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Obama State of the Union

Any one notice how Obama calls for the GOP be bi-partisan after all the democrats closed door meetings?
 
ptif219 said:
Any one notice how Obama calls for the GOP be bi-partisan after all the democrats closed door meetings?
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Yes, and says that Republican obstructionism is ruining the political process even though he's had a filibuster proof majority the whole year.
 
If Obama was really interested in working with Republicans, he would not have outright insulted them so much.

The monthly meetings seem like a good idea though. Hopefully not a farce.
 
Dav said:
You have got to be kidding me. It's been a goddamn year.

Did you blame Bill Clinton for 9/11? For that matter, did Bush?
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Actually, yes, I did! In fact, I and all of my shipmates onboard the USS America (CV66) (decomm'd) all believed that terrorist attack on the USS Cole was justified as a prelude to war then. But former Pres. Clinton did nothing...just left us all wondering, "Why?"

That lame ass missle strike in Afghanistan right before he left office was BS. In effect, he left it up to the next administration to deal with which I thought then as I do now was a complete cop-out. But that was then; this is now...
 
gopman said:
Bush passed two comprehensive tax cuts, and the unemployment rate in the last recession topped out at around 6%.
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or 2% higher then when he took office about what the percentage diff is now. hmmmm or should I say 50% higher then when he took office..ponder..ponder..ponder
 
pugetsoundwa said:
or 2% higher then when he took office about what the percentage diff is now. hmmmm or should I say 50% higher then when he took office..ponder..ponder..ponder
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This is the kind of idiotic sophistry that makes me think democracy is a bad idea. Bush took over at the very start of a recession, when unemployment obviously was at an unsustainably low level. That was not his fault. The current recession was not his fault either (or Obama's). The only thing they control is their response. Bush's was quick and effective, Obama's has been a blundering disaster.
 
AgentM said:
I have no idea who that is...
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I am not surprised you don't. Only the fools that listen to Rush Limbaugh would know as thats a insult Rush uses against Harry Reid. YOU are a independent thinker so I won't tell you how to act BUT I rarely take Rush listeners serious..Rush Limbaugh listeners that is..lol forgot Rush the rockband came from Canada for a moment..
 
gopman said:
This is the kind of idiotic sophistry that makes me think democracy is a bad idea. Bush took over at the very start of a recession, when unemployment obviously was at an unsustainably low level. That was not his fault. The current recession was not his fault either (or Obama's). The only thing they control is their response. Bush's was quick and effective, Obama's has been a blundering disaster.
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two totally different sets of circumstances...obama has inherited a bigger mess than bush did
 
gopman said:
This is the kind of idiotic sophistry that makes me think democracy is a bad idea. Bush took over at the very start of a recession, when unemployment obviously was at an unsustainably low level. That was not his fault. The current recession was not his fault either (or Obama's). The only thing they control is their response. Bush's was quick and effective, Obama's has been a blundering disaster.
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Democracy a bad thing? what do you want? Republo-Facism??? Besides, we don't have Democracy now so why slander it??
 
gopman said:
Let's see:


[*]Takes credit for TARP but blames bush for the deficit.
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It was Bush-43's fault. He engaged this country in two wars (one unnecessary, IMO) and didn't appropriately fund either; kept most of the funding off balance sheets.

[*]Says there's a spending freeze, but it's not actually frozen.
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But he did outline when the spending freeze would occur (FY2011) and what general programs would continue to receive funding - Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security and defense. The only lie here is those who wish to trump this issue up as if the spending freeze were happening today.

[*]Says business is the engine for job growth, but wants to tax large businesses and let the government "create" jobs.
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I find this hypercritical of you (Republicans) considering how you've claimed from day one when the ARRA was signed that job creation came primarily from small businessness and not big corporate giants. Furthermore, I don't recall him saying he wouldn't tax big businesses, but rather that some of them, i.e., big oil, won't be getting tax cuts anymore...least not on his watch. And what's wrong with government job creation? I happen to work for the state; my salary though not big is atleast paying the bills.

