The Official Obama Scorecard Thread

[hblask 1]

Remember all that stuff about "reaching across the aisle" and "bipartisan cooperation"? That was a limited time only offer, and it's expired already:http://www.twincities.com/allheadlines/ci_11580575

Pushing back against the unanimous House Republican vote against President Obama's stimulus plan, the White House plans to release state-by-state job figures "so we can put a number on what folks voted for and against," an administration aide said."It's clear the Republicans who voted against the stimulus represent constituents who will be stunned to learn their member of Congress voted against [saving or] creating 4 million jobs," the aide said.White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the lawmakers will have to answer to their constituents.And a Democratic official added: "We will run campaigns in their districts."And later today, MoveOn, Americans United for Change, AFSCME and SEIU will be announcing a new ad campaign targeting moderate Republican senators who might support the stimulus — Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Charles Grassley of Iowa.The ad, which will run in the Washington market and in those states, consists of clips of the president talking about the stimulus, followed by the male voiceover, "Tell Congress to support the Obama plan for jobs, not the failed policies of the past."Letters on the screen say: "Tell Congress to support the Obama Plan." The president met privately with House Republicans at the Capitol, chief of staff Rahm Emanuel had a private White House dinner for House GOP moderates, and the President had members of both parties and both chambers over for cocktails last night.But they did not peel off a single Republican.The tally took reporters by surprise: Aides had said the party's votes for the package might be in the single digits. So "zero" was a feat for House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio, who said on "Meet the Press" that he would oppose the package, and the next day asked members to follow him; House Minority Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia, who nailed down the votes; and House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence of Indiana. Pence sensed his members falling under Obama's spell during their meeting Monday and brought them back by telling the President: "Know that we're praying for you. ... But know that there has been no negotiation [with us] on this bill - we had absolutely no say."Although a tactical triumph, the vote poses a risk to Republicans in the long run, with Democrats able to portray them as the party of "no" at a time when voters are hurting. Some House Republicans are likely to try to dilute the political risk by voting for the final version of the stimulus package after it passes the Senate.

[Nimue1995 1]

Remember all that stuff about "reaching across the aisle" and "bipartisan cooperation"? That was a limited time only offer, and it's expired already:http://www.twincities.com/allheadlines/ci_11580575

I watched the the amendments part of the debate on the bill and there was bipartisan support for all the amendments that I watched on the bill (about 5 before I had to go) and bipartisan yes votes to pass each of them. There were 3 Democratic amendments which got bipartisan support and 2 Republican amendments which also passed with bi-partisan support. So when the Republicans say they had no input into the bill, know that that's a lie. Funny that they wrote and passed those amendments only to vote no.

[85suited 0]

I watched the the amendments part of the debate on the bill and there was bipartisan support for all the amendments that I watched on the bill (about 5 before I had to go) and bipartisan yes votes to pass each of them. There were 3 Democratic amendments which got bipartisan support and 2 Republican amendments which also passed with bi-partisan support. So when the Republicans say they had no input into the bill, know that that's a lie. Funny that they wrote and passed those amendments only to vote no.

Obviously the amendments weren't enough to garner their support of this piece of S**T bill Republicans won a few concessions, as Democrats deleted $20 million meant to re-sod the National Mall in D.C., and stripped about $200 million for contraceptive services

[HollywoodAFD 0]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/28/cam...hics/index.htmlSo much for a positive rating on THAT one.

I loved that one!In his campaign, he vowed that NO lobbyist would be in his administration. As of January 30...he has hired 21 registered federal lobbyist. WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner picked a former Goldman Sachs lobbyist as a top aide Tuesday, the same day he announced rules aimed at reducing the role of lobbyists in agency decisions.Mark Patterson will serve as Geithner's chief of staff at Treasury, which oversees the government's $700 billion financial bailout program. Goldman Sachs received $10 billion of that money.He makes up stories. He said "I had an uncle who was part of the first American troops to go liberate the concentration camps of Auschwitz." Liar... he had no uncle who served in the US army...not to mention that the US never went to those camps...ever. It was Russia who liberated that camp in 1945.I'm Canadian

[AmScray 355]

A couple questions.. the first, what do you mean by Tried? Because, I mean, Kissenger was tried for war crimes, but he didn't exactly show up for the trial. And it was like 30 years after the fact, so the time frame of this bet, given historical precedent, would have to be pretty long. Second of all, what do you mean, exactly, by Bushes "Crew?" Like cabinet members only, or extended bush appointees? Would generals count? This wager sounds too abstract, and I think is just an attempt to shut someone up.

