NEOAVATARA

Just for laughs and giggles…here is a reposting of my predictions (abbreviated) from last year.  You can see the entire previous post here.  You can also see my 10 resolutions for Obama here.

1. Barack Obama will have the longest honeymoon of any U.S. President in recent history.

Nailed this one on the head.  Obama was over 60% well into his presidency…until he plummeted to earth late in the summer.

2.  Congress and Obama will fight early.

Wrong on this one…because Obama basically bowed to every will of Congress.

3.  Obama will be tested with a crisis in his first year.

The economic crisis continues to this day, as unemployment continues upward.  His stimulus now appears to be a failure.  Obama also confronted international crises in Iran and with Somali pirates…he did better with one than the other.

4. The Democrats will push too far.

Is there any question that I got this right?

5.  Republicans will find a new mantra…and maybe a new leader.

Nature abhors a vacuum…that is what I said a year ago.  And the vacuum was filled by the Tea Party movement, and the resurgence of the conservatives.  A new leader?  Well, still waiting.

6. Iraq and Afghanistan will make huge leaps of progress.

Iraq was won by Bush, in every respect.  Afghanistan actually got worse, and Obama dithered for months before he did what he always had to do there.

7. Pakistan will be the center of the world.

It remains the central focus of our foreign policy.  Obama, to his credit, is increasing drone attacks in the country.

8.  Russia will continue to become more belligerent.

Obama tried to ‘reset’ relations with Russia.  In turn, the Russians basically roadblocked every Obama attempt for reconciliation.  I was right on this one.

9. The economy will recover sooner than people think.

I predicted growth in 2010.  I still do.

10.  Random Thoughts:

• Conservative talking heads, led by Rush Limbaugh, will have a field day this year, to the lament of liberals. (Yup)
• Liberal newspaper giants like the New York Times will ask the government for a bailout. (Pretty close!)
• Online, addicted to facebook, realclearpolitics, RedState, Townhall, CNET, ESPN, AuntMinnie,Aintitcoolnews.
• Technologically, this is the year Blu-Ray Explodes.  Flat screen TVs are plummeting in price.  Internet speeds will increase, and we will begin to see pricing wars for Cable TV. (Yeah, again I think this one is accurate).
• I hope my beloved Michigan Wolverines recover from a disastrous 2008 football season.  (Not so much…)
• The Red Wings will repeat as Stanley Cup Champions.  The Tigers will play well, but still miss the playoffs.  The Pistons will lose in the Eastern conference finals.  And the Lions will exceed expectations, and win 2 games next year. (Wrong, right, very wrong, and about right…).
• Oklahoma will beat Florida for the BCS championship.  Pittsburgh Steelers will win the Super Bowl.  North Carolina will win the NCAA basketball championship.  Michigan will with the NCAA hockey championship  The Boston Celtics will repeat as NBA champions.  The Chicago Cubs will win the World Series.  (Very wrong, right, right, very wrong, very wrong, and very, very wrong…I should NOT bet on sports).

Overall, not too bad, especially politically.

Some other related topics:

• Obama predicted that once his stimulus plan is passed, it will save over 4 million jobs, greater than the 2.6 million jobs lost in 2008.  You can see a video of it here.
• My prediction of the self-destruction of Democrats…has come to full fruition.

My predictions for 2010 will be coming soon…