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Obama likely to focus on deficit in next 2 years

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When fiscal times are tough and there's a budget that needs a'slashing, who ya gonna call? John Boehner and the $6 trillion spendup Costbusters lol!

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Preparing for political life after a bruising election

The democrat lemming march over the cliff begins.

Bring on Nov. 2nd.

RR

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Perhaps a few of the democrats being voted out of office next week will be qualified enough for some of those "shovel ready" jobs that Obama assured all Americans exist .... Oh, wait!!!

RR

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When the Reid Pelosi Congress started the projection was for a 400 billion surplus within 3 years. Now they have us 3 trillion in debt.

"Unprecedented," as Obama likes to say.

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In a sick kind of way, I hope the GOP does take the reigns from Nov. When things are still worsening 2 years from now, maybe the American people will realize that the GOP has no interest in making the lives of average Americans any better, and that the Democrats are only interested in doing so when it benefits them politically.

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Voting in the GOP, the party that thanks to people like RomeoRamen became the biggest spending political party in global history, will be like hiring an arsonist to put out his fire. Will Americans insult themselves again and go for the GOP?

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Today's GOP now contains much the same anti-American individuals who rubber-stamped every spending bill bush tossed their way and jacked up federal debt by a massive $6 trillion. Unfortunately, some on the Right aren't smart enough to understand this. I'll even bet Romeo and TimR are thinking this 'new' GOP is somehow different from the 'old' GOP. lol!

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"Obama likely to focus on deficit"

"President Barack Obama will put greater emphasis on fiscal discipline"

"While trying to save money, Obama..."

"Obama will try to make gains on deficit reduction"

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

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haha, Sarge's 2 votes for bush make him partly responsible for the out-of-control spending that he has only now decided is 'bad.' 8 years too late, Sarge.

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Obama will try to make gains on deficit reduction

...through higher taxes.

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The bottom line is everyone who voted for the GOP is part of the reason why America has a huge debt problem. Probably the funniest thing is seeing conservatives like RR, Sarge, etc. who helped create the debt problem now complaining about the same debt prooblem. That's textbook conservative responsibility dodging for you! A key to getting out of this fiscal nightmare is for the people who helped create it - your RRs and Sarges - to step up to the plate and admit they screwed up. Unfortunately, that's not liikely to happen anytime soon, and the same RRs and Sarges whose votes for the GOP helped create the fiscal mess in the first place are looking like they'll do it all over again. End result is your RRs and Sarges - individuals who no doubt believe they have America's beest interests at heart - end up destroying it. If Americans vote the GOP back in to power next month, it'll be bye bye America, hello exploding debt and hello permanent underclass.

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Obama will put greater emphasis on fiscal discipline

This is the same guy who took over our economy when he signed Spendulous Maximus into law -- the bill that was suppose to create 3 million jobs, many of those were suppose to be, heh, "shovel ready" projects that everybody now knows was yet another Obama lie.

Obama and fiscal discipline ..... words that don't belong in the same sentence.

RR

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I think it is entirely possible the stimulus bill did create 2-3 million jobs :|

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In a sick kind of way, I hope the GOP does take the reigns from Nov.

That does seem to be the only hope. The USA has a deficit because it has a trashed economy. It has an economic and financial problem that has nothing to do with which team has political power. The article barely mentions that little fact, and both parties keep that hidden and locked away in the closet. If the Republicans and their cheer-leading machine want to pretend it is due to politics, then the only answer is to let them show that it isn't. Either they won't be allowed by their masters to make any budget cuts, or they will use the situation to push through ideological cuts, which will just create a negative feedback loop that will actually increase the deficit anyways. Which they will do, who knows, it is as always difficult to know who is in the loop and knows the real score but is pretending not to, and who is just a mindless git. But the idea that the deficit and various stimulus are because of incompetence and are not working is nonsense. They are working exactly as they are designed to work. They just aren't designed to work for YOU, but the guys they are working for know exactly what they are doing.

Once they have had a chance to show their complete uselessness, then maybe, and it is a longshot, maybe in 2016 (2012 is probably too soon) there might be a candidate (from either party) with the spine to deal with the real economic and financial problems and stand up to those who don't want that the necessary changes to happen. But until then, there is only one direction for the USA and it ain't up.

