In turning around the 2002 games, Mitt Willard Romney got a big helping hand from U.S. taxpayers. The federal government poured $1.5 billion into the Salt Lake games - more than twice the amount spent on any previous U.S. Olympics. Liberal Republican Senator John McCain called it a "fleecing" of the U.S. Treasury.

Who said, "I was successful in organizing the Olympics, and got record funds from the federal government"?

In turning around the 2002 games, Mitt Willard Romney got a big helping hand from U.S. taxpayers. The federal government poured $1.5 billion into the Salt Lake games - more than twice the amount spent on any previous U.S. Olympics. Liberal Republican Senator John McCain called it a "fleecing" of the U.S. Treasury.

Who said, "I was successful in organizing the Olympics, and got record funds from the federal government"?

The overall federal cost of the 2002 Olympics has been estimated at about $1.5 billion, although Romney defenders say much of this was put in place before he took over the Olympics Committee in 1999. But Romney later touted his efforts in his book about the Winter Olympics, "Turnaround," writing that he directed his chief Washington lobbyist "to bring in more federal funding than had ever been appropriated for any Olympics, summer or winter." Talk about SUCCESSFUL teat-sucking of the federal sow.

The overall federal cost of the 2002 Olympics has been estimated at about $1.5 billion, although Romney defenders say much of this was put in place before he took over the Olympics Committee in 1999. But Romney later touted his efforts in his book about the Winter Olympics, "Turnaround," writing that he directed his chief Washington lobbyist "to bring in more federal funding than had ever been appropriated for any Olympics, summer or winter." Talk about SUCCESSFUL teat-sucking of the federal sow.

Mitt Romney oversaw a wide-ranging lobbying campaign to snare tens of millions of dollars in federal earmarks for the Salt Lake City Olympic Games at a time critics were charging the games had become a prime example of out-of-control "pork barrel" spending, according to Senate lobbying records. Senate lobbying records show that the Salt Lake City Olympics Committee under Romney spent $3.5 million employing five lobbying firms in addition to its own in-house lobbying shop. Looks like lobbying works for Republicans; real good. Look at me, I'm a Republican, I want Big goob-mint for me, little goobmint for you.

The overall federal cost of the 2002 Olympics has been estimated at about $1.5 billion, although Romney defenders say much of this was put in place before he took over the Olympics Committee in 1999. But Romney later touted his efforts in his book about the Winter Olympics, "Turnaround," writing that he directed his chief Washington lobbyist "to bring in more federal funding than had ever been appropriated for any Olympics, summer or winter." Talk about SUCCESSFUL teat-sucking of the federal sow.

Stock market performance under Clinton and George W. Bush. --------------DJIA-----NASDAQ----S&P500 1/20/93----3242--------697---------433 1/20/01--10,588-----2,770-------1,343 1/20/09----7,949-----1,441---------805 Performance under William Jefferson Clinton. DJIA, +227%. NASDAQ, +297%. S&P500, +210%. Now, the Destruction of Wealth under George Bush and the Republican party. DJIA, -25%. NASDAQ, -48%. S&P500, -40%. George W. Bush did have a Reign of Error.

The economy was getting better until the Republicans took over the House of Representatives in January of 2011 and spooked the markets with their budget games. Stock market performance for Obama's first two years versus this Republican-controlled Congress. -------------DJIA---NASDAQ------S&P500 01/20/09----7,949-----1,441---------805 01/20/11---11,823-----2,764-------1,280 01/20/12---12,514-----2,737-------1,298 First two years of Obama. DJIA +49%, NASDAQ +91%, S&P500 +60%. Please take a look at the poor performance of the stock market under this Republican-controlled Congress. DJIA +5%, NASDAQ -1%, S&P500 +1%. As a retired investor, I think the Republicans suck.

The annual budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs has more than doubled since 2003 to a requested $132 billion for fiscal 2012. That amount is expected to rise sharply over the next four decades as lingering health problems for veterans become more serious as they grow older. Costs for Vietnam veterans did not peak until 30 or 40 years after the end of the war, according to the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. “We will have a vast overhang in domestic costs for caring for the wounded and covering retirement expenditure of the war fighters,” said Loren Thompson, a policy expert with the Lexington Institute. “The U.S. will continue to incur major costs for decades to come.”