Well at this point the front-runners are constantly in flux, there's no reason for him to research opponents until after the primaries.

The President did not say there was no difference among the Republican candidates. The context of the comment was discussion was about the economy and the "core philosophy" about which the President spoke was the failed Republican economic theory that if we give tax cuts to the rich the economy will thrive. The President is absolutely right and the Republican candidates, as well as the Republican congress members, are wrong.

9-11 happened under Bush's watch and Obama killed Bin Laden. Nuff said.

Republicans and their "starve the beast" policies got us into this mess. We would be in a lot worse shape had Obama not been President.

70% of Americans believe its alright to increase taxes on the wealthy.

Republicans are out of touch with the American people.

That's right...and Obama is getting us out of the chickenhawks war in Iraq too...you know chickenhwks, they talk loud, wave their made in china flag and then find something else to do when the shooting starts...like bush cheney, wolfowitz, rice, hsu...cluck cluck cluck

Just take it all. Another four years of Obama will kill what is left of the economy. The only way to feed the beast will be to nationalize everything then

Republicans want to cut government drastically which will increase unemployment. They want to cut spending which will and has stalled the economy.

We already know that republican economic policy doesn't work.

9-11 happened under Bush's watch and Obama killed Bin Laden. Nuff said.

Was that with one of his six shooters or or his bare hands ? hahahaha

9-11 happened under Bush's watch and Obama killed Bin Laden. Nuff said.

I just love it, something that happens 7 months into Bushes first term is all Bushes fault, yet 3yrs into Obamas term, he is still blameless for everything..

Obama will not be getting a 2nd term, We lost our gold plated credit rating, the first time in our countries history and this is what Obama will be remembered for..

Well, most folks surely want another four years of Obama. I mean, who doesn't absolutely love having no job, a worthless house, $4.00 gas, an unstable stock market, ............

I believe the stock market is mostly unstable at the moment due to the Euro. I don't see how you can blame the Obama Administration for Europe's woes.

You mad about the housing market? Blame the banks that gave overvalued mortgages. The Obama Administration has already been tightening regulations to prevent this from happening again.

You mad about gas? So am I. The truth is the world as a whole is becoming more and more industrialized (see China and India) and with this the cost of petroleum rises; supply and demand yo. The only viable long term solutions are:

A) Pump more oil, but this is l(global warming issues aside) ike putting a band-aid on an artery.

B) Move off of fossil fuels. This may hurt in the short run, but in the long run will provide new sustainable energy sources.

Any of the Republicans would be a vast improvement over Obama. He took a bad economic situation and made it much worse. Of course he does not want the election to be about his economic record. He has the worst economic record since Hoover! Tax and Spend has never worked and never will work.

In making the case for his re-election, President Barack Obama is arguing that it doesn't matter who the Republicans nominate to run against him because the core philosophy of the GOP candidates is the same and will stand in sharp relief with his own.

Not only that, but they keep on blaming this president for all the mistakes of the past 10 years of GWB.

The Republicans keep telling "Oh Yeah! George Bush is not the President any more" As if anybody would be able to "magically" fix all the problems that he created. Not only that; but the Republican Congress has blocked all possible solutions that this President has offered, just to make sure that he does not succeed.

We had a "fine example' of who the "Republican Hopefuls" are. The 2 top guys trying to get the job. One does not mind making a bet for $ 10.00 dollars, as if it was chump change. Many Americans can't even make payments of time, left alone placing bets.

The other one: Newt Gingrich. A person that has all kind of rods in the fire, and makes money at every turn, regardless of where the money is coming from. Example: Being a lobbyist for Freddie and Mac.

Well...I can't wait for President Obama to defend himself against all this hate rhetoric that we have listened for all this time. They are going to have to eat some of those words. President Obama may not be perfect, but he certainly represents We the people better than those 2 rich fat guys.

Is that all you can do John? Blast insults?

Obviously it's because a logical rebuttal escapes you.

Ouch...touchy aren't we?

Not really. Last I checked I wasn't the one that had to resort to being a classic internet troll in an attempt to ward off someone else's logic.

When you come up with something based in facts I'll be there to debate it. Until then, by all means, continue personal attacks in an attempt to blind people.

No, the President's right. The core underlying principle behind all of the GOP candidates is "@!$%# the middle class."

I want to know who are these people taking the polls that think its Obama's fault the country is moving in the wrong direction. In fact going from loosing 700K jobs a month to 21 straight months of job growth would indicate positive improvement to me. Who are these people that think Obama should not be re-elected as oppose to who...Rick Perry, Newt, Romney...the Mickey Mouse club?

Just adds credibility to my assumption that polls don't mean squat, can easily be swayed, and DO NOT REPRESENT the opinnions of the vast majority of Americans. The only poll that counts is the ballot box.

IF NOT OBAMA in 2012 who? Popcorn?

Here's a fact for you. Just 41 percent of Americans think Mr. Obama has performed his job well enough to be elected to a second term, whereas 54 percent don't think so.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57340576-503544/grim-economic-outlook-weighs-down-obama-approval-rating/

Stick that in your bong and smoke it.

John, congress has a 9% approval rating. So by that standard Obama is doing great.

John, congress has a 9% approval rating. So by that standard Obama is doing great.

The problem with that, is everyone thinks their congressman is doing wonders, its just all the other districts' congressmen that are the problem.

The problem with that, is everyone thinks their congressman is doing wonders, its just all the other districts' congressmen that are the problem.

My congresswoman is Michelle Bachmann. One guess for how you think I think she's doing.

I'm surprised the suicide rate in our district hasn't skyrocketed.

How does Obama win with pitiful numbers like that? The only way is to demonize the GOP, the dem led Senate, throwing the rest of the dems in congress overboard, waging class warfare and doing whatever is neccesary. It is the Chicago way.

Ruken you'd probably prefer a more fabulous rep like Barney Frank or David Dreier.

Obvious to me the core republican belief is for the wealthy only. Screw that bs. Nothing more unhonorable has walked modern american soil than these republicans. Simply unamerican the way they operate.

Eric, what made America great was not by lowering our standards, not sure if that is what you are suggesting.....

if you are just making a point of relativity, you are right- we need to get rid of many of our RRepresentatives, Senators and President with those numbers. How is Obama doing compared to Bush his last year?

have a good week.

IRESPOND, your guy had the house and 60 votes in the Senate before the 2010 elections. He used his political capital on a stimulus that did not stimulate and a health care plan that has added tremendous uncertainty and unbelievable costs to our health care system. He has quadrupled the last deficit of George Bush. I would give my right arm for the unemployment rate and deficit that we had in January of 2009 before dufus took over.

Your guy has 2 of the 3 levers of power and yet does not have the skill to get anything done. Reagan, Clinton and others achieved significant legislative victories with less power than Obama has today. It takes ideas, it takes courage, it takes leadership. You cannot get anything done when you run and hide.

Quote.....Was that with one of his six shooters or or his bare hands ? hahahaha......EndQuote

No Joe66.....it was by his wits.

Thankfully, Obozo will be tossed out on his ass this November........what an absolute disaster he is for America.....

Honestly, the disaster (and ongoing embarrassment) for America are the clowns who continue to deride the President of this county with childish name-calling. If you have something of substance to say about his policies, go right ahead. If not, kindly shut your pie-hole.

Gary 420

Any of the Republicans would be a vast improvement over Obama. He took a bad economic situation and made it much worse. Of course he does not want the election to be about his economic record. He has the worst economic record since Hoover! Tax and Spend has never worked and never will work.

This is the kind of fox news brain washing that is going to get us all killed.

The president could have worked with the republicans if the republicans had not set out at the beginning of Obama's presidency to block everything he proposed.

They CHOSE not to work with him so they could later claim he had gotten nothing done. At the same time the republicans DID NOTHING to improve jobs in order to keep the economy in the tanks so they would be in a better position to defeat the president in 2012.

They have said this in public! That's evil!

I will not vote republican and reward them for refusing to help the American people in order to win an election and anyone who does is asking for worse behavior when the republicans don't get their way in the future.

John first you did not offer fact you offered the results of a poll with what +/- 4% margin of error? Those are not facts but they are pure entertainment and the media's effort to remain relevant until America states emphaitcally what it supports through the ballot box. The same polls you cite just put Obama ahead of Mitt Romney in SC of all God forsaken places!!! Polls don't mean squat, can and are easily swayed, and since when did 1,000 carefully chosen european americans (e.g. white folks) speak for 300 million other Americans.

IF NOT OBAMA in 2012 WHO?

If the worst that can happen by not re-electing Obama is that we end up going down a different toilet than the one we're going down now then why not vote against Obama? We're going nowhere fast and not heading in even an acceptable direction, let alone a good one. At least a different direction has the possibility to be better, it certainly can't be any worse, and we already know the direction we're going with Obama is a horrible one.

TO: John-2032532 who wrote:

"Just take it all. Another four years of Obama will kill what is left of the economy..."

Republicans already had it their way for 8 straight years, and THAT is what destroyed the economy!

If Republicans had even a tiny clue of how to run this country, we wouldn't be in the mess we're in today, but they don't.

The only thing Republicans know how to do is hate speech.

Republicans all have the same talking points filled with hate speech, and they don't even bother to listen to questions anymore because all they're going to do is recite their hate speech every time they talk.

American Girl...yell at me some more. I like that.

Ron. The fact is Obama's federal debt increase of 50% in four years is unsustainable. By the end of his next term 100% of the tax revenues will go to service the interest on the debt.

Last I checked Repubs took a government surplus and turned it into the Obama-inherited deficit by unfunded tax cuts to the rich while at the same time taking on two wars (one of them illegal).

Brilliant bunch.

Oh wait, that must also be Obama's fault. Right?

I like to make my own decisions about politicians and use FOX and MSNBC as a starting point. If one of these places says something I usually like to seek out another side to the issue. So, I'd like to ask the following questions:

How is Obama a "Tax and Spend" person if taxes are actually lower since he's taken office?

