Research Briefing

Obama’s Back In Ohio Unveiling Latest Stimulus Plan, While Ohioans Still Waiting For Last Promised “Recovery”

 “Obama Will Underline Ohio’s Importance Tomorrow, When He Visits Cleveland To Talk About The Economy . . . He’s Already Visited Ohio Nine Times Since He Became President . . . ” (Patrick O’Connor And Lisa Lerer, “Ohio's Scorn Of Stimulus Means Obama May Pay For Keeping Pledge,” Bloomberg, 9/7/10)

IN JUNE, OBAMA WENT TO OHIO TO KICK OFF THE FAILED “RECOVERY SUMMER”

President Obama Kicked Off The “Recovery Summer” In Columbus, Ohio At The Site Of The Stimulus’ 10,000^th Infrastructure Project Just Three Months Ago. “And today I return to Columbus to mark a milestone on the road to recovery: the 10,000th project launched under the Recovery Act. That's worth a big round of applause.” (President Barack Obama, “Remarks on American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Projects in Columbus, Ohio,” 6/18/10)

In June, The President Touted The Progress That The Economy Was Making. “Our economy, which was shrinking by 6 percent when I was sworn in, is now growing at a good clip, and we've added jobs for 6 out of the past 7 months in this country. We were losing 700,000 jobs a month; for the last—6 out of the last 7 months, we've increased jobs here in the United States of America, in part because the policies that these Members of Congress were willing to step up and implement.” (President Barack Obama, “Remarks on American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Projects in Columbus, Ohio,” 6/18/10)

• And He Claimed That His Infrastructure Investments Were The Key To A Recovery. “The truth is, if we want to keep on adding jobs, if we want to keep on raising incomes, if we want to keep growing both our economy and our middle class, if we want to ensure that Americans can compete with any nation in the world, we're going to have to get serious about our long-term vision for this country and we're going to have to get serious about our infrastructure.” (President Barack Obama, “Remarks on American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Projects in Columbus, Ohio,” 6/18/10)

BUT THE SUMMER’S COME AND GONE, WITHOUT ANY SIGN OF A RECOVERY IN SIGHT

MSNBC’s Chuck Todd: “I Have To Say These Housing Numbers, This Entire Summer, Remember It Began – The Administration Called It ‘Recovery Summer.’ Every Economic Indicator Has Collapsed In The Last Two Months.” (MSNBC, “The Daily Rundown,” 8/25/10)

Economic Growth Has Stalled, With GDP Growing At An “Anemic” 1.6 Percent. “The Commerce Department on Friday downgraded the nation's economic growth in the second quarter, providing the most important evidence yet that the recovery has stalled. The anemic growth rate of 1.6% was down from last month's estimate of 2.4%. The report put an exclamation point on a week of bad economic news that has raised fears the nation could plunge into another recession.” (Jim Puzzanghera, “2nd-Quarter GDP Growth Revised Down To An Anemic 1.6%,” The Los Angeles Times, 8/27/10)

• And The Economy Is Sliding Into Another Recession. “It's Starting To Feel Like Another Recession. Businesses are ordering fewer goods. Home sales are the lowest in decades. Jobs are scarce, and unemployment claims are rising. Perhaps most worrisome, manufacturing activity, which had been one of the economy's few bright spots, is faltering.” (Alan Zeibel and Daniel Wagner, “Regardless Of Numbers, It Feels Like A Recession,” Associated Press, 8/25/10)

LEAVING OHIOANS ANGRY AND LOOKING FOR REAL CHANGE 

“Waiting Is Getting Tougher For Ohioans, Especially For The 130,000 Who Have Lost Jobs Since Obama’s Stimulus Began In February 2009. They Need Jobs, Not More Promises Made In Staged Settings.” (Editorial, “Obama 'Photo Ops' Won’t Create Jobs For Desperate Ohioans,” The Morning Journal, 8/19/10)

Ohio Is Among The States “Worst Off Economically”, Having Lost Millions Of Residents And Jobs Over The Past Decades. “It is not all a mirror image of the U.S., however. One difference between Ohio and most of the rest of the country is that it is among the worst off economically. The state has lost millions of residents and jobs over the past decades. And hard as it may be to fathom, given the pessimism about the economy nationally, unemployment is even more of an issue there than in most other states.” (Peter Brown, “Ohio’s Tossup Races: A Gauge For The November Elections,” The Wall Street Journal, 8/29/10)

• Ohio’s Unemployment Rate Is Currently 10.3 Percent.  (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed 8/21/10)

The First Columbus Dispatch Poll Of The 2010 Campaign Season Shows That Republican Candidates Have Grabbed Double-Digit Leads in The Races For Governor And The U.S. Senate. “Republican candidates have grabbed double-digit leads in the races for governor and the U.S. Senate, and the swelling red tide could lead to a GOP sweep of statewide offices, the first Dispatch poll of the 2010 campaign shows.” (Darrel Rowland, “GOP Resurgent,” The Columbus Dispatch, 9/5/10)

• “The Supporters Of Every Statewide GOP Candidate Are Two To Three Times As Likely As Those Who Are Backing The Democratic Candidate To Say They Are More Enthused Than Usual For This Year's Election.” (Darrel Rowland, “GOP Resurgent,” The Columbus Dispatch, 9/5/10)

“With Voter Enthusiasm Running Nearly Three Times Higher Among Republicans Than Democrats, GOP Gubernatorial Candidate John Kasich Leads By 12 Points Over Gov. Ted Strickland While GOP Senate Hopeful Rob Portman Tops Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher By 13 Points.” (Darrel Rowland, “GOP Resurgent,” The Columbus Dispatch, 9/5/10)

• According To The Columbus Dispatch Survey, Kasich Leads Strickland 49 Percent To 37 Percent. (The Columbus Dispatch Survey, 1,622 V, MoE 2.2%, 8/25-9/3/10)

And The Washington Post Has Moved The Ohio Senate Race Between Democrat Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher And Former Republican Rep. Rob Portman From “Toss Up,” To “Lean Republican.”  “With Labor Day behind us and the final sprint to the 2010 midterm election now begun in earnest, we are moving the Ohio Senate race from ‘toss up’ to ‘lean Republican’. Democrats have been down on Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher's (D) candidacy for some time now as he has struggled to stay financially competitive with former Rep. Rob Portman (R) and has run through a large number of senior staff.” (Chris Cillizza, “Ohio Senate Race Moves To ‘Lean Republican’,” The Washington Post’s The Fix Blog, 9/7/10)

• According To The Columbus Dispatch Poll, Portman Leads Fisher 50 Percent To 37 Percent. (The Columbus Dispatch Survey, 1,622 V, MoE 2.2%, 8/25-9/3/10)