Obama backtracks on comments that private sector is doing "fine"
by Leigh Ann Caldwell
(CBS News) Just hours after President Obama said the "the private sector is doing fine" and Republican challenger Mitt Romney criticized him for being "out of touch," the president insisted that more work needs to be done to jump-start the economy.
"It's is absolutely clear that the economy is not doing fine, that's the reason I had the press conference," the president said Friday afternoon in response to a reporter's question.
During a news conference about the economy Friday morning, the president sought to explain how the European economic problems could impact the American recovery and pushed Congress to pass parts of his "to-do" list aimed to stimulate economic growth. But during a question and answer session, the president said the private sector is "doing fine," pointing to 27 months of job creation.
But the Romney campaign and other Republicans pounced, taking to Twitter to highlight the president's remark. And Romney told reporters in Council Bluffs, Iowa on Friday that "he's defining what it means to be detached and out of touch with the American people."
Romney added: "It's an extraordinary miscalculation and misunderstanding by a President who is out of touch, and we're going to take back this country and get America working again."
Mr. Obama then walked back his statement later on Friday saying, "If you look at what I said this morning, we've actually seen some good momentum in the private sector... record corporate profits...so that has not been the greatest drag on the economy."
He once again pressed Congress to provide aid to states to employ public sector workers including teachers and provide small businesses with tax breaks to help rejuvenate a sluggish recovery.
Mr. Obama comments come one week after unemployment rate rose to 8.2 percent, which is the first upward tick since June 2011.
However, in the battle over the economy, Romney rejected the president's ideas. "He says we need more firemen, more policemen, more teachers. Did he not get the message of Wisconsin? The American people did. It's time for us to cut back on government and help the American people," Romney said.
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Top Opinion
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Dale 2012/06/08 21:18:49
Did anyone get fired over "Fast & Furious"? NO
Did anyone get fired over the bad advice given to Barry regarding Solyndra? NO
Did anyone get fired over the lack of Federal supervision of off shore drilling in the Gulf? NO
Does anyone ever get fired over the numerous screw-ups at TSA? or EPA? or BLM when tens of thousands of public land burns and destroys millions of dollars worth of homes and private property? NO!
Did anyone get fired over the numerous errors and screw-ups that Barry did as "all politicians do"? NO
What we need in the WH is someone that is accountable and someone in leadership that holds his staff and administration accountable... and you do that by FIRING PEOPLE.
Mitt Romney and Gary Johnson have such experience while Barry is still apprenticing in his OJT temp gig...
A manager or executive that is capable of firing people is a good thing - sometimes being fair is important though.
President Obama is not a bad president; he is a beleagured one. By obeying the critical parts of the Constitution - he is vulnerable to an oppenent party that has chosen power over people. No person is ever 100% prepared to be president. There is no online prep course for the job. Some people DO get more training than others - GWB for example. He had time to observe with Grandpa with political ties, his dad was both VP and president, he was governor and still he pulled that dumb*ssed stunt of landing on a carrier to declare 'mission accomplished' with 4400 dead after THAT accomplishment.
People in public office sometimes make questionable calls. President Clinton ushered in unprecedented presidential success and yet he just had to play pattycake with a young, impressionable staffer with a butt size problem. This president is not 'learning on the job'. He's doing an okay one.
Reagan, the patron saint of GOPism made more than a few mistakes with his loss of Marines in Lebanon and his 3rd party yardsale of guns and rockets to Iran and Contras. He i...
A manager or executive that is capable of firing people is a good thing - sometimes being fair is important though.
President Obama is not a bad president; he is a beleagured one. By obeying the critical parts of the Constitution - he is vulnerable to an oppenent party that has chosen power over people. No person is ever 100% prepared to be president. There is no online prep course for the job. Some people DO get more training than others - GWB for example. He had time to observe with Grandpa with political ties, his dad was both VP and president, he was governor and still he pulled that dumb*ssed stunt of landing on a carrier to declare 'mission accomplished' with 4400 dead after THAT accomplishment.
People in public office sometimes make questionable calls. President Clinton ushered in unprecedented presidential success and yet he just had to play pattycake with a young, impressionable staffer with a butt size problem. This president is not 'learning on the job'. He's doing an okay one.
