I offered the graph only to show that the predictions were way off. It certainly doesn't suggest that the stimulus was a bad idea. My concern is that when we make policy, we should strive to have the best possible predictions of the effect that policy will have. It is not a hard science, but I hope our ability to do so will improve.
If my intent was to pick on Obama, I would have chosen something about limousines.
I offered the graph only to show that the predictions were way off. It certainly doesn't suggest that the stimulus was a bad idea. My concern is that when we make policy, we should strive to have the best possible predictions of the effect that policy will have. It is not a hard science, but I hope our ability to do so will improve.
This is why I don't like when people say that Reaganomics doesn't work. It's not that simple. In fact, it's almost impossible to say that any economic theory or practice or tactic "works" because there are simply too many pieces of contextual data to process. Reaganomics is brilliant... sometimes, in certain situations when conditions are right. Other times, it's a disaster. The same goes for the debate between Keynsian and Austrian systems, and even free market and socialist systems. About the only thing an economist can say with 100 percent certainty is that an absolute purist adherence to the tenets of any given system will fail.
I'm interested as an outsider of what the voting population (that sounds so weird to me as its enforced over here), thinks of Obama's term as a whole.
Without going into super specifics the main points of Obama's presence in the White house were - - half way there / sort of Medicare system that doesn't seem to fulfill the same role that Government supplied Medicare / NHS does in most other countries
- doing a stimulus spending plan that was received with mixed results (A similar plan was performed in Australia however no companies were bailed out, virtually everyone in the population got money from the government to spend, I think it was $7- 800, it actually worked on the majority of people, it resulted in a relatively quick recovery but I don't think we were as affected compared to the UK and US).
- Killing Osama Bin Laden by proxy (I personally would have preferred the US to force him through a war crimes commission to show the world that the US Government has more integrity then a Terrorist cell but oh well)
To me these seem like luke warm achievements but in the face of picking the lesser of 2 evils I would most likely vote him in again. Its unfortunate that you don't have a 3rd or 4th party that can take votes from either of the Democrats or Republicans.
In the last state and local elections for example we voted in the "Greens" because the populace was sick and tired of the bullshit from the main 2 parties.
The smear campaigns in America are a crazy factor that we don't deal with too much here, its a weird component that I can't comprehend without being a part of that voting society. Do people talk over political subjects like this at work or is it frowned upon?
- Regarding health care, he got more through than any previous Democrat had. While I knew that there would be no single payer, he still got some work done. To date, this has been his biggest accomplishment. We won't know for a while just how good or bad it turns out to be.
- The economy is a huge problem, and is close to becoming insurmountable. Nobody expects the economy to improve significantly for many months. The housing market is expected to lag through at least next summer. Even if the economy improves, it takes voters several months to appreciate this fact. If Obama does not make quick progress with the economy, he has got some serious problems with his reelection bid. One major hurdle is that certain swing states are faring very poorly. Florida and Ohio come to mind.
- The Republican controlled Congress has forced him to the center. Make of that what you will.
- There has been little to no "change" in politics under Obama. Whether or not it was even possible, it's a disappointment that it did not happen. Obama has become a politician like any other. Leaders don't let other people dictate their agenda, and in this regard Obama failed as a leader.
- He should get credit from the liberals for discontinuing support of the Defense of Marriage Act and other such causes. While he may be more moderate now, he did get some things accomplished while he could - albeit at a great political price.
- If you think that he is too moderate now, you won't be any happier as the election nears.
- He likes golf. A lot.
- He got Bin Laden. Major props for that. Take props away, however, for the fact that most of the Bush war policies remain in place. (Guantanamo, anyone?)
- It is nice to see an African-American that is an inspiration to minority youth. In this regard, Obama is a true success story.
My personal feeling on Obama is that he is trying hard, but had never been challenged remotely as much as when he became president. I used to think that enthusiasm could make up for a lack of experience. This was naive. The truth is that a person with both enthusiasm and experience is best. Obama's lack of experience has hampered him, IMHO. It has made him more reactive than proactive. I've yet to hear something from him that is inspiring insomuch as it feels like it is a fresh and intelligent approach. He talks a lot about goals, but not as much about the mechanics to get us to those places. To be fair, that may be because we live in a ten second soundbite world. I feel, however, that he is a genius at campaigning, but is not nearly as effective once the campaign is over.
As we stand now, I give Obama a greater than 50% chance of being reelected. Why? Because the Republicans candidates are laughable. Mitt Romney is their best bet - and may actually peel off some liberal leaning moderates because of Romneycare. If there is no alternative Tea Party candidate, as much as conservatives loathe Romneycare, I can't imagine that they will vote for Obama. But Romney still has to convince the conservatives to give him the nomination - and that's where Romneycare is his achilles heel.
