Obama

[gouri78]

I absolutely do not want Obama to be reelected. He has provided the U.S. with neither hope nor change. His stimulus package went over like a turd in a punch bowl. His economic policies have resulted in a stagnation of the American economy. His foreign policy is...well, what is his foreign policy, exactly? The government is spending and borrowing on an astronomical (and unsustainable) level. Our debt is equal to 93% of total GDP...Wow.

Just let me put it this way. If America were a car, it would be getting into red-line territory.

The sad thing is, with all these things going against him, the chances of him being reelected are pretty good. Republicans have several good candidates, but none who seem to be able to really challenge Obama as far as money goes. And let's face it, the amount of money a presidential candidate can raise is directly proportional to that candidate's chances to win the election. And nobody can raise more money than Obama. He nearly raised $1 billion during the 2008 election. I mean...who can really compete with that?

yep very correct........i agree

 

[palmerx6414]

We need a president that will defend and protect Israel from Iran.

I think we need a leader that will defend us from Israelis. Simply put, Israel has attacked the U.S. before, AIPAC sends all of our money to Israel in foreign aid, and they commit espionage against the U.S. for profit more than any other nation.
As Kinley3 stated, we need to get our own priorities straight before we go getting in Israel's problems!

Then if we want to worry about others we should worry about defending innocent Palestinians from Israel.

EDIT*
Also, I don't want to see Obama re-elected for 2012. I seriously doubt he will be as-is, anyways.

 

[reborn-studios53]

i agree with you guys alot

 

[CWeb Creative]

Obama may not be perfect but he is a hell of a lot better than any of the Republican opitions. They are all NUTS especially the tea party people. They want to cut cut cut programs that are necessary and don't want to increase revenue when taxes are so low its rediculous. LOW TAXES ON LARGE CORPORATIONS AND MILLIONAIRES DOES NOT EQUAL MORE JOBS. While it is true that very high taxes on corporations does equal less jobs. If you have 20 million you can pay a higher percentage of taxes than someone who has 100,000. What really needs to happen but won't until its too late is entitlement reform. Its not all this little stuff like NASA and public programs that are the problem its 4 things:

• Medicare
• Medicaid
• Social Security
• Defense Budget

These things account for most of the federal budget and until we address them we have no hope of doing anything for the deficit.

 

[danielle.seiley61]

Wow just Wow!
After reading all of the above comments I'm starting to wonder if I failed my history & political classes.
For starters whether or not you like Obama should be the least of anyone's concerns. This guy maybe the president, but he doesn't have half of the power you guys give him. Let's start with the Economy for an example. Why is it that there was a debate between the Republicans & the Democrats that went back and forth for way to long? Because it is these folks who make the rules and only when if finally "passes" does it get passed up to Obama's desk for him to sign. Same with Healthcare and everything else.

Whether anyone likes it or not he can't please everyone every single moment of time.

Most of us the american's are at fault for this economies deficit whether we like it or not.Truth is that those of who work at banks were loaning money to people could never pay the loans back, we're constantly shipping manufacturing jobs over sees & to mexico in favor of cheaper labor & land.

If the Republicans had taken over when Bush left office we would have gotten Don't Ask Don't Tell passed.

Obama has been trying to bring jobs to this country & create jobs. This country is so far behind Asian, and Europe in regards to both Hi Speed Rail lines & Hi Speed Internet. It was in fact that in every state Obama wanted to install hi speed rail lines the governors (all republican) said NO! The truth is that almost all currently elected Republicans support the oil companies and the highway & interstate project.

We as american's can't continue supporting ourselves at the rate we're going between that new car, that expensive cell phone, etc... We have to find ways to start cutting the expenses and high speed rail would be start for those out of town trips. Has anyone looked at an AmTrac map lately? I could take a Greyhound bus and travel half the distance to get to where i want to go and get there sooner for a lot cheaper. What's wrong with that picture?

I read an article recently where the author stated that he wouldn't mind Obama being re-elected, but would not help in his re-election because he's spent the majority of his time trying to get the Republicans & the Democrats to work together which as we all know isn't going well even after after 3yrs. I agree, he needs to stand up and start doing his job instead of trying to be a middle man.

Being the president is not all that it's cracked up to be. You still have to jump through hoops like a damn circus animal. If it was as easy as most people think I'd imagine that stuff would actually get done.

