President Obama News Thread

[barbaro]

I never believe in "blaming" one person (President) for the complicated economy, but here is a recent poll on the economy and GWB.

Blaming one person is way too over-simplified. So many factors involved.

Poll: Bush still blamed for economy
Posted: February 12th, 2010

From CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney

More Americans blame the Bush administration for the nation's economic troubles than the Obama administration, according to a new poll.

(CNN) - More than a year after President George W. Bush left office, more Americans continue to blame his administration over any other entity for the nation's economic woes, according to a new poll.

In a New York Times/CBS News survey out Friday, 31 percent of Americans said the Bush administration is at fault for the current state of the economy while only 7 percent pointed their finger at President Obama and his team.

An additional 23 percent said the fault lies with Wall Street institutions while 13 percent assign the blame to Congress. Nearly 10 percent said the blame lies with all of them.

CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time - Blogs from CNN.com

[robuzo]

From "The Mendacity of Hope" by Roger D. Hodge at Harper's:
The mendacity of hope?By Roger D. Hodge (Harper's Magazine)
Admirers of the president now embrace actions they once denounced as criminal, or rationalize and evade such questions, or attempt to explain away what cannot be excused. That Obama is in most respects better than George W. Bush, John McCain, Sarah Palin, or Joseph Stalin is beyond dispute and completely beside the point. Obama is judged not as a man but as a fable, a tale of moral uplift that redeems the sins of America’s shameful past. Even as many casual supporters begin to show their inevitable displeasure with his “job performance,” and his poll numbers decline, the character and motivations of the president remain above question. He is a good man. I trust him to do the right thing.

[Boon Mee]

The Field Hand in the White House - the Obamamessiah tripled the federal budget deficit last year. He will likely top that this year. Just yesterday he signed legislation that authorized the US government to increase the debt by $1.9 trillion. Today, the F.H. had the gall to lecture America on politicians who, “Talk the talk but won’t walk the walk on fiscal responsibility.”
Unfuckingreal...

[sabang]

I suppose Right wingers of the low brow (Field hand) variety will lap that stuff up booner, but everyone else knows it is a Lie- and this has been pointed out to you before.

Briefly (for the benefit of people that want to get to the facts)-
Fiscal year ends September 30th
Notice the January projection for the 2010 deficit by the CBO, above.
It was done then to reach a figure for the projected annual deficit before-
Obama was sworn in as President, Jan 20 2010.

So the January projection for the Federal deficit is what Bush left behind. What a mess. Any comparison of the actual Federal deficit will be compared to that figure. Trebled? No way. It was the Bush admin that did that.

If the 'potential revision' turns out to be true (and one would have good reason to doubt that, given booners choice of sources), then that would amount to a roughly 40% increase in the annual deficit from what dubya left behind.

[Jet Gorgon]

From "The Mendacity of Hope" by Roger D. Hodge at Harper's:
Even as many casual supporters begin to show their inevitable displeasure with his “job performance,” and his poll numbers decline, the character and motivations of the president remain above question. He is a good man. I trust him to do the right thing.

There's a sucker born every minute.

If the 'potential revision' turns out to be true (and one would have good reason to doubt that, given booners choice of sources), then that would amount to a roughly 40% increase in the annual deficit from what dubya left behind.

Gee, that's not much, is it?

[RPETER65]

Look at the weak economy, the high spending, the rising unemployment

We watched all those things during Bush's second term, and then watched the worlds financial system collapse in a heap.

the shift in intl perception

Yes, it was quite remarkable they way the USA, the worlds largest economic and military power, jumped more places than any country ever in international approval after Obama took over.

the growing probs with national security

Ain't seen any 911 yet, and Obama has trebled troop commitment to Afghanistan. Are the Republicans still holding up the appointment of senior officials for Homeland Security in the Senate?

the answer to most everything is to throw (taxpayers') money at it.

Considering Bush n co turned a comfortable and ongoing US government surplus into the worlds largest government deficit by far (and made the US the worlds most indebted nation in the process)- what exactly was he throwing taxpayers money at? Remind me- what did the taxpayers receive as benefit for that profligate splurge in government money being thrown around?

