On CNN's State of the Union this morning, President Obama's number one campaign man David Axelrod defended Obama's handling of the economy and blamed House Republicans for obstructing economic growth by refusing to pass Obama's latest stimulus, I mean jobs package.
President Barack Obama's top political adviser is defending the administration's handling of the economy and blaming Congress for not pushing through more sweeping changes.
David Axelrod says Obama's strategy has been to do whatever he can to help the middle class, whereas Congress has been focused on "obstruction and delay." Axelrod suggests that Republicans are "willing to tear down the economy in order to tear down the president."
Obama has pitched a $447 billion jobs plan that would be paid for with an added tax on people who make at least $1 million a year. Senate Republicans have blocked action on the bill because they oppose much of the increased spending and the tax increase.
Axelrod is forgetting the fact that Obama's jobs bill failed in both the Republican House and the Democrat Senate (twice) and went for weeks with zero co-sponsors in the House until former Speaker Nancy Pelosi stepped up the the plate to help Obama out.
Guy predicted weeks ago the blame for Obama's bill failing miserably would be shifted to Republicans:
As expected, President Obama's so-called "jobs bill," which would have spent $450 Billion (money we don't have) on recycled ideas (that didn't work the first time around) has been rejected by the Democrat-controlled US Senate. Harry Reid needed 60 votes to proceed to a vote, and he's fallen at least nine votes shy of that total.
Democrats and the media -- but I repeat myself -- will frame this as Republicans obstructing the president's proposal. In fact, tonight's cloture vote was bipartisan. Every Republican voted against proceeding, as did two Democrats.
Team Obama's new strategy seems to be, "We own the economy, but lack of growth is still all Republicans' fault."
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