Do Dems Think It’s “Interesting” That 13 Million Americans Are Unemployed?

With the Economy Still Struggling and Jobs Scarce, Democrats Are Serving Struggling American Families Second Helpings of their Failed Policies

• According to President Obama, today is going to be a particularly “interesting” day. Why? Because the Bureau of Labor Statistics is releasing its new figures on national unemployment, and as Obama told a Fort Worth woman earlier this week, he finds Americans’ unemployment struggles little if not “interesting.”
• While Democrats muse about the continued unemployment of 13 million Americans, it’s worth remembering that he and his fellow Democrats promised both that their stimulus would keep unemployment below eight percent and that it would at six percent by now. According to the Congressional Budget Office’s report released this week, the real unemployment rate including Americans who have stopped looking for work is a shocking 10 percent.
• It’s no wonder, then, that polls show approval of Democrats’ handling of the economy in the gutter. Despite these ever-present human reminders that their policies failed, Democrats continue to insist on more of the same. Do they know what they have done?

According to President Obama, today is going to be a particularly “interesting” day. Why? Because the Bureau of Labor Statistics is releasing its new figures on national unemployment, and as Obama told a Fort Worth woman earlier this week, he finds Americans’ unemployment struggles little if not “interesting”:

DURING GOOGLE+ ONLINE TOWNHALL, A TEXAS WOMAN ASKED OBAMA ABOUT HER HUSBAND’S STRUGGLES FINDING WORK FOR THREE YEARS: “Obama was answering questions from so-called ordinary Americans during an online chat that was broadcast on the Google+ Hangout social media site and YouTube when a woman named Jennifer Weddel, of Texas, told him that her husband, an engineer, had been unable to find a position in his chosen field for three years.” (David Nakamura, “Obama Offers To Find Woman’s Husband A Job During Google+ Chat,” The Washington Post, 1/31/2012)

OBAMA’S REACTION: HOW “INTERESTING”: “ ‘It is interesting to me — and I meant what I said if your send me your husband’s resume, I’d be interested in finding out exactly what’s happening right there because the word that we’re getting is that somebody in that type of high-tech field, that kind of engineer, should be able to find something right away,’ Obama said.” (“Obama Tells Woman: ‘Interesting’ Unemployed Husband Can’t Find Job,” Real Clear Politics, 1/30/2012)

“OBAMA APPEARED SURPRISED” BY QUESTION ON UNEMPLOYED ENGINEER: (David Nakamura, “Obama Offers To Find Woman’s Husband A Job During Google+ Chat,” The Washington Post, 1/31/2012)

“POINT WHERE THE PRESIDENT’S VIEW OF THE ECONOMIC RECOVERY COLLIDED WITH THE REALITY OF A FAMILY’S PERSONAL STRUGGLE”: “While the president largely promoted his economic and domestic agenda, there was a point where the president’s view of the economic recovery collided with the reality of a family’s personal struggle.” (Mary Bruce, “Obama Comes Face to Face with Economic Recovery in Google ‘Hangout,’” ABC News, 1/30/2012)

OBAMA TOLD WOMAN HER HUSBAND “SHOULD BE ABLE TO FIND SOMETHING RIGHT AWAY,” BUT WIFE WAS “UNCONVINCED”: “In the beginning, Obama told Weddel that her husband ‘should be able to find something right away.’ Unconvinced, Weddel kept pressing.” (Amie Parnes, “Obama to Voter on Google+: Send Me Your Husband’s Resume,” The Hill, 1/30/2012)

While Democrats muse about the continued unemployment of 13 million Americans, it’s worth remembering that he and his fellow Democrats promised both that their stimulus would keep unemployment below eight percent and that it would at six percent by now. According to the Congressional Budget Office’s report released this week, the real unemployment rate including Americans who have stopped looking for work is a shocking 10 percent:

13.1 MILLION UNEMPLOYED AMERICANS: (Table A-1, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1/9/2012)

WHITE HOUSE PREDICTED UNEMPLOYMENT WOULD BE ABOUT 6 PERCENT AT END OF 2011 IF $800 BILLION STIMULUS PASSED: (James Pethokoukis, “What the Plunging Unemployment Rate Really Means for Obama’s Re-election,” The American, 1/6/2012)

