1. Phasing in his Health Care Plan. By letting Republicans convice him to phase it in over a period of years, Obama has given Republicans the chance to discredit it because the American people have not experienced any of the benefits yet. Instead, they have to wait by the year to realize any benefits and Americans are notorious for "instantaneous gratification." So it's not hard to see why they have turned against it. While the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck pound away and discredit it, American citizens have so far seen few if any of its benefits.
2. Job Creation. Obama and his economic team have totally misdiagnosed the job situation. They thought that tepid remedies would magically produce a turnaround without realizing that the job situation had been abysmal for years even before the Great Recession. Instead of creating immediate jobs via direct government funding to rebuild and further develop infrastructure, they've fiddled around with Republican lite proposals like tax breaks.
3. Failure to see that the biggest threat to national security was the drug war on our border. Instead of screwing around with the corrupt administration in Afghanistan, we should be concentrating on helping Mexico win the drug war and also securing our border against the illegal encroachment by people, drugs, weapons and money. Really! This is the biggest threat to national security - not less than 100 Al Quaeda in Afghanistan. We should be improving our security largely by defensive measures like insuring that people coming here on visas actually go home when they're supposed to and not just stay on illegally. There's so much to do here at home in terms of national security like securing and hardening our electrical grid and chemical plants and other vital national systems.
4. Giving away taxpayer money to bail out the banks without requiring anything in return. Obama thought he could come in later and regulate the banking system. Instead, bank lobbyists pretty much watered down his efforts to regulate them. Obama should have imposed restrictions on them when he had them over the barrel.
5. Failure to bail out Main Street. Obama did bail out the banks. Bankers are making more money than ever. But his proposals to mitigate foreclosures and keep people in their homes have largely come to nought and amounted to nothing. People are still losing homes to foreclosure at record rates. The banks are back in business making tons of money while the average person is hurting because they are losing their homes and jobs.
6. Failure to tax the $100 billion that is parked offshore by the rich and the corporations. Want to improve the deficit? Tax this money.
7. Pandering to Republicans. Even though the Democrats hold the Presidency and the majority in both Houses, they couldn't seem to get much done. Instead, they let the Republicans filibuster them to death.
8. Failing to end the filibuster rule. They should have gotten rid of it long ago. Democracy can't really work as long as it is in effect.
9. Failing to inititate a Financial Transactions Tax. This could bring in tons of money to government coffers and bring down the deficit and the national debt without affecting middle class Americans.
10. Failing to counter right wing radio talk show hosts like Limbaugh and Beck, Fox television and the Tea Party Movement. Where are the Democrats with their message? In many media markets the only thing on radio or TV is right wing propaganda.
