One of the Worst Weeks in American History

[Lucky]

The travesty that has been the debate over the debt ceiling has shown Americans the lowest levels of their government leaders. Not Obama, not Reid, not McConnell, not Boehner, not the Tea Party, not Congress at all has acted for the American people. The debt deal they apparently have reached is a mere stopgap, something to tide things over until the 2012 elections are over. I don't see how Obama can run again. After all, there can only be one Republican candidate.

[Guest EXPAT]

The President Surrenders on Debt Ceiling

This is a good article from the NYTimes. I agree with the author. This entire thing is a travesty. Leadership is lacking in everyone. The only good thing is that the stock futures are up 1.5% for Monday instead of dropping 1000 points. . .

http://nyti.ms/p0YXWu

[Guest hitoallusa]

Paul Krugman says that "We currently have a deeply depressed economy". I disagree with that. I am not saying that our economy is good. It's bad. But we have to remember that there was a bubble. We had been in an unsustainable bubble that provided people with a false sense of prosperity right before our current state! To me we are back at the normal state after the bubble where we should be without true positive economic activities that really promote growth. Without a true reform and creating new businesses that can create wealth, I believe it will be a while before we recover the previous state. Don't trust stock markets. It going up doesn't mean we have recovered. Should we do something in the escort business that can create wealth and give back to our communities?

The President Surrenders on Debt Ceiling

This is a good article from the NYTimes. I agree with the author. This entire thing is a travesty. Leadership is lacking in everyone. The only good thing is that the stock futures are up 1.5% for Monday instead of dropping 1000 points. . .

http://nyti.ms/p0YXWu

[Lucky]

EXPAT's link takes you to Paul Krugman, who argues that the president has surrendered. Here is another one, about the diminished presidency of Obama, by Ross Douthat:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/01/opinion/the-diminished-president.html?_r=1&ref=opinion

[Guest gcursor]

Oh I don't believe we've heard the last repercussions of all of this yet. I think this saga is going to get much worse before it gets better.

Gcursor

Paul Krugman says that "We currently have a deeply depressed economy". I disagree with that. I am not saying that our economy is good. It's bad. But we have to remember that there was a bubble. We had been in an unsustainable bubble that provided people with a false sense of prosperity right before our current state! To me we are back at the normal state after the bubble where we should be without true positive economic activities that really promote growth. Without a true reform and creating new businesses that can create wealth, I believe it will be a while before we recover the previous state. Don't trust stock markets. It going up doesn't mean we have recovered. Should we do something in the escort business that can create wealth and give back to our communities?

[TampaYankee]

I have urged my Congressman and Senators to vote NO! Both GOP and Dems. I tell my Dems why I should bother to vote with incompetance, malfeasance, and sell outs like this. I tell my GOP the solution doesn't go far enough - which is true, it demands revenues be part of it. I don't share that last tidbit with them.

I'm pissed. Krugman is more right than not on this. We have sold the safety net and expiration of Bush upper bracket taxe cuts down the river. The GOP will just stonewall again. The Dems are truly outmatched by the GOP in tactics. That includes Obama who comes off as an embarassment.

[TotallyOz]

I can't tell you how disappointed I am in Obama. He should have stood his ground and then at the deadline, invoked the 14th Amendment. That is what Bill Clinton would have done. But, Bill had big kahunas.

The democrats are weak, ineffective and an embarrassment. I know, I know, I am one of them, but I have rarely been so disgusted with myself (except when I had about 40 guys blow their load on me at my 40th Birthday party. Well, that was hot and not really disgusting but you get the point.)

[Guest Conway]

I have urged my Congressman and Senators to vote NO! Both GOP and Dems. I tell my Dems why I should bother to vote with incompetance, malfeasance, and sell outs like this. I tell my GOP the solution doesn't go far enough - which is true, it demands revenues be part of it. I don't share that last tidbit with them.

I'm pissed. Krugman is more right than not on this. We have sold the safety net and expiration of Bush upper bracket taxe cuts down the river. The GOP will just stonewall again. The Dems are truly outmatched by the GOP in tactics. That includes Obama who comes off as an embarassment.

I am as disappointed as you though our ends of the political spectrum are polar opposites. I am surprised by your statement that the Republicans were stonewalling. It was the GOP that made two concrete proposals where as the Democrats made none.

None the less, it appears that Washington has once again done more harm than good by kicking the can on yet another tough decision regarding our country's future.

I'm reminded of Senator Obama who, in 2006 said, "Raising the debt ceiling is a failure to lead".

It is indeed, Mr. President. It is indeed.

[TampaYankee]

The problem with Obama's strategy is that he opens negotiations on the fifty yard line in an attempt at compromise and appeal to the independents at the start. That guarantees that the game is played in the GOP end of the field. And the more intransigent they are, the closer to their goal line.

Obama needs to learn to draw some lines and go to the mattresses if necessary. If the GOP wanted to take the country down with a poison pill strategy he should have called their bluff. Now the die is cast for future negotiations and future poison pill debt ceiling episodes. Aceeding to GOP blackmail begets more of it down the road. Why wouldn't it? It works for them.

I have little motivation to vote for Obama and other Dems in the next election. My motivation will be to vote against all Republicans while I hold my nose.

[KYTOP]

The problem with Obama's strategy is that he opens negotiations on the fifty yard line in an attempt at compromise and appeal to the independents at the start. That guarantees that the game is played in the GOP end of the field. And the more intransigent they are, the closer to their goal line.

