I keep hearing people (especially on Fox) saying that Americans should be asking themselves: "Am I better off since Barack Obama was elected?" Then they delightfully go into all of the ways they're allegedly worse off since President Obama was sworn in.
However, as was pointed out in an article I read on Buzzflash.Com by Marc Perkel, (http://www.truth-out.org/...), the question we ought to be asking is: "Am I better off since Geroge W. Bush left office?"
Here's an excerpt:
Romney raised the issue in his speech if we are better off than when Obama took office. Are you kidding me? Of course we are!
When Obama took office America was lying in the street dying from a near fatal wound from the last Republican president. The banking system collapsed. We were losing 750,000 jobs a month. Housing collapsed. Construction stopped. The auto industry was in a death spiral. America was in a state of complete panic. Our nation was dying under Bush.
Granted it would be nice if things were better but we're still here. If we had elected yet another Republican president there wouldn't be an America today, except for plutocrats.
There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that I've done better over the past few years over the eight that came before them under W and Dick Dastardly. I also believe that America as a nation is doing better, but more importantly is on the right track under President Obama -- in spite of Republican obstructionism, which is more concerned about defeating President Obama that turning our economy around.
My hope is that when President Obama wins a second term, with the GOP's prime objective of making him a one-termer gone that maybe...just maybe, Republicans will focus on doing something other than being obstructionists. Kind of makes you wonder exactly what their new top priority will be under a second Obama term. Can they put America first?