Obama’s poker instincts on view in presidency
The other day I stumbled across a Time magazine piece published back in July 2008, soon after John McCain and Barack Obama had emerged as their parties’ nominees. The premise of the piece was that both men liked to gamble, and that “games of chance have been not just a hobby but also a fundamental feature of their development as people and politicians.”
McCain, for example, loves to play craps, which the piece describes as “a game for showmen, Hollywood stars and basketball legends with girls on their arms.” Dice in hand, money on the table, a crowd gathered along the rails to cheer him on, a craps player basks in attention and adrenalin.
“For McCain, jaunts to the craps table helped burnish his image as a political hot dog who relishes the thrill of a good fight,” the Time piece notes, “even if the risk of failure was high.”
I’m usually wary of pieces that attempt to psycho-analyze candidates, especially when viewed through a single lens such as their choice of gambling outlets. But in hindsight, McCain’s subsequent behavior validated the Time thesis. A few weeks after the piece appeared, he rolled the dice in a high-stakes gamble on Sarah Palin, and did so again when he announced that he was suspending his campaign to rush back to Washington to save the American economy. Neither gamble paid off, but they were consistent with his personality.
Obama, on the other hand, is a poker player by nature. As an Illinois state senator, he was a regular in a weekly late-night poker game among lobbyists and fellow legislators. Interviewing other regulars in those games, the Time reporters found that Obama had a reputation as a conservative player. He’d fold losing hands quickly, but if he chose to stay in the game, it usually meant he had calculated the odds and was in it to win. Rather than force things, he patiently let the game come to him:
“The stakes were low enough — $1 ante and $3 top raise — to afford a long shot. Not Obama. He studied the cards as closely as an 11th-hour amendment to a bill. The odds were religion to him. Only rarely did he bluff….”
Obama’s play-to-win approach drove other players crazy. Former state Sen. Larry Walsh, a conservative corn farmer from Joliet, once got ready to pull in a pot with a four-of-a-kind hand. But Obama had four of a kind too, of higher rank. Walsh slammed down his cards. “Doggone it, Barack, if you were more liberal in your card-playing and more conservative in your politics, you and I would get along much better,” he said.
In hindsight, that also seems to have been prescient. As president, Obama has tended to abandon losing hands quickly, often to the frustration of liberal supporters who want to see him fight it out. However, when he draws a strong hand, the last few years have proved that he plays it well and reaps maximum advantage from it.
– Jay Bookman
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893 comments Add your comment
(ir)Rational
February 27th, 2012
3:38 pm
Paul – I plead the 5th.
Bruno
February 27th, 2012
3:39 pm
It’s much easier to hold the government’s feet to the fire than a private enterprise, as you probably know by now.
Ever dealt with the IRS, or some local govt who takes your land under eminent domain?? Not even close.
I happen to think car insurance SHOULD cover stuff like that, so they can keep a better track of your maintenance habits and decide what your premiums should be more accurately, don’t you?
I’m praying you’re joking with this suggestion, but knowing you, probably not.
Back at ya, Jam Man. Gotta run,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOeRWKCmhRg
Finn McCool (Class Warfare = Stopping Rich People from TAKING MORE of OUR MONEY)
February 27th, 2012
3:39 pm
Oscar, link to those stats you mention?
JOSE
February 27th, 2012
3:39 pm
If only Obama would show the same restraint with taxpayer money as he does with his money at the table…………. he will be approaching $5 trillion in added debt once his first term ends.
Thulsa Doom
February 27th, 2012
3:40 pm
“It’s much easier to hold the government’s feet to the fire than a private enterprise, as you probably know by now.”
How you come to that conclusion is nothing short of mindboggling. The govt is the govt. They have the final word on many a things said and done. Try going up against the EPA on a dispute over whether or not your property is a wetlands. You’ll find you are going up against an entity that doesn’t have to meet or make a profit and can and will break you if a govt bureaucrat simply decides to teach you a lesson. Their power and checkbook is unlimited. A corporation will often settle claims they shouldn’t even pay just to avoid higher legal costs. Happens all the time. Corporations also have to make profits and every dime spent fighting legitimate claims that will ultimately go against them is money foolishly spent. And they are ultimately answerable to govt. Govt is answerable only unto itself.You better damn well hope you never have to go up against a ticked off govt entity.
Brosephus™
February 27th, 2012
3:41 pm
They BOTH
I hope so. The cars seemed like they’re back to the previous set up where you can run but not completely get away. I didn’t like that two-man tango last year.
————————–
Paul
It makes handling stress much better. I already have enough stress from the job, so I don’t wanna go around adding more and more everyday.
————————–
Fred
Nah, 6ft tall here. I do enjoy having my left and right foot above ground though. I’ve had the fortune of not being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It only takes one of those instances to really get you to appreciate life. I’ve also been lucky to be in the wrong place at the wrong time but not standing in the exact spot for sh*t to go downhill.
Fred ™
February 27th, 2012
3:42 pm
JOSE
February 27th, 2012
3:39 pm
If only Obama would show the same restraint with taxpayer money as he does with his money at the table…………. he will be approaching $5 trillion in added debt once his first term ends.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
You posted that under your other handle already and we ignored it there too.
