How long before Cain recycles one of his "Hate Bush" or "Hate America" posts here today?
George W. Bush's presidency began to go off track with his vision that he could bring democracy, stability and peace to the Mideast by going to war in Iraq -- all before he finished the war in Afghanistan.
At first it looked like he would succeed when the U.S.-led coalition routed Saddam Hussein from power so quickly. But Bush and his Pentagon team failed to anticipate, much less repel, the insurgency that followed. Several years of failure followed until Bush named Gen. David Petraeus to head up the troop surge following the 2006 midterm elections.
Though the surge largely succeeded -- to the consternation of Bush's critics -- the outcome is still a far cry from the stable, democratic Mideast peace that Bush had envisioned. Looking back, it's clear many of his foreign policy decisions were not only wrong, but were born of hubris and expectations way beyond what was possible.
Now you have to wonder if President-elect Barack Obama isn't embarking down the same "hubris path" in domestic policy that Bush took in his foreign policy.
Is Obama expecting too much from his stimulus plans? Is he biting off more than he can chew? We hope not, but all the promises he's made, even since his election, have us concerned.
Can his administration really create or preserve, via bailouts, 2.5 million jobs over the next two years while reducing taxes for 95 percent of the people -- including those who don't pay taxes?
Even assuming a president can "create" jobs, which is fallacious, that seems like an awfully tall order, particularly since Obama plans to do it with huge federal "investment" programs, especially in infrastructure and "green" technology needs.
Politicians pushing for more government intervention in our lives have learned to describe their big spending programs as "investments." But that's a canard. Only the private sector can create wealth.
Government doesn't invest, it spends; it doesn't create jobs either, though it may encourage their creation with taxpayer money.
And taxpayer money comes from individuals, families and businesses that earn it in the private sector. Without a flourishing private sector, there can be no government "investment. Certainly the government can print money, inflate the currency and run up trillions of dollars in deficits. But that's not investing; it's committing economic suicide.
Obama's huge federal stimulus projects may work for awhile -- just as they did during the first few years of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's presidency -- but after that, unless the private sector revives, the economy will go downhill fast as businesses collapse, markets crash, and jobless rates soar to double-digit Depression levels.
Government stimulus packages and bailouts cannot by themselves bring the economy back to life, but done properly they can be the medicine that helps the private sector economy get back on its feet. It's a delicate recovery procedure -- one that we all hope an Obama administration can pull off.
There has been some talk from the Obama team -- albeit unnamed sources -- that he will leave the Bush tax cuts alone for now, won't be raising taxes on "the wealthy" anytime soon, and that he may even ask Congress for a cut in corporate taxes. Indeed, these actions would be very healthy for the private sector. Let's hope they're not just rumors.
When hubris gives way to common sense, good things can happen -- in both foreign and domestic policy.
Comments
How long before Cain recycles one of his "Hate Bush" or "Hate America" posts here today?
It's a big stretch that The Augusta Chronicle editorial staff (ACES) makes from equating an ill-advised, unnecessary, unwise, immoral, illegal, unwinnable, war of choice and aggression against Iraq to policies that Barack Obama must adopt to confront the biggest economic and financial crisis since 1929. Remember that ACES bought into the U.S. war of aggression in Iraq at every step of the way. On Memorial Day 2006 The Chronicle wrote a landmark editorial saying if the situation did not improve in Iraq we should withdraw troops by the end of 2006. The situation did not improve. The expert Iraq Study Group (which included then President of Texas A&M & former director of the CIA Robert Gates) advised The President to begin withdrawing troops while consulting with Iraq's neighbors in a summit seeking a regional political settlement to the war. Instead President Bush ignored his advisers again (just as he ignored experts when he ordered the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003) and decided to escalate the number of U.S. troops in Iraq along with the costs of the war born by the American people. ACES claims the surge has been a success, but it has not been. (cont'd)
There is no military victory to be had in Iraq. The faltering U.S. economy & the divide in the American electorate over the war in Iraq led to the near landslide election of Barack Obama. The terms signed by the Bush administration & the Iraq govt led by Prime Minister Maliki are essentially the same terms that Bush could have negotiated in 2006. All U.S. troops are to be withdrawn from Iraq by the end of 2011. President Bush has been forced to accept a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. troops. Iran even agrees with this agreement if it is approved in a referendum by the Iraqi people. United States political influence & military strength has been severely weakened by the 5 year 9 month long U.S. fiasco in Iraq. Afghanistan is more violent than at anytime since 2001, and instability has spread to Pakistan and perhaps India. The entire Middle East & south Asia has been destabilized by Bush's so-called War on Terror which has failed to catch the terrorists responsible for the 9/11/01 attacks on United States. The U.S. economy has been broken over the anvils of Iraq, Afghanistan, and now Pakistan. ACES conflates this debacle with the ensuing domestic crisis. That is hubris!
