The Republican Party has nearly completed “the book,” a 500-item catalog of Barack Obama statements – on video or in print – that the GOP plans to use against him in the 2012 campaign.
According to The Washington Post, which was provided access to the material, the Republicans believe their best weapon to defeat the president is the words of the president. Because of Obama’s unusual habit of making detailed promises, the GOP’s ammunition is bountiful, spanning hundreds of issues and positions.
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus told the Post: “The nice thing about Barack Obama is that he’s given us plenty of material. The one thing he loves to do is give speeches.”
Over at Politifact.com, which has maintained an objective accounting of Obama’s promises since Inauguration Day, the tally looks this way: promises kept, 159; compromises, 49; promises broken, 56; promises that are stalled, 66; in the works, 176; and not yet rated by the website, 27.
Nonetheless, the GOP playbook certainly has some meaty topics to bite into.
Here’s a portion of what the Post found in the book:
“A 2009 Obama statement that his stimulus bill would lift 2 million Americans out of poverty, for example, is paired against census data showing that more than 6 million Americans have fallen into poverty since he took office. A pledge that an administration housing plan would “help between 7 and 9 million families restructure or refinance their mortgages” is paired against news reports showing the government spent far less than promised and aided fewer than 2 million.
“… His 2008 Democratic nomination acceptance speech vow that a green jobs initiative would create 5 million jobs is matched up against news reports from this year depicting lackluster results and headlines about Solyndra, the failed maker of solar panels that received hundreds of millions in federal loan guarantees.
“… One Obama quote will be featured prominently: In 2009 he said on NBC’s ‘Today’ show that if he could not fix the economy in three years, ‘then there’s going to be a one-term proposition.’
You can read the entire piece here.
