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Tom Rinaldo

(22,913 posts)
Wed Oct 17, 2012, 09:09 AM Oct 2012

The one change I think Obama should make from last night.

Seriously, it's just a single word. Obama should retire the use of the word "mess" from his description of the economy he inherited from Bush. That word should replaced by "disaster" or another word closer to that magnitude. A "mess" is something that happens on a personal scale that can be tidied up with a little effort. A disaster is what befell New Orleans due after hurricane Katrina. At the very least, eight years of Republican rule brought this nation and the world to the brink of an economic catastrophe. President Obama does himself a disservice to describe what he was asked to deal with from day one as simply "a mess".

That's it, my entire inventory of armchair quarterbacking critiques of the Presidents performance in the second debate . Obama was brilliant. Simply put, he showed why America why we were right to choose him to be President of the United States in the first place.

Romney is a one trick elephant. His whole case comes down to his assertion that a second Obama term means America settling for another four years like the last four. That is of course blatantly absurd. The degree of economic growth America has experienced during Obama's first term in office is a direct consequence of the Republican calamity Obama inherited when he stepped into the Oval Office. It's hard to reach the surface after you fall down a mine shaft. Even Mitt Romney, as craven as he is, doesn't predict for this country another four years like the last four. Obama's first term in office began during a global economic panic, a total meltdown of the world's financial systems,

The Republicans did far more than leave you with a mess to clean up, Mr. President. They almost plunged the world into another Great Depression. It is remarkable that you pulled us all the way back from that AND ended the war in Iraq AND hunted down the terrorists who attacked America AND put us on a glide path out of Afghanistan AND overhauled health care in America AND re-invested in America's technological future and so much else, virtually simultaneously. It was more than a mess that you inherited from Republican misrule. It was a package of epic challenges that only confront most nations two or three times a century. Call it like it was.

14 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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The one change I think Obama should make from last night. (Original Post) Tom Rinaldo Oct 2012 OP
I wouldn't change a thing. JNelson6563 Oct 2012 #1
I think you evidence false reason for concern Julie Tom Rinaldo Oct 2012 #2
He was great but... JNelson6563 Oct 2012 #6
I'll make a confession of sorts Tom Rinaldo Oct 2012 #13
Told ya so Adelante Oct 2012 #3
LOL. I was fine with either Obama or Hillary but we had to choose at the time Tom Rinaldo Oct 2012 #9
Looking forward to that, old friend Adelante Oct 2012 #11
agree. In fact, that gets at the heart of what has been my biggest criticism Schema Thing Oct 2012 #4
Okay...just how would most Americans have received that "come-to-Jesus meeting"?.... OldDem2012 Oct 2012 #10
The world was literally waiting for him to take office Tom Rinaldo Oct 2012 #14
Ugh Nope! lonestarnot Oct 2012 #5
No Obama didn't inherit a calmnity on day one? Tom Rinaldo Oct 2012 #7
It's tough for pols to talk about the bad economy and be cheerleaders too. reformist2 Oct 2012 #8
I agree he had to project optimism at the time Tom Rinaldo Oct 2012 #12

JNelson6563

(28,151 posts)
1. I wouldn't change a thing.
Wed Oct 17, 2012, 09:12 AM
Oct 2012

He did a fabulous job. Kind of sad to see attempts at splitting hairs and picking nits this am on DU.

Julie

Tom Rinaldo

(22,913 posts)
2. I think you evidence false reason for concern Julie
Wed Oct 17, 2012, 09:17 AM
Oct 2012

How much stronger an enforcement of Obama's leadership can you ask for than what I wrote here? Or of his performance in the debate either to be more specific. I called it brilliant. I meant it. I don't think there is anything I wrote here that can in anyway be considered demoralizing to Democrats regarding Obama. There sure as hell wasn't a single word of praise for Romney in it either.

JNelson6563

(28,151 posts)
6. He was great but...
Wed Oct 17, 2012, 09:57 AM
Oct 2012

Yeah.

Sorry Tom. Yes I saw the nice things you said. And I saw the little hair-splitting thing in there too.

