Morning Folks!!
In business we are all salesmen. If we own or operate a
business you are a salesmen. Now there are good salesmen and bad ones. Ones
that know how to close a sale and get a result and those that can’t.
One year ago today was possibly the most historic day any of
us will live to see and Iblogged about it. A young, energetic black president taking the oath of
office. From slavery to the presidency. We have a lot to be proud of. But as
salesmen by trade this has to be the worst sales event I have ever seen. With
goodwill that I have never seen in all my life, with an opportunity
unprecedented in history what can I really say? Here it is…He blew it!
Broken promises without explanation or even a good reason.
Over reaching the likes we have never seen before. And a deaf ear for the
majority who are justifiably concerned.
So it all came to a crashing end last night with an earth
shattering victory for a seat held by Democrats for nearly my entire
lifetime. The bluest of blue
states even rejected the nonsense going on in Washington. Ted Kennedy is
spinning in his grave.
The bi-product of all this is that folks are once again
talking politics with a much more open mind. While things may be more divided
than ever in Washington, the same cannot be said for the heartland. People are
becoming more and more united against the waste and corruption we are
seeing. Sickening is a word that
comes to mind. We sit and watch our way of life be challenged at every level.
Sorry, I don’t feel guilty for living well because I work very hard. Since when
is success punished? Since when is
it ok to not listen to the electorate?
So just one year later and the President, who is very
likeable, cannot keep saying the same things when we see this stuff with our
own very eyes. One year ago today
we were all filled with hope. Well, that was all it was, hope. I can only hope
the election last night and the losses in New Jersey and Virginia will finally
get the message thru. We are Americans for a reason. We rejected the European
style of life and government 234 years ago and it is great to see that even in
the most liberal state in America they did not lose sight of that. That was a
stunning defeat for Obama as it was a referendum on his policies and even in Massachusetts it was rejected
in no uncertain manner.
Healthcare? Certainly it needs to be updated. But I sure
would sleep better at night knowing 80 Senators agreed on how to do that then
some new social program that punishes success and rewards those on the
sidelines. Terrorism? I wish the president would be as passionate about our rights and protecting us as he is in protecting these PRICKS that want to kill us. WTF is wrong here?? There is more torture on TV than the Military ever thought of!
So my wish is that the President stops ignoring the folks
and starts to have some success.
Where are we a year later? Other than the wasteful stimulus, this transformational
President has accomplished nothing in his first year. Nothing. The only thing he has accomplished is
wasting the great opportunity he had and turning the bluest seat in the Senate, RED after 52 YEARS! 12 months ago you could have gotten 1 million to 1 odds against that happening. Today, it is a reality and it did not happen by accident. Obama's liberal plans was rejected by the most liberal state in the country and that is a huge event. Even liberals want to be protected from these terror attacks and I GUARANTEE that if it was your wife, mother or child that the terrorist had information about and could save their lives with it, that ANY METHOD would be fine as long as you got the info before it was too late.
In the next days ahead we will see if the President and
Congress get the message or are still tone deaf. No matter which side of the
political spectrum you are on we all want to have these folks make decisions in
OUR best interests, not THEIRS!
Sorry, I don’t like a country that has 2 groups. One that
carries the water, and those that drink the water. Sorry, this is 100%
bullshit. It is one thing to help the helpless; it is another thing to help
folks that deserve no help. Somewhere along the line, the oldest law of man has
to be the key. “Survival of the fittest”.
Some think compassion is giving a guy a fish so he can eat
today. That is not compassion that is dependency. Teaching a guy to fish is
compassion. If he is not interested in learning, that is NOT your problem and
it is not my problem and the government needs to learn it is not their problem
either..
Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz
andy kelly
Yup I sure agree that it’s one hell of a slap in the face for Obama.
However as a UK resident it seems clear to me that he inherited a poisoned chalice beyond compare.
The former Bush administration were the probably the worst since Idi Amin’s last government.
