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Subscribe to RSSPresident Obama said he related to middle class Americans “looking for a chance,” as he highlighted his administration’s efforts to retrain unemployed workers for new jobs.
Accusing his Republican rivals of trying to revive trickle-down economics instead of spending money on priorities to help the middle class, President Obama says those Republicans "don't seem to remember how America was built."
"I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth. Michelle wasn't, either," the president said to a crowd of 400 students at Lorain County Community College in Elyria, Ohio. “But somebody gave us a chance. Just like these folks up here are looking for a chance.”
The Obama campaign has pushed wealth and economic fairness arguments against Mitt Romney, who would be one of the wealthiest presidents in history -- and that quote was quickly seen as a veiled reference to his GOP opponent this fall.
Amy Sancetta / AP
President Barack Obama reaches out to shake hands with Lorain County Community College student Bronson Harwood after speaking at the college Wednesday in Elyria, Ohio.
And as he criticized Republicans for opposing Democrats’ efforts to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans, he told the crowd that, like them, he doesn’t enjoy paying taxes, but unlike most Americans, he can afford to pay more.
“They want to give me more of a tax break,” he said of Republicans. “Now, I just paid taxes. It’s not like I love paying taxes. But I can afford it. I don't need another tax break."
Obama argued that tax cuts alone don't make the economy stronger and that GOP policies have been tried before and almost brought the “entire financial system” to a collapse.
“Take a look at what happened in Ohio between 2000 and 2008," Obama said. "It's not like we didn't try it. And instead of faster job growth, we had the slowest job growth in half a century.”
But the president also seemed on the defensive, acknowledging arguments against him -- from debt, deficits, and big-government spending. He asserted twice that investing in job training programs and cutting tax cuts for the wealthy did not amount to wealth redistribution, a common conservative criticism.
“Understand, this is not a redistribution argument," Obama said. "This is not about taking form rich people to give to poor people. This is about us together making investments in our country so everybody’s got a fair shot."
And, when arguing that government-subsidized community-college training programs were vehicles for economic growth, he said, “These investments are not part of some grand scheme to redistribute wealth, they’ve been made by Democrats and Republicans for generations, because they benefit all of us.”
Before he spoke, the president held a round table with four unemployed workers who are participating in the Lorain County Community College’s job training programs. He said those individuals represent the American notion that “we don't quit.”
“And so the question now is, how do we make sure that all of America is expressing that spirit through making sure that everybody is getting a fair shot?” he continued. “Because that’s going to be a major debate that we have not just for the next few months but the next few years.”
Following his speech, the president headed to the Cleveland airport en route to Michigan, where he was expected to give two evening campaign speeches and raise money.
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Romney/Rubio 2012
There is NO DIFFERENCE between either of them. They are both of the rich, by the rich, and for the rich. I wouldn't trust either of them with my granddaughters piggy bank. That Bishop had it right comparing obama-rama-ding-dong to hitler and stalin. Rommel's, er romney, isn't far behind.
romney talks of his dad a lot but fails to menchen he was more liberal and in touch with middle class working people than mitt will ever figure out .
Sure would be interested i n finding out just who paid for this guys education in the most expensive schools, His world travels during and right after this education,His House in chicago. Not many community organizers can afford a million dollar house. It would also be interesting who gave him the title of "Professor of constitutional law" a position which he has never held. It would also be very interesting to fin out why the guy who campaigned in all 57 states gets such a free pass by the media who is suppose to be impartial reporters of the news.
republicans , or the just plain greedy ; have been whinning like toddlers since the death of TRICKLED DOWN ECONOMICS. it's time for them to grow up , and face the generational changes of life in AMERICA. the BUSH REGIME bankrupt america with their arrogant and flawed cowboy diplomacy. insisting on speaking WMD's into existance, just to occupy iraq and get even with SADDAM HUSSIEN. forget usama bin laden, is what bush said. all he did was occupy the USA TAX PAYERS MONEY until we were in the red. can you remember the surplus he inherited ? in just 36 months it was history, '' thanks to the spoiled brat republicans. rush limpbrain always said he can out think democrats with his brains behind his back. apparently that american bankruptcy came on his and the repugs watch. in 36 months, OBAMA killed usama, killed ga goofy and his insane followers, killed key leaders of usama's followers, and still offering JOBS BILLS, and working hard to get america out of the quagmere BUSH AND HIS WMD ADMINISTRATION put the USA in. THIS IS ALL YOU REPUBLICAN CONSERVATIVE NUMBSKULLS NEED TO KNOW !!!!!!!!
