Obama Hasn't Brought Country Together

[Ron61]

Much of what he says is true but I don't agree with the grade that he gave himself. He is still relying on that "I inherited this mess to much to realize he has made it worse in many ways"

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100113/...JhbWFjb25jZWRl

Ron

[Tommy]

From the time he appeared on the national stage, Obama has never appeared to lack self confidence and that shows in his comments. ... But judging any politician by comparing his campaign promises to his actions is akin to judging a car salesman by comparing his sales pitch to how the car actually performs after the sale. What matters to them is how many cars were sold and whether the politician was elected. The sales pitch was only the means to an end, not the end itself. I remain astounded by the number of people who judge politicians by their words and promises rather than their actions.

[Bartruff1]

I give him a great deal of credit for trying....but the freeking conservatives are determined to destroy him....it is the 24/7/365 theme on talk radio and Faux.

[Ron61]

Tommy,

So far Obama is about the only one that I have heard give himself such a high grade. He can't really be graded on much as so far he hasn't done much. The bail out certainly hasn't helped jobs or anything else around here. In fact another of the oldest companies here just went out of business last week and the unemployment figures are bad. He may be trying, but his party has total control of the Govt.and so far nothing to show for it.

Ron

[FWB]

they have a wonderful deficit to show for it......oh and another pay raise for themselves.

[Juggernaut]

Originally Posted by Bartruff1

I give him a great deal of credit for trying....but the freeking conservatives are determined to destroy him....it is the 24/7/365 theme on talk radio and Faux.

Credit for "trying"????? Tell that to all the folks that are STILL unemployed. Tell that to the small business owners who have to close up shop. Doesn't mean much to them now does it. It's put or shut up time for BO.

I don't need some "talking head" on the radio to show me how his first year in office was a failure, I can think for myself and besides, I see it first hand.

Conservatives don't have to try to destroy him, he's destroying himself with these lunatic policies he & his liberal friends are pushing on America.

Of course, this is just my opinion, a far right "tea bagger" as we're called.

PS: I guess no freaking liberals ever tried to destroy Bush, now did they?

[Silverback51]

I remember when elections were held. People were elected and went to serve the people that elected them. Both parties worked together for the good of the people and the country.

What happened?

In my opinion politicians became more concerned about themselves, their party, and being re-elected than they did about the people. It became to much of a gravy train job. To me it's a sad statement.

[Gunner]

Originally Posted by Silverback51

What happened?

Richard Nixon (destroyed trust in the office) and Ronald Reagan (destroyed bipartisanship).

[Excaliber]

I guess no freaking liberals ever tried to destroy Bush, now did they?

Your almost right (at least your leaning extreme right ). The attacks on Obama from Conservatives are unprecedented compared to Bush, in fact compared to any sitting President.

For instance, here in this thread he get's all the blame for unemployment, hasn't done anything to change it. Now as President he has to accept the blame, that's how the game works. Reality check is this: No matter WHO was President right now the job picture wouldn't change. With McCain/Palin in office it would be even worse! No question he DID inherit the biggest financial screwup since the great depression. And JUST LIKE the great depression it was preceded by Republican power for at least two terms before the people said "enough". The similarities between Repub power and financial collapse are disturbing.

[Silverback51]

Thank you gentlemen for proving my point. We have become to polarized in our believes and it's always the other side that caused the problem.

[Excaliber]

Actually Obama has accomplished a lot in the first year. A couple of examples for you guys to scoff at, 'cause that's the way we play the game here.

Put the auto industry back on track, it has a much better chance of surviving now than it did if Obama had taken no action. Electronic medical record keeping is another little talked about "reform". This is a serious move toward to controlling medical costs rather than try to tax our way of a coming health crisis. His campaign was heavily dependant on technology communication. That has carried over into the White House and in many cases has given the country much greater access to the discussions, decision making policies and structure of the Government. Stimulus funds have been spent in ALL 50 states. Reckless spending say's the Tea Party folks (more like a whine than a saying) but it was a necessary evil to shore up a badly shaken economy (the one he INHERITED)! Invested in education through the tax benefit available to folks for college education. This is an important program as it recognizes the need for America to produce more scientists, engineers and the like. An area we are BEHIND when compared to other countries, like India! Recognizing the need to stabilize Pakistan (they have the bomb you know) AND getting foreign countries to contribute to it's stabilization. Notably Japan's financial support in that regard. Remember when Obama said "American is not at war with Islam". A very shrewd statement, to easily dismissed. He has done more than any other President to change the perception of America in the Muslim world for the better. Something we MUST DO if we ever expect to defeat Al Qaeda. Laugh if you want at his approach to reaching out to these people, but laugh at your own risk. Bush virtually destroyed any hope of dialog with these countries, we are making a come back in that regard.

We see what we want to see. As Bartuff1 said, were inundated with negative talk 24/7/365 and the right wingers can't get enough of the kool aid it spews out.

[VRM]

Originally Posted by Silverback51

Thank you gentlemen for proving my point. We have become to polarized in our believes and it's always the other side that caused the problem.

Yep, both sides always seems to think that their poo does not stink.

