The American Spectator : Peak Obama

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Peak Obama

By Peter Ferrara on 8.11.10 @ 6:09AM

The ever worsening jobs and unemployment numbers give only a partial picture of America's suffering under President Obama's neo-socialism.

Thirty-one months after the start of the recession, last week's jobs report for July was a fiasco. The Labor Department reported yet another 131,000 jobs lost in July. The Department also revised the June report downward to show 221,000 jobs lost that month from 125,000. The unemployment rate remained at 9.5% only because 181,000 additional discouraged workers left the work force, and so were not counted as unemployed. That makes one million who have fled the work force since April.

As this column has repeatedly noted, the historic data recorded by the National Bureau of Economic Research shows that the average recession since World War II has lasted 10 months, with the longest previously being 16 months. What is President Obama's excuse for still losing hundreds of thousands of jobs 31 months after the recession began?

The July labor report records the army of the unemployed at nearly 15 million. The long-term unemployed, defined as those unemployed for more than 6 months, remained stuck at nearly 7 million, the highest since the Great Depression. The number of additional workers employed part time for economic reasons stood at 8.5 million. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) defines these workers as those who "were working part-time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full time job."

Another 2.6 million were defined as marginally attached to the labor force, including discouraged workers who had given up looking for work. The BLS explains that these individuals "wanted and were available for work, and had looked for a job in the prior 12 months." But they were not counted as unemployed because they had given up looking for work during the prior 4 weeks.

The army of the unemployed and underemployed consequently totals nearly 26 million. This would add up to an unemployed and underemployed rate of 16.5%, more than 2 ½ years after the recession started.

Moreover, major components of the Obama/Democrat political base are getting whacked hard. The African-American community is suffering a depression, with unemployment stuck over 15% for over a year now (15.6% in July). Obamanomics is proving to be the most effective anti-immigration policy in history, with Hispanic unemployment stuck at 12.1% in July. Young voters are particularly suffering as well, with teenage unemployment at 26.1% in July.

The Collapsing Work Force

But the headline jobs and unemployment numbers don't give a complete picture of America's suffering under President Obama's neo-socialism. In yesterday's Wall Street Journal, AEI Vice-President Henry Olsen examined the complete revelations provided by the civilian-employment population ratio.

As Olsen explains, while the unemployment rate measures the percentage of working age Americans who are actively seeking jobs but do not have one, "the civilian-employment population ratio measures the percentage of working age Americans who have a job, whether they are seeking one or not." The trend of this ratio reflects the full extent of the missing discouraged workers who the agent of hope and change has left hopeless, the full jobs gap that has to be made up, and how far we are falling behind in terms of jobs that need to be created. Olsen reports:

Looking at this ratio, America is suffering its largest drop since World War II. When the economy was at its Bush-era height, in 2007, a little over 63% of adult Americans had jobs. Friday's [July jobs] report shows that only about 58.4% [now] do, a decline of nearly 5 percentage points. While the unemployment rate remains steady at 9.5%, the employment-population ratio continues to fall each month. In April it was 58.8%, in May 58.7%, and in June 58.5%.

Olsen's analysis is reflected in the accompanying graph, which shows how many jobs we have lost from where we should be with full recovery.

The Failure of Keynesian Economics

The economy is stuck in record postwar stagnation because since the beginning of this recession it has been addressed with throwback Keynesian economics, proven to fail long ago, rather than the more modern supply-side economics that proved so successful in leading to a 25 year economic boom starting in 1982. President Bush joined with the Democrat Congress to enact a Keynesian stimulus package in February, 2008 that had no discernable beneficial effect on the economy. President Obama, elected promising change, passed another Keynesian stimulus package a year later, only 6 times larger, which has again failed to generate any real recovery.

A stimulus package is "Keynesian" when it is focused on increasing demand, either by increasing government spending and deficits, or by "putting money in people's pockets" to spend, through tax rebates or tax credits. (This is why Obama's repeated claim that one third of his stimulus package was tax cuts is inapposite. They were all tax credits, and refundable to boot, which means they mostly involved checks going to people who had no further income tax liability to reduce.). The Bush/Pelosi February 2008 stimulus, and the Obama/Pelosi February, 2009 stimulus, were almost entirely composed of such Keynesian policy initiatives.

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About the Author

Peter Ferrara is Senior Fellow at the Carleson Center for Public Policy, Director of Entitlement and Budget Policy for the Heartland Institute, and General Counsel of the American Civil Rights Union. He served in the White House Office of Policy Development under President Reagan, and as Associate Deputy Attorney General of the United States under the first President Bush. He is the author of America’s Ticking Bankruptcy Bomb, now available from HarperCollins.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (100) | Leave a comment

Robbins Mitchell| 8.11.10 @ 6:30AM

"We must all put our shoulders to the wheel in order to push the ship of state up the middle of the road."

~Barokeydoke Hubris Obozo~

Alan Brooks| 8.11.10 @ 7:53AM

"Clothe the hungry and feed the naked."

~Bebe Rebozo~

Alan Brooks| 8.11.10 @ 7:58AM

...I'm starting to like Nixon; there were some interesting names attached to his rule: like Egil Krough; his parents must have been bird watchers
(okay, no more Groucho today).

Tim*| 8.11.10 @ 5:34PM

Brooks is The Chairman Of The Bored .

Deborah D| 8.11.10 @ 6:38AM

Another great column, Mr. Ferrara. Thanks for the rallying cry. Facebook post, here I come!

Amazing the way the Democrats can't (or won't) see the truth when it is staring them in the face. I have a liberal friend who won't read a book until she reads the end first, then she'll decide whether she'll read it or not. And yet, she continues to vote Democrat when she has no idea how this will end. For once she bought the book before seeing the end or maybe she just made up her own ending -- utopia Democrat-style.

Spoonman| 8.11.10 @ 7:53AM

All my liberal friends act the same way - but they no longer smile and snicker about what a dunce GW was ; nor do they talk about what a great job the one is doing. I think the realization has finally caught on and maybe some of those who voted for him are finally realizing how terrible his policies are for this once gerat country.

Omega| 8.14.10 @ 7:13PM

"once great country"?? When was this exactly? Was it during the time of slavery? Before women got the vote? During the Great Depression and Dust Bowl era? How about before the Civil Rights Act when segreation was the norm? Or was it during and after Hurricane Katrina while people were dying due to the lack of swift government intervention? What time are you referencing exactly? Get your head out of your delusions, buddy.

