Come on - if you're going to hold right wing, militaristic free market fundamentalist opinions, you really need to support them with at least shards of intelligence, analysis or thought - this is simply ideological sand throwing...I don't like him, I don't like him, because, because I don't. Maybe even shards are more than we should expect from an ideology that is not only bankrupt but has tried to bankrupt us all - morally, environmentally, socially and financially.

I have arrived late to this article.

I gather that in the first 100 days of his administration Obama is to blame for everything from the GFC, AGW and probably Swine Flu.

However I am still in gobsmack mode from the thought that there is a:

Margaret Thatcher Center for FREEDOM?!

FREEDOM + Margaret Thatcher?!

Well hit me with the oxymoronic stick.

Here I was thinking that Obama had done more to mend broken bridges of communication in the past 100 days than any president since, dunno.

And maybe he's the first president to actually have some awareness that the USA is not the centre of the universe, has to get along with the rest of the world and has to clear up one of the biggest financial messes ever left by a previous administration.

But not according to "back to the 70's" Ted Bromund a clone from the Heritage Foundation started 36 years ago by Reagan. A think tank created by those who believe they are 'born to rule' and supporter of the M.T.C. for Freedom. Biased? Much.

What is needed is change to how we view the economy as being all there is, to realising that without a healthy population supported by a healthy sustainable environment, there will be no economy. This is a fact that the drones of Reaganomics have yet to grasp, if ever.

Thank you OLO, for alerting me to this out-of-touch, out-of-date, head-in-sand neo-lib.

Go for it, Fractelle, and though the old days are past, it is both political and philosophical commonsense to learn from the past, just as you have intimated.

However, we must also learn that wars to end wars is not the way to end all future wars, as proven by WW1 and WW2.

Certainly our human world now with its war against nature, needs not a Churchill nor the like, but one with not only political skill, but the compassion and commonsense that is so much needed in a world facing a far greater danger than from self-styled autocrats pushing personal power.

I do pray that Obama might have it, but not just for America, but to say again, compassion and understanding for all the world at large.

Fractelle, I was bemused by the Margaret Thatcher Freedom centre too. Fortunately, such an appropriate label explains why this piece is so dodgy.

Maybe they should call it the 'United-Margaret-Thatcher-Reagan-Republican-Freedom-Liberty-Tower-of-Morality-Democracy.'

They could probably add 'puppies' and 'America!' maybe 'Pioneer-apple-pie!' while they're at it.

It's not that these concepts ain't nice. It's that they're doublespeak that treat us like idiots, as Sancho pointed out. Simplistic terms like 'Axis of Evil' do nobody any favours and rule out compromise.

Sometimes compromise is unwise, but ruling it out as an option constrains your abilities diplomatically. Never rule anything out unless you get some kind of gain from doing so. Diplomacy 101.

All that being said, I'm having reservations about Obama. His insistence on suspending civil rights for prisoners from all over the world, held at Bagram, disturbs me. As does his moves to further expand sections of the patriot act relating to surveillance - moves that would make it impossible for people to 'EVER' sue the US government in the event that personal information, collected via wiretaps, harms them.

I'll admit, I'm very concerned at how many people are simply saying "Obama is a nice guy, he must know what he's doing" when they would never accept such a comment from the right side of the political spectrum.

This piece however, is utter tripe from the far right. I get so sick of all this one-eyed commentary. Why can't people honestly accept the failures on both sides of the political divide.

I'll have to keep an eye out from missives from this 'Thatcher' centre for Freedom. Nutbags. Utter nutbags.

i liked kenny's version much better than bromund's. it had the same veracity and intellectual content, and wasted much less of my time.

TRTL

I never expected to be 100% in agreement with all of Obama's decisions. And I take your point about Obama's current handling of prisoners from the M.E. conflict. Very concerning indeed.

Therefore, I am still waiting and seeing.

Meanwhile, rhetorical bilge such as that presented in this article should be a timely reminder that vigilance is required at all times. Sincere constructive criticism is always productive, however this article is not only an insult to our intelligence but lowers the standards of OLO as well. I would've expected such a poorly constructive argument, bereft of evidence as it is, to make an appearance on some far-right blog, not the supposedly balanced OLO forum.