Well that's one down. About a dozen or so left to go.

Tim Pawlenty was a potential Presidential nominee only in his own mind. He couldn't stand up to Romney, but was able to do some women bashing by attacking Michele Bachman. He is not a man of parts (as Shakespeare would say.)

I expect others to go relatively soon. Rick Santorum, Herman Cain, and Newt Gingrich will soon be gone.

None of the remaining players; Bachman, Paul, Romney, Perry and Huntsman can compete with President Obama. Now it's time to watch the the remaining pretenders cater to the Tea Party. What a mistake!

One mildly wing-nut governor down, one really really wing-nut governor to go.

Let's get serious here for a change. The winner, if it is a man, will be the first one to stop using the Windsor Knot or the Half-Windsor Knot for his tie. It will be the first to use the more American Four-in-Hand Knot.

Who in the hell was the Duke of Windsor anyway?

T-Paw quits? Shocker! Guess it's gonna be harder to get rid of the Muslim/Kenyan than first thought. More to follow.

So Tim wasn't invited to the T. Pawty, but Michelle is welcome to the table for the Tea Party.....she must have mastered squeezin' those tea bags correctly.....or they need a replacement for the Red Queen, since Sista Sarah hasn't joined up, (yet), in this seasons version of "A Lass In Wonderland".....believe me this will get curiouser and curiouser before it is over.....maybe T.P. will be the V.P. running mate.....just wait until somebody eats the little cake, just ask Lewis Carroll for the recipe! Here is a brief of Chapter 3 of the book:

Chapter 3 – The Caucus Race and a Long Tale: The sea of tears becomes crowded with other animals and birds that have been swept away. Alice and the other animals convene on the bank and the question among them is how to get dry again. The mouse gives them a very dry lecture on William the Conqueror. A Dodo decides that the best thing to dry them off would be a Caucus-Race, which consists of everyone running in a circle with no clear winner.

Like I said, curiouser and curiouser......now where is that giant Caterpillar smokin' that Hookah?

Well, the first eight statements on here are some of the most immature, inane, idiotic statements one could read. Primaries are like the playoffs in any sport -- there are winners and losers -- and when you lose you bow out. Remember the democrat primaries in 2007 that lead to the downgrade, failed prez being elected? I do and painfully each day.

Well, the first eight statements on here are some of the most immature, inane, idiotic statements one could read. Primaries are like the playoffs in any sport -- there are winners and losers -- and when you lose you bow out. Remember the democrat primaries in 2007 that lead to the downgrade, failed prez being elected? I do and painfully each day.

He's better than anyone your party is fielding at the moment.

Another blind kool-aid drinking, leftist socialist response to my remarks. Rick Perry will ultimately be the nominee -- in my opinion -- but anyone on the ticket could beat this failure as a president. Perry will mount a coalition of social conservatives, tea party, religious right and mainstream Republicans as well as disillusioned Hillary backers and Independents to present this downgrade, failed prez with a tongue-lashing swearing out ceremony in 2012. Progressives fear Perry and will try to demonize him and pooh pooh his accomplishments but you have been calling for jobs, jobs, jobs so you will get the most prolific job creator in this hard economic times.

Another blind kool-aid drinking, leftist socialist response to my remarks. Rick Perry will ultimately be the nominee -- in my opinion -- but anyone on the ticket could beat this failure as a president. Perry will mount a coalition of social conservatives, tea party, religious right and mainstream Republicans as well as disillusioned Hillary backers and Independents to present this downgrade, failed prez with a tongue-lashing swearing out ceremony in 2012. Progressives fear Perry and will try to demonize him and pooh pooh his accomplishments but you have been calling for jobs, jobs, jobs so you will get the most prolific job creator in this hard economic times.

You want to talk about blind and kool-aid drinking while talking about Rick Perry being a sane choice for any voter? What planet do you live on? It isn't Earth. Not even Texans like Eff-Perry.

The man spent hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars on a lavish rental while his governor's mansion underwent thousands, if not millions, of taxpayer dollars in renovations.

He cut thousands of non-union teacher jobs and slashed education in his state.

He outsourced a very important bid for a turnpike bypassing Austin to a Spanish company, to which the state of Texas will see very little profit from now, because of some shady backroom deals that benefited him and his buddies.

Scandal after scandal of this guy being involved in shady deals to his buddies.

You are a complete buffoon if you think any sane person would vote for Eff-Perry once they see him for who he is in the national spotlight, and he sure as hell won't get any disillusioned Hillary backers or independents. The only thing he can count on is uninformed individuals like yourself who have no idea of how bad he's screwed Texas because you'll believe anything that is spoon-fed into your mouth by God knows what fork-tongued source.

A vote for Eff-Perry is a vote for Satan himself.

Well come on now, to be fair, Romney is just as qualified as Obama to be President:

Both of them are clean, articulate and well spoken

Both of them look great in their custom-tailored suits

Both of them have weird religious affiliations (although IMO Reverend Wright is weirder than Joseph Smith)

Both of them promoted ineffectual health care plans

As I see it, Romney's only problem is that he is too white to win.

Not sure how you figure Perry, a guy who has turned Texas into the North American China can win anything. His "economic accomplishments" consist of lowering the standard of living in Texas with a bunch of minimum wage jobs, exploiting immigrant labor, cutting education so much that the average Texan can no longer receive a quality education, and on and on. He basically sold his state out to China. More Chinese companies have their North American headquarters located in Texas than any other state. No thanks! Perry is the Wong choice.

You are the buffoon.

Ooo, good one, "I know you are but what am I!" *rolls eyes*

Governor's mansions need upgrades just like everyone's homes and it happens in blue and red states.

Do governors also need to live in a rental mansion that costs $10,000 a month of taxpayer dollars?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/17/rick-perry-rental-mansion_n_578311.html

You are laughable and your logic is failed just like the downgrade and failed prez is now.

The only thing funny here is your inability to see reality and the fact that you're screwing this country over for generations to come with your lunacy.

I don't care if you field a candidate that actually wants to change this country in some way, be it conservative or liberal. But EFF-PERRY is NOT that candidate. He is a corrupt phoney and will do nothing in the White House other than seek ways for self-gain for himself and his buddies.

i think he just wanted to go to the iowa state fair for fried ice cream

Another one bites the dust.

Perry/Bachmann in 2012. WOW!

The Mayans were right!! The end of the world as we know it.

He is mostly exploiting Americans, the illegals are leaving, they have a choice, when the illegalss are quiting that is how you know your job really sucks. Mexicans who live close to the border and can afford it send their kids to private Catholic schools in Mexico to avoid the Texas public education. I made $11.80 an hour as a union grocery clerk in the Midwest in 1980, the median wage in Texas today is $11.20 an hour. Keep in mind you are supposed to live on that, pay your health insurance, and provide for your retirement, and pay a higher rate of taxes than the corporations that benefit from these republican policies in Texas. Texas has some jobs, because nobody is willing to give more and ask for less than Texas, not yet anyway.

Well, the first candidate that steps up with bold plans that include: clean tax reform, clean bills, clean initiatives with review, creates a health care plan that looks at best practices worldwide, doesn't legislate morality but instead stands as an example, intelligently streamlines regulation with the caveat "no harm" to person nor land, fair wages, and safety above all else and fair trade.....well they will get my vote. After all of those things are implemented then we can look to how we can help those still struggling to stand. My guess is that it would be far fewer than we have had in the last 10 years. Demand your legislators quit muddying the waters.....we need clarity.

Looks like you'll be staying home LOL.

A girl can always dream......

Ben half the people in Texas make less than I made over 30 years ago, you know Ben when I got that job I went and bought a brand new Olds Cutlass it had a sticker price of $7,200 any of those foriegn cars have a 30 year old sticker price to go with those 30 year old wages.

uh... Dick - it was "DOPEY" who quit - the other dwarfs will follow soon enough (the question is whether snow whitey will lead or follow them).

It should be an honor to lose the straw pole in Iowa. The poll usually ends up with the biggest looney at the top. No exception this time around. Why Iowa should have such an influence is strange. Iowa's relatively low population and lack of influence in national and international matters makes it a strange choice for determining a candidates future. Same goes for those other "famous" state election polls. These polls, primaries do not come close to reflecting the will of the American people. History has proven that.

BEN -- I take back my dream comment and instead ask you why can't these things be done? Is anything I listed unreasonable?

@Forrest -- I am making less than I did 30 years ago. This is the sign of the times we are living in. You adjust, adapt and quit spending. The facts are that it is a heavily illegal alien populated state but jobs are being created in Texas and the unemployment rate is lower than the nation's. Take the illegals out of the equation and where does the median wage go to??? The median of $13 and change of the nation??? I bet that too is less than we made 30 years ago as well.

@Don't -- not unreasonable but improbable. It's good to dream though.

Recent elections are proven that.

We are old Ben we live on the accumlated wealth and benefit of a better 30+ working years. What about young people, how can they start and properly raise a family, we owe them more than this. You seem to accept it as the way it needs to be, I can't, I can't get comfortable with telling young people they will pay for our mistakes, shame on us, we can do better than this.

forrest - We established the standards and we expanded the standards in such a way as to make it inevitable that those standards could not be sustained. Everyone will pay the price. Our only legacy to our youth may very well be to make sure they learn from the errors made by the elders.

Nothing from Ben about Eff-Perry's rental mansion, I see. Or the turnpike, or the shady backroom scandals... Where's your scathing rebuttal on that? el oh el

Purposefully blind as ever, Ben.

Buh bye, Timmy! Former Gov. Milquetoast hit the big wall of Teabagger reality yesterday. Red meat is what that crowd requires and Polenta boy just didn't measure up and never showed a backbone. Hope he has a great time back in Minnesota and enjoys his looming lifetime of obscurity!

Perry/Bachman in 2012, WOW!

Naw, Rustyboy try Perry/Rubio in 2012. Perry has been increasing employment in Texas for the last three years, while Obama has been increasing unemployment in the US; should make for some great presidential debates! And Rubio, well he can deliver the hispanic vote that the Dems have taken for granted for so long.

Dec. 23, 2012 or bust!

Gomer Pyle is going back to obscurity or be a governor of one of the six, mini Texas states. (See below.

Morticia has peaked. She will be going back, to the bat cave after the next election. She can help more gays go straight. She should start with her hubby first! They could get a talk show on FOX and name it "Will and Grace."

Professor Hill needs his "corporation people", to move their building, so it can vote. Only Mitt, has a habit of buying up corporations and selling all the ass-ets, leaving thousands without a jobs! How many votes does a "corporation" get anyway?

Rick Cheney aka, Barney Fife, seems to believe in the theory of "Shoot (your mouth off) and ask questions later!" (He is like his older brother Dick!) He will show his true grit, when he realizes, his style of governing, will come back to haunt him. If he were to become president, his first bump in the road, he will want to break up the United States. Remember he want Texas to secede from the union. Oh, I said that word, Republicans fear the most, U-N-I-O-N! And everyone but Perry knows, Texas cannot secede from the union but, they can break Texas up into six states. That would be a good thing. All of the Tea Party candidates, can have a mini-Texas, to govern!

St. Ron Paul seems to be the sanest one, in the of the posse but he is anemic when it comes to charisma and personality. I think he would be a bigger challenge to President Obama than the other Tweedle Dees and Tweedle Dumbs. St. Paul could have one of the mini-Texas states, too!

