Beginning his remarks at a Democratic National Committee event in Atlanta, President Obama says the "last few years have been extraordinarily challenging."“We didn’t get here by accident,” he says. The Bush administration cut taxes for the wealthy and gave in to special interests, he says.“So when I took office – because of the help of some of the people in this room – we put forward a new economic plan," he says. "A plan that rewards hard work instead of greed ... a plan that’s focused on making our middle class more secure and the country more competitive in the long run.”
He adds, “After 18 months, I can say with confidence, we are on the right track.”
“That is the choice in this election," he continues. "The choice is whether we want to go forward or we want to go backwards to the same policies that got us in this mess in the first place.”
Republicans, he says, have not “engaged in some heavy reflection.” “They have not come up with a single, solitary new idea,” he says.
Continuing his attack on Republicans, who he accused of steering the economy into the recession, President Obama says, “They’re counting on that you all forgot." The GOP wants to "bamboozle you,” he says.
“These are the folks that were behind the steering wheel and drove into a ditch,” he says, using one of his preferred metaphors for the economy. Obama adds that Democrats “
ut on their galoshes” and started moving the car, while Republicans continued to stand on the sidelines and offer criticism.“That’s all right -- we don’t need any help," he says. "We’re going to keep on pushing and pushing.”
Continuing with the metaphor, Obama says that once Democrats righted the car, Republicans said, “Hang on -- we want the keys back.”
“You can’t have the keys back," he says. "You don’t know how to drive.”
Using a new line from his repertoire, Obama tells his supporters: “When you want to go forward, what do you do? You put it in D. When you want to go back? You put it in R.”
Talking up the small-business jobs bill, which he says wouldn’t add to the deficit and has garnered GOP support in the past, Obama asks why Republicans have stalled the bill's passage. “
ure politics,” he says.
Returning to the car metaphor, Obama says he’s “jump-starting” a “homegrown” clean-energy sector, aiming to create 800,000 jobs by 2012. Obama points out that Republicans “continue to show up at the ribbon cuttings” of economic events, despite opposing his policies.
“Cheesing and grinning,” he says. “Sending out press releases.”
Reacting to House Minority Leader John Boehner's goal to repeal the new health care law, President Obama says he doesn’t understand how making that a top priority will create jobs.
“That can’t be a real jobs plan,” he says.
Obama adds that Republicans’ plan to overturn financial reform is also flawed. “They want to go back to the status quo that got us in this situation,” he says. The free market is supposed to have some “basic rules of the road” so that the system can’t be gamed, he says.
Republicans, Obama continues, are "more interested in the next election instead of the next generation.” He adds that the “other party voted 'no' ” to change the student-loan system.
“They want to extend the Bush tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires,” which will cost $700 billion, he says. Republicans also have “
rotected” oil companies from liabilities in the event of a spill, he charges.
“When we forced BP to put $20 billion aside ... and what happened?" he says. "The guy who would be the chairman of the Energy Committee in the House apologized to BP.”
