Is President Obama engaging in 'wishful thinking'?

if you really believe that FDR's social agenda ended the depression then you must have slept through economics and history classes. he desperately needed a war to get the economy moving and ended up with a two front war which is what set the stage for a "recovery" post WWII. FDR had to know that when he cut off Japan's oil supply it would provoke an attack, and his strategy worked. Fortunately, the "free world" prevailed but we actually had far more to fear then fear itself at the time. Obama is no FDR and for sure no Reagan ! he has a gift for gab and is very smart politically. i suspect he is right for these times, we have been dumbing down the population for years producing opportunity for Bush and Obama.

That's right. All this talk is lofty, but lofty never hurt anyone. Some of it won't be realized. Some of it will be pushed off into the future, but all of it needs to be part of our goals. We are running a 20th century country in a 21st century world. It's time to catch up. The Europeans and Chinese aren't waiting for us.

"That's right. All this talk is lofty, but lofty never hurt anyone." In other words: "Lie to me. As long as I like the lie, the truth is inconsequential." We don't need bedtime stories, we need an HONEST leader.

I'm a small business owner that pays more income tax in one year than you'll earn in a life time. It was hard I had no hand out and I risked my money not the governments. And if my business goes sour I will not be asking the Gov. for a hand out. Ther are thousands of us who pay for people like you and if the govenement continuse to punish us for our sucess to pay for those who can never succceed because they make poor decisions then I'll close shop fire my emplyees and go to the Camans.

"You must be a misguided liberal who needs a hand out from government."

Tyler - I'm not looking for a handout. I'm looking for leadership. I work hard at one full time job while I run a business on the side. Despite what Rush has told you, Obama says he isn't going to reward those who made poor decisions. And I'm willing to let him try.

The repugs haven't shown me anything but whining. I get enough of that from my grandchildren, which is exactly what the repugs sound like, spoiled children. Right now we need to look waaaaaaaaay past party lines to get this country out of the ditch. I really don't want to hear how we need to go back to the policies that got us in the ditch in the first place.

I can see I have moved you a little farther to the right in just few sentences.

Share the wealth .. ring a bell that is a quote. That quote is socialist. That means take your wealth and GIVE it to some else. Why don't we take the hard earned 'A's that kids make in school and give them to the C' or D' students. That makes as much since to me as taking your hard earned money and giving it to someone else because some politician in Washington says you make to much. I give a lot of money each year to my church and other charitable community organizations that I choose unlike you I don't need the gov. to take my tax dollars and give it to those who live outside there means. This is no longer about the needy this about big gov. taking our money because they Know better how to spend it than we do. Please, don't be mistaken politicians (RED or BLUE) can't fix this only the American people can fix this. It's gut check time people do you do we want big gov. to run our lives make all our decision, do we want to be sheep or people who are free to make ther own decision and if we fail try again don't wait on a hand out from the guy who got elected by people because he can enunciate. Socialism is Socialism no matter how you say it.

Although he does have a clear delivery, I find his speaking style kind of off-putting.

He seems to speak down to people as if he is the professor and you are his first year students, and his voice drops at the end of every sentence as if he is telling you how it is.

Compare MLK's "I have a dream", JFK's "Ask Not what your country can do for you," and Reagan's, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" To what he said last night, and I am not moved.

@ imnotblue, from what you said, you probably love to hear lies. "waterboarding is not torture." " Iraq has the weapon of mass destruction". Do those words sound familiar to you? Obama's optimism gives people hope. Bush's lies had 4000 U.S. soldier killed and had the world lost faith in the U.S. What says you?

We need a President like Obama.  He's talking hope - the one element that has the potential to get people moving toward fixing what's broken and digging ourselves out of this hole we're in.  We can't sit here and wallow in the mud of recession.  We have to pick ourselves up by the proverbial bootstraps.  President Obama's elequence is a wonderful alternative to our previous President.  Hooray!

That's right. All this talk is lofty, but lofty never hurt anyone.

Sure it has. Every scam artist who has ever ripped off an old lady has used lofty talk, making promises, taking her money, leaving her with nothing but ... lofty talk.

Obama is just like FDR. Roosevelt's handling of the great depression caused us to take twice as long to recover as it should have. For those of you foolish enough to think Reagan started sending us to this point, you don't really understand business and national economics. If Reagan started this, then so did the Democrats and Republicans in every Congress since then as well as both Bushes and Clinton. Obama is working with the worst rated Congress on record and we're supposed to believe he and they are going to fix things? Those idiots wasted lots of time and untold amounts of taxpayers money to write a non-binding resolution against Bush.

