Topic: Newsmax
John LeBoutillier has an existential crisis in his Nov. 8 Newsmax column: He wants President Obama to lose in 2012, but a recovering economy would play to Obama's benefit. Should he root for the economy to remain in the doldrums just to spite Obama?
Here is a terrible conundrum: we all want our fellow Americans to do well, to be happy, to find the jobs they desire. We all want the economy to recover — and soon. But if that recovery happens, it is likely that President Barack Obama will get the credit (presidents get the blame or credit regardless of what they do) and will be a strong favorite to be re-elected in 2012.
Furthermore, his big government spending spree will be credited with the recovery — just as FDR’s New Deal “cured” the Great Depression. For generations to come, historians, political scientists, and economists will once again praise massive federal spending as the sure-fire cure-all for economic problems.
On the other hand, we can’t be rooting for the economy to remain lifeless. Yes, that might very well spell doom for President Obama’s chances in 2012. But do we want years more of the misery we are experiencing now?
No!
So we root for economic recovery. And if the price is Obama getting re-elected, so be it. Maybe the Republican House and a 2012-elected GOP-controlled Senate can restrain the worst of Obama.
If LeBoutillier is thinking about this, you can bet other conservatives -- and conservative members of Congress -- have as well. And one must also wonder if those same conservative congressmen sought to obstruct Obama's economic legislation in order to blame him for a stalled recovery. It's not a new idea, after all.
