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Chung Tran · 10-21-2015, 10:44 AM

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/polit...-president.ece

good to hear..

Guest110416 · 10-21-2015, 10:51 AM

Yes it is, we do not want at least 4 more years of Obama. When Obama took office, we were are 9 trillion in national debt. We are at 19 trillion now, great guy, huh?

sparrow1122 · 10-21-2015, 01:12 PM

Neither Biden or Clinton would be good in the top spot. Clinton should be easier to defeat. Can you imagine how big the Clinton Foundation would get if she was in the top spot?!?!

Lahk · 10-21-2015, 10:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidfree986

Yes it is, we do not want at least 4 more years of Obama. When Obama took office, we were are 9 trillion in national debt. We are at 19 trillion now, great guy, huh?

Yeah, that's not good. I'm also concerned about the deficit, which in my opinion is the more serious of the two. At least the deficit is trending in the right direction after the highs of 2009 - 2012 (recession).
Deficit = money in (taxes) vs money spent.
Debt = balance the govt owes through bonds and other instruments.

http://www.statista.com/statistics/1...es-since-1990/

http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/...cit_chart.html

I don't like the democratic candidates, but I fucking hate all of the republican candidates. I used to be a republican until in my mind it became synonymous with religion, bigotry, big business / corporate shill, and big govt in our personal lives. To me, the fact that a sleazy nutjob like Trump is doing so well only highlights the fact that zero of the other candidates are worth a shit. It's a pathetic lot we have to choose from. I would have liked for Biden to run, if just to get another voice out there that has something to say.

TexTushHog · 10-21-2015, 10:34 PM

I have mixed feelings. Biden entering the race would help Bernie Sanders, who I'm supporting. But I recognize that HRC is likely to be my party's nominee. And while I personally like Joe Biden (and no, that is really a figure of speech, I don' know him, but I have met him four or five times), I'm not sure that he would be a better President on domestic matters than would HRC. I do, however, trust his judgment more on foreign policy than I do hers. He is much less a hawk than she is. But I'd be proud to work for either of them, although I think Bernie would be a great breath of fresh air for a Democratic Party that is increasingly becoming far too centrist.

But I think in the end, he correctly analyzed the situation. I have heard through the political grapevine that he is still deeply grieving from the premature death of his son Beau (the second child that he has buried, BTW). And while it is terribly unfair that that period of grief has taken away his last opportunity to run for President, time waits for no man. It's just the way it is. But he is a very decent and caring man. He deeply loves this country and wants the best for it. I hope he continues to be active in our country's public life well past the end of Obama's presidency.

One of his unique gifts was the ability to get along with almost anybody. He loves people. And back before the two parties became so polarized (and you can guess who I think is responsible for the vast majority of it), he was one Senator who could be counted on to make the rounds and see if there was some common ground somewhere that might form the basis for a deal that might not solve the entire problem, but would at least help. He really had a knack for compromise and horse trading. At least in my view -- which may have some partisan bias -- the modern Republican Party equates compromise with treason. LBJ's favorite verse from Proverbs, "Come, let us reason together," fall on completely deaf ears on that side of the aisle these days. But Sen. Biden never took disagreement personally, and could always disagree without being disagreeable. And ALWAYS kept his eye out for common ground. Those qualities are much needed on both sides of the aisle today.

TexTushHog · 10-21-2015, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lahk

Yeah, that's not good. I'm also concerned about the deficit, which in my opinion is the more serious of the two. At least the deficit is trending in the right direction after the highs of 2009 - 2012 (recession).
Deficit = money in (taxes) vs money spent.
Debt = balance the govt owes through bonds and other instruments.

http://www.statista.com/statistics/1...es-since-1990/

http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/...cit_chart.html

I don't like the democratic candidates, but I fucking hate all of the republican candidates. I used to be a republican until in my mind it became synonymous with religion, bigotry, big business / corporate shill, and big govt in our personal lives. To me, the fact that a sleazy nutjob like Trump is doing so well only highlights the fact that zero of the other candidates are worth a shit. It's a pathetic lot we have to choose from. I would have liked for Biden to run, if just to get another voice out there that has something to say.

This year's deficit is even lower than projected. Presently coming in at $439 billion, down from Bush's last defect of $1.4 trillion in 2009.

When you look at it in terms of percent of GDP (as you should) it is below the average deficit of the past 40 years.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/...0S92K920151015

mmcqtx · 10-22-2015, 03:22 AM

I have said for years there are two words that prevent any assassination attempt against Obama. And those two words are "President Biden"

Chung Tran · 10-22-2015, 03:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TexTushHog

I think Bernie would be a great breath of fresh air for a Democratic Party that is increasingly becoming far too centrist.

this sentence jumped out at me.. I think the Democratic Party has gone more to the left in recent years.. Hillary is very liberal, and has been since the 1960's in thought and action.. sure, you can cite a couple of times, like supporting the Iraq invasion, where she went against the traditional left, but everything she said at last week's debate screamed "left" to me.. she even scolded Sanders for being soft on gun control.

Jim Webb quit the race because as a center-leaning Democrat, there's simply no room for him... a traditional Southern Democrat.. his kind was common in the 1970's and 1980's, he may be the last one standing.. others, like Bill Clinton and Al Gore, started out somewhat moderate, before moving more and more to the left.. Obama? can't get any farther left.. he's every bit as Socialist as Sanders.

TexTushHog · 10-22-2015, 03:42 AM

HRC isn't "very liberal". She's a weaseling centrist triangulator who is probably more middle of the road than even Bill or Obama. Bernie Sanders is moderately liberal by world standards, very liberal only by US standards. But even he isn't advocating nationalizing any industries or confiscatory (or even historically normal) rates of taxation on the very wealthy. Hugs most radical proposal is to increase the top marginal to nice tax rate in income over $1,000,000 to <GASP!> a measly 50%. That's not going to undo the government driven upward redistribution of income that we've had for the past 34 years. Even Bernie is talking about half-assed measures.

Webb is running in the wrong party.

But Obama? Left? With his sop to the game nsurance industry health insurance company welfare act? Give me a break. The sorry SOB didn't even try for either a public option or a single payer plan. So we're still stuck fucking away 40 cents on every health care dollar to a bunch of assholes who only exist to,kerp people from getting care that some Doctor thinks they need. He's been a grave disappointment on undoing the Bush war on civil liberties. And now he's chickening out and getting bogged back down in Afghanistan when we should have been out six years ago. He's more centrist tha Bill Clinton was, and that's saying something.

Chung Tran · 10-22-2015, 03:59 AM

I didn't expect to be pounced on before 5:00 am

Obama did fail on Obamacare, yes.. but.. he got something passed.. Hillary's plan from 1994 got nowhere.. Obama's no less liberal for getting what he could. I fault him for tooling it in favor of the Insurance companies, but that's the best he could do, and still pass something..

would you rather have nothing? because that's what we would have, had Obama not compromised.

TexTushHog · 10-22-2015, 06:33 AM

I'd rather him have pushed hard for single layer and settled for a public option. That could have been done if he had acted quickly enough. He let shit drag out too long and let Congress come up with the plan, which was a recipie for a weak plan.

And my strident tone wasn't aimed at you as much as at Obama and Clinton being weak sisters and caving into n to the monied interests.