Watch this interview by Larry King of former President Bill Clinton? What did you think of Clinton's thoughts on how Obama is doing? Given his experience trying to get major health care reform passed 15 years ago, what did you think of Clinton's take on the prospects of Pres. Obama succeeding in his fight to overhaul health care?
What about his comments on the political situation in New York? And on former Pres. Carter's assertion that much of the opposition to Obama is based, to some extent, on racism? What are your own thoughts on Pres. Carter's claim?
Anything else that stood out to you from this interview?
Make sure you post at least TWO (2) comments by Friday, October 9. These can be either comments directly on the video and/or responses to something a classmate has posted.
Oh, and just in case you were wondering: "yes," "no," "good," "bad," "I agree," "I disagree," etc., do not count as full posts! I don't want to put a minimum number of words or sentences on it, but please put some thought into your comments!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
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I find Clinton's perspective on conservative racism to be fairly insightful. Clinton's comment that [all] extreme, right-wing conservatives are racist may be a bit far-fetched. I would not be surprised to hear that many of them are, but I think that Clinton should have qualified his statement, instead of stating that every right-wing extremist is racist. Additionally, I do believe that the majority of Conservatives oppose Obama and his health care reform due to the reform itself, not due to Obama's ethnic background.
ReplyDeleteWhen Clinton talked about the racism in the republican political circle I thought it was very true with his statement that the same people who are racist and oppose Obama’s policies would still oppose him if he was white. Racism is of course wrong but these republican would disagrees with Obama whether he was white or black. It’s just sad that we still have politicians that are still ignorant and obviously racist presiding in office. I also liked that he stated that not all of the republicans are racists because to generalize a political party as racists isn’t fair but when he stated specifically that all right winged extremists are racists, I thought that was a litte much. In addition the fact that he agrees that racism exists is admirable because most politicians would shy away from that question and go with the “PC” answer.
ReplyDeleteUltimately, I agree with Clinton’s comments regarding the complexity of racism in Washington and in America. I liked how Clinton acknowledged that, while some right-wing extremists who oppose Obama are also racially prejudice, not all people who oppose him on health care or those who identify themselves as conservatives are racist. I noticed he kept making the comment that “we have to win this health care fight on the merits.” I think he means by this that Americans need to focus on the actual substance of the bill and the reforms proposed by it and disregard factors, such as the President’s race, when making the decision to support or oppose the bill. Clinton states that this fight would exist even if Obama was white and those who oppose the bill would not change their opinions if Obama was white. He points to what happened in 1993-1994 when he tried to propose a health care reform bill and failed.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, Clinton makes the comment that “health care reform is a fight about whether we are going to… keep making excuses for being the only wealthy country in the world that can’t figure out how to insure everybody.” He later states, “I’d rather have [the health care reform] fight now and so would Obama.” Thus, I think he is driving home the importance of passing the health care reform bill and not arguing about whether racism is affecting its' support. He acknowledges that both he and Obama have chosen to fight this issue before the racism issue, and he seems to suggest that Americans should do the same.
I agree with Mr Clinton when he says that he believes that 100% of those people who do not support President Obama's health care reform would continue to not support it if he were white. I know there are people out there who purposefully disregard President Obama's policies because of racial issues, but obviously all of his disapproval does not stem from racism. I am also more willing to trust Mr Clinton's judgement in view of him being from the South, where he would have been exposed to racial predjudice and have more of an idea of its influence on politics than we do in California. As for Mr Carter, I will uneloquently say that I think he is very weird in his convictions and statements.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Mr Clinton's assertion that we need to focus on the health care bill itself, and what it means, rather than the ideological reasons, such as racism, why some people oppose it. Perhaps if Americans can just view bills objectively, and not get caught up in unimportant factors, such as race, which are virtually unconnected with the bills themselves, Americans can pass their own judgment on the bills, and possibly make actual progress, whether progress means bills becoming laws, or bills being rejected by Congress or veto. Then Americans will be able to complain about the new law, or the lack thereof, and stagnate themselves politically once more. Not to sound cynical.
ReplyDeleteI thought that Clinton made some very good and truthful comments about racism in America, and specifically its influence, or lack there of, on the health care reform debate. When Clinton said that presidents like Carter, who were directly affected by the civil rights movement may be "exceedingly sensitive to things that sound racially prejudice", I felt it was a logical and convincing comment. During the civil rights era there were so many more people who were openly and ruthlessely racist thus making for a more "suspicious" and "tense" environment. After making the above statement, I think Clinton was smart to point out that in Obama's case, he must be "exceedingly sensitive to the fact that not everyone who disagrees with ...[him] on health care is racially prejudice" and that "[the health care reform] is a fight that would exist no matter the color of skin".In my opinion, Clinton hit the nail on the head with that claim. As Stefanie previously mentioned, Clinton is emphasizing the importance of passing the health care reform bill without getting caught up in a whole different debate on attempting to find the motives of individuals' who are starkly opposed to the reform bill. As a side note I think that Clinton was very thoughtful in his responses and appears to be pretty optimistic about Obama's presidency saying that he is "well-motivated and highly inteligent...[and is] able to balance a lot of balls in the air at the same time". Also, I think Clinton handled some of the more personal questions he was asked with great poise and sincerity.
ReplyDeleteFormer President Jimmy Carter's public assertion that opposition towards President Obama is mainly factored by "racism", is an excessively outrageous claim. This view that Carter portrays is influenced by overwhelmed media coverage on "right-wing fringe" groups at certain occassions. The true facts are then easily taken out of context to then characterize any "right-wing" opposition towards Obama as being this "racist" group. It is wrong to generalize and profile people of opposing views against Obama as being "racist", just because he happens to be a black president. In fact, it is racist in it self, to accuse people of being "racist" for having a conflicting political view of your own. Also, no matter what ethnicity or gender the president may be, it is always important and necessary to be skeptical of that person's agenda and actions. American citizens should not have to fear being labeled "racist" for voicing dissent just because the president is black. Dissent is always good for maintaining balance and for providing that the government, especially the president, remains in a state of fearing public outroar. It is disturbing to know that people would actually desire for the "dissenting" opinion to be silenced, and to do that through attemptong to instill guilt of "Racism"
ReplyDeleteAs everyone, except Dean, said, I also agree that Clinton was very accurate, truthful, and insightful about the suspected racism coming from the right wing extremists. I also agree that the Republicans who oppose Obama now would oppose him if he was white.
ReplyDeleteNow, I am a little thrown off by what Dean said in the Republican's being "skeptical" of the president's agenda. It is true that people should ask questions, but there is no known reason why almost all the Republican party is rejecting any ideas for new health care. Also, yes, some people would not mind those who are exceptionally rude to the president while he is giving a speech to be silenced. Dean, "YOU LIE."
I agree with the statements that say that instead of focusing on the little things that have nothing to do with government legislation we should focus on our countries health care system and how to reform it. We need to focus on Obama’s bill and decide whether or not it benefits us. If the bill does benefit us as a country pass it and if it doesn’t find an alternative that will get the job done.
ReplyDeleteClinton disagrees with Carter’s belief that the opposition to Obama’s healthcare plan is due to racism, and I agree. I see Carter’s claim as an extremely narrow-minded, poorly thought out assumption. Clinton said the he thinks that the same people who oppose the healthcare plan now would do so even if the president were white, and I agree again. These are not the days of Jim Crow, and most Americans, with the exception of a select few, do not consider the race of the president when forming their own personal opinions on his proposed legislation. I oppose the healthcare plan, but the ethnicity of the president has nothing to do with that.
ReplyDeleteRegarding Dean's comment: Brilliantly stated! Although, it doesn't seem to be the president himself pulling the race card, but his staunchest supporters and the radicals on the far left who see this as a perfect opportunity for exploitation. In all reality however, it is nothing more than a low blow attempt to use every opportunity, no matter how thin or obscure, to sling mud at the Republican party and further bolster their own hollow, fragile house of cards they call a platform.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Lance that it seems like an easy out by staunch left wingers to exploit Obama's race, however I don't think it represents the majority of Democrats opinions. Most are a little more levelheaded to realize that it's a political thing, and while some few selected might vote against based on race, many of those who oppose it are just people that oppose it for what it is, nothing more.
