"Barack Obama took a bad economy and made it worse".

[kentuck]

Is that true?

That is the storyline that Republicans are pushing as a reason to put them back into power. Unless it is countered effectively and often, they will be successful in selling it to the majority of voters.

It is impossible to prove a negative, but it is not impossible to measure where we were when the President took office and the direction we were going. We were falling rapidly and not one Republican had a solution.

I may disagree with the President on several things but this is not one of them. I have little doubt that we would have been in much worse condition if the Republicans had won the White House in 2008. Also, I have little doubt that they have a lot of suffering stored up for the people of this country in 2012 if they win the next election.

[MadHound]

1. Made it worse? No, but he and the Dems certainly haven't made it better

Their attempts at stimulus have been feeble at best, they've done little about unemployment, and their actions in firing government workers when they need to be expanding government payrolls is obscene. No, we're not descending any further, at least not at the present moment, but it's been a couple years now, and our economy is still bumping along the bottom, with no end in sight.

Will the 'Pugs do any better, no, and yes, they could very well do worse. But that is more of a very sad statement on the state of politics these days than anything else. We need real change, and all we've gotten is lip service.

[kentuck]

4. Under the circumstances...

...the President and the Democrats should have attacked this "Bush Depression" much more aggressively. That is one area where I have disagreed with the President. However, even with that, I think we would have been much worse off with the Republicans in power and will be worse off in 2012 if they are put back into power. We needed a lot of change but we got a little change. It was an improvement over the Republicans but I believe that we had an opportunity to fix the mess and we, more or less, just swept it under the rug. That does not change my opinion that we will be in a terrible mess if the Repubs regain power.

[obxhead]

11. Well to be fair he had a big job on his plate.

It wasn't easy to hand billions of dollars over to the insurance/pharma industry.

[Maraya1969]

12. Have you seen where we started? A reminder.

[bhikkhu]

33. Here's a more current version:

Net job creation under 8 years of bush and republican fiscal management: 0

Net job creation under 2 years of Obama: 2 million

The repug will take a mile if you offer them an inch, so all the angst and misery about job growth not being fast enough should be considered against their likely alternative.

[Kahuna]

16. The economy was turning around before the so-called "progressives"

decided to stay home and let the repukes gain control of the agenda. It is no coincidence that the trend is reversing. That is what they want and the so-called "progressives" shouldn't feign surprise or innocence.

[Bobbie Jo]

18. +1

[txlibdem]

30. Darn right! To heck with that huge segment that got Obama elected

They are nothing but F**KING RETARDS, and should SHUT THE F**K UP (according to the President's hand-picked cadre of advisors).

As a progressive that sure "fired me up" to get out the vote in 2010, I wanted to work my a$$ off so my President's staff could call me names, adopt the evil policies of the most corrupt president in history (BushCo), give away Trillions to big banks with NO STRINGS ATTACHED but sit idly by while millions of middle class people had their homes taken from them. Yup. I really love the guy that did all that stuff to us "progressives."

[emulatorloo]

35. Those advisors are long gone, so let go. Besides they weren't talking to you anyway

Unless you are a high profile blogger who gets paid big dollars, or a PAC running ads against Dems whose votes were needed in the house. And even then, it was the ad idea that was criticized, not the group.

[txlibdem]

41. Stop saying it but don't stop DOING it

You responded only to the subject line of my post, not the body of the post.

Pres. Obama gave big banks Trillions of Dollars with no strings - but said nothing while millions of families were tossed out of their homes. Especially troubling are the news stories where banks stole (foreclosed) homes that they had no right to foreclose on.
http://www.npr.org/2010/12/13/131972792/woman-s-foreclosure-nightmare-like-a-black-hole

Continues BushCo policies such as Trickle Down economics that has been shown with 100% certainty to do exactly the opposite of what its proponents claim it will do. The President's weekly address reiterated his commitment to Trickle Down!!! Get a friggin clue America.

PS, I'm not trying to burst your Obama love bubble. Delude yourself all you like. I, instead, will choose to live in the world of reality.

