BS: Popular Views: the Obama Administration

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Donuel
Date: 05 May 09 - 08:32 PM

In the Cayman Islands there is a residential street with a 3 story house with cuppola named the Ugmont House on 34 Church Street..

10 years ago 12,000 large corporations were registered as having their corporate headquarters at 34 Church Street in the Cayman Islands.

Today there are ~18,000 corporations registered as having 34 Church Street, The Ugmant House, as their corporate headquarters for tax havan reasons.



My cartoon today featured a travel ad with hundreds of bundles of money with eyeballs on top lounging on the Cayman Island beaches with topless girls.
"Send Your Cash on Vacation - In the Cayman Islands"


small print: Corporations Only!
Sponsored by, American families for Federal Tax Shelters.


My other cartoon shows an empty homeless shelter, closed until temperatures go below freezing -
Contrasted with a CROWDED Tax Shelter Hotel Casino Spa brothel.


Ad for Bermuda: You will feel like you are in heaven
when your cash is in a Bermuda tax Havan.

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Riginslinger
Date: 05 May 09 - 07:16 AM

I haven't read about it, but I will. I do recall Huckabee talking about it during the campaign.

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Little Hawk
Date: 04 May 09 - 10:41 PM

Have you done some reading about the Fair Tax, Rig? It's a fascinating idea for reforming the tax system...the one idea in Mike Huckabee's 2008 platform that I can thoroughly and enthusiastically agree with. Do some reading and let me know what you think about it.

It won't happen, of course. ;-D Too many vested interests are in the way of it happening, but it's a very neat idea.

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Riginslinger
Date: 04 May 09 - 10:25 PM

If Obama is successful in going after the big-time tax cheats, as he says he is, I will probably change my mind about him.
                I remember when Ronald Reagan said he was going after "those deadbeat taxpayers," and what he meant was he was going to make it possible for his supporters to foreclose on a bunch of farmers in the midwest who couldn't pay their taxes, along with a lot of other small business people around the country--myself included--who couldn't keep up with the increased payroll taxes he'd imposed.

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Little Hawk
Date: 01 May 09 - 06:08 PM

It's "jib", Doug. ;-)

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Amos
Date: 01 May 09 - 12:23 PM

An interesting chart showing the S&P 500 during Obama's term to date compared to Bush's.

A

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Amos
Date: 01 May 09 - 11:38 AM

"The economy is still a nightmare. The military situations in Afghanistan and Pakistan are perilous -- and getting worse. But for all the troubles swirling around the nation these days, America has rarely seemed to be in such steady and capable hands.

That was the feeling that came across on TV Wednesday night watching President Barack Obama's 100-days press conference. Even on his best nights, John F. Kennedy did not seem as calm, confident and masterful as Obama did in an hour's worth of prime time give and take with the press.

As good as Obama has been in such settings before, Wednesday he seemed perfectly tuned to each shifting topic and tone.

The president was appropriately sober, moral and earnest in talking about waterboarding as torture -- without taking the bait and using the question to attack players in the previous administration for their excesses in prisoner abuse.

But he could also be teasing and playful as when a New York Times reporter asked him what he was most "surprised, troubled, enchanted and humbled" by in his first 100 days. By the time the questioner got to "enchanted," Obama was reaching in his suit coat pocket for a pen saying, "Wait, let me write this down." He made great theater out of getting all of the long question on paper -- especially the word "enchanted."

But then, Obama went on and gave thoughtful and eloquent answers to each of the four parts of the question.

As impressive as Obama was in that exchange, his best moment came in explaining to a questioner how Britain's Winston Churchill refused to allow the torture of Nazi prisoners during World War II even during the darkest hours of The Blitz when Britain was under a withering German air attack night after night.

Obama quoted Churchill as saying he would not allow torture because he feared behaving in such a manner would "corrode the character of the nation" -- in other words, the British people would be the ultimate victims of torturing their enemies. It was an inspired historical point of comparison that allowed the president to show how incredibly short-sighted and even ignorant George W. Bush and Richard Cheney were in their policies of torture without having to mention either man's name Wednesday night.

Outside of the Fox broadcast network, the cable channels and nets all had special programs planned for Wednesday in which analysts would assess Obama's performance in office for the first 100 days.

But the president stole their thunder with his press conference performance. It was as good or better than Ronald Reagan on his very best TV night. And outside of a few disingenuous remarks from Obama alleging that he does "not want to grow government," there was far more substance, coherence and sense of history to the president's performance than Reagan could ever imagine. ..." Baltimore Sun

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: DougR
Date: 01 May 09 - 01:27 AM

GFS: I have no idea who you are, where you come from, even if you are from this planet, but I like the cut of your jib. Gib?

DougR

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Riginslinger
Date: 30 Apr 09 - 10:14 PM

Great for Israel, not so good for Americans.

