The Always Partisan AP

This morning the AP is out with an article that says that in the election campaign, both parties are principally pushing a blame game. In other words, Democrats blame bad times on the Republicans and Republicans blame the Democrats. I wonder what election campaigns the AP is watching; certainly, it is not the one in the USA.

AP is correct that the Democrats are trying to blame the Republicans for bad times. They are not campaigning on their economic programs. virtually no Democrat in a contested race mentions his support for the stimulus or healthcare. None of them mention cap and trade. They focus instead on how bad the Republicans are.

For their part, the Republicans are focused mainly on policy changes that they argue will help the economy. these include no tax increases, reduced federal spending to cut the deficit, increased energy production here at home, ending Obamacare and much more. To the extent that they argue against the Democrats, the Republicans focus more on their policies and less on the people. True, Nancy Pelosi and some others are targets, but that is not the Republicans main point.

The AP article, however, argues that there is no difference in the ampaign mode of the two parties. If Democrats have nothing to say, then, according to AP, Republicans have nothing either. It is a more subtle way of trying to help the Democrats than usual for the AP.

The true viewpoint of the AP comes out in this passage:

"Nineteen months into his presidency, Obama can point to a series of legislative accomplishments that under any other circumstances would be considered remarkable:

-the $814 billion stimulus program, which passed shortly after he took office.

-landmark overhauls of health care and financial regulation.

-a major education bill.

-a $30 billion fund, enacted this month, to help small businesses.

-overseeing a $700 billion bailout program for troubled financial institutions that was started under Bush.

-helping complete the rescue of automakers General Motors and Chrysler.

The White House argues that Obama gets little credit for such an impressive run, accomplished with little or no Republican support."


So AP cannot understand how Obama gets no credit for all these "accomplishments". I love how the AP writer says that under any other circumstances these would be considered remarkable. Perhaps it would have been more accurate to say that except for the fact that they did not work but only made things worse, they would have been considered remarkable. Getting failed policy passed into law by Congress is not remarkable. It is unfortunate. It is damaging to the country. It is, in short, a disaster that needs to be undone or at least stopped.