»» Columnists

Jay Carney Admits ‘The President Is Campaigning…For Growth And Jobs’

video

by Tommy Christopher | 10:39 am, September 13th, 2011

» 17 comments

During Monday’s White House briefing, CBS News Chief White House Correspondent Norah O’Donnell asked Press Secretary Jay Carney about criticism that President Obama‘s American Jobs Act tour is nothing but a political campaign. Carney responded with a bit of comic timing that got laughs from the press corps, saying “You’re absolutely right, it is a campaign. The President is campaigning,” then taking a long pause before adding, “for growth and jobs.”

The laughter was only partially due to Carney’s deadpan chops, and probably mostly due to skepticism about his response:(via The White House)

Transcript: (via email from The White House)

Norah O’Donnell: Can I follow on Helene’s question? By Wednesday, the President will have done five jobs speeches in just seven days. If you believe that Congress was so persuaded when they were back at home, why does the President need such hard-driving tactics in order to sell his plan?

MR. CARNEY: Well, Norah, you know as well as I do that in the world we live in 2011, that we do not — this President, any President, does not command the nation’s attention in the sheer numbers that a President used to because of the way our media works. And the reality is, as go the American people so goes the members of Congress, in this case. So we have to keep focusing everyone’s attention on this because it’s vitally important. You don’t just simply say –

Norah O’Donnell: — campaign in order to do this?

MR. CARNEY: I’ve been asked this question, isn’t this a campaign. You’re absolutely right, it is a campaign. The President is campaigning for growth and jobs. He is out there –

Norah O’Donnell: — his reelection.

MR. CARNEY: He is out there campaigning for growth and jobs.

Norah O’Donnell: Not for his reelection?

MR. CARNEY: He’s campaigning to have the American Jobs Act passed. That’s what he talked about in Richmond. That’s what he’ll talk about tomorrow in Columbus. And it’s what he’ll talk about Wednesday in Raleigh-Durham. And I can assure you he will continue to talk about it after that.

Norah O’Donnell: And will he take that message then to non-swing states? There are a number of Republicans in the South –

MR. CARNEY: He will — he is taking this –

Norah O’Donnell: — Mississippi, Alabama –

MR. CARNEY: — as he said, across the land. Yes, every corner.

Laughter aside, this is the time in every presidency where electoral politics and governing politics become somewhat intertwined, and in the case of the American Jobs Act, the distinction is almost moot. This White House has been fairly clear that they are leveraging Republicans’ electoral prospects in order to get them to stop saying no to everything, even their own ideas. Additionally, the short and medium-term health of the economy is as important to governing as it is to President Obama’s reelection prospects.

The criticism that the President is engaging in a lot more jawbonin’ because his job is on the line has some superficial merit, but as recent events have shown, he’s had little leverage to make GOP lawmakers budge. Whatever electoral pressure the President feels is just as compelling to the GOP. If the President truly believes that his plan will improve the economy, and help turn around unemployment, then taking his case to the voters is a wise governing strategy. Those swing states swing both ways. That’s why they call them “swing states.”

American Jobs Act, barack obama, Jay Carney, Jobs Speech, Norah O'Donnell

Anonymous

Obama is campaigning for his own job . As we all know .

The dogs are barkin’.

“You can call it “Barking Dog Syndrome.” Or “BDS” for short.

And Barack Obama, like 12 of his 43 presidential predecessors, almost a third of all American presidents, has contracted the politically fatal disease.

The disease that is the unmistakable sign of a president on the cusp of losing his re-election to the Land of Oz that is a second term in the White House. A looming loss always signaled by the telltale barking dogs of American politics.”

http://spectator.org/archives/2011/09/13/obama-catches-barking-dog-synd
TruDat

Obama kept one campaign promise, his administration is transparent, everyone can see right through them. Even the press corps (or as Obama would call it, press corpse) are laughing at them now.
Anonymous

Oblamer is doing what Oblamer does best….going around the Country in front of crowds of the “under-informed”, riling them up and blaming everything on the GOP and refusing to except any responsibility. And of course the “under-informed” will run around like good little Obots repeating his lies as if it were the truth.

