Americans see U.S. on wrong track: Reuters/Ipsos poll

Elektrobahn wrote:

‘February survey had said Americans by 57 percent to 38 percent believed the country was on the right track.’

Shouldn’t that be on the ‘wrong track’? Otherwise the percentage of voters thinking America is on the wrong track jumped from 38% to 64% in one month, and that doesn’t sound right.

Mar 09, 2011 12:06pm EST  --  Report as abuse
Reggie1 wrote:

People are waking up to the Marxists who took control of the once great country. It can be great again if we listen and follow the Tea Party.

Mar 09, 2011 12:11pm EST  --  Report as abuse
bnimocks wrote:

Yep. And Maddoff says country is one big Ponzi scheme. He should know.

Mar 09, 2011 12:12pm EST  --  Report as abuse
jjv wrote:

But his approval among independent voters who he will need for his 2012 re-election drive took a sharp dive, to 37 percent from 47 percent, the poll found.
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If the above is true then the evaluation of this poll is completely bogus as are Obama’s overall approval rating. The registered voter demographic is pretty evenly split between Rep/Dem/Ind
Obama’s approval ratings were in the LOW 40’s when the Ind voter approval rating was a couple of points higher then where it is in this poll.

For the Ind approval rating to drop to this disastrously low level AND the right track wrong track number to hit an all time low, a legitimate reading of Obama’s overall approval numbers would put him in the 41-43% range and not at 49%

Mar 09, 2011 12:13pm EST  --  Report as abuse
SFchris wrote:

In spite of this, Obama will most likely win in 2012. Unless every conservative gets involved, talks to their friends, family and neighbors, I think Obama will win. Look at the demonstrations in Wisconsin and Ohio. There are 10’s of thousands of liberal protesters out there every day. These people will vote. They will also do ANYTHING to win. Keep in mind, Obama has the media, Schools/Universities as well as a network of community organizations working very hard for him. (and they cheat)
Think about Obama being given another 4 years. Think about how much damage he will do.

Mar 09, 2011 12:14pm EST  --  Report as abuse
Terd wrote:

to ginch… What are your solutions.

Mar 09, 2011 12:15pm EST  --  Report as abuse
nep321 wrote:

It has NOTHING to do with having a black man in the white house. It has EVERYTHING to do with the president spending like there’s no tomorrow.

Mar 09, 2011 12:17pm EST  --  Report as abuse

When will all Americans wake up and see the downward spiral we are on. Drill Baby Drill !!! What do you think 4-5 dollar a gallon gas will do to our economy. I am already over taxed, over regulated, and tired of this POTUS. Either Impeach, or make him a one term President……if we are here still standing in 2 years. Clearly Dems are tax and spend while the Republicans are left digging us out.

Gangster Government

Mar 09, 2011 12:27pm EST  --  Report as abuse

God save our country from this gangster government

Mar 09, 2011 12:30pm EST  --  Report as abuse

We are doomed

Mar 09, 2011 12:31pm EST  --  Report as abuse
neahkahnie wrote:

War in Lybia. Oil spikes. America is on the wrong track? Is this Alice in wonderland?

Mar 09, 2011 12:33pm EST  --  Report as abuse
boston_paul wrote:

The only people I have talked to who don’t think we are on the wrong track are the ones who don’t follow current events. When you start informing them of what is going on they get become outraged. This country is on an unsustainable path and we are headed for very difficult times.

Mar 09, 2011 12:34pm EST  --  Report as abuse
oldschool wrote:

Sure, let’s put a Republican back in the White House. We all remember what a wonderful world that gave us.

Mar 09, 2011 12:34pm EST  --  Report as abuse
waldob wrote:

This country has been on the wrong track since the 60’s That is when we became a debtor nation and an entitlement society. We just want things for nothing. We have gone from a self sufficient, hard working society to one that has mortgaged the future on the backs of our children. Just keep giving me mine until the system collapses.

Mar 09, 2011 12:39pm EST  --  Report as abuse
hostdude99 wrote:

The next election is going to be a rift on Clinton’s famous phrase – “Its the debt stupid.” Anyone that does not understand that and take a forceful stand in the run up to the election will be toast. Its as simple as that.

Mar 09, 2011 12:40pm EST  --  Report as abuse
jimster wrote:

Nothing to do with color, this man does not have a clue to what he is doing. He will never make it in 2012.

Mar 09, 2011 12:42pm EST  --  Report as abuse

OK OK I’ll purchase the Chevy Volt. I think that is where the administration is pushing us. Did I mention I live in the great white north where electric things don’t work and I require 4 wheel drive to my groceries and get me to church on Sundays. It got to -42 last month. I am sure the Volt would have been useless not able to start.

One thing is for sure people…..the progressives have divided this country.

Mar 09, 2011 12:43pm EST  --  Report as abuse

There are really two aspects of this which are pretty pathetic:

(1.) We’ve taken decades to get to this point, and at any point in time through that, at least half the population has been blithely oblivious.

(2.) The choice it seems we’re being offered now is between doing nothing and taking another heavy dose of the medicine that’s already made us sick.

Mar 09, 2011 12:45pm EST  --  Report as abuse
chuck05 wrote:

Ginchinchili you will be surprised when Alan West is voted by the tea party folks to be the next Vice president. I also would vote for Herman Cain to be on top of the ticket. Two black men. No…. two common sense conservative Americans. That is the difference between the radical left and the Tea party. We see people, you see groups of people. We see unity. You see “diversity”.

Mar 09, 2011 12:45pm EST  --  Report as abuse
forparity wrote:

@ginchinchili.

I’ll grant you that track changed during and following the Reagan years. Of course, things had changed dramatically during the years preceding Reagan.

When Reagan came into office, we were in horrible economic shape – and it took him a good three years of major stimulus and policy change to get the country back to work – get interest rates down, and get the poor black minorties on a track in school (yes – they made better gains then – then at any time sense. Why? We came out of a disaster economy – into a roaring and hiring economy – and folks felt better about their oportunities. It came with a cost.

But then again, things changed even more during the Clinton years. This was the era of the rich get richer faster – top 1% income and CEO Pay went thru the roof. The Dot.com crash in March of 2000 left a horrible hole in future budgets. The housing bubble created by HUD in the late 90’s ushered in yet another era of greed and fraud. It’s also worthwhile that Clinton inherited a recovery, and left a recession. Bush inherited a recession and left another. Does it really have much to do with them?? I doubt it.. at least not since Reagan.

The 90’s were also marked as being the most deadly decade(civil wars, genocides, regional conflict) since WWII.

Reagan’s much needed stimulus, Bush’s much needed stimulus, and Obama’s much needed stimulus.

Following Reagan’s we had roaring economic growth.

Following Bush’s we had a substantial recovery, marked by 4 years of historic increases in federal tax revenue – but not enough to balance out the spending.. and it was fueled mostly by the housing bubble.

Following Obama’s stimulus – what will we get?

Mar 09, 2011 12:46pm EST  --  Report as abuse
iceman-2004 wrote:

Looks like the Marxist have their whine and hatred for the productive and successful into the mix, not to mention the racist race card thrown in for good measure. Most conservatives do not like Obama because he is a Marxist and there is ample evidence in the writings and interviews of his former associates.
As for his polling numbers, Americans are now much more aware of the cornucopia of issues concerning their lives because information is more readily available outside of the predominately liberal media. Information can be cross checked unfiltered and folks are making up there own minds outside the agenda driven influences of the unions, advocacy groups and biased news media. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that our gasoline prices are linked to the price of oil and that disallowing the pumping of our own ample oil reservoirs for the sake of a Green agenda aggravates these prices which have a negative effect on prices and jobs across the board.

Mar 09, 2011 12:46pm EST  --  Report as abuse
Cogito wrote:

What the people believe has no bearning on how a Despot rules.

Mar 09, 2011 12:47pm EST  --  Report as abuse
Fishrl wrote:

We will be on the wrong track until the crazies in the House of Representatives are voted out so we can get some real job creation bills. Hey, Republicans: nobody gives a crap about abortion funding except a dwindling minority of social conservatives (and I’d rather use another term for them). We’ve already seen this ridiculous morality play, and it got bad reviews the first hundred times you put it on.

Mar 09, 2011 12:48pm EST  --  Report as abuse
sbenard wrote:

Thanks for an insightful story.

Mar 09, 2011 12:49pm EST  --  Report as abuse
johnnyboone wrote:

The wrong track, yes! Wall street and big business is running the government. Watch the movie, “Casino Jack and the U.S. of Money.” The change that we voted for in Barrack Obama was blocked by the Republicans and their Taliban – Tea Party are on a counter offensive. The U.S. Supreme Court said businesses have the same rights as individuals and the right wing said it was equal because unions can also give unlimited amounts. But then the Tea – Party Taliban tries to break the unions. The middle class is disappearing and that is the wrong direction!!

Mar 09, 2011 12:51pm EST  --  Report as abuse
billybob1 wrote:

When one percent of the population is becoming exponentially more wealthy than the rest of the people, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out the country is on the wrong track. The super-rich are running things from behind the curtain, which is why almost none of our policies — foreign or domestic — make sense.

Mar 09, 2011 12:52pm EST  --  Report as abuse
JohnDD wrote:

Your article says, “…Weighing in on the Washington budget debate, 59 percent of Americans prefer to cut existing programs while 30 percent would rather raise taxes to reduce deficit spending…” I’ll bet that coincidentally 59% of those respondents PAY taxes, and 30% DON’T pay taxes but get free services from taxes paid by others.” What I would like to see is “…what percent of Americans who pay more than 10% in Federal Taxes want to see taxes increased, and what percent who pay less than 10% want to see taxes increased, and what percent who pay NO federal taxes want to see taxes increased?”