[emulatorloo]

34. You're forgetting Republican obstructionism and their strategy of keeping the economy bad to win in

2010 and 2012. They have been quite brazen about this election strategy - stop the recovery and blame Democrats.

[Pirate Smile]

2. As you can see from reading DU, there is a segment on the left that is happy to provide the GOP with

an assist in attacking President Obama daily on everything.

[secondwind]

3. As Rachel puts it, we still have AN economy, and the GOP continues to shoot down every

jobs bill the President has put forward........ They want this President to fail.

[SidDithers]

5. +1...nt

Sid

[Welibs]

6. I hear and see on twitter than Paul Ryan is being attacked by the left.

I think I'll get in on the fun. I'm going over to twitter to blast him until he blocks me!

[Fumesucker]

7. And who handed this "bad economy" to Obama?

Like all Republican memes, this one practices selective amnesia..

[HughBeaumont]

8. More to the point,

. . . whose economic philosophies have been BEHIND this labor-unfriendly climate for the past 30 years?

They're amnesiacs for sure, but despite all of this, it's not like American voters in general are fast learners in this regard. We should be winning every election by a blowout. Instead, we've had a whopping three Democratic presidents in 42 years . . . . two of whom are center moderates at best.

[demosincebirth]

9. Only people who don't read or watch Fox News will believe that.

[Solomon]

10. If I hear another republican say we need tax cuts, I'm gonna

jump off a bridge. I just can't take it anymore.

[rurallib]

13. the economy was damn near in freefall IIRC

Republicans had little plan but to give money to Wall Street.
This is just my impressions -
- economy in freefall, no plan from Bushco.
- Obama team focused on stopping the immediate crash and I do mean crash
- at the same time stimulus worked on for recovery
- Repubs use crisis situation to weaken stimulus, garnering more tax breaks.
- Stimulus much weaker than needed - Obama looks weak as he co-operates with GOP rather than fighting. Press works OT to make Obama look bad
- Effect of stimulus further weakened by governors refusing to use money the way it should have been.
- Weakened yet again as Wall Streeters sit on huge piles of money rather than loaning it out.

- With anchors placed on the stimulus by the Repub Party and their allies, effectiveness is severely limited
- total refusal to add any more stimulus furthercomplicates matters.

The president's biggest failure to me has been on not fighting louder and more fiercely for recovery. And that cave in on the Bush tax cuts.

[KharmaTrain]

14. The Perception Game...

Anyone with an iota of sense knew that the outrageous spending and tax cuts by the rushpublicans were going to bankrupt the economy. It seemed to really excelerate when it became clear that Prsident Obama stood a good chance of winning. From October '08 through January '09 things went downhill fast...leaving this President with not just a big mess to deal with but also a deep skid that had to be dealt with ASAP to prevent the bottom falling out of the economy.

But that's now how our corporate media views it. They have long been brow beaten with the right wing meme of rushpublicans being "fiscally conservative" and "responsible" and Democrats as spend-thrift tax and spend. It's been burned into millions with little understanding of how rushpublicans have never balanced a budget...only borrowed and spent in ways beyond Democrats could dream of. But the perception is there and is constantly perpetuated...as the corporate media benefits from rushpublicans and get regulated by Democrats.

While I think this administration hasn't gone far enough in pushing jobs programs or reigning in the banks, they have little room to accomplish either at this time...and even then, that's not the root of the problem. It's a kleptocracy where the rich have consolidated their wealth and power that has totally corrupted not just government but the media as well. It's casting perceptions that any tax increase is a disaster and that the rich are taxed too much.

The frustrating thing is during tough times people want quick answers that aren't easy to deliver or explain. Sadly we live in a nation where a good portion of the electorate has been conditioned to constantly vote against their best interests. Thank goodness the GOTB is so inept...cause if they put forward a credible candidate this country would be really screwed.

[LeftinOH]

15. That was precisely the theme on yesterday's gasbag shows; Peggy Noonan and George Will on

ABCs 'This Week', I believe.

[fredamae]

17. The Dems have Stopped it from getting worse...

Just picture where we would be if palin/mccain would have prevailed in 2008!?!!

