Ed Shultz: Obama sets the table for the greatest first term president ever.

[babylonsister]

Stimulus, health care reform, yes we can vs. no we can't, WOW!

And that's just for starters.

Immigration, environment, etc.

Frankly, I'm exhausted. ;)

[liberal N proud]

1. Yes he can

[graywarrior]

2. Indeed, he has!

[Jennicut]

3. He finally suceeded on passing HCR. It only took 50 years or so.

:)

[totodeinhere]

14. It is NOT HCR.

The big insurance and drug companies made sure that their clients in Congress that they bought off wrote a bill that is called HCR when in fact it is nothing but a load of crap. We had firm control of Congress and we still couldn't pass single payer? It's a travesty.

[WI_DEM]

16. You can keep whistling that tune if you want, but it is HCR and it is historic.

[goclark]

21. Thank you very much

[totodeinhere]

24. How is requiring people to buy overpriced health insurance that they

can't afford reform? Even with the subsidies written into the bill many people won't be able to afford it. Plus the subsides will be complicated to apply for and require a mountain of paperwork so many people when they see that will throw their hands up in despair and not even bother.

The Dems just assured that the pukes will take Congress in November.

[Egnever]

36. blah blah blah

[Ikonoklast]

29. Dennis Kucinich thinks you are wrong.

And single payer was DOA.

There never were the votes in this congress to pass it.

Don't you think the membership was polled to see where they stand on a vote on a potential issue?

[totodeinhere]

34. No he agrees with me. They forced him to capitulate. He was one of the last holdouts. n/t

[phleshdef]

33. It reforms the way healthcare works. You don't have to like it but u also don't get to define reform

[totodeinhere]

35. And I suppose you do? lol. n/t

[phleshdef]

43. No definition needs to be made by me. I know how to use a fucking dictionary.

[CBR]

4. Didn't the Prez say Immigration reform next? If so, the tea baggers

world will officially implode. That will be a nasty fight.

[Bryn]

11. Good! I love to see more of their misspelled signs

for a laugh or two

[treestar]

46. No amnety!

:rofl:

[Peacetrain]

5. It is amazing all that has been accomplished and with all the problems that were

dealt the administration from day one.. It had been a phenom. first year

[Parker CA]

8. Ain't that the truth. They've been through the gauntlet, and they came out with a huge win!

[Clio the Leo]

6. And you better REMEMBER that five days from now ED!!!

And quit your moaning and whining!!!!

[Egnever]

37. +1

[angee_is_mad]

7. Bullshit

He has set the table for the greatest president ever!!!! He is now in the class of Lincoln,FDR, and LBJ!

[vaberella]

9. Ditto...it's like I was in Dr. Duran's Excessive Machine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye5Jo1I4XXc

[tishaLA]

10. I'm exhausted too. Imagine how the President feels...

to say nothing of his poor staff. They all deserve a Bush like vacation...a month to do NOTHING

[tallahasseedem]

12. Yeah he has!

I have gotten so frustrated with him at times, but all is well with us now. ;)

[lovekendyl]

49. Eds good

He is one of us

[Scurrilous]

13. K & R

:thumbsup:

[WI_DEM]

15. I recommended, but would still probably have to give edge to FDR.

[NoPasaran]

32. That Abraham Lincoln guy did pretty well too

Preserved the Union
Freed the slaves
Homestead Act
Pacific Railroad Act

[Zomby Woof]

40. Lincoln never freed a single slave

That was Amendment XIII.

Please don't tell me your history is so bad that you think the Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves?

Don't forget his suspension of habeas corpus, jailing newspaper editors who didn't share his zeal for the war, 3AM visits to take political prisoners, executions without trial, and other unconsitutional measures with "destroy the union in order to save it" rationales. Sounds a lot like Bush II when you think about it. Although Lincoln was smart, and a great writer.

But really, he was a slick corporate lawyer at heart. Best lawyer the railroad industry ever had. I know it's heresy if you were taught Disneyfied history, but in some ways he was a bit overrated.

[NoPasaran]

41. What fucking bullshit

That "Emancipation Proclamation didn't free a single slave" is one of the favorite lies repeated by admirers of the "Lost Cause". As Federal armies moved through Secessia they freed hundreds of thousands of slaves who flocked to their columns, abandoning the plantations. Following the Emancipation Proclamation more than 178,000 African Americans enlisted in the US Army. More than half of that number came from the seceded states. Lincoln's insistence that these men had the same status as soldiers that white soldiers did if taken prisoner (vice the Confederate policy of execution or returning them to slavery) was maintained even at the cost of breaking down the system of exchanging prisoners. At the Hampton Roads Peace Conference in 1865, the abolition of slavery and restoration of the Union were the two conditions for ending the war put forward by Lincoln. And I might add that the Thirteenth Amendment, doing away with the institution of slavery throughout the nation had been passed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification in January, 1865.

Jefferson Davis and Company knew damn well that Lincoln was freeing their slaves. The claim that the Emancipation Proclamation was just a publicity stunt that freed not a single slave belongs to the same school of Gone With The Wind history as the notion that the South rebelled over some abstract theory of States' Rights or disagreement over the tariff.

