Like millions of other Americans President Barack Obama was at work on Labor Day, although a picnic was amongst his plans.
He was due to attend a worker’s picnic in Cincinnati, Ohio and at that event he was scheduled to announce the appointment of Ron Bloom to the post of “Manufacturing Czar”.
Bloom is already a member of the Obama administration as he is a Senior Advisor to treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, serving as a member of the “President’s Task Force on the Automotive Industry”. Apparently he will continue in this capacity in addition to his new duties.
Bloom was a key member of the team who negotiated both the auto industry “bailout” while negotiating a restructuring plan with both auto industry executives and labor unions. He also helped engineer a plan to restructure the US steel industry when he was privately employed as a vice president at Lazard Freres & Co. LLC. It is believed that in his new role he will be working with the Departments of Commerce, Treasury, Energy, and Labor as well as the National Economic Council.
In a statement released Monday President Obama said “Last week we learned that our manufacturing sector expanded for the first time in 18 months and had the highest monthly output in two years. It’s a sign that we’re on the right track to economic recovery, but that we still have a long way to go. That’s why I’ve asked Ron Bloom to help coordinate my Administration’s manufacturing policy.”
The appointment comes as political pundits are still speculating that the President had a hand in the resignation of Van Jones, something that White House advisor David Axelrod denied on Obama’s behalf during a Sunday appearance on “Meet the Press”. "Absolutely not -- this was Van Jones' own decision," he told host David Gregory. Jones resigned after it surfaced that he had been a signatory on a petition that called for an investigation into whether or not the government allowed the 2001 9/11 terrorist attacks to occur.
Van Jones was often referred to as the “czar for green jobs” and his exit has led some republicans to call for a halt to the appointment of any more “czars” until the thirty in place have both their credentials and previous political experience examined in detail. By appointing Ron Bloom just a few days after Jones’ abrupt resignation the president is obviously demonstrating that he has no intention to bow to such outside pressure when it comes to staffing and running his administration.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Obama Expands Ron Bloom’s Power, Appoints Him Manufacturing Czar.
Like millions of other Americans President Barack Obama was at work on Labor Day, although a picnic was amongst his plans.
He was due to attend a worker’s picnic in Cincinnati, Ohio and at that event he was scheduled to announce the appointment of Ron Bloom to the post of “Manufacturing Czar”.
Bloom is already a member of the Obama administration as he is a Senior Advisor to treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, serving as a member of the “President’s Task Force on the Automotive Industry”. Apparently he will continue in this capacity in addition to his new duties.
Bloom was a key member of the team who negotiated both the auto industry “bailout” while negotiating a restructuring plan with both auto industry executives and labor unions. He also helped engineer a plan to restructure the US steel industry when he was privately employed as a vice president at Lazard Freres & Co. LLC. It is believed that in his new role he will be working with the Departments of Commerce, Treasury, Energy, and Labor as well as the National Economic Council.
In a statement released Monday President Obama said “Last week we learned that our manufacturing sector expanded for the first time in 18 months and had the highest monthly output in two years. It’s a sign that we’re on the right track to economic recovery, but that we still have a long way to go. That’s why I’ve asked Ron Bloom to help coordinate my Administration’s manufacturing policy.”
The appointment comes as political pundits are still speculating that the President had a hand in the resignation of Van Jones, something that White House advisor David Axelrod denied on Obama’s behalf during a Sunday appearance on “Meet the Press”. "Absolutely not -- this was Van Jones' own decision," he told host David Gregory. Jones resigned after it surfaced that he had been a signatory on a petition that called for an investigation into whether or not the government allowed the 2001 9/11 terrorist attacks to occur.
Van Jones was often referred to as the “czar for green jobs” and his exit has led some republicans to call for a halt to the appointment of any more “czars” until the thirty in place have both their credentials and previous political experience examined in detail. By appointing Ron Bloom just a few days after Jones’ abrupt resignation the president is obviously demonstrating that he has no intention to bow to such outside pressure when it comes to staffing and running his administration.
He was due to attend a worker’s picnic in Cincinnati, Ohio and at that event he was scheduled to announce the appointment of Ron Bloom to the post of “Manufacturing Czar”.
Bloom is already a member of the Obama administration as he is a Senior Advisor to treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, serving as a member of the “President’s Task Force on the Automotive Industry”. Apparently he will continue in this capacity in addition to his new duties.
Bloom was a key member of the team who negotiated both the auto industry “bailout” while negotiating a restructuring plan with both auto industry executives and labor unions. He also helped engineer a plan to restructure the US steel industry when he was privately employed as a vice president at Lazard Freres & Co. LLC. It is believed that in his new role he will be working with the Departments of Commerce, Treasury, Energy, and Labor as well as the National Economic Council.
