The Big Fail: Excuses, Excuses

After Three Years Of Failed Policies, Obama Is Running Out Of People To Blame For His Own Shortcomings

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OBAMA HAS BLAMED EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING BUT HIMSELF FOR THE ECONOMY’S MALAISE

“So Far, He Has Blamed The Stagnant Economy On ATMs, Ditches, Slurpees, Corporate-Jet Owners, The Tea Party, Republicans, Japan’s Earthquake, The Arab Spring, The Arab Summer, George Bush, And ‘Fat-Cat’ Wall Street Something-Or-Others. The Kitchen Sink May Be Next.” (Salena Zito, “Battlegrounds Of Resentment,”Pittsburgh Tribune-Review8/28/11)

• Obama Blamed ATMs And Airport Kiosks For His Failure To Create Jobs. “[T]here are some structural issues with our economy, where a lot of businesses have learned to become much more efficient, with a lot fewer workers. You see it when you go to the bank and use an ATM — you don’t go to a bank teller. Or you go to the airport, and you’re using a kiosk, instead of checking in at the gate.” (NBC’s“Today,” 6/14/11)
• Obama: The Republicans Are “Sipping On A Slurpee” And “Kicking Dirt” Onto Democrats. OBAMA: “And we’ve been pushing that car, pushing it, pushing it, pushing it. The whole time the Republicans have been standing on the sidelines. They’ve been looking down, fanning themselves, sipping on a Slurpee. Kicking dirt down into the ditch. Kicking dirt in our faces. But we kept on pushing” (President Barack Obama, Remarks, Minneapolis, MN 10/23/10)
• Obama Tried To Blame The Japanese Earthquake And Arab Spring For Poor Economic Numbers. OBAMA: “Let me start by saying a few words about our economy. There is no doubt this has been a tumultuous year. We’ve weathered the Arab Spring’s effect on oil and gas prices, the Japanese earthquake and tsunami’s effect on supply chains, the extraordinary economic uncertainty in Europe. And recently, markets around the globe have taken a bumpy ride.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks , Washington, D.C., 8/5/11)
• Obama Says He “Inherited” A Bad Economy. “Lately, Obama and his aides have taken to saying that they ‘inherited’ a troubled economy, a more subtle reference to the past at a time that many voters increasingly see Obama as being part of the problem.” (Peter Wallsten, “Obama: Bush Put Us In A Hole,” The Washington Post , 8/30/11)
• Obama: Problems In Europe “Wash Over Into Our Shores.” “But the truth of the matter is, is that we now live in a global economy where everything is interconnected, and that means that when you have problems in Europe and in Spain and in Italy and in Greece, those problems wash over into our shores.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks by the President at a DNC Event in Washington, DC , 8/8/11)

Reuters : “Part Of [Obama’s Campaign] Pitch Will Include Steering Attention To Outside Forces As Causes For Economic Woes At Home.” “That bump is a political challenge for the president, whose re-election in 2012 may depend on his ability to convince voters that his economic policies have been successful. Part of his pitch will include steering attention to outside forces as causes for economic woes at home. The president did just that in his weekly radio and Internet address, broadcast Saturday, by highlighting ‘head winds’ that are affecting the United States.” (“Obama Blames Europe, Japan For U.S. Economic Woes,”Reuters, 6/4/11)

Obama Is Attempting To Blame Congress, But He Forgets He Controlled Congress For Two Years

NBC’s Brian Williams Asked Obama If He Has A New Plan For The Economy. “Let’s talk about another topic that’s part of the firmament here and everywhere and that’s the economy. The New York Times said this weekend, President Obama has another new plan on the economy, now would be a good time to find out about it.Do you have anything new on the economy and while you’ve been away, we had a horrible GDP number last week.” (NBC’s ” Nightly News” 8/29/10)

