Change we can Believe in!

[Dummy Pilot]

You know, it's that time of year again when I start to pull together my W-2s, form 1099s, and other financial statements in order to fill out my Tax return. However, this year I'm feeling like an idiot because apparently I'm the only one dumb enough to actually pay my taxes.

Timothy Geithner, Tom Daschle, Nancy Killefer.....tax cheats all.

Full credit to Killefer, she at least had the guts to pull her name form Obama's newly created budget overseer job. That essentially left the gutless Daschle with no other choice....he wouldn't have withdrawn otherwise. I still can't believe that our Treasury Secretary, the guy in charge of the IRS, "forgets" to pay his taxes. Don't even get me started that the Democratic Chairman of the Ways and Means committee, the body in charge of writing US tax code is also a tax evader.

Don't get me wrong, this is undoubtedly not just a Democrat problem, but this is the Admistration that told us it was 'Patriotic' for the wealthy to pay their taxes. This was the Admistration that promised a new era in Washington accountability and transparency. Perhaps more importantly, this was an Administration whose campaign slammed McCain for the vetting process that produced Palin. What does this say about the Obama teams vetting acumen.

Is this the type of change we were looking for?

[David Hilditch]

.......This was the Admistration that promised a new era in Washington accountability and transparency. Perhaps more importantly, this was an Administration whose campaign slammed McCain for the vetting process that produced Palin. What does this say about the Obama teams vetting acumen.

Is this the type of change we were looking for?

While I agree with the overall sentiment behind your post, I think it was the vetting processes which by and large threw up these tax "irregularities" in the first place.

In the Geithner case, I think he just got away with it by the skin of his teeth because a) he blamed the tax preparation software for a very specific matter concerning payroll taxes at an international financial institution which is tax-exempt except to US citizens. Oh, and also b) because Treasury is much more important than HHS.

[Half Bottle]

I wholeheartedly agree that the vetting has not been close to satisfactory (and you didn't even mention Bill Richardson)! Still, I'm not sure that the Obama campaign ever took a swing at McCain over the vetting that produced Palin, so I don't know that the implied hypocrisy charge as it relates to vetting is warranted.

Despite all this, at the moment, the only person to be confirmed with a known tax issue was Geithner and I think he would have withdrawn, too, if he hadn't been the guy most familiar with the economic mess we're in. But, yes, I concede that the last month has proven that it is awfully darn hard to govern without turning to people who are Washington insiders.

Despite all this, there's been plenty of change: Lily Ledbetter, Gitmo, Mexico City policy and extraordinary rendition just to name a few. The jury is clearly still out on whether Obama can achieve true bipartisanship and reduce the influence of the so-called special interests. I personally think those goals are unlikely to be achieved, but they are also political red herrings. The success or failure of the Obama presidency hinges almost entirely on two things: 1) the economy; and 2) homeland security.

[Verbal]

We haven't had this much fun vetting new appointments since any of the supreme court candidates of the last 20 years, take your pick.

[Dummy Pilot]

Oh, and also b) because Treasury is much more important than HHS.

I understand the gravity of the two positions, but to use a trite phrase..... "It's the principle of the thing". This was the Presidency that promised in his inaugural addrees, "a new era in responsibility".

I did not vote for the man, but I would be willing to be that there are a lot of people like me who, while disagreeing with his policies, are actually intrigued with the notion that he might bring a breath of fresh air to Washington. I was hoping that perhaps there was some substance to his soaring rhetoric. Now it looks like "same old, same old'. Honestly, how can you make a big deal about signing orders involving ethics and lobbyists and then turn around and appoint Daschle, a man who made a fortune advising the healthcare industry to HHS and make William Lynn, a former Defense company lobbyist the #2 guy at the Pentagon.

The success or failure of the Obama presidency hinges almost entirely on two things: 1) the economy; and 2) homeland security.