Obama's speech was a lot of rhetoric and promises he can't keep. Take for instance ending tax breaks for corporations who ship jobs overseas. He should be trying to give tax breaks to companies who keep or bring jobs back here. All his idea will do is motivate those other corporations to leave the US entirely and become exporters.

He wants to end tax breaks for the wealthiest 2% of Americans. OMB and CBO will tell you those people pay the majority of tax revenues already. I feel sorry if any of you earn $250,000.01 a year. Obama is gunning for you. Reagan had a better idea. Cut everyones taxes and they'll spend more, invest more, build more and create more jobs which has the uncanny effect of creating more taxpayers! To quote the shrunken head in the bus with Harry Potter,"Hold on, it's going to be a bumpy ride!"

Please! Articulate? Intelligent? Are you deaf? He is definitely neither of the two.

aww Tyler the self made man....just for your edification...you didnt do anything for me. you dont know if you pay more in taxes that I do and I am confident you do not. Obama is not a Socialist and clearly you do not understand the definition. Bush, you man, was however an idiot and if it takes a "Socialist" to dig us out of the mess you seem to embrace then so be it. Do us a favor. Close shop and continue your pity party at home. The rest of us are trying to save a nation.

Believe what you will but the president gives a great speech, the world of today is much more interested in the momentary buzz of celebrity than the reality of our situation. We haven't tolerated candor about the government and its propensity for overspending since 1934 and we wont tolerate any now if it involves pain. We are merrily chugging along spending the next few generations potential growth so we can feel more secure. In the past the term voodoo economics has been thrown around, this mess looks like a bit more voodoo than we might have expected. We are spending a record amount and committing ourselves to develop new programs and yet we are supposed to believe we are going to reduce the deficit, build a fire and give us all a mask, we need to start dancing.

Carlos, gives great speech is nothing. He did nothing but what Clinton and others told him to do...hollar hope instead of crisis. His comments to the bankers are simply "beatings will continue until morale improves." It means nothing, it is nothing, he gave nothing but flowery words and a big huge debt. With more coming. Bush did it to us, but Ogodma is doing it twice as hard as Bush did.

Stop looking at the great speech and start looking at what he is really saying! Cradle to grave? OMGSH.

You are wrong and so was FDR. The only thing to fear is not fear but socialism and big government. Reagan is no Obama because he will never cut the capital gains tax like reagan and he will never cut spending like Reagan did. FOr that he is a big government tard who tells deceptive lies. THe supposed tax cuts are not tax cuts at all. THey are a one time welfare cut.

Mitt Romney would of known exactly what to do. His career in the private sector, olympics, and as governor speak for themselves.

The only thing to fear is Obama Hussein Bin Laden. You can't spend your way out of debt, god knows I've tried.

This isn't about fear this is about resources: Needs/wants are infinite, resources not so much.

It's a core principle of economics.

I sense some bigotry in your comments. With your name hidden, why not simply really say what you are thinking?

Please! Where in the world did you read bigotry into that comment? We disagree with a black man, we're a bigot? Sorry GCV, but we aren't all yes men. I wasn't for the last eight years. I don't intend to start being one now. Many of the policies he is touting are socialist. If you agree with them, fine, but you are the one who has played the race card.

Why is it marine pilot, that you didn't know there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but you can't see that President Obama is trying to rescue this country out of the mess that was created over the past 8 years? By the way Keith, since you don't want the government to give a free ride, I will be sure to contact my representatives to make sure they don't give you a free ride by giving you a raise!

Keith marine pilot,

Who might "We all" be? I work at the VA and the vets are overwhelmingly for Obama.

To compare an actor, Reagan, to the real deal, Obama, is a joke.

To compare an actor, Reagan, to the real deal, Obama, is a joke.

Actually Obama's the actor. He got the part as president but then he got the wrong script. The script he thought he was getting didn't include people actually expecting him to lead the country. He's just wants to act the part.

GCV: I read the pilot's comment again. Where is the bigotry? You Obama Zombies are totally out of control.

Why must this become a racial issue?

What sparked this?

Just because someone says something negative about a person that you like?

Do you feel that strongly about this that would promote racism to make your point?

You Sir, are the bigot!