ReplyDeleteIn response to the quote:
ReplyDelete"No one shows up ready to be president."
I absolutely agree and I think most people, when they think about this, would agree as well. However such a seemingly-obvious question seems to be overlooked nowadays in our country because the population, as a whole, seems to be deeply upset if unrealistic expectations aren't met right from the get-go. We see this with the steadily-declining approval rating of all presidents when stagnation occurs (pardon the oxymoron :P). It almost seems that slow progress = bad to the American public. While I do wish that progress could come faster, we must remember that a President needs some time to get the hang of things and get things done.
-Michael Silberblatt
I agree with what Lance said about Clinton's point about how the same people would oppose the healthcare plan even if the President was white. There are not as many racist people today as there was back in the day. I don't believe that race plays a big role in politics. Therefore I don't believe that President Obama's race is effecting people's view on the healthcare plan. This is just an easy why for people to say that they oppose the plan.
ReplyDeleteOverall I think that former President Clinton gave a very convincing interview. He was very clear and articulate with his viewpoints on President Obama's health care plan and the issue of racism, which included all of the elements of persuasion. President Clinton repeatedly spoke of his agreement with Obama's action with his health care plan, which I think is obviously affected by the obstacles that he encountered when he was fighting for a health care plan.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I found it interesting that when asked if he himself would have taken control of the debate over health care, President Clinton somewhat avoided the question, and instead stated that he felt that "the President might be making up for lost time" over the issue. I agree with this statement because the attempt to restructure health care has failed once in the past, during the Clinton administration, and the President if "making up for lost time" in which the issue of health care was completely ignored. Furthermore, if the restructuring of health care does not succeed this time around it is obvious that the next President who does choose to take on this issue will receive even more opposition than Clinton did in the past and Obama is currently.
Overall I thought Clinton brought up a lot of interesting points and did a great job addressing different sides of the issues brought up. I really thought Clinton hit the nail on the head when it came to the different views and the reasons behind why many oppose Obama. I completely agreed when he said "I believe that some of the right wing extremists which oppose President Obama are also racially prejudiced, and prefer not to have an African-American President,but did not say that all of the right wing share that view." I think that it is true that some people oppose Obama because the color of his skin, but a lot of people simply disagree with his positions on certain issues. Republicans especially may just believe that Obama is all talk and that he really doesn't have a clear plan. I think Clinton gave really insightful responses that both the left and the right side could somewhat agree with.
ReplyDeleteIt is very obvious that Clinton is behind Obama and supports him and his Health Care Reform. Clinton states over and over that he would be surprised if a health care bill was not passed. As for the question about hints of racism in the far right of the spectrum, I agree with Clinton in that if Obama was not of African American decent, ALL the people who oppose him now would still oppose him.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Clinton in that Obama is taking a correct course of action with the war. I think Obama sees the war the way Clinton describes it, "you can't be somebody without nobody". With this I mean I think Obama also wants to wait till the elections are done with, see how things are going, and only then send in more troops if we can get the people on our side. I think the reference to the Vietnam War was a good analogy and also persuasive.
One of the parts of the interview that stood out the most to me was when Clinton said that "no one shows up ready to be president." Although this had never really occured to me, I believe it to be completely true. Although one can be elected president with lots of ideas and reforms in mind structured to change or help the country, it is hard to be entirely prepared for a job, such as being president, that is so unique. With this in mind, the trial of a president's first hundred days in office may not have any real significant meaning assuming that change is just beginning at this point in the presidency. I also think that this statement applys very well to the critics currently saying that Obama has not done anything significant since the beginning of his term. After given a chance to get into the swing the things as president, I think that President Obama is now beginning to take the steps necessary to bring about change with the proposed health care reform.
ReplyDeleteI agree with almost everything Mr. Clinton said. I do think that people wouldn't change their opinion on health care if the President was white, and addressing the issue about racism the way Clinton did was very impressive, most of the people would just go around it and sort of ignore it. I like how he said that he respected Obama and thought he was right about fighting for health care, he made a good point about the U.S. being the only wealthy country in the world that can't figure out how to ensure everybody. Also, it was interesting how he said he didn't think Carter was wrong about people opposing health care mainly because of racial prejudice when he pretty much made it his point. He probably thought so, but didn't want to say it directly. What I disagreed with was how he basically generalized that right-wing extremist were all racially prejudiced, it's too general to be stated like that, I think.
ReplyDelete-Lety Buil Macarty
Clinton seems to be saying that the right-winged critics are more prejudiced against health care reform than they are prejudiced against Obama's race, and he makes that quite clear through his examples of the strong opposition he met from Republicans regarding health care issues during his administration. Also, I like what Dean said, that it is "necessary and important" that Americans don't blindly support the President's ideas, and I think as long as they can justify their criticism, it's not very likely that racism is at the heart of the issue.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Hilary about Clinton's approach to addressing both sides of the issues. I really respect his down to earth rational thinking, as it was more professional. He doesn't jump to conclusions and mentions that he doesn't know all the facts. He stays loyal to his party by supporting members of his party, and displays respect for both Governor Paterson and President Obama. In contradiction to Troys comment, I heard Clinton say "some" and not ALL extreme right-winged Republicans are slightly racist. He says that Obama would still be opposed by many if he were white. I agree completely with this. I thought this was cool, because he isn't attacking the whole Republican Party, which he easily could have done. His support for President Obama and realistic hope is encouraging.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I do not necessarily support the current healthcare reform bill, because of the fact that it would likely take me months to read that material to form a valid opinion of its content, Bill Clinton presents very reasonable evidence for the importance of some sort of reform.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Clinton's claim that our current president is a smart man, although, for him to say that Barrack Obama's inexperience (as far as governing any entity... anywhere from a city to a state) does not stand out among previous levels of experience early in other presidencies throughout the years is an opinion that I disagree with. I believe that his inexperience does stand out when compared to previous presidencies in the United States. Hopefully he will begin to follow through with his plans, turn them into actions, and move our country in a positive direction.
I agree with Brita, I thought that when he said that "no one shows up ready to be president" is saying that he's doing an OK job so far, considering he wasn't governor of state or anything. He said that Obama is "growing in to the job" and I thought that not only was it nice of him to give Obama a break with the whole "the President hasn't done anything" deal, but it's also true. I don't think anyone realizes how hard it could be being president when everyone expects you to know what to do all the time or messing up in any way because everybody will start criticizing you, or even watching a skit on Saturday Night Live making fun of something you said. So I think it's good that he mentioned it so people can see "the other side" of the situation.
ReplyDelete-Lety Buil Macarty
I agree with Eric when he stated race does not factor into politics today nearly as much as some people make it out to be. I believe race becomes an issue in America today because some people want it to be an issue. It seems like people want to stir up controversy and make a problem/situation out of nothing. Race is rarely on people's minds until it is brought up by others, and then it seems to permeate into the public's conciousness until the original issue is forgotten and it is now only about race.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with what Michael said about a President needs time to get things done. Some presidents do come to their presidencies prepared. That's why they succeded. Woodrow Wilson, for example, was definitely well-prepared when he became the President. He attacked the trusts,revised tariff,and reformed the banking system. Everything was done during the first two years of his presidency, though he didn't keep his promise for better treatments for African Americans,and he collapsed later. But that's a different story.
ReplyDeleteCircumstances may have changed for President Obama, but he does have Democrats in control of both Houses of Congress. President Obama still has lots of campaign promises to keep. Four years is a short time. There is no "I will do this later". He is making no effort in keeping his promises either becuase he is too busy at something else(like Noble Peace Prize), or becuase he doesn't want to keep those promises at the first place(like what Wilson did to African Amercians, no offense here). That looks really bad already,and I'm pretty sure most Americans don't care whether President Obama is "ready" to be the President or not. They only care about actions. So he should either take action as soon as possible or prepare himslef to get voted out of office.
