President Obama a failure already?

[IDrinkaRum]

New Gingrich and actor Jon Voight both say that Obama has failed in his economic plans

Just wondering what everyone else's take is on this.

[kiwi]

Just wondering what everyone else's take is on this.

I don't know about the Gringrich guy, but I don't take anything Voight takes seriously, theres a reason neither of his kids have anything to do with him. If anything Voight critising him makes me think even more highly of Obama.

[Boozy]

Talk about jumping the gun. Stimulus plans take a few years to have any effect. And given the state of the economy, a quick turnaround is a pipe dream. The best we can hope for in the next five years is to staunch the bleeding.

[Wingates_Hellsing]

Too early to say anything, so those two are idiots right there.

Doesn't help that they were morons already, which actually explains why they decided to come out with this.

In fact, this gets them on the same level with the pro assault weapon ban, anti gay marriage, anti pornography, pro ignorance, and irrationally anti-war brain-lacking nutjobs running about the country who would be little effected should someone decapitate them...

Why can't the stupid be silent? *looks to the heavens*

[Akasa]

In fact, this gets them on the same level with the pro assault weapon ban, anti gay marriage, anti pornography, pro ignorance, and irrationally anti-war brain-lacking nutjobs running about the country who would be little effected should someone decapitate them...

They're already on that level.

[lordlundar]

Looks like the republicans are still pissed that they lost the election. Then again, it doesn't surprise me considering the radical republicans were trying to get Obama impeached just as soon as he was elected.

[EmiOfBrie]

I'm not sure what to think of him yet....

On the one hand, he seems to be making no inroads in stopping torture, but on the other hand he's the first President to actually call Israel on their atrocities (and Israel is not happy about it).

I'll have a better opinion after he's been in for a year.

[IDrinkaRum]

8,000 line up for Section 8 housing in Alabama as compared to 4,000 last year

Unemployment percentage as of May, 2009 was 9.1%

Also, think about how the umemployment is going to bigger when the car dealerships start to officially close down left and right. Then there are the charities, schools, local businesses that are affected by the dealerships closing down (I know some, if not all, dealerships give to charity advertise/support monetarily the local schools/sports teams/businesses/etc.)

Is this really the hope we, as a nation, voted for?

[DesignFox]

8,000 line up for Section 8 housing in Alabama as compared to 4,000 last year

Unemployment percentage as of May, 2009 was 9.1%

<snip>

Is this really the hope we, as a nation, voted for?

The man inherited a sinking ship. It's not even been a year, yet. Sheesh. Let's give him a chance! I think most of the disasters that are occurring now would be occurring no matter who took office this term...

[AFPheonix]

We have to be patient and wait for the system to sort itself out. The guy inherited decades of fiscal mismanagement, you can't really expect that kind of mess to get cleaned up in a matter of a few months. A mature economy like ours is going to take a lot of time to turn around.

I find it telling that people in the article that heard Voight's cranky speech called it "refreshing". What, bashing people and defeatism is refreshing? Go GOP. Way to stay on your road to irrelevance.

As for GM, it NEEDED to shrink to what demand actually calls for. That's a lot of the reason it's in the mess it is today, it was far too bloated with far too much inventory and manufacturing capacity than what was actually selling. Yeah, it sucks now, but in the end it will come out much slimmer and more competitive.

[protege]

I think most of the disasters that are occurring now would be occurring no matter who took office this term...

That's *exactly* the point. This mess had been going on for decades, if not longer. It was going to blow up sooner or later...no matter who was in office. As much as I don't agree with Obama's politics, we should give him at least a year. However, when you consider that many of his supporters (at least locally) were claiming that things would *immediately* change...it's no wonder why people are turning on him. They wanted things to change overnight, and are now pissed that they aren't.

As to GM, well, they just suck. Again, this mess has been a long time coming, and all of it was because of their corporate culture. They've always had the attitude of "what's good for GM is good for America." They've had that driven into their skulls since the 1950s, that it's no wonder they still feel that way. Didn't help that later on, all of the brand names were soon thrown on "badge-engineered" boxes either. By then, they'd tried to pass off a relatively-inexpensive Chevy or Opel as a much-more-expensive Cadillac.

...which brings us to Chrysler. They've always been seen as an "also-ran." That is, many of their vehicles are simply more expensive, boring versions of everyone else's products. The exception was their original minivans--those were different enough, that after they'd arrived...the rest of the market was playing catch-up. Eventually, the idea got stale--other than a few gimmicks here and there, very little about those things was really "all new" in later years. By then, the other companies had come out with better offerings...and eventually unseated Chrysler as the minivan leader. Unfortunate, but they did it to themselves--rather than continue to innovate, they sat on their asses.

Seriously though, it'll all work itself out eventually. But, I still find it amusing that Fiat is courting Chrysler--didn't they learn from the AMC-Renault fiasco?

[daleduke17]

8,000 line up for Section 8 housing in Alabama as compared to 4,000 last year

Unemployment percentage as of May, 2009 was 9.1%

Also, think about how the umemployment is going to bigger when the car dealerships start to officially close down left and right. Then there are the charities, schools, local businesses that are affected by the dealerships closing down (I know some, if not all, dealerships give to charity advertise/support monetarily the local schools/sports teams/businesses/etc.)

Is this really the hope we, as a nation, voted for?

Well, Obama promised change. Never said it was for the better.

Just remember: since 1789 there has always been a failure in office, depending on who you ask.

[Gravekeeper]

Yes, its rather amazing how quickly everyone had a mind wipe the second a new administration came in.

Seriously, he was basically tagged in by the captain of the Titanic just as the band started to play. This would be happening regardless of who you put in office. To blame Obama for it is remarkably short sighted.

As for Newt, don't worry, he's utterly insane too. Niether of their opinions means a god damn thing, frankly.

Heck, last week Newt declared that Americans were "Surrounded by Pagans" and gay rights, abortion, separate of church and state etc were all teh devil and why Americans are suffering. You know, general psychotic evangelical bullshit. He thinks "Christianity is the foundation of American citizenship".

Oh, and he called Prop 8 a miracle from the very hands of God.

So yeah, you'll forgive me if I don't give a flaming rat's crispy asshole about his opinion on anything that's going on in the world. Because he's obviously not living in it.

As for Voight, he narrated Palin's autobiography and refers to Obama as the "false prophet" and the administration as the "Oppression".

So yeah, these two aren't exactly crystal clear insights into the state of the world. ><

[AdminAssistant]

I've been excited and pleased by most of what Obama has done. The man's doing the best he can with an extremely shitty situation.

[Rapscallion]

On the one hand, he seems to be making no inroads in stopping torture, but on the other hand he's the first President to actually call Israel on their atrocities (and Israel is not happy about it).

Last I heard, Israel was being funded by 'military aid' from the US of around a billion dollars a year. I'm not certain they're in a position to complain too heavily, if that's still the case.

Rapscallion