[smoothy]

Keep these figures in mind as we recount the number of "firsts" for this presidency:

First President to refuse to show a valid birth certificate.
First President to apply for college aid as a foreign student, then deny he was a foreigner.
First President to have a social security number from a state he has never lived in.
First President to preside over a cut to the credit rating of the United States .
First President to violate the War Powers Act.
First President to be held in contempt of court for illegally obstructing oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico .
First President to defy a Federal Judges court order to cease implementing the Health Care Reform Law.
First President to require all Americans to purchase a product from a third party.
First President to spend a trillion dollars on shovel-ready jobs and later admit there was no such thing as shovel-ready jobs.
First President to abrogate bankruptcy law to turn over control of companies to his union supporters.
First President to by-pass Congress and implement the Dream Act through executive fiat.
First President to order a secret amnesty program that stopped the deportation of illegal immigrants across the U.S. including those with criminal convictions.
First President to demand a company hand-over $20 billion to one of his political appointees. Didn't know about this
First President to terminate Americas ability to put a man in space.
First President to encourage racial discrimination and intimidation at polling places.
First President to have a law signed by an auto-pen without being present.
First President to arbitrarily declare an existing law unconstitutional and refuse to enforce it.
First President to threaten insurance companies if they publicly speak-out on the reasons for their rate increases.
First President to tell a major manufacturing company in which state they are allowed to locate a factory.
First President to file lawsuits against the states he swore an oath to protect (Az, WI, OH, IN)
First President to withdraw an existing coal permit that had been properly issued years ago.
First President to fire an inspector general of Ameri-corps for catching one of his friends in a corruption case.
First President to appoint 45 Czars to replace elected officials in his office.
First President to golf 73 separate times in his first two and a half years in office.
First President to hide his medical, educational and travel records.
First President to win a Nobel Peace Prize for doing NOTHING to earn it.
First President to publicly bow to Americas enemies while refusing to salute the U.S. Flag.
First President to go on multiple global apology tours.
First President to go on 17 lavish vacations, including date nights and Wednesday evening White House parties for his friends, paid for by the taxpayer.
First President to refuse to wear the U.S. Flag lapel pin.
First President to have 22 personal servants (taxpayer funded) for his wife.
First President to keep a dog trainer on retainer for $102,000.00 a year at taxpayer expense.
First President to repeat "the Holy Qur'an tells us," and openly admit "the early morning call of the Azan (Islamic call to worship) is the most beautiful sound on earth."

Source: Multiple chain emails & blog posts: Google Search

[CliffARobinson]

The information above has been copied and recopied across the internet and in chain emails over the past year. It has been proven to be factually distorted, and often completely fabricated.

Here is one resource to begin a search for facts.

[smoothy]

Snopes has been proven to be incorrect and have ties with people that shall we say... don't care much for facts. I've even caught snopes a couple times over the years being wrong.

[Wondergirl]

Cliff didn't link to snopes.com.

[tomder55]

Most of the email is wrong ;but some of it is accurate .

First President to preside over a cut to the credit rating of the United States .


First President to tell a major manufacturing company in which state they are allowed to locate a factory.


First President to be held in contempt of court for illegally obstructing oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico


Haven't checked all... some are obviously false... but above 3 are absolutely true.

[smoothy]

A lot of the lower ones are as well... the refusing to wear a flag lapel pin was much publicised... and the First ladies personal staff as never been larger or more costly. Those are public record... plus anyone ever see links to his college transcripts? Seriously if they are out there I'd love to see them. I've never found them.

Heck... most of these are very accurate...

Which ones are false?


Wondergirl, Yeah he links Factcheck not snopes... I've caught Snopes a few times being wrong... but I can't comment on Factcheck... I haven't used them enough to develop an opinion either way. (based on what I've seen in the course of my job vs. what they claim). I'll have to use them more just to see if I can catch them or not eventually.

I figure if I can catch a few being wrong... how about all the rest that I can't prove either way. Typical internet disclaimer... ".caveat emptor"

Difference here being I don't present myself as being all knowing or the final word...