Mar 09, 2011 12:57pm EST  --  Report as abuse
Adam_S wrote:

Wow, Americans are getting less informed by the day. This increase in “wrong track” views is pushed in part by spiking gas prices? YEAH, BECAUSE OBAMA SURE CONTROLS GAS PRICES. Even if we were drilling/refining/extracting here in the US, the effect on prices would be minimal. He’s being blamed for something completely out of his control. That’s nice. Extend that to the economy in general. I can’t believe people are this ignorant. It’s truly sad.

Mar 09, 2011 12:59pm EST  --  Report as abuse
justrucking wrote:

Just reported today that 1/3 of the US population is living on the dole. This is not the country I grew up in. Time for Obama to go, before there is nothing less to save, and we look like some backwater third world nation with continual riots. Because that is what will happen when the checks stop coming. What we spend in a month is now more than what we normally spent in in an entire year. And that was under GWB. Obama and the democrats are destroying our country wholesale while the media rubs our bellies and say all is well.

Mar 09, 2011 1:06pm EST  --  Report as abuse
ultraphoenix wrote:

Is what happens when you have a “conductor” with no experience, and is oblivious to oncoming train.

Mar 09, 2011 1:07pm EST  --  Report as abuse
justrucking wrote:

Bail, kick this Marxist sob to the curb before there is nothing left to save!

Mar 09, 2011 1:07pm EST  --  Report as abuse
powhatan wrote:

I just wonder who the 37 % are that actually favor this guy!!! Seriously? He has made one bad decision after another…I don’t think he could lead a kindergarden parade.

Mar 09, 2011 1:08pm EST  --  Report as abuse
JohnSvengali wrote:

This country isn’t on a track–we derailed January 20, 2009. The train wreck is at the hands of “engineer” Obama.

Mar 09, 2011 1:08pm EST  --  Report as abuse
carlb wrote:

it goes beyond the gas spike. which he is partially to blame by shutting down americas use of its resources. my opinion is he wants this. these high prices are the way people in his party and circle have been clamoring for since the 80’s. with so called green energy. all for a false claim of global warming sham science. before he cam in in o8 america recieved over 30% of its oil from american drilling. we now get 0 from it requiring the use of the middle east and others like venezuala. but what should worry him is independants. in nov 2010 they abandoned the democrats by over 60%. we decide elections in america. if we would form a third party we could actually shake up america and go back pre 60’s to what america really stood for. strivers not whiners!

Mar 09, 2011 1:09pm EST  --  Report as abuse
jnsesq wrote:

Always amazing — not to mention depressing — to me that there are those tens of millions that comprise that 31% who won’t “get it” no matter what . It’s bad enough that squishy “independents” can’t seem to find an American principle firm enough to hold onto that they vacillate from election to election, but that a third of this country still won’t see the utter failure of socialism/liberalism/statism/big brotherism despite decades’ worth of incontrovertible evidence bodes ill for our future against the Chinas and jihads of this unkind world.

Mar 09, 2011 1:11pm EST  --  Report as abuse
Mike00oo5 wrote:

I think I see another golf game coming…:=)

Mar 09, 2011 1:12pm EST  --  Report as abuse
hurricanebro wrote:

To Fishrl and Johnnyboone, you want some cheese to go with that whine?

Mar 09, 2011 1:14pm EST  --  Report as abuse
Brandstad wrote:

How can we be on the right track when oil prices are rising and our commander and chief is further limiting our own domestic production. It is almost like he wants high oil prices, oh wait, he did say that he wanted oil prices high enough to promote alternate energy.

Why doesn’t he advocate cheap energy?

Mar 09, 2011 1:15pm EST  --  Report as abuse
Yodel wrote:

@ ginchinchili I find your racist comments to be very disturbing. The poll clearly stated that gas prices were the reason NOT race.

Take your hate somewhere else…Like Antarctica.

Mar 09, 2011 1:15pm EST  --  Report as abuse
MBeem wrote:

I think the volatility of American opinion is indicative of how little facts we, as the American public, choose to investigate versus the amount of time we spend assigning labels, judgments, stereotypes in combination with unfounded media “opinion”. Historical data will tell you exactly which policies have been successful and which have not. Go look up the data! By all indications, the radical extremes of the Tea Party are no more likely to yield “success” than any other end-extreme policy based on superstition rather than rigorous and honest analysis. In the end, the majority of Americans will be losers in the next round of changes because we are not willing to use honest metrics and accountability. The America of Reagan is no longer viable in the world market and political landscape. In my opinion, we have much more to gain as a country if we challenge ourselves individually to dig for the readily-available data and take an honest look at our options. Carter warned decades ago that the oil-based future would be tenuous and risky if we sought no solution for energy independence. In light of that fact, it is ludicrous and arrogant to think that oil prices should be forced artificially lower to sustain short term economic gains. At the very least, it will be interesting to listen to the hollow rantings of the upcoming political season and how little real fact-based information is brought to the American public to help decide the new position of America in World to come.

Mar 09, 2011 1:16pm EST  --  Report as abuse
hardright wrote:

@ginchinchili, so you are like 1 of 7 people in the country that think that…on the wrong track since Reagan, are you KIDDING ME. So you aren’t even one of those lefties that think that Clinton walked on water and was the cause of the massive economic boom of the 90s, really? i suppose we were on a better track under Carter, or better yet, Roosevelt and the social welfare state folks that want to dole cash out to people who do nothing. no thanks. get rid of the unions, medicare, medicaid, social security, dept of education, and most of the rest…then move to a flat or fair tax, get rid of the IRS or reduce it to an accounting firm that can simply check that companies paid the consumption tax…sit back and watch this country take off into the unheard of propeterity and freedom that existed before the progressives of the early 1900s.

Mar 09, 2011 1:19pm EST  --  Report as abuse
pdykhuis wrote:

Independents finally realize that Barrack Obama is the Czar of Wasted Tax Dollars, Wasted Manpower, Wasted Resources, Wasted Opportunity, Wasted Words, and Wasted Geopolitical Deterrents; to name only part of Obama’s portfolio.

Independents realize that Obama, along with those who support him, are insatiable vagrants with nothing of value to offer our great republic (or themselves).

Mar 09, 2011 1:19pm EST  --  Report as abuse
Mike00oo5 wrote:

I think I see another golf game on the horizon…:=)

Mar 09, 2011 1:22pm EST  --  Report as abuse
JBaustian wrote:

The people who voted by a wide margin for a black president in 2008 have not suddenly decided that they do not like Mr Obama because he is black. They don’t like him because he has made the worst possible decisions since becoming president, and has indicated that he intends to follow the same political paths in the future.

The tea party movement was an early warning signal, which the Democrats ignored at their peril. The Democrats are so clueless that, faced with a national debt that is increasing by roughly $4 billion every day, they could find only $5 billion in budget cuts.

As for voters desiring cuts in defense spending instead of entitlements, this is simply because they have been deceived by the politicians. Entitlements and interest on the debt will soon reach 100% of tax revenues unless something is done now, not 5 or 10 or 20 years from now. Even very deep cuts in defense would only postpone the day of reckoning by about one year.

Mar 09, 2011 1:25pm EST  --  Report as abuse
Watcher23 wrote:

So, did anyone think to ask them what the Right Track is??? Only a bafoon would decide the whole thing is because the price of gas has gone up. If that were our only problem, we could just buy Saudi Arabia, or perhaps Venezuala! Such simpletons, these pollsters…

Mar 09, 2011 1:29pm EST  --  Report as abuse
mb56 wrote:

I just don’t get it… when Obama proposed an energy policy that promoted clean energy and energy independence, the opposition and criticism was fierce. Yet when gas prices skyrocket upwards… they’re all convinced we’re on the “wrong track”!

Mar 09, 2011 1:30pm EST  --  Report as abuse
The__Truth wrote:

ginchinchili… what a sad little twit you must be to see every thing as racial. Educate yourself dude and maybe you’ll have have a great future in this wonderful country one day.

Mar 09, 2011 1:32pm EST  --  Report as abuse
jscott418 wrote:

We are just spiraling out of control. Our Government cannot face facts. Our leaders insists on putting their heads in the sand. Our States are facing their own crisis. Our jobs are coming back at a snails pace. Obama and crew are just full of talk and no doing. Its great we elected a Politician who makes great speeches. Now maybe next time let’s elect a President and Congressional people who really want to do something to help this country!

Mar 09, 2011 1:34pm EST  --  Report as abuse
NYStork wrote:

To Fishrl, When the libs had control of both where were the jobs, when Obama had a laser like focus, where were the jobs.. Why do you think jobs will come back when libs have control of the house – they did such a grand job the first time. They had control for the last – what 6 years – how good was that, I would say they ran a jobs deficit…what is the definition of insanity….

Mar 09, 2011 1:38pm EST  --  Report as abuse
Nick14513 wrote:

And now americans will have to pay for over the counter drugs like tylenol. This has got to stop. I think Americans Should Go Ahead And Stand up and remove the Goverment Because China Owns Us So what Choice Do we Have..

Mar 09, 2011 1:43pm EST  --  Report as abuse
mpower830 wrote:

Uh oh, looks like we have another Reuters article linked to The Drudge Report today…

I love how Obama and Bush basically save capitalism as we know it with the bank bailout, yet people call them idiiots for it and complain about “runaway stimulus spending” that most economists (you know, the people actually educated on the subject) believe was too small. How people cry about the “cumbersome” regulation of the financial system that has proven time and again that is can’t honestly keep itself in check. How people claim their taxes have gone up when they have in fact gone down for most Americans since the administration took over.

The real problem is that most Americans are fairly ignorant. I can’t blame them entirely, there is an awful lot of misinformation out there. Additionally, there’s an endless supply of reality TV and other distractions to ensure people don’t have to THINK too much about the hard stuff.