If Perry enters the race, all bets are off. I don't know much about him, but he may indeed energize the Republicans as no candidate has to date. Texas has one of the best economies in the country, which is going to be a HUGE problem if Perry goes up against Obama.
My prediction (even though it's way too early for it to have any legitimacy) is that Obama can't beat Perry unless the economy makes a near-miracle turnaround.
I have a lot to add to this commentary but I'll just say one thing right now (I got other things to do) a plain talking Texan governor? Sounds kind of familiar. I'm thinking Perry has some problems once the parallels to Bush appear.
Also he was a little prick about education and federal help.
I don't know much about politics outside of education, so take my observations with a grain of salt, but I know that he wouldn't help at all with education funding despite us having a rainy-day fund and everyone here going "It's raining pretty fucking hard," and declining to take the federal money that was supposed to go to education. Then, when we had all the fires, he whined about not getting federal money. I don't know, I just think that most people here is the densely populated areas would vote for anyone but him.
I really don't know much about Perry, which is why I stated that my prediction was not to be taken seriously. My thoughts on Perry are based solely on the economy of Texas - which is doing far better than most other states. That fact alone makes me suspect that voters may overlook some other flaws. Bill Clinton had some flaws (real or perceived), but the economy helped the public put those aside. The same thing could happen with Perry.
I will.i.am's song for Obama, the It's a new day and I think that defined how the world is. It really is a new day with a lot of things changing and norms broken to establish an environment which is better for everyone to live on.
There has been recent news about a machine that he uses to sign documents, and their question is about the legality of its use. In my opinion a sign should be done personally and not by a machine who learned how you sign. Using a tool to do it simply defeats the identification you exude when you sign a document.
This is just a small group, and probably doesn't reflect the national scene, but I feel it is worth mentioning. On the 23rd of June, the Calhoun/Cleburne county GOP had their summer gathering. There was beer, grilling, and a nice mix of Republicans there. Always fun to chat with people of different ages and political leanings. I noticed a group of people from Jacksonville State University and Gadsden State Community College gathered together talking. I slipped my way into the conversation and it was interesting. A mix of drive and fear. The drive to get someone like Romney or Huntsman on the general election ticket, the fear a Bachman or Perry instead. When I asked one of them why, his response was: "I don't want to vote for Obama, but if the Republican choice for President is an extremist, I'd rather take my chances with Obama for another four years." I chuckled and told him the story of Barry Goldwater in 1964...
The Obama train wreck is just too sad to see. Hillary Clinton would have been a much better choice. Oh well, at least I didn't drink the Kool-Aid.
If there is one thing that I have noticed from the debt-limit extension fiasco, it's that Washington is as divisive as ever. Obama wasn't elected because he had experience. He was elected to bring about change. That never happened.
I am sure that he will be defended based on the doggedness of the Republicans. We remember great leaders because they stood up to overwhelming adversity. Martin Luther King, Ghandi, F.D.R., Susan B. Anthony.... Do you think that they had a walk in the park? Obama is far from a great leader. Very far.
The Obama train wreck is just too sad to see. Hillary Clinton would have been a much better choice. Oh well, at least I didn't drink the Kool-Aid.
If there is one thing that I have noticed from the debt-limit extension fiasco, it's that Washington is as divisive as ever. Obama wasn't elected because he had experience. He was elected to bring about change. That never happened.
I am sure that he will be defended based on the doggedness of the Republicans. We remember great leaders because they stood up to overwhelming adversity. Martin Luther King, Ghandi, F.D.R., Susan B. Anthony.... Do you think that they had a walk in the park? Obama is far from a great leader. Very far.
Heh.... Do you just come over here to throw a grenade and then disappear?
Name a president from the past half-century that we wouldn't be able to shit all over.
Jason, why even ask that, clearly Kilarney, DID drink the koolaid, like many "independents" and "conservatives" did. They (and Kilarney) believed that a politician would do EVERY thing they said, and suddenly control congress and never bend to a special interest.
Is it true that Koolaid is best mixed with vodka? I have this theory about Koolaid and spiced rum.
Depends on the spiced rum and the Koolaid flavor. Personally I would say vodka works better from my experience but I could see some spiced rums maybe working. I would say go with a more subdued Koolaid flavor.
I never thought we would be able to do everything he suggested. I am just saying that Hillary would have done more.
Hilary is also significantly less likely to have been elected in the first place. It was a close election, even with the record turnout vote from the black demographic. A lot of people who voted for Obama would not have voted for Hillary, and then we could have ALL been moaning about McCain and Palin instead.
Comments
If my intent was to pick on Obama, I would have chosen something about limousines.
