Obama: 6 month report card

[Beastolizer]

Wow, that is exactly how I feel. Once in a century will you really have that President that is HONESTLY doing all he can for the American people. Two of them that ring a bell within the last century were the Roosevelts. Both Teddy and FDR I think did great things for our country.

Fuck politicians.

I don't even care, seriously. McCain would have been just as bad. All politicians are douchebags, no matter what side of the aisle they are on.

[mrsleeve]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I urge you to go look at the 5 years prior to the Great Depression and then the 10 years following it, see if you find any similarities.

Are you implying that the stock market is an indicator of the overall health of the economy?

I believe he is ;)

[kishg]

Are you implying that the stock market is an indicator of the overall health of the economy?

in the long term yes. go look at historical cyclical trends.

[wildstoats]

doom and gloom.. the market disagrees with you..

Are you implying that the stock market is an indicator of the overall health of the economy?

[mrsleeve]

doom and gloom.. the market disagrees with you.. btw, dubya blew through the surplus and then some.. he didn't sit by the wayside, he oversaw the biggest govt expansion in the last 20 years. he is/was no fiscal conservative.

Never said he was, Never said W was blameless either.


How is it all doom and gloom? Unless shit shapes up faster than it went to shit then we will see some serious doom and gloom.

[Schnitzer318is]

6 months time is too soon to tell. NOTHING happens in Washington that fast. Yes he has passed or is working on passing a ton of legislation. It will still need time to either work or fail, six months is not enough time for that.

As for the stimulus package... EVERYONE wanted that. Dems and reps alike. Bush passed one, or two as well.

Unemployment will continue to rise... of course, we are still in a recession. Taxes will rise to pay for all the new legislation and the war(s). The people with higher taxes though are not the people losing their jobs... it's the lower middle class and below.

We HAVE to cut defense spending... we have NO more money. Yes they can print more, but as stated above it leaves great potential for ground shaking inflation.

The one thing I think he is doing terribly wrong right now is the health care plan. I wish he'd wait until we are semi back on our feet before diving into revamping the health care system/industry.

Oh and I wish he would have let GM FAIL!!! It's basic free market/capitalism. If your company doesn't earn profits over along time period, it fails. Same goes for a few of the banks that received bail out money. But if he did that everyone would be complaining that unemployment would be at 20% by now.

I hate to say it, but this country will fail... it's on borrowed time already (200 years for an average democracy). Our gov't (for the last 20 years, not just the current admin) is operating just like GM and the banks did. You can only go into debt so far before people realize you are a terrible risk. What happens when our debtors stop loaning us money? Or worse, want us to actually repay? *gasp*

[kishg]

We are in a calm before the shit storm economically man, right now we are still shedding jobs by the hundreds of thousands every month, We have people that are starting to fall off all the extended unemployment benefits and living on what little credit the have. When all th rest of the mass lay offs of the past 10 months fall off all the extended benefits we are gonna see a huge world of hurt as these people default on everything from their CC to the prime (good stable responsible) Mortgages its going to torpedo the markets like we have never seen. Just look at the patten of the great depression, The very bottom of the markets did not come till quite some time after 10/29/1929, just for these very reasons, but then rather than Unemployment they were living on what they have saved. Oh and yo can thank the Dems for the housing bubble than you Dodd and Frank, "W" didnt help matters at all by letting sitting by the way side and letting many of the constraints on nearly all industry become lax and literally give them tax breaks to ship jobs over seas .


I do agree with you 100% about a balance of power being best.

doom and gloom.. the market disagrees with you.. btw, dubya blew through the surplus and then some.. he didn't sit by the wayside, he oversaw the biggest govt expansion in the last 20 years. he is/was no fiscal conservative.

[Joey Link]

That may be true in Oregon but I'm in Texas buddy.

Ah, the state that gave us Ron Paul! Don't lose hope man, you can influence politics. A bunch of religious people holding bi-weekly meetings doesn't mean anything if they're not winning elections. There are a couple counties here like that. You think the majority of people are going to support them or you, who actually has a chance, if you round up a bunch of like minded individuals?

