Wednesday, January 25, 2012

State of the Union: Barack Obama vs. The Truth


Politicians are known for telling people what they want to hear, not what they really need to hear. Our dear Comrade President Obama is, of course, no different. Frankly, he's one of he worst offenders in recent memory.

As this AP article shows us, in last night's State of the Union address, the Campaigner-In-Chief didn't let pesky little things like truth, facts, or reality get in the way of a good election year speech. Still, I've heard so  many people raving about what a wonderful, powerful speech it was.

Just goes to show that indeed you can fool some of the people all of the time.


Excerpt below, with a few choice snippets:
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FACT CHECK: Obama pushes plans that flopped before


Jan 24, 2012
WASHINGTON (AP) - It was a wish list, not a to-do list.
President Barack Obama laid out an array of plans in his State of the Union speech as if his hands weren't so tied by political realities. There can be little more than wishful thinking behind his call to end oil industry subsidies - something he could not get through a Democratic Congress, much less today's divided Congress, much less in this election year.
And there was more recycling, in an even more forbidding climate than when the ideas were new: He pushed for an immigration overhaul that he couldn't get past Democrats, permanent college tuition tax credits that he asked for a year ago, and familiar discouragements for companies that move overseas.
A look at Obama's rhetoric Tuesday night and how it fits with the facts and political circumstances:
OBAMA: "Our health care law relies on a reformed private market, not a government program."
THE FACTS: That's only half true. About half of the more than 30 million uninsured Americans expected to gain coverage through the health care law will be enrolled in a government program...
OBAMA, asking Congress to pay for construction projects: "Take the money we're no longer spending at war, use half of it to pay down our debt, and use the rest to do some nation-building right here at home."
THE FACTS: The idea of taking war "savings" to pay for other programs is budgetary sleight of hand...
OBAMA: "On the day I took office, our auto industry was on the verge of collapse. Some even said we should let it die. With a million jobs at stake, I refused to let that happen. In exchange for help, we demanded responsibility. We got workers and automakers to settle their differences. We got the industry to retool and restructure. Today, General Motors is back on top as the world's number one automaker. Chrysler has grown faster in the U.S. than any major car company. Ford is investing billions in U.S. plants and factories."
THE FACTS: He left out some key details. The bailout of General Motors and Chrysler began under Republican President George W. Bush...
Full article HERE




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