A Failed Presidency -- The American Problem

Yahoo ^ | 8/6/11 | John Mariotti - Forbes

[NormsRevenge]

Few Americans needed Standard & Poor to confirm the mismanagement of the United States government and its finances. The downgrading of American credit will raise interest rates on America’s huge debt and ultimately on all Americans. Popular polls say that most Americans blame Congress—but that’s too simplistic. As much as Barack Obama would like to shift that blame onto Congress, the fault lies squarely on the shoulders of President. It is first and foremost a leadership problem that is crippling America—and the leader is President Barack Obama—not the many members of Congress.

No matter how many speeches he makes, the conclusion is clear: Obama’s greatest failure is spending America into enormous deficits, and being clueless about how to get the economy to recover. His speeches, riddled with “I” and “We” are mostly serving to indict him for his failings. Appearing on TV more than any other sitting president, Barack Obama is constantly “explaining” why things aren’t working, when he should be working on what to do different and better.

Instead he is “campaigning,” which is the only thing he knows how to do reasonable well. But he can’t fix the economy; he has neither the experience nor the knowhow to do it. His failed, misguided policies have only exacerbated the size of his mistakes and shortcomings.

[NormsRevenge]

Happy Birthday Mr. President. You have accomplished something no other president has done. You’ve spent America into a hole that will take a decade to fix, and kept more Americans out of work longer than anyone in recent history, and you’ve accomplished all this in record time, only 2-1/2 years. Who knows how much harm you can do given still more time.

[NormsRevenge]

some will be forever indebted to Obama..

most will be in debt forever due to Obama..

[bigbob]

And yet, he’s going to be defeated in a landslide, go out waving to his adoring fans, and retire a millionaire to a life of golf, books, and speechifying. What a country!

[Terry Mross]

People who say this guy is incompetent are blind. He’s doing exactly what he intended to do, destroy this country. In fact, I’ll bet he’s watching Fox, so he can get the truth, and laughing his ass off.

[ken21]

he’ll still be in office for ~17 months.

[BobP]

Obama: We're Not Even Halfway There Yet

''It's been a long, tough journey. But we have made some incredible strides together. But... as much as good as we have done... we're not even halfway there yet. When I said 'change we can believe in' I didn't say 'change we can believe in tomorrow.' Not change we can believe in next week. We knew this was going to take time because we've got this big, messy, tough democracy,'' President Obama said in Chicago on Wednesday night, August 3, 2011.

The US Treasury Department came out on August 5, 2011, with its Debt Position and Activity Report for July. The news is bleak.

With the additional $238 billion the Treasury immediately borrowed when the debt ceiling was raised on August 2, total current debt now exceeds the US GDP for 2010! (GDP in 2010 was $14.5265 trillion.)

As of July 31, 2011, our debt totaled $14.342 trillion. That was made up of $9.756 trillion held by the public and $4.587 trillion the government owes itself -- intergovernmental borrowing, largely from the Social Security and Medicare trust funds to the general fund. With the Treasury's additional borrowings of $238 billion (the largest one-day bump in history) the total of all debt outstanding has now increased to $14.5807 trillion. That's $54.2 billion more than the 2010 U.S. GDP, the last year for which we have final estimates on GDP from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

That increase now puts the government close to the new debt limit of $14.694 trillion, It ate up 60% of the $400 billion in space Congress granted the president on Aug. 2.

Through accounting 'tricks,' Treasury held the nation under the $14.29 trillion 'ceiling' since reaching that figure on May 16, 2011, while lawmakers debated about how to add more debt and annual deficits.

The Republican House had the power to say no to upping the legal debt limit. What a bunch of traitorous scum. They handing over $2 trillion in debt with nothing in return (well, maybe fictitious cuts)... disgusting.

With the latest borrowing, the US joined a small group of red ink countries whose public debt exceeds GDP, including Japan (229 percent), Greece (152 percent), Jamaica (137 percent), Lebanon (134 percent), Italy (120 percent), Ireland (114 percent) and Iceland (103 percent), according to figures provided by the International Monetary Fund.

Barack 'Jackwagon' Hussein and his administration's next goal will be to exceed 200%!

Crushing Debt!

By the time the election comes around, we will have a debt hovering at $16 trillion. And if Zer0 isn't stopped, the GDP will continue to head lower. We may well be at the 150% mark by then.

Yes Jackwagon Obama has been an outstanding Marxist president.