And how much did the deficit increase in Obamasiah's first year. Come on get all the facts on the table, and how about the millions of jobs he was going to create, When are you going to start focussing on the present and stop brining up the past.BTW why don't you give any credence to the demecratic majority congress for most of the loose govt. spending during Bushes last term. I am not much of a Bush fan but I do try to look at the whole picture before passing judjement. You however are so influenced by your hatred of the man that you just can't get beyond it, but I guess that's up to you your the one who will die with that hatred not me.

[raycarey]

the character and motivations of the president remain above question. He is a good man. I trust him to do the right thing.

i strongly believe that the majority of americans believe this....and it's a refreshing change to the justifiable cynicism that was palpable during the bush/cheney years---and lets' not forget that was just 13 months ago.

[raycarey]

Briefly (for the benefit of people that want to get to the facts)- Fiscal year ends September 30th Notice the January projection for the 2010 deficit by the CBO, above. It was done then to reach a figure for the projected annual deficit before- Obama was sworn in as President, Jan 20 2010.

So the January projection for the Federal deficit is what Bush left behind. What a mess. Any comparison of the actual Federal deficit will be compared to that figure. Trebled? No way. It was the Bush admin that did that.

If the 'potential revision' turns out to be true (and one would have good reason to doubt that, given booners choice of sources), then that would amount to a roughly 40% increase in the annual deficit from what dubya left behind.

the only question now is how long will it be before this disingenous information is posted yet again on this and other threads?

hell, i'd even wager that it becomes an OP.

[RPETER65]

the character and motivations of the president remain above question. He is a good man. I trust him to do the right thing.

i strongly believe that the majority of americans believe this....and it's a refreshing change to the justifiable cynicism that was palpable during the bush/cheney years---and lets' not forget that was just 13 months ago.

Not so sure the current polls agree nwith you, and it looks to be getting worse for him, I am predicting a GOP come back in the senate and house.

[panama hat]

And how much did the deficit increase in Obamasiah's first year.

You're 4right, of course. Everything was brought back to plus/minus zero upon swearing in . . . therefore, using your logic, everything from then on was simple misery, mismanagement and an utter catastrophe

You however are so influenced by your hatred of the man that you just can't get beyond it, but I guess that's up to you your the one who will die with that hatred not me.

Wow . . . have a toke . . .


Isn't it funny that Bush inherits a massive surplus and turns it into a massive debt . . . but all that is water under the bridge . . .

Obama inherits a massive deficit and it's all his . . . with these lovely monikers like Obamesiah and the like . . . little children calling names

[raycarey]

I am predicting a GOP come back in the senate and house.

stop the presses.....

the minority party is going to pick up seats in a mid-term election?

really?

thanks for the heads up. i don't think anyone else saw that coming.

or are you making a prediction that actually holds some significance....that the republicans will be the majority in either the house or the senate?

is that what you're predicting?

[barbaro]

If the GOP takes back the House and Senate, what will change, RPETERS?

IMO, nothing, really. We'll see in 9 months.

[RPETER65]

I am predicting a GOP come back in the senate and house.

stop the presses.....

the minority party is going to pick up seats in a mid-term election?

really?

thanks for the heads up. i don't think anyone else saw that coming.

or are you making a prediction that actually holds some significance....that the republicans will be the majority in either the house or the senate?

is that what you're predicting?

You don't follow the polls in the states who have senators and congress seats up for election or you don't think the polls are an indicator of possible changes.

[RPETER65]

If the GOP takes back the House and Senate, what will change, RPETERS?

IMO, nothing, really. We'll see in 9 months.

What wil change? The ability of a party of liberal progressives to ram unwanted laws down the throat of the American people.

[raycarey]

simple answer yes

the house, the senate...or both?

[RPETER65]

simple answer yes

the house, the senate...or both?

Eventually both

[Jesus Jones]

[Muadib]

Jay Rockefeller is doing as he has always done, which is to advocate for federal funds to bolster the economy of West Virginia...

The state's economy has been in the doldrums for decades with the decline of the coal industry... WV coal currently cannot be used for US consumption due to high sulfur content... Clean coal tech would minimize this problem...

Most coal mined in WV is shipped to China where emissions regulations are not imposed on coal-fired power plants...

[larvidchr]

It seems that Obama is a "Hawk" afterall, despite his peace and understanding messages during the election campaign, in fact he is murdering/killing more enemy's in targeted assassinations than his predecessor. I wonder if we will see his supporters call for him to be charged with murder

This from the Danish state tv net news today.-





Obama takes no prisoners
14. February 2010 11.55 Abroad

United States under President Barack Obama has adopted the Israeli tactic called "targeted killings" - reports the newspaper The Washington Post.

