Instead of the Buffett Rule, why doesn't President Obama talk about cutting spending?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
President Obama's push for the Buffett Rule is nothing more than election year baloney.
And that's putting it nicely.
Fact is, if the proposal to raise taxes on the wealthy passes - which it won't - it will raise less than $5 billion a year in additional revenue - for the next ten years. This country, under Mr. Obama, is running $1 trillion-plus deficits annually. $5 billion a year is less than a drop in the bucket.
The so-called Buffett Rule is based on the idea that millionaires and billionaires, like Warren Buffett, shouldn't pay a lower percentage of their income in federal taxes than middle class Americans.
President Obama wants millionaires to pay at least 30% of their income in federal taxes. Senate Democrats are expected to vote on similar legislation next week.
This is all great politics if you're running for re-election. Divide the country along economic lines. Those nasty one-percenters versus the masses. Class warfare at its finest.
But there is no talk of cutting spending - spending which has added more to the national debt under President Obama in three and a half years than under former President George W. Bush in eight years.
A report out today says Obamacare will add $340 billion to the deficit over the next decade.
In a likely effort to get ahead of the criticism, the Obama Administration acknowledges that the Buffett Rule will do absolutely nothing to bring the deficit down and get the debt under control. They say it's all about fairness.
They're using it to talk about the wealthy - conveniently including Mitt Romney - paying their "fair share."
Republicans call it an election year stunt - which it clearly is.
Tax experts say the Buffett Rule would only further complicate an already complex tax code.
Here’s my question to you: Instead of the Buffett Rule, why doesn't President Obama talk about cutting spending?
Tune in to the Situation Room at 5pm to see if Jack reads your answer on air.
And, we love to know where you’re writing from, so please include your city and state with your comment.
Why does President Obama continue to refuse to enforce the nation's immigration laws?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Just in time for the election and courting the Hispanic vote, the Obama Administration is out with another way to ignore the nation's immigration laws.
The Department of Homeland Security now wants to issue so-called "unlawful presence waivers."
These are meant for illegal aliens who are relatives of U.S. citizens.
The way the law works now, these aliens must return to their native country and request a waiver of inadmissibility.
But the federal government says the proposed changes would "significantly reduce" the length of time U.S. citizens are separated from their immediate relatives.
Critics are slamming the proposal, calling it "stealth amnesty" and another attempt at backdoor amnesty. Which is exactly what it is.
Mr. Obama promised federal immigration reform when he was running for president in 2008, but it never happened.
Instead of reform it looks more like bending of the rules for some of the estimated 12 million illegal aliens. Gee, just in time for the president's reelection campaign.
Last year the administration started cutting back on deportations of illegal aliens without criminal records - and reviewing all existing cases.
That resulted in a big drop in deportations even though one study shows that immigrants with criminal records don't necessarily make up a larger portion of those deported.
President Obama told Univision in February that the administration is re-emphasizing its focus "on criminals and at the borders" and not on "hard-working families."
All designed to get enough Hispanic votes to win a second term.
Here’s my question to you: Why does President Obama continue to refuse to enforce the nation's immigration laws?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
If Obamacare falls, what's next?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
The fate of the Affordable Care Act now lies in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Although no one knows for sure which way the landmark case will go, last week's oral arguments did not seem promising for the Obama administration. Experts said they believe the individual mandate - and perhaps the whole health care law - is in jeopardy.
Supporters tell Politico that if the law goes down there could be significant ripple effects. They say that other federal laws could be on the firing line - including environmental one such as the Endangered Species and Clean Water acts as well as federal regulation of the labor market and laws preventing employment discrimination.
But opponents of the health care overhaul say liberals are just using "the sky is falling"-scare tactics.
Plus, they suggest if the Supreme Court upholds the individual mandate that could lead to future mandates, such as requirements to buy health food or gym memberships.
The Supreme Court decision is expected in June. And whichever way the court rules, there's no doubt it will be a political lightning rod for both parties coming just a few months before the presidential election.
Meanwhile, as Americans wait for the Supreme Court to decide, health care costs just keep going up.
It's estimated the cost to cover the typical family of four under an employer plan will top $20,000 this year, according to CNNMoney. That's up 7% from last year and would be the fifth year in a row health care costs rose 7% or 8%.
And even though employers pick up much of that tab, you can bet they're passing on their rising costs to the rest of us.
Here’s my question to you: If Obamacare falls, what's next?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
How will the Supreme Court decision on Obamacare affect the president's chances for re-election?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
If the Supreme Court rules the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional this summer, it would be a huge embarrassment for President Barack Obama.
Health care reform has been the president's signature issue. He spent his first two years in office - and a whole lot of political capital - getting this thing through Congress.
And now - two years later - the health care law's not looking so healthy.