Joseph
February 27th, 2012
3:42 pm
Obama’s economic record:
http://twitpic.com/8jzf20
Brosephus™
February 27th, 2012
3:44 pm
he will be approaching $5 trillion in added debt once his first term ends.
Got a list of programs/expenditures to show where that debt is because of him and not previously signed legislation? I can guarantee that there are more in congress who have more to do with that $5T than Obama.
Common Sense isn't very Common - Papist Independent
February 27th, 2012
3:44 pm
Bro – thank goodness you are taller.
It was either that or I was going to say I know who’s doing the cavity searchs.
Kamchak
February 27th, 2012
3:45 pm
The govt is the govt.
Sashimi is sashimi.
Thulsa Doom
February 27th, 2012
3:45 pm
mm,
I’m always here to help educate you sir.
Why do commercial health plans have lower claim denial rates?
Why is this? It could be the case that commercial health insurers have more efficient claims processing centers. While economists generally believe that the private sector is more efficient, in the case of health insurance claims firms make more money when they deny more claims. Thus, I am not sure that the profit motive is leading to more private-sector claims approvals.
Competition between insurers may increase claims approvals. Most physicians and hospitals must take Medicare because it represents so large a share of the helathcare spending. On the other hand, physicians may only accept patients whose insurance companies have prompt payment with fewer denials. This leads to some incentive for insurance companies to decrease claims denials.
Another reason for the differential claims denial rates is the demographics of Medicare and commercial insurance enrollees. Almost all Medicare enrollees are over 65, while commercial insurers have enrollees who are of varying ages. Since older individuals are more likely to demand high cost medical procedures, if high cost medical procedures are the ones that are more likely to be denied then Medicare’s higher denial rate may simply be due to the composition of its enrollees.
Whatever the reason, the fact that Medicare denies more claims than commercial insurers should dispel the myth that the government is simply a benevolent entity, while commercial insurers are ruthless, profit-hungry wolves. The truth–as always–lies not in the black nor the white but in the gray.
Fred ™
February 27th, 2012
3:45 pm
Brocephus (and Both and any other NASCAR nuts): How would you like to see them take the restrictor plates off and run the same course as they run for the Rolex race? They would be able to build up enough speed to go airborne, but they would for damn sure be booking when they got to the Chicane…….
JamVet - There are three types of AmVets, the good, the bad and the ugly.
February 27th, 2012
3:46 pm
Right now, BHO deserves a ranking – from this major historian (grin) – about the middle of the pack. Not great, but in comparison to his terrible predecessor, a HUGE improvement.
And probably that alone accounts for a big part of the return to some sanity and hope in this country.
Notwithstanding his often lackluster, milquetoast efforts in a lot of areas, if he does get re-elected, I suspect some big things are in the works.
The consequences of that disastrous administration that I alluded to above, I predict that the deadly, morally bankrupt and incompetent neo-cons will continue to stand on the outside of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, looking in, for a long time to come…
Fred ™
February 27th, 2012
3:46 pm
They wouldn’t be able to build up enough speed to go airborne……..
JohnnyReb
February 27th, 2012
3:47 pm
Here’s one man’s opinion on Obama’s energy plan and how well Barry plays poker.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVjrx253lQw&feature=email
JOSE
February 27th, 2012
3:48 pm
Brocephus
You are correct, that would be Democratically controlled Congress of 2007-2010……… the greatest debt incurring Congress of our history
Brosephus™
February 27th, 2012
3:49 pm
NoCom
I ain’t searching ANY body cavities. Period!!
Fred
I’d love to see them run the road course at Daytona. I’ve always held the opinion that they should cut back on those 1.5 mile cookie cutters and add another road course or two. You can’t call yourself a great driver if you can’t handle that right turn.
Brosephus™
February 27th, 2012
3:50 pm
You are correct, that would be Democratically controlled Congress of 2007-2010……… the greatest debt incurring Congress of our history
I usually try to stay away from the namecalling, but you are one dumb SOB if you really believe that garbage.
JamVet - There are three types of AmVets, the good, the bad and the ugly.
February 27th, 2012
3:52 pm
Republican mythology in this contentious, messy primary season is that the perfect candidate will ride into the Republican primary in March or April — or maybe wait until August and a brokered convention — to fill the unmet needs of the 44% of Republican voters not satisfied with their choices.
News flash: Not going to happen.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/27/politics/crowley-gop-knight/index.html?hpt=hp_c1
44%?
Yikes. the cons are not even going to need the help of anyone else to lose this thing…
Common Sense isn't very Common - Papist Independent
February 27th, 2012
3:52 pm
It was interesting to watch the races at Road Atlanta years ago.
Seeing cars built for speed (vettes, etc) trying to take the hairpin turn and ending up going into the grass.
JOSE
February 27th, 2012
3:53 pm
Sorry Bo the truth hurts…….. Democrats controlled both houses of Congress in that 4 year period. Name call all you want but it won’t change what they did.
Kamchak
February 27th, 2012
3:54 pm
It was interesting to watch the races at Road Atlanta years ago.
It was even better watching the bikes on that same course.
