LEADERSHIP. Is Not A Republican Tradition

[Pine Mt Beagles]

Republicans ,,here,,are constantly whining about the economy,,The National debt,,but at the same time continue to support the very Politicians who continually keep putting America in the poor house.Republican leaders have almost always worked hard against progress of any kind in America especially for middle and low income families,,
You whine about the national debt yet you vote for leaders who's only goal is raise the National debt cut taxes for the top -1 % and raise taxes on every one else.

I guess some people are very,very,very,slow learner s ,,,or just vote party lines and just don't care about the out come.

Economically, Could Obama Be America's Best President?

With the stock market hitting new highs, some people have already forgotten about the Great Recession.

Recall 2009. Things looked pretty bleak economically.

But the outlook has changed dramatically in just 4 years. And it has been a boon for investors, as even the safest indices have yielded a 250% return (>25% annualized compound return:)

Additionally, unemployment and consumer confidence trends have reversed direction and are up.

Since this coincides with President Obama’s first term, I asked the authors of “Bulls, Bears and the Ballot Box,” (available on Amazon.com and which I reviewed in my October 11, 2012 column,) to capture their opinions on how much Americans should attribute the equity upturn, and improved economic prospects, to the President as we enter his second term.

BBBB – Our research reviewed American economic performance since President Roosevelt installed the first Federal Reserve Board Chairman – Republican Marriner Eccles. We observed that even though there are multiple impacts on the economy, it was clear that policy decisions within each administration, from FDR forward, made a clear difference on performance. And relatively quickly.

Presidents universally take credit when the economy does well (such as Reagan,) and choose to blame other factors when the economy does poorly (such as Carter.) But there was a clear pattern, and link, between policy and financial market performance.

Although we hear almost no one in the Obama administration taking credit for record index highs, they should. Because the President deserves attention for how well this economy has done during his leadership.

The auto rescue plan has worked. American car manufacturers are still dominant and employing millions directly and in supplier companies. Wall Street reform has been painful but it has re-instated faith amongst investors. The markets are far more predictable than they were four years ago, as VIX numbers demonstrate greater faith and less risk.

Even for small investors, such as those limited to their 401(k) or IRA investments, the average annual compound return on stocks under President Obama has been more than 24% since the lows of March, 2009. This is a better result than either Clinton, Reagan or FDR – who were the prior winners in our book.

BBBB – Firstly, let’s review just how bad things were in 2009. In 2000 America was completing the longest bull market in history. But by the end of President Bush’s tenure the country had witnessed 2 stock market crashes, and the DJIA had fallen 58%. This was the second worst market decline in history (exceeded only by the Great Depression,) and hence the term “Great Recession” was born.

In 2000, at the end of Clinton’s administration, the Consumer Confidence Index was at a record high 140. By January, 2009 this index had fallen to an historic low of 25.3. Comparatively, when Reagan took office at the end of the economically weak Carter years the Confidence Index was still at 74.4! Today this measure of how people feel about the country is still nowhere near 2000 levels, but it is almost 3 times better than 4 years ago.

Significantly, in 2000 America had a budget surplus. By 2009 surpluses were long gone and the country was racking up historic deficits as taxes were cut while simultaneously outlays for defense skyrocketed to cover costs of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Additionally, banks were on the edge of failing due to unregulated real estate speculation and massive derivative losses.

Today the Congressional Budget Office is reporting a $200B decrease in the deficit almost entirely due to increased revenue from a growing economy and higher taxes on the wealthiest Americans. The deficit is now only 4% of the GDP, down from over 10% at the end of Bush’s administration – and projections are for it to be only 2% by 2015 (before Obama leaves office.) America’s “debt problem” seems largely solved, and almost all due to growth rather than austerity.

We can largely thank a fairer tax code, improved regulation and consistent SEC enforcement. Also, major strides in health care reform – something no other President has accomplished – has given American’s more faith in their future, and an increased willingness to invest.


Q- To which President would you compare Obama’s economic performance?

BBBB- By all measures, President Obama has outperformed every modern President. The easiest comparison would be to President Reagan, whose economic performance was superb.

Reagan had the enormous benefit of two major factors:

a significantly better economy than Obama inherited, even if afflicted by inflation
and his two terms coincided with the highest performing demographic years of the Baby Boomer generation.
Today’s demographics have shifted dramatically. The country is much older, with fewer young people supporting a much larger near-retirement age group. This inherent demographic fact makes creating economic growth monumentally harder than it was 30 years ago.

