The Stock Market and Investing

tagman

We are hours away from the Asian markets opening... If there are no signs of a debt ceiling deal, we will all get a glimpse into investor reaction... and what that might indicate for U.S. markets.

I am watching closely, and I am giving serious thought to what I might do with regards to my investing... including the possibility of shorting the market temporarily. I really don't know yet. I will try to post more on this. I really hope you, Charlie, and others will do the same.

We all need to come out of this without getting fried... and better yet, with a gain.

TM

ljflx

Well it's too late for me via mutual funds holdings so anything I do I have to do with after tax money. Boehmer wants an outline of a deal by 4PM. Fox news has an interview with him and Chris Wallace at 2PM. It repeats at other times later but I d'ont know what they are. Everyone invested in the market should watch it. I've already dvr'd it in case I'm busy. Boehmer is not against going back to the deal that had a net tax increase of $800bln and very large cuts based on what Wallace reported in advance of the broadcast. If I'm the reps I put that deal in play as it actually lowers tax rates but cuts loopholes. Obama is then in a corner as he can no longer blame the Reps if a deal is not done. It's his change of heart wanting $400 bln more in taxes that has compromised that deal. That's a big ticket deal and Obama is a fool if he rejects it and Boehmer is a fool if he fails to put it in play. Markets would rejoice at it but I think a deal that gets done is already priced in. Obama's insistence on vetoing any deal that puts off a next debt ceiling issue until 2013 is very troubling and incredibly selfish on his part and I'm amazed he's not being hunted by the media on that although even MSNBC had some mild criticism about it. Boehmer should put the grand plan with the $800bln on the table and a second one that has less but only goes forward for 6-12 months on the table as well. It's a strategy that boxes in Obama. Fun and games times are over and Boehmer knows it. Obama - I worry about him and his agenda constantly. He's such a damm inexperienced lightweight. Notice in that article re his backers it's really wall Street banks that like him not corporate America. In 2008 he somehow had corporate America too but they've walked.

houdini1

Tag and liflx, both good posts and I agree 100%. Like everyone else I will be watching things closely.

tagman

(off-topic, but we are interested, right?)

Remember that Lexus pic we all looked at recently? Looks like the car is for real, and will be available for sale fairly soon, as the GS 350. Here's a recent pic and some info, and there is more info available across the web, although the Lexus website still shows the car as a concept... but we now know better than that.


link title

Also, this is for Charlie!... because his wife wants something a bit larger than the CT (the CT is perfect for me, however). This is the new C300h. Coming soon, and here's a pic and some info.


link title

TM

ljflx

The GS styling is a major improvement to a car that only had good styling when it was first introduced. The grill is growing on me but still has a way to go but it certainly makes a statement. I'm wondering how they are going to apply that grill to the LS460 line-up which I heard may introduce a 6cyl or 6cyl hybrid on the next go round. Me - I'm thinking seriously about a sports car (lean toward the Jag) a smaller cheaper SUV for the winter and cargo needs and a premium car like an E-class, GS, 5-series or A7 or shorter wheel base LS when my current leases are over. A sports car dictates a 3rd vehicle for me. With aging parents who hardly travel anymore and with my kids being older the need for an S-class or LS460L kind of car is waning. My wife and I are in love with the Jag with an SL a close second. I also love the E-class cabriolet. All things considered I'd shoot for 3 cars in the price range of my current leases on 2 highly premium vehicles. Make no mistake - I love the GL450 and LS460L but my needs and desires are becoming different.

tagman

That's exciting. You owe it to yourself to take a very good look at Porsche. I love Jags, as you know, and certainly you would love a Jag... but I have owned three Porches, and I encourage you to consider giving them a serious, intensive, look.

TM

anthonyp

Greetings

Although styling is subjective, I am not taken with the grill on the top picture...It may be more appealing in person, but right now I doubt it..

The Jaguar and Mercedes appeal to me , but the Audi I have owned (seems since I was born) has been hands down the best car I have ever owned....I mean in a day in day out sort of way.. The controls and feel of the car, from where you touch it and reach for adjustments just feels right..I guess the industry is in the throws of major changes so I will wait it out and see what happens ..

