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Three days after Senator Obama's historic election, I proposed an agenda for President Obama's first 100 days. As we near this iconic marker I'm surprised to see just how much of that platform is in motion - from passage of the stimulus and repeal of the global gag rule to the Administration's pledge to close Guantanamo. I'm frustrated at how slow progress is on other priorities, like health care and labor reform. And I'm troubled by the administration's direction on some issues, notably the bank bailout plan and Afghanistan. But as voices left and right move to grade Obama's progress, it is astonishing to see the energy and directness with which Obama's administration has confronted the issues of our time.
We have arrived, then, at a stunning and troubling moment. Reform opportunity is there. A reform Congress is in place. Big issues are teed up to fight for. But there are two areas which I fear could endanger the Obama Presidency: military escalation in Afghanistan and the banking bailout. Most projections say we'll have double digit unemployment through 2011. The contrast between the treatment of the auto industry, where workers and managers and creditors and shareholders are taking the hits, and the bailout of banks is corrosive. When more bonuses are paid out, more self-dealing exposed, we may see more anger - especially right wing populism. On Afghanistan, I am concerned that it will bleed us of the resources needed for economic recovery, further destabilize Pakistan, open a rift with our European allies and negate the positive effects of withdrawing from Iraq on our image in the Muslim world.
Alternatively, there is reason for optimism. The President's commitment to pragmatism suggests that, confronted with sufficient pressure from mobilized citizens and thinkers who understand the endemic problems with the Summers/Geithner plan, he may ultimately move to a Plan B or Team B in order to keep his popularity, credibility and agenda alive. And we can hope that hearings in Congress, and pressure from citizens who seek a non-military path to security in Afghanistan and Pakistan, will push the Administration to bear down on regional diplomacy, commonsense counter-terrorism measures and targeted development aid as the most effective security policies to stabilize the region.
This past week I wrote that President Obama's address at Georgetown, his "economic sermon on the mount," reveals the depth of his understanding of the task ahead: building a new economy out of the ashes of our failed one. It also reveals his understanding of the defining political struggle ahead: The budget. President Obama knows that the right isn't going to give an inch, that members of his own party are turning tail and fixating on deficits instead of investment, and that some of the missteps of his own economic team have made the budget debate even more difficult. Progressives will need to confront lobbies mobilized to halt essential reforms.
In the days to come, The Nation will be engaged in the debate over these first "100 Days." Already our D.C. Editor Chris Hayes has been writing a weekly series on policy and the new administration. Next Wednesday in D.C. we're hosting a public forum, Obama @ 100, to assess the Administration's progress so far. And in next week's Nation we will focus in greater detail on the policy shifts so far - and the political struggles to come. In January I wrote that President Obama's First 100 Days should be judged on just how audacious he chooses to be. In the days and weeks to come, it's our hope that the "100 Days" debate can be about principles, ideas and the movement to encourage "audacity" in our new and still malleable President--not just on political points scored and the 2010 outlook. We welcome your thoughts and ideas in the comments.
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Katrina vanden Heuvel
Thoughts on politics, current affairs, riffs and reflections on what’s in the news and what’s not--but should be.
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Grades for President Obama at 100 days
Success at starting to move America towards Socialist Utopia A+ (grade awarded by JakobFabian, blogger on The Nation)
Success at starting the closure of Gitmo A+ (grade awarded by terrorists that want to kill us)
Success at apology to Europe for imagined American wrongs A+ (grade awarded by Jimmy Carter)
Success at showing that Middle East policy will be to support or lean towards the wrong side in the Middle East conflict A+ (grade awarded by committe of 2, Jimmy Carter, noted anti-Semite, and descendants of Yasir Arafat, noted murderer)
Success at planning to weaken the military A+ (grade awarded by Slick Willie, noted loather of the U.S. military)
Success at promoting Baby killing A+ (grade awarded by Katha Pollitt, columnist at The Nation, who called for a day of appreciation for Baby killers)
Success at discourse that shows the President thinks some Americans is stupid A+ (grade awarded by the citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, who are not stupid but who the President thinks are stupid and said so)
Success at showing confidence in and respect for the capabilities of the American people F- (grade awarded by the citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, who are not stupid but who the President thinks are stupid and said so)
Success at doing what is best for America F- (grade awarded by me)
Posted by sjchermak at 04/17/2009 @ 6:33pm
Typo,
"......Americans is stupid....." up above should read ".......Americans are stupid......".
I AM TRYING, Libs!
I am supposed to believe what my President says, and my President thinks I am stupid and so I tried to behave accordingly!
We are on a roll here, I guess, 2 in a row.
The last Democrat president thought I was stupid also.
The difference is that I got to hear that live and in person.
Doesn't exactly make one's day, does it?
I think back upon watching Slick Willie speak and I still feel the need to vomit when I do.
Kind of the gift from Bill Clinton that keeps on giving.
Posted by sjchermak at 04/17/2009 @ 6:40pm
Posted by sjchermak at 04/17/2009 @ 6:33pm
You rarely write anything worth reading. It's amazing. Every post sounds the same and it matches every right wing post that was made of talking points. Please get a brain of your own.
Posted by Cccomfo1 at 04/17/2009 @ 6:48pm
Not all Democrat presidents in my lifetime thought I was stupid.
Here are the only 2 of the 5 in my lifetime that did not as they said words that conveyed the opposite:
(it is obvious who they were - and no, neither one was Jimmy Carter)
=================
Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.
All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words "Ich bin ein Berliner."
=================
THIS is a sad time for all people. We have suffered a loss that cannot be weighed. For me, it is a deep personal tragedy. I know that the world shares the sorrow that Mrs. Kennedy and her family bear. I will do my best. That is all I can do. I ask for your help - and God's.
=================
Posted by sjchermak at 04/17/2009 @ 6:53pm
Cccomfo1,
OK, whatever you say. Thanks...
I see when you go back and forth with antisocialist you lecture about discourse...... but you throw jabs and slamming whenever you want and apparently it is OK.
Now look at my 3rd post that came in after yours. How about that one?
Posted by sjchermak at 04/17/2009 @ 6:56pm
Cccomfo1,
How is my reaction to having Slick Willie insult my intelligence while I am watching him speak, the only President I have actually seen live, a right-wing talking point and not of my own brain?
Explain please, especially when you consider that on the day of the election that put Mr. Willie, Slick into office, I VOTED FOR HIM.
I admit now, that day (election day 1992) my head WAS up my ass.
I regret that vote now and by 1996 I had begun to think more clearly.
Posted by sjchermak at 04/17/2009 @ 7:01pm
Cccomfo1,
This is a President who is asking for MY help:
".....I will do my best. That is all I can do. I ask for your help - and God's. ......"
Lyndon B. Johnson said this.
Lyndon B. Johnson asked me for MY help.
Lyndon B. Johnson did not think I was stupid.
Lyndon B. Johnson was a Democrat.
How is this a right wing talking point?
How is this not a product of my own brain, which you say I do not have?
Don't forget - this has to be from my own brain because you have to really scratch and claw to find ANYBODY who is complimentary of LBJ, Democrat OR Republican.
Posted by sjchermak at 04/17/2009 @ 7:09pm
According to a new report emanating from DHS, it's no longer Islamic terrorism -- or "man-caused terrorism" in the new DHS parlance -- that we have to fear most, but small government, anti-tax, pro-life, pro-gun, anti-illegal immigration, pro-military conservatives. In other words, most of the country.