Muffy090| 8.15.10 @ 10:19AM

Omega,
Despite all the issues you stated, as I am an American who is Black, it was the Democrats who started segregation, it was the KKK that terrorized Blacks into becoming Democrats. Most Blacks when we got the vote were Republicans. It was now deceased Senator Robert Byrd, a wizard of the KKK who filibustered the Civil Rights act legistlation in the 1960's. Yes this country has had some issues but ask any immigrant who has come here fleeing tyrannical, dictatorial, socialist leaders and they will tell you they could never have the achievements they now have in their former countries. If this country is so bad why are people dying on borders, drowning in oceans to get in. I beg to differ with you especially as one who grew up in Segregation in the South.
I choose to go forward not look back because I choose to celebrate the accomplishments, and lost lives that gave me liberties, not trip over stuff in the past. If you live in past you cannot move forward. I gather you are still a citizen of the US if I am correct if things are so bad why are you still here? Also your Katrina comment please ask former Mayor Ray Nagin why he didnot evacuate the people even though school buses were provided, he wanted motor coaches and people died and lost everything. When there is a hurricane etc residents are asked to evacuate, buses were sent for evacuation and the Mayor did not follow suit. The federal government can't just go in without the States permission they provided buses and the State didnot follow suit. People lost their lives because they stayed and didnot leave. I once lived in a hurricane ravage area, and evacuation was always first. They eventually evacuated anyway after the disaster and States took them in provided housing etc and you people are still talking about Katrina. GET OVER IT MOVE ON.

Stephanie| 8.11.10 @ 8:30AM

The only dems who don't see it for what it is, are the ones who are government employees. FEDERAL government employees. They are fat and happy. I believe the average pay, including benefits in around $125,ooo. per year. I guess I wouldn't be complaining either. But as a small business owner who is close to closing, I see things much differently. I know a dictator when I see one too.

Alan Brooks| 8.11.10 @ 10:07AM

A neo-socialist and not a socialist, marxist, or communist?
I'm going to bookmark this piece, and use it next time someone here calls Obama a socialist.

WayneH| 8.11.10 @ 11:17AM

Alan, you're such an immature moron.

Ken Roberts | 8.15.10 @ 7:07AM

WayneH: sorry but you missed it , he is mature , a very matured moron so matured he may be the biggest moron to date

Ken Roberts | 8.15.10 @ 7:09AM

So being a combined form of or a new socialist makes you now what? a newer socialist then you were yesterday?

Richard| 8.11.10 @ 12:04PM

Stephanie, where does that 125,000 figure come from? I worked for the federal government and retired 8 years ago. Average pay including benefits is far less than that. It is important to get facts straight--we don't want to be like liberals.

The Al| 8.11.10 @ 12:46PM

Richard,

actually just read an article today saying that federal compensation (pay + benefits) was double what it is for private sector workings. Feds rake in an average of $123k, and private workers $61k

Looks like you retired a few years before the pay train came through

http://www.usatoday.com/money/.....0_ST_N.htm

Tom| 8.11.10 @ 1:54PM

Of course comparing average salaries of private and public sector workers is silly.

My problem is not how much public sector workers make, it is their deep reach into every aspect of life. The amount of paper work, regulations, and just plain BS involved in the creation of wealth in the US is insane. Cut regulations and government intrusion into the private sector by 50% and double their pay for all I care. It would be a fair trade.

Shirley| 8.12.10 @ 5:34AM

In reply to "What is President Obama's excuse for still losing hundreds of thousands of jobs 31 months after the recession began?" the answer is simple, blame Bush. That has been his answer to all things that don't go his way.

Jacob| 8.13.10 @ 10:22AM

I dunno. I mean, if you look at the chart, half of the percentage decline took place before obama took office. And you have to believe that there's some amount of momentum. 12 months later, the percentage started increasing. Yes it's declining, but it will go back up. Look at Reagan's numbers from 1981. He had a hiccup too.

deejay| 8.14.10 @ 12:31AM

Jacob, part of what you say may be true but if you will step back and look at the larger picture you will find too many incidents and points of legislation lead to some very bad judgement calls and ultimately destined to failure.

wodiej| 8.12.10 @ 4:20PM

I don't have any liberal friends-problem solved. I can't waste energy on such ignorance.

LocalRadio| 8.11.10 @ 6:51AM

Excellent article Peter. Great definition as you fully explain the mess this interloper has the US in. I suggest however, that he is not working in a vacuum, that powerful Trilateral forces who put him there, are now seeing him unable to deliver
globalsocialism to their door. I would sure encourage viewers to watch "Obama Deception" on YouTube. Perhaps the most comprehensive analysis of what a select handful of the worlds richest are well on their way to achieving. Obama is merely a puppet as a means to achieve their goals. Keep up the great work. Having served in the military for 25 years, I respect and appreciate your excellent treatise.

Lee| 8.11.10 @ 7:11AM

The jobless rate continues to slide because businesses aren't hiring. They aren't hiring because they are uncertain of what the future business/tax environment will look like. The "health care" tax will hit them hard, and proposals for cap and tax will further increase their energy costs. In this highly uncertain environment, the risk/reward analysis leans heavily toward the risk side, so the safe course of action is to not grow your business (hire) and hunker down for the coming tax storm.

A first-year business student understands this. But since no one in the Obama administration has business experience, this isn't understood. Of course, there's always the possibility that it IS understood and they don't care or it's exactly what they want, but that is not a pleasant thought. Such are the actions of tyrants.

Sandy Marando| 8.11.10 @ 9:40PM

I agree, they must be tyants since there is no other logical conclusion! Vote them out in Nov...all of the snakes!

Charity in Truth| 8.11.10 @ 8:00AM

The Republican Paul Ryan from Wisconsin has a Roadmap for America's Future which makes sense to me. What I see going on now in Washington D.C. makes no sense unless it is done for the purpose of collapsing our Nation. We need to make this correction at every election we can and keep the peaceful, persevering pressure on Washington even if they choose to ignore us. We the People need to wake up our sleeping neighbors. The House and the Senate are burning. We the People need to rescue her. With God's Grace, We the People shall overcome and preserve life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness - our Constitution and our Nation under God. All Glory to God!!!

SpiralArchitect| 8.11.10 @ 6:21PM

The demise of this nation is the intended conclusion for 'we the people' as administered by The Pretender In Cheif & Ass.

Maybe a few more Czars would help to bring our nation back on track!

wodiej| 8.12.10 @ 4:21PM

I AGREE-WELL SAID!!

Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 8.11.10 @ 8:14AM

The Obama Administration made a serious error by borrowing or printing more currency, thereby expanding the money supply. Ironically, in the face of massive credit infusions, we have no inflation, we have a form of stasis.

The last 4 years of the Bush administration was a classic domino effect of central economic planning. The government policy of housing for all, and disdain of proper credit procedures, lead to inflation in the housing market which was not based on sound economic principles.

In effect, the government created a mouse trap for the unwary and many mice heeded the call, creating millions of citizens holding assets (houses) that are worth less then loan values.

If Obama had simply let the situation run it's course, the economy would be in recovery now. Unfortunately, Obama borrowed a trillion and spent it on further foolishness trying to prop up a failed concept.

(If you do the same thing every day and expect different results, that's the definition of insanity: Einstein)

As a result of the government trying to inflate, central economic planning has assured that just the opposite is happening. For the past twelve months inflation has been 1.2%. In fact, during the last twelve months there have been months where inflation has gone negative, in effect deflation.

