Man-chimp? One of the few governors who have successfully navigated the Obama economy, and he's a man-chimp?

Sorry madone, you're in big trouble if that's your best shot.

Oil has been hovering between $80 and $150 a barrel during Gov Perry's tenure. Of course he's successfully navigated the economy, his state has Kuwait's cash flow! If Perry was the governor of California (or just about any state besides AK and TX) he'd have been an abject failure.

I would argue that the Texas economy has succeeded despite Gov Perry. The man is simply dumb as a post.

I'm not against Republicans running to challenge President Obama in 2012; just puzzled why some of the dumbest ones are campaigning for his job.

Okay let me try - There are three things I would do as uh President. 1.....................................? Sorry ooops.

ooooops Sorry? And he wants to be the President? I suppose he know what every good Republican Politician knows. We are here to make the rich richer and line our pockets in the process.

Agreed, lol...chimp, lol!

Man-chimp? One of the few governors who have successfully navigated the Obama economy, and he's a man-chimp?

Sorry madone, you're in big trouble if that's your best shot.

You do realize that Gov Perry has no influence in the State of Texas's Economy. All political power in the state is in the hands of the Lt. Governor, he sets the agenda for the state legislative, not Governor Perry.

Furthermore Texas has been the center of the energy and medical industries for decades. Those two industries have been proven immune to the current economic downturn. When one of your largest employers (Energy Industry) records near record profits it can be no wonder as to why the economy held up so well.

A little research into the matter can shed some new light on your opinion. Perry did nothing to benefit the Texas Economy. So you shouldn't give him any credit what so ever for how well its done. It's like people who give credit to Clinton for the boom in the 1990's. Clinton did nothing to cause that boom, he was just in the right place at the right time.

Actually the fact that Clinton did nothing and just let the economic cycle run it's course was prob the best decision he ever made.

Actually, Gov Perry benefited from the Stimulus for the Texas Economy. He should be thanking President Obama.

WOW, Republicans are spending billions on ad campaigns while people are starving, out of work, and destitute. Really good use of all that money. How about spending it on the National dept? Also why would anyone vote for the republican baboons they have running for president. Romney is the closest they come to a nominee that might challenge Obama and he is a flip flopper.

This is just effing ridiculous. Times are so hard, but the money both sides are throwing around is just obscene. I have had enough of these stupid ads. For all the regular folks out there...do you ever wonder why billionaires and multi-millionaires will spend their hard earn cash, just to hold our national public offices? Exactly, it's an investment. They will make it back ten folds while in and out of office.

Obama will be re-elected because the country has nobody else better to elect.

"But what would you expect from a law professor who left a $180,000 job for a $40,000 job as a state senator."

That line of thinking right there explains your entire ideology

Hey America, Please DO NOT listen to those wasteful ads research by your self and make your decision . Have a good day

Paul F

It looks like their best shot is something akin to Communism.... Censorship, Limiting Free Speech...Not Socialism at all...More like COMMUNISM!

Brenda1964,

WOW, Republicans are spending billions on ad campaigns while people are starving, out of work

Let's ask you a question. If Obama is not spending his campaign cash now what is he doing with it? Hoarding it?

At least the Republicans are spending it in America and not on some Norwegian Electric Car Investment...Oh That's right...He's hoarding his cash and spending OUR TAX MONEY on Norwegians.

By the way Brenda, any Idea how much he's hoarding...I mean campaign cash?

The founding fathers of our Republic would be very much ashamed of what we have done with it. We should all be ashamed, as well.

The president is an easy target for the Republican’s advertisements. His absence from and the lack of involvement in major policy and nation “moving forward” issues is astonishing. One only needs to look at his face whenever he appears in public. He appears disinterested or simply unable to carry on with the responsibilities of his position. That’s why the economy has stalled and going nowhere, all this at a time when the leadership in the White House has never been so important and crucial.

Anyone can spend but not everyone can lead!

Negate.

This is the first time in my life that I am ashamed of my country, thanks to Obama

The Republicans may be excellent fund-raisers and campaigners; but they're lousy administrators once they get into office.

Their tactics, the aggressive and sometimes misleading kind not typically used until much further along in a campaign season, have led to a spat with Democrats in what is shaping up to be the most costly election advertising war yet.

The Republicans are in desperation. They know that the "Presidential hopefuls" are just a group of ignorant, arrogant and inept group of people. The real manipulators of these group of individuals are now pouring all the money that they got from the tax payers in smearing ads of President Obama.

As if any campaign is going to convince how stupid they are. They call President Obama the "Big Divider"

It is amazing how far the Republicans will spent on any hate campaign just to win. They were successful at electing Bush the second time with these tactics. I hope that the people realize how much "dividing"and corrupt these people really are.

A vote for ANY republiCON is a vote to further the destruction of the middle class and eventually end our democracy in favor of a totalitarian theocracy.

The plan is already in place. All it needs to make it work is a rightie congress and president. They already own the Supreme Court.

Crossroads GPS, a conservative advocacy group founded by Mr. Rove and other Republican strategists, has placed the biggest bet so far on negative messages.

Yep, better place your biggest bet on mudslinging, because with the sorry pack of GOP hopefuls, Republicans have no solutions for this economy and no chance of winning in November.

The republicans don't need to use attack ads to take down the President. He's doing that all by himself. Everytime he blames his lack of progress on the Republicans it just shows how much less of a diplomat he is. A good President would have the ability to lead both sides of Congress; it wouldn't matter from which side he came.

Q.) How will the Republicans try to win in 2012?

A.) By feeding a docile public a disgusting gruel of anti abortion, anti-science, anti- gay marriage, anti-flag burning, anti gun legislaion, anti-union, anti-Muslim, Mexican, Pakistani porridge and pretending it's really filet mignon and topping it off with a big piece of CHristian pie (in the sky, of course!)

Furthermore Texas has been the center of the energy and medical industries for decades. Those two industries have been proven immune to the current economic downturn.

Hmmmmm,

And isn't it interesting that these two stalwarts of our economy are the ones Obama is attacking the hardest? Wouldn't a capable leader look around the country and realize where the job producers are?

Obama has been brutally attacking our strongest industries while at the same time trying to create an industry, alternative energy, by legislation. Show me a single industry that the government subsidized into existence that is self sufficient. The airline industry depends on massive government subsidies and it's still an ongoing disaster.

We sit on the largest energy reserves in the world. Coal, natural gas, shale-gas, oil, shale-oil all have immense economic potential. Instead of exploiting our own reserves we're dithering around trying to make solar and wind the leaders out of this economic mess. Our neighbor, Canada, has used their new oil extraction technology to become a leading exporter of oil and natural gas. We have approximately 2 TRILLION Barrels of shale-oil, more than OPEC combined and we allow politics to stifle its growth. Before any of you start whining about the fracking technology needed, remember Energy Secretary Steven Chu and the Dept of Interior's Ken Salazar have both stated that it can be done safely. Chu also supports nuclear energy development. If we have the technological ability to send a Rover to Mars we can develop safe oil, natural gas and nuclear power here.

The medical industry is being decimated by the new Health Care Reform. Massive regulations, costs spiraling out of control, doctors leaving their practices early all because of more Liberal social engineering. As the population ages the need for more breakthroughs and cost containment will be absolutely necessary. Before anyone tries to say Obamacare will decrease the cost of health care please, please, tell me how we can expand 1/6th of the U.S. economy and still allow $60 BILLION Dollars in Waste, Fraud and Abuse EVERY YEAR? Do you honestly believe that further meddling in our biggest industry by the government will EVER be cost effective? It hasn't since its inception how will it change now? Obamacare must be repealed and truly reformed so TRUE free-market principles can drive its sustainability.

Instead of demonizing Texas' embracing of our major economic engines perhaps we should do the same on a national basis. The success Texas has shown shouldn't drive hate and refusal to expand proven industries for political gain.

All these ads will do is polarize the country even farther.

You guys realize this was the whole PLAN since the 1980's (maybe even 1960's, but got traction in the '80's).

Cut taxes on the rich so they have extra money to REWARD their benefactors. Tons of money to effectively take over the system through mind-numbing advertising. Cut education so the public is too ignorant to even know it's happening. Vast right-wing conspiracy indeed.

This is a fascist corporate assault not a conservative one. These people are not conservatives as they would like you to believe.

Try as they might, the advertising is likely to fail. You can attack Obama all day long, but where are your ideas to recover the economy and jobs.

The Repubican field is talking and it gets wilder and wilder the further down the road it goes.

This is the first time in my life that I am ashamed of my country

To borrow a phrase from you guys - if you don't like it, leave.

The founding fathers of our Republic would be very much ashamed of what we have done with it. We should all be ashamed, as well.

How the hell would you know this, Robert? The world was a totally different place 250 years ago. Stop with the founding fathers crap. And if you're ashamed, why don't you pack your bags and move somewhere else. Most of us still love this country and are never ashamed.

Vast right-wing conspiracy indeed.

Hillary Clinton warned us of this in the early 90's and, of course. the cons laughed at her. Now some of them want her to run against Obama. Shows how desperate they really are to bring this man down. Everyone sees through it. After the election, this whole thing will be one big joke for late night monolouges for years

Freedom RIngs Loud - I'm sure everyone is moved by your impassioned and totally erroneous remarks - the biggest flamer being , "The medical industry is being decimated by the new Health Care Reform"

No facts, just - alarmist ideological crap about something that you're worried MIGHT happen. Like Obama coming to take your guns. I didn't bother reading the rest of the post as the first part told me that I was dealing with an ideologue with no more scope than regurgitating Republican talking points.

Ken McCoy You are without facts - what you post is similar to:

My sister punched me in the nose; I'm going to call my brother a name.

Or, it's similar to -

19 guys got together and knocked down the WTC; I'm going to invade Iraq.

And like the Boston Tea Party we have to do something drastic to get the politicians to do the necessary changes.

That movement has already started in the Occupy protests. But conservatives call them bums, lazy, dirty, looking for handouts, public nuisances, unAmerican, etc., etc.

Just because you call yourself the "Tea Party" doesn't necessarily mean you have anything in common with the original tea party. Civil disobedience is American, it's how this country was founded and shaped over time.

Our neighbor, Canada, has used their new oil extraction technology to become a leading exporter of oil and natural gas. We have approximately 2 TRILLION Barrels of shale-oil, more than OPEC combined and we allow politics to stifle its growth. Before any of you start whining about the fracking technology needed, remember Energy Secretary Steven Chu and the Dept of Interior's Ken Salazar have both stated that it can be done safely. Chu also supports nuclear energy development. If we have the technological ability to send a Rover to Mars we can develop safe oil, natural gas and nuclear power here.

I'm going to break your argument here and show you why you are delusional. First off shale oil extraction technology hasn't been viable until the last 2-3 years. Most of it was simply theoretical. Oh we knew we could get oil from shale oil reserves. But why would the energy industry bother investing in that technology when it is cheaper and easier to get the oil up the old fashioned way? What economic incentive did the industry have to create this technology?

The answer is simple, regulation.

What you say? That's right, regulation. It is due to limits and regulations that prevented the exploitation of current oil reserves (Or in the case of Canada National Preserves) that forced energy companies to look for new ways to extract oil from available reserves and make it profitable. As a result we now have the technology to extract oil from shale deposits. This is a technology that we wouldn't have had yet had we allowed the energy industry to simply "Drill baby drill" wherever they wanted to get to the easy to extract stuff.

Furthermore there are many more useful uses for petroleum in terms of synthetic fibers and advanced composites. It would be a huge waste to simply burn it up for the sake of convince and cheap energy. Renewables are not the solution either, they are simply a bridge to carry us into the future of energy technology that will meet our needs well into the 21st century and beyond. That being Fusion Power.

The world's energy consumption continues to increase at an exponential rate. You cannot honestly believe we can meet those energy demands by simply drilling more holes in the ground. No, we need to move beyond hydrocarbon energy production to meet our future demands.

This is more off topic though and simply say that is it because of regulation that we have developed the technology to exploit those oil reserves that you so adamantly support exploiting.

Furthermore I can tell you right now that these refineries in Texas need to be regulated more and brought into compliance with EPA air quality standards. I LIVE near these plants, I hear their sirens that go off when they burn off the excess gas from the refineries. I know of all the crap they put into the air. It needs to be fixed, and I refuse to let politics reverse 40 years of environmental progress to make where I live safer and more healthy.

So here I am telling you as a citizen that lives next to these plants, that has family working in them, who benefits from their economic windfall, telling you point blank that we need to regulate these plants harder. They are not going anywhere, they can't just up and move on a whim due to stiffer regulations. They are stuck here and we are stuck with them, so we have to get along. That includes complying with Federal EPA standards so we don't all get sick and knock off 15-20 years from our life spans.

The medical industry is being decimated by the new Health Care Reform. Massive regulations, costs spiraling out of control, doctors leaving their practices early all because of more Liberal social engineering. As the population ages the need for more breakthroughs and cost containment will be absolutely necessary. Before anyone tries to say Obamacare will decrease the cost of health care please, please, tell me how we can expand 1/6th of the U.S. economy and still allow $60 BILLION Dollars in Waste, Fraud and Abuse EVERY YEAR? Do you honestly believe that further meddling in our biggest industry by the government will EVER be cost effective? It hasn't since its inception how will it change now? Obamacare must be repealed and truly reformed so TRUE free-market principles can drive its sustainability.

How can the medical industry be decimated by something that isn't slated to become fully active until 2013? That is a gross exaggeration and you know it.

Before the Healthcare Reform the United States was the only major industrialized nation on the planet without some sort of national healthcare system. That is a travesty for a nation as rich as ours to not be able to take care of our most important asset, our people. The Healthcare Reform from what I've read is actually promoting the private sector. There is no public option. Citizens must obtain coverage via private companies using public exchanges where you can pool people into large blocks of consumers to benefit from lower costs.

Really there isn't much difference between it and Medicare. Adding tens of millions of new customers to the medical insurance industry will increase profits and lower costs in the long run.

Could there be a better solution to the Healthcare Reform Bill? Absolutely!

Is there another viable option on the table?

Nope, none as far as the eye can see. I have yet to see a viable solution other than a public option solution.

I see people all the time say "We must repel Obamacare!". But when you ask them what they would replace it with you get nothing as a response. Complete silence. What do you want? Do you really want us to go back to a 3rd world healthcare solution where if you don't have the $$$ just hope you don't get sick and if you do get sick that you don't stay sick for very long? What kind of barbaric solution is that?

It is the year 2011, not 1811, get with the times. We have 400 million people that we need to take care of and no "free market" solution can handle the demand without federal help. The public exchanges will help. Now if you have a better solution to the healthcare debate then by all means present it here. Keep in mind that the no reform argument is not valid. Everyone must be covered in one form or another, "No Coverage" is not an option.

Note: No market can ever be regarded as a "Free-Market". It has never existed, and it never will. Markets are engines that need to be driven (regulated) to achieve the desired results. Markets have always been regulated, from the Ancient Egyptians, to the Roman Empire, to a bunch of rag-tag colonist in North America. Any notion that the "Free-market" can take care of itself or needs no regulation to be developed is wrong and downright delusional.

Wouldn't a capable leader look around the country and realize where the job producers are?

Best way to produce jobs is to create new industries, not cling hopelessly to current ones. I'm hoping that the axing of the shuttle program will finally kick start the American privatized space industry into high gear. We are the only country that can pull it off ATM so we had best hurry up with those contracts to build the next generation of private space vehicles.

Most of those contracts will be government funded....at the start at least.

I will gladly take another 4 years of Obama instead of even 1 month of these GOP idiots! They have to start attacking now - they have nothing else going for them. What a totally pathetic group of morons!

What most people don't realize is that the Clinton administration is the one that mandated banks give home loans to unqualified buyers. Obama (while at ACORN) sued Citibank on that and got the whole thing rolling. So think about it, Bush was bad, Clinton, a great politician is what started the housing crisis.

MAW, again with the mandated banks to give home loans. There was no mandate. No mandate at all. It was suggested that they try to give these people loans. But no one forced these banks to give loans to someone that they knew couldn't pay the loan. They did it because they knew they could bundle them and sell them off, so they didn't have to worry about losing money in the deal. They were done with it.

Obama is shamefully spending $ millions in tax-dollars campaigning, NOT using his own raised funds. He is mooching off the backs of tax-payers. Trying to take a free-ride.

Those $millions could be much better spent.

His approval rate is only 43%, Jimmy Carter had better approval rate at the same time in his term! 51%.

There was no mandate. No mandate at all. It was suggested that they try to give these people loans

Your wrong. This has been happening since the 90's when Dems put it into law. The Banks were required to give a certain percentage in low-income loans, It was not by "choice" they were required to meet a "quota" no matter if they knew the customer was a deadbeat, or not.

Paul, I agree with you, "Billion-dollar Obama will be just fine mounting his own assault." Obama just can not run on his own record or his old campaign promises. His only hope is to smear everyone and lie about himself! The "Obama Blame Game" is coming to a town near you! I'm just not going to play, but help to vote him out. Right now I would vote for Carter, Bill Clinton, G.W. Bush, or just about anyone before I would vote for Obama!