Then there is Newt and Sarah. Or, I as I like to call them, Daryl and his other brother Daryl. Both of them just want the cash and the celebrity. They have gotten their ill-gotten gains, from specimens who inter-breed. Their only triumph is, both of them, know a sucker, when they see one. These two are cunning and sly and I realize I have insulted Daryl and his other brother Daryl.

I did not watch any of the Iowa hubris, for I was too busy, counting how many seconds, Americans have left; to be tortured by all of this election hype. Who ever becomes the last Tea Party bag steeping, I hope he/she will ask Jesus to forgive them. for they know not what they have done. (Like he!!)

the only republican running with a brain bigger than a tea bag is Mitt .. to bad he is an Anti Jesus Mormon

Daryl and his other brother Daryl

rofl

I love that joke. That's an Oklahoma staple right there. We usually use it to make fun of Arkansans during college football season, though.

How come the standards have not been lowered in Germany I guarantee you German Auto workers in a BMW plant make way more than the $14.50 or so being paid in the new BMW plant here in the might USA. Plus nobody addressed the fact that nobody charges 30 year old prices to go with Texas 30 year old wages. Why have not the rich curtailed their growth of wealth if the standards were too high, the average CEO makes 14 million a year in salary alone pretty lofty standards that have been maintained and grown enormously over the last 30 years. If the people of Texas should be happy with 30 year old wage rates then the corporations should be happy with a 30 year old tax rate. Is there something I don't know, is gasoline free in Texas?

First Ben, minimum wage jobs are just that, the bare minimum and are not a family livable wage. I'm not going to waste time trying to explain why a guy who sold out his state to China is not a great candidate for President. You've drank the Texas Koolaid. Those Chinese companies are glad to open up, pay minimum wage, and return their profits to China. The fact that you think that is fine says it all. You're lost dude. Head on over to Mexico. That is the type of country that your comments indicate you want to live in. Personally I'd rather establish industries here that pay family livable wages so we can support our families and educate our kids. And as for those illegals that you like to shrill about, they are heading home. Perry not only made Texas unacceptable to most Americans, the illegals don't want to be there either. I don't have an issue with them going home, but the way he drove them out makes your state government a laughing stock. Now, breath, and stow your name calling. It shows the quality of your Texas education.

Remember the Alamo! Oh shoot they all got slaughtered, so I guess we better Remember The Alamo!

Just an observation on the minimum wage issue.....a Country would collapse if the majority were held to "minimum" wages. Businesses would be far and few in between the swaths of "poor"....this path would lead us to "third world status". While there is a place for "minimum" wages it is not wise for it to be used as a "standard". We need fair living wage standards.

Ben -- Businesses can afford it!

Dont-carry:

I think our country IS collapsing. The Tea Bag in breeders want no government. They have no clue as to what they are doing but they want to take us all down with them. Everyone knows these illiterate Tea Bag followers, do not know enough to stay out of hot water. That is why, there are so many of them, with a yellow tooth. Tea stains, you know!

If they can't then go out of business, we went through this slavery thing with the South already, you think I now would like it better just because you include whites.

Now, Fuhrer Rick Perry needs to drop out. When people discover he is going to destroy Social Security by giving it to states who's budgets cannot handle it, they will abandon him like rats from a sinking ship.

(Hum wonder if that sinking ship Fuhrer Perry is on is called USS Texas?)

Take that back:

Our Country is in trouble. The problems lie with the legislators, not any one party. Try to be proactive not reactive. If nothing else you will feel better! : )

"Our only legacy to our youth may very well be to make sure they learn from the errors made by the elders."

American, if you pay attention to history in this country, it looks as though we learn from our errors, and we put laws in place to make sure we don't repeat those errors. Then a generation or so later we forget why we put those laws in place so we repeal them, and then turn right around and repeat the same errors. This is not a country for learning from our mistakes, or learning from other countries' mistakes, either.

Texas has minimum wage jobs for sure as do all states.

Most Texans do understand that for there to be any jobs our businesses must be successful. We do not put up with government over regulation and unions are few. We are the anti-California.

That is why Texas has produced more jobs under Obama than all other states combined. Not that Obama has not tried to slow us down, EPA is trying to kill 280,000 barrels of oil a day for a sand lizard.

I can't wait for a Perry/Bachmann ticket. Perry will pray for money to rain from the sky and Bachmann will spend it on shoes.

Don't carry

I am a widow and just got to retire, after 45 years of nursing. I was told just last Tuesday, I have cancer of the breast. I have had blood tests, mammograms, Micro Breast Imaging, Ultra sounds, a PET scan, and two breast biopsies. Not to mention I have seen a three surgeons, one of them twice, an oncologist, a oncology radiologist, and lastly weeks of terrifying waiting; for tests results to come back. Yesterday, I received a letter from Anthem Blue Cross, an HMO seniors can opt out for, instead of Medicare. Medicare pays for the insurance, plus I pay $55 out-of-pocket. My co-pays for medications range from $220. to $7.00. My total monthly co-pay is about $500.00 to $900.00 a month.

Back to the letter: The following services have been approved for you in accordance with the information noted above:

If the requested services exceed the limits of your member contract, the services would NOT be covered. This may result in a higher deductible, copayment and/or coinsurance."

Republicans want to cut Medicare and Social Security. The monthly co-pay has wipe out my savings. I have no idea how much all these tests and everything mentioned above, will be covered by Anthem.

I am scheduled to have a bilateral (Both sides) mastectomies on Thursday. How many Americans, do you think have gone through this same scenario? While politicians have voted themselves top of the line care, we the mere middle class Americans, have to fend for themselves.

I am scared! Not of death but how am I going to pay for chemo therapy and radiation, if "The requested services exceed the limits of your (my) member contract, the services would not be covered?"

Michelle Bachman and the other wealthy nonworking class, want to decrease any benefits or financial assistance we have because they believe middle class Americans are beneath them. They think helping others is a sin but yet they tout religion, as if God were, their personal property.

I have children, who lost their dad when they were young. They are my best friends. I have grand children who are nine, three and two. I want to see then at the very least, start school. But you and people like you, who continue to promote the lies of the Republicans, you are the ones who will be facing the wrath of God, on judgement day. Why? Because all of you believe helping others is socialism. I have help others all my life. The feeling of knowing I helped others in anyway, is the gift of God, not the fact you may go to heaven. I have had a horrifying month and it sounds like it is going to get worse. I tell you "Don't carry" I am proud to have carried the load for others. It has made me a better person and grateful I could help some one in need. Republicans will never know what a rewarding feeling that is because they actually believe they can take the wealth with them.

I wish you well "Don't," I wish you well.

I am the idiot, I have not worked for 12 bucks an hour in over 30 years. My wage and fringe package is close to 5 times that. I have excellent health insurance which is a big chunk of that package, I was just about to hit the cool one million mark in my retirement fund before the market went south (towards Texas) last week, which represents another big chunk. If I work as a consultant then I'm paid triple that (which is about 1/3 of what the average lawyer charges). I work for brilliant, honest, American businessmen, who hire the best so they can be the low bidder to get the contract, and yet still make and share a reasonable profit. They don't hire illegals, they don't tolerate slackers, they don't have to, because they pay the best and they expect and deserve the best. Someday when I am all done being an idiot maybe I will smarten up and abandon these decent, honest, Christian (if sharing is still Christian), real American industry professionals, to go to work in Texas for 12 bucks and hour and save money on my state income taxes. I will probably just die an idiot TxChristopher, because unless Texas wants to pay me like it is 2011, me and Texas will just have to agree to see which one of us dries up, turns to dust, and blows away first.

If you don't want the government to pay for healthcare and retirement, you don't want the employer to pay for healthcare and retirement, and you don't want wages high enough for individuals to pay for their own healthcare and retirement, then I guess what you are saying is that there will be no healthcare and no retirement in the future for Americans.

http://blog.chron.com/txpotomac/2011/07/ten-reasons-why-the-texas-economy-is-growing-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-rick-perry/

http://swampland.time.com/2011/06/27/the-cracks-in-rick-perrys-job-growth-record/

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/07/opinion/07krugman.html?_r=2

http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/Cameron_Todd_Willingham_Wrongfully_Convicted_and_Executed_in_Texas.php

Just a few articles to educate those of you who think Rick Perry is so wonderful. The man is a fraud, a liar, and quite possibly a murderer (a deliberate action that resulted in an innocent man's death, wouldn't that qualify as murder or, at least man slaughter?). But, then again, from the spelling and grammar used by those defending him, it is no wonder they think he is the best thing to come along since sliced bread.

To my fellow liberal poster who used the term 'far and few between', the correct term is 'few and far between', as in there are few of them and it is very far between them. For the right winger who used the term 'the point is mute', the correct term is 'the point is moot', 'moot' being a term that means that something does not, or no longer has relevance . . . or something like that.

It is a shame for all of us that Tim Pawlenty has left the race. he was by far the best person the repubs had to get elected and pull this nation out of it's mess.

Independents for the repeal of Obama, his health care and economical mess...........

The only real difference between Romney and Obama is that one is white and the other is half white.

Kinda of like one is too white and the other not white enough.

So what do you do caradjt when the best guy the republicans had is out? Do we keep waiting for Superman because that is not going to happen and I will tell you why, there are absolutely no more phone booths!

Thank you, Forrest Grump (you've been my hero in this article) and Matthew (Houstin, TX).

Though, I fear your logic and reasoning will only fall on closed minds. Fools be about.

It just continues to amaze me that F--k-Rick Perry has any traction.

You could live off of 11.50$ an hour in Texas, better than you could live off of 25.00$ an hour in southern California or New York City or Baltimore area with a larger home and more items. Also be nice for those statistics your using to add in unemployment measures to that list giving all the unemployed 0. Making minimum wage and having a job is still more beneficial to the state than having them all unemployed.

Observer,

Perry has traction? That ain't traction. It is something sticky and it doesn't smell good, either.

I am not a Perry fan and I will look into my tea leaves for my next statement: The tea leaves say that we should not worry. That something secret will be revealed, that cows are happier than horses, that Perry's sheep won't turn their backside to him for fear.............

Oh, those tea leaves just go on and on.

Grump:

Perry has traction? That ain't traction. It is something sticky and it doesn't smell good, either.

lol Touche, good sir.

How can you simultaneously defend an $11.20 an hour median wage and not raising or at least collecting some taxes on the millions of dollars in profit generated by that labor. How do you tell Take That Back there is no money for her medicare or SS (a system she paid into her whole working life), but we still have billions in subsidies for Exon. Recent recall elections indicate you can't, by and large Americans are more fair minded than that, they are willing to sacrifice if they believe it is a shared sacrifice, but they are getting tired of the double talk. Republican districts are flipping so that tells you people (mostly independents and republicans I suppose) are deciding that the tea party is not the answer for them.

I think working for the sole benefit of the state but not being able to actually better yourself by your hard work is called Communism, right Nighthawk. We have defeated communists before, Rick Perry willl have a fight on his hands, probably why he talks about seceding all the time he knows how America feels about Communism. Is Texas gonna shack up with China or Cuba when it "outs" itself, HA.

Forrest Grump,

Don't be silly. There are no communists in China. What the Central Communist Party in China fears the most is that the general Chinese public would actually want to be communists. By that I mean that the average man or woman might actually want part of the enormous wealth that the CCP has accumulated based on the labor of those very men and women who are seeing no benefit. Wouldn't that be a hoot?

