Obama's prime time ad skips budget realities

mdjgirl7

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Sep 5, 2008
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WASHINGTON – Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was less than upfront in his half-hour commercial Wednesday night about the costs of his programs and the crushing budget pressures he would face in office.

Obama's assertion that "I've offered spending cuts above and beyond" the expense of his promises is accepted only by his partisans. His vow to save money by "eliminating programs that don't work" masks his failure throughout the campaign to specify what those programs are — beyond the withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

A sampling of what voters heard in the ad, and what he didn't tell them:

THE SPIN: "That's why my health care plan includes improving information technology, requires coverage for preventive care and pre-existing conditions and lowers health care costs for the typical family by $2,500 a year."

THE FACTS: His plan does not lower premiums by $2,500, or any set amount. Obama hopes that by spending $50 billion over five years on electronic medical records and by improving access to proven disease management programs, among other steps, consumers will end up saving money. He uses an optimistic analysis to suggest cost reductions in national health care spending could amount to the equivalent of $2,500 for a family of four. Many economists are skeptical those savings can be achieved, but even if they are, it's not a certainty that every dollar would be passed on to consumers in the form of lower premiums.

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THE SPIN: "I also believe every American has a right to affordable health care."

THE FACTS: That belief should not be confused with a guarantee of health coverage for all. He makes no such promise. Obama hinted as much in the ad when he said about the problem of the uninsured: "I want to start doing something about it." He would mandate coverage for children but not adults. His program is aimed at making insurance more affordable by offering the choice of government-subsidized coverage similar to that in a plan for federal employees and other steps, including requiring larger employers to share costs of insuring workers.

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THE SPIN: "I've offered spending cuts above and beyond their cost."

THE FACTS: Independent analysts say both Obama and Republican John McCain would deepen the deficit. The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates Obama's policy proposals would add a net $428 billion to the deficit over four years — and that analysis accepts the savings he claims from spending cuts. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, whose other findings have been quoted approvingly by the Obama campaign, says: "Both John McCain and Barack Obama have proposed tax plans that would substantially increase the national debt over the next 10 years." The analysis goes on to say: "Neither candidate's plan would significantly increase economic growth unless offset by spending cuts or tax increases that the campaigns have not specified."

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THE SPIN: "Here's what I'll do. Cut taxes for every working family making less than $200,000 a year. Give businesses a tax credit for every new employee that they hire right here in the U.S. over the next two years and eliminate tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas. Help homeowners who are making a good faith effort to pay their mortgages, by freezing foreclosures for 90 days. And just like after 9-11, we'll provide low-cost loans to help small businesses pay their workers and keep their doors open. "

THE FACTS: His proposals — the tax cuts, the low-cost loans, the $15 billion a year he promises for alternative energy, and more — cost money, and the country could be facing a record $1 trillion deficit next year. Indeed, Obama recently acknowledged — although not in his commercial — that: "The next president will have to scale back his agenda and some of his proposals."

Here's your link Obama's prime-time ad skips over budget realities - Yahoo! News
 
I know. He tell us what he wants to do as president(spin), but he's already failed at that which he has not yet done - and that's a (fact)!
 
Questions for Barack "Billy Flynn" Obama:

How do you give a tax cut to the 40% who don't pay any Federal tax?

How do you pay for your tax cuts, welfare and trillion dollars in spending?

How do you pay for your health care?

How do you create jobs by increasing taxes including capital gains taxes?

Answer: Give 'em a little of that old Chicago Razzle Dazzle

billy_all_i_care_about_is_love.jpg
 
Great points Paperboy!

Obama’s “presumptive close” was far from original ( Perot ) and he still did not explain how he intends to make these empty promises come true!

Anyone can see even those who are going to benefit from his tax cuts and welfare benefits-- you don't get something for nothing anyone who promises such needs to be scrutinized quite a bit deeper than Obama has been.
 
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I haven't seen the infomercial, don't plan to see it, would quickly change the channel if it came on the one I was watching, and regularly TiVo out any commercials, political or not, if I can.

Campaign commercials from both sides are at least 99% pure horse manure anyway. I've seen enough of them pre TiVo to know that.

Why on Earth would anyone watch 30 minutes of spin and drivel unless they were already hopelessly infatuated with Obama? Why do people listen to the endless ranting of Shaun Hannity that has become a de facto campaign commercial since the race has become so heated? I used to like to listen to him, even if I only agreed with him half of the time or less. Now, I can only stand his ranting for about 5 seconds tops.

That said, of course Obama is skipping budget realities, just as McCain is skipping the same realities. Both of them have done so in debates and speeches since the beginning of the campaign.

Telling people what they want to hear is the way to get elected. Telling people about unpleasant realities is bound to lose the candidate votes.
 
I haven't seen the infomercial, don't plan to see it, would quickly change the channel if it came on the one I was watching, and regularly TiVo out any commercials, political or not, if I can.

Campaign commercials from both sides are at least 99% pure horse manure anyway. I've seen enough of them pre TiVo to know that.

Why on Earth would anyone watch 30 minutes of spin and drivel unless they were already hopelessly infatuated with Obama? Why do people listen to the endless ranting of Shaun Hannity that has become a de facto campaign commercial since the race has become so heated? I used to like to listen to him, even if I only agreed with him half of the time or less. Now, I can only stand his ranting for about 5 seconds tops.

That said, of course Obama is skipping budget realities, just as McCain is skipping the same realities. Both of them have done so in debates and speeches since the beginning of the campaign.

Telling people what they want to hear is the way to get elected. Telling people about unpleasant realities is bound to lose the candidate votes.

Agreed--American's should be ashamed to be so easily drug around by utopian offers.
 

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