I have known people from the country, and I have known people from the city, and, while there are countless exceptions, generally speaking you couldn’t be more wrong. Of course you can find morons anywhere you go; but, for some reason, the harder it is to find people, the easier it is to find morons.
I’m curious - how do you think the politicians “up there” in Washington manage to raise the price of gasoline? Do they force the oil companies to do it? Do they manipulate the world price of oil?
You’ll find all your answers here. Chapter 2.
To be fair most of that stuff was passed under Bush Jr. And frankly Obama could have handled the AIG mess a WHOLE lot better.
yeah but a million jobs is about 0.5% off our unemployment rate.
And spent almost all of his political capital on an issue that was NOT the economy and frankly its NOT paid for. He picked up all the parts of health care reform taht would cost money and left out the part that “bends the cost curve” in an attempt to get Republican support.
OK that’s one.
Much later than promised and we still have Guantanamo.
OK thats two
I give him full props for this. He knew about this early enough to kill bin laden before the 2010 election and he held off to make sure that Americans were fully prepared to raid the compound without casualty AND we could verify his death.
Meh
Meh
I think there are a lot of liberals who take every opportunity to voice they disappointment in Obama.
I think the media drives them.
Alright, since you are looking for the opinions of moderates, I’ll voice my opinion. Just to let you know, I’m fairly liberal on some issues (marriage equality, social programs, green economy subsidies), I am also very conservative on other issues (right to own guns, capitalism, strong national defense). I believe in a balanced approach to economics - a mostly free market with some government regulation and involvement.
I have taken many political compass tests in my life and I am always grouped slightly to the left in the moderates category, so I am comfortable considering myself a moderate.
I was very excited to vote for Obama in 2008. I am having a REALLY difficult time justifying voting for him again. I’m not saying I won’t vote for him, but it’ll be mostly because I hate the GOP candidates and not because I really care for Obama. Now, let me address your points.
- avoided a second Great Depression
Bush did this, and Obama continued it. He deserves no special kudos for this.
- presided over massive private sector job growth, adding well over a million net private jobs since the Stimulus, more than George Bush added in 8 years.
that’s a really good example of using statistics to tell a half-truth. Thank you to OMG A Black Conservative for politifact’s debunking of this claim.
-passed health care reform (which is, among other things, a ban on insurance discrimination based on pre-existing conditions; subsidies for low-income Americans to purchase insurance; coverage for people up to age 26 on their parents insurance; filling the Medicare donut hole and expanding Medicaid to 133% of poverty level; and pilot measures in reducing medical costs – all of which is more than paid for, according to the CBO.
I HATE the healthcare reform that Obama got passed. I believe it is unconstitutional, and was a HUGE win for insurance companies. It helped widen their base (to everyone), and it had relatively weak caps on premium increases. It did some good but it was awful, awful awful and I hope the SCOTUS gets rid of the junk. This one thing alone may be the biggest reason I hate Obama.
- saved the auto industry
Not a big fan of this honestly. You may think it’s cold hearted, and perhaps it is wrong, but Ford never needed a bailout. Toyota builds vehicles here in America too. We would still have an auto-industry.
- pulled combat troops out of Iraq
I am happy about this one. He kept his promise and is focusing on Afghanistan. Good for him on this one.
- repealed DADT
As a gay man myself, this resonates intensely with me. A huge success on Obama’s part.
- proposed a politically risky military operation that successfully killed Bin Laden, not to mention killing many other Al Qaeda leaders
I think he deserves a lot of the credit for this. McCain openly admitted he wouldn’t have done this in the debates back in 2008, and Obama said that he would. He kept his promise.
- ended torture
Another good one, but not something I really felt too passionately about. I agree that torture is wrong, but I don’t think that the Bush presidency flagrantly disregarded the treaties regarding torture. They got legal opinion on certain practices and executed them in limited cases.
- cut middle class taxes
Not really a big fan of cutting taxes while keeping the same tax code. I guess it’s good that he did this, but it doesn’t get me fired up for him.
Stuff I’m really upset with Obama about that has not yet been mentioned:
-He is weak and ineffective. He tries to reach agreements with republicans who have no desire to make fair deals with him.
-He talks about increasing taxes on the wealthiest Americans all the time, which is all fine with me… but the entire system needs to be reworked. I’m generally in favor of replacing the income tax with a sales tax, if certain basic goods are not taxed at all, while other luxury goods are taxed very heavily. If it were done in a way that low and middle-income American’s came out with lower taxes, and the wealthy pay more, then that’s what I’m looking for. Ever since I can remember I have always been a fan of a sales tax in place of an income tax, and so far, the only ones talking about that are the GOP candidates.
-His handling of the debt ceiling debate was laughable. I watched it closely and was very disappointed with him.
That’s about all I can think of right now, I’ll get back if I can think of other things.
But what’s he done THIS week?
Blatherskythe. Can you diagnose, disassemble, repair and rebuild the tools you need to provide your living? Country folks do it all the time. Can you build the stuff you need from scrap? Most farm folks do that too. Can you figure out much you need now and of what to get the best yields for your investment 6 months from now? In your head, often on the fly, also forecasting weather and markets? That’s what farmers do, with every crop. Can you figure out non-lethal ways protect your own from two and 4 legged thieves because the police are at least 20 minutes away?
Morons indeed.
If Bryan had one thing right it was "Burn down your cities and leave our farms, and your cities will spring up again as if by magic. But destroy our farms and the grass will grow in the streets of every city in the country. "
See my posts #19 & #76. Perhaps I’m invisible after all. 
Da Mikster has made a key point here. These folks here in the styx are quite resourceful and very self-sufficient. Many Urbanites don’t even know how to drive a car. Living in the city requires a higher level of social skills than needed in rural areas. Getting along with your neighbors is a lot easier when only 50 people live within a mile of your house. Each group has different survival skills as to meet their environment. It does not mean one group is smarter then the other.
Perhaps city folk are more politically tuned because politics is really about people living and working together.
I think people are spending a lot of time debating a funny line from Blazing Saddles.
The sheriff is near?
Regards,
Shodan