As a walk-up to this weekend’s “Rally To Restore Sanity,” Jon Stewart interviewed President Barack Obama, who on The Daily Show Wednesday night told the host, “The one thing that might have made a difference is if you held a ‘Rally to Restore Sanity’ two years ago.”
That’s as close as you’re going to get to hearing the President of the United States say, “These Republicans, they’re trying to do some crazy stuff.”
Both men were using each other. Obama, to reach Stewart’s younger, probably more Democratic demo to plug next month’s mid-term elections; Stewart, to prove he flexes influential muscle as he does his shows this week from D.C.
It’s hard to imagine the President saying to any American journalist, “I have a profound disagreement with you: This notion that health care [legislation] was timid.” That’s because it’s unlikely any journalist would use the accusation of timidity to Obama’s face, as Stewart did last night. (“There are times when I don’t even know what you want out of a health care bill,” said Stewart.) And it’s unlikely that any journalist who’s leveled the sort of criticism cast as caustic comedy as Stewart has would be granted an audience with the Commander In Chief. But, bridging the gap between critic and supporter, entertainer and commentator, Stewart was able to use his show to offer a glimpse of a President on the defensive, saying that he’d accomplished so much since taking office, there were things “some folks don’t even know about.”
“What have you done that we don’t know about?” Stewart shot back. “Are you planning a surprise party for us, filled with jobs and health care?”
The tone of the chat was a bit tense. This was not the relaxed President who’d done a cool-cat glide onto other shows such as The View and David Letterman. Obama was on The Daily Show with something to prove, and the urgency gave way at times to a one-sided filibuster. Stewart tried joking about it, saying, “it’s hard not to talk!” while the President spoke rapidly of accomplishments and change.
Obama couldn’t have had a more sympathetic audience — his comments were frequently met with applause. But the night was an example of a man speaking to the converted at a time when the converted may not show up in sufficient numbers to form a triumphant flock.
In other words, this weekend, proportionate to their respective audience-sizes, Stewart may be leading a larger congregation, a more enthused base, than Obama will be on Nov. 2.
What do you think of The Daily Show interview with the President?
Follow: @kentucker
I was riveted. I thought it was an interesting exchange and I’ll probably rewatch it later.
Best part was when Obama said someone was doing a “heckuva job”. Immediately I started laughing, then Stewart’s audience started laughing, and Stewart asked if he really wanted to say that. LOL.
My favorite part, and the one that proves to me that Jon Stewart pulls more clout now than ever before, was right after that – when Stewart called the President “dude”. Who else could get away with calling a sitting President “dude” to his face, and not get laughed out of the interview…
Someone else on here commented on how Stewart got away with calling the President “Dude.” I loved that.
Communists!! ALL OF THEM!! Everyone who watches the Daily Show, The View, Letterman, or anything other than Fox. Communists. If your reading this, your a communist.
Well Mike, I’d rather be a Communist than a complete dolt like you. But, to each his own…
The true dolt is the man who can’t recognize sarcasm.
-Jon Stewart is my hero.
Hey Mike:
It’s “you’re” NOT “your.”
Dolts? At least they passed high school English, Einstein.
Mike: I like how you tell people if their reading this they are a Communist while you apparently read this as well. Using the transitive property that means that you are a Communist as well. You’re welcome.
And one less hungry troll in the world. Congratulations.
And the sad thing is not even a very good troll. Hell, he might have even be a drunk libertarian.
I don’t know the difference between “their” and “they’re.”
I’m a huge fan of both Stewart and Obama, but I thought him calling the President “dude” was disrespectful and too familiar.
yeah mike, i will happily be a communist label any day, in fact Id proudly wear it on a t shirt, if that is what I am for watching Stewart or glad FINALLY real change is taking place, you two-bit cretin uneducated neanderthal
The audience was clapping like well trained seals.
That’s just not true. They clapped when they agreed with a point. Did you even watch the interview?
I watched the interview and I’m a theoretical physicist. I’m smart enough to know what I’m talking about.
Maybe they were only clapping theoretically.
Well, gee, Amanda, thanks for making sure we know that you’re “smart”.
Amanda, knock it off. You’re a waitress at the Hooters near the Dallas airport. Stop pretending to be something you’re not. And for god’s sakes, lose some weight. It’s called Hooters, not Flabby’s.
Theoretical Physicist! Hahaha! Even if that were true, it’s a fallacy to assume that being a physicist has anything to do wtih spotting choreographed applause. Surely you’d know that.
You know what you’re talking about? Wow….The job market is bad when theoretical physicists have to train seals for a living.
Theoretical physicist? Does that mean that, in theory, you think you’re a physicist?
It’s a TV show. The audience was clapping when the “Applause” light came on.
