Associated Press
Barack Obama accepts the Democratic nomination four years ago.
For much of the year, the common debate about President Obama's job performance has generally broken down into two groups. The first are his detractors who, obviously, believe he's done a bad job. The second are the president's defenders, who try to provide context to the challenges Obama has faced -- the scope of the crises he inherited; the worst Congress ever; Eurozone, etc.
Jon Chait gives voice to those in an overlooked third category: "I may be the only person in America to think this way, but here goes: I'm not disappointed in Obama at all. His first term has actually exceeded my expectations."
The relevant standard here is, has Obama accomplished more or less than I expected? ... I expected Obama's legislative record to exceed Clinton's, but by less than it actually did. The domestic reforms embedded in the stimulus alone -- the scope of which is described in Michael Grunwald's book The New New Deal -- did more to reshape the face of government in areas like education and energy than Clinton managed in eight years.
Then you had health-care reform (which I hoped would pass, but would not have been shocked to be filibustered to death), financial reform (which I expected to fail completely), gays in the military, and so on.... [P]erhaps comparing Obama to Clinton's record is setting the bar too low. Yet you have to go back to Lyndon Johnson to find a Democratic president who effected as significant change as Obama has, and L.B.J.'s presidency was not exactly an unmitigated blessing.
Voters will certainly reach their own conclusions about whether Obama met, exceeded, or fell short of their hopes from four years ago, and the president's convention speech will be an important opportunity for the president to make his best case for his own record.
But just as a thought experiment, I sometimes ponder what would happen if I could take a time machine back four years, and deliver a message to Obama voters about what they could expect. "In four years' time," I'd say, "the president will have signed a breakthrough health-care reform bill into law; rescued the American auto industry; lowered unemployment and created economic growth, imposed new safeguards on Wall Street, ended the war in Iraq, decimated al Qaeda and killed bin Laden, reformed the student loan system, and ended DADT, all in one term."
How many voters would have heard that (admittedly truncated) list four years ago and responded, "Meh, that doesn't sound like much; I'll be disappointed if that's all he does"?
Jon thinks he may be "the only person in America" for whom Obama has "exceeded" expectations, but I have a strong hunch Chait isn't as alone as he suspects. One of the president's challenges tonight, I suppose, is persuading more of the public to think the same way.
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Bah! I was promised a pony! I had a very specific conversation with him in my head and he specifically promised me a pony!
He let Ann Romney and her hubby, Mitt, get $77,000 in tax breaks for THEM to buy YOUR pony, sorry.
If you were hit by a car, and the surgeon did everything that could be done, and did it well, you still might be in pain, and you might remain hospitalized for some time, depending on how badly you were injured. If, upon coming out of the O.R., or after recovering enough to begin rehabilitation, you asked yourself "Am I as healthy as I want to be?" the answer would be "NO", but that would be the wrong question in regards to the skill of the surgeon.
In the same way, MittRyan's campaign slogan is misdirected, if not intentionally misleading. It is, however, easy to answer in the negative, even by folks who are better of than they were four years ago, but who aren't where they want to be, or where they want the country to be.
Exceeded expectations. Definitely.
He's going to win anyway, but can you imagine what kind of landslide he would have had if the Congress had done another stimulus or otherwise helped with "jobs jobs jobs?"
Rahm Emanuel on PBS last night predicted that once Obama won, the congress would settle down and cooperate, like they did in Clinton's second term. I sure hope so.
Oh no, the Rethuglicans will not settle down. They will double down on their intransigience and malicious spite.
No way will they settle down and cooperate, and they really didn't with Clinton either. I seem to recall he was impeached in his second term, and this bunch will try the same if they're given anything at all to work with.
That's right. House Republicans impeached Clinton in his second term. There are a lot of words that could be used to describe that, but "settled" and "cooperative" aren't among them. In much the same way, I expect that a second Obama term will cause Republicans to behave in ways that will make their sustained freakout of the past few years seem like a soothing nap in comparison.
EntropyRules is right, entropy will rule.
i think Chris Hayes said something that was very important after the Clinton speech last night, regarding how none of the Obama bills have the long lasting negative effects that the policies of other democrat presidents have had when they compromise with the right. That was something that is all too often overlooked in my opinion, and is another reason this President has done a great job in governing this country after the crash of '08. i'm thoroughly impressed with his first term, and can't wait to see what he can accomplish in his second when there isn't a threat of a 3rd for the Republicans to grandstand against...