Obama likes to compare himself to Lincoln, FDR and JFK. But so far he more closely resembles Richard Nixon in one important way. Nixon had his "Enemies List," whose purpose was to determine, as Nixon White House Counsel John Dean described it bluntly, "how we can use the available federal machinery to screw our political enemies."
Like Nixon, Obama has signaled that he will not let opposition to his agenda go unpunished. For Rush and conservative talk radio, there's the Fairness Doctrine. For gun owners and small government enthusiasts, it's a DHS official knocking at your door.
Whatever happened to the Obama who claimed during the campaign that he wanted to bring us all together? Nixon never claimed to be a unifier; Obama's election depended on the idea that he was one.
By issuing this report, DHS betrays an understanding of how radical Obama's policies are -- so radical that they might set off a violent response from disgruntled citizens. But it also betrays an ignorance of the nature of those who fall into the categories described in the report.
Scores of millions of Americans are coming to realize that the country they once knew is quickly being destroyed. Understandably, they are upset and want to take action. But they won't resort to violence, in part because they know that in a democracy change will come when enough citizens are informed about what's going on and vote accordingly.
Posted by comancheamerican at 04/17/2009 @ 8:39pm
That's the point of the Tea Parties. Nobody believes Obama or his allies will be much swayed by the outpouring of concern and anger evident at these rallies. But the rallies do help to educate the public about how radical Obama's agenda is. And they help conservatives blow off a little steam and unite in solidarity around a common cause. What's so threatening about that?"
Obamanation and the Demoncrats authoritarian bound regime is beginning to resemble like China, Burma and Cuba a country being so afraid of their own people that they see the greatest threat to national security as coming from within. Is this the "hope and change they promised?
Posted by comancheamerican at 04/17/2009 @ 8:42pm
Cccomfo1,
OK, whatever you say. Thanks...
I see when you go back and forth with antisocialist you lecture about discourse...... but you throw jabs and slamming whenever you want and apparently it is OK.
Now look at my 3rd post that came in after yours. How about that one?
Posted by sjchermak at 04/17/2009 @ 6:56pm
Because most of the time you insult just the same. I play by the rules set.
Posted by Cccomfo1 at 04/17/2009 @ 10:08pm
Cccomfo1,
OK, whatever you say. Thanks...
I see when you go back and forth with antisocialist you lecture about discourse...... but you throw jabs and slamming whenever you want and apparently it is OK.
Now look at my 3rd post that came in after yours. How about that one?
Posted by sjchermak at 04/17/2009 @ 6:56pm
Because most of the time you insult just the same. I play by the rules set.
Posted by Cccomfo1 at 04/17/2009 @ 10:08pm
"How is this not a product of my own brain, which you say I do not have? "
I didn't say you don't have a brain I said to get your opinions from it. You sound like every other right wing poster. It's like copy paste opinions. There is little point to rational discourse with people who don't listen but just blather on about talking points I have heard a million times. It's why I like debate with Thrawn and others like him who bring something new to the table when they debate not just what sounds like a rehearsed speech. All this is most of the time is listening to different versions of Commanche.
Posted by Cccomfo1 at 04/17/2009 @ 10:12pm
Success at doing what is best for America F- (grade awarded by me) Posted by sjchermak at 04/17/2009 @ 6:33pm
I think you are being much too hard on him. Let's review some of his major policy decisions:
-Keeping Gitmo open - check -maintaining extraordinary rendition - check -continuing FISA - check -unilateral military action (snipers vs. pirates) - check -hiring lobbyists and inside-the-beltway types - check
Hypocrisy is the tribute liberals pay to conservatives when they come to power.
Posted by twillie at 04/17/2009 @ 10:33pm
@cjchermak
"grade awarded by the citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, who are not stupid but who the President thinks are stupid and said so"
Apparently not; they did vote for Obama, after all...
Posted by Webcorex2 at 04/17/2009 @ 10:37pm
I see that we have more sour grapes from the losing side,as always.Overly partisan sore losers are annoying and do so much whining after every election.
Posted by i'm nobody at 04/17/2009 @ 10:55pm
commancheamerican-The point of the tea parties is to give the sore losers a place to gather together and whine about losing with their fellow whiners.
Posted by i'm nobody at 04/17/2009 @ 10:58pm
Success at doing what is best for America F- (grade awarded by me)
Posted by sjchermak
Lets look at a demographic.....
Obama's first 100 days graded by....
Kool-aid induced, zombified shitheads: F.
Just about everyone else: B+ to A.
Posted by koroviev at 04/18/2009 @ 12:14am
Posted by sjchermak at 04/17/2009 @ 7:09pm
It's really weird and kind of creepy to see your ego so easily bruised...you seem to focus on your intelligence being insulted...after all, I'm sure you're the only person that really "knows" what's going on.
You would certainly have a point about Billy if you would show even the tiniest little scrap of objectivity. Even once in a while.
Do it for the children!
Posted by TexasFlood at 04/18/2009 @ 12:30am
Just about everyone else: B+ to A.
Posted by koroviev at 04/18/2009 @ 12:14am
well,
not exactly.
i'd give the guy a C-.
(mccain would have received a Q-)
FIRE GEITHNER.
FIRE SUMMERS.
FIRE GATES.
<i>the wheels on the bus.......</i>
Posted by frosty zoom at 04/18/2009 @ 12:38am
Katrina, I am troubled not just by the bailout and Afghanistan policies, but by the refusal to prosecute anyone involved in torture. It's hard for me to believe that CIA agents didn't know that their activities were illegal and I wish they'd had the integrity to refuse to go forward. Those who authorized the memos (Bush, Cheney, etc.) do have the major responsibility and need to be held accountable...I agree with Richard Kim that Obama's position is intellectually dishonest. I hope that Patrick Leahy and John Conyers can exert pressure sufficient to get prosecution moving--this past must be examined, with consequences, before we can move forward with new policies.
Posted by mimsky at 04/18/2009 @ 12:41am
The torture enablers and authorizers need to be tried!
Posted by mimsky at 04/18/2009 @ 12:43am
The torture enablers and authorizers need to be tried!
Posted by mimsky at 04/18/2009 @ 12:43am
fat chance.
<i>the wheels on the bus....</i>
Posted by frosty zoom at 04/18/2009 @ 12:50am
All you folks,
Let's all call each other names and reduce all political discourse to junior high "my gal is hot, you're gal is diddley squat".
Everyone needs to take a deep breath and fricking ANALYZE what is going on.
"Success at starting to move America towards Socialist Utopia" A+ (grade awarded by JakobFabian, blogger on The Nation) - Where the Hell is the Gov taking over the means of production? ANSWER! Don't call names, ANSWER!
Hey Chermak, can you see through the thick fog of American exceptionalism to realize there are more than 5.4 BILLION other folks in the world, and that a big effing nuclear cudgel will not get them to see that we are the "greatest Nation on Earth"?
Let's take your side for a moment. You think we ought to do whatever the hell we want to do because we are RIGHT, and that we should be worshipped because if we pull some kids nuts off, well, we were looking for "terrists", it's ok?
I don't engage here as a rule and will no doubt leave you to go on braying, "We're Number One", but you are the most egregious example of exceptional, "Screw you, I've got Mine" idiocy I have seen in quite some time.
Posted by mmadarasz at 04/18/2009 @ 01:07am
seriously,
it seems president blankfein and vice president liddy are doing a great job.
who's this obama character?
i didn't know the u.s. had a prime minister.
Posted by frosty zoom at 04/18/2009 @ 01:08am
Cccomfo1,
You seem to think that the only discourse that is appropriate are deep, lengthy discussions about the topic at hand.
