Obama - The beginning

[ZenGum]

Obama has an enormous number and variety of problems to deal with, but if he's as good at actually being president as he is at looking presidential, he might just pull it off.
And hey, why am I still getting spelling error messages for Obama? Time for an upgrade patch!

[tw]

Originally Posted by ZenGum

Obama has an enormous number and variety of problems to deal with, but if he's as good at actually being president as he is at looking presidential, he might just pull it off.

Compare what we know about Clinton with what we have already seen from Obama.

Clinton was superb at grasping a current problem and acting on it. Generals loves how he would ask the right questions and give them the leadership they needed. As a result, Clinton turned potential disasters such as Haiti, the Mississippi floods, and the Balkans into simple and immediately resolved issues.

But Clinton was not so good at getting ahead of issues. For example, he was slow at getting together an administration. He was slow at defining an ultimate and long term solution to the Middle East once extremists had successfully undermined the Oslo Accords by (for example) killing Rabin. Having realized he had no solution, Clinton desperately tried another 'Hail Mary' solution to the Israeli Palestinian conflict only in his last year.

So far, we know Obama has long term plans. For example, he has no short term plan for our economic calamity. Obama has already confirmed a belief in what economists predict – an example of addressing a problem rather than waiting to react to its symptoms. Obama expects years of recession and to be paying for this economic disaster even a decade from now.

He has already made bluntly clear some milestones such as out of "Mission Accomplished", into the only war we have any business being in, restoration of international relations all over the world, talking to our 'enemies', a long term economic agenda, ethics in government, and closing the American concentration camp in Guantanamo. Clinton never had such clear objectives when he took power.

It will be most interesting to see how well Obama achieves his long term objectives AND continues to define new ones. Whereas Clinton could respond decisively to Saddam (having almost drive Saddam from power), hopefully, Obama will also avert other problems before those problems fester.

Top of my list? The spread of nuclear weapons which has been all but encouraged by America this past decade by not talking to others, by viewing the world in black and white (ie axis of evil), and by subverting another international treaty - the Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty. One problem that cannot be solved by a responsible response. An example of a problem that must be solved long before it happens. Clinton was not very good at this. First impressions suggest Obama is looking farther ahead.

[dar512]

I've worked a number of jobs and I've mentored a number of newbees in my career. Most people take weeks to be any kind of useful. There's just always stuff to ramp up for. Give the guy a couple of days.

[xoxoxoBruce]

WASHINGTON, Jan 20 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama reaffirmed on
Tuesday his pledge to invest in the U.S. military and review major weapons
programs, vowing to end abuses and cost overruns in the current defense
procurement system.
The White House posted a list of defense priorities on its website shortly
after Obama's inauguration, mentioning by name Boeing Co's C-17 transport
aircraft and a multibillion dollar program to replace the Air Force's
refueling planes.
The administration said it would build up special operations forces;
expand the Army by 65,000 soldiers and the Marine Corps by 27,000; and end
the current stop-loss policy.
Obama also stressed the need to renew U.S. alliances with other countries
and strengthen them.
Much of the material was very similar to items posted on the Obama
campaign and transition websites, but experts said it was important the
key issues were being repeated by the White House now that Obama was in
power.
The administration also said it would review each major weapons program in
light of current needs, gaps in the field and likely future threat
scenarios in the post-9/11 world.
In an apparent nod to big-ticket F-22 and F-35 fighter jets built by
Lockheed Martin Corp, the administration said the United States needed to
preserve its "unparalleled airpower capabilities" to deter and defeat any
conventional competitors, respond to crises across the globe and support
ground forces.
"We need greater investment in advanced technology ranging from the
revolutionary, like Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and electronic warfare
capabilities, to essential systems like the C-17 cargo and KC-X air
refueling aircraft, which provide the backbone of our ability to extend
global power." it said.
Boeing is vying against Northrop Grumman Corp-led team that includes
Europe's EADS for a multibillion dollar deal to replace the aging fleet of
KC-135 tankers.
In addition, the United States needed to replace aging ships and modernize
existing ones, while adapting them to the 21st century. Northrop and
General Dynamics Corp are the nation's largest shipbuilders, but Lockheed
also builds smaller, shore-hugging combat ships.
The administration said it would increase the size of the Navy's Maritime
Pre-Positioning Force Squadrons to support operations ashore and invest in
smaller, more capable ships.
Missile defense would be supported, it said, but in a way that was
pragmatic and cost-effective and did not divert resources from other
national security priorities it was certain the current technology would
work.
The administration also said it would seek to restore U.S. leadership on
space issues with a worldwide ban on weapons that interfere with military
and commercial satellites.
It pledged to assess possible threats to U.S. space assets and the best
options for countering them, including contingency plans to ensure access
to information from space assets or speeding up efforts to harden U.S.
satellites against attack.
The website also cited concerns about emerging cyber- threats and said
Washington would cooperate with its allies and the private sector in this
area.
The Pentagon would also put a greater emphasis on transparency and
accountability in government contracting.
"They will create the transparency and accountability needed for good
governance, and establish the legal status of contractor personnel, making
possible prosecution of any abuses committed by private military
contractors," the website said.
Finally, the administration said it would seek to reform defense
contracting by ending no-bid contracts, hiring more contract officers and
improving oversight of wartime spending.
"The Obama-Biden Administration will realize savings by reducing the
corruption and cost overruns that have become all too routine in defense
contracting," it said. "They will order the Justice Department to
prioritize prosecutions that will punish and deter fraud, waste and
abuse."