Few people think of Reagan as a stimulus addict. Yet, his administration’s military build-up added $1trillion of stimulus to the national debt ($2.3trillion adjusted for inflation) – the opposite of what is happening during the Obama years. Many like to think that it was tax cutting which grew the economy, but undoubtedly we now know that this dramatic defense and infrastructure (highways, etc.) stimulus had more to do with igniting economic growth. Reagan’s spending looked far more like FDR than conservative Herbert Hoover!

Ronald Reagan tripled the national debt during his tenure, creating what today’s Congressional austerity advocates might have called “a legacy of unpayable debt for our grandchildren.” But, as we saw, later growth (during Clinton) resolved that debt and created a budget surplus by 2000.

Q- Bob, President’s Obama detractors liken the Affordable Care Act (i.e. Obamacare) to an Armageddon on business, sure to kill economic growth and plunge the country back into recession. Do you agree?

BBBB- To the contrary, ACA levels the playing field and will be good for economic growth. Where previously only large corporations could afford employee health care plans, in the future far more employees will have far more equitable coverage. Further, today employees frequently are unable to leave a company to start a new business because they would lose health care, which in the future will not be true.

One leading indicator of the benefits of ACA might be the performance of healthcare and biotech stocks, which are up 20-30% and leaders in the current market rally.

Q- What policies would you recommend the Obama administration follow in order to promote economic growth, more jobs and greater returns for investors during the second term?

BBBB- Obama needs to make the cornerstone of his second term creating new job growth. That was the primary platform of his candidacy, and it is a platform long successful for the Democratic party. If President Obama can do this and govern effectively, this could be his real legacy.

[Rabbithoundjb]

LMAO!!!!! Only an idiot like you would post such garbage. Comparing Reagan to Obama is like comparing Abe Lincoln to Jimmy Carter. You are one tax payer dependent, brain dead sheeeeeeep.

What's even more funny is your topic is on leadership and the lack of in republicans and then you try and turn around and compare the great Obama to, wait for it, not a great democrat (OOOOOPS THAT'S RIGHT THERE AREN'T ANY OF THOSE) but a successful republican president.

This master piece comes to us from the democrat underground.com posted by the Barack Obama group. LMAO PMB YOUR PATHETIC. A cut and paste from a political chat forum, now thats funny no matter who you are.

[bluemouse]

He forgot the real truth obabbler liar of the year.

[Pine Mt Beagles]

Just exactly what I expected ,from ,born Republican,,don't know don't care,is that Denial Syndrome ,Inherited,,I did notice you did not debate any of the facts,as usual you just let your uneducated Brain have A Blow out,,Maybe you should read the post again now that you have cleared your head.


As for Leadership,,let's look at that,,The only two Republican Presidents in History According to you Republicans ,,,Lincoln,,and Regan,,,were Democrats ,that could not win a Primary on the Democrat ticket so at hey ran as Republicans,,Republicans not ever having any leaders fell in love with them,and adopted them .

That made clear,,How many Republican,,Presidents have ever did any thing to lower the national debt,,How many have ever Reduced the size of a government,,None ,,,Not ,,,One,,,,Clinton ,,did,,and This President has Done Both.

John F. Kennedy ,,,,
The best Preident the Working American ever had ,followed by,Clinton,,and Obama,,,

However, I ,did Vote for a Regan twice,,,But,Regan could never win the Republican Nomination in today's , Tea Party Run Republican Party ,

[bluemouse]

I guess obabbler care roll out was great leadership skills to you also, signed up two million causing over six million to lose their insurance. And the worst is yet to be seen.

[Pine Mt Beagles]

A little something for you,,,Misguided Tea Party ,Children.

America's Top 10 Presidents

vs.

'The Worst President in All of American History'

by Maureen Farrell

In recent weeks, former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter have been vilified for criticizing a sitting president. And veteran reporter Helen Thomas has been targeted by the Republican National Committee, whose members were instructed to "call her out" for deeming G. W. Bush "the worst president in all of American history." But if former presidents can't speak out and 82-year-old icons are intimidated, who will champion the America we love? William J. Ridings and Stuart B. McIver offer a solution.

Authors of "RATING THE PRESIDENTS: A Ranking of U.S. Leaders, From the Great and Honorable to the Dishonest and Corrupt," they polled hundreds of academics and historians throughout the U.S. and Europe and rated presidents in terms of leadership, political skill, appointments, accomplishments and crisis management and character and integrity.