Let me suggest that the reason might be...
And all that is covered up and ignored by a compliant press. If Republicans had this kind of record, it would be declared Armageddon.
"If Republicans had this kind of record, it would be declared Armageddon."
Actually is was far worse, and now they want us to let them try again, double down on trickle down. If you ask them for details, they say "trust us". If they lie, they say "‘We’re not going to let our campaign be dictated by fact checkers."
Shooter declares: " If Republicans had this kind of record, it would be declared Armageddon." No, it would be called something close to the second coming of Christ Almighty and they would be predicting their President would walk on water in his second term, that's how biased and screwed up Republicans are. Republicans wrecked it, they wrecked it and refuse to pay for what they wrecked.
If you don't believe that's true, then,
Now tell us why George W. Bush wasn't at the Republican Convention. That's the answer I really want to hear your convoluted excuses for what is obvious to most thinking Americans.
Yeah, Pooper, where was your last two-term president?????
Final, John, you're assigning blame to Bush for the sins of Democrats. The financial crisis has many fathers in the subprime lending aspect, but Clinton's man Robert Rubin single handedly refused to make derivatives transparent, and engineered the repeal of Glass Steagal. Both boons to his real loyalty, Goldman Sachs.
That was the root of the financial crisis, and amazingly enough those defects continue on today. Worse it's Obama that letting Wall St off scot free. The Feds have declared it's OK for Jon Corzine, Goldman-ite and Obama bundler to steal $1.2 billion. No charges will be filed.
That's funny, I have no problem getting copies of either from thomas.loc.gov
Perhaps you and your compatriots should try getting your eyes checked. Or maybe learning to read.
Shooter242, knowing what's in the Affordable Care Act is as simple as reading: http://brainshavings.com/obamacare/
When you start off a comment with laziness and a lie, no one will believe anything else you say. Remember this when trying to sway others to your line of thinking.
How do you think the average person on the street is going to respond if asked what Obamacare does for him? Will they have even heard of Dodd-Frank? No. Ignorance of the law isn't an excuse, it's now SOP.
.Obama should be celebrated for his accomplishments...all needed and progressive. How seldom do we hear about his successes in the media. All we hear is what he has not done yet. We all want more and we want it now but it's always good to hear how much Obama has gotten done...we need to hear it more often. He will be remembered as a great president.
Yep. Obama is one of our greatest presidents. I'm so proud to be a live and to enjoy it while it's happening.
Please, if anyone gets credit for Obamacare, Dodd-Frank, the stimulus, and anything Congress related, it should be Pelosi and Reid. Obama sat on his ass and signed the legislation.
He does get credit for the GM bankruptcy. He overturned bankruptcy law to do it, but the UAW was happy with the results.
By "sitting on his ass and signing the legislation" do you mean following the checks and balances our government has in place? You do realize he has the power to veto. And you do have basic civics knowledge will allows you to realize not everything is in the sole power of the president's hands, yes?
I will still support him. First off, I don't think that Americans actually had any clue of exactly how close to the edge of the ledge this nation was when President Obama took the Oath of Office. Second even though democrats (supposedly) controlled Congress, the opposition was more entrenched then anyone thought they would be - even as this President was giving them the store. Third, considering all that has been accomplished, I am proud to know that this intelligent, articulate, cool as a cucumber, long vision oriented man is in charge of this nation!
Even if Obama hasn't fulfilled all of my expectations, that's no reason to hand the country back to the party that is the underlying cause of the disappointment. Just imagine what Obama could have accomplished if the GOP hadn't gone insane. There could have been genuine cooperation on some things, instead of this perpetual battle with an opponent that suddenly decided it's Napoleon and is hell-bent on re-litigating Waterloo.
RE: Comment #7.1 (MeddlingMonk)
The GOP was already insane, given how frequently they enact Supply-Side (Trickle-Down) Economics,consistently finding some BS reason to ignore the fact that the expected trickle-down behavior never happens, that whenever there is a trickle, that it's trickle-up, not
down, and when it goes up, sometimes it's not merely a trickle but a flood.Not only does the GOP maintain its collective insanity, but Anti-Obama too, such that anything Obama is for the GOP must be against, even if the GOP would normally be for it.
The GOP hasn't always been like it is today. It is disingenuous to suggest otherwise.
I was expecting another Clinton and would have been content with that. Instead I got a combination of FDR and LBJ. So no, I'm definitely not disappointed in President Obama.
