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Subscribe to RSS“For a president coping with a hyper-partisan Congress, a fix-resistent economy, a crack in the monument outside his living-room window, and a hurricane about to lash 60 million of his citizens, there were probably few better people for him to have dinner with last night,” the Boston Globe reports. “President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama dined at the tasty State Road restaurant on Martha’s Vineyard with Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and state first lady Diane Patrick.”
Obama will need a support system, because Cornell West has been a thorn in his side, and does it again today with an op-ed in the New York Times: “The age of Obama has fallen tragically short of fulfilling King’s prophetic legacy. Instead of articulating a radical democratic vision and fighting for homeowners, workers and poor people in the form of mortgage relief, jobs and investment in education, infrastructure and housing, the administration gave us bailouts for banks, record profits for Wall Street and giant budget cuts on the backs of the vulnerable.”
The Washington Post: “From the start of his history-making tenure, the nation’s first black president took care never to be seen making policy or political decisions aimed solely or directly at black America. His position: He is the president of the whole country, focused on broad-based fixes to ‘lift all boats.’ The race-avoidance strategy served President Obama well, helping him attract support from many whites while also mobilizing African Americans energized by the powerful symbol of a black commander in chief. But a soaring jobless rate among African Americans and a newfound comfort by black lawmakers to criticize Obama’s economic policies are prompting the White House to recalibrate — and to focus more directly on the struggles of black America.” For example: “This week, the White House dispatched a top official to participate in a Congressional Black Caucus jobs forum in Miami that had been scheduled in part to pressure the White House.”
Bloomberg’s Jonathan Alter has Obama’s back: Tell me again why Barack Obama has been such a bad president? I’m not talking here about him as a tactician and communicator. We can agree that he has played some bad poker with Congress. And let’s stipulate that at the moment he’s falling short in the intangibles of leadership. … What, specifically, has he done wrong on policy? What, specifically, would you have done differently to create jobs? And what can any of the current Republican candidates offer that would be an improvement on the employment front? I’m not interested in hearing ad hominem attacks or about your generalized ‘disappointment.’”
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I have no doubts that I have a friend in the President. I can be Rick Perry's friend, too. All I have to do is be willing to work at minimum wage with no benefits for one of his cronies and keep my mouth shut - other than to express my gratitude for having a (lousy) job.
Economic hardship transcends race. President Obama needs to make the public understand that he gets this.
I couldn't agree more with Jonathan Alter. All Republican candidates MUST be CAREFULLY scrutinized on what their programs mean for average Americans. Will they actually assist in the creation of decent jobs or will they just verbally pass gas about it!
Bet you wish that the President was "CAREFULLY" scrutinized before he was elected don't you? Now we know that you can't elect a community organizer with no real world business experience as a president, otherwise unemployment will skyrocket.
its OK, mathscrews' leg is still a tinglin!
@ Hamilton: Don't tell me that you are blaming the unemployment on the president. Boy, are you brainwashed. Let's see, whose policy was to GIVE money from our taxes for companies to move away. Little Bush. He could have ask the congress to make a policy that while letting companies EXPAND overseas do not create unemployment here. There we 43,000 industries that left the country and with them 15 million jobs. Then Bush said he created jobs? Let's see. MILITARY jobs are not jobs. He got us into two war and did not allow a "war tax" to come into our till. Those wages increase the burden of money needed to pay for those wars. We have to pay the military their wages. Then what did he do? He borrowed. Instead of raising taxes.
Then lately what has the congress been doing? Well, lets analyze:
Lets say the US is a corporation who hires a CEO to make the corporation richer. But there is a small group of subordinates that no matter what the CEO tries this group sabotages, and the corporation can't do nothing to fire them. That example is what is happening in the US. The president's actions are being sabotaged by a small group of the leaders in congress. Their main priority have been to make sure Obama fails. So, unless that small group leaves or gets fire this will continue to happen because unlike a corporation the US will not be able to survive unless the president have success. The president is like the CEO, when CEOs fail so do the companies those CEOs work for. How dumb do you have to be in order to believe that we can be successful while the president fails? That congress has to be sent home, "do not pass go and do not collect 200". They should be impeached.