Just no problems with my car, and I wonder if I could be so luck if I got another one...Tony

tagman

Agree about the grill. When I first saw it months ago, I thought it looked like it should be working as a street sweeper. But, I remember how Audi's latest grill was extremely contraversial at first, but after a while it became a big trend setter and a major asset to the Audi marque. Maybe the Lexus grill will grow on us over time.

Len is looking for a sports car, and the only Audi that would qualify would be an R8 and I would 1000000% give a thumbs-up for that, but if he is avoiding the exotic cars, then Porsche is a very smart look, alongside the Jag and the MBZ. The 2012 911 will be incrementally larger, and it will mark another small evolutionary step for the model. A little over 4" longer wheelbase with overall length increased only a little over 2", and other enhancements (to prepare the model for a hybrid variant, coming soon).

Hope things are going well for you, Tony.

TM

fintail

Face only a mother could love. Clunk it!

Might be a good time to buy a GS if you want to sleep while driving, though, as the current one is being phased out and barely sells anyway...any dealer unfortunate enough to have a few laying around would probably kiss your feet to move it off the lot.

ljflx

OK I watched the Fox News Sunday show with Chris Wallace's interviews with both Geithner and Boehmer and the usual panel discussion afterwards. Geithner came across real weak, as Obama's puppet and Wallace was hard on him with the questioning. He says he and Boehmer were close to agreement on the grand deal with $800bln in new taxes. Boehmer came across as real strong and he says he thought they had an agreement on that Grand plan a week ago today. Reading between the lines I think they did and Obama, not knowing when to seize the moment than told Geithner he wanted an additional $400bln. Seems to me that Obama simply doesn't know when negotiating ends and a deal is there to be seized. Boehmer rejected it simply because he already thought they had a deal IMO. In my business negotiations on 30 deals in the past I have taken a similar stance and I simply told the guy on the other end if you can't make a decision than give the person that can. Geithner seems to be a tool Obama negotiates thru. What is scary to me is the Senate dems just want to go on spending recklessly until they come to the cliff at the end of the road. Pelosi may be the root of the problem here as she has a huge effect on Obama. Harry Reid, the most responsible Dem I see out there seems like he wants to take things into his own hand and seems to think he and Boehmer can come to an agreement and he actually may be trying to take Obama out of the process. if that's the case than even some Dems think Obama is the problem and needs to be sidestepped because of his inability to lead. The guy just wants to talk BS to the American people about Reps doing nothing but meanwhile only the House has drawn up plans that Obama keeps rejecting.

Again if I'm Boehmer I put in a play a two step approach. Step one an immediate $1trillion dollar deal with a mandatory provision that the $800bln + big cuts plan takes effect in 6 months giving legislature the chance to draft it and put it into law. If the latter fails than we have a new debt ceiling issue in 6 months. If Obama rejects that or allows the Senate to reject it than we are hopeless.

Edit - per the news now - Harry Reid is proposing a $2.5bln spending cut plan with no new revenues as a back-up. He seems to indeed be the only Dem taking this thing seriously.

ljflx

Well I'm nearly 2 years away from all this so plenty of time to decide.

cyclone4

Well, the S & P futures trading right now is only down 12-14 points which is not a big deal. Obviously, the market seems to think that something will get done at the last minute to raise the debt ceiling. Let's all hope that this is the case because the alternative will be catastrophic for the entire world as opposed to Michelle Bauchman's thinking.

ljflx

Well it's more than that now Charlie. We need something done that is meaningful otherwise the credit agencies will raise our risk factor and the interest rates will rise meaning we'll need another $400bln in cuts or revs just to stay where we were a week ago on the $800bln rev and cut Grand plan. That's why I say Obama has no clue as to when to seize the moment. He bluffed and lost and it was the stupidest time in the world to either bluff or put politics ahead of everything. I have no doubt that Geithner agreed with Boehner on that deal. You could read it all over his face. Plus Boehner's rejection and anger last Friday proves it to me just in my experience as a deal maker. I've done the same thing several times especially when things agreed to were adjusted. The moment I heard that on the broadcast I knew what happened. We need something very meaningful so either a two step approach that is agreed to with step one immediate cuts and step two cuts agreed to that will be passed shortly after or a mad scrambe to get the grand plan done in 5 days. Our government is slower than the slowest turtle on earth so good luck with that. If Obama agreed a week ago there was time to get that done but at this point I doubt it.

