Obama on US economic crisis: 'The fire is now out'

[D-Mack]

WASHINGTON — US President Barack Obama defended his administration's response to the economic crisis over the last six months, declaring: "The fire is now out."

"I think that we have stepped back from the abyss. I think we've put out the fire," he said in an interview with PBS, according to a transcript released by the TV station.

But Obama, who is facing declining popularity ratings for the first time in his presidency, said a lot remains to be done to fix the recession-mired US economy.

"The analogy I use sometimes is, we had this beautiful house. And there was a fire. We came in and we had to hose it down. The fire is now out, but what we've discovered is, we need some new tuckpointing, the roof's leaking, the boiler's out, oh, and by the way, we're way behind on our mortgage," Obama said

...

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hYxUf5d0mdWSnOy1nevkGcu5Qmlw

Probably just a cheap shoot at FDR's land lease, but the FIRE is out, you're right Mr. Obama.

Well, let me give you an illustration: Suppose my neighbor’s home catches fire, and I have a length of garden hose 400 or 500 feet away. If he can take my garden hose and connect it up with his hydrant, I may help him to put out his fire. Now, what do I do? I don’t say to him before that operation, "Neighbor, my garden hose cost me $15; you have to pay me $15 for it." What is the transaction that goes on? I don’t want $15--I want my garden hose back after the fire is over. All right. If it goes through the fire all right, intact, without any damage to it, he gives it back to me and thanks me very much for the use of it. But suppose it gets smashed up--holes in it--during the fire; we don’t have to have too much formality about it, but I say to him, "I was glad to lend you that hose; I see I can’t use it any more, it’s all smashed up." He says, "How many feet of it were there?" I tell him, "There were 150 feet of it." He says, "All right, I will replace it." Now, if I get a nice garden hose back, I am in pretty good shape.
http://www.britannica.com/bps/additionalcontent/8/116959/Document-Franklin-D-Roosevelt-Proposal-for-Lend-Lease

[babbittd]

Someone get this out touch man a subscription to itulip.com or in the very least a copy of today's US edition of the Financial Times.

http://www.itulip.com/forums/showpost.php?p=111205&postcount=191

If this is campaign sloganeering and not merely his opinion, it's even worse.

Doesn't take a genius (amongst the electorate) to figure out the banks (accept for Goldman) are still in trouble and the the FIRE companies will need more bailouts.

Just wait until Shittygroup, Fannie and Freddie release 2Q numbers...

[we_are_toast]

The President is correct, the fire is now out.

http://www.nometh.org/images/burned_house.jpg

[don]

Obama shows his Freudian Slip :eek:

[audrey_girl]

I guess he has to start saying something, from what I see the natives are starting to get restless...

fyi:

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and, fyi:

http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/030373.html

[D-Mack]

I guess he has to start saying something, from what I see the natives are starting to get restless...

fyi:

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9V1nmn2zRMc&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9V1nmn2zRMc&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

and, fyi:

http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/030373.html

It reminds me of Dubya's AWOL records.

If the president does what the power structure wants him to do, they will keep this away from him, regardless if he was born in Kenya, lost his citizenship in Indonesia or really was born in Hawaii.

[audrey_girl]

7 words that will lead to a constitutional crisis, and then maybe to an even bigger economic crisis:

Natural born American citizen;
Naturalized American citizen

from my research a very subtle issue of law here that everyone is ducking for now

Chester A. Arthur redux

[flintlock]

The President is correct, the fire is now out.

http://www.nometh.org/images/burned_house.jpg

Your photo is an excellent analogy. :D Fire is out but I'm not so sure we shouldn't have just let it burn to the ground.

[babbittd]

a_g, I'll "eat my hat" and much more if the birth certificate stuff is for real.

Why would Obama run for the Presidency in the first place if he knew it was possible for this to be exposed?

Of course there are a million ways to answer this, all of them wild theories:

(1) pressured to run by a group that controls him and holds this and other secrets about him that are far more damaging?
(2) such a nutjob that he would do anything to run the country including taking the risk?

what else?

