Maybe the sun was in the president’s eyes

To the editor:

I don't know why those diabolical Tea Partiers keep attacking the president. So what if the economy is softer than a marshmallow mattress? So what if he's spent more and increased the national debt more in 2½ years than every president from Washington to Bush II combined? So what if he's added a third war we can't afford, or if he's presided over the first ever downgrade of the national credit rating?

None of that matters.

What's important is that amid all this crisis, he was able to employ the "Joliet Jake" Blues defense as if he'd channeled John Belushi directly from the afterlife.

As President Obama told us, it wasn't his fault. The fault was clearly with the Japan tsunami, the Arab Spring and the Tea Party. Or else there was a rock in his shoe; the sun was in his eyes; a friend came in from out of town; his tux was at the cleaners; he had a flat tire; he lost a golf ball in the rough; he ate too many McDoubles; he forgot his favorite bat at home; the mean corporate bigwigs won't hire anyone; and, of course, it was all George W. Bush's fault.

We haven't seen a president this nimble since Jerry Ford tripped coming down the steps of Air Force One.

And here I thought Ronald Reagan was the "Teflon president."

Mark Morris

Las Vegas

Stock skid

To the editor:

The stock market on Monday fell 635 points. The United States, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were all downgraded from AAA to AA+ by Standard & Poor's. We have somewhere between $60 trillion and $70 trillion in unfunded liabilities. We continue to spend more than we produce each year as a nation. Congress hasn't passed a budget in two years and refuses to consider a balanced budget amendment for the federal government.

I was getting really worried ... until President Barack Obama took to the airwaves and delivered an explanation for all these calamities. He was careful to emphasize that this is not a result of his policies and his leadership. The blame rests totally with a gridlocked Congress that cannot resolve the country's financial problems.

But don't worry. Our president has formed a committee. A fiscal committee. It will fix everything ... or next time he will blame it, too.

That screeching sound? That was my 401(k) skidding downward.

Ronnie Garner

Henderson

Don't blame Obama

To the editor:

The tirade in Tuesday's editorial was business as usual for the Review-Journal. In it, the newspaper blamed President Obama for everything short of the Norway massacre.

Blame was placed on the president for the sputtering economy. Of course, you conveniently forgot that the economy was in free-fall thanks to massive spending on unprovoked wars, tax cuts for the super rich, the gouging of the world by protected oil companies and no bid-contracts to politically connected corporations way before the president was sworn into office in January 2009.

You place the unemployment increase solely on the president's shoulders. But wait. Weren't we told in the early 2000s that massive tax cuts to large corporations would create jobs? Oh, that's right, they did create jobs ... in other countries. The fat-cat corporations and CEOs pocketed the government's cash and then shipped American jobs overseas.

And what about the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office's report that the stimulus bill passed in 2009 "put millions back to work" and kept the recession from being worse than it is? Nah, can't mention that. The overlords didn't put that in the Republican talking points.

Now you're putting the blame for the Standard & Poor's downgrade exclusively at the president's doorstep. You conveniently ignored actual statements in S&P's three-page discussion of why that action was taken. S&P sited, among other things, "political brinksmanship" and "the majority of Republicans in Congress continue to resist any measure that would raise revenues."

But why let facts get in the way of good old-fashioned Republican hate, right?

Randall Buie

Henderson

Sinking ship

To the editor:

Let's see: President Obama has blamed everyone -- except himself -- for the state of the economy. Now he blames the Tea Party for the downgrade of our credit rating.

The realization that he has spent so much of our money -- resulting in staggering debt -- has not sunk in yet. It never will, but I wonder who he will blame when the depression hits.

Over-extending credit is what caused the housing industry to collapse. A domino effect has brought on unemployment in the private sector, which is the engine that funds the federal government. Without the private sector, our country's economy shall collapse.

Mr. Obama is the cause. He alone bears the burden, for he is much as the captain of a sinking ship -- he is totally responsible.

For him to lay responsibility onto someone else only confirms his lack of leadership abilities.

Wayne P. Brotherton Sr.

Amargosa Valley

Our money

To the editor:

Hidden on Page 6A of the Tuesday Review-Journal, it was reported that President Obama approved $105 million in humanitarian aid for Somalia. It seems that Somalia has priority over our unemployed people.

Washington does not feel the value of the money. This $105 million should stay at home. It could be used to give 210,000 unemployed people $500 each.

Alex Borbely

Las Vegas