• EXCUSE: Obama Responded By Blaming Congress. OBAMA:”Well, look, we anticipated that the recovery was slowing. The economy is still growing, but it’s not growing as fast as it needs to. I’ve got things right now before Congress that we should move immediately. And I said so before I went on vacation and I’ll keep on saying it now that I’m back. We should be passing legislation that helps small businesses get credit.” (NBC’s ” Nightly News” 8/29/10)

REALITY: Obama Got Almost Everything He Wanted Out Of The Democrat-Controlled Congress. “He passed $830 billion in stimulus, $3 billion for cash for clunkers, $30 billion in small business loans, $30 billion for mortgage modification, the GM-Chrysler bailouts, ObamaCare, Dodd-Frank, credit card price controls, Build America Bonds, jobless benefits for a record 99 weeks, and more. The only priorities that a Democratic Congress blocked were cap-and-tax and union card check, and both of those would have further damaged growth and jobs. Even last December, after Republicans had retaken the House, Mr. Obama won his one-year payroll tax cut, more jobless benefits and most of what he wanted.” (Editorial, “The Latest Jobs Plan,”The Wall Street Journal , 9/9/11)

• “Mr. Obama Has Been The Least Obstructed President Since LBJ In 1965 Or FDR In 1933, Which Is How We Got Here.” “The larger political subtext of Mr. Obama’s speech is that if Congress doesn’t pass his plan, he’ll then campaign against Republicans as obstructionist. Thus his speech mantra that Congress should ‘pass it right away.’ This ignores that Mr. Obama has been the least obstructed President since LBJ in 1965 or FDR in 1933, which is how we got here.” (Editorial, “The Latest Jobs Plan,”The Wall Street Journal , 9/9/11)

Obama Now Claims He Didn’t Know How Bad The Economy Was…

EXCUSE: President Obama Claims “We Understood That It Was Bad, But We Didn’t Know How Bad It Was.” “President Barack Obama said Tuesday he wishes he knew the full extent of the economic crisis when he took office, if only so he could have let Americans know just how tough the coming years would be. ‘I think we understood that it was bad, but we didn’t know how bad it was,’ Obama said in an interview with KIRO in Seattle. ‘I think I could have prepared the American people for how bad this was going to be, had we had a sense of that.'” (Jennifer Epstein, “Barack Obama On Economic Crisis: ‘We Didn’t Know How Bad It Was,” Politico’s “44”, 12/13/11)

• Obama: The Economic “ Mess Has Been Bigger Than I Think A Lot Of People Anticipated At The Time.” CNN’S WOLF BLITZER: “When you took office, you said if I don’t have this done in three years then it’s going to be a one-term proposition, meaning you’re going to be a one term president. Do you remember that?” OBAMA: “Well, here’s what I remember. When I came into office, I knew I was going to have a big mess to clean up. And frankly, the mess has been bigger than I think a lot of people anticipated at the time.” (CNN’s “The Situation Room,” 8/16/11)

REALITY: September 2008: Obama: “We Are Going Through The Worst Financial Crisis Since The Great Depression.” (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks During First Presidential Debate, Oxford, MS, 9/26/08)

• October 2008: Obama: “We Meet Here At A Time Of Great Uncertainty. Our Economy Is In Crisis.” (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks, La Crosse, WI, 10/1/08)
• November 2008: Obama: “We Are Facing An Economic Crisis Of Historic Proportions.” (President-Elect Barack Obama, Remarks Announcing Members Of The Economic Team , Chicago, IL, 11/24/08)

A 2008 Report By Larry Summers Described The Economic Crisis As “Grim And Deteriorating Rapidly” And Predicted America Could Lose 4 Million More Jobs Within The Year. “The initial debate was framed by a fifty-seven-page memo to the President-elect, dated December 15, 2008, written by Larry Summers, his incoming director of the National Economic Council. Marked ‘Sensitive and Confidential,’ the document, which has never been made public, presents Obama with the scale of the crisis. ‘The economic outlook is grim and deteriorating rapidly,’ it said. The U.S. economy had lost two million jobs that year; without a government response, it would lose four million more in the next year. Unemployment would rise above nine per cent unless a significant stimulus plan was passed. The estimates were getting worse by the day.” (Ryan Lizza, “The Obama Memos,” The New Yorker, 1/30/12)