I think the statement when he said that instead of focusing on the little things that have nothing to do with government, we should focus more on our countries health care and fix it and make it better. I think we need to focus Obama’s health bill instead of all the other things he said like the war in Iraq or closing Guantanamo Bay and see if his health care reform actually helps the country. I am not saying it will or will not, I am just saying that we should at least give it a shot. There's nothing really else going on, so we should at least support it and hope it works out. If not, then we need to think of something different to do.
ReplyDeleteI think that while Clinton does agree with much of what Obama is doing, I feel he is being hesitant to make honest criticisms (a common fear among politicians) for a number of reasons. One, i believe one of Clinton's main goals is to have the Democrats have as much power as possible, 2- Being that his wife is Sec. of State and plays a key role in the administration, he obviously is going to side with nearly any move they make. Thankfully Clinton didn't make himself look like an absolute pinhead like Carter did on the question of racially-motivated opposition to the president. I agree that there is a veerrry slim segment of the population that opposes Obama on racial grounds, but the vast majority, and probably all who are in congress, are against his doings simply because they do not agree with his policies.
ReplyDeleteTo touch on the issue of Obama asking a Governor to step down- what? Since when does the President have any authority to do anything about a state's governor? Now I understand he has not mandated him to step down or anything like that, but even his slightest hinting or suggestion to the governor causes a great deal of pressure for him to do so. Obama- spend more time paying attention to strategies to defeat the Taliban and restoring economic growth, and less time going on talk shows/ESPN and telling people what to do when you have no voice in the matter. Yeah if you can't tell i'm a huge Obama fan.
First of all, I think its pretty pathetic that the United States pays twice as much for health care than any other country, yet we still cannot provide health care for everyone. I agree with President Obama and Former President Clinton in that we need to focus on more on the health care reform than racism. I believe racism is a big issue but I really think we need to get a handle on heath care.
ReplyDeleteOverall, i was impressed with Mr. Clinton's interview and I thought he brought up some good points. I completely agreed with him when he said that if the president was white, that nothing would really change and the people who opposed the health care reform would still oppose it.
I was a little bit surprised to hear that Clinton said that he would be shocked if they didn't pass a health care reform bill. Even though the democrats do have a majority in Congress the slow moving pace of the bill makes it seem to me that it is definitely not a certainty that this bill will be passed. Also i partially believe the statement that Clinton said about racism towards President Obama. I believe that almost no one rejects the health care reform bill purely on the basis of racism towards the president and i feel that almost all of these people that currently reject the bill would do the same if the president was a different ethnicity.
ReplyDeleteIn response to some of the comments left by Edward Vita, i first would like to say that i agree with his viewpoints because many other countries like in Europe have a much better system of health care that is both efficient, cheap, and effective. I believe that closing guantanamo bay is not going to have an immediate or even an everlasting effect but i do believe that health care reform could change the nations health care forever and hopefully in a positive way.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Carter's "racist" claim to some point.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I trust Carter's judgement becuase he's been dealing with all kinds of people for many years.
Secondly, Racism still exists today. Racism doesn't play such a big role as it did fifty years ago becuase people don't want it to.
What was going on before the civil rights movement? As a matter of fact, nobody really wanted to talk about racism untill the civil rights movement. Why? Because they didn't know it was that serious. Yeah, how bad could things be? Blacks do not sit with white people, but they can still sit somewhere else. It wasn't that serious untill they saw people using violence and committing murders becasue of it. Then we had the civil rights movement.
What is happening today? Henry Louis Gates, a African American Harvard University professor, found his house's front door was jammed and tried to force it open. He was later arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. President Obama played down possibility of racial profiling in this incident, but it does show us how serious the race issue can be today. It's definity not up to the level of violence as it was fifty years ago. But it does affect some people's judgement to some degree.
Still, I have to agree with Lance's idea that Carter's claim is extremely narrow-focused. He has a point when he talks about racism toward our President Obama(he couldn't emphsize it enough during his campaign). But his claim will bring in nothing but controversy to our government's policy. He may speak about racism, but he has to be aware of the circumstances.
Though I believe that President Carter's statements about the influence of racial prejudice on the health care issue are true to a certain degree, I ultimately agree with President Clinton. While for some Obama's race may be a contributing factor on their stance with regards to health care, those who oppose him would have been the ones to oppose him were he of a different background.
ReplyDeleteI also like Clinton's idea that those fighting for a health care bill have to win it "on the merits". I agree that not only is this a fight that the Democrats can and will win eventually, but that in the process they must not let racial issues become part of the issue as well. They must instead get the bill passed on the principle that such a legislation is important to the growth of our nation and will ultimately "promote the general Welfare" of the people.
In regard to Lui's statements, it is true that there are still existent forms of racism. But, due to the popular historical importance of the civil rights movement, most accusations of racism or "hate crime" has been directed towards white people to this day. I have noticed, that usually whenever any racist accusation is made, the "victim" is almost always any body but a white person, let alone a white man, for there is much gender specific regulations that favor women. Anybody can be racist, but not everybody is racist. Therefore to use the race card, and inform us upon unrelated racist incidents that have no correlation with politics, should be refrained from political agendas. Even more so, it should be refrained from being utilized to better a political agends, and in this case, to portray Obama and his health care plan as not being opposed by rational reasons but by unreasonable hatred.
ReplyDeleteThe true poltitcal argument about Health Care is being ignored, because of hateful uses of the "race card", and by endorsements from former President Clinton, who has a strong hold through his wife, and with the fact that many ex-Clinton administration officials are in the current Obama administration. Only the true aspects of a health care plan should be considered, not what former presidents think, or what it has to do with the principle of "progress". Since when is progress through legislation s necessary...there comes a point where the government becomes excessive in its outreach, and gridlock is no problem here.
I completely disagree with Dean's statements concerning racism. It is in no way true that most accusations of racism are directed towards white people. The majority of racist "accusations" that people make against the white population is directed towards the white population that is racist themslves. For example, many stereotypical remarks are often made about southerners. Yes, it is true that many southerners are not racist, but it is also true that southerners have a large history of being racist towards minorities. In that sense, many people commonly recognize the racist tendencies of some southern people and often point these out, sometimes in a racist way. However, racist comments are seldom made about your "typical" white man who lives in Nevada and is not known as a racist. Furthermore, racist remarks and actions taken against minorities have been present in the United States since the first Slave came across the ocean. Although there has been significant progress with the Civil Rights movement, minorities are still easily the main target of any racial prejudice. If you were to look at a recent map of hate groups in America, you would notice that the four most popular hate groups, Neo-Nazis, the Ku Klux Klan, Racist Skinheads, and Neo-Confederates, all consist of white people who are racist against minority groups.
ReplyDeleteI believe Clinton made quite a few excellent points in regards to Obama's plans and intents with North Korea. President Obama has recently recieved large amounts of criticism about how slow he is seemingly reacting to issues around the world. Clinton agknowledges some of Obama's possible reasons for waiting before making important decisions in North Korea. There are many issues being thrown around in Washington at the moment, and like Clinton, I believe that Obama is simply waiting for the dust to settle. If he takes on too many projects at once, the end results will be unsatisfactory. Yes, President Obama has promised the people of our country change, but to change the U.S., to change the world in such drastic ways, he more than anything needs the faith and patience of the people of America. While Obama isn't necessarily "acting" on numerous important issues at the moment, I believe he is slowly but surely going to accomplish much that he has promised.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to what "macdaddy" said, I want to elaborate on the health care reform issue a little bit more. Despite the fact that the Democrats have a majority in Congress, the health care reform debate seems, at the time, to be more of an issue over how "government run vs. private sector" the new health care system should be. In other words, I am confident that some health care reform bill will be passed in the relatively near future; however, I am also curious to see how close the new system will be to President Obama's original proposal. Will it be predominantly government run or more "hands off" private sector run?...I guess we will have to wait and see.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Clinton and many statements above me that racism is probably a large part of opposition to the health care reform, but I also see that much of the opposition to this issue comes from other places. The people who have a problem with accepting a president with a minority background and have a problem accepting changes to our health care set up are essentially having a problem with the same thing - change. I think this is especially pinned on conservative Americans because, well, the definition of conservative is "resistant to change." I think many who oppose the health care bill don't actually oppose the ideas it actually presents, rather, they oppose the idea of changing the system itself. It's just like how many government issues are controversial not because of their subject matter, but because many believe it is not the role of the federal government to legislate on the matter! I hope that analogy makes sense outside of my head!