Heck I don't even remembering posting this only 10 days ago... but I must have, it's there and its timestamped, I just thought it was a lot longer ago. There are ways to manipulate such things.(I could explain how if anyone was interested but I won't do it publically).. but I'll accept it wasn't. And why would anyone anyway?


It just wasn't something important enough at the time that I remembered doing it.

[Wondergirl]

I figure if I can catch a few being wrong...how about all the rest that I can't prove either way.

Difference here being I don't present myself as being all knowing or the final word...

And that includes your list that started this thread.

[CliffARobinson]

I am not an Obama apologist, I have disagreements over some of the things he has done, although I recognize he is in a tough spot with a highly combative and fringe extremist element in the GOP.

But, this list is a distraction from real policy debate. Even in tom's post there is more to the story than what is stated.

#1: Yes, President Obama was in office when the credit rating for the country was downgraded by one rating agency for the first time ever. But, the reason for it was BOTH branches of government being unable to come to an agreement on deficit control during the GOP game of chicken on raising the debt ceiling for past bills due.

#2: Refers to the Boeing investigation by the independent National Labor Relations Board. The Union lodged a complaint against Boeing because they asserted the company was going to move work to a non-union plant in retaliation for Union strikes in Washington state. The NLRB routinely investigates and acts on complaints from both Unions and Employers all the time. Once a contract was reached, and Boeing agreed to make a new contract of 737's in Seattle, the complaint was retracted.

#3: Is inaccurate because he wasn't the first, Bill Clinton was. At least in this circumstance it was over a deep offshore drilling moratorium after the worst environmental disaster in history than a lie about oral sex.

[excon]

Hello smoothy:

I've only got one thing to say:



excon

[smoothy]

Yeah... ex... we know you believe Obama is the second coming...

And ignore the TRILLIONS Obama put us in debt... and don't include the $7.2 Trillion given by the White house and the FED to bail out European banks with ZERO congressional oversight... that's over and above the wasteful stimulus and dwarfs the Wall Street bailout the lefties like to complain so much about... but at least it was American firms that got bailed out.

And Obamas NEW debts are orders of magnitude bigger than EVERYTHING every previous president did... COMBINED.

[smoothy]

And that includes your list that started this thread.

We can say that for anything excon posts on the Current events (far more than me) or NeedKarma, and a few others...

[Wondergirl]

NEW debts are orders of magnitude bigger than EVERYTHING every previous president did....COMBINED.

From a Yahoo search:

Bush sent out $152 billion in stimulus checks. He then followed up at the end of the year with a bait-and-switch bailout package costing $700 billion. I say bait-and-switch because it was advertised to us as the repurchase of toxic debt to free up the financial system, and ended up being investment money and 'bonus' money to Wall St.

Obama did his own stimulus package. $787 billion. I may be wrong here, but the money is going to be spent on tax relief, social security hikes, unemployment hikes, infrastructure, housing, healthcare, education, energy, automobiles, security and law enforcement.

Why are the Republicans having a fit at this effort? To me, the 2nd stimulus is an easy sell. It will create jobs, get the country out of its funk give us a few extra dollars in our pockets. The goal is not to make a few people mega-rich at everyone else's expense, but to improve the country and allow a decent standard of living for more people.

And

Bush managed to double the national debt during his term. I guess it's only fair that Obama would be allowed to do the same :-).

The Obama administration inherited a $1.2 trillion deficit from Bush (two recessions, the most lethal terrorist attacks ever on U.S. soil, the invasion of Iraq on dubious grounds, the near destruction of one of our most storied cities and, finally, the Wall Street meltdown). The stimulus package added to that record-breaking number.

[tomder55]

Which ones are false?

The very 1st one is false. He has released both the short and long form of his birth cert.

The 2nd one is an April Fools joke that some people took seriously .You are right that his college records are not released ,and I would love to see them . But the so called grant he got came from an organization that doesn't exist.

