Insightful perspicuous article.
And this game of pugnacious pernicious political chicken will continue, just as long as it produces results for rigid recalcitrant republicans!
The way forward for a President in his final term, with virtually nothing left to lose, is to stare down these power hungry tyrants, holding the whole world hostage, just so the very richest individuals can pay the least tax!?
That said, the President is on the public record, claiming he is willing to listen to ideas on reform?
And the pertinacious Majority leader in the congress, has stated that, tax reform is on the table.
Well crafted tax reform could fix America's quite massive structural deficit and raise significantly more revenue, without unfairly penalising the very innovative entrepreneurs, America now needs as never before!
And it would do no harm to finally come up with a well crafted product, that finally at long last, restored/created true equity?
[See some of my former posts, addressing tax reform.]
With decent tax reform and long overdue simplification, even the inordinately market distorting farm bill, could finally be jettisoned and the savings ploughed into defence/unmet need?
A jettisoned farm bill, that other farmers plough on without; particularly pertinent, given current food shortages; and or, that the next boom, may well be a food boom!?
Rhrosty.

President Obama’s public relations machine is truly earning its keep if Brendan O’Conner’s attack on the GOP is any guide.

O’Conner states that Mitt Romney "deserved to be defeated for his economic policy and indicates that Obama's “journey forward” will be very hard if the GOP are not compliant to negotiations about economic policy.

In short, O'Conner claims the GOP is what is wrong with U.S. economic policy.

Sorry Mr O’Conner if the facts - which you chose to ignore - get in the way of good storytelling.

Fact:

1. Real unemployment in the US is close to 15%. There are 23 million unemployed and underemployed Americans. Even the leftist Guardian acknowledges that joblessness was higher for all but one month under BHO than under GWB ;
2. A record 47 million Americans eek out a living on food stamps;
3. 46 million Americans are parked in poverty;
4. Since he bested George W. Bush, average annual household income fell by $3,000;
5. Petrol prices (in dollars per gallon) have DOUBLED from the day he took office; and
6. Credit rating agencies stripped the US of its AAA rating, for the first time.

The economic problems of the United States are as broad as they are deep. Sadly the American voter chose a community organiser with zero business experience to do a businessman’s job.

As opposed to the former Republican administration which presided over the machinations which led to the GFC...is that businessmen doing a businessman's job?

Hang on Jonathon. Your hero George, drove the US economy into a
ditch and nearly caused the global economy to collapse. Then he
added another 5 trillion $ to US debt. The man was a dismal failure.

Now you wonder why its taking some time to turn things around.
Obama has worked wonders but only the foolish expect him to walk
on water.

The GOP has contributed nothing but obstinance so far, as they sure
as hell wern't going to allow this black guy to be a 2 term president.

Luckily the women's vote turfed them out, as now they want to go
backwards 50 years on womens reproductive rights too.

The loony right are a bit like the Taliban really, only this time
the Christian Taliban.

Mr Arial certainly gets around. First, he's the new voice of Israel and the Jewish Lobby (poor David, he's lost his monopoly) and now he champions the GOP, the party whose members control 90%+ of America's wealth.

What will he promote next, I wonder? I guess it might be giving America all our harbors and airfields and/or allowing Israel to have a drone base on the Cocos Islands.

I wait with bated breath!

Jonathan, Americans saw that the Bush administration conned their nation, that they censored the TV news of cargo planes returning the bodies of soldiers,the sons and daughters of American families from Iraq and Afghanistan.
American families had to experience and survive through the GFC,created by the greed of Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers etc etc, supportered by the Bush Administration.
The Itemised list you quote, has nothing to do with the past four years, that mess was created by your Zionist supporter, George Bush jnr

Simply, the stupidity of adding an extra 3 million people each year to the USA's population is air brushed out of the debate.

This adds to economic and environmental woes on an enormous, compounding scale.

No hope, if stabilisation is not pursued.

Happy to debate any refutations,

Best regards,

Ralph

Which is just one more reason why we should not rely on America, but ensure that everything we truly need can be produced locally in Australia.

Kipp

I never said nor believed that GWB was the best thing to come out of the United States since peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Nor do I support the handouts (by GWB and BHO) to investment bankers who hold that profits are to be privatized while losses are to be socialized.

What I am drawing attention to is that the guy who promised Hope 'n Change has had 4 years to improve the lot of American working families and he has failed. Economically speaking Americans have gone backwards.

Instead of Hope 'n Change he has delivered Decay 'n Despair.

Not really, Jonathon. For the way things were going under George,
we were heading for a global depression, so things could have become
a great deal worse.

Instead, things have turned around, the Dow has doubled, energy
production is up, housing is finally returning and that will employ
a lot of people, consumer confidence is returning.

But American corporations also continue to automate, employing less
people. They also trade globally, just look all around you as those
Apple, Google and the rest products are sold. They pay little tax
and park their money offshore, by the trillion. That does not help
the US treasury.

Jonathan,

I wonder how Obama's objectives would have fared if he hadn't been constrained with George W. Bush's left-over mess - or without the constraints of Republicans in Congress?

Here's a little of Romney's sour grapes in the wake of the election.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-11-15/romney-breaks-silence-in-bitter-broadside-atobama/4373674

Fancy Obama attempting to install a decent healthcare system in America....Romney thinks that's an unfair tactic......

"Instead of Hope 'n Change he has delivered Decay 'n Despair."

Yes, and despite all that non-partisan help he was given by the Republicans as well, what an ungrateful SOB.

There are no excuses for BO, he had 2 years of a Democrat majority in the Senate and Congress, he failed and lost Congress. Hope he will grow up in in a year or two or we are all up the creek, it looks increasingly like Makers are no longer interested so what will the Takers do?

*he failed and lost Congress*

Not really McCackie. Obama is after all still prez, twice now, hardly
a failure. The American public were certainly hoodwinked by the
tea party for Congress and so got the Congress which they deserved, which achieved exactly nothing other then obstinance.

The makers are still all there. But many of them prefer to work
globally and thus avoid paying hardly any kind of tax at all in the
USA.Perhaps the best thing that the US can do is cut the military
budget in half, that will save serious money.