ReplyDeleteAlso - on another note - I agree with most of Clinton's statements about how Obama is doing as president. I agree that, as he said, "no one shows up ready to be president" and that all presidents have flaws. Presidents are regular people just like us! It is a huge and (in my opinion) unrealistic responsibility that our system and we as citizens and put on one person to be president. Although we purposely maintain a system that allows for the president to get help from many resources and has many ways to "check and balance" the president's rule, we usually put all the blame on the president her/himself. If something goes wrong, it is automatically the fault of the president. Although I am also very frequently frustrated by the way our government is running, I have to not put the blame all on one person. Not only did Obama not "show up ready to be president," but neither did his governmental employees!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Eddie. We need to focus on the more important things that will effect our country then the little things. We need to focus our attention on the healtcare plan. The government needs to get to an agreement on the healthcare plan. This will effect all Americans and hopefully make getting healthcare a lot easier for a cheaper cost.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what "adie80" said in her most recent post. This question on health care reform comes down to how active the government is going to be in the system. Originally Obama's plan was met with tremendous opposition largely because of how over-reaching the National Government would be in the system. Now it seems he is aiming to scale it back a little, and please some of the more moderate Democrats and maybe even some Republicans. This is the matter at hand, and Obama's moves he makes regarding the government's role in it all will determine how much hostility he faces in congress, not his skin color
ReplyDeleteIn regards to Troy’s statement, I would like to point out his statement, “Yes, it is true that many southerners are not racist, but it is also true that southerners have a large history of being racist towards minorities.” I agree with this statement, but that is why I see it absurd to accuse racism on a national level towards conservatives over a national issue, health care. It is significant to consider history as not to repeat horrible incidents, as with widespread racism in the earlier era of American history. But, there comes to a certain extent of time to where a high amount of concern is no longer valid or relative. The Civil Rights movement climaxed in the 60’s, with many accomplishments and refinements following later, but America moved on (progression) with important issues…whether it was anti-drug agendas in the 80’s, anti-crime regulations in the 90’s, or as with now with health care. It makes no sense to over-reflect upon history, and wrongfully infuse a several-decade old issue with a current issue. Health care, when basically examined, has no correlation with the consequences of racism. We did not live during the high era of racism in the epicenter of racism of the South, and we have also been taught the evils of racism with ease by our schools and parents. Therefore, the existence of widespread racism against minorities would be impossible with a now widespread ideal of anti-racism. So, why would it be necessary to impose race-specific legislations (such as hate crime and affirmative action concerning jobs and colleges) that don’t change history but only affect generations who had no involvement with the height of racism. This in turn results at continued installments of white guilt, during our time of preached diversity and tolerance. Also, it is not practical to infuse the issue of racism in one region with a national issue. Racism in the south concerning “white conservatives” has no direct relation with the national conservative consensus about health care. And it is also wrong to determine that it is just racism against minorities in certain regions, for there are numerous areas where Caucasians are considered the minority population, and racism against minorities could not reach such a national level because of differing demographics.
ReplyDeleteI therefore stand by my conclusion that this is no more than an intimidation of white guilt to attempt to suppress the dissenting opinion, which is a very disturbing act. It is also very ironic for the majority-ruling Democrats to try and silence conservative opposition, when they had complained during the Bush administration. I cant help but remember Pelosi stating how they will not be silenced and they will be heard, well now that they have the authority, they are trying to silence opposition.
I also agree with President Clinton regarding President Carter's statement. To assume that all (or any of) the criticism directed at President Obama is based on racism is incredibly presumptuous and, frankly, incorrect. Historically, there have been many racist white, southern Republicans, but this by no means indicates that all white, southern Republicans are racist, or that their basis for opposing legislation proposed by a black president is racial hatred. I think Dean is absolutely correct in pointing out that it's important not to mix the issues. Isn't it easily possible that a Republican's political ideology would cause him to oppose health care reform? Wouldn't such a Republican oppose any proposed health care reform, regardless of the race of the president who proposed it? Opposition to suggested legislation and racial prejudice are two entirely different issues, so a person's exhibition of the former does not by any means indicate the latter. For that reason, it's important and logical to give dissidents the benefit of the doubt by assuming that they simply disagree with President Obama's plan for healthcare because of their political beliefs and values. Granted, some of the disapproval of President Obama may stem from racism, but because objection to legislation is not a direct act of racial bigotry, it cannot be termed one. I applaud President Clinton for speaking out against injustice towards members of the Republican party. That he was willing to defend their right to disagree with a president representing his own party shows that ultimately, his values transcend party lines to support the liberties of all people.
ReplyDeleteThis racism talk is truly absurd. It is true that their is still racism in our government but not every comment hurled at Obama is racist. People must remember that this is politics and politicians like to win. When they do win, they rub it in the face of their counterparts. Wilson's "you lie" is just the same as when Pelosi called Bush a "total failure" (although Wilson did it with style). They were both derogatory remarks against each presidents and yet i don't remember Pelosi ever being ask to apologize.
ReplyDeleteIn all Clinton's responses were acceptable. Of course he is still a Democratic politician so there are still some bias there and of course he has to support the wife. But his answers on the war in Afghanistan were agreeable. He said that the three options were to "ramp up", "cut down" or do a "better job" which I think are the options we have. He emphasized on the last choice which i think is a preferable choice since leaving now would have wasted all the resources that we have devoted and adding more resources could possible bring us down more fiscally.
In response to what Dean said about Democrats now trying to silence the Republican opposition, I disagree. Democrats hold a majority in both houses of congress, and have Obama as president. They could easily pass any healthcare reform bills that they want. But, Democrats are trying to work with the Republicans on this issue so there is ass little upset as possible. Because of this, I agree with Bill Clinton that there will be a healthcare reform bill that is passed, but there will have to be a compromise so that everyone can be happy.
ReplyDeleteI agree with most of what Clinton and the rest of the class said. Although I do doubt if what Clinton said is what he actually believes. Because of his ties to the Democratic party it isn't a good idea for him to say he dissapproves of the new health care plan and doesn't think it will get passed, but I highly doubt that he beleives 100% that it is going to get passed based on the opposition it is facing. On the remarks about the opposition to the health care being racist, I find them to be last resort cries of help from the supporters of the Obama's health care reform.
ReplyDeleteAs to what Annie said about people who don't want the reform, I don't think they are afraid of change, I think they are afraid of the unknown. Health care to many in the United States is priority for every day activity and what not, and they don't want to see it get worse. I think many of them still are uncertain exactly what the reform will do, and those with good health care already are not ready to make the leap of faith in fear that once they make it, they will regret it.
I agree with Clinton when he says, “I believe that some of the right-wing extremeists, which oppose president Obama are also racially prejudiced, and would prefer not to have an African American president, but I don’t believe that all the people that oppose him on healthcare are racist.” I think it’s true that much of the opposition to Obama is because of his race. Although we like to believe it, racism is not a thing of the past. It is still very much an issue. If you don’t think racism is still around today then you are very blind sighted by the liberal and diverse community we live in. I know we have come a long way since slavery, and have battled other national issues since then, I just think its crazy talk to assume racism is no longer a national issue, and doesn’t affect peoples opinions. I am not trying to say that I think all white republicans in the south are racist and oppose Obama’s ideas because of his race. I think a white democrat could just as easily propose the same healthcare plans and still face the same oppositions as Obama. Who knows if democrats and republicans will ever come to an agreement on healthcare. We can only hope.
ReplyDeleteI agree completely with Bill Clinton and his views on health care. He is correct in saying that it will be very shocking if Obama's reform bill doesn't get passed because of the majority of the democratic party in both houses of congress. I agree with ndemarco that the democrats are trying to work with the republicans and compromise so that Obama can get as many people on board with his new bill. I also agree with many of my classmates when they say that is not right to connect republican senators who disagree with health care reform to the racist beliefs they may or may not have. One has nothing to do with another and I think it is much more likely that they oppose health care reform because of their own political beliefs and values.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what both Maggie and Annie said. I think Annie was correct to say people are afraid of change, and I think Maggie was also correct to say that people fear the unknown. To me, change is the unknown and those words are just synonyms.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Eddie in that we need to focus on the big things in this country, such as the health care bill, and not focus on the little things, such as raciest claims, or closing Guantanamo bay. Although we can't push those issues aside, we need to focus more on this health care plan and as Eddie said "give it a shot". Whether it will actually help or not we should at least try it.
