Patterico's Pontifications

12/8/2009

Tit for Tat (Updated)

Filed under: Politics — DRJ @ 6:06 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

Eleven months into his Administration, President Obama blames Republicans for America’s economic problems:

“While praising his own team for pioneering “ambitious” financial reform and “sweeping” economic recovery initiatives, the president took some pointed shots at Republicans who are now blasting the latest package as a spend-crazy “stimulus two” that will drill deeper into the deficit.

“We were forced to take those steps (to jump-start the economy) largely without the help of an opposition party which, unfortunately, after having presided over the decision-making that had led to the crisis, decided to hand it over to others to solve,” Obama said, starting his address with a history lesson on the roots of the recession.”

Simplistic analysis deserves more of the same: I blame Democratic President Clinton for 8 years of failed decision-making that facilitated 9/11 and terrorism, and Democrats who opposed GOP efforts to clean up their mess.

Tit for tat, Obama.

— DRJ

UPDATE — As usual, Obama plays both sides of the issue:

“In President Barack Obama’s hands, the $700 billion financial rescue fund offers a bit of bookkeeping magic: an opportunity to pay down the deficit while also spending more—thereby adding to it.

Under law, any paybacks to the bailout known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program must be used to reduce the deficit. But in an economic speech on Tuesday, the president sought to have it both ways. Increased repayments from banks to the Treasury will reduce the deficit all right, but it will give Congress the budgetary room to spend more—and the president encouraged just that.”

Obama claims it’s a “false choice” to say we have to choose between jobs and deficits.

26 Responses to “Tit for Tat (Updated)”

  1. That would actually be stimulus three. President Bush had a fairly sensible one passed before the deranged treasury-raping dirty socialist took over.

    happyfeet (71f55e)

  2. “after having presided over the decision-making that had led to the crisis, decided to hand it over to others to solve”

    — Is Cocaine Kid alleging that the Republicans threw the election in order to duck the blame for this crisis?

    Icy Texan (8b985a)

  3. He’s a very strange man, Icy. I don’t get him at all.

    happyfeet (71f55e)

  4. I’ve updated the post with Obama’s “false choice.” He apparently believes America has so much money we don’t have to prioritize how we spend it.

    DRJ (84a0c3)

  5. Tet for tots?

    fat tony (e7d34f)

  6. This is the bottom of the pit in political terms. These people know nothing about governing and are all about miniscule advantage in election politics.

    The revulsion (sorry to get into the RSM topic, which I have avoided) people feel for politics will eventually result in some unpleasant action. I don’t know if it will be a third party, or hanging people from lampposts, or exactly what it will be. I do believe it will be unpleasant.

    Mike K (2cf494)

  7. Teh One that we were waiting for appears to be unable or unwilling to actually lead. Feckless coward sounds about right.

    JD (5b977c)

  8. The reckless spending spree that Democrats are engaging in is virtually unprecedented. And the destruction they are wrecking will take a generation to correct once we get them out of office.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  9. I am afraid we may see the country trashed by people who still think that Marxist economics works.

    Mike K (2cf494)

  10. When people utterly lose faith in their government, bad things happen.

    That much history teaches us.

    Techie (482700)

  11. happyfeet said in #1:

    That would actually be stimulus three….

    Well, there was also the “omnibus” bill with all the overdue, pent-up-for-8-year laundry list of liberal budget increases, which was billed as “old business” and passed just after the election as “not their fault”. So in the purest Keynsian sense, isn’t this going to actually be “stimulus FOUR“???

    rtrski (75d09a)

  12. we’re still waiting on the first stimulus, since none of these has had that effect on the economy…..

    nor will they.

    redc1c4 (fb8750)

  13. Obama and the democratic leadership have deluded themselves horribly as to the electoral consequences of their words and actions. This administration makes the allegedly super insular bush team look like, well, yeah. You know what i mean. These guys are insane.

    chaos (7c068a)

  14. I’m voting for the We’re-All-Bozos-On-This-Bus bill.

    Oh, wait! That’s every bill that’s come up for a vote since The Man That Voted Present assumed the position.

