Obama is not weak and incompetent. He's a capable disaster capitalist who knows what he's doing.

[Karmadillo]

http://www.chris-floyd.com/component/content/article/1-latest-news/2155-fatal-vision-last-bad-deal-gone-down.html

Fatal Vision: Last Bad Deal Gone Down
Written by Chris Floyd
Monday, 01 August 2011 11:25

(UPDATED BELOW)

So the deed is done. The "debt ceiling" crisis has been "resolved" by a further maniacal destruction of the commonweal, in a bipartisan pact that completely ignores the murderous imperial wars as the primary drain on the nation's treasury. As we noted here yesterday, the deal also sets up an unaccountable politburo (the special "Super Congress" committee) that will remove further coddling of the rich from the democratic process altogther.

However, I do feel I must defend our president from the charges of "weakness" and "cowardice" and "capitulation" that are pouring in on his noble head from all sides. Many learned Thebans are advancing the idea that Barack Obama has somehow "capitulated" to "extremists" who "forced" him into this "terrible deal."

The truth of course is that the Republican "extremists" served the same function for Obama as the "fatal vision" of the daggers did for Macbeth: "Thou marshal'st me the way that I was going." Obama came into office declaring his intent to strike a "grand bargain" on the deficit, eagerly putting Medicare, Social Security and other programs on the table for "reforms." He made clear from the start that his first and foremost allegiance was to the elite institutions of the financial markets (and the militarist oligarchy they feed); hence the $13 trillion offered up to Wall Street as compared to the transparently inadequate £700 billion offered as "stimulus" to the rest of the country -- money that was like tossing a few grains of sand into an ocean of economic need ... and which is now gone anyway.

Obama had many options for avoiding this "crisis," long before it came to a head. He didn't take those options because, like all good disaster capitalists, he wanted and needed a crisis of this sort to enact the brutal economic agenda he has openly advocated from the beginning. The result, of course, will be further impoverishment and diminishment in the lives of millions of ordinary people, for years to come -- and, ironically, the eventual collapse of the monstrous system that supports the ravenous elite that Obama serves with such panache.

more...

[readmoreoften]

1. Rec'd to zero.

[bigwillq]

36. On the first post.

:facepalm:

[Jim_Shorts]

134. LOL ,.. that's funny

[emilyg]

95. #218

[AllTooEasy]

107. Grand Bargain also had revenue increase; you conveniently forgot that.

The GOP walked away from it. That should tell you something.

In addition, SS, Medicaid, Medicare beneficiaries, veteran benefits were not touched by this debt deal. You conveniently forgot that too.

[jwirr]

117. Until later in the year. And as to the revenue increases - that tax cut

was already on the books before we even started dealing. There is no revenue increase in this bill.

[truedelphi]

130. As far as the revenue increases --But but, it's saddled

inside the pony we are all getting.

You just have to trust in the process. And never give up hope.

[Divernan]

143. Veterans protected from trigger, BUT NOT FROM ANY OF THE PRECEDING CUTS.

Who's Helped and Who's Harmed By Debt Deal?

http://www.thenation.com/signup/162494?destination=blog/162494/who-helped-and-who-harmed-debt-deal

In short, it’s a rout of the lower and middle classes by the wealthiest Americans. Since the deal relies entirely on spending cuts with no revenues—don’t believe the White House spin that revenues are possible, because that would require Republicans to suddenly desire them—the wealthy escape any sacrifice since very few of them rely on the government services that will be cut.

Who is exposed:

Veterans: Almost half of the first round of cuts will come from “security spending,” which includes the Pentagon budget but also the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department and notably veterans benefits and compensation. The White House assured veterans they won’t be harmed if the trigger is pulled, but did not assure them they are safe from any of the preceding cuts. More than 2.2 million veterans have served in Iraq and Afghanistan since September 11, 2001, many of whom have been seriously injured and require extensive care. The Disabled Veterans of America already has said it is “anxious” to see how these spending cuts are assembled.

Seniors: As noted, Medicare is subject to across-the-board cuts in the super-committee, and if the trigger is pulled, provider payments will be slashed—though only up to 2 percent. The makeup of the super-committee and outside-the-Beltway campaigns to protect Medicare will determine a lot about the degree of cuts, but remember that inside the Beltway, the “left” side of the debate has been defined by President Obama and the Gang of Six as raising the eligibility age to 67 and/or $500 billion in cuts. So this probably won’t end well.

