The Payoff of Obama's Green Bets?

One of then candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL)'s  promises when he ran for President in 2008 was that he would create five million green jobs.




So as part of the Feburary 2009 stimulus (a.k.a. Porkulous) of $847 Billion, almost 6%, or $50 Billion,  was earmarked for shovel ready green energy, to be monitored by Vice President Joe Biden.  That was a pretty significant "investment" in energy from solar, wind, geothermal and maybe unicorn flatulence.

Despite anemic job growth during the Obama so called Recovery, America has come nowhere near creating five million green jobs.  But to justify what they have Representative Darrell Issa's (R-CA 49th) Government Reform and Oversight Committee hearing in June 2012 explored how the Obama Department of Labor defines "green jobs".



My favorites were floor sweeper at a Green manufacturer, antiques dealer and an Oil Lobbyist who advocates green issues.

Many critics of Porkulous suspected that it was an unwise expenditure from the Federal Government that acted like a slush fund for the Obama Administration's favorite groups and contributors.  The cronyism and corruption in green transportation can be seen in Amtrak, supposed High Speed Rail projects and most pointedly in green energy projects (FutureGen coal gassification and Solyndra).

During the First Presidential Debate in Denver, Republican Presidential nominee Governor Mitt Romney asserted that President Obama did not pick just with winners and losers with $90 Billion in tax breaks but that the incumbent picks losers.




Let's see how President Obama's bets on green energy companies have been paying off.

To use the Obama 2012 forward (sic) sounding campaign parlance,  are you ready to go all in with your great grandchildren's inheritance or are you going to hedge your bets on November 6th?

Dubious Denver Debate Notes

The tally is not in doubt but the title as trumpeted by the media is.

Clearly this scratch pad is satirical, but it does give a flavor for the train of thought from the incumbent's podium during the Denver Debate. As Sally Field's character in An Absence of Malice put it: "It's not the truth, but it's accurate."

Using Our Brains When Voting

A couple of days ago, the Obama 2012 Campaign posted a plucky piece on Tumblr urging its youthful users to vote with their “Lady Parts."

After this unorthodox "Lady Parts" appeal for support drew outraged criticism, the post was quickly withdrawn and the campaign maintained that it was not properly vetted. But considering the emphasis that the DNC convention put on protecting “Women’s Health Services” (read abortion on demand), even so far as to give Georgetown Law School graduate Sandra Fluke a prime time speaking spot to tout free contraception in Obamacare.

 This was not an unexpected bundle of joy. The Lady Parts campaign was trying to be hip and capitalize on a wedge issue on social media site. When it became inconvenient, it was aborted. Sound familiar?

 While the Obama “Lady Parts” campaign is gone, it is not forgotten. Social media sharing sites also posted this retort:

 Maybe after Obama’s disastrous debate performance in Denver, it is reasonable to expect the endangered incumbent to come out swinging and try to rally the base by trumpeting these comfortable liberal social policy memes which worked so well in the past.

 But now that Romney and Obama share a stage which gives them equal stature, it is not as easy to demonize an opponent who can not make a timely response. Now that people are paying attention to the Presidential race in earnest, I expect that voters will use their brains when exercising their franchise.

Dark Alley Off of Main and Sesame Street

During the first Presidential Debate in Denver, GOP Presidential Nominee Governor Mitt Romney (R-MA) indicated that there would have to be some pairing of the Federal budget to cut out extraneous discretionary federal spending.   Mr. Romney offered a test on federal spending --Is this program worth borrowing money from the Chinese in order to fund?



But the budget cuts contemplated including PBS and (by extension) Sesame Street.  Some wags think that those Sesame Street Muppets are just federal puppets.

Barack Obama on the Economy

This was President Obama's last word on economics during the Denver Debate.

Preparing to Judge the First Presidential Debate in Denver

 

Tonight is the first of the three scheduled head-to-head debates between incumbent Democrat President Barack Obama and Republican Presidential nominee Governor Mitt Romney (R-MA). These debates are the only times that voters are able to see both candidates on the same stage. So it is not just the candidate’s articulation of the issues, but also how they comport themselves.

 Depending upon the debate rules, these encounters can sometimes seem more like side-by-side press conferences. This is less likely when there are only two candidates on stage. Moderator Jim Lehrer who formerly anchored PBS’s NewsHour before retiring have promised that the first three segments will touch on the economy, with the remaining questions to center on health care, governance and the role of government. For those of you who consider politics to be just infotainment, you might consider the drinking game for the Presidential Debates.

 As fun as that sounds, I will be live blogging the debate as CalamityDC on Twitter using the #DenverDebate or #Debates hashtag.

I encourage people interested in public affairs to join in. It used to be that political junkies would wait to watch the spin-rooms after the main event to listen to pundits tell you what to think. Now with the advent of social media, parroting the pontification of pundits is unnecessary and your real time opinions can be shared. READ MORE at the DCBarroco.com website