What's occurring now with tight credit is also a classic market response to failed central economic planning. By throwing massive resources at a failed market, housing, the Obama adminstration has ensured that unemployment will either continue to rise or stay permanently around double digits.

The invisible hand of government has handcuffed the invisible hand of the free market from acting freely by the misallocation of resources from efficient private sources which react to consumer forces, to government planners whose goal is to protect the administration and redistribute wealth. Inflation is also a way of redistributing wealth.

The Chevy Volt is a perfect example of failed economic policy. Products that the public really want need no tax credit. Think Apple IPhone.

In effect, by creating artificially propped up goods with central economic planning, the government sets up it's own failure. What occurs is a deficiency of investments elsewhere.

One of the harbingers of deflation which is the only real cure of government failed policies, is tight credit. Although the Obama administration has flooded the economy with fiat currency, not much has happened. Foreclosures are still high and car sales are still down and the economy appears to be headed for another recession.

In essence, the government should do less, not more. The ideologues inside the beltway see their policy desires elucidated by the likes of Keynesian economists like Paul Krugman who maintains that spend baby, spend will solve our problems.

The government has currently spent over 1.4 trillion dollars and continues to bail out one failed sector after another. The 26 billion bail out just passed to protect public service sector workers is just another example of failed central economic planning.

Until Washington looks in the mirror and realizes that deficit spending and central economic planning don't work continue to expect massive unemployment, more foreclosures and a fearful public.

Ludwig Von Mises stated it best, "Easy credit always ends badly."

Louis Jenkins| 8.11.10 @ 8:15AM

Obama blames G. Bush. Afterall, George Bush was his predessor. However, Obama doesn't have much else to work to with. His administration is a bunch of mealy mouthed individuals who couldn't pour piss out of a boot with instructions on the heel. Let's be honest, Mr. Ferrara, this is old news presented in a different fashion. Until the administration changes we will have more of the same. November can't get here fast enough.

ds80| 8.11.10 @ 9:15AM

"Mr. Ferrara, this is old news presented in a different fashion"

Kudos, and keep pounding away, Mr. Ferrara, so the thick-skulled out there might eventually grasp what is obvious.

George True| 8.11.10 @ 9:44AM

Indeed! My father used to tell me that the sign of a good teacher was the ability to take the obvious and make it painfully so.

Grzmlyk| 8.11.10 @ 11:02AM

26 million unemployed? That only means two things: 1) George Bush is evil; and 2) Barack Obama is saving our economy.

Do you have any idea how many would be unemployed had The Savior not been anointed? Over 100 million. It's a fact; you can ask Robert Gibbs.

Conservatives always look on the dark side; turn that frown upside down! Liberal history shows us that yes, 6 million Jews died under Hitler. But do you know how many would have died had he not engaged in institutional genocide? 13 million! It's a fact; you can ask Robert Gibbs.

Sure, Stalin killed around 40 million Russians. But do you know how many Russians would have died had that great man not burst onto the scene like an angel from heaven? 200 million. It's a fact; you can ask Robert Gibbs.

Yes, the 1962 NY Mets lost 120 games. But do you know how many games they would have lost had they not sucked? That's right. All of them. It's a fact; you can ask Robert Gibbs.

I love Barack, and anyone who doesn't is a greedy racist homophobe who doesn't care about anything but lynching people of color and stealing money.

Margie| 8.11.10 @ 2:01PM

I love him, too. Everybody sing~

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....re=related

FeralCat| 8.12.10 @ 3:32AM

Brilliant.

WODIEJ| 8.12.10 @ 4:23PM

omg...LMAO

PaulD| 8.11.10 @ 8:18AM

People who create charts should realize that many men are partially color-blind. That chart is unreadable to me because I can only see three different colors in it and don't know which line represents which year. Good article otherwise.

Deborah D| 8.11.10 @ 2:52PM

Just curious -- what should he have done to make it readable for you? Instead of colored lines - what? I think we'd all be interested. Thanks.

Ned| 8.11.10 @ 3:35PM

Easy... use combinations of dots and dashes as well as color to differentiate... harder to typeset, but nobody even does that anymore...

Jack Frost| 8.11.10 @ 8:27AM

Great article....Obama does not care about jobs or the ecomony or foreign policy. All he wants to do is be king and collect as much money from us as possible while he is in office.

Stephanie| 8.11.10 @ 8:34AM

So michelle can take her lavious vacations and walk around with her entourage with an icecream stuffed in her piehole while she tells us that "dessert is not a right" Perhaps, miss big hips, you need to lay off the desserts. The arrogance is astounding!

wodiej| 8.12.10 @ 4:24PM

omg...LOL...My Aunt says MO's hind end is deformed...it's not normal!

Ken Roberts| 8.15.10 @ 7:16AM

I can not look at Michelle without thinking of Aunt Ester on the Red Fox show.

Mattled| 8.11.10 @ 8:44AM

I've said since Dec 2008 when HillDoe took SecState he is not interested in running again in 2012.
Why on earth would she work for him? The biggest thing she was lacking in 2008 was Foreign Affairs (Bosnia Snipergate). He promised her he wouldn't run and step aside for another historic "first".
He will collect money ----I predict about 200 Mill and then announce he isn't running and will use the money to promote "higher good". If you ask for your money back, you are a racist.

Michelle Hate-Whitey doesn't care how her opulent lifestyle looks (as well as her opulent backside while promoting spinach and arugula). They are in it for one term---and what a term it will be!! Snoop Dog---Doggie style!!
This time next year he will be Lame Duck and golfing more than ever. Partying more than ever.

And those billions sent to Soros' Petrobas? He will reap the rewards as a shareholder courtesy of us. Madoff will look like a piper compared to Odingo.
My spouse won't allow our Odingo supporting friends to come visit for fear I might confront them ----with the truth.

TennesseeVolunteer| 8.11.10 @ 8:55AM

Stephanie, your comments about your small business touched my heart. I know exactly where you are.
My small business in construction materials is holding on by a thread. I believe in the American people and their ability to steady the ship. November is coming....HOLD ON!

Stephanie| 8.11.10 @ 11:34AM

Thank you for your kind words Tenn. Vol.
I am worried that even if the repubs. take the house, the senate or even the Wite House isn 2012, they don't have a plan. What are they going to do to get us out of the dire mess we're in? Do you live in TN? I'm from East TN, south of Knoxville, though Idon't live there now. I love the Smoky Mountains!

wodiej| 8.12.10 @ 4:26PM

Stephanie, we all need to pray for common sense conservatives to put our nation back on the right track. God will give them the blueprints.

