California Conservative

When Bill Clinton ran for president in 1992, the Clinton War Room’s bulletin board had a simple message on it: It’s the economy Stupid. Their strategy and focus made Bill Clinton a two-term president. These days, while the Obama administration tries juggling several major pieces of legislation, the American people are sending a clear message: It’s the jobs, stupid. This transcript from CNN’s morning show should scare the Democrats:

CNN’S KIRAN CHETRY: Back here at home with unemployment at its highest level in more than a quarter century, Republicans pouncing. CNN’s Jim Acosta is live in Washington this morning. The Republicans releasing a new ad and saying that the stimulus isn’t working.

CNN’S JIM ACOSTA: Yes, that’s right, Kiran. A whole lot of barking here in Washington as we are about to show you. With the President overseas, Republicans here in Washington believe they have found Mr. Obama’s Achilles heel, the economy. Top GOP leaders are pointing to recent conflicting statements coming out of the White House on the stimulus, asking once again whether it was the right approach to ending the recession.

(Begin “Where Are the Jobs?” Web Video)
VOICE OF REP. LYNN WESTMORELAND (R-GA): Where are the jobs? We put the dogs on the money trail to find out.

ACOSTA: In the latest sign the economy is in the doghouse, Republicans are sicking their bloodhounds on the stimulus with this video that asks, where are the jobs?

HOUSE REPUBLICAN LEADER JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH): I’m John Boehner. This is Ellie Mae. She hasn’t found any stimulus jobs yet, and neither have the American people.
(End “Where Are the Jobs?” Web Video)

ACOSTA: It’s an issue that dogged the President all the way to Russia where Mr. Obama clarified statements made by his own Vice President on the recession.

VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: There was a misreading of just how bad an economy we inherited.

ACOSTA: Not exactly, according to the President.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: I would actually, rather than say “misread,” we had incomplete information.

ACOSTA: Who still believes the stimulus was the right call.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: There’s nothing that we would have done differently.

ACOSTA: But Republicans point to President Obama’s dire warnings back in February when he urged the Congress to pass the stimulus.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: We’re moving quickly because we’re told that if we don’t move quickly, that the economy is going to keep on getting worse. We’ll have another two or three or four million jobs lost this year.

ACOSTA: Turns out even with the stimulus, the economy has shed 3.4 million jobs in just six months. While the President says he’s now open to a second stimulus, one of his top economic advisors is already calling for one. Laura D’Andrea Tyson told an economic seminar in Singapore “we should be planning on a contingency basis for a second round of stimulus.” Republicans say the White House can’t get its story straight.

There’s a bunch of astonishing statements in that segment but none more astonishing than President Obama saying they wouldn’t change anything in the stimulus. During the campaign, President Obama had great timing and a pitch perfect message. Now, he’s sounding desperately out of touch with the American people’s priorities.

When CNN’s reporter asks if anyone “still believes the stimulus was the right call”, things have headed quite a ways south for President Obama from where they were in late October through the first Tuesday of November.

That isn’t the only thing that the Obama administration should be worried about but it’s one of the big things they should be worried about.

Technorati Tags: Job Growth, Economy, War Room, Joe Biden, President Obama, Gaffes, Democrats, John Boehner, Bloodhounds, Republicans

Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 8th, 2009 at 4:07 pm and is filed under Author: Gary Gross, Economy, Media, Obama. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.