Stumbling #Forward

With No Record To Run On, The Obama Campaign Is Selling The Promise Of A Better Tomorrow Based On The Policies Failing Us Today

UNDER OBAMA, AMERICA WOULD LOOK FORWARD TO A SECOND TERM OF MORE RECORD DEBT, DEFICITS, TAXES, AND BINGE SPENDING

Politifact:”Obama Is The Undisputed Debt King Of The Last Five Presidents.” “So by this measurement — potentially a more important one — Obama is the undisputed debt king of the last five presidents, rather than the guy who added a piddling amount to the debt, as Pelosi’s chart suggested.” (Louis Jacobson, “Nancy Pelosi Posts Questionable Chart On Debt Accumulation By Barack Obama, Predecessors,” Politifact, 5/19/11)

Obama’s Budget Would Increase The Total Federal Debt To $25.9 Trillion By The End of 2022. (“Budget Of The United States Government, Fiscal Year 2013,” Office Of Management And Budget, 2/13/12)

• “The National Debt Will Continue To Rise As Far As The Eye Can See.” “The federal budget sent to Congress last month by Mr. Obama, projects the National Debt will continue to rise as far as the eye can see. The budget shows the Debt hitting $16.3 trillion in 2012, $17.5 trillion in 2013 and $25.9 trillion in 2022.” (Mark Knoller, “National Debt Has Increased More Under Obama Than Under Bush,” CBS News, 3/19/12)

The Congressional Budget Office Says Obama’s Policies Will Result In $6.4 Trillion In Deficits Over The Next Ten Years. “The Congressional Budget Office said Friday that President Barack Obama’s tax and spending policies will yield $6.4 trillion in deficits over the next decade, more than double the shortfall in CBO’s own fiscal baseline – even after taking credit for reduced war costs.” (David Rogers, “CBO: Exploding Debt Under Obama,” Politico, 3/16/12)

Obama’s Budget Proposal Will Result In “Monumental” Tax Increases. “The only thing that you can be certain will become law in this budget if Mr. Obama is re-elected is the monumental tax increase. His plan would raise tax rates across the board on anyone or any business owners making more than $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for couples. These are the 3% of taxpayers that Mr. Obama says aren’t paying their fair share, though that 3% pays more in income tax than the rest of the other 97%.” (Editorial, “The Amazing Obama Budget,” The Wall Street Journal, 2/14/12)

• Obama’s FY2013 Budget Calls For $1.9 Trillion In Higher Taxes. (“Budget Of The United States Government, Fiscal Year 2013,” Office Of Management And Budget, 2/13/12)
• Obama’s FY2013 Trillion Tax Increase Brings The Federal Tax Revenue “To Its Second Highest Level Since World War Two,” Not A “Modest Tax Increase.” “President Obama is not proposing ‘modest’ tax increases. His $1.7 trillion tax hike would take federal tax revenue (as a share of output) to its second highest level since World War Two. Only once, outside of WWII, was revenue higher. And that was in 2000, when money was flooding into federal coffers due to capital gains from the final days of the Internet stock bubble.” (James Pethokoukis, “A Load Of Econmic Nonsense From Geithner,” The American’s “Enterprise,”2/15/12)

AMERICA WOULD LOOK FORWARD TO THE FAILURE OF OBAMANOMICS CONTINUING TO DRAG ON THE ECONOMY AND THE MIDDLE CLASS

31 Out Of 36 Economists Rated Obama’s Policies “Fair” Or “Poor” And “None Rated Him As ‘Excellent.'” “Half of the 36 economists who responded to the Dec. 14-20 AP survey rated Obama’s economic policies ‘fair.’ And 13 called them ‘poor.’ Just five of the economists gave the president ‘good’ marks. None rated him as ‘excellent.'” (Paul Wiseman and Derek Kravitz, “Economists: Obama’s Policies ‘Fair’ Or ‘Poor’,” The Associated Press , 12/28/11)

A Robust Recovery In 2012 Does Not Look Likely. “All of these factors combined don’t make a great case for a robust recovery in 2012, and that’s why the Fed is likely to keep monetary policy loose for the foreseeable future.” (Annalyn Censky, “Bernanke: Job Market ‘Fall From Normal,'” CNN Money, 2/29/12)