Actually part of Obama's problem is he isn't hardly part of the negotiations at all. McConnell is my Senator and there is again another story in our newspaper how McConnell negotiated with VP Joe Biden all weekend with a "few" short phone conversations with the President thrown in. Just like with the Tax reduction extension in December the real White House negotiations were not with Obama but with Biden. McConnell and Biden are the one's that reached a deal late Sunday. Even though McConnell and Biden are old friends that call each other by their first names, Mitch and Joe, Obama still should have shown some leadership. Instead he punts to Biden to negotiate the big issues with Congress.

Around here, even my strongly Democratic friends, all compare Obama to Jimmy Carter. Weak and lacking leadership. I think Obama's number 1 concern about the debt ceiling was to just get it past his 2012 re-election campaign. As long as the agreement succeeded in doing that he didn't really give a shit what else was part of the deal.

[Guest hitoallusa]

Well yes Obama has his own problems and he has to take care of his presidential campaign in 2012. But I don't think it is not Obama's fault. The real problem is that politicians are so corrupt. There is a story of 5 baits in China. I believe that some savvy interest groups pick something up similar along that line and have most of our politicians under their control. They want smart ones but not so smart to get rid of them or rebel against. Smart enough to represent and look out for their interests but not so smart to over throw them. I hope Obama doesn't become one of them. I hope he can out smart those who want to control him and show some strength. But those with power and money are so strong in this country that it is impossible to bring them down and I won't blame Obama if he fails. He tried.

[TampaYankee]

I fear and suspect that Obama has done himself in on this deal. At least that is my perception at the moment.

Analysts are declaring that this agreement will cost 1.8 million jobs over the next few years and that the economy will slump by over one and a fraction percent next year. I don't think Obama can survive that kind of set back in an election year. It is iffy now. Let's pray that Bachmann gets the GOP nomination.

McConell & Boehner are declaring that they will stack their super committee members with extreme anti-tax members. If so that pretty much guarantees another circus around Thanksgiving leading to the triggers being pulled. The histrionics will be historical. It will be interesting to see the defense lobbyist on K Street melting down,, as well as many State governors and Congressman as cuts hit their states.

I think the House will swing back to the Dems but the Senate is likely to go Republican. The country will be in deep shit unless the Dems take the House by a wide margin, else the Blue Dogs will sell them down the river. I wouldn't bet on it.

The die has been cast forever on future Debt Ceiling actions and probably on a lot of other essential legislation too. That is unless or until the GOP decides it is better to put governing the country ahead of party and politics. I see no sign of that on the horizon. People's actions tend to get reinforced when it gets them their way.

That is my crystal ball reading now. Things may change... for better or worse.

[TotallyOz]

Around here, even my strongly Democratic friends, all compare Obama to Jimmy Carter. Weak and lacking leadership. I think Obama's number 1 concern about the debt ceiling was to just get it past his 2012 re-election campaign. As long as the agreement succeeded in doing that he didn't really give a shit what else was part of the deal.

I agree with that comparison. I like Carter. I think he is a great man. I like Obama. I think he is a great man. I think he is a lousy President. He has no balls and I wish he was not as concerned about raising 1 billion dollars to get reelected as he was to fix things the first 4 years.

He has done some good things. But, it is not enough and I have lost all respect for him. Throwing me a bone with DADT is not enough to win this gay mans support.

[lookin]

I think Obama's heart is in the right place, though he's still earning his political chops. Call me old-fashioned, but I'd rather have it that way than have a politically skilled president without a soul.

So glad to be in the company of a fellow Carter fan. I think he came to Washington determined to steamroll through the system, and couldn't. But he always knew where he wanted to go and he got a lot done.

I haven't given up on Obama yet. His steamroller was Rahm Emmanuel, who I suspect stirred up some unnecessary animus. But then maybe a president and his team really have to piss off a lot of folks to get things done.

FDR sure did.

[Lucky]

Lookin, I wish I could agree with you, but I was better at politics in the eight grade than Obama is in the White House. You learn early that you don't start negotiating at the 50 yard line and work to the opposition side. You hopefully have some balls to take a position that you support and work from there, maybe meeting at the 45 yard line or closer to the 50th.

Obama can give a great speech, but that is the extent of his political skill. Why else was Biden doing all the heavy work?

Hillary would have had Boehner standing in the corner until he could play nicely.

[Guest Allessio77]

So sad that Pres Obama turns out to be a moderate Republican...if he wasn't black the TeaGOP might even embrace him.....Only on LGBT issues has the Pres been decent, but then so is Dick Cheney!

[Guest DarnTop82]

So sad that Pres Obama turns out to be a moderate Republican...if he wasn't black the TeaGOP might even embrace him.....Only on LGBT issues has the Pres been decent, but then so is Dick Cheney!

You know, it is getting quite old, people like you, saying things like that. Honestly? His color has nothing to do with it, as he is just as much white as he is black.

He get's points for the DADT thing, but as mentioned earlier, just not enough.

But I truly get tired of the same old defense "you don't like him because he is black" and etc etc. Or my favorite. GEORGE BUSH WAS WORSE!!!1!!!....

It's been three years, Obama has and continues to blame anyone and everyone else, except himself. True narcissistic right there.

[Guest hitoallusa]

Well I don't know how one president can bring changes to a system that is so complicated with COI. Only way to do it is going through a radical reform. Unfortunately, no one wants that unless it is absolutely necessary. Even though there is a great reform, people don't want to change anything in their lifestyle but strongly ask others to change. It's not Obama's fault that we are in a crisis. It is not that simple. We all know it unconsciously but consciously we continue brain wash ourself that it is someone else's fault. The system in DC is severely broken beyond repair. We all see that but instead of trying to come up with an idea to mend it, we start this blaming game. Bringing a new president is not going to solve anything, IMO. Maybe delay a bigger crisis for a couple of years more but that's about it what a new president can do without fixing the system. I would like to say good luck to Bachmann who says she can fix the economy within in 3 months once she is elected. As if that's possible.