Biden: Middle Class Sunk Hillary's Campaign?

In a PBS interview, Joe Biden stated that Hillary lost because she didn't "talk" to the middle class.  His actual statement was:

"What happened was that this was the first campaign that I can recall where my party did not talk about what it always stood for -- and that was how to maintain a burgeoning middle class..."

The problem I have with that statement, is the phrase, "burgeoning middle class" The middle class isn't growing, it is shrinking; and those in the middle class know it. Pew Research found that the middle class has fallen from 62% of our population in 1970 to just 43% in 2014.  And, Democrats still fail to understand that it is their policies that have weakened those in this coveted social class.  For example, when you heavily raise the minimum wage, money is drained away from the middle class to give those at the bottom a larger-than-normal raise.  In another example, the affordability clause of the employer mandate of Obamacare states that when an employer must offer health insurance, it cannot cost any more than 9.56% of an employee's household income.  So again, the middle class is hurt because in order to limit the cost of insurance for low-end workers, other classes of workers, such as the middle class, are forced to pay more for their insurance.

In my opinion, Hillary lost because people in the middle class did not benefit from Democrat governance under Barack Obama.  It wasn't because of "talk".  Talk is cheap.  It is always actions that ultimately matter, not words.

References:

Joe Biden indirectly knocks Clinton's failed campaign: http://edition.cnn.com/2017/03/30/politics/joe-biden-donald-trump-hillary-clinton/index.html?sr=twcnni033117joe-biden-donald-trump-hillary-clinton1152AMVODtopPhoto&linkId=36046121

The American Middle Class Is Losing Ground | Pew Research Center: http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/12/09/the-american-middle-class-is-losing-ground/

ObamaCare Employer Mandate: "Coverage offered to employees must be considered affordable (can’t cost more than 9.56% of employee household income) and must provide minimum value (must have an average cost sharing of 60%). If coverage isn’t affordable employees can use the Marketplace and the employer can be fined" http://obamacarefacts.com/obamacare-employer-mandate/
 
pb

Biden: the Middle Class Is Being "Killed"

Recently, Vice President Joe Biden, said that the middle class is getting "killed" and we need constant and reoccurring infrastructure spending to restore it:

He's right about the middle class getting "killed".  Just look at this chart of real (adjusted for inflation) median household incomes:

As you can see, the so-called Great Recession took its toll.  But, it is also true that 6 years of Obama (and Biden) has not done one thing to improve the median income.  This despite a near trillion dollars in "Stimulus" spending and other programs that were supposed to help the middle class.

So, this brings us to the question as to whether or not Biden's (and Obama's) insistence that infrastructure construction spending will strengthen the middle class.

Well, the answer to that question is no.

In order to raise median household income above the $52,000 level (as seen on the above chart), you need to create a lot of jobs that are well above that number.   Unfortunately, that isn't going to happen with infrastructure projects.  The best paid job on any site is the construction supervisor.  The average construction supervisor salary is about $49,000; or, $3000 below $52,000. The next best paid infrastructure jobs are the heavy equipment operators.  Their average pay is around $41,000.  From that point on, it is down hill until you get to the low-paid individual that controls traffic by flipping around a "stop/slow" sign all day long.  Also, understand that infrastructure construction jobs only make up a small percentage of the workforce.  For, example, there are only about 400,000 equipment operators in this country out a of labor force that is made up of 157 million.  That's less than 2-tenths of a percent of the labor force.

The only reason that Biden and Obama are pushing infrastructure spending is to benefit their union voting block because most heavy construction work in this country is unionized.

The kind of jobs that would strengthen the middle class are managers, lab and medical technicians, research scientists, nurses and nurse practitioners, engineers, programmers, and so many more jobs that have nothing to do with infrastructure.  But, these jobs are being hurt by the heavy hand of government regulation under the Obama Administration.  The best proof of that comes from the massive growth in independent contractors and freelancers.  Right now there are 42 million of them, but that number could be more than half of the salaried workforce of 135 million by 2020.

