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By Gene Quinn |
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For many months now Barack Obama, various Democrats and virtually all of the media have been making fun of John McCain saying that our economy has made great progress since President Bush has been in office. For example, Obama is quoted in a NY Times article as saying:
“John McCain went on television and said that there has been great progress economically over the last seven-and-a-half year years,” Mr. Obama said. “John McCain thinks our economy has made great progress under George W. Bush? How could somebody who has been traveling across this country, somebody who came to Erie, Pennsylvania, say we’ve made great progress?”
While this NY Times article is many months old, the attack continues, as anyone who watched the Democratic Convention can attest, and Obama himself continues with his misreprentations as late as today when he spoke in Dover, New Hampshire. The truth of the matter is that Obama, who is so quick to call John McCain a liar, misrepresents what McCain said to the point that it is Obama that is lying!
Here is what John McCain actually said in an interview with Bloomberg News on April 17, 2008:
MR. COOK: I’m going to ask you a version of the Ronald Reagan question. You think if Americans were asked, are you better off today than you were before George Bush took office more than seven years ago, what answer would they give?
SEN. MCCAIN: Certainly, in this time, we are in very challenging times. We all recognize that. Families are sitting around the kitchen table this evening and figuring out whether they’re going to be able to keep their home or not. They’re figuring out whether they’re – why it is that suddenly and recently someone in their family or their neighbor has lost their job. There’s no doubt that we are in enormous difficulties.
I think if you look at the overall record and millions of jobs have been created, et cetera, et cetera, you could make an argument that there’s been great progress economically over that period of time. But that’s no comfort. That’s no comfort to families now that are facing these tremendous economic challenges.
But let me just add, Peter, the fundamentals of America’s economy are strong. We’re the greatest exporter, the greatest importer, the greatest innovator, the greatest producer, still the greatest economic engine in the world. And, by the way, exports and free trade are a key element in economic recovery. But these are tough times, tough times, and nobody knows that more than American families including in small towns of Pennsylvania. They haven’t lost their fundamental religious beliefs, their respect for the Constitution, their right to bear arms. They are still – keep America as a beacon of hope and freedom throughout the world.
So it is clear that McCain did not say what Obama says he said. McCain told it like it is, there are signs suggesting things are not falling apart like the chicken-little Democrats want you to believe, but things are certainly not as good as they could and should be. The essential debate is the classic glass being half empty or half full. Obama thinks the glass is half empty and seeks to be a doomsayer, while McCain and the Republicans believe the glass is half-full, an optomistic view that suggests we as Americans can overcome any obstacle as long as we build on the positive rather than dwell on the negative.
Nevertheless, regardless of what Obama and the liberal media think, the economy is in fact fundamentally sound and there is absolutely no room to dispute this fact. We have faced a war on terror which is costing us billions, enormous natural disasters, a credit crisis and record high oil prices and the economy STILL has not sunk into recession. Every quarter there is growth. Not much, but it is growing. How could that be true in spite of all the financial burdens we have faced over the last 8 years if the fundamentals were not sound?
Another thing to consider is that the dollar continues to gain strength. So while Obama and many democrats think our economy is not sound that is not what the global economy thinks. If the fundamentals of the US economy were not strong the dollar would continue to weaken, not reach a one year high against the euro, which it did today.
It is going to be another tough 2 years regardless of who is President, but the financial crisis has an end. Fannie and Freddie are government properties now, and the foreclosure fiasco has an end sight because starting in the spring and summer of 2007 banks started tightening lending standards, with the most meaningful tightening coming during the third quarter of 2007. So the bad loans, and there are a whole lot of them, should be through the system and with the buying market in the spring of 2010 things should start to turn up.
Regardless of whether our next President is McCain or Obama we should see strong economic growth begin no later than right before the mid-term elections in 2010, so whoever wins will enjoy great approval ratings and more gains in Congress. With that being the case, shouldn’t we favor the less risky candidate?
Posted in Election 2008, Obama | Comments (2)
September 12th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Nevertheless i prefer Hillary because she has more experience. Financial Freedom
September 12th, 2008 at 10:20 pm
GQ, I have to say thank you for posting this. Although everyone has a right to their own opinion I think it best to choose the right person for the job. I agree with Financial Freedom, I would have MUCH preferred Hillary to Obama, but she did not win so it is either him or McCain.
I am registered Republican but will and have voted Democrat if and when I felt they were most suitable for the position. But in this instance I must say that I just do not see Obama making things work. I do agree that regardless of whom wins, things will change and credit will be given. But I also feel that more positive change will take place with McCain then with Obama who has been quoted to say that he will not even fund additional Military research if he were to be elected into office.
The points you make on Obama twisting McCain’s words to suit his needs is just proof that Obama is unethical and his lies are uncalled for. It makes me feel that Obama is a person who cannot be trusted.
Again, thank you for setting the facts straight! I have been following this election more so than any other election in the past, but with so many interviews and so much media coverage it’s difficult to keep up with everything. Thank you for giving us McCain’s direct quote so we can interpret those words ourselves rather than have it feed to us in dribs and drabs to suit Obama’s campaign.
Renee