Obamateurism of the Day

Barack Obama delivered a major speech on the economy this week, and Hot Air readers can be forgiven if it sounded familiar to them — and not just for its regurgitated Porkulus II policy, either. Jim Geraghty discovered that Obama seems to have taken recycling to a new level:

Obama, yesterday:

So, that’s why, Milwaukee, today, I am announcing a new plan for rebuilding and modernizing America’s roads and rails and runways for the long term. (Applause.) I want America to have the best infrastructure in the world. We used to have the bestinfrastructure in the world. We can have it again. We are going to make it happen. (Applause.)

Over the next six years, over the next six years, we are going to rebuild 150,000 miles of our roads — that’s enough to circle the world six times. That’s a lot of road. We’re going to lay and maintain 4,000 miles of our railways –- enough to stretch coast to coast. We’re going to restore 150 miles of runways. And we’re going to advance a next-generation air-traffic control system to reduce travel time and delays for American travelers. (Applause.) I think everybody can agree on that.

Obama, February 6, 2009:

But broadly speaking, the package is the right size, it has the right scope and it has the right priorities: To create 3 to 4 million jobs and to do it in a way that lays the groundwork for long term growth, by fixing our schools; modernizing health care to lower costs;repairing our roads, bridges, levees, and other vital infrastructure; move us toward energy independence.

Obama, February 17, 2009:

Starting today, our administration will be working day and night to provide more aid for the unemployed, create immediate jobs building our roads and our bridges, make long-term investments in a smarter energy grid, and so much more.

Obama, April 13, 2009:

We passed the recovery plan less than two months ago. Two weeks later, I came here to DOT to announce that we would be investing $28 billion to rebuild and repair our highways, roads and bridges.

Obama, April 29, 2009:

Across the state, roughly 20,000 transportation jobs will be supported by the Recovery Act so that Missourians rebuilding your roads, your bridges, your rails.

At least this time Obama threw in a new wrinkle with runway restoration.  Unless he’s looking to create supermodel jobs, it’s difficult to grasp how resurfacing runways will stimulate permanent job creation, but since the entire speech and idea is a retread anyway, we’ll take what we can get.

Got an Obamateurism of the Day? If you see a foul-up by Barack Obama, e-mail it to me at obamaisms@edmorrissey.com with the quote and the link to the Obamateurism. I’ll post the best Obamateurisms on a daily basis, depending on how many I receive. Include a link to your blog, and I’ll give some link love as well. And unlike Slate, I promise to end the feature when Barack Obama leaves office.

Illustrations by Chris Muir of Day by Day. Be sure to read the adventures of Sam, Zed, Damon, and Jan every day!

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