It was not 'significantly later' that we learned of our economic woes. Remember, the first stimulus was clear back in July 2008, by President Bush. Then, in September, we had the housing crisis and TARP. By the time January rolled around, the economy tanking was old news...and Obama didn't even get around to his stimulus until February!During his afternoon press conference, Obama was asked about the fact that the White House projected that unemployment would now be around 8 percent if the stimulus legislation passed, yet in reality it now stands at 9.4 percent and he says that it will reach the double digits.
“Keep in mind the stimulus package was the first thing we did, and we did it a couple of weeks after Inauguration, and at that point nobody understood what the depths of this recession were going to look like,” Obama said. “If you recall, it was only significantly later that we suddenly get a report the economy tanked. It’s not surprising then that we missed the mark in terms of estimates of where unemployment would go.“
Of course, at the time, President Obama was arguing that we were facing the worst crisis since the Great Depression.
Still, immediately after admitting that they screwed the pooch on employment, he once again suggests the end of all civilization unless we pass his latest idea, government-controlled health care:
“Here’s some things I know for certain. In the absence of the stimulus, I think our recession would be much worse.”Right. Just like you knew for certain that unemployment would peak at 8% if your stimulus was passed. Philip Klein at The American Spectator puts it best:
Of course, given that the same team that gave us the first set of estimates is in charge of calculating how many jobs are “saved or created” as a result of the stimulus package, it would be wise to avoid taking his statements at face value.This is something the American people are learning quickly. Too bad we have to learn it the hard way.
There's my two cents.
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