That's enough Mr Biden, go to bed.
Don't think they have silver spoons in Kenya
I'd like to hear the specifics about how much of law school really got financed by "loans" that had to be paid back, and how much of it was something else, like grants and "scholarships." I don't take it as a foregone conclusion at all that either of them "worked their way through" or borrowed to get through. One would have thought that that would have gotten more specific attention in 2008, but oddly, our media didn't want to dig into things like that, or into an explanation for the rather astonishing proposition that a "law school professor" could have never written a word that can be retrieved and read today.
No silver spoon in his mouth but obama sure has a lying tongue in there.By the way,why did Hussein obama get a foreign student loan? Huh,huh?
Spanky,
The difference between President Obama and the majority of the 1%ers, is that Obama PAYS his taxes.
The bulk of the 1% "fake patriots" shift their wealth overseas. Many of these wealthy folks actually renounce their U.S. citizenship to avoid paying any U.S. taxes. It is better for President Obama to be a blue collar "success," than a selfish and clueless CEO who has mastered tax dodging and who has abandoned his citizen obligations.
You stated that Obama should embrace his wealth.
You are totally correct...he has well earned his "keep."
We as a nation "took a chance" on Barack Obama and believed all his promises. Unfortunately it did not work out. People are divided, the economy is the pitts, people have lost their jobs and homes, and the government is riddled with waste and scandal. It is time for new leadership.
Candidate Obama said he would bring people together. He hasn't done that. He's played various constituencies off against each other for political purposes. Attacking the successful for not paying their 'fair share' is wrong. Unless they're cheating on their taxes, they're paying what the law requires. Taxes are never 'fair'. In the U.S. the top 10% pay 70% of all income taxes. Why is the American President attacking these Americans who pay the 70%.
If he want's to fix the economy, and balance the books - get off this bogus political argument designed to inflame people, and start spending government revenues rationally. As President, his Administration has never submitted anything close to a balanced budget to congress.
Top 10 Obama energy blunders
Wonder why gas prices are surging, with the cost at the pump topping $5 per gallon in some parts of the country? Obama’s anti-energy-producing policies certainly are not helping
The buck stops in the Oval Office, as this list of the President’s energy blunders attest.
1. Keystone kerfuffle
Canadian energy producers want to sell the United States an abundance of oil, if only President Obama gives the go-ahead to build the Keystone Pipeline XL. However, the President has chosen his deep-pocketed environmental backers over U.S. energy needs (and thousands of jobs for American workers). With the Middle East more volatile than ever, developing North American energy resources would help free the United States from being beholden to Islamic fanatics.
2. Volt vanity
After President Obama’s bailout of General Motors, the automaker turned its attention to producing the Chevy Volt. Even with the government’s help, the electric car is a flop, with few buyers and an exorbitant price. The Volt has trouble staying charged in cold weather and the battery can burst into flames long after being damaged in a minor accident. Obama’s fantasy of gasless cars is proving to be among the biggest debacles in automotive history—rivaling Ford’s Edsel and Chevrolet’s Corvair.
3. Solyndra silliness
President Obama made sure the $787 billion stimulus package was stuffed with initiatives meant to create green jobs by the millions. What the taxpayer got in return was a parade of bankrupt companies, led by Solyndra. The solar-panel producing company got a $535 million loan guarantee, with the promise that 4,000 jobs would be created, but end up filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year. Solyndra became the symbol of Obama’s misreading of the marketplace’s demand for green energy.
4. Tesla travesty
Here’s another tragic “green jobs” story. Tesla Motors received $465 million from the Obama administration to produce electric cars. So far the company has created 400 jobs, at a cost of over a million dollars per job, by producing the Tesla Roadster, with a price tag of $100,000 per car. Unfortunately, should the electric car ever become fully discharged, it would cost $40,000 in repairs. Where’s Occupy Wall Street on this?
