Research Briefing

What Obama Wants Most Is Killing The One Thing Americans Are Asking For

OBAMA ON “AMERICA’S MOST WANTED” TONIGHT: “Obama Is Going To Help TV’s ‘America’s Most Wanted’ Mark The Milestone Broadcast Of Its 1,000th Episode … Airing 9 P.M. EST Saturday On Fox.” (“Obama On ‘America’s Most Wanted’ To Celebrate Show Milestone,” The Associated Press, 3/4/10)

AMERICANS HAVE MADE IT CLEAR TO OBAMA WHAT’S “MOST WANTED”: JOBS

“CNN Poll: Jobs Number One Issue With Most Americans.” (Paul Steinhauser, “CNN Poll: Jobs Number One Issue With Most Americans,” CNN’s “Political Ticker” Blog, 1/21/10)

CBS/NYT Poll: More Than Half Of All Americans Think Obama Has Spent “Too Little Time On The Economy.” (Stephanie Condon, “Poll: Economy Brings Down Obama’s Job Approval Rating, CBS News’ “Political Hotsheet” Blog, 2/11/10)

ABC/Washington Post Poll: 51 Percent Of Americans Disapprove Of Obama’s Handling Of Creating Jobs.” (“In 2010 Election Politics, Republicans Are In The Hunt,” ABC News, 2/10/10)

YET WHAT OBAMA WANTS MOST IS HIS GOVERNMENT-RUN HEALTH CARE EXPERIMENT, “ELBOWING ASIDE” ANY FOCUS ON JOB CREATION

NYT’s Jeff Zeleny: “A Plan to Talk About Jobs, Elbowed Aside by Health Care.” “By the time March arrived, President Obama was supposed to be entering his third month of the year talking about three things: jobs, jobs, jobs. That was the plan of the White House — and the plea from many Democrats — as the unemployment rate remained frozen near 10 percent and the economy showed only hints of brightening … Democrats on midterm election ballots feel a growing sense of worry that the year is quickly ticking away. If the next chapter of the health care debate consumes the month of March, will there be time to pursue other legislation before campaigning begins in earnest?”  (Jeff Zeleny, “A Plan To Talk About Jobs, Elbowed Aside By Health Care,” The New York Times, 3/2/10)

Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN): “But If I Could Create One Job In The Private Sector By Helping To Grow A Business, That Would Be One More Than Congress Has Created In The Last Six Months.” (CBS’ “The Early Show,” 2/16/10) 

James P. Hoffa, President Of The International Brotherhood Of Teamsters Said, “We’re Disappointed That Jobs Were Not Emphasized The First Year.” “‘We obviously hoped that more would have been done,’ he said. ‘We’re disappointed that jobs were not emphasized the first year. We’re disappointed that the president got bogged down in the health care debate. To some extent we’re all frustrated ...’” (Steven Greenhouse, “Still With Obama, But Worried,” The New York Times, 3/2/10)

Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN) Says White House Focused Too Much On Health Care And Cap And Trade And Not The Economy. “What happened was [White House] got so caught up in all these other issues like health care and cap and trade and all this other stuff, that because of that they maybe didn’t put enough focus on the economy,” said Minnesota Rep. Collin Peterson…” (Glenn Thrush, Jake Sherman, and Lisa Lerer, “White House Caught In Dem Crossfire,” Politico, 1/22/10)

The Detroit News Editorial Board: “Given The Depth Of The Recession … Every Policymaker … Must Weigh Every Action Against Its Impact On Employment. That’s Not Happening In Obama’s Washington.” (Editorial, “Editorial: Obama Needs Policies, Not Promises, For Job Growth,” The Detroit News, 1/12/10)

THAT’S WHY AMERICANS CAN’T FIND JOBS AS OBAMA’S STIMULUS JOB GAP CONTINUES TO GROW

3.5 MILLION: Jobs Obama Promised Stimulus Would Create By End Of 2010. (President Barack Obama, Remarks At The Signing Of The American Recovery And Reinvestment Act, Press Release, Denver, CO, 2/17/09)

3.3 MILLION: Jobs Lost Since Obama Made That Promise. (U.S. Bureau Of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed 3/5/10)

6.8 MILLION: Jobs Obama Must Now Create To Keep Promise By End Of 2010, A Level Of Job Growth That Has Never Been Achieved In American History. (President Barack Obama, Remarks At The Signing Of The American Recovery And Reinvestment Act, Press Release, Denver, CO, 2/17/09; U.S. Bureau Of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed 3/5/10)

• Because In 1946, 4.3 MILLION Jobs Were Created, Largest Job In A Single Calendar Year In American History. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed 3/5/10)