Just a few years ago, when the President was trying a reform, the Democrats response was the system is fully financed for many years. Nothing much has changed financially but now tax increases are the cure. Can't they keep their lies straight? Why aren't they held responsible by unbiased journalists? And I do mean both of them.

FINALLY.

I know Obama has said for a long time that they'd be getting more aggressive, but i was starting to wonder if by the time they got around to it, Hillary would be sitting in the whitehouse!

I'm also glad to have read in an interview Obama adressed the nonsense that Obama "has abandoned the politics of hope" every time he presents a legitimate policy issue. The Clinton machine has continuously twisted Obama's words against him, and i was beginning to think it was working by keeping Obama from asking Clinton any tough questions.

SOMEONE needs to press Clinton for real answers, since the main stream media is unwilling to do it.

This is clear distinction between the two and a shrewd strategy by Obama. I am eagerly anticipating the debates. Will Hillary avoid answering questions at this one too?

Isn't that Typical Hillary Speak. when people want to know what her position is on Social Security she responds "I don't think I should be negotiating about what I would do as president"? Translation: Elect me and kiss any hope of EVER getting any Social Security benefits goodbye. No, that money would just become yet the latest Government swindle to be forced down our collective Tax Paying throats. ESPECIALLY for people like ME (who were born in the Last 5 years of the baby boom). At this point I don't even WANT SSI. Just give me back the money you STOLE from every paycheck I ever earned. Well Queen Hillary has other plans for that money, and you can ALL bet your backsides that those plans DO NOT include a bunch of freeloading benefit entitled retirees. I can't even believe there are people out there gullible enough to even LISTEN this woman's line of Bull, let alone actually BELIEVE it. Jeez!

Go,Obama, go in confronting AND EXPOSING Hillary, it's about time!!!!

I think its a very good think that Mr. Obama has raised the issue of how to fund Social Security in the coming years. As time marches on, more and more of “boomers” will retire and draw on Social Security retirement benefits. Yet, at the same time, there will be many fewer workers per SS beneficiary to support the “pay as you go” system. That means we, as a Nation, will have to either: 1) increase in taxes to pay for the difference; 2) decrease SS benefits; and/or 3) reallocate money from other governmental projects to SS – if we expect to see the SS retirement system survive in some fashion. It’s a tough problem.

It is more than moderately annoying to some people, myself included, that the SS retirement system was set up 74 years ago in a manner that allowed the federal government to steal from the so-called “Social Security Trust Fund” to pay for other government programs. It is because of this “steal-from-Peter-to-pay-Paul” mechanism that Americans will have to pay for Social Security three times: once in payroll taxes, once in taxes to retire the IOU’s pledged to the SS system and their debt service, and once in the hidden “inflation tax” imposed on everyone because of all the credit the government has extended to itself. This cluster-**** was passed by an overwhelmingly Democratic Congress and signed into law by a Democrat in the White House. They created the problem, and they can darn well fix it.

So, instead of simply pressing Ms. Clinton for her solution to the problem, it would be instructive to hear from Mr. Obama as to what he would do about it. He hasn’t said anything about it. His statement, "You're not ready to lead if you can't tell us where you're going," applies to him too.

Indeed, I believe all Democratic presidential candidates ought to give us some idea how they plan to fix this mess. And then they need to explain to us how they plan to execute all those very expensive national or “universal” health care plans on top of the SS fix, pay for increased Medicare and Medicaid programs, AND lower the government’s debt at the same time. People like Hillary Clinton and John Edwards cannot realistically keep promising more and more federal spending programs without telling us where all the money to pay for them is supposed to come from, especially in light of deep governmental debt ($10 trillion) we now face.

In this regard, it is to Mr. Obama’s credit that he has never suggested more than market based alterations to fix a lot of these issues. That’s a healthy dose of realism for once.

Hoping that the Obama campaign management team will stay on top of things. And not be out maneuvered by Hillary Inc. The Clinton campaign operation is just another corporation filled with powerful machinery.

I have spent alot of time thinking about this presidential cycle and have never been involved in politics before. Obama brings me hope. I believe he is a man of character, integrity and is sincere about his concern about all the communities across America.

I believe Obama has the exeperience and skills required to bring our country to a forward thinking point of view.