By hiring independent contractors and freelance workers, companies avoid all kinds of federal and state mandates such as the matching FICA payments, minimum wage, paid family leave, salaried overtime pay, and, especially, not having to pay the fine for not providing healthcare.  Instead, the contractor or freelancer must pay for their own health insurance and prepare for their own retirement.  This is what most Democrats don't seem to understand as they keep boxing companies in with increasingly burdensome regulations.


References:

Construction Equipment Operator Quick Facts: http://www.bls.gov/ooh/construction-and-extraction/construction-equipment-operators.htm

Salary Data: Construction Supervisor: http://www.indeed.com/salary/Construction-Supervisor.html

Browse Average Salary Ranges for Middle Income Level Jobs: http://www1.salary.com/Middle-Income-Salaries-7.html

The Shifting American Workforce: Growing Legions of Freelancers and Independent Contractors: http://www.inquisitr.com/1419404/the-shifting-american-workforce-growing-legions-of-freelancers-and-independent-contractors/

We're all becoming independent contractors: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-were-all-becoming-independent-contractors-20150224-story.html

Biden: "Bin Laden is Dead and GM is alive!" GM alive?

As of this writing and since the beginning of the year, GM has recalled 15.4 million vehicles.  To put it into perspective, that's the equivalent of recalling every single vehicle it sold in the U.S. in the last 5-1/2 years; or, just about as long as Obama has been in office.  I heard this sarcastic comment on television the other day: "Are there any cars left to recall?" 

Throughout the 2012 election cycle, we heard this slogan from Joe Biden while hyping Obama's first term in office: "Bin Laden is dead and GM is Alive!"  Well, that was long before years of hidden, widespread defective production and its related deaths and injuries all came to light.

Today, GM 's bottom line is being heavily impacted by the cost of repairing all these trucks and cars.  Yet to come are the settling of hundreds of potential lawsuits.  But, more importantly, all the recalls are painting GM vehicles as both defective and unsafe.  That kind of bad publicity could very easily hurt sales and, potentially, drive the company towards bankruptcy once again.  To say GM is alive might be quite a stretch.

Maybe Biden's new slogan should be: "Bin Laden is dead and so are some GM owners!" And, well...  While Bin Laden might be dead, his legacy -- Al Qaeda -- continues to grow.

Yes, Joe Biden's uber-intelligence just proves he should (?) be our next President!  Please, Joe, run!  You're every conservative's dream.

References:

U.S. safety watchdog says 303 deaths linked to recalled GM cars: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/14/us-gm-recall-casualties-idUSBREA2D02U20140314

Al Qaeda controls more territory than ever in Middle East: http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/07/opinion/bergen-al-qaeda-terrority-gains/

GM recalls another 2.6 million vehicles, doubles second-quarter charge: https://news.yahoo.com/gm-recalls-another-2-42-million-vehicles-doubles-154144232--sector.html

GM Auto Sales Numbers: http://www.zacks.com/stock/news/119647/Record-2013-Sales-for-GMs-Chevrolet

Another Take On Biden's Debate Performance

In a followup debate analysis, Brit Hume of Fox News said these significant words about Biden's childish behavior: "My sense was that it was so compelling that people probably couldn’t take their eyes off of it."  In fact, in our house, we, early on, agreed that Biden's performance was so distracting that we weren't actually listening to what Ryan was saying.

Now that I have had time to think about it and have actually replayed much of the video, I believe that Joe Biden was intentionally coached to act that way so that voters would not hear all the "truths" that Ryan would be saying about the failures of the Obama Administration.   At same time, Biden was able to lie and distort Obama's record because Ryan was too much of a gentleman not to similarly interrupt Biden or distract the audience.

The bottom line is that Team Obama didn't want this debate; and, definitely, didn't want to lose it on the facts.  So, the easiest way to do that with someone who is so gaffe-prone like Biden was to make a complete farce out of it.  For that, the Vice President gets a gold star. 

Do The Latest Gallup Poll Numbers Show That Biden Really Blew It?

Gallup's October 18th presidential tracking poll shows Romney leading Obama -- nationally -- 51% to 45%.  This poll is a seven-day, rolling average of daily samples so, it doesn't include the recent Obama-Romney debate results. But, it does include, for the first time, full polling data following the Biden-Ryan debate.  The real question is whether or not this phenomenal weakness on the part of the Obama campaign is a result of Biden's childish debate performance or, perhaps, fallout from the Benghazi embassy attack.  Given the way the media has done everything possible to cover up the Benghazi story, my guess is that this poll is showing us that Biden's performance was a serious negative for the President's campaign.

