Obama's approval ratings plummet, is the honeymoon well and truly over??  

I agree, but, we must not forget the lobbyists and the 'hawks' and 'doves', which are apparent in Presidential Administrations. This can cause a problem when a President simply believes he can overcome them.

Yes he has much to prove, and he is taking far too long - but I take it you never would have been a supporter of Obama in the first place?

I hope, and I mean this sincerely, that Obama does live upto some of the things he stands for and when I see hope, I see a progress on GITMO. But I cannot help to wonder whether his nobility, if this the right word, naively allowed too much charasma and charm to cloud the real issues which far more than just rhetoric.

As for the impeachment - I do not think he has had fair time to even think about this.

Yes but regarding specifically Mcain and Palin, the main problem was Mcain was old and far too much like Bush. He had to draft in a desperate candidate in Palin just to gain some image and perspective. This on both counts, and not helped by GWB's record in office, lured most Americans to opt for a change, and Obama was the only option. But remember, Hilary Clinton was the favourite.

As for incompetent, I do not think George Bush even deserves that status for what he did.
But unfortunately 9/11 recked most of America's rational thinking, and any President with Hawkish tendancies in the administration, is likely to be incompetent.

But for Obama specifically, there are certain traits which I am reserving judgement on, and not giving into the daily campaign by the likes of FOX who do not like him, but equally have never spared him a chance. We shall see if Obama can turn this around.

Do you think a man with almost no experience in government would make a better leader just because he's young? And as far as McCain being too much like Bush, they're now starting to say that about Obama. So, instead of getting an older experienced man like Bush, we get a younger inexperienced man like Bush.

If I'm understanding you correctly, you think a President who has taken an oath to defend his country is incompetent for doing so when his country is attached by its enemies.

Why do you think Fox dislikes Obama, because they haven't given him a free ride the way the rest of the media has? You have it backwards. It's Obama who doesn't like Fox. If Obama keeps acting like a suck titty baby with enemy list, they're going to start comparing him to paranoid Richard Nixon.

Bestboy
I acknowledge with what you are saying and I understand where you are coming from. I also agree with most part of your first paragraph in your above post but for the part that he is becoming like Bush.

From your perspective, Bush is not incompetent because US president has to defend its citizens from attack. But Bush post 9/11 did behave in a very disrespectful way which caused many figureheads of the world to villify him. For example, Nelson Mandela, and Chaves of Venezuela, Russell Brand on MTV, the Daisy Chicks, Farenheit 911, Putin, Chirac, and of course many third world leaders. My point is, that never have a seen a president made a ridicule out of than George Bush, who eventually got two shoes thrown at him in a country he was supposed to have liberated!

Obama on the other hand, has recieved abuse, if it is that, by FOX, and nobody else. He is still seen as a figurehead by the world as at least a 'speaker for the peace'. Whether he has teeth, well this, I think, you are alluding, and at the moment it looks like many toothless ambitions which may fail, or inexperience will not permit follow through.

But I would still give him the benefit - he has not got past 1 year, he has 3 more to make his mark.

How did George W. Bush behave in a disrespectful way and to whom? Do you get your news from Music Television? Why don't you try the BBC? They've been doing news a lot longer and better than MTV. I also wouldn't refer to MTV or the Dixie Chicks as figureheads.

You mentioned the man who threw the shoes at Bush. As I understand it, he lost family members in the war, and that was the reason he threw the shoes. Was that abuse against Bush? Fox has never abused Obama. They report the news and some of their commentators have given their opinion of his policies. Every President gets that. It goes with the job. Do you think Bush didn't get it from the left? The difference is, Bush didn't cry about it. That's all Obama has done, cried because Fox hasn't cow towed to him. That is also another reason he isn't ready to be a national leader.

its funny how you scan the my post, and whoa, Russell Brand is what you see and immediately allude to MTV!

Examples of many people were used in my thread from different walks of life and the point was that many people on telivision or to the press openly ridiculed the President of the most powerful country.

Agreed. People just don't have patience these days. They don't seem to understand that it takes time to turn things around. The earliest timescale one can judge a new administration is a minimum of 2 years - ie the midterm elections - if the Democrats can't show, despite their large majorities, progress whether it be healthcare, economy, afghanistan or other things, then they will get spanked. If Obama can't show as a minimum that he has turned the economy around come 2012, then he will be out on his ear as well.

Hi Noir,
I think you express yourself extremely well here, with well justified comments - thank you for that. And I do like your attitude, not a fan of Obama, but applying very fair analysis for a short term so far, and expressing your frustration with his predecessor.

Whilst it is your opinion, I largely agree with you, and most of all, I would say we need to be far more patient for a new person in charge.

Thanks for the American perspective I believe. But what if his rushing aroung produces mega results in a year or two? Would it be too late?

So far all of President Obama's successes haven't been that good. All the rushing around has accomplished absolutely nothing for the taxpayers, the unemployed, or the military. There isn't a purpose to his going on campaign type fundraisers and giving tons of health care speeches. Even his foreign policy has been less than mediocre. The sad fact is all this rushing around will never amount to more than a waste of taxpayer dollars, additional damage to the environment from all the jet fuel used, and what is looking like major gains for Republicans at the poles. Never have I seen a President run around so much and manage to accomplish so very little. Even in his last year President Bush managed to do more stuff even as much as people disliked him.

Salonga
Thank you for your response, in the Phillipines I believe.

But your response is very narrow on a specific issue for which you personally believe. But what about the rest which makes a President and reasons for his popularilty slump?

I'm sorry, but I don't consider a slave owner a Godly man. I wouldn't think God was too impressed with that, either. America will never be the same again for far more reasons than Obama could ever create on his own. The stage has been being built for generations and is now set for the exploitation of America by people with an agenda far larger than anything any president could do. If God's blessings flowed when Washington was president, I doubt if they'll stop now.

And for the abortion issue, while I don't agree with abortion as a method of birth control AT ALL, I also recognize there are certain circumstances where it would be advisable. Granted, those circumstances are few and far between, but they are also no less critical due to their limited numbers. Those who fall into those categories would be denied because of a *one size fits all* law. The bottom line is that you cannot legislate morals and everyone will be held accountable for their actions in the end.

what is the mood with other Australians?
I think, sometimes, Americans and non-Americans, see the world differently, and it is clear from Diamond, that people outside the US, see a better person in Obama than they ever did in Bush.

Good response, thanks

World economies probably tend to follow America's capitalist system to a large extent in order to succeed. I'm sure that this is a source of resentment from many nations.
The first time that I travelled to America, I was shocked at the amount of homeless people in such a rich country. This is not the model of democracy that I thought that Australia would ever accept, but we are accepting it now.

Yes I do see a much better person in Obama. I think he has his heart in the right place and he is a very strong leader. I would like to see him clamp down more on the obscene salaries that the top brass pay themselves and their cronies because they are stealing from the future of thier own nation.