Top 10 Things Obama Should Be Doing

UPDATE: Read "Obama’s Late Night Budget Bluster," Stephen Hayes.
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Top 10 Things Obama Should Be Doing Instead of Hobnobbing With Jay-Z, Beyonce, Letterman


1. Get An Intelligence Briefing

National Security Council Spokesman Tommy Vietor Dismissed Concerns That Obama Is Skipping His Daily Intelligence Briefings As “Not Particularly Interesting Or Useful.” ”I asked National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor about the findings, and whether there were any instances where the president attended the intelligence meeting that were not on his public schedule. Vietor did not dispute the numbers, but said the fact that the president, during a time of war, does not attend his daily intelligence meeting on a daily basis is ‘not particularly interesting or useful.’ He says that the president read his PDB every day, and he disagreed with the suggestion that there is any difference whatsoever between simply reading the briefing book and having an interactive discussion of its contents with top national security and intelligence officials where the president can probe assumptions and ask questions. ‘I actually don’t agree at all,’ Vietor told me in an e-mail, ‘The president gets the information he needs from the intelligence community each day.’” (Mark Thiessen, Op-Ed, “Why Is Obama Skipping More Than Half Of His Daily Intelligence Meetings?,” The Washington Post , 9/10/12)


2. Tell Americans How He’s Going To Get Nearly 47 Million Americans Off Food Stamps

“A Record 46.7 Million Americans Received Food Stamps In June…” “A record 46.7 million Americans received food stamps in June, up 0.4 percent from the previous month, the government said. Participation was 3.3 percent higher than a year earlier and has remained higher than 46 million all year as the unemployment rate has stagnated just above 8 percent. New jobless numbers will be released Sept. 7.” (Alan Bjera, “Food-Stamp Use Climbed To Record 46.7 Million In June, U.S. Says,” Bloomberg, 9/4/12)


3. Come Up With A Plan To Reduce The Number Of Americans Living In Poverty

In 2011, 46.2 Million People Lived In Poverty – Nearly One In Six Americans. “About 46.2 million people, or nearly 1 in 6, were in poverty. That is not statistically different from the 15.1 percent who were impoverished in 2010.” (“Census Bureau: Poverty Rate Remains At 15 Percent,” The Associated Press, 9/12/12)

“The Ranks Of America’s Poor Remained Stuck At Record Levels…” “The ranks of America’s poor remained stuck at record levels, although dwindling unemployment benefits and modest job gains helped stave off what experts had predicted would be the fourth rise in a row in the poverty rate.” (Hope Yen, “US Poverty Rate Unchanged; Record Numbers Persist,” The Associated Press, 9/12/12)


4. Meet With His Jobs Council

Obama Has Not Met With His Jobs Council In Six Months Because He Has Got “A Lot On His Plate.” REPORTER: “So there’s no reason they [the Jobs Council] haven’t met publicly?” WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY JAY CARNEY: “No, there’s no specific reason except the President’s obviously got a lot on his plate.” (White House Press Conference , Washington, D.C., 7/18/12)


5. Explain Why The Vice President Of The United States Would Cite The China’s State-Run News Agency To Attack Governor Romney Or For Anything For That Matter

Vice President Biden Cited The Chinese State-Run News Agency In An Attack On Governor Romney. BIDEN: “And we’re not the only ones who think it’s laughable. I seldom ever quote from the Chinese—official Chinese news agency. Seriously, this is what the Chinese government news agency said, and I quote: ‘it’s rather ironic that a considerable portion of this China battering politician’s wealth was actually obtained by doing business with Chinese companies before he entered politics’ end of quote.” (Vice President Joe Biden, Remarks, Burlington, Iowa, 9/17/12) Click Here To Watch


6. Meet With Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

In unusual snub, Obama to avoid meeting Netanyahu: In a highly unusual rebuff to a close ally, the White House said on Tuesday that President Barack Obama would not meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a U.S. visit later this month, as tensions escalated over how to deal with Iran’s nuclear program. The apparent snub, coupled with Netanyahu’s sharpened demands for a tougher U.S. line against Iran, threatened to plunge U.S.-Israeli relations into crisis and add pressure on Obama in the final stretch of a tight presidential election campaign. An Israeli official, who declined to be identified, said the White House had refused Netanyahu’s request to meet Obama when the Israeli leader visits the United States to attend the U.N. General Assembly, telling the Israelis, “The president’s schedule will not permit that.” (Matt Spetalnick and Allyn Fisher-Ilan, “In Unusual Snub, Obama To Avoid Meeting With Netanyahu,” Reuters, 09/12/12)


7. Declare China A Currency Manipulator

In May 2012, The Treasury Department Said That China “Did Not Meet The Definition Of A Currency Manipulator Under Its Standards.” ”The Treasury Department on Friday once again declined to name China a currency manipulator despite bipartisan calls for action from Congress. Treasury noted that China’s currency has appreciated against the dollar since June 2010, and said it did not meet the definition of a currency manipulator under its standards.” (Julian Pecquet, “Treasury: China Not Manipulating Currency,” The Hill’s “Global Affairs” Blog , 05/25/12)


8. Provide A Detailed Plan For What He Is Going To Do To Create Middle Class Jobs

“Forget Concerns About Obama’s Campaign Message — To One Group Of Sober-Sounding Operatives, The Real Problem Is That He Doesn’t Have A Sharp Enough Policy Vision.” (Alexander Burns and John F. Harris, “Second-Guessing President Obama,” Politico, 6/14/12)

Obama’s DNC Speech “Included Nothing New In The Way Of Policy Initiatives Or Fresh Approaches To Job Creation.” “The poor report from the Labor Department took on added significance for Obama after a convention acceptance speech that received decidedly mixed reviews — even from sympathetic Democrats in Charlotte — and included nothing new in the way of policy initiatives or fresh approaches to job creation.” (Ben White, “Jobs Report Challenges Obama’s Economic Message,” Politico, 9/7/12)


9. Provide A Plan That Actually Balances The Budget At Any Point In The Future

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner Admitted The Administration Doesn’t Have “A Definitive Solution” To Our Long-Term Budget Imbalance. REP. PAUL RYAN: “Because we got 10,000 people retiring every day, and healthcare costs going up…” TREASURY SECRETARY TIMOTHY GEITHNER: “That’s right. We have millions of Americans retiring every day, and that will drive substantially the rate of growth of healthcare costs. You are right to say we’re not coming before you today to say we have a definitive solution to that long-term problem. What we do know is, we don’t like yours.” (Testimony Before The House Committee On The Budget, U.S. House Of Representatives, 2/16/12)


10. End The War On Coal That Cost 1,200 Jobs Just Today

This Morning, Alpha Natural Resources Announced It Is Eliminating 1,200 Jobs, Nearly A Tenth Of Its Work Force. ”Coal producer Alpha Natural Resources said Tuesday it’s cutting production by 16 million tons and eliminating 1,200 jobs companywide, including 400 with the immediate closing of eight mines in Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. The mine shutdowns start Tuesday, while the rest of the layoffs will be completed by the end of the first quarter after Alpha fulfills current sales obligations, Chief Executive Officer Kevin Crutchfield said. In all, the layoffs amount to nearly a tenth of Alpha’s 13,000-person work force.” (Vicki Smith, “Alpha Closing 8 Mines, Cutting 1,200 Jobs In All,” The Associated Press, 9/18/12)