Joe, you have my vote !

Joe, I don't know what the news situation is on your side of the country, but it is apparently far different than my side of the country. Where are the news reports about congress giving itself pay raises, new planes, cars, staff, etc? You make some great points about how nothing gets done due to lack of cooperation and compromise and how some money went to questionable purposes, and then you ruin your entire post with ghosts that don't exist concerning the congressional boogeyman! Try living in the real world for a change; you might not be so depressed, even if you are broke (I question that now, also).

Grumpy, just to clarify a point of contention you seem to have raised, Joe said that congress AND the president got new planes, cars, buses, raises, etc.

Also, I'm hoping you can better define what you call the boogeyman in Joe's post. I may have missed that boogeyman comment.

Deaf and DUMB ears. A great speech given by a great man when it is so needed. Will go into the history books as a shining light that will follow our president forever. Clear as water. Virtous. Only a polarized to the point of stupid fool would think otherwise.

American's are tired of the gridlock and the hyper-polarization in the country.

They don't know who to believe, and believe that nothing will happen. That is why you saw the DOW drop 300 points today.

Sure Obama gave a good speech and presented what should be a bipartisan plan. It's what happens next that makes the difference.

Most of the people I talk to want all of the senator, representatives, and President gone.

We could see major shifts, where the President is Republican, the House goes back to the Democrats and the Senate remains a close 50/50.

While that huge shift doesn't mean that something different will happen, I believe that Americans will keep shaking it up until they see results.

In the end, get something done, or look for another job.

We could totally reverse that.

"Deaf and DUMB ears. A great speech given by a great man when it is so needed. Will go into the history books as a shining light that will follow our president forever. Clear as water. Virtous. Only a polarized to the point of stupid fool would think otherwise."

should read

"Deaf and DUMB ears. Another un-inspired speech given by an uninspired man when it is not needed. Will never see a history book. Ever. But it will follow our president forever, unfortunately for him. Clear as mud. Deceptive, especially on the accounting front. Only a polarized to the point of stupid fool would think otherwise."

I like my version better.

If you look at the polls on MSNBC, most grade the speech an "A".

not that i doubt you, but can you link it? I don't even see it on the page...

which means that A) I missed it or B) people have to go looking for a poll to vote in.

If it's A, no worries, love to glance at it.

If it's B, it strikes me as very erroneous. only people who cared about it significantly would bother to go poll.

Eric, look at where the grade was posted.....liberial biased MSNBC. If anyone graded the speech an A, their heads were buried in the sand. Doesn't history mean anything to you? The same message that has been given in the past. No good came out of the previous messages. All or our previous packages were complete failures, except maybe for the few demographics that contributed to the Obama campaign fund....namely the unions. I want someone to tell me exactly how the "new" Obama plan will succeed in creating jobs. I don't think anyone will be able to.

When did we have successes? Well, FDR eventually led us out of the Great Depression by federal projects spending and taxes on the wealthy, but that's ancient history. Eisenhower/JFK/LBJ did well dealing with hard times post-WW2 with lots of cold war spending and high taxes on the wealthy. Clinton did well in the 1990s with higher taxes on the wealthy (80% of his tax hike was on corporations and those earning over $140,000 in 1993 dollars). Perhaps, instead of doing the sorts of things that Reagan and Bush did that caused debt to soar, we ought to replicate the things that successful presidents did.

Eric, you heard Chris Matthews and those others Liberal Buffoons on msnbc grade it an "A". Trust me, the people around me ( where I live in the real world) were saying they would have to take their anti-nausea pills just to watch another "speech" by Obama with all the flowery words and NO substance.

It’s a fascinating and sobering 36-slide presentation of polling data, focus-group findings, and observations prepared by Republican pollster Bill McInturff.If the right wing national journal prints it, and a republcan pollster writes it, it must be true. if your right wing.... the national journal has moved so far to the right, the tea party is trying to catch up.

We pay the President to produce, not speak. So he gets an 'A' in senior speech. I understand well that part of leadership is effectively communicating a vision that the people may embrace. President Obama has gone to the well to many times, and never come back with a bucket of water. yes, we are disillusioned and tired of the rhetoric. President Obama and the US Congress need to stop talking to us, stop blaming each other, and start doing something meaningful. President Obama needs to stop campaigning and start leading, and that's not done with speeches.

Paying for work to be done is not creating jobs; the jobs go away when the specific work is completed. What is needed is legislation that makes it preferable for American (and maybe foreign) companies to operate manufacturing plants in America with American employees. The government cannot create jobs, it can merely create an environment in which businesses flourish and are encouraged to and rewarded for expanding. You reward successful companies that are doing what you want (hiring and keeping American employees) by leaving them alone and letting them do well what they do best.

Job creation need not cost the taxpayer a dime, but money is all our current batch of un-inspired, un-inspiring, and un-imaginative politicians understand. And that applies to both sides of the aisle, thank you.

Perhaps, instead of doing the sorts of things that Reagan and Bush did that caused debt to soar, we ought to replicate the things that successful presidents did.

Excellent observation.

As for the complainers... How is it that MSNBC is supposedly such a Liberal and biased place yet in their blog it is primarily Conservative attacks on Obama and Liberals?

Then there is this, how come 80% of the American Jobs Act are ideas similar to those that "Conservatives" have either proposed or supported in the past and yet since Obama suggests them they are suddenly wrong?

Agreed Thinkabout it! So many posts are by teabaggers on MSNBC and and yet when polls are taken on this website the results are distinctly leaning left. I am convinced that the republican party is full of angry type A personalities who feel a need to beat up on liberal websites. It doesn't do their cause any good. It merely solidifies the centrist and left thinking msnbc.com users.

I will not try to change the views of Republican hardliners here. It wouldn't matter what I have to say.

Here is the link to the grading. Obama is also up in the polls after the speech.

So, Americans have heard him. Republicans what are you going to do? Block, stall, obstruct?

The ball is in your court, and Americans want jobs.

Hey Wayne, if you want to vote for Obama AGAIN, I can only say you ignore the facts of a failed Presidency. Four more years of Obama can only mean a higher unemployment rate , another $4 trillion to the national debt, more "illegals" on the tax payer dime, maybe another war or 2, more Union bailouts, on and on and on.....