5. Moratorium morass
After the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, President Obama imposed a moratorium on deep-water drilling. The action prompted oil rigs to relocate to Brazil, costing jobs in America. Obama then offered technology and support for Brazil to develop its offshore oil production, creating jobs in Brazil. Does this make sense to anyone?
6. Drilling dashed
It is not only the deep-water drilling pull-back that is wrongheaded. The President also refuses to consider drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge or along most of America’s coastline. And he is not aggressively pushing for shale oil extraction or natural gas drilling on federal lands. There is an abundance of energy in this country if only the President would seek to develop it.
7. Price pandemonium
Of course energy prices are exploding. That’s what the President wanted all along. Remember his famous utterance, saying that under his policies, “electricity prices will necessarily skyrocket.” Also telling was his selection of Steven Chu as energy secretary. Chu once said that it was important for U.S. gas prices to mirror Europe’s sky-high petrol costs. It looks like he may be getting his wish.
8. Cap and trade catatonic
Despite a big push by the environmental lobby, President Obama couldn’t get his convoluted cap-and-trade package through the Democratic-controlled Senate. The legislation would have raised energy costs for consumers, while enriching visionary thinkers like Al Gore, who tried to parlay his global warming alarmism into a profitable venture by cashing in on the legislation’s emission-credits trading market.
9. Algae acclamation
With enormous areas of shale oil deposits and oil reserves in the U.S. remaining off-limits for development, President Obama has turned his eye to America’s algae resources to solve the nation’s energy problem. The President claims that by harvesting algae, and turning it into fuel, the nation could replace 17% of the oil it imports. Mr. President, if you want to reduce oil imports, here is some advice: Drill, baby, drill.
10. Energy excess
It takes a village of Secret Service agents and White House aides to accompany Michelle Obama and her husband (sometimes) on vacations to Spain, Martha’s Vineyard, Hawaii, etc. With Air Force One gobbling up copious amounts of fuel, even one of the First Couples’ date nights to New York could light a town, or even Al Gore’s house. With Americans struggling to pay high gas prices, perhaps the first family can set an example for the nation and start cutting back on their excessive energy use.
Vote abo
right on, right on, right on.
Why does Obama believe that lack of success makes him more appealing to the American people? A new President "inherits" the wealth of the entire nation. What he does with it defines his success ... or failure.
Romney multiplied his money through skill and hard work. Obama wasted trillions of our money through his OJT approach to being President. Romney never blamed the previous management for his own difficulties – he just fixed what was wrong. Obama ... well you get the idea.
he had a welfare spoon in his mouth and has lived off the govt. his entire life he even got a forgein student aid loan from the ujited states i wonder how you cook dog or do you just eat it raw
I'm so glad that our country believes supporting the education of our future leaders is important. Like most people who go to college (including myself), students loans, grants, odd jobs, work study and family helped get Obama through college.
All the attacks against him are basically attacks against every kid who thinks hard work and education are the keys to success.
My oldest daughter will start college next year. She'll pay for it through savings from part time jobs and family gifts along with student loans and grants. GOD BLESS AMERICA for being more principled than the conservative movement.
What are all these rumors people keep talking about Obama eating a dog? Yours is about the 5th I've seen this week.
Obama ate dog meat while visiting Indonesia as a child. It's an attempt to counter the Seamus in a box with no holes on the roof story.
No human child is born with a silver spoon in his or her mouth, Mr. Harvard Educated. But a few of us do have a more substantial genealogy to report than others.
Who cares that Mitt or any other person was born with a silver spoon in their mouths. This is America and the last time I checked it isn't illegal to be rich. These rich people are the ones giving Americans jobs, go ahead and tax the hell out of them, then they will close up their business and put more people out of work. People born with silver spoons: Everyone in the Ford Family, everyone in Dupont family, everyone in Buffet family, everyone in the Kenndy family,everyone in Harley-Davidson family, the list goes on and on. This country was built on people taking a chance on a business and 100 years their families are carrying on. Stop blaming rich people because you were born poor and you had to eat dog. This is a choice that your parents made, to live poor, they could have lived in America but your dad couldn't a green card.