Israel has for years assasinated high-ranking opponents including Hamas terrorists with rocket attacks or bombings, and the U.S. are largely found doing it in the same way.

Bush started
It happened also during his predecessor, President George Bush, among other things ordered a rocket attack on six high-ranking al-Qaeda people, who drove in a car on a road in Yemen in 2002.

In June 2001, U.S. ambassador to Israel criticised the Israeli practices, and called it "killings outside the law".

- What we a few years ago criticized, we are now fully supportive of, says the lawyer Gary Solis, who until recently spearheaded the law-teaching at the U.S. Military Academy.

Obama's government gives much more often green light for this type of operations than the predecessor, writes the Washington Post.

A tally made by the New America Foundation shows that Obama in barely ten months approved as many drone attack in Pakistan, as Bush did in three years.

The use of rocket attacks from unmanned aircraft has become routine when it comes to the Taliban and al-Qaeda leaders who the U.S. has tracked to the tribal areas in Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan.


Obama authorized the first drone attack three days after the inauguration as president, and the tactics can be said to bear fruit. In August, Obama clearing a missile strike they got the head of Pakistan's Taliban - Baitullah Mehsud. In January the same fate came to his successor and cousin, Hakimullah Mehsud.

Drone attacks against targets in Pakistan is considered as a part of the war in Afghanistan, and therefore appear as a form of modern warfare - although more accurately be described as a targeted killing, or homicide.

It also takes place elsewhere, but with greater discretion.

According to The Washington Post U.S. special forces in September has eliminated a leader of al-Shabab militia in Somalia.

Three options had been considered - an air strike on his car - an attack by helicopter-borne special forces who could then check that the murder had been a success - or a capture.

The model chosen was nr. two, which has the beneficial side effect that one should not deal with prisoners - their treatment, their status, their detention, interrogation techniques and so on.

No prisoners
Prisoners is obviously a problem for Obama, who could not carry out the promise to close the Guantanamo camp within a year.

And it gives the Republican opposition in Congress an opportunity to criticize the president for failing to ensure prisoners can be heard:

- Faced with a choice between killing or capture, we will probably choose to kill, says Republican Senator Christopher Bond, senior opposition member of the Senate intelligence committee.

[Boon Mee]

- Faced with a choice between killing or capture, we will probably choose to kill, says Republican Senator Christopher Bond, senior opposition member of the Senate intelligence committee.

Well, the douchebag is wrong. We need these terrorists alive in order to extract plans for upcoming operations and killing 'em outright will most likely put everyone in more danger. The Obamamessiah screwed himself tho by attempting to close Gitmo - don't have a viable place to put the scum unless we open up U-Tapao again...

[Boon Mee]

^
Heh...yer a soft kunt there ph. H2O-boarding works so much faster...

[Humbert]

Flaying alive and gouging out eyeballs would work good too. That's what real merikans want.

[slackula]

H2O-boarding works so much faster..

According to you, but according to people who actually know about stuff it doesn't:

Waterboarding Doesn’t Work, Scientists Say | Wired Science | Wired.com

Or let's ask somebody from the GOP:

Manzullo On Waterboarding: "Apparently Doesn't Work," "More Torture Than Not" | Progress Illinois

Or finally an ex CIA guy:

CIA Man Retracts Claim on Waterboarding | Foreign Policy

"Now we know," Kiriakou goes on, "that Zubaydah was waterboarded eighty-three times in a single month, raising questions about how much useful information he actually supplied."

[Boon Mee]

Flaying alive and gouging out eyeballs would work good too. That's what real merikans want.

Actually, let's bring back the Knout!

Them Russkies did have a way with exacting information!

[Boon Mee]

H2O-boarding works so much faster..

According to you, but according to people who actually know about stuff it doesn't:

Waterboarding Doesn’t Work, Scientists Say | Wired Science | Wired.com

Or let's ask somebody from the GOP:

Manzullo On Waterboarding: "Apparently Doesn't Work," "More Torture Than Not" | Progress Illinois

Or finally an ex CIA guy:

CIA Man Retracts Claim on Waterboarding | Foreign Policy

"Now we know," Kiriakou goes on, "that Zubaydah was waterboarded eighty-three times in a single month, raising questions about how much useful information he actually supplied."

It worked with KSM so that's all that counts...