Does President Obama play too much Golf?

[Snakey]

Originally Posted by Mr. Desmond

After threatening to take a swing at Obama, the out-of-control Tags Romney - Tags, seriously? - ought to relax, maybe take up the game of golf.

Don't you get it...Mitt , Tags , and his other kids are called Slider and Foulball.

[phan52]

Originally Posted by Snakey

Don't you get it...Mitt , Tags , and his other kids are called Slider and Foulball.

Tagg probably wants to take a swing at his father for naming him Tagg.

[Mr. Desmond]

Originally Posted by phan52

Tagg probably wants to take a swing at his father for naming him Tagg.

Tagg - Mitt

Sounds like the 1950's.

A place where Mitt seems to think we exist.

But watersports? Did Mitt find out his friends only play big money games and he can't join in?

Don't know ... shouldn't care ... but he comes across as an opportunist who changes his message depending on the audience and depending on what he must do to win - no real moral core -- just do anything to win, forget beliefs. Hey, no wonder he doesn't golf.

[slodsm]

I couldn't care less how much gold Obama, Bush, Cheney, Mitt, or any other politician plays. I just wish they'd all stop SPENDING US INTO OBLIVION!!!!

Good god it's gotten so ridiculous I long for the days of Clinton, I'm a republican but that man knew how to run a country without bouncing checks. Keep em all on the course, I'll get some friends together and we'll cover their green fees and find someone else to get put in charge of the purse strings and we'll all be better off.

[JerryTimes]

I don't care that he plays, but he is out there too much for a president that has "so much to fix from the previous administration"

[JerryTimes]

Originally Posted by slodsm

I couldn't care less how much gold Obama, Bush, Cheney, Mitt, or any other politician plays. I just wish they'd all stop SPENDING US INTO OBLIVION!!!!

Good god it's gotten so ridiculous I long for the days of Clinton, I'm a republican but that man knew how to run a country without bouncing checks. Keep em all on the course, I'll get some friends together and we'll cover their green fees and find someone else to get put in charge of the purse strings and we'll all be better off.

I agree 100%.  If he didn't spend so much, I'd actually think about voting for him this time.

[hanalei]

I couldn't care less how much gold Obama, Bush, Cheney, Mitt, or any other politician plays. I just wish they'd all stop SPENDING US INTO OBLIVION!!!!

Good god it's gotten so ridiculous I long for the days of Clinton, I'm a republican but that man knew how to run a country without bouncing checks. Keep em all on the course, I'll get some friends together and we'll cover their green fees and find someone else to get put in charge of the purse strings and we'll all be better off.

American people wanted Osama, and revenge after 9-11. Well we got him... as to our revenge... It's still a huge hole in our checkbook, including the unemployment extensions and bailouts to keep our economy going... Minus the war we needed to spend to continue making imho. How we get put of this hole is anyone's guess, republicans don't want taxes, dems don't want cuts....a never ending squabble... Id still like to see all the jobs that were supposed to be created by the tax breaks republicans wanted and got under bush Jr...

[x129]

Last I check CRA loans outperformed nonCRA subprime loans by a good margin. CRA might have contributed to the financial problems but it is way down the list behind the repeal Glass-Steagall (you can still blame Clinton for signing that republican law), low fed rate (this needed to be down in 2002 to stablize the economy but it was keep too low to long. You can debate if that was done for political reasons or not), underwriter fraud, the 2004 relaxation of the capital requirements, and the unregulation of the derivative markets. None of these by themselves did us in. It was the combination.

When the president should get credit (or blame) for the economy is hard to say. Blaming a president (or giving credit) for the economy in the first 3-6 months is a stretch.  And in general economic cycles are independant of the president.  For example if the 2008 crisis happened in 2007, would Obama be a better president? If it happened in 2009 instead of 2008, would Bush be a better president? I would go with no and no.

Quote:

While I don't want to get into another political discussion you can't limit the blame to GW.  First, both Obama and McCain knew what the economic situation was when they ran for office and made their campaign promises.  You didn't have to be a genius to figure out whoever won was going to have a tough 4 years.

