Obama is now walking back or seeking to "clarify" a comment made in the midst of another point because in a world where 'sound bites" can become a major story, politicians should be very careful to phrase every sentence, even within a larger statement, so that videos are not edited and campaign ads are not created using just one boneheaded sentence.
This does not only apply to Barack Obama's recent "The private sector is doing fine" comment.
Flashback- Febrauary 2012: Mitt Romney learned the same lesson Obama has obviously not learned yet when he said "I’m not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. “If it needs repair, I’ll fix it. I’m not concerned about the very rich, they’re doing just fine. I’m concerned about the very heart of the America, the 90 percent, 95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling.”
The hell with context, liberals blogs went nuts with just the very first sentence.
(Video here of Obama's remarks yesterday, along with transcript quoted below)
Obama fell into that very same trap yesterday when he said, in context, "The truth of the matter is that, as I said, we created 4.3 million jobs over the last 27 months, over 800,000 just this year alone.
The private sector is doing fine. Where we're seeing weaknesses in our economy have to do with state and local government. Oftentimes cuts initiated by, you know, Governors or mayors who are not getting the kind of help that they have in the past from the federal government and who don't have the same kind of flexibility as the federal government in dealing with fewer revenues coming in.
And so, you know, if Republicans want to be helpful, if they really want to move forward and put people back to work, what they should be thinking about is how do we help state and local governments and how do we help the construction industry? Because the recipes that they're promoting are basically the kinds of policies that would add weakness to the -- to the economy, would result in further layoffs, would not provide relief in the housing market, and would result, I think most economists estimate, in lower growth and fewer jobs, not more.
Just as Liberals pounced on Romney in February, Conservatives had their own amount of amusement by pouncing just as quickly and just as hard yesterday. Free gift to Conservatives on a weekend, no less, when political news is usually a little slow.
Romney jumped in with words like "detached", "out of touch". Conservatives have been able to use it, in just one day, to show how disconnected from reality Obama is. Bobby Jindal said the "private sector is like a foreign country to Obama," as well as saying Obama is the "most liberal, most incompetent president since Carter"
It also gave us a chance reiterate the dismal unemployment rate and compare Obama's weak recovery to previous strong recoveries.
A Missed Opportunity
The "private sector is doing fine" sentence is the one being focused on, but there was a more egregious comment Obama made yesterday which people have ignored in that same speech:
And so, you know, if Republicans want to be helpful, if they really want to move forward and put people back to work, what they should be thinking about is how do we help state and local governments and how do we help the construction industry? Because the recipes that they're promoting are basically the kinds of policies that would add weakness to the -- to the economy, would result in further layoffs, would not provide relief in the housing market, and would result, I think most economists estimate, in lower growth and fewer jobs, not more.
If Conservatives would ignore the private sector remark now that we have had our sound bite fun with it, this is another perfect opportunity, especially after Wisconsin's recall election where Democrats failed to remove Governor Scott Walker who proved that Obama, nor Republicans or Democrats in Congress, need to "help", they just need to get the hell out of the way of "state and local governments", which Walker and Wisconsin is proof positive that the right policies can turn a $3.6 billion deficit into a $1.5 million projected surplus and create jobs at the same time.
Without raising taxes.
This is a wonderful chance, a perfect segue way provided by Obama himself, to point out that states and local government can help themselves without the interference or additional "help" from the federal government.
It is also a chance to show that Conservative principles, Conservative solutions, ideals and policies can turn a deficit into a surplus without increasing taxes on anyone. Jobs can be created and states can grow by those "recipes" that Conservative "governors" and mayors promote.
Obama opened a door here and Republicans should be walking right through it.
[Update] Governor Scott Walker isn't missing the opportunity:
Wisconsin governor Scott Walker tells THE WEEKLY STANDARD that Obama’s comments reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of the economy.
“There are two very different views in the country,” Walker said. “The current administration seems to think that success is measured by how many people are dependent on the government. I think success is measured by how many are not.”
He added: “We will restore more freedom and more prosperity for all Americans if we see the private sector flourish so more people can get a job and control their own destiny.”
Spot on Governor Walker and thank you.