Obama in letter: I won’t lie to you, recovery is another couple years off

posted at 6:35 pm on February 13, 2012 by Tina Korbe

Ah, honesty. How refreshing! In an October letter to an unemployed Portland, Maine, carpenter, President Barack Obama admitted what we’ve all known: A full economic recovery isn’t imminent. Paul Bedard reports:

“I won’t lie to you,” Obama penned in hand to Charles Oliver in October. “It will probably take another year or two to fully dig our way out of this hole.”

Oliver had written the president in June to ask: “Are we as Americans going to be alright?” Answered Obama, “Yes, we will be OK. Because America has gotten through tough times before, and because of good people like you.”

While happy for the response, Oliver told us that he hasn’t seen any of the recovery the president and media have been heralding. “He’s out campaigning saying everything is coming up roses. He’s a lying SOB,” Oliver said of Obama, who has tried to temper his hopefulness with cautions that the recovery could hit speed bumps.

Never have I understood the president’s attempt to stoke expectations that he would turn the economy around in a single term. As savvy and reelection-oriented politician as he is, I’d've thought he’d have given all of us the sterner stuff of this letter to Mr. Oliver. Rather than rhetoric about a one-term proposition, he could have proposed at the outset that his plan for recovery was a “two-term proposition” and thereby strengthened the case for his reelection. “These things take time,” he could have said — instead of, “We can’t wait.”

It’s not just that a full economic recovery isn’t impending, though: It’s also that the president’s policies have steadily darkened the fiscal future of the country. Case in point: The budget he released today does nothing to tame the entitlement beast and, in fact, just increases spending and taxes. The president will have a difficult time explaining on the campaign trail why unemployment was at the lowest point of his entire term on his first day in office and why deficits have steadily gone up under his administration.

If he wants to talk about the real hole we’re in — our debt — he’ll have to say it’ll take even more than a year or two to get out of it. It’ll take a generation.

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obama has that wrong.

we had a recovery. unfortunately, his policies will ensure a second recession.

imo, it will start in december; as i am certain he has ensured he pulls every string to keep things afloat until after election day.

cougar on February 14, 2012 at 12:14 AM

Back in the real world, austerity budgets are bad news for fragile economies. The Republican agenda would push us back into recession.

urban elitist on February 13, 2012 at 6:56 PM

It’s telling that your definition of “the real world” are a bunch of failed socialist experiments that NEVER worked. Yeah government austerity is tough on the ones getting the government handouts.

This ain’t Europe. It seems you missed out on the memo and discussions here. Every bit of economic data put out by Zero’s campaign staff for the last 3 years is FAKE. Thats the real world champ, which you seem all to happy to ignore.

Every time you refer to Zero’s CRU style, economic propaganda as “good news” you show that you’re just a drooling OZombie and not much else.

dogsoldier on February 14, 2012 at 6:32 AM

Never have I understood the president’s attempt to stoke expectations that he would turn the economy around in a single term.

Because his regard for his abilities has no foundation in reality and he has no understanding of his limitations. He is self-absorbed without being self-aware. He is the wrong man for the job and has been out of his depth from day one.

I’m not sure if he truly believes that he’s doing a terrific job, or if he believes that if he says so often enough, we’ll go for it.

Delusional or vicious. Whichever it is, it isn’t good.

cheeflo on February 14, 2012 at 7:50 AM

“I won’t lie to you,” Obama penned in hand to Charles Oliver in October. “It will probably take another year or two, after I leave office, to fully dig our way out of this hole.”

emphasis mine.

askwhatif on February 14, 2012 at 8:00 AM

He lost me at “I won’t lie to you”. Actually he never had me so anything that comes out of his mouth, I know is a lie. The spin now for his not being able to cut the deficit in half, is the recession was much worse than they new. It’s still Bush’s fault. That horse has been rode hard and put away wet.

Kissmygrits on February 14, 2012 at 9:20 AM

“It will probably take another year or two to fully dig our way out of this hole …I hope.”

FIFY

Weebork on February 14, 2012 at 9:43 AM

If he wants to talk about the real hole we’re in — our debt — he’ll have to say it’ll take even more than a year or two to get out of it. It’ll take a generation.

A shovel-ready proejct at last!!!

Steve Z on February 14, 2012 at 9:54 AM

Comment pages: 1 2