Yes, there is nothing wrong with that type of discussion.
But I do not agree that those kind of discussions are always the order of the day.
Sometimes, in my opinion, what you call talking points with mixtures of humor or sarcasm may be a more effective way of getting one's point across.
But you think anything like that is not appropriate.
So, there are plenty of things to be concerned so far about the current Presidency, but here are 2 concerns:
1 - All the various measures that are being taken seem to have an end product of increased government control over business and our banking and financial system.
I realize it is not practical or appropriate to have no government regulation over economic enterprises, but it should be only to protect people from absolute excessive behavior by enterprise that could be harmful to them, and nothing more.
Actions taken to deal with the current economic situation should not leave a residue of government control over business because it is the opposite that has gotten this country to be the greatest economic producer in human history - free people free to pursue their dreams in life, which in many cases has resulted in the creation of businesses and opportunities and economic development that benefits many others as well.
2. This administration is going to spend and print money and create deficits that make anything in the past pale by comparison - money is going to be printed that literally has no backing. Many stimulus initiatives are those that are not going to provide any fix to the economy.
I have mentioned before the GOP plan - a more reasonable plan that Congress did not even consider.
Posted by sjchermak at 04/18/2009 @ 04:14am
ms. vanden heuvel
Grading any administration after just three months and change is risky business at best, given the size of the enterprise involved and the fact that obama has to untangle a mess that took eight years to create. And the public, minus the 28 per centers who seem to be grossly overrepresented on Nation blogs, apparently understands the magnitude of the disaster left behind.
The Obama administration clearly has targeted the stabilization of the financial markets as its top priority, which is probably the most sensible move at this point.
As for Afghanistan, Iraq and related issues - torture, rendition, military spending et al - Obama is clearly under pressure from those powerful few with vested interests to continue existing policies and he has to balance the desire for reform with the realities around him for the moment.
At this point, the best anyone could grade a new president with just over three months on the job is incomplete, which is really no grade at all, as it should be.
Posted by kennyboy at 04/18/2009 @ 09:08am
Posted by kennyboy at 04/18/2009 @ 09:08am | ignore this person | warn this person
I disagree. compare what Obama has done so far with what the goddamn Bush did during his first 100 days.
Obama has also avoided any serious missteps, such as the bay of pigs fiasco.
Posted by emile duBois at 04/18/2009 @ 09:15am
Posted by snowball666 at 04/18/2009@6:33pm
"Ticks & Leeches for Hemophiliacs"
Good one.
Posted by cdlepthien at 04/18/2009 @ 09:15am
While I don't share Katrina vanden Heuvel's apparent comfort with the "progress" of the Obama administration - he's been long on speeches and short on substance, and has done some genuinely bad things - I find it really creepy, some of the juvenile rants in the comments.
I don't envy The Nation its online "community".
Posted by syfriendly at 04/18/2009 @ 09:26am
, and has done some genuinely bad things
you're gonna have to be more specific than that.
Posted by emile duBois at 04/18/2009 @ 10:07am
Posted by emile duBois at 04/18/2009 @ 09:15am
'Obama vows to cut dozens of federal programs "There will be no sacred cows," president says as he targets inefficiency.'
This was a fairly interesting article. In my opinion only, which is worth nothing, I believe Obama will be an excellent President, IF he can get the monkeys making up the Congress to learn to not eat their own s**t.
Posted by Benchrest at 04/18/2009 @ 10:12am
Katrina, given what this president has faced upon coming into office, I think he has had perhaps one of the best starts of my life time. The calm rationality of his approach, and his rhetoric of community are a welcome change from almost 30 years of partisan drama, arrogance, and greed.
I agree with your concerns regarding Afghanistan and the bailout, however, I have to say often Obamas tactical starting points don't always lead in the direction we would predict, conditioned as we are by 30 years of lies, misdirection, and selfishness. I believe, strategically, his goals are every bit as progressive as yours or mine. I have more trust in this president than I ever have, but completely agree with your point that we need to keep his feet to the fire.
My biggest concern relates to the nature of the bailout, and the failure to pursue prosecutions on torture. The former raises serious questions about who is in charge - our elected government, or financial oligarchs. The second concern is, in my opinion, the true cancer. I don't necessarily disagree with Obama's position on the CIA interrogators - I don't know that I have enough information on this yet to make an assessment. I think equating them with the SS, for example, is ridiculous. I do think, however, that their superiors/enablers MUST be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
For the right wingers who believe the only values America stands for are personal greed and guns, I believe we stand for much much more than that - we do not stand for torture.
Posted by Dwight Wall at 04/18/2009 @ 10:21am
And the Nazi scum of Israel?
No? Nothing?
Not a word, katrina?
Posted by rykart at 04/18/2009 @ 10:48am
Posted By Dwight Wall at 04/18/2009@10:21pm
Even though Obama gave a pass to the CIA operatives who engaged in torture - which does sorta reek of the Nuremburg defense, though as you said the crimes aren't comparable - we can only hope that the DOJ will go after the people who instituted the policy.
On a different topic, Katrina failed to mention the wonderful policy reversals that have been forthcoming with some regularity from the Department of the Interior and the EPA.
Posted by cdlepthien at 04/18/2009 @ 11:01am
Posted by cdlepthien at 04/18/2009 @ 11:01am
And, as a professional in the records/archives profession, his immediate moves towards open and accountable government have me walking on air. They are substantive, and, I think, an important counter to what has been an exponentially increasing view of government as an all-ecncompassing secret "national security state".
Which brings me back to torture - the release of those memos showed great courage, in my opinion, and are a sign that this guy walks the talk.
Posted by Dwight Wall at 04/18/2009 @ 11:08am
"And the Nazi scum of Israel?
No? Nothing?
Not a word, katrina?"
Posted by rykart at 04/18/2009 @ 10:48am
"If there is any country on earth which should be permanently forbidden from having the bomb, it is the country which used it twice in 72 hours on civilian population centers in two of the most gratuitous acts of mass murder in history. Failure to hang Truman was an outrageous miscarriage of justice, bringing one more avalanche of shame to this barbaric and disreputable land."
Posted by: rykart | April 13, 2009 at 05:46 PM @ALT.RELIGION.CHRISTIAN
Yeah, your credibility is pretty much in the toilet. What are you, a soph. psych. major at Berkley?
If ever the title 'nutjob' was more deserved by any poster here, I have not seen them.
Posted by Benchrest at 04/18/2009 @ 11:37am
I'd give Obama a B+ for his global initiatives, including in Cuba.
I'd give Obama an F for his being blind to the looting that Geithner and Summers have put in motion for the banks and for Obama's seeming uncaring for the American people who are struggling to survive---it's as if he's George Bush Sr. --- all about the 'world' while the American nation decays. It's obvious that Obama thinks the American people are not worth helping or bolstering compared to his fetish-love for the banks and financial industry.
Posted by ActualWorker at 04/18/2009 @ 11:42am
it's Nuremberg not Nuremburg.
Posted by emile duBois at 04/18/2009 @ 12:19pm
Living up to his 1) Post-Partisan, Hopey & Changy image?
Big, Fat Zero!! Worse than a Total Flunkie, a No-Show Drop Out!
Growing into his 2) Tax and Spend Liberal self as suspected (and known by most)?
Big, Fat, Bolded AAA+++!
Manchurian Candidate? You bet!
Posted by Happy at 04/18/2009 @ 12:58pm
benchrest
Thank you for reposting my statement about Truman's use of the bomb (though it is off-topic for this site).
