“Focused Like A Laser”: President Obama’s Economic Plan? Giving a Series of Speeches Attacking Opponents

Taxpayers Protection Alliance has been well aware of the promises Candidate Obama made while on the campaign trail in 2008, and then again in 2012 as an incumbent fighting for reelection. The most frequent commitments made by President Obama and his administration were to fix the economy he “inherited” and yet here we are more than four years removed from the previous administration and all President Obama has to show for it is continued high unemployment, less people in the workforce, gas prices climbing, a national debt nearly doubled, and a public that clearly disapproves of the way he has handled the economy.

Those of you who thought President Obama would be “focused like a laser” on the economic problems facing millions of Americans have been continuously fooled as this President has not only lacked a focus on the economic troubles many are dealing with, but has been implementing policies that have been a hindrance to the economic recovery.  Many individuals have been patiently awaiting better economic times since President Obama said “give it to me,” in 2009 when referring to the fact that he was responsible for the economy.  Whether it’s Obamacare, Dodd-Frank, ‘Sue and Settle’, delaying Keystone XL, or tax increases, there can be no denying that the economic recovery is being held hostage by the very regulatory nightmares this administration has designed, championed, and ultimately implemented throughout the course of the last four years.

Though this may seem like doom and gloom, there is a silver lining. Last week President Obama vowed to get back to business and do what he felt was needed to get this economy back on the right track. What is this momentous economic solution to help get the recovery moving? The one thing President Obama actually can argue he is good at, giving a speech:

“The White House announced Sunday night [Juky 21] that President Obama is set to make a series of fresh economic proposals in speeches over “the next several weeks,” according to an email senior presidential adviser Dan Pfieffer sent to the White House Listserv.”

The strategy here is two-fold, and none of it has to do with improving the battered economy nor does it have anything to with meaningful substance whatsoever. This is purely political and that comes straight from the White House. Dan Pfeffier, a Senior Obama adviser emailed reporters earlier this week that, “Obama wants to steer Congress away from ‘phony scandals’ and to prioritize economic benefits for the middle class in the looming budget wars.” Did everyone get that? The White House wants to distract from the targeting scandal at the IRS and the train wreck that is the Obamacare rollout/implementation. This is lucky number 8 for the ‘let’s pivot to the economy’ for this administration and it really comes as no shock to TPA that with all the real problems we are facing economically, mere lip service is being paid to those who are still waiting for this President to make good on the promises he made. Promises made not just to those who voted for him but to all taxpayers, consumers, and entrepreneurs.

The speeches, which began at Knox College in Illinois last Wednesday (July 24), will follow a pattern used by President Obama in these cross-country campaigns for nothing. He will blame his opponents for the problems our economy is facing, demagogue them to an audience of selected cheerleaders, and then offer ZERO in terms of anything new on substance that could actually be debated and discussed in Washington by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, and the Capitol. Instead, they “will include new ideas and new pushes for ideas he has discussed before.” Hoping to offer ways that Congress can work on things that haven’t worked before and won’t work now. This is becoming an old song and dance with the Obama White House and even the press has been candid about describing this ‘pivot’ for what it is: more of the same.

Taxpayers Protection Alliance is disappointed that the only solution President Obama has to tackle the continued hampered economy is to fly cross-country and give a few speeches about jobs and health care that amount to nothing more than lip-service to interest groups who are looking ahead to 2014. They are hoping he will once again turn into ‘campaigner-in-chief’ since it suits them, regardless of the real economic problems that voters of all parties are dealing with on a daily basis. The hollowness of this effort can be seen in the fact that the President is attempting to have a renewed dialogue on the still struggling economy, yet he will be bypassing one city in particular: DETROIT. As the President prepares for a vacation with his family and staff at a multi-million dollar resort in Martha’s Vineyard, we’re still waiting for the real plan to get the economy back on track so that millions of Americans can be in a financial situation where they can afford to take a vacation of their own. Wake us when he actually decides to lead on this issue instead of just deciding to give a speech or two.