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What's OBAMA's score so far?

6K views 63 replies 16 participants last post by  1crock 
#1 ·
I like some of his ideas but the stimulus he proposed will not help me one single bit. At least, based on what I read it does not help me any. I rank him a seven so far.

Anyways, found this and thought it was funny.

I hope I don't offend too many liberals or democrats, but if I do, guys it's the Interweb


Why i voted democrat!!
I voted Democrat because I love the fact that I can now marry whatever I want. I've decided to marry my horse.

I voted Democrat because I believe oil companies' profits of 4% on a gallon of gas are obscene but the government taxing the same gallon of gas at 15% isn't.

I voted Democrat because I believe the government will do a better job of spending the money I earn than I would.

I voted Democrat because freedom of speech is fine as long as nobody is offended by it.

I voted Democrat because when we pull out of Iraq I trust that the bad guys will stop what they're doing because they now think we're good people.

I voted Democrat because I'm way too irresponsible to own a gun, and I know that my local police are all I need to protect me from murderers and thieves.

I voted Democrat because I believe that people who can't tell us if it will rain on Friday can tell us that the polar ice caps will melt away In ten years if I don't start driving a Prius.

I voted Democrat because I'm not concerned about the slaughter of millions of babies so long as we keep all death row inmates alive.

I voted Democrat because I believe that business should not be allowed to make profits for themselves. They need to break even and give the rest away to the government for redistribution as THEY see fit.

I voted Democrat because I believe liberal judges need to rewrite The Constitution every few days to suit some fringe crooks who would never get their agendas past the voters.

I voted Democrat because my head is so firmly planted up my @#@ that it is unlikely that I'll ever have another point of view.

"A Liberal is a person who will give away everything they don't own."
 
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#2 ·
Yep, the republicans always need things put as simply as possible, in the most basic of terms.


Not offended in the least.
 
#3 ·
Regardless of what he does, Obama took the wheel of the economy just as the bow was slipping beneath the waves.

I watch in sad amazement as the Dow races toward 5,000. Bought a few more Vanguard index fund shares today in my 401K with money set aside in Sept. 2007. Wondering when it will end. I predict the mother of all short squeeze rallies, and then it fades again. It that happens, I will raise cash and wait again.

I am getting tired of this. Pity too, we are still mid game. Gotta hang in there. At least I have assets to deploy.

There is a saying though, the dumb money got wiped out in 1929, and the smart money got wiped out in 1932. :(

Oh well. A lot of excesses occurred that need to be wrung out of the system. The economic enema is underway. There are culpable figures in politics and finance, but we are all to blame.
 
#4 ·
I find it amusing that he is going back on many of his campaign promises. I didnt vote for the guy but will support him cuz if not he will end up like Bush during his second term and get nothing accomplished. I love how he yelled at all the repblicians that didnt wanna vote for the stimulus package saying that "nothing is perfect and we can nit pick and play the political game all day long". I never wanted any of the bailouts (thats what bankrupcy is for and they wont help us out if we need it) but then I saw some of the earmark spending in this bill that was supposed to make, create, or save "X" amount of jobs and laughed and wondered how all of these could make jobs. humerous...but yes we all need to hang in there and ride it out. In the meantime i am buyin all the stock i can cuz i dont retire for 20 years or so...I do truly feel sorry for the men and women that are at the age of retiremtn and can no longer afford to do it. my condolences to you...you certanly deserve it.

P
 
#5 ·
Sorry,I couldn't resist.
 
#8 ·
Yeah,well,you have to make up for the Republican debt somehow :O
 
#9 ·
my boss said monday her heard on the radio that with all the money he had tied up in the stimulus package to that date, he could write every tax paying american a chack for 30,000$..............that would stimulate the **** outa me
 
#13 ·
Somebody needs to learn how to divide and/or use decimals (the boss or the idiot on the radio) The real numbers are bad enough but much blatantly false information is being spewed over the internet and airways. Folks are either truly stupid and incompetent in their math skills or prefer to lie outright in hopes of making a bad situation worse for their own personal benefit.

It's a lot of money but $30,000 each? Let's see now, $787B / 300M people in the U.S. works out to about $2,623 per person. Now, if 138M of those people are actually working, that brings it up to $5,700 per person. (note: the 138M figure is roughly the # of taxpayers we had in 2007 from what I could find.)

For grins if you said only one in ten U.S. citizens worked and paid taxes you would still only have $26k per working stiff. So :bigfinger to the people who knowingly pass on distorted info and please be more careful to everyone who does it unknowingly. Like I said, the real numbers are bad enough. :banghead
 
#10 ·
Surely real,tax paying Americans won't see that?I'd imagine it'd go into a bottomless black pit like GM or large financial institutions.
 