Too bad, for him, that political ploy is no longer working.
Anonymous

Neither speeches nor his legislation will create jobs.

Small business creates jobs. But Mr President, you go right ahead and use the taxpayer’s money to campaign fo re election, while calling it lobbying for this bill and the economy will continue to do jack until you and your adminstration are out of office, and we have someone in there that has a clue as to what it takes to get the economy going again.

I will also add that this ‘person’ may not necessarily be the next administration, even if it’s a republican. Being able to campaign has no correlation with the abilty to lead or get something done.
Anonymous

An even better campaign for Obama would’ve been campaigning for “growth and jobs,” what he was elected for about 3 years ago. Instead, job destruction, increasing the debt beyond comprehension, a weakened America, and the like were what he decide he was sent to Washington for.

I can’t wait til he loses the next election.
Guest

Why is BO in Ohio today? Is he talking green jobs?
Anonymous

the spontaneous laughter and Carney’s response were priceless.
Anonymous

Probably to try to take credit for their credit rating going up. Everyone knows he’s taken credit for just about everything else.
Steve P.

Jay Carney Wus
Anonymous

have you seen the DNC ad featuring obama’s joint session speech? looks like “schedulegate” was just about getting him on camera so they could release the ad at the same time as his “bill”…
Anonymous

Campaigning for Jobs? Last week Solyndra goes belly up, but that doesn’t stop Green Acolytes and Obama. Let’s throw away more taxpayer money.

More green for less energy
— With the collapse of disastrous cash-toilet Solyndra, you might be
worried that the government is going to stop wasting your hard-earned
tax dollars on the green-energy pipe dreams of Obama’s cronies. Fear
not! TheDC’s Amanda Carey reports: “Despite Solyndra’s abrupt closing
and bankruptcy announcement last month, the Department of Energy (DOE)
is undeterred. Just this month, the agency made two more loan guarantees
worth millions of dollars to alternative energy firms. And, as was the
case with Solyndra, officials and investors with the two new companies
have strong financial ties to President Barack Obama. On September 7,
the DOE announced its plan to guarantee 80 percent — or $275 million —
of a $344 million private loan taken out by the firm SolarCity. The
company installs rooftop solar systems that harvests electricity
SolarCity then sells… The second company is Solexel. On September 2,
the solar energy company announced a $13 million award from the DOE as
part of a program to make solar energy systems more affordable for
homeowners. Solexel is financially backed by venture capitalist Steve
Westly. In 2008, Westly bundled for Obama’s presidential campaign,
bringing in more than $500,000. He’s at it again for the president’s
2012 re-election campaign. So far, Westly has bundled between $100,000
and $200,000.” The Obama administration is merely tapping into the
planet’s most dependably renewable resource: corruption.
Anonymous

Those “crowds” are union people paid to stand behind him for TV effect.
Michelle

(Bloomberg)
— The U.S. poverty rate rose to the highest level in almost two decades
and household income fell in 2010, underscoring the lingering impact of
the worst economic slump in seven decades.
Data released by the
Census Bureau today showed the proportion of people living in poverty
climbed to 15.1 percent last year from 14.3 percent in 2009 and median
household income declined 2.3 percent. The 46.2 million Americans living in poverty was the highest since the Census Bureau began counting the number 52 years ago. Those figures may have worsened in recent months as the economy weakened.

Nuff said. Barry is an abject failure.
Anonymous

Bull. Obama lies and little jj doubles down
Anonymous

Who does this jackass Carney think he is fooling….seriously. Obama is campaigning for his bloody, stinking, puss filled life…..nothing more-on, nothing less.
Anonymous

Obama doesn’t seem to understand the difference between making speeches and leadership.
You’d have to be completely naive to think this isn’t all part of the 2012 campaign. This lame effort by Carney isn’t going to change that reality or the perception.
The problem for Obama is that he needs real improvement in the jobs numbers. Instead, he’s tinkering with partial efforts while trying to get political points. The “more of the same” jobs speech wasn’t productive for him or jobs.
I have said several times that I wish he would step up the frequency of his speeches since they seem to make his ratings go down. I should know to be careful what I wish for.
Anonymous

His leadership got Bin Laden, so I think he knows the difference.