We have now run out of other people's money.

Happy Ramadan You Eff'n Commie

[presently no screen name]

Exactly. Laughing his *ss off while giving the finger to the USA and partying. His intent all along is in full swing - Jeremiah Wright’s ‘God damn America’ in action.

[freedumb2003]

>>some will be forever indebted to Obama..

most will be in debt forever due to Obama..<<

If mine wasn’t in use, I would turn that into a tagline!

[worriedinoregon]

Now what we need here, folks, is another White House Hip Hop Bar-Be-Que-—yessirree, take off those shoes of yours and let’s go boogie in the rose garden.

[oldbrowser]

Obama will go down in history as the most reviled president ever. It will be a black eye for Democrats, Harvard, blacks, affirmative action, unions, in short, anything and everything that was ever associated with this mediocre charlatan.

[Cheetahcat]

I will never forgive, The Human Crap that Voted for this Bastard EVER!

[SaveTheChief]

Actually, I hesitate to believe that this is, by Obama's standards, a failed presidency. He did promise a "fundamental transformation of the United States of America," after all.

We all knew his vision for the nation included creating a higher dependence on government while managing a decline of America's power. It's time to stop pretending that this mess is unintended.

[Chgogal]

Obama inherited a AAA rating, Axelrod. Your guy screwed the pooch with his/your crappy spending. You purposely grew the public sector instead of the private sector. Obama/you have spent $5 Trillion and we don't even have a new bridge to show for it.

When Clinton left office, the debt to GDP ratio was 57%. When Bush left office (eight years later), the ratio was 69%. After 2.5 years of the Obama-Axelrod/Mugabe Rule the ratio is 97%.

The Senate has not had a budget for more than 800+ days. Obama, after being warned by the rating agencies proposed such an irresponsible budget that it was voted down by the Reid Senate by 97-0.

Obama’s best buddies, Pelosie and Reid have had control of the House and Senate from January 1 2007. He and his fellow Democrats have been in control of the purse for 4+ years now.

The Repubs have had the House for just 7 months now. They have passed the Ryan bill which Obama attacked ferociously. The House passed the CC&B bill that was tabled by the Senate and was declared DOA by Obama. How is this fiscal mess the Republicans’ fault?

OBAMA/Axelrod = EPIC FAIL

[Verginius Rufus]

When the author talks about the 2008 election, I think he must mean the 2010 election (when Obama was already in office and able to offer bribes to people not to run in a primary race).

[Flycatcher]

...that was ever associated with this mediocre charlatan.

Mediocre?!

He's a first-rate AAA-rated charlatan!

Er, make that AA+-rated charlatan.

[OKIEDOC]

That is what happens when many on the right were snookered by the maim stream press and stayed home, not supporting anyone besides Obama for president. I remember reading comments on this forum by those who were adamant that America should be punished because their PERFECT candidate did not get the nomination for president. Well you folks know who you are and yes now all of us no matter how innocent are being punished because of the lack of support for our candidates. Tonight on Fox, the two tea Party leaders said that instead of punishing those who voted for the house bill for compromise THEY should not be punished for doing so as they had no other alternative. Stay home this next election or give no support to the party candidate because he or she is a dog and we are surely to lose our America forever.

[RobinOfKingston]

And yet, he’s going to be defeated in a landslide, go out waving to his adoring fans, and retire a millionaire to a life of golf, books, and speechifying. What a country!

Let's hope.

[Steely Tom]

And yet, he’s going to be defeated in a landslide, go out waving to his adoring fans, and retire a millionaire to a life of golf, books, and speechifying. What a country!

Can't wait to see who he pardons on his last night in the WH.

[Baynative]

"...when faced with the greatest economic crisis, the greatest levels of economic inequality, and the greatest levels of corporate influence on politics since the Depression, Barack Obama stared into the eyes of history and chose to avert his gaze. Instead of indicting the people whose recklessness wrecked the economy, he put them in charge of it." - Drew Westen, New York Times

[Deagle]

Unfortunately, most people take this question non-serious. The problem is that this President has taken us way beyond problematic to whoa, what the heck. He has the wrong upbringing, wrong attitude, wrong ideas, and will continue to destroy the American Spirit.

The only way to stop this is 2012 and it must include both the Senate and the Presidency. Without this total control, I doubt that much of anything can be done...

Long live our minimal freedoms, such as they are...