Meh. Who cares? Unless he is offering a full confession for his and Darth Cheny's crimes against humanity and planning to turn himself in I have zero interest in what he may have to say.

WORST PRESIDENT IN THE HISTORY OF THE REPUBLIC!

Two unfunded wars, multiple unfunded mandates, tax cuts for the rich, all dumped on his successor.

Every ditto-head poster on this and any other board should get down on their knees and beg forgiveness for having voted that man into office.

SHAME.

Shame on you and shame on Bush 43 and his evil henchman Dick Cheney.

Obama/Biden 2012

Anyone who thinks the retrograde Republican Party and its *global* investment banking puppeteers don't still have multiple strategies to claw their way back into controlling this country - in order to finish off what Reagan and the Bush Dynasty started - has either been asleep for the past 3 decades or is too dumb to be near a voting machine.

Quite a goal for an ex president........the right to rule class sucks.

I like Chuck Lorre's Vanity Card from last night "Ask yourself if you are better off than the sh*t storm we were in 4 years ago"

This says it all. Romney probably begged Bush on his knees to please make this a secret talk. If I get elected, I'll make sure both of us never have to pay taxes again, not when we have so many other poor schmucks in this country that we can nickle and dime to death.

I think just two presidents out of 44 have been Republican businessmen. Herbert Hoover and George W. Bush. One presided over the Great Depression and the latter over the Great Recession.

Don't put anymore foxes in charge of the hen house. Too much of a bloody mess to clean up.

I always answer the question, "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" with another question, "Is George Bush still the President?" When the answer comes back "no" then I I say, "You bet I'm better off than I was four years ago."

What a disaster! If there was any justice in the world he and his henchman Cheney would be in prison awaiting trial in the Hague for crimes against humanity.

Obama/Biden 2012

@ Skip .....A "REPUBLIC" ???? We have not been a "REPUBLIC" for a very, very long time......We may call ourselves one ....but we're not .....Our forefathers warned us of what we might become as a nation....

Create a safe-haven right here in the US & keep all that money right here at home.

PValdes...AKA Geronimo in a funny hat

"yawn"...sorry, but do you have something relevant to say?

I agree, we havn't been a 'Republic' in many a year, but we're still "on the books" as a Republic.

Please try to keep up.

Obama/Biden 2012

If I was a criminal, I'd hide everything and anything, too.

Too bad we couldn't have hidden Party Boy Bush from 2000-2008.

Allahu Akbar !!! Skip Nicholson, dont forget Karl Rove...the guy who was really running the US

@ Skip ....1) It is actually sitting bull .....2) I was not attacking you .....3) We ARE a so called "democracy" regardless of what we are CALLED .... although some would argue that fact as well ....A republic would indicate that "we the people" actually had a say in the way our nation is run .... If that were the case we would not be in this predicament .....

George W Bush: " I wasn't a knee walking drunk"

Too bad. That would've been an improvement. He and his buddies should be in The Hague answering for their war crimes.

Bush was a terrible president and him acting sneaky is no surprise.

But I have a rare day off from work and see how many people's cars are still in the driveway and realize that most of my neighbors aren't working.

Can we please get a viable third political party, cause the Dems AND the Reps aren't helping Americans.

jw101...

I agree! I am soooo sick of the Dem/Rep crap. All they do is fight and blame each other instead of doing what is right for the American people. We need to vote in a viable third party (Independent) for President, in the Senate and Congress. If we can oust enough seats, they will be forced to compromise.

Why is this news? And the media wants to talk about a black out? How about not pressing Obama on any issues and giving him a free pass. What a bunch of hypocrites we have giving us the "news".

George Bush should be in jail, and Republicons are the biggest cry babies on the planet!! Waaaaah!!

To all of the dems on this page... Tell me how you feel in a couple of months when we go over the fiscal cliff and jobs begin disappearing again. Then you will want to tax anything that moves to keep your lazy butt on the couch. You will get all that you deserve. A socialist country that will really suck. Good luck with that continued change you have been lead to believe.

@JW and Concerned .... I am with you both ......The two party system is what is wrong with America. It is not sustainable and we need a drastic change .....like now! @ DZ both parties have America duped .....they eat and drink together when not in front of a camera ....

Good to see that the lying war criminal who lied us into war to profit from war, whose family was in bed with bin Laden's family, who authorized torture and other war crimes, who failed to heed warnings about 9-11 before it happened, who golfed while Katrina ravaged New Orleans, who is an oil profiteer and fundamentalist nutcase rich guy, is making money talking about money in the same place where Mormon Mitt has hidden money so he doesn't have to pay U.S. taxes. God bless George War Criminal Bush.

Aw...PV...ease up. I knew it was Sitting Bull.....I just mispoke...uh yeah, that's it, yah, yeah, I mispoke.

What the fat man meant to say was.....

Have a nice weekend

Obama/Biden 2012

George "W"orst President In History Bush !!!!

____________________________________

1. The Hague

2. War crimes (and crimes against citizens of the United States Of America.)

3. Prison

____________________________________

And that goes double for the "brains" behind this mouthpiece; Cheney, (the heartless) Dick.

.

