Michelle Obama’s legacy, musings and opinions

Despite her belief that America is a racist country, Michelle Obama has been voted the most admired woman. That's gratitude for you. I remember that Lady Bird had her beautification project of public spaces, and Nancy Reagan was fighting drugs, and Laura Bush was pushing libraries and museums, and Hillary Clinton tried to take over health care (Hillary Care), and Rosalyn Carter worked on behalf of mental health and poor children, but I'm trying to remember what Mrs. Obama was known for that put her on the cover of so many fashion magazines. Was it obesity in children? Is her legacy all those school lunches that were thrown in the trash?

Obama's legacy

This can't be all Obama's legacy, but I fear it's what he will become known for as historians evaluate his eight years.

• Forced wedding cakes; 
• men sharing bathrooms with little girls; 
• jail time for not buying health insurance you can't afford; 
• legal marijuana;
• legal euthanasia of the sick and elderly; 
• veterans dying while waiting for treatment; 
• Iran becoming a nuclear power; 
• red lines and lines in the sand  in Syria and Ukraine
• millions dead in the middle east and immigrants swarming all over Europe; 
• phenomenal growth of ISIS; 
• global ridicule; 
• quick rise of crime rate to that of the mid 1990s (so far this is only happening in his home town, but wait til he opens the prisons); 
• opening Cuba for rich American tourists; 
• wealthiest 1% ever

Think this is Obama bashing?  Deny this.

When in your lifetime do you recall before Obama's terms that 

• a business person was required to participate in a celebration of religious intent or lose his business, do jail time, or pay a fine; 
• you were required to purchase a product by the federal government or pay a fine or go to jail; 
• it was legal to buy marijuana, a gateway drug; 
• states were passing laws to allow euthanasia of the elderly or sick; 
• a president campaigned on the tragedy of wait times for VA hospitals, and then did nothing about it; 
• America agreed to Iran becoming a nuclear power with no strings attached after years of sanctions; 
• lines in the sand in Syria, right next to the rubble of buildings, historical sites, and mass graves; 
• there was no ISIS before Obama and his faulty withdrawal from Iraq; 
• the US was a laughing stock around the world--no one would trust the word of our president or Congress;
• the crime rate which had fallen dramatically after the Omnibus Crime Bill of the mid 90s, blacks and other minorities benefited the most, but Obama intends to undo that with the help of his Attorneys General who think there are too many black criminals in prison; 
• the US would get nothing of his grand opening of Cuba, aside from the leisure industry--there are still American-Cubans in jail there and he made no deals, made no demands for human rights; 
• when before Obama did presidents make the top income earners, the wealthiest they've ever been while at the same time complaining about it and taking their contributions

Now, I could have added who, before Obama's terms, would have believed nuns would be forced by the federal government to buy birth control for their employees, but I forgot that one.

Obama’s legacy

“To the many gullible souls out there who truly think that Barack Obama is "legacy building" in his all-out assault on America, I implore you to bow out of the conversation because you are not seeing clearly.

The term legacy carries positive connotations of something bequeath that is to the receiver's benefit. Everything that Barack Obama does is calculated to destroy America, which he despises. This man no more cares about legacy than he fears being properly prosecuted by the white political leaders whose responsibility it is to remove him from office.”  Read what this conservative black woman has to say.

• Nuclear Iran
• Weakening the military
• Relations with Cuba
• Open borders and amnesty

When you hire a Community Organizer . . .

'President Obama's second-term agenda, it seems, is in the hands of the courts.

Same-sex marriage. Obamacare. Climate change. And now immigration. And in many cases, there is significant doubt about whether his signature initiatives will stand legal scrutiny.'

Washington Post


Climate change fears are being used usurp state's rights, as is Obamacare. Immigration Obamastyle is just another way to pick up Democrat votes. And of course, he lied about same sex marriage support in order not to lose black votes in 2008. What a prize.

The legacy?

