Obama admits "what we're doing isn't working"

 

States with statistically significant unemployment rate changes from May 2008 to May 2009, seasonally adjusted

 

(U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics).

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        |          Rate          |
                                        |-----------|-----------|  Over-the-year
             State                  |    May  |   May    |  rate change
                                        |    2008 |  2009   |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama ........................     4.7        9.8         5.1
Alaska ............................     6.6        8.4         1.8
Arizona ...........................     5.          8.2         3.0
Arkansas ........................     4.9        7.0         2.1
California ........................     6.8      11.5        4.7
Colorado ........................     4.7        7.6         2.9
Connecticut ....................     5.4        8.0         2.6
Delaware ........................     4.4        8.1         3.7
District of Columbia .......     6.6      10.7        4.1
Florida .............................     5.8      10.2        4.4

Georgia ...........................     5.9         9.7        3.8
Hawaii .............................     3.6         7.4        3.8
Idaho ...............................      4.5        7.8         3.3
Illinois ..............................      6.4       10.1        3.7
Indiana ............................      5.3       10.6        5.3
Iowa .................................      4.0         5.8       1.8
Kansas ............................      4.3        7.0        2.7
Kentucky ..........................     6.2       10.6       4.4
Louisiana .........................     4.1         6.6       2.5
Maine ...............................     5.1         8.3       3.2

Maryland ..........................     4.1        7.2         3.1
Massachusetts .................    4.9        8.2         3.3
Michigan ...........................     8.2     14.1         5.9
Minnesota .........................     5.3       8.2         2.9
Mississippi ....................        6.8       9.6         2.8
Missouri ............................     5.8       9.0         3.2
Montana ............................     4.3       6.3         2.0
Nebraska ..........................     3.2       4.4         1.2
Nevada ..............................     6.1     11.3         5.2
New Hampshire ................     3.7       6.5         2.8

New Jersey ........................     5.1       8.8         3.7

New Mexico .......................     4.0       6.5         2.5
New York ............................     5.2       8.2         3.0
North Carolina ....................     5.9     11.1        5.2
North Dakota ......................     3.1       4.4        1.3
Ohio ...................................       6.3     10.8        4.5
Oklahoma ...........................     3.6        6.3        2.7
Oregon ...............................      5.7     12.4        6.7
Pennsylvania ....................       5.1        8.2        3.1
Rhode Island ....................       7.4      12.1        4.7

 

South Carolina ...................     6.3      12.1        5.8
South Dakota .....................     2.9        5.0        2.1
Tennessee .........................     6.2      10.7        4.5
Texas ..................................     4.7        7.1        2.4
Utah ....................................      3.3       5.4         2.1
Vermont .............................      4.5        7.3        2.8
Virginia ...............................     3.8        7.1        3.3
Washington ........................     5.1        9.4        4.3
West Virginia .....................     4.3        8.6        4.3
Wisconsin ..........................     4.4        8.9         4.5
Wyoming ............................     3.0        5.0        2.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

According to the New York Times this morning:

Mr. Obama linked the energy and health care fights, saying that major revisions in both were necessary because “everybody knows what we’re doing isn’t working.”

 

Lest you think Obama was admitting mistakes, it's clear from the rest of the report that what he meant was something more along the lines of "We Still Hate Bush, Don't We, Guys? Yeaahhh." 

 

 

 

 

 

His reasoning seems to be that since we don't want to do what Bush did, we should use Cap and Trade to destroy industry, free market capitalism and West Virginia to boot (though he may have to repackage it slightly before it hits the Senate).

 

So what did Bush do? Someone once suggested that "Sometimes it helps to get a longer view on current events."  This is one of those times.  Flashback:

I'm not very knowledgeable about economic matters, but yesterday the big economic story was that during the third quarter, our economy grew at an annualized rate of 7.2% , described by CNBC as "a simply stellar number."

The NPR reporter I heard said simply "this is good news for the Bush administration."

Isn't it good news for the entire country? Instead of welcoming favorable economic news, NPR seems to mourn it! They would rather see the economy, and maybe even the the country, go down the toilet -- just to vindicate their Bush-hatred. Now, how sick is that?

 

Headlines around that time (Oct. 2003, just two years after 9/11) went like this:

Democrats doubt Bush's credibility ... Democrats challenge Bush's credibility ... Democrats attack Bush record ... lash Bush 'lunacy'... hammer Bush on Iraq ... rap Bush's postwar planning ... boycott Bush's nominee ... slam Bush ... bash Bush ... charge Bush ... blocking Bush ... rip Bush ... target Bush ... hit Bush ... blast Bush ... criticize Bush ... grill Bush ... welcome Bush's fall in polls ... call Bush a liar ... lambaste Bush ...

 

Love and hate notwithstanding, I'd settle for 7.2% growth right about now, wouldn't you?