After S&P downgrade, WH says 'we must do better'

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By MARK S. SMITH

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama sought to distance himself Saturday from the bad news of the nation's first-ever credit-rating downgrade, but lawmakers and presidential candidates showed no such reticence - trading salvos over who's at fault and why.

The president, spending the weekend at Camp David, left it to press secretary Jay Carney to say it's clear Washington "must do better" in tackling soaring deficits and other economic woes.

A statement from Carney said talks that produced Tuesday's $2 trillion compromise on raising the U.S. borrowing limit had been too drawn-out and "divisive."

But the statement didn't directly address Friday's move by Standard & Poor's to drop U.S. government debt from AAA to AA+, the next level down.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20110806/D9OUR5K00.html

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This Monday, Aug. 1, 2011 picture shows the U.S. Capitol just after the House voted to pass debt legislation on Capitol Hill in Washington. Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's says it has downgraded the United States' credit rating for the first time in the history of the ratings. The credit rating agency says that it is cutting the country's top AAA rating by one notch to AA-plus. The credit agency said late Friday, Aug. 5, 2011 that it is making the move because the deficit reduction plan passed by Congress on Tuesday did not go far enough to stabilize the country's debt situation. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

[TheCowsCameHome]

1. Gee, that's a novel idea.

It'll never catch on.

[mdmc]

2. better, you say?

:shrug: makes sense..

[whosinpower]

3. You cannot reason with irrational people

snip from article - In a conference call with reporters on Saturday, S&P officials said the company's carefully reasoned conclusion is that political gridlock in Washington has made the nation increasingly unable to control its debt.

Otherwise - regardless of how you got to the point of cutting spending - because the process itself was ugly, unstable, reckless with hostage takers and negotiators - we have lost confidence in government to do its job.

Obama is mute on the subject and hopes it will go away once he talks of jobs.

What a mess.

[xchrom]

4. 'we'? 'we' have be pedaling as 'we' can.

Let's see what 'you' got.

[No Elephants]

29. +1

[formercia]

5. perhaps we can eliminate Junior's Tax Cuts while we're at it.

...Nothing complicated or ripe for obfuscation. Yes or No. No Bullshit excuses why we can't.

[Beartracks]

14. Agreed. The Bush Tax Cuts obviously aren't creating jobs anyway.

If so-called "job creators" need more tax cuts to create jobs, then let's see some jobs from the last tax cuts before extending any more tax cuts.

What? There aren't any jobs being created? You mean the tax cuts only led to a recession?

Then end them.

==========================

[No Elephants]

28. Junior's tax cuts ended December 31, 2010. Could have ended sooner, if Democrats had repealed them,

but end they did on December 31.

We are now operating under Obama's tax cuts.

[formercia]

33. Do you have to keep pushing those T(errorist) Party talking points.

Why don't you go over to FR? Well, you might get lost in the noise there.

[pam4water]

6. Bawahahahahah like he has a clue how to do better. And notice Obama just capitulated again. n/t

[emilyg]

7. 'ya think?

[Fearless]

8. Maybe he should accept the fact that this is in no small part his fault.

Not totally. But he needs to accept this now. Suck it up and fix it instead of pointing the finger elsewhere.

[davidwparker]

9. So, O. Does this mean you will stop trying to pet the heads

of cobras?

You were elected to reverse the policies of the previous administration. We are not rewarding you for "bi-partisanship" and grand deals. You will be judged by your performance when 2012 arrives.

Hopefully, after this, more will press to see you in a primary.

[McCamy Taylor]

10. They just wont give up on cutting Social Security.

[defendandprotect]

25. Who? Obama -- not the GOP -- put SS and Medicare/Medicaid on the table ....

and it is Obama who has for two years now failed to pay COLA's --

and presumably he will go into a thrid year before the gimmicky of

the reformed CPI -- and or the Super Congress set in?

[blkmusclmachine]

11. Ya think? Any details ya got there Mr Pres? We're all ears.

[Hawaii Hiker]

12. When will the president realize you cannot deal w/the current GOP

Reasonable, sane GOPers are a thing of the past....Gerald Ford, Nelson Rockefeller, Jacob Javits are names that come to mind and all served their respective positions in the 1960's - 70's....Today, the GOP has shit like Mitch McConnell, Jim DeMint, Tom Coburn, and 500 more examples of crazy....

When will Obama quit trying to reason w/these animals, :banghead: :banghead:

[Cool Logic]

27. "500 more examples of crazy...."

That is a scary proposition when one considers that there are 435 Representatives, 100 Senators and 1 President.

[No Elephants]

30. Sorry, they were always chits. Racists, heartless, warmongers, you name it.

[earcandle]

13. I say they did it because they see no one willing to levy taxes to raise revenue. No income... no

borrowing, period.  Nothing new about that.  I think S&P
are doing their job well by making this declaration that the
politics are just to unstable for investments right now.  We
can't even raise income amongst us to pay our bills, let alone
pay our debt with interest too.

[Akoto]

15. S&P is responsible for much of what it chastises. n/t

[PurityOfEssence]

16. "Barack Obama sought to distance himself..." Is this not the norm?

The Republicans ratfucked us and the entire world; at a time when we should have public works to put people to work, our President is cowed into being proud that 90% of the stimulus--such as it was--was done through private enterprise. Then, he gets himself cornered in a battle about the deficit (which we all know was caused by Republicans and their tax cuts) and lets them run roughshod over him.

He is a campaigner, not even a legislator, and certainly not an executive. Somehow, he still thinks they will love him. It's amazing.

Continually, he has "distanced himself" from any controversies. He has ducked and hidden and blamed others, others who have been put in place specifically to do such things.

There we are. Back him--since he's the only option--as he continues Bill Clinton's Quisling complicity with the reactionaries, or face the all-to-obvious recklessness of the the neo-feudalists. It's all about him. For his most ardent supporters, it's also all about him: he's a paragon of something or other.

[LetTimmySmoke]

22. I know. His whole presidency is a litany of..

..."distancing himself," "moving on from distractions," and "getting past news cycles."

I remember a couple weeks ago when someone asked him if he thought marriage was a civil right. His response was "I'm not going to make news on that today." I simply shook my head and said "yep, that's Obama."

[defendandprotect]

26. Obama will be back for another try at SS and Medicare/Medicaid -- bet on it -- !!

[No Elephants]

31. The Super Committee is not supposed to have any input from the President, only Congress.

Fearless leader runs for political cover yet again.

[placton]

17. WE are trying as hard as WE can

how bout you join us, Obama? and not with bullshit "jobs" plans either

[russspeakeasy]

20. pivot, pivot, pivot, pivot...sounds like a screw......

[La Lioness Priyanka]

18. lol we are doing fine. i for one have an excellent credit rating

what you and congress are doing, is another story

[russspeakeasy]

19. "we must do better" ; I told you he was smart...

[LetTimmySmoke]

21. I'm sure Obama can find a way to conciliate and compromise our way out of this.

:sarcasm:

[kimsarah]

23. Oh please

don't get rid of Slim Geithner and then go hire Dean Baker! Please don't!

[defendandprotect]

24. Looks like Obama is saying he's ready to compromise some more ????

[No Elephants]

32. Obama's idea of doing better is for the elderly, disabled and veterans to do worse.