Jim O'Brien| 8.11.10 @ 9:01AM

Obama and his Demo-Socialists, either through ignorance of malfeasance, are the enemy within. The key to economic growth and national security is to put more capital in the hands of private enterprise. To accomplish this reduce taxes, and reduce federal spending by about $2 trillion annually. Which means: Throw the bums out!

blackknights1802| 8.11.10 @ 9:10AM

Obama’s intention is to collapse the entire economic and financial system and start over again. This collapse will be such a calamity that he will dictate directly from the Oval Office. There will be no need for the Constitution any longer. What the hell do you think he meant when he said, “we are going to fundamentally change this country”? Educate yourself. Read his books; look at the people that he has surrounded himself with and look at his family. Who they were, what they believed in and how he was trained. We have a real problem on our hands.

Bilwick| 8.11.10 @ 9:12AM

Somewhere in Commie Hell, Obama's Uncle Frank mutters, "Attaboy, Barry--attaboy!"

Redstateboy| 8.11.10 @ 9:12AM

Isn't it sad that after this very in-depth, well articulated Essay... The Heaviest Mental lifting the Obamites will do to refute it will be to say: "it's Bush's fault."

Redstateboy| 8.11.10 @ 9:16AM

It you haven't read the Book or have seen the Movie... One must check out: "The Manchurian Candidate" Obama IS the Manchurian Candidate, He's the Assasin of the American Economy.

KyMouse| 8.11.10 @ 9:43PM

But make it the original version, with Angela Lansbury, Frank Sinatra and Lawrence Harvey. The remake was awful.

Rmm| 8.11.10 @ 9:37AM

If it were not that O was our President, he would long ago been tossed into the dumpster of human rubbish. Let us turn the corner on this regretable chapter in history.

MikeS| 8.11.10 @ 9:39AM

Not just Republicans, but even rank and file Democrats would not put up with it if they new what was going on in Congress. The Dem controlled Congress has increased spending by $1 TRILLION per year since they took control of Congress. Most Dems are unaware of this fact because it is not covered by the news media that they get.
They are not told that the last budget that Repubs controlled, 2007, had only $161 Billion deficit.

Many of the rank and file, have been led to believe that recent deficits of $1.4 Trillion yearly are due to the cost of the Iraq War, which is now only about $50 Billion per year.

Some have been led to believe the Bush Tax Cuts are responsible for $1.4 Trillion yearly deficits, but those tax cuts were in effect in 2007 when the deficit was only $161 Billion.

Redstateboy| 8.11.10 @ 9:53AM

Even the most virulent Obamites are beginning to role their eyes when they hear their Messiah keep repeating... "it's all George Bush's fault." Because they're realizing that that can only play only so long and fewer and fewer THINKING adults are buying it.

Sarbo| 8.11.10 @ 9:55AM

It is an economics mystery that this frenzied printing of money, coupled with near zero interest rates, has not ignited inflation, as the textbooks say. Either all this bloated money sloshing around the system has accompanied a massive increase in GDP ... that is, supply has kept pace with demand OR all that money has disappeared somewhere and is not chasing goods and services. The latter case, if true, will ignite deflation before long.

BackToBasics| 8.11.10 @ 9:15PM

I am not an expert but not all of it has not really been "printed" but rather is on paper so that the Federal Reserve can buy some of our own debt. This is what they announced yesterday and is why stocks dropped almost 3% today. It is inflationary as well as destructive as it will begin to monetize the debt with inflation as well as not really pay the debt off. The inflated dollars will largely wipe out savings and retirement plans values too.

My gut instinct is that I do not believe the talk about deflation. It seems to have come on the scene suddenly as if on cue.

Food and housing prices have come down some as have electronics and clothing and applicances have remained stagnant but energy and cars, education and taxes are all up and taxes are way up in my region.

I think the deflation talk is a precursor for "allowing" companies to lower wages. I think wages will be be set lower or at least remain stagnant and then the poor and what's left of the middle class will be hit with inflation at a lower base of pay than they are now. This will decrease the standard of living even further than it otherwise would have been. From everything I've seen, this seems to be part of the plan not only of Democrats but also Bush-like Republicans. Everthing Bush and crew did was an effort to lower wages especially through using the illegal immigration and increasing legal work-visa policies.

Deflation talk will just lower wages more and at a more rapid pace. As I said this is my gut instinct but I think the deflation talk is a setup for lower wages first then followed by strong and possibly hyperinflation in a few years.

davelnaf| 8.11.10 @ 9:58AM

Very good article. A recession already underway and an unpopular president who never kept his campaign promises motivated a lot of people to give Obama a shot. So, we got this hyper-liberal, hyper-partisan, Marxist-in-the-government-candy-store ingénue who is trying to remake the country to please the twenty percent of voters who are as reality challenged as he is and appease the foreign Marxist trash who believe the US is the source of all the world’s ills.

The Bamster’s enduring legacy will be as the single most destructive president in our nation’s history. But he will have a positive legacy of sorts: he will be remembered as the one person most responsible for the destruction of the Democratic Party. Personally, I’m unable to grieve over its demise, although I once considered myself a conservative Democrat. My afflation with that party ended halfway through Carter’s presidency and I have never looked back. After Obama a lot of people will also not be looking back.

George True| 8.11.10 @ 10:04AM

Mike, good points. I am convinced that the majority of Democrats in the house and senate are economic illiterates. They are mostly party hacks who, like Obama, have never earned a living at a real job in the real world, and thus do not have a clue how prosperity and net worth are generated for the average American.

And the Democrat media complex is even worse. These so-called "journalists" have never earned a living in an occupation that requires real production in order to stay employed, and furthermore they would not recognize real journalism if it bit them in the a**.

The Democrats' mantra that the Bush tax cuts was a tax cut for "the rich" was always an outrageous and contemptible lie. And it is a stark reminder of the failure of the Republican party to fight the war of ideas and the war of words that they have allowed the Dems to get away with that lie all these years. Even today, I still have not heard one Republican calmly explain that "the rich" got a tiny tax cut (percentage-wise) compared to the middle class, and that those in the lower income brackets had their tax forgiven altogether. It would be so easy to refute the obvious lie, and yet they are too timid to do it.

It would also be easy to refute the obvious lie that tax cuts reduce federal revenues when in fact the opposite is true. And yet the Republicans won't do that either. I have been a lifelong registered Republican, but I am so disgusted with the Republican party that this year I will not be voting for "Republicans". I will vote only for conservatives.

scotchieguy| 8.11.10 @ 11:52AM

Good luck w/ that. What if there are no conservatives running in your district? You'll do what the rest of us conservatives do every election--hold our noses, and vote for the lesser of two evils.

George True| 8.11.10 @ 6:04PM

Scotch Guy: Let me qualify what I said. I have supported truly conservative Republicans in the primaries in my state and other states. But regardless of who wins the primary, I will of course vote for the Republican in November, as opposed to voting for an independent or a Democrat. To do anything else would be voting for the current socialist status quo.

