Martin Sheen, who portrayed President Bartlett on the award-winning show “The West Wing,” pushed back against left-wing critics of President Obama, such as Matt Damon and Michael Moore, blaming the poor economy on corporate greed rather than Obama’s policies.
“You’re talking about a very special man,” Sheen said in a CNN interview with Joy Behar, airing in full tonight. “I adore him and I think he’s been doing a great job.” When Behar said that Damon and Moore “have been criticizing [Obama] mercilessly” because of the weak economy, Sheen asked if they “focused on the real problem? What about corporate America sharing some of it’s profits, investing back in the country?” Sheen added that corporations “talk about patriotism [but they’re more interested in profit – that’s where the problem lies; it’s corporate America.”
Sheen criticized corporations for “demanding to be rescued.” Behar interjected, “And then they dont want to give the money back.” Sheen also said that corporations should “stop being so critical of the unions and stop trying to destroy organized labor – that’s what saved this country in World War II, the middle class.”
Sheen’s dichotomy between Obama and corporate America was a bit thin, given Obama’s close relationships with corporations favored by Democrats – think Solyndra and General Electric, a favorite punching bag of Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren. (Obama’s jobs czar, Jeffrey Immelt, is CEO of GE, which spent $39 million on lobbyists last year. Immelt has called Obama “a good listener.”)
For that matter, Sheen should recognize that organized labor benefit as much as anyone from the government bailouts. Obama’s car czar reportedly said of the auto company bailouts, “I did this all for the unions.” He disputed the quotation at first, but then acknowledged he might have said it after all. Moreover, Obamacare included an incongruous $10 billion “reinsurance program” for the United Autoworkers that effectively bailed out the UAW pensions.
Sheen should also know that the middle class extends beyond the union membership. Certainly, middle class workers at the Boeing factory in the right-to-work state of South Carolina stand to lose their jobs because of organized labor, if the National Labor Relations Board succeeds in forcing Boeing Co. to move the production line from South Carolina to a union state.
