Bill Clinton Takes Back The White House

Beyond fascinating Scherer. Thanks so much for this insightful post. The fact that these two men are policy doppelgangers, not really important. It’s the drama that compels me.

My President is not making quality decisions.

Scherer:
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Bernie Sanders is outlasting them both.
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Still going, voice still there, just took a sip of water, bowed over the lectern, but still standing and talking about the folly of this deal still to come two years from now…
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Here’s your dramatic political moment for the taking, right there on the Senate floor, right this very second.
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Still going…amazing.

Michael, Obama’s greatest miscalculation is continuing to try to deal with the R’s. They’re interested only in rich tax cuts and booting his ass out of office, NOT making deals of any other kind. Granted though, whatever one thinks of Clinton’s centrist policies or handling of interns (literally), he knew how to deal with the R’s, esp. punking Newt over the govt. shutdown.
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Semi-related Michael, do you think the new R’s will try another Gingrichy kind of shutdown? I do thanks to TP’ers like Paul. And in future post as not to be OT here, if you think Sarah won’t run in ’12, let us know why. (I think she will and agree with Jay, see her last post.) Thanks.

Wasn’t the whole idea of the Clinton soliloquy to take attention away from Bernie Sanders?

Well, maybe that was Obama’s whole idea. But, as Scherer points out, it’s always Clinton’s idea to be the center of attention.

The Constant Weader at http://www.RealityChex.com

Here’s a short video of Bill Clinton’s remarks from the White House press briefing. Was very weird to see him back in such a presidential setting:
http://gtcha.me/gET9M4

Chris Lehmann:

Sanders explaining GOP Social Security hit job–but Bill Clinton stood behind a shiny podium today, so Politico, NYT et al will ignore
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@lehmannchris Fri 10 Dec 18:14 via web

Unlike the elites, the poor and middle class are willing to sacrifice their tax cuts for the good of the nation. However, everyone knows this Kabuki dance will end up with the Democrats folding. It is just a matter of time. It is like predicting the Sun will come up in the morning.

Thank God there is still at least one Senator left, with moral character.

I thought it a brilliant inspiration by Obama. It showed he was not arrogant and understood the identity politics of people like me. I’m 38 and was a very proud democrat under Clinton. I felt good about the deficit reduction. Safe and secure. The 90′s were an important time in my development as an adult and a member of the democratic party. Continuing the Bush tax cuts felt like an affront to my identity as a democrat. I was confused. What do we stand for then?

However, Clinton brought me back today to a time where I felt safe today. I trust him on the economy. He explained things to me in a way that did not feel offensive to my core beliefs. He understood my feelings.. but then explained to me why we had to extend the tax cuts for a little while. He would have had to do the same. So would have Hillary. I did not pick the wrong horse.

I have to bite the bullet.. we can lose a battle but live another day top win the war.

I get it.

I thank Obama for being cool enough to bring in Clinton. He understood how meaningful that would be to democrats like me. He is still one of us.

In fact, I think allowing Clinton to take the stage to explain the tax issue will be marked as one of his most potentially astute calculations of Obama presidency.

I don’t know if it’s the greatest miscalculation of Obama’s career, but it is a defining one: He publicly humiliated himself in a very personal and immediate way so he could help his political enemies hurt the people who elected him.

And that pretty much sums up what is so wrong about this Presidency.

I strongly disagree.

I was ready to leave the democratic party and call myself independent. Read my post from a few days ago. My fury at Obama was epic and I was sure I had backed the wrong horse. However, today, hearing Clinton and seeing Obama being man enough to know when he needs help, I’m no longer afraid or even that angry.
I understand why democrats must support this bill for two year. I do.

Please, you had a temper tantrum and then realized you had no where else to go. This is only a tiny affair that if it’s remembered it will only be for Bills love of hearing himself talk. It neither helps nor hurts Obama. His leaving Bill to do what he loves most was quite humorous. Actually, that will cause it to be remembered but not for the why. Just Bill making it about Bill.

