Unfortunately, Obama didn't just promise health care to parents with children 18-25 and those with pre-existing conditions, did he? And he didn't tell us that we'd all be paying higher premiums and the largest tax increase in the history of man... he said just the opposite. Our premiums would be lower, and no one under $200k would see a tax increase. There is a dramatic difference between what Obama promised and what was delivered. It doesn't matter what the excuses are, and it doesn't matter what the intentions might have been.
Parts of ObamaCare were negotiated, put in place, while the Repubs were part of the discussion. That’s why ObamaCare is anything but perfect. However, it is the opening for government medical and every country that has government medical saves money on medical costs per person. No exception. There is not one country that pays more than the US, per person. In fact, most countries pay at least a 1/3 less…..Oh, oh. I wrote “1/3”. OK. Forget that. Let’s say most countries pay 30% less. I don’t want you to get bogged down with the 1/3 reference.
So why has Obama failed to extract us from the mess? Why are we still in their countries? We've more than doubled the number of countries we're bombing... is that what Obama promised he would do? Is that what you supported? I agree it's time to get out, it was time to get out 4 years ago when we elected Obama on that very promise, and he has again failed to deliver on his word. What I don't understand is why you think we should give him another 4 years?
The reason it’s taking so long is we turned their society upside down. We broke everything. We told the people what their daughters could do (attend school), we brought in clothing/music/culture that the people found offensive….what view of the West do you think the people have?
Try to stand in their shoes. Imagine a foreign power invading and telling you your daughter can dress like a tramp and hang out with the boys when she wants and if you interfere you will be shot. That is how those people see it.
The war wasn’t just about removing someone from power. It was about changing a society and that’s the problem. The West has screwed up things so much that rather than being looked at as a savior it’s viewed as the devil and while the West is trying to change that perception it just keeps making things worse. The average person may have objected to the religious wackos chopping off the head of a girl who “dishonors” their family but they sure as hell don’t want their daughter turning into a prostitute or dressing like one either. Better one head chopped off than the entire village overrun with teenage girls bearing skin and hanging out with boys. That’s their way of life. Good, bad or otherwise, that’s the way it is and it’s not our business to force them to live differently.
So, as Obama withdraws troops he’s trying to leave the area in one piece. We don’t want a backlash where the religious wackos double down on their views and start hunting “traitors” who took up the Western ways. On the other hand we can’t force anything on them. Simply put, when it came to changing a society we lost. We accept it, co-operate and “make nice” because we have no choice. If we intend on doing business with those countries it will be on their terms. That’s what’s taking the time. We’re trying to save some thing, some hope for future progress. We’re trying to leave at least some good impression behind and Obama is going in the right direction. The last thing the world needs is another Repub administration and talk of war with Iran.
Obama was one of the biggest supporters of the stimulus. He promised unemployment wouldn't go over 8% if we passed it. But unemployment hasn't been BELOW 8% since he's been president. If new presidents can't really do much about what old presidents did, there isn't any reason at all to elect new presidents, is there? Much less give them 4 more years to continue not doing much.
There are plenty of reasons. ObamaCare, for one. Once medical insurance is removed from jobs that will help everyone who is unemployed, be it 8% or 4% or whatever number. One problem solved. The next is social programs. While the majority of people are not unemployed the majority will experience unemployment at some time in their life. Let’s get a system in place to address that problem. Training programs. Counselling. Instead of just watching someone lose their job, lose their medical, lose their home and, in many cases, family disintegration with the resultant negative effects on children let’s have a network in place to deal with the situation as soon as it happens. But most important, when voting, remember who was sitting in the Oval Office when all this hit the fan. Common sense alone dictates one would not consider voting for the people responsible and, like cockroaches, they still infest the Republican party.
Again, Obama promised to change these things, not continue to point the finger of blame at the other side. I fail to see leadership in that. Wasn't the idea to elect Obama so he could change these things and fix the problems? If Obama had campaigned saying: "Hey, elect me and I promise I won't fix any of these problems, but I won't let you forget who created them!" You think he would have won on that? And is THAT the message for the next 4 years? Forget about these things republicans started, we won't end them, we'll just keep blaming republicans and doing nothing to change things, but we're gonna give you free stuff too!
Have you given any consideration to the fact the difficulty in changing those things reflects on the severity of the damage that was done? What are the choices? Elect a party that is having problems cleaning up a mess or elect a party that makes messes?
Well, I wrote the article, and I didn't go off the rails. I am asking you how you can vote 'principles and convictions' when Obama has simply failed to deliver on his own promises? It seems that "Hope and Change" got perverted into "Nope and Blame!" Nope, we're not going to change any of this stuff, we're just going to continue pointing the finger of blame at Republicans! What kind of "logic" do you call that?