Obama is a much better entertainer than he is a President, so he continues to spend much of his time where he feels most comfortable, on a stage, doing what he does best, pretending to be a cool celebrity, pleasing a friendly audience and delighting in the adoration. What has he brought us? Obamacare, the price tag for which has already doubled. A failed stimulus loaded up with payouts to crony capitalists and union supporters only to find out as he laughed and joked that things were not shovel ready. Deficits that surpass the Bush deficits that he called unpatriotic. An unprecedented increase in dependency on government.
Lets keep the eye on the ball. Bush drove this country into a ditch. Yes we did have a "great recession" as a result. But Obama's policies may have very well prevented a second depression. So the Republicans are unhappy with the pace of the recovery? What suggestions are they offering to make anything better? More tax giveaways to the rich? More deregulation? More deficit spending by lowering revenues so that we can "starve the beast"? We they want to bring us right back to the same ditch.
In the last year of the Bush presidency the subprime market meltdown began. Bush didn't create that. Bush didn't create the market where the mortgages were bundled and traded, and where CDS instruments were bought and sold (which is like insurance) for the purchasers of the mortgage instruments. When the mortgages failed, the owners of those failed mortgage instruments collected on their "insurance" which didn't pay even money, they paid 5 times, ten times or more than what the actual losses were. That is what caused the huge financial crisis and all the talk about clamping down on banks by the democrats they still, (as near as I can tell) have done nothing to fix this root cause of the problem. But they sure did manage to create miles of pages of regulations and taxes to smash the business world so no recovery could take place. Let me add, that a long time before the subprime mortgage failure the Bush administration tried to rein in Fannie and Freddie and do something to head this mess off but were confronted with a big fat "no way" by Barney Frank, who insisted there was no problem.
Lets keep the eye on the ball. We better because Obama is not. These two entities — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — are not facing any kind of financial crisis, the more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing. Barney Frank 2003 in response to Bush administration overhaul plan.
“I join as a cosponsor of the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005, S. 190, to underscore my support for quick passage of GSE regulatory reform legislation. If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system, and the economy as a whole.”
John McCain 2003
No, he didn't have the silver spoon supplied by parents that worked to pay for that spoon; but rather took the silver spoon from the government and milked it all the way to the bank. Now he wants to hand out silver spoons taken from those who earned them and pass them out to those he wants votes from.
He has got to be the dumbest man ever put into the white house. Damn, even Jimmy Carter ran a town, not that he was a great prez but at least he had some knowledge of how money works.
Jimmy Carter was a governor of Georgia.
no he wasn't, he was the Mayor of a town in Ga. and a peanut farmer
from wikipedia:
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39thPresident of the United States (1977–1981) and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office. Before he became President, Carter served as a U.S. Naval officer, was a peanut farmer, served two terms as a Georgia State Senator and one as Governor of Georgia (1971–1975).[2]
o.k thank you Steve, but you get my point? At least he RAN a state.
I agree with the point you were making
I'm happy that in America there isn't a specific career path that must be followed to become president.
Considering that most politicians are wealthy, having a requirement that one serve as a politician essentially eliminates the vast majority of the country from ever being eligible to for the job.
I'm glad we had men like Roosevelt and Eisenhower as presidents who according to today's conservative movement didn't do anything because they hadn't run a state. Not that Obama has either of their records. But it's good that ANYONE can be president.
Nixon said "if the president does it, it's legal".
Bush (and just about every president who's started a war) circumvents the Constitution to get us into action then asks Congress for funding approval rather than a declaration of war.
I don't think Obama is even close to the first to stretch Executive authority.
How does President Obama get into Columbia and into Harvard without a silver spoon in his mouth as he states or did he just have his nose so far up someone's ass in order to do so. He also stated all he needed was a chance, who gave him this chance and at what price to re-pay? Too many things , just do not add up and the media in general are not doing their job in finding out. Do I detect bias here? I do not have a college degree, but I do have a working mans PHD.
That's right! Nobody gets into prestigious colleges/universities through hard work! He MUST HAVE paid someone off....so says the guy with no college degree.