IF Reagan had not been out of his mind at the time HW Bush had to raise taxes.. causing a huge identity politics back-lash from the right, Had Reagan been able to explain to his base why a tax hick at that point was necessary for deficit reduction, I seriously do not think it would have hurt HW Bush. In fact, it might have saved his presidency. Reagan’s inability to coherently articulate policy and support HW Bush read on a sub-level as Reagan’s disapproval.

Obama is very lucky that Clinton is still alive and sharp as a take. In in no way demolished Obama as a leader to stand with Clinton today. In fact, it might have saved us from a civil war in the party.

Even though republicans are desperate to see our party fracture and try to spin the two blades, of two leaders, united.. as a weakness.

Good luck.

I saw strength today. Two men, united. Two men that I voted for.

My presidents.

I saw power. Not weakness. A weak man would be too fearful to be seen next to a giant. Obama proved he fears no man, and united with the giant today.

The power was beautiful.

I as a female responded.

I even cheered.

But I’m a romantic at heart.

The title should read:

Bill Clinton Joined Forces with Obama.

I’m so happy. lol

Today was a good day.

Now, I’m going to take a long bath, have a glass of wine and watch Dexter.

Cheers!

A song for all.

The thing about the tax cuts is not that the rich get tax cuts. The so-called “rich” include more people than Paris Hilton. It also includes the people who hire the poor and middle class, i.e. small business. The Fed takes a smaller piece of the pie. These people spend their extra money buying flour and filling, renting ovens and hiring bakers to make many more pies out of which the Fed takes its smaller slice. Fed ends up with more pie. Being against this is like passing up 5% of a dollar to take 20% of a dime because 20 is way more than 5.

Maybe Obama is that humble a leader, to submit like that to the former president in order to get something done.

Maybe Obama is simply that clueless to not realize that he would be completely overshadowed by a demonstrably superior communicator.

Maybe Obama was scared of Bernie Sanders making headlines.

Or maybe… maybe Obama doesn’t care about the image as much as he wants the following headline to last as long as it can and burn as bright as it can:

“OBAMA FIGHTS OWN PARTY FOR BIPARTISAN TAX CUTS”

Now what American wouldn’t love that?

I don’t agree with the author’s perspective or the sensational headline. Time has published several articles in the last week that made the U.S. leadership sound weak, i.e. WikiLeaks is “winning”. Now it looks like Time will elect a subversive as Man of the Year.

I saw the entire press conference and feel gratitude for President Obama for recognizing that he needs help, and gratitude for former President Clinton for stepping up to the plate.

I’m dismayed by the disrespect shown here for our Presidents who are trying to bring about positive outcomes for Americans.

I’m done with Time Magazine. I view some recent articles as subversive, and more to the point, distorting of the truth. Our free press has to do better than this.

Subversive? What’s getting subverted?
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Also, this is America, so we’re allowed to say “F–k the President” if we damn well please.

Yep and we’ve gone over the cliff with sneering disrespect. We need to ask on occasion, what does our leadership need from us? How can we support, and if we can’t support, how can we negotiate differences respectfully. I’m tired of these trash headlines that undercut the only leaders we have. They need better from us. Right Now! Before the U.S. is no longer a major world power.

Vulgarity in the service of a self-appointed defiant champion of liberty (Cliff) subverts intelligent discussion and ultimately democracy itself. To classyferret, kudos; to Cliff, a sincere (truly respectful) a request for more analytic, less enraged comments

“And that pretty much sums up what is so wrong about this Presidency.”
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Your concise and trenchant comment does it far better than their absurd statesmen-theatre.

What our government needs is tax dollars to bring down the deficit. What this country needs to do if it is going spend money-borrowed or taxed- is a works program. Put more people to work and more people naturally pay taxes–bring down the deficit even more. What this country doesn’t need is a “millions for millionaires” program, more corporate welfare and a tax burden placed on the backs of those who can least afford. Obama’s plan does just. Workers making $20,000 and couples making $40,000 will actually see their tax bills go up next year even while everybody else’s in higher income brackets are going down. How is that a fair tax?

