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Boon Mee · 18-03-2009, 09:26 PM

Check this out! Anyone can be President of the US, if you have one of these handy, dandy things:

Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen was just a few paragraphs into an address at a St. Patrick's Day celebration at the White House when he realized something sounded way too familiar. Turns out, he was repeating the speech President Barack Obama had just given...

But Cowen was 20 seconds into his second address when it dawned on him that he was giving word for word the speech that Obama had just read from the same teleprompter.

Even the Prime Minister of Ireland can be POTUS!

We are in such good hands with the all-encompassing state of Obama.
Is this guy an empty suit or what?!

Boon Mee · 24-04-2009, 12:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rubik101

Boon Mee, you really , hand on heart, believe that all the crap in the world can be laid at BO's door?

Be a good soldier rubik101 and join the Obama Youth Brigade!

YouTube - Obama Youth Brigade March in Formation

raycarey · 24-04-2009, 11:38 AM

what an amusing thread.

nearly every poll taken since obama took office shows that nearly 2/3 of americans support the president and his policies.

but hey, i hope the rabid republicans on this board enjoy the wilderness.....because they're showing no signs of finding their way out.

Boon Mee · 24-04-2009, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by raycarey

what an amusing thread.

nearly every poll taken since obama took office shows that nearly 2/3 of americans support the president and his policies.

but hey, i hope the rabid republicans on this board enjoy the wilderness.....because they're showing no signs of finding their way out.

Gotta link for those so-called 'statistics'?

rubik101 · 24-04-2009, 10:28 PM

Boon mee, being on the losing side always hurts. Get used to it. As of 12 April 2009, these are the numbers. 2/3 sits pretty well with me. You and Rush make a pair of twos.....he has a full house.
This an extract from The Times.

Now look at the independent vote. So far, independent disapproval of Obama has indeed gone up since January – but from such low levels to begin with (a mere 14% disapproved three months ago) – it would be premature to make that much of it. But when you look at broader numbers, you find that a whopping 70% of independents in the poll cited by Rove have confidence in Obama to address the deep problems the US faces. On the basic approval question, the Pew numbers give you 61% approval overall – with independents approving of Obama by 56% and Republicans by 29%. With independent support more than double the Republican support and closer to stratospheric Democratic backing, Obama has won the battle for the centre.
Now look at other impressive data. Large majorities believe that the economic crisis will take a long time to fix and are not impatient for results. Hispanic voters – the fast-est-growing demographic – give Obama a 73% approval rating; the under30s give him 75% approval.
In the poll of polls, Obama’s disapproval rate has actually dropped from the high thirties to the low thirties in just the past month. What’s striking is that as Republican hostility has soared, the rest of the country has actually warmed to the new president. When Obama took office, only 26% of Americans believed their country was on the right track. That number is now 40% and rising steadily. In January 23% approved of Congress; now 35% do. Obama’s personal favourable ratings are now higher than when he won the election.

Jet Gorgon · 25-04-2009, 12:36 AM

^ 70% is for the % of "independents" there, rub.

Rasmussen polls: total approval of BO: 55%, down from 61% in Jan. 36% of the nation's voters now Strongly Approve of BO's performance; 31% Strongly Disapprove.

Also of note, 58% believe the Obama administration’s recent release of CIA memos about the harsh interrogation methods used on terrorism suspects endangers the national security of the United States.

No sh*t; at least most of the people are thinking straight on that one.

Rasmussen Reports™: The Most Comprehensive Public Opinion Data Anywhere

raycarey · 26-04-2009, 02:43 PM

according to the most recent washington post poll, 69% of americans approve of obama's job performance.

and since some here have repeatedly displayed little or no knowledge of the american political process, here's a very simple summary: 1/3 gives you no shot at setting the agenda, and therefore, no relevance.

Quote:

Obama's overall rating remains high, with 69 percent of Americans approving of his job performance. He gets solid marks for his handling of the economy, maintaining a better-than-2-to-1 advantage over congressional Republicans on the issue. Majorities said that Obama has exceeded their expectations in his first three months in office, has accomplished big things and has kept his main campaign promises. Further, public optimism about the economy and the country's direction also remain on the rise since his election, even as few think his major economic initiatives have moved the needle on the nation's flagging economy, their communities or their finances.

