Are you looking for a great future or are you concerned about the future because of Obama?

When Obama was elected, my faith in this country was restored. The future looks so bright now. I think he will fix what’s been going wrong with this country.

I like him, I feel better about everything.

Did anyone expect the US to turn around instantly?
America is in a deep deep hole because of the reckless presidential actions of the last 8 years.

I think Obama has some good ideas. We’ll just have to be patient and see how his policies pan out.

Obama has been president less than three months. I’m feeling pretty good. “Clusterfuck” describes the last eight years.

All new presidents change a lot of things when they first get into office. George Bush is a good example of how to change things for the worse. Obama hasn’t been in office long enough for me to be able to determine the long range consequences, for better or worse, of any decisions he’s already made or will be making at a later date.

This early on, I’d have to say that I’m pleased with his performance. Realistically, no one could do worse than George Bush did so Obama can only do better. That’s a positive perspective. Only time will tell if things will improve. I’m generally optimistic by nature so at least I have that going for me.

this economic crises is he worst that America experienced in last 70 years…...it is not

a short term economic crises it may be last upto 2012…..

but my faith is that OBAMA is doing his good to overcome the challeges…

best full luck OBAMA

President Obama is in the hotseat but I feel my future is as bright regardless of who is in the White House. I knew these times would come in my lifetime but had hoped not so soon, like anyone else. If I stick to the plans I’ve had laid out for the past 20 years then I’ll be fine. If President Obama can change things around for America any faster, kudos to him too.

I’m worried about our country. Not necessarily because of Obama. Although, he is still unproven yet.

I believe that Obama is, at least as far as the economy is concerned, doing his best to represent the concensus of not only Americans, but of experts. I am relieved that a small-government ideologue such as McCain is not in the position of putting doubtful economic theory into practice.

However, I still fear that decades of sloppy governance has irrepairably damaged the U.S’s chances of maintaining its position as world leader in the future, and I think that despite Obama’s alleged socialism, that the gap between rich and poor could widen and place the U.S. into a downward-spiraling ‘feudal’ class heirarchy.

But I’m generally a pessimist.

Your question is so biased, I couldn’t believe it. So, you don’t like Obama? You are one of the few who doesn’t. The man is a godsend, and we are so lucky to have him as our president. He is honest, smart, realistic. No one said this course could change easily. But he is doing all the right things to give it a new direction. My biggest fear and disgust is with the Republicans, who seem to want to thwart him. Hopefully, they will change their tune, and appreciate the great guy we have as President.

@upholstry You say “despite Obama’s alleged socialism, that the gap between rich and poor could widen and place the U.S. into a downward-spiraling ‘feudal’ class heirarchy.” Socialism generally creates a bigger gap. There is the ruling class (the State), then there is everybody else (the workers). There is no real middle class.

People give the President too much credit/blame. Regardless of who gets the job, he/she is a successful politician, which makes them suspect from the start. They are there to see what they can get for themselves and their friends. Some become popular, and some become reviled in the process. The better speakers tend to fair a little better. I’m not expecting any real changes, but I wish him the best in getting policies through that will help our country to be better and stronger than before.

I feel pretty good about the future.

Why are conservatives so frightened all the time? Communists, terrorists, socialists… It will be okay! Stop crying!

@skfinkel: It’s worthwhile to remember that not everyone likes Obama. 43% of people didn’t bother to vote, and of the 57% of people who did, almost 46%, nearly 60 million people, voted for McCain. The “Your side lost, so you’re an idiot and we’re running the company our way” attitude is one of the things that made the Bush presidency such a miserable and nasty time, and I don’t see that continuing it from the other side is helpful or healthy.

(And for the record, I think Obama is doing more good than ill, but I am seriously disappointed by things like his stance on warrantless wiretapping. I don’t think McCain would have been better, and in fact I think much the opposite, but still—Obama knows better, and if he’s going to try to claim the moral high ground, he has to actually do the right thing across the board.)

@skfinkel He hasn’t even been in office for 100 days yet. It is too soon to say he’s a “godsend”. Look at the people he has nominated for different positions that had ‘Issues” that made them have to drop out. That is the same old political crap that ALL politicians pull. Obama is a politician. People seem to forget that.

I fail to see what is wrong with being a good politician. The alternative is someone like Jimmy Carter, who had a lot of good ideas but got jack shit done in his presidency.

I find the “they’re all politicians” rhetoric mostly to be excuse for people too lazy to participate in the political process and make difficult choices about the direction of the country. The nature of politics entails compromise and picking the lesser of two evils, and Obama seems to be very good at it.

@Qingu I voted for Obama. So you shouldn’t assume because I used “they’re all politicians” I am too lazy to follow or not interested in our political situation. Obama was a senator for less than 2 years. He really didn’t author any groundbreaking policies as a senator. If he would have, the dems. would have touted them as examples of what we could expect from him. I have high hopes for Obama. I want him to be successful, but in the end, he IS a politician. Yes he was the lesser of the two evils in the last election.

@Qingu I choose the lesser of two evils every election day. Every time I enter the voting booth, I think of the story of the frog and scorpion. I know my decision is most likely puting another scorpion on my back, but I’m hoping that the one I choose has a little less venom than the other so I can make it across one more stream.

I’m curious to see what you guys would do if you were the president. Or do you just think we shouldn’t have government at all?

@Qingu I would simply like to see one successful politician in my lifetime who is not corrupt.

How is Obama corrupt?

@Qingu If you haven’t noticed anything yet, just wait. I’m hoping he turns into the greatest president ever, just as I hope for each new president we elect. So far, I’ve been disappointed by them all.

I don’t think he’s the messiah. And his stance on FISA is very troubling to me. But I honestly don’t see how he’s “corrupt.” Can you explain what he’s done that’s corrupt?

@Qingu Like, I said, “wait”. I don’t follow close enough to sniff it out as soon as it appears, but judging by his circle of friends (which in no way automatically makes him corrupt), something will likely show up. Again, I hope it does not.

@Russell_D_SpacePoet @cwilbur
I understand your reservations. However, when I say Obama is doing a great job, what I mean is that every day in the news there is something good and important he is doing—trying to do. Really, just about every day. eg. He stops in Mexico city on his way to Latin America, creating untold goodwill. Out of thin air, he is talking about high-speed trains for the country. He is confronting the health care crisis, and sees it not as an isolated problem, but as a part of the larger systemic problem of our nation’s financial collapse.

Obama is not perfect. But he is trying, and doing so in the directions that I think may help the country emerge from serious problems. Meanwhile, those who did not vote for him are trying to prevent him from doing what he wants—which seems like bad sportsmanship, at the very least.

@skfinkel: Yes, and I agree with you. But I don’t think that demeaning or diminishing the people who disagree with you gets very far.

Bush won with a slim majority each time and then governed as if he had won in a landslide, and that attitude and sense of entitlement on the part of the Republicans was one of the things that contributed the most to the partisan political nastiness of the past 8 years. Obama won solidly, and is doing a lot of good things, but that does not erase the fact that 60 million people voted against him, or that only about 32% of the electorate actually bothered to show up and cast a vote for him.

@ru2bz46 Not true. Look at the U.S. in 1925 (a capitalist peak) and 1945 (a socialist peak). Look at some socialist countries today. We have a relatively enormous gap. Furthermore, socialism creates class mobility, which means that you have a better chance of getting from the bottom to the top without havng had a ‘silver spoon’