Open Discussion:
Now that the election is over (phew!) we can all focus on the future.
Looking ahead, what do you think will be President Obama’s biggest challenge? The “Fiscal Cliff” we’re about to fall over, which will impose automatic spending cuts as well as tax hikes by the end of the year?
Will it be pulling together with the Right, as he promised in his speech last night?
How about same-sex marriage, immigration reform, universalized healthcare? Recovering from Hurricane Sandy? Or something else?
Is he up for the job?
AP Photo
The fiscal financial cliff coming up January 1st as a result of the astronomically huge debt the U.S government is under at the same time he can’t step on the brakes financially by implementing harsh austerity measures without risking an adverse effect on any economic recovery for the US economy , stuck between a rock & a hard place is the analogy to describe his political situation period.
The difficulties of every “lame duck” president, what every president in a second term since Einsehower has faced. How do you get people to listen to you when they know you’re on your way out of the White House? When they know you’re not going to be in office in a few years? He’ll be someone who’s not concerned about re-election, but he’ll have to work with people who really are concerned about getting re-elected. This will be most challenging in the last two years, 2015-6. It’s virtually impossible to accomplish anything of substance in your eighth year, so whatever… Read more »
I think his biggest challenge will be removing anti-male sexism from laws. The problems and injustices that we don’t see are the hardest ones to correct. The “fiscal cliff” will correct itself in two years when the Republican controlled house comes up for re-election. I don’t think he’s done confronting terrorism and hopefully he doesn’t make the mistake of thinking that he is. Since he can’t get re-elected again, I suspect he might push harder for marriage equality.
I don’t think you can count it as a ‘challenge’ if Obama has no intention of accepting it. There’s no reason to think Obama’s administration will do anything about anti-male bias in our government and laws… and I say that as someone who’s relieved he beat Romney anyway.
I think a part of resolving those issues (gay marriage, immigration reform, the tax cuts) will be pulling together with the right, and an article on this very site has already proven that that’s a difficult task. I want him to accomplish it, not just because I want to see the right bend at the knees a little (though I want that a great deal) but because I want to see those issues resolved, and I genuinely believe the only way that’s going to happen is if the right and the left work together and compromise. I want to see… Read more »
Financial abortion for men? Decent awareness of both female AND MALE victims of abuse? Decent support for male AND FEMALE abusers? (better to at least try help them stop being abusive). Although I have a better chance of turning into Iron Man.