[*]Says Republicans blocked him from doing anything but he's had a filibuster proof majority...
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Just because you have a majority doesn't mean that majority will agree with you all the time. If it does, the opposition will claim one party is running rough-shot over the other which is already the Republican's sob story rallying cry. If it doesn't, you complain that the majority had the "power" to do more. No, my friend. What any president truly wants is biparticianship. This way both sides win.

Did no one else think it was strange when he openly stated that he wants the US to have a government led economy like Germany and China?
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You've quoated him out of context. What he said was he wanted this country's economy and businesses to be as roburt and forward thinking as other countries like Germany and China. Big difference!

Did no one else think it was strange that he threw respect for separation of powers in the sewer and publicly embarrassed and intimidated the supreme court justices?
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This I really can't speak on because I don't fully grasp the SC case towhich he was referring, but as I understand it he wasn't too far off the mark. Still, I'll leave this issue alone since I don't understand the details of it fully.

Did no one else think it was strange that he said we can't freeze spending even though we have a deficit, then told the Republicans "that's how you budget", as if spending money you don't have is basic household finance?
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Here again, Republicans complain about the President's "wild spending" yet when he sets an initiative to halt spending you don't support it. Talk about talking out' the side of your neck? :doh

He says he wants to punish businesses for sending jobs overseas, he should punish government for sending jobs overseas by taxing, supporting labor unions and enforcing unneccessarily strict regulations.
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And? Here again is a laughable complaint by Republicans. You want job creation but complain at every attempt to pull jobs back from abroad. You can't have it both ways. Either you want him to do something to bring jobs back to this country or you don't. Which is it? Companies who base their headquarters here in the US yet continue to send more and more jobs abroad that could be employing people right here should be punished. But again, you can't have it both ways.

Overall, worst state of the union ever. Disingenuous, disrespectful, stupid and full of excuses for not actually doing anything in an entire year with total control of government. Not to mention 0 minutes spent on terrorism. Did I miss an Al Qaeda surrender or something?
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Then you're just another partician hack who preferred to keep his ears closed instead of truly listening. Even my wife, who's a Republican, listened attentively and thought his SOTU speech was very well done. BTW, he did speak on the terrorism issue, i.e., the Christmas Day bombing attempt....or did you fall asleep on that part? :roll:
 
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randel said:
two totally different sets of circumstances...obama has inherited a bigger mess than bush did
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Obama helped create the mess he inherited or don't you think Congress has any responsibility. Obama voted for all the spending Bush did then blames Bush for the deficit. The do nothing Congress was more interested in regaining the WH than they were helping lead the country. Today we are paying the consequences of that inaction but to an Obama supporter they continue to be blind to the empty suit they voted for.
 
Conservative said:
Obama helped create the mess he inherited or don't you think Congress has any responsibility. Obama voted for all the spending Bush did then blames Bush for the deficit. The do nothing Congress was more interested in regaining the WH than they were helping lead the country. Today we are paying the consequences of that inaction but to an Obama supporter they continue to be blind to the empty suit they voted for.
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I think alot of people misunderstand how government works in this regard. Yes, legistlators vote for or against certain bills that have big money affixed to them, but the majority of legistlators don't know the full extend of the spending until the full Congress votes on a budget. It's not until they see the budget do they realize where all the money is going and how much. Took me a long time to understand this. So, yes, then Sen. Obama may have voted for a bill that had a big price tag affixed to it, but to say that any one member of Congress was aware of the big spending picture at the time their vote was casts is foolish. The only people who really know the real story behind the bean count are the Senate/House Finance Committees and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

As for your other comments, seems to me that Republicans are now doing the exact same thing by continuously being the "Party of 'NO'". You gotta call it both ways, my friend. In that regard, I agree with the President when he said it's beyond time to stop looking at their job security and start doing the work of the people. Otherwise, you have to blame Republicans just as much as Democrats for allowing this country to go so deep down the toliet (as most people see things are today).
 