Steve

[Buzz]

Originally Posted by Silverback51

I remember when elections were held. People were elected and went to serve the people that elected them. Both parties worked together for the good of the people and the country.

What happened?

In my opinion politicians became more concerned about themselves, their party, and being re-elected than they did about the people. It became to much of a gravy train job. To me it's a sad statement.

You remember that??!!! How old are you Silverback?

[Gunner]

Originally Posted by Silverback51

We have become to polarized in our believes and it's always the other side that caused the problem.

The destruction of inherent trust in the office of the Presidency and the destruction of bipartisanship in Congress could lead to no other result.

To a certain extent, you have to trust your CO. He might be of the other party, he might be one or more sorts of idiot, but he's the guy the nation elected and is entitled to a certain radius of "hands off" and noninterference. If he screws up, unelect him next time. Nixon destroyed that trust and as a result we've had 35 years of unbelievable micro-management and armchair quarterbacking (always with a large contingent ready to shoot the QB), something no business CEO or military officer would stand for a second. It can only lead to dissatisfaction and poor judgment; how well do YOU drive when someone you can't tell to shut up is hectoring you with every turn of the wheel?

The loss of bipartisanship is more grievous. Since Reagan, who took his slim party majority as a sledgehammer, it's been an all-or-nothing battle. Any slim majority was enough to run roughshod over the other guys, damn the cost because Nyah Nyah We're In Control Now! What both parties have lost sight of is that neither one has had more than a very slight majority in Congress, ever. If one party has a whopping 60% majority... it means the other guys represent 40% of the nation. Ignoring that 40% means only that the current reigning party is going to take it in the @$$ when the balance tips the other way.

I don't think we'll ever regain the pre-Nixon trust of the office. But burying partisanship under a recognition that no party has represented more than about half the country at any time is a crucial goal.

[Ron61]

Ernie,

Electronic medical record keeping is another little talked about "reform".

That may not be such a great thing when you consider that twice in the past 3 years the medical records have been hacked and stolen from UC Berkley and USC. And then just this morning in the paper was an article where some fool that works for Kaiser had left a portable hard drive in his car with over 15,000 Californians medical records on it and someone had stolen it. They figure that every person who attended either of the colleges or ever had medical attention at either of their medical facilities now has their whole life history including how they paid for anything in the hands of people that could use it for identity theft.

Ron

[Excaliber]

Communication, data record keeping, electronic finance management, they are here to stay. We must be ever vigilant to guard and protect the data because this way of doing business is not going to change. Get on the train or get off left behind.

In the case of medical record keeping the benefits far out weigh the risk in terms of cost management.

[Bartruff1]

Originally Posted by Silverback51

Thank you gentlemen for proving my point. We have become to polarized in our believes and it's always the other side that caused the problem.

If you have a representative gov, you get what you deserve. The polarized partisan Congress represents the polarized partisan public . There is no dialog on any subject. There are facts and they can be found...BUT...no one gives a damn about the truth. It is all about talking points and spin like this forum. I think what might be new is that so many organizations and people profit from the political food fight and so anyone with a voice of reason is attacked as a traitor by his own party. Hell, maybe it was always this way, at least the Congressmen are not killing each other and the North isn't waging war against the South. Like Belichick says..." It is what it is "....and I should add...Bush was a moron and damn near destroyed the country with his wars, lack of governance , lack of regulation etc... and now " THE ONE WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR " is doing his best to save us and make the country and Constitution relavant again...kinda reminds me of the Big Block Small Block conversation...

[BeanCounter]

Uh, who's war is it now?


Obama Wants Record $708B for Wars

AP

Military officials have suggested that the 2011 request would top $700 billion for the first time, but the precise figure has not been made public.

[Excaliber]

So Bernie, where would you cut costs on the war front? No more aid to Yemen? Cut the number of forces in Afghan? Pull out NOW from Iraq? I don't see the costs coming down anytime soon, in fact, just the opposite. It's only a matter of time before we start sending funds to Somalia and who knows after that!

It's America's war. I say we pull out of the space program to fund it, that's one suggestion. I think finding water on Mars is a waste of money at a time when we can least afford it.

[Tommy]

Originally Posted by Silverback51

I remember when elections were held. People were elected and went to serve the people that elected them. Both parties worked together for the good of the people and the country.

What happened?.

I can't take credit for this answer to your question. It came from a talking head, but it made some sense to me. His answer is that for much of the 20th Century, the Democratic Party controlled Congress and Republicans held little hope of getting a majority. During that time (i.e., I remember when), Republicans routinely worked with the Democratic majority because it was the only way they could bring any bacon home to their constituents. But, in the latter parts of the century, growing Republican strength convinced them that they had a chance to take the the majority. With members of both parties convinced that they could win the majority, their actions became much more partisan as they strove to accentuate their philosophical differences before each election. It appears the strident partisan actions of people from both parties arise from their beliefs that it is the best way to get re-elected and take the majority in the next election. As the vast majority of politicians are more about getting elected than serving, it is likely to stay this way until something tragic moves their attention to something other than the next election.