The Instigator
Con (against)
0 Points
The Contender
Pro (for)
6 Points

The Obama Administration

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Voting Style: Open Point System: 7 Point
Started: 4/7/2014 Category: Politics
Updated: 6 years ago Status: Post Voting Period
Viewed: 1,293 times Debate No: 51860
Debate Rounds (3)
Comments (9)
Votes (1)




Hello, my (username) is Crescendo, and I am new to this Site. I am what is commonly referred to as a "Noob." I am hoping that this will change with time, but for the time being, I accept the status of noob, as every other new member must.

I am new to this Site, so in the unlikely event that an experienced user takes up this Debate, I ask him or her to take it easy on me. This is, after all, the first debate of the user "Crescendo."

Burden of Proof will be shared by Pro and Con in this Debate. First round is for acceptance. Please, no trolls. Though I am new, I would like to have a legitimate debate on this subject.


I would like to thank my opponent for allowing me to accept this debate. I will be arguing the point that the Obama Administration is good, while my opponent, Crescendo, will be arguing against the Obama Administration. Because my opponent has neglected to lay out some rules, I feel obligated to do so:

1. Proper spelling and grammar must be used at all time. My opponent seems to already comply with this rule, so I do not believe it will be a problem.
2. All arguments must be intelligent and rational. My opponent also seems to do this, so it will not be a problem either.
3. All sources, if any, must be properly cited.

As those are the only rules I feel I need to lay out, I will let this debate commence. I look forward to debating such an interesting, salient topic.
Debate Round No. 1


I thank my opponent, a debater with experience, for deciding to debate me, though I am an inexperienced "Noob." I will keep my as conduct civil as I can, and please feel free to expose faults in my conduct. If you find my arguments lacking, please keep in mind that this is the first debate of the user "Crescendo."

The Case Against the Obama Administration:
By C.E. Turner Jr, AKA "Crescendo"

1. The Obama Administration and the US Economy

Despite the claim that the economy has improved since Obama took office, the reverse is, in fact, true, or so I hope to show.
A record of 20% of American households were on food stamps in 2013.
It may seem that the unemployment rate is down, according to this chart:
However... this simply means less unemployed people are considered unemployed

Now, let's look at the debt. Here's an old link from 2012:
So basically, in 4 years of Obama the US National Debt increased slightly more than it did under President George W. Bush's 8 years. Many people would place the blame on our costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but we've withdrawn from both countries, having all our troops withdrawn from Iraq by December of 2011 and our withdrawal from Afghanistan to be complete by the end of 2014.

Therefore, though US forces have left Iraq and we're in the process of leaving Afghanistan, the US National Debt has continued to increase under Obama.

2. Obama and The US-Mexican Border

Obama scrapped further work on the border fence

An argument used is that it's an expensive undertaking.
However...illegal immigrants cost this country even more money.

So with all due respect to Mr. Obama, why does he not implement the completion of the border fence? Even if it cost as much as 1 trillion dollars, it'd make up for this cost in just 10 years.

3. The Obama Administration and Foreign Policy

Many Democrats applaud Obama's reaction to the Crimea situation; however, what many Democrats do not realize is that Obama was warned about Russia ahead of US Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney.

Also, once a US Drone crashed in Iran. Obama asked Iran to return the drone to the US, only to be told no. In this show of weakness, President Obama allowed a theocratic regime notorious for human rights abuses to keep one of our drones.

Then, there's Obama's "red line" in Syria.
Bashar Al-Assad is still in power today, proving that Obama did little more than talk big.

However, there is one time where Obama did more than talk. This was when he got the US Involved in the Libyan Civil War. However, he did not have Congressional Approval for this war. It was unauthorized by anyone except for him, and thus it was an illegal war.

4. The Obama Administration and the ACA:

Arguably the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (nicknamed Obamacare) is the most infamous aspect of the Obama Administration. It is highly debated whether this is a beneficial or unbeneficial step for America. For instance, critics argue it's headed in the direction of Canadian Healthcare, as well as other complaints.
The reason people fear a system similar to the Canadian Healthcare System is because of this:
However, even if it was a system that was beneficial to America, it could still be argued that the ACA is unbeneficial because it causes the US Government to have more say in the lives of citizens.