How is the economy worse off now if we've actually had 2-1/2 years of growth?

Bosco, if you were really paying attention, you could answer your own question... and eric, you think republicans are out of touch with Americans? Dude, YOU are so out of touch with reality...like most liberals

> Tax and Spend has never worked and never will work.

Your statement is nonsensical. Would you prefer the previous administration's "Spend and Spend" approach? How is that better? How can you spend without taxing? At least when you tax and spend, you've got a balanced equation. There's a reason you don't hear Democrats crying about taxes--it's because they understand that's how we pay for the services we want and need.

I'm not trying to be partisan with my questions. I think that anyone should be able to ask questions about anything...even if it might fly in the face of what their party is trying to accomplish. I'm not going to vote for someone just because my party tells me to. And if my party gives me reasons to vote a certain way then I'm going to make sure those reasons are true. We're currently in a world where anyone can say anything about a person without any facts at all. And it just doesn't matter. I, for one, want to know the truth. And if that brings me to a Democratic candidate, then so be it. But if a Republican fits my needs then I'll vote that way.

Gary

It's interesting that you would say that under Obama we have "the worst economic record since Hoover!" Haven't you noticed that the Republican economic plan is almost identical to Hoover's spending reduction plan that put the country into the Great Depression? What got the country out of the Depression was spending on jobs and other programs to put money into the hands of people who would spend it - a STIMULUS to the economy. The Republicans fought all of those programs and, as a result, the Depression lasted much longer than it otherwise would have. The SPENDING associated with WWII got us out of our economic problems. Now the Republicans want to follow the same kind of austerity plan that didn't work then and will not work now.

You also fail to understand the workings of the federal government when you say that "Your guy has 2 of the 3 levers of power and yet does not have the skill to get anything done." The Republicans have a clear majority in the House and Democrats' very small majority in the Senate is not enough to override the filibuster, which the Republican Senate has used more than any Senate in the history of the US government.

President Obama has consistently tried to compromise with the Republicans, but almost all of them have signed away their ability to govern responsibly by signing a pledge to Grover Friggin' Norquist not to raise taxes for any reason whatsoever. It's pretty obvious that the Bush tax cuts did not work. Debt doubled and the economy tanked. For some reason, Republicans maintain that trickle-down economics (labeled "Voodoo economics" by George H. W. Bush) is the way to go, and they insist that our pathway to a healthy economy is by making the rich even richer. Note to the conservative diehards: The Bush tax cuts have been in place for a decade and the rich have not created many jobs. What makes you think that even more tax cuts for the fantasy "job creators" are going to decrease unemployment?

Another note to conservative diehards: You can stay home during the primaries. It doesn't matter which Republican you elect to Congress. They all vote in lock-step the way they are told to vote by John Boehner and Mitch McConnell, who in turn take their orders on economic bills from Grover Friggin' Norquist.

John-2032532 wrong again but you knew that right. You see the incoming administration is always strapped with the spending of the previous administration. But there was a double down in this case, e.g., two hidden (off the book) wars, a $4T doughnut hole, and the continuation of all the mess the previous administration, on top of the spending necessary to keep the economy from disintergrating as it was already in the ditch when this administration arrived.

BUT YOU KNEW ALL THIS RIGHT? Thought so. Popcorn?

Seattle Ron

You are so right. In addition, two major circumstances that hold back the US economy are the mortgage crisis and the European economy, neither of which Obama can control.

Does anyone else out there find it ironic that the President of the United States always seems to get blamed for the state of the economy? Republican or Democrat. Does anybody else out there really understand how little influence the executive branch has on our daily lives?

The economy is in the toilet, first and foremost, because of easy credit that was doled out like Skittles at a children's party. I still can't find any legislation that was authored by the President that forced banks to make questionable loans. For that matter, I can't find where a President authored legislation of any kind. As unpalatable the idea of bailing out banks and the auto industry has been, it still managed to keep credit flowing and jobs in place. From most of the economic articles I have read about the bail-out, they all seem to agree that the US economy is far better off for having it happen than not. Feel free to disagree should you choose as that is your right.

The "Invisible Hand" theory first postulated by Adam Smith has turned in this century to an open fist that will bit*h-slap the unsuspecting. Greed is what is solely responsible for this chaotic mess we are currently in. If you want to further deregulate all industries, be prepared to take it in the shorts somewhere down the road.

As for blaming someone? The President, any President, is pretty far down the line in the list of culpability.

You want jobs? Figure out a way to compete with China. They work for a small fraction of what we do here in the United States. They have little in the way of benefits as compared to what American Workers do yet they are thriving. They have an overabundance of available work opportunities as they choose to work for pennies on the dollar. If you want to bring jobs back to American shores, produce a better product for less. Either that or let's figure out a way to pay our workers here a living wage by paying upper management what they are really worth. When a President of a company makes upwards of 300 times what line worker makes, let's figure out a way to lose the CEO and hire 300 more employees. Thoughts/ comments???

that is exactly what one would expect from a President with NO core philosophy

Frankly, there isn't a soul running for office who will do much to improve our situation. I will take a republican over a democrat right now simply because we cannot 'spend our way to prosperity' as Obama would have you believe. I dislike both parties, they are all primarily concerned with being elected or re-elected, they don't have a clue as to what really needs to be done to clean up this mess we find ourselves in. That will take time and a feeling of national optimism, said optimism being hard to come by with the current crop of self-serving twits now holding office.

Ron Hereare two facts found at the US. BLS.

Total employed January 2009: 142,099,000

Total employed November 2011: 140,580,000

US employment has declined 1.5 million since Obama took office.

http://data.bls.gov/search/query/results?cx=013738036195919377644%3A6ih0hfrgl50&q=total+employment+2008

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/empsit_02062009.pdf

MyGirl1

You sound like a reasonable person and I really wish you would rethink your position about voting for a Republican. It was Republican policies that put America into an economic free fall and every GOP politician is still singing the same old song. It’s not spending that has caused our problems it’s the fact that the rich in this country have been on a free ride for thirty years. This whole ”Don’t tax the Job Creators” is a Karl Rove LIE.

I watched the entire interview with the President on 60 minutes last night. When it was over I said to myself; Thank God the president is fighting these greedy right wing idiots. I find it sad that there are so many Republican voters that DO NOT pay attention to what is really going on. They don’t see that it was the Republican Party that destroyed our economy not President Obama. My advice to these folks is; STOP LISTENING TO THE LIES ON FOX.

BigAl: I'm not real fond of either party and I do see how members of both parties have shafted us. Democrats had their little grubby hands in just as deep as the republicans. Franks, Pelosi, Gramm, et al were there to pander for votes, create legislation that either shot the economy in the foot by insisting on "equal housing' regardless of qualifications for being able to own and pay for a home, or deregulating the banking and lending institutions, allowing the unregulated creation of derivatives to blow the financial system sky-high. Both parties have been at fault and the populace at large has also been at fault for allowing these shysters to go about their business.

I can't vote for a democrat with our debt crisis ongoing. Tax and spend is not the answer and the class warfare promoted by Obama and the democrats is merely obfuscation. The republicans could do the job but they are so currently stupid that all they know to do is shoot themselves repeatedly in the foot. The democrats demogogue, they haven't presented a budget which they were mandated to do almost three years ago. Rather than that they let the republicans come up with ideas which they shot down.

Not one person in congress or the White House is really doing much except making a bad situation worse. They remind me of a little kid who keeps picking at a scab, if left alone the wound would heal itself, but noooo, they have to intervene and it is government either intervening in areas which should have been left alone or not intervening in areas that needed attention that has gotten us here.

Note: I don't watch TV, I got tired of the propaganda and BS a long time ago. Obama is the poster child for progressive programming ala MSNBC and CNN and opposing Obama is the meat and potatoes of the Fox group. Rather than having some ratings driven media outlet direct my thinking, I research on the internet, read diverse opinions and form my own. My serious problem with Obama is similar to what many liberals are discovering about the man, he talks the talk but he don't walk the walk. Looking at his actions tells a very different story from what he says.

I think the country needs a person who stands by stated convictions, not someone who waffles or panders to big business while claiming to be for the little guy. So far the only one who fits that bill is Paul and he doesn't stand a snowball's chance in hell of getting nominated.

-Sam:

We lost our gold plated credit rating, the first time in our countries history and this is what Obama will be remembered for..

You're being sarcastic, right? You honestly think the rest of the world looked at us with high regard when we re-elected Bush...?

Wow.

It's identical to Obama's core philosophy, too. They all believe in trickle down economics and that it's OK if corporations and Wall Street run the world.

When you think about who you are going to vote for in 2012 just have a think about this......imagine if (and this is a pretty ugly thought) the President was John McCain and the VP was Sarah Palin......would you be in any better position than what you are now (not talking to the 1%ers here we know they would be better off)???????

Then look at what the Repubs currently have lining up for the GOP 2012 Team ...... McCain would probably still beat any one of them.

And for those of you who love polls and thinking that they have some bearing on the subject......the last time you took a political poll did you tell the truth, didn't think so. When they flip the coin at the start of the game the score is 0 0 they don't count up the score till the end of the game and stats don't mean jack on the field.

Despite Fox News (and their "commentators") protestations that "Americans" don't support the policies of Obama and only voted for him because he was black blah blah blah.....the vast majority of Americans who did vote, voted for the current president, no matter what your state of denial is that's the facts. If the Repubs have anything to offer other than the same ol' trickle down policy and blind support for the wealthy and the Military Industrial Complex ...... put it on the table.

