I am getting tired of people like Noonan and her sycophantic followers boosting Romney by distorting the Obama record. What gets me is the vague criticisms without ever specifying what Romney (or anyone) else could have done differently from what Obama did to cause a better or quicker recovery. My Comment is here
I repeated my comment to Noonan below the line:
Noonan says of Romney, but neither denies nor refutes,
--"Months ago he [Romney] was the out-of-touch corporate raider. Then he was a flip-flopping weasel. They momentarily shifted to right-wing extremist. This week he seems to be a Bushite billionaire." --
Noonan accurately describes Romney, and significantly, recognizes Romney as a calculating, unmitigated liar who does not seek the Presidency to perform a service, but rather to achieve a status that he hopes will finally permit him to be viewed as more accomplished than his father.
Bush did what he could to dismantle the federal government's regulatory system. He gave the so-called "JOB CREATORS" 8 years to create jobs with low taxes and two wars of convenience that stimulated the economy artificially. The Federal Reserve further pampered the " JOB CREATORS " by keeping interest rates low; and Bush's NLRB plus propaganda from the Chamber of Commerce and the NAM decimated unions, thus giving the " JOB CREATORS" a free hand in paying bottom of the barrel wages to Americans.
What has pandering to the " JOB CREATORS " won for America during the Bush years and in their wake? Even after the public sector almost doubled in size during the period 2000 to 2008, Bush lost of millions of jobs (and indeed, Obama has created more new private jobs in 3.5 years than Bush had in 8); Wages of Americans, when adjusted for inflation, dropped to their lowest point in 50 years; and America's children now score among Third World nations in achievement tests, crippling our future competitive advantage. Meanwhile, Bush allowed Wall Street bankers, hedge fund managers, and venture capitalists to rig the regulatory and tax system.
In 2009, Obama stepped onto the world stage in the middle of a global crisis, along with misguided steps to avert disaster that were put in place by Bush. There was no primer on what to do. The path out of trouble had to be carved by trial and error. The availability of easy credit had made our economy dependent on consumerism, and when the ability to charge consumer goods disappeared for the working class, America's economy collapsed. Republicans saw the global crisis as an opportunity to regain power, and refused to approve what Obama proposed; but did not offer any reasonable alternative. Sadly, Blue Dog Democrats gave the false impression that Obama had loyal majorities in Congress before 2010.
Republicans advocated shrinking our economy under austerity programs, and when Obama sought to accommodate the debt hawks by proposing to raise taxes on million dollar earners to help pay for his JOBS Act, the Republicans whined we could not afford to do anything that might anger those " JOB CREATORS".
Yet, compared to the European countries that enacted the austerity programs proposed by the Republicans, only America's economy and stock market have recovered, in spite of the Republicans. Obama steered the country away from the abyss, rescued and rejuvenated our vital auto industry and gave money to the States to avoid the elimination of local school systems, cops and fire fighters and health clinics.
Romney, a failed Governor of Massachusetts who left it with billions in debt, having created virtually no jobs, spews bromides about how he thinks Obama failed to achieve a better and faster recovery. Yet, can anyone identify a single concrete action taken by Obama where Romney says he would have followed a specific, different plan? Obama has had four years of experience facing more serious problems than any President since FDR. Obama is tested and educated. And Romney? He is an accomplished liar, and an empty suit.