Racism is the last thing we need in this country, and will ultimately destroy us.

We have had enough corrupted, unregulated, no-bid "capitalism" for the last bunch of years to drive us into virtual bankruptcy as a nation.  Before the inauguration, socialism for the banks and Wall Street was forced upon us by the last administration.  Since none of these have worked, it is time to actually resort to government of, by and for the people.  It worked in the past so it should work again. 

Hopefully this time we actually stay with our constitutional form of government, of, by and for the people.

If memory serves me correctly, Obama did go to Bush and stress to him that he needed to do the bailout, before he was selected. Obama is not about government for the people or by the people. H is abot government for bigger government

bicfj if you think that our government has stayed within its Constitutional limits you are sadly mistaken. Nowhere in there is there authority for DHS, HHS, Social Security, Medicare and a whole host of socialist programs.

Jim Long Island why do you liberals hang onto that wrong headed notion about WMD? Are 500 artillary shells with sarin gas and over 500 metric tons of yellow cake not enough for you to say yep, he had WMD?

Obama wouldn't have this mess to clean up if the last Dem in office, namely Clinton, hadn't instituted NAFTA and sent all our production overseas and to Mexico. The only thing I heard Obama say worth anything was about cutting taxes on some peoples incomes but of course, he wants to go after the wealthiest 2% (which they used to go after the wealthiest 1%) and that is the same old song and dance Libs have always used. Of course, by his own admission, he's widening the scope of his target. It's been said and said again and it's true. Nations cannot tax themselves into prosperity. Wealth is built, not confiscated.

Clinton--sent production overseas!!! Back in the 70's, a friend was a manager of a factory in Texas. He was recruited to set up a plant "to supplement the Texas factory" production in a new facility in old Mexico. Long story short, when the Mexico plant was operational, the Texas staff was let go-including the friend. The factory made more profit. Thats all that was really important, not the American workers. In the years since then, we have seen more of that kind of devotion to the all mighty profit over American jobs. Please do NOT tell me that "steal from the poor to give to the rich" is a tip-top battle plan. No one buys the "trickle down" economic theory.

just so everyone understands. It is my pocket that Obama wants to steal from. If his budget goes through I will quit one of my jobs so that I don't earn enough.
All this means that I will fire two people since I cannot afford someone to clean my house while I work and I cannot afford to pay the teenager next door to do my lawn on weekends while I work my second job. I hate both of these jobs and made the decision that I would do work I enjoy and pay people to do the jobs that I don't but withObama's plan that is out. So this isn't just hurting me but two other people as well.

As usual in the liberal mind set this is all the Republican's fault and now a bright and shinny Democrate is going to save us.

Let us all remember this one thing while we are blaming all of this economic situation on Bush the Republican; We had a DEMOCRATICALLY run house and senate the last few years of Bush's term and that is when we went to heck in a hand basket!!!! Up until the Dem's took controll the unemployment rate for the year of '06 never went higher than 4.8%!!!! But bad things are never the Dem's fault, yet always the Rep's fault. For example....

When Clinton took office we also went into a recession. At the height of which we had 7.8% Unemployment rate (June '93) and 13.7% of the population living below poverty level. Where was the media and public outrage that the Democrate had lead us to the path of ruin?? As usual, Clinton the Dem was NOT responsible for the recession (which lasted two yrs) and Bush the Rep IS responsible for the recession???

Let us also remember that Clinton lead us into Kosovo without any Congressional support (where we still have troups today) and that was fine. But Bush with FULL Congressional support (only 2% of congress voted against) and all of the world believed the reports of WMD's, not just Bush (he did not act alone) and it is all a horrid mistake and lie.

Finally let us recall that during the Clinton admins, there was the "Travelgate" scandel, "Whitewater" scandel, as well as great speculation around the death of White House aide Foster in association with the Clinton's involvement in Whitewater. Last but not least, Clinton was brought up on 11 impeachable charges, and was in fact impeached by the House and cleared by the Senate (by a very narrow margin), Furthermore, in Dec during his impeachment trial, Clinton order the air strike and boming of Iraq not one person in liberal America batted an eye about the deaths which resulted from that! Yet Clinton is still hearaled as a honest and good President. Bush was cleared by both the House and the Senate and he is labeled a lier and a rotten President. I am so tired of this double standard!!!!

