I don't

Post #344,652 by jay 7/8/11 11:38:27 AM Reply	I don't It is true the Obama is not an all powerful ruler. However, his negotiating tactic with the Republicans has too often enabled them to get more then they should. Both in terms of publicity and in terms of the deal. The only issue he has pushed on is DADT, and that is the one the Republicans where willing to cave on anyway. Even there, he didn't push to actually stop enforcing it. When Obama was elected the Republican party was in disarray and directionless, motivated to oppose everything Obama did because they had no ideas of their own. Rather then call them on it or push hard, he has worked to help the Republicans by embracing their rhetoric and negotiating out of strong positions into weak ones. Obama doesn't seem to realize that at some point it would be better to put forth a good proposal and let it fail then negotiate into a bad one. Far too often the Democrats have patted themselves on the back for negotiating into a bill that moves things one step to the left, while ignoring that Bush Jr pushed things three and four steps to the right. Jay
Post #344,653 by Another Scott 7/8/11 12:05:21 PM Reply	Hmmm. Let's review: http://whatthefuckhasobamadonesofar.com/ ;-) He's not just Republican Lite. W had things easy because he had a Congress that was willing to roll over for him. Obama doesn't. That's not Obama's fault. This is far from over. Let's see what's actually in the proposals before saying that the Teabaggers have won again. My $0.02. Cheers, Scott.
Post #344,661 by hnick 7/8/11 6:11:13 PM Reply	You are correct. He's not republican lite. He is hard core republican. From your site, let us see... HCR: children up to 26. So? They still pay the insurance companies. Possibly with a premium. It wasn't regulated. Tax cuts for small business: Yeah. Including no controls on the mega-corps. Underwhelming. Tax credits to help pay for health insurance: Considering what the insurance companies did to rates when this passed, it's nothing. My insurance went up from 1200 to 1400 a month and now its only a little better than catastrophic. Underwhelming doesn't cover this. Require insurance companies to disclose how much of the premium goes to medical care: Nice of them? Or just rubbing salt in the wounds? Added 4B to the VA: Good of him. He is also abetting in the addition of tens of thousands of new patients who are fucked for life. Chicken feed. Lifted Cuban restrictions: So? It cost him what? Some twaddle about student loans: Didn't mention canceling grants or cutting school funding. Increased funding for national parks: So the drilling crews can get their rigs in easier? To the ones they're not selling? Expanded Pell grants: Must have been for them before he was against them. Stimulus funding for private sector spaceflight: The military/spooks still need to service their spy sats. Appointed nations first TCO: The caption is "Big fucking deal. What else?" I agree. Another financial reform bill that apparently does nothing: He phrased it differently. Unimpressive. Increased fuel efficiency to about what my Civic gets to start when he's (well) out of office. Parenthetically, he starts a lot of shit after it won't harm him in the elections. Provides travel expenses to families of newly uselessly dead soldiers to pick up the bodies: Nice of him. He could just get their asses out of there, save a stack of money that could be used elsewhere, and not have to pay the travel expenses in the first place. Media coverage at Dover AFB: So what? cost him nothing. The list goes on with pointless bullshit that is either misrepresented or cost him nothing. He has stood up for NOTHING. Useless as tits on an oyster. He's a hardcore republican. He's using their talking points like they were his own. Maybe it's Stockholm Syndrome, or maybe he got too close to a pod or Boehner or something, but he's solidly one of theirs.
Post #344,741 by mmoffitt 7/12/11 2:57:21 PM Reply	Exactly. Now, at least, I hope EVERYONE understands what I meant in 2008 when I said it didn't matter if Obama or McCain won the election because neo-fascism was the real winner. Candidate Obama said the way to "fix Social Security" (Note: already a concession, SS is not broken) was to raise the cap. Welp, how about we eliminate it? How long does that make it solvent for? Anyone hear him saying anything like that now? Of course not. "But mommy, the Republicans won't let me raise taxes on millionaires." And Scott's handwaving defense is a little weak, too, given what Obama had in the House and Senate when he took office. 2 years and bumpkis. He is what I've always said (and what you've said) he was, YAN tool of mega-corps are us.