The poor: Again, Medicaid will be subject to cuts by the super-committee. The Republican position, articulated in the Ryan budget, is a devastating 35 percent reduction in the next ten years, even as health costs rise. (However, Medicaid is protected from any cuts if the trigger should go off). Beyond that, federal housing assistance is the fourth largest slice of non-defense discretionary spending and is thus a likely target for cuts.

[ooglymoogly]

151. Yet the smokescreen bombs and the smoke and mirrors have been erected to touch them surreptitiously

where no one will be to blame for the treachery going down in this super congress scam.

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

5. worse?

what's worse look like do you think? aside from implementation of what's been decided upon?

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[LiberalLoner]

13. Yup, I agree completely. n/t

[roguevalley]

17. +google.

[leftstreet]

10. No he won't. He'll go down in history as the first black US pres. Period

That's why the capitalists know they can get away with this. They'd have used Hilary in the same way.

[readmoreoften]

14. That's true. They write the history.

[ooglymoogly]

153. No... historians write history and even though try as they might

to rewrite history in the end it will be corrected. As folks become more accustomed to the fact of a black president, that really unimportant fact will recede further and further till it is nothing more than an important footnote.

[defendandprotect]

84. Agree re Hillary -- but if we don't react to Global Warming ... they'll be no history ... !!!

and, imo, Obama will go down in everyone's memory as the guy who betrayed

the nation and suffering citizens on MEDICARE FOR ALL --

and in offering up Social Security and Medicare for dismantling and cuts -- !!

That will be Obama's history --

[jwirr]

118. That I agree with.

[lumpy]

11. In what ways is Obama corrupt ?

x

[Name removed]

19. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[leftstreet]

20. .

"president carebear"

:spray: :spray: :spray:

[SammyWinstonJack]

52. president carebear.

:rofl: :spray:

[Aerows]

55. LOL!

president carebear ... :rofl:

[defendandprotect]

169. Betrayal of the American public for the benefit of corporations/elites KOCH BROS is corruption ...!!

[ooglymoogly]

180. Gee! Let me count the ways. NWAMR.

[Gold Metal Flake]

3. Yes. Shelling out the country.

[ibegurpard]

4. THIS is the correct answer

observations over his dealings over the past three years can only lead to this conclusion

[arcane1]

8. Makes one wonder if the Teabaggers were invented to make the compromise appear sane n/t

[readmoreoften]

12. Of course they are. Now the "acceptable center" is the Bush Doctrine.

Gitmo? Afghanistan? Iraq? Assassination (of American citizens, at that!)? Surveillance? Decimation of Unions? Lowering taxes on the rich. These are Bush staples. And now they're reasonable. In 8 years we'll be hearing about the reasonable members of the Tea Party and our need to work with them to fight the Hooray for Hitler Party.

[txlibdem]

51. ... NAILED IT ...

:thumbsup:

[MissDeeds]

56. Great post

It should be read before any Democrat discounts the necessity of a strong primary challenger. Obama is a wrecking crew for the working classes. We've got to demand better.

[emsimon33]

73. Agreed

Obama is a disaster. We need a strong challenger.

[Frisbee]

85. I absolutely agree...

any ideas who that might be and who could not only beat Obama in the primary, but the repuke in the general, AND would be willing to primary Obama?

[Ricochet21]

126. Agreed, give us Bernie Sanders

or Ed Schultz

[MoonRiver]

87. That's not going to happen, unfortunately.

Even his loudest Democratic critics in Congress and the press aren't mentioning a primary challenger. :(

[jwirr]

120. Nor do we have anyone willing to be the one to do it. They are angry

but they are not going to try to replace him.

[CrispyQ]

81. Wish I could rec this.

We are headed in exactly the direction TPTB want & the prez is doing exactly the job they elected him to do.

[femrap]

119. How can this 'group'

of 12 set up in this legislation be CONSTITUTIONAL????

Was setting up this group the entire reason for all of this DRAMA??????

This is looking more and more like a dictatorship w/ a Politboro of 12.

[TheUnspeakable]

149. +1,000,000 couldn't agree more!

[roxiejules]

37. Since Koch Ind. sat on Executive Council of DLC

I think that is quite possible.

[Boudica the Lyoness]

71. Nothing is left to chance.

[Hawkowl]

78. You are catching on!

It is a simple good cop/ bad cop routine set up by the wealthy. Koch brothers and the Tea Baggers play the bad cop, while lower profile rich people fund Obama as the good cop, "the adult" :puke:

[MisterP]

96. they ARE often sent out against policies that libs would otherwise have trouble accepting

keep them screaming about "no government healthcare" and enough libs will defend the Individual Mandate; send them against the TSA and enough libs will defend the groping and the x-raying; send them (or a Congressman) against the "Chicago-style shakedown" and enough libs won't protest that an oilman was put in charge of the Gulf fund

very nice trick, that

[kenfrequed]

142. I don't wonder really...

I'm fairly certain that this is the case.

