GOP Primary Megathread!

[Neil]

But he authorized air war, founded the EPA, and opened China (it's not his fault that worked out so poorly).  It's a backhanded compliment, but Nixon may be the best/only good Republican president since Lincoln.  I guess Eisenhower was OK.

On the other hand, he was also better president than any Democrat except for maybe Truman.

[mongers]

But he authorized air war, founded the EPA, and opened China (it's not his fault that worked out so poorly).  It's a backhanded compliment, but Nixon may be the best/only good Republican president since Lincoln.  I guess Eisenhower was OK.

On the other hand, he was also better president than any Democrat except for maybe Truman.

Let me guess, your sole criteria is dropping A-bombs on Asians ?   

[Ideologue]

FDR, Truman, and LBJ (Vietnam minus ten, Great Society plus ten billion) were better, he's about equal with Clinton, better than Carter (see below), and significantly better than Wilson, who iirc was obscenely bad.  I don't know about Obama yet--his first term's not quite through, and he's had some brutal enemies.  Even so--granted I had no experience of Carter--but Obama strikes me as kind of like a new Carter, that is, weak in spirit.  On the other hand, at least Obama's helicopters work.

[alfred russel]

FDR, Truman, and LBJ (Vietnam minus ten, Great Society plus ten billion) were better, he's about equal with Clinton, better than Carter (see below), and significantly better than Wilson, who iirc was obscenely bad.  I don't know about Obama yet--his first term's not quite through, and he's had some brutal enemies.  Even so--granted I had no experience of Carter--but Obama strikes me as kind of like a new Carter, that is, weak in spirit.  On the other hand, at least Obama's helicopters work.

Obama got through ObamaCare, plus a major stimulus bill. History will judge how effective those were, but barring the courts throwing out obamacare, he has gotten things done.

[garbon]

Obama got through ObamaCare, plus a major stimulus bill. History will judge how effective those were, but barring the courts throwing out obamacare, he has gotten things done.

I'm not sure history will discriminate much between Bush's TARP and Obama's ARRA.  Didn't congress (especially the Reid-Pelosi Connection) play bigger roles in those than the lame duck president and junior senator one month in?

[Neil]

FDR, Truman, and LBJ (Vietnam minus ten, Great Society plus ten billion) were better, he's about equal with Clinton, better than Carter (see below), and significantly better than Wilson, who iirc was obscenely bad.  I don't know about Obama yet--his first term's not quite through, and he's had some brutal enemies.  Even so--granted I had no experience of Carter--but Obama strikes me as kind of like a new Carter, that is, weak in spirit.  On the other hand, at least Obama's helicopters work.

It's funny, because the Great Society was the beginning of the Republican economic policy of tax cuts to boost demand.

[Ideologue]

FDR, Truman, and LBJ (Vietnam minus ten, Great Society plus ten billion) were better, he's about equal with Clinton, better than Carter (see below), and significantly better than Wilson, who iirc was obscenely bad.  I don't know about Obama yet--his first term's not quite through, and he's had some brutal enemies.  Even so--granted I had no experience of Carter--but Obama strikes me as kind of like a new Carter, that is, weak in spirit.  On the other hand, at least Obama's helicopters work.

Obama got through ObamaCare, plus a major stimulus bill. History will judge how effective those were, but barring the courts throwing out obamacare, he has gotten things done.

I'd have preferred single-payer and a stimulus about three times bigger, that also involved a lot of direct hiring by the government for infrastructure repair and such.  But I guess he did okay.

[Ideologue]

FDR, Truman, and LBJ (Vietnam minus ten, Great Society plus ten billion) were better, he's about equal with Clinton, better than Carter (see below), and significantly better than Wilson, who iirc was obscenely bad.  I don't know about Obama yet--his first term's not quite through, and he's had some brutal enemies.  Even so--granted I had no experience of Carter--but Obama strikes me as kind of like a new Carter, that is, weak in spirit.  On the other hand, at least Obama's helicopters work.

