The GOP seems to think that President Obama is inept at crafting plans for his Second Term. Everywhere you turn, they constantly harp that he “hasn’t done anything” and that he “won’t say what his plans are.” But that simply isn’t true. The President’s plans may not be super-fancy, but they do exist. Check them out for yourself.
Things are so divisive in the 2012 election cycle, we forget that it wasn’t always this way. Even if Democrats really REALLY disliked George W. Bush, they did try to work with him at times, and did not sabotage every initiative he launched. A bill would pass, and Democrats would disagree, they would even run against it, but they didn’t filibuster every major piece of legislation in existence.
Take a look at this clip of President George W. Bush signing bipartisan legislation into law… the Obama-Coburn act. Judging from the campaign trail assaults, you would have thought these men never knew each other. But there they are.
Also what happened to the GOP’s vehement defense and support of disclosure measures? You sure wouldn’t know it from today.
So welcome to a new month, and a new jobs report. In June the US economy added 80,000 jobs, and our national unemployment rate held steady at 8.2%. By all accounts, this is viewed as a weak report. Job growth simply isn’t “booming” the way it has in previous months. The RNC and the Romney campaign spared no seconds with their criticism…
But even without a boom, isn’t it still better than the alternative? We all know the situation that our country was in 3 and 1/2 years ago. When President Obama took office, “jobs were falling off of a cliff. They had been falling for 11 months. It takes a while to get things turned around after a recession.”
At least this was Mitt Romney’s philosophy about his own record in 2006. The Pro-Obama PAC American Bridge just unearthed a scathing new video showing Romney’s justifications for why Massachusetts jobs growth was less than stellar during his time as Governor.
Funny Gov… we’re “bright enough to look at the numbers too”. As you’d say in a most out-of-touch way, shouldn’t what’s sauce for the goose be sauce for the gander??
In what may be the most informative 8 1/2 mins of political punditry in the Health Reform debate, veteran Senate staffer and Left-leaning journalise Lawrence O’Donnell sets the record straight about the so-called “Individual Mandate”. Many Liberals are becoming aware of the hypocrisy from the Right on the mandate, as it was originally a Conservative idea. But Mr. O’Donnell reminds us that the hypocrisy around this idea of the mandate is equally shared by Liberals and the Democratic Party. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Obama were both fully opposed to an individual mandate at one time, yet that is the bill the Obama administration ended up supporting.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
So it turns out that President Obama is getting a lot of YouTube views lately, but they’re not from the whitehouse channel. The latest viral craze is BaracksDubs… mash-ups of the President “singing” some popular songs. Here’s the latest video of “Boyfriend” by Justin Bieber…
Maybe this would be worth a try for the election campaign? Just a thought
So we see the jobs reports on the first Friday of each month, and everyone inhales and holds their breath for just a second. If the unemployment rate goes down, we breathe a sigh of relief. If it ticks up, we wonder what happened.
Over the past few months, the economy has started to pick up steam. Have we had a full recovery yet?? No, of course not. Is there still much to be done? Yes, yes yes. But as we’re in the throws of electomania, I thought it was important to see if any of the recent job growth we are having is sustainable, and how it’s affecting Houston. More specifically, have policies of the Obama administration made any difference for our city?
One of the President’s main economic goals (LONG overshadowed by the bloody healthcare fight, the oil spill, and a bunch of other things) was to get Americans actually making things again. Not only would we make more of our own goods, but actually start to sell those goods to other countries. In the 2010 State of the Union, President Obama set a goal to double US exports by 2014. So far as of 2011 U.S. exports have risen by a whopping 34 percent… well ahead of schedule to meet the original goal. China, in particular, has begun to take notice and buy American goods. According to the US-China Business Council, US exports to China have eclipsed the $100 Billion dollar mark, and it is once again our third largest export market. California is the leading state to export to the rapidly developing nation, but Texas comes in at a surprising 3rd place.
So how does this good news translate to jobs in Houston?? We were already one of the nation’s strongest exporters, but under the Obama administration, export activity in our city has continued to grow, and diversify. Take the Port of Houston, for example. A big expansion of the Panama Canal should be complete by 2014. As a result, shipping volume at the Port of Houston is expected to grow between 20 and 35 percent. it certainly was a wound on Houston pride to lose our beloved Continental to the United merger, but IAH’s new role as the lead hub for the world’s largest airline is quickly elevating our cities statue in the air travel world.
On a landmark trip to Brazil, Houston mayor Annise Parker signed major trade and cooperation deals with the cities of Sao Paulo and Rio De Janerio. As the most rapidly developing economy in Western Hemisphere, these deals could be very lucrative for Houston and Texas’s future. Mayor Parker’s initiative in this respect will surely be remembered as a highlight of her administration.
The groundwork for Parker’s recent trade mission was actually laid by President Obama, as he visited the country last year. Though his trip wasn’t quite as “smooth sailing” as the mayor, this action and similar deals with other emerging markets are sound economic maneuvers that will continue to encourage job growth in America. Houston is a significant part of the success of the USA, and under Obama’s Presidency, Houston and Texas will continue to prosper. So the job growth we’re all seeing and feeling?? It’s no bull.
Interesting data published by the New York Times includes some staggering sums about how much money is being raised and spent for this year’s Presidential election. We get one vote at the ballot box, but campaign donations are a much different story. Let’s see how Texans have put their money where their mouth is. (Full article here)
Take a look at how Obama and Romney have faired in Texas (as of Feb. 29th)…
West Texas/ Panhandle
Obama- $88,520.00 Romney- $106,150.00
Central Texas
Obama- $323,587.00 Romney- $362,508.00
South/Central Texas (including Austin and San Antonio)
Obama- $1,419,967.00 Romney- $419,208.00
Southeastern Texas (including Houston)
Obama- $1,058,188.00 Romney- $1,998,380.00
Northeastern Texas (including Dallas and Ft. Worth)
Obama- $1,178,927.00 Romney- $960,873.00
Texas Total
Obama- $4,069,189.00 Romney- $3,847,119.00
A few quick things to note…
-53% of Obama’s donations come from donors giving $200 or less. For Romney that’s a mere 12% of the total.
-58% of Romney’s donors gave the maximum of $2500. That means that Romney has far less donors overall, but they give BIG. For Obama only 20% of his donors have given the maximum so far.
-These are official campaign dollars and don’t account for spending by the Obama or Romney SuperPACs.
So far in Texas, advantage Obama, but not by much. Granted the general election hasn’t officially started yet, so we better hold on to our lassos.
