We are not better off because of the color of our President; we are however still stuck in a dismal recession because of his policies. We can only move forward if we stop looking backwards and truly come together closing the partisan divide. Obama has not done this and unless Congress gets an attitude adjustment a President Romney will probably not be able to either!

We're better off now than we were four years ago? Is this a joke?

Yes, we are better off than we were four years ago ,and the economy is improving although progress is very slow. Four years ago we faced the prospect of a replay of the Great Depression.Let us not forget who fiddled while Rome burned for two long terms prior to 2008.

The bailouts worked despite claims to the contrary. GM and Chrysler survive and are making cars.Both companies would have failed and thousands would have been put out of work without government intervention.And let us not forget that all of this flies in the face of Republican savants whose solution was to stand by and let recession "burn itself out."

Mitt Romney is not Ronald Reagan no matter how many Reagan holograms and no matter how many Reaganesque slogans the GOP choses to resurrect. If Romney wins, he will be forced to abandon the many promises he has made ,and his administration will be forced to adopt many of the policies he has condemned.

We need some statesmanship-- something sadly lacking in both parties,especially as both candidates make a mad dash to the White House. I have been disappointed in Obama, but I will vote for him rather than the empty suit that is his opposite number.

Good job hitting your talking points, and including the fact that it's the Republican's fault -we even got the "we saved GM and Chrysler" in there. Of course, the truth is that we really don't know that one way or the other.

The basic question of "are we better off now than we were 4 years ago". I would challenge you to start at one end of Main St and ask that question to 10 business owners. Care to predict the results?

At what point does your party accept responsibility and quit blaming the "past presidency". Just curious - is it 4 years, 6, 8, 12? At what point do they say "yea, we haven't fixed what we said, but here's what we're going to do different to fix it going forward". Will we hear that this week?

What color is the sky in your world?
I love the fact that history was made in that our country finally had its first black president... I"m just seriously disappointed that he turned out to be such a bad one.

this country is anything but united. We are more divided than I think we've been since the onset of the civil war.
Enough is enough.

Yes,everyone needs to unite and vote for the Republican guy so the sky will be blue, the buffalo will return,and the Great Manitou Reagan will walk with us again---beats the heck out of all that ghost dance stuff.Enough is enough.

Sox, we are better off. Financially. Opinions be damned, look at the economic indicators. Look at the stock market - from a low in the 7500 range to the current 12,000 plus range. That didn't happen by itself. So you can get off that soap box.

The question is where do we go from here? I'm not pleased with the current administration's policies. Feeble attempts at rapprochement - soundly rebuffed by the Republicans. Misdirected attempts at curing the healthcare industry with a massive bill few people understood.

But I surely do not believe Romney and his tax cut, close tax loopholes (unspecified), cut " wasteful" government spending - whatever that is, and don't touch the military - despite the fact that we've never reaped the "peace dividend" promised after the fall of the USSR.

There is a true lack of mutual respect and common sense in Washington, the Media, and Atlanta. Republicans are idiots who want to tromp on the already downtrodden (say the Dems). Democrats are idiots who want to punish the wealthy by forcing them to pay an additional 4.6% in taxes and give it to the undeserving downtrodden (say the Reps).

It's all a little sad.

Yes, it is sad ,but thank God we still have some choice.Vote your conscience.That is all anyone can do.

Bryant -

Economic indicators? Happily - Here you go

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-met...

We are far worse now than we were four years ago. The facts definitely point that way. It's not an opinion - it's just simple math.

I'll return to my soapbox, I like the view. The question was simply "are you better off now than you were four years ago". The answer is a resounding "no". To state that we are better off now than we were four years ago is simply moronic. It's not true.

The most successful position that the democrats have taken is "yes, we're worse off, but it's not as bad as it would have been". I really don't know how to quantify that. I just know that the "change" promised by our current administation hasn't happened - and as of right now I don't understand a plan to make it happen. The only plan I keep hearing from the democrats is "we're not as evil as the republicans". I simply want to understand what is going to be differnt over the next four years if we re-elect Obama! No one seems to address that. Maybe Clinton will tonight.

And did I mention the national debt?

Eight years of bush took toll on America.Their was so much hatreds. so what if were going through rough times its not like we have't been their before.We needed to be united to move this country forward.And this president whether you like it or not did that.This country is strong and will survive.Democrat or Repubilican you will make the right choice for America

As I asked above - at what point do you start accepting responsibility? How many years do you need to quit blaming on Bush? 4, 8, 100?

Well he only serve 8yrs lets see i got to think about it.Well lets see he brought mayhem,hatred,divided people oh i forgot put us into debt.I got to think about its some more.

Again - how many years do you need before you quit using Bush as a scapegoat?

Sox,

You cannot have it both ways.Four years ago W was President ,so you cannot castigate people for mentioning W's role in the current malaise.If you think W's is being unfairly condemned , don't go back to when he held the levers of power.

The are-you-better-off-now-than -four -years-ago slogan is simply a rather clumsy attempt to associate Romney with Reagan and has no more substance than the rest of the Reagan iconography invoked during this campaign.The Reagan hologram was probably an affecting symbol for Republican true believers, but it is was a symbol and nothing more.

Republicans seem to be more interested in gaining points from stressing weaknesses in the economy than in describing the actual state of affairs. We are certainly struggling but auto sales are up, new construction is up and evidence of improvement can be found.

Consumer confidence has a powerful effect on economic growth. Emotion affects us all in powerful and subtle ways ,so ,simply stated, pessimism has an economic cost. Yes, the economy could be much,much better ,but the gloom emanating from the Republican Party does not help in the slightest.And since you keep bringing it up,such gloom is nothing more than a conceit, or in contemporary terms, a talking point.Republicans know better. Mitt knows better.

Fly -

The author of the blog presented the question "Are you better off now than you were four years ago". To argue "yes" to this just flies in the face of any mathmatical or economic indicators comparing the state of our country now to the state of our country four years ago.

With the obvious answer being "no", the only course of action for the democrats is to argue "Everything that is still wrong is Bush's fault". My simple question is how long will you use that argument? Four years ago the campaign wasn't "we are gonna need 8 years", it was "we're gonna change it now".

I honestly don't care about gaining points one way or the other - I simply want change. I want the change that was promised to me four years ago, and I have not seen. It's not a "try to compare to Reagan". Honestly, I barely remember Reagan as a president. What I do remember is that when my current president ran for office he promised change - change I haven't seen.

To make matters worse, he hasn't laid a game plan for success over the next four years. Or, if he has, he hasn't communicated it. I thought we would see that at the convention this week, but all we heard was how bad the Republicans are, and we need to have faith. I'm done with faith in Obama (or any other politician for that matter). His JOB was to fulfill the change he promised - and he has failed miserably. The rest is just smoke trying to cover that fact up.

Its takes time you know that and if you stop tieing the man hands maybe he could have done a little bit more

theflyonthewall can i at lease vote for Romney wife.