Emmortal, some quick notes on your response; at least how I see it:
*The housing marked, the deregulated lending problem: yes, you're right, this is a problem, Bush is to blame for a good bit of it, but a lot of it was carry over from the Clinton years.
*The War: If I'm not mistaken both Biden and Obama voted for the war. I looked up the voting record on who voted "no" and niether of their names could be found. 23 senators voted no, they were not one of them. So if you want to blame anyone for us being in a war, if you think it was a bad call that's fine, but both of these guys are equally at fault if you're going to point a finger.
*The War: it's not shocking news to the board that I have been a supporter for the war since day one and still am. Now Obama himself said over and over that this was a war we could never win; he has since several times admitted he was wrong, that we have won the war in Iraq. Some will argue that how can we say we won if we're still there? Well, simple, just because you win any war doesn't mean you pack up and leave...that would be even more devastating to a fragile country such a Iraq. Yes, we won the war, but structure has to be permanently fixed before we can leave. Otherwise everything is lost for us and them.
*Bush Sr: Hardly a recession IMO. Yes, a dip in the economy, but nothing like we are experiencing now or did in the mid and late 70's. Of course, what some call a recession others will not. That can be seen even now. Some say we are in a bad recession, others say we are in a early stage depression. The fact remains, call it what you want from 88-92 but it was nothing that effected millions of people like a real recession does.
The way I see it with Obama:
Those who work, those who produce are the ones who should reap the benefits. Every last person has opportunity in America; this is proven time and time again by all the immigrants that come to this country every year and lead successful lives. No not all of them, but the ones who bust their tails will meet success.
It is no question that a very large gap has developed in the U.S. between the upper class and the middle class. Some gap is necessary for any economy to function properly. Yes, too much of a gap is damaging to the population, but this can be controlled legitimately by regulating ethical business practices. If you try to regulate it by simply taking what you want, you will see the big money pull out of out economy, and nothing would destroy it faster then that.