Common Sense isn't very Common - Papist Independent
February 27th, 2012
3:54 pm
Bro – the term is ignorant not dumb
Jm
February 27th, 2012
3:55 pm
“I ain’t searching ANY body else’s body cavities. Period!! Of course I do keep my head up my own arse all the time”
Sorry bro, had to make that correction for you.
It was almost too easy.
Common Sense isn't very Common - Papist Independent
February 27th, 2012
3:55 pm
Kam – A guy I met in Winston Salem NC road in those races for a while.
More balls than brains I always said
Erwin's cat
February 27th, 2012
3:56 pm
Common,
Before they reconfigured Road A (turn 11) “The bridge turn” was one scary place…the dip (bottom of 10) was a hard place to keep your foot on the gas as well…
Stevie Ray
February 27th, 2012
3:56 pm
I finally figured my position on all this…assisted by George Carlin:
Assumptions:
No honest and competent folks want to run for office.
All politicians are dishonest and incompetent.
Now I have decided not to vote since any vote validates support for dishonest and incompetent office seekers. Ergo, if I don’t vote, I am being patriotic as not voting for the dishonest and incompetent (BO, Bush, DEMS, GOP). Further, my right to complain remains in tact compared to anyone who voted. If you voted for incompetent and dishonest electorate, you have no one to blame but yourselves and ergo, have not right to complain….
JAY, I really can’t believe you truly think BO’s sh*t don’t stink any less than the rest…
Paul
February 27th, 2012
3:59 pm
Keep Up
“The govt is the govt.
Sashimi is sashimi.”
And sukiyaki is sukiyaki!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtsXEJOlKwU
Oscar
February 27th, 2012
4:00 pm
Oscar, link to those stats you mention?
_____
Google “costs of preventive medicine” and read some of the articles. There are arguments running both ways.
Stevie Ray
February 27th, 2012
4:00 pm
JAY,
Now that you’ve enlightened me on your pal BO’s shrewd poker skills (Really?) I finally have an analogy to same. If you ever listened to Dr Demento, you may recall a song about “Irving, the 142 fastest gun in the west…” I bet he was a conservative poker player as well…
Paul
February 27th, 2012
4:00 pm
Sorry Kamchak
That 3:59 was for you -
Common Sense isn't very Common - Papist Independent
February 27th, 2012
4:01 pm
Cat – saw a lot of them back in the day and the fun was watching the guys racing that were footing the bill themselves.
Watched a dentist from Florida blow his engine next to where we were camping and watching, he came up and had a beer while waiting for the race to end and his tow. He said it was rather expensive but he would rather raise a race car than kids
Brosephus™
February 27th, 2012
4:04 pm
JOSE
You should quit while you’re behind. Either that, or attempt to ply your trade with some other person who lives on rhetoric. Unfortunately, I’m not that person.
http://reason.com/archives/2008/04/07/the-trillion-dollar-war/singlepage
At the end of December, Congress approved $70 billion in bridge funding—a down payment to cover the gap between the beginning of the fiscal year and the passage of the actual appropriation bill—to keep financing the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Legislators at the time were still chewing on the rest of President George W. Bush’s request for a fiscal year 2008 war budget of $196 billion. Should that funding be appropriated—and if recent history is any guide, it certainly will—then the total price tag for America’s present wars will rise to at least $822 billion, approximately 80 percent of which will be spent on Iraq.
[...]
These runaway costs do not include a single dollar from the Pentagon’s annual operating budget, which in 2008 reached a whopping $481 billion. If the war were being accounted for based on a rational, transparent budget process instead of an opaque and politicized shell game, Americans would be painfully aware that we are now in the seventh year of what the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has called a $1 trillion war.
[...]
Once a small blip among federal outlays, emergency supplementals have exploded since 2002, when the Republican Congress let a key legislative restriction on their use expire. In May 2007, President Bush signed into law the biggest supplemental bill in history, $120 billion, to fund military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan ($100 billion) and pay for hurricane recovery and agricultural disaster relief at home. This came just five months after Congress approved another $70 billion emergency request for the wars. By contrast, the average annual amount of emergency supplemental spending in the 1990s—a decade that saw interventions in Iraq, Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia, and Kosovo—was just $13.8 billion
So, try to blame the recent congress all you want to, but nobody with any common sense would cut taxes twice while passing multiple “emergency” supplimental appropriations bills that each totaled more than what was done in the same manner for the previous decade. That’s where that $5T comes from. The reason Obama’s budgets are much higher is because he’s not financing the wars through emergency appropriation bills. There’s a big difference between the two administrations there. One put the war on the books to show how much it costs while the other one did not.
Finn McCool (Class Warfare = Stopping Rich People from TAKING MORE of OUR MONEY)
February 27th, 2012
4:04 pm
I’m more inclined to believe preventive care can save everyone a beacoup of money down the road:
Preventive healthcare should be considered an investment or personal insurance, with keeping your retirement nest egg as your return on investment. Take advantage of any preventive benefits that your insurance company offers; seriously, these companies are happy to cover preventive medical expenses because they have the statistics that proves how much it saves them down the road. Insurance companies employ many people with degrees in finance and economics, so they know the importance of maintaining good health and how expensive it is to treat a chronic illness or serious malady.