CBO: REAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IS 10%: “The rate of participation in the labor force fell from 66 percent in 2007 to an average of 64 percent in the second half of 2011, an unusually large decline over so short a time. … Had that portion of the decline in the labor force participation rate since 2007 that is attributable to neither the aging of the baby boomers nor the downturn in the business cycle (on the basis of the experience in previous downturns) not occurred, the unemployment rate in the fourth quarter of 2011 would have been about 1¼ percentage points higher than the actual rate of 8.7 percent.” (“The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2012 to 2022,”Congressional Budget Office, January 2012)

NEARLY 7 MILLION MORE AMERICANS LIVING IN POVERTY: (p. 5, “Poverty: 2008 and 2009,” U.S. Census Bureau, September 2010; Table 1, “Poverty: 2009 and 2010,” U.S. Census Bureau, October 2011)

14.24 MILLION MORE AMERICANS ON FOOD STAMPS: (“Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program,” U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service, 1/05/2012)

FAMILIES ALREADY PAYING $1,698 MORE PER YEAR FOR HEALTH INSURANCE: (The Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research & Educational Trust Employee Health Benefits 2011 Annual Survey, “Average Annual Premiums for Single and Family Coverage, 1999–2011,” p. 30)

GAS PRICES $1.57 PER GALLON HIGHER UNDER OBAMA: (“Petroleum & Other Liquids,” U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2/2/2012)

It’s no wonder, then, that polls show approval of Democrats’ handling of the economy in the gutter. Despite these ever-present human reminders that their policies failed, Democrats continue to insist on more of the same. Do they know what they have done?:

OBAMA APPROVAL ON ECONOMY AT 36 PERCENT: “In another indication of the difficulty President Obama’s re-election campaign faces, only 36 percent of likely voters grade the administration’s handling of the economy at good or excellent, according to a new Rasmussen poll.” (Paul Bedard, “Obama’s Economic Approval at 36 Percent Approval,” The Washington Examiner, 2/2/2012)

PEW: 38% APPROVE, 59% DISAPPROVE OF OBAMA ON ECONOMY: (“Obama: Weak Job Ratings, But Positive Personal Image,” Pew Research Center, 1/19/2012)

CBS NEWS: 40% APPROVE, 54% DISAPPROVE OF OBAMA ON ECONOMY: (“The Economy, the President and the General Election,” CBS News/New York Times Poll, 1/12-17/2012)

ABC NEWS: 41% APPROVE, 57% DISAPPROVE OF OBAMA ON ECONOMY: (“Washington Post-ABC News Poll,” The Washington Post, 1/12-15/2012)

OBAMA’S STATE OF THE UNION LAST WEEK DOUBLED DOWN ON FAILED POLICIES:

AP FACT CHECK: “OBAMA PUSHES PLANS THAT FLOPPED BEFORE”: (Calvin Woodward, “FACT CHECK: Obama Pushes Plans that Flopped Before,” Associated Press, 1/24/2012)

OBAMA EMBRACES HIS RECORD OF FAILURE ON “GREEN” PROGRAMS LIKE SOLYNDRA: “Our experience with shale gas, our experience with natural gas, shows us that the payoffs on these public investments don’t always come right away. Some technologies don’t pan out; some companies fail. But I will not walk away from the promise of clean energy. I will not walk away from workers like Bryan. I will not cede the wind or solar or battery industry to China or Germany because we refuse to make the same commitment here. We’ve subsidized oil companies for a century. That’s long enough. It’s time to end the taxpayer giveaways to an industry that rarely has been more profitable and double down on a clean energy industry that never has been more promising. Pass clean-energy tax credits.” (“Transcript: Obama Delivers State of the Union Speech,” CNN, 1/24/2012)

OBAMA CALLS FOR TAX HIKES YET AGAIN IN STATE OF THE UNION: (Matt Spetalnick, “Obama to Focus on Tax Inequality in State of Union,” Reuters, 1/24/2012)

HOUSE DEMOCRATS EMBRACE PRESIDENT OBAMA FOLLOWING DECISION TO DOUBLE DOWN ON FAILURE IN 2012: “The on-again-off-again relationship between President Obama and House Democrats appears to be on again with the president’s turn toward a more populist, confrontational tone toward the Republican Party.” (Jonathan Weisman, “House Democrats Welcome Obama’s Confrontational Tone Towards GOP,” The New York Times, 1/27/2012)

HOUSE DEMS SANG “I’M SO IN LOVE WITH YOU” FOR OBAMA: “Obama says House Ds gave him a CD in which they all performed a rendition of Al Green’s ‘I’m So In Love With You.’” (Tweet from Felicia Somnez, The Washington Post, 1/27/2012)