This made me smile:
Saying the economy is “growing stronger,” President Obama issued a strong warning to Congress on Friday: “Do not slow down the recovery … don’t muck it up!”
Speaking at a fire house in Arlington, Va. — hours after a jobs report showed the unemployment rate dropped from 8.5 to 8.3 percent — a fiery Obama said Washington has to do everything in its power to help the economy. He urged Congress to pass a payroll tax cut extension without drama and delay.
“They just need to get it done, [it] shouldn’t be that complicated,” Obama said. “Now’s not the time for self-inflicted wounds to our economy. Now’s the time for action. Do not slow down the recovery that we’re on. Don’t muck it up. Keep it moving in the right direction.
It’s kind of sad that the President has to tell the other branches of government not to screw things up, but here we are.
kdaug
Hear that clicking sound?
It’s a ratcheting vise.
We’re just getting started.
BGinCHI
He should have said “Don’t fuck it up.”
Pearl clutchers gonna clutch, but that would have been saucy and bully pulpitish.
amk
@kdaug: yup, the nuts are being crunched.
The Moar You Know
Nate Silver’s got a good, related article about this today.
waratah
Love to see this on the evening news.
Heron
When the “opposition” has chosen deliberately breaking everything it can as its best strategy for getting back in power stuff like this needs to be said. It’d be nice if we could hand those jerks a legislative thrashing akin to 1933 so folks genuinely interested in not seeing the United States become a basket-case Banana Republic could actually get some policy work done, but I won’t be holding my breath.
Trinity
GObama!
dmsilev
He’s talking over their heads. He needs to think back about ten years to when his kids were in the 3-5 year old range, and address Congressional Republicans in that manner. Offer them a blankie and tell them that if they’re quiet and behave, he’ll take them out for ice cream after lunch.
balconesfault
I look forward to many more screams that Obama is continuing to wreck the economy … getting only louder with each turn of the screw.
BGinCHI
@dmsilev: Bummer there’s no corporal punishment option.
For the GOP I mean.
Zifnab
I miss George Bush, too.
SenyorDave
@dmsilev: I think its safe to say that the Obama girls at age 3 – 5 were much better behaved than most members of Congress, and probably more intelligent than some (Louis Gohmpert, Steve King, etc.). Although if you go back to age 1, they had an article of clothing in common with a certain senator from Louisiana.
Amir Khalid
@BGinCHI:
Alas, then no one would be writing about his substantive message; the media stories would be all OBAMA THREATENS CONGRESS, DROPS F-BOMB. Then all the punditocrats and the TV talking heads would be chiding Obama for his potty mouth, and Right-Wing Blogiatan would be competing to see who could get closest to saying “Barack is an uncouth n****r” without using those exact words.
BGinCHI
@Amir Khalid: Agreed, but if you’re waiting for the media to accurately and effectively deliver your message, then you are already mucked.
dmsilev
@Amir Khalid: True, that. On the other hand, we do have Joe Biden available…
Comrade Mary
@dmsilev: I do believe Joe is being held in readiness for just this function …
Hill Dweller
It’s amusing to watch the talking heads flail about trying to find something to bitch about.
Scarborough was saying the President and Romney are equally awkward, and both have problems connecting with crowds. Johnathan Alter, who must have gotten his fee fees hurt recently, was saying the same thing over at Bloomberg.
You can say a lot of things about the President, but a lack of charisma and/or an inability to connect with crowds aren’t on that list.
Maude
@Amir Khalid:
And those who protect The Children would faint.
Tony J
@Hill Dweller:
Indeed. That’s just.. wow. What a totally bizarre observation to make about a guy who is – known – for being very, very good with crowds.
eric
@Hill Dweller: mark my words….twitter is gonna be romney’s enemy and obama’s friend. you may recall last cycle that the news orgs did immediate polls/dials and EVERY time it showed Obama cleaning McCains grandfather clock. Thus, despite the fact that talking d-bags wanted to fluff McCain up, they couldn’t because they had actual data showing Obama “winning’ the debate. Now, twitter is going to this writ large, so that the post debate spin about what people should think of the debate will be driven by what people actually say and think about the speech. Sure the selection process will show biases, but I think in the end Obama will do very will in the twitter-verse.
Old Dan and Little Ann
@Hill Dweller: I watched that at about 7:05 this morning. I don’t exercise in the morning so I watch that fucking asshole to get my heart rate going.
