Barack Obama is going to set out to alter Earth's climate. And why not? He's discovered that he can change the weather from the Oval Office.
In working hard to sell the need for the recent stimulus bill, the president may have overdone the gloom and doom. His weeks-long predictions of catastrophe absent the stimulus bill, says one observer, "served to reinforce a pessimism among the public that has driven consumer demand into the ground."
Indeed, consumer confidence has reached a record low: The Conference Board, a business research consortium, says anything below a score of 80 in its index is worrisome -- and the latest consumer confidence score was 25. It's the worst since the index began in 1967.
Can the president affect the economic climate with what he says? The mainstream media sure thought so in early 2001, as recalled recently by The Washington Times .
"Every time we turn around, this guy is bad-mouthing the economy. Is that lifting our spirit or dumping on it in order to sell his tax cut?" CNN commentator Bill Press said back then of the freshly minted President George W. Bush. Jonathan Alter of Newsweek called Bush "President Poor-Mouth," writing, "Even if Bush turns out to be right in his predictions of gloom, that doesn't mean he was right to make them."
"The New York Times," recalls The Washington Times, "lectured Mr. Bush, saying that presidents were supposed to be 'cheerleaders for the nation's economy.'"
The sad thing is, Mr. Obama didn't need to talk down the economy in order to get the stimulus bill passed. Recalcitrant Republicans weren't arguing to do nothing -- they needed no convincing of the direness of the situation. They were simply voicing sharp disagreement with what was in the Democratic bill -- which, by all accounts, includes many big-spending items that have nothing to do with stimulating the economy.
Obama could have sold the bill without all the gloom and doom by simply fulfilling a key campaign pledge: to seek true bipartisanship. He's talking the talk of compromise, but when the rubber meets the road he falls back on "I won and you didn't."
Regardless, his speech Tuesday night was a welcome departure from the economic trash-talking that can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. We applaud his more upbeat tone. We support his rhetoric of fiscal responsibility and his statement that he's not in favor of big government.
The talk was great.
We look forward to the walk.
And we believe if he does walk the walk, the economy will be the better for it.
The president has a unique ability to take the weather with him.
Yeah, he painted an ugly picture to make us believe extreme measures are necessary exactly as Rahm Emanuel said they would do. Having a White House chief of staff take over the census would be met with protests under other conditions. Now Obama is changing and pointing out how great all his measures are working. If the weather doesn't cooperate, Emanuel may run NOAA's doppler radar from his office in the White House and show us what he wants us to believe.
Did Rush Limbaugh, the acknowledged leader of the Republican Party, personally deliver these talking points to the Augusta Chronicle editorial staff (ACES)? In 2001 there was a budget surplus & the national debt was half what it is today. Thanks to Bushco's warmongering, profligate spending & tax cuts for the rich the budget deficit is now more than $1 trillion & the national debt $11 trillion. Thanks to Bushco's incompetence & intentional abdication of regulatory oversight, the obligatory debt from Ponzi scheme financial instruments like credit default swaps is $67 trillion. Bush & our so-called "serious" leaders including Establishment Democrats broke the system & drove this country into the ground. Greed, corruption & short term profits led to our demise. Now ACES flings its tabloid, Limbaugh-inspired editorials at the person who inherited the biggest financial crisis in the history of the planet. Worldwide toxic debt from these fancy financial instruments tops $600 trillion. And ACES claims the current president is "talking down the economy" because he levels with the people (instead of claiming tax reductions are the magic bullet). Obama's first task is to avoid a depression.
Contrary to what The Augusta Chronicle editorial staff (ACES) claims in its shoe-throwing editorial, recalcitrant Republicans did NOT work in a bipartisan manner. There was no guarantee whatsoever that the stimulus bill would pass. Not one Republican voted for the bill in the House of Representatives and only 3 Republicans voted for the bill in the Senate. It took President Obama, who went to Capitol Hill in an effort to court Republicans, making his case in the strongest terms to get this bill passed. And Republicans are still intent on a strategy of claiming the stimulus won't work so they can ride the discontent into the 2010 and 2012 elections. So who is it that doesn't care about the serous condition that the U.S. and indeed the world economy is now in? It is the give-tax-breaks-to-the-rich Republicans who are insensitive to the plight of ordinary Americans who are suffering extraordinarily.
