<p>
I agree. I think he is very eager to pin “worst president” honors on Bush so that he can escape the dubious honor. In my mind, he was a complete disaster as a president by letting his idealistic concepts get in the way of any semblance of pragmatism. In many respects, I feel that both Edwards and Obama (and Huckabee) have these same tendencies.</p>
<p>Youdon’tsay. It takes a lot of courage to recognize that you made a mistake and you are not ready to make it again. I salute your honesty.</p>
<p>Youdon’tsay, I repect your thought process, but isn’t that like throwing the baby out with the bathwater. </p>
<p>I lean towards McCain b/c of his experience in the political field and as a POW. If McCain wins, I hope he follows the one promise any and all candidates can pledge…line item veto. McCain every yr talks about pork barrel spending and I agree lets take these reps out and name them. 3 mil on Bear feces? cut me a break.</p>
<p>McCain as a POW showed his true mettle, when the Vietnamese try to use him as propaganda, he stayed true. He did not accept the offer to be released b4 the others. When his father bombed Hanoi Hilton knowing his son was there,McCain cheered…that is a “TRUE AMERICAN”. He has the ultimate respect from the military and I believe they would honor his decisions…it was a little hard back in the day of Clinton, when people were being court martial for adultery and Clinton was having an affair. </p>
<p>McCain tried to stop the political fundraising, but wrote a poor bill, at least he wrote one, and it was passed by his colleagues.</p>
<p>He understands pro-life/pro-choice and has an adopted daughter.</p>
<p>When he went to the Army Navy game, he was a Dad and did not do interviews, check out the Washington Post (they wrote a terrific piece about it…let’s be honest we know which way they lean)</p>
<p>The more I look at him the more I feel he is the right person, I am open to anyone who wants to try to convince me jump across the line, but I vote on the whole package/platform</p>
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<p>Interesting observation about Edwards, FF. The breakdown of votes last night might add something to this perspective. Obama beat the field among Dems who identify themselves as Very Liberal, Somewhat Liberal and Modeate. However, Edwards captured 42% of the vote of those who ID as Conservative, versus Obama’s 21% and Clinton’s 22%. So maybe his “we must do battle” message (as you call it) is aimed at the Dem’s more conservative faction, though it does not seem to be swaying independent voters, who flocked to Obama. </p>
<p>The problem is that people are really sick of the us/them mentality and are more than ready to endorse someone who will just sit down and talk about these huge problems and, yes, compromise to GET SOMETHING DONE.</p>
<p>Lesson learned: Trust your gut. Isn’t it funny how sometimes you continue to ignore red flags? Oh well. Live and learn.</p>
<p>If I had to vote GOP, McCain would be my pick. But,thankfully, I don’t have to vote GOP. : ) Much to admire about the man.</p>
<p>In case anyone has forgotten how bad it was</p>
<p>“On the home front, Carter’s management of the economy aroused widespread concern. The inflation rate climbed higher each year he was in office, rising from 6 percent in 1976 to more than 12 percent by 1980; unemployment remained high at 7.5 percent; and volatile interest rates reached a high of 20 percent or more twice during 1980. Both business leaders and the public at large blamed Carter for the nation’s economic woes, charging that the president lacked a coherent strategy for taming inflation without causing a painful increase in unemployment.”</p>
<p>Today we are agitated because unemployment hit 5% and inflation might hit 3-4%.</p>
<p>Do you believe that can actually occur? My in-laws are staunch dems and any republican is a devil. I am also sick of it, but I do not believe the president has that power, I believe the MOC’s do. </p>
<p>What has Bush done without a congressional vote that has had any impact on us? </p>
<p>Immigration…amnesty proposed never passed
SS privatization proposed never addressed
Patriot Act proposed…passed by MOC
Iraq funding passed by MOC
Iraq withdraw timeline never passed by MOC
SChip passed by MOC, veto by Bush, not enough to overturn…again MOC
Tax breaks…passed by MOC
Oil exploration…MOC
Min wages…MOC
Supreme Court Justices approved by MOC’s
No child left behind approved by MOC
Pork Barrel…MOC</p>
<p>In the end I put more power in the MOC’s hands than the president.<br>
I will also vote for the candidate that says MOCs must have term limits…how long has Byrd been there now, or what about Strom b4 he retired?</p>
<p>[Outline</a> of the U.S. Economy](<a href=“http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/oecon/chap3.htm]Outline”>http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/oecon/chap3.htm)</p>
<p>I remember high mortgage rates- but wasn’t inflation lower?
It seems my dollar bought more.</p>
<p>Well Barrons, we wouldn’t want to question business leaders and the public at large. People who put all the blame on Carter either have an agenda or don’t have an understanding of what was really going on in the years before his presidency. Clearly he had problems, but there were a lot of hands stirring that mess.</p>
<p>Emerald,
this is from outline of the Us Economy</p>
<p>But the most important element in the war against inflation was the Federal Reserve Board, which clamped down hard on the money supply beginning in 1979. By refusing to supply all the money an inflation-ravaged economy wanted, the Fed caused interest rates to rise. As a result, consumer spending and business borrowing slowed abruptly. The economy soon fell into a deep recession.</p>
<p>Carter was president in 79.</p>
<p>Cartera I do not have any agenda, and I am not sure who the hands you are talking about, can you please elaborate…education is the best substitution for ignorance. Convince me :)</p>
<p>Bush was president in 2001 - is that the end of the blame game for 9/11 - of course not. No one becomes president in a vacuum. Did the Vietnam war have nothing to do with the state of the economy. OPEC clamped down during Nixon’s presidency. Much of what happened was beyond his control. Blame him for not being strong enough to put everyone in his or her place, but he didn’t cause it all.</p>
<p>I remember long lines at the gas pumps ( for cheap gas) and minimum wage I think was $6?
