Some random thoughts about Obama...

[da_suns_fan]

It seems even his supporters are constantly giving advice on what he should be doing, what he's doing wrong etc. It seems no one has any confidence that he knows how to handle any situation.


How sad is it that the leader of the most powerful nation in the history of the planet is learning leaderhip from an Abraham Lincoln biography a la "cliffs notes"?


His latest "the system failed tremendously blah blah blah" speeches seem so transparent. He's obviously in damage control after Napolatano claimed "the system worked". If he wanted to make a statement, he could fire her and people would probably respect him tremendously for it and probably feel "safer".


The "we'll broadcast negotiations on C-Span" campaign pledge was stupid. A president is not king and he doesnt have the power to mandate this. He looks incredibly foolish and naive now.


Every month, he's becoming a weaker and weaker leader in the eyes of the public. He wont stand up for a public option, he wont stand up to China etc. He needs to develop some kind of backbone.


With all this being said, the economy will probably have recovered by 2012, he'll take credit and get re-elected. :lol

[ChumpDumper]

How is he supposed to "stand up" to China and why?

[DarkReign]

The "we'll broadcast negotiations on C-Span" campaign pledge was stupid. A president is not king and he doesnt have the power to mandate this. He looks incredibly foolish and naive now.

Oh yes, he certainly does. He could have a 24 hour camera crew follow him where ever he goes...and if he just so happens to find himself in Congress most of the time, so be it.

he just never intended to keep his promises...like every other person in the world in a position of power.

[balli]

I basically believe that the foundations of our society are so corrupt and broken that even if Obama was everything I always wanted him to be, he can't fix anything because the rest of Washington won't allow it. Including Democrats. You throw in the GOP- a malcontented opposition party, consumed by evil, literally on a mission to purposefully destroy America... What chance does Obama have?

I believe Obama to be incredibly smart, dedicated and the best leader we have available. Doesn't matter though. There are too many people who want to see him and the country fail. And the people who are supposed to be his allies are consumed by aspiration, infighting and greed. It's just a shitty situation.

Maybe he was naive for thinking he could bring change to such a fucked up country, but if that's the worst you can say about the guy, well hell, at least he wanted to try.

[EmptyMan]

Joe Wilson was right.

Forget the left right paradigm.

Joe Wilson was right.


^^ If he were the best leader available, Obama would have at least TRIED. He did not. He had such a massive public support wang in his hand and he did not even swing it around at the establishment.

[balli]

Joe Wilson is fucking retard. And a scumbag. A piece of shit every single American should be ashamed of. And he was wrong.

[EmptyMan]

Where is the transparency on this healthcare debate?

Obama lied.


The lies are so obvious that a fucking retard can see them.

[baseline bum]

Fuck Obama. He ran on a platform about giving a shit about the vast majority of this nation, but once again, he has shown us that the middle 80% doesn't matter in this nation and has no control over anything in it. He's just another cocksucker neoliberal like Reagan, Daddy Bush, Clinton, and W, with the same aim of bleeding the middle-class for the gains of the few.

[Winehole23]

^^^Crude, but accurate and effective. :tu

[DarkReign]

Fuck Obama. He ran on a platform about giving a shit about the vast majority of this nation, but once again, he has shown us that the middle 80% doesn't matter in this nation and has no control over anything in it. He's just another cocksucker neoliberal like Reagan, Daddy Bush, Clinton, and W, with the same aim of bleeding the middle-class for the gains of the few.

Well said.

I have to agree with EmptyMan on this. Obama never even tried to swing his hammer...and the American people gave him John Henry's when he was elected.

Obama is a fuckwad politician whose only saving grace in the media's portrayal of him has been his ethnicity. If he werent black, he'd have already been crucified by the media.

Because really, he has done a really, REALLY shitty job in his first year. So far, this is the worst first year of an Presidency in my lifetime. Mind you, I realize he inherited an economic meltdown, but his response to it has been completely in line with every fucking thing I hate about this country.

Hes a hack and a stooge. Hes just as much a puppet as Bush was, but at least Bush had that "aw shucks" appeal going for him. Obama, otoh, is known to be intelligent and self-made...he doesnt have an excuse.

[DarkReign]

Look, people are going to inevitably ask "What should he have done different?" and I am not going to answer.