Olddog, Why are you quoting the Obama blame game? You're acting like this Economy is HIS fault, personally. That he caused it, and it is just HIS fault. Ugh...

Not to mention you throw in his campaign promises, as if he has broken them. Have you even checked how many promises he's kept? It's amazing that he has done so much as President with such a horrific congress.

I am also offended as an American that you know so little about the system of Checks and Balances in the US. You'd vote for G-dubs? Again?

Seriously?

No...

Seriously?!

“Greatest jobs crisis since Great Depression. Record home foreclosures. Record national debt.” And it renders judgment on Mr. Obama’s presidency: “He promised he would fix the economy. He failed.”

Sounds about right.

Notice the article said that Obama is already airing 'attack ads' against Romney in key states, but the thrust of the NY Times article is about negative Republican ads. With a $Billion for attacks by Obama alone, we'll get plenty of negative ads over the next 11 months. And as I recall, in the 2008 elections, it was virtually all attack ads by Obama against McCain/Palin.

Gee, I wonder if the Times might have an agenda?

Another way of looking at all that GOP money is that its a drop in the proverbial "bucket" of corporate and wealthy elitist funds. But the good news is that the GOP/TP are self imploding with their rag-tag group of very uninformed, comical candidates, including Mittens. Remember, you can't hide stupid, at any price, for this pathetic uninformed, half-truth telling "oops" group! Give these elephants in the room some more T.V. time and they will most likely make it impossible to sell them to any voters at any cost or for any number of ads!

Roy, the worst jobs crisis since the Great Depression occurred during the last presidents term. Can't conservatives ever tell the truth?

"4.4 million jobs were lost during Bush's last year in office"

http://www.factcheck.org/2011/08/reid-wrong-on-bushs-economic-record/

Obama can run on his record, that is the biggest false talking point that Conservatives have. Look at the charts: http://ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2011083428/three-charts-email-your-right-wing-brother-law

To date, Obama has kept 158 promises and reached compromise 48 times. He has broken 54 promises to date, and some of those where things blocked by the right.

My advice, consult politifact.com often so that you can tell the lies from the truth.

Dave

You're right, The worst jobs crisis since the Great Depression occurred during the last president's term,and that is Obama. The idiot hasn't done anything right since he has been in office.

The only candidate that can get us and our country out of the mess it is in is Mr. Newt Gingrich. He is the only on, including Obama, that has the experience, knowledge, ideas and plans that will put us and our country back on track.

Obama is history and will be known as the worst president our country has EVER had.

A vote for Mr. Gingrich is a vote for America - 2012 President

Andy-534371 old dog is right Obama will be just fine mounting his own assault neg. ads. Yes he will play the blame game as he has for the past 3 years, and yes it's Bush's fault but Obama done nothing to help the country for the past three years, other than spend, spend, spend and even not he wants top spend more not on the 15 million who are out of work but to all the gov. workers who belong to unions so the unions can pump more money back to him to wage an even larger neg. ad campaign on the GOP, and most of you fools are too stupid to see it he destroying this country 3 years ago he told you he was going to destroy this country who he was going to do it and you stupid people still voted for him and to this day it plays out in front of you and your still too stupid to see it .Which tells me you belong to a union, or your a gov. worker or a state work who belongs to a union.

Andy, I don't care who CAUSED it, because anyone can spin that any way they want. Bush cut taxes, Greenspan held interest rates too low, Carter/Clinton pressed the CRA, the SEC implemented Fair Value Accounting for the first time since 1930 when it was a huge disaster, etc. All played a part. What I do care about is who was in a position to do something about it and flubbed. The economy was a disaster since Obama came in, but time was wasted with health care, cap and trade, failed green energy subsidies, and any number of other tangents that did not help the economy or create jobs. He had a strongly Democrat controlled Congress, the most since FDR, and wasted the time. He tried massive stimulus spending to cure a recession, the same as FDR, with the same results. If FDR had only had 8 yrs. in office, he would be remembered as the President with the worst economic record in history. Even the CBO analysis update of the 2009 $800B Stimulus program states it did NOT create/save 3.5M jobs, perhaps only 750K and that it will hurt the economy for years to come. So why are we getting pressed for Stimulus 2? North Dakota is creating jobs faster than it can fill them by allowing gas/oil development which costs zero taxpayer dollars. Why aren't we at least allowing major gas finds in the US to be developed to help with jobs, tax revenues, and reduce dependence on foreign energy without using taxpayer dollars?

Failure is failure. It is not constructive to deny it. The President could pull this out if he would enable some of this energy related job and revenue development. But he refuses to put working people above ideology and continues pushing a Green Energy agenda that has failed here and in Europe. Remember when Obama held up Spain as the model? Anybody want their economy?

This is insane. People who have no concept or scope of the political process are making these grand statements - "Failure is failure." But they fail to comprehend basic Governing principals that you should have picked up in your PIG class.

Obama has done an amazing job. Deny it all you want, make your own excuses. His power is CHECKED by Congress. Congress has dragged its feet this entire election cycle.

Actually, I should point out: A minority of Congress has been dragging its feet. And when !@#% blows up? They blame Obama. And people actually believe it.

It's the ^%#@ing Constitution people. It's not rocket science.

You've been drinking the kool aid for too long. Obama's policies have kept us from climbing out of the hole we're in. Dodd Frank, obamacare, and massive EPA restrictions and you've got yourself a collapsed economy. Sure, vote obama, collapse the economy.

Rangewolf,

RE: your post #2.8 "...the last president's term, and that is Obama."

You need to wake up Rangewolf, the world is passing you by man! The LAST president was George W. Bush. The CURRENT president is Barack Obama. I know it must be difficult for you to understand, just try a little harder, use that brain, and don't sleep at the light switch.

"And negative messages now could alienate moderate and independent voters who blame excessive partisanship for Washington’s troubles in addressing the nation’s big problems."

Got that right! And it would be nice to hear some specifics from the Republicans beyond their quest to make Obama a one-term President. They want the office (POTUS), but what do they intend to DO with it?

This is for 'Obungler' - you are a poor excuse for an American! You want us to believe that the Republicans who are the most obstructionist in the history of the Congress and caused this horendous mess in the first place have answers? They have no answers because they have no ideas. They are nothing but tortured platitudes and failed ideology. Wow - great depth of analysis, thought and economic understanding - 'lower taxes', ' lower taxes', 'lower taxes'!

You yourself are a result of this unbridled propoganda proferred by the reich-wing sound machine. You are critical of the President of the USA rather than pointing blame at YOUR party and their pitiful tactics in Congress.

God Bless America. I believe in this country and want it to succeed.
You on the other hand... Love this country or leave it.

erudite - you aren't very...

All negative political ads should be viewed as a complete waste of time and money and shouldn't be believed. I don't care what party they come from. It's beyond the pall that this kind of money is spent trying to elect or prevent someone from being elected, period, and it's especially offensive when there are so many struggling. It's sickening.

All the Republicans have to do is to use OBAMA, PELOSI and REIDS own words against them in adds and point out just what they have done. Remember Obama was a Senator under Bush and mostly voted Present. (He couldn't make a decision then either) Then Democrats had control of the House and Senate for Bush's last two years. When obama won Dem's had total control. It's FIVE YEARS now and we are in worse Shape. Time for him to go!!!!!

http://www.recovery.gov/Pages/default.aspx#.Tp3mQPtZBjk.facebook

Obungler,

I love my country and I love our President. I truly wish that before you or anyone else belittles our President or Country they should take into consideration how the rest of the world would view was.

A term is FOUR years, Obama is ALMOST only THREE years in!

This tactic will backfire. All Obama has to do is what Reagan did. Run on a positive message. I can tell you that a huge majority of independents think the partisanship is ruining our country. If the republicans come out swinging and never let up while Obama comes out with a positive message, the republicans will shift the partisan blame from "those idiots in Washington" to "those obstructionist jerks, the GOP."

In the past six months, conservative groups like those affiliated with Karl Rove and the billionaire industrialist Koch brothers, and, increasingly, Republican candidates themselves, have spent more than $13 million on advertisements carrying a negative message about Mr. Obama, according to an analysis by Kantar Media’s Campaign Media Analysis Group, which tracks political advertising.

I guess you don't count Murdoch's 24/7 hate campaign? If these are your opponents, you must be doing just about EVERTHING right. There isn't a trustworthy bone amongst them. They have no idea about the difference between a lie and political fluff. And they have absolutely no idea what they would do on day 1 if they beat Obama... well... yes... they know what they would do, but it would have nothing to do with improving OUR lot in life,THAT's for sure.

Well i for one want them to nominate Sarah Palin, then they could get Carl Rove as VP, john McCain as secretary of state, and put Bernard Maddoff as the secretary of treasury, then we could vote in a majority of teabaggers to the senate so all teabagger policy's get passed and signed into law, because then i can get my government tracking chip 100% tax increase on my paycheck, lose my retirement benefits, lose my unemployment benefits, and lose my job, and the uber rich benefactors of the right wing, can sit back and sip iced tea while i cut their lawn for 50 cents per day, cause u gotta work like that to get rich in this country, and if you work hard enough those rich people might give up buying that Ferrari on a tax write off cause its basically free if they call it a company car, to give me a nickel per hour raise, and when anyone complains or protests we can just put them into prison cause complaining offends teabagger sensibilities! Constitution, whats that? free speech?.......................................... Obviously although ill spell it out for anyone whose not brilliant enough to see it, im being sarcastic! Republicans should give up now and just give to Obama the election, because their antic's haven't gone unnoticed...................

Why when we have set up socialist governments in other country's like South Korea and Germany do the right wingers demonize the concept here at home, it seems hypocritical, i mean there are people that have no idea what socialism is here that are dead against it especially here in Arkansas the locals are obviously from shallow gene pools, cause i don't say im against something if i don't know what it is, good ole FAUX news, mis-informing the world since 1988......................now like the human torch once said, "FLAME ON"

Don't worry Janie about the people who don't want to remember that the DEMOCRATS had control of all of congress at the start of the recession 2 years before Obama was elected. Their ignorance will be pointed out to them often during the next years campaigns and the fact that it was a Democrat congress that passed ALL of the bailout bills.

Mogul218, your reading skills could use some improvement.

Janie Ackerly's post clearly states that the Democrats had full controlled the US Congress for 4 years and it has been close to 5 years since the economy started to fail (about the same time that the Democrats started full controll of the US Congress).

Negative ads turn me and my friends and family off completely. We purposely don't vote for the candidate, local, state or nationally who has to resort to a negative campaign. It says a lot about his or her character.

Foci, Obama was a Senator before he won, he was a do nothing then. This Guy has done more to "BELITTLE" this Country than any other President, he has also spent more and has caused us to loose our AAA Credit Rating so I guess he would look pretty "wonderful and cause a thrill up your leg" IF you've lived under a Rock since 08 !!!!

Their tactics, the aggressive and sometimes misleading kind not typically used until much further along in a campaign season, have led to a spat with Democrats in what is shaping up to be the most costly election advertising war yet.

The Republicans are in desperation. They know that the "Presidential hopefuls" are just a group of ignorant, arrogant and inept group of people. The real manipulators of these group of individuals are now pouring all the money that they got from the tax payers in smearing ads of President Obama.

As if any campaign is going to convince how stupid they are. They call President Obama the "Big Divider"

It is amazing how far the Republicans will spent on any hate campaign just to win. They were successful at electing Bush the second time with these tactics. I hope that the people realize how much "dividing"and corrupt these people really are.

DOnt forget that Obama has little if anything to run on. THe economy is still in the crapper, Gitmo is still open, and while we are supposed to be pulling out of Iraq, we will be leaving the place is a world of hurt. Obummercare...cannot run on it either because businesses are cutting jobs becasue of it. Repubs are in a very good position....all they have to do is force Obama to run on his record, and tne repubs WIN

I guess these Repugs fail to see Americans (might) be a little smarter than they think at which party has been stalling all government with every Damn FILLIBUSTER in the Senate.

The War Party must Go!!!!!! End this Fillibuster Bull$hit, 51 votes is a Majority.......

kacz, I don't think they have to be negative all they have to do is state the Facts and that alone will be Obama's undoing. They are usins his own words against him.

Everett W Springer......(#3.23)....

FILIBUSTERING in the Senate to stop Obama from spending us into OBLIVION...is a Good Thing !!!

I wonder if you'll feel the same way when Republicans have a 51 seat Majority in the Senate come 2013 ????

@ Janie Ackerly lol the facts? You better stop listening to Faux news girly, or maybe its that Sarah Palins a republican and you like the way she primps her hair, ive met a dozen women with that train of thought....... im sure that their are intelligent women out there that make their own decisions about whats best based on facts, however i look at it like this, if your dumb enough to vote for someone cause of they way they dress or what they look like and have no idea what their policy's truly are then you should no be sharing the same air as the rest of the intelligent portion of our race, men can be equally as stupid, like how bush was elected the first time, hes a cowboy, a hard ass and we admire that in another man........but like Sarah Palin had more air than brains between his ears! Karl Rove & Dick Chinny ran the white house while bush was in office, he dident make any decisions and the ones he thinks he did were manipulated by the aforementioned two evil bastards, and they not Obama are responsible for our country's current state! Really if u must decide based off what somone tells you, its like this. If you want to be prison raped with no lube and to be left with a bleeding rectum and no medical care to fix it "vote republican" cause you will be the victim and suffer! Same almost for the democratic side of things however they use lube, and offer you medical care when they are done.............lol best analogy ive ever come up with regarding politics ahahahahahaha

@ Janie Ackerly lol the facts? You better stop listening to Faux news girly, or maybe its that Sarah Palins a republican and you like the way she primps her hair, ive met a dozen women with that train of thought....... im sure that their are intelligent women out there that make their own decisions about whats best based on facts, however i look at it like this, if your dumb enough to vote for someone cause of they way they dress or what they look like and have no idea what their policy's truly are then you should no be sharing the same air as the rest of the intelligent portion of our race, men can be equally as stupid, like how bush was elected the first time, hes a cowboy, a hard ass and we admire that in another man........but like Sarah Palin had more air than brains between his ears! Karl Rove & Dick Chinny ran the white house while bush was in office, he dident make any decisions and the ones he thinks he did were manipulated by the aforementioned two evil bastards, and they not Obama are responsible for our country's current state! Really if u must decide based off what somone tells you, its like this. If you want to be prison raped with no lube and to be left with a bleeding rectum and no medical care to fix it "vote republican" cause you will be the victim and suffer! Same almost for the democratic side of things however they use lube, and offer you medical care when they are done.............lol best analogy ive ever come up with regarding politics ahahahahahaha

Eric From Arkansas.... (# 3.26 AND #3.27).....It was rambling and boring enough the first time....

im sorry you cant read, mikey! but im here for the LULZ and nothing else.................

... casting Mr. Obama as a failure

DUHHHHH! He IS a failure!!!! No casting about it!

Conservatives mount expensive air assault on Obama.

Doesn't mean a thing if they cannot produce a man or a woman to match the president's intellect.

Hey Jack, you wrote:

Three things that will stop the Republicans in their tracks:

One year is a long time in politics. It ain't over 'till it's over.

And the Republicans are forgetting that there are surprisingly many of us who are older, white, financially comfortable, and actually LIKE Obama!

Democrats should first stop referring to republicans as "conservatives".

Republicans have long foresaken "CONSERVATIVE" values.

So here we go. The conservatives don't want four more years of what we just went through. The looters (see Atlas Shrugged) want to see a continuation of them sitting around getting everything for free. No racism here. Obama is a failure. So is Congress. America is headed down a path that will create massive unemployment, increased interest rates for all, and most of the top corporations to leave this country. If you support socialism, you should be tickled pink. Otherwise, you have great concern about our future. I hope we make the right choice.

I will be voting for O'bama as well it appears. None of the Republican candidates impress me enough to trust that they will actually act conservatively. The best thing I think we can do is let Liberalism shine on its own....America needs a hard lesson

Crossroads GPS, a conservative advocacy group founded by Mr. Rove and other Republican strategists, has placed the biggest bet so far on negative messages.

Yep, better place your biggest bet on mudslinging, because with the sorry pack of empty suits that pose as GOP hopefuls, Republicans have no solutions for this economy and no chance of winning in November.

Jimmy SD

re: post 3.3

You hit the nail on the head. The republicans couldn't stand the fact that they lost to a black man or that a black man would occupy the White House- toned it down to a dull grey, you know. The republicans were sabotaging the Obama presidency even before he took office, leaving him with an unmanageable situation. Then they refused to help THE NATION recover from THEIR acts of political terrorism and either refused cooperation or flat out obstructed any progress, recovery or improvement. The republicans especially have used their propagada corps to divide the Nation and weaken it as a whole at the same time we were waging one unnecessary and aggressive war in Iraq besides the justifiable military involvement we have in Afghanistan.