THE PRES/DEM LAWMAKERS HAVE DONE THE BEST THEY COULD WITH WHAT THEY HAD, UNDER THE LAW WHILE WE ARE ALL NIPPING AT THEIR ASSES FOR NOT PERFOMING MIRACLES!

Why do we allow the pubs to Obstruct Recovery AND turn around and Blame us For it?

Since the Dems took the House/Senate 2006-2008, there have been Hundreds of bills filibustered by the Pubs.

Unless the Dems in the Senate could get a mandated 60 Votes to Bust the filibusters the bills were doomed, bills that would have Helped create jobs and eased suffering.

If one understands the process one only has to look at the Republicans to blame for they have abused this procedure called Filibuster.

The President, Pelosi and Reid Have NO Power to Over-Ride unless they actually get the support from 60 lawmakers.

Blame the individual Senators that voted Against You. Most of them, turns out Are Republican and the rest are Blue DOG Dems.

That's the reality and all you have to do is research for a minute on the House and Senate websites, look at the votes.

[snot]

19. Worse than what?

Worse than if McCain had won? Probably not.

Worse than it had to be? Absolutely.

[fredamae]

20. It Is worse than it Had to be, but...

Why??

The answer is either the validation of your argument or the confirmation that one agrees that it is indeed the Obstructionists, misuse of their powers and the idiocy of blaming the Victim for the assault.
That's "their" head game. Are you playing?

[snot]

21. No game. Just don't understand why Dems haven't launched any p.r.

in defense of more progressive and more effective solutions.

[gkhouston]

23. +1. They should be beating the Republicans over the head with

this, each and every day. They should make the indifference to the plight of Main Street unpatriotic, and they should condemn trickle-down economics as the wishful thinking it's always been.

[fredamae]

28. Perhaps MSM knows why? n/t

[JVS]

22. It's arguable. It's like a doctor who stops a bleeding wound but doesn't give a blood transfusion..

(or more accurately does give a small transfusion, but is stingy with the blood) and the patient remains very ill and continues to decline. Obama has pursued ineffective policies with the tax cutting, and settled for an inadequate stimulus (as pointed out by Paul Krugman) to such a degree that to extend the metaphor of a doctor, he and his economic advisors could justifiably be accused of malpractice. Technically, it is possible to excuse him of this and blame republicans and conservadems for trying his hands, but since he has never fought the conservadems on this and since he has echoed republican calls for austerity and de-emphasized the role of government in the economy, he muddles his position and one cannot argue that he would do things much differently than he is doing them. Put bluntly, you cannot go from compromise to compromise claiming victory all the way and then blame others when the results of all of these victories fail to achieve your desired result. Also, on a political level, they have painted themselves into a corner by claiming to be applying a Keynesian approach (government spending to make up for depressed demand) while actually applying a Monetarist approach to this crisis (quantitative easing). By doing this they have damaged the reputation of the method that they didn't use and ensured that they'll have to continue with the methods that are not working.

I agree with you that the republicans will not improve things. The problem is that even when the republicans are out of power, Obama seeks a moderate policy that synthesizes many of their wrong-headed ideas. Consequently economic recovery is stalled.

[fredamae]

24. How do you know what Pres Obamas policies

would be without the obstructionists? He has kept campaign promises where "they" could not block him.

Perspective. Use it or lose it.

[JVS]

29. It's impossible to tell because he doesn't level with the public.

Instead he tries to defuse criticism by concession.

The initial stimulus is a classic example. Congressional dems write legislation. Republicans want it smaller and more of it to be tax cuts. Obama says "let's negotiate". Negotiation is done, Obama says the compromise is the Goldilocks solution: "just right". A signing ceremony is held, all smiles in the rose garden. It's a "major victory" in the media. Republicans continue to bitch about spending. Obama concurs with the need for "sacrifices".

What am I missing?

This ultimately leads to a situation where the stimulus is inadequate, yet Obama has declared it to be correct and then later wants to cut spending. If it's a step but not enough, then he should say so instead of having to rely on someone on a message board to claim that he really wants something else.