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Amos
Date: 30 Apr 09 - 05:13 AM

CHinga says she'd be surprised if Chonga got any support--even the kind her girls offer.
Here's what President Obama says has surprised, troubled, enchanted and humbled him in his first 100 days in office:

_Surprised: "I am surprised compared to where I started, when we first announced for this race, by the number of critical issues that appear to be coming to a head all at the same time."
_Troubled: "I'd say less troubled, but, you know, sobered by the fact that change in Washington comes slow."
_Enchanted: "I will tell you that when I — when I meet our servicemen and women, enchanted is probably not the word I would use. But I am so profoundly impressed and grateful to them for what they do."
_Humbled: "(I'm) humbled by the fact that the presidency is extraordinarily powerful, but we are just part of a much broader tapestry of American life, and there are a lot of different power centers. ... And I'm humbled, last, by the American people who have shown extraordinary patience and I think a recognition that we're not going to solve all of these problems overnight."

...


A

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Little Hawk
Date: 29 Apr 09 - 09:11 PM

Chongo says that even he would be surprised and pleased by this degree of support, had he been elected president. That tells you something. Chongo is not that easily impressed, generally speaking.

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Amos
Date: 29 Apr 09 - 03:05 PM

"After his first 100 days -- an arbitrary landmark set by Franklin D. Roosevelt -- President Obama has overturned decades of Republican ideology in Washington. One Republican even managed to sweeten the date for Obama by defecting to the Democrats. But the president still has to be wary.

Barack Obama had everything perfectly choreographed for Wednesday, his 100th day in office. First he would travel to St. Louis for a town hall meeting, where he could be fairly sure of a glowing reception; then he would return to Washington for a televised press conference. His team had provided the media with insider anecdotes and graced a few correspondents with private background interviews.


Nevertheless, an unplanned announcement sideswiped the administration from the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue: Senator Arlen Specter said on Tuesday that he was switching parties. The moderate Republican will become a Democrat, ostensibly because he thinks the 2010 mid-term election is his to lose if he remains in the Republican Party. (Polls suggest a Republican can't win his Senate seat in Pennsylvania; and he would also face a challenge from inside the Republican Party.) Obama said he was "thrilled," and his spokesman, Robert Gibbs, said the president knew nothing in advance about the defection.

Specter's move is important. It will make him the 59th Democrat in the Senate and bring the Democrats one vote closer to a filibuster-proof majority. With 60 senators -- a number the Democrats will probably achieve when Al Franken of Minnesota officially takes his seat -- the Democrats will have the power to override any Republican efforts to block legislation by "filibustering," or giving long speeches on the Senate floor.

These days, the US media likes to report on an "Obama revolution," a long-term political shift comparable to the "Reagan revolution" of the early 1980s. A more pleasant set of headlines for the president's 100th day would be hard to imagine.

Most Popular President in Decades

In spite of know-it-alls on the right, and in spite all the problems he faces, Obama seems to enjoy more support from the US public than any president in generations. The latest polls from the Washington Post and ABC News show an approval rating of 69 percent, which no US leader since Dwight Eisenhower in 1953 has enjoyed during his first 100 days.

Polls also show a majority of US citizens for the first time since 2004 claiming the nation is on the right path. "Obama has used his first 100 days to raise the mood of the people and raise hopes of a brighter future," one pollster said to the Associated Press, which arrived at similar statistics. ..."

Der Spiegel, Germany

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Amos
Date: 29 Apr 09 - 02:51 PM

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will sign wide-ranging, pro-consumer credit card reforms into law by late May, senior U.S. House Democrat Carolyn Maloney predicted on Wednesday.

"President Obama seems very determined," Maloney, who met with Obama on Tuesday at the White House, told the Reuters Global Financial Regulation Summit in Washington. "He said, 'We're going to get that bill. We're going to enact it into law'."

Maloney, who chairs Congress' Joint Economic Committee, added: "I'm predicting by Memorial Day (May 25) we will have... a law."

The House of Representatives is expected to vote Thursday on Maloney's bill, dubbed the "Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights."

Democrats, on behalf of the Obama administration, are expected to introduce a set of amendments including requiring card issuers to maintain low introductory teaser rates on credit cards for at least six months, and to warn card holders if they are about to exceed their credit limits, allowing them to avoid a penalty fee.

Maloney, who failed during a recent bill-writing session to insert a requirement for issuers to implement changes within 90 days of the bill becoming law, said another Democratic lawmaker will re-propose that provision for the House bill.

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Amos
Date: 29 Apr 09 - 01:06 AM

President Barack Obama created a new council on science and technology to advise him, and he put Google Inc. CEO Eric Schmidt on it.

Schmidt was a strong supporter of — and donor to — Obama's campaign for president.

He'll join Microsoft Corp.'s chief research and strategy officer, Craig Mundie, on the board.