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Objective Voice said:
I think alot of people misunderstand how government works in this regard. Yes, legistlators vote for or against certain bills that have big money affixed to them, but the majority of legistlators don't know the full extend of the spending until the full Congress votes on a budget. It's not until they see the budget do they realize where all the money is going and how much. Took me a long time to understand this. So, yes, then Sen. Obama may have voted for a bill that had a big price tag affixed to it, but to say that any one member of Congress was aware of the big spending picture at the time their vote was casts is foolish. The only people who really know the real story behind the bean count are the Senate/House Finance Committees and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
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You give the CBO way too much credit, the CBO takes the information they get from the Congress and analyze it. If the information is wrong then the output is wrong. CBO is hardly accurate. The U.S. Treasury is the accurate site. The big issue was TARP, 700 billion dollars, of which Obama supported. Bush spent 350 billion and left Obama 350 billion to spend. Bush had nothing to do with the 787 billion stimulus plan or the bailout of GM/Chrysler.

As for your other comments, seems to me that Republicans are now doing the exact same thing by continuously being the "Party of 'NO'". You gotta call it both ways, my friend. In that regard, I agree with the President when he said it's beyond time to stop looking at their job security and start doing the work of the people. Otherwise, you have to blame Republicans just as much as Democrats for allowing this country to go so deep down the toliet (as most people see things are today).
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Sorry but the party of no was irrelevant the last year as the Democrats had overwhelming numbers including a filibuster proof Congress. They could pass anything they wanted or the President wanted. The GOP was powerless to do anything.

Obama's speech last night was filled with lies and distortions. It was out of touch with reality and all about Obama. He says one thing and does something else. He promised transparency and offered none. He said the stimulus plan would cap unemployment at 8% and it is over 10% and closer to 17%. He claimed he inherited a trillion dollar deficit but has added to it. He claimed that no lobbyists would be in his administration and it is filled with lobbyists. When do the Obama lies reach the level of outrage you and others had with Bush?
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pugetsoundwa said:
I am not surprised you don't. Only the fools that listen to Rush Limbaugh would know as thats a insult Rush uses against Harry Reid. YOU are a independent thinker so I won't tell you how to act BUT I rarely take Rush listeners serious..Rush Limbaugh listeners that is..lol forgot Rush the rockband came from Canada for a moment..
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lol, thanks. That would explain it, since I've never listened to Rush Limbaugh, nor do I particularly want to. There are other things I'd rather do.
 
I felt alot of mixed messages from the speech. I can honestly say that it was a good speech to Americans. I haven't seen the ratings yet.

I was suprised to hear that most of the money has been recovered from the bank bailouts, I am assuming AIG has paid much back. What confused me is that a while back he scolded the CEO's for their bonuses and then recently I heard they were still receiving them. He seemed to shift on this again.

Another good message was the exemption of payroll taxes for smaller businesses. He also says he will allow them to be exempt from employee payroll taxes for six months. I guess that is better than no help at all.

He is giving tax exemptions for taxpayers who have children in college. I believe I understood that this may apply to Community Colleges also. He urges Universities to lower tuition but that may be a hard one for him to tackle.

I didn't like the fact that he pointed to the Republicans that they will be held responsible as well as the Democrats. It made it sound like it was attributed to his health care bill. Also, the fact that he always has to bring up the Bush deficit.

On the subject of jobs, he mentioned a few projects that had created some jobs but he expounded on infrastructure. I see alot of the stimulus dollars have been sent to my state and CA for high speed rail but in WA, the train will only see an overall speed increase of approximately 10 mph. This is the train that goes from Seattle to Portland, OR.

As far as the transparency of pet projects, hasn't enough been spent on these? I assume he is talking about the rest of the stimulus that hasn't been sent out. We'll see how that pans out.

As far as the lie about the he claimed that last week's Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. FEC, as said to open the floodgates for special interests including foreign corporations to spend without limit in our elections.

Apparently this has been proven to be a false allegation. To call this out in the speech was very distasteful.

