Nah, It Doesn't Quite Add Up Barry

For some reason President Obama used his second Oval Office TV address to discuss the end of "combat operations in Iraq" (congratulations everbody) and to also discuss a few other odds and ends. Just for the record Oval Office pronouncements are supposed to be for fairly serious things - going to war, announcing new significant legislation - and also resigning (...drats, not this time). But for this event Mr. Obama, in front of hideous new green drapes installed while he was buying shrimp in Martha's Vinyard, decided to devolve this announcement into talking about economics and the "conflict at home" - in frankly what any sane person would describe as a wild stretch.

Of course one of the items pundits were looking for in this speech was whether he would praise his predecessor George Bush, for committing to a surge of troop strength in 2007 - of which he was vehemently opposed to as a Senator back then. Meaning that he is now trying to take credit for something he opposed. To his slight credit he did actually mention Bush - but he never really gave him credit (unfortunately even at a moment of purported triumph this is a man who cannot admit when he was wrong). Stay classy San Diego.

But he seriously lost me when he decided to make a major point in saying that "the seven year war cost $1 trillion" and how that "stretched our resources" such that it led to "record deficits". Then his speech wove into a blend of green jobs, putting people to work blah blah blah. And this is where he is just being intellectually dishonest - as he often is (whether he really means it or not). I frankly think he is just so above it he is oblivious.

Look, Barry. What you don't understand was one could construe the war, in itself, to be a stimulus. One could argue (as they did for World War II) that we put many people to work, supported many businesses - to the tune of $1 trillion - and in the end felled a dictator, took steps to try to develop a better country and maybe an outpost for some type of democracy in the Middle East, and established an active ally for US interests (and by the way - no one stole any oil as far as I can tell). And as you can see from the graph it didn't primarily add to the deficit (other government spending did -most of it Mr. Obama's).

Meanwhile Barry, what have you done? You spent that same $1 trillion on your ill-conceived stimulus in January 2009 that promised us great economic growth (and remember, we had to pass it "right now" - it had to be done immediately or the economy was going to crumble....), unemployment rates to not exceed 8% and now we are at 9.5% - and counting. You spent that $1 trillion on the Democrats wish list of every pet project and giving checks (not tax breaks) - actual checks to people who don't even pay taxes. What a plan! Give him a Nobel.

Do the math. Oh yeah, here's the calculator.