Now, regarding the scum that currently passes for the Republican Party...
The fact that wealthy scum like the Koch's and political hacks like Rove are spending so much money and time trying to make people think Obama is some kind of evil tyrant makes me sure he is on the right track. The way FOX slanders him and lies about his record affirms my suspicion. I fail though to see how those who are anti-Obama to the point that they willingly accept and pass on the lies and bull the phony pundits hand them can ever be brought back to reality. I also do not want the religious zealots who want to ban contraception and rewrite American history to conform to the big lie of us being founded by Christians,for Christians blah blah..to suddenly act as if they have seen the light since they are never going to quit trying to turn us into some Iranian type of theocracy.
Most of those on the right fall into these categories: racists, bigots, arrogant bullies, self-righteous faith based Christians, rich, ignorant, intolerant and impatience with others, hate change.
You will find on the left Christians, atheists, agnostics, thinkers, the tolerant, accept good changes, patient, and yes, some rich folks.
"...if by a liberal they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people - their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, their civil liberties... if that is what they mean by a "liberal" then I am proud to be a liberal."
~ John F. Kennedy
I am proud, and humbled, to stand with JFK!
Mr. Benen...
This is the first name that I have observed you being an @sshole and 'categorizing' your people, especially as it includes your readers. Just because you have been in "I'll find justification for everything Obama has done" category could not make everybody else a "bad job" or "exceptional job" believer.
That you are 'willing' to consider a '3rd category' does not lessen your @ssholeness about this!
There are one hell of a lot of categories of perceptions of Obama than 3...
Sound like a Little George supporter with "You are either with us or against us".
Very, very disappointing blog.
Is the Internet where you live delivering pages that are different from the ones I get? Because we don't appear to have read the same article.
SadOldVet: your train appears to have run off the tracks.
Contrast with GWB's 1st term. 2 unfunded wars, budget busting tax cuts. outing undercover agent, ruining Colin Powell's reputation, and "Mission Accomplished".
Powell ruined his own reputation. A 4 star general, former head of the joint chiefs does not know that he is lying about taking his country to war? OK
One of my pet peeves is when people simply dismiss past criticism of Obama as disillusionment of unrealistic expectations. The reason why is, if you give me a survey to fill out, I'm probably mark him as the most effective President in my lifetime. Frustration through most of Obama's Presidency came from the fact that - although he achieved so much - he fell short due to unforced errors and attempts to lure people like Snowe over to our our side. On just the merits, Obama has achieved more than I ever thought possible - but half of what he could have, if he simply didn't negotiate with himself. The only reason this election is as close as it is is Obama didn't really listen to people like Krugman with regards to the stimulus. Even if Obama did milk all he could, if he had simply asserted a progressive case for stimulus - and that it wasn't enough - he wouldn't - as Krugman warned - have been left looking like stimulus failed.
Having said all that, I think the debt ceiling brinksmanship was a wakeup call, and Obama demonstrated that despite what ever personal blinders with regards to reaching compromise, it wasn't possible, and he adjusted. Since then, I have LOVED Obama; the faults I'd quibble with are few. Hopefully not too late.
Often dismissed for naivete for my past complaints, I certainly can't complain that Obama did the most difficult and courageous thing a President can do - adjusted his sacred ideology to fit reality. I can't complain because Obama is running the campaign exactly as I've argued he should have from the beginning. In fact, I'm more excited about this election than I was the first time because this election is now going to be a choice between conservative and progressive visions, not the usual conservative frame. This time when Obama wins, it won't be because he's Republican but not a wacko, but made the case for a progressive worldview and discredited the conservative one.
So disgruntled, yes, but overwhelmingly approve and admire what he has managed to do under the circumstances. And enthusiastic about him now.
Speaking of the auto bailout.I turned over to the republican/tea party channel CNN after some of the speeches last night.In one or more of the speeche's the Pres was credited with saving the auto industry,and Romney was credited with an op-ed in the NYT.The op-ed had the headline Romney say's let Detroit go bankrupt.Not exactly true said the two so called "fact checker's".Romney called for a structured bankruptcy.WHAT!Bankruptcy is bankruptcy no matter what spin they put on it.No mention of bank's or even Bain refusing to loan or invest in the failing auto industry.No mention of Romney saying it would be a disaster to bail them out.Also there was a so called "fact check"on one of the speaker's talking about job creation in the last 31/2 year's saying that 4.5 million job's had been created.Not exactly true said the "fact checker's", they put up statistic's telling the viewer's actually there was a minus 500,000 net job loss.They did'nt mention the country was hemmoraging 700,000 job's per month when the Pres. took office which they had to have figured into their stat's.Now when Ryan and Romney told lies in their speeche's it was so what, they fired the crowd up.I've been saying for a long time CNN does'nt report the new's they create it.