I find it quite fitting that the Republican Party was so embarrassed by these two criminals that they were completely ignored by the republican convention. (Just as if the Bush administration/criminal empire never exhisted.)

.

By the way folks,,,,,

,,,,,, lets not forget that Romney has 17 of the same ad-visors from the Bush "administration/criminal empire lined up ready for action again.

And yes,,, that includes the moron who screamed about all of the "weapons of mass destruction" in Iraq. (That POS should be in jail , not ready and waiting to serve Romney).

DZ - "To all of the dems on this page... Tell me how you feel in a couple of months when we go over the fiscal cliff and jobs begin disappearing again."

is that because if Obama is re-elected, businesses will fire a bunch of people out of sour grapes?

yeah, im not into negotiating with terrorists...

"Then you will want to tax anything that moves to keep your lazy butt on the couch."

I work full time, own my own home, car is paid off...college loans are paid off...im a fully functioning contributing member of society AND I PAY TAXES HAPPILY because I understand that we are all in this together, and those 2 unpaid for wars and massive tax cuts for the rich arent going to pay for themselves (at least they didnt in the 8 years bush was president)...so yeah, sorry im REALLY RESPONSIBLE and understand, like all economists (aside from the hacks paid by mr romney himself) understand - we cant just cut spending to get out of this mess, we have to raise taxes.

Now, maybe you think the poor and middle class should pay for Bush's failures...but I think the Rich, who got Richer - need to chip in more. Call me a socialist liberal nutcase if you want...but the majority of america agree's with me...

"You will get all that you deserve. A socialist country that will really suck. Good luck with that continued change you have been lead to believe."

we have always had a socialist country...it's what has always made us better than every other nation. we dont just care about ourselves, but we care about our neighbors...we dont just take care of our selves, but each other...we dont just take take and take, we give and give and give...and yes, that makes us a socialist nation...because we have ALWAYS understood that united stand, divided we fall.

but, keep on dividing us by calling us libertards or whatever...your GOD must be so proud of your money hungry ways.

and it's IRONIC that Romney's closing arugments are that HE WILL BRING REAL CHANGE!

*face palm

ClosetheFed . . . Why don't you just run "W" out of Houston & be done with it instead of whining about him for the rest of your life?? You should be happy now that you have the attentions of that ace Eric Holder down in Texas, maybe he can help you with your "Bush issue".

And why would our President want to ClosetheFed anyway?? WHO IS GOING TO PAY FOR ME THAN??? You want us to become poor like the old Socialist Hungary? Things are going just fine from my point of view!!! TAXES GOING UP TO PAY FOR ME because I DESERVE IT and it is MY TIME!!!!

I was watching that Hungarian PETERFFY's Ad this week and I disagree with him just like Mr Romney. When I was in Hungary near the end of my military service right after WWII they LOOKED WEALTHY. NICE BUILDINGS, SHOPS ETC. WE SHOULD HAVE TAKEN IT ALL THEN!!!!!!

Then we wouldn't be in the situation we are in going broke here in the U.S. with Huge Deficits. We need to TAX OUR PEOPLE MORE and if that doesn't work maybe we can take another look at Hungary and those other formerly Socialist countries . . see how they do things!

OUR SOCIALIST COUNTRIES WORKING TOGETHER . . . YOU PAYING FOR ME!!! OBAMA/BIDEN 2012!!!

We should have blacked out Bush's second term. Then we wouldn't be in the financial mess that Romney wants to recreate.

skip if Bush was the worst Obama is getting ready to take his place. You don't miss him but your wallet does. and still you didn't answer your own question are your better off now than 4 years ago. what you wrote is not an answer

Obama will win 53% of the votes

Wow, so much hate and drivel from the liberal community directed toward someone who is four years out of office. The sad part is that when Mitt is elected in next Tuesday you will start the cycle over again. Whine, whine, whine. Always wanting to put the blame on someone other than yourselves.

Let me give you a couple of prophesy's.

1. If we continue on the path to socialism we will become a second rate country and China, Russia and India will surpass us as leading economic nations.

2. If we re-elect Obama the Muslim Brotherhood will completely dominate the Middle East and nothing will be left of Israel but a pile of rubble.

3. If we regain our sanity and choose to be free people of the American Revolution instead of servants the French Revolution then fifty years from now GWB will be viewed as what he truly is, an exceptional President, and Obama will be barely remembered other than by the two or three "scholars" who read his biography.

OBAMA DENIED AND FOUR GOOD AMERICANS DIED. REMEMBER BENGAZI!

I know it's probably a vain hope, but is there any way to revoke Mr. Bush's passport and prevent him returning here?

"Cayman Islands officials are proud of the British territory's role as an offshore finance center. But members of the U.S. Congress and advocates for changes in tax laws have accused corporations and wealthy individuals of using so-called financial havens to improperly avoid taxes."

Here is an idea. Instead of accusing people and insinuating that someone hasn't paid their taxes, how about leave this staement out of the article until you have facts to back up your claims? I would think that is something we can all agree on, no?

Also, I did not see Romney's or Barack's name mentioned in the article, yet their names appear in most of the comments. There needs to be a way to keep the political jihadists off of unrelated articles. They have even been turning up on all of the sports articles as well.

if Bush was the worst Obama is getting ready to take his place. You don't miss him but your wallet does.