Make no mistake about it, this Gallup poll is a real problem for Obama.  As Karl Rove aptly noted, no candidate has ever lost after having achieved a 50% or greater rating by mid-October in this particular Gallup poll; definitely putting Romney in the catbird seat.  Or, to put it another way, if Obama was to win, it would be a historic first.

Furthermore, the always-accurate University of Colorado Poli-Sci election model now indicates that  Romney has a 77% chance of winning the popular vote.  That model has never been wrong; going all the way back to 1980.  And, that 77% chance is a very high number relative to past winning candidates.

Update: As of today, the very latest Gallup numbers give Romney a 52% to 45% lead.

--- Gallup Tracking Poll: http://www.gallup.com/poll/157817/election-2012-likely-voters-trial-heat-obama-romney.aspx

--- Story on the Colorado University Study: http://www.campusreform.org/blog/?ID=4435

--- Karl Rove Video: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2012/10/17/rove_no_candidate_who_has_led_with_50_of_more_in_likely_voter_poll_in_mid-october_has_lost.html

Biden Laughs While The Country and Middle East Are In Serious Trouble

OK.  An "occasional" and "well-targeted" laugh, smirk, or even a chuckle can be a "somewhat" effective  technique.  But, laughing and smirking should never be a substitute for thoughtful retorts during a debate.   Biden's incessant laughs and smirks just made him look like Chuckles the Clown.  But, ask yourself this. Is this the debating style that we would want from a person who might be President and who would be tasked with negotiating with an ally or an adversary?

From everything I've read, many of the hardcore left seemed to think that Biden won.  Even, Chris Matthews might have gotten back the "tingle up his leg". But, focus groups and the CNN post-debate poll as well as commentaries from many media types say just the opposite.  Even some typical lefties, like David Gregory, gave Biden the thumbs down for his laugh fest.  Maybe the Vice President revved up his political base. Especially those who might have felt demoralized following Obama's performance.  However, I think the people in the middle -- the Independents and the undecideds -- will think that he showed a total lack of presidential demeanor. One woman in a focus group put it best: "He looked like a buffoon!"



Lastly, we were told  that Joe Biden was taking 6 days off from campaigning to practice for the debate. Apparently, it took all that time to perfect his "smirk". That's 6 days of work just to look like a jerk.

A Biden Lie Helps Expose The Truth About The Middle Class

Last Tuesday, Joe Biden, while stumping on the campaign trail, said this: "How they can justify raising taxes on the middle class that's been buried in the last four years".  The stupidity of this statement is two fold.  Once again the VP is trying to push the totally fact-checked lie that Mitt Romney would raise taxes on the Middle Class; but, the larger stupidity of Biden's statement is that the middle class has been "buried in the last four years."  Who does Biden think did that?  Who was in charge?  Did Biden forget which political side he's on?

The reality is that Obama has not been able to help the middle class one iota in the last 4 years.  The average family has lost more than $4,000 in wages.  Health care insurance rates have gone up by more than $3,000 since ObamaCare was passed into law when, in fact, a $2,500 savings was promised by Obama.  And, the costs for food, clothing, gasoline, and energy have all risen at rates we haven't seen since Jimmy Carter. 

--- Joe Biden makes a gaffe on the eve of the presidential debate: http://www.news.com.au/world/joe-biden-gaffe-on-eve-of-presidential-debate/story-fndir2ev-1226487454755

--- FactCheck.org: "a frequent but groundless Democratic talking point, warning that Romney would raise taxes on the middle class": http://www.factcheck.org/2012/09/democratic-disinformation-from-charlotte/

--- Investors.com: Household Incomes Fall In Aug., Off 8.2% Under Obama: http://news.investors.com/092512-626958-household-income-down-82-under-president-obama.aspx

--- Investors.com: Health Premiums Up $3,000; Obama Vowed $2,500 Cut: http://news.investors.com/092412-626848-health-premiums-up-3065-obama-vowed-2500-cut.aspx?p=full

General Motors In Chains

According to comments made by GM's top execs, the company is more than anxious to sever its ties with the government.  MarketWatch.com reported it this way:

"...GM executives are...saying it [government ownership] hurts the company's reputation and its ability to attract top talent due to pay restrictions..."

