The President That Couldn't Shoot Straight

Since introducing his American Jobs Act, also known as Stimulus II, President Obama has been repeating the mantra that his bill should get passed "right way." At a speech in Washington State on September 29th he said; "Congress should pass this bill right away...make it happen right now." During his weekly radio address on October 1st he said, "It is time for Congress to get its act together and pass this jobs bill so I can sign it into law." Just yesterday he said, "...at least put this jobs bill up for a vote so that the entire country knows exactly where every Member of Congress stands."

Wanting to give the President a fair shake, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) went to the Senate floor and asked for a vote on the President's bill. The response he got from the leader of the President's own party in the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) was a resounding no followed by, "Right away is a relative term. I object." Reid knows that his Democratic colleagues oppose the President's bill as well, seeing it not as a jobs creator but a career killer. The President, who once swore he would campaign against anyone who opposes his bill, didn't blame Senator Reid but instead attacked House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) by name in a campaign-type speech in Dallas yesterday. Pointing the finger at Cantor, the President is apparently hoping to direct attention away from the fact that his own bill is so bad it can't muster support from his own party.