I have made more money (in the private sector) under Obama than Bush. So my wallet does NOT miss Bush.

are your better off now than 4 years ago

4 years ago I was at a private company that was laying off 50% of their staff (under Bush). I avoided the lay-offs, but found a new job at a different private company shortly after Obama took office.

Since then, my stock portfolio has tripled. My 401k is stronger than ever. And the income from my PRIVATE SECTOR work has doubled in the last 4 years.

On top of that, I bought a house at the lowest price of the last 20 years (in my area), at an interest rate that is at the lowest point in my entire life. 4 years ago, before the crash, I know friends that bought a house . . . guess who got the better deal? On top of that, home prices in my area are rising.

My private sector company is making profits, my job is secure, and my wife just got promoted at her private sector company.

My company just sent out a announcement that our medical insurance already included almost all of the requirements of the ACA, so there are little to no changes. That means I either work for a great company, or the "doomsday" predictions are simply not true.

Finally, I was on a wonderful Caribbean vacation 6 months ago . . . and we are planning another trip for next year. I'm thinking Bora Bora, but the Maldives could be fun.

So am I better off than I was 4 years ago? Ha . . . do you really have to ask?

Not yet over the hill:

Why don't you honor us with a real name, and have the guts to face the music next tuesday. Note the following:

Your #1 is so off the wall, it shows your lack of knowledge re: the world we now live in. Up or down, stronger or weaker, even in the worst scenario, America will never be behind India or Russia. If you had any actual knowledge of either of those countries you would be aware, the USA not withstanding, have so regressed they are not 1st rate countries anymore.

#2 is hysterical. You are obviously one of the few; me, myself, and I, and the hell with everyone else republicans left that still believe he is muslim, and that he doesn't have a valid birth certificate. That, despite the comprehensive, exhausting investigation done by the republican party itself.

#3 Even the most ardent right wing republican is well aware that GWB will NEVER be considered a great, no less average president. Hell, the republican party wanted to distance themselves from him so bad, they avoided inviting him to their own convention. A 1st for any former president.

God, are you stupid and uninformed.

The GOP has been hiding W, and Cheney, Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld et al from view. Not even a peep from any of them during the convention and they have stayed far away from Romney. The Republicans are running AWAY from the Bush administration like a scalded cat. They want no association with that administration's mistakes and sheer crookedness. (Though they want to bring the policies back reincarnated in a Romney robot body.)

But up pops W, talking about how the Republicans have a handle on credit card debt. But the seriously bad thing is that he is doing it in Romney's home state --- the Cayman Islands.

No wonder 538 is giving Obama over an 80% chance of winning on Nov 6th. And Obama is trending very steeply upwards. It is looking more and more like 330 electoral votes every day. And more and more like the Tea Baggers are losing seats in both the House and Senate.

But why on God's green earth would Romney's handlers allow Bush to be a news story just four days before election? Are they really that stupid? And to make it worse they allowed it to be a "no journalists allowed" super secret affair so that people would be reminded of a similar event in which Romney discussed his hatred for 47% of Americans.

No wonder Romney is spending 8-40 times as much per adiminute as Obama. The "businessman" has no idea what he is doing.

And for low-information (and bad information) voters like @notoverthehill: All three of your points are not only wrong but really stupid. You apparently have no idea what socialism is or you would realize that it is just Tea Party propaganda. The Muslim Brotherhood was in existence and a powerful socio-political force well before Obama became president. Democracy means allowing people to make their own choices, not just allowing them to make choices of which you approve. Virtually all historians consign GW Bush to the worst ten percent of American based on the facts of his Presidency. A majority of them consider GW Bush to be at least tied with Buchanan as the worst President in American history. And as the problems Bush caused continue, his ratings drop even lower.

And as for the Benghazi issue --- just as with Romney's other ill-advised pronouncements, it appears that not only did Obama and the SecState NOT deny assistance to the consulate, but that assistance was on its way within 25 minutes. And the Information (Cryptography) Officer and the Ambassador would have probably lived had they remained in their safe room instead of trying to escape through a bathroom window. The two security people were killed attacking the terrorists and trying to take out mortar positions. There is not a shred of evidence that anyone could have done any better without the use of voodoo spells and magic (which Romney apparently favors.)

Most likely historians will remember Bush and Cheney as war criminals and capitalist looters who destroyed the economy, got us into two losing wars, and cause the Bush Depression. His legacy is going to be even worse than Reagan's which is in the lowest 25% and is still sliding as well. Bush was "exceptional" alright. Exceptionally bad.

528 is currently giving Obama better than an 80% chance of winning (5-to-1 odds) and is predicting Democratic gains in both the House and Senate. At this point it looks like the only "battleground" state Romney is winning is North Carolina and even that is trending Obama (the trend is just too little to change anything by election day.) New Hampshire, Virginia, Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, Colorado, and Nevade all look better than 3-to-1 for Obama, And Florida is slipping rapidly into the Obama column (and the trend line is such that it appears that Florida will go Democratic on election day.)

