Bad times could get worse for President Obama

[Better Believe It]

Bad times could get worse for Obama
By John Buell
November 24, 2009

The Obama administration faces the midterm elections in the vortex of forces that might impale it. Does President Obama recognize the magnitude of the risks?

Even if the great recession is statistically over, unemployment will likely continue to exceed 10 percent for many months. Double figure unemployment has a resonance with wide sectors of the population. Beyond the ugly numerical symbolism, most people now know friends who have been laid off and enjoy little prospect of a job: “Am I going to be next?” is the inevitable reaction. The attendant insecurity in turn makes consumers unwilling to exceed barest necessities and businesses reluctant to invest.

Bad as this situation is, it could easily become worse. The mere reduction in the rate of job loss is cited by Wall Street conservatives, the Blue Dog Republicrats and establishment media to suggest that a rebound is under way. They will hound the Fed to raise interest rates and pressure Congress for a whole range of budget-cutting initiatives. Should they succeed, the possibility of a so-called W-shaped recession becomes more likely.

In a world where economic insecurity now virtually trumps all other issues, Obama has staked his political future on health care and winning the good war in Afghanistan.

Read the full article at:

http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/130590.html

[WI_DEM]

1. Another day more attacks on Obama by you. Oh well.

[Better Believe It]

4. Do you have an opinion on the article or don't you understand it?

I have a feeling you didn't even bother to read the article before deciding to comment on it.

Is that right?

Why do always permit hard right-wing Republican attacks on President Obama to go on without even a whimper of protest and yet launch personal attacks against progressives, liberals and left-wingers who criticize Obama from the left?

[Dr Robert]

20. we understand the article fine. we just don't understand you.

you don't want progress.

[JuniperLea]

6. Ahhh... is this a pattern?

I'm so tired of this bullshit... I remember Obama saying things would get worse before they got better, do you? I'm betting you do...

[DJ13]

8. I remember that

But I dont remember Obama saying he would be the one to make things worse.

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[DJ13]

13. He's not driving a bus

He's driving a limo for the wealthy.

Were still waiting for our ride.

[get the red out]

2. An honor to un-req

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

3. Any headline works with "Could."

:shrug:

[JuniperLea]

5. Obama said it would get worse before it got better...

This is only surprising to those who didn't pay attention... or are being willfully ignorant.

[timeforpeace]

7. He says that about everything. The preemptive lowering-of-expectations is getting old.

[Name removed]

9. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Cha]

14. Oh really..is that because bushcheney fucked up our country

for 8 years? History is not a dirty word..learn it.

Cross post..

babylonsister (1000+ posts) Fri Nov-20-09 02:26 PM
Original message

Eric Alterman: "Think Again: “History” Isn’t a Dirty Word"
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/11/ta111909...

Think Again: “History” Isn’t a Dirty Word

By Eric Alterman | November 19, 2009


Last week, Mike Allen and Jim Vandehei at Politico reported that the White House planned on making deficit reduction a centerpiece of the next State of the Union address. Allen and Vandehei called the decision “practical” saying that “Obama has spent more money on new programs in nine months than Bill Clinton did in eight years, pushing the annual deficit to $1.4 trillion. This leaves little room for big spending initiatives.” This fact is taken completely out of the context of the recession. The title of the article refers to the White House's “spending binge.” The deficits, tax cuts, and spending of the previous administration are ignored entirely.

It’s not exactly news that most members of MSM are almost purposely amnesiac. There is no greater insult to a reporter than to call his story “history.” And yet once upon a time, it was only yesterday that was old news. Nowadays, with the new neverending cable/talk-radio/blogosphere-driven news cycle, we are all supposed to have forgotten the past fifteen minutes. (There is actually a headline on the Drudge Report as I write this that the Associated Press went to the trouble of looking at the record and seeing whether any of the outrageous claims made in Sarah Palin’s memoir are true. The idea appears to be if it says so in a book, it’s wrong of a journalist to actually check the record. The (surprise, surprise) Fox News story contains no link to the AP story, further making the point that the record is really irrelevant to the story.)

So back to Obama’s “spending binge.” Even if the Politico editors are not interested in what may have happened in the past eight years to cause some of the deficits with which the Obama administration is forced to deal, we are. And here are just a couple of examples we found:

snip//


Afganistan: The legacy of Bush’s runaway military spending and his tax cuts is doing more than just destroying the fiscal health of our government—it is also endangering our security. Look at Afghanistan. According to a recent report in The New York Times, “Some administration estimates suggest it could also cost up to $50 billion over five years to more than double the size of the Afghan army and police force, to a total of 400,000. That includes recruiting, training and equipment.”

David Broder, dean of the national press corps, has actually written that Obama’s “urgent necessity is to make a decision—whether or not it is right.” That is how far we’ve come. Never mind that six years of a failed strategy by the Bush administration, to say nothing of rushing into a catastrophic war, and busting the budget with a giveaway to the rich tax cut, should be considered in the context of the decision. “Just do something” says Broder, regardless of whether it makes sense. Learn nothing from history. Repeat our mistakes over and over, regardless of the cost in blood and treasure to our country and our soldiers. Forget not only Iraq, but Vietnam as well.