Three men will lead the council: John Holdren, who directs White House policy on science and technology; Eric Lander, who runs the Broad Institute of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University; and Harold Varmus, the president and CEO of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center....

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/stories/2009/04/27/daily14.html

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Riginslinger
Date: 28 Apr 09 - 10:47 PM

Great for Israelis, not so good for Americans.

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Amos
Date: 28 Apr 09 - 04:54 PM

Newsweek opines:

The Secret Of His Success

What Obama has been able to accomplish in his first 100 days is enough to make any president envious.
Published Apr 25, 2009


No other American president in modern memory has faced a learning curve as steep as the one Barack Obama has encountered. When he began his quest for the Democratic nomination three years ago, the Dow Jones industrial average was 14,000, and the world was in the midst of a great economic boom. By the time he took office, America's financial industry was in chaos, credit markets were frozen, housing values were plummeting and the economy was in its worst contraction since the Great Depression. Add to that Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran and North Korea, and you get an extraordinary set of challenges.

And yet, by most measures, President Obama's first 100 days have been successful. The economy remains weak, of course, but he has put forward a series of initiatives to stabilize the capital and housing markets, proposed longer-term programs to create sustained growth, adjusted America's military priorities in Afghanistan and Iraq, and begun a process of reaching out to the world and changing America's image. These are only overtures, and naturally much will depend on how things turn out—in the economy, in Pakistan, in Iraq. But so far, any president would be envious of Obama's accomplishments.

The real question is, why has Obama been so successful? Many commentators have focused on his calm leadership style, his deliberative methods and his tight teamwork. That's all true, but there is a larger explanation for the success so far. Obama has read the country and the political moment correctly. He understands that America in 2009 is in a very different place now. Polls say the country is more liberal than it was two decades ago.

Conservative commentators have made much of a recent Pew survey showing that public reaction to Obama has been more polarized than to any previous president: Democrats really like him, and Republicans really dislike him. But the poll's most striking statistic was how few Americans now self-identify as Republicans. For the past year it has hovered around 24 percent, the lowest in three decades. It's not so much that the Republican base has shrunk, as Emory University political scientist Alan Abramowitz points out in a recent essay: the Democratic base has expanded. When Bill Clinton was elected in 1992, the Democratic base was 30 percent of the electorate; swing voters were 43 percent and Republicans 27 percent. Last year Democrats made up 41 percent; swing voters dropped to 32 percent and Republicans stayed put at 27 percent. Because party loyalties tend not to shift quickly, an 11-point rise for the Democrats is astonishing. Abramowitz argues that since these changes are largely rooted in demography—particularly the growing nonwhite population—they are likely to persist for a while.

It's not only that Obama has inherited a more liberal country. He has figured out how to utilize the moment. Rahm Emmanuel's aphorism "Never let a crisis go to waste" has in fact proved a brilliant political strategy. By combining short-term stimulus spending with long-term progressive projects, Obama has confounded the opposition. Sen. Judd Gregg was on CNBC last week trying to explain that while he fully supported government spending for 2009 and 2010 to jump-start the economy, his concerns were about 2011 and 2012. That's a pretty complicated case to make to the electorate.

Just as important, Obama has not overinterpreted the moment. He has steered a careful middle course on the bank bailouts. The most spirited critiques of his policies have come not from the right but from the left—in the clamor for nationalization. He may or may not have the policy right, but he certainly has the politics right. The country remains generally suspicious of big government and comfortable with free markets and private enterprise. And the old Democratic hostility to big business doesn't resonate so strongly anymore, since the new Democratic majority has fewer working-class whites and more college graduates. Obama has handled the public's anger well, giving voice to outrage but not enacting populist policies. He quietly announced last week that he will not reopen negotiations on the North American Free Trade Agreement to impose new labor and environmental standards.
(...)

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Amos
Date: 28 Apr 09 - 04:31 PM

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Obama administration said Tuesday it is expanding its foreclosure prevention program to cover second mortgages and to direct more troubled borrowers to the Hope for Homeowners program.

Announced with great fanfare in mid-February, the president's $75 billion program has gotten off to a slow start. Loan servicers only recently started taking applications and many delinquent borrowers have complained about being left in the cold because their home values have dropped or they've lost their jobs.

The administration is seeking to address some of the concerns by tweaking the original modification plan, which calls for adjusting eligible borrowers' loans so monthly payments are no more than 31% of pre-tax income.

Servicers covering 75% of the nation's mortgages are now participating in the program, which also allows some homeowners with little or no equity to refinance their mortgages, a senior administration official said Tuesday. Together, the plans are expected to help up to 9 million avoid foreclosure.