Obviously, this is contrary to Obama/Biden's touting the GM bailout as a success. Lets face it, the bailout of $50 billion by the government has literary put the company in chains; keeping it totally beholding to the whims of the Obama Administration.

And, just as it is in sports, pay will be what attracts the kind of talented people that are going to keep GM profitable in the years to come.   The problem with Obama and his people are that they are too union worker focused and, seem to think that it is those workers, and those workers, alone, that are responsible for a company's success.   That's why GM was forced to shed executives and executive pay while being all warm and cozy and protecting union contracts.  Union workers are at the tail end of the creative process and GM can see that process is in jeopardy for as long as the government has its heavy hand in the company's business.   My guess is that, if Obama wasn't involved, GM would never have introduced the money-losing Volt.  The Volt is a typical example of what happens when the profit motive is eliminated by government intervention.

MarketWatch.com Article on the above subject: http://articles.marketwatch.com/2012-09-17/industries/33890428_1_stake-gm-executives-general-motors

Biden's Disingenuous Take on Romney's Proposed Territorial Tax

In his DNC Convention speech, Vice President Biden made this comment:

"Governor Romney believes in this global economy it doesn't matter much where American companies invest and put their money or where they create jobs. As a matter of fact, in his budget proposal, in his tax proposal, he calls for a new tax. It's called a territorial tax, which the experts have looked at, and they acknowledge it will create 800,000 new jobs -- all of them overseas, all of them."

So, what "experts" (plural) have looked at Romney's proposal and found that it would create 800,000 jobs overseas.  Well, in fact, it is only one such expert: An Obama donor, professor Kimberly Clausing.  And, she was only able to come to that conclusion by ignoring other Romney proposals, such as lowering the corporate tax rate.

Even the President's own Jobs Council has recommended the Territorial Tax as a means of bringing back more than a trillion dollars in cash that is just sitting in overseas accounts; and, just sitting and waiting to be put to work in those overseas locations by building new factories and offices and hiring new "overseas" workers.  Just think about it.  If I'm a multinational corporation and I have millions of dollars sitting in China and a need a new manufacturing plant somewhere, I would be crazy not to use that money "in" China and build a new plant there.  This is why Kimberly Clausing's study is so controversial; if not just plain ridiculous.  Of course, citing a ridiculous study only reassures us about what we already know and love about Joe Biden.


References

Huffington Post: Joe Biden's Territorial Tax Claim Based On Controversial Study: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/07/joe-biden-territorial-tax_n_1865287.html

Tax Foundation: Would Territorial Taxation Create 800,000 Jobs Abroad at the Expense of U.S. Jobs?: http://taxfoundation.org/blog/would-territorial-taxation-create-800000-jobs-abroad-expense-us-jobs

The Sum Total Of The Obama Presidency: Bin Laden Is Dead and General Motors Is Alive

In response to the "Are you better off question", Joe Biden has revived his "Bin Laden Is Dead and General Motors Is Alive" campaign mantra.  If this is all he can come up, it's a sad commentary about the last 4 years of Obama's presidency.  I'm quite sure that most Americans would agree that neither Bin Laden's death or the bailout of GM has made their lives any better.

CBS News: Biden: We are better off, "bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive": http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57505234-503544/biden-we-are-better-off-bin-laden-is-dead-and-general-motors-is-alive/

If I Were An Alien

If I came from another planet, why would I come to earth?  The air is dirty.  People are at war all the time.  But, then, there's Joe Biden.  Everyone needs a good laugh, sometimes.  Even an alien.

The Self-Destruction Of Julia

The Obama-Biden campaign website is now offering a slide show entitled: The Life Of Julia. In it, they want to show how Democratic social programs take care of Julia from cradle to grave. What the Obama campaign doesn't tell you is that all those programs supporting Julia, today, may not be there in the future. The fact is that they are costing too much and the debt in support of those programs is moving us closer and closer to a Greek-style bankruptcy. If the number of the "Julia's" continues to grow, we will be broke and the coddled "Life of Julia" will just self-destruct.

