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Obama stresses US economic potential
[Arab News] President Barack B.O. Obama said Friday that "putting the economy into overdrive" is a top priority, even as a new poll showed the public giving him poor marks in this area.
| Possibly because each thing he is proud of accomplishing hobbled the economy yet another notch. Such a clever man, who thinks we'll all be fooled by his version of "It's the economy, stupid." |
The News Agency that Dare Not be Named-GfK poll underscored the selling job that confronts the president as he prepares to seek a second term: People like Obama personally, but just 35 percent say the economy's gotten better during his tenure.
| Do people like him personally, or are they just being polite to the nice pollster? |
Appearing in Schenectady, New York, on Friday, Obama announced that he was naming General Electric Co. CEO Jeffrey Immelt as the head of a Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, his latest move to court a business community that he's clashed with amid continued high unemployment. Addressing workers at a GE plant, Obama recommitted himself to spending the next two years trying to speed up the economic recovery. His success or failure there is likely to be the central issue of the coming 2012 presidential campaign.
| Pass another bill to repeal Obamacare, O House Republicans, or to track down waste from Stimulus I or II, and we'll see what the central issue becomes. |
"Our job is to do everything we can to ensure that businesses can take root, and folks can find good jobs," the president said.
| True. It's nice to see you doing as much as just talking about it, Mr. President. That's a major improvement on your previous positions on the subject of business. |
"We're going to build stuff, and invent stuff," said Obama, emphasizing the need to boost American exports to countries around the world, an issue that was a focus during the visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao to the White House this week.
| Remove the impediments you put in place, Mr. President, and American businesses won't need the government to boost anything. |
"That's where the customers are. It's that simple," Obama said.
His choice of Immelt to head the competitiveness panel won applause from the Chamber of Commerce, which called it a "promising step" toward creating jobs and enhancing US competitiveness. But the Alliance for American Manufacturing condemned the choice, dismissing Immelt as "an outsourcing CEO" whose appointment would "alienate working class voters." That underscored a fine line for Obama in pushing for growth into the global marketplace while still looking out for the interests of US workers.
The competitiveness panel replaces Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, which had been chaired by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker. Obama announced late Thursday that Volcker, as expected, was ending his tenure.
| Did they ever actually advise anything? |
The change in the advisory board signals Obama's intention to shift from policies that were designed to stabilize the economy after the 2008 financial meltdown, to a renewed focus on increasing employment. The White House says the board's mission will be to help generate ideas from the private sector to speed up economic growth and promote American competitiveness.
| Reduce regulations, reduce paperwork, reduce requirements on business employees, Mr. President. There, now you can disband this advisory board, too. |
The shift in focus is aimed at winning over a public that remains skeptical of the administration's economic policies. Over half of those surveyed in the AP-GfK poll disapprove of how Obama has handled the economy, and 75 percent rate the economy as poor. However,
The infamous However ...
three-quarters do say it's unrealistic to expect noticeable improvements after two years; they say it will take longer.
Mindful of those sentiments Obama told listeners Friday that "it's a great thing that the economy's growing| Is it? There are those who say this is but a false dawn, from the train entering the other end of the tunnel. |
-- but it's not growing fast enough." For Obama, the visit to General Electric was also an opportunity to claim credit for tax, trade and energy policies pursued by his administration as the nation attempts to recover from the worst recession since the 1930s. It's the first of many treks during the second half of his term that the president is expected to take to put a more hopeful countenance on the economy amid stubbornly high unemployment.
| Yes! It's time to put lipstick on that pig! May I recommend Sparkly Passionate Fuschia, Mr. President? |
| Or will it just be the usual dollop of Chicago Wheel Grease? |
The GE plant is benefiting from a power turbine contract with India announced during Obama's Southeast Asia trip in November. Immelt also has been an advocate of alternative forms of energy, and the GE facility, the company's largest energy plant, is the future site of GE's advanced battery manufacturing program. New battery technology has become something of an Obama pet project as a symbol of innovation, clean energy and job creation.
Immelt's appointment adds another corporate insider to the White House orbit, underscoring the administration's efforts to build stronger ties to the business community.
Earlier this month, Obama named former Commerce secretary and JPMorgan Chase executive William Daley as chief of staff.
Posted by: Fred 2011-01-23 |