Post #344,750 by Another Scott 7/12/11 8:30:14 PM Reply	We'll see. But you seem to have forgotten the things McCain was saying in the run-up to the election. "We are all Georgians", from August 14, 2008 - http://online.wsj.co...081398238807.html McCain Suspended his Campaign - http://www.boston.co...ain_suspendi.html McCain Doesn't Know How Many Houses He Owns - http://www.politico....s/0808/12685.html McCain Selects Palin for VP - http://www.nytimes.c...itics/30veep.html But they differ on a number of policies. Ms. Palin opposed Mr. McCain on one of the most prominent Alaskan issues: She supports drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and Mr. McCain opposes it, much to the consternation of some Republicans. Mr. McCainÂs environmental policy accepts that global warming is driven by pollution; Ms. Palin has said she is not convinced. A spokeswoman for Ms. Palin, Maria Comella, said, ÂGovernor Palin not only stands with John McCain in his belief that global warming is a critical issue that must be addressed, but she has been a leader in addressing climate change.Â Heh. McCain doesn't understand polls about DADT and threatened to prevent the START treaty being renewed because he's a cranky old man - http://www.politicsd...of-the-us-senate/ And it gets worse. On Monday, the Huffington Post reported that early last week, McCain and Graham had tried to cut a deal with the White House: they offered to deliver enough GOP votes to ratify the START treaty, if Obama and the Democrats would sideline any vote on DADT. The White House said no, thanks. But this was a cynical maneuver on the senators' part: if you don't give us what we want (no DADT repeal), we won't give you something you want (START ratification). Forget about the merits of the treaty. McCain and Graham, who fashion themselves serious students of national security, were engaged in playground politics concerning a nuclear arms treaty. They were willing to vote for it -- only if the White House would appease them. The substance didn't matter. When McCain and Graham didn't get their way, Graham groused he was too overwhelmed to deal with the treaty, and McCain tried to kill the agreement by offering an amendment that would force the United States and Russia to renegotiate the pact. The Senate rejected his amendment on Saturday. Which probably irritated the hell out of him. On Monday, Brent Scowcroft, who was national security adviser for President George H.W. Bush and who supports START ratification, accused McCain of assailing the treaty because of his anger over the repeal of DADT: "To play politics with what is in the fundamental national interest is pretty scary stuff." I look forward to McCain yelling at Scowcroft to get off his lawn. That's about the size of it. McCain is a blowhard who only cares about himself. He will do anything for attention. He has shown again and again that he will call black white if he thinks there's political advantage - e.g. on waterboarding - http://thinkprogress...ain-torture-veto/ Oh, and who can forget his pontificating on Libya this year - http://www.salon.com...john_mccain_libya As bad as things are in many respects, it would have been much worse under McCain. Obama is not a tool of the MOTU. http://www.businessi...ates-obama-2010-1 ÂPretty much everyone hates Obama,Â a senior trader at a major Wall Street firm told us. "He's never been popular but this is a whole new level," he said. Finally, review http://whatthefuckhasobamadonesofar.com You have a strange definition of "bumpkis". ;-) FWIW. Cheers, Scott.
Post #344,906 by mmoffitt 7/18/11 3:45:05 PM Reply	Didn't need to look past page one. Signed Financial Reform Law establishing a Consumer Protection Bureau to look out for the interests of everyday Americans Seriously? You have a strange definition of "Reform". ;0)
Post #344,910 by Another Scott 7/18/11 4:52:00 PM Reply	:-) It's a first step, and a pretty good one, considering..
