Schieffer on events politicians can't control

(CBS News) So now we know who the candidates will be, and how the two sides intend to frame the election.

Republicans will argue it is simply a referendum on a president who couldn't keep his promises.

Democrats will say it is about a Republican who wants only to keep taxes low for his country club friends.

Both sides will go to extraordinary lengths to control the message, but what we (and they) should remember is they cannot control events, as the recent episode with the Chinese dissident reminds us. Who knows where that will go?

In politics, the best laid plans almost never work out.

Nobody talked much about terrorism in the 2000 campaign, the election before 9/11, but terrorism was the overriding issue of George Bush's eight years in the White House.

As the two sides gear up for what promises to be one of our longest (and certainly most expensive) campaigns, there is no shortage of serious problems - jobs, the nation's precarious financial footing, and some possibly dangerous problems overseas. And did I forget a Congress that remains in gridlock?

THESE are the things this campaign should be about.

In the midst of the onslaught of negative advertising which has already begun, is it too much to wish that at least one or two of those things may actually get touched upon before November?

I guess we can always hope . . .

[NinthSt78]

We have seen much time and money spent on trying to change people and cultures overseas, but many times "all that fighting and it never gets done". An old commercial said things another way: "You can take _____ out of the country, but you can't take the country out of _____."

[Robby33383]

Schieffer on events politicians can't control?? The lefty media as Cheerleaders for Obama!!!!!

[hypnotoad72]

*facepalm*

[1stlttightwad]

Yes,it would be nice if Obama would talk his real plans for job creation other than with federal money instead of raising red herrings every week to keep the job message off the front page..For example, gay marriage, birth control etc.,there are just so many things he can throw out until the job issue comes home to roost. Obama has not defended his job plan has he..oh, yeah, he did say some of the jobs were 'not a shovel ready as he thought" Duh. And he wants another four years of the same? Give us a break, the working public is not that stupid....I hope.

[hypnotoad72]

He will have to in time... especially as:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3096434/vp/40575006#40575006

http://www.forbes.com/sites/aroy/2011/10/11/how-mitt-romneys-health-care-experts-helped-design-obamacare/

He's essentially co-opted the GOP's plans by his compromising to them.

[cntrygirl3]

This election will certainly be defined by "issues" because of the unlimited, totally anonymous money of the "504C" (I think that is what they are called). They can spend what they want on "issue" advertising to supposedly "educate the public". Basically they can say anything they want it doesn't have to be true or even reasonable. If you repeat a lie often enough it can become "truth". They will also get into Senate, House, Governor races. Why just buy a president when you can buy the whole government and no one knows who is pulling the strings, officials will only be told what is expected of them. Welcome to the "new" democracy.

[RealiteBites]

omg, so it's time for the debt ceiling to be raised again?

Watch for the following:

1) A lot of hot air about cutting the budget, with distorted timelines (they want to raise the ceiling by x number of dollars, which is intended to last for a set number of time. But it's going to take like 10 years to pay off that same amount.)

NOTE: The numbers DO NOT ADD UP!! Both sides will talk tough about debt cutting ... AS they seek to raise the debt ceiling!!

It's completely non-sensical and unsustainable into perpetuity.

Something to ask yourself is why there's the need to raise the debt ceiling at all - why not just start cutting spending NOW?

And if you think that's something that needs to be saved for another day, well that right there is why there's debt in the first place.

Note that the reason they can't NOT raise the debt ceiling is because there'd be a recession.

Like politicians aren't going to be honest about just why the situation is so incredibly awful. It's supposed to be up to Bob to fill in the blanks and call them all out.

[RealiteBites]

Bob, don't let them distract and confuse you into thinking that the issue is the one they've crafted for political reasons (Congressional Dems: that Repubs won't raise taxes; Congressional Repubs: that Dems won't cut spending; Executive branch: that Congress won't 'compromise')

It's all smoke and mirrors!!

Nothing's really changed since 2000. And nothing ever will if everybody keeps letting the politicians try to blame in on the tax cuts versus spending debate.

If you keep spending, you'll be Greece.

If you try to cut down on debt (including by raising taxes), you'll be the rest of Europe with their austerity.

This is a false argument - the root problem is faulty trade policy. It's the ONLY way to address all the other symptoms of that root cause (the debt, the income inequality, the job crisis, the lack of tax revenue, etc)

[hypnotoad72]

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/04/14/158424/republican-leaders-debt-limit-hypocrisy/

Pity the proclaimed-responsible ones didn't bother when they had full power last decade.

But maybe we should stop giving taxpayer money to corporations that offshore jobs, as that is one reason why we're in this mess today.

And see if anyone in the following list of names are found in the previous article I added above:

http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/Rick_Santorum.htm#Corporations
http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/mitch_mcconnell.htm#Corporations
http://www.ontheissues.org/john_mccain.htm#Corporations
http://www.issues2000.org/senate/Judd_Gregg.htm#Corporations
http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/jim_demint.htm#Corporations
http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/Orrin_Hatch.htm#Corporations

"Voted NO on repealing tax subsidy for companies which move US jobs offshore. (Mar 2005)"

[BullSht_CBSNews]

Hope is for fools like yourself

[BullSht_CBSNews]

Bob-

I used to respect you until I saw your Ron Paul interview.
You are an tired old dog incapable of any new tricks.
You cant recognize that the corporate media you belong to is merely a propaganda machinge for the plutocrats.

