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[–] crazy_eyes ago  (edited ago)

What about Obama has impressed you?

He's not been very impressive from the perspective of inside the country

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[–] mcdowell_ag 0 points 2 points (+2|-0) ago 

The UK is very proud of its National Health System and my parents are old enough to remember a time before that and are great fans of it (I especially remember my Dad pointing out to me all the wonderful care he was getting for free, just after being told that the terminal cancer his Doctor had failed to diagnose had just destroyed his lower spine). So Obamacare looks like a great achievement from here. Even putting aside whether it was worth doing, my view of Obama vs Hilary as capable politicians is heavily influenced by the fact that Obama did what Hilary failed to do, because she made too many enemies.

Coming after George W Bush almost anybody would look good (let's face it, that got Obama his Nobel Prize) but Obama always appears calm, collected, and capable of giving a reasonable explanation what he is doing and why. And if he hasn't done the equivalent of tearing down the Berlin Wall, the Obama Doctrine of "Don't do stupid shit" is pretty reassuring for the rest of the world.

For those who want a tough guy in times of crisis, I refer you to the "Obama as Michael Corleone" view of Bin Laden's killing e.g. (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/04/opinion/04dowd.html?ref=maureendowd&_r=0). I was also impressed by the picture at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Osama_bin_Laden#Killing_of_bin_Laden - look where he's sitting. This is a President who lets the military get stuff done without micromanaging and without needing to stand up every five minutes and tell everybody he's a winner.