There are relatively rare exceptions to that rule, such as the DIABLO Dede Scozzafava masquerading as a Republican in upstate New York. In that case, Doug Hoffman was obviously the real Republican and an excellent conservative candidate, even though he was running as an Independent.

Fortunately, here in Arizona there are real conservatives running in almost all the races. But were that not the case, I would do just as you suggest and vote for the Republican.

ursa5000| 8.11.10 @ 10:07AM

Excellent article! Worse than the economic news is the role of the Obama/ Soros MSM in not telling the truth of how seriously screwed financialy we have become. And yesterday the Fed began to monitize the debt.....a steep slipper;y slope that leads to Wiemar Republic-like hyper inflation.

George| 8.11.10 @ 10:07AM

What should one expect out of a young inexperienced.... He is product of a inbred educational system. Pre-k, K, elementary, middle High, college, masters.... and those that taught him. THE SAME! and those whose books he read.. THE SAME! We need people in goverment that actually know something. Not more lawyers or worse yet more Obomba"s!

Clinton nee Publius| 8.11.10 @ 10:33AM

The author points out the fundamental ECONOMIC facts but fails to understand the political IMPERATIVE of the modern progressive movement. The issue at hand is to be able to steal as much wealth as possible out of the private-sector economy without people realizing the nature of the game until it is too late. Barack Obama has been the most successful progressive president the ruling class has ever had, while he has been utterly disastrous for everyone else. The disastrous consequences are not important; what is important is the transfer of wealth from the private-sector individuals and businesses that created it to those in the ruling class who would seek to control it.

The issues here are of timing and outcome. The timing is such that the $2 trillion mentioned in the article become subject to a new tax or seizure of private-sector assets. This will be done (supposedly) for the common good, but the real reason is much more complex. The ruling class realizes they will never get an opportunity again of such scale and scope to takeover the government and economy on a command basis and the goal is to control as much economic resources as possible and force the issue. The complete failure of the economy will give them the opportunity to declare capitalism a failure and democracy a denial of "human rights" an entitlement that can no longer be denied. The history of mankind tells us that these takeovers work because the liberals in these governments use the color of authority (just as they are now) to gain control of everyone else's assets. When the government fails the liberals have the assets and wealth to pay to sustain their takeover of the government and that is what they seek - the so-called benign dictatorship where they will decide who lives, who dies, who has prosperity and who is their vassal. This is the key in understanding the progressive mind as this is always the ultimate end that is justified by any means - including those used by Obama that appear to defy logical explanation. The logic only appears when one understands what the true ends are for progressives. In this regard, Obama's peak hasn't even been sighted yet. He has not begun to even climb the mountain. This is all been setting the stage and the only question is whether or not we wait and watch this roll out and destroy us or not.

Choose.

BackToBasics| 8.12.10 @ 2:01AM

Agreed! And with this minset you speak of comes a total lack of concern for the good of the individual and the Republic or what's left of it. I think 98-99% of the conservatives I read and hear still scratch their heads and think Obam is misguided in his economic and social policies and will bend somewhat to the pressure the worsening economy will put on him. But I don't think he cares in the least and would just love it if the whole economy collapsed. I think he'd like to see bloodshed in the streets so that he can take control. Most conservative commentators and writers still don't see this in my opinion. Savage has seen it for years and even Limbaugh is coming around and saying this to a large degree but the rest that I have heard and read are too easy on him and give him the benefit of the doubt in this regard.

Pete| 8.11.10 @ 11:36AM

'Tis grand to know that the president, his family (especially Michelle) and the wealth-generating public sector are setting an unprecedented example by making the same sacrifices as the rest of us during this Republican-caused economic downturn.

bill carson| 8.11.10 @ 11:55AM

Don't blame Obama. It was clear in the summer of 2008 what this guy wanted. Blame the American people for handling virtually dictatorial power to Obama and the Dems. Now, it's time to pay for that error.

bill carson| 8.11.10 @ 12:01PM

One more comment. I wish so blacks didn't feel that they have to feel so defensive about Obama and support him no matter how strongly he desires to run us all off the cliff. Blacks should realize that Obama is just another lousy socialist leaning politician that the public loved but now has concerns about. He does not represent black culture, black intelligence or black anything.

Curtis Rasmussen| 8.11.10 @ 3:47PM

Obama and his administration use class in many guises, including racism, to divide and conquer.

Turn the wealthy against the middle class and poor by demonizing success.

Desperately enhance reelection by attempting to keep the illegal alien floodgates open against the will of America and working to allow convicted felons to vote.

Starting in 2011, steal monies from all capable Americans, rich and poor, thru the most massive tax increase in American history. Use the funds to increase dependence on the Federal dole and prevent as many people as possible from becoming financially independent.

Place a value on citizen's lives thru Obamacare. If you work hard and pay your taxes like the little corvee that you will become, then maybe the magnanimous Obama will let you live. Work hard, slave.

If Obama returns to office,

And a taxes fill the sky,

And the unholy trinity arises,

Then you and I must die,

From the Eternal Sea he rises,

Creating corvees on either shore,

Turning man against his brother,

Until wealth exists no more.

Gill O’Teen ✝✡$| 8.11.10 @ 12:19PM

Many excellent comments here. But by far the scariest was posted by ursa5000 @ 10:07AM. The reference is to an article found on Drudge recently which linked to the Bloomberg article: “Fed Looks to Spur Growth by Buying Government Debt” By Scott Lanman Aug 10, 2010 1:14 PM CT. This article actually is reporting old news, as the Fed has buying OUR debt with OUR money for about a year now. A black financial sector expert who admits he drank obummer kool-aid in 2008, documented this fact on the Glenn Beck show awhile ago. Anybody who wonders about how smart this policy is, just imagine what would happen to your own fiscal situation if you paid your Mastercard bill by charging that balance to your Visa Card.

And to those who accuse the Fed of printing money, the bad news is that you are sadly behind the times. A ‘benefit’ of the computer age is the so-called ‘cashless’ society. Think about it. It’s so simple to use a credit or debit card at the mall. Then when that bill comes in the mail, it can be paid by simply asking the bank to send the card issuer an electronic fund transfer. This process can be used for almost all our transactions today, making the need for actual currency to be quite small. On top of that, many folks are paid in a similar manner, so it’s seldom necessary to even bother with going to the bank. All the gum’mint presses have to print is a sufficient amount of real money to meet a greatly reduced demand. However, the deluge of gum’mint debt does require that there be a sufficient amount of funds to pay for it. helicopter beanie simply creates it out of the ether by the push of the [enter] button on his PC. For example, if you know a Federal Employee who receives a biweekly paycheck, in all probability that check is deposited into that worker’s bank account electronically with the full faith and credit of the United States backing it. Nothing has actually been printed but magically an amount equal to one-twenty-sixth of that public servant’s net pay is now present in his bank account. This is the same technique that economist demonstrated on Beck.