***

This was hilarious:

<table style='font:11px arial; color:#333; background-color:#f5f5f5' cellpadding='0' cellspacing='0' width='360' height='353'><tbody><tr style='background-color:#e5e5e5' valign='middle'><td style='padding:2px 1px 0px 5px;'><a target='_blank' style='color:#333; text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold;' href='http://www.thedailyshow.com'>The Daily Show With Jon Stewart</a></td><td style='padding:2px 5px 0px 5px; text-align:right; font-weight:bold;'>Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c</td></tr><tr style='height:14px;' valign='middle'><td style='padding:2px 1px 0px 5px;' colspan='2'><a target='_blank' style='color:#333; text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold;' href='http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-july-22-2009/the-born-identity'>The Born Identity</a></td></tr><tr style='height:14px; background-color:#353535' valign='middle'><td colspan='2' style='padding:2px 5px 0px 5px; width:360px; overflow:hidden; text-align:right'><a target='_blank' style='color:#96deff; text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold;' href='http://www.thedailyshow.com/'>www.thedailyshow.com</a></td></tr><tr valign='middle'><td style='padding:0px;' colspan='2'><embed style='display:block' src='http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:item:comedycentral.com:239148' width='360' height='301' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' wmode='window' allowFullscreen='true' flashvars='autoPlay=false' allowscriptaccess='always' allownetworking='all' bgcolor='#000000'></embed></td></tr><tr style='height:18px;' valign='middle'><td style='padding:0px;' colspan='2'><table style='margin:0px; text-align:center' cellpadding='0' cellspacing='0' width='100%' height='100%'><tr valign='middle'><td style='padding:3px; width:33%;'><a target='_blank' style='font:10px arial; color:#333; text-decoration:none;' href='http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes'>Daily Show<br/> Full Episodes</a></td><td style='padding:3px; width:33%;'><a target='_blank' style='font:10px arial; color:#333; text-decoration:none;' href='http://www.indecisionforever.com'>Political Humor</a></td><td style='padding:3px; width:33%;'><a target='_blank' style='font:10px arial; color:#333; text-decoration:none;' href='http://www.jokes.com'>Joke of the Day</a></td></tr></table></td></tr></tbody></table>

[flintlock]

I also find the birth certificate stuff silly.

[D-Mack]

a_g, I'll "eat my hat" and much more if the birth certificate stuff is for real.

Why would Obama run for the Presidency in the first place if he knew it was possible for this to be exposed?

Of course there are a million ways to answer this, all of them wild theories:

(1) pressured to run by a group that controls him and holds this and other secrets about him that are far more damaging?
(2) such a nutjob that he would do anything to run the country including taking the risk?

what else?

***

This was hilarious:

<table style='font:11px arial; color:#333; background-color:#f5f5f5' cellpadding='0' cellspacing='0' width='360' height='353'><tbody><tr style='background-color:#e5e5e5' valign='middle'><td style='padding:2px 1px 0px 5px;'><a target='_blank' style='color:#333; text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold;' href='http://www.thedailyshow.com'>The Daily Show With Jon Stewart</a></td><td style='padding:2px 5px 0px 5px; text-align:right; font-weight:bold;'>Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c</td></tr><tr style='height:14px;' valign='middle'><td style='padding:2px 1px 0px 5px;' colspan='2'><a target='_blank' style='color:#333; text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold;' href='http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-july-22-2009/the-born-identity'>The Born Identity</a></td></tr><tr style='height:14px; background-color:#353535' valign='middle'><td colspan='2' style='padding:2px 5px 0px 5px; width:360px; overflow:hidden; text-align:right'><a target='_blank' style='color:#96deff; text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold;' href='http://www.thedailyshow.com/'>www.thedailyshow.com</a></td></tr><tr valign='middle'><td style='padding:0px;' colspan='2'><embed style='display:block' src='http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:item:comedycentral.com:239148' width='360' height='301' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' wmode='window' allowFullscreen='true' flashvars='autoPlay=false' allowscriptaccess='always' allownetworking='all' bgcolor='#000000'></embed></td></tr><tr style='height:18px;' valign='middle'><td style='padding:0px;' colspan='2'><table style='margin:0px; text-align:center' cellpadding='0' cellspacing='0' width='100%' height='100%'><tr valign='middle'><td style='padding:3px; width:33%;'><a target='_blank' style='font:10px arial; color:#333; text-decoration:none;' href='http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes'>Daily Show<br/> Full Episodes</a></td><td style='padding:3px; width:33%;'><a target='_blank' style='font:10px arial; color:#333; text-decoration:none;' href='http://www.indecisionforever.com'>Political Humor</a></td><td style='padding:3px; width:33%;'><a target='_blank' style='font:10px arial; color:#333; text-decoration:none;' href='http://www.jokes.com'>Joke of the Day</a></td></tr></table></td></tr></tbody></table>


I don't know why they are talking about it now


When he was running against McCain this was not an issue....:D

McCain's birthplace prompts queries about whether that rules him out (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/28/world/americas/28iht-28mccain.10514626.html)


I don't understand why anybody would want to run for president, voluntarily ?