"Barack Obama wasted no time getting busy destroying American sovereignty after defeating Mitt Romney Tuesday night and winning a 2nd term. Mere hours after the deciding votes were cast, the administration got to work supporting the U.N. and their effort to install a global gun restriction treaty." Glenn Beck

Obama was very cagey about announcing his agenda for the next 4 years. The first move doesn't make me feel good about his intentions. Those of you hoping he'd go "moderate" in order to create a "legacy" don't seem to understand this man. He's a statist and globalist.

The one year anniversary assessment

A year in review. A total success, I'd say. Obama's plan to take over every aspect of our personal lives and to destroy our economy has been wildly successful, beyond what anyone in 2008 could have imagined with just the platitudes of "hope and change." Sure, he's had a few minor set backs, but those were from within his own party--Republicans have offered no road blocks at all. The falling poll numbers can all be blamed on Bush. All backward steps in the forward, goose stepping march to utopia can be blamed on someone else.

1. The only job growth has been in the government sector
   
2. his signature program, health care, is about to be realized even though 83% of Americans had health insurance and only 94% will under his plan to raise taxes, destroy small business, and ration care.
   
3. he redefined terrorism, which allowed him to be very concerned about the death of an abortion doctor, but keep a lengthy silence on the deaths at Ft. Hood
   
4. under his plan, he will try Gitmo terrorists in NYC, giving them all rights as well as the best in pro-bono, anti-American lawyers
   
5. and he will move the rest to Illinois where he has no plan at all, except to create another Gitmo in the midwest
   
6. he has further divided the country along racial lines after decades of improving race relations
   
7. he has staffed his administration with Communists, AKA progressives, socialists, New Party, marxists, Alinskyites, etc.
   
8. his closest advisers and wannabee appointments have violated numerous federal laws
   
9. Jennifer Granholm, Michigan's governor, the state with the highest unemployment and "let's tax the rich" to get them to leave the state, is one of his economic advisers
   
10. he brought the worst of Chicago mob politics to Washington
    
11. he dawdled for 90 days on a plan for the war he said was the good one during his campaign
    
12. he has selectively targeted news sources and industries to personally attack
    
13. he continues to lie to the nation about transparency and ethics in his government
    
14. he accepts a prize that made the country the butt of jokes
    
15. despite the clear warning signs from both the weather and numerous scientists he will pursue the Cap and Trade scheme to further increase taxes and destroy businesses
    
16. he began his plan to remove religion from the public square and influence at Georgetown
    
17. he has two mouths when it comes to money talk--one speaks only in trillions for the government, the other cautions us about fat cat CEOs

and other accomplishments almost too many and too small to record

Bush's legacy

He's not scrambling for one the way some former and ex-presidents have done, but of course, history (and the media) will assign it whether or not he claims it. I don't know how the bailout will be viewed; I hope not with all the things President Hoover tried (yes, I know Joe Biden thinks Roosevelt was president in 1929, but that's what you get with those first class educations that people like the Palins couldn't afford).

Here's what I wrote on Nov. 27, 2007:

Here are my ten suggestions for a Bush legacy, in order of importance, five positive, five negative.

1) The appointment of two outstanding judges to the Supreme Court, Roberts and Alito. This will extend many years and perhaps be able to return the Supreme Court to its original intention, moving it away from creating law. Kennedy, his father's appointment after the Bork nomination failed, was a tremendous disappointment for conservatives, so it is possible that with time, this one won't be in number one place, but for now, that's where I'd place it for long term impact.

2) The tax cuts and overseeing the most robust economy in the history of this nation I'd place second. Facing my retirement in 2000 dependent on the health of the stock market, I was watching my accounts stagnate, and then tumble after 9/11. Right now the economy is softening and Democrats are making all the wrong moves, especially for retirees (look out boomers) mainly because they use taxes to punish, not to move the country forward.

3) Getting us back on our feet after 9/11. Although I didn't dislike Al Gore and wouldn't have been upset if he'd been President (my first election as a Republican), it is still hard to imagine his taking charge after that disaster. For awhile it looked like there might even be a resurgence of patriotism and love of country, but that quickly faded as the Bush hatred over the lost election of 2000 continued to fester and eat away at the reasoning faculties of otherwise sensible people.