I didn't approve of some of the arrogance I felt coming from Obama and undoubtedly, I knew he would bring up health care. He still blames doctors and pharmaceuticals for the high costs. He also stays on course with the amount of uninsured people that have lost insurance due to job losses. Well, Mr. President, let's see how your plan will improve our economy in 2010. You believe it will and I'm waiting.
 
cartoonblamebushalg500.jpg
 
StandUpChuck said:
cartoonblamebushalg500.jpg
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It goes without saying that there is very little that Obama has proposed that I support but the SOU speech was one of the most partisan that I recall. This President doesn't have the ability to admit that he is wrong on any issue nor does he have the ability to show any leadership skills.

The SOU Address was a perfect venue to show some leadership and admit that he made some mistakes this past year but instead he chose to give a partisan campaign speech. Those that support him were probably on the edge of their seats cheering but those that know the role of Govt. and the affect that this President had on the economy this past year were cringing with anger and disdain.

It is time to quit the blame game and take responsibility for your own actions. Blaming the Republicans and President Bush for the "inherited" problems simply ignores reality. We do not have a King in power and any problems with the economy cannot be blamed solely on the President. Congress approves or fails to allow legislation submitted by the President to even get a vote.

In the case the past two years Republicans in Congress were powerless to get any legislation passed and the Democrats failed to allow Bush initiatives to come to the floor for a vote thus showing more of an interest in taking the WH than doing their job in helping the American people.

Barack Obama claims he inherited the Bush deficit yet as a Senator he voted for TARP and the Bush Budget. Then he takes credit for the results of TARP. Mr. President you cannot have it both ways. TARP has been repaid by most of the banks so stop demonizing them. President Bush left you 350 billion of that TARP funding to use and it was intended for the Toxic Asset Relief program not some other Federal Spending program. President Bush didn't propose the 787 Billion stimulus program that was supposed to cap unemployment at 8%. President Bush didn't bail out the unions which cost the taxpayers billions. And President Bush didn't propose the 2010 budget which in the first three months has exceede over 300 billion in deficits added to the present debt.

Those that support Obama need to stop with the cheerleading and take an objective view of his own administration. The blame game has to stop as leaders take charge and accept responsibilities. Community organizers place blame. Mr. President you do a great job as a community organizer.
 
Conservative said:
This President doesn't have the ability to admit that he is wrong on any issue nor does he have the ability to show any leadership skills.
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Odd that Repubs forget their prior President also lacked the ability to admit when he was wrong. He felt admitting would be seen as a sign of weakness. When asked shortly before leaving office any mistakes he made that he would do differently he replied he was wrong when he told the terrorists to Bring It on.......Really? thats it? In 8 yrs thats all you think you did wrong?? LMAO
 
pugetsoundwa said:
Odd that Repubs forget their prior President also lacked the ability to admit when he was wrong. He felt admitting would be seen as a sign of weakness. When asked shortly before leaving office any mistakes he made that he would do differently he replied he was wrong when he told the terrorists to Bring It on.......Really? thats it? In 8 yrs thats all you think you did wrong?? LMAO
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Bush is no longer in office but that doesn't prevent you from diverting from this current President. GW Bush was wrong in not admitting he made mistakes as is Obama who continues to blame Bush for the current situation. That is simply another Obama lie.
 
pugetsoundwa said:
Odd that Repubs forget their prior President also lacked the ability to admit when he was wrong. He felt admitting would be seen as a sign of weakness. When asked shortly before leaving office any mistakes he made that he would do differently he replied he was wrong when he told the terrorists to Bring It on.......Really? thats it? In 8 yrs thats all you think you did wrong?? LMAO
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Here are the results of "your" President that he wants to blame Bush for. Remember "your" President spent 787 billion on a stimulus plan that didn't stimulate anything other than payment to Democrat Constituents

Unemployed by month. Bush lost 3.8 million jobs in 2008 and Obama lost 3.3 million jobs in 2009 even after spending that 787 billion stimulus.