Apparently, you view the opinions of Truman's entire military brass, the US Strategic Bombing Survey and near-unanimous scholarly consensus on the topic of the atomic bombings as "lacking all credibility."
Are you absolutely sure it's not YOU who is "lacking all credibility" (you pathetic, transitional hominid?)
Posted by rykart at 04/18/2009 @ 2:38pm
"What are you, a soph. psych. major at Berkley?" Posted by Benchrest at 04/18/2009
I won't attempt to guess YOUR major in school, benchrest, though I'd say it's fair to rule out English. Perhaps it's not your first language, in which case--apologies.
Keep at it.
Posted by rykart at 04/18/2009 @ 2:46pm
He could be an excellent pupil if he'd stop playing with Timmy and focus on Wall St as villain (harness the anger in the streets). Posted by snowball666 at 04/18/2009 @ 12:47pm | ignore this person | warn this person
this is a terrible idea, and Obama is right in not persuing this track at this time. in case you haven't realized it, we need Wall st. and the bankers, because much of the people's money is tied up there, such as pension funds etc.
Posted by emile duBois at 04/18/2009 @ 3:12pm
Posted by mimsky at 04/18/2009 @ 12:41am
I'd like to see put yourself in the shoes of CIA agent, and tell me you can lawfully interrogate a terrorist (domestic or otherwise) who has knowlege of an impending attack that's going to happend in a 12-hour timeframe.
This isn't television were everything gets solved in 1 hour.
Posted by ACook at 04/18/2009 @ 4:08pm
this is a terrible idea, and Obama is right in not persuing this track at this time. in case you haven't realized it, we need Wall st. and the bankers, because much of the people's money is tied up there, such as pension funds etc. Posted by emile duBois at 04/18/2009 @ 3:12pm
OMG, I'm agreeing with Blanche. The Earth may spin off its axis.
Letting it ride with the clowns that caused the disaster doesn't seem like a good long-term plan and Timmaaayyyy's Folly will be very costly and won't do much to fix the giant 'credit money' (M3) hole in our economy. Posted by snowball666 at 04/18/2009 @ 3:44pm
Unfortunately, some of the clowns who caused the disaster are safely ensconced in Congress for life. However, some of the clowns (like Madoff) are gone for good. I agree with Warren Buffett. Our best times are ahead of us.
Posted by twillie at 04/18/2009 @ 4:50pm
Nation is a historic publication. It has a reputation as a sounding board for intelligent discussion. Over the years there have been conversations between thoughtful minds on critical issues of the day; there have been disagreements, but here has been mutual respect.
I don't understand why the editors allow postings that are nothing more than mud wresting contests. Most of the postings above have nothing to do with the editors commentary, but a great deal to do with small minds.
You would be well served by limiting commentary to the issue at hand, written in a civil tone.
nhojjohn
Posted by Nhoj_John at 04/18/2009 @ 5:33pm
"Thank you for reposting my statement about Truman's use of the bomb (though it is off-topic for this site)."
Posted by rykart at 04/18/2009 @ 2:38pm
On the contrary, pee wee, it is quite relative to your perspective and state of mind.
Lunatic fringe. Don't forget your meds.
Posted by Benchrest at 04/18/2009 @ 5:43pm
"Good intelligence work takes years and no amount of torturing low-level flunkies is going to change that."
Posted by snowball666 at 04/18/2009 @ 4:19pm
That maybe true in some respects, but making a "flukie" talk will get you to the next level.
I know a lot of lefties here like bashing the CIA but they soon forget the men and women out there undercover saved this country's rear end on many occassions.
Posted by ACook at 04/18/2009 @ 7:14pm
"And I'm troubled by the administration's direction on some issues, notably the bank bailout plan and Afghanistan."
I am more like, pissed off, for the ones who truly believed... And either could overtake whatever good, real or rhetorical... is attempted.
"The contrast between the treatment of the auto industry, where workers and managers and creditors and shareholders are taking the hits, and the bailout of banks is corrosive. "
Fictional, monetarist... versus real, functional and productive. To let the machine tool capacity die is just infantile. Train or no (high-speed) train.
An economy wide short circuit, engaged and exacerbated .
Katrina vanden Heuvel
Posted by V at 04/18/2009 @ 7:55pm
"1 - All the various measures that are being taken seem to have an end product of increased government control over business and our banking and financial system."
So far I haven't seen ANY increased regulation besides executive compensation on only the banks that borrowed money.
"I realize it is not practical or appropriate to have no government regulation over economic enterprises, but it should be only to protect people from absolute excessive behavior by enterprise that could be harmful to them, and nothing more."
Everyone liberal and conservative thinks this, the problem becomes how much is too much?
"Actions taken to deal with the current economic situation should not leave a residue of government control over business because it is the opposite that has gotten this country to..."
No the reason we are the greatest economic producer is because we were a young and growing country in a world without much competition. China has tons of government control in their economy and they are growing still even in a recession so if you uphold that government control stunts growth then explain China.
"2. This administration is going to spend and print money and create deficits that make anything in the past pale by comparison - money is going to be printed that literally has no backing. ."
I have yet to see any decent suggestions from anyone other than the administration. The GOP plan wasn't fleshed out the GOP felt it needed to put out something for political reasons and I think they know it wouldn't work it was about appeasement more than anything.
Posted by Cccomfo1 at 04/18/2009 @ 8:56pm
I quite frankly don't think 100 days is enough time to grade this president in light of all the work that needs to be done. I do think he is on the right path. I'm disturbed by his stance on Afghanistan but I'm far more disturbed by the idea of negotiating with the Taliban for shared power in Afghanistan. As far as the economy goes, there are far too many Wall Street free marketers in his cabinet to make me feel comfortable with any decision or 'stress test' outcomes they conduct. They seem to be working for Goldman Sachs rather than the taxpayer.
Posted by lltrix at 04/18/2009 @ 10:53pm
We've all heard the wingnuts comparing Obama to Hitler, as if Hitler's Nazism was actual socialism...
Here's my analogy: Cheney = Eichmann, Rove = Goebbels, and John Yoo = Klaus Barbie.
The most disheartening thing I have seen is that the Philadelphia Inquirer (once a bastion of journalistic integrity, but lately little more than the New York Post of the Delaware Valley) gave an entire half-page in its op-ed section today, to that liar, traitor and criminal, John Yoo. In his usually ignorant and sociopathic way, he spewed some sort of vitriol about how the little pirate rescue proves that Obama is exactly like Bush! I would tell that little $hit to go back where he came from, but I'm pretty sure that kennel won't take him back...
To the extent that Obama continues to follow the Cheney Doctrines regarding the War Crime of Torture, and the Constitutional Crime of Domestic Spying, the more he leaves his own legacy in jeopardy. He MUST distinguish himself as being on the side of Justice!
So far, I am VERY disappointed. If you don't defend the Constitution, nothing else matters.
Posted by sjduskin at 04/18/2009 @ 10:59pm
Cccomfo1,
You said "So far I haven't seen ANY increased regulation besides executive compensation on only the banks that borrowed money. "
Effectively, if not in legal actuality, President Obama will essentially be running General Motors. He is in a position to, and it appears he will, be dictating some of what that company must do as it goes forward.
