Trump didn't "inheirit a mess". Obama did.

Trump inherited a fortune.  He created a mess.

I certainly agree with you about it being an opinion.  I would like your opinion on if you feel he has started a clear pathway to solving those problems.

As an independent, I take issue with the ACA "replace and repeal" mantra.  It appears that there is no clear replacement that is ready.  Why not fix the parts that are not working rather than throw the baby out with the bath water?

I would also argue that the mess in the Middle East is much more precarious now than during Obama's term.  Prior to Trump and the ban, moderate Muslims could be the best allies for fighting ISIS.  But now so many see it as a true war against Islam.  Not only that, if Trump is saddling up with Russia, Iran is right in with the posse.  As a supporter, does that not concern you.

Please know that I am really trying to make a dialogue here...no snark intended at all.

The ACA has provided a pathway to over 2,000,000 people to find insurance. The insurance companies are the ones who should be taken to task for increases--not any President.

So far, all the plans for replacement of the ACA are going to hurt the elderly, handicapped, the poor, and those who have life long illnesses or pre-existing conditions. Their plan of "genocide" and survival of the fittest (or richest) is going to allow all those who cannot afford or get insurance to die off.

As for the "secret Iran deal" snopes is your friend.

What secret deal did Pres Obama make with Iran?

Every president coming in after a president of the opposing party feels that they inherited a mess. That's just how it is.

For me, the difference is whether they make an attempt to change what they perceive as a mess without constantly whining about it or if they feel the need to beat that dead horse for 4 years as if they were the first POTUS to ever feel that way.

You're plight isn't new. Get over it and do something about it. That sums up my feelings no matter who is in office. Once the election is over I just don't want to hear anyone currently in any office still bad-mouthing their predecessor. To me that's bad form.

Saying that he inherited a mess a) preys on those who watch Fox News and believe what they say over facts and b) makes him out to be a savior (or lets him off the hook if he is not successful).

It's 20 million.

Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner, it's a beautiful day here and I decided to take advantage of it with some yard work.

I'm not opposed to fixing parts of the ACA if that's possible however that ship may have sailed and repeal and replace might be the only option.  What I don't want to see is Congress rush into this without throughly reviewing every option.   Pre-existing conditions has to stay.  Kids  staying until age 26 seems popular so if possible keep it.  I would like to hear more about the idea being floated around that would allow individuals to join associations which increases the risk pool and lowers premiums.  I'd also like to see someone start talking about ins companies being able to sell across state lines.  Another thing that has to go is mandatory coverages.  If you don't need maternity coverage you shouldn't be forced to pay for it.

The executive order on the 7 countries was poorly done.  He should have waited until he had his cabinet in place so that it could have been throughly vetted before rolling it out.  I don't have a problem with ANY president that puts the safety of US citizens first and I don't understand how anyone could have an issue with that.  Isn't it always better to be safe than sorry.  A 90 day moratorium isn't unreasonable if it make the vetting process even better than it is.


I'll admit Trump frustrates me.  I wish someone would cancel his damn twitter account and that he'd stop saying all news is fake.  Some of it is but the better term would be extremely biased.  And if he mentions the election one more time I'm likely to punch him.   For the record I'm not happy with all of his cabinet picks either but I'm also not ready to give up on him yet.  I'm going to do just what did with Obama, take a wait and see attitude and hope that he doesn't disappoint me entirely.

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to have an actual discussion with you.

Yes the ACA is not what it should be. It increased health care costs on the middle class without providing healthcare for everyone. In fact it made health care that people pay for virtually inaccessible by having such large deductibles that many people are not able to use their coverage, lacking the $1500-$5000 deductible. However, it has made me reconsider my position on universal healthcare which i was previously not in support of. 

The middle east has been a mess since prior to Pres Obama. I don't think he made it all that much worse. 

However, the current president creates his own mess by side stepping the truth. It's honestly bizarre. It appears to me ( feel free to correct me if i am wrong) that his prime goal is to create and instill fear in our population for immigrants. It is the only viable reason I can see for the constant lies about attacks. It makes me very nervous when THE president seems hell bent on turning my neighbor against me and me against my neighbor. IF the last president was a bit divisive. (and IMHO he was ) THIS president is extremely divisive. 