Biden: Bin Laden Is Dead, GM Is Alive

Ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Bin Laden raid, Vice President Joe Biden proudly declared: "Bin Laden is dead, GM is alive."

Now, I'll buy Obama/Biden taking credit for the Bin Laden killing.  But, as far as GM being alive, the qualifier should be "just barely".   While the company looks profitable on paper, let's not forget that this profitability came at a very high cost to the taxpayer's with a $56 billion bailout.  At the same time, prior stockholders and creditors were literally thrown under the bus with Obama handing ownership over to the unions and the U.S. Treasury. And, with the stock price floundering, it looks like it will be a very long time before the taxpayer will get any of its money back.

However, lurking just below the surface, GM has a major problem that could, again, put that company into serious financial trouble. That problem is underfunded pension funds.  As of the end of last year, it was estimated that GM's pension funds were short $31 billion dollars; growing from a $22 billion deficit at the end of 2010.  That was a net deficit increase of $9 billion in just one year and far greater than the $7.6 billion in GM's profits for that same year.  What's more disturbing is the fact that, based on stock price, the total value of the company barely exceeds its pension deficit at the end of 2011.

Unless GM can get some concessions on existing pension liabilities, that company will be right back facing bankruptcy in as little as two years.  That's because the pension fund payouts are rising much faster than GM's profits and its contributions to pension funding.   This pension problem is one of the reasons that GM's stock price is floundering.   A problem that will only get worse with time.

Biden's Wrong Again: Crime Rates Are Down

In a defense of the President's jobs bill, Joe Biden claims that any GOP blockage of the bill will "continue" the "rise" in rapes and murders across this country. So, by implication, the GOP could be said to be complicit in those crimes.



Unfortunately for Biden, there are some just-released FBI statistics that completely contradict his rather big lie.

Nationwide, all violent crimes, as of the end of 2010, have fallen each year over the last 4 years by a collective factor of 6%; with no indication that 2011 wouldn't follow that same trend. According to this recent CBS story on the subject, FBI: Violent crimes fall for 4th year in row, the author explicitly states that the nation's "Law enforcement agencies are doing more with less". To me, this statement implies that many communities had actually over-staffed their police departments rather than apply better crime fighting efficiencies and techniques. This also proves that Obama's jobs plan is solely intended to save union jobs in his bid for reelection. The fact is that Obama's jobs initiative would only impede or regress the much needed and appropriate cost cutting efforts by our state and municipal governments.

This "lying" to get something passed in Congress is typical of the Democrats. With the biggest whopper being that of the ObamaCare legislation. Also, this is another example whereby our national, left-wing media "allows" a Democrat, like Joe Biden, to make remarks that are patently unfounded.

Beaten. The Left Lashes Out At The Tea Party

As the debt ceiling debate progressed, the left-wing media and left-wing politicians became increasingly angry and vocal as they began to realize that there wouldn't be any tax increases and, instead (horror or horrors) tax increases would be replaced with actual cuts in spending as a means of lowering the debt. This very possibility was like a red hot, smoldering metal stake being driven into the heart of any self-respecting tax-and-spend liberal. I mean, the left went completely berserk.

So, in the last week, we saw the Dems strikeout at, primarily, the Tea Party; like a bunch of school kids crying and name calling after having been severely beaten in a fight on the playground. They referred to the Tea Party as terrorists. In fact, our idiot V.P., Joe Biden, weighed in with that very declaration when he remarked that they "have acted like terrorists"; which, I guess, makes our Vice President the biggest cry baby in a gaggle of cry babies. Certainly, that comment by Biden speaks volumes about a man who is, God help us, first in line to become president should anything happen to Obama.

Then, in speeches and interviews, the left continually claimed the nation was being "held hostage" by the "extreme" members of the GOP: the Tea Party. Other comments were that they were anti-American, anti-democratic and, even, Nazis.

