Obamateurism of the Day

This may become a subseries in the OOTDs, where Barack Obama complains incessantly about the GOP spending more time on politicking than governing while, er, campaigning.  ABC’s Sunlen Miller offers up a plateful of irony in her lead paragraph:

Hitting the campaign-cash trail again today, President Obama in Austin, Texas today opened up a string of attacks against the Republicans, painting them as a party that lacks seriousness and ideas due to only looking forward to the next election.

Got that?  Obama’s criticizing the GOP for only looking towards the next election … while doing a fundraiser.

Bonus OOTD from the same story:

Mr. Obama said some in the Republican Party are saying that he just wants to bash the previous administration to take the focus off the still tough economic situation on his own watch. Today Mr. Obama rebutted, “the reason we are focused on it is because the other side isn’t offering anything new.”

Well, there’s a reason why Republican proposals haven’t hit the floors of Congress with new ideas, and that’s because Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid won’t allow those proposals to get to the floor.  Paul Ryan, for instance, had a health-insurance reform plan that would have actually reformed costs, and without a new, massive government entitlement — but it never got out of committee.  In fact, he tried introducing it a second time, but Pelosi never allowed it forward.

That’s the consequence of having control of Congress, especially when the same party controls the White House.  They get control of the agenda, the committees, and the bills that actually get a chance for up-and-down votes.  For a Constitutional lawyer, Obama seems only dimly aware of its provisions.

Got an Obamateurism of the Day? If you see a foul-up by Barack Obama, e-mail it to me at [email protected] 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! Chris has started his annual fund drive, so be sure to visit the DBD site and keep DBD in action!