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Romney Campaign Press Release - President Obama's Middle Class Failures

March 15, 2012

"In 2007, Vice President Biden said he didn't believe Barack Obama was ready to be president. More than four years later, it's clear that he was right. Since taking office, President Obama has devastated the middle class by failing to live up to his promises of fixing unemployment, lowering gas prices, decreasing health care costs, and addressing the unsustainable federal debt. As president, Mitt Romney will implement a bold, pro-growth jobs plan that will help all Americans recover from the broken Obama economy." —Andrea Saul, Romney Campaign Spokesperson

During The 2008 Presidential Campaign, Vice President Joe Biden Claimed Barack Obama Was Not Prepared To Be President:

In 2007, Then-Senator Biden Claimed That Then-Senator Obama Wasn't Ready To Be President. QUESTION: "Senator Biden, you did go beyond talking about Pakistan. You were asked: Is he ready? You said, 'I think he can be ready, but right now I don't believe he is. The presidency is not something that lends itself to on-the-job training.'" BIDEN: "I think I stand by the statement." (Sen. Joe Biden, Democratic Presidential Debate, Des Moines, IA, 8/19/07)

Since Taking Office, President Obama Has Broken Countless Promises, Including His Pledge To Keep Unemployment Below 8%:

In January 2009, President-Elect Obama's Economic Team Promised That The Trillion-Dollar Stimulus Package Would Keep Unemployment Below 8%. (Christina Romer and Jared Bernstein, "The Job Impact Of The American Recovery And Reinvestment Plan," 1/9/09)

Shortly After Taking Office, President Obama Said He Would Be Looking At A "One-Term Proposition" If He Failed To Turn The Economy Around. "Three years ago, President Obama said he would be looking at a 'one-term proposition' if the economy didn't turn around during his first term. 'If I don't have this done in three years, then there's going to be a one-term proposition,' Obama said during a Today show interview broadcast Feb. 2, 2009." (David Jackson, "GOP Celebrates Obama 2009 Comment: 'One-Term Proposition'," USA Today, 2/2/12)

February 2012 Was The Thirty-Seventh Straight Month With National Unemployment Above 8%. The jobless rate has been above 8% since February 2009, a thirty-seven month span unequaled in recorded history. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, 3/9/12)

"The Congressional Budget Office Is Projecting Unemployment Of More Than 8% Throughout This Election Year And Into 2014." (David Jackson, "CBO Projects 8%-Plus Unemployment Into 2014," USA Today, 2/16/12)

Nearly Twenty-Four Million Americans Are Unemployed, Underemployed, Or Have Stopped Looking For Work. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, 3/9/12)

During President Obama's Time In Office, Nearly 1 Million Jobs Have Been Lost. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, 3/12/12)

President Obama Promised To Fix Gas Prices, But He Has "Made No Progress" And Gas Prices Have Doubled:

Candidate Obama, In 2008: "I Want To Invest That Money In Clean, Affordable, Renewable Energy Sources ... So That We're Not Talking About High Fuel Prices Next Summer..." OBAMA: "I want to invest that money in clean, affordable, renewable energy sources like wind power, and solar power, and biofuels, so that we're not talking about high fuel prices next summer or the next summer after that, or the summer after that." (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks, Winston-Salem, NC, 4/29/08)

Since President Obama Took Office, Gas Prices Have More Than Doubled From Approximately $1.85 Per Gallon To $3.83 Per Gallon. (U.S. Energy Information Administration, www.eia.gov, Accessed 3/14/12)

Gas Prices In 2011 "Reached A Record Annual Average High." "U.S. gasoline prices also reached a record annual average high at $3.52 for a gallon of regular." (Coral Davenport, "Rising Oil Prices Could Fuel Political Rage,"National Journal, 1/7/12)

NBC's Chuck Todd On President Obama's Energy Policies: "He's Made No Progress." TODD: "There is no issue that has been a, I guess, a bigger bust for the president than energy policy in general. There's a lot of, we can come up with a lot of excuses as to why, but boy, it's just like you can't — he's made no progress." (MSNBC's "The Daily Rundown," 2/23/12)

President Obama Promised To Bring Down Health Care Costs, But He Has Made It "Less Affordable":

President Obama Promised Obamacare Would "Bring Down [Health Care] Costs" For Americans. "The Affordable Care Act will bring down costs, improve the quality of health care delivered to all Americans and expand coverage to 32 million Americans." (White House Website, www.whitehouse.gov, Accessed 3/15/12)

FactCheck.org On Obamacare: "Falls Short Of Making Health Care 'Affordable And Available To Every Single American,' As Promised." "Furthermore, the law falls short of making health care 'affordable and available to every single American,' as promised. The law provides subsidies to help some Americans buy insurance, expands Medicaid and doesn't allow insurance companies to exclude persons with preexisting conditions." (D'Angelo Gore, "Promises, Promises," FactCheck.org, 1/4/12)

  • "[T]he Director Of The Nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office Projected 23 Million Persons Will Remain Uninsured — Some Because They Can't Afford Coverage." (D'Angelo Gore, "Promises, Promises," FactCheck.org, 1/4/12)

Obamacare Has Made Health Care "Less Affordable" And Has Caused "Insurance Premiums To Rise." "At the moment, the new law is making health care slightly less affordable. Independent health care experts say the law has caused some insurance premiums to rise. As we wrote in October, the new law has caused about a 1 percent to 3 percent increase in health insurance premiums for employer-sponsored family plans because of requirements for increased benefits. Last year's premium increases cast even more doubt on another promise the president has made - that the health care law would 'lower premiums by up to $2,500 for a typical family per year.'" (D'Angelo Gore, "Promises, Promises," FactCheck.org, 1/4/12)

President Obama Also Promised To Cut The Deficit In Half By The End Of His First Term, But His Latest Budget Reveals A Fourth Straight Year Of Trillion-Dollar Deficits:

President Obama, In 2009: "Today I'm Pledging To Cut The Deficit We Inherited In Half By The End Of My First Term In Office." OBAMA: "[T]oday I'm pledging to cut the deficit we inherited in half by the end of my first term in office. This will not be easy. It will require us to make difficult decisions and face challenges we've long neglected. But I refuse to leave our children with a debt that they cannot repay — and that means taking responsibility right now, in this administration, for getting our spending under control." (President Barack Obama, Remarks, 2/23/09)

President Obama's Latest Budget Breaks His Pledge And "Does Not Come Close" To Cutting The Deficit In Half. "The 2013 budget the president submitted today does not come close to meeting this promise of being reduced to $650 billion for fiscal year 2013. The president noted in that 2009 speech the Obama administration inherited a $1.3 trillion deficit. The deficit was similarly $1.3 trillion in 2011, is projected to be $1.15 trillion in 2012, and the president's budget claims it will be $901 billion in 2013." (Jack Tapper, "Obama's Broken Deficit Promise," ABC News, 2/13/12)

"Obama's Budget Projects That The Deficit For The Current Year Will Total $1.33 Trillion, The Fourth Straight Year Of Deficits Over $1 Trillion." ("Highlights Of Obama's $3.8 Trillion Budget," The Associated Press, 2/13/12)

Mitt Romney, Romney Campaign Press Release - President Obama's Middle Class Failures Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/300883

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