If he inherited such a mess how does he plan to repair it with our nation divided, fearful and mistrustful? I can't trust HIM he keeps lying. I can't trust Congress they just sit by quietly and let him. I sure as hell hope my neighbor isn't believing this bag of crap because I don't want to be fearful of my neighbor and I dont want them to be fearful of me. 

With valid mistrust HOW do we go forward? 

While I'm in favor of keeping the ACA, I don't blame the insurance companies for the increases. The problem is underlying costs.  Want a big business to blame? Start with Big Pharma.  I agree with your other post that repealing the ACA would not bring down insurance costs.  Even if we could turn the clock back completely, costs were going up every year.  My costs increased 9% per year on average from the late 90's until the ACA was enacted.  I don't know anything else except college tuition- certainly not any of my income - that increased at that rate.  Insurance companies aren't saints but they aren't the source of the high cost of medical care in this country.

I read this today on FB:
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but it looks like Trump is actually making America great again. Just look at the progress made since the election:
1. Unprecedented levels of ongoing civic engagement.
2. Millions of Americans now know who their state and federal representatives are without having to google.
3. Millions of Americans are exercising more. They're holding signs and marching every week.
4. Alec Baldwin is great again. Everyone's forgotten he's kind of a jerk.
5. The Postal Service is enjoying the influx cash due to stamps purchased by millions of people for letter and postcard campaigns.
6. Likewise, the pharmaceutical industry is enjoying record growth in sales of anti-depressants.
7. Millions of Americans now know how to call their elected officials and know exactly what to say to be effective.
8. Footage of town hall meetings is now entertaining.
9. Tens of millions of people are now correctly spelling words like emoluments, narcissist, fascist, misogynist, holocaust and cognitive dissonance.
10. Everyone knows more about the rise of Hitler than they did last year.
11. Everyone knows more about legislation, branches of power and how checks and balances work.
12. Marginalized groups are experiencing a surge in white allies.
13. White people in record numbers have just learned that racism is not dead. (See #6)
14. White people in record numbers also finally understand that Obamacare IS the Affordable Care Act.
15. Stephen Colbert's "Late Night" finally gained the elusive #1 spot in late night talk shows, and Seth Meyers is finding his footing as today's Jon Stewart.
16. "Mike Pence" has donated millions of dollars to Planned Parenthood since Nov. 9th.
17. Melissa FREAKING McCarthy.
18. Travel ban protesters put $24 million into ACLU coffers in just 48 hours, enabling them to hire 200 more attorneys. Lawyers are now heroes.
19. As people seek veracity in their news sources, respected news outlets are happily reporting a substantial increase in subscriptions, a boon to a struggling industry vital to our democracy.
20. Live streaming court cases and congressional sessions are now as popular as the Kardashians.
21. Massive cleanup of facebook friend lists.
22. People are reading classic literature again. Sales of George Orwell's "1984" increased by 10,000% after the inauguration. (Yes, that is true. 10,000%. 9th grade Lit teachers all over the country are now rock stars.)
23. More than ever before, Americans are aware that education is important. Like, super important.
24. Now, more than anytime in history, everyone believes that anyone can be President. Seriously, anyone."

Maybe you should look further than right wing reports about this. What Iran said was that Trump doesn't have the authority to release confidential information between the  International Atomic Energy Association and Iran. The right wing reporting made the assumption that there was a secret deal going on because they couldn't get hold of the information. It would constitute a violation of the agency’s obligations, because the agency has been committed not to make Iran’s confidential nuclear information and documents available to any country, including the U.S.
If you're talking about the money that Trump keeps going on about the US paying Iran,that is a lie too. It was money that Iran had already paid for non delivery of fighter jets way back when sanctions were originally put into place. They'd paid yhe money, sanctions were put into place and the US kept the money and the fighter jets because of the implementation of the sanctions.

ETA - if you're undecided what is a credible source of info regarding Iran there are many statements on the official IAEA site HERE

Iran tested a missle, Flynn put Iran "on notice, Iran's response was to give us the finger.  

The "deal" with Iran has only to do with Iran enriching uranium.  Nothing else.  The deal with Iran is not just between the US and Iran but between Iran, the US and 5 other countries including trump's BFF's country Russia.  The other countries beside the US and Russia are The UK, France, Germany, & China.

When the Republicans in Congress were dragging their feet about the deal the other countries involved let it be know they would do the deal with or without the US.

So that being the case I'm not sure what trump thinks he can do when he talks about changes to the deal.

Brilliantly said. This is how most of us feel.