Without going into super specifics the main points of Obama's presence in the White house were -
- half way there / sort of Medicare system that doesn't seem to fulfill the same role that Government supplied Medicare / NHS does in most other countries
- doing a stimulus spending plan that was received with mixed results
(A similar plan was performed in Australia however no companies were bailed out, virtually everyone in the population got money from the government to spend, I think it was $7- 800, it actually worked on the majority of people, it resulted in a relatively quick recovery but I don't think we were as affected compared to the UK and US).
- Killing Osama Bin Laden by proxy (I personally would have preferred the US to force him through a war crimes commission to show the world that the US Government has more integrity then a Terrorist cell but oh well)
To me these seem like luke warm achievements but in the face of picking the lesser of 2 evils I would most likely vote him in again.
Its unfortunate that you don't have a 3rd or 4th party that can take votes from either of the Democrats or Republicans.
In the last state and local elections for example we voted in the "Greens" because the populace was sick and tired of the bullshit from the main 2 parties.
The smear campaigns in America are a crazy factor that we don't deal with too much here, its a weird component that I can't comprehend without being a part of that voting society.
Do people talk over political subjects like this at work or is it frowned upon?
- Regarding health care, he got more through than any previous Democrat had. While I knew that there would be no single payer, he still got some work done. To date, this has been his biggest accomplishment. We won't know for a while just how good or bad it turns out to be.
- The economy is a huge problem, and is close to becoming insurmountable. Nobody expects the economy to improve significantly for many months. The housing market is expected to lag through at least next summer. Even if the economy improves, it takes voters several months to appreciate this fact. If Obama does not make quick progress with the economy, he has got some serious problems with his reelection bid. One major hurdle is that certain swing states are faring very poorly. Florida and Ohio come to mind.
- The Republican controlled Congress has forced him to the center. Make of that what you will.
- There has been little to no "change" in politics under Obama. Whether or not it was even possible, it's a disappointment that it did not happen. Obama has become a politician like any other. Leaders don't let other people dictate their agenda, and in this regard Obama failed as a leader.
- He should get credit from the liberals for discontinuing support of the Defense of Marriage Act and other such causes. While he may be more moderate now, he did get some things accomplished while he could - albeit at a great political price.
- If you think that he is too moderate now, you won't be any happier as the election nears.
- He likes golf. A lot.
- He got Bin Laden. Major props for that. Take props away, however, for the fact that most of the Bush war policies remain in place. (Guantanamo, anyone?)
- It is nice to see an African-American that is an inspiration to minority youth. In this regard, Obama is a true success story.
My personal feeling on Obama is that he is trying hard, but had never been challenged remotely as much as when he became president. I used to think that enthusiasm could make up for a lack of experience. This was naive. The truth is that a person with both enthusiasm and experience is best. Obama's lack of experience has hampered him, IMHO. It has made him more reactive than proactive. I've yet to hear something from him that is inspiring insomuch as it feels like it is a fresh and intelligent approach. He talks a lot about goals, but not as much about the mechanics to get us to those places. To be fair, that may be because we live in a ten second soundbite world. I feel, however, that he is a genius at campaigning, but is not nearly as effective once the campaign is over.
As we stand now, I give Obama a greater than 50% chance of being reelected. Why? Because the Republicans candidates are laughable. Mitt Romney is their best bet - and may actually peel off some liberal leaning moderates because of Romneycare. If there is no alternative Tea Party candidate, as much as conservatives loathe Romneycare, I can't imagine that they will vote for Obama. But Romney still has to convince the conservatives to give him the nomination - and that's where Romneycare is his achilles heel.
If Perry enters the race, all bets are off. I don't know much about him, but he may indeed energize the Republicans as no candidate has to date. Texas has one of the best economies in the country, which is going to be a HUGE problem if Perry goes up against Obama.
My prediction (even though it's way too early for it to have any legitimacy) is that Obama can't beat Perry unless the economy makes a near-miracle turnaround.
I don't know much about politics outside of education, so take my observations with a grain of salt, but I know that he wouldn't help at all with education funding despite us having a rainy-day fund and everyone here going "It's raining pretty fucking hard," and declining to take the federal money that was supposed to go to education. Then, when we had all the fires, he whined about not getting federal money. I don't know, I just think that most people here is the densely populated areas would vote for anyone but him.
There has been recent news about a machine that he uses to sign documents, and their question is about the legality of its use. In my opinion a sign should be done personally and not by a machine who learned how you sign. Using a tool to do it simply defeats the identification you exude when you sign a document.
If there is one thing that I have noticed from the debt-limit extension fiasco, it's that Washington is as divisive as ever. Obama wasn't elected because he had experience. He was elected to bring about change. That never happened.
I am sure that he will be defended based on the doggedness of the Republicans. We remember great leaders because they stood up to overwhelming adversity. Martin Luther King, Ghandi, F.D.R., Susan B. Anthony.... Do you think that they had a walk in the park? Obama is far from a great leader. Very far.