This country needed/needs a complete overhaul as it pertains to corporatism, trade and economic policy. A financial meltdown allows leadership to cast a wide net around the problem...and he hasnt done shit except talk about a new, self-policiing bureaucracy with nary a mention about not allowing companies to even become TBTF.

He ran on liberal and populist ideals and has proven to be a shill to the existing power structure.

People 0 - 6 Sponsored Government

[balli]

Look, people are going to inevitably ask "What should he have done different?" and I am not going to answer.
lol, yeah.


This country needed/needs a complete overhaul as it pertains to corporatism, trade and economic policy.
I won't ask what Obama should have done different, but assuming that he hasn't done anything more than talk- Do you feel that someone else as president could have or would have done any differently? Is it even possible, for anyone, left or right, to completely overhaul the country; its corporations and its economics? Call me a cynic, but I think not. Yet.

[da_suns_fan]

How is he supposed to "stand up" to China and why?

I know your tactics much too well. If you dont think the US needs to stand up to China on any of the plethera of issues or dont understand how the president can do this, I cant help you.

[admiralsnackbar]

How do you stand up to the country that owns the note on yours? It's not like they made us ship all our labor and debt to them... we cheerfully allowed ourselves to be subjugated and won't recover until we pay down the debt we owe and maybe bring a few jobs back home.

[Winehole23]

If you dont think the US needs to stand up to China on any of the plethera of issues or dont understand how the president can do this, I cant help you.Maybe you could help me understand it. I'll even leave aside the question you begged about why we should 'stand up to China in the first place.

Do you want Obama to start talking tuff on China? Or do you think there is something he should actually do?

If so, what?

[DarkReign]

How do you stand up to the country that owns the note on yours? It's not like they made us ship all our labor and debt to them... we cheerfully allowed ourselves to be subjugated and won't recover until we pay down the debt we owe and maybe bring a few jobs back home.

Bingo.

There is no "standing up to China" beyond pressuring the world banks and economies to have them revalue the Yuan. Beyond that (which is a biggy), China has done nothing wrong save for its own internal social problems like political descent equaling death or life imprisonment.

But those terms are no worse than others the US has called "pals" in the past.

[Winehole23]

How do you stand up to the country that owns the note on yours? We could stop borrowing from them. That would show them.

[DarkReign]

We could stop borrowing from them. That would show them.

Show 'em real good....and Americans about the insolvency of its government, leading them to question just what in the Sam Hill theyre spending our money on!

Cant have the rabble rousing now can we, so we keep borrowing so Joe Sixpack can watch NASCAR on his financed 60" 1080p plasma tv, in his financed house, driving his financed car with a $5k credit card balance.

But a quick look at how our money is made and played reveals just how incredibly fucked up our monetary policy is, and that goes FAR beyond the Chinese.

China is just the drug of choice at the moment. If it wasnt them, itd be something else trying to shoulder the impossible burden of debt our policies create.

But have no fear! A new currency is on the way promising stability and equity for all! except you

[balli]

'stand up to China'

trite, cliche, garbage.

[da_suns_fan]

'stand up to China'

trite, cliche, garbage.

:rolleyes

Tell that to Tibet.

Obama is such a pussy he wouldnt even meet with Dali lama.


President Barack Obama has refused to meet the Dalai Lama in Washington this week in a move to curry favour with the Chinese.

[balli]

Jesus... Why the fuck should America get in a fight with China over fucking Tibet? You don't think we got about billion issues more important than China's human rights record? Give Us All AFB, dude.

[da_suns_fan]

It’s the first time in ten visits to the US in 18 years that the Dalai Lama has failed to meet with the American president. The political and diplomatic slight to the man widely admired in the US as brought forth a volley of criticism against Obama, hitherto hailed a champion of human rights.

[George Gervin's Afro]

:rolleyes

Tell that to Tibet.

Obama is such a pussy he wouldnt even meet with Dali lama.

You do realize he met him later don't you? or is it because he didn't meet him on your timeline so he's a pu$$y now.




NEW DELHI — The Dalai Lama defended President Barack Obama from criticism that he has been too soft on China, saying Sunday that the U.S. leader just has a different approach to dealing with the Asian giant.

