Obama in 2012: Update I

Jobless rate climbs to 9.1%. Bloomberg notes: "Ronald Reagan, who faced an unemployment rate of 7.2% on Election Day in 1984, was the only U.S. president to win re-election with a jobless rate above 6% since World War II."

Big Dem talking point/ad script: 52-member Congressional Tea Party caucus seeks total of $1 billion earmarks. After campaigning against them.

Bigger Dem talking point: On "60 Minutes," Gates lays it on thick how Obama's decision on bin Laden was among the gutsiest he's seen from any president. Ad will be accompanied by super (superimposed text) noting the Gates has served eight commanders in chief, most Republican.

Biggest Dem talking point: Taxes under Reagan averaged 18.2% of GDP, under Obama 14.9%, dropping to 14.2% this fiscal year.

John Kerry denies interest in Secretary of State post, which means he wants it bad. Idea: Hillary as 2012 running mate. Energizes Dem and independent women's vote. She loves globetrotting and is good at it. Yes, it is unusal in modern age to switch horses. But FDR had three veeps. Biden replaces Zoellick, Bush carryover, at World Bank. Just saying...

Ed Gillespie says the G.O.P. field is set. Former RNC chief surveys declared and drop-outs, counsels donors to settle on one of the declareds. Which confirms Romney as frontrunner, though Hunstman still potential dark horse.

Now that Romney's officially in, with job creation is sole platform plant (it was a vaguely family-values thingy in his losing race to McCain), watch any day now for elaborate story on how many Americans Mitt's lucrative management consulting practice put on the street in turning around failing companies. Prime suspects: Rolling Stone, Atlantic, ProPedia, Mitt's former hometown-paper Boston Globe. Hope it's not tepid NYT. 

 By Gillespie's standard, Palin's out, having not declared. Just as well, since she thinks Paul Revere set out to warn the British that the Yankees were coming. Sheesh. She's also out $7 trillion in claiming debt has risen more under Obama than his 43 predecessors combined. Also, under Obama, who inherited massive deficit, two wars, Great Recession, deficit is up just over $3 trillion. Under Dubya, who inherited $236-billion surplus, deficit soared $4.9 trillion.

Russ Feingold, supposedly resigned to private life, still has political bug and may decide this summer on a Senate run.

Michele Bachmann, alas, sought pardon for a convicted couple that donated heavily to her campaign. More skeletons will out.

New word: "skeeziness," to describe Andrew Weiner's crisis-management technique, apparently borrowed from Tom Cruise "the apex of fame and lunacy," as Craig Ferguson calls the child(ish) actor.

 

Comments

[Wascally Wabbit]

I'm waiting for the Palin / Nixon quote to come "you won't have Sarah Palin to kick around anymore" statement.
I might even sniffle for a second!