• “The Federal Reserve Predicts The Economy Will Grow Only 2.2% To 2.7% This Year, Not Much Faster Than It Grew In The Second Half Of 2011.”(Annalyn Censky, “Bernanke: Job Market ‘Fall From Normal,'” CNN Money, 2/29/12)
• In The First Quarter, The Economy Grew At An Anemic 2.2 Percent. “Real gross domestic product — the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States — increased at an annual rate of 2.2 percent in the first quarter of 2012 (that is, from the fourth quarter to the first quarter), according to the ‘advance’ estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the fourth quarter of 2011, real GDP increased 3.0 percent.” (Press Release, “National Income And Product Accounts,” Bureau Of Economic Analysis, 4/27/12)

When Americans Are Lucky Enough To Find Work, “The Jobs Are Lousy, And There Aren’t Enough Of Them.” “The job market these days is sort of like that old Catskills joke: The food is terrible, and the portions are so small. The jobs are lousy, and there aren’t enough of them.” (Mark Gongloff and Bonnie Kavoussi, “Job Market Recovery Led By Low-Wage Sectors,” The Huffington Post, 4/5/12)

“More Than Half Of All The Jobs Created During The Past Six Months Have Been In Low-Paying Industries Such As Retail And Temporary Help, Joseph Brusuelas, Senior Economist At Bloomberg LP, Noted On Thursday.” (Mark Gongloff and Bonnie Kavoussi, “Job Market Recovery Led By Low-Wage Sectors,” The Huffington Post, 4/5/12)

• This Explains Why Growth Hasn’t Kept Up With Inflation. “That helps explain why wage growth hasn’t kept up with inflation, despite the economy having created 1.2 million jobs in the past six months.” (Mark Gongloff and Bonnie Kavoussi, “Job Market Recovery Led By Low-Wage Sectors,” The Huffington Post, 4/5/12)

CBO “[E]stimated That 34 Million People, Or 1 In 10 U.S. Residents, Would Receive SNAP Benefits In 2022.” “CBO said the number of people receiving benefits is expected to fall after 2014 because the economy will be improving. ‘Nevertheless, the number of people receiving SNAP benefits will remain high by historical standards,’ the agency said. It estimated that 34 million people, or 1 in 10 U.S. residents, would receive SNAP benefits in 2022 ‘and SNAP expenditures, at about $73 billion, will be among the highest of all non-health-related federal support programs for low-income households.'” (Damian Paletta, “Food Stamp Rolls To Grow Through 2014,” The Wall Street Journal’s “Real Time Economics,”4/19/12)

• “The CBO Projected That One In Seven U.S. Residents Received Food Stamps Last Year.” (Damian Paletta, “Food Stamp Rolls To Grow Through 2014,”The Wall Street Journal’s “Real Time Economics,” 4/19/12)

Since President Obama Took Office, 6.3 Million Americans Have Fallen Into Poverty.(Press Release, “Income, Poverty And Health Insurance Coverage In The United States: 2010,” U.S. Census Bureau, 9/13/11)

• In 2010, The Number Of Americans Living In Poverty (46.2 Million) Reached The Highest Level On Record. (Press Release, “Income, Poverty And Health Insurance Coverage In The United States: 2010,” U.S. Census Bureau, 9/13/11)
• Poverty Is Expected To Have Increased In 2011. “The study uses 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data released last year plus other government numbers. Poverty was expected to increase again in 2011 due to the slow pace of economic recovery, the high rate of unemployment, and the long duration of spells of unemployment, the study found. The study was produced out of the university’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs.” (Mary Wisniewski, “Poverty To Keep Rising Due To Slow Recovery: Study,” Reuters, 1/11/12)

AMERICA WOULD LOOK FORWARD TO A SECOND TERM OF OBAMA’S DIVISIONS, DISTRACTIONS, AND FAILED LEADERSHIP

The Washington Post ‘s Dana Milbank: “The President Came Here To Change Washington And Washington Has Changed Him.” (CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360,” 3/8/12)

