to negatively effect the economy, which is probably the #1 issue right now.

 

 

 

Any global warming climate change regualations for the enviro freaks will have a negative impact on the economy. The question is: To what extent will they hurt the economy?

[DBAHO]

Any global warming climate change regualations for the enviro freaks will have a negative impact on the economy. The question is: To what extent will they hurt the economy?

Well if you're answering that question, you have to decide which issue is more important.

 

As NSS72 pointed out though, you can make some economic benefits by improving the environment however.

[StrangeSox]

Any global warming climate change regualations for the enviro freaks will have a negative impact on the economy. The question is: To what extent will they hurt the economy?

 

Couldn't you say the same about any pollution controls?

[NorthSideSox72]

Any global warming climate change regualations for the enviro freaks will have a negative impact on the economy. The question is: To what extent will they hurt the economy?

 

Couldn't you say the same about any pollution controls?

 

I think that sort of thing, along with carbon credit systems or the like, is what he was referring to.

 

But I noted in my post that all those things I suggested could be done apart from new controls and regulations, which would indeed cost money. That discussion - cost/benefit for those controls - is sort of a seperate though related thing.

 

[HuskyCaucasian]

Well, I was going to predict that Obama would be the first full time e-mailing president... and I would have been right:

Obama to keep "Blackberry 1"

 

In geek-speak, that means that it's likely that White House IT experts will use a server-based "whitelist" for incoming messages. Only people explicitly placed on the list will be able to send messages. The rest will simply bounce back.