Go Obama. 08

Typical democratic solution to any problem - raise the taxes - this time on the middle class.

obama ur bad- sarcastic and cruel-its shows your negro attittude.ur bad bad bad.

Hillary isn't being evasive....she's being smart. An issue as critical and important as Social Security is going to take serious bi-partisan support. And, in the end, it may take some sacrifice from some people. She has general ideas and scenarios, and she has stated them. Why should she pigeon-hole herself into a corner with a specific "worse-case" scenario of solving the issue that you know any one of the candidates (on both sides) may have to look to.

Unfortunately, the current administration and past republican-controlled Congress cared little about this issue, and took no steps whatsoever toward a solution. Instead, they ran up our debt, squandered our surpluses from the 1990's, and divided the country.

Hillary is smart, tough, skilled and experienced and will - just like her husband did - step up to the plate and tackle our problems, and undoubtedly solve many of them.

Obama just dooesn't have the ability or experience, this early in his political career, to handle the problems we face.

I look SO forward to 4 (and hopefully 8) years of going to bed feeling safer, knowing that my President is Hillary, and that she will put our country's issues in order, and get us back on track.

James Griffin, you will have to contact three or four persons over age 65 and ask them to hand over the amount of Social Security paid to them over a seven years. SS is a ponzi scheme. It has also been used to mask the real deficits that have been run.

"Clinton's campaign responded by charging that Obama is not sticking to one of the central themes of his campaign."

I love how this is the main comeback from the Clinton Camp when Obama criticizes Clinton.

What? Do you expect him to sit there and do nothing to show how he will be a better president then you?

That comeback is not going to work much longer. Its wearing out its welcome....

I think Senator Clinton is just riding the media wave. The media wants nothing more than a Hillary V. whomever battle. Watch how the media attacks Obama for going after Clinton after they spent weeks going after him for not doing so.
Let it hang Obama, and go after her. Now is the time.

Obama says he is tired of the old time politics and those who are part of the politics as usual. Maybe he would like to explain to us why he is a political bedmate of the Daleys, Strogers, Blagos, Rezkos, and the rest of the Democratic party gangsters who are the most corrupt politicians in the country. Whoever is counting on Obama to be a shining light for the future need only look at his own past record and associates, not the drivle and sanctimonious rhetoric of his books. He is as common as they come and about as new as last week's Tribune. He recently said that he is the most popular politician in Illinois which is tantamount to saying that he is the freshest smelling skunk in the forest.

....I look SO forward to 4 (and hopefully 8) years of going to bed feeling safer, knowing that my President is Hillary, and that she will put our country's issues in order, and get us back on track.

Posted by: EddieB | October 27, 2007 5:32 PM

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am going to ask you a question Sean Hannity has asked but you DemoLIBS dont care to answer:

"Isnt the world better off without Saddam Hussein?"

Whatnow says:
"Just a few years ago, when the President was trying a reform, the Democrats response was the system is fully financed for many years. Nothing much has changed financially but now tax increases are the cure. Can't they keep their lies straight?"
=========================
First order of business for whatnow: Learn to read and get your facts straight.

Second is to consider his great leader a failure not only in privatizing social security but also in insisting that Medicare cannot negotiate medicine cost. Hitting that group of people in the pocket that are most vulnerable.
Letting the dollar drop to an alltime low, the Canadian dollar is worth more than the US Dollar on the world market..and letting the price that we Americans pay for gasoline go from $1,48 to $3.19 on his watch. Not too mention a 5+year no-win War, started by lying to the citizens AND incompetently lead by that same great leader...
The question is not Whatnow but rather NowWhatTF?

I find it sad that Clinton's only response to every legit concern Obama has, is that he is "abandoning the politics of hope."

Excuse me if part of that hope is the idea that a politician state her stance, explain herself, tell the truth, and then stick to her point instead of flip flopping.

Sorry Hill. People aren't buying into as much anymore.

Obama takes a stance, explains it, sticks to it, and above all...tells the truth.

How refreshing!

The experience argument is beginning to not only run its course, but, as Lynn Cheney(of all people!) suggested, there appears to be a double-standard at play here.....

