Obama & Earmarks: One Year Ago This Week

But he pledged to work with Congress to reform the earmark process:
Ummm, yeah, we’re gonna have to cancel that. It’s a waste of taxpayer dollars, you see.

Change you can NOT believe in

“…they have more (huge)issues,problems, conditions etc. to manage than any other new Presidency/Administration has had to deal with in modern history.”
Why, of course they do! No one else ever had to deal with things like major terrorist attacks, or collapsing banks, or anything like that!

Yes, words do matter. Except of course in the case of Obama. When will this man EVER be held to any of his pronouncements and promises? The MSM have let him slide and slide and slide. No reason to believe this will ever change, is there?

So Obama touted himself as a different kind of politician and is now showing his true colors. But no worries, most of the media will cover up for him.

“But he pledged to work with Congress to reform the earmark process:
Ummm, yeah, we’re gonna have to cancel that. It’s a waste of taxpayer dollars, you see.”
Obama’s earmark reform is to make the process transparent and he has.
You can look up any earmark on a database on the OMB website.

Remind me again of how the deficit will be halved…

Didn’t have enough guts to do the right thing–I guess it gets expensive paying off those that got him elected.

Yes, let’s fix that 1% of government spending. How about the other 99%. They argue about earmarks because it makes them look good and seem relevant. Earmarks are the least of our problems.

Obama’s campaign lies and distortions as they are revealed in this issue of earmarks and also lobbyists, among so many others are being revealed. Unfortunately not quickly enough to save this economy.
Obama needs to have a non teleprompter press conference and answer, DIRECTLY, some very pertinent questions.
The public is entitled to hear from him in a setting that is not a one sided self-serving pronouncement, like a king.
Oh, I forgot, Obama is impotent without a teleprompter to help him with his answers.
I wonder how long it will take to find out if he has the nerve to answer questions at a press conference that does not have pre-determined q and a.

WOW….where was the all of this whining when President Moron (Bush Jr.) was in office!
———
I recollect 8 years of non-stop whining and abuse. Where were you.
Also rehashing the past 8 years is irrelevant when discussing Obama lies.

Bo Needs to go
Alot better then a Falling down slurring drunk Of a President Bush, At least the Man can Speak Clearly and doesnt look like a Deer in Headlights When asked a Question!
————
Irrelevant distraction. The point here is Obama hiding. Obama is in office. Bush is gone.
Obama’s lies are the issue at hand.

BO: Give it up. He won.

ONE PERCENT? Are you kidding me? This is an issue, why?
Posted by: William J. LePetomane | Mar 11, 2009 2:49:36 P
————–
No it is 2% and that represents 8 Billion dollars. That is an awful lot of taxpayers. While they plan to raise taxes. No way. This is not acceptable.
ONLY 8 Billion dollars? Is that your point?

I am for all the earmarks we can get in Illinois. Our roads are crumbling, schools is disrepair. We have not had a capital improvement bill in 12 years. Hell yes we want earmarks!

Why, it’s as if we elected a President with no history of accomplishment at all!
But doesn’t he look good in a swimsuit?

At least the Man can Speak Clearly and doesnt look like a Deer in Headlights When asked a Question!
Angie
He sleeps with his teleprompter. The man can’t think on his feet.

please take a little time with this budget, singe an emergency spending stop gap to keep the government functioning, return the budget to Congress with the directive to scrub it, reinstate the line item veto via Executive order and you will walk the talk with increasing your political capitol exponentially while doing what our country desperately needs.
Darryl
thanks

Just this one last spending bender! C’mon! Just one more, then I’m done. I’m done! I’ll quit spending. I can quit anytime! I don’t need your help! Now gimmie the pen. GIVE IT TO ME!

Lie: a deliberate untruth. Specify.

Obama is treated so unfairly:
If Bush signs a bill, it’s called a budget bill.
If Obama signs a bill, it is called a spending bill.
If Bush starts a war, it’s called defending your country.
If Obama starts a war, it’s a distraction.
If Bush passes a tax cut, it’s called passionate converseratism
If Obama passes a tax cut, nobody says anything.