So it only pissed you off and tyhe Dali Lama didn't care..:lmao

[da_suns_fan]

Jesus... Why the fuck should America get in a fight with China over fucking Tibet? You don't think we got about billion issues more important than China's human rights record? Give Us All AFB, dude.


The US President is going to Beijing next month at a time the US is widely seen as a declining entity and China as a growing power. Washington needs Beijing’s cooperation on several international issues – from climate change to trade to Iran and other key geo-political issues.

Those didnt got well either.

[da_suns_fan]

Obama’s handling of the matter will also be closely watched in New Delhi, which is suddenly facing a surfeit of prickly issues with China. The issue is complicated by the Dalai Lama’s scheduled visit to Arunachal Pradesh, which China considers disputed territory, in November, around the same time Obama will be in Beijing.

According to some reports, the Obama administration is pressing the Dalai Lama not to muddy the Arunachal issue while the U.S is engaged in persuading Beijing to initiate talks with the Tibetan leader. Washington is also being accused of dragging its feet on the implementation of the understanding reached between the preceding Bush administration and India, to undertake searches in Arunachal Pradesh territory for US Air Force personnel who had gone missing in action during the Second World War.

Our president, ladies and gentlemen.

[George Gervin's Afro]

Our president, ladies and gentlemen.


NEW DELHI — The Dalai Lama defended President Barack Obama from criticism that he has been too soft on China, saying Sunday that the U.S. leader just has a different approach to dealing with the Asian giant.

The Dali Lama ladies and gentlemen.. he's not pissed but some dummies here are..

[da_suns_fan]

And FINALLY:


The Wall Street Journal noted that in nearly nine months in office, Obama has found time to meet with Hugo Chavez, Daniel Ortega and Vladimir Putin, but not the Dalai Lama, a peaceful religious leader who has long been a friend to the US.

Wow. Just wow.

[George Gervin's Afro]

Since 1991, the Dalai Lama has been here 10 times and each times he has met the President. Most times the meetings have been "drop-in" visits at the White House.

The last time he was here, in 2007, however, George W. Bush became the first sitting president to meet with him publicly, at a ceremony at the Capitol in which he awarded the Dalai Lama the Congressional Gold Medal, Congress's highest civilian award.

[admiralsnackbar]

And FINALLY:



Wow. Just wow.

Because the Dalai Lama is a lynch-pin of global economies like Russia and Venezuela. Shit, even Ortega's little banana republic is more important to world trade than His Holiness. I'd like Tibet to be free as much as the next guy, but in case you hadn't noticed, geo-politics and economic development rate higher than humanitarian squabbling with business partners we should never have gotten involved with in the first place if we were such gallant gents.

[da_suns_fan]

Does anyone want to seriously state that Obama hasnt been wobbly or soft on China from everything from human rights to global currency to climate change?

That was the point of my observation. Some of you want to turn it into a debate on whether or not Obama has been soft on China which deserves a huge eye-roll.

Its not just China. He punted on the public option that you all wanted so badly. He didnt close gitmo by the end of the year. No gays in the military etc. etc.

[George Gervin's Afro]

Does anyone want to seriously state that Obama hasnt been wobbly or soft on China from everything from human rights to global currency to climate change?

That was the point of my observation. Some of you want to turn it into a debate on whether or not Obama has been soft on China which deserves a huge eye-roll.

Its not just China. He punted on the public option that you all wanted so badly. He didnt close gitmo by the end of the year. No gays in the military etc. etc.

I understand that a politician is never going to get eveything he wants so he negotiates. He compromises and makes deals.. yet somehow the resident dead eanders just woke up and decided that Obama is the first politician to do just that...

[balli]

Fuck China, fuck teh gays (rhetorically), fuck gitmo...

As long as Joe Biden isn't in a bunker somewhere trying to figure out ways to take over the world, I'll count my blessings.

[admiralsnackbar]

That was the point of my observation. Some of you want to turn it into a debate on whether or not Obama has been soft on China which deserves a huge eye-roll.


We're just taking the points one by one, chief -- you're the one who made our relationship to China the focus. Unroll your eyes a bit and skip back some if you need confirmation.

As to the general observation of broken promises... welcome to the real world, where every politician is motivated by forces we can only catch glimpses of through the dull wash of our media.

[George Gervin's Afro]

We're just taking the points one by one, chief -- you're the one who made our relationship to China the focus. Unroll your eyes a bit and skip back some if you need confirmation.

