The President cannot run from the economy.

[kentuck]

Nor should he.

Romney and the Republicans accuse the President and the Democrats of talking about Romney's tax returns because they want to divert people's attention away from the bad economy.

In my opinion, the President should say, "Let's talk about the economy." Do the Rove tactic in reverse. Take your perceived weakest issue and turn it into your strongest.

The President can be honest about where the economy is today. Unemployment is higher than we need it to be. The deficits are higher than we had hoped. However, the Republicans should stop demagoguing and help us get out of the hole that they helped to put us in.

When we walked into the White House on January 20th, 2009, we were losing 750,000 jobs per month. It wasn't your average Republican recession. At that rate, we would have lost 9 million jobs in a 12-month period. We were in a crisis. The stock market was dropping like a rock, from 14,000 down to 6500. People were losing their 401K's and their life savings. The banking system was near collapse.

It is easy for Mr Romney and the Republican to now say that we "should be doing better". We are doing better - much better than we would be doing if they were still in charge with the same policies. It doesn't help that Republicans at the state level have cut over 650,000 teachers, policemen, and firemen from their jobs. Since Bush left this Administration with a starting deficit of $1.2 trillion dollars, government spending is actually at the lowest level of increase, percentage-wise. in almost 60 years. The deficits we have accrued are primarily because of the bad economy, unemployment insurance payments, the Bush taxcuts, and the wars that we have been trying to end as quickly and responsibly as we can.

Mr Romney can continue to demagogue the issue on the economy or he could begin to offer some real solutions, rather than offering trillions and trillions more in taxcuts for people in his tax bracket. As we have seen, most of those taxcuts do not end up in our economy, in fact, they don't even end up in our country.

[No Elephants]

1. I do not think it is fair or realistic, but I do think voters figure Obama owns the economy at this

point.

Publicly, we can blame Republicans and/or Dummya for the economy all we want, but it took since Reagan to get us where we were in 2008--and Republicans were not the only ones who got us there.

Indeed, with repeal of Glass-Steagall, which both Clinton and Greenspan urged on Congress, the 2008 collapse simply could not have occurred.

DUers have tried to get Clinton off the hook on that by saying repeal had a veto proof majority, so it really did not matter that Cinton signed it. However, Clinton was the reason that it had a veto proof majority to begin with. He lobbied Democrats to pass it. Senator Harkin, one of the rare Democratic holdouts on repeal of GS, has been very candid about that.

And, then there is NAFTA and his administration bragging about ending "welfare as we know it."

Reagan and Poppy were not able to do any of those things, but Clinton was able to get Democrats to vote for Republicran wet dreams.

Stop and think about that for a bit: A Republican President could not have gotten a majority of the House and sixty Senators to enact several Republican wet dreams. Only a Democratic President could.

I would also like to know exactly who voted to give companies tax breaks for taking jobs offshore

And New Democrat Obama started talking about "entitlements" (first Democratic President to use that Republican characterization) in January of 2009, before he took office. And it was the budget that he proposed that cut fuel subsidies for the poor. And don't get me started on killing the public option and reimportation of medicine from Canada. (RIP, Dave--a dear man who died because of inability to afford meds.)

I can discuss things on the basis of "Both major Parties suck at representing the 99%, but let's vote for Democrats anyway because Democrats suck at representing the 99% somewhat less."

However, I just cannot keep up the blue team red team facade any longer. I can do better at it when discussing things with Republicans. (Then again, I rarely talk with Republicans.)

But, when Democrats are talking to each other, I just cannot pretend any longer that all our modern problems have come from Republicans.

[kentuck]

3. I can't argue with you.

You are right about Glass Steagal, Clinton, NAFTA, tax breaks for taking jobs overseas, etc.

And to be honest, I do not trust Obama to protect Social Security or the safety net for the elderly and needy. He has shown himself easy to roll by the Repubs on several occasions.

However, taking all of that into account, we are much better off with Obama and the Democrats, rather than Romney and the Republicans. Many folks would face untold hardships if the Repubs win the next election.

The point of my post was to offer a defense when the Republicans accuse the Democrats of diversions by talking about Mitt's tax returns. Democrats need to respond before the Republican repetition takes hold in the voters minds.

[No Elephants]

4. I said that I would be willing to discuss matters from that position.

However, in reality, while I am indeed willing to use what you said as a starting point for discussion, DU rules do not allow me to discuss things from that position, especially during election season.

[kentuck]

6. I think many voters, perhaps the majority, still blame Bush...?

for the bad economy.

You make valid points but they would not be accepted at DU3 during this election season...and probably not after the election either?

I think we play the hand that is dealt us in the best way we can. As Romney stated last week, when you are not on the offensive, you are on the defensive. I don't think their argument about the economy is as strong as they might think it is? Obama would benefit, in my opinion, by going on the offensive.

However, it is probably wise to play the tax returns and the foreign accounts cards as far as they will go. Romney has not resolved those issues in the public's mind, in my opinion.

[No Elephants]

5. P.S. My prior post does not mean I will vote for Romney.

I will never vote for any Republican. I want the country to go further left, not further right.

I will never stay home on voting day, eiether.

Then again, given that I am not in a swing state, my vote for President is symbolic, anyway. So, I will use it to make a statement about direction.

[No Elephants]

2. P.S. Glass Steagall is still repealed, and Wall Street and the Banks are still doing the same

things that brought us 2008.