So get ready for four more years of Obama followed by eight years of Hillary. The Tea Party has so destroyed the GOP "brand" that it will not be competitive in national elections for decades to come. They simply forced too many people out of the Big Tent to accomodate old, white southern and western men.

Brad and Chris, my name is Mike. I will make this simple so you can understand.

1. Look where things are being manufactured today and look where those countries, especially China and India, are heading. They have large populations, limited government regulation and the desire to work and grow. Russia is pulling away from their past problems, they have vast resources and their government will not restrict industry like we do.

2. Never said Obama was a Muslim and have never believed that hogwash. However, lack of a strong commitment to stem the growth of radical factions within the Muslim community will embolden them to even greater acts of evil. Right now estimates of those Muslims who are true radical extremists runs from 1% to 15%. With over 1.2 billion Muslims that means (and I will do the math for you) anywhere from 12 million to 180 million want to see you head on a spit and your body burning. How many of those do you think already live here in the United States?

3. Comment doesn't come from ardent right wing republicans. I have no crystal ball or any way to tell the future but I do know that with time peoples perceptions change. Right now we remember Bush for Iraq, Afghanistan, Katrina, mortgage crisis, etc. Those things are first in our minds and the wounds are still raw. 50 years from now history, with a longer period of time to heal and as other events take place, may well favor GWB. I will remember him for how he inspired after 9/11, the boom recovery after the dot.com crash and his decision to remove an evil tyrant.

Maybe you two will be around to see how history treats GWB. I'm 64 and I don't think I will make it to 114.

As a bit more background, yes I am conservative, no I am not a tea party activist, yes I do agree with many of their positions but then again I am not opposed to many Democratic positions except I emphatically disagree with gay marriage and abortion on demand. I am 'pro-choice' but only if it's an informed choice. A 15 year old girl struggling with an unwanted pregnancy is in no position to stand alone and choose abortion. I read a lot, both conservative and liberal viewpoints. I check the House and Senate bulletin boards frequently to see where proposed legislation is moving or sitting. There is fault on both side.

The CIA came up with a timeline of events. I read it. When I wasn't crying over the lose of four fine men I was laughing at what was not said. The issue isn't what occurred during the attack so much as what did not occur before the attack. The White House had the intel, they knew the risks, the were aware of the symbolism of the date, they ignored the threat. The POTUS can put any spin on it that he wants to but in the long run we will find out that HE dropped the ball.

THE WHITE HOUSE (OBAMA) DENIED...FOUR BRAVE MEN DIED!

HandsOffMyMedicare!!

ClosetheFed . . . Why don't you just run "W" out of Houston & be done with it instead of whining about him for the rest of your life??

_______________________________________________________

Very cute "HandsOff,,,,,,"

,,,,, but I liked your old lady with the gun picture better.

.

And "W" is in Dallas area,,,,,, wake up, read up, or shut up.

.

Ha, ha . . Ok "Close" . . now that I know you like old Ladies I will put my wife back up!!! : )

Funny stuff everyone. I'm kinda glad that the whole thing is hush-hush. I don't think I could stand to hear another word that comes from that liar's mouth. I find our recent presidents' actions and what they've done after their presidential terms ended very telling.

Carter: The Carter Center, Nobel Peace Prize, work in the middle east, Habitat for Humanity, etc.

Reagan: not much, perhaps due to his unfortunate development of Alzheimer's

H.W. Bush: fishing tournament

Clinton: fighting HIV and obesity

W. Bush: Hiding from view

The actions of our Democratic ex-presidents seems to show that they actually care about people and leaving the world a better place. I'll be voting for Obama/Biden. Romney simply cannot be trusted. He's told lie after lie and has no discernable plan for fixing this mess that we're in.

This is an excellent chance to get dubya offshore and into a prison that can legally use torture so he can feel what he did to us for 8 years. I hope his plane crashes in the ocean and the crabs eat him...and take that warmonger Cheney and that pussy Rumsfeld with you.

Bravo! to Skip, Paul W, Allen (even if you do spell your name wrong!), Keen and the rest of y'all who I didn't call by name. I had six years of this idiot as Governor of Texas before his brother, then Gov. of Florida, got together with Karl Rove and made certain of delivering that state, and with it the White House, to a man so dumb, in Austin we used to say that Laura had to make sure she watered him every other day.

Curiously- well, no, not really- the Lapdog Corporate Media has never to my knowledge released a story about the 40,000 votes in Ohio that were 'switched' or just plain disappeared in 2004, giving that state and a second term to Bush... now, according to Harper's magazine (no relation to the Canadian Prime Minister who is known even by his supporters as "Bush's Bitch"), a new investigation indicates that the total of tampered or fraudulent votes in Ohio that year may have run over 100,000, and yet after Bush barely squeaked into reelection, he was claiming "political capital", a mandate to further dismantle America's industrial plant, and finish his Wrecking Crew's goal of complete freedom from regulatory oversight for his Wall Street masters.

Now, after the sorry spectacle of "Too Big to Fail", TARP, golden parachutes for the criminals who caused the whole catastrophe in the first place, and through it all almost ZERO meaningful assistance for the mllions of Americans who were made jobless, homeless, or without access to medical care, there are X million voters who are so eaten up with hatred of the "socialist" in the White house that they'll vote for Romney- a man who promises to bring back the Bush years in all their reckless, thieving, greedy, heartless, cruel, destructive glory.