Now we are being sold down the Socialist river, by a man who has ties and associations with: Bill Ayers/Acorn, Rezko (but he really didnt know them that well); A man who selected a Secretary of Treasury who did not pay taxes (everybody gets to make mistakes). A man who has relitives who are in this country illeagally(but according to him it is not his issue), A man who attended a church in which huge controversy imerged (but he never heard any of the anti-American or anti-white retoric when he was there...ummmhmmm). And it is suddenly the liberation this Nation needs and once again according to the media he is the most honest and best thing since sliced bread? God Help America!

Our ONLY shot?? Since when is there only one solution to this problem? The complexity of the stimulus bill showed that there are many different ways to try to help the economy -- and few can agree on what are the right components and in what amounts.

If Obama is our only shot of recovery then we as a country are screwed. America is on a very short trip to socialism based on what our new president is offering. He is being warned against Socialism by other world leaders who's countries have suffered because of Socialism. You might think he would listed to experience.

Then again when the leaders of his cabinet can't even remember to pay their own taxes how can we expect the person Obama to have any higher standards for himself. Oh sure they made a mistake and forgot to pay their taxes......right if you say so, but let it be you or me and see what happens. If Obama is fine with that type of incompentency right now what will he settle for later.

His stimulus is nothing but a spending bill set to get even with the Republicans and give his pet projects funding. He cares nothing for the taxpayers and hates businesses. You can hate big business all you want, but think about who keeps us working. How do you punish Corporate America and expect not to have the jobless number riseeven higher than it is?

And he is Nothing like Reagan.

Socialism, socialism, socialism. Is that all the Republicans can think of to say? Where was your outrage over the last 8 years when the top dogs got all of the tax breaks? Did it not bother you that the rich got richer and everybody else got poorer? Face it, the policies of Reagan and the Bushes did not work. The idea that you can somehow cut taxes and at the same time increase spending is what got us into this mess. That and the billions of dollars that was poured into the black hole known as Iraq. I certainly don't think that the stimulus bill is perfect (far from it) but at least it is an attempt to get some money back into the economy to help those that are not at the top. They already have their golden parachutes and their big fat bonuses. Give this plan a chance before you condemn it. Maybe it will work and maybe it won't, but for the sake of the whole country (not just a few fat cats) we better hope that it is at least partially successful.

Where have you been? Policies of the Reagan era were highly, I repeat HIGHLY, successful. Reagan took this country from the worse (and it truly was the worse economic time since the Depression, with an unemployment rate topping 9%) and turned it all around!!!!

Under the fouth quarter of 1982 and the fourth quarter of 1988, Regan had created 16.7 million new jobs! With 32% of these new jobs going to African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans. African-American owned businesses increased by 38% and the small owned business as a whole rose by 15%.

Corporate contributions to charities grew by 10% surpassing inflating by 6%. Taxes were not bore out on the poor, as a matter of fact, taxes fell for the wealthy by only 9%, for the middle-class 10% and for the poor/poverty taxes fell by over 275%,most of the poor where left exempt of even paying taxes and the EIC was implemented so as to give them a refund by the Federal Government.

Wages rose while inflation was dramatically cut! Double digit inflation and interest rates were illuminated. Falling family incomes stopped, turned around, and rose. It was the first time in 50 years that the Governments share of the "economic pie" did not expand fast then the private sector, IT SHRUNK! How does this not work??? Please tell me how

No instead liberals labeled this the "Greed"era, yet if it had been accomplished by a Democrat it would have been labeled as "Prosperity"

Obama has already wasted around 3.6 million dollars in tax payers money by his unnecessary trips to boast his stimulus package. Every time AirForceOne takes off and lands it costs the tax payers apx 600,000. dollars. Going to Denver to sign the bill was nothing more than "grandstanding" and a complete waste of tax payers money. There was no reason he could not have signed in DC. But I guess that is how we are going to share the wealth. He will take our wealth and spend it frivolously for us! Then he will choose our doctors, how our treatment should go....and on and on and on. A much better plan, yea right!

Huh?

Iron man you are a moron....First...learn to spell. and use appropriate form i.e. cite versus site. lackey not lakey...Kissenger was hardly the force behind Vietnam but was certainly key to the ultimate peace process. It goes back before Kennedy was in office and in fact back into the 50's with clandestine support of the French. Long before Henry.

Thomas Paine would be welcome. He would have provided leadership in the period of failure known as the Bush administration. He would appreciate Obama for at least trying to right the sinking ship by taking ownership and trying to move us forward.

