Haven't had time to write lately. As a result I have missed talking about news such as the Republican debate, Weiner's weiner, and the Wal-mart case. If anyone have any interest in these and other old news, please write in.
Today Obama decided to open the oil reserve and flood the market with oil to bring down the prices. I don't understand this since the prices were already dropping and there is no shortage at this time. He is probably thinking that by lower the price of oil it would stimulate the economy indirectly by making the cost of doing business lower and keep more money in the pockets of consumers. It may also put a chill on futures traders who want to bid up the prices down the line as they maybe afraid Obama will do this again. But I don't like this move as the reserve should be used in emergencies only. I think this has only been done couple of times before. If we do this at $3.65 per gallon, what are we going to do when it goes over $4 next time? This seems like a desperate political move for the economy and I don't think will play well.
I also didn't like the troop withdrawal decision yesterday by Obama. I know withdrawal needs to be done as Obama had promised. But he should have listened to his military leaders who want to do it slower. With the cost of the war and the bad economy there is an urgency to leave Afghanistan. But as I have said before, I think we have an obligation to leave the country with a reasonable chance of surviving without the Taliban taking back over. I think Patreus's time line is better than Obama's. Many people on the Republican side who want quicker withdrawal are also the same people who advocated the invasion of Iraq. Of course we would have been able to get out of Afghanistan a lot quicker if we never went into Iraq in the first place. Now, I think we can get the rest of the soldiers out of Iraq quicker since I don't think we are doing anything there now anymore. Quicker out of Iraq, slower out of Afghanistan, that's what I advocate.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
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Welcome back. I was wondering where you had gone.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised as anyone when I heard about opening the oil reserves. Only time will tell if this was a good or bad move. To me, it's a gamble and maybe one he didn't need to make, politically. But if it succeeds, it will be seen as a good gamble.
I think that this will help Europe and if it helps Europe, it should help us in the long run. This is assuming that the Libya crisis is done sooner than later. In a way, it's too risky for me, but I almost have to applaud the balls it took to do this.
Now, I had been calling for the reserves to be opened up when prices went up past $4 and now, I don't think we really need it. That said, I have to step back and look at the big picture, and this could be a make or break situation.
As far as Afghanistan goes, I am sure this was another Obama compromise that no one will like.
My thoughts politically are that Obama could have announced this next year and gotten some votes. Right now, he's riding high on better poll numbers. If I am advising him, I tell him he needs to have some aces up his sleeve come election time.
Now, his advisers could have already thought of this and maybe on their timeline, they had to make these decisions and announcements now, so that come next fall, everything will have come into fruition, barring any disasters.
But yes, we need to get out of Iraq faster and Afghanistan slower. Keep in mind that these time tables are never set in stone and could change at the drop of a hat (or bomb).
Lastly, the Republican debate to me, was a farce and I felt embarrassed for the candidates who did not tackle any issues. They just used the time to bash Obama. To me, that was a waste of time and money. There will be plenty of time to rally the troops. To me, this plays into Romney's hand because all he has to do right now is keep the focus off himself to maintain the lead.
What can I say about Weiner that hasn't been said before. The guy is obviously very smart but I just have to say that he has to be some sort of idiot to have taken those pictures of himself. Then to lie about it early on. He might have been able to stay in office had he come clean (maybe). He deserves to lose his job and any chance of running for mayor, where Weiner would have been stiff competition against a pretty pumped up field.
-LBOAYM
You are right about the debate benefited Romney the most. Pawlenty, who used the phrase Obamneycare just the day before, backed off in the debate. All of these people are running because they think that they can beat Obama. But if they can't beat Romney, they won't even face Obama. Truth is only Romney have a reasonable chance to beat Obama because nobody else on that stage is electable. Many republicans want Rick Perry to enter. Perry, with stronger backing from conservatives than Romney, can very well beat Romney. But I think in the general election, Romney would be a better candidate not just because independents will like him more than Perry. This is because any Republican nominee is going to win certain number of red states, including Texas where Perry is from. But the Republican nominee will have to win some blue states to win. Romney has a much better chance than Perry in winning states like Mass., New Hampshire, and Michigan. There really isn't much point for Republicans to nominate someone from the south like Perry. Plus, while the deficit will be a big weapon for the Republicans next year, Perry is running a big deficit in oil rich Texas.
ReplyDeleteEnough puns about Weiner already! I would only say that while his actions are deplorable it pales in comparison to other sexual deviant politicians. I find the actions of people like Larry Craig, John Edwards, Newt Gringrich, and Arnold Schwarzennegar to be much worse. Weiner's problem was lying about the whole thing. Of course, he probably was advised by Bill Clinton that by lying he can get away with it!