AFTER SOLYNDRA DECLARED BANKRUPTCY, HE CLAIMED IT WASN’T HIS PROGRAM “PER SE” AND BLAMED CHINA

EXCUSE: In An Interview Talking About Solyndra, Obama Said “But Understand: This Was Not Our Program, Per Se.” OBAMA: “We are doing the ‘all of the above’ strategy right. Obviously, we wish Solyndra hadn’t gone bankrupt. Part of the reason they did was because the Chinese were subsidizing their solar industry and flooding the market in ways that Solyndra couldn’t compete. But understand: This was not our program, per se. Congress — Democrats and Republicans — put together a loan guarantee program because they understood historically that when you get new industries, it’s easy to raise money for startups, but if you want to take them to scale, oftentimes there’s a lot of risk involved, and what the loan guarantee program was designed to do was to help start up companies get to scale. And the understanding is is that some companies are not going to succeed, some companies will do very well — but the portfolio as a whole ends up supporting the kind of innovation that helps make America successful in this innovative 21st century economy.” (“The Obama Interview: U.S. Must Invest In Itself,” American Public Media’s Marketplace, 3/21/12)

REALITY: Obama: “The True Engine Of Economic Growth Will Always Be Companies Like Solyndra, Will Always Be America’s Businesses.” (President Obama, Remarks By The President On The Economy, Fremont, California, 5/26/10)

• Obama Referenced Solyndra In His 2010 State Of The Union Address.OBAMA: “You can see the results of last year’s investments in clean energy — in the North Carolina company that will create 1,200 jobs nationwide helping to make advanced batteries; or in the California business that will put a thousand people to work making solar panels.” (President Obama, State Of The Union Address, Washington, D.C., 1/27/10)

Obama At Solyndra In 2010: “But Through The Recovery Act, This Company Received A Loan To Expand Its Operation.” OBAMA: “And we can see the positive impacts right here at Solyndra. Less than a year ago, we were standing on what was an empty lot. But through the Recovery Act, this company received a loan to expand its operations. This new factory is the result of those loans.” (President Obama, Remarks By The President On The Economy, Freemont, California, 5/26/10)

• “Solyndra Received Its Now-Infamous $500 Million-Plus Loan Guarantee Through DOE’s Section 1705 Program, Created In 2009 Economic Stimulus Law To Foster Renewable Energy Development, Including Biofuels, Wind, Geothermal And Solar Projects.” (Elana Schor and Hannah Northey, “Will Solyndra Scandal Spill Over To Scald Nuclear Loan Guarantees?,” Greenwire , 10/7/11)

The Washington Post’s Fact Checker: “We Find It Hard To Believe That Any Reasonable Person Could Interpret Obama’s Remarks This Week As Anything But A Distinct Effort To Put The Blame For Solyndra In Some One Else’s Pocket. The President Should Accept Responsibility, Not Shirk It.” “The administration is straining too hard to reverse that aphorism – ie, saying the failure of Solyndra has a thousand fathers. While the original law may have set up the loan guarantee program, Solyndra received its loan through an expansion of that program that the administration was quick to take credit for. (The Biden news release mitigates this a bit, but the reference to the 2005 law was not attributed to Biden.) We find it hard to believe that any reasonable person could interpret Obama’s remarks this week as anything but a distinct effort to put the blame for Solyndra in some one else’s pocket. The president should accept responsibility, not shirk it.” (Glenn Kessler, “Obama’s Solyndra Shuffle,” The Washington Post’s “The Fact Checker,” 3/23/12)

OBAMA BLAMES HIS SUPER PAC REVERSAL ON OTHER SUPER PACS

WBTV’s Paul Cameron To Obama: “You’ve Changed Your Mind On Super PACs, It Used To Be Morally Wrong And Now You’re Going To Take The Money.” CAMERON: “Along those lines we talked about campaign contributions and specifically his change in election strategy. As we head to the DNC in charlotte, you’ve changed your mind on Super PACs, it used to be morally wrong and now you’re going to take the money. Why? Is there a change of heart.” (WBTV-CBS, 2/14/12)