Oh they are communist working for the state alright, most of them don't realize how badly they are being exploited, that is why they try to censure the Internet and other access to outside information. Do they have the Internet in Texas? All people deserve a fair share of the profit their labor provides, and they know it, what you describe will happen in China someday, it will happen in Texas someday as well.

Take that back: Wow, I think you misunderstood my post to you earlier.

My apologies to you. May you find the strength and courage to get through this crisis. God willing, you will pull through but you must keep up the fight. Children and grandchildren..really the only motivation a mother needs. I will put you in my prayers tonight and would bet many others will as well.

Screen name means to share the burden, so I am glad you shared.

The troubles you are experiencing with insurance are the very reason I advocate for health care reform. (See my earlier post) In it's current form it is nothing more than a quagmire of several different programs (Insurances, Medicaid, Medicare, etc) fractured and covered in layers of bureaucracy. Its awful, I agree. As for SS, I have no answers there. We are at the whims of our legislators. Where I disagree with you is that I believe all sides are complicit in creating the mess we find ourselves in. No party is exempt in my book. I come to these boards trying to comb through the rhetoric and seek to understand all sides of an issue before I form an opinion. I try to treat everyone with dignity. So if in any way I offended you in the post earlier again, I apologize. My mother also shares your fears, so I do understand. I recently purchased a mug and box of band-aids for her that says "keep calm and carry on". A little humor in these trying times. She likes to laugh. The rhetoric will get louder in the coming months so hang in there. Use your strength to get better and come back to fight another day. BTW-- Not sure I belong to any party.

May you find comfort and strength from those closest to you. Take care.

Don't carry it all, who are you addressing?

Matthew -- To be called a liberal by one poster and a conservative by another in the same thread.

I doubt either side likes me I don't fit the criteria each demands. Thanks for the grammar lesson you are correct.

Grump: Addressing the post to TAKE THAT BACK

AKA, I have nothing intelligent to combat your posts, Forrest, so I'll call you names.

I will give you this TxChristopher you are right 12 bucks an hour sucks in any state in the union. Now I will tell you that I have worked hard for 30 years to become a recognized expert at my profession, I use to work night shifts, so I could go to school, I am a patented inventor and have contributed real innovation in my industry, I have often represented labor and management as an industry professional. The only way I could accomplish this over the years is because I made a decent wage, and had the security of knowing that spending some money on school, patents, patent lawyers, and tooling, would not jeopardize my wife and kids ability to see a doctor if needed. I also had a terrific silent partner in my wife who was able to stay at home and raise a bunch of good kids, and see to it that my ass was at work on time (no matter what shift), and I that I did not show up to important meetings in a pair of bib overalls. Having a job would have been easier for her she went day and night sometimes. If you want to call me pompous, arrogant, and ignorant because I think the present, next, and every generation should at least have the same chance I did, so be it, but I don't see what is so arrogant about me thinking you are working for less than you deserve. If the typical American give me a fighting chance and I will work hard and make good attitude is now considered an ignorant way of thinking, then I will have lived and will die ignorant.

AMY, Now I will have the "Music Man" going through my head for an hour or two. Thanks a lot kid.

The correct spelling is: Auf Wiedersehen

so long ...tomorrow.....ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

I forgot this is "The Sound of Music." AUG.........................................

Here, this will get "The Music Man" in your head...

youtu.be/UB0EHp1u-yY

"Alright...I made a touchdown!"

The Music Man was set in Iowa. Seems appropriate with the Bachmann Straw Poll win to instead sing "we've got trouble.....right here in River City, trouble, that starts with T and rhymes with P that stands for pool". Well, not perfect but you get the idea.

LMAO..... Bachman just chewed poor David up! The liberals on this site should be fuming! She defused every question he tossed at her! And some of those questions were not that difficult to answer! Imagine what the real right candidate is going to do!

LMAO..... Bachman just chewed poor David up! The liberals on this site should be fuming! She defused every question he tossed at her! And some of those questions were not that difficult to answer! Imagine what the real right candidate is going to do!

Just wait until they ask her why she's a bigot and then she's toast.

hahahaaaaaaahahahaaaa, agreed.

He did....3 times! She defused them all! As per the Dem. rep on Davids panel she did very well!

Bachman's an idiot. Not as much of an idiot as Palin, but an idiot nonetheless.

He did....3 times! She defused them all! As per the Dem. rep on Davids panel she did very well!

She didn't do crap, unless you're running on half a brain to believe a word out of her mouth. It's all spin from just another idiot politician, but some of you spoon-fed fools will believe anything out of her fork-tongued mouth.

David is just nice enough to let her dig her own grave.

Liberals are deathly afraid of Mid america! With the exception of Chicago!

I live in Oklahoma, and not too long ago Texas, and no one here will vote for Bachman or Perry.

You better come up with a better candidate.

Then again, the idiots did come out in force to vote for a dolt like Mary Fallin. Probably because she was handing out free one-night stands. (No joke.)

They just took two seats in formerly republican districts in WI, WI is middle America isn't it.

Bachmann is speaking at her home town of Waterloo today...

Is she French?

Keep thinking thats enough!

I think everybody here got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.

She is French in the way the "Coneheads" were from France.

"David is just nice enough to let her dig her own grave."

Just watched their interview. David was pointed, but civil, and I liked that he played clips of her remarks before asking some of the questions.

Her replies were glaringly obtuse, yet pointedly misinformed.

Should raise a few eyebrows...

I'm thinking that, instead of a contribution, we should all send her a light bulb.

Liberals are deathly afraid of Mid america! With the exception of Chicago!

But you're a moderate,..... independent,.... right "Jolly"?

Grump:

I think everybody here got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.

Probably. I'm very reluctant to say I despise anyone, but if I were to say it, Rick Eff-Perry and Bachmann would be it.

I would be more than willing to vote for a Republican candidate if they had a good plan and good character, but none of these primary candidates are it, and those two ESPECIALLY are not it.

Well, crap. I just typed out a long comment and hit the wrong button and lost the whole f'ing thing.

Observer, I agree with you about Perry and Bachmann. And I will throw Palin in there, too, as someone with nothing to offer. Where is Barry Goldwater when you need him? I favor the old fashioned politicians - the ones who tell you what they believe rather than follow the polls and change their views along with the polls. These guys make Goldwater look like a progressive.

Poor Pres. Obama seems to be floundering. He figured out how to win the election but he hasn't figured out what to do now that he is president. Not a ready for prime time player, is he?

As I have said elsewhere recently: Perry would have sex with Mother Teresa's rotting corpse if he thought it would get him a vote from the necrophiliac crowd.

I wasn't aiming my comment about getting up on the wrong side of the bed at you. There is just a lot of hatred flying about. I don't hate the candidates or the folks who disagree with me - I just don't support their position and then move on. Not always, but usually.

gee jolly - HOW MANY ELECTORAL VOTES ARE IN MID-AMERICA? How many are in "larger more populous states"? DO THE MATH

Pfft let him try. He'd get scorched in a MN race at this point. His whole schtick that got him elected in the first place was how moderate he was, how he could reach across party lines. It's not like he can un-say all of the things he's said in his desperate dive to the right during this primary. That combined with the BS way he "balanced" the MN budget on his way out will leave him toxic to MN voters.

Agreed, T-Puss is not somebody that many Minnesotans think of positively.

He's like Howdy Doody - a stupid puppet willing to let whoever fills the piggy bank control his strings. As completely psychotic as Bachman is, at least she has some convictions of her own. This guy could never claim that.

And to "balance the budget" he played tricks with funding that were more disruptive than outright reductions would have been.

"So, does he immediately announce his candidacy for U.S. Senate and challenge for the seat held by Amy Klobuchar or does he sit back for a couple of years and go for the seat held by Al Franken?"

Or does he try for Rick Santorum's job at FOX before Santorum quits too and wants it back?

"He's like Howdy Doody - a stupid puppet willing to let whoever fills the piggy bank control his strings."

Chouse has just described the entire Republican party.

T-Paw.. needs a job and since you dont need a brain to be in politics .. he will probably run for some lesser office than Prez .. he will then declare himself as the only true idiot running for office

Da Noid, Pawlenty will get a nice job as a lobbyist with a law firm or a Republican special interest group. Similar to

Norm Coleman. His wife was a district court judge.with two income lawyers in the family, they will have enough to send their children to college. Their children are now in their teen years.

No he won't run against Senator Amy Klobuchar. She had a 62% approval rating in the last MN poll.Senator Al Franken is following the footsteps of Paul Wellstone. When you get to the Senate you don't make a show, learn the ropes, and be there for Mn's constituents

So what bobby, most statutory rapists serve zero time.

imnotlost--the man then went on to rape the daughter he had with the child/woman he had raped but married. That's what.

ahaahahahahaaaaaaa, it's mildly gratifying watching someone get slapped like that.

OK Jody: Guess I deserved that. But the fact remains, most never get reported and many of those are plea bargained to a lesser offense. The BIG question, why did he even have access to to the daughter while registered? In my state he would be living seperate, would not have a visit without the other parent or law enforcement in sight at all times and even if he married the mother it would be a two house wedding. Blame the legislature for this one, as much as the governor. Also, some criminals, with the help of a lawyer can sell freezers in the arctic circle.

@Jody -- Read the facts from the HP: The board didn't know.

Pawlenty was part of a three-person board that pardoned Jeremy Giefer. Giefer was 19 when he was charged in 1993 with having sex with his 14-year-old girlfriend, whom he later married. He was sentenced to 45 days in jail; he had served his time and was free when the pardon was granted. Giefer is now charged with sexually abusing another girl more than 250 times both before and after he was pardoned in 2008.

The other members of the state pardons board were Attorney General Lori Swanson, a Democrat, and Eric Magnuson, who was then chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. Pawlenty spokesman Bruce Gordon noted the vote was unanimous but also said the board would not have pardoned Giefer if it had known about the new allegations.

"The governor has consistently opposed pardons for sex offenders and believes sex offenses are heinous," Gordon said. "However, the board made an exception in this case and voted unanimously to pardon this 1994 conviction because it involved sexual conduct between two people who became husband and wife, maintained a long-term marriage, had a family together, and because the defendant completed his sentence many years before seeking the pardon which his wife and others supported."

"Gordon noted the vote was unanimous but also said the board would not have pardoned Giefer if it had known about the new allegations."

You'd think they would give the person a lie detector test before pardoning.

Bush did not just sit around like a lazy bum on vacation he had brush to clear, soon as he left the Whitehouse and stopped clearing brush in Texas the whole place damn near went up in blazes. He was a better brush clearer than president, he might have been good enough to make $11.20 an hour in Texas.

12 bucks an hour aint worth a damn tex, not in any state, unless there are some hefty benes to go with it, like a decent health plan and a real retirement plan not a matching 401K. If you got those, 12 bucks an hour works, otherwise it is too low no matter where you live and way too low for some places.

Forrest, you are so right

No Jo,

Reading between the lines, I can sum up your position in one sentence. You don't like Obama because he's black. Every president does good and bad things, but I suspect you are nothing but a racist and too little of a man to come out and admit your bigotry.

Kindly list all the economic and foreign policy successes of The Obama administration.

Please keep in mind that unemployment is almost two (reported) points higher than when he took office- but the labor force participation rate is significantly lower- to 1983 levels, in fact. Were the labor force participation rate where it was when he took office, unemployment would be close to 13%.

