I am becoming a disgruntled Obama supporter

I hear a lot of general statements and talking points - aside from some comments Andy has posted previously and some tax discussions I have yet to hear anything specific.

Not saying I always agree 100% with what Obama is doing (mainly how he is doing it) but so far he hasn't done anything I find truly worrisome OR that was not explicitly stated as a goal while he was campaigning.

I do think he has had to readjust and compromise due to the realities of the office, but I think he is doing a good job with what he has to work with.

In case you haven't noticed, we had a huge deficit, massive unemployment, 2 expensive wars, and a recession WHEN HE TOOK OFFICE. He didn't cause it.

I completely agree that we need to stop spending so much money and reduce our deficit. I also hear you screaming whenever you might have to pay higher taxes, lose a benefit, or a pet program has funding cut. The government is either doing too much and regulating too much or isn't doing enough and isn't regulating enough. Everything is a Catch-22.

Please tell me SPECIFICALLY what you think Obama has done that is so wrong and HOW YOU WOULD HAVE DONE IT DIFFERENTLY. There's lots of criticism, but very little constructive criticism and actual knowledge of the issue.

Obama Did Not inherit massive unemployment. It's over 10% now thanks to Obama and the democrats. Here's some info on that.

Here's a look at the U.S. unemployment rate for selected years from 1920 to 2008.

Year Rate
1920 5.2 %
1928 4.2
1930 8.7
1932 23.6
1934 21.7
1936 16.9
1938 19.0
1940 14.6
1942 4.7%
1944 1.2
1946 3.9
1948 3.8
1950 5.3
1952 3.0
1954 5.5
1956 4.1
1958 6.8%
1960 5.5
1962 5.5
1964 5.2
1966 3.8
1968 3.6
1970 4.9
1972 5.6
1974 5.6%
1976 7.7
19781 6.1
1980 7.1
1982 9.7
1984 7.5
19861 7.0
1987 6.2
1988 5.5
1989 5.3
19901 5.6%
1991 6.8
1992 7.5
1993 6.9
19941 6.1
1995 5.6
1996 5.4
19971 4.9
19981 4.5
19991 4.2
20001 4.0
2001 4.7
2002 5.8
20031 6.0%
20041 5.5
20051 5.1
2006 4.6
2007 4.6
2008 5.8

Sorry, rapidly rising unemployment any better? :roll:

Jobs peaked in December of 2007 and have been declining ever since.

News flash to anyone who doesn't know. There is a credit crisis going on that started long before 2009. Thiis bound to cause a slowdown in business and of course a slowdown in hiring. the administrations action have probably averted an outright depression.

We won't ever know how McCain would have served as president but I know that he loves this country and Obama loathes it. Obama and his thugs are working diligently tearing down The Constitution, business large and small, and let's don't forget health care, NASA, etc., etc. He's going to tax us into oblivion and will be happy when he's reduced the United States to third world status. Obama practices pitting one group against the other, he practices hate and racism and fear. When you have the populace quivering with fear you can manipulate them. He is a dreadful finger-pointing whiner of a president and the polls show independents, blacks, whites are deserting him in droves.

I can see November from my house.

This is a disgrace. I can't believe anyone would write this about any American president.

This is a disgrace. I can't believe anyone would write this about any American president.

Yes, it is extraordinary to claim that the US president "loathes" America! Viscerally hates the country he's president of! Works tirelessly to bring it down! I wonder if his two little girls & wife realize this about him.

During the election, my cousin and a high school classmate both emailed me to warn me that Obama is the Anti-Christ--the devil himself--Bible verses were quoted to prove it.

Some people are reasonable & in touch with reality--others, not so much.

Play "Yes we can" backwards and it sounds like "Hail Satan".

This is a disgrace. I can't believe anyone would write this about any American president.

A poster asked for my opinion and I gave it. I'm not alone in feeling as I do. Millions of Americans believe this and time and again there is evidence to back it up. People voted for Obama for change and they are getting it. But change for worse not better.

From James Carville and Stan Greenberg's newest poll. Folks, these men are Democrats.