The Repubs supposedly had the big game changing play with their big win in the mid-terms and what do we have to show for it......notta, zilch, nothing, goose eggs. In the mean time Obama got Osama, is getting us out of Iraq, didn't get us involved in any other overseas ground wars, deported more illegal immigrants, reduced unemployment, and generally (much to the chagrin of most of us) has bent over backwards to compromise and get something done in other areas like the economy and the environment and has been thwarted at every turn. Should he use that as a re-election tool,damn right he should, slap the Repubs in the face with the facts, they hate that.

A Yank in Australia

"imagine if (and this is a pretty ugly thought) the President was John McCain and the VP was Sarah Palin......would you be in any better position than what you are now (not talking to the 1%ers here we know they would be better off)???????"

OK, I'll bite,

Our federal deficit would likely be no where as high as it is now.

We wouldn't be suing states for simply trying to protect their borders.

We wouldn't be burdened with this failure of a health insurance reform bill that no one even bothered to read.

The Nobel Prize would have likely gone to someone who actually deserved it.

And many more.

So in short yes I think we would all be better off, and I am far from one of your so called 1%ers.

@alwaysanother: My point being that irregardless of who the current sitting President is, there is a confluence of events that preceded him. An economy is tantamount to a very large ship in the ocean. If you cut the motor, it takes a long time for the ship to come to a stop. If you start the motor, it takes quite a while for it to get up to full speed and usually with quite a significant input of effort. An economy acts very similar to this. What happens one day might not be felt for years down the road. Keep in mind that when this President took office, the economy was going off the cliff at an accelerated rate. By pumping vast amounts of resources into the economy, he managed to stave off what could have been a full blown depression. Had the auto industry not been bailed out, most economists agree that there could have been as much as an additional 2 million jobs lost. Instead, there were about 40,000 jobs created. Think about an additional 2 million of your fellow citizens in the unemployment line.

To think that one man is solely responsible for the woes of a country is myopic and narrow minded at the very least. We place WAY too much emphasis on our opinions of what the government can and can't do for the economy. The train that went off a cliff back in 2008 is going to take quite a long while before it will ever get back on track. This is a true statement irregardless of what party is in office. Had John McCain won the White House, I can pretty much assure you with a high degree of confidence that we would be in the same place or worse. Like it or not, Keynesian economics does in fact work - maybe just not to the degree, nor at the cost you would like.

Not sure where you are spider, but gas is only 3.20 here. Of course I would not give Obama credit for that one way or the other. That's a market thing. But lying about it is a moral/credibility thing.

Gary 420, can you explain exactly what policy President Obama has put in place that has made things worse. You use the phrase "tax and spend". What does that mean to you. The President has not raised any taxes. The President also has no authority to spend money. One thing his opponents are going to have to explain during the next few months is where are all the jobs they said they were going to create in the last campaign. All Congress's up until this one knew how to the get the economy going again. This one refused to do it.

"but gas is only 3.20 here. Of course I would not give Obama credit for that one way or the other. That's a market thing"

haha...that is a stupidazz statement...when gas went over 2.50 a gallon you and the rest of the libbie nation cried "Bush" at the top of your lungs...

"imagine if (and this is a pretty ugly thought) the President was John McCain and the VP was Sarah Palin......would you be in any better position than what you are now (not talking to the 1%ers here we know they would be better off)???????"

OK, I'll bite,

Our federal deficit would likely be no where as high as it is now. That of course is supposition, highly unlikely as most of the damage had already been done by the time Pres. Obama took over, and you can be sure that the War Monger Crash McCain would have got us deeper in the poo in both Afghanistan and Iraq and likely in to a ground war in Libya as he indicated the US should do in criticism of the Obama approach......US Citizens Dead - 0. So I suspect that you would not be better off there.

We wouldn't be suing states for simply trying to protect their borders. Not buying this the Feds under McCain would be suing the States for something....oh by the way the Constitution grants the protection of borders to the Federal Government and note that more illegals have been deported in 3 years under Obama than were deported in the last 4 at least of the Bush Admin, and fruit would be more expensive as well.

We wouldn't be burdened with this failure of a health insurance reform bill that no one even bothered to read. At this point in time the bulk of the Health Insurance Reform Bill has not even been activated so how could there be a failure of something that hasn't taken place. Yes Fox News and their masters have thrown up a lot of stuff......but it's all hocus pocus as the Bill hasn't even come in to play for the most part.

The Nobel Prize would have likely gone to someone who actually deserved it. And your nomination would be Stupid Sarah, Crash McCain, Norquist, Trump, who pray tell would you nominate?????

Oh and don't forget Osama would still be alive and kicking ....... because the Military Industrial Complex needs an enemy to scare you folks with so you won't kick up a fuss about them taking all your tax dollars and putting it in their pockets.

and you would be better off how???????? seems the only thing you are biting on is your shoe.

And many more.

Sounds like the President forgot to mention any of the promises that he failed to keep. According to his promises unemployment is suppose to be well below 8%, the 2012 federal deficit is suppose to not exceed 229.27 billion dollars, we are suppose to be already enjoying a substantial reduction in health insurance premiums, and Gitmo is suppose to be closed. Things should be flowing well in congress because of his policy of reaching across the isle. He never seems to even try to explain what it is going to take to pay back the more than 15 trillion dollars that we now owe. And what about those shovel ready jobs? I am still waiting to watch, on CSPAN, the President and my congressman go over the health care bill "line by line" as promised.

The only promise the President made was to uphold the Constitution of the US, there is a difference between policies and promises. All those Tea Party Rookie Congresspersons promised they were going to fix the Country, The Repubs promised to fix Unemployment based on the Norquist Principal (oh they fixed unemployment ..... their own and that has been about it so far).

If you are going to start holding politicians to promises ...... I've got a bridge I would like you to have a look at.

• The three greatest contributers to our deficit are the wars in Iraq/Afganistan, Medicare Part D, and the Bush Tax Cuts. All of those were the brain child of a Republican administration.
• Obama attempted in December of 2010 to repeal the Bush cuts for, I believe, the income bracket containing the upper 2% of earners. Every congressional Republican signed a pledge vowing to fillibuster all democratic legislation until he agreed to extend those tax cuts.
• Contrary to conservative belief, the 2008 economic collapse was not due to Fanny/Freddie. In fact they are only responsible for about 16% of the proliferation of high risk mortgages.
• De-regulation of Wall St, or the repeal of Glass-Stegal is held to be the underlying reason for our economic woes, even Alan Greenspan has admitted this.
• The CBO, IHS, and Moodys has reported that Obama's Stimulis created between 2 million to 4 million jobs. It didn't bring unemployment under 8%, mostly because the economy had not finished crashing when Obama signed it, ergo we underestimated what would be needed.
• The jobs situation would be even better if we weren't shedding public sector jobs due to Republicans at the state levels slashing their budgets.
• Since May of 2001 when the Bush Tax Cuts were enacted, the employment/population ratio has gone from 63.9 to 58.5. GDP has gone from a rate of growth at 41% to 17%, and as I mentioned above, public debt has trippled.
• Our credit downgrading was a direct result of Congress's inability to compromise on raising the debt ceiling.
• Wealth distribution and income disparity are at their highest levels since before the Great Depression.
• Both Senate Minority Leader McConnell and Speaker Boehner have openly claimed that making sure Obama does not get reelected is their main goal.
• Since the 110th congress took office the greatest number of fillibusters a Senate had enacted was 58. Since 2008, when Democrats won the Senate, that number has more than doubled.
• Obama spent the first months of this Presidency hammering through the stimulis and healthcare, by the time those were mostly settled, he had lost the super majority needed to bypass the fillibuster, ergo everything came to a grinding halt.
• There is nothing in the Constitution about needing a "super majority".
• Both Bush's and Regan spent more days on vacation during their first year in office, than Obama has.

So, as you can see when it comes to the economy, the Republican platform of deregulation and tax cuts, just doesn't work.

I may not be 100% happy with Obama, but I'm 100% more happy with him, than I am with Republicans.

The left is in trouble in the next election because they got exactly what they wanted after the last election. With an idealogue in the white house and majorities in both houses of congress they spent almost a trillion dollars like drunken sailors because they were convinced it would spur the economy. It did not. Nor did it prevent a depression (nobody was predicting a depression). Most economists expected the recession to be over toward the end of 2009 if the gov't did NOTHING. So naturally the government spent a trillion dollars and the recession ended at the end of 2009 just like it would have if the gov't had done nothing. Obama's stimulus was nothing more than a taxpayer funded payoff to labor unions and other crony capitalists. It did nothing to benefit the economy. Shameful.

Obama fired every weapon in the Keynesian arsenal and the result is the dismal economy we have now. When he was handed his 'shellacking' in the 2010 election, rather than change course he doubled down on his already FAILED policies. I'm not too terribly excited about the republican field of candidates for president in 2012, but any one of them would be an improvement over Obama.

A Yank in Australia

Our federal deficit would likely be no where as high as it is now. "That of course is supposition, highly unlikely as most of the damage had already been done by the time Pres. Obama took over, and you can be sure that the War Monger Crash McCain would have got us deeper in the poo in both Afghanistan and Iraq and likely in to a ground war in Libya as he indicated the US should do in criticism of the Obama approach......US Citizens Dead - 0. So I suspect that you would not be better off there."

Let's start with the numbers, to keep it simple & fair the percentage of debt to GDP. When Bush took office 57.7%, When Bush left office 74.1%, that's 16.4% over 8 years. As of 6/30/11 we were at 95.6%, that's 21.5% in only 2-1/2 years. Yes you can blame the economy mess on some of that, but remember that was just as much the fault of the Democrats as it was Republicans. As an example we could start with the "Community Reinvestment Act", that little gem was the product of the Carter administration (later made even worse by Clinton). In case you aren't familiar with the content it forced banks to loosen up lending restrictions so people who wouldn't otherwise qualify for a mortgage suddenly did. That has been cited as one of the main reasons for the mortgage crisis. As far as McCain being a "war monger", just because he was a POW does not make him a war monger. McCain stated several times that he wanted to put an end to both wars as soon as the areas were stabilized. Most of the criticism about McCain's strategy was in his refusing to name a specific pull-out date which I happen to agree with, you should never know too much about your plans. Libya we never should have gotten involved with in the first place.

