Barack Obama's Honeymoon is Over

I have to admit, I'm not a fan of any politician and although Obama was the lesser of two evils, looking back at what he has done in his 100-days of presidential honeymoon, I can't say I'm completely pleased with the rate things are going. There were people who were skeptical from the beginning:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Changefest '09 - Obama's Inaugural Speech
thedailyshow.com

And now, the latest critique of Obama is concerning the issue over abuse photos. After all the promises made about transparency and "change", I guess "change" is only skin-deep. I think I've been disappointed by Obama quite a few times already, but no one has noticed until now. The court-ordered release, Obama said, would "further inflame anti-American opinion". Honestly, if they are that bad, then all the more reason to see them. All right, I admit that it could pose problems with anti-American sentiments in Iraq and Afghanistan, but it's not like the photos are going to change anything dramatically. We are already hated, might as well suck it up and bite the bullet, be prepared for the worst so to speak.

As an American, I want to see the photos, not only to follow the court order, but to know the extent to which abuse is going on. No one knows these things unless the information is released to the press... and press, so far, has been disappointingly cooperative with the administration. Barack Obama is not some kind of demi-god. Now that the "honeymoon period" of his administration is over, I think it's time to cut to the chase and see exactly what he has done so far. Criticizing his administration is neither sacrilegious nor is it "colorist". I don't care if he's brown, blue, black, white, red, purple... ok, I hate the color purple so that might be different, but anyway, you get the picture.

1. Passed the largest economic stimulus bill in American history. (-1)
2. Is attempting to block release of abuse photos. (-1)
3. Set a fixed timetable for withdrawing U.S. combat forces from Iraq. (+1)
4. Lifted restrictions on federally funded embryonic stem cell research. (-1)
5. Signed laws to expand children's health insurance to be financed by a 61-cent/pack increase in federal cigarette taxes. (+1)
6. Lifted travel and remittance restrictions for Cuban Americans, allowing them to send more money and travel to Cuba. (+1)
7. Ordered 21,000+ troops to Afghanistan and enlisting European allies in a new multi-layered strategy in both Afghanistan and Pakistan (though with minimal success) (0)
8. Attempted to "forge a meaningful statement" from the UN to criticize North Korea's "ballistic" missile launch. (-1 <>
9. Engaged world leaders with "strength and humility." (+1 <>
10. Signed a bill meant to improve the ability of women to sue their employer for wage discrimination. (+1)
11. Signed a bill that permits government wiretapping of citizens' phone calls (-1)
12. Claimed to have dimished the role of lobbyists in the White House, though he really hasn't. (-1)
13. Approved a bill that creates more bureaucracy and legislation that hinder organic farmers from selling their products. (-1)
14. Five of his cabinet members are millionaires. (-1 <>
15. Ordered the closing of Guantanamo Bay military detention facility and abolished "enhanced interrogation techniques." (+2)
16. Signed a bill that had thousands of earmarks (-1)
17. Claimed he would post all bills on his website for 5 days for all Americans to be able to read it before it was signed... but he never did. (-1)
18. Messed up the oath then didn't allow filming of the second time around. (-2)
19. The "bipartisanship" that he promised is nowhere to be found. (-1)

The tally: -6

Of course, there are a ton of more legislation to weed through, but I feel as though I was too optimistic. Barack Obama, when it's all said and done, is just another politician, and like all politicians, he's mostly all talk.