Bush and co ransacked the worlds economy (and the UK was more than willing to follow not only in fiscal policies but agreeing to go to an unwinnable war”)
Bush and co and their moronic laissez faire economics created problems that it will take generations to help (if ever).
Bottom dollar is Obama has one hell of a job on his hands. Where would the USA be if McCain and Palin had got elected?
Obama faces so many difficult choices
How to save face in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Implementing health care reforms (is the existing provision that defendable?)
A wrecked economy and an ever growing trade deficit.
To survive the states has to get the Chinese to revalue their currency and as soon as possible.
As well as increasing massively
History tells us that the great depression was solved by Roosevelt and his New Deal programs.
I seem to recall that Roosevelt was not only a brilliant politician he was a democrat too.
David J Castello
I agree with a lot of your points, Rick, with two obsevations:
1) Obama inherited one of the worst situations I wouldn’t wish on anyone (except Cheney and Rumsfeld).
2) Coakley ran one of the most inept campaigns in memory while Brown was brilliant and dogged her every mistake. She was recently up 15 points in the polls (which makes me question how much this was about Obama) and fumbled the ball on the five yard line with some incredibly stupid gaffes, the personality of a telephone pole and a dose of arrogance to boot.
Kevin
This also shows how important and powerful the Independent & Tea Party folks are in elections now. Pledging allegiance to neither party but rather the candidate alone. Elections will never be the same going forward. Both parties are on notice that if you don’t listen to the people who employ you an pay the bills you will be fired.
Rick Schwartz
Hi David,
A few things….
While he did inherit a problem, he also fought for years to get the job. When is it his? If I take a job there has to be a point where I stop blaming my predecessor and fix things. I think we are now at that point.
Coakley actually had a 30 point lead just weeks ago. While she was a poor candidate, Obama made it a referendum on his policies when he went there on Sunday and actually said so.
I think we are a Capitalistic nation with a lot of socialistic policies that are just not playing well in Mid America. Who ever thought that Massachusetts of all places would join mid America in rejecting what is going on?
If Obama does a Clinton, he can become very successful. If he stays on his current course, rejection will continue and just keep getting stronger.
His success is our success and I hope he moves to the center and becomes what he promised.
Bruce Marler
Absolutely great post Rick, I could type I long reply agreeing with everything but I think a simple RIGHT ON says it all.
rob sequin
I voted for Obama and Scott Brown. What a great victory.
We Republicans from Massachusetts are hard to find but the Independents joined us on this one.
Coakley came out with negative ads on day one against a 30 year vet of the Army reserve and family man.
Scott ran a great campaign. Obama was here on Sunday but didn’t matter at all to Coakley’s campaign.
Dave Pelligrinelli
I can’t help but think that this guy had the best intentions to keep most of his campaign promises when he was elected, but once he got there he was”informed” how the system really works. Maybe it is out of his hands, and the Presidency is not as powerful of an office as it seems.
It doesn’t even have to be some conspiracy theory of a shadow government either, just stark reality that if you fix problem A, you create bigger problem B.
The complex tangled web of accumulated problems being held together by a shoestring might be so massive that trying to untangle it could bring it down.
Maybe the social, economic, and political environment of the county is like a giant game of Jenga, and there are no more sticks to pull out.
Could he have been that disingenuous from day one? Whether that is the case, or he is in over his head, it is bad news regardless.
Just thinking. Opinions?
M. Menius
One of the best posts ever. Obama has very little understanding of the real economic engine of America. His background produced a very narrow comprehension of business, and he’s simply in way over his head. Many, many missed opportunities to address the most pressing issues facing the country.
Instead, nothing but tunnel vision over a health care program the U.S. cannot afford and consequently does not want. No more than a D+ performance this entire year.
Obama the Lucky
Obama is so very, very lucky he must have Heaven’s blessings.