Separate from the economy, and essentially this is breaking news in the last 2 day, the EPA has issued some finding saying greenhouse gases affect people's health. (in spite of the fact that there is no scientific agreement on the subject of global warming and climate change). This is a possible big time "in" for the government to have a lot of control over what kinds of cars are built, other aspects of how industry operates, etc. I say possible because at this point there still will have to be congressional approval before much else happens. So there will be advocates of more government control because of things that have not been proven or hashed out scientifically.
I do not agree with your disagreement about the U.S. being the greatest economic producer. Up until the time the U.S. was created, there really was no such thing as people governing themselves. To the degree it exists elsewhere today, which it of course does, it started here first. Although there has certainly been technological and medical advancements or inventions in other countries, the preponderance of it has occurred here.
Even today, countries such as France are not economic heavyweights, we are. And you will see many people, even from Europe, who even though they may have been successes in European business or other endeavors, and could certainly live comfortable lives over there, still wind up coming here for even greater success.
Posted by sjchermak at 04/18/2009 @ 11:31pm
I too take issue with the banks' bailouts, rather than letting them file for bankruptcy. But as a "saver" whose retirement funds have dropped 40% or more, I believe most of the optimism we see in the investment indices is because of the reassurances the bailouts have provided. The value of our country's corporations, i.e. the stock price, is intricately related to the viability of the company. If we operate under capitalism and we want to see people able to keep their jobs, or be rehired, we need stability in that particular area. I credit Mr. Bernanke more than Sec. Geithner for providing us with some stability there. I just want to see some audacity in Congress and the President to put in place effective regulatory practices and enforcement agencies. I'd like to see him express the audacity that inspired us to work for his election, rather than trying to be too mainstream. The GOP has never handled being out of power well, and as nice as he tries to be to get them to work together for the sake of the country, that's just not their style. It's difficult to stay truly informed on "all" issues, but the right wing segment of our citizenry has few who even try.
Posted by dolo at 04/18/2009 @ 11:37pm
A waste of electrons by sjchermak at 04/18/2009 @ 11:31pm
Posted by frosty zoom at 04/19/2009 @ 01:00am
"Civics: D Seriously difficult to believe he's a Constitutional scholar with some of the shuck'n'jive over CIA / Gitmo"
I'm not so sure, "Snowball666." Have you read "Thrawn's" interpretation of the Constitution? To state it succinctly (and I hope accurately):
The Constitution, according to its own Article VI., supersedes all treaties.
The Eighth Amendment prohibits only cruel and unusual PUNISHMENT, not cruel means of interrogation.
For more details of "Thrawn's" highly astonishing -- and perhaps accurate -- views, read the thread under Richard Kim's web article concerning the torture memos.
Therefore, the president can torture all he wants. The rest of the world (co-signatories of treaties like the Geneva Conventions) may be appalled, but here in these United States, the president has acted within his constitutional authority. Moreover, recent laws passed by Congress (including some that very few actually read) gave the Executive Branch a lot of power to wage war just as the president wanted.
Maybe Obama is refusing to prosecute the crimes of Guantánamo and other overseas prisons because he understands that in this country, given the composition of our own Constitution, laws, and courts, he would LOSE.
Maybe our only chance for any justice would be to see our torturers prosecuted in absentia somewhere else, for example in Spain, where the laws and the judges are more favorable, or before the World Court.
Posted by JakobFabian at 04/19/2009 @ 06:04am
What happened to the fervor over the Patriot Act?
Or, is it OK if a LEFT leaning government is the one doing the eavesdropping?
Posted by bleedingheart at 04/19/2009 @ 06:42am
waterboarding a suspect six times a day for a month? america the beautiful.
Posted by emile duBois at 04/19/2009 @ 08:50am
Despite my pessimism, I'm still sending e-mails to Attorney General Eric Holder calling for a special prosecutor to investigate torture crimes under the Bush administration. You can, too: Check out the Firedog Lake website.
It's worth a try, even if failure is likely. Then, at least, we'll know exactly how much we truly can rely upon our Constitution and our legal system.
Posted by JakobFabian at 04/19/2009 @ 1:31pm
There are disappointments to be sure. The failure to prosecute those responsible for torture and the preoccupation for saving the Wall Street bankers in lieu of fixing the banking system that so desperately needs fixing. But at the same time Obama has proven his multitasking abilities in the significant number of accomplishments he has achieved. He has given rise to new hope and pride in America again.
Compare that to Bush who had Gramm put the finishing touches on the deregulation of the banks, setting the stage for the ultimate profit taking at the end of his term. And gave the wealthiest a big tax break so they could keep it when they took it. Otherwise Bush spent 85 days of the first hundred at getting the brush cleared at the Texas Ranch and was still working at that years later.
Posted by ROinReno at 04/19/2009 @ 2:44pm
Think of it this way: if torture works so damn well, why is Usama still alive and well?
Posted by snowball666 at 04/19/2009 @ 08:11am
Because the US didn't put its foot down a long time ago and I fault Bush for that. He allowed himself and the millitary to be restrained for the sake of trying to avoid collateral damage. And Bin Laden knew this. He knew America was not willing to sully its reputation in front of its "so-called friends".
But I say screw 'em. We should have unleashed the full power of the US military on the Taliban and AQ. And, if that meant leveling all of Afghanistan to the badlands of Pakistan, then so be it. War is not for the weak, not the faint of heart. How do you think Hitler was so successful during WWII? He exploited every weakness.
In short, we're not the serious nation we used to. And that's why other counties don't take us seriously either. We play too damn much. Too many weak people at the top.
Posted by ACook at 04/19/2009 @ 3:40pm
JakobFabian,
You seem to be concerned about prosecuting what you believe to be crimes.
If you are going to get investigations and tribunals going, then don't you agree we should have a tribunal look into and prosecute the crimes of Bill Clinton and his Deputy Attorney General, Jamie Gorelick.
You remember them, don't you? They were the ones that established the "wall" which prevented law enforcement and intelligence agencies from sharing information.
I guess this was done to satisfy some kind of leftist phobia but we found out what the result of this action was at 8:46 and 9:03 am on September 11, 2001 -- and then found out what the ultimate outcome was at 9:59 and 10:29 am on September 11, 2001.
I would say that an elected leader and an appointee of his taking action that could (and probably did) put your country in the type of danger I described in the paragraph above is not just irresponsibility or wrong thinking - it is absolute treason - and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Don't you agree?
Posted by sjchermak at 04/19/2009 @ 3:45pm
Posted by ACook at 04/19/2009 @ 3:40pm
Obviously there is no real psych evaluation requisite to becoming employed in the medical profession, at your level in any case.
Posted by V at 04/19/2009 @ 4:29pm
"Effectively, if not in legal actuality, President Obama will essentially be running General Motors. He is in a position to, and it appears he will, be dictating some of what that company must do as it goes forward. "
Why shouldn't he? America is now the biggest shareholder in their company which means we have control. They asked for our money therefore they get whatever strings are attached to it.
"I do not agree with your disagreement about the U.S. being the greatest economic producer. Up until the time the U.S. was created, there really was no such thing as people governing themselves."
Yes there have been. Study ancient history a little more, our government is not a new concept, it's based on old ideas implemented in new ways. Even pirates used to technically govern themselves. Pirates had one of the most diplomatic systems amongst themselves.
"Although there has certainly been technological and medical advancements or inventions in other countries, the preponderance of it has occurred here."
Many of the inventions that led to those advancements were created in other countries. We aren't the greatest country EVER we are the greatest country NOW because of a lack of competition. Now that America has competition in the form of China I am curious to see how long we last. Every other country in the world is still to this day trying to get it's s*** together after major wars that took place on their soil. We have had a free ride. Now let's see what happens that there is a real competitor and potential superpower that can keep a 6% growth rate in one of the worst global downturns in history.