Reagan, the patron saint of GOPism made more than a few mistakes with his loss of Marines in Lebanon and his 3rd party yardsale of guns and rockets to Iran and Contras. He involved 10's of thousands of US military. I know, I served in a classified op 30 yrs ago that now I know was illegal. Presidents do 'things', JFK sure wanted a do-over on the Bay of Pigs debacle and Nixon wished he had thought that whole Cambodia thing over. Johson died brokenhearted over the great society being compromised by that b*tch of a war.
GWB threw one of his troops under the bus over Valerie Plame. Whether the Scooter was actually guility or not.. he wasn't going to sacrifice the VP. Presidents 'do things'... I bet 'ol Mittens would like to rethink over the idea of strapping his dog to the roof of his car for hours.
I take it that your 'classified ops' were never in the U.S. Navy aboard a ship that had an extended patrol. My husband was the executive officer of a fleet ballistic missile submarine (ssbn) and upon the return from EVERY deployment the crew stretched out the banner across the sail that claimed "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED" as they pulled back into port.
And for THAT SPECIFIC aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln which was in the middle of the Pacific on its way back to SanDiego after its usual six month long deployment to the Indian Ocean when on September 11, it was ordered to TURN AROUND and GO BACK to the Indian Ocean to provide support for the other carrier task force that had relieved it from normal patrol.
That crew had spend over a year at sea... away from their families, their home and their loved ones.
For the crew of the USS Abraham Lincoln, the mission WAS accomplished and more so.
I have 2 sons - one the primary Marine enlisted briefer for the theater commander in Afghanistan and the other - a pirate chaser on one of the few frigates dedicated by mission to specifically go after rouge pirates and drug runners. He's always at sea. Most people don't know or would believe, but this young man is being shot at much more than his fellow citizens would know.
The kid has a bounty on his head throughout most of S.America. But the sailors on that duty know that. Those teams are rotated alot but some troops don't get much of a rotation. I just found out he is breacher #2. The guy who follows the breacher #1's door busting action. #2; is the guy that comes thru the door that CAN'T be negotiated with. He say's one time. 'Freeze and drop your weapon'. At that point, when he's 2 seconds past wa...
I have 2 sons - one the primary Marine enlisted briefer for the theater commander in Afghanistan and the other - a pirate chaser on one of the few frigates dedicated by mission to specifically go after rouge pirates and drug runners. He's always at sea. Most people don't know or would believe, but this young man is being shot at much more than his fellow citizens would know.
The kid has a bounty on his head throughout most of S.America. But the sailors on that duty know that. Those teams are rotated alot but some troops don't get much of a rotation. I just found out he is breacher #2. The guy who follows the breacher #1's door busting action. #2; is the guy that comes thru the door that CAN'T be negotiated with. He say's one time. 'Freeze and drop your weapon'. At that point, when he's 2 seconds past waiting for an answer or compliance, he starts shooting. And he's good. From leather to 2 shots downrange, he can hit a dinner plate at 10 meters in 1.5 seconds.
I don't denigrate the sailors but note that presidents use photo ops, say stupid things and sometimes do even stupider things. Note; the USS Lincoln was NOT in the 'middle' of the pacific - the COD he was flying on would not have reached. It was about 300miles offshore. That would be confirmed by the fighter/scout F-18s that are the advance guard for the carrier arriving ahead of the carrie, 24/7.
RE: the USS Lincoln, sorry for the misrepresentation, I meant to say that the ship was in the middle of the Pacific on their return when they were called back, to the Indian Sea/Persian Gulf region right after 9/11. I knew they were within 300m when Gee Dubya had his little dog & pony show... but I'm sure that the ship would have flown their Mission Accomplished banner regardless of the presence of POTUS on board, for they had been the provider of the spears for that region immediately after the New York/DC attack.
Also several of my husband's peers were manning the protection that encircles our carrier task forces... spending most of their time unseen... (He told me that there were two types of ships in the Navy....
Submarines...
and Targets
I think he truly believes the non-sense that he spues... but if you believe something to be true, is it still a lie? Even if you think its right?
Regardless, FIRE HIM next november!