Reagan did what he said he would do. The air traffic controllers didnt buy it when he said he would fire them all. Instead they tried to cripple the air traffic system with an illegal strike and guess what THEY GOT FIRED. oops a President who did what he said. The same thing we will get from Obama.

I'm glad to see that you recognize a lackey, hey it takes one to know one. Next, it's Kissinger, you big dummy. Vietnam does do go way back to the 1850's when the Vatican through the French missionaries tried to steal Vietnam. Hell the pope tried to invent an entire new language for the backwards Vietnamese. Ho Chi Min(check my spelling) tried to initiate a independent Vietnam back in the 1930's when he was a student at the Univ. of Chicago. Look it up.

Next, Reagan was a loser even as a actor. His last movie was in 1966 when he played some kind of a Tony Saprano wanna be. In one scene he even slaps Angie Dickenson in the face. The Gipper wow what a guy.

Next, what's all this about an illegal strike? Do you think guys like Thomas Paine asked permission for kicking King George's ass. It's a revolution man all bets are off. As for the air traffic controllers of today. Why they have 30 years in and can't wait to retire. The new crop of "Controllers" are still wet behind their ears. Think about it the next time you fly.

Hey, look it up.

How come no mention of Milton Friedman? So for tonight's lesson I suggest some light reading on thr great Mr. Friedman. Google it!

Geee Iron Man way to put me in my place. Actually you are referencing French Indo-China as it was not Vietnam at that time but yes the Vatican was certainly a force there at that time. Ho Chi Min was a monk first and a leader second. He did not desire war and yes he was a learned man and scholar on many levels. I didnt mention Reagan acting but I must confess I did like some of his movies but not most. And I didnt think he was a particularly gifted President but he did love America.

Unlike you reading the Google.Lite versions of Friedman I did read him in graduate school. Brilliant man. Dont agree with all of his thoughts but he certainly is smarter than many weighing in on the economy.

As for the Controllers...when you walk after being told what will happen you get what you get. Air Traffic Controllers today do an excellent job. The system is not so good but thats not the staff. They are educated, experienced and overworked by a system of flights that is nearly double what it was in the period you are whining about.

But hey, keep trying. You may make a valid point yet.

What? Henry Kissinger had nothing to do with the execution of the Vietnam war but he was the guy that brokered the peace deal to get us out. It was that incompetent McNamara as Sec Def under LBJ that got us so deep into that quagmire. Oh and lets not forget who got us into that war in the first place, the libs favorite president JFK.

Wow...you guys made a left-turn somewhere. See the topic...

If you think spending our way out of this quagmire is correct you are a preschooler.

I suppose Fox News is your favorite channel Tyler? You have all the repub talking points. President Obama has more intellengence then the entire Bush family. It has been less then 40 days......he can do this.

Jimmy Carter tried the same rhetoric with his "tighten your belt" garbage, and look what happened after that. One thing the American People loathe more than anything else is for some arrogant know-nothing who is a mere career-politician with no real business experience whatsoever -- having not an unwavering allegiance to the Constitution, but to an utterly corrupt and lawless faction -- looking down his nose from Washington and blaming the People for the mess that a bunch of lawless usurping theoretic career-politicians in Washington created; -- and, plainly using this Washington-created exigency to unconstitutionally "nationalize" more industries and the commercial and agricultural interests of the States -- demanding ever-more powers not granted so that he and his tyrannical faction can push more of their repugnant unconstitutional measures, cut-and-dried, on the People and their States -- replacing true GUARANTEED Rights with that of mere invented ones.

"Freedom & Liberty is NOT in having the Federal government do more, but LESS; for, every Thing that is demanded of it is Freedom & Liberty given up." (wjb)

And i suppose olberman is yours? Let me get this straight, if we do not approve of how the president is doing things, we are either A. Racist B. incapable of our own thoughts?

You liberals call us bigots and I wonder how many people out there voted for obama simply because he is partially black?

At last an adult in the White House who asks the American people to grow up and put down their toys.

I'd go for that if he (and the Democratic congress) would also require people to take personal responsibility for their own action. Instead they're acting like they're going to bail out everybody but the "rich". No need for taking responsiblity for your own actions when the government is there to help you pay your mortgage if you're in too deep. They'll give you a house, give you a car, pay for your college, AND protect your wetlands. The only thing they can't do is tell you where the money's coming from.

