President Barack Obama promised voters change throughout his 2008 campaign. Many feel he failed to deliver — so expect more and more contenders to line up and offer voters a change from Obama in the 2012 presidential election, says former New York Congressman Vito Fossella.
Americans are tired of hefty government spending that has done little to dent high unemployment rates, while Obama’s foreign policy now lacks plan and purpose, Fossella tells Newsmax.
Although a plethora of names is bandied about as potential GOP rivals for Obama, and a Democratic name surfaces every once in awhile, the field is an informal one at best. That will change as 2012 draws nearer.
"I think you're going to have ultimately a crowded field for a variety of reasons,” says Fossella, a Republican who now is managing director at public policy and business development firm Park Strategies. “One is you have many Americans who feel the country is running in the wrong direction. You have many Americans who have looked to Washington and have wanted hope from an administration that offered hope but in fact has just grown the deficits and debt to an unseemly amount. The more the merrier."
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The U.S. unemployment rate fell ever so slightly to 8.9 percent in February from 9.0 percent in January, both well above pre-crisis levels, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That unpopular high jobless rate is sticking around despite Obama's $787 billion stimulus spending programs as well as the Federal Reserve’s massive money printing.
"We've incurred too much debt," Fossella says, adding that any increases to the country's debt ceiling should come with spending reductions. Otherwise, Americans for generations to come will feel the pain of current government spending.
"I think the problem we're having is getting out of the economic challenges that we've had for the last several years. While there seems to be some hope on the horizon, I think that until and unless the congress with the administration as well as the Fed get their hands around the underlying problem of structural deficits and overwhelming debt coupled with high unemployment and interest rates close to zero, you're going to see a very, very difficult time of our economy growing at the rate it should be."
Growing numbers of lawmakers want the president to address the country's deficits, pointing out that more deficit spending will continue to disrupt the economy by indebting the country more and more.
Sooner or later, many argue, holders of U.S. debt are going to demand more attractive terms from Washington if they continue to invest in America, in effect, forcing the government to spend less elsewhere in return to paying more to lenders.
In fact, about two-thirds of the Senate joined in a letter to President Obama calling for fresh spending cuts, initiating tax reforms, and limiting popular social programs to reduce the deficit.
"We believe comprehensive deficit reduction measures are imperative and to ask you to support a broad approach to solving the problem," 64 of the Senate's 100 members write in the letter, according to an AFP report
"By approaching these negotiations comprehensively, with a strong signal of support from you, we believe that we can achieve consensus on these important fiscal issues. This would send a powerful message to Americans that Washington can work together to tackle this critical issue," writes the group of 31 Democrats, an independent Democratic ally, and 32 Republicans.
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