Alyona really made a face when it was suggested he was groomed for it.

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/B6OYdqFuTrs&hl=de&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/B6OYdqFuTrs&hl=de&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

[don]

Another chapter in the Great American Dog and Pony Show featuring, as paid for, the Great Distractor himself. An outstanding choice, boys! McCain would be toast by now.

[babbittd]

D-Mack, I have no doubt he was groomed for the position.

He was thrust or burst onto the stage in Boston at the DNC in 2004 and it was obvious from that moment.

[ThePythonicCow]

a_g, I'll "eat my hat" and much more if the birth certificate stuff is for real.

Why would Obama run for the Presidency in the first place if he knew it was possible for this to be exposed?
As a card carrying tin-foil-hat conspiricist, I am convinced that outrageous lies such as this (running a non-native citizen for President) can be, and repeatedly are, gotten away with. The sensible majority of people will dismiss the real truth as being an outrageous impossibility.

And as to why -- so that his controllers have "something on him." A gang of crooks cannot trust someone who is a straight arrow with no skeletons in their closet. Nor would a sensible and honest man be qualified for role that Obama is playing.

[ThePythonicCow]

D-Mack, I have no doubt he was groomed for the position.

He was thrust or burst onto the stage in Boston at the DNC in 2004 and it was obvious from that moment.

Agreed. It was not obvious to me at the time, but in hindsight it is now obvious to me as well.

[babbittd]

As a card carrying tin-foil-hat conspiricist, I am convinced that outrageous lies such as this (running a non-native citizen for President) can be, and repeatedly are, gotten away with. The sensible majority of people will dismiss the real truth as being an outrageous impossibility.

And as to why -- so that his controllers have "something on him." A gang of crooks cannot trust someone who is a straight arrow with no skeletons in their closet. Nor would a sensible and honest man be qualified for role that Obama is playing.

My problem with this theory is that the birthplace was allowed to become an issue well before the election. This isn't new stuff. I've been hearing the Manchurian Candidate theories from mainstream Republican friends since the beginning of 2008.

Are you going to tell me the controllers allowed it become an issue because they had total confidence it wouldn't derail the candidacy?

Way too many wild assumptions for me and I've been a card-carrying tinfoiler for several years.

[thedanimal]

I am worried that iTulip is becoming home to more and more right wing nutjob theories like this whole birth certificate issue. If it continues unabated and unmoderated they will lose this subscriber. I come here for intelligent discussion of economics, and the political discussion used to be much more moderate. It's becoming intolerable lately.

[we_are_toast]

I am worried that iTulip is becoming home to more and more right wing nutjob theories like this whole birth certificate issue. If it continues unabated and unmoderated they will lose this subscriber. I come here for intelligent discussion of economics, and the political discussion used to be much more moderate. It's becoming intolerable lately.

I agree that iTulip has it's share of irrational opinions, but I wouldn't want to see it banished. Putting these threads in an area like "political abyss" is a good way of handling it.

The intelligent discussion still far outweighs the nutjob stuff. Besides, I find these sideline threads to be a useful tool. When I see someone hold an irrational position in a thread like this, and other sideline threads, their opinion and the information they present will hold much less weight for me when they are involved in the economic discussions. Without this tool it would be difficult to determine just how "intelligent" the economic discussion actually is.

[ThePythonicCow]

I am worried that iTulip is becoming home to more and more right wing nutjob theories like this whole birth certificate issue. If it continues unabated and unmoderated they will lose this subscriber. I come here for intelligent discussion of economics, and the political discussion used to be much more moderate. It's becoming intolerable lately.

If you are suggesting that iTulip moderate their "Rant and Rave > Political Abyss" topic so as to keep out what you term "right wing nutjob" theories, then that is certainly your choice to suggest, and it is certainly iTulip's decision whether to do so or not.