Mad: you are exactly right and so was Obama when he made those statements. Now we will see if Congress can step up.

The negative commenters ARE aware that eliminating the earmarks in this bill would not save any money, right? Earmarking funds just specifies where exactly that part of the budget will go. Earmark reform will probably make the process more public, but congress will never eliminate earmarks entirely, because they serve a purpose for taxpayers in their states who want some say in how federal money is spent.

Sometimes Earmarks are Not Bad it depends where the Money is being Spent. President Obama did not lie This was Left Over Bussiness from Last year once again Bushes Mess. he is now Putting together Ways to stop BAD EARMARK SPENDING!
Posted by: ANGIE IN PA | Mar 11, 2009 2:59:16 PM
———-
This about Obama. He deliberately misled about his position on earmarks in order to compete with McCain’s position of ending earmarks entirely. Even liberal Chris Matthews interpreted the full extent of his remarks over time that way. We can parse language and claim yes indeed he did not say EXACTLY that. Well hallelujah, I bet he is having a good laugh on pulling the wool over our eyes on this one.
Like Clinton “It depends on what the meaning of the word is is”
He makes slick willie look like a novice.
Where does the confirmation of the great Obama IQ and intellect come from? Prove it.
Everyone claimed Kerry was so much smarter, Gore was so much smarter but the test scores ended up proving otherwise. Kerry had lower scores on Military entrance exams, as verified by Tom Brokaw, and Gore had lower SAT scores, and he flunked out of divinity school.
Prove it if you think Obama is so smart. He certainly isn’t releasing any college records or test scores. How could you possibly know. Saying it doesn’t make it so.

Obama the Fraud strikes again!
He said he would have no lobbyists
in his administration yet the president
has granted several wavers to selected
lobbyists to join his team.
He opposes earmarks but he will only
oppose them after he signs the
omnibus bill with almost 9,000 earmarks!
those of you who voted for Obama got
conned by the biggest flim-flam man
in U.S, History!
Now we’re all stuck with this Phoney
at least until 2012!

Reaganfan: 3 waivers out of 800 appointments! Are you kidding me? How many lobbyists worked in the Reagan administration?

“You obviously have not seen him answer questions off the cuff w/o a teleprompter.”
He was in over 25 debates and has held a dozen or so press conferences.
He’s just fine off the cuff.
Right wingers are just embarrassed to see such a gifted speaker follow up their guy who could not pronounce the word nuclear.

The negative commenters ARE aware that eliminating the earmarks in this bill would not save any money, right? Earmarking funds just specifies where exactly that part of the budget will go. Earmark reform will probably make the process more public, but congress will never eliminate earmarks entirely, because they serve a purpose for taxpayers in their states who want some say in how federal money is spent.
Posted by: Jo | Mar 11, 2009 3:07:54 PM
————-
That is in fact not true. Each item would have to go through committee for approval. There is no guarantee they would be approved as many are special interest and kickback projects and the sponsors don’t want to have to explain them.
7th grade civics will tell you that there is no reason to presume this excess spending would end up in the regular budget, and good reason to presume it would not.

As far as I’m concerned, he is nothing but a great speaker… and won the highest office on promises he never intended to keep! You don’t promise change and still continue to push through bills at the expense of the taxpayer. . He is just like every other politician except that his true job now, is to defend the actions for all the other good ole boys! President Obama , get some backbone and remember who elected you on the campaign of “change”.

While I lament the loss of prosperity in the marketplace and the freedoms we had, I honestly cannot wait until the lefties see what a stupid move they made choosing this socialist for President. Socialism destroys all that is good. It creates a two class system: The ruling elite who line their pockets at will and the rest of the population who end up living in poverty because all incentive and ambition are destroyed. You see…when you take away from those who are productive, they stop producing…and soon there is less and less and less available for everyone. So, the poor will be much poorer when this is all done.

John F: OF COURSE a certain amount of federal tax money comes back to the states! Wake up.