Hummmm! In my earlier blog I asked someone to tell me exactly how the "new" Obama plan will succeed in creating jobs. Not one of you liberal Obama lovers responded. That is because you only listen to words...words without substance.

Several years ago with the first Obama stimulus, I blogged that such extravagant spending by the government will eventually dry up the available money supply for the general public. The public and private business would be in competition with the government for the available money to borrow. That is exactly what is happening. The only reason interest rates are so low is because the Fed is artificially counteracting supply and demand by holding interest rates down rather than letting supply and demand play out. In other words, the money is cheap, but it's not available. That is exactly why the government can not spend our way out of this problem. Solve unemployment by reducing the governments borrowing, and reducing the government debt and spending. Free up the money supply so private business can begin to invest in its growth which will, by the way, lead to more jobs! One of these days a few of you liberals will snap and realize that the republican conservative were doing the right thing.

Alright Grumpy, here goes: From a CNC article from last year, "In the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, taxpayers are spending $5.42 billion to run the Second Branch of government(Congress). In fiscal year 2000, the same bill came in at $2.87 billion. Increases as large as 868% Spending increases of 70 percent, 80 percent, 100 percent and even 868 percent took hold across major parts of the institution over the past 10 years. Even those that saw the smallest increases went up by almost 40 percent or more. The President's White House staffers received raises of 17-83% this year, you can look that up too. $2.2 million on the "black buses". Here's a cute article about Congress' fine taste in auto leases: http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/investigative/fox-5-investigates-congress-cars-080111

This one's a year old, but a good one: http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2010/08/04/Congress-Living-High-on-the-Backs-of-Taxpayers.aspx#page2

Maybe my "boogieman" statements were true. I contend that the government has great taste when it comes to spending our dime for their livlihoods.

Eric- I'd take a lackluster speech and a good policy over an "A-graded, super speech" that has nothing but politician speak behind it. Thanks.

All Obama can talk about is creating more debt. He is already betting on the bipartisan panel finding more cuts than those proposed and trying to spend those cuts. No thank you. Cut out what isn't needed and start shrinking the debt. Now that would be a plan I could believe in. All the economists have agreed that this recession is due to Americas drunken binge on debt. Of course when the Government is setting the example of living in deep debt what do you expect?

The Republicans will oppose any, and everything Obama proposes.

The Tea Party is experimenting with change. A dangerous slippery slope approach to politics.

Policy aside, the Tea Party has implemented the tactics of "fight to the death" to achieve their political goals.

Where will this lead.

For example, the Tea Party has decided that it is better for America, to use tools like the budget, and the debt ceiling, to hold the world hostage, to achieve as John Boehner put it "99% of what we wanted."

So, the Tea Party has said, it is in the best interest of the USA, to destroy the world economy, to remove President Obama from office.

At the beginning of the Iraq war, I wished George Bush would disappear, I felt he was creating long term misery for the world, and for the USA. But I never saw John Kerry, or any other progressive, suggest that destroying the world to remove George Bush from office, would be a good move.

I detested the policies of George Bush, but I never, ever, would have taken moves to hurt our country, to remove him.

Fast forward to the present. The Tea Party has taken power. Although, a minority, they have held a gun to the head of the world, in order to implement their goal to remove the opposition president.

Bad idea. Let's look at the future,

If, next election, let's imagine the Democrats win the house back. Just bear with me for a minute, Let's say, the Tea Party does not have the tools to use the budget and debt ceiling as guns to force their agenda.

What will they do? I mean, they have made it clear, it is a god-given right, to do anything, to remove Obama from power.

The have shown willingness to perform economic terrorism. If they no longer hold that gun, what will they do?

Will old white bigots take to the streets and start shooting homeless people?

Will they establish militias to kill progressive politicians where they sleep?

And, what will be the response of the progressives?

I think, that we progressives, would not retaliate with violence in kind. We have shown, that even with an idiot like George Bush, we would not take political action that would hurt the country, in order to get our way.

That is what scares me about the Tea Party. They have Rage, in the Biblical sense. The kind of rage, that builds and builds, until someone is hurt or killed.

I listened to an evangelical speaker today on the radio. It did not make me feel good. He talked about the comming Apocalypse, and the earthquakes, and famine, and hurricanes, that point to the return of Jesus.

This is scary. The Tea Party, and their followers, are waiting for the second coming of Christ. This means, that they will be willing, to sacrifice all, ALL, of the status quo, to achieve their goals.

Lord, protect me from your followers.

Once again the politicians are throwing away money on a problem that simply needs time to fix. A temporary expenditure will do nothing but waste more cash that there isn't enough of.

It's all about votes. Nothing more, nothing less. Obama is using YOUR tax money as a campaign fund. Simple as that.

Gloryhound. Yes, the United States has lived on borrowed money for a very long time. Federal deficits, Trade deficits, and low or negative household savings are all part of the credit crash. This was financed by Federal Reserve efforts to stimulate the economy which resulted in an asset bubble for housing and opened the door for unregulated crooks to game the sub-prime mortgage market. (The debt problem existed before either Bush or Obama became President.)

Now, the country is in the tank and those economists you mention all say that Federal spending is needed to avoid a very slow recovery. It may be argued that the U.S. can't borrow anymore but the need still remains. Might that be why the tax code changes were part of Obama's plan?

thre republican party has had a deaf ear ever since Obama was elected .. they have obstructed every bill and proposal offered by this president .. it is there goal to bring Rush Limbaughs dream of a failed economy .. a failed presidency a failed society .. to a reality ... the only job they care about is the job of running our country off a cliff . middle class america is not important .. $$$$ is

Still, not one single response to my request for someone to explain exactly how the "new" Obama plan will create jobs! No one has the answer because it won't create jobs, it will only discourage long term recovery.

Liberals...I'm still waiting for one of you the answer my question. Isn't there a liberal out there who really knows how Obama's plan will create jobs? See posts 1.10 and 1.19 above.

President delivers his speeches very well, his voice makes the difference. Unfortunately the content is the same from one speech to another, monotonous.

The fact is that to date, despite the big words and visionary statements, things aren’t any different and that’s the problem. We need some action not words. Our dilemma is that everyone is waiting for “that someone else” to do what needs to be done.