Cry all you want, but our current problems were about 30 years in the making. Don’t expect things to get better so long as our leaders are slaves to an increasingly partisan 2 year election cycle. Long term thinkers we are not.

Mar 09, 2011 1:46pm EST  --  Report as abuse
wizone wrote:

Could it be that we are on the wrong track because of the GOP takeover of the house? People are seeing that their promises of a rosey future were just hogwash to get them elected.

Mar 09, 2011 1:52pm EST  --  Report as abuse
derk_e_der wrote:

I used to think we hadn’t had a decent president in more than a century but, in reading “JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why it Matters,” I now realize that not only was John Kennedy a true patriot trying to do what he sincerely thought was best for our nation but that he undoubtedly was murdered by the CIA for those efforts–which THEY viewed as undermining their gravy train/military industrial complex which Eisenhower warned us about in his farewell address. America has been on the wrong track for a long time, at least since 1913–the Federal Reserve Act–and we are headed directly for a collision with disaster. We need to rise up and throw off this monster that has run amok which we have all supported with our consent and tax dollars. Congress is AWOL and Obama is obviously our sworn enemy, probably a CIA agent himself. WAKE UP!!!

Mar 09, 2011 1:57pm EST  --  Report as abuse
USAPragmatist wrote:

I suspect that the lowering of “is America on right track #’s” is partly or mostly due to the realization of the actual bills the Republican controlled house have NOTHING to do with moving the country forward but move back into the past. Most of their bills simply try and undo any of the overly debated bills the Dems and Obama passed in the last 2 yrs or even worse start the ‘culture wars’ all over again, we are beyond that.

What I believe the people want is for the country to move forward in a smart, forward thinking way. Not reckless disregard for our future attaching our hopes to the failed policies of the last administration, and this is what they see with the new Republican House of Representatives.

On a side note just because 30% of the population doesn’t want to raise taxes, DOES NOT mean it is the right thing to do. Of course people do not want taxes to be raised, as a reflex no one does. But the educated, pragmatists of the world look at facts not gut reactions. We are taxed at a lower rate then since 1950, no reason taxes should not be raised. I admit on a federal level we do have a spending problem, there is some waste, but our bigger problem is a revenue problem. Bush tax cut + reduced tax base due to recession = MUCH lower revenue. WE can fix it very simply by getting people employed AND restoring revenue to pre Bush tax cut levels by either reforming the corporate and personal tax code (best solution) or not renewing ALL the Bush tax cuts in 1.5 yrs (ok solution). Of course I do not want to pay more taxes, who does, but we are FAR from being over taxed right now. And it just goes to show where Republicans are coming from when they will not even TALK about increasing revenue, because their biggest donors are corporations living high on the hog while the rest of us normal folk have to fight over the scraps left over.

Mar 09, 2011 2:02pm EST  --  Report as abuse
txgadfly wrote:

We are on the wrong track because we only have one party. Not a dimes difference between them. War, war, and more war. Israel before America. Strong dollar, no jobs policy.

Mar 09, 2011 2:14pm EST  --  Report as abuse
eco4matic wrote:

our economic growth is at its worse time and will remain stagnant in the years to come unless drastic measures are taken including cuts in government expenditure, more regulation of the financial industry, price control of oil and commodities, stronger dollar, imposing duty and taxes on imports, giving local manufacturers tax breaks, control of military spending for others wars, housing protection, more spending on r&d etc.

did you know that corporations get tax breaks for outsourcing jobs? plus the added bonus of cheap labor……what do you expect for an ordinary person to happen with? job loss, weaker buying power, disturbed family, impact on consumer spending, weaker profits for companies……the ripple effect continues.

Mar 09, 2011 2:17pm EST  --  Report as abuse

President Obama reminds me of a dog chained to a tree with its water pan just out of reach. No matter how the dog struggles, the chain holds it short of the water. President Obama is chained to his leftist supporters and his ideology. No matter how he struggles, the chain holds him short of any move to the right. I’m aware of a handful (three) of people who oppose him because of his race – I’m aware of dozens who oppose him because of his liberal, socialist values and his inexperience and stumbling approach to executing the duties of his office. I’m 65 years old and I have never heard so many people say they regret their vote for a president.

Mar 09, 2011 2:18pm EST  --  Report as abuse
Goatlocker wrote:

It is high time that a majority of sentient Americans realized the peril that we are facing. The president appears genuinely perplexed and bemused at every challenge that arises. I harbor no ill will for him personally, but his lack of relevant executive experience makes him totally unqualified for the job he was elected to. We must get it right in November, 2012.

Mar 09, 2011 2:20pm EST  --  Report as abuse
NobleKin wrote:

America was going off the rails in DECEMBER 2007…just after the tail end of complete Republicon rule in America for six horrible years.

Obama inherited a complete disaster. He was asked to pilot a burning 747 with no engines and minimal fuel.

Wrong direction? The wrong direction was starting a war in Iraq and keeping the costs off the books from the time the war started. The wrong direction was passing the Medicare Part D debacle without funding and passing the bill to future generations (yes Republicans did this). The wrong direction was eliminating the Pay-Go legislation that limited goverment spending to what could be paid for…in other words, the Republicans established spending program after spending program, without raising taxes to pay for the mess they were creating, then handed the white-hot flaming load of crap to the next administration and said: “He did it!”

Believers in any other fairy tale are a bunch of morons. If you are a middle class earner and you are fighting for Republicons, you deserve what you get if they win again.

Republicons have worked incredibly hard to ruin America. They are destroying the middle class and they are taking control of election policy by destroying union strength in America. They have passed legislation that will deplete Medicare in a much shorter time frame, and they want Social Security to be privatized so the dollars go to corporate investments. And they will repeal all laws that stand to protect us from Wall Street and corporate greed that nearly put us in a second Depression.

And for the Reagan worshippers: Under Reagan/Bush the National Debt was tripled. No tax and spend and trickle down economic policy were long term failures. Reagan bargained with terrorists via his cronies doing the back room dirty work. There were also three recession under this Rebublicon duo…There is a dark side to his bright and shiny mythology that is worth looking into…or you can keep him in your hearts along side Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny.

No thank you Republicons.

Mar 09, 2011 2:41pm EST  --  Report as abuse
Eric_K wrote:

I don’t understand how Obama’s approval among independents can drop 10 points while his overall approval rating only drops by two points. Is there some correspondingly large uptick in his approval among Democrats (or Republicans…ha!)?

Mar 09, 2011 2:43pm EST  --  Report as abuse
CPA1976 wrote:

I will never vote for any Democrat or Republican again. I will never vote again until the structure of the House of Representatives is changed distribute votes based on parties and not districts. Politicians are beholden to money from their districts instead of their party ideals. Therefore the two party system is just a one party system (the Money Party). The structure of the government is directly tied to the economic interests that control each congressional district.

This country will do what ever business wants it to do and damn the human beings that are affected, they don’t get a say because they can’t buy and ear to listen. I don’t care if a revolution starts, I will never mourn the death of any politician in the United States.

Mar 09, 2011 2:45pm EST  --  Report as abuse
Bensony wrote:

Oh yes, America is on the wrong track. However, it has been on the wrong track for quite some time and is not the fault of President Obama. The reasons for hitting the wrong track are plenty. Some of them are:

– over protection of the caribou, polar bear, reindeer, jelly fish, etc leading to all kinds of strangulation of economic growth

– loss of the cowboy frontier spirit in bettering one’s lot

– dependence on fraud and bubbles for economic growth instead of old fashion hard work

– allowing too much oil speculation (just two years after the disaster in 2008, a repeat is now playing)

– aiming for 2 per cent economic growth when China is aiming for 10pc

– wasting too much time on irrational China bashing

– too much preoccupation with Tibet and Xinjiang and other artificial issues

– too much dependence on fuel guzzling cars

– failure to realise that in the eyes of the world America has just stopped growing

Mar 09, 2011 2:50pm EST  --  Report as abuse
robertsgt40 wrote:

The American “people” know the country has been on the wrong track for decades. That and your “poll” verify the obvious. Our “elected officials” work for someone else. Ya know like international finance and Wall Street. What’s left of the nation’s wealth is being transfered to them as we speak. And they wonder why there’s civil unrest? Delusional by any definition.

Mar 09, 2011 3:02pm EST  --  Report as abuse

Obama’s Motto: “What buck?” The most irresponsible, wantonly clueless and out of touch with the American people president ever. Every day George W. Bush grins as he sees Obama rehabilitating his legacy for him without even trying. We may have to change the constitution and have elections sooner than 2012 to save what is left of our dying, soul-sick republic.

Mar 09, 2011 3:13pm EST  --  Report as abuse
auger wrote:

“…approval among independent voters who he will need for his 2012 re-election drive took a sharp dive, to 37 percent from 47 percent…”
If they are jumping ship after a one week spike in gasoline, would the GOP really feel secure with the new found ’support’?

Mar 09, 2011 3:16pm EST  --  Report as abuse

I’ll be voting for Obama simply out of spite for the majority of commenters here and a lack of decent conservative candidates. Implying the President controls gas prices…don’t make me laugh.

Mar 09, 2011 3:20pm EST  --  Report as abuse

The cost of two wars that George Bush left President Obama with.
When we are still at war, China isn’t, they are building their wealth from selling all their cheap goods to us. Destroying US jobs.

Mar 09, 2011 3:33pm EST  --  Report as abuse
LC_CPA46 wrote:

This might have been mentioned, but now we need to know what the political “make-up” of these numbers is. It might well, and probably is, 33% left/progressive and 33% conservative both saying We are headed in the wrong direction…With the usual 33% who haven’t a clue.

Mar 09, 2011 3:37pm EST  --  Report as abuse

ginchinchili has it pretty much right on.
Though the color of the Prez doesn’t matter. American polticians have been bought by Corporate America.

