President Obama signed the bipartisan JOBS Act into law at a Rose Garden ceremony this afternoon:
President Barack Obama on Thursday signed into law a bill that aims to make it easier for small companies to raise money from investors. The House voted last month to send the bill to Obama for final approval. Critics say the bill won't create jobs and puts investors at risk by loosening regulation. However, the Obama administration on Thursday also directed the Treasury Department, Small Business Administration and Justice Department to "closely" monitor the implementation of the legislation to ensure it maintains "appropriate investor protections."
The Republican-held House passed this bill in early March. After some pointless foot-dragging, the Democratic Senate eventually approved the measure, and now it's law. Let the record show that as of today, the "do nothing," "Republican" Congress has worked with the president by extending the payroll tax cut extension, passing patent reform, repealing a counter-productive withholding rule, and approving three free trade agreements. These were all elements of President Obama's jobs agenda. Now he's signed a job creation bill championed by House Republicans. Remember this roster of bipartisan accomplishments as our desperate president castigates his Congressional opponents as unflinching ideological obstructionists -- as he's guaranteed to do for the next seven months. The truth is that Republicans cooperate with this president when it's sensible to do so; they attempt to jettison his worst ideas, like cap and trade, Obamacare, higher taxes, and a second slush fund stimulus. And why is this president so bitter and desperate? Well, there's this:
In a hypothetical Election 2012 matchup, Mitt Romney attracts 47% of the vote, while President Obama earns 45%. If Rick Santorum is the GOP nominee, the president leads 46% to 44%. Overall, 46% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the president's job performance. Fifty-three percent (53%) at least somewhat disapprove.