Does it really matter who wins the election this time? I think Mr. Obama tried to heal our economy and to help all Americans to the best of his ability but too many people are still suffering with very little hope for the near or far future. I don't know if there was anything he could have done differently or better. I have a feeling that McCain/Palin would have been a disaster.

It is easy for those of us with stable jobs, equity in our homes, money in our retirement funds, and adequate health insurance to be philosophical and resigned to the dysfunction in our government and in the destructive greed of corporate America.

But I am finding it harder and harder to find any pleasure in my own life these days because I worry about the lives of so many of my fellow citizens. I have seen far too many businesses closing down and people losing their homes in my own area but the sad thing is that we in the Bay Area have experienced a relatively mild setback compared to other parts of the country.

Perhaps Mr. Obama is not getting enough credit for keeping the ship afloat during this difficult time, but maybe he is not doing enough to deserve to be reelected.

But, these Republicans scare me. They seem to be too much about protecting the interests of the well off. They don't comprehend that the average family who is struggling is every bit as deserving to have its interests represented in this great country of ours.

Sad.... and scary.

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In France they just elected François Hollande from soialist parti.

Will see

Hi Eric. Yes, that was a bit surprising but intriguing. I was a political junky for many years until it all got to me so I simply went Zen. Every so often I lift my head up out of the sand to see if I can come up with any good ideas to help but it appears to me that what the good guys need is more raw political and economic power to battle the forces of evil (selfishness and greed).

It will be interesting to see how France fares. I wish your people all the very best.

P.S. I wouldn't want to have my investments tied up in Greece right now.

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Sarkozy's defeat wasn't surprising. I agree with the French voters - tax cuts for the rich and austerity for everyone else do not create jobs or heal the economy; they just make the rich richer and the masses more frustrated and angry. Let's see what happens with Parliamentary elections in June - if the socialists take full control, we might get a good picture of what America's recovery (or not) could have been if Obama and the Dems weren't obstructed at every turn by the GOP. But then again, I'm mostly one of those leftist troublemakers, so I could be wrong.

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Hi Toni. The French election was a bit suprising to me because I forgot that it is still possible to vote out the ruling class in some countries. We cannot do that here in the States, because no matter who the president is, the movers and shakers in Washington and in their secret lairs all over the world still control our country.

So you do not buy into the trickle down theory? I remember that when V.P. Bush ridiculed Reagan's plan and called it "voodo economics", it was quite the scandal. But for some bizarre reason, the idiots in Congress kept a straight face and pretended it was viable. What a world.

I am afraid that those who sought to demonize anyone to the left of center and frighten our citizens with horrific fear of "socialist France" have prevailed. I fear that even if the socialists bring about good policies and help the people of France, the tea-party mentality will still prevail here in our country.

You are a leftist trouble-maker and I am more like a closet communist radical. If I had my way, we would all give up our toys and tear down our entire infrastructure and raze the land and start over with no personal property, no vested interests and no reason to amass power to use against one another.

Just a lot of free love and great music like back in the day when Alvin helped to change the world before it changed back.

But, people have needs and skills and dreams and drives. I just do not see how any society with human beings can be anything other than a competition for the things of this world and those who have no conscience will always rise to the top to take what they want at the expense of those who prefer to live honorably.

America is supposed to be better than that. But, I am afraid we are one of the worst. But, even so, we have good people here and I never say never to hope.

I think those movers and shakers rule us all, Robin, not just the U.S. But I'm idealist enough to think it is still possible for the people's voices to be heard, even if we have to scream ourselves silly to get anyone to listen - it was "we the people" who brought about civil rights and we the people who helped to end a war. Surely, we can elect people who will at least try to work for all of us.

Yesterday, the majority of the people in France voted to be treated fairly; I hope we can do the same here in November. America is nothing if people no longer have the dream of bettering themselves - and that has been taken away from far too many of us.

By the way, there is a great article on Huffington Post that pretty much explains why Hollande - or Obama - or anyone can't really get much done when their party also doesn't control Parliament/Congress. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-kuttner/a-tale-of-two-elections_b_1495256.html

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Hi Toni, thanks for the link to the article. I am an eternal optimist, myself. I think a lot of cynics are basically selfish people who don't want to put in the hard work of trying to help make changes.

"Surely, we can elect people who will at least try to work for all of us."

I think that Mr. Obama was elected for that very purpose. I think many of our politicians are elected based on their and our hope to make changes that will benefit everyone. We know going in that they don't have much of a chance, and yet people forget that when the politician fails to solve the problem.

As the ex-wife of a man who has spent his entire life working his tail off for a very good cause in a non-profit capacity, I have seen what working fingers to the bone can accomplish.

My ex often advised me that when working in a sea of hurt and misery, you have to focus on what you can accomplish and take comfort in those you have been able to help and you cannot lose heart over the ones you could not help.

"America is nothing if people no longer have the dream of bettering themselves - and that has been taken away from far too many of us."

If I am not mistaken, polls indicate that a vast amount of our people have already given up on that dream for themselves and their children. Which is why I was motivated to post this subject in the first place.

Sad... and scary.

