Jack & Jill Politics

I love this. I really hope to see more of this from the Obama Administration and Democrats. For once, they played offense instead of defense to GOP (usually skewed & inaccurate) narratives. The graphic below says it all. This is your brain/economy/nation on Bush. And then — on Obama.

We are on the road to recovery. Even the New York Times thinks so. The stimulus package AKA Recovery Act is working. And workin’ so well that the very Republicans who criticized and booed the Recovery Act are quietly trying to get a piece of the action for their states and districts. From the Washington Times:

Rep. Joe Wilson, South Carolina Republican who became famous after yelling, “You lie,” during Mr. Obama’s addresses to Congress in September, voted against the stimulus. Nonetheless, Mr. Wilson elbowed his way into the rush for federal stimulus cash in a letter he sent to Mr. Vilsack on behalf of a foundation seeking funding.

“We know their endeavor will provide jobs and investment in one of the poorer sections of the Congressional District,” he wrote to Mr. Vilsack in the Aug. 26, 2009, letter.

Mmm hmm…

Hmph!

Here are more facts to know (and that the mainstream media should cover better):

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act:

• Cut taxes for 95 percent of working families through the Making Work Pay tax credit
• Cut taxes for small businesses
• Provided loans to over 42,000 small businesses
• Funded over 12,500 transportation construction projects nationwide, ranging from highway construction to airport improvement projects
• Made multi-billion dollar investments in innovation, science and technology that are laying the foundation for our 21st century economy
• Provided critical relief for state governments facing record budget shortfalls, including help to prevent cuts to Medicaid and creating or saving over 300,000 education jobs

Look it ain’t all sunshine. And Obama’s 2010 agenda needs to get serious traction on job creation, housing relief and small business re-vitalization plus passing healthcare reform in order to get our economy back on track. It’s going to take investment in new markets like green jobs & clean tech. It will take — finally — real investment in education.

Vice President Biden says next up:

And yet, to me, the most exciting thing about the Recovery Act is not what we’ve done, but what lies ahead. Many Recovery Act programs that will build the groundwork for the economy of the 21st century will be implemented in the next few months. Broadband access for small and rural communities. New factories where electric cars and clean fuel cells will be made. Wind farms, solar panels — and the facilities to construct them. New health technologies and smarter electrical power grids will be creating jobs this year thanks to the Recovery Act. Truly, the best is yet to come.

Sounds great. I believe that the Obama administration is interested in doing all this hopey changey, electric-unicorns-dancing-on-wind-powered-rainbows stuff. But I think they need to play ball — and tell the public what they are doing. The fact that 95% of Americans have had their taxes cut by Obama and yet only 18% of Americans know this — that’s a problem.

Get it together, White House. You can do this. And also — hey: good job, nice hustle (and…athletic-style butt pat…thumbs up…we’re out)