Kevin McCullough - "Why Obama is 'President O.O.T.'"

The rage of the heat blowing in the direction of the White House this past Friday (June 9, 2012) was so intense that in less than three hours from saying what has to be the most universally disconnected assertion in Presidential history President Obama was back at the microphone lapping up what he said like a dog at his own vomit.

He had no choice.

Never in the course of economic stagnation has a less-feeling, more callous, completely out-of-touch sentence been uttered.

"The private sector is doing fine."

In all of the debates that can be had over policy direction, administration priorities, whether or not the free market should be allowed to fail (and hence reinvent itself), or not (and hence keep the drag of economic growth going) one thing was known by both sides in the partisan ranks--the private sector is not fine.

America currently has the lowest participation in the employment pool of workers (by percentage) in over thirty years. Long after the 99 weeks of unemployment checks stopped coming, people have given up. The job market has dried up. Innovation has died a painful assassination, the bullet being fired into the head, by the administration's own war on the small business man or woman.

It is painful. It is humiliating. It is gut wrenching. In short it is anything but "fine."

If we were looking at the same employment pool (numbers) as when President Obama came into office in 2009, our actual unemployment number (those who are out of work but desire it desperately) is closer to 14%, and our underemployment (families who are working has hard as they can but can't pay for their basic needs) is closer to 25%.

There is legitimate discussion to be had about solutions to these dismaying numbers. There are genuine debates that can be had on college campuses this early fall about which direction would solve the problems. But no one can dispute that the private sector (the overwhelming engine of economic activity) is anything close to fine.

What was almost as equally disturbing the in the soundbite taken from President Obama's answer was the portion following the the "fine" comment.

He proceeded: "Where we’re seeing weaknesses in our economy have to do with state and local government. Often times cuts initiated by, you know, Governors or mayors who are not getting the kind of help that they have in the past from the federal government and who don’t have the same kind of flexibility as the federal government in dealing with fewer revenues coming in."

Here we see revealed an equally inane view of economic need, growth, development and solution.

In reality governments have tremendous power to levy the kind of help needed. State and local governments have fewer solutions than the federal government, but only by one choice. State, Local, and Federal governments all have the ability to borrow money or to raise taxes.

But state and local governments are under the gun of an electorate who is very close to them, doesn't want to see fiscal mismanagement, and has no use for even more of their hard earned money being lost in wasteful fashion. The federal government being further removed from the people, gets away with high-end Las Vegas conferences, endless rounds of golf, or sending the first dame and kids off on Air Force 1 vacations at the drop of the hat--without as much immediate consequence.

The federal government also has the one ability that states and municipalities do not--the control the printing presses to the currency. And in this administration's view--printing up as much as we need--doesn't seem to be terribly objectionable.

One of the reasons, I'm earnestly convinced, that President Obama does so few press briefings in recent days is partly due to the fact that he does not seem to be able to appear without demonstrating a considerable distance between himself, and "the little people." He has demonstrated this in his positions on fiscal issues, the manipulation of our national defense--and access for Hollywood insiders, and even every day American moral values. Bottom line: the king has no clothes.

His attempt to back pedal later on Friday was all spin to save face, and to not take a blow in this tightening election cycle in which normally blue states like Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, and Colorado--maybe even California are all coming into play for the GOP. But don't be confused--he believes he created jobs, he's done his part, and he has a tee time at 4pm.

Perhaps the most "out-of-touch" assertion ever issued by a sitting President, has also sealed--at least for Obama--the reality, that he is also... finally... for the good of America...

Out-of-time.

Kevin McCullough

Kevin McCullough is the nationally syndicated host of "The Kevin McCullough Show" weekdays (7-9am EST) & "Baldwin/McCullough Radio" Saturdays (9-11pm EST) on 289 stations & Sirius/XM . His newest best-selling hardcover from Thomas Nelson Publishers, "No He Can't: How Barack Obama is Dismantling Hope and Change" is in stores now.

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Bill Whittle - The Future Is Bright for Private Space Exploration

Congress sent NASA and the space shuttle into a fiscal black hole. Can the private sector save the space program? Bill Whittle thinks so. Hear the details.

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Austin Hill - Oops I Forgot To Create Jobs: A Review Of Obamanomics

How seriously are we to take President Obama on economic matters? Is anybody still expecting him to “create jobs?”

Since the early days of his presidential bid in 2007, many have marveled at Barack Obama’s dulcet-toned voice and charming demeanor, while applauding at every word he utters – including what he says about the economy and employment. Now, roughly two and a half years into his presidency, it is painfully apparent that mere charisma and smooth talk don’t “create jobs.”

