There are actually lots of reasons to think it did. Certainly it has more reasoning behind it than cutting taxes on the rich to create jobs.
Sounds like you understand the situation perfectly. Everything you said here is 100% accurate.
I guess the question has been answered, Obama really isn’t all that different, and he’s not been particularly bad, although perhaps he hasn’t done as much as some people would like but then he has had his hands tied by the Republicans and a global financial crisis not of his making.
If that’s not right then how come no one here has been able to explain just what makes Obama incompetent, or a bad president. I’ve asked repeatedly, but as far as I can there hasn’t been a single example of just what he has done wrong and how it could have been done differently.
Looking at who’s saying he’s incompetent should explain this. And their inability to express any thought besides barely coherent vitriol is another big clue.
He’s incompetent because things are bad. Never mind that things were already bad and getting worse when he took office, or that the economic problems are global in scope, or that the Republicans have done everything in their power to stop him from accomplishing anything at all - when you measure things by the “Criteria I Cherrypick and Ignoring All Other Criteria” system we can clearly see how terrible he is.
In order to understand the political dynamic in America the important thing to remember is that the public doesn’t support anything on the Republican agenda. If elections were decided on the issues the GOP would have to moderate their march to oligarchy. Extreme rhetoric and bizarre accusations help obscure this basic truth.
I think he’s been a fine prsident.
I’ve been a republican for over 2 decades and I almost cried with happiness when he was elected.
Now that’s an interesting thing to hear. I guess we hardly ever hear from the moderate Republicans nowadays, I suppose the news people like to get extremes arguing as often as they can.
Could you please explain to me how you think Carter and Obama were/are incompetent and compare their competency to other contemporary US presidents.
Yeah, I know. I ignore all the crap spewing back & forth, it saddens me. Its a lot easier to ignore if you don’t watch TV.
Funny, Reagun was the first president I voted for, I felt so good about his presidency. over the years I became increasingly disappointed with the grand old party. So much so that I have been voting democrat for the last 8 years or so.
I’d always heard that when you were young you’re a democrat, when you’re older you’re a republican. I seemed to have turned that around.
I guess I’m getting soft in my old age. 
It’s not just you that changed over that period - the GOP changed quite a bit, also.
It’s an article of faith, they can’t actually explain it.
Amen, to both.
I left the GOP over W Bush’s nomination–and I think if anything Obama should be further left economically.
I suspect (without much real evidence) that Obama would like to be a bit more to the left economically, but the Republicans have sold their message of no tax increases, less regulation, and the rich are the job creators so well that there isn’t the will to move the slightest bit to the left (while still remaining pretty much to the right).
What amazes me is that the obvious problem in government in the US is money. It seems to me that democracy is subverted hugely by money, and yet I never hear anyone saying something should be done about this. Surely if fund raising were removed it would help in so many ways. Why don’t tax payers think that tax money would be better used to fund politicians than corporate donations?
I would like to have seen Obama be president when there wasn’t a global financial crisis, I wonder if he would have made bigger changes then.
Reagan’s first term was pretty good, Reagan’s second term was terrible and his second term undid a lot of the good he did in the first term.
As far as you switching to Democrat, there has not been a dime’s worth of difference between Republicans and Democrats since 1984.
As a non-American it’s hard for me to know what you’re talking about, I really only know a bit about recent American politics. How about some examples of things you liked and things you didn’t. I’d really like to know where you’re coming from, but you tend to give very large sweeping statements which doesn’t help me understand why you think the way you do.
Is there anyone you would vote for in the next election? Do you prefer smaller government, and less taxes; no government; more government as long as it doesn’t cost too much; or something else? Please give me an idea of where you’re coming from.
That’s one of the stupidest statements that I hear. The parties differ on tax policy, voting rights, reaction to global warming, gay marriage, abortion, union rights, and a host of other policies. The SC Justices that each party has put forward could not be more different.
Bow of course the Democrats could move further left, but then they’d never get elected so what does it matter what they believe at that point?
You find yourself agreeing with him for the same reason i find myself nodding my head when Kucinich gives a speech, then I go and try to figure out if I want to vote for Obama or Hillary.
+1 to sh1bu1’s post. I am endlessly amused by people who pull the “both parties are the same!” card, because it’s lazy, fact-less thinking. There are clear, well-established, and substantial policy differences at the national, state, and local levels between the two major parties, and anyone who states otherwise is not paying attention, or has an agenda.