We wouldn't be suing states for simply trying to protect their borders. "Not buying this the Feds under McCain would be suing the States for something....oh by the way the Constitution grants the protection of borders to the Federal Government and note that more illegals have been deported in 3 years under Obama than were deported in the last 4 at least of the Bush Admin, and fruit would be more expensive as well."

Unfortunately Attorneys seem to think they can solve problems with lawsuits, outside of California the majority of the population realizes this doesn't work. The primary responsibility of immigration lies with the federal government, however the states are allowed to enact & enforce laws that do not conflict or usurp the federal law. It works the same way as other federal laws such as bank robbery, you don't see the police waiting around for the FBI every time a bank is held up. As far as deportations, that's because Obama changed the rules. Among other things Obama counts those turned away at the border as "deportation", something prior presidents didn't do.
http://articles.cnn.com/2011-10-19/politics/politics_deportation-record_1_ice-director-john-morton-undocumented-immigrants-criminal-alien-program?_s=PM:POLITICS

The estimated cost increase per household on produce if picked by legal workers about $9 per year. I'm willing to pay that to help put our citizens back to work, are you?

http://www.fairus.org/site/PageServer?pagename=iic_wagesofagworkers

We wouldn't be burdened with this failure of a health insurance reform bill that no one even bothered to read. "At this point in time the bulk of the Health Insurance Reform Bill has not even been activated so how could there be a failure of something that hasn't taken place. Yes Fox News and their masters have thrown up a lot of stuff......but it's all hocus pocus as the Bill hasn't even come in to play for the most part."

It's a failure first of all because it almost completely ignores the main reason for rising health insurance premiums, which is skyrocketing health care costs. It tries to drive down insurance costs by regulating insurance almost exclusively, the problem being health insurance costs have risen at almost exactly the same rate as health-care itself. I suspect it will be found unconstitutional as well because the interstate commerce clause does not regulate intrastate commerce, nor does it regulate lack of commerce.

The Nobel Prize would have likely gone to someone who actually deserved it. "And your nomination would be Stupid Sarah, Crash McCain, Norquist, Trump, who pray tell would you nominate?????"

I sure wouldn't nominate a politician, they cause most of our problems not solve them.

"Oh and don't forget Osama would still be alive and kicking ....... because the Military Industrial Complex needs an enemy to scare you folks with so you won't kick up a fuss about them taking all your tax dollars and putting it in their pockets."

If that were the case why did they capture Saddam under Bush's watch?

Eric....

I will try to be brief

History is an action which produces a result which follows that action......so I find it hard to fathom that you have determined that 8 years of action/inaction by the previous administration (and Congress both parties) have somehow been wiped clean and the current situation is the result of the actions over 2.5 years of the current administration. Yet you blame Jimmy Carter for the mortgage crisis, the loosing of credit had little affect it was the fact the banks then bundled up those loose credit loans and traded them, it was a pyramid scheme which as they always do went bust from the bottom up. That was a direct result of greedy unchecked unregulated commerce not by the banks themselves but by the insurers, traders, and schemers further up the chain. But more importantly it is the fault of the attitude that you can base an economy on the housing market......another discussion altogether.

McCain specifically said that the US should put troops on the ground to help the Libyan Rebels.....I watch Fox News too (like to get my bull from both sides of the fence). McCain has consistently backed military action and is a tool of the Military Industrial Complex. By the way he crashed 5 planes in the time he was in the military single-handedly costing the taxpayers millions and was a POW as a result of his bad judgement and skill according to those that know. Putting a end to wars "as soon as the area is stabilized" is Military Industrial Complex speak for We got a winner here this could go on forever! How about we put a limit on how many dead young people we are going to accept before we pull out of an unfunded war on behalf of the Military Industrial Complex and the overall economy (yes despite the fact that no one wants to talk about it wars are good for the economy, creates jobs etc....another discussion again.)

In respect to deportations.....the article did not include the number of those turned away at the borders as it related to the whole so I suspect it was very few as why would one show up at the border just expecting to be let in. The cost of fruit would go through the roof ...... or in fact not be available at all why because the American workers would not pick it at any price. That is another problem and another discussion.

Health.....that may be a flawed policy but it is not a failure of the legislation, that was the point I was disputing. True Health Costs is the issue and it is a similar problem to my point on immigration.....the "it must be someone else's fault so sue someone" attitude that exists in America (and elsewhere) has driven doctors and hospitals to insure at such high rates that the cost of doing business is the cost of health. That is an attitude thing not an economic thing.

Saddam was found by Iraqies hiding in a hole, not by some great effort by the US, if only they would have found the WMD's?????? That would have been something.

Whilst Pres. Obama is not perfect he beats the hell out of anything else on offer....I would gladly trade him for the dill we have a Prime Minister.

A Yank in Australia

"History is an action which produces a result which follows that action......so I find it hard to fathom that you have determined that 8 years of action/inaction by the previous administration (and Congress both parties) have somehow been wiped clean and the current situation is the result of the actions over 2.5 years of the current administration."

8 years? We have had over 20 years without anything meaningful being done. Regardless throwing money at a problem rarely accomplishes anything more than putting you deeper into the hole.

"Yet you blame Jimmy Carter for the mortgage crisis, the loosing of credit had little affect it was the fact the banks then bundled up those loose credit loans and traded them, it was a pyramid scheme which as they always do went bust from the bottom up. That was a direct result of greedy unchecked unregulated commerce not by the banks themselves but by the insurers, traders, and schemers further up the chain. But more importantly it is the fault of the attitude that you can base an economy on the housing market......another discussion altogether."

The housing market was a big part of it, and really the only part that can be blamed on the government (considering they largely mandated it). For the most part it was a matter of investors trying to cover bad investments with good investments. The only problem is as the years went on there was more & more bad, and less & less good. It was only a matter of time before it all came crashing down. My only issue with the government on that was the bailouts for the companies that were deemed "too big to fail". If anyone screws up that badly they deserve to fail. Yes I know both sides are responsible for the bailouts.

"McCain specifically said that the US should put troops on the ground to help the Libyan Rebels.....I watch Fox News too (like to get my bull from both sides of the fence)."

That may be true, but we'll never know for sure since he wasn't in the position to do so. I would be willing to bet however that he at least would have gotten approval before starting military action.

I do like your "bull from both sides of the fence" reference, it's quite fitting.

"In respect to deportations.....the article did not include the number of those turned away at the borders as it related to the whole so I suspect it was very few as why would one show up at the border just expecting to be let in."

Many purchase counterfeit documents and expect to make it across, you wouldn't believe how bad some of them are. Also this should help clear up other questions,

http://centerforinvestigativereporting.org/articles/unusualmethodshelpedicebreakdeportationrecord

"The cost of fruit would go through the roof ...... or in fact not be available at all why because the American workers would not pick it at any price. That is another problem and another discussion."

I can find nothing to back that statement up. I happen to live in a very agricultural area, and most of the labor is from legal sources. People always forget that there are legal ways to do things, such as an H-2A visa.

"Health.....that may be a flawed policy but it is not a failure of the legislation, that was the point I was disputing. True Health Costs is the issue and it is a similar problem to my point on immigration....."

I seem to remember a promise that bills such as this would be made available for public viewing before a vote, somehow that never happened.

"the "it must be someone else's fault so sue someone" attitude that exists in America (and elsewhere) has driven doctors and hospitals to insure at such high rates that the cost of doing business is the cost of health. That is an attitude thing not an economic thing."

Agreed that is a large part of it, and the whole illegal alien thing again, as well as many other factors.

"Saddam was found by Iraqies hiding in a hole, not by some great effort by the US, if only they would have found the WMD's?????? That would have been something."

Yes, and don't you think the government could have covered that up if they really wanted to? If only we had some decent intel. or better yet had the UN done their job we never would have gone there at all.

"Whilst Pres. Obama is not perfect he beats the hell out of anything else on offer....I would gladly trade him for the dill we have a Prime Minister."

I really didn't have a problem with him until the media started treating him like he was the next messiah. Unfortunately you really need to do some digging to realize that he's just as bad, or worse than the others since the media never likes to admit they were wrong. I will agree the other options are not much better (some may be worse).

All I know is, if it comes down to Obama vs. Romney I'll be voting for option "C".

Unfortunately Option C is more of the same inaction. Somehow what must be accomplished, if we as a race are to continue moving forward, is getting politics out of government (and money out of politics). Term Limits are the immediate answer people who have no skills or ability to make in the real world (Michelle Bachman beind a typical example) somehow get into politics and their main interest is to maintain their position......if the position was only short term in the overall scheme of things then, it is projected, that people who actually have something to offer, have the good of the whole over what is best for themselves, their funders and lobbyists, but have an understanding that doing a good job in government will add to their overall resume and career prospects in the future, will get in to politics and move the ball forward rather than sideways or nowhere at all. These of course are lofty ideals and will be difficult to achieve without a severe outcry from the people and I think it will get worse before it gets better.

on that note Happy Holidays!

I agree with most of what you say. I am however on the fence as far as the term limits only because in the rare case when someone good is elected it would be nice to be able to keep them. I would rather see reduced pay, reduced benefits & no more lobbyists. Public service should be about serving the public, not be a career path.

Happy Holidays back at you!

Unfortunately if you pay peanuts you get monkeys and without term limits those monkeys will stay near the low hanging fruit and they will breed more monkeys.....that's how we got where we are at. Pay should be commensurate with the position. Long-Term never ending benefits should be terminated, pension plans for the time spent in service to the country should remain as if it was in the private sector.

