Obama's Final Two Years

PrintSmith wrote: And my reply indicates the likelihood of that happening given the Senate refused to convict a sitting president who was known to be guilty of perjury.

And that's why I indicated your response was given in a very roundabout way.

www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/can-washington-p...-obamas-final-years/

HOW does the article resonate with posters?

homeagain wrote: www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/can-washington-p...-obamas-final-years/

HOW does the article resonate with posters?

Depends on whether one is a pessimist or an optimist. The pessimist in me tells me get a grip. These are politicians, for crying out loud! The optimist in me tells me these guys might just be willing to get a grip of their own and at least try to work together while also recognizing the obstacles that lie ahead.

This is the problem IMO:

BARACK OBAMA: The American people overwhelmingly believe that this town doesn’t work well and that it is not attentive to their needs.

And, as president, they rightly hold me accountable to do more to make it work properly. I’m the guy who’s elected by everybody, not just from a particular state or a particular district. And they want me to push hard to close some of these divisions, break through some of the gridlock and get stuff done.

Obama believes the Dems got their butts handed to them because the voters don't think Washington works well. That's true, it doesn't work well. But he completely ignores all the polls that show the majority of the population doesn't like the policies put forward by this administration. This is not a left leaning country and I believe the crushing defeat has much more to do with the forced push to the left than any disfunction in congress. Look at the exit polls, they tell the story better than I can.

Rick wrote: This is the problem IMO:

BARACK OBAMA: The American people overwhelmingly believe that this town doesn’t work well and that it is not attentive to their needs.

And, as president, they rightly hold me accountable to do more to make it work properly. I’m the guy who’s elected by everybody, not just from a particular state or a particular district. And they want me to push hard to close some of these divisions, break through some of the gridlock and get stuff done.

Obama believes the Dems got their butts handed to them because the voters don't think Washington works well. That's true, it doesn't work well. But he completely ignores all the polls that show the majority of the population doesn't like the policies put forward by this administration. This is not a left leaning country and I believe the crushing defeat has much more to do with the forced push to the left than any disfunction in congress. Look at the exit polls, they tell the story better than I can.

Not so sure your assessment is totally accurate, Rick. Polls are arguably conducted not to provide a "snapshot", but, rather, to manipulate an outcome. At least that's what I've been hearing lately. One person's poll is another person's idiocy/insanity/ignorance when you come right down to it.

I don't think this election was necessarily a rejection of this administration's policies as much as it was a dissatisfaction with the machinations of politics, in general.

ZHawke wrote:

Rick wrote: This is the problem IMO:

BARACK OBAMA: The American people overwhelmingly believe that this town doesn’t work well and that it is not attentive to their needs.

And, as president, they rightly hold me accountable to do more to make it work properly. I’m the guy who’s elected by everybody, not just from a particular state or a particular district. And they want me to push hard to close some of these divisions, break through some of the gridlock and get stuff done.

Obama believes the Dems got their butts handed to them because the voters don't think Washington works well. That's true, it doesn't work well. But he completely ignores all the polls that show the majority of the population doesn't like the policies put forward by this administration. This is not a left leaning country and I believe the crushing defeat has much more to do with the forced push to the left than any disfunction in congress. Look at the exit polls, they tell the story better than I can.

Not so sure your assessment is totally accurate, Rick. Polls are arguably conducted not to provide a "snapshot", but, rather, to manipulate an outcome. At least that's what I've been hearing lately. One person's poll is another person's idiocy/insanity/ignorance when you come right down to it.

I don't think this election was necessarily a rejection of this administration's policies as much as it was a dissatisfaction with the machinations of politics, in general.

Do you have proof or is this just another Democratic soundbite to make the losers feel better? So the voters like the policies but decided to vote in a bunch of Republicans who have a 180 degree different view of Obama's policies. Makes sense.

Rick wrote: Do you have proof or is this just another Democratic soundbite to make the losers feel better? So the voters like the policies but decided to vote in a bunch of Republicans who have a 180 degree different view of Obama's policies. Makes sense.

Rick, Rick, Rick. I stated an opinion. The post to which you are obviously referring was pretty much a statement of fact with regard to "proof" I asked for.

And, I didn't say what you assert. I said, and I quote:

I don't think this election was necessarily a rejection of this administration's policies as much as it was a dissatisfaction with the machinations of politics, in general.

"Machinations of politics, in general" - that's what I said. I didn't say voters "liked" the administration's policies. In fact, if you look at some of the ballot initiatives on a national basis there appears to be a trend toward more liberal initiatives while, at the same time electing more conservative representatives and senators who oppose those more liberal initiatives. Contradiction? Confusion? It would seem that way.

Here's an article that sums up very nicely what I'm trying to say: www.nytimes.com/2014/11/06/opinion/from-...tiatives-passed.html

You have a tendency of hedging your bets and being wishy washy... everything seems to be "well it could be this but it could also be that". It's impossible to ever be proven wrong, so I guess that's a good strategy. I'll have to try hard to pin you down on a solid answer about anything but I doubt I will succeed. Have a good night Z.

Rick wrote: You have a tendency of hedging your bets and being wishy washy... everything seems to be "well it could be this but it could also be that". It's impossible to ever be proven wrong, so I guess that's a good strategy. I'll have to try hard to pin you down on a solid answer about anything but I doubt I will succeed. Have a good night Z.

I prefer to call it not buying into the one way or the other, my way or the highway, or any number of other cliches' one might come up with. You can try all you want to, but I was professionally trained to analyze and question everything. It isn't being wishy washy. Rather, it's holding others' feet to the fire, so to speak, if I see an inconsistency or fallacy in thought and/or reason. That's me. I can't help it. It's who I am.

You have a good night, too, Rick.