HB,

I always said that whichever guy gets in there, Obama or McCain, will get credit for reviving the eocomy simply because these things go in cycles and things eventually turn around. That president (in this case Obama) will be lucky enough to not be in office when the recession started but will be around when things turn around.....and if this downturn is still in effect at the end of this presidency, then it was an economic meltdown for the ages.

As far as homeland security, a mainland attack on the US would certainly tarnish this presidency from a public opinion standpiont, but if it occurred within the next year or two, I don't think any rational person could blame it on solely on Obama with a straight face.

[Half Bottle]

I always said that whichever guy gets in there, Obama or McCain, will get credit for reviving the eocomy simply because these things go in cycles and things eventually turn around. That president (in this case Obama) will be lucky enough to not be in office when the recession started but will be around when things turn around.....and if this downturn is still in effect at the end of this presidency, then it was an economic meltdown for the ages.

I agree with that, in part. Certainly, it's better for Obama to be taking office now than, say, a year ago. However, my point wasn't whether the economy will be better by 2012 but how the economic performance is perceived by the public.

As far as homeland security, a mainland attack on the US would certainly tarnish this presidency from a public opinion standpiont, but if it occurred within the next year or two, I don't think any rational person could blame it on solely on Obama with a straight face.

Perhaps, but Bush certainly got plenty of blame for 9/11 and that happened only 8 months after he took office. Now, we could discuss whether those who solely blamed Bush were rational or not, but they were certainly vocal. Moreover, I think Obama is particularly exposed on this point because some people already have the impression that his decisions to reverse some of the previous administration's policies are risky. So, I believe that whether or not an attack could be linked to Obama's policies, there would be an immediate outcry that those policies must have been to blame.

[Half Bottle]

So, five minutes after I wrote the above I went to politico.com and saw this:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0209/18390.html

Former Vice President Dick Cheney warned that there is a “high probability” that terrorists will attempt a catastrophic nuclear or biological attack in coming years, and said he fears the Obama administration’s policies will make it more likely the attempt will succeed.

And he asserted that President Obama will either backtrack on his stated intentions to end those policies or put the country at risk in ways more severe than most Americans—and, he charged, many members of Obama’s own team—understand.

“When we get people who are more concerned about reading the rights to an Al Qaeda terrorist than they are with protecting the United States against people who are absolutely committed to do anything they can to kill Americans, then I worry,” Cheney said.

[Sickbag]

The former shadow home secretary David Davis today demanded a Commons statement from the Government on accusations that British agents tortured a man held in Guantanamo Bay.

He also urged the Government to address an alleged US threat to withdraw intelligence sharing relations with Britain if details of the Binyam Mohamed case are released. "At 1.45pm today Lord Justice Thomas issued an astonishing ruling in the case of Binyam Mohamed, a British resident currently being held at Guantanamo bay and who has made an accusation of British involvement in torture inflicted on him while held in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Morocco.

"The ruling implies that torture has taken place in the Mohamed case, that British agencies may have been complicit, and most important of all, that the United States Government has threatened our High Courts that if it releases this information, the US Government will withdraw its intelligence co-operation with the United Kingdom on matters of security.

"The judge rules that there is a strong public interest that this information is put in the public domain even though it is politically embarrassing."

Mr Davis told MPs: "To quote directly from the judgment: 'It is plainly right that the details of the admissions in relation to the treatment of Binyam Mohamed as reported by officials of the United States Government should be brought into the public domain.

"'We did not consider that a democracy governed by the rule of law would expect a court in another democracy to suppress a summary of the evidence contained in reports by its own officials relevant to allegations of torture and cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment, politically embarrassing though it might be.

"'We had no reason to anticipate there would be made a threat of the gravity of the kind made by the United States Government that it would reconsider its intelligence sharing relationship, when all the considerations in relation to open justice pointed to us providing a limited but important summary of the reports."'

Mr Davis said another part of the report "goes on to say that the Foreign Secretary has confirmed that this threat still remains under President Obama's new Government".

Some change.