What really rubs the left wrong is the fact that they keep getting beaten by the Tea Party. They trounced them in the last election with Democrats completely losing the House and, at the same time, losing their comfy super-majority in the Senate. Now, the left has been beaten again in the debt ceiling debate. What next? Losing the Senate majority and the Presidency? My guess is that this very real possibility will drive the Democrats to become even more rabid in the months running up to the 2012 election. It will be like watching Charlie Sheen's meltdown; but, this time, in spades.

Lastly, I think its funny that the Tea Party was able to turn the tables on Obama by never letting a good crisis go to waste!

Hey Geithner! No Jobs. No Recovery!

Earlier this week, Tim Geithner, Obama's Treasury Secretary, wrote an op-ed in the New York Times that was titled: "Welcome to the Recovery". In it, he pretty much gives himself and his boss a pat on the back for saving the economy. Like Obama, Geithner is trying to push the idea that things would have been a lot worse if the Democrats hadn't passed the Stimulus Package. But, Mr. Geithner can't seem to understand that the economy, as I have written before, was actually starting to recover on it's own before any stimulus moneys went out the door in August of 2009 (Click here to My Commentary: The Big Stimulus Package Lie!). In reality, with the stimulus spending well in place, the situation now appears to be getting worse; not better.

With this morning's jobs report, we now know that our economy lost another 350,000 combined jobs in the months of June and July and it really doesn't matter if any of those lost jobs were for a Census worker or a guy flipping hamburgers. A job loss is a job loss and, you don't continue to lose jobs in a recovering economy. Further, any increase in monthly job losses will only have debilitating effect on the economy; making it much more difficult for it to truly enter a recovery stage.

I, for one, am getting really tired of the unprovable political B.S. from the likes of Geithner, Biden, and Obama that jobs have been saved or created and that things would have been a lot worse without the Stimulus Package. That song is getting quite tiring; especially when we continue to see a slew of economic numbers that show that the economy might actually be stumbling again.

A Summer Of Recovery? Really?

At a time when Obama and Biden are sliding in front of every camera imaginable hyping their fairy-tale pre-election campaign slogan of a "Summer of Recovery", the economic situation only appears to be worsening.

In one report after another, we find a worsening situation. The last consumer confidence, and spending reports have clearly shown that people are worried and less willing to spend. The foreclosure rate is even higher than it had been during the last year. Housing prices are falling on a more widespread basis with 75% of major cities now reporting valuation losses. And, as in the case of last Friday morning's report, the production growth in the country is slowing once again. Now, with this morning's unemployment insurance claims, we see another jump in a number that should be falling if we were truly in a recovery.

But, in speech after speech, this President and the Vice President would have you believe everything is rosy. This disconnect is why Obama and Congress' approval ratings are diving to new lows. The people just aren't buying it. If the deterioration continues to be as rapid as it has appeared to be in the last two months, the Democrats are in for even bigger loses than are expected right now. Therefore, I have to agree with Biden that the Democrats will "shock" us in the Fall; except the shock will be greater than expected and the opposite of what our silly VP seems to think.

pb

Afghanistan: The Biden Solution?

Increasingly, there are rumblings that Obama is considering implementing a Joe Biden plan for the war in Afghanistan; rather than take the advice of his appointed general overseeing that war. In essence, the Biden plan says we should conduct a protracted war in Afghanistan with limited troop support and concentrate on attacking Al Qaeda with remote-controlled drones by targeting their strongholds all along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. At the heart of this plan is the belief that we don't need to worry about the Taliban; as if, somehow, these just-radical-as-Al-Qaeda radicals pose no threat to America.

Apparently, people like Biden seem to forget that we wouldn't have even attacked Afghanistan if the ruling Taliban had simply turned over Bin Laden in the first place. But, they protected Bin Laden and the rest of Al Qaeda and Al Qaeda training camps and refused to give them up. This, then, resulted in the war that we have today. A war that has chased both the Taliban and Al Qaeda into the mountainous areas of Tora Bora. To back off now would just hand Afghanistan back over to the Taliban and, then, most likely, reestablish home sweet home for Al Qaeda.

If Biden had been such a spot-on military strategist in the past, I would say that we should consider his plan. However, he has been consistently out of step with both logic and reality. He was against the original Gulf War because he didn't think we could take Saddam's army. But, to the contrary, we defeated Saddam in just days.