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Amos
Date: 28 Apr 09 - 12:56 PM

IT's not my rose-colored glasses, luv, it's the bottomless spew of generalizations and unanchored negative nabobbery, clouds of propositions without referents, categorical defamations without detail, and other forms of scurrilous semantic bandaloggery that makes you hard to understand. My impression is that bringing about understanding is not very high among your priorities, which seem more weighted in favor of obdurate rightness and histrionic venting.


A

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: GUEST,Guest from Sanity
Date: 28 Apr 09 - 03:39 AM

..'Maybe its just me, but neither of you are making much sense recently. Are there specifics behind all this noxious pollution you are spouting?'

Perhaps, it is your PERCEPTION, or LACK of it, that it makes no sense to. I can't be held responsible to have it make sense FOR your personal perceptions! Perhaps, it would be easier, for you to make sense, out of what other people have to say,(or ask), if you'd stop looking through rose colored glasses, then wondering why everyone else doesn't see it the way you do!

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Amos
Date: 28 Apr 09 - 02:24 AM

Obama speaks to the National Academy.



A

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Amos
Date: 28 Apr 09 - 02:16 AM

Maybe its just me, but neither of you are making much sense recently. Are there specifics behind all this noxious pollution you are spouting?

A

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: GUEST,Guest from Sanity
Date: 27 Apr 09 - 11:55 PM

...then you have Timmy Tax Cheat, sell it back to the taxpayers...and their children! Pretty slick! Now instead of paying several times the interest, to the crooked bankers, now we have the additional price of 'interest' we have to pay the Fed, to print new worthless fiat money to buy it back, and again, on credit!! Yea administration!....and for decades to come!

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Donuel
Date: 27 Apr 09 - 10:07 PM

IF you were able to look behind the scenes of Neil Kashcari and Henry Paulson busily at work on Wall Street you would have seen when all equity was about to dry up, both of them busily at work making BRAND NEW EQUITY. They were the new fangled bundled mortgage security bonds that were given AAA ratings by their friends.

this is how they made them...

1st you take a human turd and then Kashcari would spray paint it bright gold.
2nd Henry would wrap it in Saran Wrap to hide the smell and VIOLA - Brand New Equity
3rd Get CNBC and all the investment banks to sell them worldwide.

Before you know it you're rolling in dough while your buyers are sinking in shit.

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Donuel
Date: 27 Apr 09 - 09:54 PM

Not even satirical




Obama has a Moral Compass. It has a needle that may point to either right or wrong. It has no left or right, just an inscription that says "when in doubt observe the golden rule.

Republicans claim they lost their moral compass. They never had one. What they had was a guide book of how to put their hand in some other guy's pocket and steal whatever he has.

We are entering Unchartered territory. Fortunately I have a map of the Unchartered territory and it has some deep valleys, a couple of abysmal plains and one helluva depression. The only way accross is with a suspension bridge made with actual labor and intelligent plans.

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Riginslinger
Date: 27 Apr 09 - 09:24 PM

So, it was the Obama Administration who started the flu epidemic, all for the purpose of embarrassing Rick Perry...

Subject: RE: BS: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Donuel
Date: 27 Apr 09 - 09:21 PM

Rick Perry of Texas who suggested Texas could always seceed from the union if Obama continues to tax and stimulate job creation with their kids money...

today asked the Federal Goverment for 300,000 Federal Tamilflu medications.

Subject: RE: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Amos
Date: 27 Apr 09 - 03:49 PM

Excerpt from a dialogue with Barack Obama on CNN:

How can corporate America redeem itself? You reportedly told bankers in a private meeting recently that your administration "is the only thing between you and the pitchforks." Could you broaden that message for the Fortune 500?

The causes of this economic and financial crisis are complex, and extend from Washington to Wall Street to Main Street. Americans are angry at the extent of the damage that has been done to our economy, and justifiably so. Understanding that frustration is important in restoring confidence and helping our economy and our businesses recover.

The truth is that there is plenty of blame to go around. Many Americans took out loans that they could not afford. Others were enticed into loans they did not understand by lenders trying to make a quick profit. Investment banks bought and packaged these questionable mortgages into securities, arguing that by pooling the mortgages, the risks had been reduced. Credit agencies stamped these securities with their safest rating when they should have been labeled "Buyer Beware." And as the bubble grew, there was almost no accountability or oversight from anyone in Washington.

Addressing this crisis will require change across the spectrum, not just from corporate America but from Washington and Main Street as well. We need to update our regulatory structure with sound rules of the road that reward drive and innovation instead of shortcuts and abuse. We also need to invest in the drivers of productivity that will make our businesses more competitive in areas like health care, energy, and education.

You said you'd like to see "our best and brightest commit themselves to making things" rather than responding to a culture that celebrates "those who can manipulate numbers." In what ways do you want to foster companies that make things?