Janice, what I heard in the speech last night was that Obama wants to help those in the middle class who need the help. He specifically said that didn't include the speculators and the dimwits that bought more than they knew they could afford.

I hear a lot in these notes that he is a socialist. That he wants to take from the rich and give to the poor. What I hear him saying is that he wants to make more opportunity to a wider range of people to seek out and gain prosperity. I don't call that socialism. I call that the American Dream.

Your trickle-down or voodoo economics based everything on the top management and top tier income earners spending and spreading their wealth down, improving their companies and hiring more workers. The only problem with that is the top earners just gave themselves bigger paychecks and bonuses and kept it for themselves.

I don't begrudge a big payback to someone who worked hard, studied hard in college on multiple degrees, then worked their way up the corporate ladder to a CEO level. What I DO have a problem with is the grotesque level of payback that they thought was their due. After running their company into bankruptcy.

Nice...however Obama and the left can't continue to finance the economy from Chinese loans. At some point EVIL corporations are going to have to supply the jobs and the capital for growth. Today the house is pushing another spending bill to the tune of 450B to cover everything left out of the stimilus bill. Now who is gonna pay for that???? At least Regans trickle down came from private industry...this is trickle down government handouts. Once the money is spent the programs are dumped on the states who will lay off the workers they can't pay for. Obama, Pelosi and Reid have spent 24 billion a day since 'The One' took office, the collapse is looming. Pray China backs these loans or its 1980 again and stagflation will make a recession look like a good thing.

Ella, really? Is that why he has a domestic terrorist as a friend and attended Rev. Wrights rascist ramblings for 20 years? Doesn't sound to bright to me.

No way, John. The government will just end up employing everyone (well, everyone's that's still here) because it will be the only place left to look for a job.

What the federal goverment did was not force lenders to provide mortgages to people who can't afford them. There is a well documented history of both racial and class discrimination in our lending policies. The federal government stepped in to make sure that people who qualified for loans were not treated differently based on race or income class. So for instance, a female black police dispatcher who had been employed for more than a decade with a continuous income stream could not be discriminated against, providing she met the terms of the loan. So, even though her annual earnings might not have been as high as the white real estate agent, (who incidentally would go bankrupt the next year after the housing crisis) she could not be denied a loan. Statistics don't show that low income people are any more likely to default on their mortgage as high income earners.

What do you mean dropping the American Dream. I didn't know that there was one. All of the BS that goes on in this country and now that we have an honest man that grew up with two different backgrounds and know what it is like to struggle, everyone has a problem with it. But as long as we had a man in office who said that the american economy was alright all of you were fine with it making sure the rich was getting richer and the poor was staying poorer. But regardless of what you and your buddies say he has GOD on his side and there is no one GREATER THAN HE!

Oh please SEP, where did you get those statistics and how do you have the nerve to spout them on here, thinking we'd just accept something that lame?! Of course low income people default more. It's a question of money, not class or race or any other bull discrimination tactic used by the left.

Stefan,

Get your facts straight. Fannie and Freddie accounted for about 10-11% of the toxic loan problems. The lack of oversight for the past eight years accounts for the biggest part of the problem. You see, that is why we overwhelming dumped the Repubs. The Repubs make a mess and won't even take responsibility for it.

Just get Bobby J. and Sarah P. on your ticket next time. Can't wait for another big win for the Dems.

Greta,

Wrong, it was Clinton that relaxed oversite of Fannie & Freedy. Bush tried to repeal it and was stopped by, you guessed it Liberal Dems. in Congress, Nazi Pelosi is your culprit. Not bragging on Bush but it is true.

I guess you forget that the republicans controlled all three branches of government in the first six years of Bush. They are the ones that did not use any oversight that caused this mess. The republicans could have fixed it but decided not too. And don't answer with the democrats had control the last two years; Bush vetoed everything that came across his desk. Why do we elect republicans? They want to go to Washington and get a paycheck, then retire with full benefits but don’t want to govern anything. Why have government at all with that philosophy?

Couldn't have said it better myself

federal government stepped in to make sure that people who qualified for loans were not treated differently based on race or income class

"Income class". Does that have something to do with a person's ability to pay back a loan?

Gee Sep, your point about the lenders is interesting and yet completely wrong. The Feds forced lenders to accept mortgages with less down and make available those god-awful interest-only loans and both sides of the aisle are at fault for that.

