Obama denies 2013 as being the worst year ever

harleysportster
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Obama denies 2013 as being the worst year ever

Truth to be told, I do not think that I have seen him get quite as tough of a year as this one has been for him. That is including from both International and National audiences

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-25473594

Obama denies 2013 was his 'worst year'

US President Barack Obama has brushed aside a suggestion that 2013 was the worst year of his presidency in a year-end press conference.

He voiced frustration with political gridlock on immigration and gun control, but was upbeat on the economy.

Asked to name his biggest mistake of the year, he spoke about his troubled healthcare law's rollout, conceding: "Since I'm in charge, we screwed up."

Mr Obama and his family depart later in the day for their holiday in Hawaii.

The Democratic president is ending his fifth year in office with the worst approval ratings of his tenure.

'Obviously frustrating'

Mr Obama's presidency in 2013 saw a government shutdown, the botched rollout of the healthcare website and embarrassing leaks about mass surveillance by the National Security Agency (NSA).

But he preferred to emphasise the positives during Friday's news conference from the White House briefing room lectern.

"If I look at this past year, there are areas where there have obviously been some frustrations, where I wish Congress had moved more aggressively," Mr Obama said.

"Not passing background checks in the wake of Newtown [last December's school massacre], I continue to believe was a mistake."

He added: "A lot of our legislative initiatives in Congress have not moved forward as rapidly as I'd like. I completely understand that. Which means I'm going to keep at it."

On immigration, he said: "The fact that it didn't hit the timeline I'd prefer is obviously frustrating, but it's not something that I end up brooding a lot about."

He said there were indications that the Republican-controlled House of Representatives might consider immigration-reform legislation next year.

The US president also said he would make a "definitive statement" in January about recommendations by a White House panel to rein in the National Security Agency.

He said in "light of the disclosures that have taken place" and public concerns about the programmes "there may be another way of skinning the cat".

Mr Obama said former NSA contractor-turned-leaker Edward Snowden had caused "unnecessary damage", but the president refused to say if the fugitive could be offered an amnesty deal.

No 'endless gridlock'

The US president argued healthcare.gov had largely recovered from its disastrous 1 October rollout, even as the medical insurance-selling website crashed for several hours on Friday.

"For all the challenges... these past couple of months, more than half a million Americans have enrolled through healthcare.gov in the first three weeks of December alone," Mr Obama said.

"In California, for example, a state operating its own marketplace, more than 15,000 Americans are enrolling every single day. And in the federal website, tens of thousands are enrolling every single day."

While reiterating that he would not negotiate over raising the debt ceiling, the federal government's borrowing cap, he praised Congress for a recent budget compromise that averted a fresh government shutdown.

"It's probably too early to declare an outbreak of bipartisanship," Mr Obama said. "But it's also fair to say we're not condemned to endless gridlock."

The US president highlighted improving economic data, saying 2014 would be a "breakthrough year" for the nation's economy.

But he also argued Congress should extend unemployment benefits for those who have been out of work for extended period of time.

The current long-term unemployment scheme is due to end days after Christmas.

"We head into next year with an economy that's stronger than it was when we started the year [and] more Americans are finding work and experiencing the pride of a paycheck," he said.

 

 

“It is proof of a base and low mind for one to wish to think with the masses or majority, merely because the majority is the majority. Truth does not change because it is, or is not, believed by a majority of the people.”
― Giordano Bruno


Beyond Saving
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What he means to say is that

What he means to say is that he still has three years to fuck things up and the worst isn't over yet.

If someone had predicted what an absolute clusterfuck the Bamacare roll out would be I would have thought they were exaggerating. Reality looks more like a propaganda documentary filled with scare tactics made by Rush Limbaugh. If Romney were President and it was going this bad the left would be claiming he was trying to destroy it on purpose. I remember during his campaign Romney had received significant criticism (including from me) for saying he would create waivers and not enforce the law. Yet that is exactly what Bama has been doing with large (and critical) portions of the law.

The incompetence is absolutely staggering. They had three years and this is by far the most significant achievement of the Obama administration. You would think that they would put a lot of effort to make sure it would run smoothly, especially since they knew that a lot of people would be upset about their premiums increasing. I wouldn't trust Bama to manage a lemonade stand. 

If, if a white man puts his arm around me voluntarily, that's brotherhood. But if you - if you hold a gun on him and make him embrace me and pretend to be friendly or brotherly toward me, then that's not brotherhood, that's hypocrisy.- Malcolm X


digitalbeachbum
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Beyond Saving wrote:What he

Beyond Saving wrote:

What he means to say is that he still has three years to fuck things up and the worst isn't over yet.

If someone had predicted what an absolute clusterfuck the Bamacare roll out would be I would have thought they were exaggerating. Reality looks more like a propaganda documentary filled with scare tactics made by Rush Limbaugh. If Romney were President and it was going this bad the left would be claiming he was trying to destroy it on purpose. I remember during his campaign Romney had received significant criticism (including from me) for saying he would create waivers and not enforce the law. Yet that is exactly what Bama has been doing with large (and critical) portions of the law.

The incompetence is absolutely staggering. They had three years and this is by far the most significant achievement of the Obama administration. You would think that they would put a lot of effort to make sure it would run smoothly, especially since they knew that a lot of people would be upset about their premiums increasing. I wouldn't trust Bama to manage a lemonade stand. 

You forgot the incompetence of the entire government, including every party, every lobbyist and every stock brokerage/banker on Wall Street.

 


Vastet
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Either he has no idea how

Either he has no idea how much he fucked up with the NSA or he's trying to get everyone past it, but that was easily the biggest fuckup since Bush declared war on Iraq. And it will not go away. The US gave up any high ground they had over every nation on the planet. China and Russia and everyone else can now hack into US corporations and government services at will knowing the US can't even bitch about it anymore. The biggest and smartest tech companies in the US and around the world are all now implementing encryptions that will allow real terrorists more freedom and capability just because the US wanted to spy on everybody. Fragile bridges between dozens of nations have been torn asunder.
It is easily the single greatest intelligence failure since WWII at least. Possibly in human history. And the US government bears most of the responsibility for it, with their closest allies shouldering the rest of the blame. Because it was completely pointless and unjustifiable.

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iwbiek
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and not a single thing has

and not a single thing has surprised me.