4) Freeing more women in Afghanistan in the 21st century than Abraham Lincoln did slaves in the USA in the 19th century. We don't know yet the full consequences of this, because women were quite advanced in this country before it was stolen from them by the Taliban, and the climb back up will require a lot of will. American feminists have ignored this achievement rather than give Bush the credit.

5) Leading the country into an unpopular, controversial war with the support and backing of both parties, including some of the same senators who later reversed their decision. That Bush held strong and refused to abandon the Iraqi people the way Nixon did the Vietnamese is a huge legacy, especially for those he saved from the blood bath had he caved into demands for pull-outs and withdrawals from his enemies.

And on the negative side of the legacy ledger.

1) Offended his supporters and party by nominating a weak Supreme Court candidate (White House counsel Harriet Miers) and by attempting to partner with the Democrats on an amnesty bill for illegal immigrants. These two actions also hurt any Republicans who supported him on other issues.

2) Not being able to corral his stampeding RINOs and missing the opportunity to reform Social Security by taking total control back from the government to allow investment in personal accounts.

3) Standing firm in his resolve that all societies deserve and desire a democracy. Perhaps only history will decide this one, but you've got to admit trying to jump start a 7th century mentality and push or drag it into the 21st century, is a tough row to hoe.

4) The biggest tax spender on education ever to enter the White House, crafting a program with Ted Kennedy's help. Did he tell us during the 2000 campaign that he wanted to be the "education president?" Earmarks (pork) and wasted foreign aid--but that's more congressional, and something we've just come to expect from our government, isn't it? This and the next one have made him an anathema to many conservatives.

5) Expanding medical care to a government drug program with Ted Kennedy, thus laying the ground work for the Democrats to make it even worse and more expensive. I think government-doled, rock-bottom health care for every household earning less than $1 million is a real possibility after 2008. Those making over a million will still be able to purchase first class care like they do in socialist countries.

I think some items might need to be rearranged. The Iraqi war has been long and has fractured the American spirit from the bitterness of the anti-war crowd, just the way I remember the VietNam years. But he didn't abandon them and turn yellow-belly the way they wanted him to do. Not that they would have praised him for an earlier resolution. The Iraqis will sell their oil to the Chicoms--why mess with our environmentalist nonsense--they have to rebuild their economy which the left says we broke. But I guess that removes "blood for oil" argument. The Dems won that one. Even today, the other party won't use the word victory, and maybe only historians will. Democrats and their progressive/socialist/marxist fringes have been so wrong on all fronts about this, it will be difficult to sort out because the academics and the press always are on the left and write from that perspective.

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Bush's Legacy

From 2002-2004 the median net worth of Americans rose 25.8% nationwide, doubling for minorities, but net worth jumped 76.7% for women. (CFED report) Not only did President Bush free the women of Afghanistan and Iraq, he was good for American women. The subprime mess has changed many of those figures, I'm sure, since they included real estate assets. Many low income people were encouraged to buy into "the American dream," when they would have been better off renting. Still, many didn't lose anything because they didn't build equity--but the damage to their neighbors is awful, and that will show in the next report--perhaps for many years. Because of the housing slump and home values, you'll be hearing a steady drum beat from the candidates about the fragility of the poor and the awful Bush years. (Although we heard it in 2004 until the day after the election.)

In 1997 the federal government started a big program with three mandated summits to insure that Americans start saving more for retirement. The boomers are starting to retire, and if they didn't do anything proactive 25 or 30 years ago, I'm not sure even a government summit will help. We all know what happened to Bush's plan to save Social Security--not even Republicans supported him, joining with Democrats to make sure nothing got privatized.

[From the 2002 SAVERS Summit] 90% of people over 65 receive Social Security, and it is 38% of their income; 41% have retirement plans which are 18% of their income. That leaves a lot dependent on savings and investments, and 59% of seniors have that. Another 22% of over 65 year olds are still in the labor force.

