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Action by famousobama.com
America is sinking deeper and deeper into a quagmire of its own making. This president keeps saying we "must" create jobs, we "need" jobs; it's time to stop the rhetoric and put together a positive, constructive jobs creation program. He also needs to clearly understand that the American people are totally fed up with these ongoing wars that are crippling this nation. They want action, not vacillation, in bringing them to a speedy end. It's time for real change, Mr. President; it's time for you to act boldly and decisively. Americans are tired of looking down; they want to start looking up.
Many millions of unemployed workers desperately need jobs; the manufacturing foundation of America is lying in ruin and must be rebuilt. At the same time, these ongoing wars are sapping the strength of this nation, wasting its wealth on destruction and devastation rather than on a myriad of critical domestic needs. It is time that Mr. Obama throws down the gauntlet, takes aggressive, decisive action and dares anyone in Washington to stop him. That's the leader that America needs right now. We have had more than we can take of compromise and capitulation, neither of which work.
How then is the president going to turn things around? Well, let's pretend that I have been appointed as President Obama's campaign manager and primary adviser for the 2012 elections. Knowing that the president will be faced with a very difficult and contentious challenge in this election, what strategy would I formulate that would bring him a second term? What exactly would I tell him that he must do to convince the American people that he deserves to be reelected? How should he respond to the mounting disillusionment of his support groups over his less than stellar performance thus far?
There is no doubt that his support base, especially liberals and many progressives, are not very happy and feel that he has let them down, that he has failed to listen to their concerns and properly addressed them. Polls show that his disapproval ratings are continuing to increase and that is an ominous sign with the election just over a year away. He has to find a way to show these supporters that he now fully intends to set down a specific agenda that will turn this nation in a new direction.
While that's easier said than done, it is something that can be accomplished if he presents the American people with a concrete plan of action that can truly inspire them and get them back as strong supporters. I believe that a logical, rational plan can be devised that could result in his winning the election in a landslide.
Here is the three-step plan that I would urge him to follow:
Step 1: President Obama should follow through on his recent announcement that he is going to create an in-depth job creation program to address what has been and continues to be America's number one problem - jobs. However, this plan cannot be just another stimulus plan such as the one that was hastily assembled, not carefully researched and, as a result, fell short of expectations, and was roundly criticized.
This plan must concentrate on the rebuilding of America's infrastructure. This infrastructure is rapidly deteriorating, it is ranked 23d among developed nations for its overall condition, a dismal assessment to say the least. Here's the point he must make. The roads, highways, bridges, waterways, the electrical grid system, the nation's rail trackage and other elements of the infrastructure need to be improved or rebuilt now. Waiting will accomplish nothing more than largely elevating the costs involved, so the investment must be made now.
This rebuilding program will employ millions of Americans, take them off the unemployment rolls and give them purchasing power that America badly needs to help this economy get untracked. He should send this very specific plan to Congress, initiate a massive communication effort to present it to the American people and then dare Republicans to reject it.
It's time for President Obama to be innovative, bold and aggressive. While I understand that he believes that compromise is the best way to get things done, he needs to finally realize that it will never work with this group of total obstructionists whose only objective is to destroy his presidency. It's time to use the power of his office, coupled with the power of the American people, to push the Republicans out of the way and get the job done for America.
Step 2: Mr. Obama should make an announcement to the American people in September that all U.S. troops and contractors will be withdrawn from Iraq by 12-31-2011; that the only personnel left in Iraq will be for security for the U.S. embassy. Mr. Obama is currently allowing his Secretary of Defense Panetta and other officials in his administration to put pressure on the Iraqi government to extend U.S. troop presence in that nation well into the future. He needs to make it clear to all of his advisers that these troops and contractors will be coming home; that they should immediately discontinue any more dialogue with the Iraqi government over this issue.
Step 3: He should then make a further announcement that all U.S. troops and contractors will be withdrawn from Afghanistan by 12-31-2012, again leaving only security personnel for the embassy. He must end all attempts by the military and government officials to continue a troop presence in that nation almost indefinitely. A very disturbing report on August 20 in the UK Telegraph reported that America and Afghanistan are close to signing a strategic pact which would allow thousands of United States troops to remain in the country until at least 2024.
If that report is factual, then this president better take immediate action to stop the process altogether because, if he allows any such agreement to be concluded, it would infuriate the American people and quite possibly be the end of his hopes for a second term. He cannot continue to let the Pentagon, the CIA and the generals control the nation's military functions as they seem to be doing; he is the Commander-in-Chief, he is in charge of policy, they are not. It's time he made that crystal clear to them.
We can be sure that just as soon as he makes the announcements about a jobs creation program and the troop withdrawals, two things will happen immediately. First these three bold initiatives would create a state of euphoria across America and Mr. Obama would see his approval ratings skyrocket. These aggressive, very necessary actions would show the American people that he is deserving of a second term and it would also be a crushing blow to the Republican candidates for president and Congress.
The immediate reaction to his announcements by his Republican opponents, the Pentagon, the defense industry and the many war hawks in Congress would be one of tremendous anger and extreme opposition. He would come under intense attack by all these groups who support and promote war; he would be accused of putting the nation at great risk, of being a weak president and one who is no longer fit to lead America.
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