Obama's got "better stuff to do"

[Mikeg]

Back in late April, President Obama claimed "I've got better stuff to do" than respond to Donald Trump and the "birthers".

Pray tell, besides authorizing the assassination of Bin Laden, what "better stuff" was he talking about?

Given the latest bad news, it must not include staying on top of this country's crumbling economic situation:

"Daily economic briefings disappear from Obama's White House schedule"

Obama's forgotten that "It's the economy, stupid!" and unfortunately for us, he appears to be "stuck on stupid".

[firstandten]

He hasn't forgotten about the economy at all. First of all the Repubs and its propaganda arm Fox News know that the ONLY way they will defeat Obama in 2012 is hammer him on the economy on the bad monthly reports and the debt on the months that the economy shows improvement.

The great thing about politics is that the choices you have aren't always clear cut. Many times as I said before the choice you have is between a bad choice and a worst choice.

People look to the president for guidance and leadership. If one has learn anything about him it is he tends to look at results over time and is not overly focused on the short term, 24 hour news cycle stuff like this past monthly economic report. He knows that next month or the month after it could show a bump.

One of the failings of corporate america in my opinion is the over reliance of quarterly reports. This encourages executives to make short term decisions which may increase the bottom line but is not healthy for the company in the long term.

The beauty in all of this is that the Repubs can offer nothing in terms of improvement other than the failed economic theories that got us into this mess in the first place. The instances of voters "buyers remorse" in at least 4 to 5 states with right wing Gov's should send a signal that they don't have a clue.

Neither the president or congress can wave a magic wand and make the economy better when you have housing and manufacturing two industries that normally lead economic comebacks basically decimated with jobs outsourced never to come back and nothing to replace them.

[ghettopalmetto]

Given the latest bad news, it must not include staying on top of this country's crumbling economic situation:

"Daily economic briefings disappear from Obama's White House schedule"

Obama's forgotten that "It's the economy, stupid!" and unfortunately for us, he appears to be "stuck on stupid".

Where's the House jobs bill?

[1KielsonDrive]

Back in late April, President Obama claimed "I've got better stuff to do" than respond to Donald Trump and the "birthers".

Pray tell, besides authorizing the assassination of Bin Laden, what "better stuff" was he talking about?

Given the latest bad news, it must not include staying on top of this country's crumbling economic situation:

"Daily economic briefings disappear from Obama's White House schedule"

Obama's forgotten that "It's the economy, stupid!" and unfortunately for us, he appears to be "stuck on stupid".

I'm not for a minute forgetting or forgiving your neo-con, right-wing friend's parts in all of this, but I have to say NO!Bama hasn't done a damn thing about jobs. Oh, excuuuuuuuse me, he 'feel's our frustration'. What a loser! We've gone from criminal [[Bush2) to uncaring and inept [[NO!Bama).

[ghettopalmetto]

I'm not for a minute forgetting or forgiving your neo-con, right-wing friend's parts in all of this, but I have to say NO!Bama hasn't done a damn thing about jobs. Oh, excuuuuuuuse me, he 'feel's our frustration'. What a loser! We've gone from criminal [[Bush2) to uncaring and inept [[NO!Bama).

I don't think that's entirely fair, for several reasons:

1. The $800 billion economic stimulus bill in 2009 was loaded-down with $400 billion in tax cuts, at the insistence of the GOP. That's $400 billion--never to be seen again--that could have been spent on job-creating infrastructure projects.

2. The GOP has stricken future funding for high speed rail construction from the budget.

3. Extended unemployment benefits were only passed after an agreement to extend tax cuts for billionaires.

4. Failure to raise the debt ceiling limits what the government can do about anything, let alone creating jobs.

Welcome to 1937.

[1KielsonDrive]

And I already know what the responses to my post will be: poor NO!Bama, look what he has to work with. Poor NO!Bama, he has no control over congress. Poor NO!Bama, everyone is against him. Poor NO!Bama, he's better than......look what the option was.......blah, blah, blah. My response: poor NO!Bama, go back to the southside of Chicago and neighborhood organizing. Go back to acadamia and all of its connections and benefits. Go somewhere other than the white house. Your feelings don't do me and mine a damn bit of good. The only way things will get better in this country is when they get so bad [[are we there yet?) that tens and hundreds of thousands get out in the streets. We keep talking trash and fighting [[if you believe our wars are about democracy, ha, ha) in the middle east and we're eating our own lunch, expending the lives of our people and ruining our society.