Respectfully, Reagan said this in 1980, but the economy did not recover from his tax cuts. It recovered starting in 1982 after he in fact privately realized his mistake and reversed policy.
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It was said again when the economy was once again tanking in 1992-93 and Bill Clinton publicly said that the solution was to raise taxes to cut the deficit and increase investment in the American economy, especially the tech sector. Republicans predicted a new depression. Instead they got 8 years of amazing growth and prosperity. Somehow, Gore lost in 2000, taxes were cut, spending on the military was increased manyfold (counting not just the standard defense budget but the special budgets for running the Iraq and Afghanistan wars), all other investments in American prosperity were cut, and the economy, suprisingly to Republicans, collapsed.
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Liberals want to cancel the tax cuts in order to direct more investment to American prosperity and reducing the massive deficit the Bush policies created, and once again Republicans lecture on how raising taxes kills the economy and lowering taxes saves it.
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We’ve seen basically this exact same show 3 times in the last 30 years, it has the same ending and the same moral in every case, and yet still Republicans get it exactly wrong.

What can I say, every time I see someone suggest we need to give blind obedience to our leaders, I get riled up.
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This isn’t Merry Olde England, where I have to bite my tongue if I don’t feel that our rulers are ruling adequately.
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And my question remains: What is Julian Assange subverting?

“This isn’t Merry Olde England, where I have to bite my tongue if I don’t feel that our rulers are ruling adequately.”
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Judging by the respect shown to the prince and his bride yesterday, I’d venture to say that America is the more servile nation at this point in history. Both its citizenry and media. Hard to imagine someone throwing a brick at the car of one of our lords (of finance).

Well, yeah, the press acts like we’re in one of Jane Austin’s novel of manners:
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“Oh I say Lord Bernington Sanders has been acting most dreadfully uncouth recently I daresay he shan’t be invited to my next tea party”
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and so forth.

And yeah, now that I think of it, I talk an angry game but I’m not out there rioting myself.

Yeah, like the British, the French, the Dutch, or hell the Chinese (for better pay in their factories, often owned by the Japanese). Of course, the western media wouldn’t want to talk about that aspect of China.

I’d only add that I’ve worked & socialized with loads of Brits for years here and they’re often brutally frank and informed social critics. Not to say that in polite company (i.e. not mine), they don’t modify their approach as much as anyone, but I’d venture to say they’re as rebellious and independent-minded as any Yank.

I have to say the last few comments here about the latest students riots in London England are misplaced….Cliff hijacked the subject into a different one with his comment : > quote — “This isn’t Merry Olde England, where I have to bite my tongue if I don’t feel that our rulers are ruling adequately” — unquote, and afterwards others started commenting on the London riots. This comments here should be only about the Swampland article entitled > “BILL CLINTON TAKES BACK THE WHITE HOUSE” —- I totally agree with classyferret, your comment was very insightful, intelligent and objective….I too saw the whole Bill Clinton press conference live and what Michael Scherer wrote in this article is misleading, very cynical, insidious, pernicious, false and distorted… in fact Clinton was not on a selfish ego trip trying to subvert Obama he was just trying to help president Obama by explaining the valid reasons why Obama had to compromise on this deal with the republican leadership in order to be able to extend the unemployment insurance benefits and other essential programs to help the working and middle class….Mr Sherer, you should remember the Nov 2 Congress election, the republicans are now the majority, therefore Obama had to compromise otherwise the opposition would just block all this essential legislation ….I am sure that you don’t want to see the unemployed starving to death do you? This mid term congressional elections are the reality of life in the USA…..so please, enough of this shoddy mediocre journalism Mr. Scherer, smarten up and get on the ball.

Yeah, it’s shameful that it took a Brit to say this:
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/matthew-norman/matthew-norman-how-did-this-wastrel-ever-find-his-way-to-the-white-house-2129608.html
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I don’t immediately recall an American opinionator speaking that bluntly about Bush.

