John Kerry has criticized the President’s handling of the economy since he decided he was running, and by some miracle he plans to create 10 million jobs. Don’t ask me how the government will create the ten million jobs, or where these people will be working. Don’t even ask how a government can create jobs at all. It’s not relelvant.
Kerry’s criticism has been forthcoming whenever asked for it, and sometimes even when it’s not asked for. Let’s review influences on the economy under George W. Bush:
1. 9/11
2. Corporate scandals that brewed throughout the 90′s and came to light in 2002 and 2003
3. A war in Afghanistan
4. A war in Iraq
None of those mitigating factors have even been mentioned by John Kerry, who insists on beating the drum on the “failed economy.”
So it should come as a pretty big surprise that when confronted on the economy, those mitigating circumstances suddenly mattered…
MR. RUSSERT: And we are back in Florida, Florida, Florida, battleground state, talking to John Kerry, Democratic candidate for president.
Senator, again, in the interest of candor and clarity, you have promised to create 10 million jobs…
SEN. KERRY: Yep.
MR. RUSSERT: …and cut the deficit in half in your first four years.
SEN. KERRY: Yes, sir.
MR. RUSSERT: If you don’t achieve those goals, would you pledge that you would not seek re-election?
SEN. KERRY: Well, it would depend on the circumstances. If I don’t because there’s a war or something terrible happens, of course I’m not going to make that pledge. But if I walked away from my promise, which I won’t do, I wouldn’t deserve to be re-elected.
What? A war or something terrible would halt your pledge and you shouldn’t be held responsible?
Wouldn’t it be nice if he extended the same courtesy to the President, who had, by Kerry’s definition, something terrible (9/11, the accounting scandals that cost thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in retirement plans) or something like a war (Afghanistan? Iraq? Both of which Kerry voted for?).
I don’t expect the same courtesy, but I’m pointing this out so that as the campaign winds down, you can laugh at the silliness of him telling the american public that the economy is failed, it’s George W. Bush’s fault, and he would do better.
Just don’t expect him to keep that promise under the same circumstances.