• EXCUSE: “We’ve Got Some Of These Super PACs That Have Pledged To Spend Up To Half A Billion Dollars To Try To Buy This Election And What I’ve Said Consistently Is, We’re Not Going To Just Unilaterally Disarm.”OBAMA: “Well, you know I’ll be honest with you. I still think that the Citizens United decision that was made by the Supreme Court was the wrong decision. We’re seeing some of the effects of it right now in the Republican primary. You’ve got billionaires who are just writing checks for tens of millions of dollars and suddenly the entire dynamic of the election has changed, regardless of what voters’ preferences originally might have been. The challenge is, we’ve got some of these Super PACs that have pledged to spend up to half a billion dollars to try to buy this election and what I’ve said consistently is, we’re not going to just unilaterally disarm.What we have said is that my strong preference would be to completely eliminate that Super PAC process, but we’re not going to just let a whole bunch of folks who are not only self interested but aren’t always disclosing what their contributions are to be able to simply purchase an election.” (WBTV-CBS, 2/14/12)

Obama Senior Advisor David Axelrod: “Obama Believes That This Is An Unhealthy Development In Our Political Process, But It Is A Reality Of The Rules As They Stand.” (Jeff Mason, “RPT-Paltry Fundraising By Obama ‘Super PAC’ Prompted New Strategy,” Reuters, 2/21/12)

• Axelrod: But Obama “Feels A Responsibility To Win” In 2012 . “This was not a quick decision, but he also feels a responsibility to win this election,’ Axelrod added.” (Jeff Mason, “RPT-Paltry Fundraising By Obama ‘Super PAC’ Prompted New Strategy,” Reuters, 2/21/12)

But In 2008, Obama “Made Clear That He Didn’t Want Outside Money Groups Working On His Behalf”

REALITY: In 2008, Obama “Made Clear That He Didn’t Want Outside Money Groups Working On His Behalf.” “Some Democrats bristled at what they saw as a sort of unilateral disarmament by Obama in 2008, when the candidate made clear that he didn’t want outside money groups working on his behalf and set sharp limits on who could – and couldn’t – give to his campaign.” (Jeanne Cummings, “New Democratic Money Group To Take On Republicans,” Politico, 4/29/11)

• Obama: “[Y]ou Can’t Say Yesterday, You Don’t Believe In ‘Em, And Today, You’re Having Three-Quarters Of A Million Dollars Being Spent For You. You Can’t Just Talk The Talk.” (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks At A Campaign Event, Oskaloosa, IA, 12/22/07)

• Obama: “I Don’t Just Talk The Talk; I Walk The Walk. … I’ve Been Doing This All My Life…” (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks At A Campaign Event, Oskaloosa, IA, 12/22/07)
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And In 2010, He Viciously Attacked Super PACs As A “Threat To Our Democracy”

In 2010, Obama Called Super PACs And Outside Spending Groups “A Threat To Our Democracy.” OBAMA: “Now, that’s not just a threat to Democrats — that’s a threat to our democracy. Every American business and industry deserves a seat at the table, but they don’t get to a chance to buy every chair. We’ve seen what happens when they do. They put the entire economy at risk and every American might end up suffering.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks At Campaign Event , Philadelphia, PA, 10/10/10)

In 2010, Obama Called Super PACs “Shadowy Groups.” OBAMA: “As the political season heats up, Americans are already being inundated with the usual phone calls, mailings, and TV ads from campaigns all across the country. But this summer, they’re also seeing a flood of attack ads run by shadowy groups with harmless-sounding names. We don’t know who’s behind these ads and we don’t know who’s paying for them. The reason this is happening is because of a decision by the Supreme Court in the Citizens United case – a decision that now allows big corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money to influence our elections.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks For Weekly Address, 8/21/10)