ljflx

BTW we never discusssed it here nor do I want to but I hope the Casey Anthony jury trial proves to Obama and Holder how dangerous a terrorist trial in the hands of a civil jury in a civil court room would be. It makes no sense because it was a war crime by a group that declared war on us. But can you imagine the 9/11 terrorist trials in the hands of that jury? My earlier post made me re-think about how indecisive Obama's is as he was in agreement with Holder on a civil trial near Wall street (absolutely catastrophic for lower Manhattan) then changed and agreed with Mayor Bloomberg that NYC couldn't afford it or withstand it and then went back to Holder's side.

houdini1

Your scenario is exactly what happened. Geithner even admitted that Obama asked for the extra $400 Billion in revenue. But now he is saying that it was just a negotiation ploy, and not a serious demand.

Boehner said no way. That Obama insisted on the extra revenue after an agreement had been reached and that put an end to things. They can spin it all they want but that is what happened.

tagman

Michele Bachmann concerns me. There's something disconnected about her thinking process. She describes herself as having a titanium spine, but I think Washington needs more flexibility than that... as proven by Obama's inflexibility and stubborness. Not sure I could support her. She's like Obama, but on the other side.

I think we might see a 1% to 2% decline in the markets tomorrow, maybe worse but I think we'll be relatively OK because I believe the market still expects (at least for now) an agreement will be reached soon. And... Gold up... Dollar down.

TM

houdini1

Right now the Dow futures are down about 100 points, not too bad, and gold is up about $8.00. The Asian and European markets are holding fairly steady.

tagman

I will venture to guess your silver investment will show gains tomorow.

You and I need to keep in mind that my GLD shares and your SLV shares are probably going to go up due to the debt deal uncertainty. But once the debt deal is announced, I think the price of gold and silver might slide. So, I am going to take some gains off the table if they look propped up too much from the political fiasco. Then after it settles down, buy back those shares I sold for a better price.

Anyway, just something to consider... because you said you are also going to be watching things closely. Lets make sure we try to stay in touch on this forum. We might navigate through the muck better by working together.

TM

houdini1

Gold and silver could go up early, while most other stocks go down, but if a deal is announced sometime today that could reverse things. I know the general consensus is that a deal is already priced in the market but I still think there could be a late rally if a deal is actually announced.

So yes, we will have to keep an eye on things.

cyclone4

As most of you know, I adhere to the Democratic ideology and no one is going to change this. However, I have to tell you that I was very impressed by Representative (I think he is a Representative and not a Senator) Corker from TN. He was interviewed this morning on CNBC and wow. This guy is definitely a voice of reason. He seemed like an individual that is very much willing to compromise to get this done. And, he said it will get done, but he would like a long term solution to the deficit problem. I would vote for this guy in a heartbeat.

Coincidentally, as he was being interviewed, the Dow rallied from 120 lower to about 70 lower.

tagman

I was very impressed by Representative (I think he is a Representative and not a Senator) Corker from TN. He was interviewed this morning on CNBC and wow. This guy is definitely a voice of reason.

I saw him. Very reassuring delivery. That was the intention, of course... to go on CNBC and ease the tension.

I adhere to the Democratic ideology and no one is going to change this.

Well, at least you admit that you are closed minded, just like Obama. No one is going to change his mind either.

EDIT: Charlie, how would you describe the Democratic ideology that you stated you adhere to?

TM

tagman

I'm not sure about everyone else's situation, but my portfolio is up sharply this morning at this point. I was sooooo concerned this weekend, so I must admit that I am very relieved by the market's performance this morning... at least so far.