Well, I give up on waiting for an answer. Just like I said, there isn't a liberal who knows how Obama's Job's Plan will create jobs. Not even Obama knows! Good night all, and pleasant dreams knowing that we are in the good hands of the Obama administration. The good hands that are squeezing the life out of this country!

Why were all of these problems not resolved when the House and Senate were a SUPER MAJORITY OF DEMS??? It is easy to play blame the other guy when you are in fact inept yourself and will not take the responsibility. Either way obammy is a EMPTY SUIT and will not ever get AMERICA out of this problem and 4 more years IF reelected will be NO different. So blame the GOP for cutting off your welfare checks and entitlements and GET A EFFING JOB although I cannot blame ANY employer for not hiring your DUMB ARSE.

When did we have successes? Well, FDR eventually led us out of the Great Depression by federal projects spending and taxes on the wealthy, but that's ancient history

FDR did NOT lead us out of the great depression - it took World War 2 to finally get us out of the great depression.

Cautiously Opto...

You really have it bad for the Tea Party.

You talk about violence, and yet the Tea Party does not participate or encourage any violence. Talk to police assigned to Tea Party rallies and they will tell you that these are the nicest people in the world. They pick up their own trash, conduct themselves respectfully.

Now certainly there are a few nuts that you could produce, but you know these are not main stream voters or party leaders.

Now let's look at the peaceful left. In Wisconsin they had a sit in, and trashed their state capital. Trashed it.

Fast forward to the Union thugs in Seattle - 500 members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, brandishing baseball bats and crowbars, stormed the port and held six security guards hostage.

This was this week! Yeah, the major news services all but ignored this.

What's worse is, NO ONE WAS ARRESTED!!!!!!!

The lunatics on the left will not hesitate to use violence, as we see with just 2 recent examples here.

So keep those tea party hate filled messages going, and just ignore the ACTUAL VIOLENCE OF THE LEFT.

Wayne, then why has our economy suffered so poorly since we have been at war on 2 fronts for over 10 years now? If your rationale were accurate, we would be blowing the doors off of China and many of the traitorous Corporations wouldn't be betting against the very country that they have raped over the last 30 years.

FDR and his policies were the reason that our country prevailed and prospered following the great depression. He cared enough about the citizens and country to suggest and fight for policies that helped solidify a strong economic base upon which many decades of prosperity arose. Name me more than a handful of Republicans right now that want to do anything to help the common man. It can't be done, anymore than Harry's constant bantering about how tax cuts and infrastructure improvements will create jobs. I thought that the right was adamant that tax cuts created job growth and "certainty" in the market place that would allow jobs to flourish? I guess now that the President and CINC has proposed that idea, it is DOA. They only believe and support based upon how much it will benefit their party and corporate handlers. It is just too bad that the common citizen that put them into power doesn't get such loyal devotion from them, nor the added efforts to fight for the common sense solutions that would help to create growth in the economy that the Conservatives do not want to see flourish. They would prefer to see continued misery so that they can get their hands on the presidency, as that would allow them to strangle the rest of Middle class America and the real foundation of our great nation.

Eric-913730

"If you look at the polls on MSNBC, most grade the speech an "A"."

And who votes based on MSNBC polls? The lemmings that think the president is a great man. Unscientific bs is all their polls are, at best.

Obama is a great speach maker as long as he has a teleprompter handy and someone else does the writing. Without them he is lost as are all those who voted for him. How about some original thought from him instead of saying "playing game" nearly 4 dozen times in his pathetic speech? Golf is his game and America's destruction is his goal. He already has his pension and perks. Time for him to go.

Olrockcandymtnroustabout "Deaf and DUMB ears. A great speech given by a great man when it is so needed. Will go into the history books as a shining light that will follow our president forever. Clear as water. Virtous. Only a polarized to the point of stupid fool would think otherwise."

Thanks, Michelle Obama.

I needed a good laugh today. At least the football game was good.

Check out the government gone wild site, and see how those in both houses, and on "both sides of the aisles" have made fortunes in the last four years while leading our country into this financial mess. Look for the list! Example: Gutierrez had a total net worth of $47K, and in four years is worth over $2,000,000! They aint working for the American people!

FDR did NOT lead us out of the great depression - it took World War 2 to finally get us out of the great depression.

----------------------------------

Neither did. During WW2 employment jumped due to the draft, shortages of everything needed for daily developed and wasteful spending was everywhere.

The depression ended when the troops got home and the government lost control of the economy. You can't claim prosperity if you can't get the most basic of items because the resources are being used to build tanks and bombs.

JoeNY, you are absolutely right...

Its about the politicians using this and any other excuse to grow government. Gain power... Its not about America.

there is not one candidate that is worthy to be President of the United States! I am tired of trying to figure out who would be the lesser of two evils. Stop the lobbying and money for there campaigns , I want to vote for someone that does not owe anyone but we the People!

Ahem! The Federal Government does add value. A common set of laws, federal courts, public projects - the highway system being an example, and national defense are some of the most basic functions that allow U.S. citizens to make plans for the future and trust that the protection of law will be applied evenly.

Obama articulated an example of a larger role. The risk of providing service without a set market price is excess but that is not the same as failing to create value. Contrast that to the risk of the federal government doing nothing to resolve the current recession. Business will not invest and expand until they see a profitable market and the one absolute requirement for that is a customer.

Placing money in the market for goods and services is one tool the federal government has to stimulate demand and expansion. A person can legitimately have philosophical opposition to this direction but the assertion that the Federal Government can't create value is simply wrong.

Some people, myself being one, want more from the federal government than the privilege of being governed.

A significant number of people appear to desire an Imperial president - someone to act as CEO, the 'boss', the 'man in charge'. That is exactly opposite how our government is structured in our Constitution. A President is in charge of foreign affairs and acts to execute and enforce laws governing domestic affairs. Congress sets domestic affairs through legislation. The President does not 'represent the people' - he represents the government of the United States. The role of Congress is to 'represent the people'.

The 'public confidence' appears to be affected more by how well the President and Congress work together. When the President and Congress work together - public confidence is higher - government and the public work together to resolve national problems when public confidence is higher. We saw that with Reagan and Congress working together. When the President and Congress are not working together - public confidence is lower - the government and public drift apart and national problems are not resolved. We saw that with Carter and Congress battling each other.