Obama is now officially a liar. A principled man would have vetoed the bill.
Everything else he’s signed has been accompanied by unending hoopla but this time he hides.
When will America learn?

BE CAREFUL WHEN YOU POINT FINGERS
On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, just minutes before learning of the terrorist attacks on America, Democratic strategist James Carville was hoping for President Bush to fail, telling a group of Washington reporters: “I certainly hope he doesn’t succeed.”
Carville was joined by Democratic pollster Stanley Greenberg, who seemed encouraged by a survey he had just completed that revealed public misgivings about the newly minted president.
In 2006, 51 percent of Democrats wanted Bush to fail.

“Prove it if you think Obama is so smart.”
He graduated magne cum laude from Harvard Law and was named head of the Harvard law Review. He then went on to teach constitutional law at the Univ of Chicago.

“On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, just minutes before learning of the terrorist attacks on America, Democratic strategist James Carville was hoping for President Bush to fail, telling a group of Washington reporters: “I certainly hope he doesn’t succeed.”"
Bill Sammon’s bs remind me of the tale of the lie traveling the world twice before the truth even gets out of bed.

Got now complaints from you when dubya signed the bridge to nowhere bill.
How long will you all be hypocrits.
These earmarks were in this bill when dubya was in office and the hypocrits (vitter) is talking out the side of his neck.

If the money was given out to each family with all the stimulus money. Each family would have received
$18,000.

Posted by: ANGIE IN PA | Mar 11, 2009 3:19:18 PM
Obama can’t change his underwear without a teleprompter. Did you, um, uh, hear him, uh sp-sp-sp-sp speaking to the, um, uh reporter about not being an um,um,um,uh socialist?

He graduated magne cum laude from Harvard Law and was named head of the Harvard law Review. He then went on to teach constitutional law at the Univ of Chicago.
Posted by: Ryan C | Mar 11, 2009 3:19:29 PM

Angie in PA
No, just trying to set the record straight.

DRJOHN
yum yum yum Yes Like I said I have Been to an Obama Rally in Philly and their was NO TELEPROMTER! Its better then Seein Bush stare into space with that ugly grin Shrugging His shoulders FACE IT W WAS AN IDIOT The only reason he became President was because of DADDY!

“Prove it if you think Obama is so smart.”
He graduated magne cum laude from Harvard Law and was named head of the Harvard law Review. He then went on to teach constitutional law at the Univ of Chicago.
Posted by: Ryan C
—————————–
And Bill Gates dropped out of college. And if I remember right, Warren Buffet never even went to colleg

LOL, so what do you think happened, BO? Obama bluffed his way past the graduate school admission office at Harvard to get enrolled? Faked his way on to the Law Review? Dummied-up some transcripts so he could hired as a law prof at the U of C? Get real. What were Bush’s transcripts? How do we know if he even graduated?

Because making earmarks out to be the problem of excess spending is laughable.
Posted by: Ryan C | Mar 11, 2009 3:23:26 PM
————–
Obama made them the issue and he lied, distorted and whatever else you call it to help win the election. It is called an election conversion.
Laugh at Obama if you don’t think this is an issue.
We are discussing his shifting positions on this.

“Of course, Ryan. Only you tell the truth.”
I make every attempt to post facts.
You and the other wingers parroting right wing talking points don’t waste time with such endeavors.
After all the facts will undercut the talking point and you can’t have that.

“of course no one would ever say anything if obama passed a tax cut, BECAUSE THAT WOULD NEVER HAPPEN!!!”
It already did happen.
Millions of workers would soon see an extra $13 in their weekly paychecks
——————————-
define soon? I haven’t seen it yet

Why do I think we will not see this story on the evening news!!

DR John
No I was not But Some forms of Ashtma Can be treated With a breath Alyzer My son has Asthma so quit Being stupid!