Hey Amanda, aka “theoretical physicist”, I have a question for you. Is it your intention to say that by clapping in approval of President Obama the audience (trained seals) showed they are less intelligent than you (a physics professor)? And what the hell does your profession have to do with it anyway? Are you trying to start an “I’m Smarter Than You” pissing contest? If so, you should know that I studied integral calculus when I was nine years old, started college at age eleven, and graduated when I was fourteen (with a 3.9+ GPA). Did I mention that my IQ has been estimated at above 170 and that I played at the level of a chess master when I was ten? You see Amanda, the problem with being so smart is that you sometimes forget there might be someone even smarter in the room. Had I been in that audience, I would have clapped, too.
My suggestion would be for you to keep your academic credentials out of future conversations unless it is relevant. Failing to do so makes you appear pompous, undermines your academic credibility, and displays a lack of good social skills. But then again, physicists have never been known for having good social skills . . . . . or for paying much attention to hygiene. But I digress.
At least Jason knows how it works.
“Light comes on – People Clap”
Guess that means Amanda was right also.
The president appearing on Comedy Central shows just how much of a Joke he really is.
RT in 916, yawn. there are 100 people smarter than you in this thread alone.
I watched the interview and I’m a theoretical physicist. I’m smart enough to know what I’m talking about.
LMAO anyone that’s uses a retort of ‘highly educated or well trained’ usually is the most ignorant.
LMAO I needed that laugh Amanda, now go run along to your pigpen farm of fail with your #TCOT buddies and play naked twister on a mesh confederate flag and a manifesto of false patriotism and blinded, back alley ignorance.
Nice use of the word “was” instead of “were” with a collective noun like audience, especially right after proclaiming your unassailable intelligence.
It was the biggest kiss ass exchange since Barbara Walters interviewed…well anybody. Talk about softball…Plus, does anybody doubt that Stewart went over every question with Obama and wrote some zingers for him? Cmon.
lol, yeah, that’s why the interview was tense, because stewart was lobbing softballs. nice try though.
I found it riveting as well. I think Ken Tucker was inaccurate. I don’t think it was “tense.” I just think they were discussing difficult issues.
Obama is reaching in the depths for votes for his democrats…Team Republican
LOL at reducing our country’s two-party political system to a Twilight reference. It’s not too far from the truth!
I would argue it’s spot on with perception, but far from the truth. Unfortunately perception is far more important than the truth, and they are easily confused with each other
mike, did you just use the definition of truithiness? lol
I thought it was unbelievably refreshing. This President keeps congratulating himself on passing legislation that is either a corporate giveaway or thoroughly inadequate and it’s revolting, and he’s a complete doormat for whatever Republican legislator squawks disingenuously about whatever.
I think a lot of people have a profound disagreement with Obama. Let’s see how many liberals come in here and just start blaming Bush for everything like they always do. They can’t defend Obama on his own merits so it’s easier for them to attack the prior administration.
So you don’t think that runnnig the country into the ground for 8 years had any effect on the last 2 years? Ignoring what Bush did to this country is impossible. That being said, Obama has made a lot of head way. It’s not enough, he admits that more needs to be done, because people are still unemployed and worried about the future.
What headway? Like I said, defend him on his merits, you haven’t and did exactly what I said you would do. Too easy.
Didn’t the Bush administration spend their whole 8 years in office blaming the Clinton years for all their woes? I think Obama and his supporters should be allowed at least a couple of years blaming Bush for the mess he created.
Let me guess, you didn’t even watch the interview. No need to repeat his accomplishments, they’re right there on video.
Bush destroyed this country — we would not be where we are today if it weren’t for the selfish, greedy, misguided policies of the Republicans, who care only for themselves and not a bit for the people they purport to represent.
I wish I could say otherwise. I wish Bush DIDN’T destroy this country. I wish the Repubs in Congress wouldn’t filibuster every action, prevent any progress, and insult hard-working Americans by denying rights and help. Sadly, that’s not the world we live in, and the only way to make sure that our country doesn’t go into complete gridlock in the next two years is to vote Democratic on Tuesday.
LOL…and yet you continue to do what I said you would do. Like I said, too easy. So predictable.
Rolo, I would like you to watch the interview again, carefully. It’s much easier to destroy something than to repair it. Obama isn’t a miracle worker. He’s been in office for 2 years. I don’t think this country will go back to being amazing anytime soon, because like I said, it’s a lot easier to destroy something than to build it back up. Obama is doing his best. I didn’t vote last election because I wasn’t a fan of either candidate, but I do think Obama is doing a good enough job at the moment.
* Stabilized the top 20 banks without federalizing them
*Foreclosure Prevention Fund (the rate of forclosures has actually decreased from the prior admin)
*Established Credit Card Bill of Rights
*Expand Loan Programs to Small Business
*Extend the Alternative Minimum Tax Patch
*Expand eligibility for State Children’s Health Fund
*Close the “do-nut hole” in Medicare prescription drug plan
*Create a small business tax credit to help with health premiums
*Give tax credits to those who need help to pay health premiums
*Require insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions
*Implemented an electronic medical record system
*Assure that the Veterans Administration budget is a ‘must-pass’ legislation
*Appoint a special adviser to the president on violence against women
*U.S. military aid to Pakistan is now conditional on anti-terror efforts
*Establish an Energy Partnership for the Americas
*Push for enactment of Matthew Shepard Act
*Signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
*Use the private sector to improve spaceflight
*Appoint the nation’s first Chief Technology Officer to ensure that our government and all its agencies have the right infrastructure, policies and services for the 21st century.