ReplyDeleteI think former president Clinton did a good job in answering the questions given to him and not trying to foreshadow what Obama is going to do reguarding Health Care, Iraq and Afghanistan. Responding to Edward's comment, what happens if "giving it a (meaning 1) shot" fails? I dont think Obama would give up on the bill, therefore, he would probably try his hardest to push it through congress a second or third time in order to establish the government run system which he wants.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Abel that the issue of race has put this to a ridiculous amount of attention, more so than should be here. It's pure politics, and some will be against him, because most in today's society can judge the idea itself and not judge by some preconceived notion of racial inferiority.
ReplyDeleteWhen faced with opposition, many people try to make the opponent look like their ideas are biased or irrational. The person who yelled "You lie!" is in no way justified, but Carter shouldn't go blaming Obama's opponent of being "racist." Carter is missing the point. People can disagree with Obama's proposals without attacking the candidate himself. This is why I agree with Clinton that amount of Obama's opponents would be the same regardless of the color of Obama's skin.
ReplyDeleteWhen Carter states that the right wing extremists are in opposition to Obama and his health care bill due to his race, it is bewildering. Throughout the course of time and politics within the United States, there has been a constant opposition present from the opposing party. This disagreement is inevitable, and is due to different beliefs and views on what the government should do and its priorities. Clintons response to the comment, stating that just as many people would be against the health care plan regardless of his race seems very accurate. Carter's comment, as stated by Lance, is very narrow minded. His comment shifts the focus of citizens from focusing on the bill and what is needed to make it successful, to a more personal and irrelevant issue of racism in the house. Elected officials have a goal of passing or denying certain things that their party does or does not want. This has been a constant presence in the house since it began. When someone voted against a bill before, or voiced there opinion in previous years, there was no comments on racism. These comments simply arise due to the fact of the president being african-american.
ReplyDelete~ This is in regards to JK's post on the previous page ~
ReplyDelete"But the point is my generation is past thinking of him as a black president - he's president, period. We're over it" - JK
I agree with what JK stated regarding how much of our generation identifies with Obama as the country's leader, the president, not just as the African American president. A person's race is just one aspect of their identity. While I do agree that it is extremely significant that Obama is our country's first African American president, I feel that our generation needs to progressively move away from defining the world in "colors". This being said, I'm am not arguing that racism or discrimination or the cultural heritages and backgrounds of minorities should be ignored, I simply hope that one day we will be able to look at people for who they really are, without labeling them or seeing them and their achievements solely in terms of their race, religion, gender etc. Of course, I do realize that in a Utopian society everyone would be completely equal, and I do realize this "utopia" is quite impossible to achieve. However, I feel our generation should attempt to make strides in a positive direction and should shoot high to make some sort of progress.
I completely agree with the comments made by former President Clinton on former President Carter's accusations on racism. Sadly I believe that there are still people, not only in the government, but all over the country that are still racially prejudice towards African Americans. Although there are some people that oppose president Obama's health care reform because he is black, Clinton was correct in saying that the oppositions would be the same even if Obama was white. It was good that Clinton did not assume that every member of the right wing is racist towards Obama. Clinton's comments were very insightful and allowed members from both sides to agree with something that was said.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Greg in that I don't think that President Obama will give up on health care reform if the bill is defeated in congress. I would like to believe that a second or third attempt might push it through, but the likelihood of that occurring seems slim. Those that would oppose it the first time would not likely change their views the second time around.
ReplyDeleteLooking back on the Clinton health care plan of 1993 and its ultimate defeat, it seems unlikely that if the bill does not pass the first time,that it will pass a second or third. Those in favor of reform might just have to wait for a new congress to try again.
Overall, I believe that Clinton has some very good things to say. I agree with what he said in regards to racism when he stated that virtually 100% of the people who oppose Obama on the matter of healthcare would still oppose him if he was white. In relation to this, he also said that Obama cannot see everyone who opposes his healthcare bill as racist, which I agree with as well.
ReplyDeleteAnother good thing that I believe Clinton has to say was that "No one shows up ready for the job as president". Clinton has firsthand experience on being a president, and he knows how hard of a job it can be. He also believes that president Obama has good intentions and will grow into the presidency, which is a very positive outlook that struck me as I watched the video.
I definitely agree with Stefanie's comments regarding the need for our society to move past identifying those in the public eye by their race. Although the factors of race, gender and sexual orientation do affect one's personal views and what issues they are choosing to focus on, America as a whole needs to look past the color of a leader's skin and focus more on the issues that that person if focusing on. This idea of people voting based on color was very prominent in Obama's election. As we saw today in class, in the 2008 Election Obama received over 80% of the African American vote, which is a very strong percentage of a vote. However, it would be interesting to find out if the African Americans who voted for Obama would have voted the same way if he did not share the same ethnicity with them because people should be voting for the principles that the candidates stand for, not their personal backgrounds.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Greg's comment regarding Edward's post. One of the principle platforms Obama is standing on and advocating for at this moment is the passing a health care reform bill. While I personally believe that this bill will pass, with the democratic party in the majority of both houses in congress, I think that if for some reason it were shot down, Obama would continue to create other bills similar to it and attempt to pass those. I believe Obama is determined to put his plan for health care reform into action. He is passionate about the issue and I don't think he'll give up until he is satisfied with a result.
ReplyDeleteWhat needs to be considered and focused upon is what is actually included in the proposed health care bill. not a mainly eradicated issue of racism, not former presidents' opinions, and now how Obama should please people. Politics is very tense, and if the bill passes it will come down to the basics of relying upon Congress. If it doesn's, then the bottom line is that it doesnt. Since when is it absoultely necessary for there to be Bipartisanship. The two parties should not need to compromise their consentual beliefs and principles to please their opponents. It is perfectly healthy for Republicans to reject anything on this issued proposed by Democrats, or for Democrats to reject Republican influences. Political gridlock is perfectly normal, for it represents the proportional tension between ideas on a national level. Gridlck is better than passing some half-patched legislation that serves the purpose of "pleasing" everybody.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Briana's and Stefanie's post regarding the need for our country and society to move past identifying those in the public eye by their race. It is so true that Americans need to look past the issue of race and look at what that person in the government is trying to do. Also I agree with Briana about how 80% of the African American vote went to Obama. What if Obama was white? Would he still get all of that support? I think a lot of people voted for OR against Obama on the issue of race. They didn't fully listen to his ideas and goals but instead based their views on him by race, rather if it was for or against Obama.
ReplyDeleteSomething in Briana's recent comment struck me as very interesting: She pondered what would happen to the 80% of african american votes for Obama in the last election if Obama had been of Caucasian or of any other descent.
ReplyDeleteAfter some thinking, I think that the majority of voters vote for someone that they can connect with. Voters want someone in office who not only shares their personal political views, but many times people vote with someone they feel they can connect to on a more personal level.
We do this in high school ourselves: You naturally gravitate towards people who share common interests. In a closer analogy, we may vote for a class president or homecoming princess based on friendships, similar interests, or similar goals for the future.
Having said that, I do believe that if Obama were of another ethnicity, that 80% of Black votes would drop - as for how much it would drop, that remains uncertain. I do not see this as a bad thing though. I think it is natural that I would vote for someone who is more similar to me and could potentially make history for my particular group.
Just my two cents ;)
I think the fact that Clinton attempted to pass a health care bill a couple years ago pushes him to support President Obama's efforts. He understands the difficulties in getting the majority to agree on it. Clinton thinks that the reform is crucial and would be very surprised if it is not passed. Having a former president's support probably encourages the President. Clinton made it clear in his interview that he wants President Obama to succeed, however I feel it would have been more beneficial to get into the specifics of the reform, like Dean mentioned in his first sentence. Maybe analyzing some of the adjustments included in the bill with the former president would legitimize his support.