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I think it is entirely possible the stimulus bill did create 2-3 million jobs :|

It did. But not in America. And that is the prob. Millions of jobs may well not be coming back, ever.

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This is the same guy who took over our economy when he signed Spendulous Maximus into law

You are quite slyly forgetting that the opposition was in power when the machinations for this began --not only that but their cooperation was necessary to sign it in into law.

But that's pretty much beside the main issue anyway. People in the know -ie economists of the day and non-ideologue cognoscenti, pretty much all agreed -but for a few outliers- that it was the necessary thing to do in order to avoid an economic catastrophe.

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Looks like TimR only has him/herself to blame.

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Obama can talk about focus all he wants. It's the other deficit - the American public's deficit of trust in him and his policies - that will hamstring him and leave him below even Carter in the peoples' esteem.

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Obama likely to focus on deficit in next 2 years

I think he's focused enough thank you (3 trillion in debt).

I have to laugh about the "LIKELY to focus on the deficit"... or maybe he won't. who knows...

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Sarge and RR are still completely unable to refute or admit that their votes for bush are behind the fiscal disaster they are complaining about.

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Obama likely to focus on deficit in next 2 years

Heh, the guy's about as likely to focus on the deficit as he was "not going to rest" until the Gulf oil leak was resolved.

RR

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RomeoRamen's strategy, of course, mirrors that of the GOP: distract and deflect and talk about anything else except the problems they created and that America needs fixed. No surprises there, folks.

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Sarge and RR are still completely unable to refute or admit that their votes for bush are behind the fiscal disaster

Bush did not blow 1 trillion on a "stimulus package" that created even more unemployment, obama did. And he lied doing it. Remember the campaign promises - every bill will be online for voters to check? Too bad lies aren't capable of stimulating the economy, obama would be Midas.

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Tim, too bad the bush lies you believed about tax cuts being able to grow the economy or invading Iraq and Afghanistan making America 'safer' didn't pan out.

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Remember the campaign promises - every bill will be online for voters to check?

Tim, a rapidly decreasing number of Americans not longer believe anything Obama says. Next Tuesday will prove that to be true as this elections is also a belwether of what voters think of Obama's leadership abilities. The only ones left getting "excited" when they hear Obama speak these days are the foreigners.

RR

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Romeo, I see you still can't admit you're partially responsible for America's debt problem. Neither can Sarge. Or TimR. Or any others on the Right. For years. Deny, dodge, deflect - congratulations, you're employing textbook GOP tactics. Meanwhile, you'll no doubt be standing proud that you're dragging your country down the tubes. Heh, mission accomplished.

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Sushisake3 - - you said it was gonna be close next week. When do we get the numbers, mate? Your Aussie pride is on the line.

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MisterC, I haven't done the numbers yet but I'll bet you're plugging into some reliable news sources back home in Canada? Too many of your southern neighbors are picking up on Fox.

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SushiSake: bush are behind the fiscal disaster

Victory mosque.

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who in the hell is writing this crap? Obama is a tax and spend communist. He could give a rat's ass about the deficit Do the members of the liberal media not understand that we have figured this fool out? Do they think we are stupid? Have they not heard of the Tea Party? Obama is Obama, just like Mugabe is Mugabe. Lies don't work on us anymore.

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And there was me wondering if the radicals amphetamine's supply would hold out......

Ugh.

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hehe....well, actually, this should be, in theory, one area where Obama and Republicans can work together. In theory.

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Conservatives' lame arguments get shredded again. Too easy. All good.

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Sushi, the only thing that's getting shredded is the Democrats' control of the U.S. Congress, and, in 2012, the White House.

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Heh, my 2-year-old could come up with stronger arguments than conservatives have thrown up today. Not to mention all of last week. Debating with conservatives doesn't get much easier. :-)

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"Obama likely to focus on deficit in next 2 years"

That would be a shame. He should focus on economic growth and getting people jobs. America needs an FDR, not a Hoover.

The deficit is a number on a piece of paper. Almost everything else matters more. To me, focusing on the deficit is the same as taking your eye off the ball.

