We don’t normally publish the feedback from our Reader Surveys online, out of respect for the privacy of respondents (name and city are included in this section), but between the record amount or responses to our survey on President Obama and the passion with which our readers responded, we wanted to share them with our online readers.
We’ve included some of our favorite answers without any identifying information.
For Catholics, the greatest success of the Obama administration has been:
The passage of healthcare reform.
Fighting for extended unemployment benefits.
Getting out of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Including more minorities and women in cabinet positions.
A greater emphasis on providing for the needs of the poor.
Concern for the working class and trying to boost economic employment.
His leadership in international matters and helping bring about the demise of corrupt and tyrannical Mideast leaders.
The death of Osama Bin Laden.
Keeping the recession from becoming a depression.
National Security. He has kept the country safe. He has employed smart foreign policy and has not been reckless like the last president. The world respects us more today.
Ending don’t ask, don’t tell.
The most important issue for Catholics that the Obama administration has failed to appropriately address is:
Respect for all human life.
Helping the poor, homeless, and disabled.
The drastic rise in poor children and loss of services to all of our children. We have cut our investments in education, positioning ourselves to lose future jobs to other nations.
Military spending.
Education. Education for the 21st century is the key in helping to reduce poverty as a world problem. We need education for a global economy and learning how to listen to one another in our shrinking world.
Capital punishment.
The inequality of opportunity in the country.
Abortion and rights for medical workers conscience.
Making the tax code more beneficial to the vast majority of Americans.
Protecting human life from conception to natural death, and the continued protection of the Defense of Marriage Act.
Improving access to assistance for single moms to reduce the need for abortions.
The easy answer is to say “abortion,” but I actually believe Obama and the Democrats have, overall, failed to address the issue of subsidiarity. Health care reform, for example, ought to be dealt with at the state level, not the federal level.
Care for the poor, the widowed, the orphan–a great many of whom were made that way through war. Obama has not been strong enough to hack away at the military-industrial complex.
Economic justice–using the tax code to close loopholes, providing incentives for companies to pay a living wage, and reducing how rich the super-rich in our country are.
Immigration reform.
The massive accumulation of society’s wealth in the top 1% of the population.
All of them. He has not appropriately addressed any issues important to Catholics or any American since Day One of his Presidency.
Stopping the war in Afghanistan.
No matter who wins the next election, the top priority for the president should be:
Rebuilding national unity.
Finding a way to decrease the gap in income between the wealthiest and the poor.
Stopping the wars and reining in the military, so we can help build a better world and a better country.
Representing all the people, not just the wealthy and not just the poor.
Showing respect for all Americans, and an ability to work with both parties.
Creating jobs
Outlawing abortion.
To stop the outsourcing of American jobs.
Global warming
Looking out for those of us who live paycheck to paycheck.
National defense including securing the borders
Nuclear weapons, especially in North Korea and Iran.
To restore the government to one of the people, by the people and for the people by outlawing lobbying, corporate political funding, and revolving door relationships between government and industry.{C}
If I could choose anyone to be president, I would pick ________, because:
Barack Obama, because I think he has a truly American agenda.
Elizabeth Warren, because she is smart, courageous and has the best interests of the common good at the core of her political agenda.
FDR, because even his ghost could do a better job than the Republicans.
The pope! He would run our nation as God intended!
Jon Stewart, because he understands the plight of normal Americans and he isn’t afraid to ask the hard questions and make people think.
Solomon, because he sought wisdom for the common good rather than power for himself.
Allen West, because he has good morals and good character.
Dennis Kucinich, because he has a progressive vision and isn’t in the pocket of corporate money.
Can we clone Abraham Lincoln, Gandhi, or Roosevelt somehow?
Jim Wallis. He seems to have a good handle on justice issues, appreciates the ideological gap and its effects, and has been successful bringing various factions to the same table.
Pope Leo XIII because of his stand on social justice.
Sen. John Tester, because he pays attention to his constituents and tries to vote for the good of the people not his personal gain.
Sister Joan Chittister, because she is filled with wisdom, honestly, faith, and has a deep understanding of people.
My godmother Aunt Pat, because she knows the world and its history, because she is deeply religious, because she has devoted her life to unselfishly sharing her wisdom and values as a teacher and scholar, and because she doesn’t want the job!