There's a reason why they're known as The Cretins' News Network
I thought Bush started the auto bailouts. But of course Obama gets all the credit and becomes the hero.
jes33- you can pat Bush on the back for starting the TARP, which activated the Tea Party into their gun wearing threatening to water the tree of liberty with blood.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/20/business/20auto.html?pagewanted=all
The whole steaming pile was done at the end of Bush's term and left on the Obama's threshold.
I+YOU+WE=US United States is Americans Thank you Mr. President for being caring of US!!! I got your back, You out there got his back, so we got your back. We will vote for you because our life depends on it!!!!
Actually, my disappointment is with Obama as a politician whose image of himself as someone who could get all to the table has actually resulted in an extreme danger for the country. Obama's failure was his idiotic insistence on bipartisanship. Anybody paying attention since Bill Clinton became President in '92 knew Republicans simply were having none of it. But even if he didn't realize it going in, he should have realized it after a few episodes of trying to get Republicans to deal with the country's problems. He could have extincted those sorry basturds for two generations but instead we're staring down the barrel of getting the 20th century erased.
I also think he failed as a communicator. His oral gifts are much overrated -- he's not that great of an orator -- but that's not his biggest problem on communication. He simply refused to explain and defend his accomplishments. And that's cost him, and us.
His final failure was he chose to listen to some wrong people too much, most importantly, Tim Geitner. Though it would have been nice if Krugman and like-minded folks would have had his ear, the politics of things might not have made much of a difference here. But letting the banksters skip out without punishment and then actually mock him with disinterest is a pretty big failure.
When I saw Obama's team shut down Organizing for America just at the point where the Republicans were creating their astroturf "Tea Party", when I saw they didn't realize that the day the campaign really began was five minutes after he took the oath of office, that's when I realized they weren't the guys I thought they were. Fortunately, after getting kicked in the groin a few more times than was needed, they finally got the message and Grew A Pair last year. One hopes not too late. Had they done in 2009-10 what they have done in 2011-12, we would not be staring at the possibility of seeing Sinclair Lewis' prediction ("when fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross") come true in this election. So he exceeded my expectations by finally demonstrating he did indeed have a brain, something I had given up hope of seeing.
Are you not making my point that there are more than 3 categories of perspective on Obama and that Steve Benen is being @sshole in 'accepting' a 3rd category to go with 'his two'?
There is much to dislike and disapprove of with 'The Obomination' while knowing that his many pluses and the alternatives in 2008 of McCrap and in 2012 of the Vulture/Voucher candidates make it imperative that he be reelected. My view is not isolated and it is not one of Benen's 3 categories!
The Dow Jones was at 8000.94 on Jan 30 2009. Today it is 13283.33. Obviously, businesses are confident; investors are confident. And, they are making record profits! Time for them to hire some people!
They won't hire anyone until there's a demand that creates the need for more employees. We know that; it's the Republicans that can't seem to grasp that simple concept of supply and demand. Business is sitting on literally trillions of cash right now, but we're supposed to give them a tax cut so the 'job creators' will start hiring?
It' enough to make this old lady grind her teeth! Glad you feel the same way. :}
After watching the Republicans blindside and stonewall Clinton during his first term, and then seeing their enraged, unquestioning crucifixion of him during his second term (yes, part of that was Clinton's own sexual stupidity), I didn't expect much for Obama during his first term.
But this blatant, ferocious, extreme vitriol from the Republicans against everything Obama says out loud is, quite frankly, scary. These (mostly) men can't even hold a civil conversation with the President - the man who was overwhelmingly elected by the majority of the American citizenry.
Don't know if it is extreme jealousy, extreme avarice, extreme desire for power or extreme fear - whatever it is - if these current Republican bullies are allowed to continue unchecked, they can and will destroy everything they are allowed to touch.
Are we better off today than we were four years ago? Here are some headlines from 2008:
source:
http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/02/major-headlines-june-2008%E2%80%94january-2009/
2008
6/10 Big Loss At Lehman Intensifies Crisis Jitters.