2008 7628 7435 7793 7631 8397 8560 8895 9509 9569 10172 10617 11400
2009 11919 12714 13310 13816 14518 14721 14534 14993 15159 15612 15340 15267
 
Conservative said:
Here are the results of "your" President that he wants to blame Bush for. Remember "your" President spent 787 billion on a stimulus plan that didn't stimulate anything other than payment to Democrat Constituents

Unemployed by month. Bush lost 3.8 million jobs in 2008 and Obama lost 3.3 million jobs in 2009 even after spending that 787 billion stimulus.


2008 7628 7435 7793 7631 8397 8560 8895 9509 9569 10172 10617 11400
2009 11919 12714 13310 13816 14518 14721 14534 14993 15159 15612 15340 15267
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Well Obama has a point that he didn't create the mess. However, when is he going to take responsibility for his programs failing? He says they averted a disaster. He keeps pushing this and it's too easily accepted. Where's the correction?
 
phattonez said:
Well Obama has a point that he didn't create the mess. However, when is he going to take responsibility for his programs failing? He says they averted a disaster. He keeps pushing this and it's too easily accepted. Where's the correction?
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His point is moot, he was a Senator at the time and thus privy to all the information coming in. Congress is every bit as guilty as Bush in creating the mess just like Congress today and Obama are every bit as guilty of not getting us out of the mess. The common denominator is the Democrats that controlled Congress during the last two years of the Bush Administration are still there this time with a far left liberal in the WH delegating everything to them.
 
Conservative said:
It goes without saying that there is very little that Obama has proposed that I support but the SOU speech was one of the most partisan that I recall. This President doesn't have the ability to admit that he is wrong on any issue nor does he have the ability to show any leadership skills.

The SOU Address was a perfect venue to show some leadership and admit that he made some mistakes this past year but instead he chose to give a partisan campaign speech. Those that support him were probably on the edge of their seats cheering but those that know the role of Govt. and the affect that this President had on the economy this past year were cringing with anger and disdain.

It is time to quit the blame game and take responsibility for your own actions. Blaming the Republicans and President Bush for the "inherited" problems simply ignores reality. We do not have a King in power and any problems with the economy cannot be blamed solely on the President. Congress approves or fails to allow legislation submitted by the President to even get a vote.

In the case the past two years Republicans in Congress were powerless to get any legislation passed and the Democrats failed to allow Bush initiatives to come to the floor for a vote thus showing more of an interest in taking the WH than doing their job in helping the American people.

Barack Obama claims he inherited the Bush deficit yet as a Senator he voted for TARP and the Bush Budget. Then he takes credit for the results of TARP. Mr. President you cannot have it both ways. TARP has been repaid by most of the banks so stop demonizing them. President Bush left you 350 billion of that TARP funding to use and it was intended for the Toxic Asset Relief program not some other Federal Spending program. President Bush didn't propose the 787 Billion stimulus program that was supposed to cap unemployment at 8%. President Bush didn't bail out the unions which cost the taxpayers billions. And President Bush didn't propose the 2010 budget which in the first three months has exceede over 300 billion in deficits added to the present debt.

Those that support Obama need to stop with the cheerleading and take an objective view of his own administration. The blame game has to stop as leaders take charge and accept responsibilities. Community organizers place blame. Mr. President you do a great job as a community organizer.
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Did you see how Obama lectured to the GOP this morning in Baltimore?

Obama assails Republican foes, urges bipartisan effort | Reuters


The Democratic president delivered the double-edged message in a sometimes tense session at a Republican congressional retreat in Baltimore as he sought to dig out of his deepest political rut since taking office a year ago.

Facing down his Republican critics two days after a State of the Union speech aimed at reconnecting with the public, Obama sought to counter their attempt to paint him as a big-spending liberal who only wants to expand government.

He accused Republicans of portraying his now-stalled healthcare reform effort as a "Bolshevik plot" and telling their constituents he is "doing all kinds of crazy stuff that's going to destroy America."

"I am not an ideologue," Obama assured his audience, prompting some murmuring in the crowd. "I'm not."

Assailing Republicans for trying to obstruct him on everything from economic stimulus to healthcare, Obama suggested their political motive was to score points with voters in the November congressional mid-term elections.
 
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