John Johnson, what do you mean Bush vetoed every dem bill that came across his desk? He vetoed all of 6 bills his entire 8 years in office. If you're going to place blame you need to get your facts straight.

Greta you got it all wrong. It was Barney Frank and Chris Dodd who chaired the committees that had oversight and they are the two mostly responsible. Yes the Republican lead Congress should have some blame but the clinton white house gets the lions share.

not just left wing a whole bunch of politicans supported it from both sides. but it was mostly democrats who ran the companies and made very large bonses after giving loans to individuals who should have encouaged to get a house more in line with their incomes

its been a rough day ,read your post & had to laugh, thank you!

pwrt, Wow! Aren't you just brilliant.

Really enjoyed your post. Madame Pelosi has probably supported/stimulated at least 50% of the plastic surgeons in this country. I expected any moment for her face to explode and ooze all over B. Hussein Obama's backside.

pwtrt: lol. To me, she, Reid, and BO are living proof that aliens not only live among us but are now in control of us. Reading this board, full of Obama Zombies, is like living "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". Remember Kevin McCarthy's final words? Well, it is too late.

During Obama's speech Pelosi looked like a giddy school girl watching her favorite crush make a touch down. I personally wanted her to show some decorum, after all she is the speaker of the house.

Amen

second that. children of america, you thought funding my social security was bad wait until you see the bill from Obama

A liberal that thinks other people live in la la land, Now that is FUNNY!

Then why promise? Isn't that disingenuous to promise things you know you can't keep?

disingenuous, I prefer lying

Reagan did become President during a depression. Having Carter as president was depressing - he was (and still is) a pessimist and his mood relfected upon the country. It maybe wasn't an economic depression, but it surely was one in every other sense.

Sorry you are dead wrong and in dire need of a history lesson. Like most who voted for the Socialist you have no clue what is about to happen to this country when you call a welfare plan a stimulus package.

Name 1 Democrat that DID NOT vote for Bush's so-called failed programs. Democrats have got to be the dumbest people on the planet. Sure Bush was an idiot. He gave the Democrats most of what they wanted and took all the blame for it.

kurt: you are so clueless. When Reagan became President this country had massive unemployment (higher than now) and out of control inflation. I guess they don't teach that part of history in school anymore?

and don`t for get 30 million for the mice!

O' yea the only thing you dem's have to talk about Halliburton. Lets see the dem's called it trickle down ecom. at we had the greatest economic surg in this country. <Check you facts befor you blunder along with scrip from the liberal playbook) Carter-- 18% intrest rates- Clinton- took over a strong ecomony-- did nothing-- and was tanking when Bush took over. Guess your smarter then the fininical industry that likes his programs so well the market has dropped 1,000 points sense his recover program was know. Again check your facts first!!!!

John m - Put down the hooka pipe. Clinton inherited the largest federal deficit in our history, until now. It was an economy in crisis, much like we are now. And if you think Halliburton is the only thing we can bring up about Bush's disaster in office, then you definitely haven't been paying attention.

You don't think freedom is worth anything? I'd like to see you have it without a strong military.

He is a product of affirmative action, hell we paid for his Harvard degree. Now that he is prez. he should pay it back? Bill Ayers launched his political career & Jerimey Wright cultivated his ideology. He has had hand outs all his life. Don't you read?

Really? Did you read some of the projects in the stimulus? Honey Bee Insurance? They won't "cross Obama," but only because Obama can't be crossed. At least not when it comes to pork-ing up for his Democratic constituents.

self made man? made by the media , proped up by his fellow liberal`s & accorn . this guys just a smooth speaker ! thats it.

The reference to "Honey Bee Insurance" is exactly the type is uninformed, inane, and downright stupid comment that shows how short-sighted thinking gets us in trouble. Here's a little bedtime story for you. The European Honeybee is responsible for the polination of about 40% or our agricultural crops and as much as 95% of some crops, such as almonds. In the late 1970's a Democrat named William Proxmire started giving out "Golden Fleece" awards for academic research that he personally found silly. Of course, he never bothered to find out why the research was being done, he was only interested in the political exposure that the "awards" gave him.

