Current Release: April 28th, 2009 | Vol. XXX Iss. 10

100 days of disappointment

By Lauren Perry

laperry@vwc.edu

I never thought I d be saying this, but this ain t the guy I voted for.

Now, anyone who knows me is probably really confused  hippy, liberal Lauren is turning against Obama now? Well, it s true.

It s not that I think he s done nothing good. In fact, he has made some really difficult decisions, and he has made every effort to be bi-partisan and diplomatic as possible, abroad and at home. The world is facing a crisis, and he s handled it cool as a poker player  so far.

But there are many things that have turned me away from him since his Inauguration.

Some of the easiest problems to point out first are the disastrous picks for his cabinet. Not only does it seem like none of these tax-hike junkies are able to pay their own taxes, but then people like Eric Holder step into the picture. Holder, the Attorney General, has supported the PATRIOT Act since the beginning. He was part of the team that reinstated this liberty-sucking document in 2005, way after its original sunset date, and is working to keep parts of it alive past 2009, which is the new end-date.

But that s not as bad as working with war criminals. Henry Kissinger, wanted for war crimes in over ten countries including Britain, Spain, France and Brazil; Kissinger, the guy who supported all of those CIA coup d états in South America and Asia; the guy who said  The illegal we do immediately. The unconstitutional takes a little longer. This is the last guy I want giving daily orders to the National Security Adviser, James L. Jones  but what I want doesn t really matter. As Jones says, the chain of command at the NSA hasn t changed in a long time, and I doubt it will soon.

Then I heard about Obama s order to close Guantanamo Bay, and I rejoiced. A step in a morally positive direction for America, finally! Then I read the story itself. Turns out Guantanamo won t close for another year, until the Administration has reviewed each case and determined who deserves to stay in controversial foreign prisons, and who doesn t. And in the meantime, the prisoners are just being sent overseas to other prisons that fall under loose human rights laws  how convenient.

Despite all this, I hadn t lost hope that he would change yet. Then the focus on Afghanistan increased. This country has been invaded by so many powers in the last few decades that for us to invade Afghanistan is not only a repeat of the Iraq disaster, but is much more reminiscent of Vietnam. Already many people are calling it  Obama s War. But he just calls it an  overseas contingency plan. And here I thought the days of Bush rhetoric were over. And although during his campaign he claimed to want to cut military spending and redirect that money to where it s needed, he s actually raised it by four percent this year.

By the way, remember that oh-so-strong promise of bringing the troops home from Iraq as soon as he was in office? That won t happen for another two years, at least.

That isn t the only strong campaign promise that dissolved into nothing. Obama promised to reopen NAFTA to add stronger labor and environmental provisions, which it desperately needs. But since being elected, his stance has changed completely, and when he talks to Canada s Prime Minister Stephen Harper, he assures him that it will not be reopened, and nothing will change.

I think that sums it up perfectly. When it comes to the real issues we face, Obama reassures us as smoothly as he does Harper: Nothing will change.