For you and me, the choice regarding our health is simple: Either invest a relatively small amount (which may be covered 100% by insurance) in order to stay in good health, or pay a huge amount later to treat the disease that is bound to eventually hit us. Since major medical expenses could easily exceed our maximum insurance coverage, this second choice could cause us financial ruin as well. Weigh the relatively inexpensive cost of regular check-ups against the enormous expense of major care such as cancer treatment or long-term home healthcare visits by a nurse or health aide. Major medical expenses often destroy a person’s life savings; adding the insult of poverty to the injury of physical suffering. The years of frugally planning, saving and investing in order to enjoy your retirement years can be erased by neglecting physical health during those same years. Remember, most diseases are highly preventable by subscribing to preventive healthcare habits.
http://www.wrf.org/preventive-healthcare/preventive-healthcare.php
Jm
February 27th, 2012
4:04 pm
Stevie ray
Vote Republican
If the pols and government are incompetent (they are), at least the republicans support having less of the insanity
Fred ™
February 27th, 2012
4:04 pm
Common Sense isn’t very Common – Papist Independent
February 27th, 2012
3:52 pm
It was interesting to watch the races at Road Atlanta years ago.
Seeing cars built for speed (vettes, etc) trying to take the hairpin turn and ending up going into the grass.
+++++++++++++++++++++
Two things: My accountant (an old man lol) used to race in the “Sportsman Division” when they still had such a thing during the Petite Le’mans up there.
Second thing: I watched an SCCA race there once and the in the “top” class (whatever they called it) they had one stock car (like a Cup car) in the mix with the rest of the “road race” cars. It amazed me. He blew their freaking doors off. I would have never believed it had I not seen it.
Bro: i’m with you. I love the road races myself. Since I quit covering NASCAR all I usually watch is Daytona 500 (but not the Pepsi 400) Talladega and the two road courses. If I happen to have NOTHING better to do, I may tune in for some others, but not much and not often when FOX has the coverage.
BTW: That writing thing fell through it looks like. Seems dude was full of sh……. something.
Stevie Ray
February 27th, 2012
4:04 pm
BRO,
I note you were engaged in a deficit whodunnit above. What’s the difference…
From NYT 2/27th…yes that NYT’s
But the downsides for Mr. Obama have become clear. His partisan turn undercuts a central promise of his 2008 campaign, to rise above the rancor. And by neither embracing Bowles-Simpson nor explaining his objections and quickly offering an alternative, Mr. Obama arguably failed to show leadership on perhaps the country’s biggest problem. This month, in a New York Times/CBS News poll, 59 percent of Americans disapproved of his handling of the deficit.
Looking back, administration officials insist that Mr. Obama was right not to adopt the commission plan. “You couldn’t get a C-plus on a political strategy paper that argues that would be the way to get something done,” said Gene Sperling, an economic adviser
Erwin's cat
February 27th, 2012
4:05 pm
Common,
I still do club racing and it IS the most financially destructive hobby a person could have….fun stuff though when it’s working and you’re in rhythm
Brosephus™
February 27th, 2012
4:07 pm
NoCom
Ignorant gives the impression that one knows better but just refuses to believe it. I don’t think JOSE fit’s that definition. I don’t think he’d know the truth if it was tattooed on his forehead so that he could read it every morning while brushing his teeth.
————————–
jm
Even if that were the case, I’d still have more brain above my shoulders than you…
Two can play that game.
Stevie Ray
February 27th, 2012
4:07 pm
JM,
No way I vote GOP unless Christie comes off the sidelines and I get more value per pound. Can’t honestly vote for any others except Paul….can’t vote for the incumbent dope…Father Santorelliotorum scares me to the extent I want to call Father Maron to exocise his demons. Romney looks the part but that’s where it ends….
No, I’m sold that my strategy of staying home and getting stoned immaculate is best for me so I will maintain the right to complain..
Thanks for the offer..
Kamchak
February 27th, 2012
4:09 pm
Common Sense isn’t very Common – Papist Independent
Yeah, them biker boyz are nutso. They’d crack open the throttle on the straightaways and hafta lean out over the bikes to keep the front wheel on the ground. That’s a lot of horsepower per pound.
Jm
February 27th, 2012
4:09 pm
” The reason Obama’s budgets are much higher is because he’s not financing the wars through emergency appropriation bills. ”
Lie. There are many reasons the deficit is higher.
JamVet - There are three types of AmVets, the good, the bad and the ugly.
February 27th, 2012
4:09 pm
Ask not what Rick Santorum can do for you, ask what can you do for Rick Santorum. ~Thomas Jefferson
Joe Hussein Mama
February 27th, 2012
4:09 pm
Recon — “Now you couldn’t present that point to this mob in Afghanistan but you would certainly hope that most intelligent thinking Americans would understand and not agree that we should have to apologize.”
You would also certainly hope that most intelligent, thinking Americans would understand the difference between ‘banishing all religious thought’ from the public square and rejecting purely theistically-motivated public policy initiatives, but if the posts on this board are any indication, that’s a lost hope, too.