[firstandten]

And I already know what the responses to my post will be: poor NO!Bama, look what he has to work with. Poor NO!Bama, he has no control over congress. Poor NO!Bama, everyone is against him. Poor NO!Bama, he's better than......look what the option was.......blah, blah, blah. My response: poor NO!Bama, go back to the southside of Chicago and neighborhood organizing. Go back to acadamia and all of its connections and benefits. Go somewhere other than the white house. Your feelings don't do me and mine a damn bit of good. The only way things will get better in this country is when they get so bad [[are we there yet?) that tens and hundreds of thousands get out in the streets. We keep talking trash and fighting [[if you believe our wars are about democracy, ha, ha) in the middle east and we're eating our own lunch, expending the lives of our people and ruining our society.

What should he or for that matter anybody in that position do ?

[1KielsonDrive]

What should he or for that matter anybody in that position do ?

Get some principles. Stand up and speak them. Continually and constantly. What we have for politicians right now are mealy mouthed, bought and sold hacks. They are almost all in the hands of the corporate oligarchy, aristocracy. They're more interested in celebrity and power than anything else including democracy. Oh yeah, re-election. This is not a democratic system. And don't hand me that shit about how much better off we are than the rest of the world - it's BULL. Yes, we have the basis for a great system but it's been co-opted. Bought and sold. Other countries followed our example and modified their systems to accomplish good things for their own. Here we are tilting at windmills. Windmills erected by corporations and politicians.

[old guy]

If the economy doesn't improve and the unemployment rate doesn't drop, the Republicans will win the next election. Obviously they realize that and it scares the hell out of me. A large portion of them can afford to wait it out. If both parties were to actually attempt to work together to fix this problem we're in, it could be accomplished.

[TKshreve]

If the economy doesn't improve and the unemployment rate doesn't drop, the Republicans will win the next election. Obviously they realize that and it scares the hell out of me. A large portion of them can afford to wait it out. If both parties were to actually attempt to work together to fix this problem we're in, it could be accomplished.

But they can't you see. It's physically and logically impossible for these two public serving bodies to coordinate on just about anything meaningful. They reserve those meaningful public agendas for bait and switch purposes. And propaganda campaigns. Platforms to be reelected, or to defeat an incumbant. That is where the bulk of their power, money and efforts are holstered. There are still a few very good politicians out there imho. But in the end, these two parties are way too dominant. They rally record high campaign donations [[sickeningly from corporate interets at this point in history) and use this capital to bash their opponent into the ground any way possible. All in the name of party loyalty, inevitably forsaking their constituents in most cases. And there's always next election to think about. The games start years before voting day. It's all one big jockeying-for-position kinda chess match.

Another bleak glimpse into what our political society has become. Mostly derived from greed.

[firstandten]

Get some principles. Stand up and speak them. Continually and constantly. What we have for politicians right now are mealy mouthed, bought and sold hacks. They are almost all in the hands of the corporate oligarchy, aristocracy. They're more interested in celebrity and power than anything else including democracy. Oh yeah, re-election. This is not a democratic system. And don't hand me that shit about how much better off we are than the rest of the world - it's BULL. Yes, we have the basis for a great system but it's been co-opted. Bought and sold. Other countries followed our example and modified their systems to accomplish good things for their own. Here we are tilting at windmills. Windmills erected by corporations and politicians.

Great rant ! I agree, but how is the bully pulpit going to improve our economy ?

Because basically what you said in the rest of your post, rendered the bolded part moot.

[coracle]

It's Obama's Economy stupid!

[Mikeg]

Back in late April, President Obama claimed "I've got better stuff to do".........

....... like bail out Greece so they don't default on their debt!

As the old-time saying goes, "this isn't going to play well in Peoria".

[ghettopalmetto]

Back in late April, President Obama claimed "I've got better stuff to do".........

....... like bail out Greece so they don't default on their debt!

Uh, what? Bail out Greece? Since when did the US join the EU?

[coracle]

Uh, what? Bail out Greece? Since when did the US join the EU?

