COMMENTARY | Vice President Joe Biden said Saturday that Republicans have to pass the jobs bill and put Americans back to work or President Barack Obama will continue to find ways to do without their help.
Filling in for Obama during the weekly radio address, Biden said the president will continue to use his executive powers to create more jobs if Congress does not act, according to Associated Press. Obama already has used his powers to restructure student loans and rewrite certain provisions for home loan refinancing.
Biden's threat fell upon the deaf ears of a gridlocked Congress. Little is going to change there until next year's election. Republicans are not going to pass another stimulus bill or the jobs bill, and Democrats have twice watched the jobs bill fail in the Senate.
If the president possesses such vast powers to create jobs as Biden suggested, then the obvious question is: why has he waited until now to do so?
Manipulating federal regulations and loan repayment terms are administrative tasks. Federal agency directors should have taken those measures long ago to protect people prior to defaulting on their loans through no fault of their own. Why wait until a year before the election to this step?
Obama's re-election campaign needs an economic victory and, since Congress isn't going to cooperate by handing it one, it is hunting for any minute opportunity to claim a win. I suppose they can't be blamed -- Obama's approval rating, although improved slightly over October, is still in the basement, according to AFP, and that's not a good sign for an incumbent wanting another four years at the helm of the economy.
Rather than waste his time manufacturing small victories by executive order, I'd prefer Obama to engage congressional Republicans in a frank discussion about what they can agree upon. There are highway projects both parties want to see finished. Let's do them. There are energy programs both parties need. Let's start them. And, for a change, how about Obama staying in Washington to do the people's business rather than jetting all around the world? Send Biden instead.
Both parties are determined to deprive the other of any victory. Meanwhile, unemployed workers and their families suffer. Hopefully, voters will remember that when they hit the polls next year and send a clear message to all incumbents that it's time to change the way Washington does business.
Dan McGinnis is a freelance writer, published author and former newspaper publisher. He has been a candidate, campaign manager and press secretary for state and local political campaigns for more than 30 years.
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