Brosephus™
February 27th, 2012
4:10 pm
Stevie Ray
Do you fault Obama for taking a partisaned turn? Dude set his own party out in Congress during the debt debate. Everytime he stuck his hand out, GOP leadership took a dump in it. If I were him, I would have turned long ago. I would have made Denzel’s character in Training Day look like Gumby.
carlosgvv
February 27th, 2012
4:10 pm
Doom – 3:40
Govt. bureaucrats can and will jerk you around because of one simple fact – they have no other one to compete with. If you don’t like paying taxes to the IRS, where else can you go? They can and will abuse you, knowing you have nowhere else to go. Utilities are the same. If you don’t like GA Power, where else can you get electricity? Competention forces providers to be at least half-way decent. No competention brings out the worst in people.
JOSE
February 27th, 2012
4:11 pm
Bro
All the Dems had to say was NO Bro………. but the Democratic Congresses of 2007-2010 said yes to the absurd spending of Bush in 2007-2008 and then said OH YES to the outrageous spending of Obama in 2009-2010……………. now if you want to argue that a good percentage of the debt accumulated is in fact that revenues are way down we can agree………… but to dismiss the effects of the Democratically controlled Congress of 2007-2010 is naive………. The only control on spending is in the current year……….. You probably believe both parties when they say we will CUT spending in future years by Congresses that have no legal obligation to honor the words……..
godless heathen©
February 27th, 2012
4:12 pm
Well I ain’t no weatherman, but the radar in the Daytona Beach area isn’t looking too good. Might be a long night before the race ends. I hope I get to see a few laps before the DVR takes over.
Fred ™
February 27th, 2012
4:13 pm
Yo Cat: By club do you mean SCCA? http://www.scca.com/clubracing/
Common Sense isn't very Common - Papist Independent
February 27th, 2012
4:13 pm
‘I like to watch’
Thomas Jefferson
Brosephus™
February 27th, 2012
4:14 pm
There are many reasons the deficit is higher.
So, you’re saying that if Bush’s emergency appropriations were added to his budgets, they would not be more in line with current budgets? Many people try to tie the FY2009 budget to Obama, but that one was signed into law by GWB. Obama had one budget with the Democratic Congress. Since then, there have been continuing resolutions.
If you belive that bs above, then point out what Obama expenditures added $5T to the Debt? I haven’t found a single person yet, left or right, that can show where Obama spent $5 trillion OVER what our revenues were.
Jm
February 27th, 2012
4:15 pm
Stevie ray
U got it backwards
If you don’t vote u don’t get to complain
Mitt will set the ship of state back on the correct course, if it is feasible
Finn McCool (Class Warfare = Stopping Rich People from TAKING MORE of OUR MONEY)
February 27th, 2012
4:17 pm
Carlos, what is it with this “fear the government” thing? Do you really think government employees are sitting around trying to figure out new ways to stick it to the American public?
Do you think government employees all come from a magic evil place from which they drive into cities to work at these jobs? Ever think that maybe some of your neighbors and the people you see in church might be government employees?
Erwin's cat
February 27th, 2012
4:17 pm
Fred,
Yes…SCCA in the 90’s..NASA more recently
http://nasaproracing.com/
Stevie Ray
February 27th, 2012
4:17 pm
BRO,
Not the point I’m making. His polling results on deficit are abyssmal and will get worse before better. Point is his leadership once again, was not on display…especially after stiffing the panel (along with GOP) they appointed who produced a solid plan. All BO et al cared about is that the money flowed in 2012…trying to pretend this is even a topic worthy of meritorious debate is silly IMO.
BTW, I forgot the last of Carlin’s assumptions which is KEY:
As a general rule, we are an ignorant and selfish lot (using a credit card to buy sneakers with lights)…google George Carlin: Politicians…you will dig it the most.
Brosephus™
February 27th, 2012
4:18 pm
JOSE
Until you’re ready to own up to that reckless spending prior to 2007, you can keep your RedState, Limbaugh, Glen Beck, Michael Savage, or whomever bullet sheet you’re reading from in your pocket. You won’t get far with me trying to blame one side when both are guilty. If you can’t blame the side you support for their part, then don’t push it off on the opposition. That makes you look like a huge hypocrite. Our country would be much better off if there was much less hypocrisy and more introspection on how to keep from doing the same thing over and over and over.
However, given the mental accumen that you put on display here, I suspect you’ll keep on blaming Democrats. Hell, you probably blame Democrats for what’s wrong in Georgia too.
Common Sense isn't very Common - Papist Independent
February 27th, 2012
4:18 pm
Bro – that tattoo needs to be done backwards so it can be read in the mirror
pogo
February 27th, 2012
4:20 pm
Jays slobbering love affair continues. Journalism is dead in America.
Stevie Ray
February 27th, 2012
4:20 pm
JM,
Respectfully disagree. IMO, government and the masses who think it matters are selfish, ignorant, dishonest and incompetent. Do you really think it matters or anything will change whether the spineless wonder, the morman zillionaire, or Father Santini get elected?
How can you truly think anyone’s vote counts for crap if this is the case. All go’vt does is disrespect our cash, run for re-election, and be reactive to the needs of big money. I guess you condone all of this? No way I think that is true.
