U.S. 2012 Election

[cupper]

"However through the revisionist looking glass of the anti-Obama cohort, He carries all of the blame and none of the credit."

Think of it as a counterweight to the pro-Obama cohort, which has yet to admit any mistakes after 3 years and routinely passes the blame.  We can teach 18 year-olds to seek and accept responsibility, but a middle-aged man with an advanced degree from a prestigious university and his counsellors and enablers of often superior pedigree can not find it in themselves to do so with arguably the most prestigious and powerful appointment in the non-religious world.

But when education said 18 year old we don't have to deal with an obstructionist congress bent on making Obama a one term president, no matter what the cost to the country, or their own reelection possibilities.

 

[Redeye]

But when education said 18 year old we don't have to deal with an obstructionist congress bent on making Obama a one term president, no matter what the cost to the country, or their own reelection possibilities.

What's most sad about the entire mess the US is in is just this. the GOP doesn't care about the country or what's best for it. They're more interested in trying to defeat President Obama. Would that (if they could pull it off) be classed as a Pyrrhic victory?

 

[Bird_Gunner45]

What's most sad about the entire mess the US is in is just this. the GOP doesn't care about the country or what's best for it. They're more interested in trying to defeat President Obama. Would that (if they could pull it off) be classed as a Pyrrhic victory?

I think you meant that GOP and Democrats, as neither side seems capable of reasonable debate, compromise, or otherwise adult like behaviour. 

 

[cupper]

I think you meant that GOP and Democrats, as neither side seems capable of reasonable debate, compromise, or otherwise adult like behaviour.

Very much agreed. Dems are no better than the GOP with the gamesmanship.

It's very telling that a lot of veteran moderates on both sides are opting not to run again this time around.

Apparently "Spending more time with the Family" is code for "I'm tired of the petty partisan bickering and all or nothing politics we have degenerated into."

 

[Redeye]

I think you meant that GOP and Democrats, as neither side seems capable of reasonable debate, compromise, or otherwise adult like behaviour.

To a great extent I can't disagree with that. But it certainly seems to me that Dems are interested in somehow finding a way to make things work, the GOP are committed to obstruction. That said, that could easily flipflop.

 

[tomahawk6]

Redeye for a smart guy its hard to see how you can miss the destruction the democrats are causing to the economy. Just their energy policy alone is pushing gas prices toward $5 a gallon gas. It is anti-fossil fuel at its core. Their green agenda isnt competitive unless energy prices go through the roof,and you cant power cars with solar powers.Those electric cars you read about require electricity and what kind of power plants do we have ? Natural gas.coal and nuclear.West Virginia this month shutdown 3 power plants because of new EPA requirements. We have run annual trillion dollar deficits under the democrats and the only area they want to cut is defense and not entitlement programs.

 

[Redeye]

Redeye for a smart guy its hard to see how you can miss the destruction the democrats are causing to the economy. Just their energy policy alone is pushing gas prices toward $5 a gallon gas. It is anti-fossil fuel at its core. Their green agenda isnt competitive unless energy prices go through the roof,and you cant power cars with solar powers.Those electric cars you read about require electricity and what kind of power plants do we have ? Natural gas.coal and nuclear.West Virginia this month shutdown 3 power plants because of new EPA requirements. We have run annual trillion dollar deficits under the democrats and the only area they want to cut is defense and not entitlement programs.

If you think anyone in the US government can simply wave a magic wand and reduce gas prices, you're frankly crazy.

Gas prices are driven by global events. US policy impact on them is minimal. Things like the situation in Iran and that region drive crude prices up. Of course current policy somewhat anti-fossil fuel, the idea is to find ways to prepare for those fuels becoming more and more scarce, never mind environmentally problematic, and find other forms of energy to move forward with. There's some progress lately, the first licenses and loan guarantees were issued for the construction of new nuclear power plants. Keystone XL will likely be built, but on the Dems' terms, not when the GOP tries to ram it through with unrelated issues.

 

[PuckChaser]

Keystone XL will likely be built, but on the Dems' terms, not when the GOP tries to ram it through with unrelated issues.

They're gonna let the GOP put Keystone into another bill so they can wash their hands of it and appease the Eco-Left. The US needs the money and the jobs, but Obama is too concerned about getting and holding votes to actually let it happen without the GOP ramming it through as you say.

 

[tomahawk6]

All Obama has to do is to get prices down is to approve the oil pipeline and reopen oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.He needs to reverse the EPA's recent rulings.This would be a signal that the US is determined to end our dependence on Middle Eastern oil.This is as much a national security issue as it is energy.

 

[ballz]

but Obama is too concerned about getting and holding votes

Damn, in a democracy??? ;D

Sorry, I have no dog in this fight (well, I guess I do support the Keystone pipeline) but that comment just struck me as rather ironic. Being concerned with getting and holding votes is, of course, the whole point of democracy... If President Obama is at the mercy of the people (well, at least your statement makes it seem that way) it's a sign that it is working as it is supposed to (which I'm not sure that's the case, the US democratic system seems to have hamstrung itself to me).