6/11 Inflation’s Bite Worsens Around World.
6/21 Ford Reels as Truck Sales Plunge.
6/28 Dow Hits Bear-Market Territory.
7/12 Crisis Deepens as Big Bank Fails: IndyMac Seized In Largest Bust In Two Decades.
7/14 Treasury and Fed Pledge Aid For Ailing Mortgage Giants.
7/16 SEC Moves to Curb Short Selling.
9/8 US Seizes Mortgage Giants FNM and FRE.
9/15 Crisis on Wall Street as Lehman Totters, Merrill Is Sold, AIG Seeks to Raise Cash.
9/17 US To Take Over AIG in $85 Billion Bailout; Central Banks Inject Cash as Credit Dries Up.
9/20 US Bailout Plan Calms Markets, But Struggle Looms Over Details.
9/22 Goldman, Morgan Scrap Wall Street Model, Become Banks in Bid to Ride Out Crisis.
9/26 WaMu Is Seized, Sold Off to JP Morgan, In Largest Failure in US Banking History.
9/30 Bailout Plan Rejected, Markets Plunge, Forcing New Scramble to Solve Crisis.
10/4 Historic Bailout Passes As Economy Slips Further.
10/14 US to Buy Stakes in Nation’s Largest Banks.
10/23 Markets Fall as Fears of Slump Span World.
10/28 Crisis Deals New Blow to Japan: Stocks at ’82 Levels.
11/19 Big Three Plead For Aid.
11/24 US Agrees to Rescue Struggling Citigroup.
12/12 Top Broker Accused of $50 Billion Fraud.
12/17 Fed Cuts Rates Near Zero to Battle Slump.
2009
1/3 Manufacturing Tumbles Globally.
1/8 Corporate Scandal Shakes India.
1/10 Citigroup Takes First Step Toward Breakup.
1/15 Bank of America to Get Billions in US Aid.
I'd say we're better off. I'd rather be looking up than falling.
12/17 Fed Cuts Rates Near Zero to Battle Slump.
Thank God that worked and now we are better off then we were four years ago.
The Feds cut interest rates to near zero midway thru the Bush administration because they knew that it was the only way to keep the economy from cratering earlier.
We're essentially at the zero lower bound and still businesses won't invest and hire to the extent needed. And people can't or won't spend to give business the motivation or confidence demand is back. So we're in a holding pattern. It's called a depression.
John Corzine broke MF Global with billions of investor money going down the tubes. No.... Holder not looking to prosecute. Corzine is one of the democratic cronies. Former NJ Gov. Big fund raiser. Screw the investors. He's the dems buddy!
Is this sarcasm or are you for real, Ira?
He is definitely not the only person to think Obama has exceeded expectations.
I appreciate much of what Obama has accomplished, but to say that he has exceeded expectations only shows an insufficiency of expectations.
- Guantanamo
- Indefinite detention
- Drone warfare on civilian populations
- Capitulations to CoPresidents Snowe & Collins on the Stimulus package
This is not a comprehensive list - add your own.
Romney and Ryan remind me of two spoiled children on a trip to Disneyland constantly asking their parents "are we there yet?" Being a parent myself, I certainly wouldn't pull over and let one of my children drive. Nor should we allow Romney to get behind the wheel if we truly want to get there. We've made it this far let's take it all the way!
MR. PRESIDENT ,
You need to stand up against the lies the right is making on the National debt.
They are accusing you of spending $6 TRILLION during your term.
I know for a fact that they are all GOP policies that caused it.
Fixing the GOP screw ups is not your spending Mr. President it is theirs.
Stimulus to save the GOP screw ups are LOANS not spending.
INTEREST on the GOP TRILLIONS of debt is NOT yours to be responsible for.
MR. President,
They will say the Democrats had a “majority”.
But we all well know the filibustering, obstructing GOP has the “CONTROL”
The unfunded wars were GOP started wars based on deception.
Mr. President,
The $16 TRILLION National Debt is GOP Policies of the past 32 years.
Stand up for your record and denounce those accusations.
Use their debt clock against them.
Mr. President,
Use ARITHMETIC against them.
Democratic policies that added to the National Debt = ????
Deduct that from $16 TRILLION
The balance will equal GOP DEBT.
This is NOT blaming the GOP or BUSH.
This is ARITHMETIC Mr. President.
