If one listens to MSNBC or CBS, one gets the impression that, not only is Barack Hussein Muhammad bin Obama the greatest president in American history (and perhaps the most wonderful divine gift to mankind since fire), but that the American public is squarely behind his socialist machinations - given the exception of a few fring lunatics and the KKK.
The evidence, as always, is completely different from what the media is telling us.
There are a half dozen ways to measure the "verdict" on Obama prior to the 100-day mark of his administration, and all of them agree: Obama Sucks!
First, Obama, we think, was largely elected on a two-pronged theory, partly subjective and partly objective. Of course, most of the votes that flew Obama's way were from those who were grossly misinformed; people who are so utterly ignorant that they ought not only be allowed to vote, but they ought not be allowed to drive! Typical of this group (certainly 70% of Obama voters) are those who voted for him because he would be the nation's first black president, those who voted for him because of Oprah's endorsement, and those, like the now-famous YouTube video of the young black lady who supported The One because now she would never have to worry about paying her mortgage or for gas again.
These people are too ignorant and morally perverted to ever come to know the truth. They won't be convinced that their subjective fantasies have the reality quotient of "Once upon a time in a land far away...." even if they someday receive orders from Obama to come to the county square for a free Kool-Aid treat.
For those few who actually had an objective reason for supporting Obama, it was likely because of the sorry shape of the economy at election time. A strange congruence of forces which came together merely months before the election coupled with the simplistic thinking of Americans (i.e., "if it happened under Bush, Bush caused it" when in fact the forces that caused the economic meltdown were entirely the brainchild of Bill Clinton and the Congressional Black Caucus) basically ensured Obama's election as Americans searched for someone to fix the economy. In a strange twist of fate, the candidate representing the Democratic party (who caused the economic meltdown) was viewed as being more capable of repairing the crashing economy than the candidate of the Republican party (who had personally warned that Democratic policies would bring this meltdown to pass).
So, what has Obama done for the economy? This will be our first objective measure of the Obama administration.
On the morning of the 2008 election the Dow Jones Industrial Average opened at 9326. On the evening of the next day, the first full day of trading with the certainty that Barack Obama would be president, the market had taken a nearly-200 point nose dive to 9139. Not bad... (sic). Between the election and the inauguration, the market continued to decline to the tune of 1100+ points.
On February 17, Obama signed his first major piece of legislation into law - the multi-trillion dollar stimulus package. The stock market on that day dropped from 7845 to 7502. On February 27, Obama announed his budget proposal. The Dow Jones responded by dropping from 7181 to 6763.
Between January 2009 and March 2009, the DJIA lost 28%, nearly a third of its value, its worst performance for the same time period for any U.S. president in history.
While it is true that capital markets are forward-looking, the Dow Jones largely reflects the so-called "Large Cap" stocks which tend to reflect the current condition of the market, especially in difficult times. It is the NASDAQ that tends to reflect stocks that are growth-oriented, and therefore that index tends to be more forward looking. Surely, if the capital markets believed that the future looked rosy with Obama, the NASDAQ would reflect that hope for growth?
Between November 3, 2008, and April 28, 2009, the NASDAQ has declined from 1726 to 1694.
Not as precipitous a drop, but the NASDAQ has been down as much as 450 points during the Obama tenure. The objective economic results thus far are decidedly mixed to negative.
Secondly, Obama has proposed spending at a level, during his first 100 days, to send the U.S. careening into bankruptcy, proposing almost $10 trillion in spending in 100 days for a country that had already amassed $11 trillion in debt in its 200+-year history! Doesn't "fiscal responsiblity" feel good?
Thirdly, the tea-parties which have met the Obama administrations proposals and performance are nearly unprecedented in America's history. Outside of the Civil War, is is hard to imagine a more negative greeting to any president upon his election. While there is a lobotomized and ignorant plurality of the nation that is easily led by Oprah's pallid imitations of papal bulls, those who are most informed and most engaged in the political process are horrified by Obama, his incompetence, and his proposals.
Finally, the polls themselves present a decidedly mixed picture of the nation's "approval" of Obama and his administration. Despite the natural tendency of Americans to support the nation's leadership and the understandable desire to give each new president a chance to enact his own agenda, Obama's strident socialism and evident incompetence has already placed him in a highly unusual position - he is one of the few presidents to have lost significant support during his first 100 days.
Obama's current "approval ratings" stand at 56%. This is a paltry figure, given that he was elected with 53% of the vote and that his approval rating in February was 65%. Even so, his 56% approval rating places him SEVENTH out of the last nine presidents for approval ratings at the 100-day mark. George W. Bush actually had a higher approval rating at the 100-day mark, exceeding Obama's by six points.
Further, as I have previously noted, a non-scientific poll conducted by MSNBC in fact had nearly forty percent of all respondents giving Obama an "F" for his performance for his first 100 days.
The orgiastic writhings (and writings) of the mainstream media notwithstanding, the objective measures of Obama's competence to this point are unencouraging to say the least. To say the most? Obama sucks!
