November 6, 2008 1:54 pm

Guest View: What a landslide!

What a landslide!

By Michael Mezquida

A debt of gratitude is owed to President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, former White House adviser Karl Rove and, of course, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. The trillion-dollar debt that Bush created turned the world economy upside down. When Bill Clinton balanced the budget, the economy surged. Even conservative columnist George Will said Clinton’s economic policies were those that any Republican would be proud of. Unlike Bush, who took over a well-oiled machine from the Clinton administration, Barack Obama has been dealt the worst hand in American history. It’s going to be difficult for him to reverse eight years of across-the-board mismanagement. Good luck.

Michael Mezquida, Darien

anonymous

Wow. Sounds like you are already posturing and making excuses for Obama’s failures before he even takes office.
Anonymous

Did you take on debt to pay for college or did you get a free ride?
Anonymous

I saw this letter in this morning’s Advocate. #1′s response is proof of my theory that conservatives are completely incapable of understanding ironic humor.

I remember when there was a budget surplus for the first time in my life, when Clinton was president. Now, after eight years of colossal mismanagement, incompetence, and corruption by the current administration, we are faced with the greatest financial crisis since the Depression.

Not only that, we are engaged in a foreign conflict that is draining the country’s financial resources to the tune of $12 billion a month.

Barack Obama is a better choice to manage this crisis than the alternative and will do so despite the attempts by the right to eventually portray him as its cause via Rovian/Atwater-like smear campaigns.
Kurm Udgeon

#’s 1&2 you are despicable, narrow minded, racists with no ability to think or do more then utter rhetoric which was spoon fed to you by your political masters. Why don’t you find fault with what f-cked this country up for the last eight years, not what the PEOPLE chose to fix this colossal mess.
anonymous

Number 1 here…all I am commenting on is that the author is already giving excuses as to why Obama might fail. If he doesn’t, God bless him, but he has 4 years to prove himself and a Democratic Congress to support him. He rises or falls on his own merit.
Anonymous

#5: It should be that simple. If he were not saddled with enormous problems that will be left by the current president, Mr. Obama could reasonably be held accountable for whatever he fails to accomplish. He’s not starting at ground level; he’s starting very far below that.

It matters not to me if you think that’s an excuse. These are the facts.
Unaffiliated Voter

Jeely Cripes, you morons got what you wanted on Tuesday, and yet here we are on Thursday and you’re STILL crying! Waaaah Waaaaah Waaaaaaaah!!

The Democrats – Party of Whiners.
anonymous

Reagan repaired the Carter debaucle in 4 years.
Unaffiliated Voter

#8, yes he certainly did. And he got the hostages back with next to no trouble either, didn’t he?? That’s because Carter was absolutely ineffective as a president. He’s been even more ineffective as a “statesman”. But he’s REAL good at being a PITA, butting in where he doesn’t belong.
Barnstorm

What’s the matter with you guys? Get tired of blaming everything on Bill Clinton so now you have to go back and start whipping Mr Peanut all over again?

And if memory serves me, Reagan fixed a lot of Carter’s mess, but also ran up huge deficits and left an economy in ruins (not as bad as Bush but still…)

I won’t blame Reagan for a lot though. It was his staff who did all the dirty work while Ronnie was upstairs taking a nap.
Unaffiliated Voter

Well, this past election was hardly the landslide some people are crowing about.

And calling it a “mandate” is a delusion of grandeur par excellence.
Old Timer

Reagan campaigned as a true conservative, very upset that the debt was fast approaching a trillion dollars and vowed, if he was elected to get that debt wiped out. He was elected, he left office with the debt tripled, hovering around three trillion. I am not saying he was not sincere, but, after he was in office his priorities changed and he spent a lot of borrowed money. Clinton left office with the economy in good shape, even a surplus in the budget. He paid down some of the debt, but far from all of it.
This president Bush has a degree in economics and the economy is in terrible shape. Let’s hope Obama does better.
Old Timer