[defendandprotect]

176. T-baggers are another Koch Bros. creation -- Koch Bros long after Social Security

and Medicare --

And they're run out of a PR firm guaranteeing them coverage -- publicity.

[glinda]

34. Not pursuing justice and gagging Climate scientists that throw up a red flag for me now.

[defendandprotect]

177. +1 --

[ixion]

6. spot on, that

:applause:

[sabrina 1]

7. Chris Floyd, one of my favorite writers online.

He has been getting increasingly more angry over the direction of this country, but he is right, sadly. I don't buy the 'weak' president either.

[Octafish]

125. +1

When Don Siegelman and Richard Scrushy go to jail and Karl Rove and George Bush run free, we have a problem.

[WinkyDink]

15. But WHY would this man WANT to enact a "brutal economic agenda"? WHY?????

[dgibby]

23. Globalization, free markets.

They won't work unless there's a level economic playing field.

[Karmadillo]

25. Here's the theory many of us used to try to explain Bush II. I don't know

if it works for Obama, but it's worth considering:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tony-schwartz/is-your-favorite-politici_b_483940.html

Is Your Favorite Politician a Sociopath?
By Tony Schwartz

<edit>

Narcissism - suddenly the most overused word in the language -- simply doesn't do these guys justice. On a hunch, I decided to look up the word "sociopath," which it turns out isn't defined much differently than "psychopath." Here are some of the most common characteristics of both:

•Conventional appearance
•Glib, superficially charming, often highly verbal
•Promiscuous sexual behavior
•Manipulative and cunning
•High sense of entitlement
•Lacks a sense of moral responsibility or moral conscience
•Shallow emotions
•Callousness, lack of empathy
•Lying without remorse, shame or guilt.
•Interested only in their personal needs or desires, without concern for the effects of their behaviors on others.

Sound anything like the politicians I've named above -- and perhaps your own friendly elected representatives?

These are men (and yes, they're all men) who've operated all their lives in a world that rewards them more for their acting abilities than for who they really are.

more...

[grahamhgreen]

33. To be the patriarch of dynastic family wealth. Greed. Power. Actually,

it's a hoarding disorder.

[catzies]

122. A "hoarding disorder!" By Jove, I think you NAILED IT.

Very nice turn of phrase. :thumbsup:

[stockholmer]

64. because he, deep down, at the core, believes in the systemic control of banks over all

He is their creature, sprung from the apparatus that they have erected at multitudes of levels throughout society to ensure their dominance of power and continuity of agenda.

[lark]

101. He's being paid well for his brutality to the working class

He's earned his pay as the trojan president, the Koch brothers and ALEC are smiling.

:puke: :mad:

[williesgirl]

16. this earns my first unrec ever

[KoKo]

28. But, you didn't give an explanation as to why...Why Not?

:shrug:

[TheCowsCameHome]

146. this earns my first rec ever

[Raine]

18. Sadly I think this is true, he's not that weak or incompetant. I have to conclude he's KNOWS

exactly what he's doing and is good with it. :-(

[KoKo]

29. It's a deduction that some of us have come to....

certainly there's some evidence..even if the full picture is yet unknown. At least we have a 2/3'rd picture since he's been President.... "In our own experience."

[whistler162]

21. You guys are suckers! Believing every half or quarter backed

idiot that is in print!

[2banon]

41. ahem...excuse me but Chris Floyd is no idiot

[snooper2]

62. I beg to differ, he's a fucking idiot...simple google search,

and we got---

Welcome to Chris Floyd's Empire BurlesqueChris Floyd - Empire Burlesque - High Crimes and Low Comedy in the American Imperium.
www.chris-floyd.com/ - Cached - Similar

Chris FloydChris Floyd. The website of British photographer Chris Floyd. This content requires a javascript enabled browser and the Adobe Flash Player. ...
chrisfloyd.com/ - Cached

Chris Floyd: Rummy's Plan to Provoke Terrorist AttacksNov 1, 2002 – Into the Dark The Pentagon Plan to Provoke Terrorist Attacks. by CHRIS FLOYD. This age: layers of lime harden in the sick son's blood. ...
www.counterpunch.org/floyd1101.html - Cached - Similar


I assume this third it is your famed Chris Floyd. I need to do no more research on the guy as that hit tells me all I need to know...
Another stupid tool :rofl:

[truth2power]

70. ad hominem. Address the issues, please. n/t

[sulphurdunn]

83. How about dealing

with specifics rebuttals to the "idiots" article and its premises. Let her rip, genius. We suckers expectantly await the flash of your argumentative brilliance. :smoke:

[whistler162]

22. You guys are suckers! Believing every half or quarter backed

idiot that is in print!