Simply replacing the President will not 'cure' anything. We need a Congress that will work with the President. The danger is that Congress and the President can agree on policies that the public do not agree with. We saw that with Johnson and Congress creating both Vietnam policy and the Great Society.

For the next election, the voters will need to endorse a President AND a Congress that will work together on issues of importance to the public.

The job market will never get better so long as Republicans have the incentive to keep unemployment high. They have a vested political interest in keeping as many Americans out of a job until next november, and I don't think people realize just how dangerous this is.

I find it amazing how all you right wingers want this President to do nothing but sit back and wait for you Repugs to wine and cry next election about how bad things are, even when your Congress sets the tempo of Government.

As I recall, You fricking Repugs were elected last November to create the jobs by their great policies they have?? No jobs bills created or put forth through Congress yet??

WHY???

Main objective is to regain power for their Corporate masters. Losers are the American people just like they were losers when they last had power?? Remember two unpaid for wars along with many other things.

Where was your concern Juliop about the spending then?? Hypocrisy at your finest. To sit back and do nothing until you Repugs who caused this Great Recession get back in power is not what I or most of the American people want at all.

I'm glad the President is out taking it to the American people so they see what total obstructionists the Repugs really are.

Americans are cynical about job creation because nobody knows who to believe anymore. Did the stimulus have a net job creation of 2.5 million jobs and 1% gains in our GDP quarterly like the CBO says or are all the quasi-economists smarter than the real economists?

A while ago, all conservatives could say was that the job increases were all government jobs, until they were shown that government jobs were decreasing, while private sector jobs were on the rise. Now the private sector has had 18 straight months of growth while we have 600,000 less public sector jobs (enough jobs to bring us down to 8.7% unemployment).

And the proposal was a collection of bipartisan ideas. So for the guy who has been whining about not being able to understand how tax breaks for hiring veteran, for the long term unemployed, increased jobs to improve our infrastructure, etc will add jobs, maybe he can ask his republican congressmen why they supported it. Or just listen to the speech in which his question was already answered. Or look at past examples like the Depression to see how these things create jobs.

JoeNY hit every nail on the head: Basically, the rich got richer while the rest become worse off than before. This latest 'Jobs Bill' ruse is a joke that will drive us further into debt with no positive results like before- change we can count on!

Hopefully the Republicans back their own ideas now and allow us to add another 2.5M jobs and even higher GDP growth. Most of us know the stimulus worked the first time even when economists were saying it wasn't going to be enough, so why not this time? No more obstructionism for political gains. Economic hostage taking, misinformation campaigns, and refusal to compromise will not have good long-term effects on the Republican party.

The trouble with the speech was, that it was a speech. We've heard his oratory so much that it has just about become background noise. I would have suggested a page from Ross Perot and have graphs etc. available.

We've come to believe the speech, is just a speech. See public health care?? See our troops out of Iraq?? Are we still rebuilding Iraq?? The money given to the banks in TARP, where is it?? Bin Laden's dead, still in Afghanistan??These were ALL speeches. And how much action??The health care bill is a abomination made by the Senate. Troops still in Iraq. Still rebuilding Iraq on our dime.

Now Jobs??interesting. So are we going to ENFORCE illegal alien hiring laws to open up slots for US jobs?? Funny, that he mentioned construction in his speech. One of the biggest areas of illegal alien employment. Obviously, he doesn't have a clue in that sector. His aid in that area should serve him better. When Reagan & Simpson had the first amnesty they promised the law would be enforced. It hasn't.

How about those speeches stopping China's draining of our country??

So , I can really appreciate the frustration of the country. It was a good speech, but just a speech, like all the others.

It's not about the speech.

The debt ceiling gridlock, and resulting downgrade of America's credit by, albeit, a somewhat suspect and complicit entity in our economic demise, brought into clear relief the fundamental problems our politics and politicians have caused us all.

Bush passes TARP and everybody falls in line. We were hours from total collapse; the nation was largely unaware.

Obama passes the Stimulus and the GOP whines and complains bitterly about spending - KNOWING that the Fed loaned $1.2 trillion, in secret, on the side, to more banks, domestic and foreign, more companies (yes, Ford was in on those secret loans), but saying nothing.

Now we know the Stimulus was not large enough. So the economy teeters on the brink of another recession. Gridlock. Political ambition, self-serving rhetoric, obstruction, filibusters, words, words, words. And for all of that talk, Wall Street is doing just fine while American citizens don't know from day to day, hell, from working hour to working hour, if they will keep the jobs they may have, or get the jobs they finally got an interview for.

The GOP chants: 'where's the PRESIDENT'S ideas - we want them on PAPER'. So he puts them on paper, last week, and we get these coy, coded little rhetorical ripples in a sea of wordy bullsh!t that maybe the GOP will like some of what he said, but, oh, there's going to be some MORE changes.

Bush inherited a budget surplus and an economy slated to be $10 trillion in the black in 2001. Jobs were easy to find. Most people were making enough money to afford at least the basics if not the house, the second car, the nice clothes.

Then he ran the economy, with the help of his GOP Congress, and his advisors, and the Fed, and Wall Street, all of them ran it - straight into the ground. It's not debatable. It happened. Look at where we are.

My birthday is on September 11. I deliberately avoided all the news, newsites, the Web, everything today, until now. Ten years after the attacks, we are still milling over what is, yes, one of the worst events in our history - but not the ONLY worst event. No jobs were created last month. 45,000 Americans still die every year for lack of health insurance. We are still in two wars - one based on a lie. We still have the Patriot Act - a loss of our freedom and privacy thanks to 19 scumbags on airplanes 10 years ago today. We still have a lousy economy. The GOP is still deflecting the course of this country with its diatribes, harangues, and unconstitutional legislation on social issues rather thanCREATING JOBS while b!tching the entire time that it's Obama's fault. One of their own smirked that one particular issue was worth taking "hostage". How crass. How thoughtless, unprofessional, demeaining, and small. And his buddies all sat around chuckling.

No. This was all in the making years and decades before he took office and one heck of a lot of the GOP Congressmen currently in office have been part of that demise. Yeah, some of the long-term Democrats have been part of it, too.

