President Hyperbole

It was with great interest that I read about the drop in unemployment numbers for July. It probably did nothing to cheer the 247,000 people that lost their jobs last month. President Obama appeared in the Rose Garden of the White House and announced that his administration had rescued us from "economic catastrophe." Hold on just a moment, Mr. President.

Though the unemployment rate did drop by one-tenth of a percent, it is a little misleading. That did not account for the 400,000 people who dropped off of the unemployment rolls and have simply given up looking. If they were counted, the unemployment rate would have ticked up two-tenths of one percent.

This isn't to say that there aren't signs of improvement: average work week is up slightly to 33.1 hours for the first time in a while; the economy contracted only 1% in the last quarter, a significant improvement; employer surveys indicate that the job-shedding is over if things remain stable. But, to say we've avoided catastrophe by actions of this administration? The only truth to that statement would have to be found in two things: first, people's perception of the economy improving, which would have to shed some credit to the current leadership; and secondly, stemming the tide of bank failures due to their synthetic shenanigans, which is debatable in that the contagion might very well have righted itself after some additional bloodshed.

Further, only $100 billion of the $787 billion stimulus package has been released. How much has that money actually created in terms of real jobs? Since records started being kept in the late 1940's, never has one-third of the unemployed been unemployed for over 27 weeks. So, standing in the Rose Garden taking credit for averting global economic disaster is fraught with radioactive bulls..t.

I think President Obama is a very bright man. I read his books. I like the logical process he possesses in approaching problems. What I would like to see more of from him is a "roll up your sleeves" work ethic, primarily with his party's leaders in Congress. Instead of letting Pelosi and Reid run the whole process of inventing cures for America's ills, there needs to be hands-on management from the party's leader. If he's truly a centrist, and it is on this point that he was elected, he will have to do more than engage in hyperbole and apology to lead this country.

As one who has benefited from some of the President's initiatives, I am grateful for some of what has been done to right the ship of state, as well as to help those who have suffered from the recession. Taking the broader view, however, if one is elected by an electorate that considered President Obama to be a moderate, bi-partisan leader, he needs to be mindful that allowing a left-of-center Congressional leadership run the show will not bode well for mid-term elections, much less the presidential election in 2012.