[TheEtaUnderdog]

I think that he is implying that Texas has alot more religous conservatives than Oregon does, although I'm not sure what impact that should have on his vote since it is for the entire USA, not just Texas.

exactly my point. his views of a party should not be limited to just immediately around him if he is using that as his basis for the entire population

[Alkasquawlik]

and this is about the entire USA?

I think that he is implying that Texas has alot more religous conservatives than Oregon does, although I'm not sure what impact that should have on his vote since it is for the entire USA, not just Texas.

[TheEtaUnderdog]

That may be true in Oregon but I'm in Texas buddy.

and this is about the entire USA?

[Turf1600]

If you're a true libertarian you'll find, like most libertarians the the GOP is far closer to your ideal than the Democrats. The religious right is actually a very small portion of the GOP, something like 20-30%, so you shouldn't discount the party because of that. Bush used them to get elected, and all of a sudden everyone thinks we're all a bunch of bible thumpers. I choose to work within the GOP to try and spread libertarian philosophy, and it works. The GOP knows that legislating morality is a losing game, and the party as a whole is getting younger and moving to a more 'live and let live' platform. You'll find more libertarians in the GOP than anywhere else, including the Libertarian party. We're co-opting the GOP, it's the only hope for them and us.

That may be true in Oregon but I'm in Texas buddy.

[Joey Link]

I didn't see this post. If you've read anything else that I've posted in here you'll know that I'm probably more against socialiazed healthcare than anyone on this board. It's a horrible idea. I voted for Obama because social freedoms are important to me. Like I said earlier - the right will hardly admit that non-believers like myself exist. I can't bring myself to vote for someone who is that opposed to my beliefs. Economically I pretty much disagree with everything Obama does. I never said I'd do it again if given the chance. I probably would write in Ron Paul if I did it again. I also never said I liked how things were going - just that it takes time to see the scope of the damage caused by actions. We won't really know anything until year 2.

What social freedoms has the GOP taken away in the past 20 years? What economic freedoms has the Democratic Party taken away in the past 20 years? That should be your answer. Economic issues are MUCH larger than social issues, even if social issues are your primary concern.

[Joey Link]

I'm never surprised. Obviously being a libertarian means neither sides appeal to me. The right is influenced by faith and tries to impose on our personal lives - the left may not have the best grasp on economics and supports big govt - which I generally dislike. Since I'm only really given two options I have to choose which of these two ideals I'm going to give up with my vote. I personally wanted to see more liberals in the supreme court because that's what matters most to me. It's also worth noting that I'm an atheist and I very much dislike faith based legislation. Obama has always spoken kindly towards non-believers and I appreciate that. The right won't admit they exist. I feel like my decision was most in line with my principles. You may disagree, but that's your right.

If you're a true libertarian you'll find, like most libertarians the the GOP is far closer to your ideal than the Democrats. The religious right is actually a very small portion of the GOP, something like 20-30%, so you shouldn't discount the party because of that. Bush used them to get elected, and all of a sudden everyone thinks we're all a bunch of bible thumpers. I choose to work within the GOP to try and spread libertarian philosophy, and it works. The GOP knows that legislating morality is a losing game, and the party as a whole is getting younger and moving to a more 'live and let live' platform. You'll find more libertarians in the GOP than anywhere else, including the Libertarian party. We're co-opting the GOP, it's the only hope for them and us.

[Turf1600]

Turf, I don't understand how you can be a libertarian and still vote for Obama. From an economic standpoint, he is as far from a libertarian as possible. The guy wants to expand the government to proportions I am definitely NOT comfortable with.

I don't understand how people can think universal healthcare is a good idea. Name one government program that runs efficiently. I can't. So why would this program be any different?

I didn't see this post. If you've read anything else that I've posted in here you'll know that I'm probably more against socialiazed healthcare than anyone on this board. It's a horrible idea. I voted for Obama because social freedoms are important to me. Like I said earlier - the right will hardly admit that non-believers like myself exist. I can't bring myself to vote for someone who is that opposed to my beliefs. Economically I pretty much disagree with everything Obama does. I never said I'd do it again if given the chance. I probably would write in Ron Paul if I did it again. I also never said I liked how things were going - just that it takes time to see the scope of the damage caused by actions. We won't really know anything until year 2.