Fair assesment of Obama

Unfortunately, there are two diametrically opposed views in the media today. Just thought I'd weigh in on what I think.

1. Plus side: I don't think disarming our nukes and positioning ourselves as less aggressive is a bad thing. The reality is that in the new war against terrorists, we can't use nukes anyway -- who would we bomb? So, gain some world support so we can find the terrorists isn't a bad approach.
2. Negative side: The growth of government and the further polarization of those who benefit from gov giveaways is alarming and bad. The reports on the radio are increasingly about how the government is going to solve our problems. The most absurd one is where a congressman is proposing limits on airlines who want to charge for overhead baggage. Clearly, this is anti-free market and would have been considered laughable in an earlier age. Yet, here we are with the media taking this seriously and therefore the "common man" thinks it's a good idea.
3. Plus side: he got his party to pass one of the biggest reform bills of the last 50 years (healthcare). Lots of people stand to gain from this legislation. He made good on his campaign promise.
4. Negative: see #2. As the proportion of Americans who get their livelihood from the government grows, it will be increasingly impossible to pass any government limiting legislation. We are now at the tipping point as the majority of voters today are about to see most of their income through the government. How will they be able to vote in favor of smaller government if it means they will cut their own income? Obama knows this and is playing to the "soon to be majority".
5. Negative: for anyone who bought a house last century (pre-2000), we knew something bad was happening during the 90s. We didn't understand what it meant or how it would all play out but, in our gut, we knew something was seriously wrong. The result was the crisis and ultimate bail-out of banks, car companies and lots of other "too big to fail" institutions. Interestingly, during the lead up to 2008 and the big crash, most Americans thought that real estate was a good investment and that getting loans and house "flipping" (where you buy a fixer upper and then sell it in a few months) was normal and would continue for the foreseeable future. Obviously, they were duped. Today, there are many people who voted for Obama and are cheering his actions with healthcare, and government growth. These are the same people who bought real estate in the late 2000's. Some would call them fools. But Obama calls them voters.

On the whole I'm not an alarmist but it is clear to me that there will be huge problems with our economy going forward. I've actually been driven more towards the libertarians as a result of the Obama administration. I'd like to see states have more rights and this would give us citizens choices. If we wanted gay marriage, then we should be able to go to a state that supports that. If we found that morally abhorrent, there should be a place where we could go.

Clearly, based on the polarization of the American people (which, by the way, has been true as far back as the colonies!), we need choices and one, huge, government (one size fits all) does not work for us.