    Icy Texan (8b985a)

  15. So we all blandly accept the premise that Mr. Bush is responsible for “the decision-making that had led to the crisis”.

    The Democratic Congress (since ’06) which writes the budgets, enacts the legislation, and creates public policy was blameless during the Bush years ?

    Oh, okay. If liberals say so…

    DaveinPhoenix (6f6037)

  16. Is rtrski right? That rings true.

    Combines with the “stimulus” bill for a staggering 80 percent increase in these discretionary programs…

    happyfeet (2c63dd)

  17. Arrogant, juvenile, petty, pompous, and whiney.

    Here is the first reason I have not even considered voting for a Democrat since the 2000 election:

    Governor Bush had the decency and grace to give praise to the work of FEMA under Clinton with a situation (I believe wild fires) in Texas, during one of the televised debates. Rather than a gracious response of “Thank you”, Gore went off on some, “Yes, I know, and I was there with them” grabbing the limelight nonsense, which was NOT true.

    When you can’t take a compliment but need to lie to grab as much attention as you can, that’s sad and pathologic. “I fought in Vietnam (before I trashed my fellow vets)” Kerry was of the same material. Obama, same thing. Arrogant, pompous, and petty, with the sophistication of a seventh grader making obscene gestures at the teacher when her back is turned.

    It is very sad.

    MD in Philly (227f9c)

  18. This ought to induce a round of wrist-slitting on the Left …

    SAN FRANCISCO — The Obama administration has asked an appeals court to dismiss a lawsuit accusing former Bush administration attorney John Yoo of authorizing the torture of a terrorism suspect, saying federal law does not allow damage claims against lawyers who advise the president on national security issues.

    Neo (7830e6)

  19. MD, yes, that’s the heart of it.

    The hatred Obama is showing here is unpresidential. It’s also dishonorable. Blaming the president for this economic mess is simply dishonest, coming from an ACORN lawyer who knows the democrats inherited a booming economy in 2006, because he was one of the freshman class that presided over spending increases and irresponsible lending.

    Obama promised his urgent and enormously expensive solution would keep unemployment under 8 percent and lead to a steady rebound. His takeover of GM was promised to fix the company. He’s made things worse, and is resorting to a blame game. His reelection strategy is laid to bare: Bush did it, and it’s really hard to fix, which is why you can’t blame me for things that I did.

    When healthcare is destroyed, we’ll have Obama and future dem leaders blaming the right for it.

    Dustin (44f8cb)

  20. Obama claims it’s a “false choice” to say we have to choose between jobs and deficits.

    history seems to say otherwise, but one thing is certain, as long as the First Doofus in cluttering up the Oval Office, we’ll never have to choose between ignorant and dumb, because he and his minions always seem to be able to provide both at the same time.

    redc1c4 (fb8750)

  21. Tuesday’s Fox Special Report had a neat little clip from the U.S.Senate in Oct’08, and a certain Jr.Senator from IL arguing forcefully for the passage of TARP, saying that it wasn’t the best solution to the problem, but was the best that was being considered by the Congress; and furthermore, the crisis was so dire, that they didn’t have the luxury of delving into the perfect, but must settle for the good.

    History, it’s a bitch, particularly when it doesn’t support your current narative.

    This guy has more faces than Eve!…and all of them are nuts!

    AD - RtR/OS! (e93189)

  22. Let’s blame carter instead.

    imdw (c06324)

  23. History, it’s a bitch, particularly when it doesn’t support your current narative. Comment by AD – RtR/OS!

    True, but when the media won’t report it and the textbooks will not include it what difference does it make?

    “If impeachable offenses are done in the White House, and no one will report on it…”

    (Might want to take a look at Powerline today on the “administrative state”, or as it may be better called, the “Czarist” States.)

    MD in Philly (227f9c)

  24. Feckless coward sounds about right.

    You shouldn’t talk about Myron that way.

    Dmac (a964d5)

  25. “…but it will give Congress the budgetary room to spend more—and the president encouraged just that.”

    With Democrats, that’s usually what happens – more spending.

    Blacque Jacques Shellacque (76097c)


Powered by WordPress.

Page loaded in: 0.0900 secs.