5. Obama on Social Policy:
Obama has endorsed the legalization of marijuana.
However, that's a problem because children can be affected by second-hand marijuana smoke.
And this is not desirable because of marijuana's effects on the teenage brain.
Other health risks aside, I predict that youth in Colorado and other "Green States" will experience a decline in their grades.

Conclusion: President Obama and his Administration have been harmful to this country. I await my opponent's rebuttal, and once again I apologize for weaknesses in my arguments.


I would like to thank my opponent for laying out his arguments against the Obama Administration. I would also like to state that I am aware of the fact that my opponent is inexperienced, and will not be to difficult when stating my arguments. However, I would like to state that I am going to still make my arguments sophisticated and long, because, of course, I wish to win.

I will now begin my argument by listing some of Obama's great accomplishments:

1. Passed the health care reform known as the Affordable Care Act, which is the greatest health care system in approximately 50 years.
2. Passed the stimulus, which greatly improved the economy and created 3.7 million new private-sector jobs.
3. Passed wall street reform to stop abusive lending and limit bankruptcies.
4. Ended the Iraq War - Ordered the removal of all US troops from Iraq as of December 18, 2011.
5. Has begun the end of war in Afghanistan.
6. Ordered the raid of the secret compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, which led to the death of the terrorist leader Osama bin laden
7. Improved the U.S. Auto Industry by investing money into large car companies in return for restructuring and great improvements.
8. Repealed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", finally allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military for the first time. Before, being gay or lesbian made it impossible to serve in the military.
9. Made Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak step down, which has begun the process of getting rid of Egypt's dictatorship.
10. Got rid of Bush Torture Policies, which were the policies that allowed certain interrogation techniques that are considered inhumane under the Geneva Conventions.
11. Recently, President Obama signed an executive order, working to make equal pay for women. Yes, in 2014, women in America still do not receive equal pay to women. Instead, they receive $0.77 to every dollar a man makes. Furthermore, he eliminated the Catch-22 laws, now giving women the right to sue their employers for not having equal pay.
12. Improved the food safety system, reviewing certain food safety practices in the country. He also gave the FDA the power to regulate tobacco.
13. Has greatly invested in new, greener technology, like solar power, electric cars, and renewable energy generation.
14. This goes along with #12: Improved school nutrition standards, forcing schools to serve healthier meals. One cannot simply deny that that is a great action.
15. Expanded health care coverage for children, allowing children to stay on their parent's health insurance plan longer.
16. Declared carbon dioxide a pollutant, allowing the EPA to regulate it.
17. Eliminated Bush restrictions on stem-cell research
18. Assisted South Sudan in gaining independence from Sudan.
19. Passed credit card reform, which prohibits credit card companies from raising rates without notifying customers first.
20. Shifted military and diplomatic priorities to Asia, hoping to ease relationships with that area of the world.
21. Boosted fuel efficiency standards, doubling the fuel economy of vehicles on the road.

Now that I have stated a portion of the long list, I would like to ask my opponent a question concerning his political views. Most likely, he is Republican, seeing that he does not support the current president. So, my question to him is this:

Did you base your political choice on the political opinions of your parents, or did you make your own decision. Furthermore, how much do you know about Obama and the political world, and how much did you know before doing your research when beginning this debate?

I look forward to my opponent's answer to this question. If the answer is what I predict it will be, then I would advise my opponent to pay more attention to the politics. When he does, he will see that Barack Obama is quite great. The list I stated above is not all the achievements he has made. If my opponent and all viewers do some research on the president and pay more attention to politics, you will see this. Our president has managed to do all this while all the Republicans in Congress have done everything they can to bring him down. In my opinion, they have done for two reasons: He is a member of the Democratic party and is African American. After he was elected, all interviews with Conservative Congressmen were about how they will do nothing but "Vote No" to everything the president does.

This is all I wish to state for now. Round 3 is next and is the final round. In that round, my opponent and I will make rebuttals and state any final arguments before ending. I am enjoying this debate and look forward to hearing my opponent's arguments. I look forward to reading and refuting them. Thank you.

