So Timmy is talking about foreign policy and has traveled...??? He has talked to what foreign leaders???? But he sure is good giving GOP/TP talking points. The poor man is clueless and needs to go home, whereever that is. Time to wake up Tim...you're almost home.

Easy, Ron- I hear he can see Canada from his house. And you know, Cananda is a foreign country. I dunno- I think the guy is all about foreign policy and what not.

This is just more BS from Pawlenty. What Democratic president has been any different on national security than any Republican? If anything, President Obama has been a bit Hawkish. The only difference is who starts and who finishes what (Republican presidents started Vietnam and Iraq wars), while it was President Obama who got bin Laden.

As for Israel, they are our allies and should be valued as such. However, fundamentalists like Pawlenty (and most of the current GOP presidential field) see Israel from the perspective of the End Times, which takes this relationship to a crazy, dangerous level. None of them should be anywhere near "the button" or even Sunday-morning quarterbacks.

Interesting AM.

Let's apply to Obama. TImid?? No way - he's a war mongering cowboy. GOt Bin Laden, but Libya is illegal as per his own DOJ and others.

Now, the real issue is his "slowness" as you put it. Dealing with the ever exploding deficit crisis. Appointed debt commission, but ignored it. Put out a budget, but it was a joke. Sent in Sheriff Joe, but that didn't pan out.

Met with Reid and Mitch, but already 3 years in. WHat has he een doing all this time?

So AM, you are pretty open minded about O - is he with a clear understanding? On War and what it is good for? On debt, taxes, energy, immigration?

On what AM?

spanky

listen, even if Obama had appointed a debt panel, he does not make laws. the power is with the GOP controlled house to get the necessary vote. you should be asking your teapublicants congress what the delays are.

Anna (and some others) sorry I was called away and lost track of the conversation on F.T. about five minutes after I put it up. Thanks for taking up the call

Pius, brother that GOP House passed a budget. Has the den controlled Senate? No.

So how on god's green earth can you talk about deficit reduction if the is not budget?

Explain how that works, cause man I just don't understand. What gets reduced and by how much if there is no baseline.

This my friend is insanity. Pelosi knew it when she played her little reindeer games ["we don't need a budget"] and Reid knows it now.

And of course let's not forget Obama's budget. Not even worth the toilet paper it was written on. But you do got to hand it to him - bipartisan bitch slap.

I don't get Pawlenty's position, except to attack President Obama.

President Obama is too slow? Too slow to help Libya or too slow to draw down troops in Afghanistan?

President Obama is too timid? Too timid to invade Libya or too timid to tell Karzai we're leaving?

President Obama doesn't have a clear understanding of our interests? Which means...? It's in our interests to attack Libya, or to not attack Libya? In our interests to make sure Afghanistan doesn't revert to the Taliban, or we just couldn't care?

pius - there was no "IF" about obama forming a debt commission. And there was no "IF" in their publishing their findings. The only "IF" appears to be on whether obama wants to be POTUS or continue to spend his time on campaign trips while rome burns.

yep, it's Obama this Obama that but his two and half years in power have bested the entire 8yrs of w.bush. seven months and counting, what have this clueless republicants house done.......nothing. republicants aim is to derail the economy momentum garnered while offering nothing. same old make the rich richer while asking the middle class to tighten the belt meaning austerity measures.

For those who have short-term memories, or worse try to re-write history (Spanky), here is a summary of what has transpired prior to and in the first two years under President Obama and the Dems:

"[Bush] presided over two terms of laissez-faire supply-side policies that yielded the weakest expansion in recent U.S. economic history, marked by tepid job growth, weak private investment, stagnant family incomes, and a host of other ills that mounting housing and financial bubbles helped partially obscure.

…since the changing of the guard in Washington in January 2009, conservatives in Congress have done everything they can to obstruct efforts to fix the economic mess left at the end of the Bush era.

It started with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act [stimulus], which conservative senators fought in general and then worked to weaken by stripping out more effective job-creating provisions in favor of less effective conservative priorities.

The House passed a sweeping financial reform bill on December 11, 2009; not one Republican voted for the bill. Senate conservatives' filibustered the bill in efforts to weaken reform, ultimately delaying a vote until May 20, 2010, more than five months after the House.

In May, the Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010 was introduced. Conservatives blocked the bill throughout the summer. All 41 Republicans voted to continue the filibuster in July, leaving the bill for after the August recess and forcing small businesses to go weeks more with the uncertainty over their financial futures.

One of the most troubling examples of conservative obstruction to economic recovery is their actions on unemployment insurance. Unemployment insurance is both good social policy and among the most sound, best countercyclical economic policies.

Conservatives then repeatedly filibustered attempts to reinstate the benefits, demanding that unemployment benefit extensions be paid for with commensurate budget cuts, and that the deficit-busting $830 billion Bush tax cuts for the richest two percent of Americans be extended but not paid for.

Republicans…unveiled a "Pledge to America," detailing their "new governing agenda." CAP analysis shows that putting the plan's proposals into place would cause the federal budget deficit and debt to grow much faster than they would under President Obama's budget. The deficit would be $200 billion larger in 2020 under "Pledge to America," and $1.5 trillion larger by 2030, while the federal debt would rise above 93 percent of GDP with interest payments surpassing $1 trillion a year.

The bottom line is that the pledge merely recycles the same failed Bush policies that caused the six years of jobless economic growth followed by the Great Recession and today's current malaise in the broader economy accompanied by lots of federal red ink—a relentless focus on tax cuts for the richest Americans."

Since 2010, the House has been controlled by Republicans with the largest majority in recent history. The GOP/TP has offered only one 10-page jobs bill mostly filled with graphics and large-font type, and have proposed NOTHING else to stimulate the economy to date.

