# Obama's Debt: Unpaid in full **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 3, 2011, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-debt-unpaid-in-full/591322 "2011-08-03T14:38:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-debt-unpaid-in-full/591322/81 "2011-08-04T12:59:38Z")
The cure isn’t working fast enough so take some more disease. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-debt-unpaid-in-full/591322/82 "2011-08-04T13:58:01Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > I have to ask, if even Obama wasn’t convinced by the sheer number of people in support of his plan, why did he expect any member of Congress to be influenced either? Why would he ask that of us if he wasn’t prepared to have our backs? What sheer numbers? Perhaps a majority of Americans thought differently from you and so advised their elected representatives and Obama? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-debt-unpaid-in-full/591322/83 "2011-08-04T14:39:21Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > I’m really glad I don’t give a shit about any of this. I haven’t voted in ever and I don’t plan to start. There’s no reason to vote; no matter who’s in office, the same shit will happen. An apathetic citizenry is one that is easily controlled. Surely you don’t feel that your failure to exercise your rights is commendatory? ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-debt-unpaid-in-full/591322/84 "2011-08-04T14:45:59Z")
Obama punted on fourth and long. Maybe you wanted a touch down, but I don’t question the play call given the situation. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-debt-unpaid-in-full/591322/85 "2011-08-04T14:47:08Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > I’m really glad I don’t give a shit about any of this. I haven’t voted in ever and I don’t plan to start. There’s no reason to vote; no matter who’s in office, the same shit will happen. If you think the Clinton years were the exact same thing as the Bush years you are paying zero attention. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-debt-unpaid-in-full/591322/86 "2011-08-04T15:10:20Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > Funny thing. I don’t regret my vote in 2008. Given both my knowledge at the time and the choices I had available, I’m completely satisfied having voted for Obama. 2012 may be another matter altogether. You think the alternative to Obama is going to be marginal in 2012? I have ranted and railed about how i was staying home in 2012. that Obama doesn’t stand for anything anymore. that he might as well be running as a moderate Repuiblican in their primary. But mostly because I need people to talk me down. The alternative to Obama in 2012 isn’t going to be Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachussetts, its going to be Mitt Romney, President who owes his presidency to the tea party. You really think Mitt Romeny won’t be MUCH MUCH worse than Obama? I am fucking pissed that we have shifted the center of our politcal debate to territory formerly occupied by Tom Coburn but the conservagtivesd have shifted their center of gravity to territory formerly occupied by the John Birch society. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-debt-unpaid-in-full/591322/87 "2011-08-04T15:12:09Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > I won’t vote for Obama in the primaries. > I do think that if it comes between a choice between Obama and Republican “X”, I’ll choose Obama. I wish Kucinich would announce his candidacy for 2012, I wouldn’t want him to win but I would contribute to his campaign and vote for him in the primary as long as there was no chance of him actually winning the Democratic nomination. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-debt-unpaid-in-full/591322/88 "2011-08-04T15:17:15Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > I think the final calculation was the Repubs would have let the economy crash. He had to decide if that was a choice he could accept. He did not. But he did not come out swinging and say he caved to prevent the reckless Repubs from throwing the country and the world into financial chaos. He pretended that he got a good deal and he was behind it. > This deal will cost jobs and reduce revenue. It already is badly impacting the financial sector. > He will not call them out. He will not stand up to them in public. +1 ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-debt-unpaid-in-full/591322/89 "2011-08-04T15:35:22Z")
> [@tnetennba](#): > > If you think the Clinton years were the exact same thing as the Bush years you are paying zero attention. I don’t think Clinton himself or Bush himself mattered at all. People often joke about repatriating, but I’ve BEEN thoroughly sick of the whole dog and pony show since I was about 19. Going to a country with universal health care would be this disenchanted American’s wet dream. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-debt-unpaid-in-full/591322/90 "2011-08-04T16:54:19Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > I don’t think Clinton himself or Bush himself mattered at all. > > People often joke about repatriating, but I’ve BEEN thoroughly sick of the whole dog and pony show since I was about 19. Going to a country with universal health care would be this disenchanted American’s wet dream. So your solution is to run for the border? Don’t let the door hit you in the ass. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-debt-unpaid-in-full/591322/91 "2011-08-04T18:12:57Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > I wish Kucinich would announce his candidacy for 2012, I wouldn’t want him to win but I would contribute to his campaign and vote for him in the primary as long as there was no chance of him actually winning the Democratic nomination. What the heck would you expect a primary challenge to accomplish? You think it would pull Obama to the left? If you think that, you need to put down the spliff. Obama will fucking stomp all over any primary challenger, and rightfully so. He’s not going to need to pander to the left wing primary voters, because, get this, the left wing is a small minority in the Democratic party. I know, I know, Fox News says all the time that the Democrats are all left wing socialists. But, get this, that’s a lie. It’s not true. It is false. It turns out not to be the case. You left wingers see the Democratic party electing centrists and can’t figure it out. You think if only the Democrats didn’t pander to the centrists, you could get some real fire-breathing leftists elected. Except, guess what, the left wing is a small minority faction of the Democratic party coalition. The reason Democratic elected officials are so often centrists is because the Democratic party is a centrist party. If you think Hillary would have been a more progressive president that Obama, I again have to ask you to put down the spliff. That’s freaking crazy talk. So. You know and I know that Dennis Kucinich could never win a Democratic primary, not even in an open primary with no incumbent. He sure didn’t do very well in 2008, did he? And this was after 8 years of Bush. The candidates with a real shot were Hillary, Obama, and Edwards. Which one was the progressive candidate? That’s right, none of them were. Face facts. If you want a progressive government, you need to elect a progressive majority to Congress. Even if you could somehow elect a progressive president, what the heck can he accomplish without the help of congress? It is a simple fact that Obama, although not a progressive himself, has enacted more of the progressive agenda than a progressive president could have. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-debt-unpaid-in-full/591322/92 "2011-08-04T18:17:15Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > I don’t think Clinton himself or Bush himself mattered at all. > > People often joke about repatriating, but I’ve BEEN thoroughly sick of the whole dog and pony show since I was about 19. Going to a country with universal health care would be this disenchanted American’s wet dream. How the heck do you think those other countries got Universal Health care? It just fell out of the sky, crafted by benevolent elves and fairies? In countries with universal health care, they built a majority in favor of universal health care, and passed laws to pay for it and make it happen. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-debt-unpaid-in-full/591322/93 "2011-08-04T19:01:03Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > How the heck do you think those other countries got Universal Health care? It just fell out of the sky, crafted by benevolent elves and fairies? > > In countries with universal health care, they built a majority in favor of universal health care, and passed laws to pay for it and make it happen. And benefitted from Evil American advances in medical training and technology. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-debt-unpaid-in-full/591322/94 "2011-08-04T19:08:16Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > And benefitted from Evil American advances in medical training and technology. Bricker, are you fucking retarded today? I said, if we decide we want universal health care, we have to vote for it and pay for it. Where does your non sequitor comment come from? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-debt-unpaid-in-full/591322/95 "2011-08-04T19:17:24Z")
Bless his heart, he means well. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-debt-unpaid-in-full/591322/96 "2011-08-04T19:17:41Z")
> [@Binarydrone](#): > > Anyway, I look forward to the day when your type of thinking is a relic of the past, gratefully forgotten. Thankfully, according to my calculations, 2012 will swing 1% to the blue because of demographic changes alone, and neanderthal social conservatism is literally in the process of dying out. The current breed of fiscal “conservative” is also dying out, but will no doubt be replaced by something equally wacky. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-debt-unpaid-in-full/591322/97 "2011-08-04T19:30:20Z")
Money and power will protect itself, of this you may be sure. They tried “compassionate conservatism”, sort of half-heartedly, and it didn’t sell all that well, so they went back to the tried and true approach of selling fear. “Bruce is gonna marry Bruce!” worked once, but then people got to look at it, shrugged and said “Who gives a fuck?” Lately, its looked like they want to go for the scary Muslim tack, and may the Goddess shrivel their gonads like raisins. Demographic wise, you are right, they are slowly but Shirley losing. However, the Supremes have rushed to their aid, and now they can spend all the money they want to! With enough money, they can lie early, they can lie often, they can lie loud. And they will. Just hear over the radio, the Republican candidate in the recall elections in Wisconsin has raised three times the money is opponent has raised. Wanna guess from where? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-debt-unpaid-in-full/591322/98 "2011-08-04T19:32:48Z")
Addenda, from Mr. Clemens, blessings and bourbon be upon him: “Truth is mighty and will prevail. There is nothing the matter with this, except that it ain’t so …” ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-debt-unpaid-in-full/591322/99 "2011-08-04T19:33:49Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Money and power will protect itself, of this you may be sure. They tried “compassionate conservatism”, sort of half-heartedly, and it didn’t sell all that well, so they went back to the tried and true approach of selling fear. “Bruce is gonna marry Bruce!” worked once, but then people got to look at it, shrugged and said “Who gives a fuck?” > > Lately, its looked like they want to go for the scary Muslim tack, and may the Goddess shrivel their gonads like raisins. Demographic wise, you are right, they are slowly but Shirley losing. However, the Supremes have rushed to their aid, and now they can spend all the money they want to! With enough money, they can lie early, they can lie often, they can lie loud. And they will. > > Just hear over the radio, the Republican candidate in the recall elections in Wisconsin has raised three times the money is opponent has raised. Wanna guess from where? Not necessarily. The American Family Homophobic Asshole group is ramping up the rhetoric about how gays and their unnatural ways are going to end up as the elite in this country and “Christians will be second class citizens at best”. So apparently all you gays out there are presently atheists and second class citizens. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2011, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-debt-unpaid-in-full/591322/100 "2011-08-04T19:34:38Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Thankfully, according to my calculations, 2012 will swing 1% to the blue because of demographic changes alone, and neanderthal social conservatism is literally in the process of dying out. The current breed of fiscal “conservative” is also dying out, but will no doubt be replaced by something equally wacky. What’s with all the dying? Where are all these people dropping like flies? 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-debt-unpaid-in-full/591322.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obamas-debt-unpaid-in-full/591322.md?page=6)