*Create new criminal penalties for mortgage fraud
*Support for high-speed rail
*Provide grants to encourage energy-efficient building codes
*Raise the small business expensing limit to $250,000
*Extend unemployment insurance benefits and temporarily suspend taxes on these benefits
*Reverse restrictions on stem cell research
*The stimulus is projected to actually receive an 8% return – if all existing payment schedules are met (but Bush may get the credit for that one… since he was the President to actually sign the Stimulus bill).
candacetx – You forgot put a committee together that in turn saved the American Auto indusrty from collapse.. Rolo Tomasi what happend to your comments..Candacetx blamed Bush for nothing and pointed out lots of Positives.. Can you name as many that Bush accomplished in 8 years… Ready… set… GO!
“misguided policies of the Republicans, who care only for themselves and not a bit for the people they purport to represent.”
If you think any Politician Democrat or Republican cares about you, you have ben living under a rock for 50 years.
“It’s much easier to destroy something than to repair it.”
I don’t know, it took the most devastating attack on American soil and two wars to destroy our economy. Fixing it should be much easier.
..and all the filibustering isn’t for show. The Democrats are proposing legislation that is the direct opposite of what the Republicans believe. Of course they want to stop it.
“Can you name as many that Bush accomplished in 8 years… Ready… set… GO!”
I was pretty happy with killing Saddam Hussein, his brothers, and all of his generals.
Ok Jim.. So you named 1.. He got rid of a dictator.. Do you know how much it cost to kill those 3 men? I don’t, we’re still counting and it’s in the trillions. Moron.
Well done Candace. Is that list of accomplisments enough Rolo? You seem pretty quiet and have moved on to something else.
First, you sound like an arrogant know-it all which makes your arguments ineffective. You also apparently know nothing because someone had to list out all of this administrations accomplisments for you so far. Have you not been paying attention? No, I am sure you have but to Fox News and the GOP only. They probably don’t report anything good about this administration. Why? Because the GOP and the Tea Baggers are a party of NO. Negativity, fear-mongering, mistrust, and anger. Those are the words that define The Tea Party and to a lesser extent, the GOP. You would like to sweep under the rug all the wrong-doings of the previous administration, and blame all of the consequences of their actions on President Obama. I get it. I know you don’t like the Democrats telling you that ignoring the consequences of the previous administrations actions is unacceptable. Well it is. The Democratic party is not known for its toughness or tenacity (an admirable quality of the GOP) but I and many others, are sick to death of taking the brunt of the Fox News propoganda machine. You can sit here and bully people all you want, but it doesn’t change the fact that our country is still suffering from mistakes of the past administration. Obama is attempting to turn this country around. Yes, people can and should make their arguments based on the good things Obama has done rather than only focusing on the bad things in the past. Even if people did that, I have a strange feeling that you would not listen anyway. I do not understand why everyone thought that climbing out a of a recession would be a simple and quick process. It’s not! We are seeing gains (less new applications for unemployment, tax cuts for small businesses) but this is going to take time and effort from both sides to fix. So why don’t you tell your precious Mitch McConnell and all the other Republican senators that their number one goal shouldn’t be that President Obama is a one-term president it should be fixing this country!
Headway? Really? Well I guess he made headway on getting into the Guiness Book for spending the most of the Voters money in the shortest time.
John – Do you know how much money we spend on defense? So he had to spend some money to prevent the economy from crashing, it still pales in comparrison to all the money we spent on wartiem machinary that will be nevver be used. Do you know how much the two wars are costing us? Ask Cheny, because he has gotten rich from them..
Wartiem Machinary? Not sure what that is.
Talking about pales in comparison, how about the cost of ObamaCare if implemented… $2 Trillion.
John and Vince:
I’m not going to take sides, I’m for John Stewart’s rally. Lets just stop taking sides and just try to fix this country.
But FYI:
Cost of wars since 2001: $1.099 Trillion
Cost of Obama’s Health Care Plan: $950 Billion
Simple google search told me that, though it’s poor form to not verify sources. But then again, I’m writing this as a blog post and not a professional journalist, so I’m ok with that.
All of you clamoring for Rolo to answer should realize that not everyone has all day to spend on an entertainment website – like other republicans, he’s probably working so you liberals can live off the taxpayer dime and surf the web all day.
“Ok Jim.. So you named 1.. He got rid of a dictator.. Do you know how much it cost to kill those 3 men? I don’t, we’re still counting and it’s in the trillions. Moron.”
So what your saying is, we should have just killed them, left the country and saved ourselves trillions? I think you need to see the bigger picture. What the previous and current administrations agree on is that our presence in the Middle East is vital in keeping peace and saving lives, no matter what the cost. In ten years, when/if the Middle East stabilizes, Bush should receive credit and so should Obama.