The Debt Commission was created by President Obama to provide information for consideration. That's all commissions are for. The POTUS is the "Decider" (but unlike Bush who ignored facts and went with his gut, President Obama did include advice from the commission in his budget proposal). FOX didn't report on it, while real news agencies provided detailed comparisons between the president's proposal and Paul Ryan's lobbyist chicken crap. Of course when the 'Party of No' controls the House where legislation is initiated, or through which must be passed if the Senate sends a bill over, good luck with that.

To the conservatives, especially those who swoop and poop, you've been warned before. You may have your own opinions (no matter how misguided), but you cannot have your own facts.

Spanky the republicans in the senate also ran for the hills after they seen the results of the Ryan plan and NY 26, They dropped that budget like a rock. McConnell is not pushing that budget or trying to put Reid on the spot, he even let some republicans vote against it to save their butts with the districts they represent.

Here's supposedly a MAN who can't confront a renowned flip flopper Mitt face to face jabbing OBL conqueror. seriously, have you checked all the polls lately? Tim boy is either coming last or second from the bottom. Tim boy, go get a life.

He certainly is Puis, but them polls are not exactly Obama's friend.

Especially the right track/wrong track poll.

Malaise. Really is starting to smell like 1979 again. Now if I could just start getting 20% interest on my dough again.

xx

I love how Republicans said President Obama was "dithering" before he authorized air support to attack Libya, then they accused him of rushing in without authorization from Congress!

Yeah, our, dithering, timid, weak, slow President didn't waste much time killing bin Laden did he?

Amy - yep, obama took a strong stand, authorized the launching of about 150 tomahawk missles and then told NATO that they were to take point. At least obama fiqured out what happens to point men.

Yepper, obama the CinC who leads from behind or at least from a position of silence.

Timid, when? Slow, when? Without a clear understanding of interests, who's, and when?

A knee-jerk reaction like rushing into Iraq with a unilateral and preemptive strike compared to a multi-lateral, UN-sanctioned, Americans removed from harm first, NATO lead limited involvement in Libya may be "timid" to you but it's smart and responsible to Americans with any good sense.

Slow? You mean like responding to Katrina?

A clear understanding of interests, in other words not yours--that's the problem right? Destroying women's rights, destroying the rights of labor, destroying the social contract by ending entitlements, becoming a fascist theocratic plutocracy, you mean like that?

Steeler Fan - Aw c'mon now - you know the repubs pay for foreign invlolvements in 1 of 2 ways

1 - Cut taxes for those that don't need tax cuts and cut services for those that need services....

2 - Or just keep it off the books!

yes! The Republican solution to everything "tax cut."

Amy,

LOL, Get a clue, you have been listening to Dem Talking points too long. Look at your history. In the past, wether a Dem or Rep President was in office, Tax cuts have helped the economy. You can't blame the housing bubble on tax cuts. That was mostly a Democratic scheme that was put into place by the Clinton Admin. Tax cuts are probably the only thing that is helping to keep the economy going. Its not the Obama Stimulus which failed miserably as he stole tax money to give to his special interest and his supporters. Disgusting!!! He as already wasted more money than any other president in history.

There you go again amy, trying to fool us all with lefty misdirection.

I believe the proper phrase is "spending cuts"

x

Realhope

tax cuts does not grow economy. it is a conservative gimmick to enrich their cronies period.

Pius,

That's what the corrupt, power hungry Lefties spread in there talking points, but history has shown that they are spreading lies for political gain. It really is disgusting how sleazy the Democratic party has gotten. They don't seem to care if they put us in a Obama Depression. Their urge for power and control and anti freedom is more important to them.

Realhope

in a simple language, what does "TAX CUT" mean?

Oh that's mighty easy - so easy a libbie like you can and will understand Pius.

A tax cut is when the government lets me keep a little more of the money I earned. A tax cut is when the government confiscates a little less of the money I worked hard for all year.

That simple enough for you my man? Back away from my cash. Fund the steaming pile of inefficient waste your own damn self. I already pay plenty, thank you for asking.

WTF?

The housing bubble (during the Bush/Cheney administration) was a Democratic scheme under Clinton? True, the Republican congresss during Clinton was responsible for the Glass-Steagall Act, but the housing bust was caused by Wall Street and toxic mortgage securities. Fannie and Freddie, which President Obama has proposed to phase out, were only "followers."

But this takes the cake -- Tax cuts are all that helps the economy, and the "stimulus," which was mostly tax cuts (albeit for the middle class) failed. Realhope, go study some history before you come back. Thanks.

As for you Spanky, you're probably on some kind of government hand-out, maybe a student loan, supported by your parents, or something because you have nothing better to do all day but to waste everyone's time.

I've provided links to credible sources on tax cuts and how tax cuts do NOT create jobs, do NOT pay for themselves, and do NOT stimulate the economy. Please do your own homework before posting misinfomation in a public forum.

True Patriot

We tried tax increases in California and it didn't work.

Da Noid,

Probably because most people would not trust Obama to watch their pet much less run a war. We put a person with hardly any work background in office. Now we are suffering because of it. I know libs on here will defend him no matter how stupid they look, but eventually the will have to admit they made a mistake and move on.

Thank you for not answering my question...you have missed the point entirely.

The Constitution puts the President in charge of the military. Yet, starting with W, it now appears to be en vogue among Republicans for the CIC to defer all military decisions to the military (I thought he was "The Decider"). Why? Do they want the Constitution rewritten so the President is no longer CIC?

Da Noid,

LOL, I understood your point. You are actually right. It is the presidents decision to make. I think What they are trying to say is that a good President (not overly arrogant like Obama) would consult the generals before making a decision. But ultimately it the presidents decision.