Debate Round No. 2


First of all, I will attempt to provide a rebuttal for some of what my opponent considers Obama's great accomplishments.

1. As stated before, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a controversial piece of legislation; though it has resulted in more people gaining insurance than those who have lost it, we should take into account the following facts:
A. "Obamacare will reduce the earnings of its 300,000 members by up to $5 an hour by requiring them to buy health insurance, according to a report by Unite Here, a union which represents chiefly lower-wage workers in service industries."
B. The ACA will dramatically increase healthcare costs for businesses, according to these sources:
C. To the credit of B, the ACA will cause many people to lose their jobs according to these sources:
D. Even if the ACA was a positive force for America, we must also consider that the ACA will also increase the US National Debt (though not by much compared to many other government endeavors such as foreign wars).

2. The Stimulus Bill cost us several trillion dollars.

4. A probable course of action for any president, especially considering the financial costs of the war. Either way, there have been consequences to our withdrawal.

5. As is the case in Iraq, that is a probable course of action for any president for many of the same reasons. However, I fear that as in Iraq, the local militants (The Taliban, Haqqani Network, etc.) will begin to consolidate more power over the region, as they did prior to late 2001.

6. Obama actually had little to do with the raid.
In fact, Obama had canceled the attack on Osama three times, says the following sources:
In fact, reportedly Obama played cards during the raid.

9. Mubarak stepping down resulted in chaos throughout Egypt.
Also, will my opponent please specify how the Obama Administration was responsible for the fall of Mubarak's regime?

10. Enhanced Interrogation Techniques under President Bush include waterboarding, hypothermia,
That quote comes from this news article:
Even this anti-EIT article admitted that this method was successful in gaining confessions from terrorists, information which may be invaluable in the War on Terrorism. Lesser methods would not work as well.

11. As for equal pay for women, in many jobs this would be a good thing, but what if a woman works a job that requires heavy lifting? It is not my intention to be sexist, but women are not generally as strong as men. Thus, in these jobs, a female worker's usefulness in these jobs would be lesser to the usefulness of a male worker. Please note that there are exceptions, of course.

12. Read the following quote on the FDSA:
"One of the more frustrating (side effects) was how the FSMA would hurt small farms' ability to sell their produce at farmers' markets, seeing as sometimes they have a little dirt on them. And now another wrinkle is that brewers/distillers may stop selling/giving their wet grain to farmers because of the new red tape hassle the FDA will now require."
Here's the article behind the quote.
I think it's fair to say that how beneficial this act was is rather obscure and debatable.

13. Green energy already is failing Denmark.

14. As for the healthy school lunch efforts, that's not going so well.

15. Should go with my criticism of the ACA.

16. You breathe out carbon dioxide. By this logic you are a pollutant.

17. Stem Cell research is considered unethical by many people. This is like using a lowering of restrictions on abortion to portray a president in a favorable light.

18. Ah yes, South Sudan...

I didn't reply to everything on my opponent's list, but I hope that I've proven my point fairly well.
In the next round, my opponent needs to both defend his contentions and oppose mine, as he has provided no attack on my contentions as of so far and I have attacked his.


It doesn't matter what my motives are in founding this debate or who I am; I could merely be playing devil's advocate or I could be a radical Republican. Either way, though this probably was not my opponent's intention, one might consider this a borderline personal attack, and I ask my opponent not to repeat it.

Then, my opponent has made the fallacious claim that most or all Republicans hate Obama because he is African-American. I am a Republican and I can tell you firsthand that this is not why I oppose President Obama and his policies.

I await my opponent's response(s).


Again, I would like to thank my opponent for responding and refuting my arguments. I will begin by refuting my opponent's round two arguments, before moving on to his rebuttals.

My opponent began by talking about how the economy has not improved since Obama took office. This however, is not true. I showed this in my round 2 argument, when I said "[Obama] passed the stimulus, which greatly improved the economy and created 3.7 million new private-sector jobs." To add more to why I know President Obama has helped the economy, I want to create another list that talks specifically about his economic success:

1. Ended the 2008 Recession
2. 2010 tax cuts
3. Barack Obama, so far, has created 116,087,000 private sector jobs

If you wish for more proof, look at some of the sources I sited at the bottom.

