Obama's NY Times Op-Ed.

[Fool Count]

I am completely dumbfounded. The country is going to hell in a hand basket, and this is what he writes in the New York Times?

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/06/opinion/06obama.html?_r=1&ref=global

Seriously? There is nothing more important he wants to discuss with his fellow citizens? And what is with the condescending tone?
Is US populated by fifth-graders? I am starting to think he is simply and totally out of it.

[stray cat]

1. And you wanted and demand ,........

[HughMoran]

2. Jobs

[FrenchieCat]

3. What's the matter?

can't read? :shrug:

[EmilyKent]

4. Raising exports to create jobs is bad?

I thought jobs were what you wanted??

[Posteritatis]

17. The isolationists dislike that kind of nuance; it tires the hamsters. (nt)

[Tatiana]

5. I think he gets the point that it's all about the J-O-B-S. He's trying to get some via exporting.

I guess we don't have many options, so this seems like a potential avenue to generate American jobs.

[WilliamPitt]

6. (facepalm)

[treestar]

13. ...

[elleng]

7. Can't stand being informed, I guess.

'It is hard to overstate the importance of Asia to our economic future. Asia is home to three of the world’s five largest economies, as well as a rapidly expanding middle class with rising incomes. My trip will therefore take me to four Asian democracies — India, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan — each of which is an important partner for the United States. I will also participate in two summit meetings — the Group of 20 industrialized nations and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation — that will focus on economic growth.'

[eleny]

8. If he doesn't talk about what he's doing, the press will only highlight that he and his wife danced

So he's writing about his efforts to achieve balance of trade and expanded markets for American products manufactured by Americans.

[applegrove]

22. Yup. Smart of Obama to use all media. Because he can't count on the MSM to get

the important facts out.

[pnwmom]

9. More pretended outrage from yet another DUer.

He's written the OP simply to explain why he's making the foreign trip that he is, since so many Rethugs are complaining -- and lying about -- the costs involved.

What is so hard to understand about that?

[MindandSoul]

10. I would have said "more outrage from a pretend DUer!"

[Beartracks]

11. "Is US populated by fifth-graders?"

Well... when I checked the poll results last week, it appears a lot of fifth graders were actually voting!

LOL - My point being that when writing to the masses, one must unfortunately write for the lowest common denominator among the crowd -- it's why state questions on ballots are written soooo simply. So what might have seemed condescending to someone such as yourself, could have seemed patient and instructive to another.

-------------------------------------

[Posteritatis]

15. I seem to recall that most newspapers write for about a fourth grade reading level. (nt)

[nadinbrzezinski]

26. You recall correctly

Editorials range from 5th to 6th level. Long gone are the days of HS level.

[HipChick]

18. I didn't get the memo..

It must be another Bash Obama week..

[treestar]

12. WTF is wrong with it?

I'm starting to think this board has been kidnapped by Rimjob and I'm on Free Republic.

[Swamp Rat]

14. Maybe Obama wrote in a way so that dumb Americans like Dubya could understand?

Seriously, if you have not yet realized that America is significantly populated by dumb fuckers, like those millions with 5th grade reading skills who voted for that wooden-headed idiot GW Bush, then you must be totally out of it.

[walldude]

16. Wow if we actually had stuff to export this might work

Although I guess everyone needs cars and weapons.

[Beartracks]

20. LOL - So true, but so sad.

We've pretty well dismantled our manufacturing base. It's why countries like Germany can jump-start their way out of a recession once the economy starts to turn around, but we can't.

-----------------------------------

[treestar]

24. look it up - we export a lot more than that

We are still the largest manufacturer in the world.

[nadinbrzezinski]

27. Riddle me this then

why are all the stuff I find at the store, except food of course, made in china? Or printed in Korea, or India?

I am like very serious here.

[treestar]

30. There are a lot more products than what we buy in stores

We don't buy planes. We make them in this country, though.

We still make the big stuff. And we are the biggest manufacturer.

We also still design what is made in China, etc. There are jobs in that. It is possible some people can market their creations, who could not have, otherwise.

Tags should not just say made in China, they should include Designed in the USA.

[nadinbrzezinski]

31. Ah you mean instead of making

my widget in oh Cupterino or Dallas, let's produce it in China.

By he way CHINA ran that campaign... for like two weeks.

And yes we make planes and ships, but quite frankly I don't think that is what the POTUS was talking about

If I am parsing words right, he is FINALLY thinking of something we have not had for oh since Reagan... an INDUSTRIAL POLICY.

[spanone]

19. he can actually multi-task

[Arkana]

21. Um, there's nothing condescending about it.

And considering the people they just put into Congress, I'd say that a lot of the US IS populated by hyperactive fifth graders.

[petronius]

23. I was underwhelmed by it too, but not because of the content (which I agree with)

What annoyed me about it is personal - when I request funding to travel to conferences I have write these lame boilerplate explanations about how the travel will benefit the university and so on - good questions, but the exercise is a bit insulting. This op-ed sounded exactly like one of those travel justifications, which I don't think the president needs to do so explicitly. A bit silly, I know.

That said, I'm quite pleased by President Obama's travel; these are nations and economies that we very much need to be connected to...

[nadinbrzezinski]

25. Can you say the barebones of industrial policy?

And that is needed. We haven't had one for two generations.

As to fifth graders... sadly when you write in the media you NEED to write at that level. That is the average reading level of the population.

Not defending him just parsing words. I think we may actually see an ACTUAL industrial policy... and I hope I am parsing this correctly.

[BurtWorm]

28. Where did you go, Fool

Count? What did you want him to address?

[Bucky]

29. For the record, the country isn't going to hell in a hand basket.

Things are bad, but not irreparable.