 

[kinley3]

High speed rail is a joke. It's just a gimmick. People talk about other countries having high speed rail like it's the holy grail or something. They invoke it to make Americans feel like we are somehow inferior to other countries because we lack high speed rail. It's rhetoric, and nothing more. There's no way you can convince me that building (or upgrading) thousands of miles of tracks and developing hundreds (if not thousands) of high speed trains will save taxpayers money.

The fact is that America became great because it stood on its own principles, not the prevailing opinions of the world at large. It's American exceptionalism at its finest. If Japan or China has high speed rail, let them have a money pit for which their governments are on the hook. We have more pressing issues than high speed rail. We would be doing ourselves a favor if we just forget about it.

 

[danielle.seiley61]

Curious to how someone can jump on just one example and yet can give absolutely no proof as to why it's a bad idea. Fine, but why is it ok not give an example you find better than the one given? The truth is that this country is no longer a manufacturing country and that is our fault... People in this country don't want to work in a manufacturing plant... We're all about spending money & becoming an information country.

All I can tell you is that if you can afford to keep gas in your vehicle, or pay for a hybrid, or whatever it is that you have, FINE! But there are thousands of us out there who are forced to take the subway, and the light rails, and the city bus, because we can not afford things like gas, or car insurance, or whatever the case maybe.

The only reason that countries Europe have exceeded in giving their customers bigger, and better (those who claim), internet is because our government didn't do what it's supposed to.
People in our country let other countries trample on examples we've created and made it work for them... Why is it that we can't do that in this country?

Now that your post has caused mine to go completely off topic... how is that you believe only posting about my example has anything to do with the subject this thread was created for...
I'm not here to change anyone's mind... I'm only here to inform those who don't have all of the answers... I don't claim to have all of the answers, but I what I do have I offer to better educate those.

(Last post in this thread from me...)

 

[kinley3]

You can't prove an opinion or a potential outcome. But I can guarantee you that, if implemented, high speed rail will become simply another government-subsidized industry. Add that to the subsidies for (potentially) health care, agriculture, and gasoline, along with entitlement programs and the God-awful state of the U.S. tax code, and there's no wonder why we're drowning in debt.

We can't just simply invest in something like high-speed rail. Our country is essentially bankrupt, yet you advise investing in something that would just equal more spending. We have to simplify the tax code and stimulate the economy somehow. We have to walk before we can run, and I would argue that that's something this administration has failed to realize.

 

[dinkysite]

Yes he should. The fact that he was able to get, albeit a very crappy version, of free healthcare, is amazing. He is doing his job well... Well, better than the previous presidents.

He won't be reelected though, simply because pointing the economic crisis to him is just too easy!

The principal reason for the economic crisis and lack of hiring is the healthcare law. One reaps what one sows.

 

[CWeb Creative]

The principal reason for the economic crisis and lack of hiring is the healthcare law. One reaps what one sows.

The crisis has nothing to do with healthcare legislation. It has more to do with the banks and wall street than anything.

 

[kevinjrit42]

It's more that I hope he doesn't get re-elected.

 

[poskonig32]

LOW TAXES ON LARGE CORPORATIONS AND MILLIONAIRES DOES NOT EQUAL MORE JOBS. While it is true that very high taxes on corporations does equal less jobs.

The United States has one of the highest, if not the highest, corporate tax rate in the industrialized world. I believe it is at 35%. I know, I know, some very large corporations like G.E. get breaks and subsidies by "going green" and so forth, but most corporations -- the ones that employ most of our citizens -- do not have the resources to lobby for these goodies.

When taxes go up, corporations either raise the price per unit of service, and, if they can't sell their product at the new price, they go out of business.

It follows that no corporation literally pays taxes. The cost of corporate taxes is always paid for by the customers of the corporation, which makes corporate taxes not progressive taxes, or even flat taxes, but *regressive* taxes, since lower income earners spend a higher percentage of their income on consumption as opposed to investment. It is highly ironic that class warfare/Marxist rhetoric against corporations hurts those it professes to help the most. Progressives are turning corporations into government tax collectors against consumers in the lower income brackets. How f-ed up is that?

Ceteris paribus, higher corporate tax rates also mean that corporations have an incentive to do business overseas, since lower taxes mean you can develop your product at a lower price per unit. That's another factor to consider, since nations are not self-contained entities.

