“Change we can believe in.” By this time in 2008 every American knew President Obama’s official campaign slogan. But what about 2012? What catchphrase will Obama use to motivate voters to turn out for him this November? The White House has failed to come up with anything that fits so far.
“Winning the Future.” Newt Gingrich wrote a book with that title. “We Can’t Wait.” For what? “An America Built to Last … An Economy Built to Last.” Too wordy. Everything the White House has thrown out there has failed to catch on. But how about this phrase, borrowed from the energy section from Obama’s State of the Union:
“Double down.” In his first State of the Union since Solyndra spectacularly filed for bankruptcy after wasting $500 million in taxpayer money, Obama told the American people he wanted to “double down” on his clean energy policies. Talk about audacity.
If that is the line Obama is going to use on energy, why not deploy it to defend the rest of his record? Our national debt is up $5 trillion since Obama took office; let’s double down! The U.S. economy supports 740,000 fewer jobs today than when Obama became president; let’s double down! Gas prices are up more than 200% since Obama took office; let’s double down!
It is hard to see why the Obama campaign hasn’t adopted this as its official slogan.
Campaign 2012
Ad War: American Crossroads, the Super PAC founded by Karl Rove, is planning their first major ad buy to start in May and run through July. The ultimate goal of the Crossroads campaign, The New York Times reports, is to better connect Americans’ disappointment with the economy to their views of the president, especially among crucial swing voters.
Gingrich: Newt Gingrich told Fox News Sunday that his presidential campaign was $4.5 million in debt.
Santorum: Rick Santorum canceled all his Monday campaign events to spend the day at the hospital with their daughter, Bella.
Around the Bigs
Roll Call, Barack Obama to Barnstorm for ‘Buffett Rule’ Next Week: President Barack Obama and senior Democrats are expected to hold events next week to push for the “Buffett Rule” in advance of a Senate vote following the spring recess.
The Wall Street Journal, For Big Companies, Life Is Good: Big U.S. companies have emerged from the deepest recession since World War II more productive, more profitable, flush with cash and less burdened by debt. But the performance hasn’t translated into significant gains in U.S. employment. Many of the 1.1 million jobs the big companies added since 2007 were outside the U.S.
The New York Times, Federal Funds to Train the Jobless Are Drying Up: Federal money for the primary training program for dislocated workers is 18 percent lower in today’s dollars than it was in 2006, even though there are six million more people looking for work now.
Forbes, How A Dumb Law Blocks A Great Way To Fuel America: Thanks to the 2007 Renewable Fuel Standard law, gasoline refiners are mandated to blend so much plant-based or renewable ethanol into the gas supply that it prevents fossil-fuel-based ethanols from even competing for the market.
Righty Playbook
National Review‘s Rich Lowry explains why he had to fire John Derbyshire.
Red Alert fact checks Rachel Maddow’s latest “scoop” accusing Republicans of an unprecedented use of Michigan’s “immediate effect” clause.
AEI‘s James Pethokoukis explains why the real unemployment rate is much higher than 8.2 percent.
Lefty Playbook
Vice President Joe Biden’s former economist Jared Bernstein reads the latest jobs report and warns “we may be at the beginning of another downshift in job growth.”
The New York Times Andrew Rosenthal makes the case against letting states set their own health care policies.
ThinkProgress reports that fracking is causing earthquakes.