TM

gagrice

Fortunate for you. Several of the stocks you all posted I have in my watch list. AAPL, BIDU, GLD, all up nicely. Unfortunately NONE are in any of my accounts. :sick:

All I can say is good luck to all of you, we may need it over the next few months.

ljflx

Story on BIDU

http://www.thestreet.com/_yahoo/story/11195800/1/search-momentum-to-continue-at-- baidu-analysts.html?cm_ven=YAHOO&cm_cat=FREE&cm_ite=NA

cyclone4

EDIT: Charlie, how would you describe the Democratic ideology that you stated you adhere to?

Very simple. I believe in Robin Hood. Take from the rich and give to the poor . Seriously though, we have gone though this before, but I feel compelled to help those in need. There is no other reasonable way to help these masses of people but through government programs. A lot of these people have had no chance to succeed.

I fully understand that spending needs to be curbed, but I also believe that the filthy rich should pay more taxes and tax loopholes should be eliminated. I felt that the "Gang of Six" plan was very fair and it should have been implemented.

One other thing...I despise the Tea Party and people like Michelle Bachmann and Sarah Palin.

tagman

I am excited about BIDU, and just hope it goes waaaay up on an amazing report. I own 500 shares of BIDU.

BTW, C is showing me significant gains, and when it finally gets out of the financial sector dumps, it's going to rocket. If you consider the potential gains on a percentage basis, it makes sense to own some.

Same applies to Sprint (S). If Sprint gets the iPhone later this year, I think we will see a nice percentage gain. However, if the AT&T T-Mobile deal goes through, it might have a negative impact. I think getting the iPhone would carry more weight.

TM

ljflx

Here's a story on Apple in China from today's NY Times. Any Apple investor (Charlie especially) will love this story. Growth in China is up 600% in the past year and the company is loved by the middle class. One kid says he'll pay whatever he has to for the iPhone5. It's even in the sweetest of spots for the Chinese government but needs to watch out what other services it introduces in China. How this company was falling toward $300 a month ago is impossible to understand. Just buy it on any dip.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/25/technology/apple-sales-in-china-zoom-ahead-of-- - competitors.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper

tagman

Charlie, I don't disagree with helping the needy. I do think that we should NOT be spending so much of our money on people that have come here illegally and suck many expensive services out of our economy. It's just plain wrong. We can't fix the entire world. And that also means we can't fight everyone's military fights.

The BEST way, IMO, to help the needy is to have a robust economy. The BEST way to have a robust economy is to have an economic environment that is so compelling for businesses to establish themselves here in the USA. This would be easily achieved by having policies that are FAVORABLE for business implementation and business expansion. That would create tons of jobs, and increase consumer spending, and would result in massive increases in revenues, which could then be used, in part, to help the needy.

If you really want to help the needy, then you should reconsider the wreckless tax and spend policies, and instead embrace policies that encourage and reward business growth. I am convinced that we COULD make the USA the most amazing place in the world to do business, but the proof is in the pudding that those conditions are not in place, and we see the unfortunate results. EVERYONE, including the needy, does worse in a tax and spend environment, and an environment that does not adequately encourage business implementation and expansion.

EDIT: The real tragedy here is that wreckless tax and spend policies are creating MORE needy people. We now have soooo many needy people at this point, it's a tragedy. We MUST change the tax and spend policies... We MUST create an environment that is compelling for businesses to establish themselves here in the USA and to expand here in the USA. THAT will reduce the number of needy people, and create more revenue as well.

TM

ljflx

Problem is Charlie there's a difference on spending to help and spending wrecklessly and the Dems spend wrecklessly. Any responsible person or party needs to control themselves. In the end wreckless spending will bring down a lot more people than the intentions of help are for. Pelosi will pass anything and most members of Congress, Rep or Dem, seem to have little knowledge of finance. But it's all about idealogy. Does a better economy help the poor more than no incentive give aways? The better economy will always lift the bar for most and the free spending introduces great risk of going to the wrong people.

cyclone4

Here's a story on Apple in China from today's NY Times. Any Apple investor (Charlie especially) will love this story.

Wow! What an article. Thank you for sharing Len. The sky is the limit for AAPL. Why stop at $500? How about $600, $700, $1000? Obviously, there will likely be some sort of a split before reaching these levels.