Neither party, reps or dems, will ever recieve another vote from me. They've had the political power all to themselves for so long that they've begun to disregard as secondary or tertiary their duties to the Nation and their constituents, giving that loyalty to their respective parties and campaign donors instead. All they desire is the power and advantages of their offices, not to use those offices to provide for the common well-being. They haven't been competent even to maintain or improve our national infrastructure!! Nope! They've had everything to themselves for so long now that both parties think they are the only political entities entitled to wield that power, and have effectively eliminated the abilities of 3rd parties to compete in elections for major offices (how often do you see 3rd party candidates invited to highly publicized debates with the rep/dem candidates unless the issue is forced?).

I encourage everybody to look at and participate in the activities of 3rd parties and their candidates. Fill your local and State offices with members of these 3rd parties and remove the reps/dems from their abilities to cause more damage through political offices. Think of running for office as a 3rd party candidate yourself!

The ONLY WAY we will once again have a government responsive to and responsible to "We the People" is to put "We the People" into the political offices. If you want election reform then DON'T re-elect the people/parties who have been denying it to you for decades. It is time to cease being a manipulated little sheep led to shearing and slaughter and resume your rightful heritage as CITIZENS so we can move forward!

Good! Let them waste their money.

Since when did liberal mean communism? That's the path we are headed down if we allow Obama to continue in office. Do you see anything else of value in his Presidency? Democrats be honest! Are we better off now or were we better off 3 years ago? Stop covering up for someone who's inadequate. It's not personal, its business.

The real repugnant fact about American politics - both the republican and democrats continually want to point out how bad the other party is. American politics is not about who will be the best leader - but who will do less damage. Yep- it's a great system, alright.

Obama has failed to lead - period. Obama's solution to every problem is throw money in it's general direction. Obama doesn't even follow up to see the result - Solyndra fiasco, Fisker auto loans to employ foreign citizens, and countless more.

No one should look the other way or try to excuse the mismanagement of american tax dollars.

Republicans can't present a candidate who instills confidence. The mantra is the republicans won't be as bad as Obama. That's what our country and politcal system has evolved to. My candidate won't be as bad as yours...

And we citizens wonder why our country is in the tank? ANYONE who says one party is better than the other - is contributing nicely to the demise of this country. Every citizen needs to demand LESS government involvement, LESS government spending, LESS government waste, fraud and deception. We need to demand MORE government honesty, MORE government straight talk and MORE government accountability.

If you don't demand these things - you deserve what you get.

kornfed, Why would you vote for him again when members of his own party are wanting him to step aside and not run again ???? His OWN PARTY is loosing faith in him!!!!!

kornfed, Why would you vote for him again when members of his own party are wanting him to step aside and not run again ???? His OWN PARTY is loosing faith in him!!!!!

I want America to see which ideology works best. Lets give O'bama a chance to implement his liberal policies, and see whether liberalism or conservatism would work best. I would rather have a chance that a lesson can be learned either way, than put in another moderate conservative that doesn't see a problem with our continuance of importing labor while outsourcing all of our manufacturing.

kornfed i agree about the importing labor and exporting industry.the trouble is both parties seem to be firmly behind this.as a left leaning independent i believe ron paul to be the best candidate of both parties.im voting for him even if i have to write in my choice.

It's all a "dog and pony" show. Behind the scenes, they are one and the same and laughing at how blatantly stupid the American public is that we keep electing them and expecting a different outcome. Our political system is broken and we were thrown overboard along with our constitition sometime around the assassination of JFK, the last real president that wasn't a puppet for the power elite. No matter who takes up residency in Washington in 2012, nothing will change. I am not invested any longer in this system and will not vote for either party in the coming scam election.

I think Obama is doing the best he can. I'm a teacher and can see how hard it is to make a classroom full of kids happy, let alone a whole country. No matter who is in office, people will be unhappy. Obama supported volunteerism and helped me get a grant through Americorps.. under Bush the program had been cut and lots of us lost out on any grant money for education... it's an easy one for me.

Its too bad the American public is so busy arguing and attacking each other over Left vs Right when a duopoly exists. Ignorant, dumbed down America better wake up.

bicfj, I rest my case

RageAgainstThem - are you talking about yourself? As far as the left vs right, the left has tried to negotiate in good faith, it's the right that will not budge until they get everything. So if you actually knew what was going on, you would see that the right wing wackos and convicted felons are the reason we are in this mess today.

Lizon - the cure for negative policital ads? My DVR. Those ads will offer zero factual or useful information so I will be zipping right past them. I love technology.

Rage - You're absolutely right (and by that I mean correct). Just read the posts on Newsvine - 49% foaming at the mouth liberals, 49% foaming at the mouth conservatives and 2% people with actual coherent thoughts trying to have an intelligent conversation. We are American in microcosm.

The tea party is in favor of returning to the old ways of government then why not settle things with a duel. Have John Boehner and Harry Reid duel at forty paces over the budget. Best shot wins. Representative of the party that wins gets to decide what happens.

Well, they have to do something to take the national focus off the circus we know as the 'Republican nomination process'. (sarc)

Again, they demonstrate their innate ability to spend money frivolously while misinforming the public.

Mediocre, predictable, unimaginative, and of course, full of lies.

Did we expect anything else?

Well then, don't run 'em.

We have another batch of "amnesty" conservatives coming down the pike. May as well let O'bama stay in there until we can get a real conservative that doesn't sell out to the establishment.

You better start preparing your budget for the health care you will be forced to buy soon Patriotic American U.S.A.

The only thing conservatives have been working on GOP controlled congress is,

Making sure Obama fails since his election..

Patriotic American U.S.A., those were my thought exactly. Their track record for the last three years is to force the economy to stall through filibuster for the sake of power. As far as the American people are concerned they can be damned because they represent only the top 1%. The ones that are financing this attack.

He failed plenty before they got there.

It was congress that failed. What you political trolls won't admit is this country was already in a state of failure before Obama took office and the Republicans like McConnell filibustered any jobs bill that went before congress.

As Long as the Same Criminals Keep getting Voted back into Office In The Senate and Congress. We will Have the Same Corrupt, "Whores". Making our Laws and Beating the True American Dream into Submission.

We can't Blame the Man at the top because the people under him are For-Sale to the Highest Offer....I don't care if they are Dems. Or Reps. the Vast Majority of them are SIMPLY ,"WHORES".!!!!

I sure am!

There is only one way to stop this kind of outrageous expenditures on the elections. Join the Popular Amendment Movement and help pass the following constitutional amendments (also available for download and circulation at www.faircampaignreform.us):

Petition for US Constitutional Amendment For Election Reform

We, the undersigned US citizens, duly registered voters in our respective states/territories, do hereby petition for our state to approve the following amendment to the United States Constitution by the method noted below.

Election Reform:
1. Abolish the Electoral College (Repeal Amendment 12)
2. ONE NATIONAL primary date to be held on the Tuesday eight (8) weeks prior to the General Election day for Congressional offices and for the President. Candidate petitions must be filed with the local/state elections boards 60 days prior to the Primary Election date. Federal election petitions shall be uniform in every state and shall include a “contract with the voters” that spells out clearly what that candidate stands for on all issues that they may have to address in elected office. They shall be held accountable in court for breach of that contract if elected and any/all terms are not met.
3. NO campaigning allowed for any elective federal office more than 60 days prior to the National Primary Date.
4. NO campaign contribution shall be donated to any candidate of more than $200 from an individual or $500 maximum from a family (spouses/children living in the same household.) No donations shall be made to a candidate more than sixty days prior to the primary date. No candidate shall contribute from their own funds more than 60% of the total donations from other private individuals.
5. NO campaign contribution from any PAC, corporation, union, non-profit organization, special interest group, etc. shall be allowed for any elected federal office.
6. NO third party campaigning (separate PAC ads, corporate ads, etc.) for/against any candidate shall be allowed at any time during or before the election season.
7. NO party conventions shall be held to select the presidential candidates. The selection must be done at the ballot box in the primary election.
8. The One Man/One Vote Supreme Court ruling shall be enforced by this Amendment, namely that NO federal candidate selection shall be by any means other than the ballot box on Primary/General Election Dates.
9. National Party Organizations shall NOT raise money for or donate to specific candidates of their party prior to the dates outlined above.
10. PAC’s shall NOT be granted tax-exempt status by the IRS, and any non-profit organization who uses their funding for political purposes shall lose their tax-exempt status.
11. All lobbyists shall be outlawed from influencing Congress at all times.

This amendment shall be approved ONLY by State Constitutional Conventions to be called within 90 days of this petition being submmitted to a state’s Secretary of State. A minimum of 25% of the registered voters in each state shall be required to further this petition to the respective Secretary of State.

Name Signature State Address

Petition for US Constitutional Amendment For Congressional Term Limits

We, the undersigned US citizens, duly registered voters in our respective states/territories, do hereby petition for our state to approve the following amendment to the United States Constitution by the method noted below.

Term Limits for Congress:
1. Representatives to Congress shall serve no more than two two-year terms in the House.
2. Senators shall be elected to no more than two six year terms in the Senate.
3. No elected official shall serve more than six terms in office in any combined elected offices (House/Senate/Presidency.)

This amendment shall be approved ONLY by State Constitutional Conventions to be called within 90 days of this petition being submmitted to a state’s Secretary of State. A minimum of 25% of the registered voters in each state shall be required to further this petition to the respective Secretary of State.

Name Signature State Address

In helping PAM put together the Term Limits amendment, I was trying to determine a way to make it six terms of ANY combination of elected offices (local, county, state, and federal) but we weren't sure we could get that passed. Hopefully we can at least get the six federal terms passed.

Patriotic American U.S.A.

You Teabaggee's are so cute when you project hate and anger.

The following legislation has been introduced into the DEMOCRAT led Senate.

Rand Paul Plan

Republican Study Committee Plan

Paul Ryan Plan

Obama Plan #1

Obama Plan #2

Debt Commission Plan

Senate Gang of Six Plan

Cut, Cap and Balance Plan

Mack Penny Plan

They've all been tabled or told they are DOA by the Democrats.

There are 20 job proposals by the House sent to the Senate and not acted on. Now, before you begin your typical Liberal rant about they're all bad proposals, tell me specifically what is so bad about them. These are all proposals on paper that you can read online if you want. Where are the Democrats proposals in writing?

You do realize how a bill is passed right? If not let me remind you with my short version.

ANYONE in Congress can author and present a bill. Legislation Constitutionally begins in Congress. In the House ANY member, majority or minority, can introduce a Bill, it is dropped in a box called a hopper. In the Senate, after being recognized by the presiding officer and announcing the bill's introduction, ANY member can introduce a Bill.

However, Bills dealing with appropriations (money) can ONLY originate from the House. Article 1, Section 7 restricts this. The Bill is labeled and then goes to committee for study. After study, hearings or if needed sending the Bill to a subcommittee, it is voted on. Then it is reported to the floor of the Senate or House and calendared for action. Debate is given and vote to either pass it or reject it. Most Bills never pass committee. Once a Bill passes it must be exactly worded and setup. If not, a conference committee is created to finalize the wording. It then returns to both Houses for a revote. The Bill is then sent to the president. He can sign it, veto it or do nothing (this is called a pocket veto if Congress is not in session for 10 days). If he vetoes, it goes back and can be overridden by a two-thirds majority in both Houses. It then becomes law. The president has 10 days to veto or sign it. (emphasis mine)

You or I can offer legislation. We can't introduce it. It has to go through a member of Congress. The president can ALSO offer legislation but he CAN'T introduce it. It must go through a member of Congress also. But the president must begin the budgetary process.

Notice the highlighted section. "Then it is reported to the floor of the Senate or House and calendared for action. Debate is given and vote to either pass it or reject it". Debate is given. Where is the Democrats debate. Where is the compromise. Show it to me in writing. Don't bother, you can't because they never put anything in writing because they are cowards. They are using all this as political capital because Obama has been such an abysmal failure on all other policies.

It would also be nice if Democrats could propose and actually pass a budget, don't you think?

You Teabaggee's need to get off your class-warfare high horse and start doing something for our economy. Saying "NO", "DOA" and "Table it" are NOT very effective legislative solutions.

(By the way, a “teabaggee” is the one who accepts the bag from the teabaggers. You can find a more descriptive definition here, urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=teabaggee)

Term limits YEEEEEEES! Nothing I hate worse than an OLD, Bought and paid for, Crook in office..

Wising up to a third party would benefit both sides and help our Country the Most.

Conservatives = expensive attack ads? Gee...and these are the so-called "conservatives" who are so poor and Middle Class they have the moolah to spend millions on another typical slash and burn campaign?

Nice to know they can only get their "expensive" campaign ads by paying the King of Slash and Burn, Karl Rove. Must be nice to have enough money to slather around K-Street. Who needed Abramoff when Rove was always going to be the Architect Hit Man for every Republican campaign?

What this prove is that conservatives have a wealth entitlement attitude. If they don't want the president the rest of us vote for, well? Hotcha...all they have to do is buy the one they want. With money they can only earn from the rest of us.

Time to cut these so-called anti-government Norquisters off at the pass.

Dont worry libs, O'bama has plenty of cash to counter with hehe.

Kornfed...Where did Grinchrich get his Moolah? Where did Rove get his? Where did Norquist? Where did Slick Rick? We all know where Bachmann got hers....a baby mill industry she calls "foster parenting".

No matter what conservatives say about this President. He was the one doing all the mopping up after 8 conservatives years of philandering BS.

We need another Republican in the White House like we need 8 more years of dictatorial BS and Greater than Great Recession.

How'd that Harvard MBA Bush miss the red flags that ended his presidency with the worst recession since another Republican, Hoover, dumped on on this country work out for ya?

All conservatives know how to do is reinvent history, BS their way to the front of the line and when that doesn't work, rip off anyone in sight. Sorry, Not this time.

I can't wait for 2012...every card carrying red state bigot will end up in mental hospitals from their inability to accept majority rule. Attack ads? BS ads is all.

“Greatest jobs crisis since Great Depression. Record home foreclosures. Record national debt.” And it renders judgment on Mr. Obama’s presidency: “He promised he would fix the economy. He failed.”

Sounds about right.

Notice the article said that Obama is already airing 'attack ads' against Romney in key states, but the thrust of the NY Times article is about negative Republican ads. With a $Billion for attacks by Obama alone, we'll get plenty of negative ads over the next 11 months. And as I recall, in the 2008 elections, it was virtually all attack ads by Obama against McCain/Palin.

Gee, I wonder if the Times might have an agenda?

The past three years is the first time I have been ashamed of my country.

I will be voting for O'bama ewent. I want liberalism to get its fair shot over a patch job with a moderate conservative. By the way, Bush sucked too. Not sure what point you are trying to make here with me.

You are a silly man ewent.

Kornfed...Woman...not man. I knew you'd vote for Obama because as an intelligent man, you already know the difference between bad and worse.

Our avatars look so much alike...it was an easy mistake.

You know why the Repulicans REALLY want to win this time around? Because they KNOW the economy can't help but turn around and take off before long. There is so much pent up demand that as soon as people start seeing some light, there will be a rush to beat the next guy to the mall, jobs will grow, and all will be well again. Maybe wishful thinking, but there is history for this. Clinton had a minor contest with Dole in 1996, and right after that the economy took off after the poor to modest performance of the economy from ~1990 to ~1995. No one's special wisdom--it just happened. If Obama is there for the next breakout economy, he'll get the points; if some Republican is in there, Obama won't. That's a 50-year story of how "we" saved the country from those "socialist" policies. That's why it's so important to them.

The people that post here on Newsvine are just SO childish. Don't like a comment? Collapse it! I would guess that the libs just don't like to read anything remotely resembling common sense. Adios, I am tired of the inane comments. I will get another homepage, hopefully one with more adults commenting!

Kornfed...I purposely never use my photo as an avatar. In the world of politics being a woman hasn't the same empowerment as being a man.

I'm not anti-Republican. But this recent push toward Randism is nuts. If only self-interest is all important and individualism is the priority, where's the teamwork in any of that? That's why Rand was a childish, overindulged, self-acclimated and self-interested woman who tried to push her age of Meism to sell her books.

As a freelance writer, Rand was hot to sell books and didn't care what impact her writing would have on her readers. That's a substandard writer. All of the world's greatest writers took responsibility for their writing. Rand didn't feel she had to do more than sell books.

I'm truly glad the repubs are condemning President Obama. At least they can write something. As to their candidates, they really can't write anything about them that is not shameful or better yet, laughable, with their quasi-religious, facts optional, ignorance as a virtue campaign style, what could they write?

Yes I am....which reminds me of the 'throw grandma over the cliff in a wheelchair' ad run by Democrats. Do you really think that pointing out the factual state of the economy and overspending by the government is comparable? This is what opposing campaigns should be doing.

Politifact.com "Pants on fire lies":

Romney - "Says Barack Obama said, "If we keep talking about the economy, we’re going to lose."

Herman Cain - "China is "trying to develop nuclear capability."

Bachmann - "Under Barack Obama's watch, we have expended $805 billion to liberate the people of Iraq and, more importantly, 4,400 American lives."

Huntsman - "The IRS is already planning on 19,500 new employees to administer" Obama’s health care mandate.