Further, Mr. Scherer, if we had a parliamentary republic system with Congressional and presidential elections at the same time only once every four years, you wouldn’t have to write this insidious pernicious misleading false articles like this, Obama would have kept his democratic majority in the House until his next election and thus wouldn’t have to compromise with deals with the opposition in which he has to lose something in order to be able to save his essential legislation….wouldn’t have to ask Bill Clinton to come over to the White House press room and support his compromise and explain eloquently in painstakingly detail why this compromise was necessary. What you have here is a very bad system with this mid term elections, people are not happy with the president’s performance after just two years and vote his party out of Congress instead of giving him and his party another two years to complete his agenda. In a parliamentary system like in Canada this problem would never happen, because if the governing party has a majority in parliament, the prime minister and his government are assured to govern uninterrupted for 4 years until the next election.

If Obama had been able to keep his majority in the House for two more years he would have kept his promise and would have rescinded the Bush tax cuts for the very wealthy in order to be able to pay for the tax cuts for the middle and working class and thus not having to add to the deficit….unfortunately after losing his democratic majority in this darn Congress mid terms elections he was forced to make a deal with the opposition whose main demand was to keep the tax cuts for the rich….and thus he was confronted with two necessary evils, and he had to chose the lesser evil, by being forced to continue with the tax cuts for the very rich which means letting the deficit continue to rise while at the same time protecting the unemployed so they can keep spending, keeping the tax cuts for the middle and working class and like Bill Clinton said, implementing more stimulus bills thus stopping the economy from going into a complete dive into a depression. These are the facts, Mr. Scherer, please do take them all into full consideration before you write more nefarious insidious pernicious nonsense about Bill Clinton’s alter ego and subversion.

Thread hijacking never happens here; you’re not familiar with this blog, are you? (If you were, you wouldn’t be accusing Cliff of that.) Besides, Obama’s party didn’t lose all of Congress, just the House. There’s still the Senate and the myriad uses of the filibuster, holds, etc., and Obama’s veto. We’ll be the first to say the Senate is royally f’d up, but both sides can game that system. What the R’s did to the D’s can have their own tactics thrown back at them.

Apparently I’ve been crowned Assh*le for the Night. Do I get a wreath or something?

I’m dismayed by the disrespect shown here for our Presidents who are trying to bring about positive outcomes for Americans.

Would love to see classyferret’s critiques of respect / coverage of George W. Bush and his positive outcomes for Americans. Especially the latter… as in if CF can name any positive outcomes, please tell us what they are.

Michael, has there ever been another occasion when a sitting president has invited an ex-president to publicly support his policies? If so, what was the result?
I watched the press conference, and while not nothing happened during the event to humiliate the president, the fact that he felt it necessary shows his weakness -not good for future struggles with the GOP.

Taking back what’s not yours…. Poker face!
http://www.pathtoasia.com/jobs/

Slick Willie only went to the White House looking for Monica! Why even have President Clinton there? He is not in office, he’s not the President now. Obama is just trying to cover his arse!! Vote the rascal out!!

Some times I have to wonder what is wrong with the press.

Like this head line and many others that mirror it.

It’s like the press has no grasp of Obama.

Have you ever heard of the term “A Team of Rivals”?

I’ll give you another hint.

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.

Obama kind of personally identifies with that book. I think Time even wrote an article about it.

If anyone thinks it was a naive or a choice not thought out by Obama to form a team up with Bill Clinton on the economy.. then the press is smoking something.

It was a move of political genius.

The press are parrots that fail to think.

I’m sure that has to do with why so many people don’t bother to read. It is like reading the same eye glazing parrot spin from one columnist to another.

Come on, Time. You people are smarter than that.

“Michael, has there ever been another occasion when a sitting president has invited an ex-president to publicly support his policies? If so, what was the result?
I watched the press conference, and while not nothing happened during the event to humiliate the president, the fact that he felt it necessary shows his weakness -not good for future struggles with the GOP.”

