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Anti-Pro Obama

Aren't personalities (or the voters' perception thereof) the deciding factor in elections? So, in a sense, being perceived as a good natured person does make you "qualified."

Anyways I can see Matthews' point to the degree that for a man in his position Obama has kept his personal life squeaky clean if you look at others in the African-American community. I think that image contributes to why Obama is so respected (and rightly so) in the African-American community. Of course this does not mean attacks directed at his policies are racism..
 
+Mr Jazzy said:
My Nana is the sweetest and nicest Italian lady in my opinion, that doesn't make her qualified to be the president...

Being popular and liked by many does not necessarily make someone know how to run a country...
This example doesn't consider the playing field. The odds of becoming President is astronomical in itself (10,000,000 to one) and we'd have to assume that those running have reached this pinnacle. It's just like applying for a job; you're competing with others in your situation - others with the same background and level of qualifications. You judge apples with apples, not with oranges.

And of course perception. Having good qualifications is nice if we assumed that people would vote purely based on those qualifications. Didn't we establish the fact that humans are still just that: humans? Some people don't need a tangible reason to support someone other than the candidate's image. Some people might not even vote for a qualified candidate if they thought he or she was from a different religion, for example: http://www.gallup.com/poll/155285/atheists-muslims-bias-presidential-candidates.aspx

In research they call it the halo effect; people generally favor others like themselves. This is not the same as equating likeability with competence, however. It just demonstrates that it is not enough to have credentials to be "qualified."
 
Yes, I am sure that he can speak and read and write and draw...and I believe that he can also sing... :)
 
One thing that anyone can bet the farm on is that the American People will bitch and whine about anyone that gets elected to office. And they will use a very wide range of excuses in doing so. Small wonder the state of affairs in the U.S. is as bad as it is. Yet the people can blame nobody but themselves as they let a bad situation get out of hand to the point there is no going back.
 
I don't dislike Obama but I don't feel he knows how to run this nation.

I am a Libertarian. His views directly conflict to what I go for. He wants government to control everything including your healthcare - I think less government will amount to less problems since the government is why we have most of our problems to begin with.
 
what's not to like?


Obama denies 2013 was his 'worst year'

20 December 2013

US President Barack Obama has brushed aside a suggestion that 2013 was the worst year of his presidency in a year-end press conference.

He voiced frustration with political gridlock on immigration and gun control, but was upbeat on the economy.

Asked to name his biggest mistake of the year, he spoke about his troubled healthcare law's rollout, conceding: "Since I'm in charge, we screwed up."

Mr Obama and his family depart later in the day for their holiday in Hawaii.

The Democratic president is ending his fifth year in office with the worst approval ratings of his tenure.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-25473594
 
CNN has another opinion of Mr. Obama's '13

The flush of success from Obama's re-election last year faded quickly as his administration faced a series of controversies -- some unavoidable and some self-inflicted -- that eroded Obama's credibility along with the belief that he can bring about the kind of change he called for in running for president.

"People don't think he's as competent as they used to think," said CNN Chief Political Analyst Gloria Borger. "They don't think he's as trustworthy as they used to think."

Here are six reasons for the President's difficult year, starting with his greatest achievement toward the promised change of his first term that became perhaps his biggest liability: the health care reforms known as Obamacare.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/20/politics/obama-bad-year/
 
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