Two-thirds of those polled approve of how Obama is handling international affairs in general, up slightly from last month, just before he embarked on his first European trip. Majorities of Americans also approve of how he is handling health care, global warming, taxes and Cuba, four areas in which the administration has tried to stake new ground in its first few months.

Obama off to solid start, Post poll finds - Washington Post- msnbc.com

oh yeah....btw, whatever happened to texas seceeding?
and those teabaggers, whatever happened to them?

good times.

Boon Mee · 27-04-2009, 12:41 AM

The only 100 day retrospective you need to understand:

The NYPost commemorates Barack Obama’s milestone with 100 days, 100 mistakes.

Seems like it has been a hell of a lot longer than 100 days, doesn't it?

sabang · 27-04-2009, 04:24 AM

Ah yes, the venerable NY post.

Right wing blogs are more amusing, but no less predictable.

Jet Gorgon · 27-04-2009, 07:22 AM

^ Nothing in that list that is an untruth.

rubik101 · 27-04-2009, 11:36 AM

Mr Obama's 63 per cent job approval rating at this stage in his first term beats his predecessors George W Bush, at 56 per cent in 2001, Bill Clinton on 55 per cent in 1993 and George Bush Snr on 58 per cent in 1989, according to the US pollsters Pew.

You are a bunch of sore Republican losers.

raycarey · 27-04-2009, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rubik101

You are a bunch of sore Republican losers.

so much so that after a mere three months out of power, some of them are talking about seceding.

Jet Gorgon · 27-04-2009, 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rubik101

Mr Obama's 63 per cent job approval rating at this stage in his first term beats his predecessors George W Bush, at 56 per cent in 2001, Bill Clinton on 55 per cent in 1993 and George Bush Snr on 58 per cent in 1989, according to the US pollsters Pew.

You are a bunch of sore Republican losers.

You forgot Reagan. 67% to my recollection.

Anyway, they are all in the same 55-67% bandwidth, so bambam's pct is a pretty sorrya** showing for this soooo popular prez.

Dug · 27-04-2009, 02:08 PM

Looks like the honeymoon's winding down.

Quote:

Barack Obama's audacity of hype crumbles

As he approaches 100 days in office, the President faces a grim reality check. Paul Mason reports from America's economic front line.

Buddleia has taken over large parts of downtown Gary, Indiana. The city, once home to 300,000 people, is down to just a third of that. There are mile after mile of deserted, derelict and abandoned homes; sub-zero winds blow in off Lake Michigan.
"Gary, Indiana is like an eagle poised to fly," mayor Rudy Clay tells me, "All we need is the air of the fiscal stimulus beneath our wings and we'll soar once again and make America proud."

