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-Election 2012
A Tough Week for The One - "The private sector is doing fine"
2012-06-09
President Obama on Friday sought to deploy the game-changing powers of his office against a grim political week during which the economy, the polls and even some of his Democratic allies seemed to conspire against him.

But the bully pulpit failed him, as well.

Laying out his economic argument at a morning news conference, Obama said that cutbacks in state and local government spending have slowed the nation's recovery and that Congress has "no excuse" for not supporting his jobs bill that would provide funding to retain public workers.

"The private sector," the president added as a point of comparison, "is doing fine."
But O copied the idea from Harry Reid.
The remark struck a discordant political note in the current economic climate, and Republican adversaries pounced on the assertion to lampoon him for being out of touch. And at least politically, Obama played directly into the GOP argument that he does not understand the depths of the economic crisis and that he is too dependent on government to solve the economy's problems.

The episode reinforced the impression that the White House and the Obama campaign were struggling to regain their footing after a difficult week, and that they clearly remained off balance.

Over the course of seven days, Obama endured the Labor Department's dismal May jobs report, Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's victory in a recall election against an Obama-endorsed challenger, and former president Bill Clinton arguing in favor of temporarily extending the George W. Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy, which Obama opposes.

In addition, the Romney campaign for the first time raised more money, reporting a $77 million haul in May compared with the Obama campaign's $60 million.
See the writing on the wall?
The president's setbacks have coincided with a tightening of the polls in the presidential race as Romney has closed the gap with the president at a faster clip than even some GOP political analysts had envisioned.
Posted by:Bobby

#17  Old depression era joke, I couldn't work today. My shovel broke.
Posted by: Dale   2012-06-09 22:17  

#16  Soros, and maybe, Glenmore.
Posted by: Barbara   2012-06-09 20:34  

#15  There's NO way Emperor Zero would voluntarily

Yeah, there is a way. He IS just a puppet and always has been. Look at how the skids have been greased for him at every step of his career - heck, every step of his 'adult' life - I don't believe that was just luck. But who is the puppetmaster and will he cut the strings?
Posted by: Glenmore   2012-06-09 17:00  

#14  There's NO way Emperor Zero would voluntarily give up the Presidential trappings and due adulation (PBUH). He'd likely push for a third term if he won this fall. We are indeed fortunate to have him, we are not worthy.

/barf
Posted by: Frank G   2012-06-09 16:34  

#13  "Shovel Ready" jobs. I haven't seen very many people on the side of the road digging in ditches with thier shovels lately, except in a couple of third world countries.

Now when taxes skyrocket in 6 months, even the high tech sector jobs will be gone, when the tech companies move whole heartedly out of the country and give "non-Shovel Ready" high tech jobs to foreigners.
Posted by: Mad Eye Elmererong5457   2012-06-09 16:34  

#12  Glenmore, my wife raised the exact same scenario vis a vis Slick Willie and the Hildabeast this morning.

I doubt that we'll see it but I wouldn't be surprised if they tried.
Posted by: AlanC   2012-06-09 16:14  

#11  I believe that there are a lot of Americans who are hurting right now, which is what I've been saying . . . since I came into office.

He wants to blame W, but he knows he can't. So this is what he came up with.

I wonder what it would take for him to decide that the private sector was not doing "fine".
Posted by: gorb   2012-06-09 16:02  

#10  "Let me be clear. The economy has gone down further than my wife."
Posted by: swksvolFF   2012-06-09 15:44  

#9  If the private sector was really doing so well we wouldn't need the phony, make work, taxpayer funded, debt creating jobs that his jobs bill would create.

But he says these things as if he expects people to believe him. We really are in trouble if they do.
Posted by: Abu Uluque   2012-06-09 14:39  

#8  As Zero implodes and his polls move to neutral, his media allies back away, his political allies build new alliances to protect themselves, and his financial allies conserve their powder. Worse, for him, it's a spiral, now downward and tightening.
Watch Slick Willie - his comments of late are no accident. The goal may be to crash Zero just before the nomination, have him withdraw, and have Hillary be nominated to save the day for the Party.
Posted by: Glenmore   2012-06-09 14:12  

#7  Historically, young startup firms have been a major job engine for the economy, particularly as the nation has emerged from recessions. But new federal data show the rate of business startups continues to fall in this recovery.

According to the Census Bureau, the startup rate, measured as a share of all firms, has plunged to 7% from 9% in 2008 and from 11% in 2006. The pace, moreover, is almost half the 1980s' peak of 13%... in the 1980s, these young entrepreneurial firms accounted for 20% of total private-sector U.S. employment vs. just 12% now. Entrepreneurs created two-fifths of all new jobs during the 1980s recovery compared with under a third during this recovery...

In just one month — September 1983 — more jobs were created than in the past six months under Obama.
Posted by: Pappy   2012-06-09 11:44  

#6  I know things are really tough out there. Have you seen the price of arugula?
Posted by: Jefferson   2012-06-09 11:30  

#5  Romney and company need to keep up the daily pressure, using Bambi's own words and this buffoon will self-destruct. He is already showing signs of teetering, just need to keep the heat on. So many targets, economy, 'green job' bailouts, fast and furious, Arizona and Florida states rights. More to choose from than a Baskin-Robbins menu.
Posted by: USN,Ret   2012-06-09 10:50  

#4  The most amazing thing to me is the push for the public sector:

"Obama said that cutbacks in state and local government spending have slowed the nation’s recovery and that Congress has “no excuse” for not supporting his jobs bill that would provide funding to retain public workers.

two days after the whole concept of public employees as saviors was bitch slapped in WI.

Out of touch? He is so inflated with his own ego that he floated off the planet and is now approaching Jupiter.
Posted by: AlanC   2012-06-09 10:42  

#3  The Pres must still be smoking weed with his Choom Gang.
Posted by: JohnQC   2012-06-09 10:14  

#2  One of the most clueless gaffes in history. He is totally detached from everyday reality for Americans (who are not over-achieving thin-skinned affirmative action narcissist babies with a teleprompter). The ads will write themselves and he needs this hung around his neck every day til November
Posted by: Frank G   2012-06-09 09:39  

#1  
I believe that there are a lot of Americans who are hurting right now, which is what IÂ’ve been saying . . . since I came into office. And the question then is, what are we going to do about it?

No seriously folks...whatta we gonna do bout it? 'Cause I got nuttin' over here.
Posted by: DepotGuy   2012-06-09 09:37  

00:00