Bachmann - "President Obama has the lowest public approval ratings of any president in modern times."

Romney - "President Obama "went around the world and apologized for America."

Chain email - "Barack Obama is the "First President to terminate America’s ability to put a man in space."

Chain email - "Medicare monthly premiums will go up to $104.20 in 2012 and $247.00 in 2014 due to "provisions incorporated in the Obamacare legislation, purposely delayed so as not to 'confuse' the 2012 re-election campaigns."

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/rulings/pants-fire/

The Republicans, Koch Bros, Karl Rove want nothing more than to destroy what's left of the middle class. These people are dangerous and American needs to refuse to deal with these people on any level. If you think things are bad now, we've seen nothing as compared to what they have in store for this country.

Wow, the Obama "volunteer" posters and biased media are out in full force trying to spin failure into something else and pushing a full force assault trying to save a loser. Sad!

I am greatly heartened by the astuteness of the vast majority of my fellow Americans who have commented herein, those who see clearly and speak the truth about our puppet political system and the filthly puppeteers who control them and hence our country.

Voting to elect or re-elect the garbage that we are given as congressional and presidential choices would only strengthen the correctness of the adage:

"Fool me once, shame on you - Fool me twice, shame on me."

Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ux3DKxxFoM

Amazing, the Republican candidates have been bashing one another at every meeting. They should target their energy at the ROOT of the problem....Mr. Obama and his FAILED agenda:

1. Stimulus #1 - estimated cost was $ 862,000,000, TRUE COST was $ 3.270,000,000,000: http://blog.heritage.org/2009/02/12/true-cost-of-stimulus-327-trillion/
2. Obama's HAMP #1 (Making Home Affordable Program) - $ 75,000,000,000: http://247wallst.com/2010/06/21/hamp-failure-worsens-as-only-340000-mortages-permanently-modified/
3. Obama's HAMP #2 $ 1,000,000,000 program to offer loans to help the jobless pay their mortgages until they could find work again: http://www.cjr.org/campaign_desk/timess_solid_report_on_failed.php

4. Mr. Obama Jokes about Shovel Ready jobs: http://exposethemedia.com/2011/06/13/video-obama-jokes-about-shovel-ready-projects/

5. Mr. Biden says Stimulus was a failure: http://scaredmonkeys.com/2009/06/14/vp-biden-admits-obama-stimulus-plan-a-failure-on-meet-the-press-everyone-guessed-wrong-on-the-impact-of-the-stimulus-not-everyone-joe/

6. Omnibus $ 500,000,000,000: http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2010/12/16/the_failure_of_the_omnibus_and_the_end_of_appropriation.html, http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2009/03/Omnibus-Spending-Bill-Huge-Spending-and-9000-Earmarks-Represent-Business-as-Usual

7. Cash for Clunkers $ 3,000,000,000: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204884404574366664026140786.html

8. Cash for Appliances $ 300,000,000: http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2010/07/21/did-cash-appliances-program-work

9. Weatherization Program: http://www.cagw.org/newsroom/waste-watcher/2011/february/weatherization-program.html, Weatherization Fraud: http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2010/07/21/did-cash-appliances-program-work

10. Electric Car Company in Finland - $ 529,000,000: http://www.zimbio.com/Barack+Obama/articles/FQ1Ucc24I4f/Solargate+Barack+Obama+gave+500+million+stimulus

11. Black Farmer Fraud - $ 1,250,000,000: http://www.aim.org/aim-column/media-miss-black-farmer-fraud/

12. Solyndra Solar Panel Company - $ 535,000,000: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/09/14/7759207-white-house-ignored-red-flags-in-loan-to-failed-solar-company

13. Sun Power Solar Panel Company - $ 1,200,000,000: http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=46761

14. Geothermal Plant in Nevada - $ 145,000,000: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/03/business/a-us-backed-geothermal-plant-in-nevada-struggles.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

15. Mr. Obama's release of Strategic Oil Reserves to cut gasoline costs: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/06/24/obamas-release-oil-reserves-just-makes-our-energy-problems-worse-not-better/

Time for the Republican candidates take off the gloves.

The above list is Domestic agenda only, Mr. Obama's International failures are for another thread.

has anyone ever heard of a republican running on there own record . .. the republican only runs against someone elses record .. they can lie about there opponets record ..photoshop and edit sound bites ..do anything they want to mislead and distort the truth ..and there base is to stupid to know the differance ..

'Their' record, not 'there' record...as to the evils of republicans, please, both parties are guilty. Remember the movie "Wag the Dog?" If you've never seen it I think you might find it enlightening.

It's too bad that the US doesn't have campaign laws like Canada. In Canada, you are prohibited from taking corporate and special interest money, and you can be sued for slander for purposely mis-stating an opponents statements or lying about his publicly stated positions. The US is one of the only countries in the world that allows/promotes this kind of lying behavior to take place. The US is at the bottom of the list as far as I'm concerned for election truthfulness. The public is supposed to make clear intelligent choices when they are bombarded with lies and distortions ? Thanks US Supreme Court for the Citizens United ruling that made a bad election process even worse ! And if one needs to point fingers at who and which party is for this crap, look no further than the turkey faced bastard and GOP hatchet man Senator Mitch McConnell who started the ball rolling with the US Supreme court case McConnell v. FEC. God I hate that man and the party for which he stands !

According to their ads, the republicans can cure baldness, relieve hemorrhoids, and increase longevity just by voting for them. I will give them one thing though; they are quite good at running otherwise, dead sons-a-bitches for political office.

You know I don't normally respond to posts like these but I thought that I should point out a few things as a prime example of the difference between a moderate voter and someone who has blind faith in their political party. I don't have time to go through all of these examples but I will highlight the 2 that stood out.

Stimulus #1 - estimated cost was $ 862,000,000, TRUE COST was $ 3.270,000,000,000:

Did you even bother to read this report or even try to understand what it was for. This was a CBO report asked to be made by Ron Paul on the cost of the stimulus IF the programs enacted by the stimulus was extended for 10 years.

Notice the if in that statement? There is no indication that the programs enacted by the stimulus will be extended for another one year much less 10 years. Did you even bother to read the report that was linked in the article? Did you see what they did to get their numbers?

The people who work in the CBO make pretty good paychecks and a middle schooler could have done their math. All they did was look at the current funding that the stimulus package did and copy/pasted it for every year until 2019 and then adjusted for inflation. The report does not take into account that:

1. The stimulus would not be extended for 10 years to begin with.

2. How economic conditions over the next 10 years would change revenue on both the state and federal levels which would adjust the amount of funding needed to maintain funding levels for some of those programs in relation to accumulated debt.

The entire report was nothing more than a theory on what would happen if we kept repeating the same funding stimulus every year for the next 10 years. Something that would never happen in the first place and something that we have no indication of happening either.

It was a huge waste of taxpayer time and money to make this report. If Ron Paul had any inkling of intellect in his head he would know this already. Furthermore if he had any math skills whatsoever he could have figured out the numbers in 5 minutes and saved the taxpayers a lot of money in making an official report.

The lesson to the voters here is to not blindly listen to what a blogger or political commentator says about a report. Use your own brain to figure things out on your own. Don't be a mindless sheep, don't trust anybody to tell you what to think, think for yourself.

Mr. Biden says Stimulus was a failure:

Again I have to ask, did you even watch the video that was attached to this article or did you simply blindly believe what the blogger said? I ask his cause I saw the video. I sat through it. Yes I know listening to Joe Biden's voice has been known to cause acute drowsiness and slight eye irritation but I endured it anyways.

What Biden was saying was pretty simple. They made approximations to how many jobs were lost and gained based off of economic models that have been used for decades. What the models didn't take into account was how bad the economy was, given the amount of data that they had on hand. They lost more jobs in the first 3-4 months of the administration than was predicted.

Now I don't fault Obama one bit for those job losses. He just got into office and there was nothing he could have done in his first 3-4 months that would have prevented those losses. They were already in the process of being lost when he was sworn into office.

The issue here was that someone had said that it would hold unemployment at the 7.6% based on what the economic models said about the state of the economy was at the time. It turned out that the models were wrong, the job losses in those first few months were greater than expected and thus the rate went up to 9.4%. The rate would have gone up regardless of who was in office, nobody could have prevented those losses. I want to say this again clearly so it can get into your thick head.

Nobody could have prevented those losses.

Now with that said, what Biden was saying, and I'm inclined to agree based on unemployment numbers, was that the number of new unemployed workers dropped once the provisions of the stimulus began to trickle down into local economies in the form of contracts being handled out. This was about 4-5 months after the president took office. That is direct evidence that the stimulus did have an impact in curbing unemployment. In fact the rate has been holding steady for quite some time now and is even starting to decline, abit slowly.

It should be noted that many of the commentators in that blog article pointed out this discrepancy between what the article stated and what was actually said. It is a false assumption, trying to make something out of nothing, and you my friend fell for it.

Don't listen to political commentators. Don't blindly follow what news organizations, politicians, bloggers, your cousin Vinny, or the Old Man down the Street tell you to believe. Figure things out on your own using logic and reason as the foundation of your beliefs. DTA. Don't Trust Anybody.

I am fairly confident that if you were to go through every item you listed you would find discrepancies and questions about what was stated.

It it posts like yours and the blind political faith that you display that puts moderate voters like myself OFF from voting for anyone in your political party. It makes me cringe every time I see it and you would do yourself and your aligned political party a great service to stop doing it in the future.

It was a huge waste of taxpayer time and money to make this report. If Ron Paul had any inkling of intellect in his head he would know this already. Furthermore if he had any math skills whatsoever he could have figured out the numbers in 5 minutes and saved the taxpayers a lot of money in making an official report.

He did do the math all by himself, unfortunately without the report there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it. You know the old saying the "proof is in the puddin"

why not settle things with a duel. Have John Boehner and Harry Reid duel at forty paces over the budget. Best shot wins.

I agree! The solution is more guns.

While agree with many posters that term limits and campaign reform are necessary, I think there is more to it than that. We also need to take other steps to control the power of these two political parties and to reign in Congress so that they begin to focus on the needs of their constituents instead of their own needs or the needs of the few, powerful organizations that support their campaigns. Please check out the amendments proposed by the American Overhaul Act (www.americanoverhaulact.com). And if you like what you see, please support this organization!

No, I think Lizon is pretty much on the right path with this. Obama still shoots a good left handed jump shot, and the first lady is gorgeous.

Or Andrew Jackson's.

Thke a shortcut to your result...move to Italy.....

Or Dubya's....

But Bush beats them both as the worst President ever, its all about big business and greed. At least Obama capture Bin Laden which Bush could never do, hell he got us into 2 wars that we should of never been in, thousands of lives lost, and you say Obama is the worst President, give me a break.

Linda M you don't know Jack Sh.. To say Obama is the worst ever is pure stupidity if for anything because it's not even over yet! And you Conservative freaks were already saying that 6 Months into his presidency!! Thats how much nonsense you guys spew! So 2 words..BULL SH%$

I second that thought .... :-)

LouNJ, stop listening to the liberal media and open your mind. I was a democrat until realizing that my party has no leaders, it's easier for them to blame someone else than to step up and lead. Also, the Democrats controlled all three branches of government for two years and now want to blame the Republicans? My impression is that Obama is the worst President in my lifetime (yes, even worse than LBJ and Carter) because he was not born with leadership skills, his great oracle skills only go so far.

Well Bundi, I was a Repub for over 30 years - but won't go back until the GOP manages to find a moderate person with some brains. Will that occur in 2016? Maybe. Obviously not happening in 2012, tho' I'm quite happy with President Obama, considering all the problems out there - world wide. I will certainly be voting for him again. There are some social issues that need addressed by a president who does not have to be concerned about re-election popularity, and I'm hoping for some things to happen. (Things that the Repubs said they'd not do.)

Chuck Hagel was the last Republican and the neo-cons drove him out. Ever listen to what he has to say? I don't like all his views but I respect the guy.

Obama is the best President we have had since Eisenhower, the GOP "drown the government in the bathtub" plan is still at work. They want to break the country and are more interested in reaffirming "in God we trust" as our motto and fighting over which college team goes into the new big ten slot. Seriously, these guys (Mitch Mconnel) spent more time on wrangling over a college team than bills. It's also hiliariously ironic that the GOP spews less government intrusion and yet inserts themselves into the dialogue for college athletics.

Linda M-311663 wrote:

I probably have as much education as you if not more and I say he is by far, the worst president ever. He has even beaten Carter as the very worse and I didn't think that was even possible, lol!

Just a friendly tip. When trying to impress someone with your high intelligence level, it's always a good idea to leave the "LOL" out at the end of your statement. It just doesn't seem to fit in with your original claim, for some reason.

And on another note, just because a lot of people seem to believe that Carter was the worst president ever, doesn't make it true. He was one of the better people to ever hold the job, who if not for the bad luck he had with the hostage rescue attempt in Iran, would be held in a much brighter light, today. His continuing work to help others after his term ended, when he could have simply chosen to be sipping a cool beverage by a pool in Georgia, is something you don't normally see much of in most retired presidents (or people in general) as well.

Laura,the Navy Seals captured Bin Laden. Pres. Obama was thousands of miles away. Anyway,there is no one who will be nominated fit to be president. Both parties are taking us to the same destination, just by different routes.

I wish I had a dime for every one of you that say you were a democrat before Obama became President. What a crock! How much does the GOP/TP pay you to write that dribble? With all the respondents saying this there are probably only a handful of democrats left in existence. If you believe that I've got a big bridge to sell you along with some nice swamp land.

kacz, et al:

It's DRIVEL, not DRIBBLE! Look it up!

Kacz, Some polls show the democrats numbers going down. Yet many are showing the GOP numbers going up. But It still come down to the independents, and if they are unhappy with Obama, well then, we will have a new president. Obama has no chance right now with the independents, and it seems that they are the smart ones, not voting for a party, but voting for a country!

Well Bundi, I was a Repub for over 30 years - but won't go back until the GOP manages to find a moderate person with some brains. Will that occur in 2016?

Maybe, if Jon Huntsman runs again. He's the only moderate GOP candidate with anything close to brains in the current clown posse. Of course, the GOP party masters (Koch Bros, et al) don't want a smart candidate who's capable of independent thought, so he doesn't stand a chance.

The war cry of "worst president ever" is made by those who didn't vote for the President in 2008. They won't changing that vote for any reason. Therefore, its a throwaway statement. What is important is to remember that the situation we find ourselves was decades in the making. The old statement of "are you better off under Obama is a bit shortsighted; what should be asked is this "has the last ten years found you heading in a better direction?" If not, why? How long will it take to change that? 2,4,6,8 or more years. No one president is going to change this fact. President Obama has not done all that he could have done (Single Payer, Mr. President then we wouldn't have all this nonsense we're about to hear). Doing nothing is doing something mentality is where I find the other party's position. My bigges concern is that the cast of characters who wish to hold the position of Office of President of the United States are so inept as to cause me shake my head in wonder as to how the hell they even got where they are today. Its scary.

Okie:

I suggest you look it up. Drivel and dribble essentially have the same meaning, therefore it would be the writer's choice on which term to use. Hmmm...."choice" - a scary prospect, heh?

Skip, Well stated!

Want to make a Cornbelter eat their shorts with angst? Mention the one four-letter word they most hate to be reminded of when it comes to failure...B U S H.

I love how the conservatives all claim THIS president was a failure before he came into office when Bush was failing since college and finished his fun and games by destroying the economy. Some Harvard MBA legacy that is.

Republicans just don't understand the economy. Hoover = Depression, Bush II = Depression. I guess you can say Obama is a failure in that he couldn't correct in less than 3 years what 8 years of Bush II did to destroy this nation.

haha...silly libs

Olddog26...Only if the republicans can come up with an electable, viable moderate candidate. So far they have come up with no one who an Independent could or would vote for. Obama will win by default. As long as the republicans are controlled by the Tea Party types they will not be able to field a viable candidate. In order to win the primary, a candidate has to sell his soul to the Tea Party, that makes him/her unelectable to the rest of the country.

We haven't had a people's president since Harry Truman. Goldwater would have been a good one but the Rockefeller republicans abandoned him and gave us Mr Payoff Johnson. Bush could have had Bin Laden any time he wanted him but Cheney;s Halliburton would loose millions if the wars ended. The Stupid Democrats passed up Lieberman. Their best. Conservative democrats were out number by the socialist welfare recipients.
Have you noticed neither side has address the main problem. "American jobs being sent over seas" No good paying jobs, no progress, excess corporate profits all go hand in hand. Our politicians Democrats or Republicans are more concerned about stock prices than if Americans are working. Yep! We borrow money from China to pay welfare, corporate, national or people. One is just as detrimental as the other. How much of our expenses every year go to support countries that wish us dead? How much of our budget go to prop up failing corporations who's CEO draw excessive bonuses to fail.
You blame artist should realize the US's down fall didn't start with Bush or the Half Breed Kenyan. Also realize Ben Laden Capture was only brought on the lighten the downward slid of the Half Breed Kenyan. They could had him anytime they wanted him. Ben Laden was Bush's Pearl Harbor. Just like FDR in his statement about the unprovoked attack on Pearl. Unprovoked???? Bull S#@T!!!!!!!!!!