Next, my opponent spoke of how Obama has not completed the US-Mexico border fence. This is true, however it would be an expensive undertaking. Yes, indeed illegal immigrants cost us even more, however as Con said, "it'd make up for this cost in just 10 years." 10 years is a long time when talking about economics. 10 years is simply too long, so this particular task is not a good idea. Obama has done the right thing in his choice to not finish the border fence yet. However, I will say that it should be expanded a little bit. There is nothing wrong with spending a little bit of money each year instead of all at once.

After that, my opponent spoke of foreign policy. He spoke of how Democrats have applauded Obama's reaction to Russia and the Crimea, and also of how he was warned by Mitt Romney. The fact that Romney warned him of this is not germane and simply does not pertain. Next, Con spoke of Obama's reaction to Iran not returning the drone to the U.S.. Indeed, this may be a problem, however the drone did crash on Iranian territory. One can argue that Iran is not obligated to return it because, as General Hossein Salami, "deputy commander of Iran's military said, "No nation welcomes other countries' spy drones in its territory, and no one sends back the spying equipment and its information back to the country of origin.""

In Con's fourth point, he talked about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). He talks about how people fear it is becoming much like Canada's health care system. Quite frankly, I do not see many similarities between the two and do not see how it is becoming like it. [I]t could still be argued that the ACA is unbeneficial because it causes the US[sic] Government to have more say in the lives of citizens." This is true, it does have more say in the lives of citizens - It wants to makes them better. The system is forcing citizens to have health care. I do not see what is wrong with that.

FInally, my opponent ends round 2 by talking about Obama's policy on marijuana and how he supports the legalization of it. Then, he said "[that it is] a problem because children can be affected by second-hand marijuana smoke" and that it is "not desirable because of marijuana's effects on the teenage brain." I believe I am going to have to concur with my opponent on this point, for I do not support the legalization of marijuana either.

Now, I shall move on to my opponent's rebuttals.
In his rebuttals, he went through my list and gave me some feedback. Some of it is valid, however other parts of it are questionable. I will go through his rebuttals and refute them.

1. Indeed, Obamacare is a controversial piece of legislation, however it continues to be the greatest health care system in 50 years. Looking at the facts my opponent laid out, he says that "Obamacare will reduce the earnings of its 300,000 members by up to $5 an hour by requiring them to buy healthcare." This may be true, however it seems my opponent does not see the benefit of requiring all people to have health care. When every one has health insurance, less people die from certain diseases. When less people die from certain diseases, more taxes are paid, creating a better economy.
2. "The Stimulus Bill cost us several trillion dollars." First of all, it actually cost us $831 billion. Secondly, it created 116,087,000 private sector jobs, which is a good thing.
3. Hmm. It seems my opponent had nothing to say about Wall Street reform, which means he has conceded that point.
4. Con refuted my point about ending the Iraq war by using information from Fox News. Fox News is unreliable and is mostly right wing, which means they are going to say everything they can to make Obama look bad. Secondly, I want to talk about what my opponent meant when he said "there have been consequences to our withdrawal." It seems my opponent prefers a war against Iraq than the consequences that come with the peace we gain from not being at war.
5. It seems my opponent has the same opinion of the Afghanistan-U.S. war as he does of the Iraq-U.S. war. My response it the same as it was in point 4.
6. "Obama actually had little to do with the raid." This is true to some extent, however he was in control of the process. In fact, my opponent seems to have ignored the key points in the third source he gave. It included proof that Obama was watching the raid while it was going on, not calling it off. I hope my opponent decides to concede this point, for his argument is invalid.
7. I received no response on this point, so I believe by opponent concedes.
8. He did not respond to "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", so I believe he concedes also.
9. When it comes to Mubarak stepping down, I believe I will have to concur also, for it did indeed result in chaos. However, Con asked for evidence as to how the Obama Administration was responsible for the fall of Mukarak's regime. Here is the proof:

Moreover Suzanne Mubarak revealed in her recently published memoirs that on 1 February, 2011 in a telephone conversation with the USA President Barack Obama, Mubarak asked for written guarantees of safe passage for himself and his family. These, she wrote, were granted by a special envoy from America.

