Well, tomorrow night’s the big night. No, I’m not referring to the fact that the NFL kicks off the new season with the Saints vs Packers game at 8:30 P.M. And neither am I referring to the fact that I’m having a telephone town hall meeting between 6 and 7 p.m. (You might be getting a call – I hope you can handle the excitement.) I am of course referring to the fact that President Obama will be addressing the nation at 7 P.M. to announce his latest plan to deal with the frustratingly high unemployment rate.
As I’ve mentioned in previous blogs, IT’S ABOUT TIME. For the most part, the Obama Administration’s attempts to spur the economy and jobs have been counter-productive: the Stimulus, Obamacare, and more regulations coming out of Washington. And particularly damaging to the Administration’s credibility on the issue is the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ just released report indicating that the REAL unemployment rate is now 16.2%, not the usually referred to 9.1%.
The “real” unemployment rate is comprised of the official unemployment rate, plus those now working only part time rather than full time, plus those who have stopped even looking for work but would return to the labor force if jobs were available. This 16.2% converts to a shocking 26 million Americans now out of work.
One other point. If President Obama has any more room in his speech, he might want to once again mention the topic of CIVILITY. You may remember earlier this year, when President Obama and his liberal political allies were trying to blame the tragic shooting in Arizona of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords on conservatives and tea partiers for allegedly creating a climate of rhetorical hate, President Obama urged a more civil dialogue in our dealings with each other.
I would argue that for the most part, tea partiers, conservatives, and Republicans have maintained that civility, even while strenuously debating the merits of a conservative point of view on the issues. How have President Obama’s political allies comported themselves? Not well I’m afraid. A few examples.
California Congresswoman Maxine Waters recently stated that “as far as I’m concerned, the tea party can go straight to hell.” Reliably liberal columnist Leonard Pitts, after first acknowledging that Waters’ statement was “about as uncivil as it gets,” went on to praise her for her “feistiness” and having a “spine” and concluded the article by saying “good for her.”
Democratic Congressman Andre Carson of Indiana, who serves as the Congressional Black Caucus’s chief vote counter, stated last week that tea partiers want to see African Americans lynched – “hanging on a tree.” This has to be one of the most outrageous and despicable comments ever uttered by a Member of Congress. Even the Washington Post’s liberal columnist Jonathan Capehart urged Carson to “knock it off.”
Then just two days ago, at a Labor Day rally, Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa said he and his fellow union workers were going to go to war against Republicans and the Tea Party. He went on to say “President Obama, this is your army. We are ready to march. Let’s take these sons of bitches out.” President Obama, who followed Mr. Hoffa at the podium, rather than rebuke Hoffa for his incivility, said he was “proud” of him.
And finally, Joe Biden. The Vice President was here in Cincinnati Monday to address the AFL-CIO at their annual Labor Day Picnic. His contribution to civility was referring to Republicans as “barbarians at the gate.” Now I’m not sure if the Vice President was comparing us poor conservatives to Huns, Mongols, Visigoths, Vandals, or which specific barbarians, but I’m quite sure he didn’t mean it as a compliment. And there’s no way to tell whether he intended it as a step up or a step down from a “terrorist” as he referred to us not too long ago.
Anyway, civility or no civility, I sure hope the President is serious about finally focusing on the economy and jobs, like a laser beam, as he’s promised in the past. Afterall, an awful lot of people are hurting as a result of this lousy economy. And what they’ve gotten so far from this White House is speech after speech after speech…