Aggregator • Hyscience • ID=79413 |
Peter Wehner, on Obama's accountability problem:
[...] It's not simply that during the 2008 campaign he made extravagant promises to heal the planet, slow the rise of the oceans, end political divisions in America, and usher in an era of hope and change. It's that as a candidate and in the early days of his presidency, Obama and his top aides made a series of very specific promises on a range of issues.ContinueAs a candidate, Obama promised to create five million new energy jobs alone, claimed that by the end of his first term his health care plan would "bring down premiums by $2,500 for the typical family," and guaranteed that his financial rescue plan would help "stop foreclosures." As president-elect, Obama informed us that he had asked two of his top economic advisers, Christina Romer and Jared Bernstein, to conduct a "rigorous analysis" of his economic recovery plan. The report that he released predicted unemployment would not rise above 8 percent if the stimulus plan was passed. And in the first year of his presidency, Obama pledged to "cut the deficit we inherited in half by the end of my first term in office," "lift two million Americans from poverty," and "jolt our economy back to life."
The problem for Obama is that his predictions were not only wrong; they were terribly wide of the mark. For example, since the president was sworn in, America has suffered a net decline of roughly half a million jobs. According to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the average annual premium for family health coverage through an employer reached $15,073 in 2011 -- an increase of 9 percent, or $1,303, over the previous year. The 9 percent increase in family premiums between 2010 and 2011 followed an increase of 3 percent between 2009 and 2010. Under Obama, the number of foreclosures was the worst in history. In addition, last year was the worst sales year on record for housing, while home values are nearly 35 percent lower than they were five years ago.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate has been above 8 percent for 41 consecutive months. ...
As Wehner goes on to appropriately note, Barack Obama's only excuse for his failures is a myth and a mirage -- a manufactured, after-the-fact effort to escape accountability for his own words, his own commitments, and his own failings. And that "We Couldn't Possibly Have Known How Bad It Was" narrative just isn't going to cut it anymore ... it's simply make-believe. The president has run out of excuses.
... more