Way to go, you idiots.

CBL... you mean when he has the job the prez has now... right? Lots of free time... golf and investing for everyone. Yeah!!!!

FoxTrotsky,

Interesting, you state that the total of tampered or fraudulent votes in Ohio may have exceeded 100,000 yet the Democratic party is emphatic that tampering and voter fraud is a rarity and that tougher voter identification laws are not needed. In fact Democrats declare that voter ID and registration laws are a tool of the Republican party used to deter minority voters. Who should I believe?

Not Yet:

Sorry about the delay getting back to you; Abe Lincoln once observed that "Good fences make good neighbors", and I was out repairing mine. I strongly recommend that you check out Kevin Baker's article in the October Harper's magazine. He names and identifies his sources, and what he says both reinforces and completes some things that I knew, and quite a few other things that I'd suspected but had no way of checking out for myself. He's not hysterical or sensationalistic. Read him for yourself and see what you think.

Regarding the photo ID nontroversy: I have been a Democrat my whole life, since way before I was old enough to vote, even though I view today's Democratic party as being no better than a bunch of goddamn Republicans, pardon my French. I think that asking somebody to spend a couple of hours on the bus and $25 for a state ID is just not unreasonable; on the other hand, it can't be denied that the Republican party is trying some very crafty tactics to exclude certain demographic categories that are very likely to vote Democratic. Only a complete fool, or Karl Rove, would try to deny that this is taking place.

I see and accept that President Obama is just as much a corporate whore as Mitt Romney- that's just how it is. The Stones nailed it way back in '69 in their song "Salt of the Earth":

A parade of grey-suited grafters,

A choice of cancer or polio

Peace and good luck to you. I'll keep an eye peeled for your handle.

FoxTrotsky. Thanks for the response. I tried to find the article on-line but it is archived and I really don't want to pay $16 for an on-line subscription. I am going to the library next week and will look it up. In the meantime I will try some other source. I am not doubting your numbers because many thousands of votes throughout the US are not counted, lost, etc. every national election.

Regarding the photo ID situation I am glad we are on the same page and I do not disagree that the Republican party is attempting to exclude some demographic categories. The conflict we have is whether this is 'crafty' or a prudent effort to maintain the purity of the vote.

Since I am a life long Republican I am sure we can find many issues on which to disagree. Hopefully we can agree to disagree yet still remain civil. A quality politicians show less and less.

I will keep an eye out for you. Maybe we can learn to appreciate the thinking of "the other side".

A lot of you are assuming Romney is not in attendance at this conference, but maybe there is a media blackout because he is there, flown in on a private jet and plans to fly out as soon as it's over.

Anybody have any proof of where the old boy is right now?

Not Yet:

By golly, I think I've actually located a reasonable human being here!

Not Yet, one thing I know for certain we can agree on is that the country we both love is in serious trouble. I started out on this page a month or so ago as a frothing, spitting, angry, insulting partisan. I am beginning to believe that there's more to be gained, more to be accomplished, if people of good will like you and me can actually talk to each other like adults- you know, "What do you think about----? Okay, let's talk about that."

I'll be watching out for your handle. I think if we start exchanging ideas honestly, we'll both be surprised at how much we can agree on.

Yours in civility,

FoxTrotsky

Yes, that we can agree upon. I started out trying to be reasonable but so many of the responses drew out the worst in me. Thank you for bringing me back from the 'dark side'.

When respect, civility and laughter leave the room no more can be said and no more will be done.

In my family, when we are complemented or blessed we respond by saying "igualamente". That's short for 'back at ya bro.' Have a wonderful evening.

So in your mind, as long as someone else is doing it, then it's ok? People molest children so it must be ok for the rich GOP-ers to molest them too? ALL loopholes need to be closed.

Cpt...You do not know how to comprehend what people write.No where in Carletta's statement does it says she's ok with it.All she was implying is that the Dems/Libs do it as well.All rich people.

Carletta, No where did I say anything about millionaire people paying their fair share in taxes. In fact my post is the opposite. Your are either high, delusional, or a product of the US education system. Please read before you write if you have comprehension.

carleta, swamp land in florida? how creative. how brilliant. how'd you think that one up?

Republicans and Democrats all need to pay on offshore accounts, and every one needs to pay their fair share not just the poor and middle class.

ALL loopholes need to be closed

There is no such thing as a "loophole". Anyone exempting anything on their tax return is able to do so because Congress passed a law that gave them that option. People who cheat on their tax returns go to prison. People who make full use of the available tax deductions provided to them by Congress are just smart.

The equity of the tax structure is something that can be debated, even if what is equitable is completely a matter of personal opinion. To talk about "closing loopholes", though, is just pure psychobabble that is meant to inflame, rather than provide substance to the debate.

Travis,

It seems there is a double standard here. When rich people do it, you call them smart, when middle or lower income people do it and they, therefore, have not more tax obligation, you call them "freeloaders" and "lazy" and part of the "47% of people that can't be responsible for themselves," per Romney et al.

