With all due respect, one has to laugh out loud at the term "inherited difficulties". At least be honest about the enormity of the problems associated with George W. Bush's terms in office. One as intelligent as yourself cannot be that blind to the realities in play here.

As much as I hate to point out the obvious since we all lived through it, the realities include the complete collapse of our collective financial culture (here and abroad) leaving many facing joblessness and homelessness. Small businesses were left without resources to build on or improve due to the collapse of numerous banking structures, therefore, many small business simply disappeared. I can drive down my former bustling shopping area and see shop after empty shop where businesses couldn't survive the Bush administration...I could go on and on, and I haven't even started on the missing money devoted to the war in Iraq, the pure incompetence of the Federal Government response to Hurricane Katrina, and the degradation of the public school system as student after student is "left behind" other countries.

I am Catholic through and through, but I refuse to be blind to the negligence perpetrated during the Bush administration, nor answer a rallying call behind a man who's fruit was rotten to the core.

Wow, Veronica! So, if I'm understanding you right, every problem today can be blamed on Bush? Also, what does your being Catholic have to do with anything? By the way, individual anecdotal evidence is akin to no evidence. I'm just saying...

"Anecdotal evidence" haha! Ok - rewrite history, or remember it differently so that you don't feel bad, but truth is truth and it always comes to light. There is a direct correlation to every "inherited difficulty" I've listed and deregulation, inept staffing, and bad decision making of the Bush administration. These things happened, we all witnessed them and it is not news to any reasonable, thinking person.

By the way, being a Catholic has everything to do with it - as you are well aware. Your conservative Catholic agenda excludes reason to its own detriment.

Thomas
Being Catholic is one thing, politics is another. I personally strongly object to cafeteria Catholics that somehow managed to imply that the selfish, so called “philosophy” of an atheist Hollywood screen writer like Ayn Rand is Catholic. Or that ignore the fact that both JPII and Ratzinger spoke strongly against the war in Iraq. Thomas, I agree with your position on abortion, but if you are trying to use this as a Trojan horse to also justify selfish, corrupt policies of previous administrations and say those are the only forms of true Catholism, this will not go very far. Enough of this brainwashing/doublespeak a la “LC” already, you are too young not seek the truth.
PAX.
Tom

OK Veronica...again you've failed to provide specifics. Thomas, you're correct. Discussion is going off-topic because Veronica is trying to deflect the discussion to nonsense finger pointing. By the way Veronica...Jesus has a fairly conservative agenda and I'm a Jew not a Catholic. Come back with specifics and less eye-poking. I'm not pro- or anti-Bush but I dislike condemnations without providing facts. Too much like lynching. As a black man I'm strongly opposed to lynching.

So, how did Sen Obama vote on the TARP legislation? Also, as the articles below show, he was the one who requested from Bush to spend more money.

Bush agrees to ask for financial bailout funds
By ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON – President-elect Barack Obama asked President George W. Bush on Monday to seek another $350 billion to bail out the financial sector so that Obama can have the money at his disposal promptly after taking office.

Bush agreed to notify Congress, the White House said. Congress has 15 days to reject the request, but efforts were afoot to have the money available for Obama much sooner.

The request would give Obama, who takes office Jan. 20, not only the opportunity to get quick access to the money, but also to change the program’s goals and conditions. The Bush administration’s handling of the first $350 billion has come under widespread criticism in Congress and from watchdog organizations…

Earlier Monday, Bush told reporters that he would not request the money form Congress unless Obama "specifically asked me to make it." About two hours later, White House press secretary Dana Perino said that Obama had indeed asked Bush to submit the request.

Bush’s assertion that the decision to tap the money rests with Obama was an acknowledgment of what has been an extraordinary ceding of power to the incoming administration. In fact, when it comes to the economy, Bush in recent weeks has let Obama be the driving force behind most recovery efforts…

Though Bush would request the additional money for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the incoming Obama administration would sell the plan by laying out a series of changes in how the program is run…



http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/13/washington/13cong.html?_r=1&hp

Bush made some mistakes, but "rotten to the core" is a hyperbolic mischaracterization. Everyone seems to ignore the fact that the president is only 1/3rd of our federal government, and while as the executive part he does arguably play a more major role in our everyday lives, Congress was also largely to blame for our current economic situation - probably more so than Bush. You also brought up Katrina. While no doubt we have come to expect our president to be responsible for everything these days, and Bush certainly could have done better, natural disasters like that are meant to be handled by state and local authorities, not micromanaged by our national leadership.

I think, as Thomas is rightly pointing out, the "blame Bush card" is being highly overplayed by the current administration.

The current economic upturn speaks for itself. Markets are up, real estate is up, and hundreds of thousands of jobs have been created by Obama's projects to build roads etc.

Paul, with regards to Katrina, the Federal Government has a duty on some level, and that duty is to have competent people in place to plan for and mitigate disasters of this magnitude. You are ignoring the facts here, and that is cutting off your nose to spite your face. I wonder what the Bush administration did....what can you turn to, that makes you feel he was even partially competent? He drove the country into the ground. As far as congress, it is well known and documented that the Bush administration presented false information to congress in order to bankroll the war in Iraq.

Good grief, Veronica is at it again. Why do you seem so bitter? Why do you think out elected leaders are going to do anything that benefits you or society in general? Seems naive. Never trust politicians. Ever.