As is the case with any such list, it's open for nitpicking, but even so, delving into the lives and words of our nation's finest connects us to America's beacons. And though reminders of our noble birth and traditional values underscore how far we've fallen, these sentiments remain in the hearts of patriots everywhere.

Here, then, is a sampling of ideals set forth by our best and brightest, in contrast to those we presently endure:



#1 - America's Top-Ranked President, Abraham Lincoln

"I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts."

--Abraham Lincoln

Last fall, Congressman Jim McDermott shocked American pundits by suggesting President Bush would mislead the American people in order to drag them into war. Since then, the Guardian's Simon Tisdall called Bush "America's great misleader," CIA officials accused the president of using "cooked information" to falsify Iraq's threat, and U.N. inspectors said the administration's weapons of mass destruction evidence amounts to "garbage after garbage after garbage." Bush has been caught lying about everything from Iraq's nuclear capabilities and Al Qeada links to blue chip economists' phantom reports. And as the rationale for war has morphed from "weapons of mass destruction" to "regime change" to "disarmament," to "Iraqi liberation," a recent Gallup poll shows that 58% of Americans believe Bush would conceal evidence or lie to win public support for his war. Honest Abe, he's not.

#2 - America's 2nd Greatest President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

- FDR

Remember when we learned that the president had received warnings of possible terrorist attacks prior to Sept. 11 -- and headlines screamed, "Bush Knew"? Or when Colleen Rowley gained fame explaining ways FBI officials thwarted agents' attempts to investigate suspected terrorists? Though those events were monumentally noteworthy, they were overshadowed by terror alerts that this administration, and the complaint media, interrupted coverage to issue. Even the latest elevation of the country's terror alert, which was based partly on fabrications, was, according to one White House source, "a political decision as much as anything else." This also falls under the presidential rating category of "dishonest and corrupt."

#3 - America's 3rd Greatest President, George Washington

"The nation which indulges towards another a habitual hatred, or an habitual fondness, is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or to its affection, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest."

-- George Washington

From the "Axis of Evil" to President Bush's description of Kim Jong Ill as a "pygmy" to Donald Rumsfeld's dismissal of "old Europe," bellicose bullying and habitual hatred have become standard diplomatic fare. When Richard Perle, of the Pentagon's Defense Advisory Board, suggests that Germany's Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder should step down and says France is no longer an ally, it's easy to see why the world is developing a habitual hatred towards us. On the other hand, examples of habitual fondness include our $15 billion friendship with Turkey and a relationship with Israel that's caused Robert Fiskian reactions in mainstream America. When Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported that Undersecretary of State John Bolton promised Ariel Sharon the U.S would "deal with threats" from Syria and Iran, Chris Matthews protested. "Sharon, the right wing prime minister of Israel has now issued a list of other countries we're supposed to attack and liberate," he said. "Iran, then Libya and Syria after that. Doesn't it take a certain kind of guts to tell the Americans who we're supposed to attack next? That takes a lot of nerve."Why isn't this administration leveling with the American people about its pre-election, pre-packaged war plan to re-map the Middle East?

#4 - America's 4th Greatest President, Thomas Jefferson

"I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever. . . the Almighty has no attribute that can take side with us in such a contest."

- Thomas Jefferson

Though Jefferson was addressing slavery in this passage, his concerns extend to our impending war as well. And whether one calls it karma or blowback, America's spiritual leaders understand "God's justice," too. The Bishop of the Episcopalian Church in America, Frank Griswold, for example, wisely notes how "the voices that are being raised up now are equivalent to the prophets of old," while the U.S. National Council of Churches is running ads warning that this war "violates God's law." The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops also issued a statement disproving of any war without "clear and adequate evidence of an imminent attack of a grave nature" and the Vatican has issued similar condemnations. Though proponents of military action cite the liberation of the Iraqi people as a moral justification for war, the Pentagon's murderous "Shock and Awe" plan and Iraqi's ardent distrust of American occupation significantly weaken their argument. Moreover, if America's motivation is liberation, why does it look as if the Kurds, once again, are being sold down the river?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/ar ... Feb24.html
#5 - America's 5th Greatest President, Theodore Roosevelt

"No Man is justified in doing evil on the grounds of expedience."

-- Theodore Roosevelt"

It is not reassuring to be told we are going to war because [Bush] 'has already seen this movie' and is bored by it." - Molly Ivins

#6 - America's 6th Greatest President, Woodrow Wilson

"The history of liberty is a history of the limitations of governmental power, not the increase of it."

- Woodrow Wilson.

