Pirate's Cove

Well, it’s certainly better off not having a president who sexually harasses women, was credibly accused of rape, impeached for lying to a federal grand jury (along with suborning testimony), and had stuck a cigar in the hoo-ha of a girl young enough to be his daughter. Instead, we have a president who, um, really doesn’t care. Jennifer Rubin discusses Clinton’s long, rambling speech, of which I’ll skip the parts regarding her interpretation as I was watching my Giants lose, not Clinton’s speech, and makes a two excellent points

At his most effective, Clinton said that no president could have fixed in four years the economy that Obama inherited. And he extolled the belief that America ”always comes back.” Unfortunately, Obama promised to fix the economy in his first term. And the Obama recovery is the weakest in history. The comparison between the two presidents’ records was obvious, leaving one to consider if Clinton’s mere presence was a reminder of Obama’s weaknesses.

When Reagan took office, the economy immediately started turning around from the malaise and misery he inherited. When Bush 43 took office, the economy turned around from the issues he inherited (Dotcom implosion, WorldCom, Enron), and turned around the economy after the disastrous 9/11. Clinton turned around the economy when….the GOP took over the House. With Obama, what has he turned around? One could expect things to get somewhat better after a deep recession naturally. But…..

Like every other Democratic speaker, Clinton ignored the appalling increase in poverty under this president , a cynical betrayal of liberals’ supposed concern for the poor. No empathy or bitten lip is shown for them, or for the more than 8 percent of unemployed Americans (and millions more underemployed or who have stopped looking for work). The actual results of Obama’s policies are a sticky matter, so better to let him defend that himself.

Can anyone point to the Democrats talking about the poor? It’s all middle class this, middle class that. Of course, much of the middle class is suffering. How so? Investors Business Daily points out

• Median incomes: These have fallen 7.3% since Obama took office, which translates into an average of $4,000. Since the so-called recovery started, median incomes continued to fall, dropping $2,544, or 4.8%.
• Long-term unemployed: More than three years into Obama’s recovery, 811,000 more still fall into this category than when the recession ended.
• Poverty: The poverty rate climbed to 15.1% in 2010, up from 14.3% in 2009, and economists think it may have hit 15.7% last year, highest since the 1960s.
• Food stamps: There are 11.8 million more people on food stamps since Obama’s recovery started.
• Disability: More than 1 million workers have been added to Social Security’s disability program in the last three years.
• Gas prices: A gallon of gas cost $1.89 when Obama was sworn in. By June 2009, the price was $2.70. Today, it’s $3.84.
• Misery Index: When Obama took office, the combination of unemployment and inflation stood at 7.83. Today it’s 9.71.
• Union membership: Even unions are worse off under Obama, with membership dropping half a million between 2009 and 2011.
• Debt: Everyone is far worse off if you just look at the national debt. It has climbed more than $5 trillion under Obama, crossing $16 trillion for the first time on Tuesday and driving the U.S. credit rating down.

There’s your “better off today”.

“Are we where we want to be today? No. Is the president satisfied? Of course not. But are we better off than when he took office? Of course,” Clinton said.

Love the way he hedged his bet with “are we where we want to be today? No.” Expect that to be the Obama position for the rest of the campaign, with lots of whining about those mean Republicans refusing to work with him, to which Republicans should answer “you’re damned right! His policies are a disaster. Look at what they’ve wrought over the past 4 years.”

Crossed at Pirate’s Cove. Follow me on Twitter @WilliamTeach.