Brosephus™
February 27th, 2012
4:22 pm
Stevie Ray
I’ll give you my opinion on Obama’s leadership. His job is to lead the executive branch. His job is not to lead congress. If those jackasses can’t figure out things on their own, I doubt very seriously they are going to listen to him. As much as the GOP has been antagonistic towards Obama, I think that dude deserves major kudos. As much as I like to remain calm and above the fray, I would have snapped on folks in DC a long time ago. You put me in Obama’s place, and I would have made myself a one-term POTUS. But, before my last year was done, I would have gone completely through Congress with a 2X4 like Joe Don Baker in “Walking Tall”.
Jm
February 27th, 2012
4:22 pm
” I haven’t found a single person yet, left or right, that can show where Obama spent $5 trillion OVER what our revenues were.”
Go look at the treasury debt tables. That gets you about $4T. And Obama is wracking up another $1T between now and the next inauguration.
Brosephus™
February 27th, 2012
4:23 pm
NoCom
I doubt he’d read it anyway.
Common Sense isn't very Common - Papist Independent
February 27th, 2012
4:26 pm
It’s all a plot by the RNC, they have run the whale shyte candidates this time to weed out all the nutsters and perennial losers. With that and drying up the nutcase donors means that they MIGHT run a viable candidate the next time around.
The have seen the light and know the TPer’s, far right wingers along with the past administration have tanked the economy and are trusting the Dems to revive it.
I love conspiracies
Jm
February 27th, 2012
4:27 pm
Stevie ray
I obviously don’t condone the waste and disaster that is our federal government
Romney will make a far more competent manager of the unwieldy government than either santorum or Obama
He will wield executive power to make government more effective where it is needed, he will cut it where it isn’t needed, and he will reform the long term entitlements that eventually destroy our country if nothing is done.
Vote mitt 2012
It matters
Brosephus™
February 27th, 2012
4:27 pm
That gets you about $4T. And Obama is wracking up another $1T between now and the next inauguration.
What policies? I’m not talking amounts, I’m talking policies. The most expensive single item to date that Obama has signed was the Stimulus. Given that 1/3 was in the form of tax cuts and not spending, that one is about $500-$600 billion, depending on the estimates. So, where is Obama generating the trillion dollars. What program/legislation has he signed that’s adding that much to the debt?
JOSE
February 27th, 2012
4:27 pm
Bro
Don’t misunderstand me………. I agree………. Iraq war, Bush tax cuts and Medicare D were huge reckless spending…….. Republicans are just as corrupt and big spenders just like Democrats………. But nobody compares to the Democrats in the 4 year period……….
You can blame Democrats in Georgia………. Georgia 50th in the nation in education……… proving that both parties are incompetent……………… But not as bad as the Democrats who enacted using lottery money collected from minorities to subsidize the college education of upper middle class white kids……… what a state
Netbanker
February 27th, 2012
4:28 pm
“during the Bush administration’s unprecedented years-long attempt to prosecute “voter fraud” cases, they were unable to find a single case of in-person polling place impersonation — the only type of voter fraud such [voter ID] laws might serve to deter — across the entire nation.”
Well how exactly would one discover this type of fraud? There are different workers at every polling station so if I were to walk into one with a voter registration card for Mr. Smith and then leave there to drive immediately to another polling location where I produce a card as Mr. Jones who would be there to recognize me? I could do that all day long, but no one would know. Granted the same could be done by showing photo id’s, but it would be significantly harder to obtain all those different id’s. My point is thatt we really have no idea of the scope of this type of fraud so why not take a reasonable step to ensure it isn’t affecting election results? It’s extremely difficult to navigate normal life without a photo id and most states offer them for free so why not help ensure that only registered citizens are voting in an election?
Fred ™
February 27th, 2012
4:28 pm
Erwin’s Cat: Bummer. I’ll be at Hilton Head when you have your March race at Road Atlanta, but if I haven’t been booted by then lol remind me in June and I’ll go watch you race. I have only been to road Atlanta a couple times, but I love it.
Common Sense isn't very Common - Papist Independent
February 27th, 2012
4:29 pm
Vo mitt 2012
JOSE
February 27th, 2012
4:31 pm
hey Bro
i know it will hurt you fragile little ego…….. but you need to quote me on this…………
because of the great recession…….. tax revenues are way down…….. so therefore the deficits being run are exaggerated because of the short fall from statistical averages……..
but you are wrong to ask for policies………. you have to look at his budgets…….. the use of baseline budgeting has exploded the deficit in a time of low inflation
JamVet - There are three types of AmVets, the good, the bad and the ugly.
February 27th, 2012
4:32 pm
Maybe she can get more money from Uncle Sam for her “farm”…
Rebounding from her failed presidential bid, Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann is setting her sights on re-election to the House — but she faces a tough battle to retain her seat in a redrawn Minnesota district.
One recent poll showed Bachmann’s favorability rating among Minnesota voters at just 34%.
And the Minnesota congresswoman’s national base of conservative donors may be tiring of her pleas for money, as she carries a $1 million presidential campaign debt from her fumbled bid.
Many were surprised that one of the conservative movement’s newest icons would suffer such a disastrous defeat. But a series of fumbles and gaffes on the campaign trail not only caused her campaign to go into a tailspin, it tarnished her most important asset: her ability to raise funds from the grassroots across the nation.