Reagan campaigned as a true conservative, very upset that the debt was fast approaching a trillion dollars and vowed, if he was elected to get that debt wiped out. He was elected, he left office with the debt tripled, hovering around three trillion. I am not saying he was not sincere, but, after he was in office his priorities changed and he spent a lot of borrowed money. Clinton left office with the economy in good shape, even a surplus in the budget. He paid down some of the debt, but far from all of it.
This president Bush has a degree in economics and the economy is in terrible shape. Let’s hope Obama does better.
anonymous

Let’s not forget, Reagan got the hostages back, neutralized communist Russia, swiftly dealt with Granada, and made the United States the most dominant country in the world and kept America free from terrorism.
Anonymous

The myth of Reagan that conservatives have created is just that, a myth, to sell to the ignorant and uneducated fearmongering population in order to get elected.
Goofy

# 8 – Reagan “repaired” the Carter debacle with the budget advisor Carter appointed – Paul Volker.
Goofy

# 9 – sorry, should have kept reading – Reagan got the hostages back (AFTER the October surprise which the GOP was in up to their necks) the very day he was inaugurated. It was all set up and ready to go but held up so it would look like he pulled it off – nobody’s that much of a miracle worker!
Anonymous

REAGAN LIE DETECTOR

Reagan conducted one of the most absurd invasions of American history, targetting the tiny island of Grenada.

As president of the Screen Actors Guild, Ronald Reagan informed on fellow actors to the FBI.

The Reagan admininstration was one of the most corrupt in American history, including by one estimate 31 Reagan era convictions, including 14 because of Iran-Contra and 16 in the Department of Housing & Urban Development scandal. By comparison 40 government officials were indicted or convicted in the wake of Watergate. 47 individuals and businesses associated with the Clinton machine were convicted of or pleaded guilty to crimes with 33 of these occurring during the Clinton administration itself. There were in addition 61 indictments or misdemeanor charges. 14 persons were imprisoned.

Using a looser standard that included resignations, David R. Simon and D. Stanley Eitzen in Elite Deviance, say that 138 appointees of the Reagan administration either resigned under an ethical cloud or were criminally indicted. Curiously Haynes Johnson uses the same figure but with a different standard in “Sleep-Walking Through History: America in the Reagan Years: “By the end of his term, 138 administration officials had been convicted, had been indicted, or had been the subject of official investigations for official misconduct and/or criminal violations.”

Four members of the Reagan cabinet came under criminal investiation, as compared with five in the Clinton cabinet. Three top officials of the Harding administration were in indicted in the Teapot Dome scandal.

The Reagan administration had secret plans for an unconstitutional takeover of the federal government under an ill-defined national emergency. Members of the government created by the coup had been selected and included Richard Cheney.

Reagan’s decision to send troops to Lebanon cost 241 lives. As the NY Times noted recently, “Mr. Reagan’s decision to send marines to Lebanon was disastrous and his invasion of Grenada pure melodrama.”

During the Reagan administration the number of families living below the poverty line increased by one-third.

Reagan’s policies led to the greatest financial scandal in American history: the Savings & Loan debacle which cost taxpayers billions of dollars.

Julian Bond, president of the NAACP: “He was a polarizing figure in black America. He was hostile to the generally accepted remedies for discrimination. His appointments were of people as equally hostile. I can’t think of any Reagan policy that African Americans would embrace.”

Reagan made major cuts in Medicaid, food stamps, aid to families with dependent children, and school lunch programs.

Reagan fired 13,000 air traffic controllers in a devasting blow to government union members from which the labor movement never recovered.

Washington Post: “Reagan, during his 1980 campaign, blamed trees for emitting 93 percent of the nation’s nitrogen oxide pollution — giving rise to jokes about ‘killer trees.’”

The national debt tripled under Reagan

The AIDS crisis exploded (with 20,000 deaths) before Reagan could even bring himself to address the issue six years later. In his authorized biography he is quoted as saying that “maybe the Lord brought down this plague,” because “illicit sex is against the Ten Commandments.”