I am SO happy now that I jumped back in at between $347 and $352 a few weeks ago. I own more shares now than I did when I got stopped out at the lows around $334.

laurasdada

Well, a vote for the Jag here. FWIW, it's tres more exclusive than the ubiquitous SL (or even Porsche. But, not sure if that's a selling point to others). It does give you the option of seating four-ish people. Three works as the front passenger can move the seat up, but when I last drove four, I was pretty much crammed against the steering wheel! And, it's a GT rather than sports car...

Friday night, on the way home from work stuck in traffic, had a Gray Poupon-ish moment: Gentleman in a shiny black BMW 5 Series rolls down his window and points to me with a big smile. I roll down the passenger window (hey, the electric windows work! In a Jag! ) and he says, "Beautiful car, just stunning!" I thank him and compliment his 5, and he smiles and again notes that the Jag is "simply splendid!" Now if only he were a beautiful young woman and the Jag was me...

Not sure I'm digging the new GS. Maybe in person, but it just seems like a pumped up evolution of the past. The front-end, all I see is Battlestar Galactica Cylons... Not quite as offensive to me as the Acura Beak, but as presented now, thank you no.

And, speaking of third cars, right now the new ride for the wife seems to be either a recently CPO'd Lexus LS460 or an '11 BMW 5 (both AWD). She thought the 5 was fun, but likes the quiet and luxury of the LS. Not to mention the Lexus dealer here and the potential for greater reliability. She wasn't impressed with the BMW dealer. She's decided against the A7 or new MB CLS as she wants 5 seats. Her advisor, my 12 year old son, loved the Lexus. But, somehow now the Jag XF has caught his eye, but the wife won't consider a Jag. C'est la guerre.

The '02 RX300 soldiers on, becomming my winter ride until daughter takes it on next spring. Then, what do I do for the winter of '12-'13???

cyclone4

Friday night, on the way home from work stuck in traffic, had a Gray Poupon-ish moment: Gentleman in a shiny black BMW 5 Series rolls down his window and points to me with a big smile. I roll down the passenger window (hey, the electric windows work! In a Jag! ) and he says, "Beautiful car, just stunning!" I thank him and compliment his 5, and he smiles and again notes that the Jag is "simply splendid!" Now if only he were a beautiful young woman and the Jag was me...

Dada,

All I can say is that you have a way with writing. I love reading your posts. I hope everything is going great for you and your family.

Btw, how about the Red Sox, hey?

cyclone4

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, outlined a blueprint calling for roughly $2.7 trillion in spending cuts over the next decade while raising the debt limit by $2.4 trillion -- an amount sufficient to fund the government through next year's election.
Reid's plan would not require any new tax hikes -- a key concession to Republicans -- or reforms to politically popular entitlement programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

I copied this from a new CNN story a few minutes ago. Why wouldn't the Republicans vote to approve this plan? There are no new tax increases. Isn't this a major gripe for Republicans?

gagrice

It is PURELY a political plan. Why should the GOP hand Obama the election on a silver platter. I thought Boehner, Reid and McConnell agreed to a different plan that Obama rejected this morning? Why do we need a debt ceiling that high if the cuts are in fact going to happen. I am looking out for my grandkids. We are spending too much right now. I don't see $270 billion a year as NEAR enough in cuts. We should be cutting at least $500 billion starting this year. Obama is playing with our kids future for his own political gain.

houdini1

The whole idea here is not to do any deal just to do a deal. We have to craft a deal that the rating agencies will accept in order to keep them from down grading our credit rating.

This downgrading is what must be avoided at all costs. The current democratic deal is too little too late. We MUST have a deal with REAL cost cutting starting now if we want to save that AAA credit rating.

tagman

Why wouldn't the Republicans vote to approve this plan?

Well... it's too early to say that they won't... but the plan is not adequate, and puts our rating at risk, as well as extending the whole mess until 2013. That's too far away. We need more action and results sooner than that. The only reason to go that far out is obviously to avoid damage to Obama's attempts to get re-elected.

But, the two sides are getting closer, and I am more confident that they will work it out this week.