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/bachmann-re-election-tea-party/2012/02/27/id/430681
Jm
February 27th, 2012
4:33 pm
Bro
They’ve extended the stimulus policies multiple times. Those 99 week benefits and payroll tax cuts add up to hundreds of billions. Extending the other tax cuts, more hundreds of billions. Eventually you’re in the trillions.
Now, if govt had been on autopilot we still would have had a deficit. But it would have been much much smaller.
Fred ™
February 27th, 2012
4:33 pm
Brosephus™
February 27th, 2012
4:23 pm
NoCom
I doubt he COULD read it anyway.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
There ya go Brocephus, I fixed that for you.
Thulsa Doom
February 27th, 2012
4:33 pm
Obama’s National Debt Impact
Upon Inauguration: $10,626,877,048,913
As of Jan 24, 2012: $15,236,236,452,380
In 3.0 yrs Increased: $4,609,359,403,467
George Bush (8yrs): $4,899,100,310,609
Brocephus,
That’s almost 5 trillion. I think right now Obama is at 4.8 trillion and that’s as of a month ago. The sole argument that you guys have is that Obama inherited a budget that was signed in October before he came into office and that not all of that first year’s debt nor even the majority of it is his. However we’ve always attributed debt to the potus who is potus on the day he came in. That’s just the way its always been.
And even if we give W credit for most of the debt for the fiscal 09 budget it doesn’t matter. It still means that the amount of debt acquired when Obama finally took responsibility such as the 2010 budget going forward is still a staggering amount of debt given such a short amount of time.
JamVet - There are three types of AmVets, the good, the bad and the ugly.
February 27th, 2012
4:34 pm
Vo mitt 2012
An instant classic, Common Sense.
Kudos!
Erwin's cat
February 27th, 2012
4:36 pm
Fred – will do, I am not campaigning a car this year, but I will likely get some seat time here or there in a friends 350Z, ….he runs the 3hr enduro’s and could use some help/rest every now and again…I have a build going now and hope to have it ready for the ‘13 season
Brosephus™
February 27th, 2012
4:37 pm
but you are wrong to ask for policies………. you have to look at his budgets
And how am I wrong to ask for policies if people are saying that Obama has added $5 trillion to the debt? If Obama has indeed been responsible for that amount, would there not be a paper trail leading to that mountain of debt? I’m not saying that he’s not responsible for things, but for you, or anybody else, to blame it on Obama and/or Democrats over the timespan of 3 yrs is intellectually wrong. It takes two to tango, and that dance has been going on since the early 2000’s.
When I call you on the GOP, you wanna brush over things like they weren’t so bad. That’s the first sign that you know you’re wrong. Two wars unpaid. Expansion of Medicaid, unpaid. Expansion of government, i.e DHS, unpaid. Explosion of national security contract work, unpaid. And all that was before the Democratic Party took over Congress. I might have been born early in the morning, but it was not this morning.
Brosephus™
February 27th, 2012
4:39 pm
Doom
Before I make a quick run, I’ll ask you the same question I’ve asked everybody else…
What policies/programs/expenditures has Obama signed that added all of that to the national debt? Better yet, what has he signed that added half that amount. Hell, I’ll make it easy for y’all, since he’s supposed to be such a big spender, I’m sure you can come up with half of it with no problem.
JOSE
February 27th, 2012
4:40 pm
Bro
the paper trail is given to you by Jm and Thulsa Doom……. you are just too ignorant to accept it……. the paper trail is the DEBT………..i astounds me that lack of logic and reason liberals have……….
Erwin's cat
February 27th, 2012
4:43 pm
JOSE – the point I believe being made is the President doesn’t/can’t spend a penny…he either signs the check put in front of him or he vetos it…Congress for the most part determines spending
Jm
February 27th, 2012
4:45 pm
“Better yet, what has he signed that added half that amount.”
Stimulus.
Health care “reform”.
Extending unemployment benefits.
Extending payroll tax cuts.
Extending previos income tax cuts.
Increased discretionary spending.
TRILLLLLLLLIONS.
JOSE
February 27th, 2012
4:45 pm
Erwin…… its a point i have tried to make with Bro but he won’t accept it………. The Democrats controlled the Congress from 2007-2010 and both Bush and Obama signed those budget deficits into existence…………………. he wants to say its just Bush and Obama hasn’t done anything…………
Jm
February 27th, 2012
4:46 pm
Jose
This is the bottom of the barrel as far as the liberal intelligensia goes
Common Sense isn't very Common - Papist Independent
February 27th, 2012
4:47 pm
Jose – post that Bro is ignorant at your own peril. He is an angry white guy with a badge and gun
Brosephus™
February 27th, 2012
4:48 pm
the paper trail is the DEBT
That’s just like saying that the reason that somebody became obese is because of the fat they carry. The fact that none of y’all can even point to a single thing tells me that you don’t have a clue as to what your talking point really means. If Obama added that much to the debt, then that means he had to sign some policies that spent that much beyond what our revenues have been. I gave you one thing he signed, and you still can’t name anything else.
————————–
EC
I don’t even wanna confuse them with that point. I’m simply trying to point out that there is no way to blame one specific person for the debt. Decisions made 10 years ago could be causing issues now. Things signed into law 20 years ago could be adding to today’s debt. Unless there has been a number of programs signed into law by Obama that’s adding $4 trillion to spending above revenues, there is no way to explicitly blame him for that.