Stay asleep American because is SSDD.

Kornfed...The only thing conservatives know how to do is regurgitate failure. Every time a Republican is in the White House he spends more time kissing Big Business ass then he does working for the common good of ALL Americans.

I think most Americans fall into the liberal category conservatives find so disgusting. That's all conservatives know how to do...label...They've spent so much time reading from that self-interest twerp Ayn Rand's Atlas they can't abide the idea they aren't the only ones living in the US.

It was a bunch of freedom loving liberals who started this country. Only the hotsy totsy conservatives wanted to continue to remain a monarchy under King George.

Obama is ahead of Carter in my book for the worst modern president...no policies, flip flop with the polls, and all smoke.... Can't even figure out how to work with Congress (before you libs whine about the Republicans remember Bush worked with Dem control in both houses - thats what a leader can do...) What has Obama done in the last 15 days, ok 60 days? Nothing but hide...opps thats right campaign cause his accomplishments can't stand on their own merits...

ewent...you need to stop and take a breath. Every thing you accuse Republicans of doing is being done by the Democrats. Maybe you should try a different angle of attack.

Bundit, post 7.8. Unfortunately I and all other intelligent readers of the Vine must discount every post that you have written, past, present, or future. Clearly you have a fundamental misunderstanding of our system of government.

Currently, it is true that the Democrats control the Executive Branch. They also hold a majority, though not filibuster proof, position in the Senate. The Republicans hold the House of Representatives. The Judiciary, the third branch of government, is apolitical, although they currently tend to lean conservative.

During the President's first two years in office his party held a majority position in Congress that was filibuster proof only for a few days.

Therefore your statement;

Also, the Democrats controlled all three branches of government for two years and now want to blame the Republicans?

is either born of a lack of understanding or a deliberate attempt to mislead.

You are welcome for the six grade civic lesson.

Kornfed..I was a Republican....BB (Before Bush). Sorry, I find that Republicans, the US Chamber of Commerce, Wall Street and Corporate America are the only United States the GOP recognizes.

Where does that leave the people of this country? How does removing jobs by downsizing, outsourcing or offshoring make this country stronger? How doesn't it provide an escape route to avoid Big Business taxes?

Again...the sole focus of the GOP is Business....not Americans. The proof of that is who they put out there for candidates? Bachmann, a hypocrite who'd deny our elderly of programs they need and then helped herself to taxpayer funding as a foster mom, Slick Rick who can't utter a sentence that doesn't compare his state with the other 49, Romney whose a venture capitalist on steroids who caused tens of thousands of job losses through his Bain Capital that shuffled more American jobs offshore and then there's the the newly converted Newster. The GOP slaughtered Clinton with MonicaGate all but destroying his presidency which as it turns out was far more successful than Bush's but now, all is forgiven for Gingrich? How hypocritical does the GOP intend to get?

Where does that leave the people of this country? How does removing jobs by downsizing, outsourcing or offshoring make this country stronger? How doesn't it provide an escape route to avoid Big Business taxes?

We also import our labor, which the Dems are fully participating in. I find either party repulsive. We will onlly have establishment candidates running for President. Nothing is going to change yet again.

Dick:

My dad was alive and about 30 years old during the Great Depression. He and a couple other guys had to live in the north woods of Wisconsin as there were no jobs to be had. The mills only hired family men. They lived in a shack they built out of anything they could find, borrow or steal. They made their living by hunting, trapping, berry picking and trading to the few farms around and in the local towns. This is NOT a depression we are in. It MAY be a recession, but NOT a drepession.

Did you or anyone in your family shop on Black Friday? There is plenty of money to go around, we just need to get our housing situation back in order and feel good about the economy and our country again.

I won't vote for President Obama:

1. He is responsible for Fast and Furious. He is a closet anti - 2nd Amendment political hack who in the course of conjuring up Fast and Furious is responsible for the murder of both Mexican and American citizens. He coddles the drug addicts of this country and supported the cartels with weapons.

2. He has talked down this country enough. His apologies and bad mouthing sicken me.

3. His mentors and friends were the likes of Bill Ayers and Franklin Davis. One was a terrorist in the 60's during my school years and the other a Communist.

Kornfed...I live in NJ...I see why so many foreign laborers are imported here...All they need is a green card. I can't possibly blame either party for the importation of foreign labor. I never agreed with Clinton on his NAFTA. Mostly because I worked in an international company at the time and saw the real problem: Americans can afford to buy cheap imported goods. People in foreign countries can't afford to buy ours. So those trade deals are a distinct disadvantage.

As for the importation of foreign labor...that's a direct result of too many US businesses in foreign ownership. These business owners are not forced into citizenship and thus, their homeland country is all they care about. So they use American taxpayers and consumers to help their countries...just not ours.

So, when it comes to laying blame, unfortunately we Americans don't put a stop to the sell off of our American small businesses. I'm nothing if I'm not a 100% Small Business supporter. American Small Business that it.

Dick, I will be voting for President Obama. Here are the reasons. I feel that, ultimately, we will find ourselves in a single payer situation bringing the debacle of our healthcare industry's history to a close. I applaud equal rights for all Americans. I applaud his stance on women's rights. I approve of the withdrawal of American troops from foreign lands. I expect more from him in the next 4 years. I do not wish to maintain that which doesn't work, that being the status quo. I am for the continuance of both medicare and social security. I am for changing our tax codes to reflect correct percentages of taxes. So, there is much to applaud and also much to condemn. Unemployment and the economy are the results of decades of neglect and our insatiable desire to "have it all now" mentality. Oh, forgot. Education. I believe education is the future as it always has been and always will be. So, based on the above, I will as will many many others cast my vote for the President. Help me here. Help me change my mind. What do you propose?

NickT, post # 7,

ignorance among the voters is not something to love. Popular ignorance is something to rue, and to fight against.

Skip and Michael

I won't say you are crazy, although that may be the correct term to describe you both. I think you have both been misled by the media and Obama's promises that he has failed to keep.

Who would have guessed that the first black president of our country would be a big fraud and liar that set out to destroy our country? The problem you two have is you still have the wool pulled over your eyes and can't see Obama for the evil he really is.

Wasn't anyone that did anything against Vietnam a "terrorist" and didn't the CIA label anyone they didn't like a "communist"? That sounds like the same scare words I have heard over the last 10 years. Shoot, I watched a whole administration spook America into believing that everyone from the Middle East must be "watched". Wasn't this the same rethoric that was used against Black people in the 50's and 60's? I don't understand some people's mindset that apologizing to anyone makes US look vunerable! The solution of "kill em all" has proven to be a failure. From Vietnam to the current conflicts in Afghanistan, WE look like losers! If you look at it objectively, it reminds me of King Kong! WE are King Kong! Big, bad, stronger than everyone else, but if you get a bunch of little people together, they could topple King Kong! As you see, it only took 19 little ones and so far, King Kong still hasn't gotten up!

Delfairchild- All of your reasons for disliking Obama are straight out of, Fox News(faux noise) His mentors, that has already been debunked, and you know it, if you don't then you are just a faux parrot, repeating lies and half truths, like these deceptive ads. Just because you repeat a lie over and over again, doesn't make it true. I love that when people say that the Obama adm got OBL, people say no it was the navy seals, witch it was under the orders of the President, and in the next breath, they bring up fast and furious, so in other words, Obama can only be blamed, and never get credit for anything. HYPOCRITE'S straight out of faux noise.

Laura-3089574
How soon we forget that Obama not only continued and expanded those wars but has added Libya and troops in Africa as well as all the "advisors" we don't know about. So you point on the wars is moot. The economy is another story. Having wasted trillions that could have really been used to start fixing the economy instead of paying back union and taker supporters. Add to that not knowing the first thing about foreign diplomacy and failing miserbly at any attempt he has made other than supporting the uprisings in the middle east, throwing more of our money that way and giving out foreign aid to our enemies like Pakistan. While spending our tax money on important things like ads against soda and salt at a time when people can't afford food. Other than that and all the other stupid anti-american moves like cancelling the National Day of Prayer while holding a Muslim day of Prayer on the Whitehouse lawn, gee I could go on all day, but bottom line he has been the most disloyal President we have ever had.

Shaking my head: Well, I haven't forgotten any of your points and might add that BO's so-called transparency was certainly well illustrated during all those closed-door negotiations to force passage of his disastrous healthcare bill. Then there's that whole photo op at Solyndra resulting in $537 million of taxpayer's money in the toilet. He even went against his own party's warning of a serious financial problem (a loan by the way, which GWB put on hold due to the warning signs) for that one.

Unless people start to look at the whole picture, the entire story, and vote with their brains by looking at the real reason a bill was stopped or what a candidate's accomplishments, voting records, standards, relationships and beliefs are - and stop allowing the reality-show that has become our political system to determine their vote, we will have another 4 years of the abject governmental failure that we've endured with BO.

He is an orator and that is his only strength but his words are empty and designed only to benefit him with another 4 years in office. If we allow him to succeed in his bid for re-election, we can certainly expect worse than what we've got now - that is the only thing that he guarantees the country with certainty. He's an empty suit without the courage of any conviction that doesn't offer him a group of votes, financial support or fame. He's a total joke who would be a complete embarrassment to his party if they couldn't push him around as they do most of the time. He has no clue how this country or any other country does business and he'll blame anyone else for his lack of judgement. I don't doubt that BO's biggest concern right now is that the history books will have to preserve the actual facts of his presidency, among which will be that he was 1-term.

bundit... some people are to stupid to be democrats .. if anyone thinks Obama is worse than ... G W B .. or Ronnie .. they should join the idiot party .. the republicans always need contributors and fools

Your crazy if you vote for either party, lol.

He's just being realistic. And I agree. I'd rather have Obama than any of these folks. Romney wouldn't be too bad. But still don't like his agenda on most items. Only thing I like on Romney is his statements about china currency. But it goes much further than that. Everything else. No thanks, same policies that got us here in the first place.

Until everyone votes for completely different candidates than X or Y (repub and Dem), things really won't change very much. And that's sad because the entire system is imploding in on itself. Back to what the tea baggers wanted I guess... what the founding father's economic system was based on: Cast system with a mercantilism plutocrat control. And maybe a little indentured servitude and possibly slavery. What a wonderful system in today's modern fully republic system. The system was changed into a democratic system through the 1800's and more so during the early 1900's. But we're going back to repeat history all over again.

I won't call you crazy. Anyone with a brain can see that the last debate was stocked with all the major players in Bush's administration. Another GOP run would be Bush 3.0 + repeal of the 20th century. I'd rather have no president then a GOP run Exec and congress. Give the whole congress to Obama, and we finally will get real change that matters.

I for one am not going to vote someone into office just because there is no one better. WOW! Remaining president of the United states because we can't seem to drum up someone better than Obama? How embarassing for us as a nation.

I said Romney was the only Sane GOP they had to offer, and most Democrats will agree with that, the rest are a bunch of loony tunes ..... But the problem is he's Mormon and those so called Christians are the ones that can't except him because of it ... Oh but they don't have a prejudice bone in their bodies, yea right ..

When Romney refused to sign that looney toon preacher's list of swearing to uphold morality stuff like a defense of marriage act - I was impressed. "Romneycare" is a bonus, not a detriment, in my estimation. But when he began to change his views to "fit in" to the right wing Christian mullahs, and get inflexible on immigration - that was it for me. I could have gotten over the mormon thing - probably. Now, Huntsman looks ok, but he isn't popular at this point.

I'd rather have gridlock than giving total control to EITHER party.

Michael Kruger

Call me crazy...

How about we just call you a socialist instead!

plz mr. kruger, the only difference between obama and osama bin laden is tactics. they both want to destroy this country. one of them is dead, and the other is doing a bang up job of it

please post facts, not fox.

If Obama is a socialist, why doesn't he have the full support of the American Socialist Party/

They don't claim him as one of their own. That little fact would help if the Faux minions took their earplugs out once in a while.

It all depends on which Romney gets elected, the Mass. governor liberal, or the pro Tea Party extremist.

I for one am not going to vote someone into office just because there is no one better.

I've been doing that for 30 years, except for the one time I just left that place on the ballot blank. We haven't had anything but a choice between the lesser of two evils in decades. And in 2012, given the fools being offered by the GOP, Obama is definitely the lesser evil.

Four more years ? hell I'd be tickled pink to be able to vote for 8 more years. I can't imagine what another 4 years of Republican rule could do to our country,,the last eight almost wiped us off the page. Do we want another dose,,,no, VOTE Obama in 2012 !

bobr, you are pretty ignorant in your comment. How did the last 8 years of republican rule almost wipe us off the page. You obviously are a looter who wants the government to take care of everyone. But please tell me, how did the republicans almost wipe us off the page? I don't understand. By the way, I am an independent, so don't stick that republican tag on me. Both parties need to go.

What I find to be the biggest problem in this country is most so called democrats want to punish the people making the money because they feel robbed. What did they do with their opportunity to get an education? What did they do with their opportunity to create a company and make something of themselves? Absolutely nothing, so punish those who aren't lazy. Obama was correct, Americans are lazy. And they want someone else to pay for their lifestyle. Why do you not see more lazy Americans move to Europe or Africa? Because they would starve and not have a government take care of them.

Jeremy, Mitt Romney now there's a story. Mitt is equally for and equally against. What positions has he stated that speak to you? Specifically, what has Mitt say or done that gives you hope that he might be the next person to hold the Office of President of the United States. I have listened to him (between the circus acts) and found it all very much "Follow the script, path of least resistance" rhetoric. He doesn't particularily do well in front of the cameras. Its all very scripted and dare I say plastic. However, the Mitt Romney that was govenor of Mass. was interesting. I'm afraid that Mitt isn't on offer. What we have now is a rendition of TeaLibCon which will always be in conflict with itself.

You obviously are a looter who wants the government to take care of everyone

don't stick that republican tag on me

Nope. No irony there.

Michael Kruger, you have many trolls calling you names. Trolls are cowards hiding behind fake names. Their rants are irrelevant since they can't take ownership of their comments.

Poultry is just another work for chicken.

It's about the lessor of two evils, and 2012 will be another easy choice, like 2008, but without Palin, I hope.

Based on the leadership of President Obama, America has a health care law that is almost as sustainable as Social Security. America has acquired a record amount of debt in the last three years. The budget has never been written and signed in the last three years, just a bunch of stop gap budgets that are increasing the National debt faster than the last 16 years combined.

Yes, you would have to be crazy for voting for President Obama based on his true accomplishments. MSNBC is saying that there are attack ads running on TV that are twisting the truth, how about we get President Obama to run on his record? I see the Occupy Groups as the strong arm of the socialist agenda any who side with them are the same. The Democrats have never came out an voiced the objection to the crimes that have been comitted in these camps. I would never be considered a 1%er, but I sure don't want the 99%ers from OWS representing me.

benram...You want President Obama to run on his record? Geeze...You looking for a 2012 Obama landslide then?

Unless conservatives can stop the bleeding of jobs by Corporate America who refuses to pay ANY business taxes, pensions, living wages or healthcare benefits, no conservative can win in 2012.

When you consider the mess this country was in at the end of December 2008 and where it is now, it is a slow climb but it's moving. Only conservatives want to keep it in stagnation mode so their rich Big Business cronies never have to pay the taxes they know Americans demand they pay.

Why should any American have to foot the bill for obscenely profitable corporations who destroy roads and bridges hauling their imported crappola all over the country? Why should Americans have to foot the bills for R&D when R&D IS part of the business of these businesses?

Don't expect any Republican to stop kissing Corporate America ass any day too soon. It's how Republicans stay in office. Their back room agenda is to by pass voters by empowering the 1% with the most money they know will fork it over for their GOP candidates. Whether or not the rest of the country wants that.

flbikerchick, you are obviously trying to indicate there is something ironic about what I stated. I don't think so. My statement is we love to take sides, dig our heals in, and point the blame to someone else. We are never at fault. Someone else has caused us to be in the situation we are in. Bull. I am probably much older than you. What I remember about my upbringing was you make your own success, you need to be a productive member of society, you treat each other with respect and courtesy, and don't blame others for your failure.

I live in Michigan. Ever been to Detroit. It is a waste hole. It is filled with a bunch of people relying on the government to take care of them. High crime, high unemployment, low self-esteem, low confidence. Goes hand in hand. It is all the white mans fault. It is time we go back to what this country was founded on. Freedom. Freedom and no taxes. Remember the Boston tea Party? Now that is ironic. A country founded on no taxation without representation taxing its citizens without allowing them to say what is done with the taxes. That is ironic.

Agree with you Michael Kruger, you are crazy by your own admission.

Michael Kruger,

You’re not crazy, just a little brainwashed. If you hated Bush, then there is every reason to hate Obama because he is Bush all over again. From wars to deficits to Patriot Act to Gitmo to guns in national parks to Halliburton to tax cuts for the rich to dirty air. 69% of independents voted for Obama because he sounded like the anti-Bush. Obama only has 39% from the same independents today.

