Here’s a tag cloud of Obama’s 2010 State of the Union Address. Thanks to the New York times for the text and to Wordle for the tool.
Update: A lot of people are asking why the words “I” and “me” aren’t included. The reason is that Wordle probably thinks that the word is a “stop word” (a frequently-used, but unimportant word, such as “the”, “and” or “but”).
On January 22, 2009 Obama issued an Executive Order stating, among other things, that
The detention facilities at Guantánamo for individuals covered by this order shall be closed as soon as practicable, and no later than 1 year from the date of this order. If any individuals covered by this order remain in detention at Guantánamo at the time of closure of those detention facilities, they shall be returned to their home country, released, transferred to a third country, or transferred to another United States detention facility in a manner consistent with law and the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States.
That’s right. By January 22, 2010, the Guantanamo Detention Facilities will be closed. Except it didn’t happen. It’s one year later, and Guantanamo is still open. Sure some of the detainees have been transferred to other countries, and there’s talk of moving many of the inmates to another prison in Illinois (still without a trial), but bottom line, this hasn’t happened yet. Obama’s Executive Order has come due, and has been ignored. What’s the point of speaking and writing up documents when they’ll just be ignored. Was Obama hoping we’d just forget what he was saying a year ago? Maybe if he messes up the economy enough, he’ll be able to take our minds off of Guantanamo?
In the end, there is no accountability. It doesn’t matter what Obama said last year, because things are different now. We should forget about what he said the same way we’ve forgotten about bi-partisanship (when it comes to health care trying to eke by along party lines).
So Obama – don’t make promises you won’t deliver just to look good. You’ll end up looking like a fool with your pants on the ground … sorry couldn’t resist.
It’s no wonder Obama’s ratings continue to drop. There’s no way he’ll be able to keep his 510 promises, if he ever even intended to. Each broken promise will disappoint a little more.
Jan 13
“Now, let me get this straight…We are going to pass a health care plan written by a committee whose chairman says he doesn’t understand it, passed by a Congress that hasn’t read it but exempts themselves from it, to be signed by a president that also hasn’t read it and who smokes, with funding administered by a treasury chief who didn’t pay his taxes…all to be overseen by a surgeon general who is obese, and financed by a country that’s nearly broke. What could possibly go wrong?”
I’m not sure who said it, but I like it.
Jan 4
Here’s a select collection of Bernanke quotes from 2005-2008. For similar quotes from the Great Depressions, see my earlier post.
7/1/05 – Interview with CNBC
“We’ve never had a decline in house prices on a nationwide basis. So, what I think what is more likely is that house prices will slow, maybe stabilize, might slow consumption spending a bit. I don’t think it’s gonna drive the economy too far from its full employment path, though.”
10/20/05 – Testimony before the Joint Economic Committee
“House prices have risen by nearly 25 percent over the past two years. Although speculative activity has increased in some areas, at a national level these price increases largely reflect strong economic fundamentals.”
“With respect to their safety, derivatives, for the most part, are traded among very sophisticated financial institutions and individuals who have considerable incentive to understand them and to use them properly. The Federal Reserve’s responsibility is to make sure that the institutions it regulates have good systems and good procedures for ensuring that their derivatives portfolios are well-managed and do not create excessive risk in their institutions.”
2/15/06 – Hearing before the Committee on Financial Services
“Housing markets are cooling a bit. Our expectation is that the decline in activity or the slowing in activity will be moderate, that house prices will probably continue to rise.”
2/15/07 - Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress
“Despite the ongoing adjustments in the housing sector, overall economic prospects for households remain good. Household finances appear generally solid, and delinquency rates on most types of consumer loans and residential mortgages remain low.”
3/28/07 - Testimony before the Joint Economic Committee
“At this juncture, however, the impact on the broader economy and financial markets of the problems in the subprime market seems likely to be contained. In particular, mortgages to prime borrowers and fixed-rate mortgages to all classes of borrowers continue to perform well, with low rates of delinquency.”
5/17/07 - At the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s 43rd Annual Conference on Bank Structure and Competition
“All that said, given the fundamental factors in place that should support the demand for housing, we believe the effect of the troubles in the subprime sector on the broader housing market will likely be limited, and we do not expect significant spillovers from the subprime market to the rest of the economy or to the financial system. The vast majority of mortgages, including even subprime mortgages, continue to perform well. Past gains in house prices have left most homeowners with significant amounts of home equity, and growth in jobs and incomes should help keep the financial obligations of most households manageable.”
8/31/07 - At the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s Economic Symposium
“It is not the responsibility of the Federal Reserve–nor would it be appropriate–to protect lenders and investors from the consequences of their financial decisions.”
1/10/08 - Q&A after speech
“The Federal Reserve is not currently forecasting a recession.”
2/27/08 - Q&A after testimony to Senate Banking Committee
“I expect there will be some failures [referring to smaller regional banks]. Among the largest banks, the capital ratios remain good and I don’t anticipate any serious problems of that sort among the large, internationally active banks that make up a very substantial part of our banking system.”
6/10/08 - Boston Federal Reserve’s 52nd annual economic conference
“The risk that the economy has entered a substantial downturn appears to have diminished over the past month or so.”
7/18/08 - Remarks to the House Financial Services Committee
“The GSEs are adequately capitalized. They are in no danger of failing.”
Many of these quotes were found across the Internet and have been compiled before. Thanks to the following sites for source material:
The Market Oracle
Center for Economic and Policy Research
Bernie Sanders: US Senator for Vermont