All of them - ALL - need to pull their heads out of their political a$$es, get to work, and do something that will contribute to job creation. NOW.

Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are NOT the problem. The problem is, 25 million Americans, almost all of whom used to have FULL TIME jobs, now DON'T. Income and wealth inequality are at their highest in decades. In fact, they are now beginning to exceed the levels seen at the time of the Great Depression. And until decent-paying jobs are created or brought back to this country, this economy is going to suck. Our politics will continue to be divisive, full of 'otherizing', and will continue to crack the very social framework that originally made this country great.

Just remember that most of the people who now use food stamps, Medicaid, and other social safety nets used to have jobs that paid enough that these same people could pay their own bills. Stop calling them names. Stop telling them they are the problem. Get your corporate buddies to start hiring Americans again or one heck of a lot of you in Washington right now are going to be jobless come November 2012.

Congress has given Obama everything he wanted? That is new information.

Obama has given Congress everything they wanted. Remember in the debt ceiling battle that Boehner said, "we got 98% of what we wanted".

Thank you Tea Party downgrade.

Even FactCheck is calling Obama a liar. The plan is not paid for, and what's really hilarious is - THERE IS NO BILL!!!!!

This clown would fail elementary economics 101.

Eric-913730

"Obama has given Congress everything they wanted. Remember in the debt ceiling battle that Boehner said, "we got 98% of what we wanted".

Thank you Tea Party downgrade."

Ah blame the tea party for trying to reign in government excess. The debt needs to be reduced. Deficit spending needs to be stopped. Nothing the dems did helped either. They are on a spending spree like Paris Hilton looking for new shoes and cheap cocaine.

The left wants it all, and the right wants less. Less government is the start. The wrong want more, at the cost of others. They don't care about anyone except getting their freebes. Time to kick the freebe queens to the curb, government spending more than it takes in to the curb, stupid stimulus programs that onl help government to the curb.

Next election, the wrong will be kicked to the curb including Obama and dem control of the senate. Of course the wrong will disagree and when it happens like last election they will cry foul.

Obama is in desperation mode. "Pass this bill now!" I lost count at how many times he said it! But hey there is NO BILL! Now he is claiming his plan will pay for the "bill" plus save an addition $2T!!! Oh my, he is a miracle worker....

Problem is this is all smoke. There is nothing there to look at or read as fact. Only Obama flapping his lips in time with his teleprompter... The worst part is people are believing him, still! This is the same load of crap he pushed on his stimulus plan which failed completely...

He said it about 17 times. There is no bill, it isn't even in writing yet, the only thing I can find on it is his speech and he wants it passed now, another "push down our throats" thing. There are no details and oh by the way you have to wait until next week for how it is going to paid for, WTH. No details on how it will be paid for, no details on what is in the bill, no text for the bill, you pass this bill now, well we have been down this road once and I don't think we will go down it again, at least I hope we won't allow that to happen again. Same ole sh*t just a new speech. As always just my opinion.

NEWSVINE

A comment gets collapsed when one poster calls another an idiot or stupid. Explain to me why on just about every form I go on or I should say every political form I go on the word "teabagger" is used over and over again and those comments aren't collapsed.

Please NEWSVINE explain this to me and the others that have thought this same thing.

Stull,

Probably for the same reason words like libtards, odumbo, dumbocrats, etc. are often overlooked. They cant catch everything, but it goes both ways. Theres a theory in psychology that says that people only remember what furthers there own point of view (selective memory as its commonly termed). This is to protect your ego because nobody wants to believe that they could ever be wrong. If you keep this in mind you will have a slight immunity (not completely, but at least a leg up). Unfortunately, a lot of Republicans don't believe in social sciences because social sciences are somehow biased toward the democrats (a belief which protects a Republican ego). Rather than believing in some narrative or anecdotal evidence, scientific observation and empirical evidence helps remove bias.

The democrats got us into this mess--Clinton mandated banks give home loans to unqualified buyers. Obama sued Citibank and said blacks were discriminated against so loan parameters were dropped and it was a free for all. Obama ushered in obamacare, dodd frank, and the EPA--all job choking legislation. The party of spend has maxed out our credit card!

I have just driven over the two bridges (Canoe Pass and Deception Pass) that connect Whidbey Island and Fidalgo Island in Washington state. No bridge, no Naval Air Station! Built in the 1930's by the CCC under PWA funding (today painting costs more than the original construction) it gave lots of folks the dignity of work. I guess that deep down I am Keynesian and believe that CAREFUL public spending really can make a difference when the economy is gloomy.

Better to spend some money and have assets to show for it, than give hand-outs and have NOTHING to show for it.

Agreed! Even though Im liberal, I don't like welfare. Why not get something back and at the same time allow the underprivileged to get some training and experience. Downside, it would be slightly more expensive and it could shift reliance on the government to produce work. But done right, I think the gain in economic and social assets would offset the increased cost by a lot.

Foe everyone that thinks Obama has his @!$%# together,let's examine some facts here.What will spending more money that is borrowed money do for an economy that sucks?I'll tell you what to expect.The Europeon Union had a secret meeting recently to establish a new currency to become the currency to replace the American dollar.If we don't get government spending in check VERY soon,the dollar's value will shrink to zip.This will force major inflation,something we definitely cannot afford!Nobody will buy our T-bills,or treasury notes,thus forcing us to print our money without any backing,thus,just paper,or worthless money.Do we really want to go there?If we want our economy back,we must look at our trading partners as enemies,and protect ourselves from our enemies.Favored trade status for China only worsens and weakens what we want to accomplish as a fix.We need favored trade revolked,and we need it now!

Every time I read one of those derogatory epitaphs it reduces my confidence in the person posting it and the ideas he/she professes to have. Every time I read twisted, distorted statements of so-called facts, it reduces any belief I might have had in the honesty and intelligence of the person posting.

I have left behind forums that seethe with the venom and hatred that spill out of the screen. I don't go to the hate sites that are so tilted to one side or the other. I ignore the most obviously sick and disturbed posters other than to indicate my disagreement because they are mentally ill and cannot be convinced away from their fear and hate.

