Hissy Fit Number 1400

Hmmm.  Something tells me that the video clip I used in the last post might work better for this one. 

It sounds like Obama is cracking under the pressure to me.  His "abrubt" exit from the debt negotiation this afternoon was petulant, childish, and at the very least, unprofessional.  Mr. Obama is not accustomed to losing.  Those community organizing skills are not working so well for him right now.  Via The Corner:

At this point, Cantor explained, the president became “very agitated” and said he had “sat here long enough,” that “Ronald Reagan wouldn’t sit here like this” and “something’s got to give.” Obama then told Republicans they either needed to compromise on their insistence on a dollar for dollar ratio of spending cuts to debt increase or agree to a “grand bargain” including massive tax increases. Before walking out of the room, Cantor said, the president told him: “Eric, don’t call my bluff. I’m going to the American people with this.” He then “shoved back” and said “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

This is one (and only one) example where his inexperience shows.  Had he ever led a business, been CEO of anything, had executive experience as a governor, ever done anything of significance beyond 144 days in the senate before running for president we might be further along in these negotiations.

Breaking at about the same time was news that Moody's put us on "downgrade watch."     Just too much pressure for the man-child?  Maybe Obama didn't like being compared to Jell-o.  Or maybe Cantor didn't get the memo that Obama was feeling testy today.  Who knows.

If Obama is attempting to channel Reagan and his summit at Reykjavik he's falling way short.  As Pundette says:

Since he brought up the comparison, imagine Reagan throwing a tantrum like that. Or never coming up with a plan of his own.

Sickening.

The spin has already begun as the left points to Eric Cantor and his line-in-the-sand moment previously, but again, I would suggest that maybe we expect more from our president.  Maybe as president you have to rise above petty things and learn to compromise.

Reuters quotes Obama:

"I have reached the point where I say enough," Obama said, according to the aide. "Would Ronald Reagan be sitting here? I've reached my limit. This may bring my presidency down, but I will not yield on this."

Bring it on.   


Quote of the day (filed under WTF?) goes to Nancy Pelosi:

“He stayed for two and a half hours and listened to what members had to say. It was his meeting and the meeting had come to an end,” she said. 

“The president could not have been more gracious. I have never seen a president spend so much time with the leadership of Congress day in and day out, respectful of their concerns,” Pelosi added.

Respectful?  Gracious?  I guess she has a different perspective of "gracious" than I do.  I call it childish.


(Welcome "Morning Jolt" readers!)

Will There be a Second Stimulus?

Laura Tyson, a member of Obama’s Economic Recovery Advisory board, thinks we should consider another stimulus, this one focusing on infrastructure projects because the Porkulus bill in February was "too small."

This is just her opinion and it is not in accord with what Biden said earlier this week when he said it was "premature to discuss crafting another stimulus because the current measures have yet to fully take effect." Obama also said it's not quite time to consider a second stimulus, but his comments usually have expiration dates. Today, Obama said this to Fox News: "I don't take anything off the table when unemployment is close to 10 percent and a lot of Americans are hurting out there," Both Obama and Biden could conceivably go along with a second stimulus bill in the near future.

As unemployment continues to climb, and it will - even Obama admits this, how long before this administration decides to go along with a second stimulus? As the 2010 elections approach and the economy is still in the tank, will that persuade Congress to go along with a second stimulus?

Derek Thompson at the Atlantic is putting his money on no second stimulus. He says this chart would work against such a proposal:


Thompson also says that with so many irons in the fire now, so to speak, that introducing major new economic legislation would be detrimental to those other projects such as health care, climate change and bank regulation. Colin Powell has already expressed concerns about Obama trying to do too much, and spend too much, at once.

Let's review some of the gems in the February stimulus package:

$300 million for hybrid and electric cars for federal employees
$650 million for abandoned mine sites
$850 million for Amtrak
$200 million for public computer centers at community colleges and libraries
$2 billion for manufacturing advanced batteries for hybrid cars
$198 million to design and furnish the DHS headquarters
$100 million for lead paint hazard reduction
$20 billion for increased food stamps
$2.1 billion for Head Start
$2.5 billion to upgrade low-income housing

The list goes on and on, but very little of this is actually stimulating the economy. Remember, this is the bill nobody read before the voted on it. Members received the bill right before midnight on Thursday and were expected to vote on it on Friday after multiple changes and additions had been made behind closed doors. Is this what we should anticipate with a second stimulus?

Eric Cantor has said that Republicans are prepared to work on a second stimulus as long as this one has tax cuts and help for small businesses. "He said that lawmakers and the White House should redirect some of the money yet to be spent in the first stimulus away from government programs and toward businesses and taxpayers." He would like to see an income tax cut for small businesses and their employees. The Hill reminds us that "the $787 billion bill passed in February steered approximately 60 percent of its funds to government programs and less than 40 percent toward tax cuts."

Even at this early stage it's clear that the stimulus isn't doing what they said it would do. Biden says "we underestimated" the state of the economy. That's reassuring. What this administration should do is work in a truly bi-partisan way to rechannel some of the money allocated in the stimulus, as Cantor suggests, and get this crazed spending under control. The February stimulus was in no way bi-partisan. It was crafted by Pelosi and company behind closed doors in the dark of night with little or no Republican input.

Rasmussen has a new poll out today which indicates that 60% of Americans are opposed to a second stimulus this year while only 27% are in favor. 2010 is coming and many in Congress, of BOTH parties, are in jeopardy of keeping their jobs. People are fed up with out of control spending in Washington and their - our - discontent will be made clear in the voting booth. More spending isn't what is needed - better spending would be a good start though. Redirect what is already allocated and quit printing more money to throw down the drain.


Related Posts:
A Flaming Bag of Poop
Piling on the Pork
Porkulus Projects
Pork in the Stimulus