Holding Obama to the economic performance of the country over the last four years is no different than his blaming GW for the real estate collapse and high number of mortgage foreclosures that was partially caused by Clinton and the democrats pushing legislation to ease home ownership requirements and banks getting greedy.

Revisionist history exists on both sides.

[Mr. Desmond]

Originally Posted by JerryTimes

I don't care that he plays, but he is out there too much for a president that has "so much to fix from the previous administration"

That's the thing - the GOP doesn't want him to fix anything and won't allow him to do so.

What to do but play a few holes of golf...

[sacm3bill]

Originally Posted by Mr. Desmond

Quote:

Originally Posted by JerryTimes

I don't care that he plays, but he is out there too much for a president that has "so much to fix from the previous administration"

That's the thing - the GOP doesn't want him to fix anything and won't allow him to do so.

Really? They couldn't stop him from pushing Obamacare through, despite its unpopularity.

[slodsm]

Originally Posted by Mr. Desmond

That's the thing - the GOP doesn't want him to fix anything and won't allow him to do so.

What to do but play a few holes of golf...

So his first two years when he had a democratic house and senate what was his excuse? There was a filibuster proof majority in the Senate, he could have gotten anything he wanted passed but his own party couldn't even agree on anything. Don't lay all the blame at the feet of the GOP.

[Mr. Desmond]

Originally Posted by sacm3bill

Really? They couldn't stop him from pushing Obamacare through, despite its unpopularity.

Oh, you really want to go there?

And I was discussing recent history, as in the last two years.

ObamaCare went up and down in popularity polls - it was fairly even until the GOP propaganda machine kept on going and Obama and the Dems kept quiet about it - their mistake, and they let the Pubs fill people's minds with hatred and fear until recently. I happen to like ObamaCare - you try being a sole proprietor and then have something happen - and then being canceled. That's what Romney will bring. It really comes to life when it is you who doesn't have health care insurance. And if it wasn't for ObamaCare, I would have been dropped from coverage this year. I can't really rely on Rick Perry to help me -- he only helps his cronies.

Yeah, go ahead and elect the Party of hatred, fear, and ignorance. We all look forward to another 8 years of Bush-Cheney disguised as Romney and Ryan - they are about as gullible and unknowledgeable as Bush, but with slightly more intelligence. But like Cheney, they are bullies. I think Mitt and Ryan are policy wonks who have no touch with the real world. The military will be used like Bush used them - as toy soldiers. And the deficit? They won't reduce it. In fact, it will grow.

[slodsm]

Originally Posted by Mr. Desmond

Oh, you really want to go there?

And I was discussing recent history, as in the last two years.

ObamaCare went up and down in popularity polls - it was fairly even until the GOP propaganda machine kept on going and Obama and the Dems kept quiet about it - their mistake, and they let the Pubs fill people's minds with hatred and fear until recently. I happen to like ObamaCare - you try being a sole proprietor and then have something happen - and then being canceled. That's what Romney will bring. It really comes to life when it is you who doesn't have health care insurance. And if it wasn't for ObamaCare, I would have been dropped from coverage this year. I can't really rely on Rick Perry to help me -- he only helps his cronies.

Yeah, go ahead and elect the Party of hatred, fear, and ignorance. We all look forward to another 8 years of Bush-Cheney disguised as Romney and Ryan - they are about as gullible and unknowledgeable as Bush, but with slightly more intelligence. But like Cheney, they are bullies. I think Mitt and Ryan are policy wonks who have no touch with the real world. The military will be used like Bush used them - as toy soldiers. And the deficit? They won't reduce it. In fact, it will grow.

Yep, I'd love to go there but you're not making much sense. You haven't read the bill have you? Obama hasn't either, he played golf while they were writing it. I have been a sole proprietor, during the Bush years as a matter of fact and a bit during the Clinton years. Health care isn't something the government has any business in, I've been subject to the government's health care system for many many years as a Marine Corps vet, medically separated after 12 years of service. I've dealt with the lines, excuses, poor care, etc etc that comes from insurance being "free" for so many (and twice as expensive for those who actually put forth an effort to earn a nice living). Right now, you're seeing the "good" parts of health care, give it a few years for the system to get stacked up with deadbeats and watch the quality of care decline, quality of doctors decline, etc. The VA (the very model of government healthcare) denied my claim for medical care of a broken back, separated shoulder, and a torn ACL/MCL/Miniscus in my right knee all of which happened in the Corps and resulted in my involuntary separation.