If things were so easy to change elections wouldn’t be important. Vote for anyone and if they screw up, no problem. The next guy will fix them. Unfortunately, it’s not like that.
Obama hasn’t fixed the job situation but he has changed medical insurance to deal with that situation now and if it occurs again in the future. He hasn’t closed Gitmo but he’s getting the troops out of the ME so a future Gitmo won’t be necessary. Sometimes you can’t glue Humpty Dumpty back together but you can make sure the next one doesn’t fall off the wall.
Eleven years in Afghanistan. More troops. Less troops. Change the guys in charge. Change the plans. Maybe the solution is just GET OUT which is what Obama is doing. Again, it’s not always easy to correct mistakes.
Again, Obama didn't campaign on the promise he would not make compromises, and when push came to shove, would tell the other side STFU and STFD, did he? He DID pass whatever he wanted, without one single solitary republican vote! There was no bipartisan effort, as evidenced by the vote itself. Blaming republicans is NOT leadership. Telling the other side to STFU and STFD is not bipartisanship or trying to reach concensus with anyone.
Now that’s just not true. For the first two years he tried and tried. Even folks ask why he waited until after the 2010 vote before enacting ObamaCare. He showed more good will than any other politician and in the end he was laughed at.
Again, how are they different from Obama, who seems content with letting all of it ride and simply pointing the finger of blame at republicans? Was the point not to get someone in office who would change these 'awful' policies? Were we electing someone to do nothing about this stuff except continue to blame republicans? ...While picking 3 MORE countries to bomb?
There’s a huge difference between drone bombing compared to sending in troops and trying to change the culture of the people. That is the problem. If a country is a threat deal with the threat and leave the everyday people alone. Spreading democracy results in religious radicals being voted into power. Spreading democracy results in the natives getting downright ornery.
Take Afghanistan. If the West wants to bomb the government do you think the opium farmer hundreds of miles away gives a damn? Whether or not he grows opium is not our business. If we don’t want opium, fine. Stop it at the border. Who the hell are we to tell someone who lives half way around the world they can’t enjoy a pipe full? Who the fvck do we think we are? How many of our sons and daughters and mothers and fathers have to die for something so stupid? It’s insanity.
And a vote for Obama is a vote for someone who has no principled convictions, and no intention of changing things or fixing the problems, and every intention of continuing to whine, make excuses and blame the other side. The car is in the ditch, and you've elected someone who doesn't have any worthwhile plans to get the car out of the ditch, but they do plan to stand there and bitch some more about the other side getting the car in the ditch. When the car is stuck in the ditch, the last thing we need is someone standing there doing nothing, with hands on hips, bitching out the previous driver. At some point, we need someone to roll up their sleeves and start pushing! Bitching, complaining and excusing, is never going to magically get the car out of the ditch.
Ah, but he does have principled convictions. He believes in doing what’s right for the American citizen. Whether it’s ObamaCare or bringing the troops home it’s all about what’s best for the average American citizen.
Romney talks about jobs but I haven’t seen any concrete plans. If he has a plan for companies to return from China, meaning the money they save on low Chinese wages will be counteracted by some scheme he has in mind, someone loses along the way. The benefits the companies receive from low wages has to be replaced by something else. Low wages here? Less environmental controls? Or is it all just talk?
Using the car in the ditch analogy there is more to it than just getting it out. Should a guard rail be installed there? Is the road shoulder too narrow? Did the car slide due to bald tires?
Obama and, I believe, the rest of us realize those jobs aren’t coming back. Things are not going to go back to the way they were. Times have changed so Obama is making changes pertinent to the new reality like having ones medical insurance separate from their job. Changes to social policies reflecting the new reality like when he recommended temporarily lengthening unemployment.
(Excerpt) The BLS, (US Bureau of Labor Statistics) in a press release dated September 2010, released the results of a report that looked at the number of times people changed jobs. This report was limited in that it only considered job changes that occurred between the ages of 18 and 44 and only looked at a small subset of the population—those born from 1957-1964, a segment defined as "young baby boomers." The report showed that those people changed jobs, on average, 11 times. (End)
http://careerplanning.about.com/b/2011/03/26/how-often-do-people-change-careers.htm
Eleven times! I wonder what the odds are getting injured going for a job interview. Eleven separate occasions having no medical insurance. And don’t forget the usual waiting period many companies impose before an employee is entitled to full benefits. Sort of a trial period of maybe 3 months. Three months on eleven different occasions for a total of 33 months being uninsured. Almost 3 years! And that’s assuming the person leaves or loses one job and starts another the next day. How often does that happen?
Look at the big picture, Dix. Obama is planning for the long term. He can see down the road as opposed to the Repub, “To hell with you. You’re on your own” philosophy.