Though the PATRIOT Act was initially deemed the biggest government power grab in recent history, the Homeland Security Act was criticized by lawmakers for expanding "the federal police state" and "culture of secrecy" even further. Recently leaked draft legislation, the "Domestic Security Act of 2003," indicates that the Justice Department is proposing ways to strip Americans of their citizenship, considering secret arrests for the first time in U.S. history, and trimming judicial oversight while increasing the government's power. The latest warning concerning "anti-American extremists" makes an interesting semantic leap, too. By focusing on "extremists" instead of "terrorists," everyone is now suspect -- making citizens more likely to welcome a loss of liberty in exchange for security.

# 7 - America's 7th Greatest President, Harry S. Truman

"When even one American - who has done nothing wrong -- is forced by fear to shut his mind and close his mouth, then all of Americans are in peril."

-- Harry S. Truman

Would Harry give Ari Fleischer hell for saying that Americans "need to watch what they say, watch what they do?"

#8 - America's 8th Greatest President, Andrew Jackson

"It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their selfish purposes."

- Andrew Jackson

During George H. W. Bush's presidency, G.W.'s Harken Energy, which had no international oil experience, trounced Amaco and Chevron to land an exclusive contract with the government of Bahrain. Neil and Marvin Bush struck up sweet post-Gulf War deals and Junior's insider trading charges were kindly swept aside. Today, Poppy Bush and former Secretary of State James Baker benefit "from acts of government" through the Carlyle Group.While serving as Secretary of Defense, Dick Cheney vilified Saddam as "Hitler revisited," but later conducted $73 million worth of business with him as CEO of Halliburton. Halliburton currently has contracts for building Gitmo cells and military bases and is certain to benefit from the projected $2 billion cost of rebuilding Iraq's oil infrastructure. And now that the GAO has dropped its law suit, we the people will never find out the role Enron played in dictating policy. Because with 300 rollbacks in the Freedom of Information Act, we can only speculate on which way the government bends.

#9 - America's 9th Greatest President, Dwight D. Eisenhower



"Every gun that is made, every warship that is launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed"

-- Dwight D. Eisenhower



Rep. Dennis Kucinich illustrated Eisenhower's point brilliantly during a recent Crossfire appearance. Saying that the unnecessary bombing and occupation of Iraq would "cost this economy $1 trillion," he added, "We have money to blow up bridges over the Tigress and Euphrates and we don't have money to build bridges in our major cities. We have money to destroy the health of the Iraqi people and we don't have enough money to repair the health of our own people in this country."



#10 - America's 10th Greatest President, James Madison

"The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted."

- James Madison



# (Last --'the Worst President in All of American History')


Compilation of Bush quotes (courtesy of Buzzflash.com):

"You don't get everything you want. A dictatorship would be a lot easier."

Describing what it's like to be governor of Texas. (Governing Magazine 7/98)
-- From Paul Begala's "Is Our Children Learning?"

"If this were a dictatorship, it would be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator."

(CNN.com, December 18, 2000)

"A dictatorship would be a heck of a lot easier, there's no question about it.

[bluegrass]

Reagan had the enormous benefit of two major factors:

a significantly better economy than Obama inherited

Why dont we clear this fallacy up right now...as much as you want to make him a KING and GOD, he did not INHERIT ONE darn THING ABOUT THIS ECONOMY...


He applied for it.
He CAMPAIGNED for it.
He begged for votes for it.
He promised to FIX IT.


He didn't inherit anything...he asked for the job, lied to get it, bought votes to secure it and idiots like YOU try to annoint him emperor.


Douchebag.

[Pine Mt Beagles]

Mr Bluegrass

Lets clear this up right now as you say.

Remember ,,,

Dictator G.W.Bush,,,and his Girl Cheney

Well they kept ,,Trillions of the National Debt,,HIDDEN FROM AMERICANS,,off the BOOKS UNTIL THE FIRST DAY THIS PRESIDENT WAS SWORN IN OFFICE,,SO ,,,,NO,,,HE DIDN'T CAMPAIGN TO FIX THEIR HIDDEN AGENDA.

BUT THAT EXPLAINED,,

HE DID CAMPAIGN TO CHANGE THE DIRECTION OF THE COUNTRY. , AND

WHEN HE WAS SWORN INTO OFFICE AMERICA WAS LOOSING 650,000 JOBX A MONTH,,,,,NOW AMERICA IS CREATING JOBS.

WHEN HE WAS SWORN INTO OFFICE THE STOCK MARKET WAS AT HISTORIC LOWS NOW IT IS SETTING RECORCD HIGHS.