One of the things he objected to was a $25,000 grant to stuydy respiratory diseases in the European honeybee. As a result, the Department of the Interior pulled all grants underway for research on honeybee diseases. And it became inpossible since to obtain any federal funds for research on honeybees. The research cancelled was looking into two parasites that were currently ravaging honeybee hives and causing a lot of people to get out of the honeybee business. (Farmers rent honeybee hives to polinate their fields.) As a result we saw an overall 10% increase in food and 5% increase in meat prices because of the lower levels of polination. A hell of a price to pay for one senator's stupidity, no?

But wait, the story doesn't stop there. For the past 30 years it has been virtually impossible to get funding for any work on honeybee diseases. Almost every single biologist who knew anything about the subject has retired and no one has been entering the field despite its importance to agriculture. Several years ago a mysterious "disease" has hit honeybee hives called Sudden Hive Collapse. No one knows what causes it. Bees just simply disappear from hives and the hives collapse. It happens virtually overnight and has reached the point where it is the single greatest threat to Amnerican agriculture. But it is going to take years of research to find out what is happening thanks to Sen Proxmire's Luddite sound bites.

Now honeybee growers are leaving the business in droves because it has become one of the riskiest businesses in agriculture. There is not enough time to do all the researtch that is going to be necessary. The idea of Homeybee Insurance is a way of keeping these critical small businessmen in business even if SHC wipes out their hives. The alternative is a huge increase in food prices caused by a lower supply caused by much lower polinatio0n rates.

So skip the crap. If you don't know what you are talking about, zip it up.

So Sharon, if we don't get out of the way or on the wagon, perhaps you could tell me when the rest of the Obamanazis will be heading out to round us up.

Seriously, why are you guys so insecure that others hold different ideas than the One? People who are secure about what they believe, who are TOLERANT, who understand the principles of individual liberty do not tell others to shut up, sit down, jump on a wagon, get out of the way or anything else.

In short: Kids, time to grow up!

Um, I think you need to do a little more research.

I dont need to research A THING.... HE IS A JOKE... I laugh when he talks... he doesnt know what he is even doing up there.. pretty scary. No research needed here...

No the research has been done and he has spent thousand of dollars to keep his birth certificate out of sight, along with a number college records. He can never get those of us that do not feel he is the president behind him until he lets all of his past life in fronts of us.

Obama's birth certificate is probably filed right next to Piyush Jindal's. LOLOL

Do you what google is? Look at this and you will see his birth certificate.

Who taught this obnoxious illiterate person Nikki to type?

this "obnoxious illiterate" person ...me :)... is top producer for the past 3 years at my job! so i cant be too obnoxious and illiterate. Is that all you liberals know how to do is PERSONALLY attack people to get your way. Go back to kindergarten.. under obamanation... you will be learning sex education there in that kindergarten class. OH another great idea by the "ONE".... Thanks but no thanks... he's not my ONE. Jesus is!

I agree, this president sucks, I hate to listen to him speak um uh um uh uh uh uh

the whole country is in trouble, I hope his welfair stimulas is big enough for all of us

I do not know you Nikki but you are so abolutely right! Go Girl. I can't listen to the name not worth mentioning nor look at him. When I do, all I see is that nose up in the air and him cutting those eyes from the right to the left. His birth certificate issue HAS NOT been resolved to date and he is spending millions to keep it hidden. To me, he is a "Usurper" which places this country in distress.

Isn't it odd that you complain about "liberals personally attacking anyone who disagrees with you" when you started this whole business by personally attacking President Obama?

That's why he's been talking down the economy, and attempting to scare the American public for months now, right? "Nothing truly great was ever accomplished with pessimism..." You should remind Obama about that.

All obama has done for the last year is talk about how hopeless this country. Come on, for the first time in her life his wife is proud of this country!

A socialistic minded, big government, liberal spending communist!

We have ourselves a good one now don't we!

And as for the smartest president ever. What is this mans I.Q., really?

They won't tell.

Is he an American citizen? Born here? I want to know.

Who is this great white/black hope!?

i like the concept of the newsvine votes but please do we have to continue to endure these slanted premade answers? how do you make a selection of yes, no, or maybe if you dont agree with the attached comment?

I agree with the guy after you that "Obama is no Jesus" (and neither are you nor I). But more to the point, Wall Street's problems have to do with the toxic assets the Market idiots you praise created and their solution to ever problem - fire dedicated, underpaid workers who had nothing to do with the problem.

oabama would`nt make a pimple on lincolns ass!

You didn't know Linclon or anything about him so shut up!

I think John Johnson needs some time out.

Frank: He needs to lay off the kool aid as well.