10. My opponent's next rebuttal bothered me. He was refuting my point about Obama reversing Bush torture policies. In Con's explanation, he seems to support the inhumane treatment of human beings. I apologize if I seem to be harsh in that statement, but I am just baffled at the fact that he supports this.
11. The next statement also bothered me. My opponent spoke of how it seems reasonable for women to be paid less in certain jobs. I see his reasoning, however I will not cease to support equal pay for women. This country is not free because of this, and Obama seems to be trying to give women the freedom they deserve. It is a noble move on his part and I respect him for it.
12. My opponent gave a quote and a few articles in order to refute this statement. These quotes and articles, however, do not explain his reasoning.
13. "Green energy is already failing Denmark." We are the United States of America, not Denmark. I fail to see how Denmark's leaders and government's ability to handle green energy pertains to that of the USA.
14. Looking at Con's articles on this point, it seems that the problems are not very problematic.
15. So... Does this mean Con does not support children being on their parent's health care while they have a chance to stabilize financially. It sounds like a great thing to me.
16. No, that is not the reasoning. You see, it is referring to cars polluting the air with carbon dioxide. If I had known that that was not obvious, I would have elaborated.
17. There is nothing unethical about stem cell research. Besides, my opponent supports Bush torture policies.
18. I think the Sudanese wished to rebel and Obama only helped them. I see no issue with it.
19. My opponent concedes credit card reform.
20. My opponent also concedes shifting military and diplomatic priorities to Asia.
21. Finally, my opponent concedes shifting fuel efficiency standards.

I believe I have proved my point greatly. I believe I have done a greater job when it comes to stating my arguments, for I have written more. I also believe I have done a greater job in refuting Con's arguments that he has, for I have also written more. Again, I apologize if I sounded harsh on the torture policies, but I am just baffled about it.
I have enjoyed this debate and wish to say one more thing: Vote Pro.

Debate Round No. 3
Posted by Teemo 6 years ago
See, I was correct.
Posted by Crescendo 6 years ago
This is my first debate as Crescendo, not taking into consideration the Account which I used to have.
Posted by jamccartney 6 years ago
This was a good debate. Crescendo, you did well for your first debate. When you have more experience, you will be a great debater. Again, great debate. I enjoyed it.
Posted by Crescendo 6 years ago
One of my opponent's arguments was extremely faulty in nature.
"That was in January 2008, when there were 115,977,000 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics" survey of businesses. Last month, the bureau announced Friday morning, there were 116,087,000. High fives all around."
Obama's stimulus package did not create over 100,000,000 new jobs.
Posted by Ragnar 6 years ago
Welcome to the site.
Posted by fazz 6 years ago
Vote Obama 2016!
Posted by Jevinigh 6 years ago
My plates full but I would take this on otherwise.
Posted by JRuiz000 6 years ago
Teemo plese stop saying nonsense things in every single question. worse of all I that I dont relly think you have something better to do.
Posted by Teemo 6 years ago
It is quite obvious what you are doing. You obviously have another account, and made a new one, pretending to be a noob. In doing so, you will end up pulling in other noobs, in order for you to automatically get wins.
1 votes has been placed for this debate.
Vote Placed by WilliamsP 6 years ago
Agreed with before the debate:-Vote Checkmark-0 points
Agreed with after the debate:-Vote Checkmark-0 points
Who had better conduct:--Vote Checkmark1 point
Had better spelling and grammar:-Vote Checkmark-1 point
Made more convincing arguments:-Vote Checkmark-3 points
Used the most reliable sources:-Vote Checkmark-2 points
Total points awarded:06 
Reasons for voting decision: 'Conduct' is tied. There were no forfeits and I feel that there were no offensive motions made. 'Spelling and grammar' goes to Pro due to the formatting, vocabulary, and spelling of his arguments. Con's arguments were generally weak. This leads into 'convincing arguments'. Pro, as I said, had a better format and wrote longer and more sophisticated arguments. Finally, 'reliable sources' goes to Pro due to him using a much more professional format. Con's sources were generally weak.
