But he started it!

Obama gets, er goes on the, offensive!

After getting hammered in the media for weeks over the massive "stimulus" package, President Obama finally started firing back. For such a brilliant guy, he and his team have spent weeks getting beat up over this ridiculous pork package and now with public support plummeting they decide to look around and see that their mandate is crashing down. The economy still stinks, more layoffs happen every day and there is no end in sight. Rather than sound Presidential and exhibiting leadership, he frankly sounds like a petulant teenager who is being told he cannot have the keys to the car on Saturday night.

In what was the most pointedly partisan speech of his young presidency, Obama rejected Republican arguments that massive spending in the $819 billion stimulus bill that passed the House should be replaced by a new round of massive tax cuts.

“I welcome this debate, but we are not going to get relief by turning back to the same policies that for the last eight years doubled the national debt and threw our economy into a tailspin,” said President Obama – sounding more like Candidate Obama than at any time since he took the oath of office less than a month ago.

Obama, speaking to about 200 House Democrats at their annual retreat at the Kingsmill Resort and Spa, dismissed Republican attacks against the massive spending in the stimulus.

"What do you think a stimulus is?" Obama asked incredulously. "It’s spending — that's the whole point! Seriously.”

"Seriously" Is he fourteen? I wonder if he rolled his eyes and sighed? He is right about one thing, it is spending all right but that doesn't make it stimulus. Especially when you spend money on stuff that won't go into effect for two years or on just outrageous pork and political paybacks like hundreds of millions on STD research. More on the Obama "rationale" to drive a nation deep in debt even further into debt...

“When you start hearing arguments, on the cable chatter, just understand a couple of things,” he said. “No. 1, when they say, ‘Well, why are we spending $800 billion [when] we’ve got this huge deficit?’ – first of all, I found this deficit when I showed up, No. 1.

“I found this national debt, doubled, wrapped in a big bow waiting for me as I stepped into the Oval Office.”

This is Obama "going on the offensive"? The only this offensive here is how naive and pompous the President of the United State is. I guess since we already have a huge deficit it makes it OK to spend even further. Ever caught your kids fighting and the one says "He started it!" as if that makes it OK? That is what this argument amounts to. We were already in a huge deficit when I got here, so you cannot criticize me for deficit spending. Well think again. If he expects the wounded GOP to walk in lockstep with the same policies that got them booted, he is in for a rude shock. You would think he would know better, having been an instructor at a law school as he so often reminds us, but being "bi-partisan" doesn't mean he dictates and the Republicans meekly go along with what he says.

Mr. Obama you knew what you were signing on for and governing is different than campaigning. You managed to convince millions of Americans to elect you in spite of your lack of substantive plans and your complete lack of experience. Now you are President, so it is incumbent upon you to govern, not to pout when people don't walk in lockstep. Being a candidate is easy. Being a President is a lot harder.

Seriously.