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I do not understand why people think he has been great for Texas..... the state is a mess. Here are just a few key issues:
- Over 80% of Texas communities live below the federal poverty line
- Texan citizens have the very worst credit of all 50 states
- Texans have one of the worst home ownership rates
- Texans have the most per capita minimum wage jobs
- Texas had a huge 20+ billion dollar deficit just like most big states
- Texas has one of the highest teen birthrates in the country (Only NM and MS are slightly higher)
- Texas has one of the highest property tax rates in the country
- Texas has the highest income inequalities between rich and middle class
I think Perry's strategy is to go easy on Corporations.... low tax rates for them and no-unions, hence Texas is the land of cheap labor.... as the statistics back it up. That coupled with a HUGE Oil & Gas industry that flourishes when pump prices go up.... the unemployment is approxmiately 1% lower than the national average. (8.1 vs 9.1) ..... that is the lone metric that has done well. But, when you are modeling your state after China (Cheap labor, low worker rights).... the people are not going to have credit, hence homes, hence staying above the poverty line and all of the other bad stuff. As a note, the above list is only a partial list. You would be shocked if I showed you everything that Texas is either dead last in or close to last.
With this system, the people suffer.... no money, no homes, no credit and this is the shining state example of what the Right is selling..... I don't get it.
I have not, nor ever been a very politically in-touch person..... thus, since I have kind of casually paid attention in the past year or two, I have learned the hard-way, do not believe what you hear.... do your own independent research to discover the truth and then make educated informed decisions.
There is a lot of generalized Rhetoric out there right now.....too many are putting trust in the platform they are given and blindly follow it, not knowing or understanding the actual results from it.
The biggest problem we have in this country right now is that people have trapped themselves in their own rhetoric.... hence, doesn't matter what facts you provide to them, they cannot possibly change their position, they have trapped themselves in their own rhetoric. A lot of people do not understand this.
I will add my observation to this post. I really don't care if your a republican, democrat, liberal or conservative. You should have some respect for the president of the united states. It's okay to disagree with his policies but find the personal attacks and lack of respect to be very troubling. I did not care for Bush policies and have some issues with Perry leadership. I still respect both men for doing what the believe in although their beliefs differ from mines. I voted for Obama and there are several issues I have with him. I cannot dismiss all the things the right says about him but I certainly can't agree with all they have said about him. Seems this country is destroying itself from with in. Whoever wins the next election will be given the same level of respect I have given o all previous presidents. I will pray our next leader leads us on a path of economic prosperity and can only hope we come together as a nation and understand our problems are all of our problems. Finger pointing does no good when your all in the same ditch.
Nice post------respect and civility have left our society. I agree with you, in that I have great concerns about our President and his leadership, I cannot bring myself to the level of disrespect that a lot of people show these days.
I am not a big fan of the way that the president is moving the country, yet I cannot stoop to the level of disrespect that a lot of the threads show.
Remember, when you choose to wish for the President of the United States to fail, consciously or subconsciously you are pulling for the country to fail. If thats the case we have forwarded to a time and place in this country that is ominous.
It is one thing to challenge and be openly critical and even harsh with the President and leaders. To show flagrant and contempuous disrespect is off base. The last 6 months or so for this country, in the degrading and farcical debt ceiling debate, has hurt not only our countrys image internationally, but it is clear to me that a large percentage of our people have been turned off by the arrogance and bitterness.
I hope it is not too late to restore some reason, sanity, and clarity to this nation----I fear that boat has sailed and we are mired in a total rut of anger, distrust, and disconnect----I pray that I am wrong and we can start accompishing great things again----wishful thinking.
Originally Posted by tofurkey Sounds like a confirmation that it's a good thing Europeans don't vote for U.S. Presidents. Chalk up one for the Constitution.
And really... it's going a bit far to blame Bush for Obama's eloquence.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dgz
I'm not blaming Bush for Obama's eloquence. One isn't causing the other. I'm simply making two statements:
Bush was a poor speaker. This often caused him to be perceived as ignorant.
Obama speaks more eloquently. This makes a nicer impression when our country's president is standing next to other world leaders.
Yeah, I know you weren't blaming Bush but it almost sounded like it. I was amused.
Though, Bush as a public speaker was not impressive but out of the spotlight, behind the business doors it was a different story. Of course, the press would never be able to report that, having never witnessed reality. <tongue/cheek>
I have an unpopular view point here, but I have always said that Obama winning the election was the worst thing that could have happened to him and the Democratic party. The recession started on Bush's watch, yet Obama winning made the recession his own to bear...meanwhile the republicans get to play the 'innocent outsider' who come racing in like a knight in shining armor to fix Obama's wrongs...conveniently ignoring the fact that he didnt start the recession.
So here's to hoping that Rick Perry wins...maybe then he can have a prayer rally every day if he wants to, and let's see if that will turn the US economy around, with the same 'miracle' he's done here in Texas.
