Obama's tune

[Questor]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100109/ap_on_an/us_obama_buck_stops_where_analysis

Make sure you read the last paragraph.

Analysis: Obama's buck-stopping goes only so far
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 AP – President Barack Obama speaks about the economy, Friday, Jan. 8, 2010, in the East Room of the White …
 By BEN FELLER, Associated Press Writer Ben Feller, Associated Press Writer – Sat Jan 9, 3:49 am ET
WASHINGTON – He says "the buck stops with me," but nearly a year into office, President Barack Obama is still blaming a lot of the nation's troubles — the economy, terrorism, health care — on George W. Bush.

Over and over, Obama keeps reminding Americans of the mess he inherited and all he's doing to fix it. A sharper, give-me-some-credit tone has emerged in his language as he bemoans people's fleeting memory about what life was like way back in 2008, particularly on the economy.

"Yes, we can"?

Try "Yes, I have."

While candid about what he called his team's "screw-up" in the botched Christmas airliner attack, Obama has made a point of underlining all the good he believes his government has done, too.

"Our progress has been unmistakable," Obama said as the new year began. "We've disrupted terrorist financing, cutting off recruiting chains, inflicted major losses on al-Qaida's leadership, thwarted plots here in the United States and saved countless American lives."

Yet every time Obama tries to offer a dose of perspective like that, he faces the reality that people live in the moment.

On terrorism, Americans are less concerned about quiet successes than troubling failures, especially one that evoked harrowing memories of Sept. 11, 2001.

On the economy, people prefer good news now, not updates on how things are gradually getting less bad.

The way Obama sees it, the problems he took on — recession, war, health care, a warming planet — were always too huge and complicated to fix that fast.

So he emphasizes progress by taking people back to where he began.

Which means taking them back to Bush.

"I don't need to remind any of you about the situation we found ourselves in at the beginning of this year," Obama told people at a Home Depot stop last month. And then he reminded them anyway, detailing a nation in financial free fall when he took office.

The economy now is both groaning and growing.

Gloomy employers just slashed another 85,000 jobs in December, but Obama rarely misses a chance, as he did again Friday, to remind people that, hey, remember the job erosion at the start of the year? About 700,000 a month.

That is true, but it doesn't matter much to the man or woman who is out of work, a point Obama concedes.

He's not just trying to give people context. He's trying to shore up his standing and his party's, hoping voters will let it all sink in during this big congressional election year.

An overwhelming majority of people say 2009 was a bad year for the country, according to the latest Associated Press-GfK poll. As Democrats head toward midterm elections trying to hang onto control of the House and Senate, half of Americans still think the country is headed in the wrong direction.

Obama needs to show that he gets results. And so he describes a year of overlooked achievement since his predecessor left town, addressing a range of problems: hate crimes, tobacco advertisements toward children, pay disparities for women, abuses by credit card companies and many more.

In other words, change from Bush.

Except for when Obama sounds just like Bush with tough words for the enemy.

"We are destroying training camps, disrupting communications and dismantling air defenses," Bush said of the mission in Afghanistan in November 2001.

Said Obama this week of terrorists seeking to kill Americans: "We are determined not only to thwart those plans but to disrupt, dismantle and defeat their networks once and for all."

When Obama got heat for his government's decision to try the Sept. 11 mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, in a civilian court, he defended it by saying the justice system has handled other recent terror suspects just fine. He spoke of examples during Bush's administration. "We've done this before," he said.

Even when Obama achieves what he wants, the public doesn't always seem to share the feeling of success.

He may be close to signing what could be the one of the biggest domestic laws in decades, an overhaul of health coverage in America. The House and Senate have passed separate versions and are trying to give Obama a bill to sign within weeks. But the nasty, noisy partisan fights have left many people soured and confused.

"I suspect he's just trying as best he can to give people a sense that what they've been experiencing, seeing and reading is not an accurate portrayal of what's actually gotten done," said Norman Ornstein, a politics scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.

Obama has openly wondered how some of his work is forgotten so fast.

"I think we have been successful in averting disaster," Obama said on Dec. 16 about righting the economy. "You know, you don't get a lot of credit for that, because nobody knows how bad it could have been."

On this front, Obama often chides the media for what he sees as accentuating the negative and minimizing progress. As on Dec. 4 when Obama mocked the press for saying he had pivoted back from health care to jobs. He insisted that every day is about jobs. "Folks' attention spans are short," he said.

Not everyone's. Nearly 15.3 million people are unemployed, an increase of 3.9 million during 2009, and a lot of Americans seem aware that that problem is far from over.

A Gallup Poll near the end of the year found 25 percent of people — just one in four — feeling satisfied with how things were going in the United States.

"The president himself, not surprisingly, may feel quite satisfied with accomplishments in his first year," said Frank Newport, editor in chief of the Gallup Poll. "But we don't see signs that the American public is positive."

___

EDITOR'S NOTE — Ben Feller covers the White House for The Associated Press.

[yellowtail3]

Make sure you read the last paragraph.

Ah, the optimism of hatred & ideology...

[jimster]

Well, I notice that president Obama and his administration, and their followers have set the bar unsually low in order to look good in some way.