Noticed they didn't ask Bill Clinton to speak to them...............

Carletta Ashby

I suppose you think that the beautiful millionaire people in Hollywood pay their fair share of taxes and don't have any tax shelters or off-shore accounts, but that's probably alright because they are liberals. And how much does Obama pay on his millions. I'm sure he pays straight taxes with no deductions. We never hear about that. You probably also believe there is no upper class in the socialist countries. Everyone is one big happy family redistributing the wealth. If you believe that, I've got some swamp land in Florida I'd like to sell you.

So i guess arnold schwarzenegger was really a liberal in disguise when he ran as a repub. What millions has obama declared do u know about ?

Obama did release his tax returns, so if you have questions, you can read them. It is not my responsibility to read them to you.

Now, Willard has refused to release his. If anyone is suspect, it is the guy hiding things, like Bush is doing right now.

Obama did release his tax returns, so if you have questions, you can read them. It is not my responsibility to read them to you.

Now, Willard has refused to release his. If anyone is suspect, it is the guy hiding things, like Bush is doing right now.

Well.....to be fair, Willard has released one. BUT like his father said when he released 12 of his tax returns during his campaign, showing........."one year could be a fluke, perhaps done for show"....................

I'll leave it at that.

Hey Carletta- let's you and me talk about that there swamp land you've got for sale, sugarplum!

Some folks fell for that deal back in the '80s, and last time I was in Florida, I was building luxury hi-rise condos right there in that swamp- and them what owned the turf underneath just made them a bucket fulla cash!

Hailyeah! Let's talk!

@Carletta, I honestly can't believe how uninformed you people are. Grabbing at straws, baby, grabbing at straws.

Travis, I disagree about the loophole thing. I think loopholes do exist. It's when shrewd (mostly conniving types), choose to gain tax breaks by getting deductions for things that they were not intended for. Ever read a little of Wealth Without Risk by Charles Givens? I started out thinking that this guy must be some kind of genius because he became wealthy multiple times. But as I read more of his book, I began to see that the guy was just a crooked specimen who knew how to use the loopholes. My perception was that he was so bent on making money that he didn't care how he did it as long as he could sneak his way around the rules and stay out of jail doing it. For example, he recommended that you start a small business (even if it you didn't intend on doing anything with it). Then if you take a trip to see your kid at college, buy a small pack of paper while you're there and keep the receipt. You can then write that off as a business trip. If you don't think there are loopholes, there's a perfect example for you.

Then if you take a trip to see your kid at college, buy a small pack of paper while you're there and keep the receipt. You can then write that off as a business trip.

That simply doesn't happen, EVER.

First, unreimbursed employee travel expenses are subject to a 2% AGI floor before you can even begin to start itemizing. In other words, if your adjusted gross income is $100,000 you'd need to be buying a $2,000 pack of paper before you can begin deducting travel expenses. Seems pretty unlikely...

Secondly, there's this thing called the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) that rich people have to pay. Curious to know one of the perks of this tax? Business travel is....(wait for it)...NON DEDUCTIBLE!!!

...maybe start getting your information from a legitimate source from your local library instead of, you know, some tin-hat wearing conspiracy theorist.

Travis - you've clearly never heard of "shell corportions"

A shell corporation is a company which serves as a vehicle for business transactions without itself having any significant assets or operations. Shell corporations are not in themselves illegal and have legitimate business purposes. However, they are a main component of the underground economy, especially those based in tax havens. They may also be known as international business company, personal investment companies, front companies, or "mailbox" companies.

A classic tax avoidance operation is based on the buying and selling through tax haven shell companies to disguise true profits. The firm does its international operations through this shell corporation, thus not having to report to its country the sums involved, avoiding any taxes.

An example of a legal use of a shell company is a supplier of store brand groceries that sets up a shell company when dealing with a hard discounter like Aldi. By obscuring its business relation with the discount chain, the supplier prevents diluting the value of its main brand, which sells at much higher prices.

NOR HAVE YOU HEARD THE SAYING: WHERE THERE'S A WILL, THERE'S A WAY

im sorry to burst your bubble travis, but people arent paying their fair share of taxes - intentionally.

Mittens Romney is the leader of the pack...and how an average voter with seemingly DECENT intelligence as yourself is willing to turn a complete BLIND EYE to all that Mitt Romney is and exemplifies, is astounding.

It's ironic, because republicans beat up democrats for liking Obama who sold us on "hope and change" - which, from my perspective we've received considering all that he was handed on the first day of his presidency...and yet, it's you guys about to elect a guy who's selling you nothing but falsely rated derivatives disguised as "job creation and saving america from the fiscal cliff"...

i'll stick with hope and change, it'll be infinitely better than fleeced and fuc#ed.

Travis - also, here's the defintion of loophole:

An ambiguity or inadequacy in the law or a set of rules.

I'd say that Mittens Romney getting to deduct his fancy dressage horse worth thousands of dollars in deductions as a STRAIGHT UP LOOPHOLE.

I get that it's Legal - but thats because asshats like Romney work in washington and set the rules up for themselves, not the rest of us.

