Posted on 01/23/2012 2:20:24 PM PST by Qbert
House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) appeared on “Fox News Sunday” yesterday and argued that President Obama’s policies “have actually made our economy worse.” Then he said it again. And again. All told, the House Republican repeated the claim five times in one interview (and in each instance, host Chris Wallace offered no pushback whatsoever).
For those who care about reality, Boehner’s claim isn’t true. Since the president took office, every aspect of the American economy — job creation, economic growth, manufacturing, the stock market, etc. — has improved considerably. Repeating a lie five times doesn’t make it true.
But what I find especially important about this is the extent to which Mitt Romney, the likely Republican presidential nominee, disagrees with Boehner.
Consider this remarkable exchange between Romney and conservative radio-host Laura Ingraham late last week: (thanks to F.B. for the tip)
INGRAHAM: You’ve also noted that there are signs of improvement on the horizon in the economy. How do you answer the president’s argument that the economy is getting better in a general election campaign if you yourself are saying it’s getting better?ROMNEY: Well, of course it’s getting better. The economy always gets better after a recession, there is always a recovery. […]
INGRAHAM: Isn’t it a hard argument to make if you’re saying, like, OK, he inherited this recession, he took a bunch of steps to try to turn the economy around, and now, we’re seeing more jobs, but vote against him anyway? Isn’t that a hard argument to make? Is that a stark enough contrast?
ROMNEY: Have you got a better one, Laura? It just happens to be the truth.
I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say this may be the most important statement Romney has made since launching his 2012 presidential campaign. Think about it: the likely GOP nominee argued, on the air and on the record, that the economy is getting better under President Obama, and it “happens to be the truth” that Obama took steps to turn the economy around, resulting in more jobs for American workers.
If Laura Ingraham had asked a Democratic ally of the president the same question, she likely would have heard a similar answer.
What’s more, as I noted over a week ago, Romney keeps saying this. He told voters in South Carolina and New Hampshire that under Obama, the economy is “getting better.”
Romney’s message, of course, comes with a catch: he believes the economy is improving, but he doesn’t want the president to get credit for it. But as Ingraham noticed, that’s an argument that will fail miserably.
A month into 2012, the Republican is effectively arguing, “Sure, Obama inherited a deep recession. And sure, he took a bunch of steps to turn the economy around. And sure, we’re now seeing more jobs being created and more economic growth. But vote against him anyway.”
This isn’t just a tough sell; it’s an impossible one.
Every single debate answer:
“I agree with President Obama, but...”
Another reason not to support Romney.
What Mitt means is...Obama’s people are doing a better job at doctoring the numbers. Real unemployment is around seventeen percent.
As America does worse, Romney and Bain do better.
That’s exactly what I was going to say. Wait until gas is $5/gallon and we’ll see how good people think Obama’s economy is.
It IS getting a little better, but it is also an extraordinarily weak recovery in the face of headwinds, a good number of which are inflicted by Obama’s regulations. I would have hoped that Presidential candidate Romney could give a fuller answer.
Well, no QE3 for you, then, Barak.
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“It's difficult to completely kill the US economy although Obama is giving his all. ObamaCare is a job and economic growth killer. Obama day to day tax policy is an economic growth killer. Obama’s late budgets are economic and job killers. Obama’s energy policy is an economic growth killer. And his Keystone decision is a job killer.”
Romney, get with it. Sheesh!
“It's difficult to completely kill the US economy although Obama is giving it his all. ObamaCare is a job and economic growth killer. Obama day to day tax policy is an economic growth killer. Obama’s late budgets are economic and job killers. Obama’s energy policy is an economic growth killer. And his Keystone decision is a job killer.”
Romney, get with it. Sheesh!
It seems that the “Washington Monthly” has the “Bravo” flag flying! Crude yes but true.
That's just completely unacceptable for anyone with half a brain.
Romney is talking out of both sides now. I wonder if Rush will take him to task like he did with Newt.
The economy is not recovering. It’s a dead cat bounce. The real unemployment rate is continually hidden, the real estate market remains in the dumps, and gas prices still remain far too high. If Romney isn’t capable of articulating the reasons why Obama needs to go, then he will be a disaster as nominee. That is the real contrast between Romney and Gingrich that voters are viewing in the debates. They don’t want another “I’ll reach across the aisle” candidate like McCain.
I don’t think it is getting better. I think we’re learning how to live with it. We’re getting used to a bad economy.
Do the higher employment numbers of last month exclude seasonal employment? I don’t know. But I do know that if the company that just bought the plant where I work decides to lay me off, I have very few employment opportunities in my field of work.
The economy has recovered. However, it is in spite of Obama (who has ushered in significant roadblocks in regulations, et al), not because of him.
The first thing we have to do is be honest.
While the overall economy has gotten better (though modestly) the financial condition of our country has gotten much worse... $4.5T in new debt, no budget since Obama was sworn in, worsening credit rating... et al.
"It IS getting a little better, but it is also an extraordinarily weak recovery in the face of headwinds, a good number of which are inflicted by Obama’s regulations."
In any number or piece of data that they point to to say that the economy is supposedly improving in the temporary, you can just as easily point to 5-10 other things that show that it is getting demonstrably worse- especially in the long-term.
Even the supposed "great" drop in the unemployment rate... caused by no longer counting 315,000 people.
Below is the actual quote before it was trimmed fror effect:
ROMNEY: “Have you got a better one, Laura? [laughter] It just happens to be the truth.... at some point it’s going to get better, but I don’t think President Obama’s helping it.”
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