Does anyone here have an opinion, or even give a hoot?

I'm slightly sad that possibly the most intelligent President in my lifetime is being so heavily criticised for not being able to magically create an economic recovery in just two years. However, it was inevitable. "The People" are always impatient, and he hasn't "played the game" by lying time and time again.

Perhaps the people of Delaware shouldn't have voted down Christine O'Donnell. Even if she's not very good at spells, she did give birth to quite a monster:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mUn2c_PKho
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44mqiBrB0zI

I was wondering who the Mad Hatter was at the tea party. She's definitely a contender.

Did you watch the programme about the Tea Party made by Andrew Neill. Intelligence has nothing to do with it. They seem to be a crocodile-tear fuelled group which has no real clue about the global situation, just as long as they can stare lovingly back to an idealised past and try to build it in the present. They are woefully naïve, and it seems the the Big Boys of business and commerce are circling, seeing how they can use them to their advantage. The poor fools can’t see it happening.

Watch it. It’s an eye opener.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0 ... y_America/

It is bad news for everyone. It will result in gridlock in US politics. Nothing will get done. Cuts will end up being made basically repeating the mistakes of 1937 and slowing the economy. It will leave the entire hopes for recovery in the hands of Bernanke who only has Quantitive Easing as a solution. QE does not work but just creates bubbles everywhere else, that is why the US economy is stagnant. It is why many countries have imposed capital controls to stop it impacting on their economy. It will probably end up in commodity bubbles so expect food prices to increase.

Not really. The man's done nothing of consequence for two years now. I never expected miracles from him in the first place. But even if I did, what bearing does it have on my life. That country is full of self-interested, uneducated idiots, just like ours. Except over there, they turnout to vote and have no idea the rest of the world exists.

I love the US and her people, but rarely has the man at the top made a substantial different to the direction of the country, or the "free world" at large.

Depends on your point of view - http://coltmonday.wordpress.com/2010/11/03/10-monumental-things-obama-has-done-so-far/
For some people, some of those will be pretty big.

There's a better side, which is http://whatthe[LIFTED]hasobamadonesofar.com/, where the replaced word is a well known four letter slang term for sex, starting with 'f'.

Granted, he's done some stuff. But it's all domestic, hence my comment. And anyone who mentions Gtmo can [LIFTED] off. That's bollocks.

The weight of responsibility that the US carries internationally needs to be addressed and met head on IMHO.

Health Care Reform, nothing? He's been called a communist for doing that. Obviously, because only communists would want to make sure their population have a basic healthcare provision.

It's now going to be harder for him to do anything with the House of Representatives turning Republican and the Tea Party component of the Republicans looking like they just want to block anything he does.

Seeing as it's not a presidential election, no.

Where's the PIE button/option?

Had to go on to Al Jazera website yesterday to find some real world news

Again. Irrelevant to me and the wider world.

So? you can't expect him to solve the issues of the big wide world when his country is falling apart?

I think what Okenobi is suggesting is there's no obvious reason for the extensive coverage the US mid terms have received in the UK when they're a pretty much purely domestic concern. I can't imagine the result of the Dunny-On-The-Wold by election is first item on the CBS Evening News, somehow.

From The Simpsons circa 1994:

Sideshow Bob: Because you need me, Springfield. Your guilty conscience may move you to vote Democratic, but deep down you long for a cold-hearted Republican to lower taxes, brutalize criminals, and rule you like a king. That's why I did this, to save you from yourselves. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a city to run.


Bart: Oh my God! The dead have risen and are voting Republican.


Bart: We want the truth.
Sideshow Bob: You can't handle the truth. No truth-handler, you. I deride your truth-handling abilities.

But they're not, they're an indication of the change with the Republicans gaining strength again with a healthy batch of right-wing Tea Party jibberish.

One supporter said he would vote Bush back in in a heartbeat, even if he was burning babies on the Whitehouse lawn. Oh and he wants to kill 'commies'. It's a shame it wasn't pointed out to him that China own a good whack of the US debt.

That sort of thing would have an impact on the wider world.