Richmond NBC 12 Reports on McAuliffe’s GreenTech Failure

SHOT: Obama Deputy Campaign Manager Stephanie Cutter This Morning: “Absolutely” Better Off:

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?” OBAMA DEPUTY CAMPAIGN MANAGER STEPHANIE CUTTER: “Absolutely. Let me just walk you through what life was like four years ago.” (NBC’s “Today Show”, 9/3/12)

CHASER: More Americans Say They Are Worse Off After Four Years:

In the most recent AP-GfK poll, 28 percent of Americans said they were better off today than four years ago, while 36 percent said they were worse off and 36 percent said they were in about the same financial position. (AP, 9/3/12)

Mason Dixon: 54 Percent Of Florida Voters Think The Country Is On The Wrong Track, While 38 Percent Think It Is On The Right Track. (Mason Dixon, 800 RV, MoE 3.5%, 7/9-7/11/12)

Glengariff Group: 57.7 Percent Of Michigan Voters Think The Country Is On The Wrong Track, While 33.3 Percent Think It Is Headed In The Right Direction. (Glengariff Group, 600 LV, MoE 4%, 8/18-8/20/12)

WMUR Poll: 57 Percent Of New Hampshire Adults Think The Country Is On The Wrong Track While 38 Percent Think It Is On The Right Track. (WMUR, 521 A, MoE 4.3%, 7/5-7/15/12)

SurveyUSA: 60 Percent Of North Carolina Voters Think The Country Is On The Wrong Track, While 33 Percent Think It Is Headed In The Right Direction. (SurveyUSA, 540 RV, MoE 4.2%, 8/19-8/23/12)

Obama Claims He Will Compromise With Republicans In A Second Term

Obama: “I Will Continue To Reach Out To Them And Work With Them Wherever I Can.”  (Michael Scherer, “What He Knows Now: Obama on Popularity, Partisanship and Getting Things Done in Washington,” Time, 8/30/12)

Obama: “I’m Prepared To Make A Whole Range Of Compromises, Some Of Which I Get Criticized From The Democratic Party On, In Order To Make Progress.” “And for me to be able to say to the Republicans, the election is over; you no longer need to be focused on trying to beat me; what you need to be focused on and what you should have been focused on from the start is how do we advance the American economy – I’m prepared to make a whole range of compromises, some of which I get criticized from the Democratic Party on, in order to make progress.” (“Interview Transcript With President Obama,” The Associated Press, 8/26/12)

But Obama Promised Voters He Would Bring Change To Washington Four Years Ago

THEN: When Obama Accepted The Democrat Nomination In 2008, He Promised To Bring Change To Washington. “You have shown what history teaches us – that at defining moments like this one, the change we need doesn’t come from Washington. Change comes to Washington. Change happens because the American people demand it – because they rise up and insist on new ideas and new leadership, a new politics for a new time.” (Sen. Barack Obama, Address Accepting The Nomination At The Democratic National Convention, Denver, CO, 8/28/08)

THEN: Obama’s Acceptance Speech In Denver Promised A “Clean Break From ‘The Broken Politics In Washington.’” “Surrounded by an enormous, adoring crowd, Barack Obama promised a clean break from the ‘broken politics in Washington and the failed policies of George W. Bush’ Thursday night as he embarked on the final lap of his audacious bid to become the nation’s first black president.” (David Espo and Robert Furlow, “Obama Accepts Nomination, Vows To Fix Washington,” USA Today, 8/28/08)

·        THEN: Obama Campaigned “As An Advocate Of A New Kind Of Politics.” “Campaigning as an advocate of a new kind of politics, he suggested at least some common ground was possible on abortion, gun control, immigration and gay marriage.” (David Espo and Robert Furlow, “Obama Accepts Nomination, Vows To Fix Washington,” USA Today, 8/28/08)