I have an unpopular view point here, but I have always said that Obama winning the election was the worst thing that could have happened to him and the Democratic party. The recession started on Bush's watch, yet Obama winning made the recession his own to bear...meanwhile the republicans get to play the 'innocent outsider' who come racing in like a knight in shining armor to fix Obama's wrongs...conveniently ignoring the fact that he didnt start the recession.
So here's to hoping that Rick Perry wins...maybe then he can have a prayer rally every day if he wants to, and let's see if that will turn the US economy around, with the same 'miracle' he's done here in Texas.
If Gore had won (or maybe more properly framed, if the Dems had bothered to teach all those new voters they registered in Florida how to vote), how much would have been different in the big picture. Would 9/11 have happened? Most likely. Would we be in Afghanistan, or would Gore have just lobbed a few cruise missiles over, as his boss did with Al Qaeda. If the former, we'd still be stuck there, if the latter, Al Qaeda would be thriving and much more aggressive. Would we be in Iraq? Probably not. Would Iraq now be in the same category as Libya, Syria, and Iran, with the UN wringing it's hands about what to do with a rogue country massacring it's citizens? Undoubtedly. Would we be in a recession? Probably, since replace the hundreds of billions spent in Iraq with hundreds of billions charged against corporations to try to adhere to new environmental regulations, which would have started killing jobs sooner. Would housing have still bubbled and burst? Absolutely, since much of that was due to Congressional policy, not the Administration, and a Gore Administration wouldn't have done anything to change that.
At this point, we'd be having a similar conversation about some Republican inheriting a mess from the Dems, just a mess of a different sort. Hindsight is 20/20, and I'd much rather see less blame being thrown out by the White House, and more leadership. Re: lack of leadership. Everyone loves to throw the House under the bus for the recent debt ceiling debacle. Maybe if Obama had shown an ounce of political courage and leadership, and come out with his own plans instead of just sitting back for much of the time and pointing fingers (re: his own debt commission). Leadership isn't about being well spoken, or having a good GPA in school, or being well liked, it's also about being willing to take a stand (right or wrong, as long as you believe it to be right), present ideas to take the country in a specific direction, and stick with it. Not abdicate that to the rest of the Government (which includes sending your #2 down to mediate meetings)...
Would Perry make a good President? No way to tell, since it always tends to be event driven. Would he be a better leader? Probably, since Obama hasn't shown any consistent leadership skills (at least when there was any domestic political risk). Would the country be better off? That's a matter of personal opinion. Mine is yes, but that's the Republican in me talking. And no, Bush was far from perfect and made lots of strategic and tactical mistakes, and Obama has done some things right....
If Gore had won (or maybe more properly framed, if the Dems had bothered to teach all those new voters they registered in Florida how to vote), how much would have been different in the big picture. Would 9/11 have happened? Most likely. Would we be in Afghanistan, or would Gore have just lobbed a few cruise missiles over, as his boss did with Al Qaeda. If the former, we'd still be stuck there, if the latter, Al Qaeda would be thriving and much more aggressive. Would we be in Iraq? Probably not. Would Iraq now be in the same category as Libya, Syria, and Iran, with the UN wringing it's hands about what to do with a rogue country massacring it's citizens? Undoubtedly. Would we be in a recession? Probably, since replace the hundreds of billions spent in Iraq with hundreds of billions charged against corporations to try to adhere to new environmental regulations, which would have started killing jobs sooner. Would housing have still bubbled and burst? Absolutely, since much of that was due to Congressional policy, not the Administration, and a Gore Administration wouldn't have done anything to change that.
At this point, we'd be having a similar conversation about some Republican inheriting a mess from the Dems, just a mess of a different sort. Hindsight is 20/20, and I'd much rather see less blame being thrown out by the White House, and more leadership. Re: lack of leadership. Everyone loves to throw the House under the bus for the recent debt ceiling debacle. Maybe if Obama had shown an ounce of political courage and leadership, and come out with his own plans instead of just sitting back for much of the time and pointing fingers (re: his own debt commission). Leadership isn't about being well spoken, or having a good GPA in school, or being well liked, it's also about being willing to take a stand (right or wrong, as long as you believe it to be right), present ideas to take the country in a specific direction, and stick with it. Not abdicate that to the rest of the Government (which includes sending your #2 down to mediate meetings)...
Would Perry make a good President? No way to tell, since it always tends to be event driven. Would he be a better leader? Probably, since Obama hasn't shown any consistent leadership skills (at least when there was any domestic political risk). Would the country be better off? That's a matter of personal opinion. Mine is yes, but that's the Republican in me talking. And no, Bush was far from perfect and made lots of strategic and tactical mistakes, and Obama has done some things right....
To answer the question of this thread, I personally don't think Perry's college grades should be a factor in determining whether he would be a good leader or not, just as I also ignored Obama's having attended Columbia and Harvard. Being an intellectual and being a good leader are not the same thing. I just think Perry isnt that great a leader, and takes far too much credit for the state of Texas economy. JMO.
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