On the other hand, if the economy is set to improve anyway, according to some observers, and all of these GOP people will be coming in, this might be a way for Obama to let the GOP recommend some new taxes and cuts in social security. Obama wants to play ball, GOP, you hear that? So let's see what coherent policies come out of the GOP... I am guessing there won't be much. Who needs a veto when the opposition can't tie their shoes?

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"Obama is a tax and spend communist."

Communism is worker ownership of the means of production. Compare and contrast Obama administration initiatives in health care legislation with Bush initiatives designed to take a large ownership stake in GM, authorize bailouts of banks and brokerages, while announcing policies designed to create a government "ownership society".

It is an essay question. No multiple choice.

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This is humorous. Now that Obama has decided to focus on the deficit brought about by GWB, watch the tools that can only spout anti-Obama suddenly be against fighting the deficit. :) Maybe they're just angry about the fact that the last Democrat in office gave them a surplus which they flubbed, so they want to mess it up more?

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Nobody has said it, but it needs to be said.

The GOP and TP are lying about Obama. They have been doing so from the get go. You can't change that. But Obama and others have spent way too much time caring about that. If the Dems get whacked in this election it will be because they wasted time and energy trying to compromise instead of letting Pelosi and crew just mop up the floor with vote after vote. Instead, they just gave away the initiative.

Now things will get harder, and all the lies about Obama will reach some kind of crescendo, and Obama will become less effective as he moves to the middle.

Just as with the DPJ, these brief shining moments of strong mandates should have been seized for radical reform, and they were not. Dem vulnerability in 2012 will come from hesitancy in 2008 and 2009 more than anything.

Of course, the GOP and TP won't be able to get much done with whatever gains they get because there are about 4 factions all trying to take credit for likely gains this election, but their overall power to play obstructionist games is going to be a real pain. We will see. Between TP shark jumping and GOP conniving against their own allies, there is a lot of mutual distrust there.

I think I see the Dems way out to clear sailing in 2012, and Obama has already started setting it up.

Just want to take a minute to emphasize this too: Let's say that the GOP and TP manage to get what they want. Just everything. That means NO healthcare program, no environmental legislation, no alternative energy or space programs, no public works, deferred maintenance on all government projects, ironclad borders, slashed education and unemployment funding, no family planning aid at all, probably cut social security, and rolling back of all kinds of civil rights for people of all kinds. And tax cuts for rich people. etc. Factor in that US oil production is falling off fast, and that the dollar is dropping like a stone, the US will become increasingly dependent and increasingly vulnerable.

If we assume that the US doldrums last about a decade (half as long as Japan's), I don't know how the US is going to make it. That is the simplest way to put it. After that decade, Americans will be looking enviously at lifestyles and standards of living in maybe 20 different countries, wondering what happened to the land of the free and home of the brave. If it gets to that stage, then capital flight and brain drain will follow. People are going to get even angrier and things will just ... fall apart.

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but the number is now so big, it's become unmanageable.

Let's bust a myth here. The USA is a sovereign country which can issue its own currency. There is nothing unmanageable about the deficit. The problem is simply that the private banking industry has inflated the money supply beyond the economy's ability to service the debt, and is now forcing the government to cover its losses by exchanging government debt for private debt. The deficit could be dealt with easily, the problem is really that those in power refuse to allow that to happen, because by doing so they would lose their ability to charge the American public for the creation of money.

Obama is a tax and spend communist.

Myth#2. The USA has a deficit for the following 4 reasons: 1- total continuation of Bush era policies, in particular the Iraq and Afghan wars, the tax cuts, and economic "stimulus" programs (in reality, debt exchange, and very successful in achieving their true purpose). 2- loss of tax revenue due to collapse of the speculative economy. 3- automatic increase of government spending (ie. (un)employment insurance due to collapse of economy) 4- trillions of dollars funneled to the largest Wall Street banks through various covert government programs.

If you guys have any examples of "communism" I will happily add them to the list, but I won't hold my breath.

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The GOP and TP are lying about Obama. They have been doing so from the get go. You can't change that.

Anyone making a statement like this hasn't been following the fortunes of either TP or the GOP.

The beltway Repubs do not particularly like the TP.

The TP definitely do not like the establishment GOP.

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That is a hilarious headline. The Obama crowds wants to focus on the astronomical deficit that they created? In what way? Quadruple it again? There are not enough trees to print that much money.

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