..on second thought.

(I was going to hang it up for a while but the most recent flood of diarrhea to come out of that pathetic joke we have for a president has goaded me into one last post for a while).

In a continuing trend of seeking excuses, blaming others, and generally alibiing his way around the fact that he sucks at his job, Obama appeared in a television interview this evening where he was quoted as saying that he feels America's gotten too soft:

"I mean, there are a lot of things we can do," Obama said. "The way I think about it is, you know, this is a great, great country that had gotten a little soft and, you know, we didn't have that same competitive edge that we needed over the last couple of decades. We need to get back on track."

Perhaps it's because we have a president who spends the better part of his time in office complaining about how things are not his fault and how he had a big sack of crap handed to him.

Could this be The Pantload's Malaise Speech?

Well, whatever. This is the last straw, as far as I am concerned. Basically, he and his ass-clown administration have bent this country's economy over, spent us into the poor house, given out billions of our tax money to his union thug cronies and big business campaign bundlers in the form of loans, grants, and outright political payoffs, butt-smooched every tin-horn dictator and brigand while flushing our allies down the drain, and now this son-of-a-bitch has the nerve to say we've gotten soft?

Well, old son, we'll show you how soft we've become when we throw your sorry ass and that voluminously-butted, lobster-gorging, lavish-vacation-taking, hairy wookie FLOTUS you are stapled to out into the the of Pennsylvania Avenue next year.

And I am sure we'll we will be able to find someone who thinks a lot more of this country and her people and can appreciate the rare opportunity it is to be the President of The United States of America and make something of the job instead of living the tone-deaf high life, incessantly playing golf, and taking innumerable vacations.

In the mean time, President Cow Turd, suck a shoe!

O.K., this time it's for real. This is Elate 5-7. Out.

-30-

Taking a sabbatical..

"I'll be back.."

Recent professional and personal events have conspired to demand what spare time I have. I am engaged in a new project at work that will require almost superhuman diligence on my part to accomplish. (Note that means superhuman for me; you folks probably would not have to break a sweat.)

I realize that we are under no obligation to alibi our absences, but I wanted to be respectful and courteous to my visitors/readers ~~ All ten of you.

Besides, I am just too overcome emotionally to continue blogging here for the short term as I await with unmitigated anxiety the resolution of Hugo Chavez's health crisis. I fear this guy is on his last legs and I need to mentally and physically prepare myself for mourning his loss.

When did you ever see anyone get fatter when they underwent chemo?

Should the unthinkable eventuate, I wanted to hold an honorary wake in his memory and invite all of you to join me at Silky Sullivan's in Fountain Valley, California where me might celebrate observe his passing.

Should be good times; we'll get so-o-o-o-o-o-o-o wasted!

 

-30-

Post Racial

Obama gave speeches at the U.N., met with Netanyahu, and gave a speech to the CBC within the last week. Kinda funny that he got dis'ed by the Jewish vote in NY-06 and Maxine Waters within the last several weeks.

You can look up the actual video on CNN but be advised that it is a contest to see who is more annoying -- the condescending actor in those annoying Expedia lead-in commercials or The Chicago Pantload with his revival-meeting, ghetto-speak, hip-hop, g-droppin' patois. Let's just say it's like knocking back to substantial slugs of ipecac. Have a barf bag handy. Better yet, have two!

Anyway, as to the CBC speech, like HT commenter said:

The post-racial president:
Obama: You’re black. I’m black. Fight whitey with me!

Also note the video image of Obama in the shadow of the teleprompter. What a visual metaphor!

-30-

Start stockin' up, old son..

They's some tunes we're gonna be a-needin' for November 6th 2012. I offer this one for The Departin' Pantload:

..also an anthem to his crumbling empire.

(Sure as hell hope I am right!)

BY THE WAY: You'all know what has 40 arms and legs and 25 teeth? That's right, the front row of a Willie Nelson concert.

-30-

Quitting Winners..

I was listening to Mary Katherine Ham on a morning show this morning when John Fund called in with his thoughts about the Dick Turner victory in NY-9. The audio below is interesting listening. John speculates that a committee of prominent Democrats might go to Obama in "a couple or three" months -- if the economy were still mired as it is now -- and confront him, requesting he consider stepping down or not running:

This put me in mind of the truly extraordinary era I have been privileged to live. Born in 1945, I barely squeezed into the end of FDR's regime, thereby experiencing a president dying in office. When I was a little older I and my peers endured the insufferable agony of having John F. Kennedy taken away from us with an assassin's bullet.