55 percent of likely voters think 'socialist' is a reasonably accurate way of describing Obama," and that's not the worst of it. This poll had a 53-31 Democrat-Republican split. "Obama sinks underwater on job approval inspect Carville-Greenberg poll: 46 approved, 50 disapprove." He's underwater. More strongly disapprove, 38% than strongly approve, 27%, of his performance. "Among likely voters, the gap widens to 45-51 with 40% strongly disapproving of Obama's performance. The same exact split occurs in Obama's handling of the economy. The bottom line, and perhaps most problematic, is that Obama cannot score a majority for any of the positive qualities listed by the pollster in the survey among likely voters. The best Obama does is a 49% for 'hopeful vision,' the same number for 'strong leader,' both of which are ties. Otherwise, Obama's underwater on every other quality mentioned."

This is a disgrace. I can't believe anyone would write this about any American president.

Dwight,it is free speech ...free speech...Obama used his free speech right to bash America when over seas representing America, he allowed Bush, a former president to be the butt of jokes in the White House by his entertainment guests several times and laughed at the Bush jokes, he blames Bush for nearly everything, (Bush was our President an American President...Obama doesn't see it as a disgrace to put a former president down) As a American citizen it is not a sin to point out the flaws of our president...it is called free speech!

You all totally won me over with your amazing arguments. Thank you for enlightening me!

Obama sucks!

This is a disgrace. I can't believe anyone would write this about any American president.

It's payback for their hurt feelings over Bush bashing. Just between you and me, they're amateurs. ;-)

This is a disgrace. I can't believe anyone would write this about any American president.

To me the real disgrace is that we have gone for decades without a President that we could say positive things about.

The days of people having respect for the office are over.

The lack of quality, character, leadership and ethics in both our current and past few Presidents has made bashing them an accepted everyday activity.

It's payback for their hurt feelings over Bush bashing. Just between you and me, they're amateurs. ;-)

Might not be" a pro basher like some", but Obama sure does provide lots of "bashing material" to draw from due to his lack of experience, his agenda, his cronies ,his lies, etc. So expert or not...free speech still does exist! Disappointment bashing can go both ways, that's what makes America WONDERFUL!

Obama Did Not inherit massive unemployment. It's over 10% now thanks to Obama and the democrats. Here's some info on that.

Sara, sweetie, arguing with you is like taking candy from a baby.
Most economists argree that the recession started in late 2007 and some say it ended this year. So...

Unemployment Rates - What Is the Unemployment Rate in the US

"However, the unemployment rate is a lagging indicator. This means it measures the effect of a recession and so occurs after one has already started. It also means unemployment will continue to rise even after the economy has started to recover.Employers are reluctant to lay people off when the economy turns bad. For large companies, it can take months to put together a layoff plan. Companies are even more reluctant to hire new workers when the economy improves.

For that reason, the unemployment rate can only confirm what the other indicators are already showing"

Sara, sweetie, arguing with you is like taking candy from a baby.

Most economists argree that the recession started in late 2007 and didn't end until this year. So...

Its interesting that the Business Cycle Dating Committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), the nation's official arbiter of economic expansion and contraction, doesn't agree with the "Most economists" mentioned above...

Their latest pronouncement on the recession (which they agree started in 2007) says we haven't been able to identify the bottom yet. (Which means it is entirely possible that we have not hit it yet.)

As opposed to the 'voodoo' science that most economists use, the committee uses actual facts (see bolded text below.)

NBER COMMITTEE CONFERS: NO TROUGH ANNOUNCED

CAMBRIDGE, April 12 -- The Business Cycle Dating Committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research met at the organization?s headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on April 8, 2010. The committee reviewed the most recent data for all indicators relevant to the determination of a possible date of the trough in economic activity marking the end of the recession that began in December 2007. The trough date would identify the end of contraction and the beginning of expansion. Although most indicators have turned up, the committee decided that the determination of the trough date on the basis of current data would be premature. Many indicators are quite preliminary at this time and will be revised in coming months. The committee acts only on the basis of actual indicators and does not rely on forecasts in making its determination of the dates of peaks and troughs in economic activity. The committee did review data relating to the date of the peak, previously determined to have occurred in December 2007, marking the onset of the recent recession. The committee reaffirmed that peak date.