The “Free Trade” con job is all about enriching the plutocracy, destroying our jobs base and with it the middle class.
Take a good look at those massive corporate dormitories in Red China folks because that’s how Americans will be living in 25 years.
The road to fascism is amazingly short.

Mar 09, 2011 3:40pm EST  --  Report as abuse
estebani wrote:

I will vote for a candidate that is open and honest with the American people and who displays integrity. If you look at what Obama says versus what he does, one can only conclude those qualities are not engrained into his character. In short, Obama has displayed the traits of a Serial Liar when it comes to announcing his intentions. He is not who he pretends to be and the American people who voted for him should see that by now. “The danger to America is not Barack Obama but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the Presidency.”
Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince.

Mar 09, 2011 3:50pm EST  --  Report as abuse
Heretic1 wrote:

God save our country from Tea-Partiers and Republicans.

Mar 09, 2011 3:54pm EST  --  Report as abuse
ArtNow wrote:

When 64% of America votes, I’ll believe the numbers are valid.

Not until then.

Mar 09, 2011 3:57pm EST  --  Report as abuse
estebani wrote:

God save our country from liberal fools

Mar 09, 2011 4:09pm EST  --  Report as abuse
SanPa wrote:

Wrong track … sure. The autocratic socialist policies of GOP policiymakers are shocking.

Mar 09, 2011 4:16pm EST  --  Report as abuse
Rotorooters wrote:

First it’s jobs that cause Americans to not like their President. Go to the banks and ask for jobs…they caused this mess and the CEO’s get a pass for a major crime. Now, you don’t like our President because of gas prices. Give something up America. Give up your SUV gas guzzler cars that are selling like hot cakes again since we also bailed out the auto industry. Stop buying foreign products, lower your electric bill, go on a diet so I don’t have to pay for your medical bills because you eat too much and give a little more and stop whinnying and blaming the President because you don’t want to blame yourself or the American corporations that caused all this. We are a rich country, however, the only ones that stay rich and the already rich. Wise up Americans and stop blaming the President. He is trying better than any other President that this country has known for a long time. Get mad at the people who caused thisl not the person who is trying to fix it. This did not start in the last two years…impossible. Let’s go back 50 years when the sneaks on wall street, the pharmaceutical industry, the bankers, the CEO’s of major corporations (which are getting smaller in number), started all this crap. Let’s stop blaming the poor. Don’t you see it? They, the crooks, want the middle class and the lower class to constantly battle each other while the richest of the rich skate on by to their mansions, jets, and yachts and laugh at all of us. Wake up America!

Mar 09, 2011 4:18pm EST  --  Report as abuse
Mike_Lynn wrote:

Like the strategic oil reserve is going to same Obamature’s fanny. When pigs can fly.

It’s a limited resource and OPEC is already pumping at maximum. Get on the hydrogen thing……we need to perfect hydrogen storage and then we can thumb our nose at the Arabs. Simply the American people have seen Obama’s stupidity. We got a curtain hanger/community organizer NOT a POTUS who knows how to manage decisively.

Mar 09, 2011 4:23pm EST  --  Report as abuse
dr.bob wrote:

Let me see? Dems and Repubs. run on platform for NAFTA, Ross Perot talks of sucking sound. Jobs are gone, why? We use foreign oil when Nat. Gas is leaking out of the ground. Alaska oil is sent to Japan and we’re fighting wars for the oil companies. To beat all, the Gov. wants to give more money to the IMF! If we don’t, we may lose influence? This is out of control!

Mar 09, 2011 4:31pm EST  --  Report as abuse
AnnieP1 wrote:

We are in debt up to our eyeballs and congress can’t even get it together to cut out Saturday postal service, funding for a radio station, and cowboy poetry, much less take on curbing entitlements. Heck yes, we’re scared. But the government unions are happy, and so are the Chinese.

Mar 09, 2011 4:41pm EST  --  Report as abuse
rtgunlimited wrote:

These polls are not helpful.
How about polling Americans for solution ideas rather than just their opinions?

Mar 09, 2011 4:46pm EST  --  Report as abuse
eco4matic wrote:

the misery will never end as long as political donations are permitted…….which off course both the democrats and republicans would never want it to go away……..that money simply corrupts the political system…….recipients being influenced by corporate america……making decision in the interest of the corporations and neither the people nor the country.

Mar 09, 2011 4:52pm EST  --  Report as abuse
whitner wrote:

pollsters….please do us a favor and stop polling people who DONT PAY TAXES ! We know they don’t care if taxes go up… THEY’RE NOT PAYING THEM !!

Mar 09, 2011 5:00pm EST  --  Report as abuse
ginchinchili wrote:

Terd: The first thing we need to do is implement publicly financed elections. Very few Americans have a voice in our “democracy”. Big moneyed interests determine who we have to chose from to represent us. We end up choosing between one candidate they’ve chosen and another they’ve chosen. They usually prefer Republicans, but they can work with Democrats. After all, Democrats need campaign contributions, too. And they have to allow those darn progressives to believe that they are participating in democracy. So they’re always frustrated. So what?
They don’t own a lot of guns so what is there to worry about?

It’s important to keep up appearances in our ostensible democracy so that no one gets any crazy revolutionary ideas. Why revolt when democracy is working just fine? After all, we have elections, don’t we? Just let democracy solve our problems, just like we “just let” the free market solve our problems. Unfortunately, we don’t really have a democracy and the only “solutions” the market is coming up with is how our rich can become richer. It’s not working for our country as a whole and why regulations and a fairer tax policy is needed. It’s only working for a very tiny sliver of our country, whom it’s working incredibly well for. When 200 people own more wealth than 50% of the nation, we’ve got a problem.

The Plutocracy in power wants us to continue believing we have a democratic Republic, which is easy enough to accomplish when corporations own the airwaves AND our elections. Yes, we have our left leaning networks and our right leaning networks, but both sides protect the illusion of democracy.

And, no, there is nothing revolutionary about the Tea Party. A movement backed by those already in power does not constitute anything remotely resembling revolutionary. They are just pawns being used by America’s Plutocracy to move things along faster in the direction they want, which is a type of modern day feudalism. The Tea Party demands cuts in government spending while the real people in power demand tax cuts. So Republicans make a big public display about cutting spending, mostly on programs intended to help the poor and Middle Class, while they quietly cut taxes on corporations and the rich. Has anyone noticed how little is being cut from defense? And it’s not about our need to spend more to stay safe. It’s about corporate interests.

This robbing Paul to pay Peter was recently done in Wisconsin and Florida, that I’m aware of. One of the states in the upper Midwest–I believe it was North Dakota–even raised taxes that only effect the Middle Class. Hey, these are tough times and we all have to sacrifice, right?

Very little money is left to balance budgets. The money we should be gaining in spending cuts comes in the front door and leaves through the back in the form of tax cuts for America’s wealthiest. It’s alarming that this is going on without so much as a peep from the everyday working people who are suffering the consequences. Of course, even if we were complaining what news agency would accurately report it?

This is a lot to tackle and I don’t see it happening any time soon. Look how difficult a time the working people of Wisconsin are having just trying to hold on to their collective bargaining rights, even though a majority of people in both Wisconsin and the US as a whole, support them keeping their bargaining rights. Corporations in Wisconsin got a tax cut from Gov. Walker immediately after he was sworn into office. Now those corporations are paying for advertisements supporting Gov. Walker and his union busting position. How do you fight that? Beating up on teachers? That’s patently absurd. Cut taxes for billionaire while cutting pay for teachers. Yeah, that will improve America’s education. And tv news fails to make it clear that Gov. Walker had given corporations tax cuts that blew a huge hole in Wisconsin’s budget. TV news also fails to inform people that the unions have already agreed to all of the monetary issues demanded by the Governor and that this is not about balancing the budget, but about a power grab and union busting. Of course, the news media also failed to make it clear that Saddam Hussein was not involved in 9/11. As a result, 6 months into the Iraq War 70% of Americans believed that Saddam Hussein was indeed behind the 9/11 attacks. As my cousin said to me, “Or else why would we be invading Iraq?” Yes, Terry, why else would be invade Iraq? To go to war with a country without even knowing the correct reason why is unconscionable. So goes the country the rightwing like to refer to as “a Christian nation.” God bless America.

Mar 09, 2011 5:01pm EST  --  Report as abuse
mpower830 wrote:

I know a lot of people are disappointed in the President for not fulfilling his mandate. He ran on a fairly progressive platform and so far has straddled the middle. Some people claim he’s some sort of Marxist, but they couldn’t be farther off, he’s been quite the centrist on just about everything.

Mar 09, 2011 5:05pm EST  --  Report as abuse
rmb297 wrote:

@ginchinchili
Wow…I’ll say you’re a victim of misinformation from someone and it’s most likely some left wing moon bat blog that you’re reading.

The “class warfare” diatribe is really tiring. Bush implemented tax cuts across the board — the lowest earners got the biggest rate reduction. Gov Walker has been in office for less than two months and NONE of his tax cuts have even taken effect. You are just spouting off liberal/union talking points.

Perhaps you should turn on FOX NEWS — they are reporting that the public employees in Wisconsin have agreed to salary and medical concessions.

Your discussion of 9/11 and Saddam is ludicrous. I suggest you read the resolution for military action against Iraq that was passed by the U.S. Congress. It does not state 9/11 as one of the many reasons for going to war with Iraq. Furthermore, did you know that in 1995, Bill Clinton signed a law calling for the removal of Saddam Hussein from power?

Mar 09, 2011 5:37pm EST  --  Report as abuse
eleno wrote:

There are plenty of black men I’d be happy to see leading America, but Obama is not one of them. The man is incompetent and out of his depth in issues such as the Middle East or Gitmo.

To those of you going on about the Republicans being keen on bankers etc. consider that Wall Street were substantial backers of the Obama campaign.