Regardless, it has demonstrated just how horrible the situation is, and it has illuminated the dysfunction of our government to the entire world... the inability of our leaders to get things accomplished in any timely, cooperative manner. They have essentially waited to the very last second, of the last minute, of the last day, of the last week, of the last month... taking the United States down to the wire, and acting like a bunch of school kids. Nothing professional. Nothing mature. Nothing to be proud of.

TM

tagman

Here it is!

Baidu Announces Second Quarter 2011 Results
July 25, 2011 4:30 PM ET
Baidu Announces Second Quarter 2011 Results
PR Newswire

BEIJING, July 25, 2011

BEIJING, July 25, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Baidu, Inc. BIDU, the leading Chinese language Internet search provider, today announced its unaudited financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2011(1).

SecondQuarter 2011Highlights

Total revenues in the second quarter of 2011 were RMB3.415 billion ($528.4 million), a 78.4% increase from the corresponding period in 2010.

Operating profit in the second quarter of 2011 was RMB1.858 billion ($287.5 million), a 91.2% increase from the corresponding period in 2010.

Net income in the second quarter of 2011 was RMB1.633 billion ($252.6 million), a 95.0% increase from the corresponding period in 2010. Diluted earnings per ADS(2)for the second quarter of 2011 were RMB4.67($0.72); diluted earnings per ADS excluding share-based compensation expenses (non-GAAP) for the second quarter of 2011 were RMB4.77($0.74).

"Baidu had another excellent quarter, as we benefited from strong traffic growth and improved monetization," said Robin Li, chairman and chief executive officer of Baidu. "We were especially encouraged with the strong spending from large customers, highlighting the increased value they saw from their marketing spend on Baidu."

"We continued to see strong momentum and product integration from our Box Computing open data and application platforms during the quarter," Mr. Li continued. "Our position at the center of China's Internet ecosystem enables Baidu to benefit from key trends such as the growth of e-commerce. Looking ahead, I am confident that Baidu's emphasis on innovation and execution will help us continue to attract and retain users and customers."

Jennifer Li, Baidu's chief financial officer, commented, "Our top and bottom line results grew strongly again this quarter, with healthy increases in overall traffic and paid click growth. We will continue to accelerate our investments in strategic areas, R&D, network infrastructure and bringing new talents on board to drive long term growth."

I wish I owned more than my 500 shares, but I'm VERY happy. After hours numbers are up in a range between $9.00 - $13.00 per share at this moment. We'll see how things go tomorrow. Sweet.



TM

houdini1

Well, I am glad I put you guys onto BIDU....and very sorry that I sold my shares to buy more AAPL...but I made a nice profit and I hope you guys make a bundle !!

tagman

Yes Houdini. As I posted just recently, I previously owned BIDU shares in my former portfolio, but I did not include any in this latest one, until you mentioned it, which served as a timely and fantastic reminder.

THANK YOU!

TM

ljflx

To me it looks like a plan that wants to put off the decision 2 years instead of within the next election. Boehner's plan challanges the usual and the Dems d'ont want that because it increases the risk factor for Obama's re-election. Whether we deal with this now, a year from now or two years from now - what is the difference aside from the election. Would Obama be saying the same thing if this was 2010 instead of 2011? It is a very serious problem with unbelievable consequences and this late in the game the smartest thing to do is buy more time with a 2 step solution. When you are in danger you first survive and then take action and we are in danger now and it is all caused by stupid politics. Obama to me is coming off as incredibly selfish. I mean give a break - he's not signing anything unless it is good thru after the election? If the building is burning is he running out when he has a chance or is he waiting until the firemen clear a path for him. Unreal.

tagman

If the building is burning is he running out when he has a chance or is he waiting until the firemen clear a path for him. Unreal.

Much worse than that, he is willing to let all of us burn in the meantime, if necessasry to save himself.

Unreal indeed.

TM

cyclone4

I suppose some of you want Social Security wiped out, right? How will that help your grandkids? To me a longer term plan is a lot better than to confront this again 6 months from now. The stock market also likes a longer term plan. A lot of you say that this is political to help Obama's re-election prospects. I think that this is just a coincidence. I don't believe Obama is holding out for selfish purposes. I heard from many analysts today that a longer term plan is a lot better.