Other than marrying a rich, young trophy wife, what "real world business experience" does Sen. McCain have?
unemployment below 8% within three years or ill be a one term pres. his words, every year so many speeches ,I will not sleep untill you have jobs, all i do is think of jobs and as soon as i get back from lavish vac. Ill tell you the same old speech but i will add how bush is at fault, bush spent four trillion dollars in 8 years ,he is un patriotic and un american , O now the 5 trillion Ive spent in three years does not make me unpatriotic . Unemployment is higher after a trilion in stimulis, his approval rateing under 40% gas is still unaffordable but yet still no drilling being done because he is a spineless president.A lot of people are staying home and going to draw unem,ployment and food stamps when will you people just admit that you elected a failure with no experience who just wants to be in the limelight.
Poor poor President Obama. But he has a friend in MSNBC, and the mainstream media!
"For a president coping with a hyper-partisan Congress, a fix-resistent economy, a crack in the monument outside his living-room window, and a hurricane about to lash 60 million of his citizens"
Yes, the economy is resistant to the "fix" of a totally failed Far Left statist spending spree...
"Far left?" Bob -1887910 you must have been born in 90's in order to make that statement. If Obama is far left than Reagan was a Communist.
lol, and here i thought i was the "true enemy. a racist, hostage-taking, extreme terrorist"!
sorry bam bam, you and your minions are no friend of mine.
How about... a " friend with a spine ".
SSDD
I was watching MSNBC this morning and one of the commentators was saying there was a race component to President Obama's approval rating. He stated "it is still up in the black community, a little lower in hispanic, and 33% with whites."
He was implying that it was whites being racist, but actually this is a perfect example of racism on part of the black voters. Why isnt his approval rating low in the black community with unemployment at 20%? Because they like him just because of the color of his skin. Imagine if white people said "well president bush isnt making me happy but i like him because he is white."
HamialtonShotFirst12 - You just can't make that same analogy because white people presume their authority and their dominance from the outset. When an entire race of people has been excluded from power and authority, they will perceive things differently and they will act and respond differently. Why would white people consciously say that when they have no basis to think differently.
Another white guy playing the victim card. Please HamiltonSotFirst12, you are embarressing us whites. You must be happy that the Federalist Party died with Hamilton. Come back to the 21st century soon.
How can you say that in 2011, with a black president, with equality for all, that an entire race has been excluded from power and authority?
We all know the past. It is well documented and known to everyone about the black race in this country. However, at some point there has to be an end of apologizing and making excuses like you are. No one alive today had anything to do with slavery. Most people involved in the Jim Crow era and hate crimes from the 60s are either dead or in nursing homes.
How can you think that the playing field is still not even. Barack Obama should motivate the black community. He put his head down and worked hard. He did not take the easy way out and drop out of school. He did not get involved in crime. He sacrificed his time when he could have been going out to clubs and instead was earning multiple degrees. I would bet that Barack Obama has no sympathy for a black person who claims that they have been excluded from power and authority. He would probably tell them off the record to "grow up" and work hard and do not make excuses.
**No victim card here. I also think it is ironic that you assume i am white. "Ask not what my country can do for me, but what I can do for my country." Oh how times have changed... probably cant even put up an American flag in your neighborhood huh?
You can stop apologizing when you stop being a racist! That hasn't occurred yet in any state. Much less the South and Midwest. All data is available to prove my point through all states and the federal government. Even some local government has the data to show that we have a long way to go still eliminating our country of racists. Open your eyes.
Hey Hamilton - What's the chip on your shoulder for anyway???? I was trying to give you an historical perspective of where the African American attitude may be coming from. You may think things are equal now but I can tell you from the advantage of being a white woman, things are not as equal as you may think. Witness the concerted attempt to roll back voting rights and roll back women's rights. If you think for one minute that the true motivating factor is either the protection of the fetus' or the protection of the integrity of the vote, you my friend are living in lala land......
That's right AnaBana. You have no rational argument so throw out the racist card. Typical loser in an argument. Reminds me of the Democrats in Congress. Hey maybe you should run!! You would fit right in!
But honestly you should get some original thoughts of your own, become more of an independent thinker and not so much of a broken record of liberal responses.
He's right guys, a black President = racism is over
derp
Mr. West has a point and Mr. Alter is an apologist.
We can agree that he has played some bad poker with Congress.