[Mimosa]

24. The Silber links are interesting

I'm going to go make a drink - a triple- after having read this:

http://powerofnarrative.blogspot.com/2011/08/tell-me-again-whos-stupidweakincompeten.html

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

26. Nope. Just another professional Pol playing the system.

"History has tried to teach us that we can't have good government under politicians.  Now, to go and stick one at the very head of government couldn’t be wise." Mark Twain

[snagglepuss]

27. K & R. nt

[bvar22]

30. Obama made it to "The Top" in Chicago.

Weak, naive, or incompetent people do NOT do that.

[Karmadillo]

31. +1

nt

[Divernan]

49. Honest and uncorrupted people also do not make it to the top there.

[treestar]

75. RW talking point

Bashing Chicago and all who are from it.

[bvar22]

88. There is some weight to that poster's claim.

Anyone remotely familiar with the history of Chicago politics
would be forced to agree that he has a point.

[treestar]

154. Not using being from Chicago to imply that a person is corrupt

that's just bigotry.

A person can't make it in politics and be honest there? Right wing talking point. I've heard it from right wingers repeatedly, snidely trying to indicate Obama was corrupt, with no evidence. Guilt by location! Along with snide references to Ayers.

[w4rma]

93. Prime Example: Consider Chicago's current throroughly corrupt mayor. (nt)

[defendandprotect]

170. You mean Chicago's KOCH BROS Mayor -- !! Rahm Emmanuel -- !!

Anyone watching 'BOB ROBERTS' tonight --

been a long time since I saw it --

Can't quote that comment about the S&L theft and embezzlements --

banks stole our money and invested it in drug smuggling, etal --

was that it?

[Shining Jack]

132. I think that it's against the rules to accuse a member of being a RWer. n/t

[defendandprotect]

171. Rahm Emmanuel is Koch Bros .DLC .... are you denying that?

[Frisbee]

86. No, it has typically required a corupt politician to do that. n/t

[defendandprotect]

172. +1000% ---

[woo me with science]

32. Finally, some acknowledgement that

this isn't just an episode. There is an agenda here that is moving smoothly from the Bush Presidency to this one, and it is much larger than one political crisis or one man. The wars won't be ended. The banks won't be curbed. Nobody who would do those things *can* rise to the top of our political establishment, the way it has now been configured.

[cui bono]

45. Yep. They own the message, they own the voting machines, they own SCOTUS...

not too hard to bet they own POTUS.

[defendandprotect]

173. Worse than that -- no stimulus ... deeper depression ... 1 million more jobs to be lost ....

by end of next year according to Thom Hartmann today --

[donheld]

35. We should have seen the writing on the wall when

he filled his cabinet with disaster capitalists.

[emilyg]

97. Some of us did.

[chervilant]

124. Yep,

seems like Obama IS a disaster capitalist wannabe, despite the fact that his limited wealth simply DOES NOT qualify him for inclusion in that exclusive club.

[defendandprotect]

174. Of course -- but why didn't you believe your own eyes?

[donheld]

181. Believe me this is not new to me.

I knew the minute he picked Rahm Emanuel and Timmy Geithner

[Odin2005]

38. That he taught at the UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO should have been a warning.

He is one of them.

[2banon]

40. I missed that bit of factoid..

But the question is whether or not he was an ardent student (read follower, desciple) of Friedman during his time at University of Chicago?

I'm not impressed with his grasp of "constituional law" but then again I;m not convinced that he has much of grasp anything he's charged with. The moment he took office I knew we were trouble wih his appointments, i just didn't realize how much worse it was going to get.

Interesting, When Cheney/Bush stole the 2000 election I expected things to go very badly. But when Obama ran for office, I actually allowed myself to believe in the campaign rhetoric, I actually allowed myself to believe in the prospects of a functioning democracy again..

Now that's completely vanished. People I voted in office in the Senate and in Congress who are Democrats, I've lost all faith in..and now the President... faith in the system, and in the electorate...it's all vanished...

And just like no one hit the streets in 2000, I don't expect anyone to hit the streets (en masse) because of this debacle. I'm quite willing to be pleasantly surprised however.