Very Sad and Very Scary. The Stock Market Meltdown in 2008 and subsequant Housing/Real Estate Market Meltdown has robbed many citizens of their futures in the USA. Hope has been lost all around this country and millions are really suffering. Good luck to us all.....

You are exactly right Freddie.

When this current economic disaster first hit, my ex and I wanted to do our part to help so we lined up some major home improvement projects. We are savers, but we were willing to put some relatively big bucks on our line of credit to help provide jobs. But to our surprise the friggen bank slashed our line of credit in half so we had to cancel the jobs. I wanted that cushion in case either of my sons lost his job.

The ridiculous thing is that we have about 95% equity in our home, and housing prices did not fall in our area. But the stupid banks went on a county-wide basis. Even our local branch manager was astounded at the amount they slashed.

The selfishness of bankers and Wall Street, just to name a few, is beyond comprehension. At this point in our history, I truly believe they can be compared to the Old Regime, before the French Revolution.

Something has to give.

U.S. has economy? Congratulations, because in Europe we don't even know the meaning of the word anymore. So brothers and sisters, can you spare us a dime?

One of the most important lessons I teach my U.S. Government classes is how little the president can actually affect our economy opposed to how much Americans THINK the president can affect our economy.

Take in consdieration the following:

1. Almost all meaningful economic action requires an act of Congress - presidential economic policy is important, but means very little without Congressional approval.

2. Economic measures generally take years to show effects. The president of the U.S. has only 8 years in office - at best - and 4 years in the case of a one-term president.

3. Consequently, many presidents get the credit and/or blame for the results of economic policies they had nothing to do with and, in some cases, don't even agree with.

4. Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was president longer than any other president (and always will be, barring a consititutional amendment), and had both unparalleled support for economic reform in Congress and a popular mandate to deal with the great Depression, wasn't able to completely pull the country out of the Great Depression before the U.S. entry into World War II.

History and a close examination of the American system of government shows any meaningful economic reform will take cooperation between Congress and the president, bipartisan cooperation, tough economic and spending measures most Americans won't stand for, and coming up with the right plan - upon which even highly respected economists can't reach a consensus.

In short, the American public, if they truly want economic reform, are going to have to dig deeper into their collective attention spans than focusing solely on a presidential election, presidential policy, and quick-fix solutions that are neither effective or painless. It just isn't that simple.

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Hi Don, it seems to be so elementary and easy to understand, the way you put it, so why do even otherwise intelligent adults have such difficulty remembering this? I guess people need someone to blame and the president is an easy target.

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Actually I'm in Geneva Switzerland next to France 80% of our border!!
The main problems I see is those country (uk, France, US etc) is that you have to choose between 2 dognes only
Left or right !!!!
Giving all protection to rich's and famous is a huge mistake like Sarko and taxing up to 75% the revenue over 150'000 $ a years is a great mistake too like Hollande want

In Switzerland we have a systeme that is more into consensus with a good social programm and still a acceptable taxe system for all. No army ready to attack but just defense (no army would be better)

We are not perfect but a good social system, 3% unumployment, freedom of speech, no strikes and fair revenues (work convention)

Small countries but ......

I agree Eric. Switzerland should be a role model for the rest of us. Politicians seem to have lost the art of compromise. When I was in the collectible poster business, we often traded posters with other dealers - and we used to say that you knew it was a good trade if you both walked away equally unhappy. I think politics should follow that philosophy. It's better to find a middle ground than to do nothing because you try to be all one way or the other.

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Hi Eric, for some reason I thought you were in France. ooops.

Yah, i hear Switzerland has it together.

I imagine it must be easier in some ways for smaller countries to build concensus possibly due to the realization that if you let your country get out of control -- like we did -- it is too hard to pick up the pieces and repair the damage.

I find it ludicrous that so many people in our country on the left and on the right appear to prefer our country go down the drain rather than to compromise.

These folks have taken a personal stance that their ideology is the only "good American" way to be so they have convinced themselves that they are standing up "for the good of the country". It is impossible to make them see that "standing up" for what they believe in is all about them, not about our country.

Those who really care about this country know that all sides have to give up something in order for good policies to go forward.

ok. I deactivated my FaceBook account because I was spending too much time on this very subject, so I am going to shut up. Starting........ NOW!

To change the subject Robin I'm from Geneva leaved in Oregon for about 10 years, worked in Paris and somes diverses city in Switzerland (still)
I love American people like you guys, my son leave in Hawaii and my daughter in Geneva, Jane is from South Africa well great cultural exchange

Hey Eric. It is so cool to learn more about the people here. Thanks for telling me. Almost everyone I know is a world traveler or has lived in various parts of the world. Except myself. I am a California girl, born and raised in Southern CA and lived all my adult life in the San Francisco Bay Area. I feel like a dinosaur. I did make it to one fair city on your continent -- Prague. My son lived there for 5 years and I visited him twice. I went nuts over the gothic architecture.

I get a vicarious thrill from listening to all the stories from Alvin's fans here on this board. I am so glad I found it.

Very happy for you

Come to Geneva visit us maybe Alvin will be around