Here you go ANGIE
Flashback: Carville Wanted Bush to Fail
The press never reported that Democratic strategist James Carville said he wanted President Bush to fail before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. But a feeding frenzy ensued when radio host Rush Limbaugh recently said he wanted President Obama to fail.
By Bill Sammon
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
081 Comments | Add Comment
ShareThis
On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, just minutes before learning of the terrorist attacks on America, Democratic strategist James Carville was hoping for President Bush to fail, telling a group of Washington reporters: “I certainly hope he doesn’t succeed.”
Carville was joined by Democratic pollster Stanley Greenberg, who seemed encouraged by a survey he had just completed that revealed public misgivings about the newly minted president.
“We rush into these focus groups with these doubts that people have about him, and I’m wanting them to turn against him,” Greenberg admitted.

“Earmarks are a part of Congress’ power of the purse. Checks and balances. It is how they steer some of the public’s tax money back to their districts for public good.”
Exactly. Are all earmarks good? Who know – it’s in the eye of the beholder, isn’t. One person’s “pork” may be another congressional district’s essential highway project that repairs infrastructure, improves the flow of traffic and creates jobs. I agree that the process should be more transparent and fair. So does Obama…and he co-sponsored legislation while in the Senate to make the process more transparent. As president, he has promised to take that a step further and he started that process today. But Obama can’t dictate these rules to Congress – that is not within the power of the executive branch. The legislative branch is granted the constitutional power to appropriate funds, not the president. The only power he has when it comes to spending bills is that of the veto pen. He needs to work WITH Congress and negotiate with them in order to get earmark reform in place. Using his veto power to reject an omnibus spending bill that was a) already late and b) authored mostly before he was even elected president would not have bought him the good will he needs among members of congress to get this necessary reform put in place. It’s a give and take and Obama has to play, for lack of a better word, the game. He’s not a king. Congress doesn’t work for or answer to him. He’s now laid out what he wants. Congress is on notice. If he uses his veto pen on future spending bills that contain superfluous earmarks, he can tell Congress, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” And when I say Congress, I mean both sides of the aisle – earmarks are popular among the membership of both parties. And if Congress does agree to put the reform steps Obama outlined in place, there will be more transparency, which will cut down on the number of “bridge to nowhere” earmarks contained in spending bills. (although I’m sure the residents of Ketchikan, AK, didn’t think the Gravina Island Bridge project was so horrible – again, “pork” is in the eye of the beholder)

LOL, so what do you think happened, BO? Obama bluffed his way past the graduate school admission office at Harvard to get enrolled?
—————-
Glad you asked. Obama was attending Occidental College and was sponsored by Khalid Al Mansour for admission to Harvard, we don’t know what the other criteria for his acceptance was, or if this was enough.
Here is an excerpt in the words of the person who wrote the actual letter to help Obama get in. I hope this doesn’t surprise you . If it does you need to rethink who this guy is.
“Percy Sutton, the former borough president of Manhattan, off-handedly revealed the unusual circumstances about his first encounter with the young Obama.
This is an excerpt from an interview on you tube.
“I was introduced to (Obama) by a friend who was raising money for him,” Sutton told NY1 city hall reporter Dominic Carter.
“The friend’s name is Dr. Khalid al-Mansour, from Texas,” Sutton said. “He is the principal adviser to one of the world’s richest men. He told me about Obama.”
Sutton, the founder of Inner City Broadcasting, said al-Mansour contacted him to ask a favor: Would Sutton write a letter in support of Obama’s application to Harvard Law School?
“He wrote to me about him,” Sutton recalled. “And his introduction was there is a young man that has applied to Harvard. I know that you have a few friends up there because you used to go up there to speak. Would you please write a letter in support of him?”
Sutton said he acted on his friend al-Mansour’s advice.
“I wrote a letter of support of him to my friends at Harvard, saying to them I thought there was a genius that was going to be available and I certainly hoped they would treat him kindly,” Sutton told NY1.
Sutton did not say why al-Mansour was helping Obama, how he discovered him, or from whom he was raising money on Obama’s behalf.
End excerpt.
Look it up if you don’t believe it.
Lastly I do believe Obama edited the law review but has anyone seen anything he has written?
Bush went to Yale and that did not convince any dems of anything.

