How popular is the American Jobs Act? For something that’s dead in its proposed form, it’s … still not wildly popular. Barack Obama’s bus tour stopped at a local fire station in North Chesterfield, Virginia to tout his jobs bill, which got stopped in the Senate by 47 Republicans and two Democrats. When Obama mentions it, he gets stopped by the sound of one person clapping, but that’s not the worst of it (via Greg Hengler):

From the White House transcript:

And that’s why I sent to Congress the American Jobs Act.  (Applause.)  You can go ahead and clap.  Go ahead, nothing wrong with it.  (Applause.)

There is a qualitative difference between the two “applause” interjections … but not as much as you’d think.  Take a look at the rest of the crowd when the camera pans while the second round of applause occurs.  Very few in the crowd are actually clapping their hands.  The rest just look uncomfortable, even though they’re presumably there to support Obama.

When even the people who show up to your rallies are too embarrassed to applaud for your proposal, it’s a good sign you’re heading for rocky electoral shoals.

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!