President Obama has come up with another negative campaign slogan. At a million dollar fundraiser, he warned his supporters that if he loses the election, you are on your own.
"If you get sick, you're on your own. If you can't afford college, you're on your own. If you don't like that some corporation is polluting your air or the air that your child breathes, then you're on your own."
Evidently, this means that the GOP, or anyone who disagrees with the president and his agenda, for that matter, must be in favor of sickness, dirty air, and a poor education. This president of all Americans should stop alienating and denegrating those who happen to share a different opinion. It's getting tiring.
Speaking to a slobbering crowd of deep-pocketed donors in San Francisco, Obama gave them the choice of working "even harder than we did in 2008" or suffering the consequences. And California donors apparently are buying the threat, literally. They have opened their pockets to the tune of more than $9 million, reports ABC.
Turning Ronald Reagan's famous question around, "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" and for Obama to say in effect "You'll be worse off if I lose" seems to be a pathetic strategy, and, well, almost desperate. Not to mention that some may actually prefer to be "on their own" as opposed to the current state of the nation.







Comments: 114
Otherwise he's right.
Proclamations are not equal to facts. And the fact that the economy was in deep sh*t when he took office is a significant factor. Another one is the status of the European finanacial situation. After a series of major floods hit the northeast in the wake of hurricane Irene, republicans were attempting to "negotiate" deficit reduction, using disaster relief as a bargaining chip. Yet you didn't see anyone accusing FEMA of "making matters worse." It is a comparable situation. Obama has been trying for 3 years to clean up the mess of the previous administration - mostly against republican obstruction.
A final note: republicans haven't been able to obstruct Obama's foreign policy, and his competence has been very clear in that arena.
Yes, we are appalled with President of U.S. and his foreign affairs. He thinks he is God of world and can do anything he chooses. Well let us Italians inform you, we are in disagreement with your President and we are not the problem to your countries financial woes. It is your Presidents fault that Europe is in such disarray. Please do not blame us for what U.S. government has done.
Italy is in good position in our economy unlike U.S., and your Obama is causing worse problems for world economy Steve B.
You only hear what your medias and politicians tell you. In Italy we hear truth about President Obama. He is dictator not good President.
Italy hopes President of U.S. not get second terms.
The GOP never will say it that clearly. They use code, e.g., "job killing regulations", where regulations are EPA rules to prevent mercury, nitrous oxide, and particulate matter, and the like. Or the will use phrases, like "death panels" to ensure that medical insurance is simply a matter for the illusory "free market" to bounce 50 million Americans from access to medical treatment. At best, the GOP might not be FOR "sickness, dirty air, and a poor education," but you won't see them doing any of the heavy lifting to make sure those conditions don't occur.
Reagan would not have been nominated in today's GOP. He would have been too "liberal". I agree that it is always a mistake to "play not to lose," but considering the republican "field", even this dumb strategy ain't gonna hurt him that much.
To criticize the President for feeling strongly about the strengths of his own policy--as this Post does--is to read too much into the comments of a politican, whom the Poster either doesn't like or doesn't agree with.
Why don't you also join forces and agree with Senator McCain's criticism of the President's bus?
Wait! I have even a better idea!:
Why don't you criticize the kinds of ties the President wears or what brand of bottled he drinks?
Now, wouldn't that be profound? Such petty invective would not be that far from what you're doing now....
The GOP revealed its smallness, when key members could not bring themselves to acknowledge how competent his foreign policy has been - most recently, re: the Libya situation. The fact that the republican "field" is so pathetic simply reflects how small the party itself has become.
I know who the right-wing is trying to pitch, who is in charge of Libya now.
Please let me know when I fail, again, at making the transition from political commentary to political satire....in the same comment....
From the article Sue linked;
"A key aspect of TALF is that the Fed doles out the money through what are known as non-recourse loans. Essentially, this means that if you don't pay the Fed back, it's no big deal. The mechanism works like this: Hedge Fund Goon borrows, say, $100 million from the Fed to buy crappy loans, which are then transferred to the Fed as collateral. If Hedge Fund Goon decides not to repay that $100 million, the Fed simply keeps its pile of crappy securities and calls everything even.
