How many pundit columns or TV clips have you seen in the past week that have opened with “Nobody begrudges the President with some hard earned R&R”?
OK, I just have to get this off my chest … I begrudge Obama his vacation.
Geez, he’s the POTUS … not Clark Griswald.
Ask any C-level exec if they’ve ever had a vacation cancelled, shortened, or interrupted by urgent company business.
I’ll bet 100% say they did. I sure did. Just ask my family.
There’s no more important job than POTUS … and — except for war or a plague — few matters more urgent than an economic meltdown.
According to the AP …
The government is about to confirm what many people have felt for some time: The economy barely has a pulse.
Today, the Commerce Department will revise its estimate for economic growth in the April-to-June period and Wall Street economists forecast it will be cut almost in half, to a 1.4 percent annual rate from 2.4 percent.
That’s a sharp slowdown from the first quarter, and economists say it’s a taste of the weakness to come.
Such slow growth won’t feel much like an economic recovery and won’t lead to much hiring.
The unemployment rate, now at 9.5 percent, could even rise by the end of the year.
Consumers can’t be sure their jobs are safe, with unemployment so high. Business executives don’t know if sales and profits will grow enough to justify adding jobs.
And potential changes to tax laws at the end of this year and other policy reforms also make it hard to plan ahead, economists say.
“People have been overwhelmed by uncertainty.”
High unemployment is making it harder for people to make their mortgage payments and stay in their homes.
About 10% of homeowners have missed at least one mortgage payment this year.
AP, Snapshot of economy about to get a lot bleaker, Aug 27, 2010
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100827/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/us_economy
Rather than strolling around swanky Martha’s Vineyard showing folks what a cool dude he is, I’d like our POTUS at least acting like he’s engaged on the economic problem.
Whatever happened to “”I will not rest until (fill in the blank)”
Oh, I know that he took time for a conference call with his economic advisers.
Big deal.
The outcome: stimulus was a grand success, staying the course with people and programs, not to worry – the home winterizing credits and solar panel tax incentives are still in play.
Give me a break …
The Homa Files 
August 27, 2010 at 8:43 am |
I frankly disagree Professor.
An increasing majority of the country is reassured when President Obama is “off duty”. Conference calls aside, it limits the damage. We need fewer beer summits, national dialogues and grad school style bull sessions on interest rates/housing- not more.
Add in sleep, and we’re almost up to “a promise to be off duty, most of the time”. Now there is a successful re-election slogan for Presidents Obama and Bush.