Warren Buffet. Of those with public reputations the man has a strong sense of social reality.
Jesus, because there would be no hatred
Chris Christie. He is compassionate and firm but fair.
Marco Rubio, whose principles are aligned with Catholic teaching.
Colin Powell. He is an exceptional diplomat and leader with a direct approach to events and problems and with a proven record of success.
Bill Clinton, because those were the good old days!
Sen. Bernie Sanders, because he fights for the people.
Jon Huntsman, because he is the most intelligent, moderate, and level-headed of the Republican candidates.
Oprah, because she has the common good and the dignity of the individual in her mind.
Mitt Romney, because he has enough government experience to know the system but not be beholden to it and enough success in the business world to shake things up. And he has Mormon values that he stands up for.
A U.S. archbishop who will have the moral background and the administrative experience. Certainly no more pandering life-long politicians or corporate sell-outs.
Rev. Daniel Berrigan, SJ. He embodies Catholic social justice teaching.
Hillary Clinton, because even though her policy views do not align perfectly with mine, she understands the essential nature of underlying social justice regarding domestic issues, and has the skills needed to work the bureaucratic system to accomplish her goals.
Rick Santorum, as he would uphold the Judeo-Christian basis of our nation.
Russ Feingold, because he is a man of integrity who will not be bought.
Ron Paul, because he understands the Constitution and what a representative republic means.
Ray LaHood, because he has been a member of the Republican party, yet works for a Democratic president and could possibly get the Republicans to reach across the aisle.
Herman Cain. He is pro-life and he understands business policies.
Mike Huckabee, because I think he’d do a good job and it would be nice to have a decent Arkansan in the White House to make up for Clinton.
(Louisiana Governor) Bobby Jindal, because of his respect for life, marriage, and family, and for his ability to successfully run a state without overspending.
Lee Iaccoca, because he is a man of experience and principal and has proven himself over the years to be able to pull a situation out of crisis.
Father Robert Barron, because he would bring an articulate, orthodox and compassionate Catholic world view to the task.
Michele Bachman, because she is the ideal pro-life president, and a godly woman.
Condoleezza Rice. She has the ability to understand the actual needs of the American people, experience in international affairs, and exceptional leadership skills.
Bill Gates, because he seems to understand that God wants us to use what we have for helping all God’s children.
Father John Dear because he is humble and clearly supports causes of peace and justice for all humanity.
Rick Perry. He has a Texas mentality and will make the USA number one again.
If I were president for a day and could do anything by executive order, I would:
Simplify the tax code to be more equitable.
Make abortion illegal.
Remove the “Supreme Court justice for life” provision and find a way to curb the power of judges at all levels.
Initiate an infrastructure improvement and building projects similar to our projects to get out of the Great Depression.
Forgive all student loans.
Withdraw all troops from Afghanistan.
Sign an order to permit any person to marry civilly with appropriate responsibilities, benefits, and rights regardless of their personal relationship preferences.
Move most of the military budget to opening community centers for pre-teens and teens which would offer programs, gathering spaces, fun activities and just a place for them to hang out.
Make it impossible for corporations and many financial industry employees to circumvent the intention of the country’s tax policies.
Reinstate regulation of the media to break corporate monopolies and safeguard free speech.
Drastically change federal funding for food stamps and public schools to provide a solid foundation for everyone, and a more equitable school funding structure.
Stop the death penalty.
Reform our immigration laws and rules to make them more humane and realistic so that immigrants would have an opportunity to come and live and work here with documentation.
Introduce term limits for both houses of Congress to max out at two terms each.
Stop all foreign trade.
Permit undocumented, unaccompanied minors to rejoin their families.
Eliminate the EPA.
Stop federal funding for abortion and dramatically cut defense spending.
Stop unjust immigration policies. — Rev. Thomas P. Ivory, West Orange, N.J.
Provide amnesty for all the illegal immigrants here in our country for years and years who have worked hard and have been good people.
Repeal the Bush tax cuts.
Lower the salary of those in Congress and put limits on what they can raise for re-election.
This article is a web-only feature that accompanies Performance review: Readers rate the president’s record.
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