#12 ·
They are the opposition.That's usually what they are there for.
Hopefully they won't oppose everything the democrats want to do,even when it is what's best for the country and the economy.
 
#14 ·
you seem to know an awful lot about our political system noting your residence being from the land down under. But it seems that you missed the point he was making about being confused...isint opposing everying regardless kinda what the dems did when bush was in? I will be the first to say that bush had his fair share of mistakes, but again, you never will know how things will work unless you give it a chance. Right? If I am understanding you correctly, you say that republicans should set aside their party views to unite and try to fix some problems. Again I say that you missed his point b/c he was saying that when the shoe was on the other foot it was a different story. And dont say Bush this and Bush that yadda yadda yadda... we will never know b/c our politicians can do just that.

P:banghead
 
#15 ·
on another note, I am sure you watch CNN. the problem is that you only get one side of the story regardless of what news station you watch. most americans (including myself) do not always know what to believe as fact and what to believe as speculation. the reality is that we need to see BOTH the good and bad things our politicians do. Remember, we pay their salary. that is a big reason is dislike obama...his voting record is patchy at best...DO THE JOB WE PAY YOU TO DO!!!! I dont pay for them to campaign for 2 years to be president and then complain that nothing is your fault and that you "inherited" this debt. Sure you did, but you bet you ass you KNEW that if you won, you would do just that...I have no sympathy for them. Pull your resources together and get some shit done....sorry kinda got carried away there

P
 
#16 ·
Well it's a typical two party system.Pretty much the same for anywhere that claims to have a democracy.I think you got what I was saying wrong,this is how an opposition works.They always try to get brownie points for knocking down whatever the ruling party is doing-whether it is the conservative or liberal party in power.
All I was thinking was it would be good if both parties could work out a bipartisan approach to work out the massive problem at hand.Including when the democrats were in opposition.The only reason I said I hope the republicans don't block the democrats is because that is the way 'round it is at the moment.
And you're right,he really needs to get off his ass and make some serious decisions right now.The chances of everybody agreeing with the approach they take is about zero.
And no,I most certainly DON'T watch Clown Nose News.It is the most horribly government controlled news agency the western world has seen ,probably since WW11
 
G
#17 ·
It is the most horribly government controlled news agency the western world has seen ,probably since WW11
World War Eleven!?
I know highschool history books aren't up-to-the-minute, but damn!:dowhat

:laugh Clown Nose News, that's being quite nice really.:yes



So far Obama is screwing every pooch in the neighborhood. Granted, this was pretty much what I was afraid of, but honestly I didn't think he would have tanked it so quickly. At least Bush took a while to get settled in before ****ing things up, that's change.:laugh
 
#21 ·
Communist?I always thought they made Mussolini look like a lefty:D
 
#22 · (Edited)
I love Fox News. NILF babes amundo. :yumyum Just turn off the sound :lol

The core of this whole mess is people paid too much money for homes they could not afford, using toxic ARM loans. Now they are defaulting in unprecendented numbers.

For someone who saw this coming with enough conviction to cash in on a SoCal house and move to a cheaper area, I sure could have handled it better though. I felt was was gonna be bad. It is worse :banghead

Now though, I feel we are reaching a bottom. The Dow is in the mid 6K range. I can't imagine it going below 5K. Holding back what is left in the 401K cash for Dow 5,500ish, then I am all in. Bought a small chunk of DODGX in Mrs. Duke's 401K yesterday at a price that has not been seen since the early 90's.

If it gets worse than Dow 5,000, a few mouse clicks are not going to save me. Time to stock up on guns and gas. Got the gas part covered. Nearly half of my trading account is in oil right now, the other 30% in food/agriculture. I am going for the basics. :lol

The thing is, to not give up and keep swinging. Take the time to read this article, especially you Del. Good stuff.

http://blogs.moneycentral.msn.com/s...ot-through-a-financial-crisis-like-sully.aspx
 
#23 ·
Why me? I have no money to invest. I struggle just to stay afloat, buy food pay the bills etc. It does not matter to me if the dow tanks to 0.00 because I have nothing in it unfortunately. However, on some level this might affect me as well if it did.

As far as a 401K, well you guess it. My job has very little there to offer as well. Since I have no money to invest in it anyways; it really does not matter how good there plan is because I can't afford it.


With that said I'll go read the article.

I vote for MCCAIN if that makes any difference. I think Huckabee would have been a better choice but he was not a member of some secret society to get in.
 
#24 · (Edited)
Not so much for the investment aspect. I liked the article because it was about a general theme expemplified by Capt. Sully and not about any particular investment strategy.

