After “Pivot” to Economy, Obama Sneers at 2,000 Jobs

More proof that voters can’t take President Obama’s “pivot” back to jobs and the economy seriously.

In an interview with the New York Times this weekend, Obama was asked about why his White House is dragging its feet on approving the Keystone Pipeline, a project which would boost American energy security, create jobs, and fuel demand for construction. His answer is sadly telling of the careless approach this White House takes towards growing the economy:

“Republicans have said that [Keystone] would be a big jobs generator. There is no evidence that that’s true….The most realistic estimates are this might create maybe 2,000 jobs during the construction of the pipeline, which might take a year or two, and then after that we’re talking about somewhere between 50 and 100 jobs in an economy of 150 million working people.”

First of all, TransCanada, the company that wants to build the pipeline, estimates the number of jobs created from construction at 13,000. But regardless, amid a 7.6% unemployment rate, this is the attitude that President Obama takes towards job creation? He should tell the millions of unemployed Americans that these jobs don’t matter.

The Wall Street Journal summed it up perfectly:

“TransCanada, the company that wants to invest $5.3 billion to build the pipeline, claims there will be 13,000 jobs in construction alone. That doesn’t include the U.S. companies that would supply steel pipe, valves and motors for the project, plus the jobs providing services to those construction crews.

“But even if TransCanada were lying, think about a President sneering at 2,000 jobs for ‘a year or two’ when the U.S. jobless rate is 7.6%. This is the same President who justified his $830 billion stimulus, and even now wants more government spending on public works, in the name of creating jobs, some of which are also for only ‘a year or two.’ The jobs Mr. Obama seems to despise are those created by someone other than government.”