Dems Struggle With Now 4 Different Answers To A Simple Question - Are You Better Off?
On CNN this morning, DNC spokesman Brad Woodhouse said “absolutely” Americans are better off than four years ago. So in 24 hours, Barack Obama’s team has provided four different answers to the most fundamental question in this election – “no”, don’t know and “absolutely” yes. Check out the Democrat message in disarray below. Ultimately, after four years of Obama in the White House, Americans aren’t better off and the Obama campaign doesn’t want to answer the question.
ANSWER #1:Senior Adviser David Plouffe Doesn’t Respond To The Question
When Asked If Americans Are Better Off Than They Were Four Years Ago, Obama Senior Advisor David Plouffe Refuses To Say Yes Or No. ABC’S GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: “But yes or no, are Americans better off today than they were four years ago?” OBAMA ADVISOR DAVID PLOUFFE: “Listen, George, they did a good job of reciting all the statistics everyone’s familiar with. I think everyone understands we were this close to a great depression. Because of the leadership of this President, we staved that off. We’re beginning to recover. We have a lot more work to do. We need to grow jobs more quickly. We need to grow middle-class incomes more quickly. But, the question for the American people is, which path are we going to take? If we take Mitt Romney’s path, economists have looked at this, the recovery would slow down, we wouldn’t produce jobs. He would give huge tax cuts to people like himself and send the bill to the middle class and seniors. So, the question is, we’re going to be far worse off if Mitt Romney is elected president and he gets a chance to enact the same economic policies that created the mess in the first place.” (ABC’s “This Week,” 9/2/12)
- ABC’S George Stephanopoulos Responded “You Still Can’t Say Yes” As To Whether Or Not Americans Are Better Off. STEPHANOPOULOS: “So, it sounds like, a year ago, the President told me, I don’t think Americans are better off than they were four years ago. You still can’t say yes.” PLOUFFE: “Well, we’ve clearly improved George from the depths of the recession. We were losing 800,000 jobs a month. We’re now gaining them. The unemployment rate was around 10, it’s come down. We’re beginning to see a manufacturing sector emerge. One of the great bright spots right now is we’re adding manufacturing jobs. The American automotive industry was close to extinction. Mitt Romney would’ve let it go away, by the way. We wouldn’t have an American automotive industry if he was president. President Obama secured that. We’re beginning to really make progress in alternative energy and things like batteries. We’ve made a lot of progress from the depths of recession. we have a lot more work to do. And that’s the question we’re going to lay out for the American people is, the Romney path would be the wrong path for the middle class, the wrong path for this country. We’ve got to continue to recover not just from the recession, but again, how do we build an economy from the middle out so that we have an economy, tax policy, all centered on how do we make the middle class more secure in this country.” (ABC’s “This Week,” 9/2/12)
- VIDEO: On ABC, David Plouffe Won’t Say Yes Or No If Americans Are Better Off Under Obama
ANSWER #2:Campaign Adviser David Axelrod Won’t Say Yes Or No
When Asked If Americans Are Better Off Than They Were Four Years Ago, Obama Senior Advisor David Axelrod Doesn’t Respond To The Question. FOX’S CHRIS WALLACE: “But you keep talking about Romney. I’d like to talk about the Obama record and I want to put some statistics up on the screen. Unemployment was 7.8 percent when the president took office; it’s now 8.3 percent. Median household income was almost $55,000; it’s now less than $51,000. Gas was $1.85 a gallon when he took office, now its $3.78, almost double. The national debt was $10.6 trillion and it may go past $16 trillion this week. So just looking at the president’s record and those statistics, David, is the average American better off than four years ago?” OBAMA ADVISOR DAVID AXELROD: “Chris, as I said to you before, I think the average American recognizes that it took years to create the crisis that erupted in 2008 and peaked in January of 2009. And it’s gonna take some time to work through it.” (Fox’s “Fox News Sunday,” 9/2/12)
ANSWER #3: Gov. Martin O’Malley Says “No”
When Gov. O’Malley Was Asked If Americans Were Better Off After Four Years Of Obama He Said “No.” CBS’ BOB SCHIEFFER: “Can you honestly say that people are better off today than they were four years ago?” GOV. MARTIN O’MALLEY: “No, but that’s not the question of this election.” (CBS’ “Face The Nation,” 9/2/12)
ANSWER #4:DNC Communications Director Brad Woodhouse Says “Absolutely”
When Asked If Americans Are Better Off Now After Four Years Of Obama, DNC Communications Director Brad Woodhouse Says “Absolutely.” CNN’s JOHN BERMAN: “Brad you’ve been shaking your head, as you’ve been sitting off camera, because we’ve been playing all the sound from the last 24 hours of Democrats being asked ‘are you better off today than you were four years ago?’ So, I’ll give you the chance to ask the question, are we better off than we were four years ago?” BRAD WOODHOUSE: “Absolutely.” (CNN’s “Early Start,” 9/3/12)
When Asked If Americans Are Better Off Than They Were Four Years Ago, Obama Deputy Campaign Manager Stephanie Cutter Says “Absolutely.” NBC’s NATALIE MORALES: “Let me begin by starting with that central question on a lot of people’s minds, and that is are we better off today than we were four years ago when President Obama was elected?” STEPHANIE CUTTER: “Absolutely. Let me just walk you through what life was like four years ago.” (NBC’s “Today Show,” 9/3/12)