[EFerrari]

44. I think there were 5-10k of us in Los Angeles in 2000

but that isn't very many and it barely got any coverage.

[2banon]

161. I don't recall hearing about it on alternative media here in the Bay Area..

But maybe i simply missed it. I was sort of in a shell shocked daze, kind of like I feel now.. I can'b believe what has taken place is real. Maybe I should get stoned and then maybe the reality of it all will actually sink in.

I vowed to myself not to plug into media anymore (yet here I am) unless it was music that I'm learning to play or want to perform either for myself or whoever. I'm really still feeling dazed at what this president has just done to us. I know.. I'm fully cognizant of the fact that all of this just didn't happen over night. I knew what was coming. But a part of me I guess, was hanging on to some stupid insane notion that Obama was really on our side, and that he had some Ace up his sleeve he was going to pull out.

Stupid, I know....

[defendandprotect]

175. It would be inane to have faith in a system under control of OIL and COAL industry ....Koch Bros....

Corporations/elites --

We have to find a way to begin to limit the wealth of these people --

otherwise the lives of all citizens and the planet will be equated to a dollar bill!!

[EFerrari]

43. His mentor was Joe Lieberman.

[EVDebs]

39. I'm hoping that Obama has his 'John Perkins' moment

John Perkins, an 'economic hit-man' had an epiphany moment, let's hope Obama has one too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezcr18NTOtA

[2banon]

42. Keep on hoping..but don't hold your breath..

[cui bono]

46. Where has hope gotten you so far? n/t

[woo me with science]

47. Kicked and recommended. nt

[dameocrat67]

48. He is a professor at the university of Chicago and a good

friend of Robert Rubin. He made several proshockdoctrine speeches at the Hamilton project, and was a daley machine dem in Chicago. All the symptoms were there, but the media were not reporting them, and his rhetoric was outright misleading.

[leveymg]

54. He's too close to the corporate norm for the MSM to pick up on anything "wrong" with him.

He's like a thousand other top white-collar corporate lawyers, investment bankers, and CEOs. All very smart and presentable. Not a stiff arm solute or swastika swizzle stick among them. But, underneath it all, they're all ruthless mercenaries who don't really care how many million people they have killed (they have underlings to do the dirty work) in order to carry out their clients' agendas.

Corporations care about two things - profit maximization and market consolidation. If that Friedmanesque, it's because Friedman was merely a purist in a tribe of true believers in the power of unbridled greed.

Many people read into him what they wanted. The false expectations that his skin color and some of his rhetoric conveys - it just shows he knows how to leverage his advantages.

Obama is an exceptionally competent corporate lawyer with considerable gifts. Nothing more, nothing less. He's obviously very good at his job. This is exactly what he wanted to do.

[txlibdem]

111. Translation: "Everything has proceded as I have foreseen it." -- Agreed 100%

This is exactly what he wanted to do and he knew exactly what he had to say in order to get elected. Then, like flicking a light switch, he turned into GW Bush III as soon as the election was over. He still knows how to give a great speech and a golden smile but rest assured, he is working for the dark side and always has been.

We have been fooled. Won't be fooled again.

[leveymg]

112. Is swear, you need an exorcist to tell a centrist Democrat from the Establishment GOP these days.

I won't go into the voting booth again without some holy water and a divining switch.

[txlibdem]

123. Too much green pea soup all over everyone if you do that ;-)

Don't think there'll be a single one of them without their heads spinning round and round.

:woohoo:

[bvar22]

179. Well, Obama DID tell us to eat our peas.

Shut Up and Eat Your Peas!

[The Doctor.]

57. Wow, that's illuminating.

Have any of the text of those speeches? I may have been wrong about him.

Oh, and whatever other links. I've been operating under the impression he has real integrity and concern for 'regular folks'. I'd appreciate it.

[RobinA]

79. Disagree re: Rhetoric

See, here's where I gotta disagree. During the campaign, I didn't know anything about the connection to Rubin, never heard of the Hamilton project (then), don't know much of anything about Chicago politics, and only vaguely knew that where the University of Chicago and economics intersect there is trouble. But to me he never really spoke rhetoric that made me think he was a lefty. Oh, he'd take what passes these days for a left position from time to time, but I never really saw much "left" about Obama. In fact, I told someone at the time that in the '70's he would have been a Repub and that actual policy-wise you could argue he was to the right of Nixon in a lot of instances.