Obama has put America in the worst shape it has been in since the 1930s.

Mar 09, 2011 5:39pm EST  --  Report as abuse
moonhill wrote:

Supply and demand no longer control the price of oil. Speculators do. Tapping the reserve would not lower the price.

Mar 09, 2011 5:47pm EST  --  Report as abuse
Stock-MD.com wrote:

This polster who made the comment about it being because of gas prices is obviously an Obama supporter trying to spin the poll results so it is somehow not Obama’s fault. Sorry dude, Americans are not that dumb, except for perhaps you and all of the other “we support democrats no matter what” crowd. Look Obama and his minions have been trying to blame everything on anybody else since he took office. He is not a leader and does not want to take responsibility for anything. There are many things that “we the people” do not like that ALL of the politiicians are pushing and that is why we think we are on the wrong track. Obamacare is a job killer and is the reason we have a very weak recovery and are at least a year delayed in the economic recovery. The Republicans are completely wrong to be opposed to raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans. Those are the people who benefit most from our society and they are not paying enough to support it. Don’t get me wrong, I want to be one of them, but when I am I will be happy to pay more taxes to keep this the greatest nation on earth. They are all wrong for trying to link Social Security to the deficit. Social Security is for sure a long term problem that we need to deal with but it has absolutely nothing to do with the deficit or the national debt. Until this year, it has always run a surplus and it is a separate program with a separate revenue source that is not even part of the budget. The budget deficit and explosion in debt in the last few years is military spending and the medicare drug program run up by Bush with no new taxes to pay for them and then Obama came in and increased all of the discretionary spending by 25% without paying for it. And now of course the Dems are complaining about cutting 6% this year from programs that were increased 25% last year. They are all bad with their partisan talking points and none of them are doing what is right for America. Hence, “we the people” think we are on the wrong track.

Mar 09, 2011 5:54pm EST  --  Report as abuse
rbblum wrote:

Wasn’t there a survey that reflected 36% of the people would follow the charismatic leader Jim Jones of the People’s Temple ?

Mar 09, 2011 5:55pm EST  --  Report as abuse
WJM1234 wrote:

Americans (and that includes Congress) refuse to look at the big picture. Obama’s Fiscal Responsibility Commission has determined that at the rate we are going, by 2015 our entire budget will be consumed by Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and interest on the debt. Everything else (Defense, Education, everything) will be paid for with borrowed money. Worried about high gas prices. Ha! That will be a walk in the park compared to what will happen if we don’t address the debt and its main component – entitlements.

Mar 09, 2011 6:06pm EST  --  Report as abuse
Trooth wrote:

@ginchinchili

I agree that there is a lot of money in campaigns. You are wrong to think that big wall street does not back Democrats.

Obama raised $532,946,511
McCain raised $379,006,485

2004 numbers was the same for Republicans, the Democrats was not that far behind.

George W. Bush (R) $367,228,801
John Kerry (D) $328,479,245

Who paid off Obama? And who did he repay with taxpayer money? Unions? yes, Banks? yes, Various SIGs? yes.

Obama and the Democrats are no different than Republicans. When the Democrats and Republicans realize that the country can change, till then it will be the least of two evils.

Mar 09, 2011 6:18pm EST  --  Report as abuse
ginchinchili wrote:

eleno: “Obama has put America in the worst shape it has been in since the 1930s.” How could you possibly make such a ridiculous statement and still consider yourself to have a brain? It was Bush and the Republicans who put us in this mess. The Iraq War alone has cost us a trillions dollars, not to mention all of the needlessly dead American soldiers and Iraqi civilians. What did we get for that trillion dollar investment? An emboldened Iran and another Middle Eastern country for al Qaeda to work out of. And how did Bush pay for that war? He cut taxes and borrowed money from China and Muslim countries, including Iran. You don’t got to war and cut taxes. That has never been done before in US history. That wasn’t Obama. That was Bush. You raise taxes to pay for a war. They did the opposite of what our forefathers had always done when going to war. To say it was stupid is an understatement.

And what about deregulating Wall Street and our banks? Those regulations were put in place, again by our forefathers, after the Great Depression because they learned something from that experience and didn’t want to our country to have to repeat it. Wall Street and bankers pressured our government to get rid of the regulations in return for contributions. Our government obeyed, led by the Republicans, though the Democrats weren’t much better on this issue.

Why get rid of the regulations? So that a handful of people could easily become filthy rich. It worked. Problem is, it also led to the collapse of the world’s economy. What did Bush do then? He bailed them out with our money, or should I say more money borrowed from China. And what did the Republicans do? They prevented Democrats from putting those regulations back into place after a fierce campaign waged by, who? Wall Street and the bankers backed by lots of money.

If it bothers you that Wall Street contributed to Obama’s campaign then you should do like any good American and demand from your elected representatives that we go to a system of publicly financed elections. Nothing will change until that happens. It’s the single biggest thing that we can do to really take our country back and start making it work for us. But to pull that off would literally take an act of God because all of America’s rich, except for maybe Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, and George Soros, would oppose it with all of their considerable wealth, with all of their corporate news media, and with all of their bought and paid for Congressmen and Senators.

Want to know why Russ Feingold lost his Senate seat? He dared to support publicly financed elections. The GOP got a millionaire to run against him and since Feingold didn’t accept PAC money or money from lobbyists, he was grossly outspent and lost.

Education is our best defense and that’s why they’re also cutting funding for education.

Mar 09, 2011 6:25pm EST  --  Report as abuse
chauncey2 wrote:

thanks to the Republicans for the mess the US is in .. Or should I do an about face and Say Bring Sarah Palin.. Now you are really in deep doo doo ..

Mar 09, 2011 6:26pm EST  --  Report as abuse
cheeze wrote:

Great, the rocket scientists who put oil on the commodities markets back in the 90’s really put the country on the road to doom. Just what we need hedge fund managers making billions more… How about putting water on the commodities markets, I work for a water company, how’s about 5 dollars a gallon in the summer months, “take it or leave it” this way I can get a big raise during high demand. Same theory… go figure.

Mar 09, 2011 6:29pm EST  --  Report as abuse
Whittier5 wrote:

Yeah, Where’s the JOBS?? We need Jobs!!
Not political-postured trivial Budget cuts.
Where’s the cuts to DoD?? We can certainly spare a few F-22s, F-35s and a capital ship or 2.
What about plugging the loopholes so that Exxon, Citi, GE, BofA and all the others have to pay AT LEAST $1 in taxes??
How about restoring the tax rate to the top 1/4% of incomes??
How about “saving” Social Security by removing the FICA “cap” on multi-Millionaire ball players and Banksters??

Mar 09, 2011 6:49pm EST  --  Report as abuse
AnnieP1 wrote:

Ginchin – “Obama has put America in the worst shape it has been in since the 1930s.” How could you possibly make such a ridiculous statement and still consider yourself to have a brain? It was Bush and the Republicans who put us in this mess.

ginchin – when the chips are down, let’s resort to namecalling and blaming Bush….Jeeze, you guys are so predictable.

Obama took a bad situation and made it worse. Much worse. Much, much worse.

Mar 09, 2011 6:57pm EST  --  Report as abuse
tpartier wrote:

@ waldob

You say the US became a debtor nation in the 1960’s?

You would be wrong – the US became a debtor nation in the 1980’s – 1985 to be specific.

Yes, it happened under St. Reagan – that arch conservative hero who managed to quadruple our debt in less than 6 years.

see: http://www.historycentral.com/dates/1984.html

Mar 09, 2011 7:00pm EST  --  Report as abuse
JWnTX wrote:

The difference between GWB and Obama tapping into the SOR is that GWB faced a legitimate emergency in Katrina and the wiping out of almost 2/3 of this country’s refining capacity. Obama’s would be a blatant political move to help him win re-election and to try to cover up his completely incompetent management of our energy resources.

Mar 09, 2011 7:01pm EST  --  Report as abuse
BenDejo wrote:

In a related story, 34% of Americans will never get a clue.

Mar 09, 2011 7:02pm EST  --  Report as abuse
Illogicbuster wrote:

So, 36% of American’s can’t think straight. Sounds about right.

Mar 09, 2011 7:32pm EST  --  Report as abuse
bennylopeka wrote:

Rhetoric without sincere or significant action from Obama shows his weakness. No wonder his approval rating is in the tank!

Mar 09, 2011 7:39pm EST  --  Report as abuse
Aracasil wrote:

The bailout, the looting of social security, The citizen’s united ruling, the fed-who do these benefit? Why are the republicans so enamored of divisiveness-and why are their actions anything but Moral, as they portray themselves to be. Why are we being nickle and dimed to death by every level of government and business and finance that exists? Why is there no recognition that the barest of necessities now lie beyond the reach of MILLONS in a country so “wealthy”? Here are some facts you might consider in answering these questions:

We are MARKETED to by professionals who understand human psychology more than we care to learn about ourselves.

There are now more available laborers than there is labor to perform.

Imports are cheaper to afford-and what we settled for, while the market believes we actively want the crap over what we can no longer afford.

We did not care what our government did while we foolishly bought and still buy foolish goods at unaffordable prices on money not yet realized-nor by any realistic means, were we assured to realize.

We admire and strive to be the very same manipulative and speculative cons-who were sooooo successful with using opm to make fortunes, then have opm bail them out.

Our government cannot manage money. Neither can the majority of us-that is if we have any left to manage.

Minimum wage, benefitless, temporary jobs will support no one, and are not meaningful to quality of life.

We are villifying everyone who is not independently wealthy regardless of employment, personal effort, capability or contribution to society.

Nothing we have been promised has materialized in the past 30 years, as we were sold pipe dreams.

No one can understand fairness for all, nor will try to.

Our divisiveness is destroying our community and country-and those that have no current troubles do not see this.