A side note here: while I liked him then, I do believe JFK was mortal and he would have added the mismanagement of Viet Nam and other warts to his botching of the Bay of Pigs fiasco, etc. But I digress.

Soon after that, his successor, Lyndon Baines Johnson, ("LBJ" or "El B.J." as we called him) rolled over Goldwater and then opted out of his second term:

All us college kids -- both on the left and the right -- hated this guy and were happy to see him go. But, except for the fact that he ran the entire Viet Nam war by himself (and bragged about it), he knew his way around Washington and where the bodies were buried.

So chalk one up for a president giving up a second term when he was a shoo-in.

His successor, Dick Nixon just flat resigned in office. I won't bore you with the details; I am sure you all know this anyway. However, in hunting for the resignation speech on You Tube, I came across this interesting clip. It is the moments before Nixon gave that speech and it is surprising in how seemingly carefree and jovial he was:

From thence, it was pretty conventional until November 2000. That election took us almost a month of waiting before we knew who Clinton's successor would be. Boy was that a time -- and every time I htink about the 175 or so votes that gave us George W. Bush and what Al "ManBearPig" Gore has become, I just get down on my knees in thanks.

So, since 1945, the presidency has been a pretty turbulent affair: a death, an assassination, a foregone term, a resignation, an election controversy, and then this sorry piece of work in office now. I gotta tell you that I would not mind at all having the Chicago Jesus pull an "LBJ" or -- better yet -- a "Nixon".

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MAXINE..

 

..just up reveling in the (R) victories in NV-2 and NY-9 special elections. Will write more tomorrow after some sleep. But in the process of following the threads to get election results, I came across the above thanks to KEY WEST READER over on Hot Air and did not want to lose this.

MAYONNAISE UPDATE:

"I think my garter belt just snapped!"

O.K., but just this last little juicy tidbit! Our beloved Mayo-head, Debbie Blabbermouth-Schitz spun the loss of NY-9 (Brooklyn/Queens) as follows:

Democratic party leaders insisted the loss wasn’t a harbinger of things to come. “It’s a very difficult district for Democrats,” said Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, noting its Democratic margins there tend to be the second lowest of all the districts in New York City.

For the record and in case you've just come back from a vacation on Mars, it was probably THE safest district in NYC, being Chuckie Schumer's and, until he unzipped his pants and tweeted his tweeter all over the internet, Anthony "the" Weiner. It was a district that Obama took 55% of the votes and HAD NOT BEEN IN REPUBLICAN HANDS SINCE 1922.

For this absolutely delusional assertion, Ms Schitz gets the Beetlejuice spin award:

-30-

"All that for a flag.."

This video is making the rounds today:

It is a looped (replayed) segment of THE WIDE LOAD FLOTUS making some smirking comment to her PANTLOAD spouse during the 9/11 ceremonies this past Sunday. The smirking expression on MOO's face coupled with a a few people attempting to decipher what she was saying leads to this explanation over on native You Tube:

Michelle Obama says something about the flag to BO and then smirks and shakes her head. What is it she is saying?

Some lip readers are saying she says - "all that for a flag?"

The ceremony beforehand included a choir singing and bagpipe playing before unfurling a tattered US flag.

..woe betide this woman if there is ever a confirmation or any audio on this event.

UPDATE: I posted a new -- hopefully more clear -- video of the incident. A lot of the controversy rages over whether she said what she said or not -- of course. But a number of people have pointed out that the expressions, scowls, and shaking of her head from side to side was enough to evince disrespect for the ceremony and the solemnity of the occasion.

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Stand and deliver..

I was a highwayman. Along the coach roads I did ride
With sword and pistol by my side
Many a young maid lost her baubles to my trade
Many a soldier shed his lifeblood on my blade
The bastards hung me in the spring of twenty-five
But I am still alive.

I was a sailor. I was born upon the tide
And with the sea I did abide.
I sailed a schooner round the Horn to Mexico
I went aloft and furled the mainsail in a blow
And when the yards broke off they said that I got killed
But I am living still.

I was a dam builder across the river deep and wide
Where steel and water did collide
A place called Boulder on the wild Colorado
I slipped and fell into the wet concrete below
They buried me in that great tomb that knows no sound
But I am still around..I'll always be around..and around and around and
around and around

I fly a starship across the Universe divide
And when I reach the other side
I'll find a place to rest my spirit if I can
Perhaps I may become a highwayman again
Or I may simply be a single drop of rain
But I will remain
And I'll be back again, and again and again and again and again..

