dick, <<Sigh>>> Shall I once again list how many days of his Presidency George Bush was away from D.C. and/or taking "vacation days"? God forbid a politician actually leave Washington,D.C. and see for himself what's going on. Why shouldn't he be "campaigning"? You clowns have been "campaigning" against him and feverishly planning for the 2010 mid-terms and 2012 national elections since the day he took office.
On Dec 5, 4:42 pm, dick thompson <[email protected]> wrote: > God forbid he stay in DC and actually do something that will make the > jobs report more than a set of numbers of how many jobs were lost. No, > he has to do some more campaigning instead and hope that somebody is > minding the store. > > http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/05/us/politics/05obama.html?_r=1&th&em... > > December 5, 2009 > > In Speech, Obama Calls Jobs Report a 'Hopeful Sign' > > By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG > <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/sheryl_g...> > and JACKIE CALMES > <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/c/jackie_c...> > > ALLENTOWN, Pa. --- President Obama > <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/o/barack_o...> > came to this aging factory town in Pennsylvania's Rust Belt on Friday to > promote his efforts to revitalize the American economy, and wound up > with an early Christmas present of sorts in the form of the report > showing an improving employment situation. > > "This is good news, just in time for the season of hope," Mr. Obama said > in a speech at Lehigh Carbon Community College in suburban Allentown. > "I've got to admit, my chief economist, Christy Romer, she got about > four hugs when she handed us the report. But I do want to keep this in > perspective. We've still got a long way to go." > > But if Obama administration officials were exchanging hugs, they were > also keenly aware that Friday's report, which showed that 11,000 jobs > disappeared in November, as opposed to the six-figure job losses many > economists had expected, is only "moderately encouraging news," as Mr. > Obama himself said here. > > Democrats in the administration and in Congress said the report would > not slow their immediate plans for further stimulus measures. The White > House and Congressional Democratic leaders proceeded Friday with plans > to allocate as much as $170 billion to aid those without jobs and to > create new jobs. > > The House and Senate have agreed to add roughly $100 billion in extended > emergency benefits for the long-term unemployed to the final spending > bill for this fiscal year, which they hope to send to Mr. Obama before > Christmas. > > The unemployment measure would extend provisions in the $787 billion > economic stimulus package > <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/u/united...> > that otherwise would expire at the end of the month, and leave an > estimated one million people without compensation in January. It also > would extend food stamp benefits and a subsidy to help the unemployed > keep their health insurance. > > Separately, House leaders are moving a bill providing roughly $70 > billion for additional building projects and aid to local and state > governments so they are not forced to lay off teachers and first > responders. The bill would also expand lending to small businesses, > which say credit lines from banks remain frozen. > > To offset the cost, Democrats propose to use unspent money from the $700 > billion bailout > <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/c/credit...> > fund for financial institutions, and the White House has agreed to go > along after initial hesitance. Republicans on Friday objected that the > bailout balance should go toward the deficit. They said little about the > jobs report, however, in contrast with past months when they were quick > to seize on rising unemployment to claim that Democratic policies had > failed. > > As both parties head into next year's midterm elections, the jobs issue > will be front and center. But Friday's better-than-expected new jobless > figures gave Democrats hope that the coming election year would not be > as bad for the party as many had feared. > > "If the trends continue --- and I underline 'if'--- the economy will > soon be producing jobs rather than shedding jobs, and the debate will > shift," said a senior administration official, speaking anonymously to > discuss strategy. This official said Democrats hoped to put Republicans > on the defensive with language like "You handed us an economy that was > shedding 700,000 jobs a month, and we managed an economy that finally > started to produce jobs." > > Geoff Garin, a Democratic pollster, said Democrats could win even if > people were dissatisfied with the economy, so long as they thought it > was getting better. "The more we can move people from the 'dissatisfied > and not getting better' category to the 'dissatisfied but getting > better' category, the better off Democrats will be for 2010," Mr. Garin > said. > > Mr. Obama is facing his own pressures. His fellow Democrats have been > grumbling for weeks that he has seemed disengaged from the nation's > economic woes as he grapples with Afghanistan and health care. The > administration is now renewing its focus on the economy. Mr. Obama held > a White House jobs summit on Thursday, and on Tuesday, he will unveil > proposals to help businesses expand hiring in a speech at the Brookings > Institution > <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/b/b...>, > a liberal-leaning research group. > > The Allentown swing, the first of a series of trips that the > administration is billing as a "White House to Main Street" tour, was > intended to humanize the effort. The president spent Friday > hop-scotching across the city memorialized in the 1980s Billy Joel > <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/j/billy_jo...> > tune as the place where "they're closing all the factories down." > > At Allentown Metal Works, a complex of cavernous aging red-brick factory > buildings, he met with men in hardhats who are working on components for > the transportation hub underneath the new World Trade Center in Lower > Manhattan. He ate a cheeseburger and fries (his standard average-guy > lunch) at a local diner, where he chatted up local business leaders. > > At a career counseling center, he encouraged unemployed workers to keep > looking for jobs, telling them, "I just want you to know I'm thinking > about you every day." He wrapped up his day at the Nestl� Purina pet > food factory, where he arrived between shift changes to shake the hands > of more than 180 employees, clad in blue work uniforms and ball caps, > who lined up single file to greet him one by one. > > In his speech at the community college > <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/c/commun...>, > the president tried to personalize the issue, saying his own family was > not immune. > > "I know times are tough," he said. "Michelle and I were talking the > other day --- there are members of our families that are out of work. > We're not that far removed from struggling to pay the bills. Five, six > years ago, we were still paying off student loans > <http://www.nytimes.com/info/student-loans/?inline=nyt-classifier>. > Still trying to figure out if we pay this bill this month, what do we > have to give up next month. We're not that far away from there." > > Sheryl Gay Stolberg reported from Allentown, and Jackie Calmes from > Washington. > > Home <http://www.nytimes.com/> > > * World <http://www.nytimes.com/pages/world/index.html> > * U.S. <http://www.nytimes.com/pages/national/index.html> > * N.Y. / Region <http://www.nytimes.com/pages/nyregion/index.html> > * Business <http://www.nytimes.com/pages/business/index.html> > * Technology <http://www.nytimes.com/pages/technology/index.html> > * Science <http://www.nytimes.com/pages/science/index.html> > * Health <http://www.nytimes.com/pages/health/index.html> > * Sports <http://www.nytimes.com/pages/sports/index.html> > * Opinion <http://www.nytimes.com/pages/opinion/index.html> > * Arts <http://www.nytimes.com/pages/arts/index.html> > * Style <http://www.nytimes.com/pages/style/index.html> > * Travel <http://travel.nytimes.com/pages/travel/index.html> > * Jobs <http://www.nytimes.com/pages/jobs/index.html> > * Real Estate <http://www.nytimes.com/pages/realestate/index.html> > * Automobiles <http://www.nytimes.com/pages/automobiles/index.html> > * Back to Top > > <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/05/us/politics/05obama.html?_r=1&th=&e...> -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. 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