No, it's definitely a real world wager. Obviously, certain terms would have to be clarified. For example, Bush being tried for War Crimes in Iran wouldn't count, but I'd accept a US court and just to sweeten the deal, I'd even spot him the Hague. As far as the "Bush Crew", we could clarify that too. Anything cabinet level of above, any General... Also, we would have to outline some sort of a timeframe. Obviously, I can't spot him from now until the end of time, as I wouldn't ever be able to collect, but I'd love to hear any time proposal he has.If he's seriously interested, I am 100% willing to wager on this and lay him a price.

[85suited 0]

I loved that one!In his campaign, he vowed that NO lobbyist would be in his administration. As of January 30...he has hired 21 registered federal lobbyist. WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner picked a former Goldman Sachs lobbyist as a top aide Tuesday, the same day he announced rules aimed at reducing the role of lobbyists in agency decisions.Mark Patterson will serve as Geithner's chief of staff at Treasury, which oversees the government's $700 billion financial bailout program. Goldman Sachs received $10 billion of that money.He makes up stories. He said "I had an uncle who was part of the first American troops to go liberate the concentration camps of Auschwitz." Liar... he had no uncle who served in the US army...not to mention that the US never went to those camps...ever. It was Russia who liberated that camp in 1945.I'm Canadian

you can say and do anything you like when you have a rah rah parrot press

[HollywoodAFD 0]

you can say and do anything you like when you have a rah rah parrot press

True...it is a "rah rah parrot press"... but the story is still true.21 registered federal lobbyist have been appointed by him so far.

[checkymcfold 0]

just to clear things up:

Pushing back against the unanimous House Republican vote against President Obama's stimulus plan, the White House plans to release state-by-state job figures "so we can put a number on what folks voted for and against," an administration aide said.ok, an aide wants the votes of congressmen/women to be made public. though it has a political tinge to it, this is hardly especially profound"It's clear the Republicans who voted against the stimulus represent constituents who will be stunned to learn their member of Congress voted against [saving or] creating 4 million jobs," the aide said.this doesn't reflect well on obama, but white house aides shouldn't be considered directly reflective of obama on all issues, nor should bush's aides have been considered directly reflective of his opinions on all issuesWhite House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the lawmakers will have to answer to their constituents.this is pretty obvious, although it probably could have been worded betterAnd a Democratic official added: "We will run campaigns in their districts."here is where the already sketchy journalism stops completely and the anti-obama spewtarding begins. this unnamed official was not part of the same press conference, as i watched the conference, and gibbs was the only one that spoke (unless they're referring to a different one that wasn't on television?). moreover, the suggestion that two statements excerpted from two separate discussions can be made part of one coherent view and ascribed to a third person who said neither of those things is utterly retarded and absolutely dishonorable journalism.And later today, MoveOn, Americans United for Change, AFSCME and SEIU will be announcing a new ad campaign targeting moderate Republican senators who might support the stimulus — Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Charles Grassley of Iowa. now it's really fun. since moveon supported obama in the elections, let's just assume that to be reciprocal since we're all ****ing idiots and assume that anything moveon does is actually orchestrated by obama himself. similarly, let's assume that anything john gibson says can be put on mitch mcconnell, like when he said that white people need to have more babies because there are going to be more mexicans taking over our shit if we don't watch it. LOOOOOL.The ad, which will run in the Washington market and in those states, consists of clips of the president talking about the stimulus, followed by the male voiceover, "Tell Congress to support the Obama plan for jobs, not the failed policies of the past."Letters on the screen say: "Tell Congress to support the Obama Plan." The president met privately with House Republicans at the Capitol, chief of staff Rahm Emanuel had a private White House dinner for House GOP moderates, and the President had members of both parties and both chambers over for cocktails last night.But they did not peel off a single Republican.The tally took reporters by surprise: Aides had said the party's votes for the package might be in the single digits. So "zero" was a feat for House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio, who said on "Meet the Press" that he would oppose the package, and the next day asked members to follow him; House Minority Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia, who nailed down the votes; and House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence of Indiana. Pence sensed his members falling under Obama's spell during their meeting Monday and brought them back by telling the President: "Know that we're praying for you. ... But know that there has been no negotiation [with us] on this bill - we had absolutely no say."Although a tactical triumph, the vote poses a risk to Republicans in the long run, with Democrats able to portray them as the party of "no" at a time when voters are hurting. Some House Republicans are likely to try to dilute the political risk by voting for the final version of the stimulus package after it passes the Senate. see what we did there? once we made the transition from things vaguely related to obama, we were able to talk about all sorts of totally unrelated garbage and imply that it all came straight from the obama camp. we'll just assume that anyone reading this article is a ****ing idiot and incapable of realizing that none of this actually came out of obama's mouth, and assuming only people on poker forums read this article, we'll be right.