Newsvine and its posters as well as the news organization it supposedly represents has always been tilted left. What do you suppose your claims of what you believe to be facts are convincing me of when I know they are based on imaginary data?

On past evidence and observation I think there is a great deal to be learned from Social Sciences and I believe, I know, that it is often used by political ideologues to further a political philosophy rather than reveal an unbiased truth. There is a reason why Social Sciences are called the soft sciences. They are malleable and can be twisted by those who claim it as an empirical truth.

Add another subject to your studies. History, as malleable and flawed as it is, can make you wonder about the sanctity and perfection of your Social Sciences as taught today. Read Machiavelli's "The Prince" and compare it to your current leaders and the goals they profess to aspire to. Read about the class warfare in ancient Rome. Read about the rise of the middle class and it's history and what happens when it is destroyed. Read about the actuality of life in a political system that regulates the lives of it's citizens from birth to death. What kind of benefits do it's citizens enjoy, for how long?

Perhaps you would not have as rosy a picture of the Progressive agenda.

Goody The topic is about Jobs creation.

Now,

In my opinion, I believe the reason why Business is not hiring is that they are using Unempolyement numbers in their war against President Obama. I do not expect Big Business to hire until Obama is defeated. And then, suddenly, in the middle of November 2012, the Unempolyement numbers plunge to 3 percent. Big Business will say its in anticipation to laws that they (Meaning big business) want. However it will truly be because they have defeated Obama and no longer need high unemployement.

And thats my Opinion

GOD BLESS SOCIALIST AMERICAS

Good grief. Don't forget- it's not only the socialists you have to fear. Obama is working on a hybrid Godzilla/Charlie Sheen to stomp on a Christian Bible Camp in the name of his Muslim/Socialist/Satanic cause.

Once again- sarcasm, you choads.

Well, I would say that people like him review surveys and polls of the American people and that is how they know what they are thinking.

You accuse others of not listening to the content of the speech yet you seem to close your ears to their opinions of what was wrong with the proposals.

We only listen to what we want to hear, all else is just noise.

That includes the repeat of the repeat of the stimulus plan that flopped last time. All we need is more money and this time, I promise/guarantee/hope/ kinda think it will work. When is there ever going to be enough money to keep doing the same-o, same-o expecting different results? Apparently Obama supporters are gluttons for punishment, speaking for myself, I'm tired of bailing out failures.

The last stimulus didn't flop. It just didn't bring about the magical change from the crap pile left by GW that you were expecting. It would have been a heck of alot worse without that stimulus.

Even if the stimulus would have worked better (I agree it was a success), Republicans would still paint it as a failure.

terriels - so it's still Bush's fault? $4 TRILLION later and it's still someone else's fault? Obama had the White House and both sides of Congress for two years and couldn't accomplish anything, but it's still someone else's fault? Really?

my girl way to go, at proving your own point.

the two wars, medicare part d and the bush tax cuts, which created the decicits and debt while bush was in office, stopped when he left office. all the lost revenue from the millions being unemployed and paying them unemployment and welfare for the last 4 or 5 years, because of the collapse of the economy, has nothing to do with the bush republicans. all the interest we're paying on the debt the bail outs had nothing to do with bush. this is all president obama's fault. the money that we are spending now has nothing to do with anything prior to january of 09.

jr, you are darn right it is Bush's fault as well as the party of "no!" Whenever you have a minority party so willing to filibuster every motion on the floor, this is what happens! We need to be thinking of this country! This country should be everyone's first thought at this critical time! In their rush to defeat the president, the republican party has brought this nation to the brink!

jr. Interesting you mention 4 Trillion dollars. I just read that the war in Afghanistan and Iraq have cost the United States 4 Trillion dollars. Does anyone recall Colin Powell's admonition "you break it, you buy it"? Where is your outrage over a President who took over a country in sound financial condition and left after starting two wars and seeing the banking-insurance collapse that initiated the current recession?

I prefer a more balance approach but that increasingly forces me to vote for democrats. The republicans howl about the current efforts to resurrect the economy as if Obama had no cause to take action. That does strike me as slightly disingenuous.

To date the wars in Iraq and Afghanisitan have cost 1.4 trillion dollars, not four trillion. As to the debt prior, go take a gander at what the debt was under Bush and what it is today. Bush didn't push Obamacare, he didn't focus for an entire year on Obamacare while completely ignoring the economy, but then and again, I must realize who I am addressing. Regardless of what Obama does or doesn't do, the good outcomes are his and the failed outcomes are Bush's fault, I must remember to repeat that over and over and over.........

Why does obammy need a Billion dollars to campaign for a second term??? Why can he not win on HIS MERITS?? Doesn't have any thats why. Sorry libs the American Working Class are tired of Giving you handouts while we are actually Working to get by. But wouldn't it be nice that NOBODY worked and we all get to live with NO bills and a govt check for DOING NOTHING.

Based on everything here after the original post, this country deserves to fail. It's to stupid to survive, and social evolution will wipe it from the list of industrial countries. Good riddance.

Can you imagine a candidate running today using the following in their speech?

I guarantee that if you elect me, in 3 years unemployment will rise, I will add $4 trillion to our debt, I will estimate $1+ trillion annual deficits as far as the eye can see, I will promise to end the wars but won't, I will promise to close Gitmo but won't and I guarantee me and my family will spend millions of your dollars during this recession to travel and enjoy ourselves. Because I am above all of this, and if my ideas don't work, it's cool, because I can call names and blame Bush and Congress. I now have a guaranteed pension, guaranteed health insurance, and millions in the bank.

Democrats never had a filibuster proof Senate - never since President Obama took office. The filibuster was always there because Mitch McConnell insisted on it. With only a few more Democrats than republicans in the Senate the GOP always required a filibuster. That meant that without a couple of republicans agreeing on legislation nothing would pass when 60 vote were required. That was what the GOP Senate demanded for every single bit of legislation and every policy that came from the House. So you can stop with the Democrats had it made for two years because they did not and you would know that if you were paying any attention at all.

They can't filibuster a budget hearing, against the rules. Immaterial since the democrats never once even pretended to care about the budget or the debt, seems like they ignored it for almost three years now.

The - Democrat Soldier

"Charlie Cook - many people are beginning to stop listening to people like you!!!"