If we do not pull together, we are risking anarchy-and we are getting closer to that outcome every day now.

Every single being needs food, clothing and shelter-how do we get there first-or are we truly prepared to bury a lot of people as the ultimate problem solver?

Mar 09, 2011 7:45pm EST  --  Report as abuse
NobleKin wrote:

@Ginchinchili

Great work. Keep it up!

The politically deaf, dumb and blind low and middle earners from red-state middle America may believe the Right is correct for their theology, but when viewed in the greater context, how could they be getting it so wrong?

a wholesale chunk of America stands in the balance with the next election. Lose it to Republicons, and we will be right back to 2001-2007.

The Teabagger nation has patriotic passion, but they don’t see the hands pulling their puppet strings…because they don’t realize they are puppets on strings. This was the same group who felt the imaginary Government “Death Panels” would be more problematic than the actual PRIVATE INSURANCE DEATH PANELS that deny coverage to millions every day.

The ’strings’ are the “red meat” issues that distract and matter little in the much grander and far more sinister financial and economic realities of voting Republicons into office. No taxes, no abortion, no gays, all the guns you want, no unions, increased defense spending, and kick the economic can down the road… with stated wars on drugs-terror-poverty-illiteracy, etc. that never get won…etc. ad nauseam. Guess what, Republicans don’t really care about these issues, they just want to get elected to control the levers of power that keep the money flowing to their masters.

And what do the red-meat eaters get? Well the last time around, they got George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. The Saudi Princes could not have been happier…nor could the Bechtels, Brown & Root’s, and Chevrons of the world be any more joyful…and that goes double for Wall Street. Remember? They were the CEO ticket, and were going to save America from all that Clinton nonsense. Really? Guess where that got us?

Obama has at least tried to beat back the strangle hold private insurance has on Americans in a still failing, not so free market healthcare system. Obama has worked to ensure the financial regulations needed to avoid another 2007-08 debacle are set in place. Obama has at least tried to steer us away from the wars that (financially) were not put on the books until just before he took office. Obama has a dream of energy independence, scientific funding to work through problems instead of running from them or outsourcing solutions, and he wants better education for every teacher who teaches an American child. Given the failures of “no child left behind,” who wouldn’t?

What do we see from the Right? Kill teacher’s pay to help lower taxes on the rich. Destroy unions, so working Americans have no voice against the robber barrons of our era, and no voice in politics. We see them raising partisan alarms about the current government spending while turning a blind eye to their own party’s gluttony of the past decade. We see them (through their uber wealthy leash holders) ratcheting up fuel prices amid phantom threats to current supply. We see them fighting for the rights of corporations in elections, and against the common citizen. Who are they working for? it isn’t you and it isn’t me.

You are living in a Matrix-like fairy world you believe to be free and democratic…

Unless you wake up, you are just another battery fueling the machine that will continue to work to keep you sleeping.

Mar 09, 2011 7:58pm EST  --  Report as abuse
TheCrustedOne wrote:

More than a bit of he blame for this is the GoP’s childish retribution politics. Once they quit acting like children and get to some actual legislating then maybe just maybe things can improve.

Mar 09, 2011 8:14pm EST  --  Report as abuse
Whittier5 wrote:

I am in dis-belief at the lack of basic facts and knowledge about recent History amongst the Cons.

@AnnieP1, you couldn’t be more wrong if you tried.
This entire Nation can blame Bush41 & 43 with complete accuracy. Where were you?? In Lower Slabovia?? Maybe you were asleep?? It’s real easy to catch up by doing a little studying – very little.

We are in this situation precisely because of the utter failure of 30 years of Republican Administrations who Tax-cut ‘ Spent like drunken sailors, ran-up the National Debt into the Stratosphere and because of their de-Regulation that allow the biggest Banks & Home Heist in the History of Man. No Hitler, Stalin or Tojo has probably put so many people out of their homes as is going on because Republicans refuse to clean up their Mess.
Obama had nothing to do with it. You haven’t seen anything. If he hadn’t forced the saving of the auto industry and heavy construction, this Country would be completely in the tank.

And, I am no fan of Obama. But, I have been awake and paying attention since before Reagan took office. Wake up, girl!!

Mar 09, 2011 8:16pm EST  --  Report as abuse
JAJ wrote:

Hello! Please tell me just exactly what is wrong with totalitarian homeland rule. What’s wrong with the way the average US citizen is treated at airports and other ports of embarkation relative to illegal immigrants walking across our border and being met with open Democratic Presidential arms? What’s wrong with mandated health care and the associated death panel decisions? Except, of course, if you’re a special friend of the President, and then you get a ObamaCare waiver. They’re hard to get; only a 1000 so far. Welcome to Chicago politics gone wild. Crushing taxes? Not if you are a favored Democrat. …and the economy, what’s not to like? The FED printing money 24/7 to keep the banks and the markets pumped up. What can go wrong and who will say, “Gosh, we never saw it coming.” Welcome to “1984″. Orwell lives, he’s in a box next to the tracks. Just knock. He’s home. Trust me.

Mar 09, 2011 8:41pm EST  --  Report as abuse
nycnewsjunkie wrote:

the media allowed the general public to drink the obama kool aid and elect him. the media overlooked obama’s lack of experience in business, government, and legislation. hillary clinton would have done a much better job. obama has NEVER had a real job, has no clue what it means to run a business. an idiot was elected at a time in our country when we really needed a “leader” and not a politician. 35% of the american population is living off the government. does this bother anyone?

Mar 09, 2011 8:50pm EST  --  Report as abuse
MrLogical wrote:

Only 64%???

Mar 09, 2011 9:08pm EST  --  Report as abuse
Mariah wrote:

I can’t believe there are still people in this country playing the race card. How ignorant are you??? I’m a conservative, and I could care less what color our president is. What I care about is the fact that there are no jobs, the government keeps spending money like it grows on trees, and none of the promises Obama made have come to fruition. We worked our butts off for 20+ years. My husband and I BOTH got laid off. Do you think the mortgage company cared? Nope. Did they work with us? Not at all. We ended up walking away because we couldn’t afford the house payment on unemployment. I wasn’t expecting much from him — I never do with politicians these days. But he kept promising change. He kept promising transparency. He kept promising a better USA. What have we got? Just another puppet in a nice suit. It’s disappointing for sure. Food shot up at least 15% since just last year… gas prices are through the roof… almost every state is in fiscal ruin… and still people blame the conservatives for being racist??? Get a clue.

Mar 09, 2011 9:13pm EST  --  Report as abuse
breezinthru wrote:

Both Obama and McCain voted to nationalize America’s banking debts while leaving the banks’ assets with the corporations and managers who created the whole problem in the first place.

Neither party has shown any indication of insisting on justice on behalf of citizens. The harm done to America’s economy and the lives of its citizens is widespread, brutal and spreading.

Why should anyone who can’t afford silk suits be optimistic?

Mar 09, 2011 9:44pm EST  --  Report as abuse
Phydeux wrote:

Excuse me ginchinchili, but I make just over $30K a year, and that “tax cut for the rich” helped me out too. Just because you have a jealous loathing for those who’ve achieved great things doesn’t mean you should take more money out of my pockets in taxes.

This article points out exactly why we’re on the wrong track. The American voting population is largely seniors or those approaching retirement, and no one wants to give up any entitlement programs they might benefit from. So, rather than one or two generations dealing with the pain of giving up some of their benefits we risk the entire future of our country.

Stand up America! Have the strength our grandparents and great-grandparents had to deal with hardships and going without so that the next generation doesn’t have to deal with the same, or worse because of our greed.

Mar 09, 2011 10:01pm EST  --  Report as abuse
richjacy wrote:

Democrats and Liberals generally may choose to portray Obama’s problems as being simply due to the price of gasoline- much in the same way they chose to attribute the catasrophic mid-terms to a “failure to commmunicate”. Neither accurately explains the President’s decline. The most openly and aggressively partisan president in U.S. history is finding out that his dismissive and elitist style doesn’t exactly play well with public opinion over the long term. Americans may still largely prefer to “cling to their guns and their religion” if they want to and pass on the “we want to spread the wealth around” dogma of Obama and his left-wing base. Ultimately, people see right through him and realize that all the soaring rhetoric and tel-prompters in the world cannot disguise an idealogically polarized man who sees the world in Rev. Wright, class-warfare terms.

Mar 09, 2011 11:14pm EST  --  Report as abuse

We would be on the “right track” if this administration’s domestic policy were not on the collision course with big money & special interests groups. There is way too much at stake for these guys. BTW, were we on the right track during Bush era???

Mar 09, 2011 11:14pm EST  --  Report as abuse
jlpeng wrote:

This country has been on the wrong track ever since the end of the WWII.
The reason is simple: Politicians and people want to be everything and end up with nothing. For example, the metrication program started in 1970’s, was straight forward and simple, and has many benefits. But the resistance to change was so high and we had to abandon it twenty years later. Everybody had his reasons not to adopt the metric system. Another example is the immigration policy – some industries such as farming, construction and meat packing love to hire illegal immigrants for low wages and many politicians pander illegal immigrants to exchange for votes from certain ethnic groups. So who is to blame? Some people who blame President Obama for all the problems are either too simple minded, or racially and politically motivated. We will get out of this wrong track unless we work together with the same purposes.

Mar 10, 2011 1:24am EST  --  Report as abuse
BOBBY99 wrote:

Yes, we are on the wrong track. It is a track mandated by reversing positive gains in human rights and ethical standards, not to mention Constitutional game-running by corporate plutocrats.
Tea people are led out of the woodwork because they suffer the economic effects of paying for war and corporate subsidy, being misled to believe it is progress that has destroyed their incomes and assets.
Fear and propaganda driven campaigns are successful in regression. Yet, when the Tea People smell the coffee, it will not be pleasant to be a billionaire.
bobby99

Mar 10, 2011 1:58am EST  --  Report as abuse
Halo9x wrote:

Obama has done everything he can to destroy this country and he has the nerve to ask for 4 more years??? Obviously he thinks we are all stupid out here.