Posted by Cccomfo1 at 04/19/2009 @ 4:35pm
"Obviously there is no real psych evaluation requisite to becoming employed in the medical profession, at your level in any case."
Posted by V at 04/19/2009 @ 4:29pm
Sorry V, but I won't go there with you.
Posted by ACook at 04/19/2009 @ 4:46pm
Posted by V at 04/19/2009 @ 4:29pm
I can see how she's a valuable asset in the for profit medical system. Hopefully she does most of her weeding out in the admissions area. Watch for an RN striding in, leaning over the admissions clerk's shoulder, eying the records & directing same eyes (evil) toward any under insured prospective patient.
Perhaps if he or she gets up & leaves that particular hospital, it's better than chancing ending up under acook's "care".
Posted by Sorelish at 04/19/2009 @ 6:11pm
Cccomfo1,
You ask (about Obama effectively running GM) ".......Why shouldn't he?....."
Here is why.
I will leave out any ideological questions here about the role of government......
Most government officials do not have any kind of business background at all.
They do not know how to efficiently operate a business.
I do realize that some businesses themselves do not do well in this regard, but certainly very few in government have any qualification to dictate business needs.
In the government there is built in inefficiency into everything the government does, even in things that most people would agree is a function that needs to be done by the government.
I speak as one who has held low level jobs in the government and in industry, and what I saw is that for an equivalent task that an employee would have to do, in a government job it requires twice as much paperwork and levels of approval and coordination, maybe more sometimes.
And once created, there is no inertia to ever make it go away.
Also, and again forget the ideology for a moment and just the nuts and bolts of the situation, our system where the "unseen hand" of millions of buyers and sellers all acting independently in the marketplace, seeking to buy what they need or sell what they have, has proven to do a much better job of satisfying peoples needs and wants than countries that had a "command" economy where central planners determined what needed to be produced and sold and at what price.... leading to shortages of things people needed and surpluses of things people did not want. This was the case in the Soviet Union, but early in it's inception India also had a command economy and it was lousy, since then it has been changed.
You are on a slippery slope if you get government involved too much.
Posted by sjchermak at 04/19/2009 @ 6:17pm
snowball666,
You said ".........All members of the 9/11 Commission agreed that Gorelick played no significant role in damaging information sharing on terrorist activities." ......"
You also said "........."However, the report from the 9/11 Commission, co-authored by Gorelick,.........."
My jaw dropped when I saw your post!
If this post of yours is not bizarre, then I do not know what is. (Mask will take that out of context)
Somehow, you did not connect two parts of your own post together before submitting it.
The similarity between the name Gorelick and the name Gorelick!!!!!
Posted by sjchermak at 04/19/2009 @ 6:55pm
If we had the population of the United States that we have RIGHT NOW, and turned the clock back to Dec 7, 1941, is there any chance we would have won WWII?
Posted by sntauri at 04/19/2009 @ 6:56pm
I am sorry but I can not get past this... it is just too bizarre and stupifying.
Jamie Gorelick says that Jamie Gorelick is not responsible for the actions taken by Jamie Gorelick which possibly caused harm to the country that is not blamable in any way on Jamie Gorelick....... and Jamie Gorelick saying so is proof that Jamie Gorelick is no way at fault for the misery caused by the actions of Jamie Gorelick.
I guess this one that snowball666 has come up with ranks close to the top with Katha Pollitt's call on this website for a national day of appreciation for baby killers.
I did not think anything could top that one and maybe this still doesn't, but it comes close.
Posted by sjchermak at 04/19/2009 @ 7:06pm
leading to shortages of things people needed and surpluses of things people did not want Posted by sjchermak at 04/19/2009 @ 6:17pm
This is the computer age sj. No need for shortages. As for surpluses of things people did not want, go to any landfill.
My economic geography teacher in high school told us long ago about planned obsolescence, production flaws, cartels & advertising.
"Command" economies aren't the only ones with problems.
Posted by Sorelish at 04/19/2009 @ 7:14pm
snowball666,
I think I had better back off and give you the benefit of the doubt.
I think that something must have happened on your computer when you made the last post about Gorelick.
That can not possibly have been intentional.... as your post stands now the only person on these threads to whom it would make sense would be Phil McCrevice.
So good luck with getting whatever the problem was with your computer or web browser fixed soon!!
Posted by sjchermak at 04/19/2009 @ 7:21pm
Sorelish,
Computers would not solve the problem of shortages of things people want and surpluses of things people do not need ---- if it is central government planners determining what is to be produced where at what price.
Buyers and sellers all acting independently, with people looking to buy what they need and sellers seeking to sell it to them is the economic law of supply and demand.
There is no need for anybody to be planning this.
Surpluses in a landfill are not a problem when there are not people waiting in line to buy bread and potatoes.
There are any number of cases when companies produced things that never caught on, such as the Edsel in the 1950's.
But if people are waiting in line to buy bread and potatoes and there are warehouses full of things they do not need, that indicates the basic flaw with government planning of the economy.
Posted by sjchermak at 04/19/2009 @ 7:27pm
snowball666,
You asked "........Which countries? How many people satisfied? How satisfied? Which needs? Which wants?....."
The situation I described in the Soviet Union is the best example of the downside of this... shortages of needed items, surpluses of items people did not need.
But India at it's inception had a command economy even though it was a democracy... and from what I read the economic conditions in that country were not good.... but then India got rid of it's command economy in favor of a more free market economy and life improved for the people in that country.
I realize that not ever one is doing well in this country, but the solution is not more government control.
One time the Soviet leaders were going to shove some more propaganda down the throats of their citizens, so they decided to show on the state television an American made documentary about the plight of Black people in America.
This show backfired on the leaders of "Utopia" because when the average Soviet saw this, they saw something that their leaders did not expect them to see --- that although the life of a lot of Black people in America was being described as bad........it was still seen by the average Soviet as better than what they had in Utopia!!!
Posted by sjchermak at 04/19/2009 @ 7:36pm
Success at doing what is best for America F- (grade awarded by me)----Posted by sjchermak at 04/17/2009 @ 6:33pm
You lost...get over it.
Posted by Mask at 04/19/2009 @ 8:51pm
"Perhaps if he or she gets up & leaves that particular hospital, it's better than chancing ending up under acook's "care".'
Posted by Sorelish at 04/19/2009 @ 6:11pm
Hey, it's not me you need worry about. And I don't triage in ER. My floor is ICU.
Posted by ACook at 04/19/2009 @ 9:00pm
On most domestic issues, other than his trillion dollar payoff to his campaign contributors on Wall Street, and his opposition to single payer healthcare, Obama has done moderately well. But in foreign, military and human rights policy, he has proven himself no more than a charismatic neocon.
Posted by DrBrian at 04/19/2009 @ 11:12pm
"Sorry V, but I won't go there with you."
You do not have to, I will go there for you...
Posted by ACook at 04/19/2009 @ 4:46pm
"What is here is everywhere, what is not here is nowhere..."
Sufi aphorism... and with that;
"But I say screw 'em. We should have unleashed the full power of the US military on the Taliban and AQ."
We had enough to do the job...
And we had our former bagman... too.
So, you would do this some parts cognitive dissonance, where you would self pretend you did not know of this datum... or in ignorance.
"And, if that meant leveling all of Afghanistan to the badlands of Pakistan, then so be it."
Just set your filter for nine year olds... and understand the Pashtun, give a shit about our concept of "collateral damage."
