Base, you must be told that the Iraq war was not a mistake i the heat of the 9/11 aftermath. It WAS decided before Bush took office in 2000 that the next Republican President will invade Iraq as the main plank in the "Defense of a new American Century". This is the seminal document of the Think Tank that will guide the Republicans in foreign affairs following the collapse of the Soviet Union and America as the lone standing super power with a huge gap with all other nations. Iraq was to be the domino in a region that the Republicans felt Clinton had made America weak. That's why you heard Obama in 2008 talking about showing the power of the American example rather than the example of American power.
What you must also know, Base, is that recovery from a financial crisis takes longer than other recoveries. The 2008 financial crisis also had the double whammy of the HOUSING crisis. Remember how the housing assets drove consumer spending and hence manufacturing and jobs? If yo examine the facts you will see that America is doing better than the curve in all previous financial crises - Japan in the 1990s and 2000s; Argentina in the last decade; and so on.
you also need to know Base, that jobs leaving American manufacturing is a phenomenon that started decades ago and accelerated under Bush.This is why you hear Obama talking about stuctural change in education and infrastructure and R & D. Remember that the biggest products in private industry came from the DoD and NASA
You also need to know, Base, that we have seen the entitlement society being larger than the productive society in recent years. Know too that unemployment insurance following the 2008 jobs destruction (a bipartisan effort) added to the federal deficit. And don't forget that public sector unemployment sucked some demand out of society and added to entitlement in the form of unemployment insurance.
Know also Base, that no American President faced a Congress that refuses to do business with it like the 2010 edition of the house of Representatives and the 2008 Senate.
Know also Base, that the tax policies and reduction in the entitlement have been tried before and failed. Know also Base, that the Clinton era tax rates - higher than under Obama - led to job growth and a booming economy (along with other factors like technology and peace time, of course).
So Base. tell me about moving the needle again?
As I said, Obama's spin Drs on overtime trying to fill in the empty chair. Lots of analyses and excuses for the fact that there is little to show. BTW, I do agree with a return to the Clinton era tax rates. There are a couple of Obama's ideas and concepts which I actually agree with.