If you hated Bush, then there is every reason to hate Obama because he is Bush all over again

One of the few factual statements that I have read here today.

DZ...When a person earns a salary that is 425 times what he pays his lowest employee, how is that person economically sane when he expects the lowest salary to compensate for his 425 times higher salary?

Sorry but there have already been far too many tax credits that made the 1% richer with each one.

How is forcing taxpayers to pay the taxes the 1% get away without paying or Big Businesses who use every accounting trick in the book to avoid paying their taxes sustainable? It isn't and that's why Republicans blew it from 2000 to 2008.

They were so stupid as to think that the working poor and Middle Class should pay ALL of the taxes while the taxes of those with the fattest salaries got off with paying less than half.

Sorry, every wealthy man or woman knows going in that a higher salary means paying more taxes. If that's not feasible, earn less...who's stopping you?

Why should we pay for business expenses when we already get price gouged 6 times a year? How is that sustainable?

How is expecting those who have been downsized, offshored and outsourced by the Chief Decision maker CEOs to somehow learn to live on third world salaries all the while CEOs refuse to take salary cuts of their own?

So they stuff their bank accounts with moolah they get from 6 price increases a year, subsidies everyone else is paying for and then get to keep 90% of their fat salaries while the rest of us lose our 35%.

Sorry if that Gravy Train is over. Crash, Baby, Crash...The wealthy never learn there are limits to our tolerance for their wealth entitlements.

ewent:

American Corporate tax rates are the highest in the world. That's the reason jobs are going overseas. Businesses are in the business of making money. They should. They have a lot of overhead; people, machinery, taxes, R&D and stock holders they are responsible for and to.

A good corporate manager (CEO) keeping his company making money is worth his weight in gold.

DelFairchild...Sorry, I don't buy that one. American Corporate taxes are the highest in the world because American Corporations pay CEOs obscene salaries taking more than half their working capital to do it. That's not the reason jobs are going overseas.

The reason jobs are going overseas is the same reason American Corporations in the 1950's thought they'd avoid pay ANY taxes by starting businesses in Cuba. Either these Corporations are out of touch with reality or they enjoy getting the US constantly embroiled in revolutions in foreign countries where US businessmen get away with mass exploitation of cheap labor.

No CEO is worth a hundred million a year. In order to justify that, you'd have to explain why CEOs in China, India and Thailand don't earn their "weight in gold".

A good corporate manager doesn't keep his company "making money". Money is earned...not made by price gouging consumers every 3 months, stiffing employees by hiring them and telling them they have company benefits and then playing bait and switch by forcing employees to pay for "benefits".

A good corporate manager doesn't pay a million a year to a CPA to reduce the taxes his business is supposed to pay for those roads and bridges his business uses in mass volume compared to individual Americans.

A good corporate manager doesn't expect taxpayers to pay the cost of his R&D. That's supposed to come out of his profits.

A good corporate manager doesn't spend 80% of his revenues he likes to call "profit" on high risk investments that go sour and then beg bailouts.

Tell you what...how about we Americans demand that all that cheap foreign labor CEOs love so much reduce their CEO salaries to those in the foreign countries where their cheap labor is? That be okay with them? I thought so.

ewent, you as others on the Democratic side keep saying the same thing, tax the wealthy for taking advantage of everyone else. My question is who gives you the power to decide what the correct ratio is for someone to earn money? I don't buy your 425 to 1 ratio. In addition, you cannot compare the investment return of the person who provides capital to the straight earnings. That argument is a bunch of crap. This is about taxing the rich to spend on the poor, plain and simple. You have no right. That is my conviction. You do not have the right to steal from someone else.

ewent: The NON- PC unspoken reason CEO are makin such a rediculous salery is that the CEOs have input on who sits on the board of directors. The directors determin how much the CEO gets and the CEO has input on how much the board gets.

Since the diversivication of the boards of directors started in the 1970's people are makin millions in renumeration and stock options for sittin on the boards which they DO NOT have a major financiala stake in.

Kinda like Reins, Garlick, Freeh, and the rest of the Fannie MAe and Freddie Mac clowns in the QuasiPrivate/Public Boards. We got Presiednt Ford who was 90+ pullin over a million a year as a board member of 10 boards. Al Gore makin 6 million from Apple and the list goes on and on. LOL!

PS: We're being played as suckers, Both sides are just different puppets with the same puppetmaster. LOL!

Mac101...okay..now tell us...Where do the CEOs get that capital if not from consumers, taxpayers and stiffing their employees?

No one gives anyone the power to decide the ratio. Unless common sense is the determining factor in that decision, how do you explain why one man earns what the GAO has reported since 2004....425 times what the lowest paid employee is paid?

I'm fed up with CEO self-acclimation. They aren't smarter. They are just more psychopathic. They don't have any magic or higher intelligence...unless cut throat psychopathic behavior is considered higher intellligence.

They make decisions that are not always best for the entire company knowing that they will benefit the most.

Taxing the rich? You bet they should be taxed. Everyone else pays their fair share. Why should the fact that a CEO earns 425 times more mean he gets to pay less in taxes?

Your post is rife with that fine old wealth entitlement and privilege. Sorry, you get wealthy all by your lonesome or you aren't wealthy. If you need employees, consumers or taxpayer help, you put back into the system what you took out.

This is why this country is in dire straits economically...a bunch of big baby CEOs with self-interest addictions and high risk gambler investment mentalities. Then when they lose it all, they run out and jack prices. Sorry, Gravy Train is over.

No one minds a wealthy man who makes it on his own. Did Madoff, Ebbers, Ken Lay, Jeff Skilling, Kozlowski or any of those Robber Barons make it on their own? Or did they need wads and wads of cash supplied by everyone but their own bank accounts?

ewent, thanks for pointing out something we can agree on. No bailouts. Oh, by the way, didn't the US Government make billions of dollars in interest on the bailouts. Yes they did. And the car company bailouts, they were bad as well. Right! you bet they were. Hard working Americans put their money up for bonds sold by GM to these investors with the agreement they would be paid back before anyone else in the instance they filed for bankruptcy. And yes, GM went bankrupt and these bond holders were in the front of the line, to get screwed by our government.

Those are cold hard facts. You want to deal with your beliefs, go down to your local hall and listen to the brainwashing. Obummer and his drummers have done a horrible job. Congress has no business being in Washington. Everything Congress touches goes to hell. They sue did a good job with Fannie and Freddie. Oh, we don't want to talk about that because we need to give bonuses to inept people.

You don't like the country, Canada is just to the north.

ewent, in your sick mind the rich have to pay more than their fare share because you have some personal gripe against CEO's. Steve Jobs made every penny he earned. The shareholders are benefiting from his guidance and innovative ideas. What CEO's earn $100 Million a year? Can you name them? I doubt it.

Your arguments don't hold water. If you want a fair tax program, take away all deductions and have a flat tax. That is fair. As I earn more I pay more. Everyone should pay. No deductions, no credits, no special discounts. And when we give money back to workers, don't pay those who don't pay taxes.

ewent: I am either to stupid to hold a conversation with you or you are to emotional to deal with, or perhaps a combination of the two. LOL!

Please ReRead what I wrote. I merely explained why the CEOs were able to recieve so much money for such a sh!ty job. Nowhere did I support it. It be what it be. To survive in a hostle enviroment one needs to understand it. Please Re-Read it and let me know if you still feel the same.

Also, please slow down and look and think and you can easily figure out that we are being played by both side. Thanks

Fair Tax, Fair Trade!

Mac, I agree with much of what you said. We need fair tax and fair trade. We were sold down the river by the Free Trade agreements. The only fair trade agreement that exist is NAFTA. The only one. All others exploit the low wage labor cost in foreign lands. The technology comes from and is funded by American companies. China gets all of its business capital from the US. Yet most of the products you buy is made in China. Think about it.

American Corporate taxes are the highest in the world because American Corporations pay CEOs obscene salaries

Ewent, that makes absolutely no sense.

Thanks DZ. I was just trying to get ewent to see it's ALL a good ole boy system which is milking the wealth from the middle class from BOTH SIDES. The ELITES do not want a middleclass. The want us ALL poor and only the ELITES to have any wealth. Doctors are a good example. Moore's flagship of health care in Cuba, a Doctor gets 50 bucks a month and his OWN taxi permit. I don't want the average Doc makin a million, but I sure want him to make more than me. LOL!

DZ...The plantation mentalities never worked. You throw scraps to keep workers the rich really would rather not pay at all and create slums and ghettos. But that's the workers fault.

Let me see if I've got this right. When President Obama took office, people of your thinking felt he should have ignored the state of the economy, handed out more tax credits to the rich which by the way the GOP demanded in return for holding 9 million Americans hostage in 2009, 8 million who had been unemployed since 2004, handed Big Business more tax breaks and reduce the incoming revenues to only that which the 99% have to pay?

That's it? That's your version of economic stability? Letting the highest income earners off paying a fraction of the taxes the 99% have to pay? How selfish is that?

I don't have a personal gripe against a CEO who doesn't exploit his workers, pays them living wages and keeps their work environments safe and healthy. I do have a problem with CEOs ripping off consumers solely because he wants a salary increase. If he is stagnating his employees salaries for half a decade what gives him the right to help himself to annual salary increases while he gets his labor at ridiculously stagnated salaries?

The rich HAVE TO pay taxes. Get over it.

The point here is that the present CEO salary increases annually are not sustainable and they know it. They are all playing a "Get It While You Can" game. How long do they figure they can keep that game going?

Americans are doing what they can to stop the greed. They shop less, buy less and save in smaller hometown banks. And what exactly is the Corporate America response to this? Jack prices even higher. Like that's going to work for another decade.

In addition to the fact that there is over $55 trillion in BOA unfunded derivatives and another $33 trillion sitting in tax free havens offshore, how much more do these pigs of society think they can filch from the rest of us?

We need to face the facts that ewent has been hurt by some powerful CEO and he is focused on making unsubstantiated comments to hurt all CEO's. No basis. Just out and out criticism for who knows why.

We should be focused on improving our own economy and reverse the proliferation of buying and making products overseas. Its called protectionism in some circles. Yet everyone, including China, does it. Boy are we stupid.

Michael Kruger
Ok, I'm happy to tell you that you are crasy and are you sure your last name isn't Moore?

DZ...That's an assumed absurdity on your part. I worked for one Female CEO in the 80's who was far and away the best life mentor I ever had. I also worked for one CEO who is today a Senator.

CEOs are not working. They are cheating the government, taxpayers and their employees. They do it every single day in one way or another. They get one tax cut or break after another and it's never enough. Since 2009, President Obama has already give the 1% one tax credit..Now, the whole reason for the failure of the Super Committee was because the GOP was demanding another $500 billion tax cut on "the highest income earners" ...their exact words.

What other reason is there for not revealing the discussions of this committee for 20 years?

We can improve our economy. We can't do that the same old, same old way by handing out more tax breaks to those who don't need them. How does that increase incoming revenues?

If you cut taxes, you cut revenues. If you cut programs that are payroll deductions, you are confiscating peoples' incomes for dedicated programs.

How is allowing more tax cuts on those who earn the most not going to bite those who earn the least in the ass? Who is going to fill in the gaping holes when Big Business doesn't pay its fair share or the 1% get off paying less in taxes?

If you are trying to impress upon us that handing our annual salary increases to CEOs only is sustainable without them increasing prices on goods and services, you've failed.

Admit it. The only wealth these people have comes from the rest of us. And why should we bear the burden of their greed?

You want a stable economy? Stagnate CEO salaries to those in foreign countries where these CEOs purchase their cheap labor. Put price controls on their goods and services so they can't increase them every 3 months.

What's with the breakneck speed to higher and higher salaries that only mean higher and higher costs for the rest of us? How economically sound is that?

Road Warrior...If Corporate taxes are the highest in the world and CEO salaries in the US are the highest in the world, why are Corporations getting so many tax subsidies, tax cuts and tax breaks more than any other country of the world. Just because corporate taxes are the highest in the world doesn't mean they are ever paid at that rate. Not with the highest in the world number of corporate tax cuts.

In your sick mind, you think it's fine and dandy to stiff taxpayers to pay for these cuts, breaks and subsidies. Big Oil doesn't need a damn dime more in taxpayer subsidies neither does Big Pharma. That's a business expense that's supposed to be paid for by their incoming revenues.

Americans are not going to foot the entire bill for taxes. Not when Corporations use higher volumes of the infrastructure and government services. Hurts to have to pay for what you use doesn't it? Boo hoo.

Actually the 425:1 is not correct and has been verified by Politifact.com but it has been MUCH MUCH HIGHER than that.

Meanwhile, the most recent ratio from the Institute for Policy Studies is also smaller -- for 2010, it was 325 to 1. In previous years the ratio on two occasions has exceeded 475 to 1 -- to be specific, 516 to 1 in 1999 and 525 to 1 in 2000.

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2011/oct/10/facebook-posts/viral-facebook-post-ceo-worker-pay-ratio-has-obscu/

BUT...according to Wikipedia :

In 2007, CEOs in the S&P 500, averaged $10.5 million annually, 344 times the pay of typical American workers. This was a drop in ratio from 2000, when they averaged 525 times the average pay.^[17]

Smc...Thank you. I stand corrected. I was using the last figure I found obviously a tad obsolete.

The point I was trying to make is that unless corporations are earning in the hundred billions, those kinds of salaries are not sustainable for the long term and they know it.

In effect, CEOs shot themselves in the foot. They already cut their staffing to the bone. They buy their raw materials offshore which means they pay a number of duties and taxes they wouldn't if it was manufactured here. Then, they hire cheap labor which doesn't remain that way once the governments of foreign countries realize they can gouge these corporations into paying higher salaries. None of which actually ends up in foreign workers paychecks but in the salaries of government officials who happen to own those businesses.

In effect what these Corporations have done is bolster the economies of foreign countries by extracting the profits from individual Americans they now refuse to hire or pay living wages to.

That kind of business hoards profits so it always goes to the top, never the middle or bottom.

ewent

Where is your outrage for Actors and Sports figures making MILLIONS per year??

How about Oprah?? She made 300 Million last year. What about Tylor Payne?? He made over 130 Million kast year.

Aren't they living off the "backs of their employees"?? What about a Baseball player?? or Football Player or Golfer? They make MILLIONS PLAYING A GAME!!

Where is your OUTRAGE at that???? Or are you son narrow minded to just see the "BIG BAD CORPORATION"???

Democracy is better than Socialism ... Socalism is better than Fascism .. if what republicans have been pushing isnt Fascism what is it

Actors and athletes make chump change compared to what the corporate class makes. Why should we have outrage over cultural figures? Only an idiot would misplace his outrage on entertainers.

Have actors and athletes bought out our political class to redistribute the wealth to the top 1%? Have actors and athletes soaked us all with trillion dollar bailouts to pay for their mistakes? Have actors and athletes outsourced our manufacturing base to China while taking advantage of US taxpayer funded perks and subsidies? No?

slodon you're the narrow minded one if you think entertainers are to blame for ANY of this country's economic problems.

It's the failure of the corporate class that the 99% have been forced to pay for because the corporatocracy is just too big to fail right?

And now their handpicked right wingers in the super-comittee cause negotiations to fail because they can't get ANOTHER half a trillion tax cut passed?

ewent is 100% right. It's time for them to pay the frikken piper. The rest of us are tired of footing the bill for their screw ups, only to be soaked and gouged after we bail them out. They better start using some of those taxpayer trillions to hire or then you'll see real outrage.

Not misplaced distracted outrage on entertainers. How stupidly ludicrous.

Yes, lets vote in the same party who put us in this terrible mess in the first place. Republicans and their "tax the middle class only" ideaolgy for the past 9 years has worked so well. Obama even CONTINUED the tax cuts for the wealthy with the promise from Republicans that jobs would come back if the President extended the tax cuts and guess what NO JOBS, except for in third world countries!

Left wing? Sorry, do you even know the first time someone was "Swift-boated"? I will bet you almost anything you can not name the "Dark Horse" off the top of your head. Pro-tip: It was long before you were alive, and of course, neither before or after you become educated, as things rarely happen in relation to something that didn't.

"increasingly important that we get rid of this man in office regardless of the tactics"

Such piss-poor morals.

That's why we need to get rid of stink holes like you so much more. You're the reason the health care bill turned into a rotten egg, instead of a single payer system that would be solvent and allow everyone medical care.

You're the reason why we're in economic race to the bottom.

You're the reason we have record federal budget deficit.

You're the reason oil is still be used for vehicles rather than some other energy source, and now as it dwindles in supply at the same time other nations like china come creeping into some more demand world wide demand increases, while supplies dwindle. It's finite. Its drying up. And we have alternate technology, that needs to be implemented.

Your why the middle classes have vanished. Against your own neighbor, because you think you'll be foreman or manager of a site and have to deal with "cutting them there darn costs" can't be dealin' with them there unions. Even though work is supposed to benefit the worker, not just linger them on. Credit is just about tapped out. Once all credit is gone. That gig will be done. People just won't work, they'll just take the shop over themselves and kick the fat cats out.