Our only hope, I fear, is to toss a sufficient number of the obummerites onto the trash heap of history this November that we can impeach the won and his vee pee replacing them with a fiscally conservative speaker of the house-of-ill-repute. Then kon-grrs must immediately repeal every piece of legislation passed since January 2007.

I am not optimistic this will happen.

I don't think bill's hillie will run in 2012. Recall that much of what pushed peanut vendor carter into office was disgust with 'I'm not a crook' Nixon. I see much the same thing as a real possibility. By the time obummer seek's a second term, so many will be thoroughly disgusted with the dumb-ocrats that even if by some accident those lemmings nominate a decent candidate, he won't stand a chance. This could be bad if the respubly-kons nominate another McCOIN (conservative only in name) as voter approval will once again be misunderstood by the inside the beltway crowd, and never forget what part of the human body is within its corresponding beltway.

Gill O’Teen ✝✡$
Don’t Tread on Me.
gill.Oteen07041776@gmail.com
“Issues are never simple. One thing I'm proud of is that very rarely will you hear me simplify the issues.” - the incompetent won
Only 893 days to go

Gill O’Teen ✝✡$| 8.11.10 @ 7:52PM

I am tired of referring to the above mentioned financial expert as a “black financial sector expert” who appeared on Glenn Beck, so I tried google. I guessed his name on the first try. Wish I could do that at the track. He is Charles Payne a Fox Business Network contributor. He joined the network at its launch in October 2007. Payne whose Wikipedia article states is “the chief executive officer and principal analyst of Wall Street Strategies, an independent stock market research firm he founded in 1991. Payne began his career on Wall Street as an analyst at E.F. Hutton in 1985. He attended Minot State University and Central Texas College during his time in the United States Air Force.”

That’s the man! But hurry, that free encyclopedia is threatening to remove the article unless it complies with their verification standards.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Payne_(journalist)

Gill O’Teen ✝✡$
Don’t Tread on Me.
gill.Oteen07041776@gmail.com
“If you want to see what God thinks of money, just look at all the people He gave it to.” — Dorothy Parker
Only 893 days to go.

Irrefutably Ineligible| 8.11.10 @ 1:21PM

In the Supreme Court Case--Tuan Anh Nguyen v. INS--Justice Ginsberg made the following statements ... affirming that the world recognizes "birthrights" of the Father (not the mother), and bloodline rather than birth place as the foundation for inherited citizenship by birthright.
Obama has claimed that his birth status was governed by the British Nationality Act of 1948 which reads: Subject to the provisions of this section, a person born after the commencement of this Act shall be a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies by descent if his father is a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies at the time of the birth.

Oldefarte| 8.11.10 @ 1:26PM

Great editorial, Peter! We will be SPANKED INTO BANKRUPTCY if we don't WAKE UP AND REALIZE THE SEVERITY OF THIS SITUATION. This once in a lifetime experiment with extremely radical liberalism MUST BE ENDED IN NOVEMBER. The economic/financial solution [initially, due to our dire present situation] is to substantially CUT GOVERNMENTAL SPENDING which should accompolish the similar result as would tax reductions. Since the deficit/debt situation is so severe, governmental receipts should temporarily be maintained at their present levels, and spending reduction woul free up the financial capital needed by private industry to expand. It all will eventually hinge upon the consumer/business community understanding that the present administration and congress will be eventually defeated/negated so that fear of future governmental policies will not twart economic progression!!!!

FeralCat| 8.11.10 @ 1:33PM

He's a real Control Freak Man
Ruling in what he wants to be a vassal land
Making all his controlling plans
For everybody

Doesn't listen to an opposing point of view
Control Freak man, ruling all he thinks is his purview
Control Freak Man, he had better listen
He don't know with what he's messin'
Knows already just what he wants to do
Doesn't he seem more and more like Hitler and Mussolini to you?

He's a real Control Freak Man
Ruling in what he wants to be a vassal held land
Making all his controlling plans
For everybody

He's as blinded by his lust for power as he can be
Just sees what he wants to see
He's got such a God complex point of call
Control Freak Man can you even see America at all?
Knows already just what he wants to do
Doesn't he seem more and more like Hitler and Mussolini to you?

He's a real Control Freak Man
Ruling in what he wants to be a vassal land
Making all his controlling plans
For everybody

About Control Freak Man we should all worry
To destroy all America built he is in a hurry
If he controls everything his fascist way
It will be a forlorn day
Hes going to leave it all a mess
Anyone of sound mind must confess

He's a real Control Freak Man
Ruling in what he wants to be a vassal land
Making all his controlling plans
For everybody

Gill O’Teen ✝✡$| 8.11.10 @ 6:36PM

My ancient stroke-addled brain took a moment to recall the fount of your inspiration. That Liverpool Quartet also performed a tune written by their lead sitar player which can be enjoyed in the original without any update to the age of obummer (well maybe the references to Harold Wilson and Edward Heath).
Gill O’Teen ✝✡$
Don’t Tread on Me.
gill.Oteen07041776@gmail.com
“Let me tell you how it will be;
“There's one for you, nineteen for me.
“'Cause I’m the taxman,
“Yeah, I’m the taxman.” - George Harrison (Revolver 1966)
Only 893 days to go.

Mojo Risin| 8.11.10 @ 1:45PM

There needs to be an "Economic Constitution," that sets barriers not to be exceeded. A document that protects the population from out-of-control politicians (economic illiterates), who through luck, or conspiracies propagated by a corrupt media, are elected and are flat-out not qualified for the job. A media unaware of the damage they're allowing to happen, greasing the skids for Obama to work his counterproductive magic and astonishingly still defend his incompetence.

Why not create a legal barrier to ensure that the mistakes of the past are not repeated? Example: Making sure people who can't afford a home, unable to make their payments, is not allowed to happen again, it's straight-up nuts! How many times does America have to make the same mistakes, with the same results before it's a rule, not to be broken???

DatsunMark| 8.11.10 @ 3:02PM

The Republicans have had two years to get their act together...yet there is no cohesive postive message just 84 days to election. Sure, there has been some amazing victories of Scott Brown but this is from the grass roots tea party movement. Then we've blown it with Mitch McConnell cutting deals to allow a vote when he lost his opportunity to fight tooth and nail on Obamacare. Having something to vote against is great, but it takes courage to stand up and live up to a higher ideal. (Plus the Fed is in bed with the Dems on this one which will continue to fund their drunken party in exchange for the bailouts.)

Zeke| 8.11.10 @ 3:22PM

As a huge fan of capitalism and Ayn Rand I have to say what I have experienced in the past four years really makes me question your stance. I have seen company after company that I have worked for really take advantage of hiring practices while out in the field working. I once asked a manager at a brokerage house where I previously worked his definition of capitalism give me in a paraphrase of “taking advantage of someone for profit…” answer. Extremely poor answer for someone with over ten years experience. He is not alone in this belief.