I continue to believe that during the campaign people heard what they wanted to hear and in some ways saw a black man and assumed he was left. Then, of course, there are those that (still) accuse him of being a socialist, but that's just delusional or a cover for racism. I continue to laugh at family righties who insist he's a social democrat. Talk about blind and deaf.

I am not a hater of Obama, nor do I think he's the least bit incompetent. I voted for him. I just think that people weren't listening to him critically. To me he was better than McCain but not as good a choice as Hillary. I will vote for him again only if the alternative is worse. If it's Romney I might not vote at all.

[2banon]

162. There it is.. I overlooked all of that, though warning signs were plenty..

so desperate to see a return to santiy from the deep abyss the Bush/Cheney years had done to us.. desperation clouded my vision.

[Richardo]

50. That "guy" needs to "use" more "ironic" quotation marks

[hugo_from_TN]

102. "+1"

I "agree" completely.

[Nothing Without Hope]

53. Yes, I agree. The GOP has tried to do this for decades. so...

...finally the money people realized they had to get someone who could fool the country into actually trusting him. Worked. This was planned from the beginning, I agree. And he's not done with the agenda yet. Since, as in the last election, the GOPs will come up a total loser Presidential candidate, he'll conintue this radical corporatist agenda for a long time to come.

Yes, I agree completely. He didn't "surrender." He's highly intelligent and motivated and did exactly what he was supposed to do: betray the lower and middle class and serve the money people.

[Reader Rabbit]

58. His educational policies should have been a huge warning sign.

But instead, many chose to bash teachers instead of listening to them.

[a2liberal]

59. K&R (n/t)

[Name removed]

60. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[adhd_what_huh]

61. I prefer the 3D chess over the Manchurian Candidate crap

[immoderate]

63. It's both.

A Manchurian Candidate who is a chess master.


--imm

[NorthCarolina]

65. Kick & Rec

[bvar22]

66. THIS is ALL anyone needed to know:

The DLC New Team

(Screen Capped from the DLC Website)
http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=254886&kaid=86&subid=85

[byronius]

67. Bullshit. n/t

[placton]

68. Sadly, Bush the Least dint last long as

worst preznit evah - Obama filled the slot

[lark]

103. I can see your frustration, but Obama not totally as bad as Bush

just almost because he started with such high expectations where we knew Bushco would be nothing but a huge disaster. So, worst president ever - NO, most disappointing president EVER - Hell Yes!

IMO

[GarH]

69. re Obama

Obama is a corporate whore. I'm 60 years old and he is by far the worst "Democratic" president I've seen. I can't believe the audacity to call himself a Democrat. What an insult to everything the Democratic party has stood for.

[Fearless]

72. If he knows what he is doing he is against America. If he doesn't, he is a weak idiot.

[treestar]

74. This kind of thing belongs in the dungeon

I guess he is a member of the Trilateral Commission, too.

[Marcel]

135. That small echo chamber called.

They feel lonely without you.

[bbgrunt]

76. Most people are genuinely innocent enough not to

be able to ascribe such deceptiveness to others since their own morals are so distant from what is happening here. The clues, however, have been there all along.

[whatchamacallit]

77. This has been my opinion for some time

The bird's-eye view of his presidency reveals a disturbing pattern of faux compromise and capitulation. TPTB exploited our desire for change to enact theirs.

[AntiFascist]

80. Will we ever have a Dem presidential candidate...

who is willing to significantly cut defense spending? Some have even been fondly looking back at the Nixon and Reagan administrations on this issue!

[Taverner]

82. To be honest, I think both assessments are incorrect

The one big thing I picked up from Klein's book was that the 'Disaster Capitalism' problem isn't just the idea of a few lawmakers, it's systemic, in that it's built into the system.

So Obama, in trying to keep the system alive, is just pushing disaster capitalist policy. He may or may not know he is, but that hardly matters. What matters is that the system, which has been built around disaster capitalism for the past 15+ years (and Klein rightly sources it back to the 1973 Chilean Coup) needs disasters to exist.

Sad, and sadder that it took me until now to "get it" but there it is...

[arcane1]

90. John Perkins made similar observations about the younger people he employed

They weren't told flat-out what the end goal of their work was, they were focused on their one piece of it and unaware of the larger picture. Most of them, anyway.

[Taverner]

92. I read that book too - and yes, he was absolutely right

That book helped me wake up quite a bit

Guess it took another RPCV to explain it to an RPCV :)

[arcane1]

98. Indeed :)

I read his book immediately after I finished Klein's; they go great together!