But why not? What, possibly, could have gone wrong? When Mr. Obama began his presidency in January of 2009 he noted that his “economic stimulus plan” would “save or create three to four million jobs.” Why hasn’t that happened?

The only plausible, reasonable answer to this question has to go something like this: in order for any economy to be sustainable, the majority of its employment opportunities absolutely must come from the for-profit, private sector of our economy. Sure, government agencies employ people too, but they should only employ people in numbers necessary for those agencies to provide essential basic services, and pay these employees commensurate with their private sector counterparts.

The most important thing government can do for the economy is to help to expand employment in the private sector, for-profit arena of our economy. And government can help make this happen, not by cajoling and manipulating and threatening businesses into “hiring,” but rather, by providing a stable and consistent regulatory environment, reasonably low tax rates to businesses and their investors, and encouraging free trade.

Unfortunately, both President Obama’s words and deeds have been hostile towards the private sector, while at the same time he has encouraged the expansion of the government sector. Thus here we are in July of 2011, with many government employees having their compensation and benefits packages expanded, as many private sector businesses continue to eliminate eliminate jobs. President Obama has said and done the opposite of what a President should be doing on economic matters, and – not surprisingly – he has produced the opposite of what we would all want.

If you think this is harsh or unfair, consider some of what the President has been saying over the last few years. Let’s start with this quote from August of 2008, when candidate Obama was speaking before a stadium full of his true believers.

Several American oil companies had just posted some robust profits, and the soon-to-be-President Obama seemed to think this was a bad thing. “First of all,” candidate Obama stated, “you’ve got oil companies making record profits…no… no companies in history have made the kind of profits the oil companies are makin’ right now…They..they…….one company, Exxon Mobil, made eleven billion dollars…billion, with a “b” ….last quarter….they made eleven billion dollars the quarter before that…makin’ money hand-over-fist…makin’ out like bandits…”

That was some great campaign rhetoric back then. But today we are in dire need of great policies from our President – and maligning American companies for being “too profitable” doesn’t incentivize them to grow.

Fast-forward to January 29th of 2009. Despite the economic decline, some of the nation’s largest financial and lending institutions had actually just posted some hefty profits, and had paid their executives bonuses. And once again President Obama chastised the achievement, stating “there will be time for them to make profits, and there will be time for them to get bonuses…now’s not that time, and that’s a message I intend to send directly to them..” Apparently, in Mr. Obama’s view, it is sometimes preferable for companies to be unprofitable – yet unprofitable companies don’t “create jobs.”

And here’s one of my favorites, from May of 2009. Speaking at the commencement exercises at Arizona State University, President Obama advised the new college graduates against private-sector success: “…You’re taught to chase after all the usual brass rings,” the President lamented. “Yah try to be on this ‘who’s who’ list or that ‘top 100 list’…ya chase after the big money, ya figure out how big your corner office is…ya worry about whether or not ya have a fancy enough title, or a fancy enough car…Now you can take that road, and it may work, for some. But at this critical juncture in our nation’s history, at this difficult time, let me suggest that such an approach won’t get you where you want to go. Did you study business? You can go start a company…or, why not go help a struggling not-for-profit find better and more effective ways to help folks in need?”

From there the President went on to extol the many virtues of “public service” – that is, becoming a government employee – and how important it is for people to become public school teachers. Yet he had nothing positive to say about how to create the wealth that funds the non-profit groups and that pays for the labor of the government employees.

Barack Obama is the President who loathes and chastises for-profit enterprise while praising and expanding government bureaucracies. Our current economic conditions provide a mirror image to the President’s vision.

Austin Hill

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Austin Hill is an emerging American voice, addressing culture-defining questions through books, talk radio, web, speaking, and interviews. His recent books "White House Confidential" and his new title "The Virtues Of Capitalism" show his range from whit-infused writer to thought-provoking expert on the intersection of philosophy, religion, politics & culture. Hill helps to make the complex seem simple when exploring capitalism, socialism, and other "Isms".

He is an editorial contributor to national publications such as U.S. News & World Report, a columnist with TownHall.com, and is a popular expert-host on radio from leading stations in Washington DC, Chicago, Phoenix and Los Angeles, and nationally with networks such as Fox NewsTalk Radio.  He hosts the "Austin Hill Show" weekday mornings at Fresno, California's Talk Radio 105-9 KMJ-FM,  and weekday afternoons at Boise, Idaho's Newstalk 580 K I D O radio.

