had a discussion with my mom last night and her rationale for voting for Trump is that Hillary is of course “crooked” and that voting for Trump couldn’t hurt the country more than it is now. Of course she couldn’t articulate to me what about this country is so horrible now that a Trump presidenancy wouldn’t hurt it more…but she’s sure that Trump couldn’t make things “worse”.
Again, what the hell is so “worse” about America today that causes someone to think Trump is the answer?? I’m just lost here…
Is there any objective measure that the baton that Obama passes to whomever wins in November will be considerably brighter and shinier and in much better shape than the one Obama received?
Other than the guy handing off the baton is black this time, I mean.
National optimism was at a 40 yr low when Obama got the baton.
There’s probably some economic measurements you could point to for brighter, some not so much. Why don’t you say which objective measure would matter to you?
I asked for any. So we can start with one, I guess.
Or we can stop playing semantic games (I’ll admit my working was clumsy before) and I can just say that we’re in much better shape after eight years of Obama than we were after eight years of GW Bush so if someone is really worried about how bad things got under this administration, I am surprised they didn’t kill themselves in 2008.
Yes. Household net worth, the total net wealth of the private (not corporate, or government) sector of the economy has increased by $23 trillion since 2009, a 5.98% annualized growth rate, better than every post-war Republican other than Eisenhower and almost double the growth under Bush2.
Page 6, line 34. You can actually compare all the numbers going back to 1948 and find out that, economically, Obama has done far better at growing wealth than the last 50 years of Republicans.
Okay, I really need to clarify since two people think I said the opposite of what I was saying:
Is there any objective measure that the baton that Obama passes to whomever wins in November will NOT be considerably brighter and shinier and in much better shape than the one Obama received?
The simple answer is a resounding yes. The next President will inherit a far better situation than Obama did.
The complex answer is that there are some new problems and some problems that were allowed to get worse under Obama that will be very challenging. It’s not totally clear that these problems are easier to deal with than the ones Obama inherited.
Some people say …
What’s “not totally clear” is what in blazes you’re referring to. If this was a specific answer to a specific question, I’d hate to read you when you’re indulging in vague generalities.
That exists. It’s also, unfortunately, blown way out of proportion by, um, everyone. Not to sound too callous, but so far, ISIS’s operational threat here in the USA has been two guys with automatic rifles and a death toll that would make your average school shooter laugh.
Again, fair, but… Well, I can’t help but point fingers on this one. Who do you think was responsible for this dysfunction? (Other than the framers, obviously.)
Rest of the list looks pretty reasonable, all things considered.
Bush kicks over an anthill and you blame Obama for the ants going nuts. Go it.
Big Gummint Is Evil. Ho hum.
Blame Russian for Russian aggression. Or, more accurately, blame The Shirtless Czar.
It certainly has its growing pains. It will get better. Maybe even get replaced by true universal healthcare.
Define “entitlements”. If it’s the usual Repub suspects (Social Security, Medicare, public education) that don’t take more than a fraction of what we throw at the military-industrial complex, then don’t waste my time.
The executive branch functions well enough. The only “government dysfunction” is entirely the fault of obstructionist Republicans in Congress, who have resolved from day one to deny Obama any accomplishments and even to implicitly deny his legitimacy as POTUS. HRC won’t fare much better with them unless the downballot elections put in more Dems. And Trump might well fare even worse.