This is the deal of a lifetime. Think about it: You borrow millions, buy a bunch of crap securities and stash them on the Fed's books. If the securities lose money, you leave them on the Fed's lap and the public eats the loss. But if they make money, you take them back, cash them in and repay the funds you borrowed from the Fed."
You are on your own, in the sense that the hyper-wealthy crooks and shady dealers in the financial realms have a great champion if you reelect Mr. Obama . . or any of the "establishment" candidates from either Party, I tell you. The whole "screw the people" clan is just wearing two colors of suits, they're not really bitter enemies duking it out. They figured this red/blue game out decades ago, and bought up the mass media so they could keep the illusion going while they sucked us dry . .
It's not the rich against the poor, it's the sociopath high end criminals against everyone else.
up to us to investigate and make decisions, to work for a living, to take risks for potential rewards or not take them and accept no huge returns, to keep our own kids healthy, and teach them to be good citizens, to provide insurance, and a home, and other protections for ourselves and our kids, and about 100 other things?
since when did it become a funtion of the government to become the provider for ourselves, and our kids, and we were to have no responsibility?
do we need the government to tell us to not let our kids throw jarts or knives at each other?
grow up people.
There's actually only one candidate who does want the Fed audited. After it's audited and they report what is really going on, then he'll work to get rid of it.
i said nothing of good and evil parties - i was merely pointing out, that we all should be 'on our own' - our own individual responsibility, our own efforts, and our own rewards.
so obamas threat is one with no teeth.
as to the fed - have you heard or read what cain actually said.
an audit will do nothing except prove they have the money they claim to have. as another person here said - it will prove they can add and subtract.
cain said specifically, what the frb needs is to have their policies revised so that their only authority is to hold reserve funds, clear funds between banks, and set the fed rate, that banks borrow from (which is an aid in trying to control inflation).
he said they should have no power other than those original powers.
that is what is needed, and audit will simply pay a bunch of accountants to do what another bunchg of accountants have already done and certified; that they have what they say they have.
it will not report what they are doing, or why.
if you do away with the frb, we are then forced to have checks clear between banks, by mailing them from one bank to another, and having it take 30 days to have a deposit available on an out of town check - the way it was when i was young.
There is plenty an independent audit can reveal, but Cain is correct that under the current law, there is no way that can be done. Ron Paul is working to make the law state that the Fed cannot have the authority not to answer questions it doesn't wish to answer as it is now. Cain doesn't want to bother with such legislation so he tells you that it won't make a difference, and he is correct that it won't make a difference until the law is changed, but he leaves that part out because he has no interest in changing the law to make the Fed accountable.
Check clearing should be the least of your worries when the paper the check is written on isn't worth much less than the dollar amount you wrote it for.
I'll try this again. The link where I wrote the name, Ron Paul before the word, "explains" in the above comment did not take.
Here is the URL. The hyperlink is rejected.
I remember when I was a pre teen and my older sister wanted permission to spend the night at a friends house. My mother always called to make sure it was ok with the parents. One time my sister was adament about Mom not calling turns out my sister wasnt going to the friends house they were both planning on going to an overnight boy/girl party.
Usually there is something behind fierce opposition.
every audit is done by an independant accounting firm.
as to ubderstanding the fed, how and why it was founded, and the fact that in recent decades it has taken on unconstitutional policies, i dont need a youtube to tell me what i already know.
and as cain said, he would make regulatory changes to restore the original pupose and scope of the fed - which is not unconstitutional, and our country would be in a total uproar, without those 2 functions.
if a baby needs a bath, you give it one - you dont throw it out.
and the frb certainly needs a major 'cleansing'.
your thought that he is against transparency in the frb, is untrue. but again, an audit will not give that transparency - an investigation and a re-writing of the policies will - and cain is for that.
Right, it is a waste of time and money as it is now, and he is not going to push a law that will not make it a waste of time and money. If you accept that, then you accept something I do not understand that you can accept.
"I dont need a youtube to tell me what i already know.
and as cain said, he would make regulatory changes to restore the original pupose and scope of the fed - which is not unconstitutional..."
If you think the Fed is Constitutional, and that you already know everything about it, (which I cannot say that I do because it is so complex) then what you say you already know and are determined to think is correct is not something Ron Paul can educate you about because you are not open to even considering what he has to say. That's unfortunate, but I've never communicated with you before and I thought I would at least try.