Washington Post: “The administration in 1984 secretly sold arms to Iran — which the United States considered a supporter of terrorism — to raise cash for Nicaraguan contra rebels, despite a congressional ban on support for the Latin American insurgency. An independent investigation concluded that the arms sales to Iran operations “were carried out with the knowledge of, among others, President Ronald Reagan [and] Vice President George Bush,” and that “large volumes of highly relevant, contemporaneously created documents were systematically and willfully withheld from investigators by several Reagan Administration officials.” . . . Lawrence E. Walsh, the independent counsel who ran the inquiry, said there was “no credible evidence” that Reagan broke the law, but he set the stage for the illegal activities of others. Impeachment, Walsh said, “certainly should have been considered.”

His administration was responsible for numerous brutal actions in Latin America, including massacres in El Salvador and the war against Nicaragua.

The claim that Reagan won the Cold War is pure rightwing propaganda. The Soviet Union had long been far weaker than many American leaders knew, or wished to acknowledge, thanks to CIA gross overestimates of its economy. The Soviet Union was brought down by a number of factors including the inherent weaknesses of dictatorship and ethnic divides that eventually forced its breakup.

William Blum: “[George Kennan], the former US ambassador to the Soviet Union, and father of the theory of ‘containment’ of the same country, asserts that ‘the suggestion that any United States administration had the power to influence decisively the course of a tremendous domestic political upheaval in another great country on another side of the globe is simply childish.’ He contends that the extreme militarization of American policy strengthened hard-liners in the Soviet Union. ‘Thus the general effect of Cold War extremism was to delay rather than hasten the great change that overtook the Soviet Union.’”

After a major tax cut, there was a long recession and unemployment that hit ten percent.

Bill Press – “It was Reagan who first proposed a missile defense system — immediately dubbed “Star Wars” by skeptical reporters — in a March 23, 1983 speech from the Oval Office. However, as Frances Fitzgerald reveals in her brilliant history “Way Out There in the Blue,” Reagan didn’t get his plan from the scientists or the generals. The Pentagon wasn’t even notified of his speech ahead of time. Reagan stole Star Wars directly from — the movies.

In 1940, appearing in the Warner Brothers thriller “Murder in the Air,” Reagan played an American secret agent charged with protecting a super weapon that could strike all enemy planes from the air. Seed planted in Reagan’s brain. Then in 1966, Alfred Hitchcock released a Reagan favorite, “Torn Curtain,” in which American agent Paul Newman works on developing an anti-missile missile. In words that must have made Ronnie tingle, Newman’s character asserts: “We will produce a defensive weapon that will make all nuclear weapons obsolete, and thereby abolish the terror of nuclear warfare.” Sound familiar? Reagan used almost the exact words in selling missile defense from the office, 17 years later.
anonymous

Romald Reagan was the greatest President in the 20th century. His star wars program caused the Soviet Union to spend way more on their military than their economy could handle, and caused their economic collapse. His cuts to medicaid, food stamps, and other social welfare programs caused people to be responsible for their own well being. No reason kids can’t eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in school. Grenada, while not a major military accomplishment, restored pride in our military might. Did he and his staff make some mistakes? Sure. But I cannot recall a time where Americans could stand taller and prouder, knowing we were the greatest, most powerful nation in the world. I can’t help but feel that if he was still president, Osama bin-laden would have long ago been in the crosshairs of a black ops sniper and we would have bombed Iraq into submission. Is there room for him on Mt. Rushmore? I hope so.
anon

Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that when our enemies in Iraq, Iran, and France are dancing in the streets over our election results, we are in trouble.
Anonymous

Al Qaeda endorsed John McCain. Guess they’re not dancing in the streets.
anon

Somehow I find that hard to believe unless it was a ploy to get people to vote for Obama bin-laden
Anonymous

#22 is a racist assh*le.

