2) Propose $3 trillion in spending cuts and tax increases at a time when the output gap is $2 trillion and rising.

3) Presume that your key supporters will come out in droves, particularly if the other party nominates a complete clown.

It’s fine to propose things for the sake of appearing different, but doing nothing about the economy for another 12 months guarantees that unemployment will rise and you will indeed lose the election.

Gorilla says: “Barry used to be a smart guy, now he’s a defeated President walking!”

Our President knows full well that the output gap in the US economy is $2 trillion; if he doesn’t, he should get some real economists to advise him.

Proposing a $300 billion jobs program therefore is entirely inadequate.

Having that program be focussed primarily on tax cuts for those already employed, the least effective form of stimulus, is absurd and cruel.

What’s needed is a stimulus program of at least $1 trillion/year for the next 2-3 years, consisting of a jobs program to hire 10 million Americans to rebuild infrastructure, an infrastructure program to fix roads, bridges, water and sewer systems, and a state aid program that will prevent the massive layoffs of teachers, firemen, and policemen.

What’s reality is that none of these things will pass the US Congress as currently constituted, so there must be unilateral action by the Fed and Treasury to get things done.

The alternative is a one term President followed by the return to power of the party that is entirely responsible for the current disaster the country is facing.

Gorilla says: “Going halfway to nowhere is not as good as going all the way somewhere!”

There’s no sense that he really understands what’s going on.

The country needs bold, affirmative leadership, and he’s simply not providing any.

It’s not about the deficit, it’s not about the debt, it’s not about the stock market…

What it is about are 25 million unemployed Americans, and millions more who have lost their homes and their savings, and the refusal of our leaders to lift a finger to help them.

The country needs a serious jobs program and much, much more spending to close a $2 trillion output gap and a lack of sufficient demand.

Such spending is easily financed by the lowest interest rates of the past 60 years.

It’s more than a little strange that a ridiculous downgrading of US bonds leads to an increase demand for US bonds, but that’s where we are…

What we get are meaningless platitudes and a focus on problems that don’t actually exist: inflation, “confidence”, and a debt that’s entirely manageable.

It feels a good deal like watching Jimmy Carter twist in the wind: the sense that a good and decent man cannot bring himself to rock the boat and instead wallows in defeatism.

Gorilla says: “So long, Barack, it’s been good to know ya!”

Apparently the bond vigilantes are willing to finance a perpetual search for the confidence fairy.

At this point, the President’s pretending to care about jobs, but it’s too late. The time to do something serious about that was 2009, and he and the Congress simply didn’t do enough.

Bold initiatives were required for the worst economic downturn in 70 years, and, with the exception of healthcare reform (itself not very bold, but a start in the right direction), bold initiatives did not occur.

Now, one House of Congress is controlled by an insane, racist, extremist, misogynistic party who will not agree to anything proposed by this President for the foreseeable future.

It will be round after round of hostage style negotiations, economic growth stalling, and the likely end of the Obama Administration in the 2012 elections.

Democrats aren’t going to come out unless the Know Nothing nominee is a complete crazy (and that’s the only hope they have of winning in 2012, because the economy will be in recession by then).

They’re fed up with this Administration’s endless bipartisanship fetish and the inability of Congressional Democrats to agree on much of anything since the 2010 elections.

Gorilla channels Cronkite: “Didn’t have to be this way, but that’s the way it is!”

Nothing much more will be done. It’s a reprise of the very thing Helicopter Ben said the Japanese failed to do during their lost decade.

It’s hard to understand why there’s absolutely no urgency about getting the unemployed back to work.

All the talk in DC’s about the deficit, which doesn’t matter at all in the short-term and will be eliminated altogether in the long-term by the gradual move towards a Medicare-style health care system that covers everyone.

The danger for Obama’s reelection is that the economy keeps tanking and the Know Nothings decide to nominate a non-clown (so far, all the declared candidates are essentially clowns and/or not clownish enough to ever be nominated by today’s Know Nothing Party): Gorilla’s bet is on Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, a despicable right-wing loony who sounds like ordinary, non-loony folks.

Gorilla says: “A plausible clown is always more electable!”

2) The killing of Osama bin Laden: demonstrating once and for all, although that lesson hasn’t yet been learned at the Pentagon, that terrorism is a manageable threat, provided you have a competent President in charge.

3) The restoration of America’s global image: Although we’ve not done enough to address the horrors of torture committed by the previous President, the country is once again liked around the world.

4) Saving the American economy from the worst recession since the Depression: Obama could have done more, but he kept America going after the previous President nearly destroyed the country’s economy.

5) Demonstrating that being smart, pragmatic and compassionate are, Know Nothing Party notwithstanding, essential elements of leadership. It’s nice not to have a completely corrupt idiot in charge.

2) Afghanistan and Iraq: Both should have been wound up by now. There is no exit strategy and there is no rationale for involvement in either country.

3) The stimulus package: It was far too small and wasted too much money on tax cuts. More state aid and a real jobs program are even more necessary than they were in 2009.

4) Reappointing Ben Bernanke and not filling Fed slots: Bernanke has been a terrible Fed Chairman and clearly isn’t committed to doing much about unemployment. Getting sensible, reality-based people onto the Fed Board might have made a big difference in getting the focus off non-existent inflation and onto unemployment.

5) The deficit/debt debacle: Another unimportant issue where the President has negotiated primarily with himself. There’s simply no reason to work with today’s Know Nothing Party on any issue because they no longer represent anyone other than old, rich, racist, misogynistic and extremist right-wingers.

Thankfully, we Americans decided to elect a real leader in 2008.

Gorilla says: “Civility is important, but ignoring evil is a disaster.”