ReplyDeleteI think that the idea of universal health care for all sounds "wonderful" when you hear it but I dont think the current push for it is going to cure many of the problems that exist in the current system, and will even create new issues. I feel that if care is free people will abuse it visting the doctor constantly over stupid things and request for free over the counter medication because it is free and accesible. I do understand that not all will will abuse it but if made free why not? Another thing I dislike about socialized health care is that it steals from those that work hard to provide it for them and their families. I think it is a right to have healthcare I just dont like that it is a rright to force others to provide it for you.
ReplyDeleteWith reguards to what former President Clinton said about no one showing up ready to president righ off the bat, I definately agree with that. Obama is somewhat of a new player in this ball game but the expectations of what he can do are already so high. There has been a lot of criticism towards President Obama about the fact that he hasn't contributed much yet or that his promised "change" is off to a slow start and even the recent wonder of why he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize because he has yet to even do anything. This may come accross as too true in a time of such obvious need for change.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Michael Silberblatt said, in a previous comment, about how we need to realize that he needs time to get used to things and get his ideas under way. It's not something that happens right from the get go and I think that's what Clinton is trying to express in his statement. With all of the problems with the economy and war over seas it's becoming more apparent to the American people that we need someone to turn our situation around but that is why Obama was voted our president in the first place. Patience is a virtue.
A lot of people have already said this but I still need one more post so… My opinion is that almost all of these people that currently reject the health care bill would do the same if the president was a different ethnicity. People who opposed the health care reform today would still oppose it even if Obama was white. I disagree with Andrea I do not think much of the opposition is due to Obama’s race. However I agree with her that racism is still present today. Not a thing of the past. President Obama, does have Democrats in control of Congress so should do more to fulfill a lot of the promises he made on his campaign.
ReplyDeleteBy reading some of the comments above I know that I am not alone when I say that one of the things I liked the most about what Clinton said was regarding the question of racism and its affect on the opinions of the American public toward our president. However, I think the same prejudice would have been applied if our president was anything different than the traditional white male that has been seen as out leader since the beginning of the United States. Even though some people may oppose the president's viewpoints because of racism I believe Clinton was right in saying that majority of the people who oppose Obama's health care plan would oppose it even if he was the standard white male stereotypical president this country has become used to.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Morgan when she says that "Clinton's comments were very insightful and allowed members from both sides to agree with something that was said." I think that Clinton had a job well done in including all party members to find something they did agree with which tends to be a very difficult task in a society as split into black and white as ours is.
I think Clinton's statement that all right-wing extremists are racist is a little generalized. Yes, many probably are, but I am sure not all. I also think that right-wingers who do not agree with Obama's healthcare plan, for the most part, don't agree because they don't like the plan, not because they don't like Obama's skin color.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ryan T. about Clinton's statement being a little generalized and I find it hard to belive that the "right-wingers" who dissagree with obama are doing it because they are racist but rather because they see how flawed the socialistic health care idea is.
ReplyDeleteI also don't agree with the idea that just because one doesn't support Obama, that means your a racist. I think that people don't support him simply because they don't share the same ideas that obama has.
ReplyDeleteI think that there may a small group that dislikes him simply because he's African American. However there is a opposite side that supports almost everything he does, just because he is an African American. I think the two balance each other out, so the fact that he's African American really doesn't influence the overall decision making. I also agree with Ryan T.'s statement about Clinton being a little to generalized.
i agree with ryan T.'s comment in which he states the racial comment was too general. When people say that there is racism present in the congress and in the government, it is true, but not to the extent some want to believe. It is true that there is a large population of citizens that did not vote for Obama because of his race, but it does not come into account when elected officials are voting on the bill.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Clinton’s belief that if President Obama was white he would have the same amount of opposition as he does now. It is true that the health care battle is going to be a battle of merit not race. IF the bill were able to gain support from the Republican Party as well, then the small amount of racial opposition that does exist should not have any effect in the majority vote.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Abel’s comment with regards to the war in Afghanistan. It is too late for us to pack up and leave now. That would give the Taliban the okay to continue their efforts but with the knowledge that the US is not planning on putting an end to it anytime soon. Our only resort is to “do a better job”. The only way to achieve this is for our government to work with the Afghanistan government and win the support of the local people. Without doing so there would be no way for us to win this war and it will be a repeat of Vietnam.
As for the Health Care plan, comments have been made that the people opposing the health care plan are scared of change. That maybe the reason for some, but I am certain that is not the reason for most. There are plenty of things wrong with America that need change. But why does government have the right and responsibility to create the change. The government cannot provide a cost efficient way to insure everyone and in addition pay for the overseers, doctors, and everyone involved. It's one of those "too good to be true" cases.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Anna's comment. I think Obama is getting too much criticism for not getting anything done quick enough. If we speed through important issues and just come up with a quick fix there would probably be many problems associated, and this would result in even more criticism. To me, Obama truly fits the phrase, “damned if you do. Damned if you don’t,” because whatever he does there will always be critics and there will always be fans.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Clinton to a certain extent & I agree with Carter to a certain extent. As Clinton pointed out, a lot of the people who oppose the health care measures now would still oppose them if Obama were white. But as Carter pointed out, the "YOU LIE" incident and protesters holding signs that liken Obama to Hitler or Stalin "are not just casual outcomes of a sincere debate on whether we should have a national program on health care. It’s deeper than that." People seem to be dragging a lot of their biases and prejudices into the debate.
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of factors that play in to our perceptions of others, especially our perceptions of well-known people like President Obama, and I think it's next to impossible to attribute all or none of an opinion to a single factor. We're all affected by prejudices (including racism), whether we like it or not. Most people can think logically and limit the influence of their prejudices on their rational thoughts, but those prejudices will continue to exist and -- unless we thoroughly reexamine many aspects of our culture -- will always hold some sway, however small.
I suppose my main point is that I doubt all opposition to reform stems from racism just as much as I doubt that one can whine "he's playing the race card" and ignore the problem of racism entirely. Obviously, in a formal debate about the merits of the health care proposals themselves, racism is irrelevant. But in a discussion about why much of the country is resistant to change in the health care system, analysis of the role of racism against our current leader change is quite valid.
I found Clinton’s perspective on Obama’s administration to be very astute. Clinton’s comment “ No one shows up ready to be the president” made me realize that we tend to overlook the extensive public pressures that come with the presidency.
ReplyDeleteThere’s no perfect recipe to win an election, and after months of extensive labor to gain enough support, there’s no guarantee of becoming president. As if obtaining the presidency wasn’t hard enough, once in office, there’s no guide for the perfect term. There are no standards, rules, or specific tasks that must be completed. Once the president sets his or her own standards, he or she must abide by the people’s inclinations. With every standard or issues proposed, public opinion stagnates. Even an intelligent man after having “worked like crazy” is not able to gain undivided support. Perhaps, it is time that we acknowledge our president’s ability to be graceful under pressure and look at the more positive attributes of his term.
Many of you will automatically read this and remark, “What is she talking about? He’s done absolutely nothing.” However, I find Obama’s term to be decent in comparison to other terms. In the last nine months, he’s passed the Stimulus bill, increased transparency, made a timetable for an end of the Iraq War, and reversed Stem Cell policy. Though I’m aware that not all of you will agree with what I consider “positive attributes,” I’m sure you can all find something that is more of suited to your liking. At the end of the day, I think it’s more important to be a good citizen who looks at the brighter side of things than an unexperienced critic.
Anyway, that’s my input… See you all in class tomorrow. I hope you have a wonderful evening. :)
I believe that Clinton was very supportive of what President Obama has taken on and is trying to accomplish. Since Clinton had previously tried to pass a health reform in his presidency, he is happy to see what Obama is doing. He understands the difficulty and pressure that comes from the job of the president and he knows that no one ever is truly ready, they usually adapt and grow into the job. And so he knows that he can not put to much expectation on Obama since he understands the difficulty of passing a reform of such.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the "racism" ordeal, I agree with Clinton when he says that not everyone who opposes Obama and his reform are racist. I understand that there is much more to it than that. But I also agree with Clinton when he says that some who oppose him have no reason for opposition except for the fact that Obama is black. I did not really understand what the political issue is with New York. But it is obvious that when the conversation was regarding Obama, that Clinton spoke highly of him and the job he has done.
