The Inequality President

The rich have done fine under Obamanomics, not so the middle class.

President Obama made his fourth or fifth, or maybe it's the seventh or eighth, pivot to the economy on Wednesday, and a revealing speech it was. We counted four mentions of "growth" but "inequality" got five. This goes a long way to explaining why Mr. Obama is still bemoaning the state of the economy five years into his Presidency.

The President summed up his economic priorities close to the top of his hour-long address. "This growing inequality isn't just morally wrong; it's bad economics," he told his Galesburg, Illinois audience. "When middle-class families have less to spend, businesses have fewer customers. When wealth concentrates at the very top, it can inflate unstable bubbles that threaten the economy. When the rungs on the ladder of opportunity grow farther apart, it undermines the very essence of this country."

Then the heart of the matter: "That's why reversing these trends must be Washington's highest priority. It's certainly my highest priority."

Which is the problem. For four and a half years, Mr. Obama has focused his policies on reducing inequality rather than increasing growth. The predictable result has been more inequality and less growth. As even Mr. Obama conceded in his speech, the rich have done well in the last few years thanks to a rising stock market, but the middle class and poor have not. The President called his speech "A Better Bargain for the Middle Class," but no President has done worse by the middle class in modern times.

By now the lackluster growth figures are well known. The recovery that began four years ago has been one of the weakest on record, averaging a little more than 2%. And it has not gained speed. Growth in the fourth quarter of 2012 was 0.4%. It rose to a still anemic 1.8% in the first quarter but most economists are predicting even slower growth in the second quarter.

Via: The Wall Street Journal

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Rejected: As Gun Control Looms, Obama Approval Plummets

Just a week before the New Year, Obama enjoyed his highest approval ratings of 2012. According to Gallup, 58% of Americans approved of the job Obama was doing. Survey results released today by Gallup, though, show Obama's approval rating has plummeted to just 49%. It is a dramatic drop, especially coming over a holiday period when people traditionally pay little attention to politics. Four years ago, at his first inauguration, a full 69% of Americans approved of Obama.

The drop in Obama's approval from 4 years ago is understandable, given the sluggish economy and the hope American's had as his presidency began. The considerable drop from just a few weeks ago is more puzzling. According to the media, he was the "winner" of the fiscal cliff negotiations, getting most of the tax hikes he campaigned on and avoiding spending cuts.

See the Gallup Poll Here

Via: Breitbart

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Liberal Paper Endorses Romney: Time For Another Change

TENNESSEAN ENDORSEMENT

This has been a presidential election that should be held up as a cautionary lesson for the future.

The lesson? How low American politics can stoop, and how to avoid it ever happening again.

The 2012 presidential race is fraught with confusion and failed expectations, so much so that it is surprising that any reasonable voter would feel comfortable pressing the button for either President Barack Obama or Gov. Mitt Romney. What is downright infuriating is that, after four years of an Obama presidency and two years of campaigning and 22 televised debates by Romney, so many questions remain and it is difficult to discern what the next four years would look like with either man in charge.

Aside from 1860, when Abraham Lincoln took charge of the nation on the brink of civil war, and 1932, when Americans devastated by the Great Depression turned to Franklin Roosevelt for hope, few elections have been so critical to the country. In 2012, the United States faces crippling debt; seemingly endless military conflicts and terror threats; an aging population; and sweeping workforce and geopolitical changes that threaten to turn our society upside down.

America needs strong leadership; yet, our leaders in Washington have seldom looked more impotent. The Democratic Obama administration and Republican leaders in Congress have butted heads for four years, and the American people have little to show for it. In that period, only two major initiatives, the Affordable Care Act and Dodd-Frank financial reform, have passed, and Gov. Romney promises to roll back both if elected.

And we look for a signal from either of the candidates that he will be the one who leads red and blue states into to an honest dialogue that will move America forward with its founding principles intact.

On issue after issue, however, Obama’s and Romney’s positions shift or lack assuring specificity:

Via: The Tennessean

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