Friday Potpourri

That 10.8 percent unemployment rate from……..Ronald Reagan.

You’re going to hear a lot of Obama critics today saying, “Where are the jobs, Mr. Obama?” They know the unemployment rate is a “lagging indicator,” as the economists say. But they have forgotten how our system works (if they ever knew). So, here is the unemployment rate for one of the recessions presided over by their saint and savior, Ronald Reagan.

For the 12 months of July 1982 to June 1983, the unemployment rate was 9.8 percent or above. For 10 of those 12 months, the unemployment rate was above 10 percent, reaching a high of 10.8 percent in November and December of 1982. Give it a rest, my dear Republican friends.

Memo to GOP

Yesterday, John Boehner, minority leader of the House of Representatives stood before a rally of raging opponents of the health care reform proposed and he railed on about the difficulty of governing when we forget the sacred principles of the U.S. Constitution. He said “I’m going to read to you the first paragraph of that great document,” and then he proceeded to read the first paragraph of the ….Declaration of Independence.

PS to GOP: why not ask your members to read the Constitution before they actually run for office?

GOP angst over Obama’s ability to address more than one issue at a time.

One Republican friend asked me this week why President Obama doesn’t stay in the Oval Office and work on one major issue at a time instead of spending tax money flying all over the nation in Air Force One talking to constituents?

I explained this President has 322 million citizens looking to him to keep the lights on for them, clear the air for them, provide adequate and affordable health care for them, assist with the education of their children, and oh yes, protect them from all enemies, foreign and domestic. I don't begrudge him a ride on a big plane to Wisconsin to talk with his constituents about education and other important issues.

The reason this President continues his high approval rating with most Americans is because they perceive in him a President, finally, who actually CAN keep more than one ball in the air at the same time.

Reagan or Obama?

Was the nation's unemployment rate higher under Reagan or Obama?

If you picked Obama, you lose....by a long shot.

This past week almost all of the news anchors reported the latest unemployment stats this way: “Unemployment numbers rose to 9.8 percent in September, the highest since 1983.”

For several days now, the line has been repeated, and each time I want to shout, “Why don’t you say, ‘Unemployment is at 9.8 percent, the highest since 1983 WHEN RONALD REAGAN, GOP SAINT AND SAVIOR was President; yes, REAGAN, THE PRESIDENT WHO ALSO TRIPLED THE NATIONAL DEBT DURING HIS TIME IN OFFICE, the guy whose policies Republican leaders in Congress today praise ad nauseam.’ Why don’t you add that to your report?”

The recession of the early 1980s was severe but nothing like the recession of the late 2000’s brought on in large part by profligate spending and lack of regulatory oversight by federal agencies during the Bush/Cheney administration.

In all fairness to Ronald Reagan, his recession was due primarily to external forces -- the aftermath of the Iranian Revolution which took place in 1979. The new Iranian regime lowered export volume of its oil, thus forcing the price of oil up and precipitating an economic crisis for most of the developed nations. The US adopted a tight monetary policy to control inflation and this led to a recession...and unemployment spiked. (It seems tame when compared to 2007-2008 near collapse of the entire economy.)

Reagan’s unemployment numbers hit 9.8 percent in July 1982 and kept rising. The percentage did not drop below 10 percent for a full year – 12 CONSECUTIVE MONTHS!

The late 2000s recession was started by the collapse of the housing market.Many real estate companies were put in jeopardy, some even collapsed. Many banks did collapse causing a measure of public panic. Available credit spiraled downward, making it almost impossible for anybody to get a loan. Consumer confidence fell like a rock. And that was just the beginning. Many have called the current recession the worst since World War II.

So, to my Republican friends: Obama policies have been in effect for less than six months. Come back to see me IF unemployment remains above 9.8 percent for MORE than a full year.

To my Democratic friends: You have no one to blame but yourselves if you let the R’s get away with claiming Obama’s policies don’t work, won’t work, and that they somehow prove R’s should be back in power.

When they complain about Obama, just say three words to them: "12 consecutive months." Those among the GOP who know better are not likely to ask you to explain what you mean.

To Iraq and To Ruin

I do not have the words to tell you how tired I am of hearing Republicans recite their mantra: "We will cut your taxes and reduce the size of government."

BS

It is not true and they know it. Their only job --and they will quickly tell you it is their only job -- is to convince you that it is true. You only have to...uh, trust them.

Reagan said it and here's what we got in return. During his eight years in office we endured two economic recession, a 20 percent increase in the size of government, and a tripling of the national debt.

Bush 41 said it and the economy was in a shambles by the time he ran for re-election in 1992. Indeed, not even his victory in the first Gulf War -- which was a true victory, not a "Mission Accomplished" fake victory -- could prevent Bill Clinton from cleaning his clock (not even the one Bush 41 was checking during the debates). Remember, "It's the economy, stupid!"

The tremendous economic expansion the country enjoyed during the eight years of Bill Clinton's Presidency had the Republicans chomping at the bit to get back into power and demonstrate they could do the same thing with -- you guessed it -- cutting taxes and reducing the size of government.

Bush 43 sold the same bill of goods to Americans in 2000, and again in 2004, and here is what we got for it: America's first pre-emptive strike on another sovereign nation, a war fought on fraudulent pretenses, destabilization of world economies, record prices for oil and gasoline at the pump, abdication of federally mandated oversight of financial markets -- among a long list of dubious, indeed, disgraceful, "accomplishments."

But the most telling is the realization that Bush 43 will leave office having more than DOUBLED the national debt, from 5.5 trillion dollars on the day he came into office to 11.6 trillion dollars (if the current Wall Street bailout package is approved

If you hear another Republican repeat that old saw, "We just want to cut your taxes and reduce the size of government and that'll make your life better," you should shout, "ARE YOU CRAZY?" and run for the nearest exit as fast as your legs will carry you.

And yes, Bush 43 will always be remembered in the history books as "The President who took America to Iraq and to ruin."