I would suggest that iTulip moderate the main topics in their forums to keep out controversial political opinions of most any position, as they are doing now. I'd also suggest that so long as iTulip continues to have this "Rant and Rave > Political Abyss" topic that they not keep out positions just because someone finds them seriously objectionable. In other words, I recommend the status quo.

Of course it is certainly iTulip's decision whether to consider my suggestions (or to even allow my continued presence here) as well.

However, please understand that I realize some of my views are controversial, to say the least.

Could you perhaps answer a question for me?
Why is it that you still find my position (I presume it was my position you reacted to so negatively) so offensive that its mere appearance (on the "Rant and Rave > Political Abyss" topic no less) is grounds for threatening to leave iTulip?

I carefully self-describe myself as some kind of nutjob before stating the opinion; I only state that it is my view, not something I claim to be fact that others should respect; I don't push the view at length or try to justify it in the mind of others; when others start to debate (sensibly enough) the point, I usually don't respond as I doubt that this is a proper or useful forum in which to decide such topics.

That I should even be allowed to acknowledge, on this particular forum topic, holding such unacceptable views is so outrageous that you must threaten to leave? <b>Why?</b>

[ThePythonicCow]

When I see someone hold an irrational position in a thread like this, and other sideline threads, their opinion and the information they present will hold much less weight for me when they are involved in the economic discussions. Without this tool it would be difficult to determine just how "intelligent" the economic discussion actually is.Ah - good. :D

I'm glad I was able to lighten your reading load. Yes, I agree. Sideline discussions such as this are one of the several ways on forums such as these for those of kindred and those of dissimilar views to sort each other out.

Well stated, sir.

[Raz]

I am worried that iTulip is becoming home to more and more right wing nutjob theories like this whole birth certificate issue. If it continues unabated and unmoderated they will lose this subscriber. I come here for intelligent discussion of economics, and the political discussion used to be much more moderate. It's becoming intolerable lately.

Right-wing nutjobs? The only poster suggesting that the whole truth of this matter might not have been told is Pythonic Cow.
He's no "nutjob" of any persuasion that I've been able to discern.:)
I suppose many things are possible but I would assign a very low probability to the idea that Obama was born in Kenya.

Have you noticed any Left-wing nutjobs here lately? You know, like Steve who defends Joseph Stalin as a "great liberator" and others who call for the total destruction of the entire American insurance industry, like MulaMan, who also said that believing my wife's mascetomy was an example of good healthcare makes me "insane or crazy"?

I hope you don't deem those positions to be "moderate".

[ThePythonicCow]

He [ThePythonicCow] is no "nutjob" of any persuasion that I've been able to discern.:)Aw shucks ..

Let me see if I can dissuade of this overly generous view you seem to hold of myself. :rolleyes:

It would seem that we (America) have gone from a President who was (I presume) quite disliked in parts of the Moslem world to one that is quite liked. There are several good reasons why Obama might be liked in the Moslem world, including his words, his deeds, and his mixed race. Reaching out with friendly words usually wins more friends than reaching out with bombers.

I have read (from sources I do not recall and which were likely not reliable anyway) that many in Africa and in the Muslim world consider that there is a good chance, perhaps even a likelihood, that Obama is one of them in portions of his heritage or origins. The ambiguity (which some, but clearly not all of us suspect) as to his birth origins and early religion serves to reinforce his positive reception in the African and Muslim worlds.

Perhaps it is no accident that Obama is more Muslim-friendly than his predecessor. I'm pretty sure that Obama was selected early on and groomed as a possible major political figure by people such as Zbigniew Brzezinski. For perhaps not reliable details behind this allegation, from a source I doubt iTulip considers respectworthy, see further <a href=http://www.rense.com/general81/abig.htm>Confirmed - Obama Is Zbigniew Brzezinski Puppet (By Webster Tarpley)</a>.

Zbig is well known for his playing off various world powers against each other. I am confident that he is willing and able to back a more Muslim friendly candidate for President, if he thought it would be useful in world political power struggles. As such, regardless of the facts, it might serve Zbig's purposes to leave the facts unconfirmed, so that those (whether by reason of being Cynical Cows or Devote Moslems or African Residents) who prefer to see Obama as being born elsewhere can so do.