It’s hard to believe, I know, but there it is in black and white…."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x9239

[treestar]

11. Do you happen to agree with anything Obama does or do you have

an optimistic view on anything? Because consistent critique is just as mindless and consistent cheerleading would be.

[Better Believe It]

16. Yes. I've agreed with some things Obama has done and have frequently posted

comments and articles on positive political developments in the United States and around the world.

I'm really not a pessimist, especially over the long haul.

Of course, you haven't read all or even most of my posts and I wouldn't expect you too.

[Name removed]

12. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[AVID]

15. Don't knock BBI for cutting and pasting. Times are tough and it pays well!

[Better Believe It]

17. Didn't read the article or is it too difficult to understand?

[Jakes Progress]

21. They read nothing but headlines

They comment on nothing in any article.

They preemptively react to any perceived comment that is not absolute praise.

They are the reason Obama will be a one term president.

[Better Believe It]

22. You hit the nail on the head. They never present any critique of articles and posts they dislike.

Just short personal attacks and trash talk.

That's the best they can do.

[Jakes Progress]

23. What else can they do?

They can't really defend their position. So attack the messenger. It's an old trick they learned from the republicans.

[Better Believe It]

26. Nothing.

[Name removed]

24. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Jakes Progress]

29. I usually avoid bots like you

but if you want to start the name calling, I have one for you - dense.

Go ahead and roll on the ground and laugh. Laugh until the republicans take back what we fought for. Just what did you do during the last election? How many homes did you visit? How many sofas and dining room tables did you sit at with undecided voters trying to convince them that the crazy, fawning, celebrity-driven, fan base that worshiped Barack was just a useless minority? Convince them that Obama was a serious player who would give us real change and stop the erosion of America that 8 years of bush had given us. Convince them that Obama was more than the focal point for a band of naval-worshiping acolytes. Convince them that we finally did have a real change agent for our country.

How many hours did you volunteer? I met your kind daily last Fall. I would run into you at the rallies and the parties where you whooped and giggled like school children. Then I would try to enlist you in the grunt work for the local candidates and the party. Too busy. Too busy to do that. But you could show up at the parties and at the rallies and you could cheer and celebrate. No work. No money. Nothing but the promise that you would be fighting the good fight on the internet.

Wahoo for you. So you go ahead and roll on the floor and laugh. It's easier than trying to understand what is really going on in the country or finding out where the work needs to be done. To you, it's all a big party. "We won. We won. Ain't we grand?"

Yep. You and the fan club who don't know anything about policy or politics or have any moral center can just keep excusing anything that happens because not to would be a buzz kill. It's the surest road to losing in 2012.

Well, party on. You've got another three years. Those of us who give a shit about progressive ideals will still be working when you and your group find another party to play with.

[CJCRANE]

18. Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better

would be a good username.

[Egnever]

19. I am just wondering how long we are going to have to put up with you

the pizza is long overdue.

[dionysus]

25. i don't know how it has gotten away with it for so long.

[JTFrog]

31. Because there are plenty of anti-Obama mods on board these days.

Just calling it as I see it.

How else can one explain a thread pointing out positives that begin immediately with the current Senate HCR bill getting locked as flamebait?

:shrug:

[Deja Q]

27. As with all things, it's a "wait and see" situation.

Some people are nuts and will believe anything, and the one guy who used the "V" remake and thinks it's reflecting real life... he's a walking cuckoo clock! He thinks the government is out to get him and everything. Definitely a real nutter...

[paulk]

28. Buell lays it out

Obama is walking a knife edge that, if he fails, could cost both him and the country dearly.

Let's "hope" he gets it right...

[KoKo]

30. Interesting article...the reports about Dems in CA Resolution about Afghanistan

Obama’s good war will likely amplify left and right distrust of the president. And these amplifications cross several registers. War aims remain unattainable. “Counterinsurgency” runs afoul of two considerations. If any large portion of the country is to be even partially protected the doctrine itself implies a need for vastly more troops than even Gen. Stanley McChrystal is proposing.

The government the U.S. endorses is neither honest nor democratic. Much of the country will remain in the hands of the Taliban and warlords whose distrust of al-Qaida is exceeded only by hatred for the U.S., democracy and women’s rights.

This war will not come cheap. The U.S. already spends nearly $200 billion yearly in Iraq and Afghanistan, a figure sure to grow if the president accepts any current escalation strategy. The budget hawks give little consideration to the effects of wartime spending on the deficit or long-term economic growth. Several credible econometric studies show that military spending is a poor job creator in comparison with education and alternative energy programs.

Yet when increases in these domestic initiatives are proposed, the size of the current deficit suddenly becomes an insurmountable barrier. Programs that would increase jobs and make us more able to cope with unstable energy supplies and a world of rapid global change become unthinkable.

Is Obama to be drowned in a choir of who lost Afghanistan, tanked the budget and the economy? We should not wait to find out. The California Democratic Party has just passed a resolution asking the president to withdraw forces and commence multiparty peace talks in Afghanistan. Democrats in Maine and other states should follow."