[Putt4Par]

Don't get me wrong, this is undoubtedly not just a Democrat problem, but this is the Admistration that told us it was 'Patriotic' for the wealthy to pay their taxes. This was the Admistration that promised a new era in Washington accountability and transparency. Perhaps more importantly, this was an Administration whose campaign slammed McCain for the vetting process that produced Palin. What does this say about the Obama teams vetting acumen.

Be careful, DP, or you may pi$$ Oprah off with your comments. You know how she considers Obama to be God's second son and Jesus' older brother. She may stop flying Delta and all of her fans may follow suit.

I doubt most of the people that voted for Obama will understand your post or be familiar with the news you are commenting on, anyways. You need an IQ higher than my dog's to understand this. BUT, you are correct, it is ridiculous. You won't see many people critizicing this, though. It is politically incorrect to say anything negative about Obama right now.

Maybe I will also cheat on my taxes and if I get caught I will claim I "forgot" and offer a public apology. I am sure that will take care of it.

[Sabre]

We must pass the stimulus package IMMEDIATELY. Every month we don't do it, 500 million Americans lose their jobs. Or, so I've heard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8hMJVXt09E

[Half Bottle]

I doubt most of the people that voted for Obama will understand your post or be familiar with the news you are commenting on, anyways.

I'm sure that's true, although I don't know that it's any more or less true of people who voted for Obama than McCain. By and large, our countrymen don't follow current events that closely.

You need an IQ higher than my dog's to understand this.

So, does one conclude that most people who voted for Obama have an IQ lower than your dog? I must say, this speaks very highly of your dog, he must be exceptional.

BUT, you are correct, it is ridiculous. You won't see many people critizicing this, though. It is politically incorrect to say anything negative about Obama right now.

Gee, I don't know. I said something critical of Obama in my initial response to DP. So far, no one has said anything about me being politically incorrect. A basic level of skepticism is a healthy part of democracy.

Maybe I will also cheat on my taxes and if I get caught I will claim I "forgot" and offer a public apology. I am sure that will take care of it.

Did you see what Obama said on this very point yesterday? He said, "I screwed up," and cited your exact argument. Now, that doesn't absolve him of criticism on this matter (much of which has been deserved) but it was refreshingly accountable.

[julie the dead dog]

You need an IQ higher than my dog's to understand this.

So, does one conclude that most people who voted for Obama have an IQ lower than your dog? I must say, this speaks very highly of your dog, he must be exceptional.

Exceptional times need exceptional Dogs.I hope Putt4pars dog will step up to the the plate if the administration calls(assuming its taxes are in order, natch.)

Cheers!
Julie the super-dead dog.

[Dummy Pilot]

Be careful, DP, or you may pi$$ Oprah off with your comments.

Hailing from Chicago as she does, I believe Oprah is an American Airlines flier....perhaps United. On second thought, she can probably afford her own plane....hell, she could afford her own airline.

You won't see many people critizicing this, though. It is politically incorrect to say anything negative about Obama right now.

Actually, what I believe ended up being the final straw in this affair was that several Left leaning papers including the NY Times, Boston Globe, Washington Post, and LA Times had either published or were about to publish editorials calling for Daschle's withdrawal. That's a good sign.


I remain somewhat bewildered and downright scared sometimes of the "Dear Leader" cult of personality worship we have seen. Cities naming roads and schools after Obama and declaring Jan 19th as an Obama holiday is worrisome.....but even with certain media outlets in the tank for him, the media will still chase the mighty dollar and the salacious headline and if they smell blood in the water on a perticular issue, I have no doubt they will run with it.

[David Hilditch]

Hailing from Chicago as she does.......

And hailing from Chicago as HE does, wasn't it Clinton (Bill, not Hill) who said "Obama's a Chicago thug" ? He has woken up to realize he's just another president and cannot walk on water, turn water into wine. The stimulus package was supposed to be on his desk on January 20, now it's February 4.

Still, we all have a stake in Obama's success. HB is right to credit him with the "I screwed up" comment - can't imagine Bush saying as much.

While I am a little worried about some of his protectionist tendencies, by and large he will tilt to the center and there will be a great deal of continuity on many issues.