Rational thinking people KNOW Obama is a hard worker and is a self made man.
Don't like the president's politics? Okay, I understand that - we have liberals, moderates and conservatives, and conservatives generally disagree with the president's positions on things, that is to be expected.
But don't go off on a childish rant not being able to accept that Obama worked hard to get where he is.
Oh, and another thing: I sure am glad we have this self-made man, representative of the best and brightest America has to offer, running the country during difficult times. We are far better off than having someone who coasted through life on his family name, never having to be held accountable for all the bad personal decisions he made.
Does the latter remind you of any president we had recently?
So what if they "rode in on the shirt tails" of their fathers.
And it shows Terry, it shows.
Do you actually have that listed as one of your accomplishments on your resume?
snk,t I did not need a college degree to do my job. However, many that had a degree could not do my job, because they only had theory, while I had the experience and knowledge. I knew many who had multiple degrees, that did not have a job either. I have also x-rayed many people who had degrees and had no common sense either. I never listed on my resume that i never had a college degree, I never had a problem getting a job, because I have a great work history and a highly respected resume from professional people. I don't know who you think you are, but I feel sorry for you. Attitude plus Aptitude equals Altitude, not how many degrees you have.
Terry Williams,
I'm someone who thinks conspiracy theorists like you are a drain on society. Why don't you find out the facts about Obama's college years yourself instead of complaining about the media not doing their job. Even if the media did an in-depth report on this matter you still wouldn't believe what they had to say because you are already at a mindset that there is something President Obama is hiding.
On a side note: I bet you're the type of person who purposely wears a lab coat down to the hospital cafeteria in hopes that people visiting the hospital will think you're a doctor and not some button pushing technician. Am I right Mr. PhD?
snk, unlike you, I do search out and seek the truth. Why are the college transcripts sealed and no available, why has Obama( or who is protecting him) paid out over $900,000 to keep all things sealed. The main stream media does not ask Obama, just throws him softball questions to answer, I have heard the questions ,the main stream media have asked him. That is why he only goes on main stream media shows and networks, afraid of the tough questions, that is why. Why is he avoiding answering any questions that might expose himself. A side note: for your information my type of job requires a white lab coat and a name badge requiring our name and what dept. we work in, most people today can read and understand the difference. And another note for you information, not since the 1960's has there been any technicians in radiology, unlike you we have evolved into Radiologic Technologist, Registered by the ARRT and accepted as professionals in the community. You are so wrong and very ignorant to the facts and should learn before you speak.
Sanitary Engineers are accepted as professionals in the community too Mr. PhD. You got me all wrong. I respect anyone's career choice in life but you're a conspiracy theorist (or is it technologist) and probably a closet racist too that's breathing in air meant for sane people. Get over yourself.
Can someone explain why in the world the Nobel committee would give to Barrack Obama the Peace prize? Was it simply because he got elected to office? Because, let's face it, up until then this man had accomplished exactly nothing. Come to think of it, that's still his current level.
They were impressed with his war fighting skills...
How does one get into Columbia and Harvard University without some connections and without a "Silver Spoon". How do you blame someone else who did work hard all of his life to make it and then try to turn it around and use it against him. This shows the true "Core Value" of one President Obama, when you can't beat the other because you have no record to speak of, you try to tear down someone who does have a record. It doe not matter what university you go to or if you choose not to go to one, what does matter is your core values. It is very evident that President Obama is not a "True American" with American Values, otherwise he would not be doing all he can to separate and divide our Great Country! He would be wise if he would withdraw himself from the election and give the country back to America! I for one, get ill just looking at him and if I have to hear him speak, all I hear is S.O.S., nothing new and the same thing, spews out of the mouths of the other Democrats as well. They must all eat the S.O.S. for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Terry - just hang in there, five more years and Obama will be gone and then you can relax.
Oh, and just to help you relax, you won't have to fear ever running into the president and his wife. They like to socialize with their fellow highly educated (Ivy Leaguers, etc.) friends and associates who also have those advanced degrees.
LOL how do you get "5 more years" from 7 more months?
President Obama comes from the perspective that it's the government's job to take care of everyone. Unfortunately, that perspective breeds dependency, not personal responsibility.