Post #344,917 by lincoln 7/18/11 6:50:47 PM Reply	Too bad RepubliCANTS are scared of Elizabeth Warren she would have actually done the job as intended: try to hold TBTF banks accountable and protect the interests of consumers. So naturally all of the RepubliCANTS said that there's no way they'd approve of her running the new commission. And word on the Internet is that her nominated replacement will face pretty much the same obstructionism. "Chicago to my mind was the only place to be. ... I above all liked the city because it was filled with people all a-bustle, and the clatter of hooves and carriages, and with delivery wagons and drays and peddlers and the boom and clank of freight trains. And when those black clouds came sailing in from the west, pouring thunderstorms upon us so that you couldn't hear the cries or curses of humankind, I liked that best of all. Chicago could stand up to the worst God had to offer. I understood why it was built--a place for trade, of course, with railroads and ships and so on, but mostly to give all of us a magnitude of defiance that is not provided by one house on the plains. And the plains is where those storms come from." -- E.L. Doctorow
Post #344,656 by S1mon_Jester 7/8/11 1:44:49 PM Reply	I think Obama may be shooting himself in the foot this time Republicans weren't asking for SS and Medicare cuts...Obama brought that up. He's now suggesting 4 trillion in cuts. If it's one-up's-man-ship...I give him credit. But I fear it's not. Obama could finish pushing DADT through. He's sitting on it. He could've pushed for some other deals rather that let Republicans walk over him. Hell, Gitmo is still open and we have troops in Afganistan and Iraq. He could do all of this on his own today. He just has to give the word. SS and Medicare are 3rd rails. If Obama rolls over on this...and gives up SS, Medicare and no new taxes and 2+ trillion on debt; he'll have brought nothing home. And I'll bet he'll be a one-term president.
Post #344,665 by Another Scott 7/8/11 8:45:51 PM Reply	We'll see. Republicans weren't asking for SS and Medicare cuts...Obama brought that up. Recall that the Ryan budget has huge Medicare cuts. It passed the House and had most of the Republican senators voted for it. http://thehill.com/h...-budget-medicare- You know they still want to privatize Social Security, and bills are waiting in the wings. Obama said everything had to be on the table to talk about. That doesn't mean that he will agree to cuts in benefits. Obama could finish pushing DADT through. He's sitting on it. Eh? DADT is a done deal. Even before the court ruling yesterday which effectively ended it, it was all over except for the shouting. All that remained was a report. http://www.navytimes...t-ruling-070811w/ Hell, Gitmo is still open and we have troops in Afganistan and Iraq. He could do all of this on his own today. He just has to give the word. Eh? He tried to close Gitmo. Congress threw a hissy fit and said, "No way!". They've even said he can't transfer people for civilian trials. http://www.bbc.co.uk...s-canada-11623753 http://www.hrw.org/e...nder-terror-fight He's winding down the wars. It takes a long time. :-( SS and Medicare are 3rd rails. If Obama rolls over on this...and gives up SS, Medicare and no new taxes and 2+ trillion on debt; he'll have brought nothing home. Do you really think he will do that? Why? Did he get rolled when there was all of the gnashing of teeth in April about the shutdown? No. http://www.washingto...011_04/028916.php http://www.politicus...bama-won-shutdown And I'll bet he'll be a one-term president. As bad as things will probably be next year, I still think Obama's unbeatable. We'll see how it turns out. Cheers, Scott.
Post #344,674 by S1mon_Jester 7/9/11 10:08:45 AM Reply	Take a look again... Eh? DADT is a done deal. Even before the court ruling yesterday which effectively ended it, it was all over except for the shouting. All that remained was a report. http://www.navytimes...t-ruling-070811w/ Um, no. The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network is was arguing that DADT is still in effect, until that court ruling. In fact, the lawyer for the group that BROUGHT up that lawsuit is STILL saying (even after winning) that servicemen should STILL not come out. (Check out Rachel Maddow and Victor Fehrenbach talk) In short, the military is dragging it's heels and delaying as much as possible. Yet Obama is Commander-in-Chief? Same for Iraq and Gitmo: Is Obama Commander-in-Chief? This is a separation of powers thingy - Congress doesn't get to decide squat. As bad as things will probably be next year, I still think Obama's unbeatable. We'll see how it turns out. If SS and Medicare benefits are untouched, I'll agree. I stand by my remarks though, SS and Medicare benefits are a 3rd rail item - and he'll lose his own base if he decides to cut them. That said, this was all before Pelosi's response. If Obama is using Pelosi to appear to be moderate - then the game is getting interesting. Unfortunately, I think the possibility of a debt ceiling compromise then drops even further.

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