On Sun, 1 Nov 2009 10:57:04 -0500, "Tom Littleton"
wrote:


"Ken Fortenberry" wrote in message
...
The worldwide economy was snatched back from the brink of
almost certain disaster by Obama's team.

huh?? The worldwide economy?? Geez, Ken let's get the ideological blinders
off, and look at reality. If the 'worldwide economy' approached the 'brink
of almost certain disaster' at all(I suspect not), it was probably during
the fall of 2008. Bush's team sort of held their collective noses and
steered out of that mess, whether one agrees with the tactics or not. Obama
had not even won the damned election.

Uh-oh...

Now, and I suspect Rick will disagree with me here, I do feel that Obama's
team has taken steps to lessen the severity of the impact on the citizenry
of the US. As Biden stated last week, in 8 months we have gone from,"will
this be the next Great Depression" to "I wonder what shape the recovery will
take", and that is a positive thing.

No, I don't disagree, at least insofar as he and his team have done what many,
even most, pols do in such times - they scramble to lessen "today's impact" felt
by those who, they hope, will re-elect them. And FWIW, I tend to think Obama
personally wants to do a good job, both for his own interests as far as his
political career and the oft-talked-about "legacy" of the POTUS, but also in a
genuine spirit for the US as a whole as well. And I think that's true of most
all of the "modern" presidents, including GW Bush, Clinton, Nixon, and LBJ. My
sense, however, is that he was a little early in getting to the top and like
JFK, he simply doesn't have _any_ real-world experience in dealing with the
whole thing. Hopefully, his on-the-job training won't end too badly for the US
and its residents. And - just IMO from general info - Obama is fortunately free
of the large set of personal baggage that JFK carried, much of it very
distasteful. My sense is that at the end of the day, what with being a Chicago
pol and all, he's a pretty decent, grounded guy, of obvious intelligence, at
least on a personal level, and hopefully, that will win out. FWIW, I am as...
well, let's say "offended"...as his acolytes are by beanie and his ilk's use of
things like "comrade hussein" and "clown."

It always amuses me that any person or group assigns dramatic economic
impact to politicians. They, as Rick notes rightly, do affect trends, either
by actions or inactions, but far more complex and stronger forces are
generally at work. The role of politicians is to take the economic realities
they face and try and do the best for the society as a whole. Time will tell
if the Obama administration succeeds in that goal. So far, I'll give them
credit for intelligent thinking on the matter,

And here, I'll somewhat disagree. While they have _said_ some good things, they
have dropped some real clangers - the aforementioned Cash for Clunkers, the
$250.00 check to seniors (they didn't need a COL increase, so they got a little
side money....? WTF was THAT?!), supporting Corzine so heavily (they shoulda
stayed out of that and NY - WAY, WAY out...). He's just not ready for
prime-time. Will he be? As you and others have said, only time will tell.

but, as with so much of the
current scene, from the economy, to healthcare, to foreign affairs, any
person looking at things dispassionately has to say the jury is still out.
For example, today finds Hillary Clinton glowing over the remarkably
cooperative attitude of the Israeli government towards settlements in what
the Palistinians wish to be their homeland. Looks like the same-old same-old
that got us into a ****load of trouble to me.......

Hilary, Israel, Obama's team, and "Arabs" are a pretty dangerous mix...again,
about all that anyone can do now is hope for the best...and "hope" ain't looking
so good on that front at the moment...

TC,
R
Tom