ReplyDelete*current leader is
ReplyDeleteExcuse the typo in my previous post.
Also, I must agree with Troy's comments concerning Dean's comment on racism. Of course racism exists in many forms against many races, but the evidence is pretty clear that the majority of racism, especially racism strong enough to lead to violence and oppression, is/was perpetrated BY white individuals ON individuals of other races.
I'd also like to thank Troy for making the distinction between skinheads and racist skinheads. Only a small (though disproportionately visible) sect of skinheads are also white supremacists.
I agree completely with Esme. When Clinton said "No one shows up ready to be president." it really got me thinking. Being president means being the person who represents our country therefore he gets blamed for everything that goes wrong while he is in charge as well as anything that he doesn't get done. It is rare however that he gets praised for what he has done. Many people are stating that Obama has done nothing so far in his presidency but as Esme said he has passed the stimulus bill, increased transparency, made a timetable for an end of the war in Iraq etc. I think Clinton knows what he is talking about when he is asked whether Obama is doing well in the presidency since he has been in that position and knows what the pressure is like.
ReplyDeleteI think Bill is finally doing what his party expects of him. As a former president who generally gets pretty positive performance reviews, he is expected to support his party's president which is something he really failed to do even after Hillary finally gave in and endorsed Obama. Now Clinton's doing what he should have been doing all along and supporting Obama and his efforts to pass the kind of bill that Bill failed to pass in the early nineties.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Anna said earlier about Obama's slow start to his first term of presidency. So far he really hasn't done that much but he still has four years. I feel like he's focusing on too much too soon and that's the only reason why we say he hasn't done anything yet. Perhaps he should've gotten down to work on the economy and gotten back to his mysterious health care bill (which nobody seems to know anything about) when he finished with that. The SNL skit showed all the things he has yet to accomplish and I would be impressed if he completes more than half of those tasks in his first term because it's just so dfficult. As for being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, I'm not quite sure he's deserving yet, but perhaps that's just Sweden's way of challenging him to accomplish all that he said he would.
ReplyDeleteI've noticed a few times during the conversation regarding racism that Clinton turns the conversation toward the benefits of health care reform, and I think this is a smart move for him to make. Clinton's main point regarding the relationship between Obama's race and the criticism he receives is that for the most part it isn't about race - it's about the idea of health care reform itself that most critics oppose. I like that Clinton seems to end the conversation stating why a health care overhaul is needed, because it's seems like he is saying that, "Yes, we've addressed the issue of race, now let's move on to what's most important (to him)- passing a health care reform bill". I think he wants to send this message to the public, and of course, he also wants to simply promote something that he supports.
ReplyDeleteAnother aspect of the interview I found interesting was that Clinton seemed to be a pro at addressing both sides of almost issue brought up. For example, he stated that he did not necessarily agree with Carter's statement, yet he said he did not want to disrespect Carter, even offering reasons as to why Carter felt the way he did. Also, while discussing the issues with the governor of New York (which I truthfully don't know much about), he was careful to say that he did not know any of the facts. Once again, he offered justification for both Obama and the governor's actions surrounding the issue.
Although I may disagree with Clinton's actions in the past, I found his thoughts on President Obama very intriguing and insightful. I liked how he answered the questions without any vagueness nor did he show any sign of being biased towards the Democratic Party or Obama. He answered questions about racism, the President, the Health Care Plan, and others with true professionalism. I know the obvious hot topic of the presidency at this point in time is the Health care plan, its certainty of being passed, and whether or not Obama will have success in achieving his goal. Clinton surprised my a little bit when he said he didn’t know if the bill would be passed, but then again he has had past experience in trying to pass a health care bill. Overall I thought his comments on the President’s character were very polite and uplifting, he gave great feedback on what he thought of the plan, and when he states that no president is ready I think it shows not only that he is giving some constructive criticism to Obama but also makes himself appear to be human.
ReplyDeleteI, along with many of my other colleagues like Alexander Aponte agree when Clinton says not all those in opposition of Obama are racist. Sadly, racism has been a very heavy impact and ordeal in American society for the past century or more since the slave trade began, but even more recently the civil rights movement has proven that racism is pretty big in our country. Although it may appear that a majority of people who oppose Obama are white, I do not think that it is a legitimate statement to say all are racist. Of course there will always be racists, it has always been and most likely always will be part of human nature. I do not support racism, but I do acknowledge its strong presence in this day and age.
ReplyDeleteWhere ryan t says that Clinton had said all right wingers are racist towards obama, I don't think that Clinton was trying to say that. I think that Clinton was trying to state that he believes that some people that oppose Obama because they are racist, but even so they would oppose him just because of the political views that they hold. He was not saying that everyone on the right is racist towards Obama. I strongly agree with Clinton that in any case, Obama would be opposed by the same people whether he was white, black or orange!
ReplyDeleteAlso when Clinton was asked about his point of view on the Joe Wilson "you lie" comment and its roots, I just thought back to class when we watched the spoof and thought there is no way there was any racism underlying his comment (obviously i know it was not real and was a spoof). But I just cannot seem to wrap my head around the fact that people today at such a high level under the public eye would still hold racism as a factor against someone. I would really have loved to have seen the statistics that Michael and Briana were talking about before about the 80% of Black voters that voted for Obama, and whether or not that would be skewed if Obama was white.
I am really interested to see if Clinton's perception is right about the vote in congress regarding health care because like Clinton said it will be hard to fillibuster and he would be surprised if Obama did not get the bill passed.
I also thought it was hilarious to some extent the questions asked about clintons health at the end. The whole thing was serious and ended on a "so how ya feeling buddy" note which cracks me up!!! :)
has had* (that sentence is messed up)
ReplyDeleteI thought it was very refreshing to hear Clinton talk about Obama's efforts for the new health care plan in a positive way, because it feel like all anyone has been doing lately is criticize his efforts. I understand that there are those who don't believe in the direction he's taking health care, but it seems that even the people who were supporting Obama in the beginning are losing faith in his ideas and focusing their attention on the negatives of his presidency. Give the guy a break people!! He's trying to change the health care system of the entire country it's probably going to take him some time! It's like Clinton said, "No one shows up ready to be president." Personally, I don't know enough about the issue to decide if I support it or not, but i do appreciate Clinton's positive views on the current presidents efforts.
ReplyDeleteOf course, it's irrational with a change this big to believe that everyone will be happy with the outcome in the end of it. I like the way Colton put it when he said that the idea of universal health care sounds 'wonderful' but the reality is even though it's going to be amazingly beneficial for those who need it, it's also going to be a heavy financial hinderence on others. I think what Obama is trying to do has the best intentions behind it, but i dont see how this can be a win win situation for everybody.
hahahaha and Brittany you would :)
I agree with what Stephanie and Briana said about moving on from the fact that President Obama is black. People need to start looking at him for what he has accomplished and what he brings to the table instead of the color of his skin. In order to move on and improve as a country the labels need to be removed and people should be judged on there actions. With 80% of African Americans voting for Obama, I too would like to see if their votes would be consistent if he were white and wether or not those votes were recieved for the principles Obama stood for.
ReplyDeleteI agree with brittany to a certain degree. I feel that Joe Wilson was not racist for saying "you lie" to Obama during his speech. I think that was based on him not supporting Obama's bill. I think there is a small amount of racism against Obama mainly in the voters against him. I think that some people despise Obama openly and hate him simply because he is Black, but I think that a lot of people necessarily aren't racist but have some preference towards whites and I feel that Carter messed that up.
ReplyDeleteI also like what Clinton said about how Obama is not necessarily trying to create a bill for health care but is trying to fight back against the billions of of dollars that is wasted. I think that Obama is trying to create a health care bill but I feel that Clinton's idea is a happy medium.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Annie Ryan in her post regarding Clinton's statement "no one shows up ready to be president". When I was younger I always thought about how cool it would be to be the President of the United States, but now as I'm learning to follow our governmnet more closely, I realize the responsibility the President has and how much pressure he/she is under. When something goes wrong, a majority of the time the fingers point straight at the President, even though, as Annie Ryan said, the President has resources, advisors and a system of "checks and balances." I thought her comment was well stated and it reminds me that if we are to point fingers, we can't just blame the president as an individual, but at all his government employees.
