President Obama on Friday sought to deploy the game-
changing powers of his office against a grim political week during which the economy, the polls and even some of his Democratic allies seemed to conspire against him.
But the bully pulpit failed him, as well.
Video
VIDEO | President Obama: “The truth of the matter is that, as I said, we've created 4.3 million jobs over the last ... 27 months; over 800,000 just this year alone. The private sector is doing fine.”
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Laying out his economic argument at a morning news conference, Obama said that cutbacks in state and local government spending have slowed the nation’s recovery and that Congress has “no excuse” for not supporting his jobs bill that would provide funding to retain public workers.
“The private sector,” the president added as a point of comparison, “is doing fine.”
The remark struck a discordant political note in the current economic climate, and Republican adversaries pounced on the assertion to lampoon him for being out of touch. And at least politically, Obama played directly into the GOP argument that he does not understand the depths of the economic crisis and that he is too dependent on government to solve the economy’s problems.
At a campaign appearance in Council Bluffs, Iowa, presidential rival Mitt Romney accused Obama of an “extraordinary miscalculation” that will “go down in history.”
“Is he really that out of touch?” Romney said. “He’s defining what it means to be detached and out of touch with the American people.”
Obama aides scrambled to contain the fallout, complaining that Republicans had intentionally mischaracterized the president’s remarks. But by midafternoon, after the White House had lost another round of the news-cycle wars, Obama felt compelled to clarify his position.
“It’s absolutely clear the economy is not doing fine,” Obama said, speaking to reporters from the Oval Office after meeting with Philippine President Benigno Aquino III. “The economy needs to be strengthened. I believe that there are a lot of Americans who are hurting right now, which is what I’ve been saying .
changing powers of his office against a grim political week during which the economy, the polls and even some of his Democratic allies seemed to conspire against him.
But the bully pulpit failed him, as well.
Video
VIDEO | President Obama: “The truth of the matter is that, as I said, we've created 4.3 million jobs over the last ... 27 months; over 800,000 just this year alone. The private sector is doing fine.”
More from PostPolitics
Natalie Jennings We’re launching The 12, a site powered by Tumblr and populated by students in 12 of the most competitive 2012 election states.
Paul Kane He shuffled his senior staff Thursday in an effort to better manage the unwieldy House.
Chris Cillizza, Scott Clement and Aaron Blake New Post-ABC poll: leading picks are largely unknown to the public.
Laying out his economic argument at a morning news conference, Obama said that cutbacks in state and local government spending have slowed the nation’s recovery and that Congress has “no excuse” for not supporting his jobs bill that would provide funding to retain public workers.
“The private sector,” the president added as a point of comparison, “is doing fine.”
The remark struck a discordant political note in the current economic climate, and Republican adversaries pounced on the assertion to lampoon him for being out of touch. And at least politically, Obama played directly into the GOP argument that he does not understand the depths of the economic crisis and that he is too dependent on government to solve the economy’s problems.
At a campaign appearance in Council Bluffs, Iowa, presidential rival Mitt Romney accused Obama of an “extraordinary miscalculation” that will “go down in history.”
“Is he really that out of touch?” Romney said. “He’s defining what it means to be detached and out of touch with the American people.”
Obama aides scrambled to contain the fallout, complaining that Republicans had intentionally mischaracterized the president’s remarks. But by midafternoon, after the White House had lost another round of the news-cycle wars, Obama felt compelled to clarify his position.
“It’s absolutely clear the economy is not doing fine,” Obama said, speaking to reporters from the Oval Office after meeting with Philippine President Benigno Aquino III. “The economy needs to be strengthened. I believe that there are a lot of Americans who are hurting right now, which is what I’ve been saying .