Bill Clinton is not just an ex-president to Obama he was a hard core rival not long ago. The political battle for the White House was Epic between those two.

The team up of those two men, on an issue that held all kinds of identity politics for democrats, in large part formed by Clinton’s successful economic policies in the 90′s, was pure genius by Obama. Clinton and Obama teamed up yesterday and it was powerful as hell.

Sure, Clinton will always we a big dog, but Obama is big enough to know that sometimes a legend adds great weight to a political issue that is splitting the party in half.

I think HW Bush would have won a second term had Reagan not been out of his mind at the time HW Bush realized he had to raise taxes for deficit spending sanity. The silence by Reagan read as disapproval, no matter the reason. There was hard core identity politics in play.

Obama is lucky Clinton is so healthy.

Both men teamed up yesterday.. and my spirit soared.

It was a true Team of Rivals, and it was beautiful.

lilaland wrote: ”
Both men teamed up yesterday.. and my spirit soared…..It was a true Team of Rivals, and it was beautiful.”

Excellent insight! I agree. Thanks for recognizing the genius at work here.

Yeah, why anyone would see weakness in such a powerful statement, as those two men joining political forces, is beyond me. Obama showed respect to the elder statements, that is classy, and Obama is smart enough to know that he is dealing with an issue of identity politics in economics, in large part created by Clinton. And no one but Clinton could reassure the base like Clinton. Being smart enough to know when joining forces is a far, far cry from weak. It’s smart and shows a man who is not handicapped by his own arrogance.

Obama really impressed me yesterday.
And Bill was great.

I don’t know.. I think the press gets too caught up in their own spin to see the real story sometimes.

I guess in the end, I go by my own reactions as much as anything. The team up worked.
I’m no longer disgusted at Obama. I no longer see him as weak. I see him as smart and very cool. He understands me. He knew I needed to hear from Bill on the economic issue.. it soothed my political identity crisis.

Thank you, President Obama. Thank you, President Clinton.

You guys rock.

to his elder statesmen.

but really, there are just too many typos for me to bother. lol

I’m going to go enjoy this beautiful day.

I hope some smart columnist is able to figure out the great inspirational story and the real thought process of Obama.. on this remarkable story. The boring spin is.. just boring, MS. It makes you look dumb.

http://michaelfury.wordpress.com/2010/04/16/valor/

A skunk is a skunk even if you hide it’s stripes…you can always tell by the smell ! Michael Scherer is so obviously biased he might as well join Fox as a commentator.

I love the FACT that Clinton stuck it to the GOP during his time as POTUS and it was perfect tactical move by President Obama to utilize the former President.

Entrenched Democrats are as bad as Rabid Republicans…and this country needs help…..now, not later. He has given the obdurate GOP its lead, for the present, then will let them choke on their own greed in the end.

Mr. Scherer…….these are two of the brightest men in the world and you sound like you belong in junior high !!

slofiredon, is right on! Mr. Scherer, sounds totally and helplessly stagnant in his thinking. There was zero mercurial sparks of intelligence in his grasp of the situation. No insight. Just boring, boring spin.. just the same boring spin regurgitated by countless other media parrots who lack intuition. Just like Jr. High! You guys have got to do better. Write something interesting with layers and background and some frigging insight.

slofiredon writes:
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Mr. Scherer…….these are two of the brightest men in the world and you sound like you belong in junior high !!”

Yes, that’s the essence of what’s wrong with the article and some of the responses to it. The author writes as if the two Presidents are dummies….when they are in fact among the brightest, best educated men in the world; agree with them or not, there’s real depth to their views.

I’m bothered bydegrading, personal comments about the only leaders we have, and I’m bothered when commentators trivialize complex issues, and bounce off political activity in ways that conveya shallow understanding of it’s potential and meaning. As lilaland articulated, there’s much depth to this coordination of efforts between the president and past-president. Clinton didn’t ‘take back the White House’ and neither president miscalculated.

This should be the featured reader’s comment on Time’s political front page. It truly sums it up.