-30-

"Fake heroes like..Rudy Giuliani, and, yes, George W. Bush.."

September 11, 2011, 8:41 am

The Years of Shame

Is it just me, or are the 9/11 commemorations oddly subdued?
Actually, I don’t think it’s me, and it’s not really that odd.
What happened after 9/11 — and I think even people on the right know this, whether they admit it or not — was deeply shameful. Te atrocity should have been a unifying event, but instead it became a wedge issue. Fake heroes like Bernie Kerik, Rudy Giuliani, and, yes, George W. Bush raced to cash in on the horror. And then the attack was used to justify an unrelated war the neocons wanted to fight, for all the wrong reasons.
A lot of other people behaved badly. How many of our professional pundits — people who should have understood very well what was happening — took the easy way out, turning a blind eye to the corruption and lending their support to the hijacking of the atrocity?
The memory of 9/11 has been irrevocably poisoned; it has become an occasion for shame. And in its heart, the nation knows it.
I’m not going to allow comments on this post, for obvious reasons.

Krugman may not allow comments to his post, but I will. Please unload in this chicken-fornicating son-of-a-bitch if you like. To the gentler, more sensitive visitors to this blog, I issue a harsh language alert: read at your own risk.

UPDATE: You can channel your vitriol to the following address:

editorial@nytimes.com

There are also these portals into which you may pour well-earned slime:

Arthur Brisbane, public editor, represents our readers. He can be reached by e-mail, public@nytimes.com, or by calling (212) 556‑7652.

You can also contact Krugman at Krugman@nyt.com or Pkrugman@Princeton.edu.

..thanks to HA reader BacaDog for these links.

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9-10-2001

"HURRY UP AND PASS GAS.."

I just got back from the ARRL HamCon in Torrance, California tonight and caught this on a link to The Brussels' Journal article on Obama and his abilities. It os NOT a phot-shop but one of those candid freeze-frames (like that memorable picture of McCain after the third presidential debate in 2008) that will haunt Joltin' Joe and The Pantload for ages.

MEMO TO WOODSTERMAN: Please, please, please steal this picture.

For the record, here is a remix of this butt-wipe telling us to eat our peas or pass out or..whatever:

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HURRY UP AND PASS IT NOW!

"Pass it now! Pass out! Forward pass! Pass the peas! Pasadena! Pass gas! Pass water! ..just pass!"

Being that I am lazy and being that this is Friday and being that I have plans for the weekend, I am going to run AP's fact-check deconstruction -- unredacted -- of The Pantload's lie-fest last night. Copyright and other stuff at the bottom. Feel free to clip and save, cut and paste, whatever. But Like Boehner, I do not feel like responding to this -- FOR THE MOMENT.

FACT CHECK: Obama's jobs plan paid for? Seems not
By CALVIN WOODWARD and TOM RAUM, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama's promise Thursday that everything in his jobs plan will be paid for rests on highly iffy propositions.

It will only be paid for if a committee he can't control does his bidding, if Congress puts that into law and if leaders in the future - the ones who will feel the fiscal pinch of his proposals - don't roll it back.

Underscoring the gravity of the nation's high employment rate, Obama chose a joint session of Congress, normally reserved for a State of the Union speech, to lay out his proposals. But if the moment was extraordinary, the plan he presented was conventional Washington rhetoric in one respect: It employs sleight-of-hand accounting.

A look at some of Obama's claims and how they compare with the facts:

OBAMA: "Everything in this bill will be paid for. Everything."

THE FACTS: Obama did not spell out exactly how he would pay for the measures contained in his nearly $450 billion American Jobs Act but said he would send his proposed specifics in a week to the new congressional supercommittee charged with finding budget savings. White House aides suggested that new deficit spending in the near term to try to promote job creation would be paid for in the future - the "out years," in legislative jargon - but they did not specify what would be cut or what revenues they would use.

Essentially, the jobs plan is an IOU from a president and lawmakers who may not even be in office down the road when the bills come due. Today's Congress cannot bind a later one for future spending. A future Congress could simply reverse it.

Currently, roughly all federal taxes and other revenues are consumed in spending on various federal benefit programs, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, veterans' benefits, food stamps, farm subsidies and other social-assistance programs and payments on the national debt. Pretty much everything else is done on credit with borrowed money.