[Zomby Woof]

44. The EP had no legal standing

It was Lincoln making a political move to demoralize the Confederacy and shore up his standing as the C-i-C. But it legally had no authority in the Confederacy. And you damn well know it left the border states alone because he didn't want to alienate them in the 1864 election (yep - Lincoln was a master politician, I will give him that). Most of those slaves escaped because there was no one left behind to keep them there, and some Union soldiers allowed them to come with them, often reluctantly though. That is, when the Union soldiers weren't burning people's homes, looting, raping, and otherwise cementing their legacy as lawless invaders. But the humane ones among them didn't want to outright leave them behind either. Again, I am talking about the LEGAL status of the EP, not whether it had any concrete effect.

I am not repeating any "lie" nor am I a supporter of the mythical "Lost Cause" (Secessia? Are you serious? :crazy: LOL). I just don't subscribe to marble monument versions of history as spoon-fed like pablum to the likes of you. Your warping of northern history is just as bad as the warping of southern history by those 'Lost Causers' you mentioned.

By the way, Sherman opposed the enlistment of both freed slaves and free northern blacks into the army. Most union officers and soldiers did. There would have been mass desertions if he had pressed for their enlistment any sooner than he did. The EP gave him 'cover' as C-i-C to do so. But again, it did not legally free a single slave.

I am well aware of the XIII Amendment timeline, but again, that was the only LEGALLY binding document to free the slaves. Now, if I wanted to make a 'Lost Cause' argument, I could say that the XIII Amendment had no legal standing, because it was only ratified by the states in the Union, whereas the Confederate states, yet to be readmitted formally for several more years, had no say. So when the country was re-unified, more than half the states could be said not to have voted on the XIII Amendment. Plus, at that time, only a small number of the southern states with Union-backed occupying legislatures (like Tennessee) could even vote, and again, only a 'Lost Causer' would deny the validity of XIII. That would be as dishonest as your version of history to argue such.

Good for the Union though. Onward with manifest destiny, the wholesale slaughter of indigenous tribes (as heartily endorsed by the man in your avatar), and the rampant corruption and greed of the oncoming Gilded Age. Huzzah!

In a way, you're the just the flip-side of the 'Lost Cause' folks who have their own form of national self-delusion.

[catgirl]

17. You can see it in Biden's eyes

As he looks at, and embraces, Obama in the photos from last night. It's truly an emotional historic moment.

[opihimoimoi]

18. Just the Beginning...The GOP Fear the WOODEN STAKE Most of all

Obama can kill the Party in 6 years...

Already in dire straits, the GOP continue resorting to basic Tribal attempts at restoring their creds and respect.

Since 2005...Bush had done so much damage...the GOP saw nits Brand name dissolve into Pig Shit....to return to normal....the Pubs must convince us of their creds...now MIA

Obama will continue to be a good leader...Pubs in disarray

[Number23]

19. Happy to kick, thrilled to rec

[branders seine]

20. talk about a flip flop.

big eddie cracks me up

[nutsnberries]

31. eh, i've listed to ed long enough to know

that he doesn't care about flip-flopping because he knows he has the ear of the WH so he's going to try to send them what he knows they need to hear.

[stevenleser]

22. I love the President. But he has to do 2 more things before he gets this as far as I am concerned

1. He MUST move the bar in terms of rights for the GLBT community in some significant way before the end of his first term.

2. He also has to do two of the following three:
a. Close gitmo
b. End Iraq war
c. End Afghan war

That done, he would not only be the best first term President ever, he would be the best darn President ever period!!!!!!

[BlueIdaho]

23. I agree but...

If we want seven more years of Democratic Presidential leadership he needs to work on one thing more than anything else...

Jobs, Jobs, Jobs.

[stevenleser]

25. You're right. That was a glaring omission on my part...

particularly since I have otherwise been saying that like a broken record.

Thanks for the important add!!!!

[BlueIdaho]

27. Oops! My bad!

[stevenleser]

45. No, you misunderstand my reply. You were right. I should not have forgotten that!

:-)

:hug:

[BlueIdaho]

51. Thanks!

Thank God we have a President able to handle more than one tough issue - now, lets all work to keep the ball rolling and make America a better place for all of us!

[phleshdef]

30. A and B are in the works as much as one should expect, considering circumstances.

[Omar4Dems]

26. Everyone forgot to mention....Nobel Peace Prize

Even those who thought it premature have to admit: he did receive the honor.

:toast:

[avaistheone1]

38. Just a bit

considering Obama is still waging Bush's wars and starting new ones.

[Cha]

28. And the reason he has to be doing

all of these reforms is the last 8 years of Orwellian death march.

We are so fortunate that someone came in with the energy to get started!

[Forkboy]

39. It's no wonder I'm suicidal.

I love ya, BS, really I do, but fuck, if this is our best......

[saltpoint]

42. He's a busy lad.

Ed's called this one right. Why, this Obama guy must be one of those Activist Presidents.

[BlooInBloo]

47. I heard he's making a treaty with the ebil empire, to unilaterally disarm us completely...

so that they can destroy us all.

Or something like that.

[saltpoint]

50. If people would just listen to FOX News, why, they'd be totally

like, informed and stuff.

[lovekendyl]

48. yep nt