Obama faults GOP, BP as he defends agenda
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A feisty President Obama, whose popularity has been slipping in the polls, travels to Pennsylvania on Wednesday, where he will chastise Republicans and the oil company BP as he defends his administration’s efforts to build “a new foundation” for the country as it comes out of recession.
“America does not stand still. We move forward,” Obama will say, according to excerpts from his speech, which were distributed by the White House. “We must build a new, stronger foundation for growth and prosperity – and that’s exactly what we’ve been doing for the last 16 months.”
Recent polls show that Obama’s popularity has been slipping in this midterm election cycle, a normal attrition for any administration in a sophomore year – especially coming after a series of tough, partisan battles over the healthcare insurance overhaul.
The massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico has further complicated things. A recent USA Today/Gallup poll showed that 53% of those surveyed give Obama poor marks in handling the crisis, while just 43% give him a positive grade. Though critical of Obama, voters were even harsher about the federal government and BP, the owner of the well. According to the poll, 60% said the federal response was poor and 73% blamed BP.
Against that backdrop, the Obama administration has tried to position itself as more forceful and in charge of the gulf situation. It has pointedly tried to separate itself from BP and Obama has twice visited the region pledging as much aid as it takes for however long it is needed to deal with the nation’s worst oil disaster.
Wednesday’s trip to Pittsburgh, Pa., is part of that effort to reset the political agenda. The focus on the economy also comes as a favorable jobless report is expected on Friday.
In his prepared remarks, Obama sounds his usual themes as he calls for more investments in skills, education, clean energy and infrastructure.
“This new foundation is also based on reforms that will make our economy stronger and our businesses more competitive – reforms that will make healthcare cheaper, our financial system more secure, and our government less burdened with debt,” Obama says.
The president is also tougher on the Republicans as the November elections approach and polls show the GOP running strongly in the generic congressional races.
“Some of you may have noticed that we have been building this foundation without much help from our friends in the other party. From our efforts to rescue the economy to health insurance reform to financial reform, most have sat on the sidelines and shouted from the bleachers. They said no to tax cuts for small businesses; no to tax credits for college tuition; no to investments in clean energy. They said no to protecting patients from insurance companies and consumers from big banks,” Obama will say.
He will also blame the Bush administration, a favorite target, for past failures including “gutting” the regulatory powers of government as seen in the gulf oil crisis, as well as in other areas such as mine safety, car safety and even protecting the financial system.
“As November approaches, leaders in the other party will campaign furiously on the same economic argument they’ve been making for decades. Fortunately, we don’t have to look back too many years to see how it turns out,” Obama argues.
“For much of the last 10 years, we tried it their way. They gave tax cuts that weren’t paid for to millionaires who didn’t need them. They gutted regulations, and put industry insiders in charge of industry oversight. They shortchanged investments in clean energy and education; in research and technology. And despite all their current moralizing about the need to curb spending, this is the same crowd who took the record $237-billion surplus that President Clinton left them and turned it into a record $1.3 trillion deficit,” the president says.
The lack of regulation is a key issue for Obama, who in recent days has faced criticism that his administration knew of regulatory problems, particularly in the Department of the Interior, and did not move fast enough to deal with them.
“The catastrophe unfolding in the gulf right now may prove to be a result of human error – or corporations taking dangerous shortcuts that compromised safety,” Obama will say. “But we have to acknowledge that there are inherent risks to drilling four miles beneath the surface of the Earth – risks that are bound to increase the harder oil extraction becomes. Just like we have to acknowledge that an America run solely on fossil fuels should not be the vision we have for our children and grandchildren.”
As he has in the past, Obama calls for government funding for alternate energy. He also calls rolling back billions of dollars in tax breaks to oil companies, money to be used on clean-energy research.
--Michael Muskal