Instead Of Change, Obama Has Brought Scandals And Broken Promises

Scandals Are “Generating The Kinds Of Questions That No Administration Wants To Answer This Close To A Re-Election Bid.” “Neither Obama nor his top aides have been implicated, but both of those stories are generating the kinds of questions that no administration wants to answer this close to a re-election bid.”(David Jackson, “Obama Grapples With Secret Service, GSA Scandals,” USA Today, 4/18/12)

The General Services Administration’s 2010 Western Region Conference In Las Vegas “Made Headlines When An Inspector General Report Found A Pattern Of Excessive Spending, Waste, And Possible Fraud On The Pricey, Taxpayer-Funded Las Vegas Conference.” “The conference made headlines this week when an Inspector General report found a pattern of excessive spending, waste and possible fraud on the pricey, taxpayer-funded Las Vegas conference, where organizers went out of their way to organize a lavish, over-the-top celebration that included a mind reader, a clown, fancy food and several ‘trial runs’ by GSA employees.” (Byron Tau, “Videos Of $800K GSA Conference Surface,” Politico’s “44,” 4/7/12)

• Neely’s Wife Accompanied Him On Lavish Trips As Taxpayers “Picked Up The Tab.” “The senior government executive who organized the lavish Las Vegas conference at the center of a General Services Administration spending scandal took dozens of trips for the agency. The boss’s wife accompanied him on some of them — and taxpayers picked up the tab. Deborah Neely wasn’t always just sharing husband Jeffrey E. Neely’s hotel rooms at resorts from Las Vegas to the Pacific islands. She handled party arrangements, directed event planners to spend government money and arranged lodging for relatives on the GSA trip to Las Vegas in 2010, an unusual role revealed in transcripts of interviews that the agency’s inspector general’s office conducted with Jeffrey Neely, as well as in congressional hearings.” (Lisa Rein, “GSA Official’s Wife Accompanied Him On Trips At Taxpayer Expense,” The Washington Post, 4/17/12)

Two “Fast And Furious” Weapons Were “Found At The Scene Of The Dec. 14 Shooting Of US Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.” “The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is facing criticism of a program that funneled illegal guns into the hands of Mexican gun runners, drug gangs, and other criminals after two of those guns were found at the scene of the Dec. 14 shooting of US border patrol agent Brian Terry by Mexican bandits in Arizona…The Dec. 14 shootout in Peck Canyon, near Nogales, Ariz., occurred after border patrol agents halted a group of armed border bandits and fired at them with bean bag guns. The bandits then opened fire with live bullets from AK-47 submachine guns, killing Mr. Terry.” (Patrik Jonsson, “Did Flawed US Policies Play Role In Death Of Border Patrol Agent?,” The Christian Science Monitor, 3/4/11)

·         One Year After Terry’s Murder, No Government Officials Responsible For “Fast And Furious” Have Been Held Criminally Liable. “One year ago today, Border Patrol Agent Brian A. Terry was gunned down in Arizona near the Mexican border by illegal immigrants armed with weapons from the now-infamous ATF ‘Fast and Furious’ gunwalking operation. Terry’s killing has touched off a firestorm that crossed international borders and trigger investigations, Congressional hearings, denials and admissions to the upper levels of the Justice Department. A statement issued today by Terry’s family raises the notion that responsible government officials should be prosecuted. ‘We now believe that if it can be shown that laws were broken, then all those responsible for Fast and Furious should be held criminally liable,’ reads the statement.” (Sharyl Attkisson, “Terry Family Marks One Year Anniversary Of Death Of Their Son, Brian Terry, Murdered Border Patrol Agent,” CBS News, 12/14/11)

In August 2011, Solyndra Announced That It Would File For Bankruptcy, “Immediately Laying Off 1,100 Employees.” “Solyndra, a Fremont solar tech manufacturer, announced Wednesday it is suspending operations and immediately laying off 1,100 employees. The company said it will also file for bankruptcy.” (George Avalos, “Fremont Solar Tech Firm Solyndra To Shut Down, Lay Off 1,100 Workers,” The San Jose Mercury News, 8/31/11)