• Obama Admitted Washington Is Stuck With “More Of The Same,” And “Maybe A Little Worse.” CNN’s WOLF BLITZER: “When we spoke here end of 2008, ‘hope and change.’ You know what I see in Washington still to this day? OBAMA: “More of the same.” BLITZER: “The same old same old.” OBAMA: “Yeah.” BLITZER: “A lot of bickering, backstabbing.” OBAMA: “Maybe a little worse.” (CNN’s ” The Situation Room,” 8/16/11)
• Obama’s Promises Of Change Were “Either Hopelessly Naïve” Or Were “A Little Bit Of A Shell Game.” “‘Any president who says he’s going to change this is either hopelessly naïve or polishing the reality to promise something other than can be delivered,’ said Paul Light, a New York University professor and expert on presidential transitions. ‘At best it’s naïve and a little bit of a shell game.'” (Fred Schulte, John Aloysius Farrell, And Jeremy Borden, “Obama Rewards Big Bundlers With Jobs, Commissions, Stimulus Money, Government Contracts, And More,”iWatch, 6/15/11)

“Obama: The Most Polarizing President. Ever.” (Chris Cillizza and Aaron Blake, “Obama: The Most Polarizing President. Ever.,” The Washington Post ‘s The Fix , 1/30/12)

• Obama Ran On “Idea Of Uniting The Country” But “Each Of His First Three Years In Office” Have Been Marked With “Historic Highs In Political Polarization…” “President Obama ran – and won – in 2008 on the idea of uniting the country. But, each of his first three years in office have marked historic highs in political polarization, with Democrats largely approving of him and Republicans deeply disapproving.” (Chris Cillizza and Aaron Blake, “Obama: The Most Polarizing President. Ever.,” The Washington Post ‘s The Fix , 1/30/12)
• “Put Simply: That The Country Is Hardening Along More And More Strict Partisan Lines.” (Chris Cillizza and Aaron Blake, “Obama: The Most Polarizing President. Ever.,” The Washington Post ‘s The Fix , 1/30/12)

FactCheck.org: “[I]t’s Simply A Fact That The President Failed At ‘Bringing Democrats And Republicans Together.'” “To be sure, the president did sign the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law in 2010, but it wasn’t enacted by ‘bringing Democrats and Republicans together.’ The bill passed the Senate on Dec. 24, 2009, by a vote of 60-39, without any Republicans voting for it. And when the House passed its version of the bill almost three months later, by a vote of 219-212, it too garnered no support from Republicans. We won’t offer any opinion about whether one side is more to blame than the other for that, but it’s simply a fact that the president failed at ‘bringing Democrats and Republicans together.'” (D’Angelo Gore, “Promises, Promises,” Fact Check.org, 1/4/12)

• Obama Has Been “Unable To Bridge A Political Divide That Had Only Grown Wider Since He Took Office With A Promise To Change The Ways Of Washington…” “A president who promised to bring the country together, who confidently presented himself as the transformational figure able to make that happen, now had his chance. But, like earlier policy battles, the debt ceiling negotiations revealed a divided figure, a man who remained aloof from a Congress where he once served and that he now needed. He was caught between his own aspirations for historical significance and his inherent political caution. And he was unable to bridge a political divide that had only grown wider since he took office with a promise to change the ways of Washington, underscoring the gulf between the way he campaigned and the way he had governed .” (Peter Wallsten, Lori Montgomery, and Scott Wilson, “Obama’s Evolution: Behind The Failed ‘Grand Bargain’ On The Debt,” The Washington Post , 3/17/12)

Obama’s Failure To Transcend Washington Partisanship “Has Never Been More Glaringly Obvious.” “Candidate Barack Obama promised to transcend Washington partisanship. President Obama plummeted into it. As the House returns Tuesday for the final session of his first term, Obama’s failure to fulfill this central claim of his 2008 campaign has never been more glaringly obvious.” (Carrie Budoff Brown and Jonathan Allen, “Partisan D.C.: Obama’s Broken Promise,” Politico , 1/17/12)

• Obama Has Made A Series Of “Calculated, Overtly Political Gestures That Are Far More Transactional Than Transformational.” “But what’s transpired over the past several weeks isn’t debatable: He’s made a series of calculated, overtly political gestures that are far more transactional than transformational.” (Jim VandeHei, “The Political Transformation,” Politico, 2/9/12)
• “So Much For The High Road: Victory Is More Important Than Purity.” (Jim VandeHei, “The Political Transformation,” Politico, 2/9/12)