The 2 prior administration's policies got us into this mess and the current administration's policies of only bailing out big contributors ( and converting UAW members into pseudo government employees) has done little to nothing to help resolve the mess.

Based on the fact that we haven't bottomed out on the recession, we can reasonably expect the unemployment (and much more importantly the underemployment) situation to get a lot worse before it gets better.

Who knows, maybe that 8-10% is the new normal unemployment of the future.

Its interesting that the Business Cycle Dating Committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), the nation's official arbiter of economic expansion and contraction, doesn't agree with the "Most economists" mentioned above...

My wife & I met through The Business Cycle Dating Committee.

It's way better than eHarmony.com.

My wife & I met through The Business Cycle Dating Committee.

It's way better than eHarmony.com.

If you were trying to be funny, you suceeded. If you were trying to be sarcastic or point out an error, you failed. We all make typos or misspellings on occasion. It is really infantile to point them out, IMO.

Its interesting that the Business Cycle Dating Committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), the nation's official arbiter of economic expansion and contraction, doesn't agree with the "Most economists" mentioned above...

Their latest pronouncement on the recession (which they agree started in 2007) says we haven't been able to identify the bottom yet. .

Good point...I accept that, see edit.

Nonetheless, Sara's argument (Obama Did Not inherit massive unemployment. It's over 10% now thanks to Obama and the democrats) is partisan, faulty and immature. Folks are entitled to their own opinion but they are not entitled to their own facts.

Since we all agree that the recession began in 2007 and unemployment rates are universially accepted as a trailing indicator then high unenployment rates can not be blamed completely on the current Congress/Administration.

Regarding the end of the Great Recession, here's a different take.

Dissent on Recession?s End - Economix Blog - NYTimes.com

Earlier on Monday, the National Bureau of Economic Research?s Business Cycle Dating Committee ? the group that determines the start and end dates of recessions ? said that it could not yet declare an end to the recession that began in December 2007.
One committee member, Robert J. Gordon, has issued a dissenting opinion, arguing that the recession ended in the second quarter of 2009, probably in June. The text of his memo is below.

If you were trying to be funny, you suceeded. If you were trying to be sarcastic or point out an error, you failed. We all make typos or misspellings on occasion. It is really infantile to point them out, IMO.

I don't think he was pointing out a typo. It's actually called The Business Cycle Dating Committee. I think it was just a lighthearted joke and no more.

A poster, Gidget I think, asked how in the past two years you felt less free.


How free do I feel? Not as much as two years ago. Now we have an ideologue for a president and he and other liberals are constantly bringing up the notion of Utopia - which is nothing more than just a liberal statist society.

A statist society is where your property and your money belong to the state (fed.government) It is not yours to choose how to spend or how to use your property.
Statists pass laws forcing you to ask permission how to use or dispose of or improve your property, how to spend your money.

Their power comes from the willing support of their victims. A Statist is a little bully
dressed up in a suit who hates independence.

Right now the political class is deliberately ignoring our Constitution. Obama and his administration do not have the right to throw out hundreds of years of American history and rewrite it in Marxist ways or replace American values and principles.

Our government is being run by appointed Czars that we know nothing about. The amount of ?czars? is unprecedented and points out Obama?s efforts to hide his real
goals from the people who support him.

There are many other ways that I feel our freedom is being compromised. Health,
taxation, controlling the media, ignoring Black Panther voter intimidation, weakness of National Security, unemployment going up every day, businesses going under in droves, suing Arizona for following federal law, Obama?s political plunder with the private sector being choked from within.

We need Supreme Court Justices committed to our Constitution and rule of law. Not advocates nominated because she (Kagan) would further Obama?s agenda.

No, I?m not feeling free.