Obama’s stimulus bill has clearly made a significant contribution to stabilising the US economy since its passage in February. His cap-and-trade bill to reduce carbon dioxide emissions passed the House of Representatives in June. He has set in motion significant overhauls of financial regulation and healthcare.
Considering the magnitude of the economic crisis he inherited, his popularity is holding up well. His current 56 per cent approval rating is significantly better than Bill Clinton’s (44 per cent) at the same stage in his first term and about the same as George W. Bush’s.
Consider the evidence that the economy has passed the nadir of the “great recession”.
Although the gold medal for staving off depression goes to Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, and the silver medal to China’s leaders for their even more impressive stimulus, the president deserves at least bronze.
The stimulus package has saved more than a million jobs. Without the jump in government spending, GDP would still be in a nosedive.
Obama the Lucky
If you still don’t believe Obama is lucky, think of those Somali pirates shot dead back in April by Navy Seals rescuing Captain Richard Phillips. If Jimmy Carter had tried a stunt like that, the Seals would have hit Capt Phillips and missed the pirates.
In domestic politics, Obama is lucky too. After months of wrangling, Al Franken was finally confirmed as senator for Minnesota, giving the Democrats a potentially crucial margin of advantage in the upper house of Congress. The president’s pick, Sonia Sotomayor, as the next associate justice of the Supreme Court was also appointed.
Best of all, the Republican party has traded in Newt Gingrich’s 1994 Contract with America for a suicide pact with itself. Between Sarah Palin’s baffling decision to quit as governor of Alaska and Mark Sanford’s Argentine affair, the Republicans look not just leaderless but clueless.
I’m starting to believe that Obama is blessed by the heavens to be this lucky.
peep
Rick calls it, however controversial that may be with relativists and Dems.
Obama’s TOTALLY full of shit. But nobody spent an hour Googling him and his anti-American and anti-capitalist life, before running for America’s leader.
Ask him why he’s so far spent 2m of your money to avoid showing his birth cert (whats dumber, the question or the answer to date?), or why he doesnt do open press conferences anymore.. Or why he says he wont treat all media alike, after ‘controlling’ the message in the election. BTW his former media chief who did that controlling is wife of his birth cert legal defence quarterback, the new WH counsel, way to go Mr Transparency, like way to go forgetting to count the money you spent or having CSPAN cover health care.
Did I mention he’s appointed a PRO-terrorist lawyer as the Attorney-General, and recently gave Interpol jurisdiction over you and your property? Etc etc, there’s a ton this guy is doing each week that really makes you wonder – does he want to hurt America and the beacon it stands for in this world??
Do the majority of Americans want to go soft or hurt themselves? To show the world, who cannot wait to eliminate your freedoms, that you are like nice or something, or is America just bored or tuned out?
The facts of life are conservative, ask you parents if you can. Obama is a radical American. Sorry, I have kids and see danger with this JOKER. He is a narcissist, and they are history’s most dangerous as they dont give a shit about nothing. So Obamas bro lives on a buck a month in Kenya or whatever, so Obama laughs when 60 minutes asks him about the economy, and also laughs and ‘shouts out’ when addressing the Fort Hood shooting (remember that).
Meanwhile I’m sure he’ll give a lovely speech next week, and his tie will be nice. But he isnt our friend, friends.
Notice I didnt slander fellow citizens here; dont bother in return. We the people are not Obama, he’s just a false prophet, and not the next Kennedy, get it please.
IPTV
Hi,
You know what OBAMA has always stood for?
One ~ Big ~ Ass ~ Mistake ~ America
___
Peace!
Dan
___
http://actionmanage.com/
MarkP
Great post Rick! For those that continue to blame Obama’s woes on the past administration, consider this: If Obama and Congress keep doing what they’ve been doing, where will we be in 3 or 7 years? Fixed? Roaring economy? No, we will be chin deep in the socialist economic malaise of most European countries. BTW, I have HoaxAndChange.com for sale on my website.
SL
Surprisingly good comments. Expected more than just one dittohead to”peep” up and regurgitate their conspiracy theory talking points.