Senator Obama, by all accounts, is capable of running ANYTHING. Why? He is undeniably brilliant, brimming with integrity, quick on his feet, and engenders trust and a sense of goodwill to all he meets, and, above all, he is possessed of superior judgement.

Why wait?

Having said this, would we be questioning Obama's 'experience' if he were white?

Thank long and hard on this one folks, before we post.

You don't really expect Hillary to tell you what she'll do as president do you? Rule #1 in triangulation politics is to say just enough so every side thinks you're on their side, but never enough so you'd actually have to be held accountable after you've fooled them all into voting for you.

Remember her saying in the debate that you should never tell what you're thinking as president? That's right. Why should Americans know what you're thinking? Sounds a little eerily like our current 'decider', doesn't it.

Whenever anyone questions her on her actions she turns it against the questioner. She's done it against Edwards and Obama. It's the same Rove-style politics of attacking the opponent to take the focus off your own pathetic record. Mark Penn is Hillary's Rove and it all smells badly of deja-vu all over again. And you all know what this country got when these tactics got our current president into office.

Bama needs to be careful. At age 60, Hillary's a senior citizen now and she can start collecting her social security in two years. She did do some work to qualify for social security, didn't she? Didn't she?

I am responding to the words of RuthieM, Quote "This cluster-**** was passed by an overwhelmingly Democratic Congress and signed into law by a Democrat in the White House. They created the problem, and they can darn well fix it."

Little does this reflect the constantly evolving nature of politics and party policies/agendas. A democrat 74 years ago may well be todays republican and vice versa. It would be better to say, this problem exists for better or worse due to the lack of foresight common of all human indeviduals and oranizations, and from here, we need to proceed as follows....

I just don't think something as unversal as SS should be labled a Republican or Democrat's issue, and it certainly does nothing to point the finger (Into the past at people who are probably deceased no less) and say "you fix it, it's your fault". I guess this means you're voting Democrat, even if just so you can see them clean up our mess, god forbid a republican lift a finger on the issue!

to John W.:
The Obama team recently posted a video of his appearance at the very townhall meeting mentioned above. He outlines his views on the issue and gives a solution or two: http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post_group/ObamaHQ/CS2B

* * * * *

Posted by: Phi | October 28, 2007 1:41 AM

For what its worth, I watched the video. I didn't agree with everything he said, but I believe he has, at least, a realistic approach to the Social Security question for someone who believes that Social Security should remain under control of the federal government.

In particular, it is realistic – although not terribly popular – to suggest that more people need to pay more payroll taxes, and that this could be accomplished by raising the ceiling on payroll taxes. His other two ideas, namely, to lower taxes on the elderly and to stop or limit borrowing from the SS Trust fund, are also quite good. Of course, while not saying so, implementing these ideas would require increasing the marginal tax rates to compensate for the revenues the government won't collect from seniors, as well as to compensate for the money the government won't be able to embezzle from the SS Trust Fund. Either that, or the government will just have to stop spending all that money (and I won’t hold my breath until that happens).

"Nothing much has changed financially"

Posted by: whatnow | October 27, 2007 2:35 PM

That sucking sound from out national wallet was a "War to Nowhere" and a trade imbalance that is leaving us at the mercy of the Chinese.

Yep. Nothing much has change in the way Americans look at finance.

Meanwhile, in the first of many departures from the sinking ship, Obama fundraising guru and Dem insider Bob Farmer has left the Obama campaign for Clinton. See the AP article at http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5isFeDflD3gth2jwD0i0vLoyDyWLgD8SH46U80

The Swamp, usually so eager to publicize when Obama hires a lowly intern, has been strangely silent ("dodging"?) about the Farmer defection.

Poster "CBud" asks, above, "would we be questioning Obama's 'experience' if he were white?"

Easy answer. YES.

And "CBud's" shameless attempt to play the race card merely shows how desperate Obama and his supporters have become.

I would vote for hilary if she could do these things

Get our country completely out of debt.

Maintain her personal morals

Resolve the personal fear levels in the people by pushing george bushes space proposal to at least the next level

Uphold her idea on generating a personal vendetta for every american born citizen by providing them with money when they are born

help me with my ideas to improve america through opening GRANT LINES to poor people like me.