He has tried compromise, and he has tried being a tough guy. Neither will work. Obama is too politically weak to get anything done and has been since the debt ceiling debate. His caving there was the end of his presidency. He said he'd be willing to stake his presidency on not giving ground...then he gave ground and still wants to be prez. Well, he has no credibility now. Problem is that he didn't set expectations in early 2009 right. He made it seem like in 2 years everything would be ok. But that was impossible. No one man can fix this mess. No one man can change the system. If he told people, "Hey, we're going to have high unemployment for many years, change doesn't happen over night" maybe people would have been more patient. He over promised and that is why he is in the pickle he is in now. Republicans knew it and played accordingly. The best move he can make for the country at this point is to not run for re-election.
Who says that? And this "debt crisis" would not have happened if he didn't cave last year on the budget. He mishandled these things, even against the advice of others like Clinton (Bill). Obama failed to be a tough leader in tough times. He didn't manage expectations, and he didn't show enough spine.
well you're saying he caved on the debt ceiling debate, what was his option, forcing the republicans to take the deal? and how did he mishandle not setting a budget last year. when last year are you referring to.
Clinton shut down the gov't vs caving into congress. Obama caved and let taxes rise. He could have set the budget when he had both houses behind him. Instead he gave up power. Obama extended the Bush tax cut for the rich. I was hoping he would be a better leader, but he hasn't. Even a lot of dems see it now. He's screwed. Trapped in a box and does not have a pathways out. He will continue to go down and has made himself into the next Jimmy Carter - it's not fair, but then again, that is what leadership is about. I am so disappointed with him. He's not a skillful politician. He's very intelligent, he understands what needs to be done and how to fix things, and he is very practical. But as a politician, he sucks.
there are democrats who don't even support this jobs bill. he does not have entire control or never had of both houses even when the senate was filerbuster proof on not letting the cuts expire, the public elected republicans who said they wouldn't raise taxes. now polls are saying americans want the taxes on the rich to be raised. and he got something out of the tax cuts like ending don't ask don't tell.
The President's job here is to rally his (Demorat) troops behind him. He's not done this effectively, and here we are.
nice to see some sanity -- GOP Voters: Many Of These Obama Jobs Proposals Are….Good GOP voters, they're no fan of the President. There are relatively few Obama Republicans compared to Reagan Democrats. But when it comes to doing something on unemployment, party matters less at the moment: the President's jobs plan is enjoying wide support. TPM reported on Tuesday about Obama's messaging pivot on the the economy, splitting off the jobs issue and leaving the deficit mess to the Super Committee. But Gallup data now shows the jobs bill working as a crossover issue on the policy itself. In fact, four of the proposals included in the package (small business tax cuts, more funds to hire teachers, cops, and firefighters, business tax breaks for hiring new workers and more infrastructure spending) all see majority support from Republicans and GOP-leaning Americans. And we haven't even mentioned eliminating tax loopholes for corporations, which 53 percent of Republicans support as well. There is still a political tinge to it: only 40 percent of Republicans and leaners think it will help in creating new jobs and a mere 29 percent say it will help improve the overall economy. Democrats think both of those things will happen at rates in the high eighties. The seemingly conflicting results outline a trend on the jobs bill: voters support individual components of it but are so pessimistic on the economy that there remains skepticism on how much it can actually help. A Marist/McClatchy poll released on Tuesday showed so much frustration on the economy that voters are blaming everyone and are desperate for some sort of turnaround. The survey shows that 60 percent of registered voters think Obama inherited current the current economic conditions, including 58 percent of independents, but as with other surveys, they strongly disapprove of his handling of the issue. Three quarters still believe we are in a recession and 61 percent think the worst is yet to come. But the Marist/McClatchy survey shows that Americans are willing to try the jobs plan as a remedy, even though a full 63 percent doesn't think the plan goes far enough. Marist pointed out in a memo accompanying the poll that "71% want the Republicans in Congress to either pass the president's proposed jobs plan or push the bill through with revisions," including a 9 percent of GOP votes who want it passed as is and 41 percent that wanted it passed with revisions. In any case, the numbers show that voters are clearly in favor of action to help halt the jobs crisis, rather than a plan of cuts and austerity in the hopes that the economy turns around on its down. Which makes things slightly difficult for Congressional Republicans and presidential candidates, who have been slow to embrace such a plan.
