A killer rabbit of a killer quote

With his hastily called press conference yesterday, President Obama sought to change the subject from the left’s horrible, no good, very bad week. Instead he added to it with this killer rabbit of a killer quote:

The private sector is doing fine. Where we’re seeing weaknesses in our economy have to do with state and local government. Oftentimes cuts initiated by, you know, Governors or mayors who are not getting the kind of help that they have in the past from the federal government and who don’t have the same kind of flexibility as the federal government in dealing with fewer revenues coming in.

And so, you know, if Republicans want to be helpful, if they really want to move forward and put people back to work, what they should be thinking about is how do we help state and local governments and how do we help the construction industry?

“The private sector is doing fine” is an utter classic of cluelessness. You’re alright, Jack. But what about the rest of this statement? Someone really ought to pause to explicate the text — take a look at what’s rattling around in Obama’s mind. What is this guy thinking?

“Where we’re seeing weaknesses in our economy have to do with state and local government.” Obama believes that state and local government budgets are a source of economic growth. The bigger the better! As we see in California, of course. One wonders what he is talking about. Governor Christie gets an A+ for his explication of the text yesterday.

“Oftentimes cuts initiated by, you know, Governors or mayors who are not getting the kind of help that they have in the past from the federal government and who don’t have the same kind of flexibility as the federal government in dealing with fewer revenues coming in.” Flexibility! Last heard in a whispered word with his Russian friend intended to be concealed from the American people, it reappears in this equally revealing statement intended for public consumption.

What is “flexibility” in this context? Unlike state and local governments under constitutional budgetary constraints, the federal government does not need to balance its budget. It can spend itself into oblivion with borrowed money. It can call on the Fed to print up a storm without constraints. Flexibility! Got it.

“And so, you know, if Republicans want to be helpful, if they really want to move forward and put people back to work, what they should be thinking about is how do we help state and local governments and how do we help the construction industry?” Forward, of course, is Obama’s campaign slogan. Obama wants Republicans to climb onboard the Obama express.

And Obama wants the federal government to “help” state and local governments. “Help” is the new “stimulus.”

Obama wants not only to help “state and local governments.” He also wants to “help” the construction industry. I thought we helped the construction industry a trillion dollars ago. But wait! I remember. It was only last year that Obama was yukking it up: “Shovel-ready was not as shovel-ready as we expected.”

It’s a rich text. There is much more that can and should be said, but I haven’t felt this over my head since I read Ulysses in college.

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