Barack Obama on the View Thursday...

[C_Rush]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

Was Barbra Walters there? If she wasnt then its no wonder there was nothing of note, the rest have no substance just fluff.

Yep, she was there - first show back from open heart surgery (IIRC). But still, too much Obama love-in: they seemed like a bunch of school girls all twittery because the cool guy in school sat down to eat lunch with them. Pretty soft ball questions for the most part. Top bad - I think the View had a chance to shirk it's usual estrogen-fuelled coffee-clatch doze fest and ask some serious questions of the President and failed miserably.

[Weiser Wonder]

Originally Posted by ernie

The way US politics works is that there isn't really some sort of party whip to vote the way the party wants. That's good and bad. It's good because in many instances the senator or congressman actually listens to to constituents. It's bad because you can get excessive pork added to bills to buy votes and a broad party vision doesn't exist. I truly believe Obama has a vision as every president does...the parties simply don't buy into the vision at times. IMO, the healthcare is one change they needed people to buy into things for the eventual greater good but too many were concerned with lining pockets and getting re-elected.

The bill was watered down not to get Republicans to vote for it but to get Democrats to vote for it. The healthcare revolution hasn't happened in the states like it did most everywhere else decades ago. In the states it is ingrained in far too many people that healthcare is a privilege and not a right. Many people firmly believe that the only thing universal healthcare will do is cause more lazy people to collect welfare checks now that they don't have to work to pay hospital bills (I'm not kidding. I wish I was).

I know all that.

The fact is Obama pressured the progressive Democrats who were in favor of the public option rather than putting any pressure on the "moderate" Democrats, who weren't needed for the vote. All they had to do was not join a Republican filibuster. Then they had a chance to push it through in the budget, where filibustering is not allowed and again failed to do so. Obama didn't want the public option.

[holden]

For those interested in watching parts of this, heres a link to Huffington Post that has clips at the bottom of the article.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/0..._n_663678.html

[La Flames Fan]

[Flames Fan, Ph.D.]

Originally Posted by ernie

The way US politics works is that there isn't really some sort of party whip to vote the way the party wants.

Whoah. No offense but that's way off. The majority and minority leaders absolutely have their whips out if they want. There are myriad stories of Tom DeLay extending the voting time on bills so he could go and extort specific Republican members of the house for their votes. Vote with us on this, or you don't get a dime during your next re-election campaign.

Originally Posted by ernie

I truly believe Obama has a vision as every president does...the parties simply don't buy into the vision at times. IMO, the healthcare is one change they needed people to buy into things for the eventual greater good but too many were concerned with lining pockets and getting re-elected.

I think the healthcare example is instructive. Obama, as the president, absolutely had the bully pulpit to push through what he wanted, especially given the democratic majorities and supermajorities in the congress. It's quite clear to me that he simply did *not* want to pass many of the items talked about during the campaign for multiple factors.

As for the next election, I think the rest of the world should pray that the republican candidate is not elected. Reading the republican fixes for the economy is absolutely frightening. Austerity*, more tax cuts and increased interest rates during a recession would all lead to the final cracking of the US economy. And if the US economy cracks, then the world over is going to experience reduced demand (which is the number issue in the US today).


* I've read comments regarding the deficit. Yes, the deficit during the Obama fiscal year (October 2009 - today) has been high. However, much of the deficit is due to the stimulus bill and fiscal aid to close the productivity gap coupled with lower tax receipts. In that respect, the deficit is more a function of the extra-ordinary economic circumstance rather than an absolute desire by Obama to shower the world with US debt offerings (treasuries). The structural deficit in the US economy is currently driven by 4 items: social security, medicare (a large chunk being GWB's medicare expansion), GWB tax cuts (none of which brought online) any offsetting spending cuts), defense spending (this includes the money procured for the wars through supplemental bills).

[Azure]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

The fact is that you can't fault Obama for the economy souring up... many countries are facing a lot of problems, look at Greece.

Poor excuse.

Look at Canada. We're doing fairly well. We're recovering quite well too.

I don't blame Obama for everything, but its pretty naive to want to compare the US to Greece, when it has far more in common with Canada.

[mikey_the_redneck]

Originally Posted by oilyfan

This was in the New York Times today: "Second Depression Averted Due to Bailouts"

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/28/bu...ression&st=cse

Wow .....talk about putting lipstick on a pig...

Terrible article, but expected considering it's the NYT.

[Flames Fan, Ph.D.]

Originally Posted by mikey_the_redneck

Wow .....talk about putting lipstick on a pig...

Terrible article, but expected considering it's the NYT.

Did you read the actual paper?

[mikey_the_redneck]

Originally Posted by Flames Fan, Ph.D.

Did you read the actual paper?

Yeah, the first half of it is putting a spin on all the good things the bail out has supposedly done. Like I said, ..lipstick on a pig.

The states are broke, and there will be more stimulus to come. The debt is not going in reverse anytime soon.