OMENTUM
Ha Ha Pretty Funny the Right Wingers are Bashing Everything President Obama does and their Party doesnt Even have a real LEADER The party is Lost and the RNC Is trying to Get Mcsteele to step down hahahaha lolololol hahahahah

“He then went on to teach constitutional law at the Univ of Chicago.”
Ryan C you are always calling people liars but you seem to have a problem with basic facts.
Obama claimed he was a professor of constitutional law but that in itself was a lie. He was basically a TA in one class and as so often in Obama resume he promoted himself to Constitutional Law professor.
Sort of like, you no doubt believe that Obama toiled for years as a “community organizer” despite the fact that he quit after less than 2 years nearly 20 years ago. Or how about that he was a “civil right’s attorney” despite the fact that he quit or was retired by his law firm after less than 3 years nearly 15 years ago? He handled NO successful civil rights cases and virtually NO cases at all?
Before calling people liars perhaps you should concern yourself with your own behavior.

“That is what Obama said. Lets see the documentation of the Magne.”
ROFLMAO!
“Obama also claimed he served on the finance committee which was untrue.”
So what right wing talking point is this?

Jim Jones was Bay Area (CA) lefty favorite & new age wonder – there ( when still in Oakland/SF area of CA) and even when some early wacko signs made some look askance at this ‘new type of leader’ (even after he moved out of the USA). But after the final Kool-Aid drink-up this was all conveniently forgotten, certainly in our objective media (I had never know this fact until stumbled into it recently reading 70s/80s Bay Area news reports). Just like James Carville wishing then President 43 failed totally (irony of ironies – on 9/11 no less was when his stratagem & objective were clearly noted but conveniently forgotten & never reported by the media). A Taleban was GITMO-released (unanimously by panel during GWB tenure) and apparently he likely had been a Northern Alliance Front Commander & deadly bomb specialist but now leading Taleban against UK forces in UK. But get this >>> most UK blogger & commenters support the Taleba guy stating stuff like you would go back and “defend your country from occupation”, or after you were tortured by Bush/Cheney for 6 years you would go back & fight, or GITMO was one big concentration camp where he learned to become a killer. There are no facts to support the claims of torture, or about Bush/Cheney or concentration camp …. None! But, just as Cheney made millions off of Iraq war (twice in the last month I had to challenge this nonsensical charge with a demand for proof) they get repeated in the fetid echo chambers of the super lefty hate anything that construe crazy comments about all those facist Republican, Bush/Cheney right wing US Constitution destroyers.
You ask why I started this comment regarding Jim Jones & drinking Kool-Aid – because it seems that political fantasies and delusion are the anchor of the ultra-left. We must break into Sarah Palin’s e-mails (official &/or private) to show the world the monster she is, we must release all the credit card information about Sen Coleman (MN) contributors so they can be attacked, we must spread big lies about Bush/Cheney/Republicans so people start to believe that & worse, Joe the plumber must have his personal State data ‘released’ into public domain to trash him, and on & on. So many wanting drinkers – so little Kool-Aid.

The problem with earmarks is that they lack transparency. They usually just inserted without public debate, without looking into conflicts of interest, etc. So, I agree that Congress has power over spending, but spending should be done PUBLICLY and not as a process of special favors. If earmarks were so great — why did Obama make that speech? Why did his fans cheer him? And why my fellow Democrats bash Palin for her earmarks?

OMENTUM
Ha Ha Pretty Funny the Right Wingers are Bashing Everything President Obama does and their Party doesnt Even have a real LEADER The party is Lost and the RNC Is trying to Get Mcsteele to step down hahahaha lolololol hahahahah
Posted by: ANGIE IN PA | Mar 11, 2009 3:35:57 PM
===========================
hilarious
How about getting your own house together before questioning someone else’s
I would think they would notice how stupid that looks for them to point the finger and they are in the “political time-out” corner.
wow what authority they bring to the discussion. hahahahaha

When Obama campaigned is was going to abolish
all earmarks and now he says they are good. Which one is it

Should have read:
“Dude, using Chris Matthews AS an “even so-and-so said…” EXAMPLE…”
Man, I’m full of typos today. Have to slow down…

“When Obama campaigned is was going to abolish
all earmarks and now he says they are good. Which one is it?”
Obama never said that. Try again.