As to the general observation of broken promises... welcome to the real world, where every politician is motivated by forces we can only catch glimpses of through the dull wash of our media.


Wait a mimute? You mean Obama didn't make up lying?

[da_suns_fan]

I understand that a politician is never going to get eveything he wants so he negotiates. He compromises and makes deals.. yet somehow the resident dead eanders just woke up and decided that Obama is the first politician to do just that...

No...he appeases everyone in attempt to be loved by all and ends up with garbage or nothing.

The only thing he stands firm on is that he's doing a good job. :lol

[da_suns_fan]

Wait a mimute? You mean Obama didn't make up lying?

So you admit Obama lies?

- Chumpdumper

[da_suns_fan]

We're just taking the points one by one, chief -- you're the one who made our relationship to China the focus. Unroll your eyes a bit and skip back some if you need confirmation.

As to the general observation of broken promises... welcome to the real world, where every politician is motivated by forces we can only catch glimpses of through the dull wash of our media.

I dont care if China is the focus or not. Bottom line is that he hasnt put any pressure on China on several important issues.

So basically, thanks for nothing.

The Dali lama stuff was just icing on the cake.

Both of his predecessors had the guts to give China the middle finger when it came to their human rights atrocities. But not Obama, everyone's buddy (except Tibet).

[admiralsnackbar]

The only thing he stands firm on is that he's doing a good job. :lol
Isn't that basically the president's job? It's been true for all the administrations I've borne witness to, starting with Reagan.

[da_suns_fan]

Isn't that basically the president's job? It's been true for all the administrations I've borne witness to, starting with Reagan.

:lol

Maybe. But wasnt Obama suppose to be a different kind of politician? Dont we hold him to a higher standard because he's suppose to be so freaking smart?

Wasnt that what we were told?

[admiralsnackbar]

:lol

Maybe. But wasnt Obama suppose to be a different kind of politician? Dont we hold him to a higher standard because he's suppose to be so freaking smart?

Wasnt that what we were told?

We were also told that Bush Jr. was a "uniter." It's marketing: they tell us what we need to believe come election time.

[101A]

lol, yeah.


I won't ask what Obama should have done different, but assuming that he hasn't done anything more than talk- Do you feel that someone else as president could have or would have done any differently?

Anyone with ACTUAL convictions and beliefs would have.

Any Politician?

Not so sure; Ron Paul would have done things differently, and probably Kucinich; they're the ONLY ones off the top of my head, however.

[Spursmania]

Pelosi, Reid and Obama=the 3 musketeers

[da_suns_fan]

We were also told that Bush Jr. was a "uniter." It's marketing: they tell us what we need to believe come election time.

So Obama is the same as Bush then?

- Chumpdumper

[spursncowboys]

Fuck Obama. He ran on a platform about giving a shit about the vast majority of this nation, but once again, he has shown us that the middle 80% doesn't matter in this nation and has no control over anything in it. He's just another cocksucker neoliberal like Reagan, Daddy Bush, Clinton, and W, with the same aim of bleeding the middle-class for the gains of the few.
41 and Slick Willy were down the middle. I don't think any of these men are trying to destroy the middle class. I think they all had different ideas of what will help them. WHat would be a solution though? One idea I would like to see is taking the Senate back to being state appointed.

[spursncowboys]

So Obama is the same as Bush then?

- Chumpdumper

You figured out his system.

[George Gervin's Afro]

So you admit Obama lies?

- Chumpdumper

I absolutely admit that he is a politician. Has he kept his word on all of his promises? No. Is this different than any other politician before him? No. Am I disappointed in some (more than you know) of the things he's done? Yes. Do I think he's the biggest liar ever? No. Did he campaign on being different? Yes. Has he been different? To this point no.

[SA210]

I voted for Edwards.

[EVAY]

It seems even his supporters are constantly giving advice on what he should be doing, what he's doing wrong etc. It seems no one has any confidence that he knows how to handle any situation.


How sad is it that the leader of the most powerful nation in the history of the planet is learning leaderhip from an Abraham Lincoln biography a la "cliffs notes"?


His latest "the system failed tremendously blah blah blah" speeches seem so transparent. He's obviously in damage control after Napolatano claimed "the system worked". If he wanted to make a statement, he could fire her and people would probably respect him tremendously for it and probably feel "safer".