The mayor has applied for $400 million out of Barack Obama's $787 billion fiscal stimulus plan. Top of his wish list are automatic weapons and Kevlar vests for the police, and some more police to tote them: last year, in this, the crime capital of the Midwest, he had to lay off police officers due to shortage of funds.
The city symbolises the scale of the economic challenge facing Obama as he approaches 100 days in office. If the president is to deliver something more than the "audacity of hype", homes will have to be built in Gary, health care delivered, and a way found for its inhabitants to live on something more than benefits and debt. But much of America is in revolt against what needs to happen for this to be achieved. And Obama's own momentum on the economic front looks weak.
There are three levers the federal government can pull in the face of this crisis: monetary easing, fiscal stimulus and bank recapitalisation. Obama has used all three but so far ineffectively. In each case, he has run into obstacles rooted deep in the US institutional set-up, indeed deep in the country's psyche.
On monetary policy, Obama has remained a bystander to the efforts of Ben Bernanke at the Federal Reserve. Having reached close to zero interest rates in December, Bernanke announced the Fed would print money in an attempt to bring down real interest rates. Then he travelled to the London School of Economics to tell the world to reject the classic policy of "quantitative easing": the Fed would buy private-sector debts, not government bonds. Finally, on March 18, after a fractious argument within the Fed, he relented, adopting the classic form of the tactic on a massive scale. During this 90-day gap between thought and decisive action more than 1.5 million Americans lost their jobs.
Monetary easing is beginning to work, but it ran into the two obstacles that seem to plague the Obama administration: inertia and free-market dogma.
With the bank bail-out, momentum had already been lost because of the presidential transition. Henry Paulson abandoned his original policy of buying up toxic debts on Nov 25. Tim Geithner, his replacement, finally came up with a new plan on March 23. Known as the Public-Private Investment Programme P-PIP), it will buy up the bad debts at a generous 85 cents per dollar, allowing the very banks that are being bailed out to participate in the purchase. It provides a massive hidden subsidy from the taxpayer to the banks, say its critics. And, so far, it has not worked.
The P-PIP draws scathing daily commentary on the US news channels. At the IMF's spring meetings the weekend, the fund's boss, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, placed heavy pressure on Obama to get his act together on the toxic debts. As with Paulson's original TARP plan, what stands in the way of credibility is the principle of avoiding nationalisation – even in part – and the determination to resolve the crisis on terms favourable to the banks.
If there is a pattern emerging here it is not incompetence but, say Obama's critics, "capture". Both Bernanke and Geithner stood at the heart of the Bush policy elite during the days of dither and denial that followed the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Obama, lacking credible economic heavyweights in his own circle, was obliged to reach into the ranks of Clinton-era Democrats. The irony of Larry Summers' appointment as chief economic adviser was not lost on historians of the credit crunch: Summers had hailed the 1999 law that deregulated Wall Street as "a major step toward the 21st century".
Obama is surrounded by decision-makers who had "drunk the Kool Aid" during the subprime bubble and were profoundly committed to the neoliberal ideology of self-regulation that has now fallen apart. Only the fiscal stimulus truly bears Obama's chosen brand values of audacity and untaintedness. But this, too, is proving heavily problematic.
In January, two Left-leaning members of Obama's transition team laid out radical objectives for the stimulus plan. It would "create or save" between three and four million jobs by the end of 2010 and boost GDP by 3.7 per cent. It would be delivered not primarily through tax cuts but by public spending. And, though construction and energy would account for a quarter of the job creation, more than a million extra health, education and social care jobs would be created, together with 800,000 public sector jobs saved at state level.
The implication was clear: the whole shape of America would begin to change. The stimulus would achieve the administration's social objectives as well as a raw macroeconomic boost. But this has now run up against reality.
In the first place, the mechanisms for turning public money into private-sector jobs are as crumbly as the concrete that holds up America's freeways. There are myriad agencies to go through, many of which are having trouble spending the money. I toured the Midwest with a list of the number of jobs to be created, district by district, issued by the federal government. It was based on demographics but seemed to bear no relationship to the job-creation plans of local-level governments.
Then there are the politics. For a city such as Gary, redistribution is only possible if the state-level government plays ball. "The only obstacle in the way," says Rudy Clay, "is the mindset of the folks who have the decision to make it happen". This is code for Indiana's Republican governor. Privately, city officials believe they'll be lucky to get half the cash they asked for.
Allocating the cash, however, is only half the story. Two hours down the road from Gary, in the town of Elkhart, you get to the root of the problem. At 19 per cent, it suffers the highest unemployment in America, because the "recreational vehicle" industry centred in the town has collapsed. I found a group of unemployed RV workers busy constructing a timber-frame housing complex for homeless families. The fiscal stimulus in action?
Well, no – this is a voluntary project run by a local church. And though the men have had their benefits increased and their health care plans subsidised by stimulus money, they are unanimous in their scorn for the policy itself. "We don't want unemployment benefits, we just want to work," they say.
Last week, Republican campaigners against the stimulus held "tax tea parties". But opposition to the stimulus goes much wider than this. It is visceral, widespread and real. Elkhart's Republican congressman Mark Souder sums up the objection: "Historically, our model has a bit more of a boom-bust element to it, but every time we've had these busts we came roaring out. If we change to become more like Europe, sure we'll stabilise. But we'll never be the growth engine and the protector of the world again."
As Obama's 100th day approaches, the dangers looming on the economic front are clear: neither on monetary, fiscal nor banking policy is there a tangibly successful programme in place. Meanwhile, the economic pain is getting worse, encouraging his opponents to chip away at his credibility.
The bank bail-out will transfer large amounts of taxpayers' money to the bankers, while at least some of the
fiscal stimulus money will be redistributed to the poor and to the welfare system. Middle America, already mad at both policies at the gut level of economic principles, will get even madder if they don't work

Barack Obama's audacity of hype crumbles - Telegraph

Jet Gorgon · 27-04-2009, 03:09 PM

Watched all the libbie Sunday "news" shows today and it's a libbie world sewn up tighter than a chick's door with the added spice of infibulation.