[Sabre]

Still, we all have a stake in Obama's success.

In Obama's success, or the country's success? Much ado has been made about Rush Limbaugh's comment about Obama failing, I'd be interested in hearing your (or other's) take on this.

HB is right to credit him with the "I screwed up" comment - can't imagine Bush saying as much.

Other than avoiding the press (which Bush likely would have done, so I'll give credit for that), what else could he say? And his admission of the 'screw up' just touched on the tax issue, and not that Daschle was a defacto lobbyist, which was known all along.

[Dummy Pilot]

Other than avoiding the press (which Bush likely would have done, so I'll give credit for that), what else could he say?

I'll give him credit for taking responsibility. I'l like a "buck stops here" kind of guy. Of course I temper that with the knowledge that right up to the point that the nominatoin was withdrawn, both Democratic leaders and the administration were giving their full backing to the end.

In Obama's success, or the country's success? Much ado has been made about Rush Limbaugh's comment about Obama failing, I'd be interested in hearing your (or other's) take on this.

We all want the country to succeed in terms of the economy and security...and we should all hope Obama is successful in that regard. I personally hope Obama fails in instituting certain portions of his agenda. However, there was a meanspiritedness to Limbaugh's comments, and I get the feeling that he would almost like to see the economy fail under this admistration. What does Rush care....that kind of strife and political division would probably increase his audience and ratings. In my view, Rush has become a cartoon, and it angers me that somehow as a conservative, I would get linked to him

[Half Bottle]

We all want the country to succeed in terms of the economy and security...and we should all hope Obama is successful in that regard. I personally hope Obama fails in instituting certain portions of his agenda. However, there was a meanspiritedness to Limbaugh's comments

You're right about the meanspiritedness, but I also think that the criticism of Rush's comments has been disproportionate. He fairly clearly (even if dripping with bile) said that he wanted Obama's socialist agenda to fail. That's a reasonable position, even if it's never been quite clear to me how Obama's positions are socialist.

In my view, Rush has become a cartoon, and it angers me that somehow as a conservative, I would get linked to him

Welcome to the wilderness. What you're feeling now is what liberals experienced a few years ago. Moderate members of the party had been swept from Congress, leaving only the most dogmatic legislators who were none to keen on compromise. The noises most often heard from the left were crackpot theories about how Bush stole the election or how he encouraged or even directed 9/11 in order to consolidate his power base. It will get better for you eventually, it just may take a while.

[Verbal]

In my view, Rush has become a cartoon....

What do you mean, "has become"? Limbaugh has always been a cartoon. He does not participate in discourse. He simply bloviates his opinions, then sits back while his phalanx of dittoheads chime in their fawning approval. Limbaugh is not the go-to guy for thoughtful conservative commentary. There are any number of others (George Will, William Buckley when he was alive, etc.) who do that, and who have gained the respect (but not the agreement, obviously) of their liberal counterparts. He and Anne Coulter should be thought of as entertainers - circus clowns if you will. Limbaugh plays to the cheap seats, and to suggest that he is at the forefront of conservative thought in this country is like saying that Michael Moore is a documentarian.

As for Obama, I agree that the personality cult that has been built up around him has created unrealistic expectations for what he can accomplish. Those who have placed him on a pedestal may live to regret they did so. He is, after all, just the president.

[flyboy2548m]

What do you mean, "has become"? Limbaugh has always been a cartoon.

Concur.

[David Hilditch]

In Obama's success, or the country's success? Much ado has been made about Rush Limbaugh's comment about Obama failing, I'd be interested in hearing your (or other's) take on this.

What DP said. I think it's important for both the country and much of the world that he succeeds, or at least is able to bring some stabilization and as leader of "the West" some respect and some hope. There's a lot of firefighting to be done at the moment, and not just in the financial arena. This is a fine balancing act, of course, since there is a risk that Obamamania is nurturing a belief that government is now seen as an overall savior for us all, given the collapse of the private sector and the alleged 'failure' of markets.

