US Politics Thread 2016-2020

[Catfish]

Originally Posted by Oberon

No chance of showers then?

[vienna]

Originally Posted by Oberon

Well, I didn't want to, but then my local Imam said I should so, by Allahs will I shall.

Anyway...I wonder if it will....rain...on the 20th...

What sort of rain were you thinking about: fire, brimstone, frogs, locusts, Bandini...?...


<O>

[vienna]

Originally Posted by August

More people out of work or underemployed, medical costs, insurance rates and student loan debt skyrocketing, increased racial tensions, our government woefully unable to safeguard it's citizens personal data. I just don't see how that earns a high score.

Yeah, it's really glaringly obvious how much worse off the US and its citizens are today in 2017 than when the previous President and his Administration left office in 2008; oh, how we wish for those good old days! Well, at least you have a real good shot at a return to those halcyon days now that Donald Dump..er, ah,..Trump is holding the reins...



<O>

[ikalugin]

Trump's press conference.

[AVGWarhawk]

Much different new conference than we have seen from past presidents. Personally I like that Trump does not stand for the media nonsense. It will come back to haunt him certainly but it will be fun to watch!

[ikalugin]

What is it with Trump and Japan?

[Platapus]

Originally Posted by mapuc

According to some USA-expert on American politics Obama scored high points on domestic politics while he scored low on foreign policy

Were they correct, those expert ? Do you American think Obama did a great job as a President when it comes to domestic politics and do you think he did a bad job regarding foreign policy ?

Markus

It depends on whether you want to make Obama look good or bad. It can be spun both ways. The reality is that few effects on the US are solely caused by one and only one person. We have state governments and a federal congress that handle most of the domestic issues.

Here is a breakdown you can print out

1 You like the president
1.1 Anything good that happens in the country is due to the president
1.2 Anything bad that happens in the country is due to someone else other than the president.

2. You don't like the president
2.1 Anything good that happened in the country is due to someone else in spite of the president's actions/inactions
2.2 Anything bad that happened in the country is due to the president

It really does not matter if the president has the capability of affecting these outcomes. That's not part of the political equation.

Which is why many online (and RL) political arguments alternate between either the president is responsible or congress is responsible, depending on which interpretation helps the person's argument.

The reality is that the government, as a whole, at both the federal and state level affect changes in the nation. But it is easier and more satisfying to point the blame at one single person (or congress) depending on whose side you are on.

It is also true that actions/inactions on the part of former congresses and presidents can have a delayed effect on the current state of the nation. This can also be used to your advantage with the current administrations/congress.

Don't like the president and don't like the congress? not a problem

Anything good that happens was due to the actions of the past (liked) administration/congress it is just that this current (disliked) administration/congress is "taking the credit".

The converse is can also be used. If you disliked the past president/congress anything bad that happened during the current (liked) president/congress can be blamed on the past and the current president/congress is just taking the fall for what was done in the past.

That's the beauty of it. No matter who I like or what happened, I can easily rearrange causalities to make "my guy" look good and "your" guy look bad.

And that's how political arguments work in the US.

[vienna]

Once again...

Platapus for President!...



<O>

[mapuc]

^ Thank you Platapus for this in deep explanation about former President Obama's time as President.

I Remember he scored 57 percentage on domestic politics I didn't get how much he scored on foreign policy.

I can say by reading your answer-that you could have written about the government and/or politics in Denmark and Sweden, ´cause it's the same here and I'm pretty sure it's the same in England and Germany in fact in the entire world.

Markus

[Platapus]

Originally Posted by vienna

Once again...

Platapus for President!...



<O>

I just calls em as I sees em.

[Mr Quatro]

Originally Posted by Platapus

It depends on whether you want to make Obama look good or bad. It can be spun both ways.

Obama's farewell speech lasted 4 times longer than all of the other last five presidents leaving office.

Obama mentioned his name 75 times last night ... a little ego on the way out.

[Oberon]

Originally Posted by vienna

What sort of rain were you thinking about: fire, brimstone, frogs, locusts, Bandini...?...


<O>

I dunno...something fitting for the occasion, something spectacular and auspicious...something...golden

[vienna]

Originally Posted by Mr Quatro

Obama's farewell speech lasted 4 times longer than all of the other last five presidents leaving office.

Obama mentioned his name 75 times last night ... a little ego on the way out.

Apparently whoever or whatever source you're using, if you used any at all, is guilty of some serious lying. I wondered about the claim you posted and decided to do a fact check before this response. Here is a link to the unedited transcript of Obama's Farewell Address:

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-p...110-story.html

I didn't find a single self-reference, by name, in the entire speech. I even used the "Find" function to see if my eyes might be deceiving me. The result: "Phrase not found". Perhaps there is a secret code in the speech that we, who only understand plain English and, for those who actually listened to the speech, know what we heard, are not made privy. Perhaps you could enlighten us...

Maybe consideration should be made to double-checking a source before accepting their statements as the whole truth. Sometimes, if you get lied to, the ultimate fault one's own for not having the initiative or wisdom to be sure of the facts. It is very often this sort of "statement of 'fact'" that becomes the sort of apocryphal fodder those of all stripes of politics try to sell to those who are of less discretion of truth, with often harmful results. Just because a person has a talk radio show doesn't mean everything they say is Gospel...

As far as the length of the speech, yes, it was longer than the others. But most Presidential Farewells are delivered in DC and are mainly geared towards the Presidents colleagues and staff and not so much to the general public. This is a unique situation in that this is the first African-American (actually the first president of any color other than white) and his election, regardless of how one feels about his policies and tenure, is a historic first. If he takes a little longer than most to address his terms in office, then there really is no harm and no foul. Also, consider no matter what he said or how long he took to say it, there are those who would criticize and nit-pick just for the sake of their own agendas. Again, consider the source...

Here is a link to an article on Presidential Farewells and their length:

http://freebeacon.com/politics/obama...ewell-address/

When all is considered, very, very few people ever really recall or pay attention to Presidential Farewells, other than, maybe, George Washington's. I myself can only recall one famous quote from a Presidential Farewell:

"Therefore, I shall resign the Presidency effective at noon tomorrow."

-Richard M. Nixon, 1974

Now that was a farewell I paid attention to and was glad to hear...



<O>

[August]

Originally Posted by Mr Quatro

Obama's farewell speech lasted 4 times longer than all of the other last five presidents leaving office.

Obama mentioned his name 75 times last night ... a little ego on the way out.

Not his name:

Obama said “I” 33 times during the speech, “my” 20 times, “me” 10 times, and “I’m” or “I’ve” 12 times

It's kind of his thang:

The president made a habit of focusing large chunks of his speeches on himself during his eight years in office. Last July, for example, he mentioned himself 45 times over the course of a speech given at a speech for the slain Dallas police officers.

http://dailycaller.com/2017/01/10/ob...ewell-address/

[Buddahaid]

Well it really is about him by definition isn't it! You don't get in office without an ego.