I agree on all counts Sue. Auditing the fed was all the rage this spring..but now that Cain is the top dog so to speak then it has become a non issue so either there is some avoidance going on or the fed was completely audited and found to be right as rain. I dont personally recall hearing about an audit but I have been very busy so maybe I missed it.
And yes I think this happens from both sides. I dont like everything Obama has done but I like him better than Cain or Romney or Perry.
But the important issue here is that the Fed is everything anyone who is for smaller government is against. If you want to reduce the size of government, you cannot diminish the importance of the Fed in that endeavor to reduce centralized government or you're kidding yourself because it can't happen otherwise. If the very thing that controls everything, namely money, and those that are responsible for it, are not a part of the plan to reduce big government, there is no plan to reduce it, though they may lead you to believe it can be done.
No, I don't think there is anyone but Ron Paul who is not a player. I don't agree with everything about his platform either but he makes a whole lot more sense than all four of those you named combined.
it is not an approval of policy, it is not a policy review.
an audit is checking the numbers to verify that they have what they say, and spent what they say where they say they spent it.
an audit is purely an accounting function - can they add and subtract.
a policy review, is did they stick to the policies they have?
what you want, what cain wants and what i want is, a regulatory change in their policies.
why can you not get that?
you are asking someone to count how many beans are in the jar (an audit)-when the point is, how did the beans get there, and should they be there.
lori,
the frb has a complete audit every year, by an independant accounting firm that certifies its accuracy.
i do not question if it is accurate.
i want to know why it is what it is, how are they spending the money should they be spending the money. an audit does none of that!
a fiscal policy re-write is whatis needed - and cain is in support of that.
you want an audit? fine - it will prove that every number they claim is accurate - same as all the other audits prove - now what?
I worked in a bank. They audit every year in every bank in the country. That refer to it as an audit.
Well, they do audits, Lori, and I don't know how often. In the hearing, Ron Paul asked the GAO spokeswoman if the kind of audit they did could be conducted on an annual basis and she basically said it would be too cumbersome. As I said, even their audit is not one that allows for a lot of the questions that need to be answered. They did make recommendations for improvements and they got answers that the Fed would follow up, but they have no results that they have as yet either.
Until they have a new law, like the one that Ron Paul actually got passed (and then I think it got amended to this one, but I'm not sure exactly what happened to it) there won't be the very strngent questions asked that the Fed would be obligated to answer like what really happened to that bail out money, for just one instance.
and a normal audit, is only checking their math, and that they spent the money the way they said they did.
again what good does that do in terms of frb?
i never said you are idiots - i said you have no clue about what an audit would produce.
you have this impression that it will say whether the rules are good or bad - and that is extremely either un, (or mis) informed.
i agree that we need a complete revision of their rules!!!!!!!!!!
why can you not get that?
my only stance, is the same as cain, that an audit does not do that, and it is needed.
you are being distracted.
so if they do an audit, and come back and say - yes, the math is right, the money is where they said it is, and they followed the rules they have.
what has been accomplished?
nothing.
policy revision -not audit.
a regulatory audit, would determine if they follow the ploicies they are given.
i guarantee they do.
the problem is the policies they have are bad.
no audit of any kind, no matter how often it is done, will say whether the policies are right or not - only will say do they follow them.
that is why the fed needs a complete overhaul, and have their powers restricted.
that is what cain wants, and i agree.
actually i think that is what paul wants as well, in spite of how he phrases it.
but keep asking for an audit, and you will get one - which will do nothing.
"a regulatory audit, would determine if they follow the ploicies they are given.
i guarantee they do."
You guarantee? Worthless . .
"that is why the fed needs a complete overhaul, and have their powers restricted.
that is what cain wants, and i agree."
Hope and change, eh? ; )
Terminate this slight of hand scam, I say. Don't believe some cheap talk about an overhaul that hasn't even been described.
http://immortalityroad.wordpress.com/2008/09/19/ron-paul-says-that-federal-reserve-bank-is-unconstitutional/
Haven't hear that one in awhile.
The Republicans are the ones promoting fear with their "Jobs Killing" this n that.
Listened to Fake News channel. All they are is a bunch of whiney pathetic liars who never tire of Obama bashing WHATEVER road he takes, ie he's getting us involved in Libya, the US did NOT do enough in Libya.