The problem is there are far too many no counts than there are good people and the good people are corrupted before long by the party system, the money, the easy living. We must turn them over or we will never get people in government with ideas on how to move the community forward....I can't see any other way of doing it at this point.

Even if that "anybody but Obama" would be much worse?????? Think about that statement you made for a while.....we just voted out something worse in 2008. Do you really want to go back to something worse than what we elected in 2008? So far, I haven't seen a single challenger who would be any better than Obama. The GOP is so extreme right wing right now that it would totally destroy this country and turn us either into a theocracy or a plutocracy.

He's the only one with a clue.

http://ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2011083428/three-charts-email-your-right-wing-brother-law

The stimulus worked and got the GDP growing again. Sure we need to cut the debt, but we need to do it carefully. There is nothing wrong with raising revenues.

Republicans have said that tax cuts create jobs........WHERE !!??.......they haven't created any. Now they are saying the "deregulation creates jobs"......mmmmm....don't think so.

At least Obama has us heading in the right direction.

tell us all dixie girl which one of the republicans does have a clue? Surely not newt the serial cheater or bachmann turner in over her head?

And honestly, you really can't blame Obama for everything when Congress has stopped anything he tries to get done.

Sorry kid, but with no explanation for what you think he doesn't have a clue about, or why you think you know more than he does, we're left to believe that you are the clueless one.

No, Obama is correct. Republicans want to reduce taxes on the rich, increase taxes on the middle class, reduce Medicare and SS, take health care away from the poor, criminalize homosexuality and invade Iran.

That's pretty much their collective agenda, and most certainly the agenda of the republicans in congress.

I have listened to everyone of the Tpubs debate. The Pres. is absolutely correct about their core philosophy, cut taxes, cut taxes, cut taxes. Never ever touch the richest, give them more and more tax breaks, no healthcare, no deals, no compromises. Identical, every last one of them, in their core. Support Isreal, and if at all possible, bomb Iran, we need aonther war.

I would not vote for anyone who signed a pledge to Grover Norquist. That means that person does not represent the people he/she was elected to represent. I look at that act as treason. My representative and senator signed that pledge and I will be working very hard to make sure everyone knows it.

Thank you Pygme1 Thank you.

Thanks Pygme1 for the slogan, "Hell NO Grover Must Go!!!"

You don't have a clue

What Dixie Girl......cat got your tongue???????

I think a better one is "Hell NO BHO must GO!"...and then if you want you put on the end "and Bidens stupidazz TOO!"

"I would not vote for anyone who signed a pledge to Grover Norquist"

but you would vote for ANYONE who worships Saul Alinsky...hahaha...laughable

Harry, I think you would vote for someone who worships the Saudi's, like Bush did, maybe that's why he didn't go after Bin Laden (he said it didn't care where Bin Laden was at in a tv interview).

The Repubs would be out of their minds to name Gingrich as their nominee. He is totally unelectable, with members of his former staff speaking out against him.

Americans have very short memories. If republicans get elected to the Presidency then we can count on:

More tax breaks for the wealthy.

Privatization of social security.

The end of Medicare and severe cut back in Medicaid.

The repeal of the health care law with nothing to replace it.

Joy.

Americans have long memories. They remember how Hope and Change were going to improve their lives. They remember Obama saying "If I can't get it done in one term, then I don't deserve another term."

Americans remember Obama first promising "shovel ready jobs", then saying the jobs weren't shovvel ready after all.

Americans remember Obama promising to close Gitmo.

Americans remember Holder promising to try KSM in NYC as a civilian.

Americans remember Obama promising to lower healthcare costs and Pelosi saying "we need to pass the bill to find out what's in it."

Obama's problem is we do remember

Hope and change did improve things.

Google any GDP graph: http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/gdp/gdp_glance.htm

Jobs are rising, GDP is rising, I think we are on the mend if the Euro would stop wreaking havoc.

Some people think we aren't on the mend fast enough, for that I place the blame entirely on Congress. The entire lot of them needs to go.

Americans remember Solyndra, Tesla and the other green job boondogles costing this country billions.

Americans remember Obama and his love of Occupy Wall Street, while raking in millions from Wall Street

Americans remember Obama closing the Gulf of mexico to drilling while promising to become Brazil's "best cusomer" of crude oil. They remember him punting on Keystone pipeline and the 100,000 jobs and domestic oil it would provide.

Americans remember Obama traveling around the world bowing to kings and apologizing for America's mistakes.

Americans remember Obama is the excuse maker in chief, blaming everyone and eveything, but himself for the country's problems. I make a dozen mistakes a day. Obama has yet to say he made a mistake in three years.

Americans remember Obama has never lead the country. He is the America's Campaigner in Chief, making bus tours and campaign stops 18 months from the election. We remember he blames Congress, but the Senate led by Harry Reid blocks everything the House passes.

@John: Give it up, your sound like Fox TV. BORING..

Did you remember this John, it's a little outdated, but sums up how bad things were 3 years ago.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Three-Charts-To-Email-To-Y-by-Dave-Johnson-110829-565.html

@marlen, give it up. You sound like the Daily Worker....dangerous.

This goes back to April and illustrates the unsustainable debt Obama is generating.

http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-04-05/wall_street/30010917_1_budget-cuts-government-spending-gdp

Yes, lets deride solar energy because of Solyndra. Let's keep banking on fossil fuels that have hamstrung the American economy for the past 20 years.

Yes, let us forget the Tea Party bowing to the special interests on Wall Street. Blocking the very reforms put into place after the financial crisis.

Yes, to hell with oil drilling safety. "Its okay, the bacteria will eat all that oil up". Let's protect Halliburton and the crummy concrete job that led to the blow out. Let's lie and say Obama closed down drilling when over 200 new oil leases were permitted after safety concerns were seen to in under 100 days.

Yes, let's totally forget foreign customs like bowing in China and Japan. There is no need to be culturally sensitive.

Yes, let's forget that Obama did call this his economy taking responsibility for it. Yet, also forget that Republicans have blocked, stalled and obstructed every attempt Obama has made to create jobs and heal the economy.

Yes, let's deride campaigning for sitting Presidents. They shouldn't be allowed to campaign. Presidents shouldn't be protected with special buses or security. Sitting Presidents should never stand up for themselves when attacked by the opposing political party.

Lastly, let's forget that Republicans say they have multiple jobs bills that are really hand outs to big oil and deregulation of clean air and water.

(sarcasm)

John, Tesla??? what?

Thanks Eric as John has his head so far up Faux News he eats, sleeps, dream and poop right wing terrorist (yes terrorists) ideological talking points all while ignoring the glaring facts. Couldn't have said it better. Thanks again.

Whats wrong with Tesla?

Americans remember Solyndra, Tesla and the other green job boondogles costing this country billions.

So 1 loan in a large amount failed, no one got a pay out (despite your ravings that one random guy that put into the company can't get his money back because he paid into a non-profit first and as soon as he paid that non-profit the money was gone to him, never to return)... and if Tesla did get a loan (I don't remember this but there's a lot going on) they are doing amazingly well selling out all their cars for their first year of production before ever releasing the first one. One bad loan and suddenly all the green loans are BS, you hate them because they are green jobs not because one failed.

Americans remember Obama and his love of Occupy Wall Street, while raking in millions from Wall Street

Obama agreed we need to hold Wall Street to task (you know the guys that crashed Grandma and Grandpa's retirement plans, caused millions of homes to enter foreclosure and got golden parachutes for it) and suddenly he's behind an entire grassroots movement with no connection to him whatsoever(which is basically saying that no matter who wins the nomination they are 100% responsible for the Tea Party). Love to see your proof that he not only hates and hurts Wall Street but somehow makes a profit from them at the same time (you know they love to pay for someone to hurt them).

Americans remember Obama closing the Gulf of mexico to drilling while promising to become Brazil's "best cusomer" of crude oil. They remember him punting on Keystone pipeline and the 100,000 jobs and domestic oil it would provide.

You mean the Bush appointee pushing through Brazil's nice little payoff before he could be replaced? Delaying one pipeline to find a different route suddenly undoes all of his other actions leasing new wells and doing numerous safety inspections (which were required if you remember the BIG blow out we had because safety was NOT adequate).

Americans remember Obama traveling around the world bowing to kings and apologizing for America's mistakes.

Bowing is a custom there, everyone does it, EVERYONE. Going there and not bowing would be like them coming, not shaking hands and refusing to look us in the eye, because HOW DARE we think to require that of them.

Americans remember Obama is the excuse maker in chief, blaming everyone and eveything, but himself for the country's problems. I make a dozen mistakes a day. Obama has yet to say he made a mistake in three years.

Its blown out rhetoric like this that blows up your little dingy floating out on the crazy ocean. DOZENS of mistakes a day? God, if he only HAD that type of power to make DOZENS of NATION CHANGING decisions! I'm pretty sure we can get a clip of him admitting a mistake at least once anyway, but wow, overblown much?

Americans remember Obama has never lead the country. He is the America's Campaigner in Chief, making bus tours and campaign stops 18 months from the election. We remember he blames Congress, but the Senate led by Harry Reid blocks everything the House passes.

Trying to get a bill passed apparently is just campaigning for his re-election. Going out to THE people and talking with them is absurd too, how DARE he? If he stayed in the WH you'd say he just sat in an ivory tower refusing to be among the commoners, if he travels he travels and doesn't do his job. Doesn't matter to you, you win in your mind every time.

John pull your head out of Fox news!

The 50% of Americans that pay NO Income Tax should think twice before they ask to increase someone else’s tax. When these NON-taxpayers begin to contribute, then they can talk about raising someone else’s tax. Pay Up or Shut Up.

Gotta ad the 2010 contract to in there. WHERE'S THE JOBS BOHNER!!! People sure drank the tea-aid in the 2010 election. Not on bill passes helping anybody looking for a job.

