Wanted: Straight Talk

The media have relentlessly promoted the straw man argument that Obama should have focused on jobs instead of health care. Ergo, as the narrative goes, the Dems will get massacred in the midterms.

The reality is that jobs, the economy and health care are all connected. But never mind. The media, see, are stickin’ to their story, see – no matter what. And they ain’t afraid of dem facts to da contrary, see. Got that, youse lousy coppers?

So, let’s just move on and talk jobs. Realistically, is there anything that Obama could have done to get more people working?

Take it away Kevin Drum, columnist for Mother Jones:

"Within a month of taking office, he had signed an $800 billion stimulus, 36 percent of which came in the form of tax cuts. Two months later, he announced a rescue plan (PDF) for GM and Chrysler, saving perhaps another million jobs. And later in the year, he proposed a further $200 billion jobs program, using unspent money from Bush's bank bailout."

"It's an open question whether Obama wanted a bigger stimulus bill in the first place, or whether he would like to pass another one now. … But [it] hardly matters. Republicans have 41 votes in the Senate, and that's pretty much the end of the story for any program big enough to make a difference."

Exactly. Drum further laments that "Obama's efforts to trumpet the jobs that his stimulus plan saved or created haven't connected with the public." That's true, but that says way more about the public and their gullibility in anxious times than it does about Obama and his good faith efforts. The GOP is selling snake oil (i.e., the stimulus is evil). And John Q. Public is gulping it down like a drunken sailor.

The bottom line, as Drum says, is GOP obstructionism. Short of condemning Republican leaders to the gulag following a Stalinist show trial (and oh man that sounds tempting), there really isn’t much Obama can do to change this debilitating dynamic. That speaks volumes about the GOP and their destructive role in today's body politic. But it will come back to haunt them. Bet on it.