A question for anyone regarding healthcare systems...

[ErinKC]

But like you say, this can be overlap between changing governments because of changes in the economy that take time. Has Trump benefitted from that?

I found Clinton arrogant. She was going through the motions expecting to win. I expect that only galvanised the disenfranchised voters who she wouldn't typically represent? And that's where Trump was clever as he chased these types of "forgotten people". He ended up becoming a bit of an everyman but once you get into power that falls to pieces very quickly in such a divided country.

You had Obama and I think they thought this was the year of the woman. They wanted a woman no matter what but they pushed a really bad candidate with a lot of baggage..and then there is Bill. Women's groups, we were told, were all behind her which felt a bit strange given her husband. It should be about the best candidate but also the candidate should be representative of you all as much as they can and not pushing from angles like this. It felt like popularism on both sides in their own ways.

We heard quite a bit about Sanders too.

Didn't she release her book about why she lost and still blamed the public

Trump did benefit in many ways I think by an economy on the upswing. I think presidents in general have very little sway over the economy but always reap the benefits or take the fall. It all depends on perspective. Right now, people who hate Trump say the economy and jobs numbers have nothing to do with him, but surely when we hit a recession, which my economist husband says is coming, they will blame him completely. And the opposite will be true - the Republicans say it's all Trump boosting the economy, but when recession comes it somehow won't have anything to do with him.

Trump probably had a bit of a hand in economic growth by being more business friendly in general - lower corporate taxes, lower capital gains taxes, and loosening a lot of regulations. But, I think that only really goes so far. I find him super objectionable in a lot of ways, but I will save money on taxes this year thanks to his tax cuts, so at least there's that!

I agree on all points about Clinton. She just kind of thought it was her turn and the Clintons have a lot of power so everyone went along with it. Sanders had a good amount of appeal among some voters, but not enough (along with Clinton working with the DNC to railroad him - as I understand it).

I have never been a fan of the Clintons. I think Bill's pass during the #metoo movement was pretty outrageous. A few people came out to be like - oh, yeah, I guess we should have cared more about that. But... too little, too late in my mind. I've always found support for him by women to be so bizarre. Especially now, in light of how people like Kavanaugh (rightly or wrongly) are treated.

Hillary did write a book all about how it was other people's fault she lost... The Democrats really need to find their voice - other than "we hate Trump" or they are going to keep losing.

I don't like either party, but I really don't like one party dominating, so if I have to deal with one of the two every time I much prefer for them to swap out to keep things a bit more balanced!

[jray23]

I couldn't agree more, we seem to think quite alike Erin. It's somewhat accepted (in the financial world) that Trump's name and reputation contributed to keeping an already rising market going further his first year, but they are now saying his tariff policies have been responsible for the recent market decrease. But Trump will take credit for everything...he even said the other day that he is the reason NFL (American "football", Terry...haha) ratings are up this year. LOL

Terry, you are correct there is very little solid coverage of international politics/news here in the US. On the other hand, at least from what I see in BBC or Guardian articles about us, it all typically seems pretty well put together.

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[MyNameIsTerry]

I couldn't agree more, we seem to think quite alike Erin. It's somewhat accepted (in the financial world) that Trump's name and reputation contributed to keeping an already rising market going further his first year, but they are now saying his tariff policies have been responsible for the recent market decrease. But Trump will take credit for everything...he even said the other day that he is the reason NFL (American "football", Terry...haha) ratings are up this year. LOL

Terry, you are correct there is very little solid coverage of international politics/news here in the US. On the other hand, at least from what I see in BBC or Guardian articles about us, it all typically seems pretty well put together.

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just don't call ours soccer

Yes, I would agree with more serious media outlets being factual. The standard of journalism is better.

The BBC are/should be our go-to over here. They still have some issues with bias (pro EU, for instance) and being an ex government dept there are often discussions about whether the government still use it and how it may be more critical of the opposition party but certainly the BBC have a policy of confirming being printing so you know it will be more factual than hysteria driven.

The Guardian is left leaning and pro EU. On Brexit, their bias is very evident. They have shocked me a few times by printing positive stories but the majority has been negative including unnecessary levels of doom.

Where the case I would look on both sides of the spectrum to understand what is more about their opinion and bias over just the facts. So much of journalism these days is endless speculation.

---------- Post added at 02:05 ---------- Previous post was at 02:01 ----------

Trump did benefit in many ways I think by an economy on the upswing. I think presidents in general have very little sway over the economy but always reap the benefits or take the fall. It all depends on perspective. Right now, people who hate Trump say the economy and jobs numbers have nothing to do with him, but surely when we hit a recession, which my economist husband says is coming, they will blame him completely. And the opposite will be true - the Republicans say it's all Trump boosting the economy, but when recession comes it somehow won't have anything to do with him.

Trump probably had a bit of a hand in economic growth by being more business friendly in general - lower corporate taxes, lower capital gains taxes, and loosening a lot of regulations. But, I think that only really goes so far. I find him super objectionable in a lot of ways, but I will save money on taxes this year thanks to his tax cuts, so at least there's that!

I agree on all points about Clinton. She just kind of thought it was her turn and the Clintons have a lot of power so everyone went along with it. Sanders had a good amount of appeal among some voters, but not enough (along with Clinton working with the DNC to railroad him - as I understand it).

