Vice President Joe Biden predicted that he and President Obama would win reelection in 2012 “based on [their] policies” and the limited economic growth during their time in office.
“I think we’re going to win,” Biden said to CNN’s Candy Crowley, “based on our policies.” Biden added that Democrats would argue “here is what we’re for and here’s what they’re getting in the way of us being able to do,” he said. “That’s why it’s so important that this jobs bill be passed, so there’s something positive occurring,” Biden added, explaining the campaign value of the jobs bill.
Biden also answered the criticism that he and President Obama have presided over two and a half years of high unemployment figures. “We have brought back jobs. We have brought back or saved over 3 million jobs,” he said, adding that “the fact of the matter is that’s not enough.” Biden defended the current administration’s economic record, saying that “we started with an 8 million job deficit that wasn’t of our making.”
“Nobody can look you in the eye and tell you that the Recovery Act and that stimulus did not create jobs and did not do very good things for the economy,” Biden said. He blamed the failure of the stimulus to keep unemployment below 8 percent, as Obama promised, on poor calculations by economists:
But the fact is, if we hadn’t had that stimulus, we would be in a position now where we would be in a double dip recession some time ago.
Biden said that the reelection campaign would argue to voters that “if we continue to do what we’re doing, it will continue to get better.” Still, he acknowledged that “whomever is our opponent [in the general election] will be tough.”
“This is going to be a tough election,” Biden acknowledged.
You can see the interview below.