Angie you seem bitter, and angry.
Posted by: jane | Mar 11, 2009 3:39:30 PM
================
I will vouch for Angie. She is overjoyed right now. Overjoyed to see a president who can multitask – not like dubya the one trick pony.
Go Angie
Go Angie
YES WE CAN
YES WE CAN

Republican Senators, Congressman, Governors all cower in fear of offending the Great Rush, their hero and party leader.

“What Obama falsely claimed was being on the Senate Banking Committee.”
You mean when he misspoke while talking about a bill he had intro’d that passed the committee?

Ryan C you are SOOOOO Wrong

Dude, using Chris Matthew’s an “even so-and-so said…” in an argument with liberals isn’t a winning strategy. Most liberals abhor Matthews and think he’s an obnoxious windbag, regardless of who he worked for in the past or which way he leans politically.
Posted by: OGLiberal | Mar 11, 2009 3:41:09 PM
————-
You claimed right wingers lie. Looks like a left winger agrees with us and Warren Buffett and now Howard Fineman and so on.
It isn’t the right wingers lying.
I would suggest someone else is distorting and distracting from the basic fact about Obama lying about earmarks, not to mention the lobbyist thing.

Very correct indeed Kat.

“Republican Senators, Congressman, Governors all cower in fear of offending the Great Rush, their hero and party leader.”
No one is more afraid of Limbaugh than Obama. That’s why Obama felt the need to attack Limbaugh.
He’s scared like a little girl.

Obama did not write anything that was published in the Harvard Law Review.

JANE
Im not Bitter and Angry, I finally have a President who can Multi-Task,Speak with Intelligence,Cares about this Country and what is Going on, OH AND MY BAD For the Breath alyzer! I Meant Nebulizer I APOLOGIZE I mis spoke But I guess your Not aloud to make A mistake the Right wingers are Perfect!

“We can no longer accept a process that doles out earmarks based on a member of Congress’ seniority”
Yes, we can.

I know they wrote about this on hot air but try thinking for yourself for once.
Posted by: Ryan C | Mar 11, 2009 3:53:03 PM
——–
Do you deliberately miss the point or are you truly unable to get it.
YOU CLAIMED RIGHT WINGERS LIE. I USED MATTHEWS, BUFFET AND FINEMAN AS EXAMPLES OF MAINSTREAM PROMINENT LIBERALS WHO AGREE THAT OBAMA AT BEST MISLED AND AT WORST LIED ABOUT EARMARKS. THIS IS A POSITION SHARED BY “RIGHT WINGERS AND LIBERALS”
I HOPE YOU GET THE POINT THIS TIME. IT ISN’T SO DIFFICULT UNLESS YOU SIMPLY WANT TO ATTACK INSTEAD OF DEALING WITH THE ISSUE.

Here’s a suggestion to Obama supporters: whenever His Majesty appears on TV, tape a sign with the following words underneath the screen:
EVERYTHING THIS MAN SAYS HAS A SHELF-LIFE.

“Right wingers are just embarrassed to see such a gifted speaker follow up their guy who could not pronounce the word nuclear.”
LOL…Ryan your all over this site and every post your crying about talking points. This one is left over from the 2000 election!
By the way, try lisitening to Barney Frank, or Ted Kennedy before you criticize others!
Instead of being a talking point, why haven’t you said anything about the fact Obama is bailing once again on his own set of rules/policies.
I wont repost Tapper’s intro, but he made no attempt push any of these earmark reforms.
I am not one who thinks earmarks need to be totally eliminated, just vetted.
The old process was abused by memebers from both parties! This should be an issue we agree on !