In a statement released Monday President Obama said “Last week we learned that our manufacturing sector expanded for the first time in 18 months and had the highest monthly output in two years. It’s a sign that we’re on the right track to economic recovery, but that we still have a long way to go. That’s why I’ve asked Ron Bloom to help coordinate my Administration’s manufacturing policy.”
The appointment comes as political pundits are still speculating that the President had a hand in the resignation of Van Jones, something that White House advisor David Axelrod denied on Obama’s behalf during a Sunday appearance on “Meet the Press”. "Absolutely not -- this was Van Jones' own decision," he told host David Gregory. Jones resigned after it surfaced that he had been a signatory on a petition that called for an investigation into whether or not the government allowed the 2001 9/11 terrorist attacks to occur.
Van Jones was often referred to as the “czar for green jobs” and his exit has led some republicans to call for a halt to the appointment of any more “czars” until the thirty in place have both their credentials and previous political experience examined in detail. By appointing Ron Bloom just a few days after Jones’ abrupt resignation the president is obviously demonstrating that he has no intention to bow to such outside pressure when it comes to staffing and running his administration.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Where is the President Obama We Elected?
Back in 2008 Barack Obama was a fresh face, full of energy and new ideas, inspiring voters to elect the first African American Commander in Chief of the United States. He gave hope to millions that his drive and energy could help turn an ailing and depressed country around.
Where has that man gone? The Barack Obama many of us feel we know and love has not been in evidence that often recently. At recent town hall meetings the bright white Barack smile looked forced and the arm pumping and fake jogging a tired political cliché that has run its course.
It appears that life in the lion’s den that is Washington is more than Obama had ever bargained for, and perhaps is only now realizing the true scope of the task he has undertaken.
Take for instance the recent e mail campaign that he launched to encourage his supporters to report "health care rumors" to a special website for review by his administration. One can only imagine what one of his most vocal supporters in the music world, rapper Young Jeezy, might have made of that. The man has made a career out of promoting the phrase "Don't Snitch".
On a more serious note, the fact is that more and more Americans seemed to be growing tired of the Obama show. They are disenchanted with the massive piles of debt that still exist, the jobs that are still being lost and the expansion of government. Obama keeps talking though, seemingly in the hope that if he keeps talking, keeps selling the "bigger is better" concept that his supporters will calm down again and listen. The fact that a recent poll showed that nearly half the people questioned thought the President was now on television too much seems to burst that particular bubble.
There is little doubt that the current health care "crisis" may be doing the most damage to the President's image. Another poll, this time conducted by the New York Times and CBS had some findings that should have alarm bells ringing in Obama's head. Sixty-nine percent believe Obamacare will hurt the quality of their own health care, while a huge seventy-six percent believe Obama's changes will mean higher taxes for them. And those are just two of the lowlights.
There are still wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to contend with and the economy is still a mess. Barack Obama will be doing himself and his country a serious injustice if he continues to allow the health care "debate" to ruin his image and his country's faith in him for good.
Where has that man gone? The Barack Obama many of us feel we know and love has not been in evidence that often recently. At recent town hall meetings the bright white Barack smile looked forced and the arm pumping and fake jogging a tired political cliché that has run its course.
It appears that life in the lion’s den that is Washington is more than Obama had ever bargained for, and perhaps is only now realizing the true scope of the task he has undertaken.
Take for instance the recent e mail campaign that he launched to encourage his supporters to report "health care rumors" to a special website for review by his administration. One can only imagine what one of his most vocal supporters in the music world, rapper Young Jeezy, might have made of that. The man has made a career out of promoting the phrase "Don't Snitch".
On a more serious note, the fact is that more and more Americans seemed to be growing tired of the Obama show. They are disenchanted with the massive piles of debt that still exist, the jobs that are still being lost and the expansion of government. Obama keeps talking though, seemingly in the hope that if he keeps talking, keeps selling the "bigger is better" concept that his supporters will calm down again and listen. The fact that a recent poll showed that nearly half the people questioned thought the President was now on television too much seems to burst that particular bubble.
There is little doubt that the current health care "crisis" may be doing the most damage to the President's image. Another poll, this time conducted by the New York Times and CBS had some findings that should have alarm bells ringing in Obama's head. Sixty-nine percent believe Obamacare will hurt the quality of their own health care, while a huge seventy-six percent believe Obama's changes will mean higher taxes for them. And those are just two of the lowlights.
There are still wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to contend with and the economy is still a mess. Barack Obama will be doing himself and his country a serious injustice if he continues to allow the health care "debate" to ruin his image and his country's faith in him for good.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