Actually, they need to stop listening to people like you. who believe a weafare system is preferable to a working system.

"How do you and the likes of you know what the majority of Americans are doing?"

The majority are still working, but for how long? Socialism only creates government jobs and governmet produces nothing. Is that what you want? Nothing?

"The fact of the matter is you DON'T - your written BS is to sway people to your frame of thinking."

The fact of the matter is that youy are being brainwashed by government, or maybe dependent upon it because of your choices.

"No factual substance...just junk... Any decent American that cares about the state of our Union would have listened."

All of the decent Americans have listened. It is only those who want a handout who have not listened.

"They would listened to the substances of the "speech" and the serious tone and demeanor in which it was present. Then concluded that it is time for the GOP/TP to stop the circus and do what's right for AMERICA."

Serious tone from the teleprompter president who never held a real job in his life, yet fools voted him president? People like you are the circus. You have never educated yourself about life and reality, yet you want something you never earned. People like you are trying to destroy the country but have no clue as to why. You believe you are owed a living even though you have no way to earn it. You are probably a single mother. Who's falt is that if so? BC condoms available to all, even the stupid but do they use either?

The bottom line is that you and only you are responsible for yourself and your own actions. The wrong want to blame everyone else, or at least present them with the bill. That has got to end.

The original stimulus plan was far too small, and this plan is too small by a factor of five. This mess will hang around for another five to eight YEARS! Or fifteen years if the Republicans control both Houses NO MATTER WHO is POTUS, or which egomaniacs are confirmed for SCOTUS.

No one ever mentions NAFTA, do they? It was bipartisan, and no one ever mentions it.

I believe Obama does.

TERM LIMITS

TERM LIMITS

TERM LIMITS

If Any Senator, Congressman or President votes to cut Social Security, Disability, Medicare and medicaid, we the people will vote them out of office in either the next election or through a Re-call election. The Next job these former congressional people and Former President will work at will be McDonalds!!!

Congress, Mr. Obama, Hands off Social Security, Disability, Medicare and Medicaid!!!!!

If you weren't paying attention to politics and what our last president did, how do you conclude Obama 'flim-flammed" the us? You obviously did not listen very well to the speech or you would know that he addressed most of your questions. And no, they don't have to have someone already employed when there is a sea of unemployed workers to draw from. He also mentioned that the shovel ready jobs take time to plan and he addressed cutting the red tape so that it didn't take as much time to execute. Please at least listen to the speech before criticizing it.

sel, of course you're right and isn't it amazing that approx. half the population in the U.S. will vote for Obama AGAIN ? ! What kind of twisted logic do they use?

No logic...just party loyalists.

We certainly listen to the GOPTP guys who positively hate americans, middle class workers and government. How those people/that party makes any sense to anyone but knuckle dragging, mouth breathing, neanderthals is beyond me.

I myself can't wait to hear him run on his failed record of non-achievement.

I can see the bumperstickers now ....

NObama
NO he didn't close Guantanamo

NObama
NO he didn't end the wars

NObama
NO he didn't implement single payer

NObama
NO he didn't bring unemployment below 8%

And in EVERY instance any of his ideas were completely ignored by a defiant and racist republicrap legislature. People are tired of listening to "job creators" are taxed to much so they won't "create jobs". This is a bald faced lie. We the people of this country are the job creators, whatever we want has to be made, IF WE make it there will be jobs. NO JOBS ARE CREATED HERE WHEN YOU BUY FROM CHINA OR INDIA, OR KOREA. The rest of our jobs will go to the OTHER COUNTRY'S in the "new" free trade deal. As long as these corporate republicraps are allowed to obstruct our Presidents plans to rebuild this country we all better be ready for another CIVIL WAR. George Bush's friends in the weapon industry's have done very well the last 3 years, more guns and ammunition has been sold in the last three years than in the 15 years before Obama. Do you know how to use yours?

Goooood trolls...keep up the copies, pastes, and earning your paychecks:)

this govt. needs to remove regulations, drop the corporate tax rate and encourage businesses to grow and return, in some cases, to the U.S. This is the only answer because govt. does NOT create jobs, only the private sector does. Govt. can only SPEND our tax dollars.

Drop the corporate tax rate? I am completely against that. Big corporations have been making record profits and sitting on it, not hiring, overworking the employees they have. They do not get tax breaks unless they do something constructive to deserve it - otherwise it is just corporate welfare. If they don't like that idea, they can move to China.

Small business is where the jobs are going to come from anyway. Noone trusts big anti-union corporations anymore.

Nice regurgitating talking points again, LEONA!!! It is totally the wrong thing to do, but you do paste well:)

ram, you may consider what I say " talking points," but they are MY talkking points. BTW, I have found that when people accuse others of something, it is usually because they themselves are the guilty party.

With-out Regulations, the food we eat would be poison and the jobs we work at would be totally unsafe.

Bush and Cheney where not concerned about the debt or deficit and they spent trillions in the wars, the several tax cuts and the Medicare Part D. The GOP spent, spent, spent and they did not tax the rich or tax the super rich so we have a super deficit. President Obama has been wise and has been determined to help Americans suffering in this recession. The Recovery Act was good for the country and created over a million jobs. Still there are too many unemployed and we need to have this Jobs Bill and the GOP better get behind it for the sake of the people in the states. If they don't and just play politics and act as political terrorists and cause more and more harm to the country we will vote them out of office for being rabidly hateful and acting like the sorriest Rush Limbaughs and Glen Becks who are liars, hateful, spiteful, depraved, disgusting and evil. America needs to wake up to the lunatics in the GOP and they are now in the government.

There is no Bill!

How does he clean up Congress? What in the world do you mean by that? You may support our president on the economy, but the vast majority of Americans don't.

Danno,

I have read a lot of your comments and you would not support Obama if he gave your momma a kindey so move along.

So, I should just blindly follow him like you seem to do? Why don't you answser the question - how does he cleam up congress? Hopefully, you realize he is the president of a republic and not a dictator.

Also, what would his donation of a kidney have to do with me supporting his policies. I am sure he is a nice, decent guy, I just don't agree with his political philosophy. Unlike you, I can have a civil debate about the issues and not get all snippy.