Polar Bear Squares
So … is it just me or does it sound like he’s using the term “don’t muck it up” because it sounds a lot like “don’t fuck it up” which is exactly how most Americans feel right now?
I’m in the closet about being an asshole but it’s this type of assholery that would warm my heart. I would love to hear this shouted at rallies. “Don’t fffff….er… muck it up!”
These guys deserve it.
harlana
@Polar Bear Squares: you know what, i think you’re absolutely right. i’m so loving it.
and the tantrums and copious tears about tender hurted feelings of tragic, epic proportions from the right, i assume, are all already in progress
harlana
@Hill Dweller: they can shove that up their ass – this is the man that took the crying baby some woman shoved on Michele out of her arms and got it to stop crying immediately, much to the delight of the surrounding crowd :)
ThatLeftTurnInABQ
@Polar Bear Squares:
I’m guessing he’s using the phrase “don’t muck it up” because it sounds more polite than saying “don’t sabotage it on purpose, deliberately, and with malice aforethought, you America-hating jackholes”.
harlana
@ThatLeftTurnInABQ: i disagree, i believe “fuck” is implied here, i really do, i can see the genius of it – yes, he’s a polite guy, he remains so here – but it’s just damn funny as hell, i’m just saying
boss bitch
Instead of “self-inflicted wounds” He should start saying that Congress should stop punching itself in the face.
ThatLeftTurnInABQ
@harlana:
I’m riffing off of a different aspect to this, which is that in ordinary usage the phrase “fuck it up” sort of implies that the f-up was by accident, that you meant to get it right and royally bungled the job instead. Whereas if the current GOP Congress intervenes to mess up the economic recovery, it will be an unfortunate “accident” in roughly the same sense that the German invasion of Belgium in August 1914 was an “accident”.
gogol's wife
@Tony J:
I had the pleasure to be in close proximity to President (not yet then) Obama once, and I almost fainted. The charisma just radiates from him.
Spadizzly
@Amir Khalid:
Yep, that would be a Big Fuckin’ Deal.
harlana
i apologize if someone else has already posted, Occupy Erick Erickson: “Watching A Hippie Protester Get Tased Just Makes My Day” it’s pretty good stuff
HelpThe99ers
@Hill Dweller: They must not watch the President when he starts his speeches. Almost invariably, there’s a “we love you!” from the crowd, and a Presidential “I love you, back” in response.
Has anyone seen anything even close during a Romney speech?
Phoenician in a time of Romans
@Polar Bear Squares:
The actual unemployment rate hasn’t gone down – just the official rate. A lot of people were taken off the books as “no longer looking for work”.
This implies that there’s going to be bad economic news coming again – and Obama is setting up the GOP Congress to take the blame pre-election.
Spadizzly
@Phoenician in a time of Romans:
When have the GoOPers ever taken the blame for any of their myriad fuckups?
Spadizzly
@Phoenician in a time of Romans:
When have the GoOPers ever taken the blame for any of their myriad fuckups? Just askin’
hildebrand
@Phoenician in a time of Romans: And yet, close to a quarter of a million jobs were added to the economy. My god man, do you work for TNR? The GOS? Because that is some weapons grade defensive crouching/concern trolling you are peddling. In what goddamned world is adding 240,000 jobs a sign of a tanking economy?
Mike S.
yo, it’s kind of sad that John Cole thinks Obama gives a shit about the economy or employment in the US.
Jeff Immelt, CEO of GE, should be prosecuted under the Sarbanes-Oxley act and imprisoned because GE Global Capital has committed egregious mortgage lending/securitization fraud. Instead Immelt is Obama’s top adviser on ‘Job Creation’ while DoJ has refused to prosecute financial fraud for 3 years running.
The notion that Obama cares about the economy or the people of this country is a sick joke.
hildebrand
@Mike S.: Two bits says that you routinely tie your shoes together each morning and then blame Obama when you fall.
Bill Murray
@hildebrand: 240,000 jobs is a little better than break even, when working age population growth is considered (which takes about 120,00-150,000 jobs). at this rate and including some of those that have quit looking for work (and for most of Obama’s Presidency, leaving the work force has outdone finding a job for the unemployed) it would take around 100 months to get back to “full” employment.
It is good the number of jobs is actually positive and it would be a good number for a Republican President, but it’s still fairly weak job growth.