The "we'll broadcast negotiations on C-Span" campaign pledge was stupid. A president is not king and he doesnt have the power to mandate this. He looks incredibly foolish and naive now.


Every month, he's becoming a weaker and weaker leader in the eyes of the public. He wont stand up for a public option, he wont stand up to China etc. He needs to develop some kind of backbone.


With all this being said, the economy will probably have recovered by 2012, he'll take credit and get re-elected. :lol


Points 3, 4 and the first part of 5 above are undeniable, I think.

The reaction to Obama now is similar to the public's reaction to the candidacy and presidency of Jimmy Carter. The American electorate was SO angry with the Nixon administration's corruption, etc. that Carter was elected because he 'was not a politician'. Four years later he was voted out precisely because he was 'not a politician' and therefore couldn't get anyting done.

In 2008 the American electorate was SO angry with the perceived incompetence, cowboy style of foreign policy and aggressively partisan politics of the Bush administration that they elected a guy who promised to be ' a compromiser'. If Obama wants to be reelected in 2012, he might want to pay some attention to more than Lincoln's and Reagan's presidency, he might want to study Carter's as well.

[EVAY]

Joe Wilson is fucking retard. And a scumbag. A piece of shit every single American should be ashamed of. And he was wrong.

This is also undeniable.

[EVAY]

And how much good did the ten meetings with presidents by the Dalai Lama do for Tibetan independence?

[panic giraffe]

I dont care if China is the focus or not. Bottom line is that he hasnt put any pressure on China on several important issues.

So basically, thanks for nothing.

The Dali lama stuff was just icing on the cake.

Both of his predecessors had the guts to give China the middle finger when it came to their human rights atrocities. But not Obama, everyone's buddy (except Tibet).


maybe because after gitmo, warrantless wiretapping, secret cia prisons overseas, abu ghraib etc... he felt that going after other country's human rights records would only lead to charges of being a hypocrite. so you probably won"t see too many attacks on the human rights records of other country's til he can clean the image the US has made for itself overseas first.

[da_suns_fan]

Another observation:

Robert Gibbs is kind of a pompous asshole.

[clambake]

Another observation:

Robert Gibbs is kind of a pompous asshole.

what do you think his job is?

[Winehole23]

so you probably won"t see too many attacks on the human rights records of other country's til he can clean the image the US has made for itself overseas first.He's not doing a very good job so far.

[baseline bum]

41 and Slick Willy were down the middle. I don't think any of these men are trying to destroy the middle class. I think they all had different ideas of what will help them. WHat would be a solution though? One idea I would like to see is taking the Senate back to being state appointed.

Clinton is hugely responsible for eroding the middle class with his work in getting China most favored nation trade status. Clinton was only in the middle because the middle swung to the direction of state subsidized free enterprise. He lied like hell to us about how we were going to have a huge market for export, which was obvious bullshit, since China's people are dirt-poor (even without China buying our dollars and keeping their currency low). Daddy Bush is also a partner in crime, with the way he made NAFTA such a huge priority in his destructive term. I specifically remember Ross Perot destroying both Clinton and Bush in the debates on NAFTA and telling us exactly what would (and did) happen under it, but people laughed him off because he had big ears and the media pushed the mantra of 3rd-party votes being wasted.

[George Gervin's Afro]

Clinton is hugely responsible for eroding the middle class with his work in getting China most favored nation trade status. Clinton was only in the middle because the middle swung to the direction of state subsidized free enterprise. He lied like hell to us about how we were going to have a huge market for export, which was obvious bullshit, since China's people are dirt-poor (even without China buying our dollars and keeping their currency low). Daddy Bush is also a partner in crime, with the way he made NAFTA such a huge priority in his destructive term. I specifically remember Ross Perot destroying both Clinton and Bush in the debates on NAFTA and telling us exactly what would (and did) happen under it, but people laughed him off because he had big ears and the media pushed the mantra of 3rd-party votes being wasted.

He does have big ears though..

[ChumpDumper]

Does anyone want to seriously state that Obama hasnt been wobbly or soft on China from everything from human rights to global currency to climate change?Who was the last president to be "hard" on China on any issue?

Eisenhower?