Hey John: Cut the Fox crap!!! Lemme give you a test: 1. Did the stimulus work? Answer: Yes, ask any economist. 2. When recessions occur, tax revenues decrease, and spending increases, are deficits bound to happen? Answer: Yes. Who is actually to blame for the big debt in America and why? Answer: The GOP. They cut taxes, started two wars, and threw in an unfunded healthcare plan that doubled the debt.

Look John, apparently you need a lesson in economics. Ever heard about the multiplier effect? If the government creates jobs, demand increases, jobs increases, demand increases, etc. If we just enacted Obama's Jobs Act, jobs would be opening up. Even if it was temporary, it would be a good boost to a flagging economy. Besides, why can't the rich pay more in taxes? I mean, they practically own America, why can't they pay more? And whoever says that Obama is proposing class warfare is an idiot. Class warfare has been occurring for the past 30 years, as conservative policies have eroded our economy and have led to more income inequality.

OBAMA BIDEN 2012

The Obamabots are hilarious. lol Bush took ofice with 136 million jobs. He left office with 142 million US jobs. We have 1.5 million less jobs than the day Obama took office.

Besides, why can't the rich pay more in taxes? I mean, they practically own America, why can't they pay more? And whoever says that Obama is proposing class warfare is an idiot. Class warfare has been occurring for the past 30 years, as conservative policies have eroded our economy and have led to more income inequality.

Why can't the government stop wasting the money they already get? Why is the government the biggest fraud victim in the world? Why can't the rich pay more?

I'll tell you why. The top 10% of wage earners already pay 70% of the income tax revenue. The bottom 47% pay nothing. If you make the rich pay more, the 47% will turn into 57%, a voting majority. That majority will vote to take more money from the rich, who will simply close up shop, throwing millions out of work. The proletariat will kill the golden goose and end up with nothing. Is that what you want?

http://www.heritage.org/budgetchartbook/top10-percent-income-earners

I think you can fairly put in Bush's column the 3 million jobs lost in Obama's first 6 months.

@Marlen

you and yours sound like CNN...now THAT'S boring!...not one original thought coming from them either

John Bayner

"I think you can fairly put in Bush's column the 3 million jobs lost in Obama's first 6 months."

Some of them, but not all. Many jobs were lost in the oil & gas industry right off the bat due to Obama's anti oil attitude. I'm sure there were other industries with similar stories.

because Obama passed legislature and got it put into effect in 6 months... must be a record of some kind... or are you saying a bunch of executives fired employees based on what they thought Obama thought he might think of saying and putting into legislation? I'd also REALLY like to see the evidence that all those jobs were lost in that industry and only industries Obama "Threatened" (I don't remember oil and gas losing all those jobs when Bush and Clinton said they'd like to get off of foreign oil....)....

please continue making up facts to support your world view.

many of the jobs were not lost so much as they moved. The oil industry is all about profit (like any industry), they will get the oil wherever it is cheapest & easiest for them to get it. When they learned of an anti oil president taking office the jobs were moved to more friendly countries. Canada for instance inherited many jobs to work on the oil sands.

John #######,

You need to seek urgent medical attention (hope you have Med Ins) you are showing the tell tale signs of dementia ...... your short term memory is a bit selective and your long term memory is gone all together.

I wish you the best..... a mind is a terrible thing to waste.

The hand outs to the wealthy and to corporations is what needs to be stopped.

Eric-913730

They dont need handouts the illegals do.

Companies need illegals so they can make bigger profits.

Companies need illegals to do the work that Americans CAN'T.

And by "can't" Jem really means "won't".

Ruken

The Democrats want to close loopholes ...... the Republicans, under the thumb of Grover Norquist, consider closing loopholes to be tax hikes and refuse to cooperate.

There is only one fair tax....a gross income tax where there are absolutely NO deductions, credits, etc. and ALL income is taxed on the same basis.....no matter what its source, it is all gross income. Set four tax rates....no tax on the first $25K of income, 15% on all income above $25K up to $250K, 30% on all income above $250K up to $750K, and 45% on all income over $750K. And that tax structure applies to both individuals and businesses (corporations, partnerships, LLC's, etc.)

I know they want to close loopholes. I think that is a great and necessary course of action. But I think tax hikes without closing loopholes is counterproductive.

anti-trust, the idea that there is only ONE fair tax system is pretty obviously stupid. But, your proposal is probably better than anything we've got going on now... if you can make it work. Mechanically, how do you tax income made in other countries by multinational corporations?

Income earned in a foreign country should be taxed by that country....remember that biblical quote....render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's? Well the same thing applies to income source. If it is earned in a foreign country, it should be taxed by that country. If it is earned in the US (even by a foreign owned multi-national), then it should be taxed at the appropriate gross income rate(s).

Actually, I would support Anti-trusts plan but throw church's in there too, as an atheist my faith (or lack of) gets no special tax breaks. Start taxing EVERYONE.

You earn money, you pay taxes, very simple. By not taxing religious income the government is voicing support FOR a deity!

Obama has never espoused communist views.

That said, the republicans are espousing fascist views quite frequently.

I find it incredulous that people call Obama a Socialist or Communist. Do they understand corporate profits are the highest in fifty plus years?

I'm not sure Socialist or Communist means what they think it does.

Republicans and Mussolini have a lot in common as well.

Mussolini or Hitler? I heard Ron Paul has some nice anti-Semiticism going in his corner, and Perry has some nice homophobia in his.

republicans remind me of nazis, science deniers, burning books because they don't fit the agenda !!!

Taxing capital gains (made primarily on trading stocks) is the most unfair aspect of our tax code.

Imagine taxing hard-earned money at a higher rate than money made trading stocks.

GOP values.

That's right Cindy. They also say its great to lower taxes on the millionaires, but if you want to lower taxes on the middle class, we have a find a way to "pay for it". We know exactly who they work for, and if you don't have a ton of $, they don't work for you!

By any objective measure, he is the best president since JFK.

Despite GOP efforts to defeat him and the middle class.

Mark Thomas-371822

Who's the best since Obama is a failure?

His supporters are part of the same do-nothing, delegate-everything, victim-promoting, faculty lounge intelligencia. They have all the pie in the sky utipian ideals with no practical solutions that don't include the irreversable bankruptcy of the country.

As Margaret Thatcher once said, "The problem with socialism is they always run out of other people's money."

And the problems with haters like you John is that you do not like facts. You eat up the right wing rhetoric. Do you not see the numbers on the flow of wealth in this country since the 70s? You are trained to protect the rich and vote against your own self-interests because they tell you that we want communism! It's not communism we want, its to stop being held down while the rich continually receive the welfare and the poor get poorer!

Steveo-2875317
And the problems with haters like you John is that you do not like facts. You eat up the right wing rhetoric. Do you not see the numbers on the flow of wealth in this country since the 70s? You are trained to protect the rich and vote against your own self-interests because they tell you that we want communism! It's not communism we want, its to stop being held down while the rich continually receive the welfare and the poor get poorer!

Steve you are a professional victim like the OWS precious snowflakes. Nothing is your fault, just like Obama. Two peas in a pod you and him. You can't do anything without being held by the hand, everybody is a winner...if you just a bigger head start than the last guy.

Steve, the only thing holding you down is the guiy in the mirror.

@John

I suppose all the statistics and graphs showing that the middle class has been shrinking for the past 30 years are just fabrications right? Or how about the FACT that income for the top %1 has increased significantly while wages for the rest of the country haven't increased at all when adjusted for inflation. I guess this is all the fault of the individuals working these jobs and nothing else right? It can't possibly be endemic of a larger problem in our society...

Where are your facts to support your assumption that it is everyone elses' fault that the middle class is disappearing at an alarming rate? What evidence do you have other than blatant right-wing rhetoric straight from FOX News? My guess is you have none... Just more of the same baseless arguments with nothing to back them up.

Also, who the hell are you to assume that those of us posting here aren't hard-working successful Americans? Like many others around here, I'm a university graduate with a good job, a house, a nice car and plenty of money in the bank. But I'm not blinded by my success. I have seen what has happened to those around me and even to myself. It is much harder than it once was to succeed in this country. If you honestly don't believe that, you're not paying attention.

Best President since Eisenhower!

He is a consensus builder, he's what we needed at just the right time. I have to say I cannot remember a smarter President.

BrendenGuy
@John

I suppose all the statistics and graphs showing that the middle class has been shrinking for the past 30 years are just fabrications right? Or how about the FACT that income for the top %1 has increased significantly while wages for the rest of the country haven't increased at all when adjusted for inflation. I guess this is all the fault of the individuals working these jobs and nothing else right? It can't possibly be endemic of a larger problem in our society...

Or how about the fact the top 10% of wage earners pay 70% of the tax bill, while the bottom 47% pay nothing. Obama screams for the rich to pay their fare share. I agree. Why won't he endorse a 20% flat tax so we can all pay our fair share? And people say with a straight face Obama isn't waging class warfare......

"Hope and change" has proven itself to be so much BS. Obama has torn the national fabric asunder.

Obama has nothing to run on, so he will turn to the politics of personal attacks and more class warfare.

The more people affixed to the Government teat, the better Obama likes it.

He's the worst thing to happen to America since Carter.

Steven B Obama has plenty of accomplishements in his quiver to smite TeaPubs. Don't take my word for it: http://obamaachievements.org/list.

As for you idiots that want to keep parroting what Obama promised and didn't get accomplished let me remind you, if not for the total obstructionism of the TeaPubs and the DEMS I (who are really teapubs) IN NAME ONLY (e.g., the Blanch Lincoln, Mary Landreau, Ben Nelson(s) of the world...he would have if he had folks supporting the country's agenda, instead of their lust for power.

James, since cutting taxes is a bad idea, I can only assume taxing and spending our way to prosperity is your bright idea?

Yeah. The multiplier effect would boost job creation. Unfortunately, my dear John, you refuse to realize that the "libtards" got you in a bind and you're just digging yourself deeper into a hole. Unless you want to die with the Teapubs in 2012, you might wanna leave the GOP train to nowhere.

