Obama is no lame duck.
Politics –
Lame Duck President Obama?
Think Again!
Although Republicans are anxiously counting down the days to the end of his 8-year presidency, make no bones about it: Barack Obama is no lame-duck president.
Politics
Traditionally, a “lame-duck” president is one who is so close to the end of his term, he’s no longer effective in governing the country. To counter such a label, late-term presidents have frequently attempted to shore up their legacies in the foreign policy arena, where congress has less power than it does over domestic affairs. However, this doesn’t seem to be a necessity for President Obama, who has headed into his last year in office with gusto.
Muslim Visit
Earlier this month, Mr. Obama defied critics who have long speculated he is a secret Muslim, by making his first visit as president to a mosque.
“Islam has always been part of America,” the president said during a visit to the Islamic Society of Baltimore. “The very word Islam comes from ‘Salam’ – peace. The standard greeting is ‘As-Salaam-Alaikum’ – ‘Peace be upon you,’” he explained. “Like so many faiths, Islam is rooted in a commitment to compassion and mercy and justice and charity. Whoever wants to enter paradise, the prophet Mohammad taught, let him treat people the way he would love to be treated,” Mr. Obama said as the audience applauded. “For Christians like myself, I’m assuming that sounds familiar,” he added.
Are those the words of a man who considers himself a lame duck?
Cuba Visit
After easing tensions between the United States and Cuba, President Obama will make a historic trip to Havana next month to extend a hand of friendship after decades of hostility and mistrust.
Mr. Obama said he hopes to build momentum toward normalizing relations with Havana before he leaves the White House. He also intends to cement his legacy as the American president who broke with more than a half-century of rancor and estrangement to forge a new path of engagement with Cuba.
“14 months ago, I announced that we would begin normalizing relations with Cuba – and we’ve already made significant progress,” Mr. Obama tweeted. “Our flag flies over our Embassy in Havana once again. More Americans are traveling to Cuba than at any time in the last 50 years. We still have differences with the Cuban government that I will raise directly. America will always stand for human rights around the world. Next month, I’ll travel to Cuba to advance our progress and efforts that can improve the lives of the Cuban people.”
Are those the plans of a lame duck?
Scalia Replacement
The showdown over a replacement for the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia will almost certainly take center stage during Mr. Obama’s final year in office. Republicans, who are fearful the president will appoint a liberal and tilt the balance of the court, are fighting tooth and nail to halt the process before the November election process. However, a cunning President Obama is ready and even eager to scrap with Republicans, by devising a plan that would make his nominee so qualified and so fool-proof, Republicans will have no choice but to consider him/her without facing severe repercussions.
Lame-duck, huh?
Politics
Entering the home stretch, Mr. Obama reached a historic deal with Iran to curb that country’s suspect nuclear program; he announced tough new emissions restrictions meant to curb greenhouse gases blamed for climate change; he also finally said no to the controversial Keystone pipeline.
The president also plans to campaign aggressively for Democratic candidates around the country, including whoever becomes the party’s eventual presidential nominee. Advisors say Mr. Obama considers a democratic presidency an urgency, so as to prevent the GOP from rolling back the work he’s done over the last 7 years.
For all of the plans of his final year in office, combined with the overall rigors of being Commander-In-Chief and leader of the free world, Mr. Obama — President of the United States Obama — is anything but a lame-duck!
I agree with every word you wrote. Repubs can't stand he won't fold and go away quiet. Thank you for this DJ.
For all of the plans of his final year in office, combined with the overall rigors of being Commander-In-Chief and leader of the free world, Mr. Obama — President of the United States Obama — is anything but a lame-duck! […]
Hear-Hear!..DJ. And his opponents know it….which is just one more reason they hate him so much. Try as they may…(and they'll surely keep trying because they can't help themselves)…they can't break him. They can't beat him.
Moreover Repubs seem to be doing all they can to actually help Hillary Clinton win in November (SEE all the latest mess going on with Trump, Rubio and Cruz). And if she does indeed win the Presidency that will ensure that Obama's legacy will continue to loom large for years..if not decades…to come.
Suffice it to say…I'm good with that.
On a related note…….
DJ wrote: ""Entering the home stretch, Mr. Obama reached a historic deal with Iran to curb that country’s suspect nuclear program.."
Yep. And bolstering that remarkable accomplishment is what happened in Iran last Friday.
"Rouhani And Reformers Wins Big In First Iran's Post-Nuclear Deal Election"
Millions crowded polling stations on Friday to vote in the first post-nuclear deal election.
Excerpt:
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani won a strong vote of confidence and reformist partners secured surprise gains in parliament in early results from elections that could speed up the Islamic Republic's emergence from years of isolation.
While gains by moderates and reformists in Friday's polls were most evident in the capital, where they won all Tehran's 30 seats according to early results, the sheer scale of the advances there suggests a legislature more friendly to the pragmatist Rouhani has emerged as a distinct possibility.
A loosening of control by the anti-Western hardliners who currently dominate the 290-seat parliament could strengthen his hand to open Iran further to foreign trade and investment following last year's breakthrough nuclear deal.
A reformist-backed list of candidates aligned with Rouhani was on course to win all 30 parliamentary seats in Tehran, initial results released on Sunday showed. Top conservative candidate Gholamali Haddad Adel was set to lose his seat.
"The people showed their power once again and gave more credibility and strength to their elected government," Rouhani said, adding he would work with anyone who won election to build a future for the industrialised, oil-exporting country.
"The competition is over and the phase of unity and cooperation has arrived," state news agency IRNA quoted his key ally, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, as saying. "The time after elections is the time for hard work to build the country".
There was silence from the conservative camp.
The polls were seen by analysts as a potential turning point for Iran, where nearly 60 percent of its 80 million population is under 30 and eager to engage with the world following the lifting of most sanctions. […] HuffPost
H/T: Nuclear News
TAC Reader:
The biggest indictment of {Republican} and neocon geopolitics – on perhaps the most important issue for anyone to judge candidates on (at least in the top 3) – came {Friday} in the Iranian elections. What passes for moderates and reformists won all 30 Iranian parliament seats in Teheran, and they’re making big inroads in the council of experts. Ali Khamenei, in the wake of the elections, is talking about the need for Iran to focus on economic development.
We’re finally getting back to where Iran was in 2002, when David Frum penned and Bush mouthed the denunciation of Iran as part of an “Axis of Evil”, forcing the country into a defensive posture and giving power to the hard liners who wanted to prolong Iran’s confrontation with the West. Signs are pointing to an Iran which may in a generation be America’s strongest ally in the Middle East in controlling Islamic terrorism.
While that may be an optimistic picture – the only reason that we have any reason for optimism is because Obama was able to ignore the neocons on both sides of the aisle and sign a deal which is clearly empowering the people in Iran that we want to see in charge there.
Note that for the Neocons, Hillary was dead wrong on this issue. As Sec of State she broke from the Bush Admin’s policy of keeping a target on Iran, and she came out in support of Obama’s deal early on. […]
…a "lame-duck" President indeed. …lol