Big shocker the "One" wants to raise the debt limit again

One at a time PJ, one at a time......Obama did submit a budget, but shockingly, it did not make it through the Senate. Now, remind me PJ, which party is it that controls the Senate? Oh, that's right, it's the Democrats! So Obama's party wouldn't even approve Obama's budget......and there it lies.

Haven't read your latest post yet, but I'll get to it.

PJ,

I live to answer your questions! Although I'm afraid that you may not like the answers because YOUR GUY won't fare very well.

One of the many problems you have, is that you are advocating for a side in all of this. I am not constrained by such ties. Yes, the Bush administration went into Iraq. And YES that would necessarily entail spending. But didn't Obama promise an almost immediate end to the wars? Then commit to the surge (in Afghanistan) first proposed by W? And then with an election on the horizon, he did exit Iraq. Hard to blame W for what happened on Obama's watch. He could have ended things a lot sooner than he did. PJ, HE CHOSE NOT TO! When he makes that choice, the problem becomes HIS. It will take a while before we know if that was the right decision or not. So with some reservations, Obama helped financially here.....but don't get too excited.

Second question I need your help......you say Obama opposed the 'Bush Tax Cuts', didn't he sign off on them? And AGAIN, I have to ask you What Budget?

PJ, you think that everyone who opposes Obama is a Republican. I regret to inform you that that is simply not the case. I am looking high and low for the most conservative candidate I can find to OPPOSE Obama......haven't found him or her yet. But I'm pretty certain that when I do find him or her, that they will not happen to be of the democrat persuasion.

Bush was a big spender, and a disappointment to ALL of us. But as a spender, he cannot hold a candle to Obama and YOUR guy wants more. How deep in the hole do you want your grandkids to be? One more year, one more year, one more year.

Guess it's my turn to look for Hope and Change.

Don't see a lot of dodge in this one, YMMV.

Fair enough, Fritz. I'll give you credit for answering the questions which is more than I can say for most conservatives here. Rather than rip your answers apart I'll let people decide for themselves the content of them. Its good to see you posting again.

One note, though. The president's budget has no Constitutional power of any kind whatsoever. It is done strictly as a courtesy to Congress to let them no where he stands on policy. All budgets by law start in the House and go from there so keep that in mind when you dish out accountability for the them not passing.

SPIN ALERT! Reagan was not president in 1979. Here were the unemployment rates during the Reagan Presidency:

Year % Unemployed

1980 7.0
1981 7.5
1982 9.5
1983 9.5
1984 7.4
1985 7.1
1986 6.9
1987 6.1
1988 5.4
1989 5.2



LinkyToTheTruthLinkyToTheTruth

However - more importantly was the inflation rate under Regean, Carter, and Obama. Remember that Inflation Rate + Unemployment Rate = Misery index adding Misery to every American:



President Time Period Average Low High Start End Change

Harry Truman 1948–1952 7.88 3.45 – Dec 1952 13.63 – Jan 1948 13.63 3.45 -10.18
Dwight D. Eisenhower 1953–1960 6.26 2.97 – Jul 1953 10.98 – Apr 1958 3.28 7.96 +4.68
John F. Kennedy 1961–1962 7.14 6.40 – Jul 1962 8.38 – Jul 1961 8.31 6.82 -1.49
Lyndon B. Johnson 1963–1968 6.77 5.70 – Nov 1965 8.19 – Jul 1968 7.02 8.12 +1.10
Richard Nixon 1969–1973 10.57 7.80 – Jan 1969 17.01 – Jul 1974 7.80 17.01 +9.21
Gerald Ford 1974–1976 16.00 12.66 – Dec 1976 19.90 – Jan 1975 16.36 12.66 -3.70
Jimmy Carter 1977–1980 16.26 12.60 – Apr 1978 21.98 – Jun 1980 12.72 19.72 +7.00
Ronald Reagan 1981–1988 12.19 7.70 – Dec 1986 19.33 – Jan 1981 19.33 9.72 -9.61
George H. W. Bush 1989–1992 10.68 9.64 – Sep 1989 12.47 – Nov 1990 10.07 10.30 +0.23
Bill Clinton 1993–2000 7.80 5.74 – Apr 1998 10.56 – Jan 1993 10.56 7.29 -3.27
George W. Bush 2001–2008 8.11 5.71 – Oct 2006 11.47 – Aug 2008 7.93 7.49 -0.44
Barack Obama 2009–Present Incomplete data Data updated through October 2011 10.72 7.30 – July 009
index offset by negative inflation (-2.10) 12.97 – September 2011 7.73 12.53 +4.70