Multiplier effect like Tom Vilsac saying unemployment benefits and food stamps help the economy? What a loser that clown is. IS that the leadership we need? Someone boasting of the economic benefits of the FoodStamp Presidency? Admit it....Obama is toast and you know it.

Terrorist-coddling?

Let's ask Osama Bin Laden about that.

...

Oh wait.

STEVEN: You 2 bit partisan hack. You'll never, ever give Obama credit for anything, will you???

Besides killing Bin Laden in 2 years after Dubay couldn't get it done in 8, he has dramatically increased the number of drone strikes, even over Pakistan which is why they are so pissed with us. Tell me what Bush did better than Obama, I'd love to hear about it.

Could it be his brilliant handling of the war in Iraq, the longest in our nation's history??? LOL

And of course you are factually incorrect about the economy. Things were dramatically worse on the day Bush left office than they are now. I suggest you go back and check where the stock market was at and the number of bank failures that were going on. Your party ran this country for 8 years and damn near destroyed it. Now you want to dump it all in Obama's lap.

I don't think facts mean a damn thing to an ignorant ideologue like you. You'll just spout the Fixed News party line, liberals are gutless and your crowd are all rough, tough Marlboro Men. Sorry buddy, the facts just don't bear that out. I can name a lot more Democrats who served with valor and distinction in the military than you name Republicans. Any time you'd like to take the challenge, just let me know buddy.

Too funny Steven.

Obama killed more Al Qeuda in 3 years than Bush did in 8 years, but he's coddling terrorists (actually Bush said he didn't know or even care where OBL was).

Is it any wonder nobody believes anything the right wing says these days?

Yes, terrorist coddling. He wants to give terrorists Constitutional protection.

He's calling the Fort Hood massacre a case of 'workplace violence'.

Never mind that Hassan was yelling 'Allah Akbar!' during his terrorist attack.

I heard the Navy SEALs gave Osama Bin Laden constitutional protection.

The kind that involves a bullet to the head.

STEVE: Who has killed more terrorists, Bush or Obama?

Who has launched more drone strikes???

And yes, in this nation we do have something called the "rule of law". It means that people are entitled to a fair trial, no matter how dispicable their crimes. In dictatorships, they simply take these people out back and put a bullet in their head. Is that the kind of country you want to live in?

And you still haven't responded to my post above.

I suggest you go back and check where the stock market was at

Glad you brought it up.

The stock markets started to tank (big time) as soon as it became apparent that Obama was going to win the election.

You mean they tanked because of the instability in Europe.

But oh wait, Europe's misdeeds are clearly Obama's fault too.

When Bush was prosecuting the war, the liberals shrieked at every turn. Now that Obama is in office, he's able to deploy US armed forces without having to go to Congress first, something the liberal toadies insisted that Bush do.

The liberals also brayed about Bush and his 'targeted assassinations'.

But, Obama can do the same to the applause of his sycophants.

And yes, in this nation we do have something called the "rule of law". It means that people are entitled to a fair trial, no matter how dispicable [sic] their crimes

Like the American-Yemeni cleric Obama blew up without due process?

The hypocrisy of the Obama toadies knows no bounds.

STEVE: Do you have any shame at all??? Evidently not fella.

Compare the stock market on Bush's last day to where it has been over the last several years. Are you cabable of being influenced by facts at all? The market is doing vastly better now and has been for the last couple of years as compared to on Bush's watch.

Steve, you are an idiot. There is no other way to describe your remarkably stupid posts.

The economy was in a recession since early 2008, but you think people sold their stocks because of a change in the WH. The market took the bigggest loss i mid-2008.

Geez are you stupid.

STEVEN: Oh I get it. Now you're concerned about constitutional matters, when it fits your agenda. But torturing prisoners and detaining them for years (some of them innocent) without being brought in front of a judge is fine with you, right?

Now you're a "Peacenik" and want to do everything by the book, eh? LOL

Little stevie has apparently skipped this mornings meds.

Again....

Maybe if he had medical insurance he could pay for those meds.

Too bad we don't have a president trying to reform the healthcare system so millions of uninsured can get it.

It's a shame.

Terrorist Coddling? yep, 100% correct. Obama and that Pentagon Bombing Terrorist Bill Ayers are so close that Ayers Ghostwrote Obama's "Autobiography" We dont need any Pentagon Bombing Terrorist Coddling Presidents occupying the Oval Office.

This guy John2032532 is a stone idiot. He must believe that it is perfectly okay for the "smart" people to take advantage of the "stupid " people like him, because that's exactly what they are doing with the ir wealth, lawyers and lobbists. The only logical end to the current wealth inequality is that in another 100 years, 6 people will own everything and we will be a fuedal society dependant upon the local "police" departments to protect us from marauding bands of theives who have lots of legally obtained automatic weapons. Or maybe before then Marx's prediction will come true, the capitalist system will simply implode upon it self. John seem to completely ignore, like most of his ilk, that the southern racists in the senate and their benefactors decided that there was no way they were going to let this black man put check on white male domonation of this country. They talk a lot about oppotunity but there is a limit to what they can tolerate. Just look at the SCOTUS and the 5 reactionaries there and their record (including Clarence Thomas who is filled with self hate) of pushing back rights for everyone except the wealthy elites. Look at the cadre of wealthy private interests who funded the tea party to block everything the President wanted to do to protect the middle class (white, black brown, yellow, all) from being pushed down even futher into the dirt by the multi national corporations in search of cheap labor. Look at the 6 republicans who were selected for the super committee. There main job was to protect the wealthy from paying taxes. In these instances it should not escape anyone paying attention that its the white male reactionaries against everybody else and they will bring this country down and bankrupt it before they give up power.

Not following you JayJay? Yes I think Big Business should be regulated or regulations should be enforced (SEC). I think the rich should be taxed alot more and loopholes closed (boot Norquist).

" The day the government finally decides that the ones who needs tax breaks and stimulous are the working/middle class folks, then that will be the day when this country can move forward." Agreed.

Did you misunderstand what I said??

WINDY: Class warfare. You mean you were unaware that the poor have been beating the stuffing out of the hapless, helpless rich for decades now? Over the centuries, the poor have had it so easy, working in sweat shops, child labor, no minimum wage, food insecurity, lack of education or a cohesive family unit.

You see, the poor are able to hire all those fancy lobbyists on K Street to do their bidding for them and buy off GOP Congressman to vote as instructed. The poor have everything stacked in their favor, how dare they take advantage of the innocent uber rich like they do. I will take up the banner for the rich. After all they are the "Job Creators". I intend to organize a march on Washington for a "Preserve & protect the rich day". I'm expecting millions of rich to attend and hopefully, change the mindset of this nation. It's time the rich stopped hiding in shame and come out of the shadows. Viva la Rich!!!

Yes, the GOP wants to drill. They want that pipeline.

Obama wants to sink money into failed enterprises like Solyndra.

Obama doesn't want to "ruin the ecology", but he gives millions to Brazil to do just that.

Obama is trying to force us off of oil, even though the technology clearly isn't ready.

Obama is anti-Capitalist.

STEVEN: You are clearly not right in the head.

Did you ever study the history of the automobile at the turn of the 19th century when everyone thought it was a joke. "Get a Horse", remember? Do you think people back then ever visualized how the auto would take over our entire way of life? You don't think our government helped the auto manufacturers by building new roads all over the country???

All new technology goes throughy a period of trial and error. Beyone that, you dont think countries like China back private companies with government assistance for new technology? There will be false starts and failures, it's inevitable. Do you propose that we allow China and other countries of getting the jump on us and then eating our lunch? Not everything can be funded privately.

The technology isn't ready because the Repubs are too busy taking money from the Oil companies to make sure it stays that way.

St3even, you post is factually false.

Either you know that and lie anywyas or you are too stupid to knwo the facts.

WHich is it?

Great idea. If they don't like to march, they can just circle around in their limousines. Then they can roll down their windows and stick out their butts so congressmen can kiss them.

Steven B

Yes, the GOP wants to drill. They want that pipeline.

Obama wants to sink money into failed enterprises like Solyndra.

Obama doesn't want to "ruin the ecology", but he gives millions to Brazil to do just that.

Obama is trying to force us off of oil, even though the technology clearly isn't ready.

Obama is anti-Capitalist.

The technology is not even ready? The technologies have been there for years. Republicans have destroyed them at every turn. Now that we have a president who is actually investing in these technologies, we get the right wing all worked up because on of them failed....

Solyndra was about 1% of the total money Obama put into energy research.

Where were you when Bush was parading all over the country about getting our energy from hydrogen? That was a complete hoax. but the right wing didn't seem to mind.

Obama's made it all worse.

Blame Frank and Dodd for the housing fiasco.

The rest is all true of Obama's reign. He's trashed our economy, is in charge as our credit rating takes a hit, the Mid-east is aflame with riots and killings, and the Islamists are taking over.

Obama has ruined things, and we are worse off today than when he was anointed.

At least you were bright enough not to refute the facts contained in my post.

At least....

Steven B

Obama's made it all worse.

Blame Frank and Dodd for the housing fiasco.

The rest is all true of Obama's reign. He's trashed our economy, is in charge as our credit rating takes a hit, the Mid-east is aflame with riots and killings, and the Islamists are taking over.

Obama has ruined things, and we are worse off today than when he was anointed.

On January 2009 the economy was already trashed and sinking. 500 thousand jobs lost on November 2008. 600 thousand jobs lost on December 2008, 800 thousand jobs lost on January 2009.

2.6 million lost in 2008.

Please state some of the economic policies that Obama passed and trashed our economy even more???

Steven, many of us don't agree.

There is nothing in the Constitution that stipulates that Citizenship is based on the Citizenship of either parent or both parents.