Please keep in mind that faith in the GDP numbers reported out by the Commerce Department is nil- because the revisions have been historic- unprecedented, even.

As to foreign policy- please keep in mind that he invaded Libya, took off for Rio, told us we would be there "days, not weeks", and now, months later, we are still involved in an illegals"kinetic military action" with no goal, no exit strategy, and no congressional authorization.

Please explain why, when he was warned in January of 2010 that war and weather had combined to bring about food shortages in North Africa and the Middle East, he did nothing to use the Agriculture Department to increase production of wheat and corn to ameliorate those conditions?

Kindly explain the "success" of his policy of "engagement" with Iran- and, if it was so successful, why they are "days, not weeks" away from having a nuclear bomb?

Why it was more important to push cap and trade through the back door of the EPA on Christmas Eve than to focus on job creation?

Why it was more important to ram HCR down the throats of an unwilling electorate than tom focus on job creation?

Why it was so important to give billions to his supporters than to rein in spending?

Why, after Geithner stated, categorically, on more than one occasion, that lure credit rating would never be dropped, Geithner has not joined the ranks of the unemployed?

I doubt that you can answer any of these questions rationally. You support Obama because he is Obama.

Making you as callow as he.

"Callow"...must be the talking point du jour.

You mean like Norquist replacing Koch brothers?

Look at it this way- since you had to look it up, I just increased your vocabulary.

No, actually, I didn't have to look it up. I have an education...something the GOP would prefer I did not have.

I love it when you give me an opportunity to tell you what President Obama has done.
1) Entered office during a financial crisis. Kept American automobile industry from tanking. America's car companies now earning higher profits than they have in years.
2) Passed a stumulus that kept teachers, firefighters and police employed, kept the US from slipping into Depression.
3) Drew down troops from Iraq.
4) Signed a Healthcare Reform bill that gets 95% of Americans covered AND lowers the deficit by 130 billion in the first decade.
5) Killed Osama Bin Laden
6) Repealed ban on gay people serving honestly in the military.
7) Crafted a path towards reducing the federal deficit while closing tax loopholes and cutting spending, despite the active obstruction of House Republicans.
8) and so much more...!

Gosh, no jo, Ron Paul, who came in second in the Iowa Straw Poll, said during the Republican debate, it doesn't matter if Iran gets a nuclear bomb since all their neighbors, China, India, and Pakistan have one.

HoJoBloMo,

Here's President Obama's list of achievements up until 2011. While we are most certainly entitled to our own opinions, we are most certainly NOT entitled to our own facts.

ETHICS

• Ordered the White House and all federal agencies to respect the Freedom of Information Act and overturned Bush-era limits on accessibility of federal documents (2009)

• Instructed all federal agencies to promote openness and transparency as much as possible (2009)

• Placed limits on lobbyists' access to the White House (2009)

• Placed limits on White House aides working for lobbyists after their tenure in the administration (2009)

• Signed a measure strengthening registration and reporting requirements for lobbyists (2009)

• Ordered that lobbyists must be removed from and are no longer permitted to serve on federal and White House advisory panels and boards (2009) * Note: After saying he would not hire lobbyists, a few have been hired in the Administration

• Companies and individuals who are delinquent on their taxes or owe back taxes are no longer allowed to bid for federal contracts (2009)

• Initiated the "e-Rulemaking Initiative" (in cooperation with Cornell University) to allow for online public "notice and comment" of federal laws and initiatives (2010)

• Issued the "Open Gov Directive" ordering all Cabinet departments to promote transparency and citizen participation in their policies (2010)

• Signed extensions on banning lobbyists from serving on agency boards (2010)

• Developed the "Don Not Pay List" with data on contractors and recipients of federal funds who are deemed to be ineligible because of fraud and abuse (2010)

GOVERNANCE

• The White House website now provides information on all economic stimulus projects and spending, along with an unprecedented amount of information on our government (2009)

• Ended the Bush-era practice of circumventing established FDA rules for political reasons (2009)

• Ended the Bush-era practice of having White House staff rewrite the findings of scientific and environmental regulations and reports when they disagreed with the results (2009)

• Limited the salaries of senior White House aides (salaries cut to $100,000) (2009)

• Has urged Congress to adopt "Pay-Go" (whereby each dollar of spending is offset by a dollar in cuts or revenues, which was used in the `90s but abandoned in the `00s) (2010)

• Has been holding open meetings with Republican leaders, although they complain of a lack of access and information (2010)

• Signed the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act (2010) * Note: To curb wasteful spending

• Tasked federal agencies to develop plans for disposing of unneeded real estate and then to eliminate unnecessary or non-economical lands, properties, etc. (2010)

NATIONAL SECURITY

• Phasing out the expensive F-22 war plane (which wasn't even used in Iraq/Afghanistan) and other outdated weapons systems (2009)

• Announced his intention to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay (2009) * Note: The closure has been delayed due to massive opposition but it remains on the agenda.

• Stated his interest in housing terrorists at a new federal "super max" facility in the US (2009) * Note: this has been delayed in the face of massive opposition but it remains on the agenda

• Cut the expensive Reagan era missile defense program, saving $1.4 billion in 2010 (2009)

• Cancelled plans to station anti-ballistic missile systems in Poland and the Czech Republic (2009)

• Replacing long-range, expensive missile systems with more efficient smaller systems (2009)

• Increased US Navy patrols off the Somali coast in response to pirating (2009)

• Established a new cyber security office and appointed a cyber security czar (2009)

• Ordered the first nation-wide comprehensive cyber threat assessment (2009)

• Instituted a new Nuclear Posture Review, revising US nuclear deterrence policy to encourage more nations to join the 1996 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (2010) * Note: Components of the policy include: a pledge to stop nuclear testing; a pledge to not build a new generation of nucs; identifying nuclear terrorism, rather than a launch from another nuclear state, as the major threat; a pledge to not use nucs on a non-nuclear state in a conventional conflict; etc.

• Executive orders to block payment, transfers, exports, etc… of individuals and organizations support the regimes of North Korea, Iran, Somali pirates, and other foreign threats (2010)

• Presidential Memoranda to extend certain provisions of The Trading with Enemies Act which was to expire in September 2010 (2010) * Note: This includes freezing assets and banning trade that benefits the Cuban regime; however further efforts at normalizing travel to Cuba are supported

• Signed bill for southwest border security and increased funds and agents on the Mexican border (2010)

• Signed the Comprehensive Sanctions, Accountability and Divestment Act to deal with foreign regimes like Iran and North Korea (2010)

IRAQ & AFGHANISTAN

• Began the phased withdrawal of US troops from Iraq (2009); continuing the withdrawal (2010)

• Changed the US military command in the Afghan conflict (2009)

• Tasked the Pentagon to reorganize US policy in Afghanistan; the new policy includes 30,000 additional troops deployed, priority training of Afghan forces, developing agriculture and infrastructure, limiting aerial bombing, etc. (2009)

• Ordered the Pentagon to send additional helicopters to assist US Marine units and Special Forces in Afghanistan (2009)

• Increased unmanned drone strikes on Taliban and al-Qaeda targets in Afghanistan (2009)

• Ended the Bush-era "stop-loss" policy that kept soldiers in Iraq/Afghanistan longer than their enlistment date (2009)

MILITARY & VETERANS

• Ordered the Pentagon to cover expenses of families of fallen soldiers if they wish to be on site when the body arrives back in the US (2009)

• Ended the Bush-era "blackout" imposed on media coverage of the return of fallen US soldiers (2009) * Note: The media is now permitted to cover the story pending adherence to respectful rules and with the approval of the fallen soldier's family

• Ended the Bush-era "black out" policy on media coverage of war casualties (2009) * Note: Full information is now released for the first time in the War on Terror

• Ordered better body armor to be procured for US troops (2009)

• Funding new Mine Resistant Ambush Vehicles (2009) * Note: The old Hummers were very vulnerable to roadside explosives and an alarming percentage of our soldiers lost in Iraq were on account of IEDs

• Working to increase pay and benefits for military personnel (2009)

• Improving housing for military personnel (2009)

• Initiating a new policy to promote federal hiring of military spouses (2009)

• Ordered that conditions at Walter Reed Military Hospital and other neglected military hospitals be improved (2009)

• Beginning the process of reforming and restructuring the military to a post-Cold War, modern fighting force (2009) * Note: Bush announced in 2001 his intention to do this but backed off the reforms after 9/11, which include: new procurement policies; increasing the size of Special Ops units; deploying new technologies; creating new cyber security units; etc.

• Ended the Bush-era practice of awarding "no-bid" defense contracts (2009)

• Improving benefits for veterans as well as VA staffing, information systems, etc. (2009)

• Authorized construction of additional health centers to care for veterans (2009)

• Suspended the Bush-era decision to purchase a fleet of Marine One helicopters from suppliers in favor of American made helicopters (2009)

• Ordered a review of the existing "Don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military (2010)

• New GI Bill for returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan (2009)

• Signed bill providing assistance for caregivers of veterans wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan (2010) * Note: The omnibus bill does the following: Training, funding, and counseling for caregivers; promoting pilot childcare programs for women vets under treatment at the VA; independent oversight to prevent abuse; readjustment counseling for National Guard and reservist units; etc.

• Eliminated co-payments for veterans who are catastrophically disabled (2010)

• Fulfilled campaign promise to have combat troops (90,000) out of Iraq by August 31, 2010 (2010)

• Established a new interagency task force to assist veterans owning small businesses (2010) * Note: The efforts include promoting federal contract opportunities, improve access to loans and capital, mentor assistance programs, etc.

• Signed The Families of Fallen Heroes Act, which covers the moving costs of immediate family members of those lost in service (military, intelligence, and security personnel) (2010)

FOREIGN POLICY

• Closed the Bush-era "secret detention" facilities in Eastern Europe (2009)

• Ended the Bush-era policy allowing "enhanced interrogation" (torture); the US is again in compliance with Geneva Convention standards (2009) * Note: Obama has permitted some controversial interrogation techniques to continue

• Restarted international nuclear non-proliferation talks and reestablished international nuclear inspection protocols (2009) * Note: Bush withdrew from non-proliferation talks and dismantled the inspection infrastructure

• Reengaged in the treaties/agreements to protect the Antarctic (2009) * Note: These were suspended under Bush

• Reengaged in the agreements/talks on global warming and greenhouse gas emissions (2009) * Note: These were suspended under Bush

• Visited more countries and met with more world leaders than any president in his first six months in office (2009)

• Banned the export of cluster bombs (2009)

• Overturned Bush-era plans to increase the US nuclear arsenal (2009)

• Authorized the Navy SEALS operation that freed by force the US shipping captain held by Somali pirates (2009)

• Restored the US commitment to the UN population fund for family planning; overturned the ban on providing funds internationally for family planning (2009) * Note: The family planning efforts were suspended under Bush

• Instituted a new policy on Cuba, allowing Cuban families to return "home" to visit families (2009)

• Extended an offer of engagement (free from sanctions and penalties) to Iran through December 31, 2009 (Iran did not accept the offer) (2009)

• Sent envoys to the Middle East and other parts of the world, reengaging in multilateral and bilateral talks and diplomacy (2009)

• Authorized discussions with North Korea and the private mission by former president, Bill Clinton, to secure the release of two Americans held in prisons (2009)

• Authorized discussions with Myanmar and the mission by Senator Jim Web to secure the release of an American held captive (2009)

• Renewed loan guarantees for Israel (2009)