The number his SS card has only indicates which state he was in when he applied for it .There is no requirement that you live in that state. Don't know if he's the 1st to apply for it in a state he didn't live in ;but it is a pretty irrelevant charge.

Cliff is right about the War Powers Act. Clintoon waged the whole Kosovo campaign completely ignoring the War Powers requirements.

Last I'll deal with is the space thing. The decision to have us rely on the Russians to get to ISS was Bush. He ended the shuttle missions before there was a replacement.
Before that we had no manned missions between the Apollo missions and the Shuttle program.. That was a 5 year gap beginning with Nixon.

[CliffARobinson]

Tom, good catch on the Space issue. Not only did Bush shut down the space shuttles, Obama tried to shorten the number of years we would be without our own orbital launch platform by extending the shut down process by several missions.

[excon]

Hello smoothy:

So, you didn't like my graph, huh? Ok, then. I compiled my OWN list. Let's look at his accomplishments:

Helped the nation avert another Great Depression. When he took office the economy was tanking fast, FAST. He staved it off. And now the economy is improving. Haven't you been reading the news lately? As bad as you think things are now, if it wasn't for Obama, things would be much, much worse. Great Depression 2.0 worse.

He Signed the largest bill in American history, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act ($789 Billion) within a month of his inauguration

Visited more countries and met with more world leaders in his first 6 months than any other president

Enacted the historic Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act establishing basic protections against pay discrimination for women and other workers

Nominated and got confirmed two women to the United States Supreme Court including the appointment of the first Latina

Saved the American auto industry which saved up to 3 million jobs

Achieved historic health care reform, a feat 6 presidents tried and failed over the course of 50 years. Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Carter, and Clinton all tried but failed.

Ended the War in Iraq with honor

Osama bin Laden was killed, after a ten year manhunt, under Obama’s commands as Commander and Chief

Authorized the Navy SEALs to attack and gain the successful release of an American ship captain from Somali pirates

Negotiated the historic New START Treaty (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) with Russia which creates the framework for limiting, inspecting, and verifying each nations’ nuclear arsenal

Ended media blackouts on war casualties and the return of fallen soldiers to Dover AFB

Improved benefits for veterans

Authorized construction for health centers for veterans

Started new policy to promote hiring of military spouses by federal agencies

After years of a fierce political battle, Obama won Congress’ support to rescind “Don’t ask, Don’t Tell”

Begun the termination of secret CIA detention prisons around the world

Put in place a no torture policy

Instituted new policies for travel to Cuba allowing families to be reunited

Reengaged with allies and repaired relations after eight years of a unipolar, unilateral foreign policy agenda

Initiated historic reform to reorient America’s military to the post Cold War era that will be dominated by asymmetrical warfare and affairs in Asia

Created a new cyber security office

Ended government policy of awarding no-bid defense contracts

Phased out the expensive F-22 war plane project, a rare feat against a powerful network of lawmakers and contractors in the military-industrial complex

Created a National Performance Officer to save the federal government money and make its operations more efficient

Limited senior White House aides’ salaries

Ended the ban on Medicare from negotiating with drug manufacturers for cheaper drugs which has saved the federal government hundreds of millions in savings

Limited lobbyists access to the White House

Ended restrictions on embryonic stem-cell research

Increased federal support for stem-cell and new biomedical research

Won fight to put the FDA in charge of regulating tobacco against heavy lobbying by the influential tobacco industry

Overhauled the nation’s food safety system for the 21st century

Signed the historic Hate Crimes Bill

Signed the historic Christopher Reeves Paralysis Act

Expanded the popular Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to cover 4 million more children

Supported and got passed health care for 9/11 responders and workers

Signed national service legislation

Increased student loans and started policy to allow struggling students to refinance their loans

Increased Pell Grants

Ended practice of giving private banks subsidies to give out federally insured loans which will save the federal government millions

Expanded vaccination programs

Ordered new hurricane and natural disasters preparedness

Ended previous practice of allowing White House aides to rewrite scientific and environmental reports, rules, and regulations