The President also has 2 relatives that immigrated to this country, both living off various forms of welfare.
The president (like most Liberals) believes the governments job is to be an advocate for citizens over entities.
Ironically, people use Obama as a failed example when he's obviously the best possible example of social programs helping when needed then the individual striving to achieve from there. Gov. Rick Scott is another example of someone who benefited from social programs at a young age and grew beyond the need for them.
There's nothing wrong with a social safety net. Having a country that believes you succeed or fail on your own and if you fail, it's your fault, you deserve to die in the streets isn't what successful societies are built on.
How can talk about personal responsibility in one sentence then try and make a connection between Obama and his relatives in the next? Wouldn't personal responsibility mean whatever his relatives do is there business, not his....or ours?
If the President who admits to being wealthy, took care of his own family, including these relatives, the government would not have to do it, would they?
BearDown: There's nothing wrong with a social safety net. Having a country that believes you succeed or fail on your own and if you fail, it's your fault, you deserve to die in the streets isn't what successful societies are built on.
I have not heard anyone, ever, advocate what you state here. Government safety nets are fine and necessary, but the democrat party is pushing policies to slowly take over everything. They believe the government knows better than you and should control it, provide it, regulate it, hand it out, everything. That's not the America I grew up in. People should be allowed to succeed or fail on their own initiative and if they are so allowed, in a free market capitalist economic environment, then you will see that society is much much better off because of it. We'll keep the safety net, too.
That doesn't sound like personal responsibility to me. Most people with financial have family who struggle. Since when is it one persons responsibility to care for everyone in their family. If he's willing to help, great. If not, it's much ado about nothing.
That's why the social safety net is there.
This is more partisan sniping at the president. No different than people connecting Bill Clinton to his brother's problems. Conservatives are good at creating controversy where it doesn't exist.
If you haven't heard it, you aren't listening. Conservatives have attacked everyone from those receiving food stamps to teachers and fire fighters for being greedy and just wanting to "steal our money". Listen to what they're saying about people on social programs....how lazy and irresponsible they are. Even presidential candidate Herman Cain said if you're poor "it's your own fault".
This is partisan trickery playing on your paranoia. There is no master plan to take over everything. Conservatives have been saying the same thing since Lincoln started the income tax. It's tin foil hat stuff.
See above. The Democratic Party believes the government has an appropriate role. Trying to push that to some totalitarian government overtaking the country is partisan hackery. That stuff is good for politicians but we the people should see politicians for what they are instead of becoming them ourselves.
And it never will be.
I'm as liberal as Liberals get and all for the free market. However, I'm not for laissez-faire economics. And by the way, you probably aren't either. For example, do you think heroine should be subject to the free market without regulation? This means decriminalizing it and letting whoever can turn a profit, do so. What about medical services? Free market without regulations? Oil? Guess what happens to oil prices if we really took away regulation and let the free market drive costs. HINT: Prices don't go down as you might think.
My point is, most of us believe in the free market and regulation....we're only separated by how much of each is good for a society as a whole.
you listen to wackos like Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Nancy Pelosi, and Chuck Schumer to much. These people are paid by the DNC to attack the other party and they do nothing but that. If you cannot discern for yourself truth from exaggerated over the top rhetoric than I feel sorry for you because you will go through life believing lies. The democrat party rhetoric is so far out there it is comical. I am bewildered that anyone can buy into what they say. I admit republican leaders sometimes do similar things and I fault them also. But, really, you believe that DNC nonsense?
As I stated, I'm a Liberal, not a Democrat. I happen to like Debbie Wasserman Schultz, she's an intelligent lady. Nancy isn't my cup of tea and Chuck Schumer has been so marginalized that he doesn't matter even within the DNC.
Liberals and Progressives have our own stances much like Conservatives offer differ from the RNC.
I'm not sure what "Democat (sic) Party rhetoric" you're referring to. Most of what I've said is way past what the DNC promotes. I'm one of those people Alan West calls a "socialist". Just like you, I look in disbelief when people actually follow those guys. It only makes sense if you want it to make sense.
Who cares.!
He's one and done.
November 2012 - End of an Error