With his poll numbers plummeting, Barack Obama is beginning to sound more like an aging rock star trying to recapture the magic of the 1970's at a local county fair than the President of the United States. Obama's Labor Day Speech to members of the AFL/CIO began with; "Hello, Milwaukee! (Applause.) Hello, Milwaukee! (Applause.) Thank you. It is good to be back in Milwaukee."
It would not have been surprising to hear; "Here is something from our first album."
The President followed up his greeting with introductions of other Democrats in attendance. "Our Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood is in the house. (Applause.) And I want everybody to give it up for people who are at the forefront of every fight for Wisconsin's working men and women - Senator Herb Kohl; Congresswoman Gwen Moore. (Applause.) Your outstanding mayor and I believe soon to be outstanding governor Tom Barrett is in the house."
While his job approval ratings are at record lows, Obama's personality ratings are still relatively high according to an Associated Press poll which shows the President at 56%. Obviously aware of his slumping numbers, the President does well when surrounded by groups of supporters and a well oiled teleprompter.
He renewed his attempts to sell the health care reform bill to a group which won exemption from a proposed 40 percent tax on expansive private health-insurance plans until 2018. A benefit not afforded to millions of other Americans who are starting to realize what the bill truly contains as they see their premiums skyrocket. He also spoke on the "benefits" of the Government monopoly on student loans which was also included in the health care bill.
Obama continued to build the fervor of the crowd by talking about tax cuts, alternative energy and the saving (taking over) of the auto industry. All of this tired rhetoric was building up to the President's unveiling of his 50 Billion Dollar Infrastructure (Stimulus) Initiative. A bill he says would be "fully paid for," where have we heard that before? The President believes by eliminating tax breaks and subsidies for the oil and gas industry (The Demons) he will have enough to cover the costs of this new initiative. But since President Obama has never accomplished anything in the private sector, he seems to forget that when businesses are hit with new taxes, the costs are passed along to the consumer. Apparently there isn't a strong business economics department at Harvard.
President Obama then seguewayed into his other comfort zone, blame Bush/Republicans. The President stated;
"But there are some folks in Washington who see things differently. (Boos.) You know what I'm talking about. (Applause.) When it comes to just about everything we've done to strengthen our middle class, to rebuild our economy, almost every Republican in Congress says no. (Boos.) Even on things we usually agree on, they say no. If I said the sky was blue, they say no. (Laughter and applause.) If I said fish live in the sea, they'd say no. (Laughter.) They just think it's better to score political points before an election than to solve problems. So they said no to help for small businesses, even when the small businesses said we desperately need this. This used to be their key constituency, they said. They said no. No to middle-class tax cuts. They say they're for tax cuts; I say, okay, let's give tax cuts to the middle class. No. (Laughter.) No to clean energy jobs. No to making college more affordable. No to reforming Wall Street. They're saying right now, no to cutting more taxes for small business owners and helping them get financing.
You know, I heard - somebody out here was yelling "Yes we can." Remember that was our slogan? Their slogan is "No we can't." (Applause.) No, no, no, no."
Obama seems to conveniently forget the Democrats have enjoyed the majority in both the House and Senate since 2006. A majority he has used to strong arm his policies onto the American people yet he complains the Republicans have blocked his programs, something that has been numerically impossible for most of his presidency. In 2006 as the Democrats took control the unemployment rate was 4.7%. The federal deficit was also at a four year low in 2006 just over $247 billion. After four years of Democratic control of the House and Senate and almost two years of Obama policies the unemployment rate has more than doubled to 9.6% and the deficit has ballooned to $1.3 trillion according to the CBO.
The President continued by saying; "So basically, here's what this election comes down to. They're betting that between now and November, you're going to come down with amnesia. (Laughter.) They figure you're going to forget what their agenda did to this country. They think you'll just believe that they've changed.
These are the folks whose policies helped devastate our middle class. They drove our economy into a ditch. And we got in there and put on our boots and we pushed and we shoved. And we were sweating and these guys were standing, watching us and sipping on a Slurpee. (Laughter.) And they were pointing at us saying, how come you're not pushing harder, how come you're not pushing faster? And then when we finally got the car up - and it's got a few dings and a few dents, it's got some mud on it, we're going to have to do some work on it - they point to everybody and say, look what these guys did to your car. (Laughter.) After we got it out of the ditch! And then they got the nerve to ask for the keys back! (Laughter and applause.) I don't want to give them the keys back. They don't know how to drive."
Well Mr. President, despite your witty analogy the American people are beginning to see through your charm, charisma and comic banter. In your speech you said that "D" means drive (to go forward) and "R" is for reverse. The truth is it is now clear that "D" means mounting Debt and Debilitating economic policies. The American people want a Repeal of Obamacare, Restoration of a representative form of government and a Return to prosperity. We can no longer afford to pay the bill for your "on the job training" and only your labor union friends are buying the Rock Star Rhetoric. November is coming Mr. President and if you thought your election was historic, just wait until the mid-terms.
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