“If you think any Politician Democrat or Republican cares about you, you have ben living under a rock for 50 years.”
At least they’re not Libertarians. Those scum care about no one but themselves, and don’t even try to hide it.
Obama could be better, but any Republican would be so vastly worse that we might as well just pull the plug and sink the country, if we end up with the Republicans in power.
Rolo’s just an expert troll who knows how to get responses. Gee, Dem-baiting where he’s predicting they’ll bring up Bush sucking – wow, he a psychic!!
Why are you blaming Obama for everything?
I blame Obama for not concentrating on creating an atmosphere for job creation the last two years. That should have been his only agenda. He should have used his overwhelmingly Democratic Congress to pass measures that will encourage businesses to expand and individuals to become entrepreneurs. Instead, he spent 14 months on healthcare a majority didn’t want. FAIL!!!!
What measure is this? Please tell us since governments past and present history have struggled against jobloss and recession. Please tell me your magical solution.
Brenda- What measures can be passed to create an “atmosphere for job creation”? You seem to have an opinion that there is a simple bill that can be passed to make all of our economic troubles go away. Healthcare is a main concern because with so many people out of work, there are many that are suffering without the means to get help. As one of the many 20 something kids that just graduated college and don’t have a job, it makes me feel better that I can still get healthcare until i’m 26.
That’s not Brenda’s job, his the administration’s job to figure it out, which they haven’t. Healthcare was not the main concern for the majority of people. It’s kind of funny that you are attacking Brenda and you don’t even have a job after graduating college. What would you rather have, a job with healthcare benefits or healthcare.
However, health care IS the major concern for the over 3 million uninsured children in the country. 1 in 4 Californians have no medical insurance. It’s relevant every hour of every day to that portion – the neediest – of the nation.
I’m glad he went to healthcare first. I’d rather be healthy and trying to find work than be stuck in a crappy job without healthcare. Rolo, you don’t speak for the USA, so no, you don’t know what was the main concern for the majority of this people in this country. Healthcare may not be your priority, but it is to millions of Americans.
Brenda Leigh – The stimulus package actually saved thousands of jobs as did the Auto comittee that saved Ford and GM. Obama created extended loan programs to small buisnesses and saved the banks from total collapse. The stimulous package encouraged lending, which encourages the expansion of small business which in turn creates a good atmosphere for new jobs. The problem is that it would have been impossible for anybody to create all the jobs you demand in just 2 years. He layed foundation the past two years that will promote job growth going forward. He did all of the above without having any support from thd right wing.
You can’t use the majority ‘not wanting’ something like health care as a valid argument. The government is there to represent minorities just as much as the majority, and generally the minority really need the assistance, protection, and aide. Besides that, I’m not even sure I agree with you that the majority of people don’t want health care…
Then you either haven’t read – or completely ignored – all of the latest polls on the issue. A majority of Americans polled want the health care bill that was shoved down the throats of US citizens repealed. This is a fact.
No @RYAN. Majority of Americans wanted single payer not a watered down version. That is a fact.
I’d rather have a trillion dollars spent on improving our country and standard of living than have a trillion dollars spent on destroying countries that were never a threat to us.
This country would not be in this state if it was not for the past administration. President Obama is trying to dig this country out of a hole – instead of using a shovel he should be using a bull-dozer. And that is in essence what is wrong with Democrats. So freaking timid. The Bush administration and Republicans did not take their time to destroy this country. They were vicious and effective. I with the Democrats could be that way but to restore this nation.
PMD – big fat word! My disappointment with this President and his administration comes from their total lack of courage when standing up to the republican bullies. They have let the Republicans hijack the narrative of this country with fear, anger and worst of all…lies! I wish the President would stop reacting to what the republicans are saying/doing and continue to clean up this mess while NEVER lying to the American People as we were lied to for too long prior to this.
Well, he’s doing a lousy job at it! This man continues to use Hollywood for all the wrong reasons.
Nothing Obama has done has helped this country in any way. Yet here you are saying the problem is that he should be doing it more forcefully. Yeah… that’s the problem – his timidity in pushing his agenda.
LOL…Thanks for proving my point. See if you feel the same way about him when he tries to take away all your tax breaks, like the mortage interest deduction.
I would not mind – if that means we have better school systems and proper health care. An overall better society, rather than declaring wars on nations and spending trillions on other countries’ societies.
Alright, time for a reality check. Rolo, unless you make over $250k a year, you’re going to keep your tax break. In fact, as already reported by The New York Times, you got more than a tax break — you got a refund, a refund quietly stipulated in the bill. Most people don’t recognize it in their pay stubs because they’re too busy screaming about how they’re losing their jobs and losing their representation, as though taxes have never been raised under Republican administration (to which I give Republicans all the credit for such a successful brainwash). If you want to know what the President has done, I’ll be sure to tell you. But if you’re just going to sit up here and goad everyone else with remarks as one-sided as the ones you claim we make, go on home and make your point with your vote, because there’s no point in talking to you here.
