Last night, Obama returned to one of his favorite topics, what he inherited.
President Barack Obama said on Monday he inherited many of the country’s problems with high debt and deficits when he entered the White House, sounding a theme likely to dominate his 2012 re-election campaign.
Speaking at a Democratic fundraiser, where families paid $15,000 to get a picture with him, Obama defended his economic record and noted that problems in Europe were affecting the United States.
“We do have a serious problem in terms of debt and deficit, and much of it I inherited,” Obama said.
Note that he inherited a $10.6 trillion debt and has since turned it into a $14.5 trillion debt in under three years.
Later this week, Obama goes to a $71,600 per couple fundraiser at Harvey Weinstein’s West Village penthouse.
Obama is ahead of his Republican rivals, and no incumbent president has ever been defeated because he lacked sufficient funds. Can anyone imagine a scenario in which President Obama loses his reelection bid because his campaign doesn’t have enough money?
In that light, with money not really being an issue for his campaign, we have to wonder: why the relentless fundraising schedule? Why multiple events per night, and multiple nights per week?
In light of how Obama’s crowds at his rallies are shrinking, and how he occasionally gets told “I’m exhausted of defending you,” it seems reasonable to ask whether the fundraisers are for Obama’s campaign or for Obama himself. No matter how bad the day has been – say, a 634-point drop in the stock market, ominous polls – there’s always a well-heeled, well-dressed crowd greeting him with cheers and smiles, eager to tell him what a great job he’s doing. No matter how bad things get in the real world outside the doors, beyond the security guards, metal detectors and velvet ropes, inside those fundraisers, to Obama it is always a great day – say, May 24, 2008 – and the magic of his previous campaign lives on. No one is suffering in those fundraisers, no one is giving him bad news, no one is disapproving of the job he’s doing. It must feel like a warm bath of unconditional affection.
Even better than Calgon, I’ll bet.