[carolinayellowdog]

141. Klein appears more prophetic every day

Read the book when it came out and hoped/prayed that things couldn't be as bad as she said. Nothing in the last few years fulfilled that hope or answered that prayer-- we're screwed.

[defendandprotect]

178. Obama knows -- the mask is off -- it's over --

[DemReadingDU]

89. Chris Floyd linked to another blog by Arthur Silber

UPDATE from Chris Floyd
http://www.chris-floyd.com/component/content/article/1-latest-news/2155-fatal-vision-last-bad-deal-gone-down.html
As you might expect, Arthur Silber has more to say on the theme of Obama's intentions, and the gruesome comedy of progressive denunciations of his "weakness." Go there immediately to get the full force of Silber's masterful (and insightful) spleen.

8/1/11 August 01, 2011
Tell Me Again: Who's the Stupid/Weak/Incompetent One?
http://powerofnarrative.blogspot.com/2011/08/tell-me-again-whos-stupidweakincompeten.html

[FlyByNight]

91. K & R

"Like all good disaster capitalists, he wanted and needed a crisis of this sort to enact the brutal economic agenda he has openly advocated from the beginning."

All powerful nations and/or empires fail. We'll be no different. I think this just hastens the process.

[Clear Blue Sky]

94. Wasted opportunities 2 years ago

When we had control of the House, Senate and WH.

[B Calm]

99. Seriously, he will have to something extraordinary to get my vote back.

[moondust]

100. Not sure.

It may be that he just lacks real convictions and his advisors are pushing him in the wrong directions. Cornell West seems to think it's the advisors.

[lark]

108. NO F*ing Way -

Who picks the advisors? There's no Dick Cheney onboard picking everyone, it's OBAMA'S CHOICES that are right wing, to match the right wing chess master.

I can understand your impulse to try and give him the benefit of the doubt. It's hard to internalize the fact that we are screwed, that hope has vanished., the votes are rigged and the change that's coming is the eviseration of the working class.

[Marcel]

137. I totally agree with you.

And I understand the giving him the benefit of the doubt part. I did it so many times that I stopped counting. :(

[FedUp_Queer]

147. It's Occam's Razor.

Either Obama is a chump and dupe whom the Republicans constantly push around and how operates like a bull in a china shop. This is the same Obama who outmaneuvered the Clinton machine to victory in the Democratic Primary, or he actually believes this crap.

As Occam's Razor tells us, the simpler answer, all things being equal, is the right one. He's not the chump. We are. I think he's a Manchurian Candidate.

I hate being the dupe. I'm embarrassed that I fell for it, but I did.

[raouldukelives]

104. K&R

[fadedrose]

105. Obama is a fall guy for greedy lawmakers.....nt

[Ricochet21]

127. Yep

[pam4water]

106. K&R

[Little Star]

109. Truer words have never been spoken!

[rapturedbyrobots]

110. Obama is the friendly face of neoliberalism n/t

[latebloomer]

113. He's a Bush in sheep's clothing

[rapturedbyrobots]

133. Neocons are not Neolibs

At this point it is painfully clear that both Dems and Repubs are allied with the forces of capital. The only difference is what types of capital. The repub/neo-con axis is aligned with the old industries of manufacturing and war-making. They protect the old money. The dem/neo-lib axis is aligned with the much more powerful forces of international finance. They are high priced whores for i-bankers and financiers, the new kings of the market. Until we fully understand the subtle differences and plan accordingly, we WILL keep getting screwed by both sides.

[LaydeeBug]

114. This is so spot on. nt

[jwirr]

115. #248 and mourning.

[Major Hogwash]

116. Recommended, #250.

I don't agree with all of it, but the general gist is enough to make me puke.

[JDPriestly]

121. "Thou marshal'st me the way that I was going."

[Fire Walk With Me]

128. I've been a near die-hard Obama supporter until this "deal". Unless he pulls something good out of

his sleeve, I will not again vote for him. I will not stand for a single penny of my disability going to pay GE's taxes.

[Marcel]

138. Same here.

:(

[bertman]

129. REC. This one nails it. nt

[FailureToCommunicate]

131. 'There be a lot of big words there, Floyd, we're naught but humble pirates...

But I also think he nails it.

Thanks, Karmadillo.

[humbled_opinion]

136. Tea Party Respect...

I'll say this about them they sure know how to keep their party in line. So effectively what I am saying is that a more vocal Progressive Party should be out front forcing our reps with the same pressure.... In other words the tea party has taken activism to a new level.

[Fire1]

145. True but we're not ready for that. When enough people are

starving then we'll be ready.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

139. This article says what I've suspected for a long time

It's all theater.