Mar 10, 2011 1:59am EST  --  Report as abuse
Halo9x wrote:

Just for the record it has nothing to do with Obama being half black. He is also half white and still the worst mistake this country has ever made since Carter and I voted for Carter! So get off the race thing and get your head out of the sand. We are broke because of his fiscal policies. We have a looming energy problem because he won’t allow for drilling at a time when we need to be as independent as possible. He golfs and parties while people are unemployed and the world is going to hell on greased skids! So, this has nothing to do with his skin color, it has to do with poor performance!!!!!

Mar 10, 2011 2:06am EST  --  Report as abuse

How much longer can we tolerate POTUS and his lack of leadership and spending ?

Mar 10, 2011 3:30am EST  --  Report as abuse
cfrb83 wrote:

All of this gloom and doom stuff is ridiculous. With the cost of photovoltaics coming down ever closer to being cost competitive without subsidies, there will be a time a few years from now that average people (not just early adopters and environmentally conscious people) could be installing solar systems and powering their own homes instead of relying on natural gas and coal-fired electricity. With that self-generated electricity, people could be charging their new electric cars, scooters, motorcycles, and even e-bikes- which are beginning to look mighty good right now. People might even be able to hop a high-speed train from LA to SF and make it in 2 1/2 hours. We could even see the beginnings of algae-derived green crude being refined into gasoline, diesel, and even jet fuel. Perhaps 30 years from now, we could finally be harnessing nearly limitless fusion power.

This is all possible, and progress will happen no doubt. However long that progress takes is based on the will of the people. Some of these emerging technologies won’t make it without public investment to protect them from hostile takeovers by existing conglomerates that would (and have) purchased the rights to technologies just to destroy them to prevent competition.

It is disheartening to hear people like Glenn Beck making “progressive” a dirty word in the minds of millions of Americans. I certainly hope we begin to once again embrace innovation before our greatness fades.

Mar 10, 2011 3:37am EST  --  Report as abuse
jeff81201 wrote:

Everybody can blame and point fingers and follow Newt or Sarah or Farakan or whatever stupid hate-monger you want to follow. Me, I’m tightening up my home’s envelope, planting fruit trees, shunning debt, going solar, riding a bike, and trying to be a better person.

And whoever said “Drill Baby Drill,” you and your kind are the biggest part of the problems facing this country. Utterly incapable of grasping the fact that there are no more substantial economically obtainable oil reserves in this country. Offshore and ANWR are a pittance. Drill them tomorrow! It doesn’t solve a thing.

The spawn of Reagan – “We can consume until the sun burns out, cause we’re ‘Mericans!!!” (wave a flag. throw a football. feel better about one’s delusioned self).

I love the revisionist history that ignores the fact that Reagan started our monstrous debt and had us engage in disastrous energy policy.

Mar 10, 2011 5:52am EST  --  Report as abuse
abkisa wrote:

We should have had more realistic gas prices after the shocks in the 80’s! Instead we waited for them to drop and bought big vehicles again…I’m sorry but we need to adopt like the rest of the world has and stop waste of resources in this country… the President doesn’t control this… we do!

Mar 10, 2011 7:40am EST  --  Report as abuse
lhathaway wrote:

The Tea Party is basically anarchist, which benefits the rich because they can buy whatever they need. How can anyone not see that government needs to control the power of big business. If you think that a few underqualified homeowners caused the financial meltdown, do the math. The amount of money in the bad loans was in the billions of dollars, a drop in the bucket compared to the trillions that were lost during the financial crisis. It was Wall Street, led by Greenspan’s “the market is self-regulating” hypothesis, that caused the crisis. And yet nothing has been done to fix the problem and now the Tea Partiers want to gut the funding for fixing Wall Street. I guess they made money on the ride, or are supported by people who did. Heading straight for a Libyan style government, might makes right, the new evangelical Christian dogma. Just like the Taliban, just substitute Jesus for Mohammed.

Mar 10, 2011 8:09am EST  --  Report as abuse
wizone wrote:

We,the American public should blame ourselves for our issues with gas prices. We’ve done very little to become less oil dependent. Last time gas prices rose, we were looking for fuel efficient hybrid cars. That was very short lived. After gas prices dropped again, people were back to buying the biggest gas hogs they could buy. Don’t you think that we could have thought ahead and realized that gas prices weren’t going to remain low forever? Stop feeling sorry for yourself and do something about it. Stop blaming Obama for it. Domestic oil production is at its highest level since 2003. The oil companies have plenty of leases on land where they aren’t even drilling. The oil companies are making record profits as well. While I think that they deserve to make a profit, they don’t deserve to make such a gross profit and get government subsidies to boot. Thank your GOP friends for that. While you and I are told that we must do without, they refuse to take the subsidies away because they equate that with a tax increase.

Mar 10, 2011 9:43am EST  --  Report as abuse
actnow wrote:

Make your rage clear to your representatives…they need to understand that they will be held personally accountable for the gross mis management of our nations future. Once they feel the heat, they will change. Don’t buy into their constant blame of the other party and everyone else….put it squarely on their shoulders. Show no empathy for their excuses. The Democrats and Republicans have created this mess. They must balance the budget before our nation collapses…no excuses.

Mar 10, 2011 10:58am EST  --  Report as abuse
cocostar wrote:

You couldn’t of explained it any better. Big oil and the wall street mafias’ control our politicians and our elections. Special interest wins every time and American’s keep on loosing.

Mar 10, 2011 11:04am EST  --  Report as abuse
Jutes wrote:

Obama should understand that the other side does not want to compromise and so he must fight for his agenda and for his supporters who voted him in. His opponents want him to give up his goals and fail. I am so disappointed he did not go to Wisconsin.

Mar 10, 2011 11:05am EST  --  Report as abuse
Jutes wrote:

Obama should understand that the other side does not want to compromise and so he must fight for his agenda and for his supporters who voted him in. His opponents want him to give up his goals and fail. I am so disappointed he did not go to Wisconsin.

Mar 10, 2011 11:05am EST  --  Report as abuse
MargaD wrote:

Yes, we are on the wrong track. Thank the Koch brothers and their like for it. The Tea Party spreads their message and the dummies just eat it up. It’s all a scam you know, perpetrated by big business. Nothing going on in our country is ‘by and for the people’, unless your in the top 2% of wealth holders. So all the whining and blaming in the world is not going to make any difference. We could elect a monkey or the smartest person on the planet to be POTUS and it wouldn’t make any difference at this stage. This taking over, or buying out, our government started about 50 years ago and has been quite successful. So I suggest we all tighten up our own house, and make plans with our families for what we will do when big business takes it all and relegates the rest of us to tent cities and food lines.

Mar 10, 2011 11:18am EST  --  Report as abuse
MargaD wrote:

Oh, and had we been on the right track prior to the 2008 elections, Obama might not have won. So we were on the wrong track long before anyone even knew who he was. I get really tired of hearing people blaming one person for all the things that are wrong in this country. That’s just stupid. Yeah, I’d like it if the POTUS could wave his magic wand or twitch his nose and make everything better, but this isn’t a movie or TV show.

Mar 10, 2011 11:50am EST  --  Report as abuse
jrj90620 wrote:

Idiot Americans voted for Obama,thinking his “something for nothing” promises could be kept.Maybe they were just throwing a hail mary.Obviously the U.S. is in decline.Most Americans don’t think we’re on the right track.Unfortunately,they have no idea what the right track should be.Look for voters to continue voting for whomever promises them the most “something for nothing”.

Mar 10, 2011 12:05pm EST  --  Report as abuse
jrj90620 wrote:

Looks like the idiot public has soured on Obama Claus.Whose the next Santa Claus politician promising freebies,they are going to vote for?Until someone with wisdom and honesty,like Ron Paul, can get more than 1% of the vote,I can’t be very optimistic about our declining empire.

Mar 10, 2011 12:11pm EST  --  Report as abuse
jrj90620 wrote:

If govt could just tax away the wealth of the evil rich and corporations,govt could squander it away and then we could all be poor together.At least that seems to be the dream of the envious Democrats.

Mar 10, 2011 12:14pm EST  --  Report as abuse
finicky wrote:

So…middle east countries should remain squashed, not go through the fits that growing requires, so Americans can get their cheap gas? Sometimes sadly Americans seem like burrowing, unaware maggots. The oil isn’t going to exist forever anyways and it isn’t going to be someone else’s fault when it disapears – it’s time to move forward / move on.

Mar 10, 2011 12:29pm EST  --  Report as abuse
DrJJJJ wrote:

Our Senate can only find the will to cut 1.5 days worth of deficit spending ($6B)!! Ya, I’d say we’re on the wrong track and headed for another train!

Mar 10, 2011 12:43pm EST  --  Report as abuse
DrJJJJ wrote:

Re Drill baby drill: turns out Sarah is spot on!! We fight/die to import 60% of our oil when we’re sitting on 50 years worth in Prudoe Bay, AK alone!! Like spending massive deifict dollars for oil? Think 3rd world countries are more environmentally responsible than we are (now)?? Like tranferring wealth to Kaddafi? Do we need the jobs, debt reduction? Oil is used for everything under the sun every day and green substitutes are decades away FYI! We could probably balance our budget with whatg we’re sending to Venezula,Mexico, Africa, etc! Canada said recently-we’re the laughing stock of the world by importing 60% of the life blood of our economy! No, I don’t think she’s Presidential material, but she’s is right about drilling our own-no brainer!

