BloggeRhythms

For one with few, if any, true presidential capabilities, Obama does possess the trait of consistency. Therefore it’s not really surprising that unlike most POTUS’s of the past, instead of bowing out graciously, he’s out there still campaigning.  

Much news coverage's being given to his current claim that he could have won a third term if he'd been allowed to run again. In that regard, he told ex-adviser David Axelrod for a podcast of “The Axe Files” that: “I am confident in this vision because I’m confident that if I had run again and articulated it, I think I could’ve mobilized a majority of the American people to rally behind it.” 

While newscaster’s and pundits have been voicing opinions on the subject, none seem to pick up on the fact that Obama has indeed already run again, and he lost. Establishing that reality is the fact that his surrogate, Clinton, was a carbon copy of his platform. Including a continuation of his objectives and goals, which were summarily rejected by voters at polls across the nation. What's more, having served as his secretary of state, Clinton brought he and his family out for numerous campaign appearances. 

During that time, to make the matter of his direct involvement abundantly clear, in September he declared that his “legacy’s on the ballot.”

In addition, the negative ramifications of his “legacy” itself can be seen statistically, whereas to date the grand total of the Democrat net loss under his watch includes 1,042 state and federal Democratic posts, including congressional and state legislative seats, governorships and the presidency. 

Democratic U.S. Senate seats fell from 55 to 46, House share plummeted to 194 from 256 with Republicans still controlling  both in the next session, while during the same time, Democratic governorship's fell from 28 to 16, along with the loss of 958 state legislative seats nationally. 

Representative, Tim Ryan, a Democrat from Ohio delivered a quite accurate and rational assessment of the reality during his failed run at the House minority leader position last month, saying: “We’re not even a national party at this point. We have some support on the coasts, but we’ve lost the support of middle America, and we’ve got to make some changes. So I’m pulling the fire alarm here, because the house is on fire.”

And if the preceding evidence of the current Democrat demise, primarily due to influences wrought by Obama’s dismal performance as POTUS aren't enough, several other items today illustrate what voters really think. 

Michelle Jamrisko wrote @bloomberg.com: “Consumer confidence climbed in December to the highest level since August 2001 as Americans were more upbeat about the outlook than at any time in the last 13 years, according to a report Tuesday from the New York-based Conference Board.”

Consumer expectations for the next six months rose to 105.5, the highest since December 2003, from 94.4, while those expecting better business conditions six months from now rose to 23.6 percent from 16.4 percent, the highest since February 2011.

That’s because households are expecting Trump deliver and are “more upbeat about the prospects for the economy, labor market and their incomes, according to the Conference Board’s report. The results corroborate surveys by the University of Michigan and the National Federation of Independent Business, which showed jumps in household and business sentiment on Trump’s pledges to boost jobs, cut taxes and ease regulations.”

Additionally, “the difference in the share expecting incomes to increase and those anticipating they will fall was 12.4 points, the widest since January 2007.”

The share expecting stock prices to be higher in the next year surged to 44.7 percent, the most upbeat reading since January 2004 while more are reporting plans to purchase automobiles and major appliances.

Adding some more weight to the argument of attitude changes related to Obama’s departure, according to yahoo.com today, Japan’s Panasonic and Tesla said they plan to begin production of solar cells at a factory in Buffalo, New York.

SolarCity Corp., a San Mateo, California-based solar panel company owned by Tesla, manufactures photovoltaic cells and modules used in solar panels for non-solar roof products and solar glass tile roofs. 

Production is due to begin in mid-2017, creating 1,400 jobs in Buffalo with plans for further expansion there. 

And, as often happens, readers brought practical perception to the up-trending events.

Mike wrote: “Wait until the tax laws are reformed and the job killing regulations are eliminated. This is just the beginning and Trump isn't even president yet. The American people are about to find out just how bad Obama has hurt the middle class during his two terms as president.”  

Realist added: “Trump has already done more for jobs as president elect than obama has done in 8 years. Remember when obama said 'there is no magic wand to bring these jobs back'. Its called a phone you moron, pick it up and speak to these CEOs. But obama is too incompetent to do that, he doesnt understand the first thing about business.” 

In an timely fashion, another article appropriately reflected the major divide and differences in objectives and perspectives between politically motivated Obama and growth oriented Trump.   

Andrea Riquier @marketwatch.com, writes about a report by the White House to be released tomorrow. 

Titled “Artificial Intelligence, Automation, and the Economy,” the report suggests the U.S. should invest in and develop AI, because it has “many benefits,” education and train Americans for the jobs of the future, and aid workers in the transition and empower them to share in future growth. 

Researchers’ estimate that threatened jobs over the next decade or two range from 9% to 47% and that those who will lose out to artificial intelligence are ones with less education and in lower wage jobs such as, driving and house cleaning.  

And then, as should certainly be expected from the current White House perspective, the authors write that “policymakers should aid workers with the transition to an AI-dominated economy by investing in social-safety net programs like Medicaid, food stamps, and retirement programs. 

“For Americans who are immediately impacted, policymakers should strengthen unemployment insurance and job creation programs.” 

Thus, while the public eagerly awaits economic growth, job opportunity and increasing incomes driven by a Trump administration, the first thought from today’s White House is a push for more entitlement, more welfare and more government.  

Which means that there may be a slight discrepancy between Obama’s confidence in his reelectability and reality. Because it seems that he’s left an important segment of society out of his confident equation: the majority of voters who won't vote for him.

That’s it for today folks. 

Adios