[StBernard] White House battles to claim credit but avoid blame on economy

[Westley Annis]

White House battles to claim credit but avoid blame on economy
By: Julie Mason 
Examiner White House Correspondent
October 30, 2009 President Obama touted upbeat economic news as proof his
stimulus spending was working, but Republicans cited the jobless recovery as
a reason to shift priorities.

"The steps we've taken have made a difference," Obama said at the White
House. "But I also know we have a long way to go."

The economy grew by 3.5 percent in the third quarter of the year, according
to the Commerce Department. The positive growth ended four consecutive
quarters of economic contraction.

The news, better than many economists had predicted, was widely hailed as
the beginning of the end of the recession.

But critics noted that the improved consumer spending was partially
attributable to car sales and the "cash for clunkers" rebates, noting that
publicly funded recovery comes up short of a true economic rebound.

"Was this the equivalent of pouring Red Bull into the economy and now we're
going to have to come down from that caffeinated sugar high?" Rep. Mike
Burgess, R-Texas, said at a hearing of the Joint Economic Committee.

Republicans have been urging the administration to better help the economy
by doing more to help small businesses create jobs, and by being more
creative with tax breaks rather than spending.

Republicans also have urged that some of Obama's future spending proposals,
such as a $13 billion so-called senior stimulus plan to give $250 checks to
older taxpayers, be paid for out of what remains from the $787 billion
stimulus bill.

Rising unemployment and a persistent lack of significant job creation have
the administration lately in a defensive crouch. The White House lashed out
at a report by the Associated Press detailing inflated claims on job
creation, and Obama worried openly about jobs even as he touted new gross
domestic product numbers.

"The benchmark I use to measure the strength of our economy is not just
whether our GDP is growing, but whether we are creating jobs," the president
said.

Republicans agreed, and so far the lack of job creation has proved their
most powerful argument against the administration's claims of economic
turnaround.

House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio noted that Obama promised the
stimulus would create jobs immediately and keep unemployment below 8
percent.

"Any positive signs for our economy are welcome, but a jobless recovery is
not what the American people were promised," Boehner said. "For millions of
out-of-work families struggling to make ends meet, this recession feels far
from over."

Unemployment currently hovers near 10 percent, and Christina Romer,
chairwoman of Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, warned it would take
"sustained, robust" GDP growth to produce results in the employment sector.

That sustained growth may be elusive. The 3.5 percent growth in the third
quarter doesn't fully restore more significant declines of 6 percent a year
ago.

Administration officials have said the economy has already seen the biggest
boost it will get from stimulus spending.


jmason at washingtonexaminer.com