Ltr to the editor The Columbus Dispatch obama's accomplishments rightly summarized by Westwerville resident ... Thx Dispatch!

Obama fans deny the clear truth of his many failures

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Saturday October 18, 2014 5:11 AM

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In his Oct. 10 letter, Tom Matheny wrote to support President Barack Obama’s policies while denigrating a recent Dispatch editorial that was critical of his administration. I write in support of the Dispatch position.
Surely, the statute of limitations has run out on the “blame Bush” method of judging Obama’s record. The editorial’s phrases “pattern of failure” and “woeful and incompetent” are on point.
Let’s start with the stimulus. According to the president’s own Council of Economic Advisors, the $830 billion program saved or created 2.4 million jobs. That is a cost of $278,000 per job. And most of the jobs were public-sector, union jobs that weren’t permanent.
Then there is the litany of untrue statements made repeatedly by Obama: You can keep your health insurance if you like it. You can keep your doctor. Obamacare will save you $2,500 per year. The website will be like shopping on Amazon.
The health-care law has been proved to be terrible legislation, as witnessed by the many changes made to it by executive order — some say illegally.
Another untruth: The Benghazi attack was spontaneous and caused by protests over an offensive video. This was said repeatedly by Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice, weeks after it was known to be false.
Or how about “There is not even a smidgen of corruption in the IRS” — a statement made before any investigation was done but after IRS official Lois Lerner invoked the Fifth Amendment.
The General Motors bail-
out cost the taxpayers $10.5 billion. Rather than allowing the bankruptcy laws already on the books to take effect, the U.S. government fired a seasoned industry CEO and took over the company.
It then proceeded to stiff bondholders and preferred stockholders in favor of union benefits. Government ownership and management of private businesses sounds more like socialism than capitalism.
The stock market has gone up from its recession lows. Much of this has more to do with the extremely low interest rates established by the Fed than with a healthy economy. Investors simply have nowhere else to go to get a reasonable rate of return.
Matheny may take comfort in the reported unemployment rate, but many jobs are part-time and in retail and other low-paying industries. Plus the labor participation rate has decreased during Obama’s tenure; it was 66 percent in June 2009, when the recession was deemed over, and is now 63 percent. According to the Economic Policy Institute, a union-backed organization, the real unemployment rate is 9.6 percent, with some conservative organizations saying it is closer to 11 percent.
The “reset” with Russia. The red line in Syria. Islamic State. Crimea and Ukraine. National debt increased by $6.5 trillion to more than $17 trillion, and it increases daily. I could go on and on, but it is pointless to those like Matheny who blindly support this failed presidency. The Dispatch got it right.
CARL WOCHELE
Westerville