Minutes for the Obama Debate

It’s not just in odd wildlife programs you see donkeys fighting elephants. It happens in American politics and on Thursday 21^st Jan, that fight was coming to the Kirwan. Madam Auditor Jackie Driscoll was in the chair and we were ready to go to the polls. Beforehand though, she opened up the floor for Private members time speeches

Mike Spring- (Education)

T TH regrets the foundation of the United States of America

...Tactfully choosing the one night that our resident American Nationalist Emily Ravenscroft was absent

Mike told us America has had a hugely negative effect on the world;

its citizens are raised with dangerous nationalistic leanings, their country’s history is mired in a history of racism, self servism and expansionism,.

The US has long been jingoistic and has had no qualms about using military force to get what they want.

America’s lasting legacy is its massive world wide body count.

Alan Lyons (M Litt)

All governments do bad things, so to single out America is unfair and biased

The US put into action the concept of democratic government,

They took in millions of immigrants from across the globe.

US society was very tolerant of this new arrivals and the country itself became a melting pot of new cultures.

George Kaar (Law)

Told us that he hates America as:

1. They made say the Pledge of Allegiance when he lived there

2. They have monopolised other cultures

3. They attempt to police the world

4.Further added that they weren’t needed in WWII...

Niamh McNally (4^th Arts)

If the United States never existed, then we would have had to create it.

Said Mike was unfair is basing his speech on the wrongs of America while complimenting the American people, and said that you cannot divorce a people from its country when you want to criticise it like this. In short it was an impossible burden on Mr. Spring which he did not achieve.

Beartla De Burca

Said Niamh’s theory of inevitability was wrong, and that America had been causing problems from the start when they caused France to become bankrupt for helping them in their Revolution.

Cornelia Carey (2^nd Med)

• Other states have done wrong too

• Of you don’t like American culture, or McDonalds, then don’t participate in it.

SUMMATED AND DEFEATED

Then It came time for main business,

The motion before the house was THB that Obama will continue to disappoint.

First in proposition was Professor Donal Ivor

Obama has been a huge disappointment and will continue to be one.

Through his worn mantra of change he has failed to deliver

He now has many structural issues, chief among them that while he can direct, Congress makes the law, and that is where he has failed dismally.

He is likely to suffer catastrophic losses in the Mid-Term elections as he promised more than he could ever deliver

The divided nature of his Party is reflective of the American people on Obama. He has lost his edge and will never regain it.

Dr. John Morrissey opposed

He listed a number of the flaws under the Bush administration, then talked about how Obama is doing what he said he would, he is tackling healthcare.

He has saved homes through legislation, reversed the ban on stem cell research passed a stimulus plan that is working.

He has undertaking a huge Green initiative and has remedied ties with the Middle East with his Cairo speech.

Gradual change is still change

Tony McDonnell (HLM)

Obama has over-promised and under-delivered.

He is fundamentally weak as a leader as he is indecisive as was seen on his stance on the Afghan surge. He is all smoke and no heat.

His Healthcare reform is a sham, with the only real people benefitting being the Insurance companies.

His Environmental stance is laughable, with his poor performance at Copenhagen was evident.

He is a weak leader who will lose the White House in 2012

Peter Mannion (Masters in Law)

Elections are won on poetry, countries are run on prose. Obama’s prose has been more than adequate as President.

He has set out a road-map for America that he is sticking to.

His big ticket issue, Healthcare, is being out though gradually. He helped solve the financial crisis through his stimulus plan which is helping Americans greatly. He is much than Bush

The motion was then opened to the floor

Cormac O’Malley (Arts)

It’s a terrible time to enact healthcare, the political climate is too severe.

Obama is a fine politician but a bad president

Dave Finn (HLM)

Tony is espousing the same scaremongering as conservative commentators Glen Beck, Bill O’ Reily and Rush Limbaugh.

Obama is not to blame, but rather the Democratic party who don’t know how to handle power.

Conor Keane (Law)

Voted for Obama, thought he was part of a change in politics

Is disappointed after 1 year, Obama has wasted a quarter of his presidency on needless bipartisanism and compromise with an uncompromising Republican party

His indecisiveness will be his undoing.

The value of his vote is gone completely, he needs to deliver and work on what he has promised to the only change America will see will be negative.

Niamh McNally (arts)

Expectations were too high, the intelligent people knew that he couldn’t possibly deliver all he was promising. Electioneering leads itself to a number of lies

Clinton was terrible for the first two years and still won second term.

Brendan Gallagher (Arts)

Hopes Obama fails so that America can embrace socialism. The media is America’s problem

Heber Rowan (Arts)

Bush Administration legalised torture and caused the world to hate America. Obama has changed this, he is healing the international relations rift.

Mike Spring (Education)

Obama was swept into power on a tidal wave of belief and hope what he can never fufill.

He never had a legitmate agenda for power

American politics is never about people, but about vested interests.

Ronan Fitzpatrick (Science)

Not only is he willing to change, but also to compromise with his rivals.

His greatest achievement was his embracing of the undecided voters.

He tried to open the hand, but the fist is now needed. He is a man who is willing to listen to experts and not just party hacks.

Summated and Defeated

All that was left to do was to thank everyone for their contributions and head off to the Dail for a well deserved drink

These are the minutes,

Conor Kelly

Recording Secretary

163^rd session