Gary's Reflections: A Bad Day for the President

A few days ago I started my usual skimming of the headlines and noticed that poor President Obama was having a really rough day.

First there was a headline that Goldman Sachs (the huge financial institution which has traditionally been a staunch supporter of the Democrats) issued a report with a fairly dismal appraisal of the President’s efforts to put the country into recovery. Here is part of what they said:

Following another week of weak economic data, we have cut our estimates for real GDP growth in the second and third quarter of 2011 to 1.5% and 2.5%, respectively, from 2% and 3.25%. Our forecasts for Q4 and 2012 are under review, but even excluding any further changes we now expect the unemployment rate to come down only modestly to 8¾% at the end of 2012...
But the slowdown of recent months goes well beyond what can be explained with these temporary effects. … final demand growth has slowed to a pace that is typically only seen in recessions. .. Moreover, if the economy returns to recession—not our forecast, but clearly a possibility given the recent numbers …

The very next story was talking about how the CBO (the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office) released a report slamming the President’s only budget proposal for 2011. the CBO says his budget would not only fail to reduce the deficit, it would actually add to it. That is not what the American public wanted to hear right now and has got to be an embarrassment for the current occupant of the White House.

Then I read a report that, in an example of incredibly bad timing, the President has announced he is having a big bash to celebrate his 50th birthday –and it is scheduled for 3 August, the day the country will go into default if they do not raise the debt ceiling and the mailing date for the Social Security, Disability and Veterans Benefits checks that the President hinted may not be sent out. And, to add insult to injury, President Obama has decided to combine his Birthday Celebration with a reelection fund raiser so tickets to the party are selling for up to $35,800 each. You can bet the Republicans will seize upon this and use it as proof of Mr. Obama’s insensitivity and arrogance.

O.K., here is a clip of a song I loved when I was so young I was still wearing a coonskin cap and believed in Santa Claus...