Mar 10, 2011 12:52pm EST  --  Report as abuse
5tudentT wrote:

I like this. The Supreme Court appoints a conservative to the presidency. He and his cohorts alienate the neighbors, trash the house, and set fire to it. The public then elects the Democrats to fix the problem, but when they can’t fix eight years worth of damage in two, they get restless. So restless in fact that they’re considering either re-electing the guys who put us here, or possibly giving their truly insane cousins, the Tea Party, a try.

As I read history I’m strangely comforted. After the Civil war the conservatives (at the time these were the Democrats) went to work chipping away at the new freedom extended to blacks. After a couple of decades of Jim Crow style thinking, legislation, and Supreme Court decisions, they’d pretty much stripped it all away. It took another eighty years to restore it.

Conservatives are always in the vanguard to keep us in the same old place or marching backwards. We always end up going forward again, a little further each time.

But that pattern may not continue. The world’s changing, getting smaller. Our isolated little bubble here won’t be isolated much longer. Who knows where things will go then.

Mar 10, 2011 12:56pm EST  --  Report as abuse
DrJJJJ wrote:

When you’re going broke: do you increase spending or cut spending?? Vote accordingly!

Mar 10, 2011 1:09pm EST  --  Report as abuse
DrJJJJ wrote:

Re the hosuing crisis: demos pushed banking to relax lending standards to make home ownership more accessible (Bill, the role model Clinton, etc)-in the interest of fairness and equality!
Re: Big business morals/ethics: yes, we need more government oversight of the rotten apple-legitimate government role!

Mar 10, 2011 1:16pm EST  --  Report as abuse
CRF wrote:

America is on the wrong track and it is not Obama’s fault. Money is ruling (over-ruling)common sense. As long as money rules and businesses have the right to vote, the trend will only get worse. Businesses hire overseas and not America..but want America’s goodies and protection. Startups even hire overseas to save costs and compete. The American worker does not stand a chance… unless the people demand that the Government put a stop to greed and current business practices. Maybe the USA should devalue the almighty dollar and make American wages competative with overseas wages. Maybe then American business would start hiring Americans instead of foreigner to make more money for executives and Wall Street.

Mar 10, 2011 2:07pm EST  --  Report as abuse
Girvan1234 wrote:

Looks like the present state of economic affairs in the US is indeed controlled by corporate interests. Term limits is probably the closest thing to getting the power back to where it belongs – with the people. We have to begin with gutting congress to get the country back on its feet. Halting onshore and offshore drilling in the US is pandering to special interests, not the welfare of the nation.

Mar 10, 2011 3:44pm EST  --  Report as abuse
antonius2618 wrote:

Why, when there’s some so-called “crisis” in a middle eastern country or other oil producing nation, does the price of gasoline increase the very next day, when gas stations are selling gasoline for what they bought it for a MONTH ago? 90% of Americans I guess don’t realize that crude oil is sold as a future commodity on the stock market. What you pay today for oil, is for April delivery. So again, why are gas prices up NOW, when the gasoline they’re selling was purchased a month ago? It’s such a scam, and you can tell it’s a scam when you read between the lines. The lamestream media wants everyone to believe them, and with the internet and being able to cross-check their stories, you can see the blatant propaganda. Why do you think the elites want the President to have an Internet kill switch?? They can’t Americans informed with the truth because that would lead to an armed revolution. America has been on the wrong track since the 60’s. The RIGHT track however for the extremely wealthy, mind you. ;)

Mar 10, 2011 4:48pm EST  --  Report as abuse
Patriot26 wrote:

While I don’t agree with Obama’s socialistic politics, the problems we are facing today are many years of excess spending by politicians who represent their campaign contributors more than they do their constituents.

PS. Do you know what the spell check suggested correction is for Obama??? Osama…try it…. scary huh?

Mar 10, 2011 7:49pm EST  --  Report as abuse

First of all the oil from libya goes to europe but oil companies jump on the chance of raising prices and trying to pull the wool over the american publics eyes all for the sake of enormous profits.Lets take exxon for instance. The last time they said there was a gas crisis and gas went to $3.50 a gallon, They made $38 billion profit. So, if they cut their prices in half to $1.75 a gallon they still would of made $19 billion profit. So who is fooling who here???

Mar 10, 2011 9:48pm EST  --  Report as abuse
ww2kid8 wrote:

Republicans must find a strong, moderate, charismatic, energetic candidate to oppose Obama in 2012. So far they do not seem to understand that most people see the messenger and not the message. Obama actually sent no message to the people before the 2010 election, but he send rhetoric so effectively that people believed him though his words were empty. Appearance counts more than substance these days. Whoever the Republicans choose must match Obama in these areas. So far no one has appeared who is able or is willing to do so. McCain was a weak candidate because he had no charm, no charisma, no energetic presentation of his beliefs. Republicans mus find the right person who can win the support of the right and the middle, and must never forget the middle where the sentiments of the majority lie. They are not absolutists. They seek some kind of reasonable compromise that satisfies the majority. They must fine that person who can convey this to the people and then live up to it.

Mar 10, 2011 10:57pm EST  --  Report as abuse
diddums wrote:

The world has seen America on the wrong track ever since they invaded and destroyed Iraq. What took Americans so long to wake up.

Mar 11, 2011 6:23am EST  --  Report as abuse
Pterosaur wrote:

I think America is on the right track: The track to make the whole world its enemies, including a country like China who has no choice but being pushed to the corner by all means by America.

Mar 11, 2011 10:43am EST  --  Report as abuse
smeagol wrote:

America has really been on the wrong track since the beginning of WWII. Since FDR promised to keep us out of foreign wars and then did everything he could to provoke one we have been a slave to the military industrial complex. If the Dems are tax and spend the Reps are cut taxes and still spend. When was the last time anyone saw Federal government get smaller or a budget cut for defense. Sure they shift money around depending on who is controlling the budget but the result is the same, the debt goes up.

Mar 11, 2011 12:23pm EST  --  Report as abuse
BeckyHayes wrote:

These feelings are a result of the Cannibal Capitalism going on in this country. Please feel hopeless. What I am really afraid is that the collapse of the mortgage market, the attrition to the middle class will only accelerate. The loss of household wealth will have far reaching effects as families that would have been able to buy a house will be caught in an endless “rent trap” of perpetually rising costs, no equity, and no end. Goodbye suburbs, hello tenements. This fear was mention earlier this week in the New York times article “Without Loan Giants, 30-Year Mortgage May Fade Away ” by Binyamin Applelbaum. Then backed up by Michael C. Hill who has written “Cannibal Capitalism”.”

Mar 11, 2011 12:32pm EST  --  Report as abuse

Obama is printing and spending a fiat currency to force HIS vision of what America should be – and it is NOT what Americans want their country to become. Obama is playing the proverbial “fool and his money” with OUR money and is completely disconnected from any semblance of reality with his reckless “plans”. He seems to be the ONLY person who refuses to see that he HAS bankrupted our economy and that his policies and schemes are toxic to the America we love.

Mar 11, 2011 4:04pm EST  --  Report as abuse

America elected Obama to bring in change to
(1) the old boys club Washington politics,
(2) Middle Eastern tricky relationships between the Israelis and Palestinians the,
(3) the tensions between Caucasians and minorities.

Obama
(1) chose the ultimate symbot of old boys club progeny, Daley to be his new chief of staff( His father and brother dominated Chicago’s corrupt politics like a dynasty, like nobody else.)
(2) created a mess in the Middle Eastern relationships; likewise in Afghanistan and Pakistan,
(3) the emergence of the tea party represents more overt rhetoric against minority constitutional under the

So everything seemed to have backfired.

Obama did not succeed in what he was elected to change,
but he did give almost a free hand to old boys club Wall Street supporters like Sumners, Bernake to continue to fail in their job,
and gave the Insurance companies lobbyists their number 1 request.

NOW, GOP was elected to the congress because the economy failed.
However, they misused their position to charge ahead to deprive average Americans basic civil rights.

So Obama’s Democratic Party and the GOP are even.

BOTH usurped their elected position to make unpopular legislations that infringe upon average American rights, but failed to focus on what they had been elected to do.

Mar 11, 2011 10:06pm EST  --  Report as abuse
DDavid wrote:

Everything is just words. Hillary would have been a better choice on the Dem Ticket. It’s not just gasoline, it’s every problem he encounters, even going against Hillary ideas. Lately though I think:

Obama has shut her mouth. Like her or not, Hilliary is very smart, Obama has always been slow to react to anything. I don’t know if he has to call his Mommy first, like Bush had to talk to God.

Mar 12, 2011 6:22am EST  --  Report as abuse
DDavid wrote:

If one thinks that gas prices are the only reason, then in times like this why not have a price freeze ? After all the rising prices are due to speculators, not a problem of demand.

And as far as Obama’s thinking. I don’t think he knows how to think logically. He even shut Hillary’s mouth. Like her or not, Hilliary is very smart, Obama has always been slow to react to anything. I don’t know if he has to call his Mommy first, like Bush had to talk to God.

Mar 12, 2011 6:36am EST  --  Report as abuse
breezinthru wrote:

Polls are not a good indicator of whether or not America is actually on the right track.

If that same polling question had been asked in January of 2007, just ten months before the most financially devastating bubble “pop” that the world has ever seen, most Americans would have incorrectly prognosticated that we were on the right track.

A more proper financial question to pose to the average Joe and Josephine is whether or not they think their net worth will increase during the coming year.

That question will indicate citizen sentiment; but in the months preceding the popping of a financial bubble, most people will still get the answer to that question wrong.

Mar 12, 2011 7:47am EST  --  Report as abuse
deerecub1977 wrote:

we americans have been so dumbed down.Do people really know what democracy means?It isnt particularly good.WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE A REPUBLIC.

Mar 12, 2011 9:42am EST  --  Report as abuse
 
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