One of the goals of my economic policy is to help lay the foundation for durable economic growth, which drives innovation in our businesses and helps nurture the next generation of homegrown scientists, engineers, and innovators. But as we move forward in this effort, we cannot ignore the fact that our education system is not adequately preparing our workers for a 21st-century economy. Our businesses cannot compete and win in the global economy without a more effectively trained workforce - especially in areas like math and science. That is why so many corporate leaders are advocating for more effective investments in education - from early-childhood education to cultivating more homegrown engineering talent. And that is why I have set a goal that will greatly enhance our ability to compete for the jobs of the 21st century: By 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.

Much of the business community is alarmed over tax increases in your budget. A coalition of business groups argues that this will impede an economic recovery. Do you believe there is validity to this concern, and do you continue to entertain the possibility of lowering the U.S. corporate tax rate?

I have long advocated a fairer, simpler tax code. That's why my administration has taken far-reaching action to cut taxes in ways that will spur an economic recovery. We have enacted a tax cut for 95% of working families. We passed a recovery act with $75 billion in tax cuts to help businesses create jobs over the next two years. And we are helping small businesses keep their doors open so they can weather this economic storm. Instead of the normal two years, small businesses are now allowed to offset their losses during this downturn against the income they've earned over the last five years. Going forward, I'm committed to reforming our tax code to remove the distortions and complexities that get in the way of businesses investing in expanding operations and creating jobs here in the U.S.

The economic crisis has compelled the administration to assert itself over corporate America in ways that Americans aren't used to. How permanent will this be?

I did not invite the crises that I inherited, and I have always believed that our role as lawmakers is not to stifle the market, but to strengthen its ability to unleash creativity and innovation. But I also have a responsibility to take aggressive action to avoid an even deeper recession and to move this nation toward recovery. History has shown repeatedly that when nations do not take early and aggressive action to get credit flowing again, they have crises that last for many years instead of many months. My hope is that by taking the steps we are taking today, from stabilizing our financial system to helping our auto industry restructure to become more competitive, it will help speed the day that the government can get out of the way and let the private sector do what it does best - innovate, create jobs, and grow the economy. ...(From here on CNN).

Subject: RE: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Little Hawk
Date: 27 Apr 09 - 12:54 PM

Further to that, 89% of Democrats said there are circumstances in which the United States should definitely consider employing torture against Republicans, while 98% of Republicans said there are circumstances in which the United States should absolutely consider employing torture against Democrats!

They were both, however, 100% against torture being applied against themselves, regardless of the circumstances...

No surprise there. ;-D

Subject: RE: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Amos
Date: 27 Apr 09 - 12:43 PM

Barack Obama's performance in the first 100 days of his presidency draws strong public approval in a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, but there is decidedly less support for his recent decision to release previously secret government memos on the interrogation of terrorism suspects, an initiative that reveals deep partisan fissures.

Overall, the public is about evenly divided on the questions of whether torture is justifiable in terrorism cases and whether there should be official inquiries into any past illegality involving the treatment of terrorism suspects. About half of all Americans, and 52 percent of independents, said there are circumstances in which the United States should consider employing torture against such suspects.

Barely more than half of all poll respondents back Obama's April 16 decision to release the memos specifying how and when to employ specific interrogation techniques. A third "strongly oppose" that decision, about as many as are solidly behind it. Three-quarters of Democrats said they approve of the action, while 74 percent of Republicans are opposed; independents split 50 to 46 percent in favor of the decision. ... (WaPo)

Subject: RE: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Little Hawk
Date: 27 Apr 09 - 12:33 PM

Bearded Bruce, please! Cease and desist this forcible insertion of massive volumes of turgid political hoo-haa in the midst of our humorous banter. Have you no consideration?

Subject: RE: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Amos
Date: 27 Apr 09 - 12:23 PM

I scarcely think that obstreperous obstruction on the part of Republicans is a reflection on Obama's agenda or even his diplomatic skills. Of the many things on his list of issues and policies, bringing along the stubborn slangers and nay-sayers is only one item, and obviously, on it is easy for partisans on the other side to defeat immediately if they are so inclined; which it seems is the case.


A

Subject: RE: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: beardedbruce
Date: 27 Apr 09 - 11:06 AM

Commentary: Give Obama an 'incomplete'

Story Highlights
Julian Zelizer: If president were getting a grade, it would be an "incomplete"
He says Obama has shown a tendency to experiment on policy
Zelizer: President has negotiated stances with his party rather than impose them
He says Obama has been more incremental on policy than some expected
updated 3 minutes ago

By Julian E. Zelizer
Special to CNN
   
Julian E. Zelizer says the first 100 days have yielded some clues about what kind of president Obama will be.

(CNN) -- When President Obama moved into the White House, press speculation immediately began about what his first 100 days would look like.

Journalists as well as scholars looked to history to speculate about which models of presidential leadership he might follow.