( I also quit smoking when cigarettes hit $0.60 a pack)
I was young, working and didn’t have dependents- I also could fill up my tank for less than $10.</p>
<p>Now you practically have to take out a loan when you get gas.</p>
<p>Ok, but I thought we were talking about Carter? If so, remember Ford was there, are you implying that the lag was what Carter inherited?</p>
<p>I understand that Carter was blamed for all the country’s problems in the 76-80 time period. But I don’t think they were all his doing. It was a different country demographically and a different world with the Soviets still in full swing and the US weakened after Vietnam. It was just a set up for disaster.</p>
<p>George Bush, OTOH, inherited a prosperous economy, a huge budget surplus, a supremely powerful United States superpower status, and a population with boomers in their peak productive years. What is his excuse? 9/11? </p>
<p>IMO it is not a contest as to who the WORST president has been. Just as Carter’s record (deserved or otherwise) hurt the democrats for a long time, the Bush record will likely hurt the republicans for a long time.</p>
<p>BTW, I agree, if we had listened to Carter a bit more and done something about dependence on foreign oil, we would have prevented a lot of our current problems. In many ways he was way ahead of his time.</p>
<p>Min is only in the 6’s now. When I was in h.s in the 80’s it was in the 2’s. </p>
<p>If you investigate with the rate of inflation and the hi during Carter, it would be equivalent to over $5 per gallon —I live on the east coast we are at hi 2’s low 3’s.</p>
<p>Yes, but Carter would not open ANWAR!</p>
<p>9/11 was a totally different scenario…fear ran amuck, airlines got slammed…Y did we bail them out…1 out of 6 jobs are tied to transportation…(think small things, food industry for the airlines, baggage handlers, even taxi drivers…nobody flying no jobs)</p>
<p>As far as the Soviets, lets rememb Reagan came in, and drew the line in the sand, no more well I am boycotting you, fine then I won’t go to your Olympics either. Gee that puts fear in someone!</p>
<p>As far as Bush hurting the republicans, I have closed that chapter and I am a republican, I blamed the MOC’s not Bush. Do I think Bush allowed people to get away with stuff…yep…but so did the Clinton’s…it’s just politics.</p>
<p>I also have a bad taste left in my mouth when anyone who was pres. slams the current pres… fastest way to have the world say I told you so was to run Carter’s clip…great ammo</p>
<p>I’m not a Democrat. But Obama’s speech last night gave me chills. It isn’t an intellectual thing, or even whether I agree with him on issues. For me, it was quite simple: I have two kids, each of a different race. I don’t expect much out of Presidents other than that, when they lie, they do it well. But symbolism counts, and it counted big for me last night.</p>
<p>And then I watched Hillary’s concession speech. To her right stood a man who killed more children than Pol Pot, and then when, politically it wasn’t effective, concocted the Big Lie which led directly to the aggressive, hostile occupation of Iraq. To her left stood a woman who went on national tv and rather than cover up her boss’ crimes against humanity, said “we think it is worth it.”</p>
<p>Symbolism counts.</p>
<p>I agree with David Brooks’ assessment in the NYT today:
<a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/04/opinion/04brooks.html?hp[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/04/opinion/04brooks.html?hp</a></p>
<p>Highlights: </p>
<p>"I’ve been through election nights that brought a political earthquake to the country. I’ve never been through an election night that brought two. </p>
<p>Barack Obama has won the Iowa caucuses. You’d have to have a heart of stone not to feel moved by this. An African-American man wins a closely fought campaign in a pivotal state. He beats two strong opponents, including the mighty Clinton machine. He does it in a system that favors rural voters. He does it by getting young voters to come out to the caucuses.</p>
<p>This is a huge moment. It’s one of those times when a movement that seemed ethereal and idealistic became a reality and took on political substance…</p>
<p>On the Republican side, my message is: Be not afraid. Some people are going to tell you that Mike Huckabee’s victory last night in Iowa represents a triumph for the creationist crusaders. Wrong…</p>
<p>Huckabee understands how middle-class anxiety is really lived. Democrats talk about wages. But real middle-class families have more to fear economically from divorce than from a free trade pact. A person’s lifetime prospects will be threatened more by single parenting than by outsourcing. Huckabee understands that economic well-being is fused with social and moral well-being, and he talks about the inter-relationship in a way no other candidate has.</p>
<p>In that sense, Huckabee’s victory is not a step into the past. It opens up the way for a new coalition.</p>
<p>A conservatism that recognizes stable families as the foundation of economic growth is not hard to imagine. A conservatism that loves capitalism but distrusts capitalists is not hard to imagine either. Adam Smith felt this way. A conservatism that pays attention to people making less than $50,000 a year is the only conservatism worth defending.</p>
<p>Will Huckabee move on and lead this new conservatism? Highly doubtful…"</p>
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<p>Brooks nailed it.</p>