 

[CWeb Creative]

The United States has one of the highest, if not the highest, corporate tax rate in the industrialized world. I believe it is at 35%. I know, I know, some very large corporations like G.E. get breaks and subsidies by "going green" and so forth, but most corporations -- the ones that employ most of our citizens -- do not have the resources to lobby for these goodies.

When taxes go up, corporations either raise the price per unit of service, and, if they can't sell their product at the new price, they go out of business.

It follows that no corporation literally pays taxes. The cost of corporate taxes is always paid for by the customers of the corporation, which makes corporate taxes not progressive taxes, or even flat taxes, but *regressive* taxes, since lower income earners spend a higher percentage of their income on consumption as opposed to investment. It is highly ironic that class warfare/Marxist rhetoric against corporations hurts those it professes to help the most. Progressives are turning corporations into government tax collectors against consumers in the lower income brackets. How f-ed up is that?

Ceteris paribus, higher corporate tax rates also mean that corporations have an incentive to do business overseas, since lower taxes mean you can develop your product at a lower price per unit. That's another factor to consider, since nations are not self-contained entities.

How often is it that you see when the corporations get tax breaks or get deregulated or their taxes outright lowered that they actually do anything with it other than pocket it for their millionaire execs and their shareholders. Now granted small businesses are different and should be exempted from many things that larger businesses should have to do but I am not talking about them I am talking about the multibillion dollar a year corporations that are the ones shipping jobs overseas to china because of its government forced cheap labor which is another discussion about china's unfair economics entirely.

 

[poskonig32]

How often is it that you see when the corporations get tax breaks or get deregulated or their taxes outright lowered that they actually do anything with it other than pocket it for their millionaire execs and their shareholders.

If a corporation stands still while its competitors make moves, this will be reflected in its profit margin, debt/equity ratio, and other factors. A corporation always wants the best employees for the lowest cost; that's a constant in our equation. Corporate taxes do not impact the cost of management nor workers, since this is set by the market.

Suppose property taxes uniformly go up in a given region. It isn't like the CEOs suffer, nor do the workers. The company just chooses a different price point, since all corporations in the region are subject to the same competitive conditions. It is those who buy goods from the corporations in question that will have to deal with the higher price point. This is why corporate taxes are regressive.

Now granted small businesses are different and should be exempted from many things that larger businesses should have to do

It is not a good idea to tax flourishing businesses while subsidizing every failing business; this is a blueprint for economic breakdown. We want the flourishing businesses to continue to expand. Capitalism is not just a system of profit, but a system of profit-and-loss. People think too often in deontological categories about who is getting what, "rights" and so forth, and not enough about the mechanisms that create desired economic outcomes.

but I am not talking about them I am talking about the multibillion dollar a year corporations that are the ones shipping jobs overseas to china because of its government forced cheap labor which is another discussion about china's unfair economics entirely.

I've met a lot of intelligent, educated, enterprising young men from both India and China, many far more sophisticated than myself. We Americans believe we're entitled to wealth, even if we are stupid, ignorant, and lazy. We're in for a very rude awakening. It is a huge huge huge mistake for us to go Marxist when much of the world now wants to reap the rewards of freedom.

 

[wolf99]

As I'm not american and not much in to US interior politics I can only comment on what I know through media etc, as such I haven't voted in the poll. However...
I would say that Kinley3 raises one or two valid points in his earlier posts about gimmicks and such, however pinning America's wars to Obama's lapel is pretty unfair on the guy, yes people can hate about trying to blame things on past administrations, but the guy hasn't started a single war, but has ended one.

On the matter of the healthcare system, and speaking for just about everyone I know in several countries and from several political bents, the fact that until recently America, apparently one of the most advanced civilisations in the world didn't have, and a had large part of the population still thinking of the concept as "commie" somehow, a public healthcare system is insanely laughable!! Obama has faced this issue head on and fought to keep the issue moving even when he faced opposition from his own party, to push through at least a version of such a system.

I'll leave foreign policy as I completely disagree with most of what the US does here, whichever president, only to respond to an earlier posters remark of "responsibility around the world" as total hogwash.

