does obama really have any power?

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letstrythisagain
letstrythisagain Members Posts: 427
edited November 2010 in The Social Lounge
i dont know who agrees with me, and i dont know much about the political stuff when it comes to war but i think this war is so unnecessary and as long as this war is going on the united states is going to stay broke and nothing's gonna get better

why doesnt obama just end the war? didnt he say that's what he's going to do once he gets elected?

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  • ricanprince
    ricanprince Members Posts: 1,869 ✭✭
    edited November 2010
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    No president has true power, they are all controlled by the corporations, which is why I never saw what was so great about being a president. I would much rather be a dictator, because I could do what I want when I want and wouldnt have to worry about checks and balances
  • letstrythisagain
    letstrythisagain Members Posts: 427
    edited November 2010
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    No president has true power, they are all controlled by the corporations, which is why I never saw what was so great about being a president. I would much rather be a dictator, because I could do what I want when I want and wouldnt have to worry about checks and balances
    lol
    makes damm good sense
  • fiat_money
    fiat_money Members Posts: 16,654 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November 2010
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    Our government is designed to prevent him from being able to have that much power.

    And it'd not so simple as having to "just end the war".
  • birdcall89
    birdcall89 Members Posts: 6,009 ✭✭✭
    edited November 2010
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    No president has true power, they are all controlled by the corporations, which is why I never saw what was so great about being a president. I would much rather be a dictator, because I could do what I want when I want and wouldnt have to worry about checks and balances
    fiat_money wrote: »
    Our government is designed to prevent him from being able to have that much power.

    And it'd not so simple as having to "just end the war".

  • KTULU IS BACK
    KTULU IS BACK Banned Users Posts: 6,617 ✭✭
    edited November 2010
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    hes got a lot of power and he uses it to ? everything up
  • DarcSkies
    DarcSkies Members Posts: 13,791 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November 2010
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    He's got a lot of power. Which is meaningless if you're not going to use it to do what's right.
  • kingblaze84
    kingblaze84 Members Posts: 14,288 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November 2010
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    Darxwell wrote: »
    He's got a lot of power. Which is meaningless if you're not going to use it to do what's right.

    This is what I think, and he's afraid of the even more powerful corporations in the US.

    Obama isn't exactly a puppet, but he looks like George W Bush's ? right now. His policies are not too different from his.
  • kingblaze84
    kingblaze84 Members Posts: 14,288 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November 2010
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    Here's a good letter Congresswoman Barbara Lee wrote regarding Obama and his never ending war today

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-barbara-lee/no-delaying-reality-in-af_b_786212.html

    Today, President Obama announced a 2014 timeline for U.S. and NATO forces to transition leadership of security responsibilities in Afghanistan to Afghan forces.

    The President's 2014 announcement comes in advance of his scheduled December review of U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, pre-empting any meaningful evaluation of the progress, feasibility, or assumptions behind the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan.

    Not only does this commitment push back the goal posts for concluding a decade of open-ended war, it delays the tough decisions that will need to be made upon acknowledging the true reality in Afghanistan -- our military-first strategy simply isn't working.

    The President's 2014 proposal does offer a few certainties, however, notably more coalition and civilian casualties, the construction and maintenance of more military bases and facilities, and added profits for the more than 74,000 private contractors currently operating in Afghanistan.

    Today, I joined a bipartisan group of 63 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives in sending a letter to the President opposing any action that would delay the complete redeployment of U.S troops from Afghanistan or commit our nation to fighting in Afghanistan through 2014.

    I have long said that if you had told the American people nine years ago that we would still be in Afghanistan, even after al Qaeda was gone, perhaps there would have been a debate about the invasion. A growing number of Members of Congress are questioning why we are in Afghanistan, because if history is any judge, we know what we will see in Afghanistan in 2014- the military generals asking for more time and more resources.

    Since 2002, U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan have increased from roughly 5,000 to 100,000. As the United States has further entrenched itself militarily in Afghanistan, things on the ground have gone from bad to worse.

    2010 has become the deadliest year-to-date for U.S. forces as well as Afghan civilians.

    Despite being cited as the Taliban's No. 1 recruiting tool by Special Envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard C. Holbrooke, corruption has become so pervasive throughout the Karzai regime that U.S. officials are deemphasizing high-level anti-corruption efforts for fear of alienating our Afghan political counterparts upon which our counterinsurgency strategy depends.

    Military and foreign policy experts agree that there is no military solution in Afghanistan. Our men and women in uniform have performed with incredible courage and commitment -- but they have been put in an impossible situation.

    That is why last fall, a bipartisan group of 100 House Members voted in support of my amendment to limit funding in Afghanistan to the safe, orderly redeployment of U.S. troops and military contractors from Afghanistan.

    As Congress weighs the prospect of three more years of war in Afghanistan, currently costing $100 billion per year, I expect more Members to join in this effort.

    On August 31, 2010, President Obama assured the American people that "open-ended war serves neither our interests nor the Afghan people's." The American people agree Mr. President, and most importantly, they oppose this war.

    It is time for the Administration and for Congress to come together and end, rather than prolong, America's longest war.
  • Jonas.dini
    Jonas.dini Confirm Email Posts: 2,507 ✭✭
    edited November 2010
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    Obama has power, although he's squandered a lot of his political capital, but he's hesitant to flex that power for one reason or another.

    Sometimes I like presidents who step back and play a primarily administrative role, but under the current circumstances the US needs leadership from the executive branch.
  • dmv_use2thewait
    dmv_use2thewait Members Posts: 1,239 ✭✭
    edited November 2010
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    He has power but i think he's been instructed on what and what not to use it on. He has Executive Orders which don't really require any approval from anyone.