• The Solyndra Scandal “Shows How Wealthy People Who Help Fund A President’s Election Campaign Get Special Access To The White House.” “The scandal at base is about how taxpayer money is used, or misused, by government. It shows how the White House uses companies for its own purposes and how companies try to use the White House to serve their aims. It shows how far political appointees, and particularly the senior-most aides in the West Wing, will go to push the chief executive’s agenda on a sometimes slow but generally conscientious federal bureaucracy. And it shows how wealthy people who help fund a president’s election campaign get special access to the White House.” (Patrick B. Pexton,“Post Reporters, Shining A Light On The Solyndra Scandal,” The Washington Post, 11/25/11)
• The Solyndra Scandal Shows How Despite Obama’s Promises To Be “Transparent, Accountable, And Responsible,” He “Often Isn’t.”  “The reporters have used these documents to push the story further and tie it to fundraisers. They have also consulted forensic accountants to help analyze how sick Solyndra was when its executives, and Obama officials, were publicly touting the company’s rosy future. And they have shown that an administration that promised to be transparent, accountable and responsible often isn’t.” (Patrick B. Pexton,“Post Reporters, Shining A Light On The Solyndra Scandal,” The Washington Post, 11/25/11)

Obama Promised That Lobbyists Would Not “Find A Job In [His] White House.” “President Obama promised during his campaign that lobbyists ‘won’t find a job in my White House.’ … Formalized in a recent presidential executive order, it forbids executive branch employees from working in an agency, or on a program, for which they have lobbied in the last two years.” (Kenneth P. Vogel and Mike Allen, “Obama Finds Room For Lobbyists,” Politico, 1/30/09) 

·        But President Obama Has Granted Numerous Exceptions To His Lobbyist Ban. “Yet in the past few days, a number of exceptions have been granted, with the administration conceding at least two waivers and that a handful of other appointees will recuse themselves from dealing with matters on which they lobbied within the two-year window.” (Kenneth P. Vogel and Mike Allen, “Obama Finds Room For Lobbyists,” Politico, 1/30/09) 

·        PolitiFact: “We Rate Obama’s ‘Revolving Door’ Policy For Former Lobbyists His Biggest Broken Promise.” (Angie Drobnic Holan, “Not So Fast On Obama Revolving Door Policy,” PolitiFact, 1/23/09)

Obama Officials Have Met “Hundreds Of Times” With Lobbyists At A Coffee Shop Across The Street From The White House. “Here at the Caribou on Pennsylvania Avenue, and a few other nearby coffee shops, White House officials have met hundreds of times over the last 18 months with prominent K Street lobbyists — members of the same industry that President Obama has derided for what he calls its ‘outsized influence’ in the capital.” (Eric Lichtblau, “Across From White House, Coffee With Lobbyists,” The New York Times, 6/24/10)

·        The White House Also Met With Lobbyists In A Complex Just Off The White House Grounds. “Caught between their boss’s anti-lobbyist rhetoric and the reality of governing, President Barack Obama’s aides often steer meetings with lobbyists to a complex just off the White House grounds – and several of the lobbyists involved say they believe the choice of venue is no accident.” (Chris Frates, “Lobbyists: W.H. Hides Meetings Off-Site,” Politico, 2/24/11)

·        Meetings Are Pushed Out Of The White House So That They Are Kept “Off The Books” And Hidden From The Public.  “The White House scoffs at the notion of an ulterior motive for scheduling meetings in what are, after all, meeting rooms. But at least four lobbyists who’ve been to the conference rooms just off Lafayette Square tell POLITICO they had the distinct impression they were being shunted off to Jackson Place – and off the books – so their visits wouldn’t later be made public.” (Chris Frates, “Lobbyists: W.H. Hides Meetings Off-Site,” Politico, 2/24/11)