JOSE
February 27th, 2012
4:48 pm
Jm
I won’t give up………… i will ask NASA to continue the search for life in the solar system beyond Earth but I won’t ask them to search for it among liberals…….
Fred ™
February 27th, 2012
4:49 pm
JOSE
February 27th, 2012
4:40 pm
Bro
the paper trail is given to you by Jm and Thulsa Doom……. you are just too ignorant to accept it……. the paper trail is the DEBT………..i astounds me that lack of logic and reason liberals have……….
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Wow. and to HIM that post makes sense. He actually thinks he has said something and really cut you down Brocephus. But hey, it’s YOU fault Bro, you knew he was a dumb ass and you kept talking to him anyway lol.
Yo Jose?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFvU3T7eruA&feature=BFa&list=PL7B626D544F671E2C&lf=plpp_video
Fred ™
February 27th, 2012
4:52 pm
So what ever happened to DaveR? Did he turn in to jm? I saw two boobs on here Sunday so I know she can post here again………
TaxPayer
February 27th, 2012
4:52 pm
Since Obama took office, my stock/bond… portfolio has rebounded 96%. I don’t know if I can handle much more of his policies. They’re just doing horrible things to Republicans chances of gaining more power. I feel a need for the use of the fainting couch coming on. Perhaps a mint julep will help.
Jerome Horwitz
February 27th, 2012
4:54 pm
Cat – What have you raced? Been working turns @ RA since the early 90’s(or earlier).
JOSE
February 27th, 2012
4:54 pm
Bro
where is your logic……….. you can’t say that obese are that way because of the fat they carry……. only an illogical liberal could come up with that…….
they get obese for eating too many calories and not exercising and burning more calories than they eat
just like obama spend more money than he takes in with tax revenue……. thus deficits and debt
boom
Thulsa Doom
February 27th, 2012
4:54 pm
Brocephus,
I’ll let the CBO do the talking for me.
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/cbo-obama-s-policies-increase-national-debt-47-percent-217-trillion-2022
Now if you’re talking about specific policies we can go into all the minutia but that would take hours and days and days. We could talk about lower economic growth and therefore lower tax revenue collection and Obama’s various policies towards regulation- everything from the slowdown in oil permits, Keystone, etc. to spending on Medicaid, etc.
You’re asking a pretty generalized question and to go into the specifics of each and every policy of his is beyond the scope and confines of our friendly little blog. Bottom line is that whatever his specific policies on every little topic in govt we are going farther and farther into debt. And there is no disputing that by anyone.
Erwin's cat
February 27th, 2012
4:54 pm
TaxPayer – Are you celebrating losing 4% over 3 yrs?
Common Sense isn't very Common - Papist Independent
February 27th, 2012
4:55 pm
Taxpayer – mine has rebounded 96% also I am now up to $1.96
Thulsa Doom
February 27th, 2012
4:59 pm
Brocephus,
Now if you want to talk about obesity and getting fat than my policies certainly affect that. During football season I have a strict policy of drinking a lot of beer on the weekends watching football, eating crappy, bad, calorically generous meals, and doing it a few times during the week for MNF and thurs night college football. Usually I work off all that weight after football season and the holidays but this year it just aint comin off. It just aint. But it all comes down to policy I guess.
Erwin's cat
February 27th, 2012
4:59 pm
Jerome – Datsun B210’s and 510;s back in the day…GT4 and GT3 respectively
Corner workers always had the best parties
Fred ™
February 27th, 2012
5:01 pm
Erwin’s cat
February 27th, 2012
4:54 pm
TaxPayer – Are you celebrating losing 4% over 3 yrs?
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I think if you read that again you will see he is implying that it was ALREADY down when Obama took office………
Brosephus™
February 27th, 2012
5:04 pm
JOSE: he wants to say its just Bush and Obama hasn’t done anything…………
Care to point to exactly where I said that? See, your problem is that you’re trying to insinuate what I’m saying. Don’t read more into my words than what you see. That’s your first problem there.
————————–
jm @ 4:45
Thanks for listing something. At least somebody can read and comprehend. That’s all I’ve been asking for. I don’t know if there’s been any part of the ACA that has caused major spending yet.
Stimulus cost: $831 Billion according to the Washington Times
Extending unemployment benefits: $184.7 billion to taxpayers with total cost of $434 billion.
Extending previous tax cuts: $860 billion (I don’t know if that’s the final amount. Doing quick research before I run out.
Looking at those three there, that’s less than $2 trillion total. That means for Obama and the Democrats to have added $5 trillion, there’s some $3T worth of spending prior to the tax extension. That was the last major spending done before the GOP took control of the House. The payroll tax cut came via a GOP house, but it’s still Obama’s.
That’s what I’m trying to point out. If somebody’s going to lay blame, then have the proof to back it up. I should not have to look up information for somebody else who’s whining about something.
TaxPayer
February 27th, 2012
5:06 pm
Erwin,
I’m celebrating recovering all but four percent of my portfolio’s decline in market value thus far due to George’s Great Recession.
Common Sense,
$1.97 but who’s counting.