• Signed the USIFTA trade agreement with/for Israel (2009)

• Authorized a $550m advance for Israel (six months prior to the scheduled date) in order to accommodate Israeli's economic and financial needs (2009)

• Continued agreements with Israel for cultural exchanges, immigration, etc. (2009)

• Spoke on Arab television, spoke at an Egyptian university, and met with Arab leaders in an effort to change the tone of US-Arab relations (2009)

• Ordered the US to finally pay its dues to the United Nations (2009)

• Attended the Summit of America's meeting in Trinidad and Tobago (2010)

• Dispatched several envoys and initiated talks with numerous nations (2010)

• Signed a nuclear limitation treaty with Russia (2010) * Note: The agreement calls for both countries to reduce their nucs by one-third (1,500) and launch systems by half (800)

• Hosted nuclear non-proliferation summit for several nations (2010)

• Executive Order to establish support offices in the State Department to assist the governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan (2010)

• Presidential Memoranda to continue drug interdiction support with Columbia (2010)

ECONOMY

• Increased infrastructure spending (roads, bridges, power plants…) (2009) * Note: Bush was the first president since Herbert Hoover to not make infrastructure a priority

• Authorized the US auto industry rescue plan and two GMAC rescue packages (2009)

• Authorized the housing rescue plan and new FHA residential housing guarantees (2009)

• Authorized a $789 billion economic stimulus plan (2009) * Note: 1/3 in tax cuts for working-class families; 1/3 to states for infrastructure projects; 1/3 to states to prevent the layoff of police officers, teachers, etc. at risk of losing their jobs because of state budget shortfalls

• Instituted a new rule allowing the public to meet with federal housing insurers to refinance (in as quickly as one day) a mortgage if they are having trouble paying (2009)

• Authorized a continuation of the US financial and banking rescue plans initiated at the end of the Bush administration and authorized TARP funds to buy "toxic assets" from failing financial institutions (2009)

• Authorized the "Cash for Clunkers" program that stimulated auto sales and removed old, inefficient, polluting cars from the road (2009)

• Convened a "jobs summit" to bring experts together to develop ideas for creating jobs (2009)

• Ordered the FDIC to beef up deposit insurance (2009)

• Ended the Bush-era policy of protecting credit card companies (2009) * Note: In place of the old policy, new consumer protections were instituted and the industry's predatory practices were banned

• Authorized the federal government to make more loans available to small businesses and ordered lower rates for federal loans to small businesses (2009)

• Placed a 35% tariff on Chinese tires and a few other products such as pipes after China was found to be illegally "dumping" exports below cost (2009) * Note: Clinton, Bush I, and Reagan all refused to "get tough" on China's predatory trade practices; Bush II refused four times during his presidency

• In November 2009, Obama extended unemployment benefits for one million workers

and expanded coverage for some existing homeowners who are buying again (2009)

• Called on Congress to deliver a "Jobs bill" (2010)

• Credit card companies are prohibited from raising rates without advance notification or arbitrarily if customers are paying bills on time (2010)

• Signed a bill to extend unemployment benefits set to expire (2010)

• Signed historic Wall Street reform bill (2010) * Note: Designed to reregulate and end abusive practices and promote consumer protections

• Signed the HIRE Act to stimulate the economic recovery (2010) * Note: The bill includes: tax cuts for small businesses who hire someone unemployed for at least two months; small businesses can write off their investments in equipment this year; etc.

• National Export Initiative established to enhance federal support (technical assistance, training, trade missions, etc.) and coordination efforts to help US businesses export products and services (2010)

• Initiatives to promote a "Wireless Broadband Revolution" (2010) * Note: Among other things, broadband is finally being considered as necessary infrastructure, with efforts to expand use, access, and spectrum…

• Expanded agricultural credit to farmers during current economic crisis (2010)

• Signed bill - US Manufacturing Enhancement Act (2010)

• Signed bill - Single Family Housing Mortgage Insurance (2010)

TAXES

• Negotiated a deal with Swiss banks to permit the US government to gain access to records of tax evaders and criminals (2009)

• Ended the Bush-era policy of offering tax benefits to corporations who outsource American jobs (2009) * Note: The new policy promotes in-sourcing investments to brings jobs back to the US

• Signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act which provides small tax cuts for 95% of "working families" (2009) * Note: The tax cuts were not as big as was suggested during the 2008 campaign

• Convened an advisory board that is looking into simplifying the tax code (2009)

• Ordered the closing of offshore tax safe havens (for individual and business tax evaders) (2009)

• Reduced taxes for some small businesses to stimulate the economic recovery (2009)

• Extended the Home Buyers Credit for first-time home buyers (2009)

• Proposed doubling the child tax credit (2010)

• Called for the repeal of the capital gains tax for small businesses (2010)

• Proposed rolling back the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans (2010) * Note: This would be for families earning over $250,000/year and would return their tax rates to the 1990's level

BUDGETING

• Ordered all federal agencies to undertake a study and make recommendations for ways to cut federal spending (2009)

• Ordered a review of all federal operations to identify wasteful spending and practices (2009)

• Established a National Performance Officer charged with saving the federal government money and making federal operations more efficient (2009)

• Overturned the Bush-era practice of not listing certain federal programs in the federal budget (2009) (2010) * Note: Bush did this (so did Reagan) in an effort to hide programs and make the budget look smaller; such "off budget" items are now included in the annual budget

• Full appropriations for war are now included in the budget (2009) (2010) * Note: Bush did not list many of the appropriations for Iraq, Afghanistan, and War on Terror

• Funds for emergency appropriations are now included in the budget (2009) (2010)

• Proposed a three-year freeze on federal discretionary spending beginning in 2011 (2010)

• Is in the process of cutting 120 federal programs identified as either wasteful or unnecessary (2010)

• Established a bipartisan commission on fiscal responsibility, staffed by House and Senate members and private citizens, tasked with submitting proposals to balance the budget (2010) * Note: In the face of Republican opposition, the powers of the commission were watered down

• Established a bipartisan commission on the future of Social Security, tasked with submitting proposals to preserve and strengthen Social Security (2010) * Note: In the face of Republican opposition, the powers of the commission were watered down

• Cut $20 billion from federal budget and has pledged to cut at least this much every year (2010)

• Ultimately decided to cancel planned new presidential helicopter fleet and stick with marine One (2010)

• Freezing all discretionary spending for next three years, except on national security (2010)

• Presidential Memoranda to freeze discretionary awards, bonuses, etc. for federal political appointees (2010)

• Beginning to use "Pay-As-You-Go" (Pay-Go) to offset budget expenditures with budget cuts or revenue enhancements (2010)

HEALTHCARE

• Removed Bush era restrictions on embryonic stem-cell research (2009)

• Federal support for stem-cell and new biomedical research (2009)

• Expanded the SCHIP program to cover health care for 4 million more children (2009)

• Established an independent commission to make recommendations on slowing the costs of Medicare (2009)

• Reversed some of the Bush-era restrictions that prevented Medicare from negotiating with pharmaceutical firms for cheaper drugs, allowing government to again competitively bid (2009) * Note: Obama had promised to lift all restrictions but, while he did negotiate with drug companies for them to lower their costs the deal only lifted some restrictions

• Expanding government vaccination programs (2009)

• Issued new disease prevention guidelines and priorities for the CDC (2009)

• Authorized the FDA to finally begin regulating tobacco (2009)

• Tasked federal labs to prioritize research on and deployment of H1N1 vaccines (2009)

• Asked multiple congressional committees to bring forward a healthcare reform bill; held dozens of public hearings and town halls on the issue (2009) (2010)

• Established a new council on National Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public Health to be chaired by Surgeon General and charged with promoting healthy lifestyles and integrative healthcare (2010)

• When accusations to the contrary arose, an Executive Order was signed to reaffirm that federal funds are not to be used for abortion services (2010)

• Historic healthcare reform bill signed - $940 billion over 10 years (2010) * Note: 32 million additional Americans will receive healthcare coverage and costs will be lowered for most Americans, but many of the goals are phased in over four years

Components of the bill

- Prevents insurance companies from denying coverage to individuals/family members with pre-existing health conditions; a temporary plan is being developed to cover high-risk individuals with pre-existing conditions until the full reforms go into effect in 2014

- Prevents insurance companies from placing lifetime limits on benefits

- Bans "rescission" so insurance companies can't cancel coverage if individuals keep their policies current or if they become ill

- An individual's out-of-pocket healthcare expenses are capped

- Closes the "donut hole" (Part D) for Medicare prescription drug coverage (under Bush, Medicare helped pay for drugs up to $2,600 and above $4,550, but individuals had to pay 100% of the costs in between these amounts); now Medicare helps cover costs irrespective of the amount – seniors will now pay only 25% of drug costs up to $4,550 and only 5% of drug costs above that amount

- In 2010, an emergency provision will offer seniors a $250 rebate on the costs incurred within the "donut hole"

- Individuals living at or below the poverty line were eligible for healthcare under Medicaid, but by 2014 individuals/families living slightly above (making up to $14,404/$29,327) the poverty line will also be eligible for benefits

- Individuals/families making less than $43,320/$88,200 per year will qualify for government subsidies to help purchase health insurance

- All individuals must have health insurance or face a government fine; all large (over 50 employees) employers must offer health insurance to employees or pay a fine

- Small businesses can get a tax credit if they offer health care

- There are hardship exemptions if individuals can't afford health insurance

- Families can keep their children in college on their plans through age 26

- Promotes health insurance "exchanges" so consumers can buy "wholesale"

- Creates consumer assistance offices to help consumers file complaints or appeal decisions from insurance companies; beginning in 2011, insurance companies can no longer make excessive rate hikes without justification and approval, and those doing so may be barred from participating in new health insurance exchanges

Funding sources:

- Large employers (over 50 workers) that don't offer health benefits will be charged a $2,000/worker fee; if the employer offers coverage but employees instead purchase federally subsidized insurance the fee is $3,000/worker receiving federal subsidies or $750/worker (whichever is lower)

- Annual fees on pharmaceutical companies ($27 billion), health insurance companies ($60 billion), and medical device-makers ($20 billion)

- Annual penalties on individuals who do not have health insurance (up to a maximum of $695/person)

- Increase in the Medicare payroll tax from 1.45% to 2.35% for individuals making $200,000+ and families making $250,000+

- 3.8% tax on unearned income for millionaires

- Insurance companies will be subject to a tax on each high-end insurance plan (so-called "Cadillac" plans) they offer

Miscellaneous:

- Illegal immigrants are not eligible for insurance or subsidies

- By Executive Order, such federal funding can't be used for abortion

- The federal government will assist states by covering all of the increased expenses of expanding Medicaid coverage (90% of costs after 2020)

ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT

• Removed a ruling that now allows individual states to enact automotive fuel efficiency standards above federal standards (2009)

• Offered attractive tax write-offs for those who buy hybrid automobiles (2009)

• Overturned Bush-era rule that weakened the Endangered Species Act (2009)

• Announced plans to purchase fuel efficient American-made fleet for the federal government (2009)

• Ended the Bush-era policy of not regulating and labeling carbon dioxide emissions (2009)

• Signed a measure requiring energy producing plants to begin producing 15% of their energy from renewable sources (2009)

• Announced that the federal government would reengage in the long-delayed effort to clean up "Superfund" toxic waste sites (2009)

