Romney: Obama 'Has Failed' - Here's Why

"How many months ago was it, 37 months ago, [President Obama] told us that if he could borrow $787 billion, almost a trillion dollars, he would keep unemployment below 8 percent. It has not been below 8 percent since. This president has not succeeded, this president has failed – and that’s the reason we’re going to get rid of him in 2012.” –Mitt Romney

President Obama Promised That He Would Turn The Economy Around, But Millions Of Americans Are Struggling For Work And The Economy Is Not Adding Jobs At A Sufficient Pace:

In January 2009, President Obama's Economic Team Predicted The Trillion-Dollar Stimulus Package Would Keep Unemployment Below 8%. (Christina Romer and Jared Bernstein, “The Job Impact Of The American Recovery And Reinvestment Plan," 1/9/09)

• February Was The Thirty-Seventh Straight Month With National Unemployment Above 8%. The jobless rate has been above 8% since February 2009, a thirty-seven month span unequaled in recorded history. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, 3/9/12)

• “The Congressional Budget Office Is Projecting Unemployment Of More Than 8% Throughout This Election Year And Into 2014.” (David Jackson, “CBO Projects 8%-Plus Unemployment Into 2014,” USA Today, 2/16/12)

• Nearly Twenty-Four Million Americans Are Unemployed, Underemployed, Or Have Stopped Looking For Work. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, 3/9/12)

• CNBC's Brian Sullivan: “At This Rate Of Job Creation It Will Take Us A Decade To Get Back To Pre-Recession Employment Levels.” SULLIVAN: “We're going to need three and four hundred thousand jobs a month created to get back to where we were. At this rate of job creation it will take us a decade to get back to pre-recession employment levels.” (MSNBC's “Morning Joe,” 3/9/12)

Shortly After Taking Office, President Obama Said He Would Be Looking At A “One-Term Proposition” If He Failed To Turn The Economy Around. “Three years ago, President Obama said he would be looking at a ‘one-term proposition’ if the economy didn't turn around during his first term. ‘If I don't have this done in three years, then there's going to be a one-term proposition,’ Obama said during a Today show interview broadcast Feb. 2, 2009.” (David Jackson, “GOP Celebrates Obama 2009 Comment: 'One-Term Proposition',” USA Today, 2/2/12)

President Obama Also Promised To Cut The Deficit In Half By The End Of His First Term, But His Latest Budget Reveals A Fourth Straight Year Of Trillion-Dollar Deficits:

President Obama, In 2009: “Today I'm Pledging To Cut The Deficit We Inherited In Half By The End Of My First Term In Office.” OBAMA: “[T]oday I'm pledging to cut the deficit we inherited in half by the end of my first term in office. This will not be easy. It will require us to make difficult decisions and face challenges we've long neglected. But I refuse to leave our children with a debt that they cannot repay – and that means taking responsibility right now, in this administration, for getting our spending under control.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks, 2/23/09)

• The Administration Promised To Cut The Deficit In Half “Honestly And Candidly.” “This is big – the President today promised that by the end of his first term, he will cut in half the massive federal deficit we've inherited. And we'll do it in a new way: honestly and candidly.” (Macon Phillips, The White House Blog, 2/23/09)

President Obama’s Latest Budget Breaks His Pledge And “Does Not Come Close” To Cutting The Deficit In Half. “The 2013 budget the president submitted today does not come close to meeting this promise of being reduced to $650 billion for fiscal year 2013. The president noted in that 2009 speech the Obama administration inherited a $1.3 trillion deficit. The deficit was similarly $1.3 trillion in 2011, is projected to be $1.15 trillion in 2012, and the president’s budget claims it will be $901 billion in 2013.” (Jack Tapper, “Obama’s Broken Deficit Promise,” ABC News, 2/13/12)

• “Obama's Budget Projects That The Deficit For The Current Year Will Total $1.33 Trillion, The Fourth Straight Year Of Deficits Over $1 Trillion.” (“Highlights Of Obama's $3.8 Trillion Budget,” The Associated Press, 2/13/12)

President Obama Also Promised To Address Our Unsustainable Debt Burden, But He Has Failed There As Well:

Candidate Obama, In 2008: “Our First Job Is To Stop Adding To Our Debt.” OBAMA: “What's the first thing you do when you're in a hole? Stop digging. So our first job – I just want to be honest – our first job is to stop adding to our debt. … You can't be serious about deficit reduction or debt reduction if you are adding more annual debt.” (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks In Fairfax, VA, 7/10/08)

• Total Public Debt Outstanding Will Soon Pass $15.5 Trillion And Continues To Climb. (U.S. Treasury Department, www.treasurydirect.gov, 3/9/12)

What Would A Second Obama Term Mean For The Economy? Another Four Years Of Job-Destroying Policies:

President Obama’s FY2013 Budget Contained A “Monumental Tax Increase” On Individuals And Job Creators. “The only thing that you can be certain will become law in this budget if Mr. Obama is re-elected is the monumental tax increase. His plan would raise tax rates across the board on anyone or any business owners making more than $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for couples.” (Editorial, "The Amazing Obama Budget," The Wall Street Journal, 2/14/12)

• President Obama Is “Setting Up The U.S. Economy For One Of The Biggest Tax Increases In History In 2013.” “President Obama unveiled part two of his American Jobs Act on Monday, and it turns out to be another permanent increase in taxes to pay for more spending and another temporary tax cut. No surprise there. What might surprise Americans, however, is how the President is setting up the U.S. economy for one of the biggest tax increases in history in 2013.” (Editorial, "The 2013 Tax Cliff," The Wall Street Journal, 9/14/11)