It appears as though the Obama campaign is having a little trouble getting their story straight when responding to Joe Biden’s “buried” gaffe yesterday. On MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program, Stephanie Cutter, the Obama campaign’s deputy campaign manager, insisted that, despite Biden’s comments, they are “absolutely not” blaming George W. Bush for the rough economy. But she was undermined by Obama campaign advisor Robert Gibbs just 24 hours later on a rival network’s morning news show.
Cutter argued that, “we’re taking credit for the 5.1 million private-sector jobs that have been created over the past four years despite being handed the worst economy since the Great Depression,” she said. “We’re taking credit for the million jobs that were protected under the president’s efforts to save the auto industry and the increase in manufacturing jobs for the first time in decades. We’re not blaming our predecessor by any means….”
However, on CBS’s “This Morning,” on Wednesday, Obama campaign advisor Robert Gibbs seemed to deviate from Cutter’s message when he declared that the “middle class has been buried for a lot longer than the time that we’ve been dealing with bad economic decisions from the former administration.”
So which is it? Is it Bush’s fault or not? The inability for the Obama campaign to stay on one coherent message isn’t a surprise, and it may be a sign that Obama’s campaign is getting more desperate as the polls seem to tighten.
The campaign is actively trying to paint Obama’s dismal economy in a favorable light while what should be their biggest political weapon, the incumbent vice president, is undermining their efforts to distract voters from the truth. With Mitt Romney capitalizing on Biden’s remarks and a recession that reflects 8.1 percent unemployment, Biden is certainly (for Republicans) the gift that keeps on giving.
To read more about Stephanie Cutter’s comments on Politico, click here.
To read more about Robert Gibbs’ comments on Real Clear Politics, click here.