Can I offer this gold plated turd?
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Made speshully by Sarah Palin herself. It was one of the ones she gilded a while ago, but for some reason, she couldn’t sell it.
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Still fresh though…

No need to thank imaginary beings for Bernie Sanders…as far as I know he managed this most remarkable and wonderful thing all of his own volition…Sanders is head and shoulders above his peers because he remembers who he serves…the people…

Guess who said the following: “It is incredible that a system of taxation which permits a man with an income of $1,000,000 a year to pay not one cent to his Government should remain unaltered.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt? Ted Kennedy? Nancy Pelosi?
Not even close. It was Andrew Mellon, Secretary of the Treasury under conservative Republican President Calvin Coolidge.
What was Mellon’s point? That high tax rates do not necessarily result in high tax revenues to the government. “It is time to face the facts,” he said. Merely having high tax rates on large incomes will not bring in more tax revenues to the treasury, because of “the flight of capital away from taxable investments.”
This was all said in 1924, in Mellon’s book, “Taxation: The People’s Business.” Yet here we are, more than 80 years later, still not facing those facts.

not all our decisions have quality we want the to have.

close Your eyes , Idiot.

weird?
He was The President of United States.
Twice.
Who are You to say the crap You did?

Liberals are unable to face facts. It is not in their DNA to do so.

‘Guess who said the following: “It is incredible that a system of taxation which permits a man with an income of $1,000,000 a year to pay not one cent to his Government should remain unaltered.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt? Ted Kennedy? Nancy Pelosi?
Not even close. It was Andrew Mellon, Secretary of the Treasury under conservative Republican President Calvin Coolidge.
What was Mellon’s point? That high tax rates do not necessarily result in high tax revenues to the government. “It is time to face the facts,” he said. Merely having high tax rates on large incomes will not bring in more tax revenues to the treasury, because of “the flight of capital away from taxable investments.”
This was all said in 1924, in Mellon’s book, “Taxation: The People’s Business.” Yet here we are, more than 80 years later, still not facing those facts.”

lol

You do know that Calvin Coolidge was a hard core conservative republican and that the republicans controlled all three chambers of power in the 1920′ right before the great depression?

You do know that in the top tax rate was lowered to 25 percent – the lowest top rate in the eight decades since World War I in 1925.

You do know that by 1929, the bottom 80 percent of all income-earners were removed from the tax rolls completely. And taxes on the rich fell throughout the 20′s.

By 1929, the richest 1 percent will own 40 percent of the nation’s wealth. The bottom 93 percent will have experienced a 4 percent drop in real disposable per-capita income between 1923 and 1929.

By 1929 the middle class comprises only 15 to 20 percent of all Americans.

1929

Herbert Hoover another (republican) becomes President.

After the huge tax cuts from Calvin Coolidge more than half of all Americans begin living below a minimum subsistence level.

Annual per-capita income is $750; for farm people, it is only $273.

Backlog of business inventories grows three times larger than the year before. Public consumption markedly down.

Freight carloads and manufacturing fall.

Automobile sales decline by a third in the nine months before the crash.

Construction down $2 billion since 1926.

Recession begins in August, two months before the stock market crash. During this two month period, production will decline at an annual rate of 20 percent, wholesale prices at 7.5 percent, and personal income at 5 percent.

Stock market crash begins October 24 1929. Investors call October 29 “Black Tuesday.” Losses for the month will total $16 billion, an astronomical sum in those days.

You do know that tax cuts for the rich pool all the wealth at the top and very little trickles down? You do know that when the top 1% owns most the wealth the result is that the masses can no longer buy stuff? You do know when the masses stop spending then rich people stop making money?

http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/Timeline.htm

And you fools think it’s liberals that don’t know crap?

I had such great hope for Obama. What a disappointment he has turned out to be.
Man up, Mr. President. We didn’t elect you to continue republican policies of enhancing the rich at the expense of the rest of us.

“Please go,” is a request that we can all get behind and it took Bill Clinton to voice it to Barack Obama.