Malaise

President Obama has been spending a lot of time addressing foreign policy issues and even more time overseas on a variety of visits. That’s what Presidents do when their domestic agenda and accomplishments are in serious trouble.

In just over two years, Barack Obama has spent close to a trillion dollars in a misguided effort to stimulate the economy. Investor’s Business Daily reports the frightening status of our economy:

• Businesses last month slashed orders for autos and other durable goods by the largest amount in six months.
• Industrial output dropped the most in April for any month since the start of the recovery, indicating the manufacturing sector may be rolling over.
• Jobless claims last week unexpectedly shot up and topped 400,000 for the seventh straight week, signaling that payroll growth remains soft — in fact, the pace of hiring may be slowing.
• April housing starts plunged 11%, confirming the housing industry remains moribund.
• Foreclosures last quarter accounted for 28% of all home sales — the highest share in a year and nearly six times above the normal rate.
• Consumer spending last quarter expanded just 2% after rising at a 4% clip in the fourth quarter.
• Net corporate profits last quarter fell 1% after rising 3% in the fourth quarter, and weaker earnings continue to act as a drag on stocks.
• The overall economy last quarter grew a lower-than-expected 1.8% vs. 3.1% in the fourth, showing gross domestic product growth is braking hard.

For those who are old enough to remember, these data are reminiscent of another failed presidency—the Carter administration. In those days, people referred to this as “malaise” or “stagflation.”

In fact, the only thing that seems to have increased significantly is our indebtedness as a nation. In response, the President presented a 2012 budget that was so bad that Democrats and Republicans in the Senate voted against it by an astounding 97 – 0.

Worse, President Obama has shown absolutely no leadership in addressing a need for entitlement reform. Although he’s quick to criticize other proposals and hesitant to condemn the blatant and dishonest scare tactics adopted by his party, he has avoided developing his own proposals to reform Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.

So when I hear Obama supporters castigate Republicans for their “weak” field of presidential contenders, I can’t help but wonder why they don’t pause for a moment and realize that they have a very weak contender themselves.