It's funny, because the Great Society was the beginning of the Republican economic policy of tax cuts to boost demand.

How so?

[alfred russel]

Obama got through ObamaCare, plus a major stimulus bill. History will judge how effective those were, but barring the courts throwing out obamacare, he has gotten things done.

I'm not sure history will discriminate much between Bush's TARP and Obama's ARRA.  Didn't congress (especially the Reid-Pelosi Connection) play bigger roles in those than the lame duck president and junior senator one month in?

ARRA and TARP will be a significant part of the economic history of the country. Neither TARP nor ARRA goes through without Obama. Obviously others played a role in those (especially Bush/Paulson for TARP), but I'm not sure where you are coming from.

[garbon]

ARRA and TARP will be a significant part of the economic history of the country. Neither TARP nor ARRA goes through without Obama. Obviously others played a role in those (especially Bush/Paulson for TARP), but I'm not sure where you are coming from.

Where am I coming from?  Obama had just barely come onto the scene when both started up.  Not sure why they couldn't have happened without Obama - unless that's one of he allowed them to continue.

[alfred russel]

ARRA and TARP will be a significant part of the economic history of the country. Neither TARP nor ARRA goes through without Obama. Obviously others played a role in those (especially Bush/Paulson for TARP), but I'm not sure where you are coming from.

Where am I coming from?  Obama had just barely come onto the scene when both started up.  Not sure why they couldn't have happened without Obama - unless that's one of he allowed them to continue.

They wouldn't have happened because TARP was a struggle to get passed to begin with, and passed on the basis of democratic support. I find it hard to believe that had Obama fought TARP one month before a presidential election that enough democrats wouldn't have stood with him to keep it from happening. Ie, a substantial majority of congressional democrats were not going to stand with Bush and against Obama to send money to banks.

ARRA simply wasn't going to happen without presidential support, and his administration pushed hard for it.

[Neil]

I'd have preferred single-payer and a stimulus about three times bigger, that also involved a lot of direct hiring by the government for infrastructure repair and such.  But I guess he did okay.

I get the socialized medicine, but the Japanese model of stimulus seems to have been an abject failure.

[Neil]

FDR, Truman, and LBJ (Vietnam minus ten, Great Society plus ten billion) were better, he's about equal with Clinton, better than Carter (see below), and significantly better than Wilson, who iirc was obscenely bad.  I don't know about Obama yet--his first term's not quite through, and he's had some brutal enemies.  Even so--granted I had no experience of Carter--but Obama strikes me as kind of like a new Carter, that is, weak in spirit.  On the other hand, at least Obama's helicopters work.

It's funny, because the Great Society was the beginning of the Republican economic policy of tax cuts to boost demand.

How so?

Kennedy's tax cuts, which spun the country's economy back up again.  They were part of the program and the good times were important in creating a fruitful environment for civil rights.

[DGuller]

FDR, Truman, and LBJ (Vietnam minus ten, Great Society plus ten billion) were better, he's about equal with Clinton, better than Carter (see below), and significantly better than Wilson, who iirc was obscenely bad.  I don't know about Obama yet--his first term's not quite through, and he's had some brutal enemies.  Even so--granted I had no experience of Carter--but Obama strikes me as kind of like a new Carter, that is, weak in spirit.  On the other hand, at least Obama's helicopters work.

It's funny, because the Great Society was the beginning of the Republican economic policy of tax cuts to boost demand.

I disagree.  Lowering the tax rates from 90%+ was just a common sense thing to do, even lowering them from 70% like Reagan has done.  Lowering them to 28% top rate was moving into the idiotic category, though, and carried interest nonsense continued the idiocy.

[Admiral Yi]

I disagree.  Lowering the tax rates from 90%+ was just a common sense thing to do, even lowering them from 70% like Reagan has done.  Lowering them to 28% top rate was moving into the idiotic category, though, and carried interest nonsense continued the idiocy.

I'm curious where you think the range of reasonable is.