The system is imploding. And people like you== sheep like you voted for it. Thank you. You suck.

Have a terrible day.

Jeremy - Really!? I had no idea Hockey was such a powerful person. Let's elect him president. The republicans are not responsible for political gridlock. You cannot have gridlock unless someone just as obstinent and unmoving is on the other side opposing you. The entire political process in the United States is broken and it is not the fault of EITHER party but of BOTH parties.

Hockey - the problem with getting rid of president Obama is, what (or who) are we replacing him with? No one in the current batch of yahoos is worth the money they're spending to get elected.

Joemike hit it on the head with "No one in the current batch of yahoos is worth the money they're spending to get elected."

I voted for Obama and would be the first to admit I haven't been pleased with everything he has done, but there isn't ANYONE running against him that I would support. You have a bunch of people saying anything for public approval rather than being genuine and presenting legitimate and well thought out plans for policy. Take that person and throw them into the snake pit of Washington / Congress / Lobbyists, minus any experience running the country....during a difficult time for the country....I'll stick with Obama.

Not to mention...I don't think any of the GOP contenders can win. Bachmann, Cain, Perry, Huntsman, and Santorum are dead in the water. I'll be surprised if Gingrich's surge doesn't plummet soon, and Romney is NOT a strong candidate in any way, shape, or form - hence why everyone else has had their time surging ahead of him.

I think Cain and Perry do have a chance at securing the nomination. Bachmann isn't popular enough and Gingrich's views on illegal immigrants are too radical.

I think it will boil down to this last year how Obama does as a President. Independents will be the deciding factor. Right now, Obama has done nothing for our country, but invested all his time dealing with the Middle East. Let's face it, as a priority, America is seen as last on his list of things to do.

blueinoregon, I really can't believe you made the statement, only taxes the middle class. I am not in the top 1% earners, but the facts are the facts. The top 1% of earners in this country pay 46% of the tax collected in this country. What don't you get about the facts. What should bother you more is the government giving people our tax money for sitting on their butts and not working. That bothers me. If I am going to pay for your food, housing, clothing, cell phones, cable TV, internet, etc the least you could do is pick up the trash, clean up and maintain your homes and property, not rob and assault us, be human beings.

"regardless of the tactics"--Why is it ok to lie to try to get someone elected?

Factcheck.org and politifact.com are easy starting points for checking facts, which should be the ONLY things that determine one's choice.

#9.8

"I am not in the top 1% earners, but the facts are the facts. The top 1% of earners in this country pay 46% of the tax collected in this country. What don't you get about the facts."

Fact is they should be paying 80% since they own 80% of the wealth in this country. And buying more every day.

Most people end a question with a question mark. I'm just saying.

@ Hockey you wanna get rid of the stench!!! go take a bath. that might do it for ya.

DZ, when men like Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, the former owners of the LA Dodgers pay less than someone in the middle class or nothing their is a problem. Yes, the rich pay 46% of the taxes, but they have 90% of the wealth. 40 people in this country have more wealth than 140 M-I-L-L-I-O-N Americans!! The real tradegy here is that the 40% of Americans who don't pay taxes is because they are BELOW the poverty line!!

My daughter works two jobs, one at a major world wide coffee cafe, and a major clothing retailer. She earns $10.75 per hour for the "Coffee People" and minimum wage at the clothing store. she can AFFORD health care (she would love to be able to afford on her own insruance) She has a modest car payment of $186 and her rent of $300 a month, she also attends school full-time. Some weeks she works 60-70 hours other weeks it's under 40. At the end of the year she doesn't even make enough to file taxes.

This is the problem!! Most people aren't making enough money to even file taxes, meanwhile the rich who have 90% of the wealth in this country whine about paying more in taxes. Maybe if they paid a living wage to employees, they wouldn't be asked to pay more now.

I would rather pay someone's Social Security, Unemployment and Medicare, than pay a Fortune 500 company federal subsidies, government bailouts, and pork for pet projects. I don't think my daughter is lazy, and sitting on her butt waiting for a handout from you!!!! I think you couldn't possibly keep with her, I think you would be sitting on YOUR butt after a few hours!!

You have obviously never had to struggle, that is good for you, but it makes you an a$$whole when it comes to understanding the needs of others. The poor in this country are becoming the new Middle class. It is obvious, that you really are one of the 99% just to naive to realize your fighting against your own best interest!

LOL, believe me, so are the Republicans after this fiasco!

The Republicians and Democrats will vote their party...it is US Independents that will make or break your candidate. Currently, the Republician Party is an organized mess which has no focus. The Tea Party is a nagging splinter in the GOP. All the candidates vying for the GOP nomination are a bunch of buffoons imho.

Vote for the man (or woman) not the party! If our country would just drop the whole "party" thing and start concentratiog on what kind of person each individual is and what they stand for we would be a much better nation.

Right on SKY,,i'm right behind you. Obama 2012 !

Linda, are you suggesting that the Republicans didn't turn out in 2008? I'm going to go out on a limb here; You didn't vote for President Obama in 2008. You have been waiting to not vote for him again in 2012. You may find yourself waiting till 2016. What will you do if you don't win this election even though you're planning on turning out in greater numbers? Who will lead you to this victory? Which of the Glory Boys (and maybe girls) do you feel will lead from the front. On what platform? What's the plan? What will your world look like if President Obama wins in 2012? Will you leave? Do you believe in healthcare reform? Do you believe in women's rights? Do you believe in equal rights? How do you plan on paying for those 2 unpaid for wars? Do you believe in education? Do you believe in the "we broke" status? If so, can you explain Mr. Boehner's statementa that we don't have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem. Do you think our infrastructure is "pretty good" and works for you? What do you believe?

I hope so sky. The one issue that seems to be missing from all the discussions I've read is that the Republicans don't care if their presidential candidates are weak. As a matter of fact, the Roves of this world prefer it that way - look at former President Bush - the hands-down worse president ever. The real power is in getting complete control in the House and Senate and that means super majority in order to stop fillibusters. That is what the dems never had and that is why President Obama was stymied.

On another note. The statement about "are you better off than you were 3 years ago" is meaningless and too simplistic. I lost a very good paying job due to the Bush/Cheney policies. I was able to find another job due to the fact that President Obama was able to invest money in infrastructure work. So even though my pay is less, the fact we have a president who wants to make our country strong again, puts me in a better situation than I was 3 years ago. President Obama's policies are better for our country than the policies of previous presidents.

@anthebeatgoeson has stated it correctly --- and what all those high-priced pollsters and consultants have known for decades. Regardless of the statements (repetative trolls) that are posted here, the GOP has made a huge strategic blunder in the 2012 election. By protracting the fight over who can be the most conservative / Tea Party - ish, they are forcing the eventual GOP candidate into positions that are far from the middle of the road approach that independents can support. I'll give you this, the far right can yell as loud as anybody, but it's still one person - one vote (although it does matter where that vote is cast).

There are (actually were) plenty of 2008 Obama supporters that were up for grabs, but with the extreme positions the GOP is putting forward, they are scaring those folks back to the "D" column. And the Democrats are just playing rope-a-dope; egging them on every so often, making them put more and more inflammatory material out there that can be reused. What will be interesting is to see what happens with Congress. They are so unpopular and the TP'ers have gummed up the ability to make any kind of deal, so what changes will happen? I think that will have the most impact on 2012+ politics.

Karl Rove is a major lobbyist. Prediction, he's been bundling huge amounts of Super Pac monies...that ought to come back to bite him in his two asses where one should be.

Node, what you Libs don't understand is the typical a-political Tea Party person don't care if it's another Rino or President Obama is elected. They want a person who will bring about financial reason back into the process. The RINO spends what we don't have and borrows the rest from Red China and the DEMO spends everything they can and just creats another 5 Trillion in debt from Red China and creates 16 Trillion by Giethner out of 1 and 0s from the FED. Enjoy our commin Hyperinflation. LOL!

It's being created to bankrupt the NATION so the Trans Natioanl Global BANKSTERS can destroy the American Middle CLass and create their New World Order. ENJOY. LOL!

Mac101...I think we've all had just about enough of "right wing financial reason". If by financial reason you mean killing Social Security so many of our 80 year olds live on, forget it. You need to earn the top salaries they did in their working years to learn the lesson most hotchas of today can't seem to get.

You talk about Geithner and omit the massive failures of Greenspan who played fast and loose for decades with the American economy. You ignore the Goldman Sachs foxes, 2 thanks to Clinton and 5 thanks to Bush in the Federal henhouse. You ignore what Gingrich was paid by Freddie Mac and the silence of the rest of those who profitted off the backs of Americans who had to bail them out.

This nation is anything but bankrupt because it's Americans who are 14K gold. I find it more than detestable that those who are greediest cannot face their greed square on and are willing to bash anyone who points out how wrong greed is to the entire nation.

Americans will always be worth their weight in gold for one reason...Big Businesses are Too Big To Fail and do...and the 1% are Too Rich to Change and will.

All it takes is one crash and they'll change and this time no more bailouts. Smart Americans know that greedy people have to be forced to learn their lessons...without our help.

We don't owe them our tax dollars to keep their businesses afloat. That's their job. We don't owe them our tax dollars to save them from their own stupid decisions. That's their job.

The 2 Koch Billionaires and Richard Armey former Republican Senator fund the Tea Party. This isn't charity on their part. These billionaires expect bang for the bucks they are funding.

@Mac-101: for the record - I'm hardly a liberal, but I'm also not a Tea Partier ... not with their anti-science / social agenda; although I am certainly concerned with the economy. In today's highly polarized environment, that does leave many good choices. Like many folks, I'm taking the lesser of a cornucopia of evils rather following an inspirational leader.

I completely get what you said and am in agreement with your sentiments. However; we disagree on the eventual outcomes: because of the strident tone and no-compromise attitude of the current GOP, the electorate is going to turn on them. What you seem to be saying, in line with the GOP, is we don't care.

ewent:

There is no such thing as left or right wing fianacial reason. There is only ballanced or deficiet spendin. Look at Greece, Italy or Spain.

2010 was the first year that the US deficiet grow larger than the anual GDP. Not good.

Giethner has been supportin the IMF to bail out the US and FOREIGN Banks, it was up to 16 Trillion a couple months ago when Congress last requested the info. This money was just created by the Fed. Who knows how much has been given away in the last couple months. Inflation will have to pick up big time. I don't know about you, but my food and utilitiy bills are increasin at over 10% a year. But I'm a Fat B@stard and eat more than my share of food. Especialy chocolate. LOL!

Unfortunetly we do not create the majority of our own energy or goods. if we produced our own energy and manufactured goods, then yes, we are not bankrupt. We, the People just declare another FIAT financial instrument.

But the New World Order, look up CFR for one, has since the 1970s supported global interdependency as the pathway to peace. Works fine until other nations no longer want to give us energy or manufactured goods. Then it gets ugly fast. Very few of us will be able to keep up with hyperinflation. It's main goal is to erradicate the middle class. The SUPER rich get richer, the poor stays poor with less and the Middle Class loses ALL.

Your on the right path about Goldman Sachs. However it is far past a RePug/Demo thing. They own them BOTH. Look up Joe Kennedy, JFKs dad. He used his bootleg money to buy banks and was appointed to be the first SEC Commisioner and worked with Goldman Sachs and milked the market sellin short till around 1936 I believe. Got every drop out of it. They then passed the Glass0-Stegal act that made shortselliinn illigal.

Under Clinton, maybe Bush they repealed it and guess what happened? This market was taken over by Goldman Sachs and they bought out Lehman Brothers and others, pennies on the dollars and the failed CEOs got 10 to 300 million severance backages.

How about that b!tch who ws in charge of Yahoo, who when sacked had to be escorted out of the bld sreamin and callin them alll c@cksuckers and MFers since she only got a 7 million dollar severance and only had the stock loss half it's value in her tenure. You can't make this sh!t up. LOL! Back on track the guy who wrote the repeal of the Glass-Stegal act got a high position in the Obama administration a few months ago. THE BANKSTERS own BOTH parties.

As for SS. If 10 to 20 million illegals are using other peoples SS numbers, is that keeping the system afloat? Why can an overseas family member over 65 come to America and make more in SS and never pay a dime into it than a poor workin slob who payed into it their whole lives? Why should people over 65 be paid to make babies? And of course it being a Ponzi Scheme which will collapse as soon as I am elligable for my first check in 8 years. LOL!

Unfortunetly America has become a Crony Corporate Fasicist Sytem just as the Red Chinese have become. America is not special. I've travelled aroundf the world a dozen times and lived in other countries for over 11 years. Most of that in 3rd workld sh!tholes. Nothin makes Americans special except her people and we lost that specialness. Black Fridays prove that. The poorest people in America live better thatn the majority of people around the world. When we crash it ain't goin to be pretty.

Sounds like your startin to think on the right track, just get rid of the false left/right paradigm. It's ALL about da BANKSTERS and their New World Order.

Don't know where you got the idea that someone can come from overseas and just start collecting SS at 65. That's utter rubbish. First of all you only collect according to your LIFETIME EARNINGS. In order to have earnings in this country you have to be a greencard holder or a citizen. You have to have PAID SOMETHING IN to GET SOMETHING OUT. The only exception is SSDI which is super difficult for LEGAL CITIZENS to even get and survivors benefits to children and widows.

Mac 101...See DZ's post...where in he referred to it as "financial reason". I live 45 minutes from NY City. I have neighbors and fellow workers who have relatives who work on Wall Street.

The government doesn't own Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, AIG, BOA or Citibank. Where you could possibly get such an idea is unfathomable. These are men with hotsy totsy ideas of grandeur with one caveat: Use everyone else's money but their own to get rich. So slicing each other up is not a big problem for them, just the employees who unwittingly worked for what they believed were men of integrity.

In reality, right now the leaders of Italy and Greece in the new interim governments were chosen by 4 of Europe's leading bankers. This is exactly what the US bankers are trying to effect. But they first need the US economy to crash in order to get rid of politicians the US voters elect.

I realize there is an awful lot of media hype that's negative. But what I see around me reassures me that some of us take our American heritage very very seriously. Enough to fight the good fight vs. Big Money if that becomes necessary.

We have no choice. Can you look at your children or grandchildren and imagine what living in an oligarchy or plutocracy would be like for them? I can't ..more to the point...I refuse to even consider it.

Node,

I am not an official Tea Party dude and can not speak for them. In fact there really isn't any REAL Tea Party spokesman. It's just the establishment trying to corner them and benifit from their energy.

My primary concern is the economics. As I mentioned above the NWO is purposefully deManufactoring of our country and make us dependent on foreign energy. Need I mention how much Federal land with oil and other resources has been put aside and the Gulf, ANWAR and now the Canadian pipeline that has rerouted to Red China.

Add to this the crony corporate facist Big Business system we have it is hard for me to believe that the economy isn't purposefully being collapsed. Just look at GE. Enough to make any Socialist PUKE. Once again the NWO destroying the Middle Class.

As one who was a hard core anti-Communist till it's collapse. I almost welcome scientific socialism and a realistic cost benifit analysis of every project with the American Workers welfare first. Of course the worker is the last thing a socialist/commie government is concrened for. Our great Nation is being collapsed, it gotta be on purpose. we have the reorces, people and knowledge to make it work, but do not.

As for Liberal programs, If ya can afford tehm g for it. Ya can't borrow money from Red China to give away to foreign and domestic sources. We are BANKRUPT from da BANKSTERS.

SMC, I have had the honor of servin with many Green Card Holders and New Citizens. Accordin to them If you are a citizen, YOUR PARENTS if 65, if they come from overseas can collect SS once they are in the US at the max rate. Payin into it does not matter. Someone who work with SS back me up?

ewent: I've ReRead my post and cannot figure out where I said the Gov ownes the BANKSTERS. The BANKSTERS own the gov, RePug or Demo.

Did you see how Sara Palin took on two advisors about 6 months ago, a Soros and a Rothchilds person. Watergate Theater was scripted by Nelson Rockefeller who had Nixon's two primary Advisors on the payroll, Kissenger and Haig. Even the SS Administrator who controlled the tapes become Rockefeller's heade of Inrternational Security after Watergate.

Please look up JFK and Executive Order 1110. Silver certificates would have eventually ended the Fed. Can't have that. LOL!

Look up David Rockefeller statement to the press thankin them in hidin the NWO so it could be so easily implimented. Even the Pope came out last week supporting a one world currency.

So whoever the NWO is, Free Masons, Illuminate, Jesuits, NeoCons, Zionist, Satanist whatever, through their CFR, Trilateral commision, Bilderbergers and so on. Their goal is definately one world currency, which means one world government.

Not a good thing for the average American Citizen. LOL!

ewent-

The government doesn't own Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, AIG, BOA or Citibank.

You're right they own the government

Thank you Mark. Saying President Obama is a good a leader is like saying Rick Perry is the epitome of a quality public speaker.

And then the President has the nerve to blame the Republicans when he doesn't get his way? What a crybaby! He brings everything on himself and only a child blames others for their mistakes. Tell him to stop playing the victim.

