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© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.U.S., Cuba to announce plan to open embassies
By JULIE PACE WASHINGTON©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
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SuperLib
Obama will go down as one of the greatest Presidents ever.
nath
Greatest for what?
He had to do something, as he has done nothing else?
jeff198527
Obama is mediocre at best, and Bush 2 was a complete moron. Can we please have Bill Clinton back?
Black Sabbath
Historians rate presidents on their long-term impact and effect on our nation. As such, the only thing really safe to say at this point is that Obama will go down primarily as the first non-white president. That he won, not once, but twice, means he cannot be written off as a one-trick pony (or America's "brain fart" -- as our conservative friends would have it)
Wc626
Sure it's a breakthrough. But who has more to benefit? Does the US need another cuban crime-wave endorsed by these new ties? No more Tony Montana's in Miami streets. The southwest is already plagued by such thugs.
bass4funk
Actually the worst, with very few accomplishments, but he will be remembered for other things like being divisive and polarizing.
Pretty much sums up the Obama legacy so far.
Wc626
Actually, that was pretty cool how he confronted that heckler @ white house recently. LoL, Obama cooly had the heckler ejected from the premises too. Classic-
Noliving
And now the American invasion of Cuba begins! No scrap of Cuban culture will remain within 10 years! Muahahahhahahaha!
Madverts
Obama has been a great president, and I imagine in light of his "bucket list", with no more elections to fight, that there is more to come, and more to follow on the back of his common sense reforms when others take the reigns.
Either way, there's a long list of changes you can believe in - like them or not. Nobody cares what insanities the Republican Jihad Party scream from the asylum anyway, they're a spent force of old racists on the cusp of extinction.
And personally, I think Obama's a living legend.
Wc626
With the republicans still holding both houses in congress, seems like they're still in the picture & far from extinction.
Even if Hillary comes along, 2016, so what? Wasn't she an avid supporter and acting in concert with your so-called "republican Jihad Paty" after 9/11? She's changed her stance since then-no doubt. Which makes me wonder the loyalty of such potential leaders.
You're thinking of his character and not as a Commander-in-Chief.
Black Sabbath
I am ok with Obama. I want(ed) a lot more out of his first term. Domestically, I think he allowed himself to be constrained by Washington politics too much; particularly all that "bi-partisan" crap the first two years. Regardless, he has improved. A lot. And I look forward in the coming decades getting the full skinny on what when down during his presidency -- with all the internal machinations, strategies and maneuverings. I want to know why he and his team did what they did.
His foreign policy has on the whole been quite successfull, in a managerial sort of way. One thing I do not like, though all Presidendents since the 1960s have failed too, is not managing China's rise aggressively enough.
SuperLib
Republicans still pack a punch, no doubt. They have been successful changing the election process which helps them keep power. The excessive gerrymandering helped them win the House despite having a million fewer popular votes. The new voter suppression laws, especially those looking to reduce participation by younger voters, will help them hold on for a bit longer since younger voters lean Democrat to a much greater extent than Republican. They jury is still out on their attempts to reduce the number of black people voting since it's had the effect of polarizing them at this point.
Once the election tricks run their course, then the GOP will have to change and moderate a bit which will help them grow again. I'm looking forward to that. I grew up respecting the GOP (80s kid with Reagan as President) and it would be nice to see them get back into the game again. In a very short time they've turned into a party that cannot produce legislation unless it's a social issue, and even then they are finding the times are changing and they are on the wrong side of that.
bass4funk
Imagine what the next president has to do to overturn a large portion of that madness, at least we can get back some common sense once he's gone.
The best thing about the Obama presidency is that in 495 days, he'll be person for the history books. His reign will finally come to a glorious end.
Yes, he has been. He'll be right along with other legends like Wilson and Carter.
Republicans still pack a punch, no doubt. They have been successful changing the election process which helps them keep power.
And likewise to the Dems.
So what was the bogus slander that the GOP supposedly hate Blacks, hate women although Obama has less women working for him than any other president.
Because when the Dems campaign on a charade that voting for them they will promise entitlements, income equality code for: income redistribution and that's why a large portion of the young voters that voted for Obama in the first cycle that were 18 are now almost 25 and a large portion of them have turned independent and few conservative now that they have families of their own and have seen the hopelessness of the job market. So you are right when you talk about the YOUNG voters and the former Obama voters.
Blacks will vote for Dems by default and as long as they and as long as they vote for the party of entitlement many will remain in the economical state they are in.
They don't need to change, the Dems won't, so the people need to decide and that's why more people are becoming Independent which makes perfect sense.
I feel the same about the Old Democratic party.
I don't think I have enough space to jot down all of the disasters the Dems have contributed to the country over the last 6 years, both parties are slowly falling into the abyss of irrelevancy but one thing that the Dems are horrible at is the art of negotiation with our enemies, one of them being the new relationship with Cuba. I'm all for normalizing Cuba, but this idiot of a president could have waited until the Castro brothers were dust. Did he talk about their political prisoners being tortured? Repression and human rights? How about allowing and paying their people in US dollars instead of worthless Pesos? How about allowing the people to vote in free elections or travel whenever they wish?
This is the problem with the Obama admin. First priority, look out for your own party, establish a legacy, then second worry about your legacy. Sums up what Obama is all about-himself!
Moderator
Readers, please keep the discussion focused on U.S.-Cuba relations.