Hiring recruiters have been very rude to me when seeking employment. I told a recruiter I wouldn’t be available to work for a potential assignment because I was traveling out of state because of my mother’s health. She was (with a generous portion of sarcasm) very understanding. I may never do business with them again. This same company whose initials are RHT wouldn’t help me recoup traveling expenses as a result of a misunderstanding in the filing deadline with the company I worked for. They were filed two months after I left the company. They then told me I had what is to the best of my research undocumented proof of I only had thirty days for receiving compensation. Very nice-thank you very much RHT.

Companies are extremely intolerant places to work now. Any slip up with social etiquette is not tolerated. I man I once worked with found out I was reading Plato and other classics and repeatedly made fun of me. So much for the love of born-again Christians eh Kevin?

I fear that these big companies and wealthy big fat cats really don’t understand the less fortunate. As an IT person I can tell you my field has been outsourced by many big companies. Many really talented people in my field of software development are left out of work because congressmen sold us out for profits. What guarantee do people like me have in helping change occur in Congress if they will turn around and sell us out? I have several college degrees and professional certificates in the aforementioned field and yet today you are lucky if you get a call or email for an interview.

Frankly I think businesses in America deserved to be shaken down. I am tired of working so hard for less each day.

Sincerely,
Zeke

Curtis Rasmussen| 8.11.10 @ 4:34PM

Shaken down by whom? The government is indiscriminate, creating problems for good and bad businesses alike.

Perhaps you need to look inward to solve your problems and stop complaining like a good little socialist agitator.

George True| 8.11.10 @ 6:36PM

Zeke: Perhaps you got a raw deal and/or have had more than your share of bad luck. But so have a lot of us. While you may thirst for justice, the shaking down of corporations and small businesses will only make things far worse for most people's prospects, including yours.

Ultimately, we are all free agents in life and in our work. We are all free to make the best deal we can. Life is hard. Nobody owes anybody a job or a living. I have been laid off, riffed, downsized, and even forced out of more jobs than I care to think about. There really is no choice but to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and try to figure out where and how you can offer enough value to someone that they will hire you and keep you.

If you were used to making $35/hour and your employer has now off-shored that job to someone in China who will do it for $10/hour, then unfortunately that is what that job is worth now. Companies are off-shoring jobs willy-nilly because it is sometimes the only way to minimize the depredations of government in an increasingly cutthroat marketplace.

I eventually created my own job and went to work for myself. Twenty years later it is still touch and go sometimes, and I still keep a 2nd weekend job to supplement the income. My business is down this year, because all of my clients are small businesses, and many of them are in dire straits, largely because of the government depredations you referred to earlier. So the shakedowns help nobody. Let us all work to throw off their socialist yoke this November.

Zeke| 8.11.10 @ 6:13PM

Curt,
Wow Curt, what thoughtful insight. Certainly got me on that one...
Zeke

zeke| 8.11.10 @ 6:24PM

Curt,
In fact Eddie Murphy's character Kurt Rhamsy in the movie Bowfinger really says it all in the line:
"...As I stand before you here today, the Laker girls cheerleading squad needs to be taken down a peg or two..."

enjoy buddy...

bluecollarbytes| 8.11.10 @ 10:05PM

P. Ferrara-"The power is in the American people to save our country this fall. But that requires a zero tolerance policy for Democrats who insist that they are not like the others,..."

Democrat candidates should be considered Obama's rubber stamps, unless proven otherwise And unless proven Before Obamagenda was pushed through Congress. Democrats will have limited success in fooling voters one more time, at least this time around.

Marc Jeric| 8.11.10 @ 11:09PM

Ladies and gentlemen - rather dear comrades - it is too late to stop Abu Hussein al-Mombassa, or wherever in Kenya that marxist Muslim was born: we are getting communized with unseemly haste. In 2012 we will become the United Soviet Socialist States of America; ACORN, SEIU, AFL-CIO, NEA, ASCME - all these goons are organized to perform voter fraud in November. The economic crisis will continue as designed, so that Obama will declare himself Dictator for life - just like Castro, Chavez, Kim Il Sung, that Bolivian dictator, Sula, ...His White House komissars are in full power to issue the regulations without Congress. We are too late.

Long Ben| 8.12.10 @ 12:39AM

As Carter came again in Obama let Reagan come again and subsequent thereto let not the people be fooled again .

Yosemeti Sam| 8.12.10 @ 1:03AM

" ... The power is in the American people to save our country this fall ...."

And on that PEOPLES POWER PATH should be
due microscopic FOCUS within each state where
ACORN has had documented illegality histories
and where they now may use also employ aliases.

Together with shovel ready projects to unearth
,as well, dubious Secretaries of States who would
politically tendentiously provide cover for such habitually legally-challenged practitioners of voter fraud!

A.C.D| 8.12.10 @ 3:50AM

Do you all honestly think that you can compare the recession now to the ones 10, 20, or 30 years ago?
The American economy is based on two things. Finance and construction. You have no diversification in your economy. Which is why no amount of deregulation or tax cuts (also the same as stimulous) is going to help. All you have to do is look at the trade deficit and realize that there is something very wrong.
As a dutchman, I know a thing or two about non-diverse economies (the problem is even named after us) and we went through a diversification scheme and we are now one of the worlds strongest economies. The fact is you let all the industry, manufactoring and jobs leave the country and now there is nothing left to do. Which is why you can see economic growth (as what happened) but no jobs, because the banks and financial sectors are investing in the BRIC countries because that is where the returns are. In fact, if you continue deregulating all you will see is more capital flight, and less investment in the American economy.
Obama is trying to diversify the economy, and yes that also means trying to introduce green energy and all that other stuff. This is not difficult to understand and the fact that people scare away from it is because they have this false belief that if you just pull a few economic levers (like lower taxes and deregulate) that suddenly everything is going to be peachy keen.
What you need to do is build up local industry and START EXPORTING! What does EVERY strong economy have in common? THEY EXPORT! AMERICA ONLY IMPORTS!

zeke| 8.12.10 @ 11:32AM

response:George True
You are correct and no one understands that better then myself. I still believe capitalism offers the best options for man and will "pick myself up" and move on. I have many times. Living in AZ for many years and then having to relocate to the Chi - Il area for personal reasons regarding a sick family member has really opened my eyes to what freedoms we enjoy in a state like AZ.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Jacques_Rousseau

Rousseau left this world a the "Social Contract" which Id be interested in other reader's thoughts on how much the current admin follows this school of thought...

thanks,

Zeke

David | 8.12.10 @ 1:39PM

ACD, haven't you heard, businesses and banks are holding on to about 2 trillion dollars that could be circulating through the economy. They are not investing in new or expanding existing businesses because of the economic climate that this admin and its bureaucrats have created. No one knows what to expect so they are holding on to the excesses they have.

