Mr Lame Duck is crippling the country.

How utterly refreshing to have a President that will speak truthfully to Americans and not sugar coat. Spelling out how bad it is (with facts and statistics) and how it will likely get worse before getting better, WOW! Quite a contrast to the 10 months of constant lies from Bush saying "the economy is sound" and Bernanke and Paulson saying "the mortgage crisis is contained".

Yes, there are bridges and roads that need work. What about rail though? Can we do that too? I want Atriosesque SUPERTRAINS!

Let's talk about this:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081120/bs_afp/financeeconomyusgulf_081120072928

"KUWAIT CITY (AFP) – The United States has asked four oil-rich Gulf states for close to 300 billion dollars to help it curb the global financial meltdown, Kuwait's daily Al-Seyassah reported Thursday.

Quoting "highly informed" sources, the daily said Washington has asked Saudi Arabia for 120 billion dollars, the United Arab Emirates for 70 billion dollars, Qatar for 60 billion dollars and was seeking 40 billion dollars from Kuwait."

I want Atriosesque SUPERTRAINS!

And the sons of pullman porters
And the sons of engineers
Ride their father's magic carpets made of steel.
Mothers with their babes asleep,
Are rockin' to the gentle beat
And the rhythm of the rails is all they feel.

Seriously, why would anyone want to forgo the pleasures of airport security, being stuffed like human toothpaste into an aluminum tube and then arriving cramped, dazed, and useless at their chosen destination?

every day that goes by with Bush doing nothing pushes his presidency lower and lower in terms of how history will view him ... the inaction proves the dismal take on Bush that is already widely known ... January 20th can't come soon enough ...

Argument No. 944 for reforming the BODY of our archaic constitution and giving us parliamentary government.

Prime Minister Obama would have been in office more than two weeks.

Besides, if we were the UK, Shrub would have had to undergone Friday question time every week!

(Of course, Members of Congress couldn't have hidden in obfuscations on things like Iraq war votes.)

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Kidcharles, a great argument for increasing the gas tax a buck a gallon, which I've blogged about before at my blog . It would provide money for a serious road and bridge program, as well as research on fuel-efficient engines, etc., while propping gas prices right now back up so people aren't short-sightedly tempted by SUVs again.

"...forgo the pleasures of airport security, being stuffed like human toothpaste into an aluminum tube and then arriving cramped, dazed, and useless...?"

And you believe that when Homeland Security gets through with the trains it will be any different?

And you believe that when Homeland Security gets through with the trains it will be any different?
The security may be the same, although there are increasing rumblings about the inefficient excesses of TSA. That said, you'll arrive rested and refreshed. You will also see the country from one of the best vantage points ever.

Gail Collins in her NYT column today also calls for Bush's resignation, and outlines how it would work. Cheney first, then Bush, which allows Pelosi to become President. She would defer to Obama. All of this might actually rid us of Lush Bimbo and his ilk as their heads would immediately explode. That's a twofer worth the effort.

Bush is a despised place-holder, with no clout anywhere in the country or the world. His only actions will be to do more damage to the regulatory structure, endangered species, and the environment in general. Expect efforts to protect his loyal (those who are left) minions from Obama's broom and a prosecutor's indictment.

Perhaps a massive demonstration in front of the White House with suitable chants might help. Suggestions?

I applaud his efforts so far, but I do wish he'd put a lot more muscle behind his plans for alternative energy. The coal, oil and gas giants are not going to sit idly by and watch some upstart solar and wind companies take all their business away from them, and it won't happen in decades anyway with the paltry sums Obama is talking about.

He needs to go big on this. We need to go big. The planet needs to go big, or it just won't happen in time to stave off the future catastrophes lurking behind the year 2050. What is holding us back? It is the very thing we need to stimulate the economy, and it builds for the future at the same time.

Obama's "one President at a time" position is understandable. Bush's "no President at this time" attitude is not. Nero fiddled while Rome burned, but we don't even have a clue as to how Bush is passing the hours as the economy collapses.

I can understand that keeping Bush away from microphones is a good thing -- the Dow looses an extra 300 points when he shows up on the tube. But I would have thought our vaunted Ivy League MBA president would at least try to do something to staunch the bleeding, instead of just demonstrating Executive Branch senioritis.

"but we don't even have a clue as to how Bush is passing the hours as the economy collapses."

Actually, we do. I posted this earlier, but applies here. While "Rome burns", Bush is busy helping his rich cronies in last minute regulations.

* Mountaintop Mining: Rule would allow mining companies to dump waste into rivers and streams.

* Endangered Species Act: Rule would alter implementation of ESA to allow federal land-use managers to approve projects (like infrastructure creation, minerals extraction, or logging) without consulting federal habitat managers and biological health experts responsible for species protection.

* Power plants near National Parks: Environmental Protection Agency rule would ease current restrictions that make it difficult for power plants to operate near national parks and wilderness areas, which could increase air pollution in those areas.

* Truck Driver Safety: Department of Transportation rule will allow truck drivers to drive up to 11 consecutive hours and to spend seven consecutive days on the road with only a 34-hour break. Public Citizen and other safety advocates have sued successfully two times in the past three years to overturn this Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rule.

* On-the-Job-Risk: Department of Labor rule would change the way federal regulators calculate estimates for on-the-job risks, and add an extra comment period to new worker health standards, creating a delay.

* Family and Medical Leave: Department of Labor rule would limit employee access to family and medical leave — making it more difficult for workers to use paid vacation or personal time to take leave, and would allow employers to speak directly to an employee's health care provider.

* Domestic Surveillance: Department of Justice Rule would expand the power of state and local law enforcement agencies to investigate potential criminal activities and report the information to federal agencies. It would broaden the scope of activities authorities could monitor to include organizations as well as individuals, along with non-criminal activities that are deemed "suspicious."

Info from Bill Moyers Journal http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/11212008/profile3.html

"Nero fiddled". I'm afraid Bush Is taking advantage of the time to work under his usual cloak of secrecy for the benefit of his rich backers. They have made me so paranoic!

This might be a good time for those who have any money left to invest in green companies. I heard those stocks gained.

Thanks Palinscopy! I was aware of some of that, and suspected the rest.
Guess paranoia can just be what is happening.

I 'm just happy with the fact that we have a president who wants to reach out and talking with the public. Imagine that, you know, being for the people and all that.

Given the huge success of the people who staged Obama's campaign events, these videos--this one and the one released last week--have been disappointing. Most problematic, he looks small. He doesn't dominate the space. They need to rethink how they are filming these speeches.

I realize, of course, that this has nothing to do w/ what he is saying, but it's a little disconcerting to see the shift from the gorgeous events we've seen to something that looks like it was shot by one of his neighbors w/ a camera they happened to have on hand.

I've heard people around me talk about how we got started on this downward spiral starting with Reagan's presidency. But what was Carter's famous malaise speech and did it predict anything like what we are experiencing now?