So there is no guarantee that programs that clearly will increase annual deficits in the near term will be paid for in the long term.

OBAMA: "Everything in here is the kind of proposal that's been supported by both Democrats and Republicans, including many who sit here tonight."

THE FACTS: Obama's proposed cut in the Social Security payroll tax does seem likely to garner significant GOP support. But Obama proposes paying for the plan in part with tax increases that have already generated stiff Republican opposition.

For instance, Obama makes a pitch anew to end Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, which he has defined as couples earning over $250,000 a year or individuals over $200,000 a year. Republicans have adamantly blocked what they view as new taxes. As recently as last month, House Republicans refused to go along with any deal to raise the government's borrowing authority that included new revenues, or taxes.

OBAMA: "It will not add to the deficit."

THE FACTS: It's hard to see how the program would not raise the deficit over the next year or two because most of the envisioned spending cuts and tax increases are designed to come later rather than now, when they could jeopardize the fragile recovery. Deficits are calculated for individual years. The accumulation of years of deficit spending has produced a national debt headed toward $15 trillion. Perhaps Obama meant to say that, in the long run, his hoped-for programs would not further increase the national debt, not annual deficits.

OBAMA: "The American Jobs Act answers the urgent need to create jobs right away."

THE FACTS: Not all of the president's major proposals are likely to yield quick job growth if adopted. One is to set up a national infrastructure bank to raise private capital for roads, rail, bridges, airports and waterways. Even supporters of such a bank doubt it could have much impact on jobs in the next two years because it takes time to set up. The idea is likely to run into opposition from some Republicans who say such a bank would give the federal government too much power. They'd rather divide money among existing state infrastructure banks.

Associated Press writer Joan Lowy contributed to this report.
© 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

ADD LAZY UPDATE: In keeping with the spirit of this post but also to provide you with great resources on this subject, THE OBAMA FAIL Blog has done it's usual superlative job of chronicling this speech and the abortive run-up to it:

He promised a new plan to save us from his own failed economic policies.

Then he went on vacation.

He came back and tried to pre-empt a GOP debate with a speech to a joint session of Congress to announce a plan so important and so urgent that it took weeks to unveil.

Now, the speech is over. It was a failure on many levels. Here's why:

..but then you'll have to go over there and read the cogent reasons this latest episode of Diaper-Man's POTUS-ship dragged bottom. You will not be disappointed, I guar-ohn-tee!

-30-

THIS WEEK'S COMING EVENTS..

(courtesy BKeyser at FLICKR.)

-30-

LOOK FOR THE UNION LABEL..

(courtesy BKeyser at FLICKR.)

-30-

..sometimes, Odie, I just enjoy some quiet time reading the classics.

-30-

Sarah versus the A.B.Os

..this ain't me; this is from Drudge today.

Kingjester is another conscience of conservatism, a gentleman from Mississippi who writes thoughtfully about all that is right with this philosophy and all that is wrong with The Chicago Jesus and his ilk. The hallmark of his posts are careful attribution, citation, and a good degree of wit. The blog is, by any account, entertaining and informative reading.

However -- and this is not a "however" in the usual sense -- KJ advocates for Sarah Palin and I fear that these sentiments may cloud reason ~~ not KJ's, but most others who would become resentful if Palin enters the GOP race and does not garner the nomination.

My regular hangout -- Hot Air -- sees these wars being raged and the sniping has become vicious. Too many times there are those who comment "I will stay home if Romney wins the nomination" or even "I will vote for Obama rather than give a RINO my vote".

To that end, on a recent post he did on Sarah Palin's Iowa speech, I commented as follows over on his blog:

Kingjester,

For the record, I am a Sarah Palin fan -- not a Palinista, a fan -- but I believe her value to this campaign is not as nominee or commander-in-chief but rather as voice of the conscience of conservatism.

Her hesitancy to declare (or to declare NOT) is becoming tedious and I suspect has already damaged her reputation. There is poll after poll pointing out how she will lose to Obama and Republicans and conservatives say they would never vote for her, etc. (The latter citation is an old Quinnipiac poll; I could not find a reference to the most recent one that stated some 70-plus percent expressed similar feelings.)

Also for the record, I am very conservative, worked my tail off for Palin (not McCain) in 2008, and will do so again if she is the nominee. But at this juncture I and many are ABO (Anybody But Obama) voters and we will also work equally hard for Perry or Bachmann -- even Romney.

