Another Day, Another Speech

Here is a quote from yesterday's weekly radio address by president Obama:

It’s not lost on anyone, least of all me, that this is an election year. But we’ve got responsibilities that are bigger than an election. We’ve got responsibilities to you. With so many people struggling to get by, now is not the time to play politics. Now is not the time for Congress to sit on its hands. The American people expect their leaders to work hard, no matter what year it is. That’s what I intend to do.

For someone who had not lived through the last four years, these words are inspiring. The president will not get bogged down in his re-election effort; he will work hard to get people back to work. He will work with Congress to make sure that programs to help the economy are passed!

Of course, for anyone who has not been asleep for the last four years, we recognize this message as just another speech, another bit of phony rhetoric from the master orator of the White House. Obama is back, once again, at his normal position: he is speechifying while doing nothing. Obama actually believes that if he talks about something, it is as good as doing something.

But Americans now and always want results not speeches. So let's look at the reality of the situation. Obama claims he is working hard to get job creating measures passed. Really? When is the last time that Obama met with the Congressional leadership? If Obama were actually hard at work trying to get a program for job creation passed, he would be meeting with the leaders of Congress to promote progress on that front. He would be negotiating with those who could be won over to his side in order to craft a majority for his bills in Congress. He would be working the phones with both Democrats and Republicans to try to expand support for his bills.

Obama, of course, does none of this. As best as I can tell, Obama has not met with the Congressional leadership to promote this supposed job creation legislation at all in 2012, but he "intends" to work hard. Obama is not negotiating with anybody in Congress to win them over to his side, but he "intends" to work hard. Senators and Congressmen uniformly give the same answer when asked if Obama has called them to speak about the legislation; that answer is "no." It is a cliche, but Obama is not working hard, he is hardly working.

But let's take this one step further. Obama is ready to blame Congress for not passing this so-called important legislation that he claims will create jobs. Strangely, there are not even bills introduced in the Congress for about half of the supposed program. That's right, Obama has not even bothered to have the White House staff draft the legislation that it supposedly wants to pass. It's the same thing that happened repeatedly in the past. Obama calls for passage of a bill, but there is no bill. It makes no sense.

So here is a word of advice to the campaigner in chief: If you really believe anything of what you said yesterday, do three things. First, you need to stop campaigning for a bit. Second, you need to come forward with the actual legislation that you want passed in Congress. Third, you need to work with Congress to try to pass that legislation. I know that third item may confuse you. The concept of "working with Congress" is a new one for you. I suggest that you bring in Bill Clinton or some other former president who can explain to you just how that works. As you said yesterday, "With so many people struggling to get by, now is not the time to play politics."