“It was a particularly stupid thing to do as it has empowered Limbaugh and raised his ratings.”
Of course it empowered Limbaugh.
That was the point.
Set that egomaniac loose as head of the party and what the GOP implode.
Who cares if his ratings go up?

I have a meeting, yes work to do in the real world. I love being a business owner and having the luxury of working when I choose. I thank God for my fortune and have not been bothered much by the recession.
Obama is incompetent and will serve one term in office.

Opposing earmarks is racist.

“You claimed right wingers lie.”
Um, I’m not the guy who is appending that to all of his post, although I can’t say I totally disagree with the statement, especially given the large number of posters here who continue to state incorrectly that Obama said all earmarks are bad and that he was going to eliminate them all. (which would be tough given that the executive branch has no power to change the earmark/budgeting process or eliminate earmarks altogether)
Warren Buffett also said that the GOP needs to start working with Obama, not just against. And I don’t know which way Howard Fineman leans politically but I couldn’t care less what he thinks. That goes for just about every TV talking head or establishment journalist. Fineman’s most recent article – and I assume you saw Drudge’s link – was about how Obama is still popular with voters but there are doubts growing among the “establishment”. I could give a flying you-know-what about what the “establishment” thinks – and I think many Americans would agree.

Obama is articulate and can multi-task . Unfortunately very little of what he so artfully articulates is true and the tasks he deems important don’t seem to include fixing the economy .

Every Democrat thinks spending others money for wasteful projects is the way to freedom and prosperity.

Hey Jake,
Thanks for the awesome job you did helping get this disaster elected!!!

OGLiberal, actually, some of us Republicans actually subscribe to Newsweek (although I sometimes wonder why I bother) and can read Mr. Fineman’s words “in the original.” I saw it without benefit of following some link from Drudge, thanks. Not that I’m a Fineman fan or agree with most of what he rights, but for what it’s worth, I’ve been reading him for years.

All of Obama’s promises come with an expiration date and a ton of excuses.

But that’s just it – as president, all he can do is ask Congress to change/improve the process
============
Wrong.
He can veto bloated bills that crop up in the middle of an economic crisis for which we are already going to be struggling to pay.
That would not only have saved the taxpayers on this bill, it would have sent the message to Congress that he is really serious about being cautious with the taxpayer’s money.

“Lying? …exactly how?”
You claimed the earmarks were not online as promised.
That of course ignores the the earmarks database on the OMB’s website.

“OGLiberal, actually, some of us Republicans actually subscribe to Newsweek (although I sometimes wonder why I bother) and can read Mr. Fineman’s words ‘in the original.’”
My apologies. I saw the link today on Drudge, one of his, “Look a media person – who MUST be a flaming leftist – is down on Obama!”, posts, and assumed that’s how most people found the story. BTW, I actually was a long time subscriber to National Review. I only let my subscription lapse recently after they lost their collective minds over the fact that the GOP was going to lose the presidential election. This was coupled with their cultlike love of Governor Palin. I couldn’t take it anymore, although I still read The Corner…I like to torture myself, I guess.
That said, I found Fineman’s article to be weak, to say the least. The “establishment” is starting to think Obama isn’t up to the task of being president? I don’t care if Fineman is the greatest liberal journalist on the planet – and I have no idea where his politics lie – I long ago stopped caring about what the “establishment” thinks, since they are often spectacularly wrong.

“Lying? …exactly how?”
You claimed the earmarks were not online as promised.
That of course ignores the the earmarks database on the OMB’s website.
———————————-
Rayn,
Gee…pardon me…I missed the OMB posting…by all means…im a “liar”…lol.
The point of my saying it was the fact it was not up there and used as part of the process that Obama himself had promised to use.
What I want to know is why you are not upset that Obama tossed this one under the rug. Instead of grandstanding, its time to actually do what he said he was going to do. let me guess…next time right. I am sure you would have cut a Republican President the same slack under these conditions…right?
We STILL do not have any idea what this administration is going to put forth for a plan for the financial system. Now according to Geithner it will be a few more weeks.
Another interesting number out today, that group of “rich” people Obama wants to pay for all these wonderful things he throwing out…That group is getting smaller & smaller. The number of millionaires in the US shrunk by 27%.
Everyone get ready to “shoulder the burden”!

