It's amateur hour in D.C., folks.

Not quite the change people thought he was going to bring huh?

JacksBlack: It's amateur hour in D.C., folks.

Because the status quo for the last 30? 40? years was totally awesome.

It was a very dumb idea to try to trim the budget (I know, ha ha), it was challenged, and it was dropped.

That's a good example of speaking up when something really stupid is happening. Sometimes, they hear you.

JacksBlack: It's amateur hour in D.C., folks.

So the prudent thing would have been to Stay The Course?

Color me surprised that this did not go through. I have a feeling that they weren't ever serious about implementing it anyway.

It's called "floating an idea" and it got shut down hard.

Lighten up, kids. The new guys have to re-look at everything, even stuff that has been sacred cows.

/Veteran. I'm not offended. Why are you?

er, as part of trying to trim the budget. You know what I mean.

ftfm

LOL - Subby, did you actually READ the article? I don't think it says what you think it does.

Even the American Legion thought this was a retarded idea.

At least Obama seems to understand when everyone says "OMG WTF are you thinking?!" and reconsider.

Barakku: At least Obama seems to understand when everyone says "OMG WTF are you thinking?!" and reconsider.

THAT'S COMMUNISM!111!!ONE!!1!!1!

If by shiny you mean "an intelligent President who listens to the people and reason", and by, "kidding", you meant willing to revise his plans based on better information... then yes.

Rain-Monkey: It's called "floating an idea" and it got shut down hard.

Lighten up, kids. The new guys have to re-look at everything, even stuff that has been sacred cows.

/Veteran. I'm not offended. Why are you?

Durrrrrrrrr ! That's not change I can believe in on cause of I smart conservative !!

How can we spin this as a negative? Anyone have any ideas?

Okay, I'm ready to hand out the Preparation H to anyone who complains about this.

Honestly, the guy changed his mind because he listened to the people who expressed displeasure. What's bad about that?

I'm sure someone will tell me.

So private healthcare isn't good enough for vets, but it's good enough for everyone else? Cops, firefighters, teachers, etc....

No, no double standard there...

bulldg4life: How can we spin this as a negative? Anyone have any ideas?

Indecisiveness by a decider! Stay the course. Don't misunderestimate it.

OMG! OBAMA MADE A STUPID SUGGESTION! Then retracted it!

I guess I can't support him anymore. Also, Obama's team looks to be the culprit in insisting Dodd insert special language into the stimulus bill regarding bonuses. Oh noes! He did a dumb.

He's not perfect. You'll get over it.

sloppy shoes: Also, Obama's team looks to be the culprit in insisting Dodd insert special language into the stimulus bill regarding bonuses.

well, to be fair, that wasn't just "obama's team", it was summers and geithner specifically. the rest of the team was arguing for stricter compensation limits.

geithner and summers really need to be kicked in the balls.

burndtdan:
well, to be fair, that wasn't just "obama's team", it was summers and geithner specifically. the rest of the team was arguing for stricter compensation limits.

geithner and summers really need to be kicked in the balls.

And it reflects poorly on Obama.

I'm glad he dropped the plan, but calling it "kicking veterans out of the VA system" is quite a stretch, Freepmitter.

Fark, you morans just don't know what to do when the opposition's President is so damn popular, do you? I suggest you keep making up outrageous lies. It satisfies your delusional base, so it must be working.

burndtdan: well, to be fair, that wasn't just "obama's team", it was summers and geithner specifically. the rest of the team was arguing for stricter compensation limits.

geithner and summers really need to be kicked in the balls.

To be fair to them, though, I'm sure they did it because they do need those people. They need them so they don't have to spend years combing through the ridiculous mess they made.

But he should have told Obama earlier. They could have at least spun it better than.

However, again we stand at a crossroads. The Federal Government needs to come down hard upon these people- one of the punishments for failure is helping to clean it up. So we simply need to tell them 'NO'- you will work for free if you won't take the small pennies we are willing to pay you.

Stop catering to greed. That is the solution. Inform these fools that it is not just populist rage, but the same penalty for a corporate oil spill, drunk driving, and many other crimes: you must fix what you did at your own cost. That is part of the price for screwing up at that level.

bulldg4life: How can we spin this as a negative? Anyone have any ideas?

you just watch...it's going to be along the lines of "the fact that he proposed it in the first place shows how he really feels about vets!"

Well if you are one of the anti-health care folk I can't see how you can support giving welfare to these people once their jobs are over.

25 billion to the VA system over the next 5 years.

Awesome.

Listen to concerns of a group that would be affected by a floated idea, and then reconsider?

Doubleplusgood.

/bush would have "stayed the course" and passed it.

Why don't we just train our troops to mend their own wounds like Rambo did when he was in Afghanistan?

Vertdang: 25 billion to the VA system over the next 5 years.

Awesome.

Listen to concerns of a group that would be affected by a floated idea, and then reconsider?

Doubleplusgood.

/bush would have "stayed the course" and passed it.

But...but...but bush!

Can't we just leave him out of it? The jury is still out on Obama, although this episode shines a positive light on him, but there is no doubt of bush's quality.

Let's just let him sit in the trash heap and let history come to its conclusion in time.

It's good to see that our vets have zero trust in the the thugs that dominate the private sector and American capitalism. There really isn't anything that the private sector can do that cannot be done better by government. Now that the most prominent Republican economists have admitted it as well, let's get busy nationalizing.

MorrisBird: bulldg4life: How can we spin this as a negative? Anyone have any ideas?

Indecisiveness by a decider! Stay the course. Don't misunderestimate it.

