Obama Numbers vs Obama Rhetoric

September 5, 2012
Newt Gingrich

The great challenge for the Democratic Convention in Charlotte this week is that Obama’s numbers will drown out Obama’s rhetoric.

President Bill Clinton will give a good speech—and then there are Obama’s numbers.

Michelle Obama will give a good speech—and then there are Obama’s numbers.
President Obama’s acceptance speech will soar and resonate—and then there are his own numbers.

There are three Obama numbers:

1. Unemployment: 8.3 percent
2. Gasoline: $3.80 a gallon
3. The national debt: $16 trillion

If Republicans calmly and methodically focus on these three numbers, this could become the week the entire Obama facade cracked.

Unemployment is the highest consistently since the Great Depression.
Under Reagan unemployment was coming down from a point even higher than Obama faced.

The Reagan recovery entered 1984 with 8 percent unemployment and by the fall it was in the 7.2 to 7.4 range. It ended 1984 at 7.3 percent and people were confident that the recovery would continue and unemployment would get even lower (which it did).

Gasoline prices have skyrocketed under President Obama. Gasoline was $1.81 a gallon in Charlotte the day after Obama became President. It was $3.79 this Labor Day. Gasoline has literally gone up a penny a day throughout the month of August (31 cents a gallon for the month). The Labor Day price was the highest in history.

By contrast the Reagan deregulation of oil production and gasoline distribution (ending Jimmy Carter’s gasoline rationing and waiting lines at gas stations as you could only buy gas every other day based in the last number of your license plate) produced a dramatic increase in supply and an equally dramatic decline in cost.

There was a profound reason the Reagan campaign had “leadership that is working” as one of its themes. There was an equally good reason that “morning in America” was one of the slogans.

In 1984 people felt better off because they were better off.

Obama has to explain failure while Reagan could run for reelection on a wave of success.

The third number testifies to the bankruptcy of the Obama-left wing strategy.

The Obama proposition was that big enough government spending would rebuild the economy.

Despite current complaints that they couldn’t get anything through Congress, for two years a Democratic Congress led by Pelosi and Reid gave Obama virtually everything he wanted (including passing a $780 billion stimulus bill no elected official had read).

The Obama big government strategy did not jump start the economy. It simply grew bigger government on a smaller economy.

The irony is that in the middle of the Democratic Convention the national debt will cross $16 trillion.

In a recent poll Kellyanne Conway of the Polling Company, Inc. noted that when offered the choice of bigger government with more services and a smaller economy with fewer jobs, or a bigger economy with more jobs and a smaller government with fewer services by 70 to 16. The American people preferred a bigger economy to a bigger government.

Clearly these three Obama numbers will indicate to the American people that Obama is in the 16 percent. He has run up a huge national debt while failing to either create jobs or increase the supply of energy.

Our lives are poorer in employment, in what we have to pay for gasoline, and in what we owe for the politicians’ spending.

This triple Obama failure could overshadow the entire convention and define the upcoming campaign.

Conventions largely break into two kinds: achievement conventions and accusation conventions.

If you are an incumbent with a good record you run an achievement convention and remind everyone what a good job you have done and why they should reelect you. Mitch Daniels reelection commercials which just listed his achievements without any words for sixty seconds- there were two of them- is a classic example of an achievement campaign.

Obviously the Obama convention cannot be an achievement campaign. The failure of their policies forces them to have an accusation convention. That means accuse Romney of everything. Accuse Ryan of everything you failed to accuse Romney of. Accuse Republicans in general of even more than you have accused Romney-Ryan.

The problem for Obama is that these three numbers are going to be louder than all their accusations combined.

The formula is simple: 8.3 percent plus $3.80 a gallon plus $16 trillion equals failure.

That is the burden Obama and the Democrats will carry into the fall campaign.

Your Friend,