ReplyDeleteI believe Clinton is supporting Obama in this healthcare debate in the fact that he realizes how much of an effort healthcare is to improve and the difficulty of trying to support the public with their healthcare needs and demands, without going against to what Congress is recommending the nation should do about healthcare. Clinton was in the same position that Obama is in now with the healthcare problem, so he can relate with what Obama is going through right now and I feel that Clinton has hope in Obama that he will back up his word and help the nation to finally have a successful healthcare bill. Also, Clinton realizes the effort Obama is making in order to make change and believes his efforts will help the general public.
ReplyDeleteI like that Clinton realizes that Obama has a lot to work on, but still identifies that Obama is an educated and smart person that will help the nation, even with all of the opposition towards Obama. I also like that Clinton was respectful towards the political situation in New York. He identified that Patterson has a lot to work out, but he has done alot that he hasn't gotten credit for. And he knows Obama will do what is right for the people of New York and hold onto the governership for New York.
I found it interesting that Clinton believed that the people that oppose Obama are racially prejudice, but the conservatives that oppose his healthcare are not prejudice, if he was a white president, they would still oppose him then. I agree and disagree with Clinton in the arguments of Carter. I believe that there is still racial prejudice in the white southerners who oppose Obama's healthcare, however I agree with Clinton that most of the people who oppose Obama's healthcare are not against Obama's plan because the color of his skin, but because of his plan of action with healtcare.
I agree with both of Annie's statements completely, and think it is important to remember, that though the racism towards Obama from some critics seems to have been blown out of proportion at some times, it does not mean that it was never there to being with. I find it interesting though that it took until Bill Clinton said it, for people to finally hear that people are aware that NOT ALL of his critics are racist, nor do I think that's what Carter was trying to say.
ReplyDeleteI also found it very amusing that in the video it said below Clinton
"BILL CLINTON: NOT ALL OF OBAMAS CRITICS ARE RACIST"
I think it's also very nice of Clinton to remind people of just how tough it is to get things done as a president, that Obama cannot just snap his fingers and pass a law or end a war. Our constitution was designed in a way to NOT make that possible.
ReplyDeleteI also think recent feelings towards Obama and the critics saying he has done nothing are due to the overwhelming amount of events within the Bush presidency. People seem to confuse action with reaction. Both wars started by Bush, may seem like he is doing something, but were simply a knee jerk reaction to a crisis. Anything Bush did within the country in terms of law making, cam MUCH later. Obama is dealing with issues inside the country, such as health care and economic reform. These things take very much time to pass in congress. It has only been one year, most presidents had not accomplished much at this point in their term.
I agree with Mckenna when she stated that it was a smart move for Clinton to keep moving the conversation towards Obama's healthcare reform and when she said that it seemed like Clinton was basically saying okay we have touched the subject of racism, so now lets talk about the subject of the importance of Obama's healthcare reform. I think Clinton was trying to get away from the subject of racism because he knows that the bigger subject of this matter is the health care reform. Although, the problem of race is still effecting many people in America right now towards Obama, the majority of people are still supporting Obama and want to see him act effectively with his healthcare reform. I thought Clinton did a good job in trying to make the point that racism should not be the factor in Obama's presidency and his plan of healthcare, what should be looked at are his points Obama is trying to make and the positive effect his plan of healthcare will have on the nation. I believe that the bigger picture is the healthcare reform, and whoever in the nation is trying to go against Obama's plan because of his race needs to stop and rethink how it will help the matter of healthcare. I think Obama needs support and constructive criticism about his healthcare plan, he is president and there is nothing to do to change the fact, so they need to deal with it.
ReplyDeleteAs Abel has already said, it seems to me that the issue of racism towards our president has seemingly taken precedence over the more pressing matters at hand. I think that the more important issues, such as the healthcare bill, need to be sorted out before less important issues get as much focus.
ReplyDeleteClinton did try to pass his "Hillary care" measure without much success in his first months of office. His push actually gave the political will of the GOP to sweep both houses of Congress in the 1994 elections, first time the GOP has been in power in 50 years. Now history is repeating itself with Obama and a strong Democrat majority, yet there is still a strong conservative resistance to the healthcare measure. Clinton has commented in years past the the American people are more conservative in their political beliefs than they actually realize, even democrats. Americans are very hard to persuade about change, especially if it means more government waste!
ReplyDeleteI congratulate Pres. Obama for winning the Nobel Peace Prize and now joins with the likes of Jimmy Carter, who so intellegently laid out people opposing Obama are racists. Gee don't I feel good about a man who wishes for the less support to the people of Israel who are constantly bombarded yet he supports the very people who shoot the rockets.
Like Anthony said, I really think that there is only a small number of people who oppose Obama because he is black. However ridiculous these opinions may be, I don't think that they are the beliefs of more than a tiny percentage of the American people. I think that in order to accurately judge the public opinion of our president, it should be done without any mention of race or party I.D.
ReplyDeleteI believe that former President Bill Clinton had some interesting comments. One comment that I think was important was the relation between Obama's healthcare and racist support. Clinton believes that even if Obama was white, he would still have strong protesters and strong supporters. Clinton thinks that race really doesn't have anything to do with it, and I believe the same thing. Regarding an issue that affects so many people in both positive and negative ways, any president (even Clinton) would have many people against his every move. I agree with Brianna, when she said that we as a people need not see race in an important politic leader. We need to work past that and focus on issues that are important for our country.
ReplyDeleteClinton's remark that "no one shows up ready to be president" poses an interesting question. There have been presidents who have seemingly showed up ready (implying that they put their plans into action quickly), but should we expect this of all presidents, and is it always a positive step? Some presidents have had great success with working quickly. When the American public rejected President Herbert Hoover's response to the Great Depression and FDR was elected, FDR did not hesitate to activate his "New Deal" reforms. The "New Deal" (in combination with US involvement in World War II, another FDR-initiated move) pulled America out of the Depression. Conversely, some presidents who instituted policies shortly after taking office failed miserably in their efforts. “Showing up ready" can result in positive outcomes, but it can also backfire when a president’s decisions are rash. It's important to consider this, and the fact that not all presidents work quickly when assessing President Obama's performance. Perhaps Obama is taking a long time to put his promises into action to better ensure that they’ll be successful and to avoid the consequences of putting his plans into action prematurely. I don’t think it’s fair to criticize the lack of action from the White House at this point in the presidency because it could may simply be a reflection of the way Obama gets things done. It’s easily possible that at the end of his term, he’ll have accomplished everything he’s said he will.
ReplyDeleteI was very impressed by Clinton's whole approach to many of the issues in politics today. He was very level headed in this interview and could explain both sides of the argument. This is all the more impressive when one realizes that Clinton was still able to get out his opinion on health care and support it. As Katie said earlier he is aware that such a large and monumental bill will not get 100 percent backing. All one can hope for is to get the majority to approve it.
ReplyDeleteI found it surprising that as a former Democratic President, who was backed by a large amount of his party at one point, could look at things fairly and realize that just because a politician does not agree with President Obama, that does not make them racist.
I would have to say that I agree with Bill Clinton's comment in regards Jimmy
ReplyDeleteCarter's "race comment." No, I do not think that every right wing extremist is a
racist, but I do think that there are many leaders in our government that resent
him solely based on the fact that he is an African American. I do not see
anything wrong with Jimmy Carter's opinion, but I do think that it would be
ridiculous if every time an aggressive comment is made against President Obama
that it is a racism. Although, America has somewhat progressed from outspoken
racism of the past, it shhould not be forgotten that there are many racists in
our country.
I agree with Briana's statement saying that people should vote on what a
candidate stands for, and not their personal backgrounds. But I think that the
reason why so many African American's voted for him is because for once the
African American community as a whole felt that they were given a voice and
because he not only wanted to represent himself as an American president but
also as a black man and a black president.