My guess is it's a bribe to Merkel so that Germany will do something for Obama to make him look good for a day.or two to cover the next bump in the road or blip.

[oladub]

Back in late April, President Obama claimed "I've got better stuff to do".........

....... like bail out Greece so they don't default on their debt!

As the old-time saying goes, "this isn't going to play well in Peoria".

According to the bail out Greece article, "Obama said Greece had to make structural reforms and instill greater transparency in its economy." Now that's audacity; lecturing Greece on it's debt and transparency. Now we know where some of $100B Obama sends to the IMF annually will be going in addition to bilateral support. The 90B Euros that will be used to help Greece equals $130B as one Euro equals $1.46. For comparison, the State of California has a $370B debt. I doubt that Ms. Merkel will be offering to prop up California any time soon.

[ghettopalmetto]

For comparison, the State of California has a $370B debt. I doubt that Ms. Merkel will be offering to prop up California any time soon.

DEFICIT, not "debt". There's a difference, that being, since California is required to have a balanced budget, they're not allowed to have ANY debt. The factors involved in that deficit, however, are not even remotely related to Greece's free-wheeling ways, nor the common currency they share with some two dozen other nations. Nor is Greece's situation even remotely close to the situation in the United States, where falling tax revenues and spending necessary to stem a massive recession created a temporary ballooning of the deficit.

The fact that you consistently conflate "deficit" and "debt" indicates to me that maybe you don't know as much about finance as you pretend.

[oladub]

DEFICIT, not "debt". There's a difference, that being, since California is required to have a balanced budget, they're not allowed to have ANY debt. The factors involved in that deficit, however, are not even remotely related to Greece's free-wheeling ways, nor the common currency they share with some two dozen other nations. Nor is Greece's situation even remotely close to the situation in the United States, where falling tax revenues and spending necessary to stem a massive recession created a temporary ballooning of the deficit.

The fact that you consistently conflate "deficit" and "debt" indicates to me that maybe you don't know as much about finance as you pretend.

Hmmm. The last time I looked at this, it read 'debt'.
http://www.usdebtclock.org/state-deb...ebt-clock.html

This the result of free wheeling spending by California Democrats in my opinion.
A couple of days ago you were vigorously defending the President handing out $100,000,000,000 to the IMF two years in a row. Now, presumably, you are defending his, according to the article about Greece, additional gesture of offering bilateral support to Greece because of, as you put it, it's freewheeling ways. My point was that freewheeling behavior is not peculiar to Greece and the EU will probably not jump in to help California extricate itself from bigger numbers. Gov. Brown[[D) is now considering cutting the state school budget by $1.1B and cutting 20 days out of the school year while President Obama is writing huge checks to the IMF and another to Greece.

[1KielsonDrive]

Mostly derived from greed.

ALL derived from greed. Thank you.

[1KielsonDrive]

It's Obama's Economy stupid!

It's NO!Bama's economy - derived from Bush2, stupid! My quote! When you hand off the dope, it becomes the property, the possession, of the holder whether or not the holder originally acquired it. It then becomes the responsibility of the holder of the dope to dispose of it. You didn't learn that in 10th grade? You're busted.

[1KielsonDrive]

And if you think it's as easy as saying it's NO!Bama's economy, 2012 is coming faster than you think or are prepared for. 2012, 2016, 2020 are all going to be affected by this taxes deficit, no matter whether a demican or republicrat is the office holder. So, have fun while you can.

[1KielsonDrive]

While you're laughing, we're all paying,...and paying, and............

[coracle]

It's NO!Bama's economy - derived from Bush2, stupid! My quote! When you hand off the dope, it becomes the property, the possession, of the holder whether or not the holder originally acquired it. It then becomes the responsibility of the holder of the dope to dispose of it. You didn't learn that in 10th grade? You're busted.

Well you write like you have first hand experience of this type of transaction so I bow to your superior knowledge. But it's still Obama's Economy stupid - which has a far truer ring to it than the gobbledigook you had to devise in an attempt to excuse him. Hope he runs on it.

[Big Dog]

You appear to be one sandwich, short of a picnic.

[coracle]

You appear to be one sandwich, short of a picnic.

I do agree with you he is one sandwich, short of a picnic - but I didn't like being so direct. I mean "NObama's economy - derived from Bush2, stupid; what a joke!