If he gets rid of something like the mortgage interest deduction that affects everyone, not just those that make over 250K. So go ahead Justin tell me what the President has done.
Rolo – it seems perhaps you didn’t actually watch the interview. Many of these passive/aggressive ‘rhetorical’ questions you pose would be well answered by the man himself. Do yourself a favor. It’s a great interview.
@Rolo as someone who’s household income is over $250k we already lose a good chunk of deductions thanks to alternative minimum tax (AMT). The tax system needs to be overhauled. I would benefit from the Bush tax cuts but agree they need to be repealed. republicnas talk about cutting the deficit but this would add $700 billion. I am not happy with Obama but the Republicnas are all talk noaction plans. There are hard decisions that need to be made and I wish the politicians would just tell us. There will be anger but then we will move on and do it. That’s why I love this place.
I’d gladly give up my tax breaks if it helps improve the lives of other Americans. Right-wingers think of no one but themselves.
ron, then please take all your money and mail it to DC. i’m sure they will spend it wisely helping other americans. that is mighty kind of you.
And disavowing the fact that Clinton had failings that Bush and Obama had to deal with, and that Bush had failings that Obama and next presidents will have to deal with is typical of the other side. No administration is in a bubble. Everything doesn’t become completely and totally one president’s fault because the last one left office. Don’t hear me wrong, Obama has major failings, and I’m a mega-liberal. But it’s not fair to blame him for everything completely and totally, even though he does deserve some blame. Just like not everything was Bush’s fault too.
I wasn’t blaming just Obama, I was stating that liberals would come in here and blame everything on Bush and not hold Obama responsible for anything.
Responsible for what? Am unnecessary war? Allowing unfettered greed to nearly bankrupt the country? The man comes in at a time when political divisions are about as challenging as they have ever been and manages to pass an economic package that at least stops the bleeding and give us a chance at recovery. (Did it solve the problem, like they hoped? No. But it at least stabilized the economy.) He saved the U.S. Auto industry, against all expectations passed a health care bill that may not transform the system as we hoped, but protects Americans from many harmful practices.
He stands FOR something, unlike the opposition whose only goal right now seems to be preventing anything from happening. If a Democrat had said that he wanted “the President to fail” after 9-11, it would be considered treason. But the people who said that at the beginning of the economic crisis are seen as heroes and the leaders of a new movement.
See you couldn’t do it. Right off the bat. Healthcare bill that the majority of the people didn’t want. Really, the economy is stabilized? And who do you think is going to have to pay for helping bail out the Auto Industry. You are, when they get rid of all your tax deductions.
yes, you are correct. every president has the fallout (good or bad) of the ones before him. what kills me is people saying the bush is to blame for EVERYTHING. the last time i checked, we didn’t have a monarchy. bush had a DEMOCRAT controlled congress that sent him everything that he signed. whatever he did to screw up the country, he dang sure didn’t do it alone. i guess it’s easier to hate the one man and not all the others in washington that put us in this mess to begin with. congress APPROVED the ‘unnecessar war’, congress APPROVED all the fannie/freddie business. it’s not bush’s fault that democrats have ‘driven the car into the ditch’. if the current folks in charge had actually done some good, i would be ok with that. but they took a problema and made it WORSE and they are STILL blaming the last guy in office. i guess it’s easier to re-write history than to think for yourself sometimes.
The healthcare bill was a compromise… Rolo, you say people didn’t want it and you’re right but there are just as many people (like myself) that didn’t want the bill because it was too weak as there are people like you were against it completely. He did what he had to do given the current political climate… he compromised. Neither side is happy about it, but he did what he promised. Hopefully he’ll be able to pass an even more progressive bill in the next 6 years… yes, I said 6 years… he’s a 2-term president whether you like it or not.
No way is he a two termer.
Getting rid of the tax deductions is the easiest thing to do to get the economy going. It’s not working right now because a small percentage of the people have all the money. They cannot create jobs with that money. If more poeple get that money to spend, consumer confidence goes up, there is a greater demand, production increases and jobs are created. It is greed that has destroyed the economy. Giving back just a little of biggest redistribution of wealth in human history (1980-2010) would help everyone. People in the top 2% would be able to make even more money if they understood this concept, but instead it is “socialism,” and Obama is a totalitarian leader and ignoring the “will of the people” because he was able to get a watered down bill through congress. The man is a moderate.
Hey, if Dubya got 2 terms, Obama will definitely get it.
Democratic controlled congress for the last two years of Bush 43 and the WH implored congress to stop this mortgage crisis based on the CRA from the 70′s only to be stopped by Barney Frank and others. Study up before blaming.
Obama has stabilized the economy, prevented a banking collapse, ended combat missions in Iraq, sharpened our focus in Afghanistan, passed long-needed consumer credit protection, increased the number of terrorist strikes/kills, raised US esteem worldwide with a more cooperative and realistic foreign policy, and passed a health care bill which will prohibit insurance companies from limiting your coverage or kicking you off of it if you get sick.