LinkyToTruth#2


So under Obama, the misery index has risen 4.70% in just under two years. He is on pace to surpass the stellar record of Jimmy Carter who caused the index to rise 7% in four years. Compare this to Reagan who lowered the index 9.61% in 8 Years.

Do you like the direction we are headed?

Your figures agree with my statement. Unemployment was much much higher three years after Reagan took office than it was under his predecessor. You folks kill Obama for this, but worship at the feet of Reagan.
The socalled Misery Index was a nonsensical campaign gimmick put out by Reagans campaign advisors. I can't believe you are still trying to foist it about thirty years later. I guess you really can't teach an old dog new tricks, even when the olds ones have been discredited for a generation.

See folks. PJ and I are actually talking TO each other. No name calling, no charges. Differences of opinion but respectful.

As to the tax cuts, as with anything, I judge all on what they do , not what they say. Depending on your view one can see the tax cuts as good or bad or somewhere inbetween. It is fine to say one opposes something on principle but if one doesnt act on those principles then they ring a bit hollow to me.

PJ you give the credit for ending the Iraq war to President Obama. That is the point of contention. The Status Of Forces Agreement signed by both parties in November of 2008 did just that setting the date of final withdrawal. It is a legally binding international agreement which covered more than just the deadline for troop withdrawal but also the legal status of our forces in Iraq.

Now President Obama had several choices. If he didnt want to end the war he would have had to go back to negotiations with the host country. He could have accelerated the withdrawal, the agreement set an end date not a time table. He could have abided by the agreement as signed which is what he did. You can give him credit for abiding by the terms but not for ending the war, the SOFA did that and that was signed by the previous administration.

And as to Afghanistan, unfortunately, I still see little end in sight. Troop strengths were more then tripled under President Obama. The only withdrawals so far announced is the proposed withdrawal of the surge forces, some 30,000 troops, in 2012. This still leaves us with over twice the troop strength when the current President took office. I am not arguing if more troops are a good or bad thing or the strategy the current administration is pursing. However I will argue it is rather hard to make the statement President Obama is ending the Afghan war.

Ummmm, not even close. The misery index was developed by Yale economics professor Arthur Okun in the late 60s. Mr Okun was Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors 1968-69 under President Johnson.
https://www.miseryindex.us/

As to use by politicians it was first really used by President Carter in his run for the Presidency in 1976. This extracted from Wikipedia but is a fair summary:
During the Presidential campaign of 1976, Democratic candidate Jimmy Carter made frequent references to the Misery Index, which by the summer of 1976 was at 13.57%. Carter stated that no man responsible for giving a country a misery index that high had a right to even ask to be President. Carter won the 1976 election. However, by 1980, when President Carter was running for re-election against Ronald Reagan, the Misery Index had reached an all-time high of 21.98%. Carter lost the election to Reagan.

Ok...now I get it. You're talking about "Those People" calling the President 'Irresponsible and Unpatriotic" for increasing the debt by borrowing from China...That kind of "incessant bombardment of vitriol"....

Incessant bombardment of vitriol.

PJ, the house has passed a budget along with many other items. The dem's in the senate are the problem. They won't do their job. Remember Reid is so worried about his cherry tree's, he doesn't care about doing what he was paid to do.

Yeah. Many people prefer that Obama. I like the current one just fine. (Let me know if you find a clip where he demands to see someone's birth certificate. That would make my day.)