I sense some hopelessness Del. Don't let that take hold. Keep doggedly taking the actions needed to get where you want to be.

As for Bush, Obama, whoever is in charge - I refuse to accept they have more than a minimal impact on my life. What I do, the decisions I make, for better or worse, are going to determine the outcome. No way I am going to even minimally rely on or place my hope in politicians or our government in general, that is for sure.

My thought is, assess the situation, don't be emotional about it and resolutely take action with all your heart and ability, just as Sully did. :hail

Sometimes those actions will be wrong. Fortunately we are not landing a plane in the river, do or die. We get 2nd chances. 2008 was a year from hell for me. I lost as shitload of money. Still calmly assessing and taking action though :)
 
#28 ·
I really doubt if anything Obama does will help Wall St.
Every time he opens his mouth and starts with the depressing "worst economic disaster" speeches, the market tanks farther and farther. The guy hasn't said one optimistic thing yet.
Talk of nationalizing the banks isn't helping matters and the bailout of irresponsible home owners isn't sitting well with the tax payers either.

If we give him too much latitude, this will become a bigger mess than it is.
 
#29 · (Edited)
Oh I think what Obama is doing is definitely helping in the short term. He is not alone in this either. Without dramatic and aggressive worldwide government intervention, I believe we would be in a worldwide great depression right now.

The problem is there is no free lunch. Like backing a trailer, it seems to me that the economy is best managed by a "less is more" deft but light touch on the wheel. Ham fisted inputs result in dramatic swings, requiring more ham fisted inputs, etc. Who the hell knows what comes next. I fear stagflation. I am prepping for that reality by going heavy on commodities (oil, food). In my view, paper currency won't be worth much down the road - the world is flooded with it. Gold is going through the roof. I think oil will follow, as production has lagged. Demand will again overtake production at some point. Same with food/agriculture. I don't blame Obama really. What choice does he have? Depression now or unintended consequences and a potentially grinding economic catastraphuck for year upon year down the road. Take your pick. Both options suck.

It would have been so much better to take our knocks in '92 and have sustainable growth :( Instead we had the perfect storm of:

1) Easy money Alan Greenspan cutting rates to historic lows following the tech bubble and 9/11.
2) A lack of any meaningful regulation and oversight of Wall St. The SEC was/is a complete joke.
3) Financial concerns fueled by cheap money and leveraged to the max,issued loans willy nilly to anyone with a pulse.
4) Loans got more exotic, with "option ARMs" and "interest only" loans in play to keep the real estate appreciation party rolling.
5) Financial concerns sold CDS (credit default swaps) to "insure" the scary loans being issued. This is what brought down Merrill, Lehman and the rest.
6) The real estate party ended and the bagholders who are now way underwater on their loans are forclosing in epic numbers, causing the economy to go down the tubes. Amazingly, for many of these borrowers, forclosing is a rational decision. They put nothing into the loan, their house is worth 200 grand or more less than they paid for it so they can't re-fi and their ARM is blowing up. Why stick around?

It sucks for those of us who responsible through all this. I recall people in CA making fun of me for being a "fuddy duddy" for having a fixed rate loan and not taking equity out of my house to "live life". They really thought they had hit the jackpot and that it would never end. A woman I worked with in CA got truly irritated with me when she gushed about how much her home had gone up in value and I suggested to her that real estate was an unsustainable bubble and no different than Internet stocks, and that a day of reckoning was coming.

My personal observation at the time was the average home price where I lived in Long Beach was around 550K and the average household income was about 75K. Anyone see a problem with that? It seemed like an obvious and unsustainable disconnect to me. The year was 2004. I sold then, thinking the peak had been reached as my house had tripled in value in 8 years. Two years early as it turned out. The depth of the madness was so great. Idiots. We are all paying for that kind of stupidity. Yep, there is no free lunch. We collectively borrowed our way to prosperity. Now the bill is due. It is a big one.

I think we are collectively looking at a permanent reduction in the standard of living. Look at cars for example. Houses too. Compared to older models the features and expense of vehicles and houses too has gone crazy. It is hard to go backwards, but backwards we will go. If Honda, Toyota, GM, etc won't do it, India and Korea will. The unexciting but functional $5,000 new car from Tata (or whoever the hell they are) may be a big hit in our downgraded future. Builders can't build and sell big granite encrusted houses anymore either. Not enough people can afford them.
 