[hfojvt]

25. not if you look at job creation

here's a summary by quarter (except it does not include 2011, since I did it in February)

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/hfojvt/141

[hfojvt]

26. updated with 2011

1st quarter +497,000

2nd quarter (provisional and so far)

April - +232,000
May - +54,000

still looks a lot better than 2009

[txlibdem]

27. Pres. weekly address: Gov't has no role in job creation, that's what the private sector is for

Just heard an excerpt from President Obama's weekly address. Echoes of BushCo rang in my head.

Obama is a Trickle Down high priest. The economy will never improve with Trickle Down followers at the helm.

[fredamae]

43. That's not exactly what he said-Here is the actual quote:

"Now, government is not -- and should not be -- the main engine of job-creation in this country. That’s the role of the private sector, " the president said in his weekly radio and Internet address."

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/06/11/11/obama-calls-private-sector-create-jobs

"Gov't is not-and should not be-the Main Engine for job creation in this country."
He's right about that.

[txlibdem]

46. He's wrong about that -- and it's not what FDR would say (did say)

A minor semantic difference "not the main engine." "That's the role of the private sector." What he meant was "I, President Obama, believe in the Trickle Down Theory and Reaganomics with all my heart and soul." His 10th cousin, George W. Bush, would agree with every one of his "jobs" programs so far since they were all tax breaks and giveaways to big businesses.

We need a strong leader with a backbone, not a Compromiser In Chief. Guess what you get when you do nothing but compromise with the psycho righties. You get nothing but right wing policies and that is exactly what Obama has delivered from day one.

FDR said, "We must especially beware of that small group of selfish men who would clip the wings of the American Eagle in order to feather their own nests."

FDr said, "Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me--and I welcome their hatred."

What do we get from 2008 till now? Anything resembling the strong President with a backbone that FDR was, one who knows exactly what he stands for and will not yield to the greed of those who would destroy us? Nope.

[Pisces]

31. Trying to plant your negative seeds????

[bhikkhu]

32. 8 year of net 0 job growth under bush, then -

some 2 million jobs created in 2 years under Obama.

So, no, simply put, Obama has done far better in a short time. You generally wouldn't know it here, but it is a fact.

[Wounded Bear]

36. The inherent advantage of soundbite politics....

Say the lie, say it big, say it often, and people will believe it.

I certainly believe that things would be much worse if Obama had not been elected, no matter what Repub had been.

Republicans don't fix things. It's not in their nature. They want to take advantage of the problems for their own profit, not fix them.

[Atman]

37. Yes, I long for the days when we were SHEDDING 800,000 jobs a month.

Damn Obama...now we're only gaining jobs. No, not a lot...but GAINING is still better than LOSING.

Kinda like with a sports team...you go eight years without winning a single game, but this season you're winning every game...and now your fans bitch because you're not winning by enough. Republicans are just fucking stupid. It's not perfect by any means, but it is unquestionable better than the situation BEFORE Obama took office.

[Politicalboi]

38. Our come back should be

Bush and the Repukes took a good economy and made it bad. Don't let that happen again.

[kiranon]

39. Obama was doing fine until the Republicans took over the House

and blocked most everything and Obama agreed to the tax cut continuing in a bad bargain with the Republicans.

[fredamae]

44. Well, not really-due to the

Pubs in the Senate abusing the Filibuster. A record setting and historical number of times since the 2006 elections.
Why can't folks See this as the root cause of Why we and our recovery isn't better.

There is no way the pubs can win on that record, but we have to understand the dynamics in order to correct others out there.

Correct me if I am wrong here.

[moondust]

40. From the brink of worldwide financial collapse...

on into the abyss?

Obviously not. Desperate Republican politicians and their paid propagandists will say and do absolutely anything to get their hands on the levers of power.

[AngryAmish]

42. He may have and he may not have.

Unknowable and results unverifiable. Belief one way or the other is religious faith, nothing more.

[B Calm]

45. He saved my job when he came out with Cash for Clunkers.