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also, as it was before the bill passed, the individual portions of the health care bill, EXCEPT for the govt. mandate that you buy it (which I admit was mishandled by the administration), and EXCEPT for the proposed luxury tax on very expensive plans, remain popular. Adding drug benefits, keeping kids eligible on their parent’s policy until age 26, prohibition of lifetime caps and coverage limits, health care exchanges, covering the uninsured…all of those are things that the majority wants. See here: http://media.bloomberg.com/bb/avfile/rUtERn9eLmGU
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and btw, it WAS Bush that exploded the deficit with unfunded tax cuts and two overseas wars. FY 2009, the real whopper, is the final Bush budget. All budgets from 2010-out show project a steady decrease in spending.
Ok, now can you think on your own. I can go to other websites too and cut and paste.
I put the web link in there to document my assertion that the main components of the health care bill are as popular as I said they were. Smart people document their claims with actual fact. Though I suspect as an avid Fox News viewer and small-minded rant enthusiast, you don’t get that experience very often.
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I do think for myself. You let the reactionary pundits do your thinking for you. And it shows.
Honestly, Rolo, I don’t think anything you are saying here is worthy of any awards. Your chiding of others sounds pretty pitiful. What amuses me is that there are lots of people (Obama and Bush included) who work their asses off to get into public service and become congressmen, senators, and presidents. They do important things every day. But yet some two-bit internet troll like Rolo gets on here thinking HE knows enough about anything to be critical. Sad really.
It’s okay UncleWalty. You brought up excellent points in an intelligent, clear, and factual matter. Unfortunately, Rolo doesn’t agree so instead of addressing your points he insults you on a personal level. Typical of most political debate in this country unfortunately.
Don’t forget that Pres. Obama also held the Beer Summit. And appeared on the View. And he gave the Queen of England an iPod. He is hip and happening. And a craptastic president.
Rolo’s a troll, just ignore him.
Republicans probably didn’t get what they hoped for with Bush. As a staunch Democrat, I’m not getting what I hoped for with Obama. But we either vote for the person who makes it through the primaries (that’s the thing about democracy, sometimes people make bad choices for you) or don’t vote at all. So I voted with the party I believe in, hoping for the best. It didn’t mean I thought it was a good idea to put one of the least experienced candidates in history in the Oval office but what was I going to do? I got about what I expected, a couple of decent Supreme Court picks, and a botched, watered down health care bill that many Democratic politicians are now running away from. Sigh…
See, now that is a well thought out post. Nice job Rob.
I agree. what a lot of people miss is that the TEA party is not in response to Obama (he was the catalyst though). The TEA party is a response to 8 years of Bush being a neo-conservative. While saying he was a conservative he increased the size of the Federal gov, and spent us into debt.
You are right, Bush was so bad that an inexperienced candidate was a better alternative to anyone associated with Bush.
While I am also not pleased with Obama, I don’t think that he is terrible, and for the record, this country ususally does it’sbest work when the branches are divided. When there is a Democratic president and a republican congress. So we will see what happens.
thanks, rob!! good post. as a “republican light”, i wasn’t happy with the choice i was left with either. i think we are all screwed until we can get some term limits up in congress and weed out some of these life time politicians. maybe THEN we can get some stuff done.
@xgirl. Thank you. I was just about to write about term limits in congress. Idc who the president is at the time, if you have people in congress with more political pull than the current president it makes doing anything difficult because these politicians aren’t concerned about the welfare of the people, they are more concerned with maintaining their power and influence. BTW I am bipartisan. I will vote for the best CANDIDATE not the “best” party, I feel that both parties have lost their way.
If you have Senate or House rep for re-election next week, make sure you educate yourself on the choices they have made and what causes they get behind and what they think will solve all the problems of our government, because they are the ones making policy, NOT the President, he only agrees or disagrees with what the Senate and House both agree on. Seriously, people educate yourselves!
This is only true if your Senate or House rep has a history of voting what is good the people in their district/state. Unfortunately, most just vote the party line and thus requires you to vote based on the party as a whole instead of the individual. If you have a rep that has indeed shown that they are not swayed by the party with which they are affiliated, by all means, vote the individual.
that was the point, vote individual, not party.
Defending the president is surprisingly easy. He said he’d tackle health care reform in the campaign and he did. He said he’d work on the economy and he did. He said he’d bring the war in Iraq to a conclusion and he did. The results are uneven to be sure, but did what he said. That alone puts him ahead of the past 4 presidents. Now it’s your turn Rolo. What exactly has the president done that’s harm the country?
Healthcare that nobody wanted, so he went against the will of the people. What work did he do on the economy? Kind of vague of you. I still do believe we have troops over in Iraq so it’s not really over. I didn’t say he did anything to harm the country, I was saying he hasn’t done anything and all his supporters will do is just blame Bush.
Rolo – stop using generalizations and saying that “no one” wanted health care. Obviously someone did or it wouldn’t have passed.