Travis, did you read KeepItReals post. His example was for somebody who owned a business. There ar no floors for deducting travel expenses for business - only personally. AMT for corporations does not affect the ability to write off business expenses. I think you are the one that needs a trip to the library (actually a simple google search would work).

His example was for somebody who owned a business.

Well in that case NONE of the travel expenses would be deductible unless the individual could provide substantive documentation that the expenses were necessary - pack of paper won't cut it. Again, its one thing to debate whether the tax structure is equitable - its another to sit here and deliberately make up lies to try and impugn the merits of the other side.

At any rate, these issues are much more complicated then you're making them out to be. If the tax laws became as authoritarian as many of you seem to want it to become US - the little people - would probably suffer a great deal as well.

For instance, have you ever made an out-of-state purchase without reporting it on your tax return? Ever let your child use your home office to do homework? Ever received a small gift in exchange for providing a service to a friend or neighbor? According to the IRS, all these activities are illegal and punishable by steep fines or imprisonment, but somehow I doubt the lower and middle classes would be as excited about seeing THESE tax laws enforced. No, no - it's only the tax laws that apply to the OTHER guys that we care about lol...

Again, these things aren't nearly as simple as some here have made them out to be.

For those who are still having heartburn over Romney's taxes go to

Price/Waterhouse has given an accounting of his tax returns from 1990 to present.

Of course people will still complain this is not enough.

Agreed!

Cayman's can keep him!

maybe we shouldn't let him back in

After 4 yrs. of Obama, I don't think he wants back in (or any non-union business owner),,

Dr Noo, If Obama had a Cayman island account, it would be revealed in his multi-year tax returns! Romney won't release his! I think I know why!

dr no, youre looking like a fool

William Smith-543063

Funny how the POTUS does not have an offshore account, but Mitt does. Get the connection?

Funny how Obama's net worth has increased ninefold ($1.3 million in 2008, $11.8 million in 2012) since he became President, a job that pays $400,000 per year. Get the connection?

It's called royalties bill, maybe facts aren't your friend? Did you conveniently forget that he's written several books that have sold significant numbers of copies each or don't they cover that on Faux News?

@ Bill, Wow he's worth half of what Robme made last year alone. Yup that's a close call.............NOT

Denver,

Why is it that its wonderful capitalism when Romney makes a gazzilion dollar, but Obama earns any additional money, there's something funny going on. Maybe you should look up Cheney, halliburton and EDS

Coracii

It's called royalties bill, maybe facts aren't your friend?

My statement about Obama's increase in net worth over the last four years is a fact, so yes, facts are my friend. However, the real point of my post was to show that William Smith was trying to show a false connection by using another false connection as an example. Maybe abstract thoughts aren't your friend.

This is nothing new. Since leaving office, GW has had a strict policy to not be "news". I have attended an event where he was the keynote speaker and he was first class. During the Q&A, he politely reminded people that he would not comment on how he viewed current issues or how Obama was doing. He stated the POTUS job was hard enough without a bunch of arm chair quarterbacks.

Getting rich is not the crime. Even most of what Romney has done is not
the problem.

Legislating so that you and your friends in the 0.1% can get richer and stay that way, is the problem.
Especially when many of those policies increase the gap between the haves and the have nots.

As to Obamas accumulated wealth, he did kind of write a couple of
international best sellers, and we can check how he made and makes his money,
Because he has released his tax records, un like Mr. Romney.

William Smith-543063.........well said!! best post of the day!!

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/02/14875519-blackout-imposed-as-george-w-bush-speaks-at-cayman-islands-investment-conference?threadId=3602596&commentId=71622427#c71618754

The President also gets speaking fees. You know, like Romney? The $350,000 that Romney refers to as not worth mentioning....

Even most of what Romney has done is not
the problem.

Controlling a company that prided itself on destroying companies and shipping what was left to China isn't a great selling point.

Years back I saw the home being built on the Caymen Island in a secluded area. At the time, mid 90's it was valued at several million. Being built by Norton Schwartzkopf. Nice retirement.

I have to totally agree with Dan..617. Regardless of how one views his Presidency, Bush has been a totally class act since leaving office. He has not spoken out once publicly about all those who make false accusations against him, or hate him to their very cores. He has not commented on where he thinks the current President has gone wrong, nor has he tried to control the Republican Party - unlike Bush's predecessor and the Democratic party.

Having listened to him speak post-Presidency I have tremendous respect for how the man has stayed true to his faith and values, despite all the hate that accompanies the very mention of his name.

He may be talking about the progress of the Petersen campaign to end Social Security in the next Congress. Also, Jeb has a new private corporation start-up that is designed to replace FEMA that he wants to talk about. How to lobby to prevent tax legislation for their Cayman and Swiss banking schemes.

Actually, I am looking forward to seeing the video... Someone will find a way to record the speech and release it! These guys are capitalists -- they can see when there is a buck to be made. Closed doors; media locked out -- that thing will be worth a fortune!