Thank you "Tokyo Cain" for another one of your awe inspiring posts. If only America would be destroyed and return as a dictatorship.
How long before "SisterAbdullahX" writes his own well-constructed thoughts in coherent fashion instead of merely a priori disparaging mine?
The same goes for you too, patriciathomas. What are your coherent, well constructed thoughts, if you have any? You and "SisterAbdullahX" are both "good Germans" and full-fledged American Idiots.
Yes Cain, we all know your feelings for anyone that has any positive feelings or thoughts for this Country. Thank you for sharing, ad infinitum
Dear troops, Thank you for winning the war in Iraq. We will welcome you home as the liberators of 50 million Iraqis. Jod ell done!
Dear President Bush, Thank you for keeping our nation safe for eight years. Liberty and the pursuit of happiness are nothing without LIFE!
Didn't the Pope tell Bush that invading Iraq was not a good idea? Maybe Mr. factchecker can verify that.
Cain, you imbecile, the war was an analogy. He is talking about the economy and Obama's plans and problems. Hubris is Cain believing anyone gives a crap about his opinion or even bothers to read his retorts anymore. hee,hee,hee. Cain believes all those who served in the war should be spit on-just like he did those stupid Vietnam vets who served. He wants to tell each family how their son or daughter died for nothing, and tell all the soldiers who lost body parts what a waste.
BIZARRO "those stupid Vietnam vets who served"
Being a VIETNAM VETERAN I thing you are mirror image of those that have no idea what war or peace means. Both need to be understood and experienced to speak.
Cain believes you are a stupid vet-not I. You didn't get it.
Bizarro - it is possible to criticize the Iraqi war and not imply criticism of our troops. All honor goes to those who serve in the US military, who follow the lawful commands of their superiors, who fight to achieve the objectives given them while protecting themselves, their buddies, and civilians. God bless them!
All dishonor about this war goes to the President, his administration, and the Congress. It is a criticism of the politicians, not our military. And the criticism is deserved.
Cain, until you write something coherent here, I wouldn't be worrying about Sistah's writings. BTW, I am still waiting for you to tell us who or what credible body/court or government agency has declared the war in Iraq as "illegal" as you continuously blabber about.
Have y'all read today's Associated Press article about Bush being advised in Jan. "06 that Cal. morgage lender Paris Welch wrote warning of"expect fallout,expect forclosures,expect horror stories"? Bush bowed to pressure from Wall St. and listen to the head of Washington Mutual say that" these morgages have been considered more safe and sound for porfolio lenders than many fixed rate morgages". Two years later Wash. Mutual was the biggest U.S. bank failure in history. Can you say Smoking Gun? Check it out!
Yes ameliaf, it is possible, but not for cain. He was quoted as saying, "[filtered word] the american soldier in iraq."
The answer to the first post of the day........ 23 minutes. He can't even acknowledge that things are MUCH better in Iraq. He was too vested in defeat to admit victory.
NPR reporter Ivan Watson narrowly escaped a "sticky" car bomb today. Watson says that violence has definitely escalated since the U.S.-backed govt of Iraq signed an agreement with United States allowing U.S. troops to stay in Iraq another 3 years. The surge did not solve anything. Things are not better in Iraq. The entire U.S. war in Iraq has been an unmitigated failure and costly in lives, money, and the loss of U.S. political influence.
Hussein is gone. I think there are some people in Iraq pretty glad of that. It doesn't mean that I agree we should have been the one to depose him. I think the UN should have lived up to their job. But you can't get around the fact that there are people there glad we came in.
So since Cain can site anecdotal violence, that means that the conditions in Iraq aren't far greater. Makes sense. There is a CONSENSUS among EXPERTS that say that conditions in Iraq are far better today. Sorry Cain....but you are wrong again.
Hundreds died in horrific murders in the US yesterday. I guess the Revolutionary war is unwinnable.
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