I think it shows Obama's character when he takes credit for the "end" of combat operations in Iraq, when he opposed the surge, and the drawdown in troop levels was set before he took office. (Look up the Status of Forces Agreement). I predict this President will go down as one of our worst, worse than Carter.
Now, this editorial in the New York Times should be required reading. Remember back when Obama went to the G8 and told the Europeans they needed to follow his policies. Well, they didn't. And Obama is being proven wrong once again. The full text is here.
An excerpt:
During the first half of this year, German and American political leaders engaged in an epic debate. American leaders argued that the economic crisis was so bad, governments should borrow billions to stimulate growth. German leaders argued that a little short-term stimulus was sensible, but anything more was near-sighted. What was needed was not more debt, but measures to balance budgets and restore confidence.
The debate got pointed. American economists accused German policy makers of risking a long depression. The German finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, countered, “Governments should not become addicted to borrowing as a quick fix to stimulate demand.”
The two countries followed different policy paths. According to Gary Becker of the University of Chicago, the Americans borrowed an amount equal to 6 percent of G.D.P. in an attempt to stimulate growth. The Germans spent about 1.5 percent of G.D.P. on their stimulus.
This divergence created a natural experiment. Who was right?Will Obama ever get anything right?
The early returns suggest the Germans were. The American stimulus package was supposed to create a “summer of recovery,” according to Obama administration officials. Job growth was supposed to be surging at up to 500,000 a month. Instead, the U.S. economy is scuffling along.
The German economy, on the other hand, is growing at a sizzling (and obviously unsustainable) 9 percent annual rate. Unemployment in Germany has come down to pre-crisis levels.
7 comments:
SHow me where Obama 'takes credit' for the end of combat in Iraq. Also, to compare the German and US economic policies is like apples and oranges. The Germans didn't have Georgie Boy wreck their economy like we did. Of course they are gonna recover faster. Will you ever get anything right?
Obama said: "Last February, I announced a plan that would bring our combat brigades out of Iraq, while redoubling our efforts to strengthen Iraq’s Security Forces and support its government and people."
This was signed by the U.S. and Iraq in 2008, before Obama took office: "Agreement Between the United States of America and the Republic of Iraq On the Withdrawal of United States Forces from Iraq and the Organization of Their Activities during Their Temporary Presence in Iraq") is a status of forces agreement (SOFA) between Iraq and the United States. It establishes that U.S. combat forces will withdraw from Iraqi cities by June 30, 2009, and all U.S. forces will be completely out of Iraq by December 31, 2011, subject to possible further negotiations which could delay withdrawal and a referendum scheduled for mid-2009 in Iraq which may require U.S. forces to completely leave by the middle of 2010."
On other subjects, you're like a broken record. So I won't waste my time.
A broken record must be terrible when it's playing a song you don't like to hear. Germany didn't have the Repubs in charge for 8 years. HUGE difference, whether you like it or not. Announcing a plan isn't nec taking credit. I could announce my neighbor is pregnant. Doesn't mean I claim credit. And to be one of our worst presidents, he would only be joining your guy, who is rated near the bottom, all-time, for good reason. as in wrecking our economy and starting 'oops, bad info'trillion dollar wars, not to mention the lives lost and ruined. Not even in the same category. Did I mention he actually authorized torture? To compare the mess we were/are in,to Germany, shows a complete lack of economic knowledge. You need to do more 'do diligence'.
It's just that your broken record is like a little kid who keeps whining about shit that happened years ago.
Wake up to what's happening now.
And I stand by my analysis of both Obama and Germany.
If you don't like it, go bother someone else.
The problem, that you can't/won't understand is that the shit that happened 'years ago' is wrecking our country NOW. Deal with it. Denial isn't just a river in Egypt.
Pretty much what I expected.
Denial he says...hehe...8 yrs of republicans he says. how many times will he continue to deny that the dems have been in charge of congress for 3 1/2 yrs now. He wants to blame everything on one man. Hmmm, pelosi, frank, rangel, dodd, jackson, reid, boxer, fienstein, duh, add in holder, geithner, Emanuel. Unemployement rate in 2000 was 4.0, 2001 4.7, 2002 5.8, 2003 6.0, 2004 5.5, 2005 5.1, 2006 4.6 2007 Dems take over congress 4.6 2008 5.8, 2009 9.3 2010 9.6%. Ahh so the bush tax cuts did some good when the dot.com bust happened that he inherited and now the idiots in charge want the tax cuts to expire to further explode the unemployement rate.
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