Did you forget the famous "stimulus?" Obama asked for $780 billion "stimulus" for so called "shovel ready" jobs and wasted the money. That money went to UNION Pension funds and bail outs.

That is a very legitimate question. Did it need to wait until after the debt ceiling approval? If so, why did it need to wait weeks and not days or hours?

Rickster, I agree about Perry. If he turns out NOT to be the repub. candidate, at least we can say he tells the hard truth, whether people want to hear it or not. He said SS is a ponzi scheme and the press went crazy. Everyone knows SS will not be there for younger people if it is NOT fixed. Instead of agreeing with Perry, the press is calling him CRAZY. The liberal media picked a candidate ( Obama) that they like and they LIE just to get him elected AGAIN.

Rickster, worrying about the future of this country makes me tired. It especially worries me that approx. half of the citizens seem willing to give Obama another 4 years. The election will no doubt be close. At this point, I know Obama is a weak leader and I hope people pay attention.

Meantime, I live in a suburb near NYC and the anniversary of 9/11 is a very big deal here. Many roads have random check points and so do the tunnels, bridges etc. Most residents here lost someone on 9/11 and I hope we all stay safe this weekend.

Good luck to us all, but New York is a different world when it comes to outside threats. It would take far more than another attack to destroy that city. It would just move to the suburbs. With all it's problems it will continue and the terrorists will only gain more opposition to it's insanity.

they were never taught in school to be independent and rely on their own hard work and gumption to succeed

A product of the Dept of Education's public education. I call it the dumbing down of America.

We , the tax payers, support foreign countries, foreign wars, "illegals" and all their kids, Union bail outs ( $780 billion "stimulus" ) , bank bail outs ( " too big to fail"), vacations for politicians and their wives ( i.e. Michelle Obama goes to Spain with 30 of her closest "friends") and the list goes on.....

All the while the American people keep asking for JOBS and keep getting the shaft.

All I know is, the unemployment rate UP under Obama and so did the national debt ( by $4 trillion).

When was the last time you saw a road project that was not funded by the American Resource & Recovery Act

This morning.

You must work in construction. Most people do not, so why would a "jobs bill" that funds "road projects" do most of us any good?

I live in Mich.

The road work was terrible and not what the people wanted but what the politicians wanted. They worked on the intersection of two roads. The work started before Memorial day and was completed 3 months after. The only thing they accomplished was to force the customers of shopping center at the corners to go to other locations. The intersection is not better than before the road work

Here is why: acckk! wont let me post the link, just google "USE OF PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENTS FOR FEDERAL CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS "

he's got to pay them back somehow. Pure crookedness. Truly one of the worst things I have ever seen. Look at the date of that order, prez for a month.

The rate was less than 5% for almost the entire time Bush was in office. It went above that after the financial debacle when it turned out that financial institutions had been selling bad debt and leveraging it 40 to one. They were able to do that because two Democratic Senators under Clinton removed the restrictions that prevented banks from playing the market - restrictions that were put in place after the Great Depression. Bush had nothing to do with it. We don't know how Bush would have handled it, but he couldn't have done a worse job than Obama. Obama is working under Progressive principals. Bush would have operated under Republican principals, as Reagan did to bring the U.S. back from the brink in the 80s. I'd rather trust in tried and true methods than to experiment with Keynesian economics.

Sounds like it touched a nerve.

Reminds me of that 'Bridge to Nowhere' in Alaska everyone was making such a huge fuss over a few years back.

@Richard1550-

When you mentioned your city council, do you think they were getting kick-backs for pushing this useless road project through?

Oh you can bet your boots. When government spending is involved, there are always kickbacks, ALWAYS!

Richard, when govt. money is involved, so are the UNIONS. That's why it takes 4 times as long to get anything done. Union workers can take their time because they can't get fired! That's why the public schools don't work. The older teachers with tenure can't get fired either.

as I said up above, google"USE OF PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENTS FOR FEDERAL CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS"

Well, according to Pelosi, even if they spent 20 times more than it should have cost, the money went back into the economy and allowed the workers to buy goods, and the people who made the goods got to keep their jobs so they could by goods that other people made so they could buy goods . . . . . . ad infinitum until all the money goes to China.

Problem is, Obama is only PRO UNION jobs. He got the DOJ to go after Boeing in So. Carolina when Boeing wanted to create 1000 new NON UNION jobs. How can this President be against the creation of ANY JOBS ANYWHERE? Obama never uses the word UNION when he speaks, but he will only support UNION workers. It's a payback because the unions help fund his campaign.

Don't be so bitter Leona...The only people who 'bad-mouth' labor unions are those who have never belonged to one...

Reagan is not the solution. Reagan is the problem. The single biggest mistake the USA ever did was accept Reagan's philosophy that the wealthy shoulc have lower taxes. From 1940 to 1980, America had an effect cap on greed. As a result, we were a middle class society, where the middle class called the shot.

Reagan not only unleashed uncapped greed, he changed the law to allow CEOs to be paid virtually tax-free in stock. The wealth gap has exploded starting from 1981. The economy cannot heal itself, because the economy is no longer following the model of 1940 to 1980. Instead, it is following the model of 1900 to 1929.

The economy cannot thrive until we return to the policies of prosperity, the policies of 1940 - 1980, the policies that included a cap on greed. So long as we allow our wealthy few to prosper like the corrupt aristocracy of a third world nation, American cannot thrive.

Reagan is not the solution. Reagan is the problem. The single biggest mistake the USA ever did was accept Reagan's philosophy that the wealthy shoulc have lower taxes.

Pardon me, but I couldn't help but quote form the wonderful Adult Swim Classic, The Boondocks.

"Excuse me. Can I have your attention, please? Jesus was Black, Ronald Reagan was the devil, and the government is lying to you about 9/11. Thank you."

-Huey Freeman

ScientistX, I would like you to look up how many jobs were created under Reagan. Answer : ALOT. That's why he has gone down in history as a great hero and a favorite President (for alot of Democrats too ).

Ah so it's now Reagan's fault and no longer Bush's? Just checking to see what the newest moronic liberal talking point is. Thanks

Dax et al - It's 40 years of idiotic governance.

Must be one of those "Scientist?" that claim that climate change is anthropocentric!