Hill holds a Bachelor's Degree in English Literature from California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo, and a Master's Degree in Philosophy of Religion and Ethics from Biola University in California.

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Kevin McCullough - President Private Sector?

All of a sudden President Obama is using words that--up until recently--have been largely missing from his vocabulary. Words like "hire, small businesses, and private sector," went missing from his strategy for so long they could pretty much parody a Dr. Evil scene from the Austin Powers films making references to concepts long forgotten. Just think, "death star" and "tractor beam."

Did the press conference on Friday, concerning the jobs picture, seem as odd to you as it did me?

"The sooner we get this done, the sooner that the markets know that the debt limit ceiling will have been raised and that we have a serious plan to deal with our debt and deficit, the sooner that we give our businesses the certainty that will need in order to make additional investments to grow and hire," Obama said.

Please, for the love of all that's holy, somebody... anybody... pull the man aside and let him know that small businesses aren't hiring right now because "Congress isn't willing to extended a credit card" (that should've been cut up a long time ago.) Also, the markets, have little to do with rapidity in the "hiring" and "growing" processes.

Those are features that are usually exhibited strictly by whether the business climate in America is favorable, or rotten. One tends to see increases in growth and hiring, the other pretty much chokes it out.

Odd that a President who has such immense business experience could figure this out... Oh wait...

Ok so this is the Obama campaign strategy, not completely dissimilar to what I explained in rather graphic and well documented detail in a book that every voter should read before the elections of 2012.
First, we'll blame it on those demonic republicans who are uncooperative. If that doesn't float, then and only then will we begin to hypnotize the population into a mantra and narrative so sinister they will have to believe it.

So... We'll just lie to them.

Of course they already had been doing so not twenty-four hours previously.

The top banana in the Obama 2012, had been asking the nation to look deep into his eyes as he swung that gold watch before our heavy, sleepy, eyelids.

“The average American does not view the economy through the prism of GDP or unemployment rates or even monthly jobs numbers,” David Plouffe said, on July 7. “People won’t vote based on the unemployment rate, they’re going to vote based on: ‘How do I feel about my own situation? Do I believe the president makes decisions based on me and my family?’”

Actually Americans do vote on those issues, when they themselves are out of work. Especially when you keep telling them that it either could've been worse, or most damning of all, "They should be thanking the administration..."

President Obama constantly has exhibited hostility towards the small business market by lumping 75% of small businesses into the same category as Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. Then with profound confusion upon his face he wonders why small business owners don't like him much.

Yes, all of a sudden he's worried about the private sector--and here we didn't even think he knew what it was.

I'm still not convinced he does.

For if he did, he'd stop making up funny whoppers about how the unemployment numbers are in the tank in 2011 because of some fictional debt limit. The truth is he told us in 2009 that the unemployment numbers would be in the mid-6's by summer of 2011--which is why we had to pass that stimulus so dog gone fast.

But I guess the debt limit was about as valid a reason as any of the others he expressed for the slow movement in unemployment relief. He cited natural disasters. (He turned them into eco-calamities.) He cited spikes in energy costs. (He caused them through limiting refinement capacity and moratoriums on drilling.) He cited state budget cuts. (But he sided with the unions who worsened them.)

Oddly he even said that part of the American economic downturn had to do with the fiscal crisis in Greece. (Yep the run-up on the price of Feta cheese has killed all of us.)

The man is desperate. He refuses to admit his goals were askew and his methods faulty. He needs the economy to create in excess of 250,000 new private sector jobs a month to get re-elected. The Hill newspaper prematurely reported that this month's numbers would be under half that at 100,000. The fInally tally weighed in at only 18,000 new private sector jobs.

"The economic challenges we face weren't created overnight and they're not going to be solved overnight," he said.

That's very true Mr. President, but you've had more than 912 nights to get them solved. And in that time you've played 76 rounds of golf, taken 48 days of vacation, and presided over 149 campaign fundraisers.

When could you have possibly had the time to take responsibility for the loss of jobs? (Now over 2.5 million and counting on his watch.)

Kevin McCullough

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Kevin McCullough is the nationally syndicated host of "The Kevin McCullough Show" weekdays (7-9am EST) & "Baldwin/McCullough Radio" Saturdays (9-11pm EST) on 215 stations & Sirius/XM . His new book from Thomas Nelson Publishers, "No He Can't" March 2011.

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