As we reach the end of the first 100 days this week, Obama remains much of a mystery. If we are talking grades, the best we can give him at this point is an "incomplete."

Given that the first 100 days is only an artificial marker -- it's been used since the presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt -- it is not surprising that it is too early to reach sweeping conclusions about what this presidency will be. It is worth remembering that Jimmy Carter, whose presidency would become deeply troubled by his second year, ended his first 100 days with high approval ratings and positive media coverage.

But the first 100 days nonetheless offer important clues about what kind of presidency we will see over the coming years. The first trait Obama has demonstrated has been experimentation. Here, he does resemble FDR.

While Roosevelt believed in the importance of using the federal government to stabilize economic conditions in 1933, he also refused to be pinned down by one ideological position or by one set of policy ideas.

During his first 100 days, FDR brought different kinds of advisers into his administration -- from fiscally conservative Budget Director Lewis Douglas to social welfare advocate Frances Perkins as secretary of Labor -- and he introduced a variety of programs to help Americans. The National Recovery Act established voluntary codes for businesses in an effort to create stability in production and pricing, whereas agricultural programs focused on increasing the price of farm goods to help rural areas.

Obama has displayed the same kind of attitude toward governance. His top advisers are an eclectic group, ranging from free-market, globalization proponents like Lawrence Summers to progressive Chicago lawyer Valerie Jarrett.

When the White House proposed the economic stimulus legislation after taking office, Obama told Congress what he wanted from the bill, but then was willing to let the Democratic leadership in Congress reshape the details of the policy as the negotiations unfolded.

Most importantly, he shaved back the overall levels of spending and then agreed to cuts toward the end of conference committee deliberations.

Though he pleased many Democrats with an economic assistance program for the auto industry that saved millions of jobs in the Midwest, the president has postponed action on the Employee Free Choice Act, which includes provisions that would make unionization of workplaces easier. His financial bailout program placed most of the risk on the backs of average taxpayers with the hope of revitalizing markets.

The good news for Democrats is that this flexibility has offered Obama considerable insulation from political attacks. His poll ratings remain strong while Republicans languish with low approval levels. It has also given him room to maneuver with Congress.

The bad news is that, as FDR discovered, this kind of approach opens him up to attack from Democrats who fear that he is too willing to abandon core positions as well as Republicans who want to paint him as a Bill Clinton-like figure who can't be trusted.

The second trait we have seen from Obama has been that he believes in negotiation within his party and is not a top-down party leader. In this respect, the president has emulated the style of President Lyndon Johnson, who in 1964 and 1965 was forced to contend with a Democratic Party much more deeply divided than now, with Southern conservative Democrats, who controlled the congressional committee chairmanships, and Northern liberals, who in the 1960s wanted to tackle problems like race and urban decline.

Obama has thus far dealt with Democrats more like Johnson did with his party than George W. Bush did with Republicans after 2001. The Bush White House did not seek counsel from Republicans in Congress. It generally told Republican colleagues what to do.

Obama has been very careful not to impose his will on Democrats. Most recently, after deciding to release the "torture memos," Obama backed off initial statements that he did not want to have an interrogation commission or seek prosecution after Democrats in Congress said that they might want to pursue such a course.

Obama has asked Congress to pass national health insurance and environmental regulation, but he has purposely not specified what those policies should look like and has given repeated signals that he is open to all proposals.

The value of this type of party leadership is that the president gives Democrats an opportunity to "buy in" to the legislation and eases tensions that might develop between the executive and legislative branches even under united government. On the other hand, the danger is that Obama loses control of the process and that legislators send forth proposals that Obama does not support.

The final trait from the first 100 days is that Obama has taken a much more incremental approach than many observers expected or that many of his opponents proclaim.

Compared with FDR in his first 100 days, Obama has been restrained in his proposals. He has focused most of his attention on the economic stimulus bill, the automobile industry bailout and financial assistance measures.

To be sure, there is much more to come, as was the case with FDR. Obama has proposed a large budget, has made clear he views national health care and new environmental regulation as priorities, and has indicated interest in immigration reform. He has agreed to use the reconciliation process, which prohibits a filibuster, to try to ensure health care reform can withstand any Republican opposition.

But FDR pushed for more up front. In his first 100 days, Congress passed 15 major bills, which included the Banking Act, National Industrial Recovery Act, Civilian Conservation Corps, Federal Emergency Relief Administration, Tennessee Valley Authority, Agricultural Adjustment Act and more.

We'll have to see what happens in the second and third 100 days, which are perhaps more instructive in evaluating a presidency as the shine from the election fades and political tensions over the details of an administration's agenda harden.

It is then that we'll gain a better sense of whether Obama will be able to sustain the momentum of the first 100 days as did FDR, culminating in the 1936 election landslide, or whether he will lose the political strength from these early days, as was the case with Carter.