• Announced the long-term development of a national energy grid with renewable sources and cleaner, efficient energy production (2009) * Note: Much of Obama's energy reform was killed by Senate Republicans

• Proposed a new refuge for wild mustangs (2009)

• Cancelled several Bush-era mountain-top removal and mining permits (2009)

• Reengaged in international treaties and agreements to protect the Antarctic (2009)

* Note: Bush had withdrawn from such efforts

• Asked Congress for an energy reform and "cap and trade" bill (2009) * Note: The Congress failed to pass such a bill

• Developing plan to lease US coastal waters for wind and water-current energy production (2009)

• Overturned Bush-era policies that allowed uranium mining near national parks such as the Grand Canyon (2009)

• Expanded the Petrified Forest National Park (2009)

• Signed the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act that protects millions of acres of scenic, historic, and recreational lands and trails (2009)

• Requiring that government buildings and facilities be retrofitted to save energy costs (2009) * Note: These green retrofits are moving very slowly

• Authorized studies in several western states to determine how to support large-scale solar installations (2009)

• Attended the Copenhagen talks and, after the talks were stalled, negotiated an international (voluntary) agreement on reducing carbon emissions and raising funds to assist developing nations in offsetting carbon emissions (2009)

• Banned importation of pythons in response to a growing population of pythons damaging the Florida Everglades (2009)

• Committing the federal government to increasing research and use of renewable, clean energy sources such as wind, biomass, etc. (2009)

• Executive orders establishing a federal initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in all federal operations (2009) (2010)

• Called for exploring the possibility of additional off-shore oil drilling in the Gulf, Atlantic, and off Alaska (but not in ANWR) (2010)

• Agreed to consider increases in nuclear energy production and requested a study on the feasibility of nuclear power plant construction (2010) * Note: Nearly all energy initiatives were defeated by Republican opposition in Congress

• Increased investment in clean energy projects (2010)

• Executive Order to develop a new strategy for and commitment to ocean and lake resources, and for scientific research on water quality (2010)

RIGHTS

• Instituted enforcements for equal pay for women (Lilly Ledbetter Bill) (2009)

• Appointed Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina, to the Supreme Court (2009)

• Held the first Seder in White House (2009)

• Appointed a diverse Cabinet and diverse White House staff (2009)

• Spoke at the annual dinner of the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights organization (2009)

• Signed the first major piece of federal gay rights legislation that includes acts of violence against gays under the list of federal hate crimes (2009)

• Reversed the Bush-era practice of politicizing Justice Department investigations and prosecutions against political opponents (2009)

• Pushing for some of the 9/11 perpetrators to be tried in federal court (2009) * Note: The process has moved at a snail's pace and, in the face of opposition, Obama has remained quiet

• Signed an extension of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Bill to provide federal research and support for treating the disease (2009)

• Allowed the State Department of offer same-sex benefits for employees (2009)

• Proposed that the Pentagon repeal the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy; placed a "freeze" on current efforts to remove alleged homosexuals from the military (2009)

• After eight years of neglect, the Justice Department and EEOC are again enforcing employment discrimination laws (2009)

• Convened the White House Tribal Nations Conference, inviting representatives from 564 federally-recognized Indian tribes (2009)

• Provided increased school projects for Indian lands and increased funds for the Indian Health Service (2009)

• Signed an Executive Order mandating that his Cabinet develop plans to work with and consult Indian tribes on issues impacting Indian lands (2009)

• Commissioned a study to develop alternatives to "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (2010)

• Called for federal agencies to look into recognizing gay partnerships in terms of benefits (2010)

• Signed an Executive Order for the President's Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (2010)

• Increased funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (2010)

• Signed Executive Order to promote the federal government as a "model employer" when it comes to hiring the disabled (2010) * Note: This includes new efforts to increase the recruitment, hiring, and training for the disabled

• Programs to assist Spanish speakers with the US Census (2010)

• Elena Kagen appointed to Supreme Court (2010)

• Tasked all federal agencies to develop new strategies to address HIV/AIDS (2010)

• After organizing studies on the topic in 2009, tasked the Pentagon to eliminate "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (2010)

• Signed Fair Sentencing Act (2010) * Note: The Administration continues to deescalate marijuana interdiction and raids; increased dramatically the amount of cocaine one must possess to be sentenced to jail; eliminated mandatory sentencing for first-time drug abusers and simple possession

EDUCATION

• Authorized construction funds for high-speed, broadband Internet access in K-12 public schools (2009)

• Increased funding for school construction (2009)

• Increased funding available for student loans (2009)

• Expanded the national youth service program (2009)

• Streamlined the federal student loan process to save $87 billion over the next 10 years (2009)

• Changed the rule to allow students struggling to make college loan payments to refinance their loans (2009)

• Beginning discussions with Congress for education reform (2009) * Note: Much of Obama's education reform has been sidelined by opposition in Congress

• Initiated a "Race to the Top" competitive federal grant program for states who develop innovative policies (2009)

• Instituted a "judgment review" allowing families with student loans to petition to have their current financial status determine the loan rather than the previous year's finances (2009)

• Launched "Educate to Innovate," a public/private partnership making $236 million available for science, mathematics, and technology education programs (2009)

• Proposed capping the maximum amount students must pay on student loans (as percentage of their income) (2010)

• Proposed reducing student loan obligations for individuals going to work in community and public service jobs (2010)

• The federal government will offer direct student loans, cutting out the cost of private banks ("middle man") who increase the costs in order to make a profit (2010)

• Increased investment in technologies for schools/education (2010)

DISASTER RESPONSE

• Ordered a review of hurricane and natural disaster preparedness (2009)

• FEMA once again reports directly to the president (2009) * Note: Bush removed FEMA (prior to the Hurricane Katrina disaster) from this status

• Demonstrated an immediate and efficient response to the floods in North Dakota and other natural disasters (2009)

• Ordered that funds be released and red tape be streamlined for the ongoing Hurricane Katrina recovery effort in the Gulf Coast (2009)

• Timely and massive relief effort in response to the January 2010 earthquake and ensuing humanitarian crisis (2010)

Components of the response:

- The FBI's National Center for Disaster Fraud was tasked to look into possible fraud with organizations soliciting funds for relief

- Announced the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund

- Established an emergency Haiti Task Force in the State Department

- Established a website with information, resources, and a posting of a "person finder" online to help families and friends to locate loved ones

- Joint aid and relief planning with the U.K.

- Sponsored a resolution in the UN Security Council for additional security and police forces in Haiti

- Dispatched the US Navy floating hospital (USNS Comfort) and, within 5 days, 9 naval and relief ships, 5 Coast Guard cutters, 8 Coast Guard aircraft, and 12,000 US military personnel

- Initial dispatch of several ships and cargo planes full of humanitarian aid and supplies, 6 search/rescue teams (500 personnel), and 265 Department of Health & Human Services personnel for emergency medical and aid support

- Established a mobile US air traffic control center at the destroyed airport in Port-au-Prince

• After the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a freeze was placed on new deep water projects (2010)

• Executive Order to establish new security measures to minimize accidental release of bio and chemical agents; new strategies for public health and bioterrorism response (2010)

• Established a national commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon spill to examine facts and report a plan of action; new efforts to prevent offshore spills (2010)

• After a slow start in responding to the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the White House is promoting a long-term plan to reconstruct the damaged Gulf and negotiated with BP the establishment of a multi-billion dollar trust fund for victims of the spill (2010)

• Extended national flood insurance program for those in need during current economic crisis (2010)

OTHER INITIATIVES

• New federal funding for science and research labs (2009)

• Signed national service legislation; expanded national youth service program (2009)

• Increasing opportunities in AmeriCorps program (2009)

• Instituted a new focus on mortgage fraud (2009)

• Ordered the DEA to stop raids on medical marijuana usage (2009)

• Ordered a review of existing "mandatory minimum" prison sentencing (2009)

• Signed an order to limit airport tarmac delays and the time passengers had to sit in the plane/on the tarmac during delays (2009)

• Restored the EPA to "Cabinet level" status (2009) * Note: Bush removed the EPA from this status

• Beginning discussions with Congress for comprehensive immigration reform (2010)

* Note: Much of Obama's immigration reform had been stalled by opposition in Congress

• Commissioned expert panels and reports from NASA; announced a new direction for human space flight that involves funding a new heavy lift-launcher and jettisoning the Ares 1 program; boosting NASA's budget by $1 billion in 2011 (2010)

• Ordered a ban on text-messaging for all commercial truck and bus drivers (2010)

• Signed bill – FAA Air Transportaiton Modernizatin and Safety Improvement Act (2010)

P.S. IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING…

• The Obamas paid for the renovations of the private living quarters in the White House with their own money rather than using the funds provided to all new first families (2009)

• The Obamas reused many Christmas ornaments from previous White House trees rather than buy new ones (2009)

• The Obamas used LED energy-saving lights on White House Christmas tree (2009)

• Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize; donated the award money for the prize to several charities (2009)

• Planted a garden for the White House's vegetables and flowers (2009)

• Installed a swing set/playground for the Obama daughters and children of White House employees (2009)

• Held over 150 public town halls, press conferences, interviews, etc. in first year in office (2009) * Note: Official numbers are not available on such things, but this seems to be a new record high

• Less than 30 days of vacation in first year in office (2009) * Note: Official numbers are not readily available on such things, but this seems to be a new record low.

OUCH Mickey - that ones gonna sting the old broad!

Thanks for the reminder! ;o)

I get you message Joe. Wish more did.

Excellent, Mickey NY. Amazing list of accomplishments, just think what President Obama could have done if the GOPer had not blocked, obstructed, delayed and denied for 2 1/2 years. Keep your list handy and post it often!

8) and so much more...!

Amy and Little Mickey, you forgot a few:

9%+ unemployment. 1 in 7 Americans on food stamps. 24 million unemployed or under employed. 1.3% GDP and falling. Downgraded debt rating. Consumer confidence lowest since Carter. 6 million foreclosures under Obama with more to come. $4 trillion added to the debt in 2.5 years. Debt ceiling raised three times in 30 months for a total of $5.5 trillion dollars.

Yeah, ouch.

LMAO........... as an IT engineer I can tell you I would not like to have to work on any of these liberals computers. They must look like a refrigerators with a million post it notes for c&ping! No original thoughts just crtl c crtl p! I was also going to tell some people on here that all that popcorn with all that butter is whats causing the massive outlay of cottage cheese on your spredus americanus!

This from the New York Times:

Republicans contend that the Obama administration has mismanaged the nation's recovery from the 2008 financial crisis. Mr. Obama's political advisers are struggling to define a response, aware that their prospects may rest on persuading voters that the results of the first term matter less than the contrast between their vision for the next four years and the alternative economic ideas offered by Republicans.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/14/us/politics/14econ.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper

Doesn't sound like Obama is even impressed with himself. Obama does understand his kool-aide drinking friends that roam the pages of FR will vote for him, but they're idiots, and everyone else besides them is on to all of Obama's failures. What Obama is saying from the above snippet from the Times is that he has failed and he wants a do-over. It's doubtful he'll get one.

Mickey, thanks, and now I nominate you to be Pres. Obama's campaign manager!

Joanna it is clear that those are the problems directly caused by the repugs and tps.

A major accomplishment by Obama not mentioned by Little Mickey was that Obama came up with "Obama Money":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19v5Kjmc8FI

That really should have topped your list Micks.

And nice job Mr. President.

terriels: Joanna it is clear that those are the problems directly caused by the repugs and tps

Clearly.