HE HAD ALSO CUT BACK TNE SIZE OF GOVERNMENT ,CUT THE NATIONAL DEBT,

IS HE THE BEST PRESIDENT NO,,,WAY,,,BUT HE IS CONSIDERABLY BETTER THAN THE REPUBLICAN ALTERNATIVE.


OH,,AND MR BLUEMOUSE,,,,THE WORST RUN PRESIDENTAL CAMPAIGN IN AMERICAN HISTORY WAS RUN BY,THE ABSOLUTE WORST LIAR IN HISTORY,,,MITT ROMNEY,,,,AND YOU BOUGHT IT HOOK,LINE AND SINKER,,

SELF DEPORTATION

IF I AM ELECTED THE ECONOMY WILL TURN AROUND JUST BECAUSE I AM PRESIDENT.

47 % OF AMERICANS ARE NO GOOD AND WANT A FREE RIDE TALKING ABOUT YOU.

JUST A FEW. OF HIS BEST

[Rabbithoundjb]

IF YOU LIKE YOUR HEALTHCARE PLAN YOU CAN KEEP IT, PERIOD. By the way PMB thanks for clearing up that the country has only had 2 presidents, Abe Lincoln and Ronald Reagan.

[bluemouse]

And pinemooch your still a blind idiot liberal zombie clown, perfect example if obabbler was all you wish he was the liberal media would be preaching it every day but instead they can only feed idiots like you the old smear the other guys crap because their idiot sucks. The only favorable numbers your idiot has is what is made up by the fools feeding the blind sheep like you clown.

[Pine Mt Beagles]

So basically you can't debate facts ,only spew names ,and show your blind obedience to The Tea Party,Who is 100 % Against America as well as you and your family.

Why is it that you guy's just want own up to, The Fact the country is better off today ,than it was at the end of 2008 ,

I think adding jobs ,,is better than loosing 650,000 a month ,

I think that the economy setting record highs is better than bottoming out,,I think most people's retirements ,,401. K's etc are connected to the stock market.

I think cutting the size of government is better than increasing it.,,,At least that is what the older republicans use to say.

But then you guy's think you are right and the rest of the world is wrong,,Simply Amazing.

[Rabbithoundjb]

There are no facts to anything you have posted. A question and answer session based on someones opinion (other than yours as usual) on a leftist blog does NOT make anything said factual. YOU ARE ONE GULLIBLE LEFTIST.

[Pine Mt Beagles]

Re: LEADERSHIP. Is Not A Republican Tradition
by Rabbithoundjb » Wed Jan 08, 2014 8:36 am

There are no facts to anything you have posted. A question and answer session based on someones opinion (other than yours as usual) on a leftist blog does NOT make anything said factual. YOU ARE ONE GULLIBLE LEFTIST.


So Mr Rabbit

What you are saying ,,,,IS,,,,THAT THERE BEEN NO JOBS CREATED,,AND ,THE STOCK MARKET IS STILL AT AN ALL TIME LOW,

JUST TO BE CLEAR.

[Rabbithoundjb]

Here is what I am saying, there are more than 9 million people out of the workforce than was out of it the day Obama was sworn in in 2009 just check the labor participation rate. You see PMB I am not as fooled by the media switch as you. When Bush was president there was no talk of how many jobs where being created only the ones lost as soon as Obama took office they flipped the talking point to how many jobs where being created instead of how many where being lost. Go look up how many full time verses part time jobs are being created and check the historic trend on those numbers for the last 50 years and then come back and tell all of us how that worked out for you. As far as the stock market goes I have an IRA and a 401K I am tickled the fed is pumping a trillion a year into the market but fact is that money printing is dropping the value of money your gaining. Obama' s economy has nothing to do with the market gains, if the fed pulled the quantitative easing the market would collapse in a month. Why the he!! do you think they have continued pumping money into the market now for 4 years because the economy can't hold the market up. This administration is printing money so the wealthy investors will keep investing thus making the rich richer while doing nothing for the average middle class working families.

[Pine Mt Beagles]

So what you are saying is you are still in denial,,

The reason ,,Bush didn't talk about Job Creation is there was none,,loosing 650,000 a month .

The government has always pumped money into the markets,It a Republican Tradition.

And the reason unemployment has not improved as fast as hoped for,,is ,,simple,,,,Your Do Nothing Congress,,,has killed every Jobs Bill ,except the ones over Seas.as fast as things have improved just think how fast and better things would be if Congress was not on a Labor Strike.