Get real unhappy. The Republicans will see this whole country suffer to protect the interest of the 1 per centers and if you are not one of them your only motivation for siding with them is obvious. They have said no to everything. So now they get a taste of their own medicine. Plus it was them that agreed to these triggers, thinking they could force the Administration to bend over for them once again. I am quite unhappy that they bent over so many times when they did not have to.

President Obama trying to compromise and work with a party that says their only objective is to unseat him after four years has been a mistake all along.

I do so hope that Newt continues to surge in the polls. It's a win win situation, one - that thieving hypocrite will get eaten alive by those that have half a brain that counts you and many others out unhappy :-( and two - if Newt gets elected it will finally wake you dimwits up about who cares about this country and who cares about only those that line their pockets.

The so called 1% ers actually pay for this country. They may have a right to have a say. Maybe the other 99% ers should pay their fair share with a flat tax on earnings.

Michael...Picture this...Ryan, Cantor, Boehner and McConnell....eyes rolling skyward, asses in uproars and all because the President said the one word they've been using for a decade: "NO".

If you are a 1%, you already are paying the lowest taxes since Nixon. What's the bitch...that the 1% have to pay ANY taxes? And it's time to drop the lies that the 99% pay no taxes. Who bailed out the 1% in 2008 and again in 2009? What was that? Did the 1% only pay for those bailouts?

Time to stop the distortions of truth. As for a flat tax...the wealthiest 1% have salivated over this for ages...But they lie. A flat tax on a hundred million dollar salary may be the same as for a $35,000 salary...until Mr. Got Rocks decides he wants an increase in his hundred million and starts jacking prices of services and goods...Doesn't hurt Mr. Got Rocks...but it sure does hurt Mr. $35,000.

A flat tax doesn't work because the rich have no intentions of stagnating their salaries. And the only way they can increase their salaries is by sticking it to the 99% price gouging on everything and anything.

I can just see those Big Oil Bois stagnating their salaries and never increasing the price of gasoline. Seems like your post is at cross purposes. Your post rah rah a flat tax knowing all along that once the cost of living increases because the guy at the top wants more, more, more...inflation makes the flat tax hit those with the lowest salaries.

Gee wouldn't you think the 1% wouldn't try to pull the wool over the eyes of the 99% who know a scam when they see one?

And now the crybaby Republicans are trying to stop the automatic cuts from effecting any defense spending.

And why did the super-committee fail anyway again? Oh yeah because the right wing members wanted another half-trillion cut for the 1% and couldn't get it.

I hope President Obama keeps his line in the sand and makes the automatic cuts happen. If they can't compromise ONE INCH with the left, tough, eat it with the automatic cuts.

Let us not forget the mess Obama has created by putting us deeper into debt than any other president before him! I read these posts in amazement when I read the HATE that spews forth from the Democrat "side". Do you ever wonder where that comes from? Our country would be a much better place if we all would quit placing blame and start doing something to fix the problem!

here is a little info for you
By Charlotte Iserbyt

In 1999, liberals were bragging about extending affirmative action to the financial sector. Los Angeles Times reporter Ron Brownstein hailed the Clinton administration's affirmative action lending policies as one of the "hidden success stories" of the Clinton administration, saying that "black and Latino homeownership has surged to the highest level ever recorded."

Meanwhile, economists were screaming from the rooftops that the Democrats were forcing mortgage lenders to issue loans that would fail the moment the housing market slowed and deadbeat borrowers couldn't get out of their loans by selling their houses.

A decade later, the housing bubble burst and, as predicted, food-stamp-backed mortgages collapsed. Democrats set an affirmative action time-bomb and now it's gone off.

In Bush's first year in office, the White House chief economist, N. Gregory Mankiw, warned that the government's "implicit subsidy" of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, combined with loans to unqualified borrowers, was creating a huge risk for the entire financial system.

Rep. Barney Frank denounced Mankiw, saying he had no "concern about housing." How dare you oppose suicidal loans to people who can't repay them! The New York Times reported that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were "under heavy assault by the Republicans," but these entities still had "important political allies" in the Democrats.

Now, at a cost of hundreds of billions of dollars, middle-class taxpayers are going to be forced to bail out the Democrats' two most important constituent groups: rich Wall Street bankers and welfare recipients.

Political correctness had already ruined education, sports, science and entertainment. But it took a Democratic president with a Democratic congress for political correctness to wreck the financial industry

Democrat Libs caused the financial collapse

Charlotte Thomson Iserbyt

Former Senior Policy Advisor

U.S. Department of Education

http://www.deliberatedumbingdown.com/

http://www.americandeception.com/

Obama has been complaining about the previous Administration's "Driving the car into the ditch", but let's take a closer look at the REAL facts - based on the government's own Federal Fiscal Year records.
During Bush's first 6 years, when Republicans had control of the White House and Congress, we find the following, in spite of the dramatic bad effects of 9/11;
The economic growth rate of Gross Domestic Product averaged 5.5% per year.
The Deficit averaged $231 Billion per year.
The average Unemployment Rate was 5.28%.
A net of 7.54 million jobs were added to the economy.
The National Debt averaged only 60.88% of GDP, better than Clinton's average of 63.76%.
The Public Debt increased only $1.44 Trillion in 6 years.
Since the Democrats took over Congress (including the legislative and spending agenda) in 2006 (5 years ago);
The economic growth rate of Gross Domestic Product averaged only 1.8% per year.
The Deficit has averaged $890 Billion per year.
The Unemployment Rate has averaged 7.5%, and is currently stuck at 9.5+%.
A net of 5.74 million jobs have been LOST to the economy.
The National Debt has averaged 77.84% of GDP, and is now over 93% of GDP (Greece had a meltdown when theirs got over 100% of GDP).
The Public Debt increased by $4.46 Trillion in 4 years (Obama's projection for 2010).
And remember, the "financial meltdown" happened 2 years AFTER the Democrats took over all legislation and spending, including Congressional oversight of Wall Street. Thanks Barney Frank & Chris Dodd.
So the question should be asked "Who REALLY drove the car into the ditch?"

compromise on spending, when Bush somewhat belatedly got tough on spending increases. For FY 2009, though, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid bypassed George Bush entirely, passing continuing resolutions to keep government running until Barack Obama could take office. At that time, they passed a massive omnibus spending bill to complete the FY 2009 budgets.

And where was Barack Obama during this time? He was a member of that very Congress that passed all of these massive spending bills, and he signed the omnibus bill as President to complete FY 2009.

If the Democrats inherited any deficit, it was the FY 2007 deficit, the last of the Republican budgets. That deficit was the lowest in five years, and the fourth straight decline in deficit spending. After that, Democrats in Congress took control of spending, and that includes Barack Obama, who voted for the budgets. If Obama inherited anything, he inherited it from himself.

In a nutshell, what Obama is saying is I inherited a deficit that I voted for and then I voted to expand that deficit four-fold since January 20th.

WAKE UP, AMERICA, BEFORE ITS TO LATE

PPsssttt, Hey Chuck, I think you forgot about the cost of 2 wars that George kept off the books. I'm wide awake, not so sure about you.

Chuck: As mentioned above, neither of the wars were in the Congressional Budget Report that you are citing. Also worth mentioning, TARP was signed into law by Bush. Thats a good $2 Trillon + interest you are forgetting.

Either way, we've had about 3 decades of leadership that led us to where we are. It isn't more democrats or republicans when the bigger picture is looked at.

My primary issue with Republicans is how much more they are in the pockets of lobbyists. Care to guess who is responsible for the change in finance laws that led to the firms lending as much as $40 for every $1 they actually had? For selling those bad loans as AAA investments, then insuring against their own loans?

The community reinvestment act was a well intended program that had terrible consequences. What the republicans allowed to go on in the finance industry was criminal. The two together caused 2008.

....and SOME of the bailouts were necessary.

Koch brothers want to buy my country. I'm not selling.

I love a good Koch brothers reference with my morning coffee!

Starderup........unfortunately they already own it and are just renting you the parts they don't want yet. You could get evicted any time !

Between the Koch billionaires running the Tea Party running the government and the Bircher in Charge Norquist, shouldn't work for pay be a thing of the past? After all, what good is a plantation mentality if billionaires have to pay employees, right?

Where are the jobs? Where are all the damn jobs, teatards? That's all we heard this last election. Where are they?

Where are the jobs? Where are the jobs, you democrats? All we've been hearing is Hope and Change. There isn't any hope and there's no change. When are you guys going to make good on your promises? I'm tired of all your lies about how you will make this a better country. I haven't seen anything better and neither has anyone else.

Unhappy, there you go again, raining on everyone's picnic. The status quo didn't work. You know that. I have hope, given time, that the inevitable will happen, change. Change happens just as surely as night follows day. Change doesn't come with a time limit. It doesn't come just cause someone wants it. It doesn't come on demand. So, President Obama "hope and change" go hand in hand. With hope and change, you just might be able to go from unhappy to happy except there are no guarantees.

Not exactly true, they take potshots at SSN as an outdated retirement source, and call it a Ponzi scheme, but their alternative is to give it to us so we can "invest" in the Russian Roulette stock market and hope for the best. They make oversimplified statements amount Obama care but yet the avg. American has seen their health insurance premiums and deductables go up 400% in 10 years. What's their answer: You have to get insurance companies to compete with each other, get your insurace across state lines, what a bunch of oversimplified crock. In the meanwhile it's easier to call Obama a communist. Your absolutely right, Obama gets blamed for everything except that it will take 10 years to DIG out of policy made from 2000-2008!!

Unhappy...Perhaps, that hope and change hasn't happened in your part of the country because your politicians love that status quo too much? The rest of the country is moving onward and upward with hope and change despite all GOP attempts to stagnate the economy and obstruct US progress.

What's with the red staters and the long pusses these days? They hate Social Security but their politicians are earning obscene salaries. They hate healthcare reform but their politicians get their from the people in the red states for free or nearly free. They hate Medicare and Medicaid but then complain that there are too many old people who need it and don't get it.

Face facts. HMOs have been ripping off consumers for 3 or more decades and got away with it because red staters like McConnell have them in his back pocket. So the entire country is held hostage. Then you've got the Black Gold Cartel holding the rest of the working poor and Middle Class hostage with price increases they haven't needed in a decade.

Wake up and smell the coffee. If your state isn't willing to move its butt to make changes, then keep treading water. No one is going to tolerate stagnation for a lifetime. Get a clue.

jpsholly...Sorry, I don't agree. This country was founded upon unity of purpose. The good for the common good of all. If we allow ourselves to be defeated by those with the most money to invest in their self-interests we are aiding and abetting their criminality.

There are good Republicans who aren't allowed to be the kind of Republicans of their forefathers. Each of us must insure that our future generations have the same freedoms and rights we enjoyed. That's our duty as Americans.

Those who would sit back and watch it all fall into the perfectly wrongest hands deserve the loss of their freedoms.

I wish I could see some light at the end of the tunnel, but I think it may already be too late. Those at the pinnacles of power have seen this day coming and have been preparing for it. Millions if not billions of dollars have been spent on homeland security under the guise of protecting "us from them", the reality being that that money will and is already being used against us, to shut us up, not them, the so called terrorists. The power elite will stop at nothing to protect what they've stolen and to control everything. I have been rallying with friends in my home town and have railed against corporate and banking abuses for a long time. Nothing is getting any better. I'm not saying I'm giving up, but I am also preparing for what they are planning. Some very knowledgeable people such as Chris Hedges and Naomi Klein foresee the collapes of the American Empire, like all empires, our time at the top is in fast decline and it is inevitable that it will happen baring some incredible period of enlightenment and they or I don't see that coming around the bend any time soon. Nice that you can be so positive and I hope your right.

I guess soup lines will bring us together, let's hold hands and hummm together.

Is that why people only voted for Obama because he was a black President?

No, you idiot. They voted for him because he was the best for the job, unlike people like you who voted for McCain/Palin simply because they were white. We would be in worst shape today if McCain/Palin were in office. And yes, things could be a lot worst than they are now if those two political whores were in office. If you are so "UNHAPPY" then I suggest that you leave this great country.

Unhappy...So by your mode of thinking...the only reason Bush was elected was because the state of Texas bought him the presidency with their votes?

People are as happy as they make up their minds to be. If some people want to remain unhappy for life fine. Don't invite the rest of us to that Pity Party.

Looks like Rob needs a remedial education on the CRA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_Reinvestment_Act)

"Legal and financial experts have noted that CRA regulated loans tend to be safe and profitable, and that subprime excesses came mainly from institutions not regulated by the CRA. In the February 2008 House hearing, law professor Michael S. Barr, a Treasury Department official under President Clinton,^[63][118] stated that a Federal Reserve survey showed that affected institutions considered CRA loans profitable and not overly risky. He noted that approximately 50% of the subprime loans were made by independent mortgage companies that were not regulated by the CRA, and another 25% to 30% came from only partially CRA regulated bank subsidiaries and affiliates. Barr noted that institutions fully regulated by CRA made "perhaps one in four" sub-prime loans, and that "the worst and most widespread abuses occurred in the institutions with the least federal oversight".^[119] According to Janet L. Yellen, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, independent mortgage companies made risky "high-priced loans" at more than twice the rate of the banks and thrifts; most CRA loans were responsibly made, and were not the higher-priced loans that have contributed to the current crisis.^[120] A 2008 study by Traiger & Hinckley LLP, a law firm that counsels financial institutions on CRA compliance, found that CRA regulated institutions were less likely to make subprime loans, and when they did the interest rates were lower. CRA banks were also half as likely to resell the loans.^[121] Emre Ergungor of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland found that there was no statistical difference in foreclosure rates between regulated and less-regulated banks, although a local bank presence resulted in fewer foreclosures.^[122]"

Exactly, Rob!

Sorry Rob, Basically mindless tripe, in every word.

Right wing squawking points seldom have any connection to reality.

Sorry..

Barck Hussein Obama is actually a Nihilist and Socialist. To understand this you have to look at people who have heavily influenced BHO. One such individual is Saul Alinsky (as anti-American as you can get). Take a few moments and look this guy up. Equally as interesting is how much Alinsky has influenced Hillary Clinton. In fact, Hillary is so fascinated with Alinsky, that she wrote her 92 page, Senior Thesis on him.

Also, in case you do not realize it, BHO does not want a functional Congress. He believes he can "win" by making Congress look bad. Congress really does look pathetic, however an equally large amount of this divisiveness is planned by BHO and his Nihilist friends.

One final point. It is about time that the Republicans start using the same tactics that BHO and DNC has been using since BHO became president. BHO makes Nixon look like an amateur when it comes to dirty politics.

Time4aPurge has been watching too many Glenn Beck reruns.

Independent loan companies were not guaranteed by the Federal government. The CRA was just the first crack in the dam. It enabled organizations like Acorn to hold up bank applications for ATMs, branches, interstate branching, and M&A if the banks did not pay extortion to Acorn and its ilk and define down its underwriting standards. Note also that the rates were higher--higher rates for more risk. Amazingly enough, the mission of a bank is to safeguard deposits and make money for its shareholders. The CRA perverted that mission. I suggest you read Thomas Sowell's book on "The Housing Boom and Bust" for a more complete and less biased picture of what happened. Your last point was that there was no difference between foreclosure rates. I haven't read the study. However, you note that there were differences in interest rates with higher interest rates attached to riskier loans. If you thought about it for a moment, you would be able to infer that the unregulated lenders were therefore more profitable, or lost less, and the taxpayers were not on the hook for bailing them out. The goals set for Fannie and Freddie by Congress continued to escalate the percentage of subprime loans in the portfolios. This was a massive fraud on the taxpayer. Look at Canada--it has no equivalent of Fannie or Freddie, no mortgage interest deduction, and higher percentage of home ownership than the US. Fannie and Freddie have already cost us something like $150 billion and the meter is still running.

Guess what Rob: you have almost no real stats. Your only logic is the Guilt by Association fallacy.

Rob..Congress has the WORST APPROVAL RATING ever by the American public. Obama can't do his job when two parties cannot comprimise. That is the real issue. The GOP hated Obama because he is a black President. The tea party hates the old GOP. Thus, in 4 years the Congress has the LOWEST bill approval in decades (maybe history ..not sure). I don't blame Obama for that.

As an independent, I would not vote any Republician in because their party is in discourse and they have zero focus. Let them fight away and eat themselves up.

HA HA HA HA! The GOP doesn't want him as president because he is black?? What?? Last time I checked there is a black man running for the Republican side. You need to get out more.

Like Cain had one in 999 chances of actually winning.

timetheos...if this were true, and I am certain there is a little truth to it, then how does one explain many a large bank being in deep financial trouble because of the sub prime loans they made? There are so-called "experts" on both sides of the ship, and it boils down to which makes the most sense. Banks were failing because of sub prime loans....that's the facts jack!

Last time I checked there is a black man running for the Republican side.

Can you say "token?"

Cassandra: Well since you democrats only vote on skin color and not on ability, then that shouldn't be a problem for you in the future. And even during the campaign for Obama 3 years ago, his constituents couldn't even come up with anything to prove his ability.