I do think Obama and his staff got a wake-up call. To not include tort reform and push for competition across state lines was a huge mistake. Granted, the insurance lobby took no prisoners via the mass media but that should have been expected and, more importantly, countered head-on.
My guess is that he will revert to the center. Otherwise he’s definitely going to lose independent/moderate voters like myself. The Pelosies and Palinites both want him as far left of center as possible, {deity} help us if either get their wish.
GhettoCaveMan
I’ll tell you why Obama squandered all of the hope, change, & optimism that Americans expected during his tenure: He is compromised! Compromised because he is not a U.S. Citizen.
“The power structure” will simply provide the documentation proving that Obama is unqualified to hold the presidency because he is not a natural born U.S Citizen if he (Obama) does not follow the script/agenda of the ruling elite.
The power structure that controls the U.S. and the globe for that matter selected a charismatic, colorful, and unknown entity (foreign?) to provide the illusion that changes are forthcoming. These folks are some of the smartest people on the planet and they knew Americans didn’t want real change, rather, something as simple and meaningless as “color” would placate Americans for the change they though they wanted.
If Americans wanted real change, why was Ron Paul “a fringe candidate”? He was the only candidate with a real platform of change by vowing the elimination of the I.R.S. & The F.E.D.? If you want real changes in this country eliminate these 2 unconstitutional institutions.
Dittohead #2
Some interesting plays here!
I don’t subscribe to 1 particular side of the isle. My vote goes to who I believe to be the best suited for the job. I can’t help but to feel that we were all (on some level) fascinated with Obama and that the media posed unfair influence on that very fact. This guy was a community leader for Chr*st Sake with no more than a couple years under his political belt! We hired a celebrity to run our country. A feat that the mighty boobtube couldn’t have pulled off just 10 years ago. The fact that more of us are paying attention to politics these days is merely a testament to their level of power.
I can’t blame the media or what they determine I’ll see when I’m paying them (and their advertisers) a few cents of my attention, they’re merely composed of Puppeteers whose strings are intimately attached to some of the oldest & most influential families in the world. They’re in charge of keeping us distracted by the”game” of politics while the elitists decide our fate. Our elected officials are our draft picks.
Obama is in charge of pissing off the working class sector of the population by imposing a Robin Hood agenda. The”successful” & more fortunate will be pilfered to the point of segregation. The”upper class” will come to hate the”lazyass” far beyond the likes of what we’re used to. Our government will reinvent Racism. Not based on black or white, but GREEN or GOLD! Not Minority or Majority, but SUPERIORITY! The new Racism doesn’t care where you or your mama came from or how colorful you are. It will judge you & your fellow man on the contents of his pockets.
While we’re so preoccupied with whose paying more than their fair share of the cost of”freedom”, they’re pissing our GDP away on completing the infrastructure of the elite. Where is the your refuge from cataclysm? Does anyone here own a mountain? Have you invested a few hundred billion of your”cash flow” into making it nuclear proof? Catastrophe proof?
The capabilities of the decision makers is so far beyond what any of us realize, that it makes it hard to stomach when we actually hear about it! So as soon as one of us”Conspiracy guys” speaks up its like,”Dude SHUT-UP!! I’m tryin to watch the game!”
In the BIG game, the leader of the free world is just a running back. He does what the coaches tell him to do.
dental jobs
lots of good points here, and yes inheriting one of the biggest balls ups in modern history has to be considered.
in the home of instant reality tv shows, and instant fame and fast instant food, i know you all want instant results. it’s not gonna happen. you’re gonna have rethink everything
i wish obama the best, he’s you’re best shot you’ve had in a looong time.
ona separate note i think it’s great the big effort the U.S and obama have made for haiti. nice to see that sort of thing, the sort of things a great country should be doing, not the evil acts and illegal wars we saw under the bush regime.