CNN's Jeffrey Toobin says he thinks the law will be struck down, describing the Supreme Court hearings as a "train wreck" for the Obama administration.
Some would argue it's been a train wreck from the start. Remember Congress crafted this 2,700-page monstrosity behind closed doors. No transparency for the public but plenty of access for the lobbyists. Few lawmakers even read it. Then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi told Democrats, "We have to pass the bill so that you can find what's in it." Real statesmanship.
Not everyone agrees that a Supreme Court rejection would hurt the president politically.
CNN's James Carville says it would be "the best thing that has ever happened to the Democratic Party." Carville says Democrats would be able to show they tried, and when health care costs keep rising, they could lay the blame on the GOP's shoulders.
Some say if the Supreme Court rules against it, Republicans will lose a top election issue - the repeal of what they call “Obamacare.”
Others suggest the health care law won't be a major election issue if Mitt Romney is the GOP nominee because he created similar legislation when he was governor of Massachusetts.
Here’s my question to you: How will the Supreme Court decision on Obamacare affect the president's chances for re-election?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
What's the future for President Obama's health care reform law?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
"Obamacare" went on trial today with the Supreme Court starting three days of arguments on the constitutionality of President Barack Obama's landmark health care law.
And after today's 90-minute session, it seems like a majority of the justices want to decide the case now instead of waiting another two years until the full law goes into effect.
On Tuesday, the justices will hear arguments on the constitutionality of the individual mandate, which is the key to this whole showdown.
Twenty-six states are suing the government. They claim the health care law is unconstitutional because of the "individual mandate" provision, which requires most Americans to purchase health insurance by 2014 or face a financial penalty.
Republicans have been out in full force slamming the law. All of the GOP presidential candidates say they will try to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act if elected. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says repeal of Obamacare will be the first order of business if Republicans win control of the Senate in November.
Democrats have their work cut out for them defending all this, and they don't seem to be getting much help from Obama. He didn't even bother to publicly mark the bill's two year anniversary last week - something he has been only too eager to do in the past.
This might be the reason: Polls suggest many Americans just don't like the health reform law. A new CNN/ORC Poll shows 50% of those surveyed disapprove of the law. 43% approve.
When asked how the Supreme Court should rule, more than 70% say the high court should overturn all or part of Obamacare.
Here’s my question to you: What's the future for President Obama's health care reform law?
Tune in to the Situation Room at 4pm to see if Jack reads your answer on air.
And, we love to know where you’re writing from, so please include your city and state with your comment.
Is a second term becoming inevitable for President Obama?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
There's no such thing as a "sure thing" in politics, but it seems increasingly likely that President Obama is on his way to winning a second term.
The biggest factor working in the president's favor might be the Republicans.
In an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll taken before Super Tuesday, only one in 10 adults said the GOP primary has given them a more favorable impression of the Republican Party. People used words like "unenthusiastic," "lesser of two evils," "painful," "uninspiring" and "depressed" to describe the GOP nominating process.
This may partly be why Obama's approval rating has been rising, hitting 50% in our latest poll. The president also tops Mitt Romney in hypothetical matchups.
The remarkably accurate online prediction InTrade puts Obama's chances of being re-elected at 60%.
But it's not just the Republican carnival that's helping the president. The economy is slowly starting to improve. That's huge. And, despite yesterday's sell-off, the stock market has been headed up. Experts say stock prices are rising on growing expectations that the president will win re-election.
Many Republicans see the writing on the wall. Big Republican donors and strategists are turning their attention to congressional races.
They apparently think they have better chances of winning races in the House and Senate than unseating the incumbent Democratic president. It's looking more and more like they might be right.
Here’s my question to you: Is a second term becoming inevitable for President Obama?
Tune in to the Situation Room at 4pm to see if Jack reads your answer on air.
And, we love to know where you’re writing from, so please include your city and state with your comment.
Can President Obama win re-election if unemployment goes back up to nine percent?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Unemployment could be headed back up to 9% again - not what President Obama wants to hear as he faces re-election.
Gallup reports that the unemployment rate in mid-February stood at 9% - up from 8.3% in mid-January.
Gallup's monthly report serves as a preliminary estimate of what the U.S. government will report next week.
The report also found 10% of U.S. employees are working part-time, but want full-time work.
And they put underemployment at 19% - up significantly from just a month ago.
While the Obama administration was quick to trumpet a lower unemployment rate of 8.3% in January, others were already warning about a gloomy jobless picture.
The congressional budget office predicted last fall that unemployment would remain close to 9% until the end of 2012, and now they say unemployment will stay above 8% well into 2014.
Meanwhile there are other signs that the economy is not out of the woods by a long shot.
Gas prices are already at their highest levels ever for this time of year - and they're headed higher. In Florida, some drivers are already paying almost $6 a gallon.