Subject: RE: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: beardedbruce
Date: 27 Apr 09 - 11:03 AM

Bipartisanship didn't last long in Obama's first 100 days

Story Highlights
Slew of legislative achievements have come at the cost of bipartisanship

Democrats: GOP making a political calculation to be the party of "no"

Republicans say Democrats have shut them out

Real reason for partisan divide may be genuine philosophical differences


By Dana Bash
CNN Senior Congressional Correspondent
   
Editor's note: How would you rate the new Congress in President Obama's first 100 days? You'll get a chance to make your opinion known on at 7 p.m. ET Wednesday on the CNN National Report Card.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- There's little debate that Democrats who run Congress mark President Obama's 100-day milestone with some significant victories.

First and foremost, they passed the president's $787 billion measure intended to stimulate the economy with warp speed, meeting his February deadline.

Congressional Democrats also made good on promises to push through several priorities that President Bush had refused to sign into law.

They finally approved last year's bill to fund the government, with significant increases in spending for things such as education, health care and transportation.

And Democrats passed long stalled legislation for children's health insurance -- the State Children's Health Insurance Program, known as S-CHIP -- as well as the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act mandating equal pay for women in the workplace.

But the slew of legislative achievements during Obama's first 100 days have come at the cost of bipartisanship.

The president's stimulus package passed with three Republican votes.

Obama's budget blueprint passed the House of Representatives and the Senate without a single GOP vote. And the $410 billion bill to fund the government turned into a partisan clash.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, opened the Senate in January declaring that "when we allow ourselves to retreat into the tired, well-worn trenches of partisanship, we diminish our ability to accomplish real change." Watch Reid in January predict Congress will work together »

Now, that feels like ancient history.

So does Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's more hopeful tone in January.

"If we see sensible, bipartisan proposals, Republicans will choose bipartisan solutions over partisan failures every time," said McConnell of Kentucky. Watch McConnell in January say that Republicans will cooperate, not compromise »

In the blame game over the breakdown of bipartisanship, Republicans said Democrats shut them out and never really considered GOP ideas. Democrats accused Republicans of making a political calculation to be the party of "no."

But the real reason for the partisan divide may be genuine philosophical differences, especially when it comes the No. 1 issue during the president's first 100 days -- the economy.

Republicans working to recover from their drubbing during the last two elections said they are trying to return to their small government roots. That means opposing Obama's economic prescriptions.

"We've been throwing trillions of dollars around like it was Monopoly money," McConnell said in the heat of the spending bill debate. Watch Reid and McConnell argue over the spending bill »

"A way of looking at it is we have spent more in the first 23 or 24 days of this administration, in other words, charged more, than it cost post-9/11 for the war Afghanistan, the war in Iraq and the response to Katrina already."

Yet most Democrats fundamentally believe government spending is the only way to jump-start the economy.

"We're going to have to spend some money to get out of this hole. The government's the only body that has any money," Reid said.

The reality is that bipartisanship on big, controversial issues is usually born out of necessity -- the ruling party historically reaches across the aisle only when it needs votes to prevail.

The Democrats' wide majority has meant that, for the most part, they haven't had to compromise.

It's not clear whether things will be any different over the next 100 days.

Democrats last week, at the behest of Obama's team, decided to use a rule that ultimately will prevent Republicans from waging a filibuster against the overhaul of health care. At the end of the day, if they can hold their own members in line, Democrats won't have to make concessions to Republicans to pass health care legislation.

Perhaps House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, was the most honest in her early assessment of the new Democratic-dominated Washington dynamic.

"We had an election which was about our differing views of the direction our country was going in," Pelosi said at a press conference a week after Obama's inauguration. "The American people agreed with us."

Whether the American people continue to agree with Democrats won't be tested until the 2010 elections. Given their significant majorities, it's likely that Democrats will build up a significant legislative resume for voters to judge -- with or without the bipartisanship that eluded Congress' first 100 days.

Subject: RE: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: GUEST,Guest from Sanity
Date: 26 Apr 09 - 10:37 PM

Because before he was in love with Barrack, he had a torrid thing for Jesse Ventura...but alas, Amos, He moved to Mexico.

Amos, Do you live in West Hollywood?

Subject: RE: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Little Hawk
Date: 26 Apr 09 - 10:27 PM

Minnesota? Why do you say Minnesota?

Subject: RE: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Amos
Date: 26 Apr 09 - 10:21 PM

Well LH, it is only natural the lass would be reticent, given she is of a retiring and demure nature. But I think she could be drawn out given the right mixture of charm and respect. And you are jut the man to do it. Unlike myself, you are single, for one thing. I could not put my heart into such a venture, no matter how tempting, while you could do so freely.

Also, I have a day job.

So I urge you, man of chivalrous intent, to take the next train to Minnesota and make your case...



