Charles Krauthammer: “President Zero’s” Speech Next Week All About His Re-Election

Charles Krauthammer says Obama has his “foot on the economy”, and  his speech next week will not to be a serious attempt to turn things around – it’s a speech to frame the debate for his re-election. It will include ridiculous things he knows the republicans will reject, setting up the premise he will use to blame the bad economy on them. Then he’ll accuse Republicans of selfishly politicizing the issue.

It’s a sick and cynical campaign strategy, but about all we can expect from President Zero at this point:

Keith Koffler at WH Dossier is saying basically the same thing:The Big Setup

Obama must make his proposals as big a deal as possible, so that everyone knows how hard he’s “trying to help.” That’s why he’s scheduled an address to Congress. No higher profile than that.

And he must calibrate his ideas as carefully as possible so that they seem like they should be palatable to the GOP. He’ll offer ideas that some Republicans have supported, but which in the current high-deficit environment will be rejected.

Then he will talk about his largely meaningless initiatives every chance he gets. And then later, every chance he gets, he will talk about how Republicans rejected them and ruined his noble crusade.

It’s a huge gamble, because Obama has already decided not to take the sweeping measures needed to help the economy. Instead, he’s been running for reelection.

Absent major fiscal reforms that take a significant bite out of entitlements, the government’s fiscal picture and the overall economic outlook are not going to improve. Stimulus has not worked. What the economy needs is confidence, and to build confidence we must get a handle on the federal debt. And a president who has shown no leadership on the issue – who in fact has vastly increased spending and the debt – and who is instead trying to politicize the debate, is not going to lead us to that particular Promised Land.