[Doc Martin]

140. He failed BIG TIME

I cannot ascribe motives. I do say he failed to lead in an effective manner - again.

This is coming from a big supporter.

[FreeStateDemocrat]

144. So he has cleverly set it up for a puke to win in 2012 to continue his policies.

[Dirigo]

148. A Three Winged Turkey Can't Fly

LOOKY here, we can all get exercised over what is and what isn't in the debt ceiling debacle orchestrated by noneother than the reprehensible and unrepentent Republicon party. Whatever shakes out of it is as a result of Americans not paying sufficient attention who they squandered their votes on for congress--hence the gaggle of nitwits and teabagging crackpots that are on deck there today setting fires, mutineering and endangering the ship of state. Obama is doing a superb job as best as he can with such a mutinous crew as he's saddled with. I don't believe for a minute he will sell out Democracy and the Democratic party. Lets give him a wide berth to maneuver. Conservatives will step on their genitals as they always do and I believe the voters will reward them to a richly deserved retirement come November 2012. I don't believe uneducated dolts that makes up the Teabagging wing, the fanatical christian right and the foolish Reagan conservatives makes for a winning formula for the GOP. A three winged turkey can't fly! REMEMBER A THREE WING TURKEY CAN'T FLY and neither will the GOP come the upcoming election cycle. Why else are they (GOP) so desperate and breathless as they stand "stuck on stupid" before the outraged public.

[ooglymoogly]

152. Well considering the present two winged turky cant really fly, perhaps a three winged turkey

actually can fly beyond that of our present two winged spruce goose.

[defendandprotect]

167. Don't think Obama has ... but the people who run him have -- KOCH BROS .. OIL and COAL industry ...!

[TxVietVet]

150. When are these bastard "democrats" going to represent "we the people"?

Curious. Obama is selling us down the river and the conservanazis and teagaggers are laughing at us. It's a major insult.

[defendandprotect]

168. They aren't going to --- this is a KOCH BROS. win -- OIL and COAL ... it's our future ....

unless we put our intelligence to work and organize --

we are a huge liberal voting bloc --

this is a hugely liberal nation -- !!


80% of the public want an end to the wars -- the anti-war movement which was huge never went away.

76% -- and more -- of the public want single payer -- MEDICARE FOR ALL --

even Catholics by 83% want government-run health care -- and they want reproductive serives

included -- all of them -- including abortion --

So much for the BS of the Roman Catholic Bishops -- and Stupak!!

[samplegirl]

155. Let me guess .....I can read this same article in the

Free Republic. Yeah life simply would have been just so much better with John McCain!

[AlbertCat]

156. Modern Politics Explained... by Tom Tomorrow

http://www.credoaction.com/comics/2010/02/deep-undercover-the-polt-thickens/

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

165. -->

[MrScorpio]

157. Bad Obama. Bad, bad Obama!

Let's reelect him… That'll teach him!

[slipslidingaway]

158. knr nt

[blkmusclmachine]

159. We Were Conned

[machinchose]

160. Disaster capitalism

Obama is only doing what the global agenda dictated to him. If you look around the world, among the "developed" -- and even some "developing" countries, the same agenda is at play. The U.S.A, and the U.K. lead the way but France, Italy, Spain, Ireland,Greece, New Zealand, Australia, and many others are following the same agenda of favoring the wealthy and corporations, with real estate or banking bubbles to screw the working people, and destroy the social safety net, under the guise of "economic crisis". It doesn't matter if they have righty or lefty regimes.

There must be a global ALEC at work here, one I call, for lack of a better term the "DAVOS/IMF" crowd. They must have been at work for a long, long time. I wish courageous journalists would ferret them out. They could start with investigating the Murdoch media empire which operates in many, many countries, and serves as a mouthpiece for this ideology.

Naomi Klein, with her "Shock Doctrine" book was prescient.

[Name removed]

163. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Armstead]

164. The Tin Hat language is a bit much, but there is a point there

I don't think it's a sinister conspiracy. But I do think that Obama buys into the worldview of elite oligarchs who have convinced themselves that rule by the few is the best way to run society.

[defendandprotect]

166. Agree -- turned off Thom Hartmann today cause sounded like he was going into excuses for Obama ...

there are none --

If someone is blackmailing him -- then he should tell the American public --

Do what other presidents did -- say it -- and stand up.

Obama has no care for the many suffering Americans -- the homeless -- the poor --

our children --

We're at the bottom of the ladder in every standard --


Where has Obama been telling the nation what is the right thing to do ????

No where --