stewart
uh rick? stick to doing what you do best and leave the rest to the politicians is my best advice…or go out and run for office? (bro)
see? I look at it this way. once in 50 yrs for a republikan to get in to office in Mass is really not much to crow about.
so afr as new jersey and virginia are concerned? let the new kids on the block solve the problems over night as their slick brochures advertised, already mr chrisite says the deck is stacked because the books were cooked? maybe ahhhhnullld and christie can comiserate together, both have a democratic legislature to deal with.
but with today? theres this…Fox News Poll: Obama Would Beat GOP, ‘Tea Party’ Rivals by Landslide Margins in 2012
http://washingtonindependent.com/74512/fox-news-poll-obama-would-beat-gop-tea-party-rivals-by-landslide-margins-in-2012
Bill F
Funny how people think it would be a good thing for Obama to imitate Roosevelt. Forgetting the insidious rot of the expanding gov’t he created, there’s also the historical fact that Roosevelt actually made the Great Depression last well over 10 years. So, I suppose if we are still in a recession 11 years from now during Obama’s 3rd term, we can say he was a”success” too.
stewart
Bill F seems to think Obama-Biden are not much more then lip synchers I do suppose when he speaks of the past the way he does here?
Todays economic situation is nothing like the great depression on any level and Bill will be hard pressed to articuate any similar dynamics at all.
see: A History of the FDIC 1933-1983
http://www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/firstfifty/
See: The End of the Great Depression
‘To many at the time, President Roosevelt was a hero. They believed that he cared deeply for the common man and that he was doing his best to end the Great Depression. Looking back, however, it is uncertain as to how much Roosevelt’s New Deal programs helped to end the Great Depression. By all accounts, the New Deal programs eased the hardships of the Great Depression; however, the U.S. economy was still extremely bad by the end of the 1930s.’
http://history1900s.about.com/od/1930s/p/greatdepression.htm
A vist here might better frame the issue?
http://costofwar.com/
copliments of the ineptitude of GOP leadership?
No freinds, Obama has inherited a mess of historic proportions, Clinto left a record surplus $559 billion, Bush’s budget deficit death spiral ballooned to over $1 trillion….uh thems the facts, the GOP did it.
Not Obama-Biden, who are in lead follow or get our of the way mode to recovery, as well they should be.
Martin
Rick: I think your comments about torture are wrong.
Check out this article by someone who seemingly really knows about this subject:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/21/opinion/21alexander.html?scp=3&sq=alexander&st=cse
A short quote:
“If I were to return to one of the war zones today — as an Air Force officer, I was sent to Iraq to head an interrogation team in 2006 — I would still be allowed to abuse prisoners. This is true even though in my experience, torture or even harsh but legal treatment never got us useful information. Instead, such tactics invariably did just the opposite, convincing detainees to clam up.”
Graham
I’ve seen US torturing people, Rick you have no idea what you’re saying, and I’m fitter than you, you’re as vulnerable as any terror suspect.
Def1
We actually”blew it” as country 10 years ago when Bush II was elected to office. Saying that Obama suddenly”owns” the problems this country has after 1 year in office is like saying he is responsible for the old car stuck in the mud for 8 years only getting to the end of driveway before breaking down. In other words it is going to take a full team of mechanics to get that car running again. But guess what? Many of the mechanics are unwilling to work on that car to get it fixed because they don’t like the president. But they will STILL complain that the car isn’t working.
What are you people in Massachusetts who voted for Brown thinking? I understand you have your own health care option but are you people so selfish and short sighted that you are unwilling to see the suffering of others under this unfair health system outside of your state’s borders?
I know of a woman who was raped and as a result had to take anti HIV medicine as a precaution to protect against AIDS. She did not actually have HIV and never developed it, it was all precautionary. Her insurance company dropped her because of the medical treatment. She could not get reinsured because of the”preexisting condition” bullshit the insurance companies like to throw around. Is this the kind of healthcare system you want? Oh….YOU already HAVE your insurance so screw the rest of the country. If there is an afterlife, Ted Kennedy must be so ashamed.
stewart
In GOD we trust…all others bring data.