[brvheart 1,752]

Do any of you really crazy lefties... like Checky, REALLY believe that all these bailouts are good for our country. I mean, am I the only one here that sees how obviously stupid this is?I honestly don't understand liberals... at all.

[hblask 1]

People who don't understand what "wealth" is can certainly support the bailout. I don't see how anyone else could.

[CaneBrain 95]

Do any of you really crazy lefties... like Checky, REALLY believe that all these bailouts are good for our country. I mean, am I the only one here that sees how obviously stupid this is?I honestly don't understand liberals... at all.

not really. But the GOP plan to just cut taxes and hope excites me even less. I really like about 25% of the stimulus bill. Thats a start.I can get behind a bailout for a bank because a cash infusion at a bank might actually help solve their problem(s). (and mine....I own stock in citibank and Bank of America). 15 billion is not solving the American Auto Industry's problem. That bailout is like lighting 15 billion on fire (slowly). I am not crazy about rewarding people who took loans they had no prayer of paying back. Our society is devoid of personal responsibility (and that crap starts with a President and an Administration that never took responsibility for anything that went wrong). Plus, I am looking to buy a house between May and July.....preferably in the decimated Phoenix/Scottsdale market.....I really would like to get as much of a steal as possible.

[strategy 4]

not really. But the GOP plan to just cut taxes and hope excites me even less. I really like about 25% of the stimulus bill. Thats a start.I can get behind a bailout for a bank because a cash infusion at a bank might actually help solve their problem(s). (and mine....I own stock in citibank and Bank of America). 15 billion is not solving the American Auto Industry's problem. That bailout is like lighting 15 billion on fire (slowly). I am not crazy about rewarding people who took loans they had no prayer of paying back. Our society is devoid of personal responsibility (and that crap starts with a President and an Administration that never took responsibility for anything that went wrong). Plus, I am looking to buy a house between May and July.....preferably in the decimated Phoenix/Scottsdale market.....I really would like to get as much of a steal as possible.

sell citi. seriously, just get what you can right now.I don't know enough about the structure of the bailout, but we probably see pretty close to eye to eye.

[hblask 1]

not really. But the GOP plan to just cut taxes and hope excites me even less.

Yeah, I don't like the idea of just cutting taxes. They should slash taxes and spending both, by at least 50%. Then we'd see the economic recovery of a lifetime.

[checkymcfold 0]

Do any of you really crazy lefties... like Checky, REALLY believe that all these bailouts are good for our country. I mean, am I the only one here that sees how obviously stupid this is?I honestly don't understand liberals... at all.

i don't support the bailouts, actually--just not for the same reasons most conservatives don't--though i wouldn't want to deprive you of a wonderful opportunity to unfairly pigeonhole me.

[85suited 0]

While The Messiah is pushing for the biggest pork-barrel bill in the history of ever, he is chastising Wall Street firms for their bonusses.He called the "shameful" and "the height of irresponsibility"...... "And part of what we're going to need is for the folks on Wall Street who are asking for help to show some restraint, and show some discipline, and show some sense of responsibility."Look in the mirror Mr. President.Then he followed up with this gem:"There will be time for them to make profits, and there will be time for them to get bonuses ... Now is not that time." I'll ask the question... Why are people in business then??His Socialist stripes are starting to show, and barely two weeks into his term.

[brvheart 1,752]

i don't support the bailouts, actually--just not for the same reasons most conservatives don't--though i wouldn't want to deprive you of a wonderful opportunity to unfairly pigeonhole me.

That was the whole point of me asking. I would love to hear why you don't support them and how it's different than me.

[Balloon guy 158]

Yeah, I don't like the idea of just cutting taxes. They should slash taxes and spending both, by at least 50%. Then we'd see the economic recovery of a lifetime.