He naively offered a hand and attempted to be moderate and accommadating at first. However after the first few slaps in the face by the GOP you would have thought he would have learned. Instead he doubled down and continued to bend backwards. At times it seems he has given up on his earlier professed ideals. Because of those bad hands (bush tax cuts, debt deal) the country is worse off.
What, specifically, has he done wrong on policy?
He watered down HCR excluding a public option diminishing the ability to reign in cost increases. He increased troop strength in Afganistan twice bogging us down in a war that will last more than a decade. He extended the Bush Tax cuts despite his promises which added to the deficit. He agreed to continue the Patriot act and allow continued rendition and wiretapping agendas. Despite his balanced approach idea he agreed with the GOP to an all cuts no revenue debt deal.
What, specifically, would you have done differently to create jobs?
He should have removed the roughly 40% of tax breaks that were in the stimulous plan. At least half of that could have been focused on infrastructure development instead. Stimulous helped staunch the bleeding but was not sufficiently large.
And what can any of the current Republican candidates offer that would be an improvement on the employment front?
The only thing a republican candidate would improve is-Shrugs shoulders. The front runner made his bones as a private sector firm raider that cuts jobs and the lot believe in business in lieu of people so...
Obama is still the only choice for a liberal, but I would like him to act like a democrat this last year he is in office.
Great post! I'm in 100% agreement with your assessment of Obama's accomplishment. I too would like him to act more like a Democrat. If and when I ever meet him I plan on take time to remind him that a "D" stands next to his name and he needs to remember that when making policy. Obama 2012.
Fresh from MSNBC, a wholly owned subsidiary of the white House:
US economic growth slower than expected in spring
US on recession watch after stock sell-off, drop in consumer, business sentiment
Yup....do we sing Kumbaya now?
Fools...
Thank you, Mr. President. You are doing a Great Job, considering the Republican blockade that has been placed before you.
If I am a fully employed Democrat or an entitlement-receiving Democrat looking for more, Obama might be my friend. His definition of friendship sounds a whole lot more like co-dependence than anything I would consider a true friend. Well, in any case this "friend" of his intends to vote for someone else so my "friend" the President can take an extended vacation on his own nickle.
fully employed democrat??? don't bogart that joint my friend!!
Presidents always pay for their own vacation, and that is a fact.
Job1-
Sure, and they pay for all the secret service costs, etc. Right?
You really miss my point. President Obama is simply not everyone's friend next door. What a line of BS. Do you think President Obama considers himself a friend of every Tea Party member? He is selective, like everyone else. So stop the political spin. It simply is political rhetoric.
But if you want to focus on who pays for the President's vacation, that is alright too. Keep it superficial.
The Secret Service is required to be with the President at all times. The President has tried to be a friend to all of the people of the United States. However, many would rather spit in his face because he is the wrong color for them.
Tom the mystified: President Obama has the average Tea Party member's interests in mind more than they themselves do, judging by the way they vote.
Job1 and Ash Plissken-
You have convinced me! I give up!#@#^*!! There is no sense in discussing issues with folks that are dyed-in-the-wool Obama supporter. There are reasons sheep are considered followers and not leaders.
Oh course, I am unlikely to vote for anyone that wants to lead a herd of bleating sheep! But you already knew that.
Assume what you want about me, but I'd run against Obama myself if I wasn't afraid of splitting the vote and handing the election to a crazy person.
But I admit, I voted for him, and still think we'd have been a lot worse off with McCain and Palin.
Ash Plissken-
I appear to be in the same boat as you. Hopefully a viable Obama alternative will emerge. I am not seeing it yet and time is running out.
My Agenda: I don't need an incompetent liar as a friend. I especially don't need one as the president of my Country!
you must be one of karl roves guys
Republicans need to stop trying to destroy the social safety net of social security and medicare. If they continue to go down this road they do so at their own peril. Republicans are never going to convince a majority of Americans to eliminate programs that benefit them at the most vulnerable time in their lives. And if your argument to me is that we are not going to eliminate them just alter them....well I say good luck. Americans aren't going to condone benefit reductions either especially since there are many ways to fix these programs that won't require direct reductions in benefits. Several that come to mind directly are raising the cap on income that is subject to FICA tax. Right now that cap is set at $106,000. This is probably the fastest and easiest way to shore up the social security trust fund. The retirement age is already gradually being increased to 67 so any increase to age 70 over a 75 years period would not do anything to harm the current or next generation but it would again stablize the trust fund. But go ahead Republicans....make your case often and loud. It will be fun to watch you all get voted out of office come 2012.