I really feel that it is the moronic Tea Party that is preventing this thing from getting done.

cyclone4

Yes, thank you! Much appreciated.

gagrice

I really feel that it is the moronic Tea Party that is preventing this thing from getting done.

Tell us how you really feel about the Tea Party. :shades:

I say finally some people in our Congress concerned about the waste and deficit. It is not just Tea Party or mainline GOP members that are fed up with Obama. Dennis Kucinich has made his feelings clear about Obama. A lot of calls for impeachment.

King isn’t the first Republican to suggest that Obama should be impeached over the debt crisis.

Rep. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) said earlier this month it would be “an impeachable offense” for Obama to raise the debt ceiling without congressional approval. In April, former Reagan administration official Bruce Fein drafted articles of impeachment in hopes that House Republicans would introduce them. And Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) in March said the air attacks on Libya are impeachable acts.

Is it time to impeach Obama?

If he hangs up the process over the wishes of his own party for his own political gain, I say impeach him.

ljflx

Charlie,

A longer term plan would be much better, no doubt about it. But they are out of time to craft a long-term plan unless they go back to the $800mln tax increase grand plan. But Obama asked for more after agreement was reached. The question I have for you and any Obama supporter is if we were in 2010 instead of 2011 do you think Obama would insist on a plan that carries the same timetable into 2012, an election year? I seriously doubt it. He'd take a 6 month to 1 year deal in that scenario because it would still give him time to solve it longer term before the election. That's why it is so shallow to me that the window he wants has to carry thru the election.

gagrice

cyclone4

I would think that yes, he would insist on a longer term plan for the good of the country.

Btw, IF it's true that Obama changed the plan in the last minute last Friday by wanting to raise taxes by some additional amount, why is it the Boener walked away immediately? Why couldn't he negotiate a bit? Was it because he knew that Obama would change it and this gave him an excuse to walk away? That's what it appears like to me.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that according to at least one Republican (Corker of TN), it is NOT too late to get a long term deal done. He specifically stated that August 2nd is just a political deadline.

circlew

The issues should be dealt with from a LEADERSHIP position. He is the one touting CHANGE in the last campaign.

Notice how he still reminds everyone that he INHERITED the economic problems! Well, welcome to the USA in 2008!

Leaders lead by example...Want less politics? Walk the Talk! Want to work with the opposition? Same credo. Don't talk change and then walk the same old path.

This is how I would approach this if I were he.... Let the GOP have the upper hand and get the ceiling raised. Why? Win-Win. Even politically, the downsides in his own party will be forgotten as the issues evaporate as a result instead of the current last-second capitulation on both sides. Any negative press will not affect me because the job was done and the issues still exist regarding revenue and spending anyway. No agreement changes things at the moment. None.

Get the issue at hand completed. LEAD! :surprise:

Regards,
OW

ljflx

Btw, IF it's true that Obama changed the plan in the last minute last Friday by wanting to raise taxes by some additional amount, why is it the Boener walked away immediately?

Because clearly what happened was Geithner was Obama's authorized rep and he and Boehner agreed on the deal. Then Geithner went back to Obama and he upped the ante. You can't authorize a deal thru your rep and then change your mind. It is the biggest turnoff on earth for the negotiator on the other side. I guess it's possible Geithner overstepped his bounds but I really doubt that. The reaction Boehner had was are you kidding me? We have a deal but then we d'ont or what the hell are you negotiating for if you have no power? That's why he stormed out. I would have done and in fact have done the same thing in past business negotiations in such a situation. Geithner came across incredibly weak in the Fox News Sunday show with Chris Wallace and was evasive and uncomfortable. You could see he wanted to say more than he was allowed to.

ljflx

Houdini,

Your post made me examine Baidu more closely and I quickly decided to buy. So thanks for posting your thoughts. You c'ant go wrong with Apple but you did have Baidu as one of your second half homeruns so I'm surprised you sold. The stock is up about 18% since I bought in a few weeks ago.