Guest 640- Registered: 21 Apr 2007
- Posts: 7,819
3 November 2010
08:4278219Ah the fluidity of popularity, it is indeed a transient commodity, here today and gone tomorrow. Barack Obama just two very short years ago, was hailed by one and all as a Christ-like phenomenon, he was so popular that some felt he could walk on water. When he crossed the Mississipi his feet hardly got wet. No bridges needed for him, he glided across on the hot air of glorious expectancy and hope. He was held aloft as something of a Messiah by the black voter in the southern belt, and by the white blue collar voter in Milwaukee and Detroit.
But popularity at such a level in a politician is bound to fail and now his stock has gone south. No longer the darling of middle america, nor of lower america, nor of upper america. The bubble has burst.
In the mid term elections overnight in the US, the Democrats have been hammered. Obama is a Democrat of course, and the voting public have told him in no uncertain terms just what they think of him. And its 'not a lot'...so much so that his very own seat has switched allegiance and gone over to the Republicans. A humiliation.
But its too fickle by half. What can the voting public expect of one man. It is ludicrous to hold him up as the culprit for a worldwide slump, no more than it was to blame Gordon Brown here for the worldwide slump. It is true the US is in a down period suffering extreme economic difficulty, with massive job shortages etc. Obama can put the ground rules in place but cannot wave a wand, the recovery will happen in time when the conditions are right. In the meantime he and his party have been hung out to dry by a wave of Tea Party traditionalists.
Today the US prints vast amounts of new money for the second time..to buy up existing bad debt and stimulate the economy, its called quantitative easing. It will work, it should work, but if it doesnt work in the next two years, Barack Obama will be the shortest lived hero in American folklore and will be out of office and maybe even on the dole.
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
3 November 2010
08:5578222Brown was though guilty of turning an international slump into a UK economic disaster due to 13 years of economic mismanagement and Obama has always had very questionable economic policies, it was one of his weak spots in the election.
Hopefully Obama will be a one-term president and will get kicked out by the GOP in two years time.
Ross Miller
- Location: London Road, Dover
- Registered: 17 Sep 2008
- Posts: 3,707
3 November 2010
09:4278231Good Lord no - the last thing the world needs is another xenophobic tub thumping religious bigot from the GOP or Tea Party production line
"Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today." - James Dean
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength,
While loving someone deeply gives you courage" - Laozi
Guest 640- Registered: 21 Apr 2007
- Posts: 7,819
3 November 2010
09:4678234Just to explain what GOP means for those who may not be up to speed. It stands for tradition..ie the "Grand old Party" of Republicanism. In UK terms the Republicans are akin to The Conservatives here. They believe in less government, smaller government, and more power to the individual. They clearly have been reading our Conservative Party manifesto, as their ideology is a reprint of same, except oddly enough they are even more conservative. The only terminology they havent used is "The Big Society".
But as we know the Big Society means a cutting away of many of the tradional services delivered here by Labour and trying hard to be delivered in the US by The Democrats, such as a health service.
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
3 November 2010
09:4778235Not all are tub-thumping religious bigots Ross.
Even one of those is preferable to Obama.
What about Palin for president?..... now there is a treat for the photographers, a real babe.
Brian Dixon
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
3 November 2010
09:4878236one dose chuckle over this.and i thought george bush jnr was bad enough.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
3 November 2010
10:3478242at last i know what "gop" means.
the president has been unlucky with his timing on getting elected, however he is seen by many in the states as too distant from the struggling people and not empathising with the people that have lost their job in the last 2 years.
have seen ms palin address an audience, not been impressed.
she seems to have a selection of cliches that appeal to grassroots republican support but nothing substantial to say.
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
3 November 2010
10:4878244But she is a cracker to look at Howard and our American cousins love that even more than we do.
Obama's problem is not his timing - he is politically out of tune with the instincts of the American people. If anything his timing was good, Bush was tired and discredited and even I might have been tempted to vote for Obama at that time. Things are different now.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
3 November 2010
10:5978248when i referred to timing barry, i was speaking of the recession biting.
Ross Miller- Location: London Road, Dover
- Registered: 17 Sep 2008
- Posts: 3,707
3 November 2010
11:2478252Barry - NO
She is an intolerant small minded liability to the Republicans - if she is they best mind they can produce for President then they do not deserve to gain power
"Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today." - James Dean
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength,
While loving someone deeply gives you courage" - Laozi
Guest 696- Registered: 31 Mar 2010
- Posts: 8,115
3 November 2010
11:4478258I still think Barak Obama is a good people's President in the U.S.A. It often happens in America that the electorate balance the power with Congress and Senate having two separate majorities, and the President seeking to convince both parties in Congress.
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
3 November 2010
12:2978263They said the same about Reagan Ross - he turned out to be a superb president. I am not sure she deserves to be compared to that great President but, as I say, she certainly looks good!
Ross Miller- Location: London Road, Dover
- Registered: 17 Sep 2008
- Posts: 3,707
3 November 2010
14:3778276That is a matter of opinion Barry, though I will concede he was not the disaster many predicted he would be.
She may look good but so does Sole Veronique, but you wouldn't elect it would you...
"Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today." - James Dean
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength,
While loving someone deeply gives you courage" - Laozi
Keith Sansum1
- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,942
3 November 2010
16:1178288You will find the republcans(tories)didn't do as well as they expected they expected to whipe the floor with the democrats but just gained a few seats enough to get control, but lost seats also to the democrats, and many democrats who were expected to lose actually didnt.
Even all the political people that are unbiased admit that reagan, and bush suffered the same fate as obama then went on to win the next presendential election for the republcans.
So watch this space
It's no different to this cobbled together govt who had a dream start, but people are now starting to find there faults, and the 2 parties also cant keep papering over the cracks that appear every day.
Havng said all of that in the USA unless you have 5 or 6 millon or more to fltter away you couldnt stand as a candidate.
Oh yer then theres this break away tea party, purely republicans but didnt do as well as expected
And barryw
I look at womens politcal' beliefs on what they can do for the country
not there looks
ALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
3 November 2010
16:1778292i saw it as much the usual mid term stuff, only the democrats lost more than expected.
by-elections and local elections over here will give the government a bashing next year.
the tea party were good on slogans but offered nothing in the way of ideas and support for struggling americans.
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
3 November 2010
16:3778304Thats right Howard - the Democrats were slaughtered.
They only narrowly held on to the Senate because onl;y a third of seats were up for grabs.
It will be interesting to see how it pans out over the next two years and who the GOP will choose as its candidate.
Keith - maybe but there is nothing wrong with a bit of eye candy every now and then...
Keith Sansum1- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,942
3 November 2010
16:4078307Your last line
dont agree with
but there you go cant agree on everything
ALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
3 November 2010
16:4478309barry is winding you up keith, just a bit of light hearted stuff.
makes a change from the heavy political stuff.
Keith Sansum1- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,942
3 November 2010
16:4578310uuuuummmmm maybe
ALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
3 November 2010
17:3178323Winding Keith up,,,,,, moi - never.
I do like some eye candy I have to say....