I don't think he was pointing out a typo. It's actually called The Business Cycle Dating Committee. I think it was just a lighthearted joke.

LuciferSam, I hope you weren't implying that Andy A lacks a sense of humor: he knew right away that I maybe might be making a joke.

I give up on reading this thread looking for information about presidential candidates for 2012. So I'll join y'all in your discussions.

Sarah, I agree with you. We are so not free anymore under the socialist regime. I know if it was two years ago I would be able to sleep in or wake up. Go have breakfast somewhere or just cook at home or not eat at all. Then I'd either watch some tv or go for a walk on the beach. Then maybe get a haircut or not. Then I'd post on Sowal or not and then read some left leaning or right leaning news or not. Then I might take a nap. Then I might get some lunch or not. Then maybe a nap or no I'll grab a 6 pack and talk to strangers out on Grayton. Or no- I'll drink some beer at Red Bar. No, I'd get started on next week's work and do some laundry, download the new Eminem album. No- some Air Supply. No- I'll walk down to the winebar and hit on some women. No- I'll pick a fight with someone from Atlanta and walk out on my tab. No- I'll mke friends with the tourists, pay my bill and overtip. Maybe dinner at Stinky's. Nah- I'll grill out or get some publix rotisserie chicken and fight with some whackjobs on Sowal.

But- who am I kidding. It isn't 2007. We don't have a Republican in the white house. I miss being free. Saturdays without the kids aren't what they used to be now that we are living under that one.

A poster, Gidget I think, asked how in the past two years you felt less free.


How free do I feel? Not as much as two years ago.

...

No, I?m not feeling free.

I don't disagree with your sentiments or your post.

That being said, I also felt a heck of a lot less free after 8 years of Bush as well.

A huge number my freedoms (along with a lot of due process) disappeared with the passage (and renewal) of the so-called Patriot Act.

I also felt the iron grip of the Federal hand on me increase with the passage of each of these disasters:

• Senior Drug Act (think of it as Federal Welfare for big Pharma)
• No Child Left Behind (in reality its Federal control of schools and No Child Too Far Ahead)
• Sarbannes-Oxley (the Full Employment Act for American Accountants and Auditors or how to continue destroying US business competitiveness in world markets while achieving nothing)

I could give you a similar list for the Clinton administration as well.

So while I believe this administration is an unmitigated disaster, their predecessors were too.

We keep voting for them, so I guess we are getting the government we deserve.

I give up on reading this thread looking for information about presidential candidates for 2012. So I'll join y'all in your discussions.

Sarah, I agree with you. We are so not free anymore under the socialist regime. I know if it was two years ago I would be able to sleep in or wake up. Go have breakfast somewhere or just cook at home or not eat at all. Then I'd either watch some tv or go for a walk on the beach. Then maybe get a haircut or not. Then I'd post on Sowal or not and then read some left leaning or right leaning news or not. Then I might take a nap. Then I might get some lunch or not. Then maybe a nap or no I'll grab a 6 pack and talk to strangers out on Grayton. Or no- I'll drink some beer at Red Bar. No, I'd get started on next week's work and do some laundry, download the new Eminem album. No- some Air Supply. No- I'll walk down to the winebar and hit on some women. No- I'll pick a fight with someone from Atlanta and walk out on my tab. No- I'll mke friends with the tourists, pay my bill and overtip. Maybe dinner at Stinky's. Nah- I'll grill out or get some publix rotisserie chicken and fight with some whackjobs on Sowal.

But- who am I kidding. It isn't 2007. We don't have a Republican in the white house. I miss being free. Saturdays without the kids aren't what they used to be now that we are living under that one.

Here, here. I'm most upset about the fact that you can't set your beer down on the railing of most of the boardwalks cause it's got that damn tilt.

BTW, has anybody heard anybody talk about Utopia? I haven't heard it at all. Maybe it's because I don't listen to right wing (what other kind is there) talk radio.

Always looking at serious matters in a frivolous manner is dangerous.

Always looking at serious matters in a frivolous manner is dangerous.

Crying wolf! & making mountains out of molehills is unhealthy.