As Obama’s Deputy Chief Of Staff, Jim Messina Used His Personal Email Address Instead Of His White House Address To Conduct Government Business. “The interactions between the Finance Committee and PhRMA were detailed in an earlier report from the Energy and Commerce Committee, but Messina’s use of his private email address — at issue because he was conducting government business on a non-government, undisclosed account — is a new revelation.” (Jennifer Epstein, “GOP: W.H., Messina ‘Failed’ On Transparency,” Politico, 7/31/12)

White House Refuses to Condemn Outrageous Ad And Biden Remarks

Carney Asked How Citing Romney Dog Is Part Of Lifting Up Dialogue

Question To Carney: Where’s The President’s Plan On Medicare?

White House Asked If Biden Still On Ticket

White House To Douglas Wilder: He Doesn’t Have A Point

As Obama seeks to cut the work requirement from welfare, a look back to what the Clintons said about welfare reform.

Bill Clinton On Signing Welfare To Work: “The New Bill Restores America’s Basic Bargain Of Providing Opportunity And Demanding, In Return, Responsibility.” CLINTON: “The new bill restores America’s basic bargain of providing opportunity and demanding, in return, responsibility. It provides $14 billion for child care, $4 billion more than the present law does. It is good because without the assurance of child care it’s all but impossible for a mother with young children to go to work. It requires States to maintain their own spending on welfare reform and gives them powerful performance incentives to place more people on welfare in jobs. It gives States the capacity to create jobs by taking money now used for welfare checks and giving it to employers as subsidies as incentives to hire people.” (Bill Clinton, Remarks On Signing The Personal Responsibility And Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act Of 1996 And An Exchange With Reporters, Washington, D.C., 8/22/96)

Clinton: “This Bill Will Help People To Go To Work So They Can Stop Drawing A Welfare Check And Start Drawing A Paycheck.”  (Bill Clinton, Remarks On Signing The Personal Responsibility And Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act Of 1996 And An Exchange With Reporters, Washington, D.C., 8/22/96)

Clinton: “It Is Now Clearly Better To Go To Work Than To Stay On Welfare—Clearly Better.” (Bill Clinton, Remarks On Signing The Personal Responsibility And Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act Of 1996 And An Exchange With Reporters, Washington, D.C., 8/22/96)

Hillary Clinton: “By The Time Bill And I Left The White House, Welfare Rolls Had Dropped 60 Percent From 14.1 Million To 5.8 Million, And Millions Of Parents Had Gone To Work.” “By the time Bill and I left the White house, welfare rolls had dropped 60 percent from 14.1 million to 5.8 million, and millions of parents had gone to work. States had supported part-time and low-wage work by continuing to provide medical benefits and food stamps for these workers. By January 2001, child poverty had decreased by more than 25 percent and was at its lowest rate since 1979.” (Hillary Clinton, Living History, 2003, p. 370)

Obama hasn’t had time to meet with his Jobs Council in the past 123 days or have a daily economic briefing, but he has found time to hang out with celebrities. Below, see some of the celebrities Obama has partied with instead of convening his Jobs Council.

George Clooney

Marc Anthony

Tyler Perry

Ricky Martin

Spike Lee

Jeremy Renner, Dianna Argon, Zachary Quinto, Ben McKenzie, Jessica Alba, Bryan Greenberg, Adam Rodriguez, Zach Braff, Brandon Routh, Ian Somerhalder, Jared Leto, Kal Penn, and Sophia Bush

And Anna Wintour And Sarah Jessica Parker

“Jim - coffee at Caribou Coffee - across the corner from the WH - would work at 11:30 a.m. on Friday…plus getting you through the new WH security rules these days almost takes an act of Congress almost (and you know how well that’s going these days),” Smith wrote. “[P]lus you’d appear on an official WH Visitor List which is maybe not want [sic] you want at this stage …” (Jennifer Epstein, “GOP: W.H., Messina ‘Failed’ On Transparency,” Politico, 7/31/12)