So terriels, you get any of that Obama Money?

@jollyoldsoul1

...as an IT engineer ...<snip>... No original thoughts just crtl c crtl p!...

If you are an IT engineer I would expect you to know that Paste is CTRL-V not CTRL-P

More same old, same old from the JS1. Read the S&P explanation, you might learn something about your party; it's very clear WHO caused the credit rating downgrade and is wasn't spelled Obama or Democrats. The debt ceiling was raised 7 times under Bush, 18 times under Reagan where were the cries of protest, where were the demands to cut spending, where was the demand to let the country default? Bush was handed a budget surplus which he and the GOP squandered. The unemployment is the result of Bush and republican failed policies; why do so many democratic pieces of legislation for jobs creation languish in the House and Senate--it's called GOP obstructionism.

[If you are an IT engineer I would expect you to know that Paste is CTRL-V not CTRL-P...]

Jollies is not an IT engineer, but he does play one on the internet...

JoAnnaSmiff0:

You really should wash that sand out of your vagina, and stop being a bitter old bitch...it causes wrinkles, you know...

...you must look like a Shar pei by now...

If you have something to refute my post (I was responding to HoJoBloMo's post that Obama hasn't had ANY accomplishments as president), I would be glad to hear it.

Jody, Iowa: More same old, same old from the JS1. Read the S&P explanation, you might learn something about your party.

Ah Jody, you're not fooling anyone, but yourself. Through your rose colored glasses, Obama is responsible for nothing. All those things Little Mickey listed? Look where they have taken the country. Obama and the Democrats have failed. Everyone of their economic policies have failed.

That's going to be quite the re-election campaign of Obama's next year. In 2008, he ran against Bush, and Obama said he had all the answers. In 2012, Obama will run against Bush again, saying again that he has all the answers. Obama doesn't have the answers Jody. He doesn't even understand the questions.

Now Jody, get back to your talking points of blaming Bush and Reagan. They're the only things that insulate you from reality.

Poor Little Mickey. Why do they call you "Little" Mickey? Like we didn't already know.

It is a good thing that President Obama has done nothing like the republicans have been telling us or your list might have been long.

Mickey, good work

Oh, and smiffy:

[A major accomplishment by Obama not mentioned by Little Mickey was that Obama came up with "Obama Money"]

Really, smiff?

...really...?

http://www.obamastimuluscheck.info

Hmmm...I wonder if you cashed your "Bush Money" check or not...

[Poor Little Mickey. Why do they call you "Little" Mickey? Like we didn't already know.]

Actually, you're the only one that has called me "Little Mickey"...but if you'd like to meet "Little Mickey", send me a note...I just may let you kiss the baby...

Oh, and by the way...I apologize for the Shar pei comment...it was uncalled for, and has not place in this debate...but you did piss me off ;)

The Clinton surplus remember that, it was cited as proof that taxes were too high! That money was not paid agiainst the debt are used to bolster programs that people paid all their working lives into, it was happlily handed out.

To be honest with you Im the Chief Network engineer for a 60k+ employee Automotive company! However I do make mistakes and they are usually small ones like the one made today! I am not perfect.....like the liberals on this site claim to be! But what I said still stands. You guys cut and paste everything you use! Very little original thought, and then you claim to be elite educated people who know whats best for all of us!. I spent 10 years as a member of a naval spec ops weapons team and learned where its ok to be wrong.....a blog is, a fire fight isnt! I know you guys are going say about this.....but Im not about to tell you who I work for or what unit I was in! It suffices to say I was in for 10 years and I have an honorable discharge and 12 commendations!

9%+ unemployment. 1 in 7 Americans on food stamps. 24 million unemployed or under employed. 1.3% GDP and falling. Downgraded debt rating. Consumer confidence lowest since Carter. 6 million foreclosures under Obama with more to come. $4 trillion added to the debt in 2.5 years.

No Joanna.

The above are Bush / republican accomplishments,.........remember? We're still paying for Bush, and if you deny it you are either a liar or a fool,....or both.

Jolly: You don't need to explain anything to these First Read bar stoolers, they're so drunk on Obama-Aid the have no concept of what the real world should be like anymore. I left a dollar sign off a comment once and they jumped on it like a drunk on a bottle of wine. It is so pathetic I seldom bother posting to their comments. Mickey, NY just posted 29 pages of some of the most boring stuff I have ever read. If he didn't go on those propaganda websites he'd have nothing. All 29 pages (screens) add up to less than zero but he actually thinks this is major stuff. Pity. It sounds more like an 8th grade diary.

leave it to the right to mouth off against Obama and when given a HUGE list of accomplishments they pretty much act like none of it happened. There is really something wrong with this type of denial

4more: leave it to the right to mouth off against Obama and when given a HUGE list of accomplishments they pretty much act like none of it happened. There is really something wrong with this type of denial.

Don't need 30 pages of copy and paste material to sum up Obama's accomplishments 4more - you just need this:

9%+ unemployment. 1 in 7 Americans on food stamps. 24 million unemployed or under employed. 1.3% GDP and falling. Downgraded debt rating. Consumer confidence lowest since Carter. 6 million foreclosures under Obama with more to come. $4 trillion added to the debt in 2.5 years. Debt ceiling raised three times in 30 months for a total of $5.5 trillion dollars.

Obama has worked very hard to achieve these accomplishments. He'll be justly rewarded for efforts next year.

4moreyears!

Of Obama? Sorry, no. We just can't afford it.

4moreyears: Be honest now, you're one of them drunks. None of that drivel from Mickey,NY comes close to a major accomplishment. Some of it is outright dangerous though. If your bar stool has a seat belt, please fasten it.

little mickey - nice list on what any potus was likely to do as an executive. Interesting that you think the EPA needs to be a cabinet level job. Didn't obama also increase the size of the federal government with his many new "programs" promoting more spending with no regard to growing our economy rather than fiscal restraint in spending only for what can grow our economy.

Yep, obamas hope and change policies of 2009 & 2010 sure gave us a great outlook on jobs and GDP in 2011 going forward, not to mention his feet dragging on getting budgets created and addressing our debt. You know, as goes the economy, so goes jobs.

extinct - Obama (as potus) owns the economy and recovery which went hand in hand with his "hope and change" thingy. His failure to lead and establish unity within congress point more to one that only wants to be a senator rather than a CEO. You know Chief Executive Officer aka potus and head of the governments executive branch.

Reagan could work with the democrats and clinton could work with the republicans. Why has obama had such a problem with congress, and spare us the filibuster argument for 2009-2010. You will imply that the democratic controlled senate couldn't muster up the 1 or 2 votes needed to break it. Not exactly a ringing endorsement for the democratic senate leaders.

Seems that you are the liar and fool in not seeing that as POTUS the electorate looks to him as the problem solver, the unifier and the hope builder. The electorate is not impressed when the potus denigrates the opposing parties written and passed plans with campaign rhetoric, little hope of compromise, a lack of written plans, constant creation of "study" commitees and constantly threatening to veto.

Blame bush all you want, for the eternal question still remains, where were the democrats in all of this?

JAS1: ..."don't need thirty pages of copy and paste".........

Gee! I only counted 29. Larger screen?

Gee! I only counted 29. Larger screen?

It just felt like 30.

Next time Little Mick, save the bandwidth and just post a link.

Well, none of you answered the question a I posted- then again, I'm not surprised.

Mickey gives a long list of hogwash that has NOT addressed any of then problems Obama exacerbated, but. . .

Might be interested to know that the populace has graded those dubious achievements, and gave them an "F"

Today's Gallup has Obama at thirty- nine percent approval.

39.

How did Spanky predict that? Cause, he did, last week.

Right on, Spanky!

Let's hope Obama gets lots of coverage on his bus tour.

He'll be in the twenties by the end of September

Obama shelved in 2012.

@Jolly

if it's a fire fight, you're shooting blanks.

JAS1 If you took the time to read all of it, it would seem like double. These people are going to run out of Kool-Aid one of these days.

imnotlost:

[Mickey, NY just posted 29 pages of some of the most boring stuff I have ever read. If he didn't go on those propaganda websites he'd have nothing. All 29 pages (screens) add up to less than zero but he actually thinks this is major stuff. Pity. It sounds more like an 8th grade diary.]

Dude...you're all about shooting the messenger, right? Seeing as how you couldn't refute any...not one...of those accomplishments, you attack my post for being...

...wait for it...

...wait for it...

...wait for it...

...29 pages long...quite telling, if you ask me.

[None of that drivel from Mickey,NY comes close to a major accomplishment. Some of it is outright dangerous though.]

Really...now how about you go back and read through the list and pick out everything that has benefited you, personally...I'm sure there is SOMETHING you could find, right?

Usually ignorants like you pick out the fact that he planted a garden, or that he had a swing set installed for his kids...

Personally, I think you're as sharp as a marble, but why let my opinion get in the way of some good 'ole fashioned facts, something that scared the @!$%# out of you.

...conservatism truly is a mental illness...

smiffy:

Gee! I only counted 29. Larger screen?

[It just felt like 30.

Next time Little Mick, save the bandwidth and just post a link.]

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, care to refute any of that post?

no republican will refute any of your post Mickey.

and let me say, since the right is so willing to give Obama the heave ho since according t o them he OWNs all of the current problems. then could you sign here and now, that a turn around will also be Obama's responsibility and you guys will sing praises of Obama in Washington DC on the steps of the Capital ?

Little Dickey: So, care to refute any of that post?

9%+ unemployment. 1 in 7 Americans on food stamps. 24 million unemployed or under employed. 1.3% GDP and falling. Downgraded debt rating. Consumer confidence lowest since Carter. 6 million foreclosures under Obama with more to come. $4 trillion added to the debt in 2.5 years. Debt ceiling raised three times in 30 months for a total of $5.5 trillion dollars.

And it's all on Obama Little'Fella.

How did Spanky predict that? Cause, he did, last week.

Right on, Spanky!

Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

smiffy,

[9%+ unemployment. 1 in 7 Americans on food stamps. 24 million unemployed or under employed. 1.3% GDP and falling. Downgraded debt rating. Consumer confidence lowest since Carter. 6 million foreclosures under Obama with more to come. $4 trillion added to the debt in 2.5 years. Debt ceiling raised three times in 30 months for a total of $5.5 trillion dollars.]

Yah know, you're absolutely right...things are B-A-D BAD out there . But where you experience EPIC FAIL is the fact that they aren't bad BECAUSE of Obama, they are bad PERIOD. Did you forget the fact that the economy tanked BEFORE Obama was elected? Remember your 401(k)? Remember the value of your home? The fact that the GOP/Teabagger party has FAILED to work with Obama on the severely important issues facing our country, but chose to undermine and undercut a sitting American president instead (in my opinion, a treasonous act), and at the most vulnerable time in our history should really make you think, but it seems that that doesn't bother you one bit does it?

...your inaction speak volumes, Smiffy.

When you stand sit there and post "its all Obama's fault", you lose ALL credibility. You're all about seeing Obama fail, aren't you...you'd wish that on your fellow countrymen that are unemployed, or on food stamps? Really? Be very careful what you ask for, Smiffy...you just may get it.

That is what is truly pathetic about your posts...it's not WHAT you support, it's WHY you support it.

[And it's all on Obama Little'Fella.]

Again, you're right...and he knows it. So how about you stop being part of the problem, and become part of the solution? You're a grown woman, right?