It's nice to have the luxury of principles when there is no threat to this country but these are not such times. What that incompetent boob has wrought with his clown troupe administration and accomplices in Congress is criminal and another four years of this will see the destruction of this country.

Doubt me? How about the historical first of the credit downgrade and the unending string of unemployment figures and low job creation numbers -- culminating in the 0.0 this past month?

Not carping; I am just another poor slob in the crowd who believes this country needs saving.

I took the liberty of cross-posting this with reference to your post on my blog.

Respectfully,

The War Planner

Believe me, I do not condone nor approve of the GOP offerings like Dole or McCain -- particularly in these times -- but I do fear the prospect of another four years of this bumbling incompetence and downright leftist agenda. As stated above, I will work for whomever wins the nomination but it is my belief that Ms Palin -- as dynamic and as vivacious as she is -- would provide the other side with a lot of negative campaign material and would bring disaffection and disappointment to us in 2012.

She is a darling and has a history of eventually winning all of her battles, but her place in this fight is to help us win the Presidency and the Congress.

-30-

FEETS DO YOUR STUFF II

Thanks to KeyWestReader over on Hot Air for this:

Just so you know what's up, ladies and gentlemen, these pictures were taken in The Oval Office. It has been the official work place of The President of the United States since John Adams first occupied it in 1800. It has seen the likes of the Adamses, Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln, Grant, the Roosevelts, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Nixon, Carter, Reagan, the Bushes and Clinton.

It is now being treated with disrespect by its current occupant, Barack Obama who apparently does not give a flying crap for the history and tradition of the office ~~ in both senses of the phrase.

Along with the other furniture that this classless boor has a fondness for placing his feet upon, there is the centerpiece of the Oval Office: The Resolute Desk. It does not have the history nor tradition of The Oval Office. Nonetheless, it is the sacred property of the people of the United States of America and were I president I would certainly keep my shoes off it.

Moreover, I would be sure to dress and act like the chief executive of the greatest country in the world instead of some refugee from a third-world toilet or former poverty-stricken, inner-city denizen.

-30-

FEETS, DO YOUR STUFF!

The jobs numbers were as bad as it could get for Obama and the economy. I mean, you can't create less than zero jobs can you? That is, you can fire people, you can lay them off, but you just cannot can't create less than zero jobs! Did you ever see a sign out in front of your workplace saying,in effect, "We're hiring. -5 Job Openings. Inquire Inside!"

Neither did I.

Anyway, it was so bad that The Chicago Jesus slinked out of town before sun-up to duck the press. He literally boarded Marine One and made his get-away when the landing site at Camp David was below minimums and there was a weather advisory:

In a highly unusual maneuver, President Obama’s 30 minute flight to the Presidential mountain retreat at Camp David this afternoon was diverted to an undisclosed landing near Frederick, Maryland and a motorcade assembled to drive him to the nearby site. White House press secretary Jay Carney tells ABC News a “bad weather call” was made before the President and his younger daughter Sasha even boarded the aircraft.

Carney says they have now arrived safely at Camp David. It remains unexplained why the President would be allowed to board Marine One knowing that the landing site on the mountain was experiencing weather making a landing difficult.

The press first learned of the diversion when wire agency still photographers, who traditionally stand by at Camp David for news coverage in case of an emergency, were told by the military at the mountain top Marine base that the President would be motorcading.

One wonders if THE WIDE LOAD FLOTUS would be making the trip four hours later in a separate USMC CH-53? Also, why didn't he just jump into a limo and do the who trip by car instead of taking Marine One to some off-field landing site, ginning up a motorcade (which you know originated in D.C.) to drive there, and then drive to Camp David.

He must be in love with the trappings of power and be desperate to flee the probing questions.

But nothing ceases to amaze about this clown. It was disclosed this afternoon that his heralded, earth-stopping speech that he just absolutely, positively make before a joint session of Congress would not contain the entirety of his so-called economic plan outline:

Aides say Thursday’s speech will be part of a bigger plan the White House will roll out throughout the fall with the president hitting the road for speeches and town hall appearances. Aides have already confirmed that Obama will be traveling to California, Colorado, and Washington state for one three-day swing later this month that will include economic events as well as some fund raising.

The move could be a way to try and lower the stakes for Thursday’s Joint Session appearance, but it could also be an attempt by the administration to show the president is trying to stay all over the economy heading into what will likely be an uphill re-election battle.

