Yesterday, it was the Obama administration back tracking on their criticism of John McCain for his plan to tax some health care benefits. The Obama campaign tore into the opposition, calling it "the largest middle class tax increase in history."
Today, it's another Obama talking point on John McCain that goes under the bus; the idea that the fundamentals of the American economy are sound :
The Chair of President Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, Dr. Christina Romer, on Sunday said that the fundamentals of the economy are "sound," a comment similar to one that her boss as a candidate repeatedly attacked Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., for making during the heat of last year's presidential campaign.
"Of course, the fundamentals are sound," Romer said on Meet the Press, "in the sense that the American workers are sound. We have a good capital stock, we have good technology. We know that, temporarily, we're in a mess, right? We have seen huge job loss, we've seen very large falls in GDP. Certainly in the short run, we're in a bad situation."
On September 15, McCain said, "As you know, there's been tremendous turmoil in our financial markets and Wall Street, and it is -- it's --people are frightened by these events. Our economy, I think, still the fundamentals of our economy are strong. But these are very, very difficult times. And I promise you, we will never put America in this position again. We will clean up Wall Street. We will reform government."
Obama went on to mercilessly pillory McCain, accusing him of being out of touch:
We just woke up to news of financial disaster, and this morning he said that the fundamentals of the economy are still strong," Obama said on September 15 in Grand Junction, Colo. "Sen. McCain - what economy are you talking about? "What’s more fundamental than the ability to find a job that pays the bills and can raise a family? What’s more fundamental than knowing that your life savings is secure, and that you can retire with dignity? What’s more fundamental than knowing that you’ll have a roof over your head at the end of the day?"
This is becoming rather tiresome of Obama. Yesterday it was the New York Times that hit Obama for criticizing McCain for saying the same thing. Today, it's ABC. And of course, this goes hand in hand with Obama's continuing policies of President Bush that he railed against during the campaign.
Will this make it easier or more difficult to run against Obama in 2012? I can see some great ads that highlight this disconnect between what Obama criticizes and what he does in practice but by then, I don't think many people will care as other issues will have come to the fore.
Still, it is maddening to have this rookie ending up putting into practice what other, more experienced hands had initiated - even if they were with the opposition.
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