Since when did a safety net become so readily available. Here is simple fact about social security- when it was established the age was set at 65. The average life span was 48 years old. It was never meant to be a retirement program, it was meant to give aid to those who could no longer work for themselves. Now the average life span is over 70 years old and the Democrats wonder why it is not sustainable.
American people have been dumbed down and forgotten the roots of this country. When the colonists arrived, if you didn't work, you didn't eat. Now if you don't work we can get you some food stamps, health insurance, a place to live and Social security insurance. There are alot of people who truly need these things and there are also alot of people who would rather sit around all day instead of work.
People also forget how our west coast was populated. You had people who were poor in the east and decided that they could go west and get a fresh start. The ones who went out there and were willing to work could make it. Now you have people who say they can't move from their town. Why??? If you can't find a job in your town, go find one. Yes it will be hard, but at least you wont be dependent on the government.
Funny how all the Dems are complaining about Obama, but none of them has the guts to call for him to step aside and let real leadership take over. They can't stand by their principles but they will stand by their man, no matter what!!!. They should be running someone against him in the primary, if for no other reason than to force him to stand up for what they believe in. If the Dems are so concerned about Obama's lack of a spine, they should look in the mirror and see the pile of jelly they themselves have become. They elected an inexperienced, spineless ideologue and now they are stuck with him for another 16 months. Oh the pain, Will Robinson, oh the pain! Snivel, snivel.
KingK - they should look in the mirror and see the pile of jelly they themselves have become.
Its called strategy. Democrats will not recapture the House in 2012. In the Senate they have to defend 22 seats in 2012. If they lose four seats the GOP will gain control, if they lose fourteen the GOP would gain 60 votes and be able to block any chance of a Democratic filibuster on legislation.
If Obama wins, the one and only thing that he will be able to do is to veto. With a GOP house and Senate the GOP could pass anything unopposed and you do know that there would be an onslaught of bills that would lessen entitlements, lessen environmental reforms, lessen regulations, increase tax cuts and cut the federal government to an unrecognizable size.
Party purity tests and primary talk against Obama are not reasonable. It will be hard enough for him to win with the predicted +8% unemployment.
-dg5&rdlj? - Sorry I was Jello jiggling as I write.
"For a president coping with a hyper-partisan Congress, a fix-resistent economy;" the resistance to fixing the economy has been and continues to be the gotp who have decided for their own wealthy backer's political gain to resist, obstruct and obfuscate.
Well, not only do I feel I have a friend in the president but I can say I am a friend also. And not only a friend of his but a friend of all Americans who are for a balance on everything. Most of us do not realize that to make it in the US we all need living wages, wages that pay the bills and help us not rely on credit. The presidency also need wages that pay the bills that our government is already incurred before the president was born. Those are good programs and from those funds the previous administration borrowed. Republicans want to get their hands on those funds to privatize them and when they are lost in the hose zone of the market, blame Obama for accepting deals. Let us not accept the Republican myths and scare tactics. Our future is not a sock which goes in the dryer and gets lost in the hose zone.
I hate to be the one to remind people about this...
Mitt Romney is a Mormon. It is a basic tenet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons): women are subservient to men.
In other words, men rule the house, and women must do whatever their husband says they should do - and that would be without any questions.
It is not possible to reverse or mediate years and years of that type of thinking and belief. The equal sign to that for the GOP is this. Mitt Romney as a POTUS candidate, would be damaged goods.
No question about it. Same thing for the Bible thumper from Texas...
what do you think obuma is,every poicy has failed, every promise was a lie to gwet elected,he said bush was unpatriotic for spending 4 trillion in 8 years but he dont call himself unpatriotic nor does his party for spending 5 trillion in 3 years,he needs to be a man and admit all his broken promises and failed poicies,you know unemployment below 8% the economy improved within 3 years or ill be a one termed pres. his own words;giving out hundreds of obumacare waivers to his big contributers .he has nothing to run on execpt media favortism esp. msnbc and lets not forget maxine waters who needs to burn in hell actually she just needs to burn.
It is a given that, once a Republican is elected President, the jobs picture will immediately improve dramatically. Everyone knows this.
Only those who like being on the Government dole are afraid of this fact.