"War is not for the weak, not the faint of heart."
You lack the courage to google "prescott +world war 2" so you should be the one to talk...
"How do you think Hitler was so successful during WWII? "
Well, last time I checked he got his ass kicked... You just gave the alternate universe theory (you belief that you're from one) more credence.
He exploited every weakness. "
I think he was better at killing a lot of people, Jews especially, just because...
Posted by ACook at 04/19/2009 @ 3:40pm
Someone other than (though even she... knows she cannot) ACook, find "do no harm"in the above.
The glossed over, lunatic child pain and misery contained between those words...
All that would have been left would be the Taliban and AQ.
Posted by V at 04/20/2009 @ 12:23am
Mask,
You said "......You lost...get over it........"
Mask, how come the left did not adhere to that principle during the previous 8 years?
Posted by sjchermak at 04/20/2009 @ 02:20am
Posted by sjchermak at 04/20/2009 @ 02:20am
Sorry, SJ...you didn't get the joke. Was doing my Rush (and YOU guys') impression over the last 8 years.
No,no, by all means...DON'T get over it, stay mad, and please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, PLEASE....have more of those "Teea Parties" with ALL those SIGNS and QUOTES from "real Americans"...
and make it the image of the Republican Party!
BTW, it'll mean a LOT of "getting over"!...LOL
Posted by Mask at 04/20/2009 @ 06:11am
"Success at starting to move America towards Socialist Utopia" A+ (grade awarded by JakobFabian, blogger on The Nation) - Where the Hell is the Gov taking over the means of production? ANSWER! Don't call names, ANSWER!"
I never issued this grade, "mmadarasz." You must be confusing me with somebody else.
If you're curious, my grade for Obama as a socialist would not be above a 'D.' Basically, this man splits the difference between Herbert Hoover and FDR. Nothing that he has done in the banking crisis distinguishes him favorably from Bill Clinton, or any other triangulating Democrat.
Posted by JakobFabian at 04/20/2009 @ 07:54am
Lest there be any confusion: The grade that I would give the Bush-Paulsen team for their complete and utter bungling of the banking crisis (and other things, such as Hurricane Katrina) is a flat 'F.'
Posted by JakobFabian at 04/20/2009 @ 07:59am
Dear, dear. Now I see where "mmadarasz" got my name, and his mistaken view of my opinion: from "sjchermak." That explains things. Sorry about any misunderstanding, "mmadarasz."
Also, I can't blame Henry Paulsen for anything Bush did or failed to do in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. That was "Brownie's" bad. I'm getting sloppy, because I'm in a hurry. Have a good day, everyone.
Posted by JakobFabian at 04/20/2009 @ 08:04am
You lost...get over it.
Posted by Mask at 04/19/2009 @ 8:51pm
No, America lost.
Posted by antisocialist at 04/20/2009 @ 08:59am
No, America lost.---Posted by antisocialist at 04/20/2009 @ 08:59am
Yet, your "back-up escape plan" (if El Sal falls through) is to move to an even MORE liberal state....Hawaii?!?!?!?!
Even more ironic...the state Obama was born in!...LOL
Posted by Mask at 04/20/2009 @ 09:19am
JakobFabian,
In my original post....when I was giving out the "grades" to Obama, I assigned names of people giving out those grades..
This was made up satire, except for the last one, which was the grade I give Obama, an F-.
You did not give out the grade that I "said" you did ... that was satire, just like the others, except mine.
The reason I assigned your name to the grading was because you are the proponent, on more than one occasion on this website, that taxes need to be raised on the wealthy. Your apparent reason - because they can pay more.
They pay most of the tax in this country now, but you think since they can pay more they should and must pay more.
No economic logic behind this - just your desire to tap the wealthy as deep as you can, because they can pay and now with Obama, you will be able to tap into their money and pick their pockets as deep as you want to go.
So when I was giving out "grades" to Obama, for the one about Socialist Utopia, I thought of you.
Posted by sjchermak at 04/20/2009 @ 09:52am
"At least in the ICU, it's likely they'd be so doped as too not be subjected to acook's shallow aphorisms or dissonant beliefs prior to their angelic dispatch.
Thank heaven for small mercies."
Posted by snowball666 at 04/20/2009 @ 04:51am
So my words are shallow, huh? LOL
Actually, telling people on this thread what your IQ is and how much money you make, is very shallow and vain. (I believe you mentioned sometime back that your IQ was about180 and that you make around $160K as a software designer who works from home? Did I get it right?)
Posted by ACook at 04/20/2009 @ 12:19pm
"I will leave out any ideological questions here about the role of government......
Most government officials do not have any kind of business background at all.
They do not know how to efficiently operate a business."
That's why the President runs people who were once in business to run things. They don't run it themselves. So it's not actually him running it, it's people who have a history in automotive business.
Posted by Cccomfo1 at 04/20/2009 @ 4:40pm
Manchurian Candidate? You bet!
Posted by Happy at 04/18/2009 @ 12:58pm
OK, " Manchurian Candidate", then, would be would be in the sense that:
1) President Obama is a Korean War vet, captured, then brainwashed?
or
2) Co-starred once upon a time with Shelley Winters? (Or was it Angela Lansbury--my apologies to you buffs out there?)
or
3) Served under Old Blue Eyes and looked like Laurence Harvey?
I'm reaching, I know, but I just can't find the Manchurian Candidate parallel.
Posted by schnellerheinz at 04/20/2009 @ 5:02pm
THE CHERM-AID ASSCLOWN COCKTAIL
2 shots of demagoguery and dementia in half a glass of spittle
A dash of rogain
A sprig of coarse butt hair
Put all in a blender for 10 minutes while listening to Glen Beck cry, wave a flag twice, change your socks, and pour into a tall glass. And for god sakes don't drink this shit. It's pizen.
Posted by ficheye at 04/21/2009 @ 04:03am
Cccomfo1,
You said "That's why the President runs people who were once in business to run things. They don't run it themselves. So it's not actually him running it, it's people who have a history in automotive business......."
Ok, I give up. Let Obama do whatever Obama feels necessary...Let government run business....Let Obama apologize to whoever feels entitled to an apology.
I guess in the 1800's when immigration began there was a lot of racism against the Irish in Boston. There would be signs (when advertising for job openings) that said "No Irish need apply".
So we owe Ireland an apology for that.... it is not my place to tell or even suggest what the President should do, but he should put a trip to Ireland to deliver an apology on his agenda.
Weaken the military, let the terrorists out of Gitmo, disclose previous intelligence information, have complete wide open abortion, print as much money as is possible, tax the wealthy because they can pay (according to JakobFabian), we need to do it all.
President Obama needs to support the Palestinians and put pressure on Israel to do whatever people want Israel to do, either because they blame Israel for the Middle East problems, or because they want Israel to dissappear. Whatever, it is up to them and up to Obama, not me.
I just want to support Obama and hope he succeeds in whatever he wants to do.
The only item not involved in my new, defeatist compliant attitude is Iran, fortunately for the world Bibi will do what he thinks is necessary regardless of what Obama thinks or does.
And then President Palin will have a mess beyond belief when she takes over in 2013, but at least I will have done what I am supposed to do and support Obama and not be an Assclown.
Posted by sjchermak at 04/21/2009 @ 10:14am
Katrina, I am somewhat skeptical about the direction Obama will go. His appointments show that his allegiance is more to the banking industry and wallstreet than your average working American. Having said that, I still think he was a better choice than McCain, but death by electrocution versus death by disease are hardly good options.