On the issue of economic policy and national debt- Look at the rest of the world! - other countries that were affected by recessions are also still recovering, these things take time, more time than a presidential term. On the down side the US national debt is atrocious, but at least you know about it, in other countries its pretty much swept under the rug until everyone's using leaves as currency. Continuing to put the US in debt to other world powers must really get up economists and business-persons noses, though Im not sure what else could be done. I know in the US like in my country the mere mention of cutting back on spending has absolutely everyone up in arms, as if they dont connect debt with spending....and then object to tax raises!!
I will say that I think I remember one of Obama's election promises was something about the massive income gap (and I could be wrong here) but as far as I can see not much has been done on this front due to big business putting its foot down.
From outside the US it seems that your industries rule the country, not the government.
Kinley3 is right to say the US made itself by following its own ideals and principles, but everything needs moderation, capitalism only works if you have money after all, or to put it another way, there's not point in continuing to dig if the oil has run out.

Another thing I haven't heard much about from the Obama term is any real movement on laws regarding the environment, such as oil or gas drilling regulations etc, which I had hoped would make a comeback to the central stage during his term

All in all I think Obama has been one of the better recent presidents, and that the republican candidates I know of all look like screaming radicalists that cant wait to undo most of what Obama HAS done, invade a new country (for oil/terror/the economy/whatever) and rescind more environmental laws.

Again, these opinions are formed from media and statistics used by comedians so please do follow this post by telling me what an idiot i apparently am.

 

[CoolFinalFan]

anyone watch his speech to Congress? Way too many tax cuts, they really don't create jobs! Plus this is a economic depression not a recession we're dealing with, the recession hit 2008! We've actually never got out of it, if anything deeper in!

 

[doctor15]

Wolf, I think your post is so well written, you ought to apply for a job as a journalist or commentator, if that is not what you're already doing for a living.

I, too, live outside the US (Australia). We suffer from similar problems which come with democracy: our leaders tell lies so we will elect them. Then they don't keep their promises, make a mess, and gladly hand all the problems over to the next guys and gals 4 years later when they are thrown out by the electorate. Fortunately, from an economic standpoint, I live in a Country which has minimal debt. But the Government still succeeds in messing things up on a regular basis, by implementing unproven policies, which they're grateful to be separated from when they don't work.

I have to state that I have very strong feelings about US foreign policy. Assassinating ANYONE, remotely, using a drone, in a foreign nation, is inexcusible and probably averse to the US constitution. Surely, everyone is entitled to a trial: if this is a war, then a war trial for war crimes. Going round the world blowing people up just because you think they want to do it to you, it not an argument, and not democracy. Consider the risk that this kind of "death without trial" brings to US citizens, in the US. Would Americans consider it OK to be assassinated in their own homes, because the Goverment has suspicions about them? Could this kind of policy be abused, to suppress dissenters? Think about it.

I see that Bin Laden didn't get a drone..... someone wanted a photograph? Oh, and to steal the body, oh and to throw it in the sea to prevent a shrine being built. Sounds very likely to cause an adverse reaction from the terrorists, to me. In prison, he would not have been a martyr. He would have been a criminal, among other criminals, in my opinion.

Also: please remember that not everyone wants democracy. Each nation should be allowed it's own decision on how it should be goverened. I had Afghan friends in my previous life: one of their adages is "me against my brother, me and my brother against my dad, me, my brother and my dad against my uncle......etc". This kind of tribal thinking has served Afghans for centuries and has kept the country independent. So, don't expect them all to bow down at the feet of democracy. Many of them just don't want to see it.

On this forum poll, I voted for Obama. I don't think he's been given long enough to try and turn things round. And he seems to have a brain, unlike the previous encumbent.

Now you can flame me for criticising your Country!

 

[kinley3]

If bin Laden was taken to trial, it wouldn't have been for war crimes. Crimes against humanity, perhaps, but not war crimes. And the trial would not have been conducted by or in the United States; but in the ICC in the Hague.

According to your argument, bin Laden was NOT interested in causing harm to the United States, or more broadly, the West in general? Also, I think it's quite a big jump to compare an operation to take out Osama bin Laden to the government assassinating United States citizens in the privacy of their own homes. I really don't see how you draw a parallel there.

As for Osama bin Laden being a prisoner, I would be in a shallow grave before I could honestly expect taxpayers, including myself, to keep him alive and in prison for years, maybe decades. Put yourself in that situation; how would you feel if your government expected you to help cover the cost of imprisoning a man who killed 3,000 of your fellow citizens, perhaps including family and friends? I don't believe for a second that you would be very receptive to that idea.

 

[exploretheway.com22]

Obama cannot win, but his opponent can lose.

Obama cannot win, but his opponent can lose.

He is not what our country needs.

 

[eugenep]

Welcome to Obamyland he is a joke, the sad thing is the joke is on us. LMFAO