I know people who just got sent to Iraq for a year, Taleweaver. It’s not over. Don’t be so stupid.
Rolo, leaving Iraq would cause instability in the region and our efforts to stabilize the country after invading it without real cause would be for waste.
Health Insurance Reform wasn’t against the will of the people, it was more or less evenly divided, and most Americans agree that it needed change. He got it done.
President Bush & Fox News blamed Bill Clinton for their ails and troubles, so yeah.
“Bush bashers” are just trying to state that you should give President Obama a break before you start condemning him.
I mean, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and you expect him to pop miracles and miraculously save the economy within 2 years?
Sounds like you’re being naive for such a cynical person.
I keep seeing your posts, I really think you don’t have anything intelligent to say except for defiantly bashing Obama for not making miracles happen.
I think you’re a troll.
Yes. It’s extraordinarily easy to blame the prior administration.
So true..there’s so much blame to put there!
I am a liberal, and I am not purely a Bush-blamer. I hold his administration responsible for many ills that have befallen our country, but, you know what? Bill Clinton was responsible for much of that, too. Also Democrats (like Hillary Clinton!) voted for a senseless war and supported Bush, initially — the point is, not everything is in black and white here, people, even for “crazy liberals” like myself. However, I also think the media (Stewart included; as Obama said, he is also a pundit) is doing a GREAT job of demonizing the President and ignoring some of his key accomplishments (as well as the obstacles he’s faced) while overemphasizing the failures (of which, I don’t deny, there have been many. Like with all administrations, and humans.). As unreasonable as some of Stewart’s criticisms of Bush may have been, his selective memory when it comes to the last two years is just as reprehensible.
No it’s just that some of us have a hard time forgetting that our kids are in Iraq and Afghanistan and may not make it home, because of Bush’s lies. Somehow Obama trying to help everyone get healthcare doesn’t anger us as much as Bush killing our kids.
actually SuperFreakonomics explained that fewer soldiers have died in wars since 2001 than died during equally long peace times in, say, the 80s or 90s. so your kids would have been dead either way, most likely. if not yours, someone else’s.
I agree tommymommy i thought the exchange between the two was great and I like that the President was on the defensive and at the same time Stewart was critical of him. I cant wait to go to the rally!
Whatever, that was the most staged exchange I have ever seen.
Then you weren’t paying attention and having your own views cloud your judgement.
So because I don’t agree with you, my judgement is clouded? Come on. The only question I even thought was not in the script was the one about when stuff would take effect in 2014 (well into Obama’s second term conveniently) and it was like watching Billy Flynn do his tap dance around the question.
Wow, of course if you don’t agree with liberals they just get up and walk out on you.
Yup. It’s a strategic move that’s now being called pulling a “Joy Behar”.
You are definitely entitled to your opinion. I personally don’t think it’s staged because I feel like that Obama is quite tense and even uncomfortable at times. But that wouldn’t be my point. My point is that even if it is staged, it still is a good interview. In fact, I would be surprised if Obama didn’t get a list of questions before the interview – that IS the way politicians do interviews. But that doesn’t make the interview bad, because he still has to answer the questions, and the questions are clearly more criticisms than praises. So the result is that Obama went on the defensive side and tried to explain and justify himself, which is what we needed. Whether he had time to rehearse his answers is irrelevant; in fact, it might have been better if he had been given the time to think through his answers instead of having to come up with them on the spot, so that he didn’t make any mistakes in them. It’s a good interview because Stewart was critical; whether Obama knew it coming into the interview doesn’t change that fact. And I think what the original poster (and I) want to say is that it’s refreshing to see someone who’s obviously an Obama supporter willing to criticize him. Of course Stewart tried to soften the blows, he definitely is an supporter of the president, but they still are critical questions. Criticizing Obama is not what’s refreshing here (a lot of people do it daily), it’s the fact that you are willing to criticize him when you (and your target audience) are his supporters. It’s quite rare in television (or any news media) nowadays.
I loved how after the President talked about a woman in New Hampshire, Stewart said he talked to a woman in the audience and that she disagreed. Very subtle but effective.
Obama has been a huge disappointment to me. This Democrat wishes I had more options out there but would never move to the dark side (Republicans and Tea Baggers). I’m also sick of him always being on TV. It’s one thing to deliver a message from the Oval Office but all these interviews on entertainment shows are getting to be too much.
But when he doesn’t say anything he’s criticized. Blame the 24-hour news media for that.
Chris- I’m with you. I really don’t see any good options on Nov 2nd. Now, I’m still going to vote, but my district in NYS has insane options- none of them look good. That’s why all these young,hip, democrats are going to stay home. Because there is no one to vote for.
Yep. We liberals are unhappy with Obama because he’s not liberal enough.
I loved this episode. It wasn’t as funny as I would have thought but when Obama said “he did a hecka of a job” I loved how the audience laughed before Stewart had to even say anything.
What I like here is that Stewart disagrees with the president – which was almost completely missing from Fox News when Bush was president. But I’m sure he still wants the president to succeed – we should all want him to succeed.
well said, A.