They could leave taxes and cut spending and I would be happyBush's biggest failure in office was the increase in spending of the government

[brvheart 1,752]

They could leave taxes and cut spending and I would be happyBush's biggest failure in office was the increase in spending of the government

I die a little bit every time I think about 2000-2004 and what might have been. The only thing that keeps me from a full-out break down is thinking that maybe Bush and the GOP would have done the right thing if 9-11 hadn't happened.A smaller federal government is exactly the solution for the problem we are facing. Drastic cuts in spending, cutting taxes, letting companies fail, letting consumers fail, problem solved.

[irishguy 14]

While The Messiah is pushing for the biggest pork-barrel bill in the history of ever, he is chastising Wall Street firms for their bonusses.He called the "shameful" and "the height of irresponsibility"...... "And part of what we're going to need is for the folks on Wall Street who are asking for help to show some restraint, and show some discipline, and show some sense of responsibility."Look in the mirror Mr. President.Then he followed up with this gem:"There will be time for them to make profits, and there will be time for them to get bonuses ... Now is not that time." I'll ask the question... Why are people in business then??His Socialist stripes are starting to show, and barely two weeks into his term.

So the President saying that people who went to the government with there hands out have now made sure to give themselves the same bonus' they always got is irresponsible makes him a socialist? Much like the uproar of many americans when the auto folks flew the privatejets I would suggest most people think these bonus' is pretty irresponsible regardless of party affiliation.

[Zealous Donkey 0]

So the President saying that people who went to the government with there hands out have now made sure to give themselves the same bonus' they always got is irresponsible makes him a socialist?Much like the uproar of many Americans when the auto folks flew the privatejets I would suggest most people think these bonus' is pretty irresponsible regardless of party affiliation.

It doesn't make him a socialist, but it does make him extremely inconsistent. When you listen to him use such harsh language towards them it is hard to take him seriously. Remember when Frank Raines cooked the books at Fannie Mae in order to make himself eligible for around 90 millions dollars in bonuses? Obama didn't criticize Raines at all, in fact he had Raines advise his campaign. You are correct. The bonus' are irresponsible and most people probably do agree with Obama's comments. But we need to come to the realization that Obama is just another typical politician. He will criticize this kind of thing when it makes him look good, in fact it goes along with his class warfare mantra, but he has shown no appetite for criticizing such behavior in the past by democratic politicians.

[85suited 0]

Inconsistent is the perfect word!I have no problem with him coming out strongly about bonuses... if he would come out and say there is 500 billion in pork in this bill!IF You arent in business to make a profit...... What are you in business for>? for the social good?

[strategy 4]

They could leave taxes and cut spending and I would be happy

I was about to post this same thing last night.

[vbnautilus 48]

Do any of you really crazy lefties... like Checky, REALLY believe that all these bailouts are good for our country. I mean, am I the only one here that sees how obviously stupid this is?I honestly don't understand liberals... at all.

I honestly don't think anyone has any idea what to do. Certainly lots of people seem to have theories about what would work, but my personal view is that no one really has any clue how the economy works. It's just too complex of a dynamical system with fluctuating feedback loops and continually changing states that no one can understand it let alone predict how changing one variable will affect things.

[85suited 0]

Low Taxes and Low Govt Spending are two things that work..everything else is debateable

[AmScray 355]

I totally support the infrastructure spending.Of course, since the program is going to be government managed, there will be profligate waste and the projects will cost the taxpayers $100,000,000,000 for what private industry could've done for $25,000,000,000, but as far as the idea itself, I completely support that.Since when did improving infrastructure become "socialist"? For christs sake, as far as I see it, it's the opposite of "socialist". If you believe that it's the governments job to facilitate opportunities and fertile economic conditions for the best and brightest amongst us to excel and eventually create oppurtunities for everyone else (as opposed to the leftist belief which holds that the role of government is to "take care of the people") then hell yes, having a modern system of national infrastructure is essential and yeah, it will require spending. For example, the internet speeds in parts of Asia and Europe are drastically higher than they are here. Why? Because our data transmission infrastructure is still shamefully outdated. We have kids going to crumbling schools with asbestos roofs (the classrooms of which don't have any Internet connectivity whatsoever).We have crumbling bridges, roads- the air traffic control systems used by some airports is so grossly outdated and inadequate that its a timebomb waiting to go off (and indeed, has gone off a couple times). Our borders could be shored up by using some new, superior technologies, as could our ports and coastlines. Spend some ****ing money on infrastructure. I'm OK with that.