I agree with one thing Cain rants about. The AC must have been watching a different speech than the one I watched. I saw a president talk about the stock market at 14,000 being a bad economy and unemployment at 4.7% being a suffering economy. I heard a president talking about how he was going to save us from these times by lowering the market (which he's done nicely) and increasing unemployment (which he's also done nicely). He told us how he'd not nationalize the banking system as his appointees work to nationalize the banking system and how he'd cut taxes on all but the people that pay most of the taxes. The charismatic and eloquent O had some pretty scary things to say...to those listening to what he was saying and not how he was saying it. Will America recover from 4 more years of radical Marxist leadership?
theres no difference between the 2 paties other than rhetoric.
warfare/welfare kickbacks, graft, lies, family ties, debt=wealth, war = peace, lies = truth. the coming collapse will be brutal on all.
u r wrong justus . it was caused by both parties. they exported
middle class jobs and promoted service businesses. they failed to educate the young for these jobs. then the internet allowed these jobs to be outsourced all over the world. then they thought financials were the key and they set about ripping off the whole world with financial products no one understands. now it is all collapsing.
President Obama: Bad for CONServatives, good for moderate Republicans, better for independents and Democrats, best for America.
latwon "they" exported middle class jobs? who is they? the only people who exported those jobs are your greedy,back stabbing,doanld trump wannabes ,that we used to call americans.those americans move to pay less tax,and operate sweat shops while watching their profits explode.they then bring those finished products back here,and sell them to us.those americans also look to foreign countries for upper level mgmt jobs seekers knowing the foreigner will work for less.congress can't stop what they do, but you can by not buying their crap as i do.you're exactly right cain.this rag pounded the democrats,especially obama,until their boy mcsenile lost the election.now they challenge everything he says and does daily,hoping he will fail.i wonder why they didn't pound bush for leaving this disaster?because it's a gop rag,no wonder!
oh really [filtered word]........... lets see tax breaks to move jobs overseas? pelosi exempts minimum wage laws in american somoa because a) she is a bigtime stockholder B) they are headquartered in san fran and give her big time bucks.
hillary raises more money from indian outsourceing companies than she does here. both parties are stink. and your messiah is finishing the job boy george started, the cliff. and the corporations you whine about control both parties......... the fascist corporate govt state is they.........
pelosi owns stock in starkist the largest employer in american somoa
We live in a country with a capitalistic economic system. If you take measures that interfere with the system of competition... supply and demand and paying productive workers more you are damaging the system. This damaage can come from unions and government regulations, but also from guaranteeing banks they will be paid for bad loans. It's time to put competiton back in the equation.
it is not a free market system and hasnt been since fdr. it is central planning which has failed everywhere. let boa fail let citi fail let gm fail. people cant afford housing yet they try to keep the bubble inflated. saw a guy talking about fdr and farm subsidies where he paid to have crops plowed under to keep prices up. the next sentence he said it was a hard time people were starving.
It is interesting that the editorial writers never have an original thought. They just regurgitate what far-right commentators have said two days prior.
i grilled some fresh talapia............... from china hahahahhaa
1.75 trillion dollar budget deficit this year. change hahahahhaha
the blame game is getting old. my idiot is smarter than your idiot. my idiot steals less than your idiot. we r f'd
Obama must be part american indian too because he speaks with forked tongue. I've never witnessed such a disconnect between rhetoric and reality, and just making up your own dictionary by defining words as you see fit. Truly bizarre. Probably as unethical a lying stealing politicians that has ever lived-he is in a class of his own. I guess you can admire that. My bet within two years the mighty will fall and his and Congresses approval will be lowest in recorded history. Americans are a fickle lot. You almost get the impression he is out to destroy this economy-after all he is adopting the failed Bush economic policy of "tax cuts". Which of course he has said ad infinitum they don't work. Lot of trickle down in the bail out too, which is another no no. The move to impeach will be this term and likely he won't see a second. Seems pretty obvious that Dem nor Rep are capable of dealing with this disaster.
Paul Weyrich: "Never give to your friend any power which your enemy may one day inherit."
when he is slapped in the face with the reality that his plans are widely failing and his narcissistic ego realizes his place in history is [filtered word] i suspect there will be great violence.
"Restore the proper meaning of words," advised Confucius, to restore order to a disordered society.
Once again, patriciathomas has thrown his bombs, offered nothing of substance, and retired to the dayroom to stare at the tv and await the nurse who bring his meds. He is even beginning to bore even himself, with his "radical Marxist" mantra. He is having delusions that a 4.7% unemployment rate was increased when O caused more unemployment. Huh? Will America ever recover from eight years of Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld/Wolfowitz?
LaTwon, if his place in history is [filtered word], he won't be alone. Bush and all his buddies that made a total mess of their administration are already there.
and does that make you feel better jedex. my idiot is with your idiot? tell me something i do not know............... in the year 2000 the federal budget was 1.8 trillion. in 2009 the deficit is that much.
JRHC, do you honestly think just because Bush overspent a ridiculous amount of money and threw us into massive debt, that it makes it ok for Obama to do the same and make us sink even deeper?
"in the year 2000 the federal budget was 1.8 trillion. in 2009 the deficit is that much." And who was president in 2000? Bill Clinton, NOT Bush, noob.
u shouldnt be allowed to vote williston............ if obama could put a cap and trade on your ignorance we would be in surplus.
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