Obama has spent all most all of his time on bailing out wallstreet and the banks and very few resources on things that would really help like putting real money into a high speed rail system versus throwing a few quarters in that direction. Local jobs will be produced by a federal rail system while throwing money at AIG and Goldman Sachs only allow them to better their bottom line, but to hell with the rest of the population.
Then, he's pretty much tried to protect the Bush/Cheney administration for their part in the the NSA wiretapping fiasco as well as the torture ordeal. Being a constitutional law professor, you'd think the rule of law, especially constitutional law would have some validity to him, but looking forward and fogetting the past appear to be his motto.
I know that Obama can't do everything by himself, but he can use his bully pulplit to reinforce the rule of law which means prosecuting those who broke the law. The U.S. must prove to the world that we are truly a country of laws, and not jungle law. So far, we are proving to be the latter.
So, Obama may get more center votes for the next election, but in turn may lose the voters who voted for him the first time around.
Posted by Wolfgang1 at 04/21/2009 @ 11:37am
Yes America is stupid for voting in a Statist. Still waiting for the day liberal writers get off the Socialist bandwagon and stop thinking about what we can do for the world or the poor, and start writing about what is best for individual liberty and the right to loose-or-fail on what they believe, and the right to own the fruits of our labors. When will the taxing and wasteful giving stop?
Posted by Exton1 at 04/21/2009 @ 1:17pm
Posted by Exton1 at 04/21/2009 @ 1:17pm
When will you corporate stooges quit worrying about lining the pockets of the already filthy wealthy and take a serious look at monopolized economic systems as we have right now. This isn't the by-product of liberals, it's the by-product of corporatists.....in other words neocons. NOBODY GETS RICH BY THE FRUITS OF THEIR OWN LABOR!! I've never seen a rich man work a day in his life....others do it for them.
Posted by Wolfgang1 at 04/21/2009 @ 3:07pm
And then President Palin will have a mess beyond belief when she takes over in 2013, but at least I will have done what I am supposed to do and support Obama and not be an Assclown.
Posted by sjchermak at 04/21/2009 @ 10:14am
For one, Obama isn't doing most of those things you are exaggerating like every other hard right winger. Who is he apologizing to? Diplomacy is not capitulation. Only the hard right thinks trying to talk to people instead of kill people is being an apologist.
There will be no President Palin, most of the country thinks she is a dunce. And you mean the mess like Bush left Obama?
Posted by Cccomfo1 at 04/21/2009 @ 4:53pm
Cccomfo1,
Who is Obama apologizing to, you ask?
He is making blanket apologies to the world, for past American wrongs (as he sees it).
His own language during his trip to Europe confirms this.
I am not discussing diplomacy here, not talking about his interactions with other leaders during his trip.
It is in his speeches during those trips. His general theme that America did things wrong in the past and his predecessor did things wrong, but that things are different now.
No nation currently existing in the world is perfect, but most not only do not apologize for anything in their past, they gloss over their past.
I have read that Japanese schoolchildren do not get much information about the atrocities their soldiers committed in the Far East during the run up to World War II.
American history, on the other hand, is an open book with anybody, including schoolchildren, exposed to our past, both the bad and the good.
For, as a general concept, an American leader to go abroad and fixate on the American past when most countries gloss over bad parts of their past is bad enough......but....
Some of what Obama sees as wrongs are things that are only "wrongs" based on his political ideology.......
That is obviously a subject (ideological viewpoints) that is debated back and forth beyond belief on a site such as this, but it is unprecedented that an American President would go abroad and start "apologizing" for his predecessor's policy when his view that his predecessor's policy is wrong is driven by Obama's ideology only.
This is absurd, and getting worse. First Carter and then Slick Willie broke new ground, as past presidents, by criticizing the next occupant of the White House, when it had been custom not to.
But now Obama, a sitting President, is doing this too.
Posted by sjchermak at 04/21/2009 @ 9:46pm
Posted by sjchermak at 04/21/2009 @ 9:46pm
So you are saying that because the rest of the world's government's are unapologetic assholes for the atrocities they have committed we should follow suit? I thought we were supposed to be the greatest nation in the world. I'm pretty sure being great is about doing the things no one else is willing to do.
Acknowledging the mistakes of a past administration is not being an apologist. It is acknowledging that other people messed up. That's the problem with this country. People assume George Bush is America. George Bush is not America, Obama is not America. The people are America. When he points out that George Bush did something wrong he is not pointing out that America did anything wrong nor is he apologizing for America. He is simply saying that HE will not make the same mistakes.
Posted by Cccomfo1 at 04/22/2009 @ 12:53am
Cccomfo1,
It is only Obama's opinion that George W. Bush did something wrong.
It is not a confirmed fact upon which all would agree. There are many who would absolutely not agree.
It is not appropriate for a President to go and apologize to the world for differences in ideological opinion and cast them as wrong committed by America.
Posted by sjchermak at 04/22/2009 @ 03:41am
It is not appropriate for a President to go and apologize to the world for differences in ideological opinion and cast them as wrong committed by America.
Posted by sjchermak at 04/22/2009 @ 03:41am
Funny you should say that because that is exactly what Cheney is doing. He is no longer a public official yet he runs his mouth more now than he did while in office.
W has managed to keep a low profile which tends to make one believe that the root of all of these torture orders may very well lie on Cheney's doorstep, not W's.
Wouldn't that be something if Cheney were going behind Bush's back all along without Bush knowing it. What would you guys think then?
Posted by Wolfgang1 at 04/22/2009 @ 06:27am
Wolfgang1,
You say "that is exactly what Cheney is doing"
No kidding and so what?
Once Mr. Peanut and then Slick Willie changed the precedent that a former president (or vice president) typically did not criticize a current occupant, then there is no reason for Mr. Cheney to have to hold back from any opinion about Obama.
What goes around comes around, etc.
You mentioned that "W" is keeping a low profile.
The only reason that he is doing that is because it is not his nature to do so. He would not fight back against his critics while he was in the White House. He apparently saw no purpose in that and apparently sees none now.
That is his own judgement on the matter and is driven only by his inclination that he should not do that.
It is not because of any other reason, of course libs will contstruct all kinds of reasons out of thin air, such as how you say Cheney may have been going around Bush's back.
There are times in the last 8 years when I wish President Bush had been more outspoken in defense of his policy and in criticizing people crucifying him, but he apparently is disinclined to do so, a function of his own personality.
And his personality was and I am sure still is a lot more grounded in reality and common sense and clear thinking (about 1000% more grounded) than libs believe it to be.
Posted by sjchermak at 04/22/2009 @ 09:05am
Cccomfo1,
It is only Obama's opinion that George W. Bush did something wrong.
It is not a confirmed fact upon which all would agree. There are many who would absolutely not agree.
It is not appropriate for a President to go and apologize to the world for differences in ideological opinion and cast them as wrong committed by America.
Posted by sjchermak at 04/22/2009 @ 03:41am
Considering he only has an approval rating of 20% or somewhere around there, I would say most people agree.
Posted by Cccomfo1 at 04/22/2009 @ 6:28pm
There are times in the last 8 years when I wish President Bush had been more outspoken in defense of his policy and in criticizing people crucifying him, but he apparently is disinclined to do so, a function of his own personality. Posted by sjchermak at 04/22/2009 @ 09:05am
I think it was a dysfunction of his personality. He might have gotten more support if were to clarify his logic about the actions he took.
Posted by ficheye at 04/23/2009 @ 3:24pm