Milkman · 27-04-2009, 04:10 PM

^^ Dug,

The US economy has been on this road of decline for more than 20 years. As Larry Summers publicly stated today on Bloomberg, he believes that unmployment will hit 10% and be high throughout the entire year of 2010. Economic growth will be flat.

Americans have been over-borrowing for years, and it's time for them to pay the price.

Jet Gorgon · 28-04-2009, 06:00 AM

^ Yep, them low-income folks have been really stupid. But BO will rescue them and leave everyone else to die. 555555

Boon Mee · 23-10-2009, 05:36 AM

So how's that hopey changie working out for you, eh?

Gallup: First-year quarterly drop in Obama’s approval rating one of the biggest in decades.

“In fact, the 9-point drop in the most recent quarter is the largest Gallup has ever measured for an elected president between the second and third quarters of his term, dating back to 1953.”

DaffyDuck · 23-10-2009, 07:18 AM

Oh, look - a thread of frightened conservative bitter losers. How original.

Capp · 23-10-2009, 07:37 AM

No new pointless wars so far. I can't say it's all bad.

18-03-2009, 09:26 PM	#121 (permalink)
Boon Mee Thailand Travel Forum Last Online: Today 10:19 PM Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 13,536	Check this out! Anyone can be President of the US, if you have one of these handy, dandy things: Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen was just a few paragraphs into an address at a St. Patrick's Day celebration at the White House when he realized something sounded way too familiar. Turns out, he was repeating the speech President Barack Obama had just given... But Cowen was 20 seconds into his second address when it dawned on him that he was giving word for word the speech that Obama had just read from the same teleprompter. Even the Prime Minister of Ireland can be POTUS! We are in such good hands with the all-encompassing state of Obama. Is this guy an empty suit or what?! __________________ ผมเป็นคนบ้านนอก

27-04-2009, 11:36 AM	#131 (permalink)
rubik101 Angthong Last Online: 30-11-2009 04:49 PM Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Bangsean Chonburi, not as above! Posts: 41	So any other poll is rubbish eh? Mr Obama's 63 per cent job approval rating at this stage in his first term beats his predecessors George W Bush, at 56 per cent in 2001, Bill Clinton on 55 per cent in 1993 and George Bush Snr on 58 per cent in 1989, according to the US pollsters Pew. You are a bunch of sore Republican losers.

27-04-2009, 04:10 PM	#136 (permalink)
Milkman Gone Off Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: shelf Posts: 16,405	^^ Dug, The US economy has been on this road of decline for more than 20 years. As Larry Summers publicly stated today on Bloomberg, he believes that unmployment will hit 10% and be high throughout the entire year of 2010. Economic growth will be flat. Americans have been over-borrowing for years, and it's time for them to pay the price. __________________ *Military men are dumb, stupid animals, to be used as pawns for foreign policy* *– Henry Kissinger (January-February 2003 edition of Eagle Newsletter)* To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. *To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.*

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24-04-2009, 11:38 AM	#123 (permalink)
raycarey Thailand Travel Forum Last Online: Today 10:12 PM Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: deleting posts in issues Posts: 6,950	what an amusing thread. nearly every poll taken since obama took office shows that nearly 2/3 of americans support the president and his policies. but hey, i hope the rabid republicans on this board enjoy the wilderness.....because they're showing no signs of finding their way out.