A

Subject: RE: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Little Hawk
Date: 26 Apr 09 - 05:15 PM

LOL! I take that as an indication of hesitation on your part. Am I right? Look, if Tiny Tim and Miss Vicky were made for one another, and it seems they were, then anything is possible.

Subject: RE: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: GUEST,Guest from Sanity
Date: 26 Apr 09 - 02:33 PM

Little Hawk, I'm saying this in jest..... If I want any shit from you, I'll just squeeze your head!

Subject: RE: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Little Hawk
Date: 26 Apr 09 - 01:57 PM

Amos? GfS? I'm beginning to think that you two could make an incredible couple if a meeting could be arranged. It's like one of those stories, you know, where the two people hate each other at first...and then slowly as they get to know one another and face challenges together...and they begin to perceive the unexpected strengths in each other, the spunkiness, and those little lovable qualities...much to their own astonishment, love begins to bloom!

Yessir. I see possibilities here. I am hoping that GfS is indeed female, because my friend, Amos, after all, is male. That would make for the kind of traditional storyline usually required.

On the other hand....the entertainment business is certainly open now to gay male and lesbian relationships...so I suppose it doesn't really matter, does it? Okay, good!

So, here's my idea. I know William Shatner, and he spends a lot of time in California. Amos lives in California. I don't know where GfS lives, but Chongo is a private investigator and I'm sure he can find out.

Voila! With a little time and effort I'm sure a meeting can be arranged, possibly even some time be set aside on some tropical island paradise where Amos and GfS can really get to know one another over a period of a few weeks and overcome their initial shyness and doubts.

Just say the word and I shall put all the machinery in motion! ;-D

Subject: RE: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Amos
Date: 26 Apr 09 - 12:47 PM

It is purely dimwitted, lady, to assume that someone is a Messiah because others supported him in the election.

Obama has character, eloquence, and a compelling clarity of thought.

That means he is a good candidate. It does not mean he will make no errors or should be followed blindly. Get real, here. If all you want to do is to try and push buttons, then I'd suggest you should find more willing targets for your trolling.

Lately all you have been doing is shooting off your mouth in antagonistic half-baked slams of the most puerile sort. Why all the name-calling? Is that your notion of a clear-minded discussion? Why not clamber out of the gutter?



A

Subject: RE: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: GUEST,Guest from Sanity
Date: 26 Apr 09 - 12:30 PM

Oh, is that so?..I suggest you scroll through the threads, and look at your posts. Reminiscent of 'Tiger Beat' magazine with cover stories of David Cassidy.

Subject: RE: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Amos
Date: 26 Apr 09 - 11:58 AM

GoS:

Your appetite for having someone to scorn, scratch, and slander has led you into making up a persona for me that is quite removed from the actuality. HE is not my messiah. I don't have one, or need one, either, thanks very much. And apparently you presume that everyone should hold only those opinions which their elected representative holds? That's a very aberrated version of the democratic process, not so?


A

Subject: RE: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: GUEST,Guest from Sanity
Date: 26 Apr 09 - 11:45 AM

Well, Amos, being as you fancy yourself as so 'well informed'(Washington Post is pretty well known for being partisan), don't you think, if you read it, you would have known that he already won the election? You can stop campaigning for him.
By the way, you messiah in chief, is not in favor of your 'gay rights', either.......so, who's wrong here?

Subject: RE: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Amos
Date: 26 Apr 09 - 11:14 AM

In other news, WaPo's 100-day summary reports Obama's general approval is 69% despite various views on some of his decisions specifically.


A

Subject: RE: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: GUEST,Guest from Sanity
Date: 25 Apr 09 - 10:51 PM

How would you know?

Subject: RE: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Amos
Date: 25 Apr 09 - 10:22 PM

Your response to my posting of a whole catalog of thoughtful remarks on Obama's activities since inauguration, GfS, was to cast the whole lot aside with a single caustic aspersion. Is that what you mean by "thinking"? To me, it looks like quite the opposite.

A

Subject: RE: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Riginslinger
Date: 25 Apr 09 - 09:50 PM

I think Obama is on the right track to try to open a dialogue with Chavez and other Latin American leaders. I worry about what his objectives are related to immigration from Latin America.

Subject: RE: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: GUEST,Guest from Sanity
Date: 25 Apr 09 - 08:19 PM

..in other words, don't consider anything that anyone says, other than who I 'cut and paste' from...otherwise you might be participating in soon to be, illegal activity...thinking!

Subject: RE: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Little Hawk
Date: 25 Apr 09 - 04:55 PM

Heh! Oh, that is much better. Thank you.

Subject: RE: Popular Views: the Obama Administration
From: Amos
Date: 25 Apr 09 - 04:44 PM

Sure, Little Hawk. Here ya go. "What a dull-witted knee-jerk comment!" Always glad to help out.


A