As with all "Re-Elect Obama 2012" screen names, dont know their 18th century history or just ignoring it. The term natural born citizen was first codified in the legal reference book "Law of Nations" in 1758, of which was used by John Jay who later became the first Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. John Jay considered the outstanding legal scholar of his time had the "natural born citizen" clause inserted into the U.S. Constitution via a letter he wrote to George Washington, the leader of the Constitutional Convention. 3 Supreme Court Cases back this up US V Wong Kim Ark (1898), Perkings V Elg (1939) and Minor V Happersett (1874)

Why do you insist that Soetoro must be above the law when it is so clear that a Natural Born Citizen is someone with TWO (both) parents who are citizens at the time of the birth of the child. If you dont like this article of the Constitution, start a Constitution Admendment process instead of just ignoring the Supreme Law of the Land

Kurt..the constitution states "No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States".

Apparently, you do NOT have to be a "natural born citizen" in order to become president - only a citizen of the United States that has resided in this country for at least 14 years. That means that you can emigrate to this country, become a naturalized citizen, run for president -- and WIN. Your parents do NOT have to be citizens of the US or even reside here. You do NOT have to be born in the country.

I am a registered republican and even I am getting tired of hearing that Obama is not a citizen or that he should not be POTUS because he wasn't born here...or his birth certificate is faked...or his father is not a US citizen...or his Uncle is an illegal. If Obama were not a US citizen, either by birth or by naturalization, then explain why he has not been impeached yet. Explain why no republican in Congress has started those proceedings. Obama handed over his birth certificate. It is public record. It is his accuser's responsibility to PROVE they are not full of crap by saying he has no legal right to be POTUS. If none of you can do that.....be quiet as you are starting to sound like you are making it up. If you have proof that Obama is an illegal immigrant, offer it up. If you cannot, stop spouting lies as it makes you sound either paranoid or delusional.

Jim + numbers it sounds like you can't see anyway blinded by your unwillingness to inform yourself. Ocassionally I watch Faux News, just to see and hear what idotic and preposterous lie they will tell you folks today.

The USPS has been circling the toilet every since an outgoing Republican Congress in 2006, hamstringed it with a $5B annual retirement bill, something no other business in the world is required to do. Why, I wish I knew but this was all predicated on BS that it needed to do this to ensure the solvency of retirement benefits. Pretty much like all the hooplah about voter fraud...which is just a ruse for TeaPubs to disenfranchise young and minority voters. As for the rest oif your post about United Airlines, unemployment, ... all just incoherent rantings.

During the Great Depression, as borrowers defaulted on mortgages en masse and banks found themselves strapped for cash, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Congress created Fannie Mae in 1938 in order to buy mortgages from lenders, freeing up capital that could go to other borrowers. Although Fannie Mae began with just $1 billion in purchasing power, the agency helped usher in a new generation of American home ownership, paving the way for banks to loan money to low- and middle-income buyers who otherwise might not have been considered creditworthy.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1822766,00.html#ixzz1gM4sepXq

IMHO, the financial crisis was not brought on by Fannie and Freddie but by greedy banks playing casino with mortgage backed securities and selling known junk on the exchange. When the word got out that JP Morgan Chase, Goldman, and company was selling junk Paulson panicked and with a 3 page note written on toilet paper proceeded to decry with much anxiety the sky was falling.

So if you really want to understand what contributed to the financial collapse of 2008, do not stop with the lie that it was Fannie and Freddie. That lie is bought and paid for by your tax dollars and TeaPubs that want to perpetuate it for personal gain. Don't take my word for this do your fr*^^*n homework.

And finally no one has ever suggested in the fair shrae debate that just taxing the super wealthy is the end all to do all. You TeaPubs are all about what IS NOT the question.

Bravo Ron.

Steven can you not read a chart? The stock market took it's biggest decline from Jul-Oct 2008, before the election.

Geez are you stupid.

The trend in the markets of 2008 correlate directly to Obama's ascendency.

And Obama has only made it worse.

We are worse off now.

Wow Steven... I can't decide if you honestly believe the crap you're spewing or if you're just trying to spread lies to further an agenda. The trend in the markets of 2008 primarily had to do with the sub-prime home loans. They had absolutely nothing to do with Obama or his political campaign. However, the fact that we did not plunge completely into depression DID.

During Obama's presidency, the stock market and overall economy have largely improved. Your futile attempts to pin everything on Obama cannot overcome the facts. But of course this is rarely a problem for republicans. FOX News has its own brand of reality.

Here's a little tidbit for you John, Steve, and NothingFurtherFromTheTruth who love to spout on and on about how this president has spent more than any president in history. Well here are the facts:

The first two full fiscal years of the Obama presidency have seen unprecedented decreases in deficits: more in two years, after adjusting for inflation, than in Truman's eight years, and twice as much as in Clinton's eight years. If this trend were to continue -- and I don't know how likely that is -- the Federal budget would run a substantial surplus in fiscal 2014-2015.

The first seven years of the G.W. Bush presidency increased the deficit by almost twice as much as the 32 years from JFK through G.H.W.Bush combined, and somewhat more than the 24 years from Harding through FDR combined (in inflation-adjusted dollars).

If one includes fiscal year 2008-2009 as part of the G.W. Bush administration (consistent with my treatment of all other administrations), that administration oversaw 3.5 times as much increase in Federal budget deficits as Presidents Kennedy through G.H.W.Bush put together.

Obviously, many of the reasons a deficit grows or shrinks are beyond the President's control: Congress, the economy, the beginning or ending of a war, the beginning or ending of a recession, etc.

For example, the beginning of World War II can be blamed for much of FDR's increase in the deficit, just as the end of World War II and the start of the post-war economic boom can be credited for much of Truman's matching decrease. I'm not sure what happened to Ford: he faced an economic recession, but so have many Presidents.

At least in my lifetime, Republican Presidents have placed high priority on cutting taxes, and placed lower priority on (or had less success at) cutting spending. Democratic Presidents have perhaps had equal success at cutting spending (I haven't researched those numbers), but have not been bound by any promises to cut taxes.

Data source: http://home.adelphi.edu/sbloch/deficits.html

Yikes...

Little stevie's not going to like that one either...

Reality is a cruel mistress for teapublicans...

SAY one thing -- do the opposite.

Close GITMO

Patriot Act

Unemployment below 8%

Summer of recovery

Laser-like focus on jobs

Post legislation so that people can review and comment

No more lobbyists

Health care will not increase deficits

Cut deficit by 50% in his first term

Didn't know Rev Wright was a radical

'Shovel ready' jobs

Obama is a thinker, probably one of the most intelligent Presidents of our time.

He doesn't know what year this is.

He thinks there are 57 states.

Obama is an empty suit, a fake and a charlatan. He's made things worse.

We are worse off now.

Anyone who believes Obama has the best interests of the nation at heart is delusional.

Obama wants to turn this nation into a socialist utopia.

Socialist Utopia????? jajajajaja and that will benefit him how???

Still with that 57 state thing? Obama has proven again and again how intelligent he is.

Do Intelligent people think Hawaii is in Asia? Somehow I got to Hawaii without my passport. Maybe our "Intelligent" Soetoro can make Hawaii our "58th" state while there "in Asia" on his 17 day vacation.

Steven B write: "He doesn't know what year this is. He thinks there are 57 states"

If not making a simple error like that is your standard, I'm trying to figure out which candidate would pass. I don't think that any of them have avoided any similar, silly mistakes. I sincerely hope that the electorate will recognize the intense pressure that these men and women are under, and weigh their suitability to a demanding job a bit more realistically. If what you were trying for was a snarky remark against President Obama, all that will do is elicit tit-for-tat responses about those similar, silly mistakes by the Republican candidates. That's a pretty unsatisfying way to go about selecting a president.

--mark d.

Steven will you be leaving the country after Obama gets reelected? What will you do when you have to start reciting those old Fox News standard hits for four more years. Don't be so sure that your not the ones that are delusional

Look at a globe, Kurt. Find Hawaii. Look at where it sits in relation to Asia vs North America. It may be part of the US as a country, but it is NOT part of the North American continent.

No need to worry, the president will be elected. He has paid for so many votes. Everyone votes with their pocket books... Unions, Long Term unemployeed, State/Government Employees, Police/Firemen, Bankers just to name a few. I wish I could get a check from the president.

For that we can blame the Federal Reserve and its constant digital printing of new dollars.
All the Tea Party did was try to stop more borrowing.

Besides, our bonds really don't warrant a gold plated credit rating as they are only backed by our governments ability to tax and print new money. The bonds are not backed by real assets like corporate bonds.

OBAMA

$5 Trillion increase in national debt in 2 years and 10 months?

Van Jones (self described communist,) Obama's green czar?

Attorney General Eric Holden not prosecuting billie club wielding black panthers threatening voters?

Eric Holden's "Fast and furious," causing the murder of thousands of innocent Mexican citizens.

Just right wing lies started by hateful people who are for the rich and against sane policies for America. Lets go all the way back to the four black men who harmed no one at a polling place but were howled and ranted about on Fox. LOL. Van Jones is a very honorable and intelligent man who has been honest and is no more communist than you are. You get this filth from the right wing Fox News and hang on to their hate against the truth about anything.

Obama is absolutely right.

Bush illegally invaded Iraq, killed 4,00 US servicemen, wouldn't even put the war in the budget, gave the rich tax breaks instead of asking that they help to pay for the war (they certainly didn't fight or die in that stupid war), and he was re-elected.

Gingrich and Romney have said in so many words, they want to start another mid east war with Iraq.

Yeah, no body's perfect but the alternative is really, horribly bad.

you are so right on Mark, plus after they start a war with Iran, they want to reduce the military pay and benefits, we all know Cheney lobbyist and CEO of Halliburton wanted Clinton to open up Iran for business.

John, by your standard, Neut will be judged a philanderer and Mitt a cultist. Obama wins!