On Al-Qaeda Web Sites, Joy Over U.S. Crisis, Support for McCain

By Joby Warrick and Karen DeYoung
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, October 22, 2008; A13

Al-Qaeda is watching the U.S. stock market’s downward slide with something akin to jubilation, with its leaders hailing the financial crisis as a vindication of its strategy of crippling America’s economy through endless, costly foreign wars against Islamist insurgents.

And at least some of its supporters think Sen. John McCain is the presidential candidate best suited to continue that trend.

“Al-Qaeda will have to support McCain in the coming election,” said a commentary posted Monday on the extremist Web site al-Hesbah, which is closely linked to the terrorist group. It said the Arizona Republican would continue the “failing march of his predecessor,” President Bush.

The Web commentary was one of several posted by Taliban or al-Qaeda-allied groups in recent days that trumpeted the global financial crisis and predicted further decline for the United States and other Western powers. In language that was by turns mocking and ominous, the newest posting credited al-Qaeda with having lured Washington into a trap that had “exhausted its resources and bankrupted its economy.” It further suggested that a terrorist strike might swing the election to McCain and guarantee an expansion of U.S. military commitments in the Islamic world.

“It will push the Americans deliberately to vote for McCain so that he takes revenge for them against al-Qaeda,” said the posting, attributed to Muhammad Haafid, a longtime contributor to the password-protected site. “Al-Qaeda then will succeed in exhausting America.”

It was unclear how closely the commentary reflected the views of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who has not issued a public statement since the spring. Some terrorism experts said the support for McCain could be mere bluster by a group that may have more to fear from a McCain presidency. In any event, the comments summarized what has emerged as a consensus view on extremist sites, said Adam Raisman, a senior analyst for the Site Intelligence Group, which monitors Islamist Web pages. Site provided translations of the comments to The Washington Post.

“The idea in the jihadist forums is that McCain would be a faithful ‘son of Bush’ — someone they see as a jingoist and a war hawk,” Raisman said. “They think that, to succeed in a war of attrition, they need a leader in Washington like McCain.”

Islamist militants have generally had less to say about Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois. Leaders of the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah expressed a favorable view of Obama during the primary campaign but later rejected the Democrat after he delivered speeches expressing support for Israel.

In an e-mail response, senior McCain foreign policy adviser Randy Scheunemann noted that al-Qaeda leaders have repeatedly said that America “did not have the stomach to fight them over the long haul,” which the Arizona senator has pledged to do. “Whatever musings and bravado on radical websites the Washington Post chooses to quote, the fact remains that only John McCain has the experience, judgment and fortitude to lead a country at war,” he said. The Obama campaign declined to comment on the Web postings.

Both the Bush administration and the two major presidential campaigns have rejected any suggestion that the economic downturn will undermine the country’s fight against al-Qaeda. Obama and McCain have stepped gingerly around the issue of how they would adjust their priorities in a recession and have spoken of the importance of maintaining a strong defense. Both have advocated expanding the size of the U.S. military overall, but neither has explained in detail how to pay for it.

From shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaeda attacks to last year, U.S. defense spending rose from 3 to 4 percent of gross domestic product, but it remains far below the 45-year average of 5.5 percent. The Pentagon’s budget for fiscal 2009 is $527 billion, a figure that does not include Iraq and Afghanistan war costs, which have totaled more than $800 billion since 2001.

“History shows us that nations that are strong militarily over time have to have a strong economy,” McCain said this month. He has said the United States must send more troops to Afghanistan while avoiding a withdrawal timetable from Iraq.

Obama has tied an Iraq withdrawal to increased forces in Afghanistan and the ability to fund domestic programs. The continued fight in Iraq “means we can’t provide health care to people who need it,” Obama said in his first debate with McCain.

“Nobody is talking about losing this war,” Obama said of Iraq. “What we are talking about is recognizing that the next president has to have broader strategic vision.”

