Obama reelection 2012

[Judge Jude]

"Andy Stern is head of the SEIU, the biggest union now in the country, and it's all public employees and whatever. And he said, in that same interview he said "workers of the world unite," he said "we believe in the power of persuasion, and if that doesn't work we believe in the persuasion of power." "

Stern is a "mainstream Democrat"?

I've seen him on MSNBC a number of times, and that wasn't what came to mind from those interviews.

[Lucky]

Are you implying that these guys are not democrats anymore?

I'm not real concerned with whether they are pure enough to be accepted by the democrats here but I did think the premise was interesting. Certainly if the economy is not any better or worse in 6 months, then the election is almost already decided.

Decided in whose favor? The polls with a generic Republican vs. Obama are not instructive, since there is no such thing as a generic Republican. They all have strengths and weaknesses. Most of the field, so far, has demonstrated mostly weaknesses.

Is there a Republican candidate who has consistently polled well head-to-head against the President? Until that happens, saying the election is almost already decided is, at best, wishful thinking.

[chancellor]

"Andy Stern is head of the SEIU, the biggest union now in the country, and it's all public employees and whatever. And he said, in that same interview he said "workers of the world unite," he said "we believe in the power of persuasion, and if that doesn't work we believe in the persuasion of power." "

Stern is a "mainstream Democrat"?

Stern is a mainstream Democrat the same way Norquist is a mainstream Republican. Their views may be to the left or right of the party's political spectrum, but they wield powerful influence over the entire party. So, yes, both strongly influence "mainstream" belief and action.

[Judge Jude]

Interesting.
I'd go along with that Norquist comparison - they both have huge clout in the political party structure, but neither is what I'd call "mainstream," in terms of what the bulk of party rank-and-file want. Strategically, they have huge power in spite of that.

[Moonlight J]

I'm sure it's a seasonal employment spike, but unemployment is now at 8.6% which is its lowest rate in 2 and a half years

[onejayhawk]

There are signs the economy is starting to come around. On the other side is the train wreck in Europe.

J

[Wonderboy]

If the economy/unemployment only shows a slight improvement in the last quarter of 2011 and the first two quarters of 2012, I think Obama can claim we are on the right track. I think he can even go further and plausibly state that the improvement would have been even better if the GOP had cooperated with his proposals.

The problem will be the first quarter of 2012. I think the last quarter of 2011 will show improvement, but isn't there always a drop-off the next quarter? So the entire election could come down to the second quarter of 2012.

[cardboardbox]

315,000 workers left the market which is what caused the unemployment rate to drop. If the participation rate had been the same as last month the rate would have been 8.9% and if the participation rate had been the same as Jan 2009, unemployment would be 11%.

[onejayhawk]

U6 is still around 16%.

J

[DMT]

Another Obama failure

http://www.thenation.com/blog/165065/father-two-daughters-obama-embraces-politics-over-science-emergency-contraception

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius overruled an FDA decision to make Plan B available over the counter for women of all ages. His excuse for supporting her? According to the AP: “Obama says as a father of two daughters, the government should ‘apply some common sense’ to rules when it comes to over-the-counter medication.”

So now, under Obama, FDA makes the right decision, and Obama’s Health and Human Services Secretary overrules the agency, with Obama’s support. This morning NPR’s Julie Rovner said it’s the first time anyone can remember the health secretary overruling the FDA. If this isn’t politics over science, what is?

Despite the rhetoric, though, it was doubtless political fallout, not personal squeamishness, that drove this decision. Obama is already considering caving to the US Conference of Catholic Bishops in broadening religious exemptions to the requirement that employers provide insurance coverage for birth control.

[onejayhawk]

It makes you nostalgic for the transparency of the Bush Administration, doesnt it?

J

[onejayhawk]

Bush was a complete nightmare in terms of transparency (among many other things).

And this administration is worse.

My point is that the urge to work in the shadows runs across all the political spectrum.

J

[GwynnInTheHall]

And this administration is worse.


J

you're out of your ****ing mind.

[Lucky]

This comes close to summing up my feelings about Obama so far:

http://www.salon.com/2011/08/05/obama_fdr_debt_ceiling/

But, hey, at least he's committed to fighting that evil specter of food stamp fraud. You know those welfare queens on food stamps, they surely need policing much more than the innocent Wall Street angels. And, hey, we're once again engaging in a crackdown on medical marijuana. Thanks for helping, Mr. President!

Sirota has made a living throwing stones at whoever is in power, and this piece was a good example.

eld, we know you're not happy with the Obama administration, but no reasonable person could maintain that the two paragraphs quoted are a fair summary of what the President has accomplished.

[onejayhawk]

The Heritage Foundation has disavowed any knowledge of his actions.

J