Government job cuts could place a further damper on the economy with the government being the largest employer in the country.
Lastly, while manufacturing revs up and stocks rally, just remember this:
It only takes one shock to set the economy back. Last year we had lots - from the Arab spring revolutions to Japan's earthquake and Europe's debt crisis.
Can you say Iran?
Here’s my question to you: Can President Obama win re-election if unemployment goes back up to 9%?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
What would you suggest for President Obama's new campaign slogan?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
It's time for a change from Change We Can Believe In.
President Obama's re-election campaign is looking for a new slogan to replace his 2008 mantras of hope and change.
Reuters reports that some of the contenders include Winning the Future, Greater Together and We Don't Quit.
His campaign posters still say Obama 2012 but surrogates have been road-testing some of these other ideas.
The campaign probably won't roll out the official slogan until the president knows who his Republican challenger will be, and that might take a while.
But whatever slogan President Obama goes with, it needs to represent a new reality. That includes high unemployment, economic insecurity and the fact that Mr. Obama is no longer a Washington outsider.
Senior campaign strategist David Axelrod insists the 2012 election is also about hope and change - even though those words may not be in the slogan.
The branding of a presidential campaign is all about connecting with voters. President Obama hit the nail on the head last time around, but lightning doesn't always strike twice.
One of the best campaign slogans ever was Ronald Reagan's 1984 re-election slogan, Morning Again in America.
What is Mr. Obama up against? The Republicans' slogans are highlighting their belief that the U.S. is on the wrong track under President Obama.
Mitt Romney uses Believe in America, Newt Gingrich has Rebuilding the American Dream plastered on his bus, and Ron Paul says he will Restore America Now.
Here’s my question to you: What would you suggest for President Obama's new campaign slogan?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Why are President Obama's poll numbers rising despite high pessimism over the country's state of affairs?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
President Obama appears to be enjoying a bit of a perfect storm consisting of small pieces of good news.
It's reflected in his poll numbers, with a 50% approval rating for the first time in more than eight months.
The new CNN-Opinion Research Corporation Poll also shows Independents - who could decide the election - now have a net-positive view of Mr. Obama.
The president's job approval is up despite 6 in 10 saying things are going poorly in the U.S.
The same poll shows President Obama leading all of the Republican presidential candidates in hypothetical match-ups.
And it finds the GOP's advantage on voter enthusiasm has been erased.
Part of the political equation that appears to be working in Mr. Obama's favor is the toll that the stubbornness of Republicans in the House of Representatives has taken on the public's patience. By saying no to virtually everything, nothing got done.
It's taken a while for them to figure it out, but this week Republicans suddenly agreed to extending the payroll tax cut without asking for corresponding spending cuts.
Of course it's fiscally irresponsible. Just more deficit spending. But when it's election time politicians have even fewer principles than they do the rest of the year.
And maybe somebody told the Republicans that if they don't at least look like they want to be part of the solution - a lot of them are likely to be looking for work come November.
Also working in the president's favor: Glimmers of economic hope.
Jobless claims fell to 348,000 last week - the lowest since 2008..
And the 8.3% national unemployment rate is the lowest in three years.
Here’s my question to you: Why are President Obama's poll numbers rising despite high pessimism over the country's state of affairs?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Where is the U.S. headed if Pres. Obama is adding an estimated $5 trillion to the national debt in his first term?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
President Obama has broken a promise to the American people to cut the deficit in half.
His latest budget forecasts a $901 billion budget deficit for 2013.
If you add in the $1 trillion-plus deficits he has run for his first three years in office, along with an estimated $200 billion in economic stimulus, that's about $5 trillion in the red in his first term.
George W. Bush set the previous record of $3.4 trillion of deficits in eight years. President Obama is on track to add $5 trillion in deficits in just four years. This is part of the reason why our national debt is now a whopping $15 trillion.
The Weekly Standard crunches the numbers to find that deficit spending just under President Obama equals more than $17,000 per person or about $70,000 for a family of four.
In February 2009, shortly after President Obama took office, he pledged to cut the $1.3 trillion deficit he inherited from President Bush in half by the end of his first term.
"I refuse to leave our children with a debt that they cannot repay – and that means taking responsibility right now, in this administration, for getting our spending under control."
Meanwhile, a quick look at what's happening around the world could provide a glimpse of our own future.
Greece saw more violent riots this week after the government's approval of austerity measures.
The credit rating agency Moody's also downgraded six European countries, including Italy and Spain, amid concerns over the continent's debt crisis and sluggish economy.
Here’s my question to you: Where is the U.S. headed if Pres. Obama is adding an estimated $5 trillion to the national debt in his first term?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
@jackcafferty on Twitter
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