Ever since Mr. Obama got elected, I have put a few “I told you so” in a locked box. This would be one occasion where I would be willing to take one out.

Omentum, I’ll take back the “slipped through” remark and substitute “pass easily” on the delay of the omnibus bill. And while I know that much of the earmark debate falls along partisan lines, I am with McCain in condemning those on both sides who want to protect the system and who put earmarks in this bill. I personally would not say Bush was hard on pork– on that we can agree. He seemed incapable of vetoing anything, including larded up bills when the Republicans were in charge of Congress.

Instead of grandstanding, its time to actually do what he said he was going to do. let me guess…next time right. I am sure you would have cut a Republican President the same slack under these conditions…right?
Posted by: Mike_C
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Instead of grandstanding, can you point to how long it took Dubya to fulfill his campaign promises?
Let me give you a hint: it was June 7th

“What I want to know is why you are not upset that Obama tossed this one under the rug.”
Because freaking out about earmarks is a waste of time?
Its a political football used by each side to bash each other and get the public angry while doing it.
Its an easy target to focus any anger on government spending on.

Willem, you asked me, “So we can put you down as somebody who prefers a system where *all* of his or her tax money is doled out by unelected bureaucrats who are sitting behind a desk in far away Washington D.C. and who doesn’t have first hand knowledge of what your district needs?” To which I can only express bemusement that you are suddenly down on “unelected bureaucrats” in Washington. Isn’t that who you want to turn my health care decisions over to? My education policy?
But when it comes to spending, I’m to get all upset because the trained professionals who, say, deal with agricultural research will determine where the funding for such research will be funneled rather than the politicians with agricultural research programs with which they need to curry favor? Sorry, but I do not see this as necessarily worse. I am not so myopic that I think the only good federal spending is in my backyard. And I assume my representatives can learn to be effective in going through channels to get the money committed to worthwhile projects in our district, or I still have the option to vote him/her out, right?
And besides, who said all earmarks are directed at projects in the congressperson’s home district? Our friend the honeybee research lab in Texas had as one of its earmarkers Tim Johnson of South Dakota.
BTW, did you hear that two private commercial firms based in Florida have come up with a vaccine that has the potential to reduce hive collapse? They did the research and developed the vaccine without any government funding at all. What a surprise.

After their near-death experience in 1998, when the GOP almost lost control of Congress, many members discovered the Joy of Earmarking. Reform went out the window and buying votes was in. It worked for 3 election cycles, too.
Now Democrats, who make drunken sailors look on in envy, are going to show the American people what REAL spendthrifts look like and Obama isn’t going to stand in their way. It’s lip service today, next year his press secretary won’t even take questions on it.

Start packing because how you lied to us who voted for you you are going to be a 1 term president. In 2010 it is going to be mighty hard to vote a democratic ticket.

Can you spell H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-S-Y????

BHO has made it clear that he supports earmarks – that benefit government programs, but not for the private sector. Personally I would prefer to see none, however, the messsage he is sending out is “let’s pork up government and to hell with the private sector”. Well, Barack, if you and your leftist cronies destroy capitalism and the private sector, just how do you think you’ll support that big, fat socialist government of your dreams? Too big a population in this country, it will implode quickly. You won’t make poor people rich by making rich people poor. As for all of you slackers out there who think it’s YOUR turn to be rich. I think that’s great, so earn YOUR money and keep your hands away from MINE.

Apparently the President has a great deal of memory loss. I remember distinctly the day he said the days of no ear marks would be one of his promises. So much for that promise! I found out today that his wonderful Tax Bill had some 2,000 earmarks in it. How in the name of God can he promise no earmarks and let this happen saying that the bill will be good for the country? I am now convinced that we are doomed for another couople of years listenung to his lies.