Then, he was all "for" the second war with Iraq because he firmly believed that Saddam had those weapons of mass destruction. The left seems to forget that Biden was wrong, too, while they keep blaming Bush for the "lie" that Saddam had WMD's. Since then, Biden went on record saying that the surge wouldn't work. But, unfortunately for Biden's continuing reputation of being wrong, the surge did work and worked better than expected. Then there was his brilliant plan that the war in Iraq could be ended by just partitioning Iraq into three religious areas that were controlled by the Sunnis, Shiites, and the Kurds. Of course, instrumental to this insane idea was the fact that Sunnis, Kurds and Shia who were living in someone else's territory would have to be uprooted from their homes and moved to be with those of their own kind. Thank God Biden didn't have any input on desegregation plans of the 1960's in this country. Otherwise, all the Blacks of America would have wound up being cloistered in some isolated city/states in America.

The left has a history of not trusting the military and in believing that the military is only interested in war and more war. Because of this, the left has always believed that it is the military's own self interest to always want more troops. But, in reality, Generals, like anyone else, don't really want to go to war unless they can win without sustaining massive losses of either men or material. Also, most Generals believe that a strong military is a deterrent to war and not a reason to go to war; at least if the military is part of a peaceful society like ours.

Personally, I wouldn't bet on anything that Biden says. He is literally a gaffe-a-minute machine. This fact, alone, should give one pause to consider anything he says. To listen to him on Afghanistan is to ignore that fact and to ignore how terribly wrong he has been in the past. Yet, this President and the left of his party seem to think that Biden is the be-all and end-all when it comes to military planning. God help us all!

Consumer Credit: Off The Cliff!

A key measure as to whether or not the consumer is participating in the economic recovery is the net consumer credit number. That number represents the consumer buying activity for any given month and normally accounts for about 70% of buying activity in our economy.

Today's consumer credit number -- that for July -- shows that the consumer is shying away from taking on anymore debt and they are doing it in droves. Economists had expected credit to be down by about $4 billion dollars. But, the actual number was more than 5 times that at a negative $21.6 billion for July (Click to See Full Story: "Fed: consumers cut debt by record $21.6B in July").

That's horrible and it is just more evidence that the Obama stimulus isn't working and that this recession hasn't turned the corner yet.

One Who Lives In The Cuckoo's Nest

Today was quite the day for economic data:

• Just last week, 570,000 workers lost their jobs and those remaining on unemployment comp grew by 92,000.
  
• Retail sales were down an overall 2.1 percent despite back-to-school spending.
  
• It was announced that food stamps are now being used by more than 35 million people
• Also announced was the fact that 1.3 million unemployed will lose their benefits by the end of the year.

Yet, despite all that, Joe Biden had the gall to state that the stimulus bill is doing more than they hoped (Click to See Full Story: "Biden: Stimulus doing more 'than we had hoped'"). He points to the fact that 500,000 to 750,000 jobs have been "saved" or "created" by the stimulus in the last 20 weeks; or about 25,000 jobs a week. Putting aside the fact that this is truly an unprovable and unquantifiable set of numbers, this guy has apparently strayed a little too far into the cuckoo's nest with that nonsensical comment.

He seems to overlook the fact that Americans have been losing their jobs, on a weekly basis, at a clip that is greater than all the jobs he seems to think were being saved or created by the stimulus plan. To say that the stimulus is more "than we hoped" is just as dopey. We are well past the 8% unemployment rate that Obama promised would be the unemployment ceiling when the stimulus bill was being rammed through Congress. Many economists now feel like we are beginning another downward fall in what could easily be a double-dip or "W-type" recession.

I don't know if Joe is off his meds or if he just woke up from some kind of "midsummer's night dream"; but, he must think that Americans are totally unaware of the real facts about the state of this economy. Maybe he was somewhat confused. Maybe he was referring to the 10-year budget deficit as being "more than we had hoped" which is now project to be $9 trillion after this President's economic team had originally said -- just 5 months ago -- that it would "only" be $7.4 trillion. Is that it, Joe!