Closed offshore tax havens and negotiated a deal with Swiss banks to allow the federal government to gain access to records of tax evaders

Ended policy of offering tax benefits to companies that outsource American jobs

Enacted the popular and successful “Cash for Clunkers” program

Announced plans to purchase fuel efficient American made fleet of cars and trucks for the federal government

Enacted the most significant reforms to the nation’s financial system since the Great Depression

Created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Overhauled the credit card industry to make it much more consumer friendly

Cut taxes for middle class Americans

Made significant and historic reforms to the nation’s education system with the states centered program “Race to the Top.” The initiative receives widespread support and applause across the political spectrum, including from Republican Newt Gingrich, for its effectiveness and low cost.

These are President Obama’s accomplishments. It’s an extensive resume for any president. It’s filled with significant and historic legislation. On almost every significant issue of the day, health, military, education, foreign affairs, America’s financial system, food safety, America’s space program, veteran’s affairs, the Supreme Court, women’s rights, nuclear weapons, and the war on terror, Obama has made significant changes, the consequences of which will be felt for decades to come.

And in doing so he took on some extremely powerful interests which included the military, the financial industry, the tobacco companies, the teacher unions, banks, medical manufacturers, the health care industry, the food industry, and the CIA. Not to mention foreign powers like Russia, China, Libya, and al Qaeda.

You don’t have to agree with all or even any of what President Obama has done to admit that he has confronted some powerful interests, won in most cases, and has been successful at getting his agenda accomplished. Legislative achievement IS success. For many political scientists, that is the only thing necessary for a successful presidency.

Therefore, even if Obama had only achieved health care reform, something 6 presidents tried and failed over the course of 50 years, he would still go down in history as a significant president. In addition, history will much kinder to Obama than the current sensational 24 hour news media, because he helped the nation avert another Great Depression. But unlike history, politics is perception.

excon

[smoothy]

From a Yahoo search:

Bush sent out $152 billion in stimulus checks. He then followed up at the end of the year with a bait-and-switch bailout package costing $700 billion. I say bait-and-switch because it was advertised to us as the repurchase of toxic debt to free up the financial system, and ended up being investment money and 'bonus' money to Wall St.

Obama did his own stimulus package. $787 billion. I may be wrong here, but the money is going to be spent on tax relief, social security hikes, unemployment hikes, infrastructure, housing, healthcare, education, energy, automobiles, security and law enforcement.

Why are the Republicans having a fit at this effort? To me, the 2nd stimulus is an easy sell. It will create jobs, get the country out of its funk give us a few extra dollars in our pockets. The goal is not to make a few people mega-rich at everyone else's expense, but to improve the country and allow a decent standard of living for more people.

and

Bush managed to double the national debt during his term. I guess it's only fair that Obama would be allowed to do the same :-).

The Obama administration inherited a $1.2 trillion deficit from Bush (two recessions, the most lethal terrorist attacks ever on U.S. soil, the invasion of Iraq on dubious grounds, the near destruction of one of our most storied cities and, finally, the Wall Street meltdown). The stimulus package added to that record-breaking number.

How about the $7.2 TRILLION the fed and Obama gave European banks since Obama took office that never got Scrutiny.. That is a deficit... one that likely will NEVER be repaid.

http://theweek.com/article/index/221...n-bank-bailout


Yeah that article says $7.7 trillion but most others say $7.2 trillion. After all what's 500 Billion dollars more or less... at least to the Obama regime anyway.

[Wondergirl]

Obama's a good dancer too. And darn cute. And sings on key.

[tomder55]

For a note or 2 of Al Green

[Wondergirl]

for a note or 2 of Al Green

I know when someone is off key, and he sang more than "a note or two." If he weren't otherwise busy (for the next five years), I'd suggest he audition for American Idol.

[tomder55]

Couldn't do any worse than one of the idol judges... Steve Tyler... and his disgraceful version of the National Anthem Sunday in New England.