It is not the first time al-Qaeda and its allies have weighed in on a Western election. Bin Laden released a video message Oct. 29, 2004, days before the U.S. presidential election, warning of plans for further attacks on U.S. targets. Some strategists for Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.), the Democratic nominee, have said the timing of the message tipped the balance toward Bush, who defined himself as the anti-terrorism candidate.

The deadly train bombings in Spain that year were seen as an attempt by al-Qaeda to bring down then-Prime Minister Jos� Mar�a Aznar, who had sent troops to Iraq. Aznar lost his reelection bid three days after the bombing.

Recent polls suggest that Iraq and terrorism are less important to most Americans than the economy. Still, terrorism experts have warned that al-Qaeda may indeed launch a major strike before the U.S. election or shortly afterward.

“The idea of testing a new president or hitting us when we’re off-balance is enormously attractive to them,” said Bruce Hoffman, a Georgetown University terrorism expert.

Staff researchers Madonna Lebling and Julie Tate contributed to this report.
Anonymous

What great time to buy Sirrus Radio stock.
It should be going sky high now that the democraps will have thier way and silence conservative talk radio with their so called fairness doctrine. The country is in for the worst decline since the carter years.
Anonymous

no 23 your’e a babling fool who only cuts & pastes ramblings from left wing wackjobs. YOU ARE the definition of an asshole.
Barnstorm

Would all those fear-mongering right-wingers please go hide in a bunker somewhere for the next four years so we don’t have to listen to their incessant prattle about how bad things are going to be?

If you’re so darned certain about what’s going to happen how come you haven’t hit the lottery yet?

Are we going to have to listen to this whining for the next four years?

Admit it. You LOST. Put on your big girl panties and get over it already. You were ready to buy us all a plane ticket out of here back in 2004 when Kerry lost. Should we return the favor?
Gormagon

Barnstorm says, “Would all those fear-mongering right-wingers please go hide in a bunker somewhere for the next four years so we don�t have to listen to their incessant prattle about how bad things are going to be?

Why should we? After all, we’ve had to listen to Democratic liberal pissing and moaning about Bush for the last EIGHT years. “Bush the village idiot”, “Bush the chimpanzee”, “Bush the despicable”, “Bush the war-mongerer”, “Bush the (your adjective here)”.

Gee, when the shoe’s on the other foot it seems that YOU can’t handle it, can you? And this is only the FIRST WEEK!! Wow, already the tears are flowing!!!
Anonymous

How about “Bush the Gormagon”? That fits. Kind of like “Opinions are like Gormagons. Everybody has one.”

We’ll have to get used to whiny Rethuglicans now that they’ve lost their mojo. Turfie, how about a thread just for them so the rest of us don’t have to skip over their ranting.

BTW. Didn’t know the Washington Post was left wing, but then, if all you listen to is Faux News then everything else by definition is.
Anonymous

How To Remove a McCain Bumper Sticker

This instructional video will show you how to remove the bumper sticker of a failed candidate, such as McCain/Palin. Now you can stop broadcasting failure without leaving a sticky residue.

http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to/video/how-to-remove-a-mccain-bumper-sticker-with-wd-40-266653/#videoDescriptionText
anonymous

Look for me around town. I just put an old Reagan-Bush sticker on my bumper, in memory of better times.
Anonymous

Look for me around town. I just put an old “Friends Don’t Let Friends Vote Republican” sticker on my bumper, to celebrate our victory over the now-irrelevant GOP.
Barnstorm

#27, for your information I’m a registered Independent. If you hadn’t had your head up your own butt you might have noticed it wasn’t just the Democrats that were complaining about Bush for the past 4+ years. True conservatives also noticed how far from Republican core values he was and were not shy about saying so.Your Saint Ronnie the Corrupt would have disowned him!
First week? Obama isn’t even in office yet and you’re dissing him. Talk about jumping the gun. Come back on January 21st and you can start your blathering.
Get used to it. The Age of sneering negativism is OVER.
Gormagon

Waaah waaaah waaaaah!!