Agreed!
Well A,the reason for that is democrats can disagree with one another whereas republicans have to “tow the line.” If they don’t they are denounced and trashed. It’s the difference between being encouraged to think for yourself, and being told what to think and do. For instance, the Republican post above claiming all liberals (which mans anyone who disagrees with him) will blame it on Bush because they cannot defend the President. If you were to ask him what we need to defend the President from you would get an answer almost word for word from Glenn Beck or Bill O’Reilley., but no actual thoughts of his own. Thinking is not encouraged in the Republican party
Not asking you to defend him, what has he done. There’s a difference. What is so hard about that? I’m saying most can’t without blaming Bush for something.
The irony here is just too good. All you did in your post was rehash the same liberal party rhetoric.
there is no liberal party you whacko
I love that too, I think being able to disagree, civilly with the President. I wish Republicans and Democrats could disagree civilly with each other, if we don’t start working together our nation is just going to go farther and farther into the crapper.
Does MSNBC treat Obama any less favorably?
yes
Don’t even try to compare.
Fox is the King of effective party-line spewing brainwashing tripe. MSNBC wishes they were as good.
Wait so you can disagree with each other and still have a civil discussion? What is this new form of communication?
Like I posted before, blame the news on that. It seems like the only way for a politician to make news is if he or she is saying something crazy or disrespectful or making an ad that is beyond preposterous.
For instance, if you read a lot of headlines about this interview you would think that Stewart made President Obama cower in a corner. But when you watch it, you see and hear President Obama having a civil discussion with Jon Stewart doing.
You can blame the news, but also blame the gloryhog politicians who only seem to have just enough time to find a camera to stand in front of and spew ignorance! Its like a bunch of washed-up starlets outside the Ivy in LA. Go do your job and try and get along – its not all about YOU!
@Elizabeth
The news doesn’t have to report it.
Well it looks like the Idiot(obama) is turning more and more grey each time I see him. I know that president’s hair usually turns grey but I have never seen someone so fake that their own skin color starts turning grey. Come on November 2nd!! Lets get the Republicans back into the majority!!!
That is a very well, thought out comment. Instead of talking about his policies and what he has done, you talk about how he’s looking, and on top of that, you call our president an idiot. I feel sorry for the Republicans when I see people like you supporting them.
Yeah! Plus the shade of his tie means he is a liar!
What a worthless, vile, pathetically braindead & devoid of thought diatribe that was, you teabagging slug!
Braindead hateful sheep who contribute NOTHING to the conversation which would actually make this country better are the MAIN REASON we need a Rally to Restore Sanity…ugh!!! And though I think Obama’s next two years will be better (usually president’s work better with opposing Houses, ala Clinton/Gingrich), hateful parasites like you will be one of the biggest incentives for moderate Dems to pull the lever for Obama’s re-election in 2 years!!
I’m sick of politicians passing blame, this country is not run by one man, there are hundreds of people who make our laws, and most people who complain about those laws have the right to vote for the people who make them. I wish politicians would shut up about what somebody else did wrong and talk about what THEY have done right or wrong. There is nothing so refreshing as someone taking responsibility for their actions. They are all blinded by the love of the office they hold.
Well, that’s true. You can’t just blame Obama. The democratic majority in Congress also has to share the blame.
As does the Republican minority for being utterly unreasonable much of the time! Congressional Dems were weak and often stupid, but Congressional Repubs just straight-up lied half the time, I’m sorry! Death panels? Come ON.
To follow up, at some point you have to be willing to say, enough is enough, let’s move on. Instead of rehashing the poor choices that both sides made, let’s move on. Let’s represent the people that elected us and move on.
I can’t help but think that if more “journalists” interviewed the people in power the way Jon Stewart interviewed the president, we’d be a lot better off. He was prepared, he had his facts straight, and he challenged Obama when the president tried to dodge questions with rhetoric. I am an obama supporter, I even worked on his campaign, but I am beyond disappointed with his first 18 months. He has a lot to answer for, at least Stewart asked the right questions
So you believe That after 8 YEARS of squandering by Bush can all can get fixed in 2 YEARS of Obama Presidencey?
wasn’t that the bill of goods we were sold?
actually, blinky, before he was even elected Obama was saying emphatically that most of what he wanted to get done was going to take at least 8 years.
if you missed Obama on the Daily Show, you can watch all 3 segments here:
http://bit.ly/9pFPTf
I don’t know; I didn’t find the interview tense at all. I think both men respect each other and the work they do and understand that they have fundamental disagreements about how politics is supposed to happen.
Yeah, Sean, I didn’t think it was tense – it was normal. It wasn’t going to be a hugfest – both sides had too much to lose if it had been.
I agree with you both. A lot of “something out of nothing” in this article and in many of these comments. I thought they both had spirited discussion, with challenges as well as agreement, ultimately leading to some clarification and concession all around. And it helped me look at some things in new light.
(Too bad most people don’t want to stay open-minded.)