“There’s no question the president will want to keep returning to jobs,” one top aide told Fox News. “I don’t want to downplay the speech [next week] — it’s going to be substantial. But the idea that this is the be-all and end-all is wrong.”One scenario being discussed by White House aides is the president highlighting individual economic proposals at appearances around the country throughout the Fall, just as the Republican presidential candidates are ramping up the sales pitch for their own economic proposals.

Swell.

So The Craven Coward not only slips out of town to avoid commenting to the press on the putrid job numbers, but he also spent 10 days on Martha's Vineyard only playing golf and motorcading around the island visiting his cronies instead of working on his plan outline.

Now that isn't even done!

Christ! He's like some kid in college who fritters away a Winter vacation and now has to pull an all-nighter on the Sunday before class to complete a 50-page term paper. And when that doesn't work, he shows up in class and hands the prof chapter one explaining, "I'll be turning in chapter two next Monday and the following chapters in subsequent weeks."

..which reminds me; how's that effort to get him to release his college transcripts coming?

AFTERTHOUGHT UPDATE: Another aggravating thought occurred to me. He's making a swing through the nation to pitch the remainder of his pathetic plan at the same time the GOP candidates are "ramping up the sales pitch for their own economic proposals"? And it's going to be interspersed with fundraisers? Sure as hell sounds to me like he's campaigning for President on our nickel.

Doesn't it to you, boys and girls?

-30-

Ø.Ø

..well, he's finally done it! Obama's finally lived up to (one of) his nicknames: Zero.

He and his merry band of shit-wits and his cronies in the congress have beaten this economy into the ground so badly that it's faint pulse has ceased. The August jobs report is a big fat zero.

I am too dispirited to write. Here are some quotes from the underlying article:

o The government also reported that the unemployment rate remained at 9.1 percent. It was the weakest jobs report since September 2010.

o The weakness in employment was underscored by revisions to the jobs data for June and July. Collectively, those figures were lowered to show 58,000 fewer jobs added. The downward revisions were all in government jobs.

o The average work week also declined and hourly earnings fell by 3 cents to $23.09.

o Weak growth, Standard&Poor's downgrade of long-term U.S. debt in early August and a sell-off on Wall Street likely kept some businesses from hiring.

o With job creation stalled and wages declining, consumers won't see much gain in incomes. That will limit their ability to spend, which undercuts growth. Consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of the economy.

o "The stagnation in U.S. payroll employment is an ominous sign," said Paul Ashworth, an economist at Capital Economics. "The broad message is that even if the US economy doesn't start to contract again, any expansion is going to be very, very modest and fall well short of what would be needed to drive the still elevated unemployment rate lower."

o No growth in hiring puts more pressure on President Barack Obama, who will deliver a rare address to a joint session of Congress next week to introduce a plan for creating jobs.

o The Obama administration has estimated that unemployment will average about 9 percent next year, when Obama will run for re-election. The rate was 7.8 percent when Obama took office.

o The White House Office of Management and Budget projects overall growth of only 1.7 percent this year.

o The economy needs to add roughly 250,000 jobs a month to rapidly bring down the unemployment rate, which has been above 9 percent in all but two months since May 2009.

o In August, the private sector added 17,000 jobs, the fewest since February 2010. That compares with 156,000 in July and 75,000 in June.

o Hiring fell across many different sectors. Manufacturers cut 3,000 jobs, its first decline since October 2010. Construction companies, retailers, and transportation firms also cut workers.

o The health care industry added 30,000 jobs last month.

o The economy expanded at an annual pace of only 0.7 percent in the first six months of the year. That was the slowest six months of growth since the recession officially ended in June 2009.

o In August, consumer confidence fell to its lowest level since April 2009, according to the Conference Board.

o Most economists forecast that growth may improve to about a 2 percent annual rate in the July-September quarter. But that's not fast enough to generate many jobs.

Shall I pass the cyanide and Nembutal now, or do you want to wait a bit?

PRESIDENTIAL LASER-LIKE PIVOT ON JOBS NUMBERS: So, The Chicago Jesus, faced with this latest bump-in-the-road and these newest blasts of headwinds is going to buckle down and get to work on crafting his jobs plan/outline/speech, right?

Wrong, rhinoceros breath!

After 10 days in Martha's Vineyard and an aborted attempt to schedule a joint session of Congress to try to upstage the GOP debate, he's thrown in the towel for the week and is headed out of town for a relaxing weekend:

-30-