That's right! If Bush had come up with the idea to bill veterans' private insurance before billing the VA, then by God he would have followed through and to hell with the veterans advocacy groups saying it was the worst idea ever.

jcooli09: But...but...but bush!

Can't we just leave him out of it?

no we can't. Bush is the one who started cutting people out of the VA. Obama's budget is finally starting to let some of them back in.

VarmintCong: If Bush had come up with the idea to bill veterans' private insurance before billing the VA, then by God he would have followed through and to hell with the veterans advocacy groups saying it was the worst idea ever.

again....he did that with priority groups 7 and 8. "followed through and to hell with the veterans advocacy groups saying it was the worst idea ever" is exactly what he did.

Dan the Schman: Okay, I'm ready to hand out the Preparation H to anyone who complains about this.

Honestly, the guy changed his mind because he listened to the people who expressed displeasure. What's bad about that?

I'm sure someone will tell me.

My question is why would he even consider it?

Rain-Monkey: It's called "floating an idea" and it got shut down hard.

Lighten up, kids. The new guys have to re-look at everything, even stuff that has been sacred cows.

/Veteran. I'm not offended. Why are you?

I think if the last 8 years have taught us anything, it's that ideas are dangerous.

Or something.

I mean, seriously, God forbid you get people's opinions before you do something like, oh I don't know... completely farking fabricate evidence to back up phony claims to go to war.

Frightening.

feickus: My question is why would he even consider it?

"In considering the third-party billing issue, the administration was seeking to maximize the resources available for veterans," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Wednesday in a written statement.

log_jammin: feickus: My question is why would he even consider it?

"In considering the third-party billing issue, the administration was seeking to maximize the resources available for veterans," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Wednesday in a written statement.

I guess i should have read the whole article. I got bored it was on fox.

feickus: I guess i should have read the whole article.

it was the second sentence....

log_jammin: jcooli09: But...but...but bush!

Can't we just leave him out of it?

no we can't. Bush is the one who started cutting people out of the VA. Obama's budget is finally starting to let some of them back in.


OK, I get it, bush was a moran who damaged the country in a lot of ways.

The situation we have is the situation we're in. Obama has started to fix it, it'll take time and he'll screw up sometimes. Let's just take it as it is and keep going.

Little that's happened in the last 8 years reflects well on bush. I would like to forget him now, we have other things to think about.

log_jammin: feickus: I guess i should have read the whole article.

it was the second sentence....

Like I said fox.

jcooli09: I would like to forget him now, we have other things to think about.

If you're going to fix something it's a good idea to know how it got broke in the first place.

I guess Gibbs will be attacking Rush Limbaugh and Dick Cheney today at the press briefing. Either that or Obama's TelePrompTer will instruct him to call the Republicans the party of "No". Or is there a company that shouldn't be giving their employees bonuses they can whip up a furor over?

Why should my tax dollars be paying for these lazy bums who haven't won a war since WWII.

We should not be letting these losers be the welfare queens that they are with our tax dollars.

Bad form, Obama. Should have known better. I'm in the army and I hope that when I get out, I don't suddenly lose my benefits due to some asshole in Washington trying to cut a few corners. This is his first real wallbanger idea for me.

That being said, it's good the dropped the plan. Bad for suggesting, good for dropping it.

Podna: Why should my tax dollars be paying for these lazy bums who haven't won a war since WWII.

We should not be letting these losers be the welfare queens that they are with our tax dollars.

Ok I will play your game. What about Gulf War I we won that one.

feickus: Podna: Why should my tax dollars be paying for these lazy bums who haven't won a war since WWII.

We should not be letting these losers be the welfare queens that they are with our tax dollars.

Ok I will play your game. What about Gulf War I we won that one.

It wasn't a war, Gotta declare it first

soy_bomb: I guess Gibbs will be attacking Rush Limbaugh and Dick Cheney today at the press briefing. Either that or Obama's TelePrompTer will instruct him to call the Republicans the party of "No". Or is there a company that shouldn't be giving their employees bonuses they can whip up a furor over?

Swing and a miss.

Why Why would anyone anyone even consider doing this?

I guess the Dem's really really hate the Military. Thats all I can see this as.

Its more we hate you Military for winning the Iraq war, we told you to lose.

winterwhile: I guess the Dem's really really hate the Military. Thats all I can see this as.

well that certainly explains why they didn't do it and why they increased the VA funding by 25 billion over 5 years.

Lundah
So private healthcare isn't good enough for vets, but it's good enough for everyone else? Cops, firefighters, teachers, etc....

No, no double standard there...

just another Comrade stick my foot in mouth, shy I did not read the article answer.

Ge so your wounds are yours. By the way small business can't afford to PAY for them, so great you are now unemployable.

The newly unemployable thank Chairman Obama for their free time.

Lionel Mandrake: I'm glad he dropped the plan, but calling it "kicking veterans out of the VA system" is quite a stretch, Freepmitter.

Fark, you morans just don't know what to do when the opposition's President is so damn popular, do you? I suggest you keep making up outrageous lies. It satisfies your delusional base, so it must be working.

Couple more weeks of this moronic administration and popular he will be no longer.

FishStampede: Bad form, Obama. Should have known better. I'm in the army and I hope that when I get out, I don't suddenly lose my benefits due to some asshole in Washington trying to cut a few corners. This is his first real wallbanger idea for me.

That being said, it's good the dropped the plan. Bad for suggesting, good for dropping it.

Where did you hear that anyone was talking about taking away your benefits?

Of course, on the flip side, if this country had nationalized health care, many of my friends wouldn't have long commutes to the nearest VA hospital to get care, they could go to any hospital they chose to, couldn't they?

Finger in the wind policy mnaking.

And you thought Bush was the four year old!