I do not agree with Obama on...

These are the ways in which I disagree with President Obama

That we should feel guilty for dropping nuclear bombs on Japan

Dropping the bombs was a horrific act, as are most of the things that happen during a war. At the time, those who were leading the country believed that dropping the bomb was the only way to save millions of American and Japanese lives. Oh, and The two cities were NOT civilian targets. They were home to factories and shipyards and no bombs in WWII were precision guided. Any bombing of military targets involved a lot of collateral damage.

That the President (or Congress) should take over businesses or interfere directly with the details of how businesses are run

Right now, the President is pressuring Chrysler bond holders to accept a terrible deal. He is particularly pressuring banks that accepted TARP money (not always voluntarily). This "deal" that he has concocted flies in the face of established bankruptcy law and threatens the stability of our lending system. If lenders know that the government may intervene and move politically favored creditors up in line in violation of normal bankruptcy law, then they will be reluctant to lend (or will lend only at much higher rates). The government is supposed to establish and enforce the rules, not throw them out the window in favor of banana republic-style crony looting of companies.

That the United States should give up any of its sovereignty to international institutions

The President is appointing people to his staff who believe in transnationalism and that international law should supersede U.S. law. He has even said that he might cooperate with Spanish courts if they wish to try U.S. government officials for Spanish crimes. The biggest problem with this is that the international community is overwhelmingly made up of dictatorships and tyrannies and there is no overall authority that can reign them in. So if we follow international law and they don't, we can't do anything except appeal to toothless international institutions. Also, there is no formal process for making international law. As of now, it consists of treaties (not all signed by all countries) and conventions, many of which violate the Constitution in some form or another.

That our clandestine services should be open for all to see

The CIA and our special forces are supposed to operate in secret. They can not function if everyone is watching them. By necessity, spying on other countries breaks their laws. Obama seems intent on destroying the morale and effectiveness of our clandestine intelligence services by throwing them to the wolves. I fully expect that the CIA will sometimes do things that I am uncomfortable with. I do not like it nor do I want them to go crazy. But I also do not want to shine a spotlight on them and reveal all that they are doing and have done. If the CIA needs to clean house, appoint a group of outsiders (from whatever branches) and do it quietly. Do not do it in the media or in a public court room.

That the government should run the financial system

We have a name for government run financial systems. It's socialism. And it does not work. The government needs to quickly get banks, financial institutions, auto makers, etc... back to being privately run. It should be making rules and enforcing them, NOT trying to run companies. No matter what the intentions of the Fed or the Treasury were, Congress has realized that it can meddle in these government controlled institutions for political purposes and will destroy them.

That he is doing a good job as President

Apparently, HE thinks he is, but he is leading the people by lying to them about everything. Even little things, like his speech on torture. Churchill's forces DID torture and commit other acts that would be considered war crimes. Green jobs and investments in green technology WILL NOT save money in the long run. They may be better for the planet (another debate entirely) but they will cost more. Cap and trade carbon credits will increase the cost of energy for everyone, especially the poor. Government run healthcare will NOT give us better health care for less money. It may give us better healthcare for more money or less healthcare for less money. Or it may give us worse healthccare for more money.

It's kind of depressing to watch the country being ruined in so many ways and precedents being set that will be difficult to unset. The Republicans aren't much help as they are still trying to figure out what to do. Between the religious right, the moderates, and the Ron Paul Libertarians, they are tearing themselves apart. Maybe the tea party movement will transform into a political party that believes in small government, personal liberty, and U.S. sovereignty. I can only dream.

Technorati: Economics, Politics, Obama