Posted on 03/16/2011 7:38:44 PM PDT by Hojczyk
The combination of high oil and gasoline prices, rising food costs, higher health insurance premiums and the likelihood of future inflation has jarred consumer confidence, creating a major crisis for the Obama administration.
The collapse has been sudden and dramatic.
In December, the consumer confidence scale in the Rasmussen Poll stood at 81.7 percent. But in January, euphoria set in. Obama compromised on the George W. Bush tax cuts, the nation seemed to be coming together after the Giffords shooting and a Republican House sat poised to stop any new spending or social experimentation. On Jan. 11, the Rasmussen confidence index rose to 88.3.
Then reality dawned. Unemployment remained persistently high, economic growth was largely stagnant and partisan bickering resumed. The confidence level on Feb. 11 dropped to 84.5.
Then the bottom fell out. The daily Rasmussen polling reflected a drop day after day until, by March 11, the index had fallen to 73.1, its lowest level since it registered a 69 in July of 2009, in the depths of the recession.
The false dawn of January has faded and the hard, cold reality of a likely second recession is setting in. But this recession is accompanied by the likelihood of inflation, a stagflation syndrome that will probably grip America for years. And which will likely take a manmade recession, on the order of 1979-82, to counter it.
Will Obama get reelected? No way! In the teeth of the economic catastrophe that is shaping up, his chances are doomed.
The tsunami in Japan, perhaps the greatest tragedy since 9/11, will further impede any prospect for economic growth. There will be a demand for spending to repair the devastation of the quake. But Japan is tied with China as the world's second largest economy, generating 12 percent of the global GDP. With Japan neither producing nor buying for the foreseeable future, the drag on the global economy will be profound.
Worse, the Fed and the administration are out of tools to help. Interest rates are already at zero. Fiscal stimulus -- the deficit -- already consumes 40 percent of our total government outlays. The Fed is printing money at a ferocious rate under its qualitative easing (QE-2) program. What is left to do?
Only dramatic cuts in the federal deficit, a rollback of regulations that cripple small and community banks, a cancellation of future tax increase plans, a big reduction in federal spending, repeal of ObamaCare, freeing manufacturing from the prospect of carbon taxation and unleashing our domestic energy potential can solve our problems. But Obama is not about to undo his legacy of disaster for the American people.
And then there is the longer-term oil and gasoline crisis. Instability in the Middle East is going to mount, not recede. The chances of disruption in Saudi oil supplies and the possibility of an overthrow of the regime (triggered by the best efforts of Iran) will continue to force prices upward. The drag on the economy and the rising consumer discontent in the United States spell further problems for the Obama presidency.
As the Rev. Jeremiah Wright said -- outrageously and wrongly -- about 9/11, "the chickens are coming home to roost." The policies of this administration -- the disastrous overspending, the irresponsible borrowing, the social experimentation -- all are magnifying and amplifying the impact of the recession. Relief is not going to come anytime soon.
Instead, the true legacy of the Obama years is likely to be stagflation and an entire decade wiped out by his policies, budget and programs. Long after he is gone in 2013, we will still be repairing the damage of his terrible decisions.
No one wants the Muslim Marxist to lose more than I do, but Nov 2012 is a long way away. The left wing media will do everything it can to help Hussein. We also need a credible candidate. I haven’t seen one yet.
With Boehner and McConnell in leadership positions and Cornyn as Chair of the Senate Campaign Committee, or whatever, and who has been endorsing every RINO he can find as a candidate, why on earth would you say something like that? : (
You mean union idiots?
The way the Whiglican Leadership is acting he might.
Oh crap...Dick Morris saying this means Obama is a sure thing in 2012.
I hope you are right..but I have a feeling she will not run...but she is smart like a fox..I think she will see how the second team does.. and will get in late...hell I would settle for head of Energy dept...or EPA...
I worry about it. Unless American Fre Enterprise is let out of the Jail it may be over. We are boxed in by the Federal Agencies.
If Obama was smart, he would go along with the Tea Party Republicans, slash spending and get America’s fiscal house in order, and restore confidence in the economy. He’d win the election. But since he’s a committed statist, that’s not about to happen.
That and the Democrat controlled Senate and the liberal controlled House and the iffy SCOTUS.
Obama is appearing more and more detached. When challenged (which is infrequent and usually mild), he still flashes exasperation and anger. I just wonder how he’s going to hold up in what promises to be a ferocious campaign cycle.
He is vulnerable to attack on so many fronts. Does he have the drive to fight back and maintain grace under fire?
The unions will be fired up to support him - but they would anyhow so nothing new.
What WILL be new at the presidential level is the Tea Party influence. The Tea Party made a huge difference last Nov. Will they stay revved up?
Independents abandoned Democrats in droves last Nov. Will the new class of Republicans keep them on board, or will they become disillusioned and go back to Obama?
Lots of questions. Wish I were as confident as Morris.
I love Moose Drool beer. I drank so much of it in Whitish I got cut off for calling it MOUSE Drool.
the nation seemed to be coming together after the Giffords shooting
This is the second article I have read today that mentions the nation coming together after the Giffords shooting....Did I miss something?
Quoting Rush “It’ll be time to go Egypt on Obama”.
I agree with Dick Morris on this one. The writing is on the wall for Obama. I think it is silly to say that this article is going to jinx anything. A lot of work is going to need to be done, but Zero has blown it big time. We need to have a positive attitude. All this negativity sounds like my whiny little nieces... sort of pathetic really.
My question is ...can he even get on the ballot?
People ought to be making a STINK about this — DEMAND that we see the BC. I know it seems a waste of time ..but honestly, how the he** can he qualify??
Maybe he knows he’s toast, and that’s why he’s so disengaged.
We ought to be implementing anti-cheating election measures NOW.
I am not trying to be super critical of them now because these political fights can be tricky; but in 2009 I was ruffling a few feathers here ripping congressional Republicans for keeping those two losers in charge. They pushed TARP for Bush, an act of cowardliness. What can we expect now? In 1993 the loser RINO congressional leadership was thrown out, should have been done in 2009.
The 8th District surrounds Tucson to the north, south, and east (Tucson is in the 7th District) and covers the south-east corner of AZ.
What Google says about Rep. Giffords: Representative Gabrielle Giffords (D-Az) took Afghan Commander, General David Petraeus, to task for what she characterized as “willful disregard of the environmental impact of our war effort.” “There is no policy, no plan to minimize carbon emissions in our military activities,” Giffords charged. “Bombs are dropped and bullets are fired without considering the environmental impact.” Giffords insisted that she was “not demanding an immediate halt to current military operations in the Middle East. I’m just saying that battle plans should include an environmental impact assessment as a regular part of the process before attacks are launched.”
She also suggested that the Army “put more emphasis on less environmentally damaging methods, like stabbing or clubbing enemy forces in order to minimize the carbon output.”
Sheeple not much affected by Osambo, having jobs, regular raises, some higher expenses for food and gas will vote for him, because the Publicans are by definition straight out of the fairy tales, the bad guys and for the badder guys, ya know, the “rich” the “corporations”. 45% of voters in my estimate.
Republicans might. The Tea Party will not.
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