If President Obama did stand up and tell the truth, the GOP would accuse him of whining and being a baby for crying in his corn flakes.
Someone today said something like:
if President Obama did a triple flip, they would give him a 2.
So many aquaintances of mine just repeat the same things over and over that I cannot talk about politics with them. They repeat what they hear at church and on the talk radio stations, without a clue about any facts. Of course, they are the ones with health insurance and investment portfolios. Pray for President Obama.
It's the economy stupid. Clinton did it the right way. Obama has done nothing but hurt the economy in my view. I wonder how things would have been under Hilary. Sorry to say but I'm leaning towards Romney this year.
I don't know how anyone can think things are better. They must live under a rock. Look around at the unemployment. Obama's statement of "We are moving forward" just now sickens me. If moving forward means more stimulus (that hasn't worked) more debt to China (That is growing by leaps and bounds) Obamacare that comes between us and our doctors (Let's have a panel, not our doctor decide what we need) Free contraceptives to support irresponsible women's sex lives. If you have a business, you didn't build it. Encouraging people to get food stamps. No pipeline from Canada so other countries can buy Canada's oil. According to Obama we can't do squat without the government. I cannot see how things are better.
To TCinLA. I haven't seen Obama do anything but campaign and play golf. He certainly doesn't meet with his cabinet. He is too busy flying around the country campaigning. He is very good at that. If he had been at the White House taking care of business, he wouldn't be in as tight of race as he is now. Whiners want to complain about funds pouring in to the RNC. Obama set record setting fund raising during the last election. Again, if he would have taken care of business, he would probably have done so again. But.... He didn't, and now we are in a mess and relying on him to get us out would be asanine.
Let me start by saying that I voted for Barack Obama in 2008. We were sick of Bush, and were hoping for change, but we have not had the changes we deserve. Sure, he has accomplished a lot of things, some good, but some very bad.
In 2008, he spoke out against lobbyists & special interests. He campaigned on peace, fiscal responsibility, transparency, civil rights and respecting the constitution, and he swore an oath of office to “preserve, protect and defend” our constitution. When it comes to these things, he has governed completely opposite of how he promised he would.
In many ways Obama is Bush on steroids.
He campaigned on peace and was even given the Nobel Peace Prize after doing nothing to advance the cause of peace, except speak out against "Bush's" wars. He said the first thing he would do was bring our troops home.
Instead he has proven that he's a bigger warmonger than Bush (see Libya, Yemen, Pakistan, and...) He sends our sons and daughters to die for the interests of the 0.01%, and does it without a congressional declaration, and those corrupt cowards allow it.
We're still in Afghanistan. Why? The Iraq withdrawal date was worked out between the Iraqi government and the Bush Administration and we still have paid contractors conducting military operations there at a higher cost. Our government attacks countries for political and financial reasons, countries that have valuable natural resources, don't have a Rothschild controlled central bank, or refuse to do what they're told. They use "terrorism" or "humanitarian aid" as excuses to remove governments they don't like, to steal their gold, control their oil and minerals, and install rulers that will play along with the agenda.
Take a look at all of Obama's drone attacks and his insistence that he has the authority to assassinate U.S. citizens without due process, and to indefinitely imprison U.S. citizens without charges, without an attorney, without contact with family and the ever increasing police state that we are living in?
Just like every other bankster-supported politician, he has stripped us of our constitutionally protected civil rights.
Romney would be no better, by the way. His words and actions show that he supports almost every policy that President O'Bomb'em does, and he has received as much bankster money as Obama during this campaign season, if not more.
Hope and Change.
I was hoping that the things that never change, no matter which party controls the White House or the Congress, would change under Obama, but they haven't. The status quo gravy train is still rolling down the tracks. The Crony Corporate Corruption is still thriving, and the insiders are becoming wealthier and more powerful, while the 99.99% of us outsiders, Republican, Democrat and independent alike, are becoming poorer and less powerful. The upward redistribution of wealth (yes, upward. It’s not downward as the president would like us to believe.), the ever increasing executive branch power grab, perpetual wars that have absolutely nothing to do with national defense, and everything else that is status quo has not changed and will not change under President Obama.
It's time to WAKE UP and stop feeding into the false left/right paradigm that divides and conquers, and acts as a smokescreen to prevent us from seeing the criminal acts of our “leaders”.
Well, since Ron Paul is not on the ballot, what on earth are you going on and on about?