Wednesday, March 14, 2012

How Important is the 2012 election?

12 comments:

Johnson Humphrey Democrat said...

Well, We are out of Iraq, My Mutual Funds are doing well. Unemployment is down. The President killed BinLadin. So I am happy. So I will vote to stay the track.

Anonymous said...

I want this guy for president. :-)

Anonymous said...

I want this guy for president. :-)

Richard T. Cahill Jr. said...

Unemployment is not down. The 8.3 % number is bogus. Gallop did a poll and determined that unemployment is 9.1%. Moreover, if you consider the people who have stopped looking for work as well as the people underemployed, the number rises above 20%. That's not improvement in my book.

You claim, "The President killed BinLadin." Really?? Here I thought it was the Navy Seals that did that. What a President Mr. Obama must be to go on a secret mission to the mountains of Pakistan and covertly get in a shoot Bin Ladin himself. I am indeed impressed.

Finally, this economy stinks. The price of gas is obscene. This is not a track I want to stay on.

Looking at your name/handle, however, explains why you want to stay on track. President Johnson created the welfare state with the "Great Society". His ideas started the free fall into debt. Obama has increased that debt more than any President in history. Obama is certainly "Johnsonesque".

Anonymous said...

Rich,

Is that the spokesman for the lunatic fringe?

He looks like he raided the wardrobe closet of the "Monkees"; I bet Mickey Dolan would like his blouse back.

One more thing President Obama is going to be re-elected; it won't even be close!

Richard T. Cahill Jr. said...

Yet another person who can only throw insults and has no ability to argue the viewpoint presented.

Do not judge him by his attire. Judge what he says based upon its merits.

Anonymous said...

Rich,

With all due respect I don't think the purpose of the video you posted is meant to stir a serious public affairs dialogue. Clearly the dude in your video is meant to be a joke along the same lines as professional wrestling.

Johnson Humphey Democrat said...

First, Thank You for Posting my comment always enjoy a good debate.
You stated unemployment is not down? Well acording the the Republican Leaning Wall St Journal the numbers are down I would assume you read the Journal... You also stated it was a Gallop Poll.. They have over the years been more wrong then right I remember one of the polls they did was the last one leading up to the 1980 Election in which they claimed Carter and Reagan were neck and we all know how that one turned out. We both Know Obama gave the go ahead for the raid in which BinLadin was killed if the raid went wrong the GOP would have blamed the President as they blamed Carter for the aborted April 1980 raid in Iran. The 'Great Society' helped people who were in poverty better health care, built roads bridges,built schools and hospitals so yes I think Johnson was a good President.

Anonymous said...

Rich, how are gas prices Obama's fault? The rhetoric coming from the right shortly after 9/11 was that it was Clinton's fault - that "he didn't go after Bin Laden." The President was totally on board with the raid - he was kept apprised of it. Why didn't our intelligence successfully capture or kill Bin Laden during the Bush years? It took over 8 years to find him? The truth is, Bush didn't find it a priority. He was so bent on raiding Iraq because Hussein tried to kill his Daddy, that he completely ignored who the real culprits were: al Qaeda. I know it's difficult for someone as conservative as you to recognize anything Obama has done or anything negative Bush did, but Bush truly destroyed our economy and did nothing for the U.S.'s global standing. We were internationally hated and ridiculed during the Bush tenure. Obama can't be a miracle worker. The GOP-led Congress isn't helping with the gridlock and fighting over non-issues such as contraception.

How did the Catholic church deal with birth control of their priests? They demanded celibacy. There's nothing in the Bible that addresses celibacy for clergy - the church didn't want to pay for the priests' wives and children. So, it's OK for the church to not have to support a large family, but they can tell their parishioners that they should have as many kids as God gives them.

Aren't their more pressing issues facing this nation? You're exactly right: unemployment, underemployment, rising gas prices....they're much more of a concern to most Americans. I'm a Catholic (though not particularly religious), and I and my family and friends are more concerned about the real issues facing this great nation.

If Congress could help, that would be great. But instead they're fighting Obama tooth and nail on the important issues (such as filibustering judicial appointments - Obama has the least judicial appointments of any recent president) just because they can. Let's face it - the worse they can make Obama look, the better the chances for his defeat. I have to hope Congress becomes Democratic so that this country can move forward rather than going back to the 1800s as Rush Limbaugh would love.

Richard T. Cahill Jr. said...

2:01,

You are mistaken. He is as serious as a heart attack.

Richard T. Cahill Jr. said...

12:50,

No matter what I say, you will praise democrats and attack Republicans. Nevertheless, I will make my point for you.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (whose numbers I believe are actually lower than the actual unemployment rate), the unemployment rate in 2008 (Bush's last year) was 6.6%.

Here are the rates for the Obama years thus far:

2009 10.1%
2010 9.7%
2011 8.95%
2012 8.3% thus far.

During the Bush years, 6.6% was the highest unemployment rate for a year average. The highest monthly rate was 7.3%.

Thus, you can say unemployment is "down" and be right as far as compared to Obama's worst year. It is still much higher, however, than at any time during the last three and 3/4 Presidencies.

Now, let's look at deficit spending. President Bush II, who spent much more than I was comfortable with, had yearly deficits of:

2006 248.2 billion
2007 160.7 billion
2008 458.6 billion

Now, let's look at President Obama's deficit numbers:

2009 1.41 TRILLION
2010 1.29 TRILLION

George W. Bush, as President, left a lot to be desired, but President Obama has been far far worse.

Richard T. Cahill Jr. said...

10:35,

Then Senator Obama claimed repeatedly throughout the 2008 campaign that rising gas prices were the fault of President Bush. He claimed he could lower them if elected President.

The Democratic National Committee even had Senator Debbie Stabenow give a weekly address blaming President Bush.

Now, with gas prices still higher, President Obama and the Democrats are claiming there is nothing a President can do to lower or increase gas prices.

Either President Obama takes his lumps on this issue or he admits that he and his fellow Democrats lied through their teeth on this issue.

Take your pick. You cannot have it both ways.

I am not convinced that a President cannot take action to lower prices. President Obama says more drilling will not lower the price, yet he keeps asking the Saudis to increase oil production to lower prices. That strikes me as hypocritical.