Americans United for Change, a liberal lobbyist group (change seems to be the word of the moment) plans a year long campaign ($8.5 million) to besmirch Bush's record so he can leave office without claiming a legacy. Story. Since Clinton couldn't earn one (he's trying again), Bush's has to be taken away. Everything's about the gap and envy, isn't it? They are raising funds to do this. Even if I hated Bush, I think I'd want my money to go into something a bit more productive. But then, I'm not a rich Democrat.

Bush's Legacy

Early this morning on CBS News I heard two women discussing Bush's desire for a legacy, thus the recent Israeli-Palestinian summit. It was innocuous and bubble-headed even for women who read others' text for a living. I couldn't see the TV, but the "expert" had an annoying voice best for print journalism. I don't think he's seeking a legacy; we'll hope he will not be as interferring as Carter and Clinton as a former president, but be a gentleman like his father.

Here's my ten suggestions for a Bush legacy, in order of importance, five positive, five negative.

1) The appointment of two outstanding judges to the Supreme Court, Roberts and Alito. This will extend many years and perhaps be able to return the Supreme Court to its original intention, moving it away from creating law. Kennedy, his father's appointment after the Bork nomination failed, was a tremendous disappointment for conservatives, so it is possible that with time, this one won't be in number one place, but for now, that's where I'd place it for long term impact.

2) The tax cuts and overseeing the most robust economy in the history of this nation I'd place second. Facing my retirement in 2000 dependent on the health of the stock market, I was watching my accounts stagnate, and then tumble after 9/11. Right now the economy is softening and Democrats are making all the wrong moves, especially for retirees (look out boomers) mainly because they use taxes to punish, not to move the country forward.

3) Getting us back on our feet after 9/11. Although I didn't dislike Al Gore and wouldn't have been upset if he'd been President (my first election as a Republican), it is still hard to imagine his taking charge after that disaster. For awhile it looked like there might even be a resurgence of patriotism and love of country, but that quickly faded as the Bush hatred over the lost election of 2000 continued to fester and eat away at the reasoning faculties of otherwise sensible people.

4) Freeing more women in Afghanistan in the 21st century than Abraham Lincoln did slaves in the USA in the 19th century. We don't know yet the full consequences of this, because women were quite advanced in this country before it was stolen from them by the Taliban, and the climb back up will require a lot of will. American feminists have ignored this achievement rather than give Bush the credit.

5) Leading the country into an unpopular, controversial war with the support and backing of both parties, including some of the same senators who later reversed their decision. That Bush held strong and refused to abandon the Iraqi people the way Nixon did the Vietnamese is a huge legacy, especially for those he saved from the blood bath had he caved into demands for pull-outs and withdrawals from his enemies.

And on the negative side of the legacy ledger.

1) Offended his supporters and party by nominating a weak Supreme Court candidate (White House counsel Harriet Miers) and by attempting to partner with the Democrats on an amnesty bill for illegal immigrants. These two actions also hurt any Republicans who supported him on other issues.

2) Not being able to corral his stampeding RINOs and missing the opportunity to reform Social Security by taking total control back from the government to allow investment in personal accounts.

3) Standing firm in his resolve that all societies deserve and desire a democracy. Perhaps only history will decide this one, but you've got to admit trying to jump start a 7th century mentality and push or drag it into the 21st century, is a tough row to hoe.

4) The biggest tax spender on education ever to enter the White House, crafting a program with Ted Kennedy's help. Did he tell us during the 2000 campaign that he wanted to be the "education president?" Earmarks (pork) and wasted foreign aid--but that's more congressional, and something we've just come to expect from our government, isn't it? This and the next one have made him an anathema to many conservatives.

5) Expanding medical care to a government drug program with Ted Kennedy, thus laying the ground work for the Democrats to make it even worse and more expensive. I think government-doled, rock-bottom health care for every household earning less than $1 million is a real possibility after 2008. Those making over a million will still be able to purchase first class care like they do in socialist countries.