As long as the right keeps talking stupidity, The Daily Show's writers will be on easy street reporting on right wing stupidity for laughs.
boy those were the days eh?
as long as he keeps lying and you keep believing it gthe daily show, leno and letterman will still have a lot of stupidity for laughs, unless of course the fcc gets with hsa doesnt allow them to make those jokes.
whoo boy - aint it great/
how very accepting of them - as usual.
Is one type of generalizing Ok and another not Ok? Do you call out a conservative when they label all Democrats or people that support Obama as socialist or communists? Or do you feel that attitude is justified since it is applied to the commie pinko socialists.
that is not a generalizaion, it is a fact of observation.
now if i were to say (which i would not) they are all dumb, crack addicts, or that they havent bathed in a year, that would be untrue, unfair, and a generalization that is inappropriate.
and yes i do in fact call out conservatives, or anyone else that says "all" obama supporters are socialist of communist.
noww if there indeed is a specific person that is a 'commie pinko' then that label would certainly be appropriate, particulalry if is is self-stated.
I see so if you argree with what a person is saying than they are not hate mongering but if you dont agree than generalizing is fine because disagreement is always hatemongering..gotcha.
Now how do you tell if someone is a commie pinko and who gets to label them that in order for your generalizing to be OK..are you the labeler?
i did not make a generalization.
i was soeaking in reference to a few people thaqt are actually here commenting, and the behavior that is blatantly obvious.
it makes no matter whether i agree with them, or you agree with them in their distaste for a group - specific people made sweeping ill-founded condemnations of an entire group.
i am only pointing out, without naming names, and without specifying a group that there are those displaying that behavior on this post.
where did i make a generalization?
where was i not clear that i was referring to specific people that were on this post?
do not ut words in my mouth, and do not twist what i said.
agai, where was i not referring to specific people, which is by very definition not a generalization.
There's the catchier version which is similar but not quite the same as "Shoot them all and save six for pall bearers." :)
the last 50 years or so, they took away or infringed on as many rights as they could, they made every attempt to insert themselves in every aspect of our life, and did the best they could to destroy what made us great - all in the name of 'helping' or 'protecting' us!!!
"... or Obama to say in effect "You'll be worse off if I lose" seems to be a pathetic strategy, and, well, almost desperate. Not to mention that some may actually prefer to be "on their own" as opposed to the current state of the nation."
PUT US "ON OUR OWN" ANY DAY INSTEAD OF THIS NITWIT'S DUMB DECISIONS FOR OUR COUNTRY. Amen to that!
Only you and them.
Del, FREN is generalizing please lecture her.
In your radical Left world you rely on another's catch phrases to define your self. Not so with independent thinking Americans. "Social ignorance" is just what it says, Lori, your comments are 'socially ignorant'. It's that simple.
Trying to divert attentions from the social ignorance with repetitive personal insults doesn't cut it for the Left anymore, Lori. Play your childish games -- continue to prove what an immature woman you are. No skin off my nose.
If you can't compose an intelligent thought, I am done. In other words: I am done.
not sure who whizzed in y9our wheaties today, but it wasnt me.
""PUT US "ON OUR OWN" ANY DAY INSTEAD OF THIS NITWIT'S DUMB DECISIONS FOR OUR COUNTRY. Amen to that!"
other than that, she quoted someone else.where is the generalization?
check your funk and wagnals ........ she referred to a specific (in her words) nitwit).
one person,.
not a general group.
i am starting to get down to my last nerve, and you may well be on it.
you say fren is ignorant, yet you do not know the difference between critisizing a specific individual and a generalization of a group?
hello - pot - did ya meet kettle?
try looking up those terms yourself.
I fear no amount of intelligent reason can get through to this one. Appreciate your affirmations.
Del look again ask her who is "them".
I don't believe it was an accident that the virtual dictator position known as the "Unitary Executive", and the virtual police state established by the "Patriot Act", the "peemptive war" doctrine, and the "bailout" (crony capitalism) model, were established for Mr. Obama to step right into (with the approval of the "neocons" and mass media) in a case of not realizing what could happen . . but was in fact just a part of a good cop/bad cop routine, that employs both Parties, and the "liberal/conservative" labels quite effectively, to advance the very same objectives.