#30 ·
I very much doubt that I am alone on this one and it may ruffle some feathers, but I agree with the war. I dont agree with the fact that we (Americans) were lied to as to the reasons behind it, but never the less...Sadam was out of control and we (again the US) as the only superpower left in the world, have a responsiblity to stand up for those who cant. Everyone seems to think we are nothing but war mongers and so on and to some extent that may be true, but I am glad we didnt turn a blind eye to genocide and use of chemical weapons of a tyrant on his OWN people. the fact is that Sadam needed to be dealt with and I personally think we did the right thing. I think most of this is a case of the "I hate Bush cuz everyone else does". Dont forget, we did the same thing in Bosnia to remove whatever the hell the name of that guy was that was doing the same thing. when all that went down, you never heard anything about it cuz they needed help and it wasnt right what was happening over there. I also think we should force the iraqi people to take control of their new govt and get us out of there. those wheels seem to be in motion if I am not mistaken. Just my .2

P
 
#32 ·
My take on Iraq is pragmatic and finincial based. We couldn't afford it then and we really can't afford it now.

Interesting how we had money for invading a country that never attacked us, yet no money to improve our health insurance situation, which is a disgrace among the developed nations. The toll on our armed services is great too, and the way injured vets are treated by the government is also a disgrace. They deserve so much more.

Wall St. ran amok during Bush's tenure too, seemingly with no meaningful regulation whatsoever.

Bush had some wacked priorities. He did more to hurt this country than any president in history. The enemies of America have to recognize she is down now. It would not shock me if they try another "statement" like 9/11.

Saw a bumper sticker the other day that said "Dick Cheney Eats Kittens". I was not able to laugh. Too close to home perhaps...
 
#34 · (Edited)
Interesting posts. NoONE bother to score OBAMA.

Oh well. Hey now that private companies/investors can buy up toxic assets the DOW on Wallstreet jumped nearly 500 points.

Called me pessimistic but I still don't see this as helping short term.
 
#35 ·
I think that if we are going to fire up the printing presses, this is the most effective way to do it. Better to incentivize private investors to buy up the bad paper than to simply fork the money over to the same people who created the problem in the first place.

One thing seems to be true in life - those who are part of the problem are rarely part of the solution.

As for me, I recently bought a thousand shares of Citi at $2.46 a share. Evidently the gov't won't let C go BK, so I figure what the hell. Might as well let it ride. We will see where it is 5 years from now. It is not inconceivable that the investment could be a 10x returner. Call it my own toxic asset buyback plan :devious

As for Obama, I am pretty sure Michelle could kick his ass in a straight up fight. The woman has some arms on her :lol All kidding aside, I like the First Lady. She is not wimpy. She is her own woman.
 
#37 ·
Brilliant article. Thanks Kami

All this happened at the end of eight straight years that America devoted to frantically chasing the shadow of a terrorist threat to no avail, eight years spent stopping every citizen at every airport to search every purse, bag, crotch and briefcase for juice boxes and explosive tubes of toothpaste. Yet in the end, our government had no mechanism for searching the balance sheets of companies that held life-or-death power over our society and was unable to spot holes in the national economy the size of Libya (whose entire GDP last year was smaller than AIG's 2008 losses).

So it's time to admit it: We're fools, protagonists in a kind of gruesome comedy about the marriage of greed and stupidity. And the worst part about it is that we're still in denial — we still think this is some kind of unfortunate accident, not something that was created by the group of psychopaths on Wall Street whom we allowed to gang-rape the American Dream.
Right on...
 
#41 ·
Brilliant article. Thanks Kami

Quote:
All this happened at the end of eight straight years that America devoted to frantically chasing the shadow of a terrorist threat to no avail, eight years spent stopping every citizen at every airport to search every purse, bag, crotch and briefcase for juice boxes and explosive tubes of toothpaste. Yet in the end, our government had no mechanism for searching the balance sheets of companies that held life-or-death power over our society and was unable to spot holes in the national economy the size of Libya (whose entire GDP last year was smaller than AIG's 2008 losses).

So it's time to admit it: We're fools, protagonists in a kind of gruesome comedy about the marriage of greed and stupidity. And the worst part about it is that we're still in denial — we still think this is some kind of unfortunate accident, not something that was created by the group of psychopaths on Wall Street whom we allowed to gang-rape the American Dream.

Right on...
Let me mention one last time, NO BANKERS FORCED ANYONE TO TAKE OUT THOSE LOANS THEY NOW CAN'T PAY BACK. When did personal choice and personal responsibility become unhinged in this country.

Yep, government oversight of business works real well, just ask any communist country. Am I the only one to notice that while Libya's economy is tightly controlled by it's government, we had a company large enough to lose more money than it's entire GDP? :coocoo

Duken, I fear you're so involved with your investments that you are failing to see the big picture here.
 
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