I'd just like to say YOU TRY IT SOMETIME and see if you do any better.

I remember long ago when I'd only ever been on the sidelines I used to do the same. Then I wasn;t on the sidelines anymore and it was me in front of a crowd, expected to say all the right things and be perfect.

Let's just say, it ain't nearly as easy as it looks.

Julie

Tom Rinaldo

(22,913 posts)
13. I'll make a confession of sorts
Wed Oct 17, 2012, 02:08 PM
Oct 2012

I mulled over how to frame this thread, and could have headed in a different direction, but I knew DU would (understandably and justifiably) be full of "yeah team!" OP's today In a way I was using reverse psychology. I figured people would suspect I was being critical of the President before opening and reading it, but actually, like I said, I think he was brilliant. I was amazed at how poised AND passionate Obama was during the debate.

Before the debate, yesterday and the day before, I watched hosts like Rachel Maddow on MSNBC discuss how hard it is to translate complex debunking of Romney's rhetoric into short, to the heart, political "sound bites" so to speak that would be effective. That's when it hit me that changing the word "mess" to "disaster"to describe what Obama inherited is one way to help accomplish just that. So actually this thread was sort of my way, as a solo political activist not connected to any insider Obama channels, to pass on that suggestion for the future (meaning the next 3 weeks). If anyone with access to the Obama campaign is reading this, maybe they could consider this tiny one word rhetoric tweak to help drive home the message of what an extraordinary job Barack Obama has done given what he had to deal with when he took office.

Tom Rinaldo

(22,913 posts)
9. LOL. I was fine with either Obama or Hillary but we had to choose at the time
Wed Oct 17, 2012, 10:01 AM
Oct 2012

Maybe we'll still get to see how well Hillary can do starting in 2016.

Schema Thing

(10,283 posts)
4. agree. In fact, that gets at the heart of what has been my biggest criticism
Wed Oct 17, 2012, 09:33 AM
Oct 2012

of Obama from day one.... and that is: that on day one, he did not have a come-to-Jesus meeting with the American people and explain just how deep the shit we were floating on actually was. How close to complete Armaggeddon we were.

OldDem2012

(3,526 posts)
10. Okay...just how would most Americans have received that "come-to-Jesus meeting"?....
Wed Oct 17, 2012, 10:15 AM
Oct 2012

Panic? Fear? Runs on every bank in the US? Withdrawal of vast amounts of stock from the stock market? Civil unrest? Hoarding of food, gasoline, firearms and ammunition?

Think about it. How close to "Armageddon" would we have come then?

Personally, I think the President struck just the right note.

Tom Rinaldo

(22,913 posts)
14. The world was literally waiting for him to take office
Wed Oct 17, 2012, 04:32 PM
Oct 2012

To a large extent it was the anticipation of his pending leadership that kept everything from falling apart.

Tom Rinaldo

(22,913 posts)
7. No Obama didn't inherit a calmnity on day one?
Wed Oct 17, 2012, 09:59 AM
Oct 2012

This OP is a swipe at Romney for pretending one can project an overall near zero job growth from Obama's first term as evidence of what would happen if Obama gets reelected. That is Romney's entire bag of tricks, saying nothing good happened during Obama's first term so why should he get reelected. It pretends that the Great Recession never happened, when he isn't trying to blame Obama for the results of it.

reformist2

(9,841 posts)
8. It's tough for pols to talk about the bad economy and be cheerleaders too.
Wed Oct 17, 2012, 10:01 AM
Oct 2012

I was just thinking this earlier this am: Obama's team probably shouldn't have promised 6% unemployment by 2012, but telling the people that Bush's financial crisis was a disaster that would take a decade to recover from would have been very demoralizing to people, and itself would have been a downer for the economy. So they kind of have to be a little unrealistically optimistic at all times, even if that gets them into some trouble down the road.

Tom Rinaldo

(22,913 posts)
12. I agree he had to project optimism at the time
Wed Oct 17, 2012, 01:55 PM
Oct 2012

"We have nothing to fear but fear itself" is a truism based on real human nature. But this campaign is a good time to remind people of how close Republicans came to wrecking our economy

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