Here's a simple illustration to make the point that I read from an actual small business owner. He and his family own a restaurant in a small strip mall. They employ about 42 people. Every day all day their place has waiting lines. The business next door to them vacated and they wanted to take over the place to expand their business. More sales = more employees hired. To staff the additional space they would have had to hire more cooks, busboys, waiters/waitresses, maybe more hostesses and dishwashers, purchase more tables, chairs and other equipment from other businesses. The owners determined they would need to increase their staff by 10 or more people, which would bring their employees to the low 50's in number.

Then Obamacare passed. With all of the new regulations and laws contained in it that will affect businesses with 50 or more employees the owners decided it wasn't worth the money or the effort to expand their business.

So, no new jobs for anyone, no additional equipment and furniture purchased from other businesses, no additional purchases of food and drink from vendors, no additional repairs needed to equipment, etc.

A.C.D| 8.16.10 @ 4:52AM

That is a little cut and dry and furthermore there are ways around that kind of thing. If the business wanted to expand, they could have made a small "brasserie" next door, filed it as a seperate business and kept the figure under 50. Plus it isn't health care that kept the business from growing. There are other ways they could have expanded without having to bring in 10 extra people.
And finally, the biggest point of it all, it would be wreckless and irresponsible to cancel healthcare for 50 million people so a small restaurant owner would be able to expand the business by 10 people.
The point is that regardless of regulation, there is always going to be someone getting burned one way or another, and what needs to be taken into consideration is "will this improve or benefit the greatest number of people?"
And about the 2 trillion, it is banks that dont want to lend because people dont have the necessary money to put up as collateral. And no amount of deregulation is going to fix that, in fact it wouldnt make banks feel any more comfortable in giving a loan with only 10% collateral (as it used to be).
The problem still is that banks with those 2 trillion still dont see the US as a good place to invest, and that has nothing to do with Obama or beaurcracy, it has to do with returns, which are better made in developing countries. I made the rounds at the financial gatherings (I work in energy and commodity trading) and I will tell you, America is NOT worth investing in. You dont produce anything that anyone wants. Its all about China, Brazil and Vietnam these days.

wodiej| 8.12.10 @ 4:30PM

I don't know how in the world the LSM (lame stream media), liberals or anyone else can possibly excuse the inept, incompetent job Obama and the Democrats are doing. The numbers DON'T LIE.

"Nero fiddles while Rome burns" or in this case, the Obama's spend lavishly while the rest of the country is treading water. It's inexcusable and unconscionable that they are not being called out by EVERYONE on their dismally failed performance.

Tom in Michigan| 8.12.10 @ 5:11PM

I want Obama and his cadre to dig in their heels and go forward with each and every one of their policies and programs. Two years hence will he still blame Bush?

I want Charlie Rangel and Maxine Waters to dig in their heels, Blago-style as well. Let them fight for their integrity and reputations. Let the truth about their corruption or lack thereof be exposed.

The only way this country is coming back is to hit absolute rock bottom and like an alcoholic who finds himself at that low state, throw off the left once and for all. Otherwise, the Republicans will just be more "Democrat lite" (we CARE TOO!) and we'll continue to decline; rapidly under Democrats, slowly but inexorably under Republicans.

JReynik| 8.13.10 @ 6:51AM

Well said and all good points. However, what I find interesting in discussions like these is that the obvious is often overlooked. By that I mean ask yourself one simple question - Who stands to gain by the current economic crisis?

It might surprise you but the obvious answer is the owners of the Federal Reserve Bank (aka the Fed) stand to gain the most from our suffering just as they have with each loan the US government took from them to 'stimulate' the economy. And until or unless the American people understand what the Fed really is, and the role it has played in creating every economic crisis this country has experienced since its inception in 1913, we will continue play right into their hands diverting our energies toward debating interesting yet unrelated issues that have absolutely no effect on our economy because our government does not control US monetary policy and by extension economic policy. The Fed does.

And for the uniformed or non-believers out there please take note that the Fed is indeed a private bank that is accountable only to itself. It can ease monetary policy and pour money into the economy any time it feels like it. I can also tighten monetary policy and take money out of the economy any time it chooses, and the 3 branches of our government cannot do anything about it. Nice gig if you can get it. Nicer still for them if we let them continue to dictate monetary and economic policy to us.

I would encourage everyone to give this some thought because we have to pay back the loans our government took on our behalf without our consent and with interest that accumulates at an astounding rate every second of every day. We have not reached the abyss but we are pretty close.

Jack Kinch(1uncle)| 8.13.10 @ 2:07PM

'we have to pay back the loans our government took on our behalf without our consent'
Our great grandchildren will have to pay back the loans the demos took out on behalf of other demos. w/o our consent. Wouldn't a dead man as president be much better than the traitor you elected. If he couldn't do anything, he couldn't do the damage being done. Would Joe 'Hairball brain' Biden be this bad? No suggestions here.

kwill4u| 8.15.10 @ 2:12PM

This is a great article peter,very descriptive and precise to the point.I look forward to more insight from you as the election nears and hopefully the democrats lose the majority.I have never seen this country in such dire straits in my lifetime. I grew up in the 60,s and never saw this country tilt so far left as now.I think obama is happy with being a 1 term president like he said,because soros and the limo left as u put it will find someone elses strings to pull in the future.

Jim Buzzell| 8.15.10 @ 3:47PM

Thomas Paine understood that our constitution was written to make sure the powers given therein came from We the People to the government, and not from the government to We the People.

It is unfortunate that over the last 100 years We the People have allowed our elected politicians, of both parties, to subvert, and usurp, our constitutional laws to suit their philosophical desires to keep getting elected. Their use of entitlement programs was nothing more than enslaving us with the easy life, the food on the table, and other entitlement programs which would have us beholding to these politicians for our very existence. This has been nothing more than replacing the plantation slave owners, and masters, with the federal government thereby re-enslaving the masses. This enslavement is funded by We the People’s money, without our approval. We all let them do this to our nation; now we need to fix this starting in November 2010.

Stephen| 8.15.10 @ 11:54PM

Omega, you asked when we were "once a great nation." How about the 1940s when we won the Second World War and maybe the 1950s when we still had 50% of the world's manufacturing. In other words, before we descended into the moral debauchery of your generation.

Michele San Pietro| 8.23.10 @ 5:53PM

Obama's policies are simply senseless.

tinggou| 12.19.10 @ 7:36AM

That's not important. The really important thing is the fishermen were in his presence and so much the more better off for the experience.LED Lighting Gosh, I sure wish he'd come to my house; I could use a little hope and change right about now. My spiritual antennae just aren't picking up the progressive waves like they should. Then, again, I see that his old college room is up for grabs...might be some residual karma there. I'd better fill up and hit the Led Display road.

geiniqian| 1.13.11 @ 10:03AM

If nothing else this campaign has Exposed the racism of Blacks and the total Blinding, Unbelievable Hypocrisy,LED Display the like of any Balance or Morals that the Liberals, Democrats, and Media have! They have been exposed as Lying, Deceitful, Bigoted Hypocrites, Unable or Unwilling LED Tube to face or to tell the truth!