I mean really...their idea of things getting better is job losses slowing down a wee bit....what the heck is that?  That's a mighty low standard to be sure.
In other words...they always tell you how bad it could have been if not for them...how they measure that, or anything else is beyond me. 

Everything they have done under his administration has failed and thwarted the American taxpayer from bettering themselves.  He always used the old phrase, "some people expected us to do nothing, and that is not an option"....well, if they would have done nothing at all we all would be tons better off and every sane American knows that now.  Yes...it was an option...and probably a good one to actually get out of the way and do nothing.  Their latest regulations passed in Congress hinders Americans even more, nothing but constant regualtions and getting in the way. 


Maybe next he can measure how bad we all would have "felt" if not for him and his clueless administration....they have a measure for everything I guess. Even how we would have felt if he would not have existed at all...

Well I say...."measure this"...

[yellowtail3]

Well I say...."measure this"...

Provider the micrometer, and I'm sure someone will...

[jimster]

"Provider the micrometer, and I'm sure someone will..."

Excellent comeback!  When all else fails as far as facts goes...and debate is no longer an option.   

I of course expected this...and was wondering how long it would take. Not long at all.

[yellowtail3]

"Provider the micrometer, and I'm sure someone will..."

Excellent comeback!  When all else fails as far as facts goes...and debate is no longer an option.  

Well, it seemed appropriate in the context of, "measure this" - or maybe I misunderstood you. What facts are in dispute, that you wanted to debate.

[jimster]

Yellowtail, I don't really have a problem with your statement, all is fun, no sweat here.  

Nothing really to debate either...Bailouts failed...fact...Americans people were told if we bailed out the car companies with our money they would not go bankrupt...they did within of month eating our tax dollars.  Fannie and Fredie are on the same course they always were after bail out, being told to lend people money that can't pay it back, which was got us in trouble in the first place.    Stim package...failed....no private jobs were helped at all...we kept some people on jobs that were already being held up on tax payer money (police, teachers, etc)...temporary, unless we pony up more...government grew instead.  Also, let's not forget the stim package has not hardly been touched yet..., so the hurry was what again?  That money of ours will be used for a slush fund for Congress, not us.  Probably for the next election.  Not much to debate on really when it comes to what works and what does not.

Guess we just listen to them tell us 85,000 more jobs lost last month is great news and all those billions and billions of our tax dollars kept a policeman and a teacher on the job until more money from us is confiscated again.   I reckon each job held up was worth a couple million bucks if you do the math, gee wonder where the rest of the money went?  

Michigan...we took the fed tax dollars and kept our county road crews busy (held up by tax payer dollars already) putting in fence posts and cable in the middle of the express ways in case a car goes all the way across...LOL...now they have to re-do it all because it of course is not working.  Gee, wonder what they just did not give the fed tax money to a private business or taxpayer.  But nope...all for government...

This administration inherited nothing compared to what they have done in the past several months...and they certainly are not fixing anything by confiscating, and funneling our money to themselves.  

Anyways...I don't have a problem with your comment...I chuckled...and expected it...I do have a sense of humor still.  I was probably out of line to begin with by saying "measure this"....it was all in fun.

What is there to debate really?  Nothing is working because they did everything backwards and the wrong thing grew...government grew.

[yellowtail3]

you'll get no argument from me, JIMSTER, that things are a huge mess. I'm one of the unemployed, right now, and it's getting scary.

[Casull]

What facts are in dispute, that you wanted to debate.

I never seem to see you posting any facts.  Just snide remarks and inane questions.  So, since by all measures, things are worse than a year ago, just what has Obama done that makes you happy?

[Casull]

you'll get no argument from me, Slim, that things are a huge mess. I'm one of the unemployed, right now, and it's getting scary.

You slipped that one in before I made my prior post.  Maybe I was wrong.  You do understand.   

[Redtail1949]

obama has failed in every endeavor he has undertook. if his so called heath care it certainly will not be classed as a win for him. it will be just another failure pass or fail. he shows everyday that he is in way above his head and he and his chosen cronies are clueless.

he will go down in history as the worst president with the worst administration ever in our nations history. then he will indeed have a claim to fame.

he and his cronies can only dig up the tired cries of "Bush Done It" or the long tired and old cry of "Racist". What a joke and we really would be laughing with the rest of the world if it were not such a tragedy. Even our enemies are laughing like hech at this "...boy who would be king"

the democrats have no shining star in this fool.

so now many democrats i know regret their vote for him and hope that the next few years pass very quickly or maybe he will resign. thats not racisim nor redneck stupidity talking thats the facts.

the sooner the idiot gets out of office the better and millions upon millions can hardly wait for that day to come.

[yellowtail3]

obama has failed in every endeavor he has undertook.

Name three?

if his so called heath care it certainly will not be classed as a win for him. it will be just another failure pass or fail.

Question: do we need reform in health care?

he will go down in history as the worst president with the worst administration ever in our nations history. then he will indeed have a claim to fame.

did you develop that opinion before, or after he was sworn in?

worse than Andrew Johnson??

[torpedoman]

his version of "the buck stops here" means he won't fire people who will not or cannot do their jobs seems a fitting attitude for a true socialist.