Steve M
However anyone feels about this election, or how it came to be … for anyone (especially those of us 40+ yrs old) it is truly an amazing site to behold: A republican now holding the senate seat of the lion of liberalism.
Unbelievable indeed.
Amanda
“Some think compassion is giving a guy a fish so he can eat today. That is not compassion that is dependency. Teaching a guy to fish is compassion.”
Well said and so true.
Richard St Cyr
After reading all of the above comments I don’t know where to start, but here I go. When Obama the great was running I took a hard look at this guy and the people he associated with and I didn’t like what I saw.
I am no fan of Hillary Clinton but I was hoping Hillary would win the Democratic nomination because Obama really scared me. The man never held a rel job.
Well ladies and gentlemen we have a real mess on our hand because of government policys like Freddy Mac and fanny may one of the main reasons we are where we are today. The banks were forced to lend to people that could not afford those homes so the banks went along knowing they were government approved. George Bush really disappointed me, but he didn’t blame everything on the previous president. When is Obama going to step up to the plate. LETS FACE IT THE MAN IS OVER HIS HEAD, HIS BACKGROUND IS A COMMUNITY ORGANIZER.
Oh and by the way Bush told (another guy that never had a real job) Barney Frank that freddy mac and fanny may was going to far and that there were problems on the horizen, Barney Franks response was there is no problem with freddy and fanny lets roll the dice a little more. They don’t care its the taxpayers money.
If you do the research you can find the culprits but some of you would don’t take the time.
GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!
dot com RICHARD
stewart
ok, now let me see if I have this correctly, the working stiff is considered too stupid here to know how to fish, and Obama is a communty organizer, and what ever happened in the past 12 years of gop ineptitude that led to the greatest defecit in history doesnt matter today because some one got a home?
as the rats made off with a great deal of international treasure and no one knows who has it?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzSj1yNZdY8
Jeff Schneider
Hello Rick,
I agree with you fully on the stunningness of the message that has been sent for all to see. My interpretation of the message is quite different than yours though.
The message that was sent speaks of the ease at which our government can be corrupted by money. The truth is the republican party and its supportres threw millions of dollars at throwing this election. You may say Wow that cannot happen in our great country, I say it has been done quite consistently for the last decade or so.
To make matters worse the supreme courts latest decision now makes the practice completely legal.The message is clear we as Americans need to wake up and smell the Tyranny that is prevailing in our country before it is too late.
Altaf
Rick,
I hope Mr. Obama sees your post & replies by himself to clear all questions. But all you must agree that he a very smart one who being black African made it possible to be the president of nation dominated by whites with so much hatreds. If he was not, he could not succeed. Did you not observe how fast he made it?
It was Bush who made it all mess, never concentrated to look into an organized eco. by Clinton. His 8 year term he just fought 2 wars in the name of saving American people. Had it not Obama in the chair, we would have seen a great depression-deflation, that he saved us all. That is his victory. I am sure though it will take time, but he will make it. Political seats matter much but it is the people who never could decide fairly.
We may have many different views & all could fill your blogs with it. But One day we will see he proves his promises provided American people cooperates without looking for the color of a president.It is easy to say but hard to do.
Have a nice day! regards,
John Berryhill
Lol, birthers….
.
lol, Bush blamers
I think it was the civil war
John Berryhill
This graph is kind of interesting. First one to guess what the numbers on the left are, wins!
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/jobs_nov.png
stewart
lol domainers acting like political pundits…
Graham
Rick, can I borrow porno.com for a couple months to launch NAME REMOVED? I’ll name my first born Rick. thanks
Graham
It pays to mix things up a little, throw someone a fish instead of always teaching them! cheers
SWH
Amen. Great post Rick! I love the comment…”We rejected the European style of life and government 234 years ago…”
Why can’t our politicians understand this and stop trying to make America into something we have already rejected?