The reason for the denial? I'll quote, "You are well dressed, intelligent, articulate, and capable of supporting yourself". Yes, those things are true but I EARNED that benefit (all I wanted was medical care for those issues, not money, I make plenty of that) and I was denied because my income level was too high. THAT my friend, is the future of our health care system.

[slodsm]

Originally Posted by Mr. Desmond

The military will be used like Bush used them - as toy soldiers.

One more thing, I encourage you to look up the number of military killed in Afghanistan from 2001-2008 and then from 2009-present. You'll see the number has tripled in the last 4 years, the reason? Ridiculously restrictive ROE for our troops.

[sacm3bill]

Originally Posted by Mr. Desmond

Quote:

Originally Posted by sacm3bill

Really? They couldn't stop him from pushing Obamacare through, despite its unpopularity.

Oh, you really want to go there?

Not really, just pushing your buttons. :-)  But I notice that while you defended its popularity and its merits (which reasonable minds can disagree on), you didn't deny it was something he did get done, despite your claim that the bad ol' GOP prevented him from fixing anything.

Originally Posted by Mr. Desmond

Yeah, go ahead and elect the Party of hatred, fear, and ignorance...

Oh brother.

I think it's hilarious the way both the left and right stereotype and bash each other, when the reality is it's naive to think that the two parties are different from each other in any significant way.  It doesn't matter who gets elected, because policies will always be controlled by whoever can throw the most money at the policy makers. It's no coincidence that 7 of the 10 most affluent counties in the nation are in the DC area - it's because government has become the most profitable business there is. You may think your vote gives you a voice in what happens, but it's really just the appearance of having a voice.  It's the perfect system for those in government, since if the people *think* they have some control over the course this country takes, they're less likely to revolt.

That said, I'm actually voting for Obama. I figure the first term of any presidency, everything they do is to get a second term. In the second term they don't have to be as careful, and have more latitude to change the piece of crap that is the current state of government/politics.

[Mr. Desmond]

Originally Posted by slodsm

One more thing, I encourage you to look up the number of military killed in Afghanistan from 2001-2008 and then from 2009-present. You'll see the number has tripled in the last 4 years, the reason? Ridiculously restrictive ROE for our troops.

One more thing, I encourage you to remember that Bush gave up the war in Afghanistan after the CIA led Afghani coalition toppled the Taliban. Bush had better things to do, like fire the entire 500,000 man Iraqi Army who were armed, allowing them to engage in a 5 year insurgency where we experienced the needless loss of lives of Americans and Iraqis, and thousands more wounded. Think of the deficit the war in Iraq created - at least $1T in direct costs, and future dollar and emotional costs of all our wounded -  for what? Iraq? C'mon.

And tonight - look at Romney, he changed all of his positions to agree with the President. I guess Obama is doing a great job on foreign policy.

[teamroper60]

Originally Posted by sacm3bill

That said, I'm actually voting for Obama. I figure the first term of any presidency, everything they do is to get a second term. In the second term they don't have to be as careful, and have more latitude to change the piece of crap that is the current state of government/politics.

Your first sentence is indicative of the problem.   Do what you can to get elected to a second term, the hell with what is the right thing to do.

With regard to Obamacare, yes he got it passed, no doubt.   But even as it was being passed, polls showed the majority of Americans opposed it.     Are there aspects of it that are good?  You bet there are!   But there are also a myriad of things wrong with it that will ultimately result in the decline of healthcare in this country.    People point to other countries with socialized medicine and say, "See, it works!"   But even as they say that, the medical professionals in this country are saying it is not going to work here.  My wife works in the medical field and according to her, Doctors are refusing patients based on the currently enacted aspects of the law, even more are saying the future regulations are going to force them out of business.   When that happens, who gets the shaft?  WE DO.

[Mr. Desmond]

Originally Posted by teamroper60

Your first sentence is indicative of the problem.   Do what you can to get elected to a second term, the hell with what is the right thing to do.

Someone is assuming they know someone's intent.

That is indicative of a problem.