Some investment in our country's future is clearly wise, but merely throwing money at problems never solved anything. The problem is that there's an incoherence in this country between the federal and state/county/city levels. But people don't just live in a federal bubble - we live in cities and states which are effectively bankrupt and are increasing taxes and charges way above former levels, soaking up huge sums in such increases because of legal requirements to balance annual budgets. Property taxes, for example, are rising even as property prices are falling, due to falling revenues demanding the resulting hole to be filled by increasing taxes and charges. Costs on property transfers are zooming upwards. Public transportation is being slashed across the nation. An so on. So I think the belief that the federal government will "save us" is at odds with what is happening on the ground, in the lives of real people.

[Putt4Par]

We all want the country to succeed in terms of the economy and security...and we should all hope Obama is successful in that regard. I personally hope Obama fails in instituting certain portions of his agenda. However, there was a meanspiritedness to Limbaugh's comments, and I get the feeling that he would almost like to see the economy fail under this admistration. What does Rush care....that kind of strife and political division would probably increase his audience and ratings. In my view, Rush has become a cartoon, and it angers me that somehow as a conservative, I would get linked to him

I'm with you on this one. I didn't vote for Obama but now that he won I sincerely hope he is successful for the sake of our country. I think he will be a breath of fresh air and it looks like he has the energy we need right now. This issue with the tax cheats is very unfortunate and it goes to show that changing our government takes more than just a slogan or one guy's wishes.

Changing the names of schools and streets to Obama is ridiculous...they guy hasn't done anything yet. And that is as ridiculous as listening to Rush Limbaugh say that he hopes Obama fails. I am a conservative but I CANNOT STAND Rush Limbaugh or anybody with "my guy versus your guy" philosophy. This guy has no credibility to me. If Obama was a republican Rush would be praising his every move, even if his actions were the same.

[Half Bottle]

And now we've got yet another tax problem with a nominee:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/200 ... id=topnews

A Senate committee today abruptly canceled a session to consider President Obama's nomination of Rep. Hilda Solis to be labor secretary in the wake of a report saying that her husband yesterday paid about $6,400 to settle tax liens against his business -- liens that had been outstanding for as long as 16 years.

[Sabre]

And now we've got yet another tax problem with a nominee:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/200 ... id=topnews

Yet another crook trying to pony up taxes just in time to take office. Aside from that....

The Nominee Who Lobbied Herself
Hilda Solis's breach of House ethics rules may disqualify her from serving.

A seemingly innocuous letter sent to the Clerk of the House of Representatives last Thursday by President Obama's Secretary of Labor nominee Hilda Solis raises serious and troubling legal questions about her nomination and apparent violation of House ethics rules. Not only was she involved with a private organization that was lobbying her fellow legislators on a bill that she has cosponsored, but she apparently kept her involvement secret and failed to reveal a clear conflict of interest.

Solis was a co-sponsor in 2007 of the so-called "Employee Free Choice Act ," the card check legislation that would effectively eliminate the secret ballot and destroy the ability of employees to make an anonymous decision (without fear of retribution) on whether they want to join a union. She was also a co-sponsor of the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act , legislation that would force states to allow public safety officers to form unions. At the same time, however, Solis was a board member of a pro-union organization, American Rights at Work, that has been lobbying Congress on both of these bills. According to a letter filed by Solis with the House Clerk on January 29, 2009, she was not just a director of the ARW, along with fellow travelers like David Bonior, Julian Bond, and John Sweeney, she was actually the treasurer. In other words, she is the official legally charged with the fiduciary duty of approving and signing off on all spending by the organization. And
to make matters worse, she did not reveal to her colleagues in the House of Representatives that membership on her financial disclosure forms, which may constitute a separate ethical violation.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/P ... 1mswgc.asp

I'm a believer

[supersean]

What do you mean, "has become"? Limbaugh has always been a cartoon.

Concur.

Ditto

[tds]

On Solis, these are her husband's business taxes and I think it's unfair to cast aspersions on her character over them. I run a small business, and I don't expect Ms tds to audit it.