True there..morrigan..if they got out a video (suppose to be a private fund raiser) of Romney putting his foot in his mouth about the (I don't care about the other 47% of the nation)..no doubt this idiot Bush will be easy to record...even with Bush's secret service personnel around still!

excellent ~ Monty Burns

WOW- the media "unfairly" vilified Pres. Bush? i dont even know how to respond to that ridiculous comment., except are you talking about the Bush from Bizzarro world or is there some other world you live in?

clark, go to hell

Clark,

Thank You. The media Unfairly Vilified Bush, LOL. That is profound. He was the ideal Grover Norquist President. A pawn in the American Taliban's attempts to turn this country into a country club for the 1% ers. A Garden of Eden for the Religious Right.

The media unfairly vilified Bush so now he doesn't want the public to hear the things he has to say? If Bush was proud and confident in his words I would assume he would want everyone to know!

Unfairly villified? From where I sit I'd say the media gave him a free pass. He should have been arrested and tried for war crimes in the Hague for what he did during his terms.

The media "vilifed" Bush? OMG. Please tell me no human being uttered those words.

I would like to vilify Bush for what he and his rich friends did to our economy. Now Romney wants to scrape up the leftovers...........O & Joe......straight dem this time.

Unfair??? Boo Hoo. the president couldn't stand what they were saying about him?

it's not the media's fault that Bush is incompetant!

Sheesh...

Yes, when you are an idiot, it can seem as if the world is conspiring against you...

up your a++ss

It's just too bad someone didn't sneak some video.

Liberal media? Pay attention backwards east...those commercials you see on television every four minutes...are the same big lobbyists you see in Washington...big pharma...big oil...big insurance! It is a CORPORATE media! Does anybody even remember the days of long ago when you PAID for cable or satellite...so you DIDN'T have to see commercials...now networks and cable providers get both YOUR money and their CORPORATE masters...wake the F up and get a clue!

A private event of Cap Saps plotting against the working class. Its subversive. Liberal media! Charge!!

More than 80% of the media is owned by conservatives, including a significant percentage owned by Bain Capital (Clear Channel Media), yet these dim bulbs still try to claim it's liberal.

More proof Ron Whites right..."you just can't fix stupid"!

Wow... what a bunch of whiney dolts. All you must just idolize nbc news... pfft ..

Who left the gate open to the sheeple barn? I see they are grazing out here in numbers.

Dollars to donuts we will see a video of baby bush before long. No such thing as a secret anymore.

Money laundering is only legal if you have the word "Corporation" at the end of your name or you pay the politicians to write laws to allow the minority to hide the millions.

Blame the Jews and Christians,Bigot.

fat bastard is the right name for you. If you are going to make such insightful comments you should head back to Fixed News.

Jonathan gives a thoughtful and correct analysis and you feel like chiming in. Just using the word bigot does not make it true.

Jonathan has a valid point. christian right and jewish extremists.

Well W couldn't show his face anywhere Sandy just hit, could he?

Look at the failure you voted for.

7.9 unemployment up not down idiot

6 trillion in added debt (I will cut it in half ) Total failure

$4500 less take home pay (can you say failure)

Libya lies and lack of leadership (can you say failure)

47 million on food stamps up from 35 million (can you say failure)

Jeeps going to made in China less American jobs (can you say failure)

First debate (total failure and loser the clown idiot president obama failure)

Sandy (failure should of had the military in 4 days ago that is what we learned after Katrina but this faux leader has no clue)

Whats to create a business department country did well for over 200 years without out one once this retard gets voted out then a real job creator will turn this country around

Having Joe Biden as VP (total failure)

to much more to put down on this clown of a president.

He had both houses in 2008-2010 did nothing failure

Vote the no good bum out of office he has screwed up the country enough

He has taken the worst President title away from Carter.

hey duochebag, make a list of those policies about bush, when your done lets go down the list of dumocraps that voted for them to. Are you really this ignorant?

Bush - doubled the national debt

Bush - Gas in the summer of 2008 was $4.25 a gal

The biggest terrorist against americans and also on american soil and was too drunk to catch him

Bush - Had more vacations days than President Obama has been in office

Bush - Had a vice president that shot a man

Too much more Google "Bush"

....One has to ask what could be learned from a man who left his country on the brink of a depression?.........one has to ask libtards what can you learn about europe, greece, spain, france ? What did you learn about the north dakota driling for oil and the jobless rate there, anything? How can you support Nobama after the libya lies? seriously

ya, tank it with liberal policies duche bag, just like greece france and spain, they have all led the fight against the rich and business and hows that working out duche bag, get a clue already before you ignorant libtards kill this country !

Liberalism, the cancer that is killing the world, anyplace at anytime its tried in human history.

Go watch Rush and tell your conservative friends you cant get pregnant from rape. Bush policies tanked the economy here not in greece or france or spain or with any help from any of them. Take your weapons of mass destruction BS and go use them to find Bin Laden. Oh wait, to late he is dead in the first term or the liberals, where it took Bush 7 years and wasn't even looking in the right country. Obama is not my favorite president by any means but it beats Mitt "Look at me daddy" Romney who thinks shipping jobs overseas is ok when you run a company, but not when you run for election. Fox News Watching Conservatives wouldn't know a fact if it hit them in the head. Niether of your boys could even carry their own state. Way to go MA and WI. You lost, go crawl under a rock and die you lying Non-Job Creating hypocrits.

@mathuin,

ahhh... so THAT's why Obama sent a representitive there.