 

[tomahawk6]

Damn, in a democracy??? ;D

Sorry, I have no dog in this fight (well, I guess I do support the Keystone pipeline) but that comment just struck me as rather ironic. Being concerned with getting and holding votes is, of course, the whole point of democracy... If President Obama is at the mercy of the people (well, at least your statement makes it seem that way) it's a sign that it is working as it is supposed to (which I'm not sure that's the case, the US democratic system seems to have hamstrung itself to me).

Democracy isnt perfect but somehow we have muddled through good leaders and bad.Make no mistake history wont be kind to President Obama.

 

[Redeye]

All Obama has to do is to get prices down is to approve the oil pipeline and reopen oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.He needs to reverse the EPA's recent rulings.This would be a signal that the US is determined to end our dependence on Middle Eastern oil.This is as much a national security issue as it is energy.

And it will do pretty much nothing to gas prices at all. And without finding alternatives and thus reducing dependence on oil period, there's going to be no change of that energy independence for the USA. That's the whole point.

 

[Redeye]

Somewhat a propos of that, this is pretty fascinating:

http://cleantechnica.com/2012/02/15/secret-clean-energy-stash-discovered-in-oceans/

Don't know how close it is to reality (I'd suspect transmission is the biggest problem that hasn't even been looked at), but a baseload source of energy like this would be incredible.

 

[tomahawk6]

I dont see anything changing the need for fossil fuels to operate our vehicles,planes and ships. The technology that TV has cited isnt going to help us generate cheap electricity anytime soon.I am a fan of hydrogen but we cant produce it cheaply.Meanwhile between the US and Canada we have more oil than anyone else.The US has the ability to be energy self sufficent for a 100 years.That should be anough time to make hydrogen or OTEC viable.Who knows maybe fossil fuels are a renewable resource.The ocean seems to have huge quantities of methane as well.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/giant-plumes-methane-bubbling-surface-arctic-ocean-163804179.html

 

[Redeye]

I dont see anything changing the need for fossil fuels to operate our vehicles,planes and ships. The technology that TV has cited isnt going to help us generate cheap electricity anytime soon.I am a fan of hydrogen but we cant produce it cheaply.Meanwhile between the US and Canada we have more oil than anyone else.The US has the ability to be energy self sufficent for a 100 years.That should be anough time to make hydrogen or OTEC viable.Who knows maybe fossil fuels are a renewable resource.The ocean seems to have huge quantities of methane as well.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/giant-plumes-methane-bubbling-surface-arctic-ocean-163804179.html

Studies are being done on synthetic/biofuels that are looking promising. The economies of scale aren't there yet, but they may well in the none-to-distant future.

Again, returning to the original point, no one in the US government has any power to wave any magic wand and lower gas prices. It's that simple.

 

[ModlrMike]

Studies are being done on synthetic/biofuels that are looking promising. The economies of scale aren't there yet, but they may well in the none-to-distant future.

Again, returning to the original point, no one in the US government has any power to wave any magic wand and lower gas prices. It's that simple.

Perhaps, but we don't need to divert increasing amounts of arable land to biofuel crops while concurrently driving up food prices.

 

[vonGarvin]

Is it just me, or is it the height of first-world arrogance to grow food so that we can use it as "biofuel" when half of the planet is starving? 

 

[PuckChaser]

Damn, in a democracy??? ;D

Sorry, I have no dog in this fight (well, I guess I do support the Keystone pipeline) but that comment just struck me as rather ironic. Being concerned with getting and holding votes is, of course, the whole point of democracy... If President Obama is at the mercy of the people (well, at least your statement makes it seem that way) it's a sign that it is working as it is supposed to (which I'm not sure that's the case, the US democratic system seems to have hamstrung itself to me).

He's just like Dalton McGuinity in Ontario, he'll do whatever he can do for whatever vocal special-interest stands up in order to get himself some votes. Regardless whether it sinks the country into massive debt or makes absolutely no sense.

 

[vonGarvin]

As an aside about democracy in general, the root problem with it is that the leaders don't do things that are necessarily for the right reason: they do it for votes.  I mean, "for the will of the people" is one thing, and "for the right reason" may be literally exclusive.  It may be the reason why many democracies are in the mess they are in right now. 

The analogy is a family unit.  Imagine that there are five kids, a mother and a father.  The kids, all under ten, have equal voting rights to mom and dad.  If that's the case, then we can forego any payments on the mortgage, and we're hiring someone to do our homework for us, and we're eating pizza and McDonalds for supper every night.

 

[Journeyman]

Imagine that there are five kids, a mother and a father. 

Who in their right mind would have five kids? What are they, Catholic?

;D

[/mindless derail]