I have never been a fan of the Clintons. I think Bill's pass during the #metoo movement was pretty outrageous. A few people came out to be like - oh, yeah, I guess we should have cared more about that. But... too little, too late in my mind. I've always found support for him by women to be so bizarre. Especially now, in light of how people like Kavanaugh (rightly or wrongly) are treated.

Hillary did write a book all about how it was other people's fault she lost... The Democrats really need to find their voice - other than "we hate Trump" or they are going to keep losing.

I don't like either party, but I really don't like one party dominating, so if I have to deal with one of the two every time I much prefer for them to swap out to keep things a bit more balanced!

MeToo does suffer from tunnel vision. Some potential abusers get lynched from the start and others they veer away from, ignore or even make excuses up for. It makes you question the agendas of some of these people.

When the elections were ongoing I used to wonder how we would react to Hillary disembarking her plane, potentially meeting the Queen, all along with Bill by her side.

Something said over here I think equally applies to your parties. Stop attacking each other and make it about promoting what good you will do. I wonder if it's the typical click bait mentally that drives some of this?

[ErinKC]

Something said over here I think equally applies to your parties. Stop attacking each other and make it about promoting what good you will do. I wonder if it's the typical click bait mentally that drives some of this?

This is exactly what we need both parties to do. But, you're right. It's not as sexy as creating memes. After the State of the Union address, the thing I saw the most on social media and even in the regular news was reprint after reprint of Nancy Pelosi clapping sarcastically at Trump... Like, instead of that how about some ideas on how you would choose to counter the things in the speech you didn't agree with... ? ::chirp chirp::

[MyNameIsTerry]

Something that I also find annoying about social media, which is more general but certainly applies to politics to, is how lazy journalists fill pages online with articles that have been inspired by 3 nobody's on Twitter moaning. They often play it off as if these names should be known to us too.

Now we have so many "social commenters" about we don't know if they are professional mouthy onliners or just the man down the pub.

Get your Tweet published and you may be able to access the celebrity lifestyle!

---------- Post added at 01:38 ---------- Previous post was at 01:36 ----------

This is exactly what we need both parties to do. But, you're right. It's not as sexy as creating memes. After the State of the Union address, the thing I saw the most on social media and even in the regular news was reprint after reprint of Nancy Pelosi clapping sarcastically at Trump... Like, instead of that how about some ideas on how you would choose to counter the things in the speech you didn't agree with... ? ::chirp chirp::

I think this is where Trump excels, he knows how to play the media. They have spent years jumping up & down about him whilst he must be laughing his head off at all the free press they give him.

I always think politicians have stooped even lower with social media. I guess they have to run with the times but they have a habit of saying stupid things they wouldn't be allowed to in the House. Some have ended up with the sack over this and others get away with it but just seem to be adding to the hate peddling with it.

[Drisque]

just don't call ours soccer

Hey! Soccer is one of my favorite sports! I've always had a soft spot for the Spurs, even before they're run to the big 4. Have they been up long enough to deserve that title? Our domestic league is slow with occasional bursts of excitement, but I support it despite its inferiority.

[ErinKC]

I couldn't agree more, we seem to think quite alike Erin. It's somewhat accepted (in the financial world) that Trump's name and reputation contributed to keeping an already rising market going further his first year, but they are now saying his tariff policies have been responsible for the recent market decrease. But Trump will take credit for everything...he even said the other day that he is the reason NFL (American "football", Terry...haha) ratings are up this year. LOL

Terry, you are correct there is very little solid coverage of international politics/news here in the US. On the other hand, at least from what I see in BBC or Guardian articles about us, it all typically seems pretty well put together.

Yes, we seem to be on the same page about a lot of things! Trump is certifiable in his ability to take credit for things!

And I agree British news is definitely a bit better. The Economist is my favorite news outlet, but every time I subscribe I end up with a stack a foot high since I never have the time to read it! But, I recently found that following them on Twitter is a great way to get the stories in 140 characters instead of 40 pages!

[MyNameIsTerry]

Hey! Soccer is one of my favorite sports! I've always had a soft spot for the Spurs, even before they're run to the big 4. Have they been up long enough to deserve that title? Our domestic league is slow with occasional bursts of excitement, but I support it despite its inferiority.

There is a sport thread on Misc with the footie fans in. I think pulisa started it. I'm sure they will enjoy a good chat. I'm not much of a fan, my brother is, but we are Stoke City here so we've dropped out of the Premiership now.

Spurs are usually up there somewhere. They've always been a top side.

[mezzaninedoor]

Yes, we seem to be on the same page about a lot of things! Trump is certifiable in his ability to take credit for things!

And I agree British news is definitely a bit better. The Economist is my favorite news outlet, but every time I subscribe I end up with a stack a foot high since I never have the time to read it! But, I recently found that following them on Twitter is a great way to get the stories in 140 characters instead of 40 pages!

I think the British news media is pretty good but you have to be prepared to read around/ listen around. Terry talks about the BBC having a pro EU bias but as a Remainer I still see pro Brexit bias at the BBC. I think thats because the BBC has diffferent news editors for all its News programmes be they on TV or Radio. For example the Today programme every day on Radio 4 appears to have a pro Brexit bias. Generally though Im happy that if I listen more broadly to the BBC I can unpick most news stories.

What the USA has in its Fourth Estate is more crusading journalism that the UK. they seem to love a real scoop on Government and the Washington Post and New York Times are not cow towed by the likes of Donald Trump.

Internet news outlets main problems seem to be that the news is reduced to soundbites which plays into publicists hands as they have soundbites to hand out regards most stories.