Oh, and my offer still stands...email me if you want to "kiss the baby"...I'd be happy to oblige...

Oh, and my offer still stands...email me if you want to "kiss the baby"...I'd be happy to oblige...

I'd be careful there Mickey - with all of JS1's teeth gnashing there's no doubt she bites...

[I'd be careful there Mickey - with all of JS1's teeth gnashing there's no doubt she bites...]

...what WAS I thinking...

O.K. Mickey, let's do a couple refutes.

• Instructed all federal agencies to promote openness and transparency as much as possible (2009) Yeah, right! It just doesn't apply to him, Pelosi or Reid and their cronies having those secret meetings to pass the destructive HCR.

• Has urged Congress to adopt "Pay-Go" (whereby each dollar of spending is offset by a dollar in cuts or revenues, which was used in the `90s but abandoned in the `00s) (2010) Has urged? Did you really think the meaning of urged is "acheivement?"

• Instituted a new policy on Cuba, allowing Cuban families to return "home" to visit families (2009) The only thing he did here was tinker with a policy already in place. Try reading this web post: http://www.smh.com.au/world/obama-lifting-some-cuba-travel-money-restrictions-official-20090414-a525.html O.K. that's three.

Blame bush all you want, for the eternal question still remains, where were the democrats in all of this?

"American": Blue Dog Democrats,....ever hear of them? Here is where the "Democrats" were in all of this. I think one of them sees the importance of sensible gun legislation now though....probably warming up to it a little more now.

1. Jason Altmire (PA-4)
2. Joe Baca (CA-43)
3. John Barrow (GA-12), Co-Chair for Policy
4. Sanford Bishop (GA-2)
5. Dan Boren (OK-2), Blue Dog Whip
6. Leonard Boswell (IA-3)
7. Dennis Cardoza (CA-18)
8. Ben Chandler (KY-6)
9. Jim Cooper (TN-5)
10. Jim Costa (CA-20)
11. Henry Cuellar (TX-28)
12. Joe Donnelly (IN-2)
13. Gabrielle Giffords (AZ-8)
14. Tim Holden (PA-17)
15. Jim Matheson (UT-2)
16. Mike McIntyre (NC-7)
17. Mike Michaud (ME-2)
18. Collin Peterson (MN-7)
19. Mike Ross (AR-4), Co-Chair for Communications
20. Loretta Sanchez (CA-47)
21. Adam Schiff (CA-29)
22. Kurt Schrader (OR-5)
23. David Scott (GA-13)
24. Heath Shuler (NC-11), Co-Chair for Administration
25. Mike Thompson (CA-1)

and spare us the filibuster argument for 2009-2010.

Sorry "American". I know it damages your premise, but I must. Obama had a filibuster-proof majority for only 6 months. You read the exchange on that in last week's posts. Very competent treatment by another poster. So good I archived it. Want me to produce it?

But I do agree with you. Obama is far too republican for my taste, and far too willing to appease and compromise. For the record, I voted for Dennis Kucinich in the primaries. No President can save this country from the ruinous path you republicans have set it on. Jobs offshored, home values in the tank, deregulation, and now I am reading you republicans playing the martyr card with our poor, poor long-suffering corporations.

If you treasonous people could hear how you sound.

Know this: though Obama is far from my perfect candidate I will move heaven and earth to prevent another republican from finishing the job Reagan/Bush started.

OBAMA 2012!!

GOPisextinct: .....I will move heaven and earth.......

You will do nothing of the sort. Regardless of who you talk too in the next 15 months remember this: Effective months ago every voter already has made up his mind and Kool-Aid drinkers like yourself are not going to be effective in garnering additional support for a failed administration.

Tell that to the two republicans recalled in WI, but don't be surprised if they do not believe you.

BTW:

"american"-2051576

A recession / Depression was already in progress when Obama took the Presidency. Face it. Admit it.

Nothing you can say / write will EVER alter time and space as a witness to that reality.

Your attempt at rewriting history is feeble, your motives transparent, and your conclusion is idiotic.

YOUR REPUBLICAN IDEOLOGY DESTROYED AMERICA. Plain and simple.

Nothing you can say will change that. If you do not have the integrity, maturity and the stones to concede that truth then stop posting here.

You totally lack credibility.

IMNOTLOST:

You are not aptly named.

extinct - two things about recessions... They occur every 7 - 12 years and no poltician or economists has evercreated a proven policy to avoid them or minimize them.

What part of the above is lost to you? You and other libs are so focused on someone to blame that you ignore historical events that shape policy. You ignore the realities of politics and compromise. You ignore that we have been moving towards a global economy ever since the 80's.

Where were the democrats from 1980 forward? To suggest that they played no roll in policy decisions is ludicrous.

And bush inherited the dot com bust, so what? If you and others want to dwell in the past, that just makes you part of the problem, not the solution.

If obama wants to rail against the right like a congressman then he is alsoa part of the problem. He was elected to be POTUS, a unifier, leader and motivator and as such take a non partison approach to leading America.

Care to enlighten us on what ideology was enacted into law destroyed America? Tax cuts were supported by both parties. Environmental concerns were supported by both parties. Educational concerns were supported by both parties. Spending was wanton by both parties. Seems like the only ideological difference lies within the context of government size, the degree by which government wants to control us from the cradle to the grave. Perhaps it disturbs you that the right was the first to wake up on the past errors made by both parties on spending more than what was coming in

If I am such a history revisionist are you so foolish to say that reagan and clinton couldn't work with an opposing congress? Are you so foolish to say that the POTUS's job is no longer one of being a unifier and motivator but now one of partisanship? I have no need to revise history, just need to point out the inconsistancy of your and other liberal arguments.

You and other libs are so focused on someone to blame........

extinct - Obama (as potus) owns the economy and recovery which went hand in hand with his "hope and change" thingy. His failure to lead and establish unity.......

Both of the above are your statements. Hypocritical and contradictory, and with your OWN words. Sounds like the 2nd is an awful lot like focusing on "someone to blame". Pot,....meet kettle.

I have no need to revise history, just need to point out the inconsistancy of your and other liberal arguments.

BUT YOU ARE ATTEMPTING TO REVISE HISTORY AMERICAN!!! AS CITED ABOVE.

I repeat:

A recession / Depression was already in progress when Obama took the Presidency. Face it. Admit it. Own it. Man up,..."party of responsibility". I will not ever back down from that common sense FACT.

And just how would you "negotiate" with today's republicans? Invoking Reagan is an entirely different animal. Times were different.

Joe: Your sentence is in three parts. Delete the last part. LOL

Makes it easier for you to understand what I said. LOL

I believe that he thought a stronger showing in the straw poll would boost his coverage in the news, as well as his fundraising.

Isn't it remarkable that a republican can recognize when something is not working- a lost cause, even- while Obama can never admit that anything has failed? That he blames the consequences of his policies on his predecessor, republicans in congress, Americans being too dumb to recognize his greatness, the sun getting in his eyes, tripping over a rock. . .

Isn't it remarkable that a republican can recognize when something is not working- a lost cause, even- while Obama can never admit that anything has failed? That he blames the consequences of his policies on his predecessor, republicans in congress, Americans being too dumb to recognize his greatness, the sun getting in his eyes, tripping over a rock. . .

Invariably all of your posts are deflected and redirected into the same old Obama-bashing. Truly you have a dizzying intellect.

Pawlenty would never have gotten any higher than third, IMO. He was not a tea partier and not a true conservative. He is much like another wishy-washy fellow from Minnesota - Charlie Brown.

He plain just ran out of money!

He plain just ran out of money!

Well if he wasn't bought off by the Koch's and ALEC maybe he was the right guy for the job after all.

I'm guessing if Romney or even Huntsman pull it out, there might be a "Tea party" candidate--perhaps even Palin if she doesn't extort her way on to the ticket "put me on or I'll run as an independent."

While I appreciate your sentiment, the blame for not rolling up the sleeves is one sided, the right wide. President Obama and democrats would like to roll up their sleeves and work together; they've certainly compromised to prevent default and government shut down to name a couple. Talk to the Tea-publicans who do not understand what the words "together" or "compromise" mean.

Jody, what the democrats and Obama offered up - "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today" - wasn't compromise at all. It was just the usual way of kicking the overspending problem down the road. The debt ceiling increase was TODAY, the spending cuts were LATER, which in Washington DC means never.

How about the asking of the rich who have had tax cuts for the last 10 years to pay more and then one could believe that the republicans actually care about the debt.

Yes the republicans clearly want to kick the problem down the road by the proven wrong ideal (Hoover) that you can cut your way out of a recession.

Our country needs increased revenue and has needed increased revenues since going to 2 wars. Over 80% of our country thinks we should raise taxes on the richest.

This overspending problem (wars, tax cuts) created in the congress by republicans have now decided the problems are all caused by the poor. Due to the debt ceiling increase you think that all cuts should come to the poor and to show national pride and the sharing of sacrifice the rich agreed to keep their tax cuts and thank America for borrowing money so they can keep more money and finally buy that 15th house and donate to the republicans as a thank you.

Obama 2012 if you love America more than protecting the rich from fair taxes

Let me see. Bachmann bought 4,000 votes and she won by 4,823. Pawlenty bowed out because she authentically got 823 votes? Sounds like he didn't have any determination or persistence anyway. He thinks she authentically won. Do those voters even have to reside in Iowa? And no no Democrat or Independent is going to vote for you when they see and hear you. I hope someone has a collage of her pictures. Now she is doing jobs????? and reasonable fairminded people are supposed to support her. Have they not been listening. And is Minnesota open for business yet. Last time iI heard they closed it down. For real. Obamacare is killing jobs? Really? How? Because they might have to come up with insurance someone closes down. That is a big exaggeration and downright lie.

Paul, it's obvious you haven't read history. Look at the election campaigns for/against pres. Lincoln.

Impossible!

Being you are repeating the rights talking points, why do I not believe you are an real independent. Unless you call an independent leaning tea partier really being independent.

I could call myself an independant, except I know their is not a chance in He!! that I could ever vote for a republican defender of the rich making sure they never pay a fair tax. Not a socialist tax, just a fair tax.

Barack Obama was destined to be president.

He has led this country despite a public announcement from the republicans that their TOP priority is to make him a one term president.. Their plan is to have us run up even more debt, support not ending the wars, hurt America's global standing and create class warfare instead of jobs. Instead of working with the president they have behaved in a seditious manner.

He will win in 2012

Independents have no party or nominee

I miss White Castle hamburgers

You're an independent? LMAO

I am an Independent Democrat who is a Christian capitalist

and I love White Castle's

Barack Obama is destined to be be a one term president.

Well -- it you look at the numbers, the only republican beating him is Romney and a Mormon will not get the GOP nomination.

Please, your not an independent, who are you kidding? Your just a fence sitter waiting for the right wind to blow and your leaning republican any way...

and still over a year until election day

I also predict that with the current cast of characters passing as GOP contenders ("sacrificial lambs"), that Saturday Night Live is going to have to host a job fair just to have enough actors to attempt to lampoon these loons.... but I don't envy the task of the SNL writers --- it's going to be tough to come up with lines that are funnier that the things they espouse as plans and policy.

Now that Timmy the Twit is out - notice that the most publicity his campaign could generate was by quitting - he's free to pursue his true calling in life: president of the Apathy Club; because who could we possibly care less about?

Geez, so many idiots, so few villages!!