Step down before you start to drool on HD TV

[hypnotoad72]

1. Where's the link to the Ron Paul interview? Given how many issues Ron still has to describe with a sufficient level of detail (per his web site), any interview of him can't possibly hurt his chances at this point.

[NinthSt78]

How they plan to frame the election is well-said in terms of the "country club" and "unkept promises" imagery the two parties are noted for. The Congressional gridlock is probably the most disturbing for many of us because "what they have done to others they end up having done to them" when their inning comes up. Planning and unforseen events is always the scent they hate to have around. They never know when one of those lightning bolts is going to come down from heaven to wake them up and get things moving again.

[RealiteBites]

It confuses me how people could just take politician talking points at face value ... as if politicians have never been known to twist things around and tell half truths to further their own careers.

So some politician tells you that Congress is polarized and that's why there's gridlock? Did you first weed out the possibility that neither has viable solutions, and that's why EVERYBODY is frozen in their tracks?

Do YOU think you've got a viable solution to engineering a global economic turnaround? What is it ... the Democratic platform of taxing the top 1%, and spending it on education and the green industry, and paying down the debt?

Guess what - that's not a plan for economic growth per se ... it's (1) a justice issue, for people who think it's more 'fair' for there to be less income disparity, and (2) a HOPE that by taking money away from rich people who would tend to invest it in businesses, and instead investing it in education, the economy will grow more.

But you haven't shown that to have a high likelihood of success. As a matter of fact, apparently there's a lot of over-educated people who are underemployed. Barack talks a lot about 'retraining' ... but there's the question of what exactly it is that people are being retrained to do when there's no jobs now except in retail now that he's continued to perpetuate the trade ideology of outsourcing manufacturing of consumer goods to the 3rd world.

And guess what - Simpson Bowles needs for the economy to be able to grow on it's own without the Government needing to shore it up with debt. That economy hasn't been capable of that since 1999.

It's all just so precious to see people clucking their tongues at Congress for being inept ... as if you all know any better how to solve complex global issues. It's not a given that people in power actually know how to wield it to make a difference you know ... they don't know what to do, that's why there's gridlock. And in their shoes, I guarantee you, you and Bob would both be just as frozen into inaction ...

[RealiteBites]

Also note one other thing - China's got over a 5% growth rate ... it might be something like 8%, I haven't checked in a while.

And their kids that score better in math and science ... but not all kids go to school. It's only rich peoples' kids who go to school. If only the richest peoples' kids went to school in the US, I'm sure the scores would be competitive.

The reason their growth rate is so high is because of manufacturing. It's a consumer's world, so whichever country makes what the world demands will have the growth.

And manufacturing jobs haven't gone overseas because China's more educated - their competitive advantage is cheap labor. You don't become competitive with high demand cheap labor by becoming more educated when that's not the criteria upon which demand is contingent - you become competitive by letting market prices (ie wages) fall to the global going rate (set by China) unless you intervene in the free market (with tariffs).

There's only so many people in any population who are capable of doing jobs like computer architecture, software design, solar panel engineering, etc. You need at least an IQ of 140-150. That's 1% of the population - you can't 'educate' people to be that way.

It's just naive childish wishful thinking to think powerful people have all the answers. And that politicians will make everything right, if only they'd just 'compromise' and 'get something done'. As if all it would take for the world to prosper would be for John Boehner to act more like a Democrat ...

[NinthSt78]

Beautiful insight and analysis. A few high-quality positive ads well-placed are far more likely to receive my occasional praise than the sniping ones, one after another, as has often been the case in elections. If politicians had to post the price paid on each ad the way gas stations have to post prices, the quality would soon go up and the quantity would go drastically down. When the political ads get fast and and furious, I shut the TV off. They will never win a Cleo Award with such slapped together garbage and Marketing Degrees that have been worthless for the last thirty plus years.

[1stlttightwad]

Political messages they can't control?? Hmmm. CBS, ABC, NBC, CNN, and MSNBC have done a GREAT JOB covering up the bIack mob attack on 2 White(a man and a woman drug out of their car and beaten severely) newspaper reporters in Newport, Virginia because they were in the ahem, wrong neighborhood...Oh, you didn't hear about that???? Watch the O'Reilly Factor on Fox or click on his section at the bottom of the Fox Page..Wonder why this is not being covered by ANYONE but FOX? Once you do this post back with your replies and give me an answer. Gotta go to work now. Will check back tonight..Thanks, Dave

[KPeters_from_UK]

You believe Fox News? The corporation run by criminals that bribe police departments, hack private phone calls, harass private citizens, intimidate politicians to do their bidding, impede police investigations of missing girls, pay off politicians with expensive gifts, infiltrate public office by using ex-employees as cabinet members, etc.

I live in the UK. I know what the Murdoch family is capable of doing. The nasty Rebekah Brooks and her husband were arrested three days ago for criminal cover-up.

Ask yourself: if they can do this for years and years and get away with it for years in the UK what is this corporation doing in the States?