24-04-2009, 10:28 PM	#125 (permalink)
rubik101 Angthong Last Online: 30-11-2009 04:49 PM Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Bangsean Chonburi, not as above! Posts: 41	Boon mee, being on the losing side always hurts. Get used to it. As of 12 April 2009, these are the numbers. 2/3 sits pretty well with me. You and Rush make a pair of twos.....he has a full house. This an extract from The Times. Now look at the independent vote. So far, independent disapproval of Obama has indeed gone up since January – but from such low levels to begin with (a mere 14% disapproved three months ago) – it would be premature to make that much of it. But when you look at broader numbers, you find that a whopping 70% of independents in the poll cited by Rove have confidence in Obama to address the deep problems the US faces. On the basic approval question, the Pew numbers give you 61% approval overall – with independents approving of Obama by 56% and Republicans by 29%. With independent support more than double the Republican support and closer to stratospheric Democratic backing, Obama has won the battle for the centre. Now look at other impressive data. Large majorities believe that the economic crisis will take a long time to fix and are not impatient for results. Hispanic voters – the fast-est-growing demographic – give Obama a 73% approval rating; the under30s give him 75% approval. In the poll of polls, Obama’s disapproval rate has actually dropped from the high thirties to the low thirties in just the past month. What’s striking is that as Republican hostility has soared, the rest of the country has actually warmed to the new president. When Obama took office, only 26% of Americans believed their country was on the right track. That number is now 40% and rising steadily. In January 23% approved of Congress; now 35% do. Obama’s personal favourable ratings are now higher than when he won the election.

25-04-2009, 12:36 AM	#126 (permalink)
Jet Gorgon Take No Prisoners Barbie Last Online: Today 04:08 PM Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Near Libbies Posts: 13,039	^ 70% is for the % of "independents" there, rub. Rasmussen polls: total approval of BO: 55%, down from 61% in Jan. 36% of the nation's voters now Strongly Approve of BO's performance; 31% Strongly Disapprove. Also of note, 58% believe the Obama administration’s recent release of CIA memos about the harsh interrogation methods used on terrorism suspects endangers the national security of the United States. No sh*t; at least most of the people are thinking straight on that one. Rasmussen Reports™: The Most Comprehensive Public Opinion Data Anywhere

27-04-2009, 12:41 AM	#128 (permalink)
Boon Mee Thailand Travel Forum Last Online: Today 10:19 PM Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 13,536	The only 100 day retrospective you need to understand: The NYPost commemorates Barack Obama’s milestone with 100 days, 100 mistakes. Seems like it has been a hell of a lot longer than 100 days, doesn't it?

27-04-2009, 04:24 AM	#129 (permalink)
sabang Go ask Alice Last Online: Today 09:57 PM Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: where the streets have no name Posts: 12,383	Ah yes, the venerable NY post. Right wing blogs are more amusing, but no less predictable.

27-04-2009, 07:22 AM	#130 (permalink)
Jet Gorgon Take No Prisoners Barbie Last Online: Today 04:08 PM Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Near Libbies Posts: 13,039	^ Nothing in that list that is an untruth.

27-04-2009, 03:09 PM	#135 (permalink)
Jet Gorgon Take No Prisoners Barbie Last Online: Today 04:08 PM Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Near Libbies Posts: 13,039	Watched all the libbie Sunday "news" shows today and it's a libbie world sewn up tighter than a chick's door with the added spice of infibulation.

28-04-2009, 06:00 AM	#137 (permalink)
Jet Gorgon Take No Prisoners Barbie Last Online: Today 04:08 PM Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Near Libbies Posts: 13,039	^ Yep, them low-income folks have been really stupid. But BO will rescue them and leave everyone else to die. 555555

23-10-2009, 05:36 AM	#138 (permalink)
Boon Mee Thailand Travel Forum Last Online: Today 10:19 PM Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 13,536	So how's that hopey changie working out for you, eh? Gallup: First-year quarterly drop in Obama’s approval rating one of the biggest in decades. “In fact, the 9-point drop in the most recent quarter is the largest Gallup has ever measured for an elected president between the second and third quarters of his term, dating back to 1953.”

23-10-2009, 07:18 AM	#139 (permalink)
DaffyDuck Fluff & Fold Last Online: Today 03:22 PM Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 2,923	Oh, look - a thread of frightened conservative bitter losers. How original.

23-10-2009, 07:37 AM	#140 (permalink)
Capp Chiang Mai Last Online: 23-01-2010 12:52 PM Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: North coast of California Posts: 11	No new pointless wars so far. I can't say it's all bad.

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