Fox finds new way to blame Obama for Bush-era policies
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on August 12th, 2010 4:49 am by HL

Fox finds new way to blame Obama for Bush-era policies

Stating that President Obama’s policies have “clearly failed,” Fox Business stocks editor Elizabeth MacDonald falsely suggested that Obama has been in office for three years. This follows a pattern of Fox hosts and guests blaming President Obama for Bush-era policies such as TARP, the AIG bailout, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bailouts, and the beginning of the recession.
Fox Business falsely suggests Obama has been in office for three years

Fox Business’ MacDonald: “The president’s policies have clearly failed. For three years, we’ve been living with these policies.” While guest-hosting Fox Business’ Bulls & Bears, MacDonald suggested that Obama’s policies have “clearly failed” because we’ve been living with them for three years and we are still “seeing job losses.” However, as guest Erica Payne, founder and president of The Agenda Project, pointed out, Obama has only been in office for about a year and a half.

From the August 9 edition of Fox Business’ Bulls & Bears:

PAYNE: The fact of the matter is the real unemployment rate is about 20 percent, you know, depending on who you talk to. These numbers are incorrect.

MacDONALD: But Erica, look, these —

PAYNE: These numbers are incorrect. So there are five people applying for every one job that there is.

MacDONALD: I’m sorry. The president’s policies have clearly failed. For three years, we’ve been living with these policies. They’ve clearly failed. The Reagan tax cuts are cheaper than the president’s spending plan.

PAYNE: OK. We haven’t –

MacDONALD: The Reagan tax cuts — we had —

PAYNE: First of all –

MacDONALD: Hang on. The Reagan tax cuts — we saw job growth up 6 percent. We’re seeing economic growth of 3 percent. We’re seeing job losses. So, are — should we — why are we going down the same road? Do you — don’t you think that they’ve failed so far?

PAYNE: OK, so first of all, I don’t know where the three years is, because he’s been in office for about 18 months, number one. Number two, when he went into office, there were 750,000 jobs lost the month that he went into office. OK, and then last month –

MacDONALD: All right, you’re right to correct me on the three years, but when I say the three years –

PAYNE: — and last month that we gained 71,000 jobs –

MacDONALD: All right. When I say — you’re right.

PAYNE: — and let’s be clear. Since 1999, during the entire tenure of George Bush’s presidency — and I looked this up three times, because when I first read it, I didn’t believe it — during the entire tenure of George Bush’s presidency, guess how many net jobs were created? How many net private sector jobs were created –

MacDONALD: Well, what is your number do you think it is?

PAYNE: — during the eight years of George Bush?

MacDONALD: What do you think it was?

PAYNE: Zero. Zero.

MacDONALD: I don’t know where you get that stat, but let’s stay on point. Let’s not go — let’s not do the blame Bush —

PAYNE: Well, you’re trying to say –

MacDONALD: Hang on, Erica. Let’s not do the Bush thing again, all right? Let’s stay in the here and now. And I hear what you’re saying.

PAYNE: OK.

MacDONALD: What I meant was that three years of policy, because we started spending under Bush, and now we’re spending ourselves into oblivion — no jobs created.

Fox continually blames Obama for policies that preceded his tenure

Varney claimed Bush “fixed the financial panic” but “[t]he economy fell off a cliff on President Obama’s watch.” On the July 30 edition of Fox News’ Fox & Friends, Fox Business host Stuart Varney addressed Vice President Joe Biden’s statement that “8 million jobs [were] lost in the Bush recession” by stating: “He says it’s Bush’s recession, harking back two years ago. I think that’s inaccurate. President Bush fixed the financial panic. The economy fell off a cliff on President Obama’s watch, and President Obama’s policies have not fixed that ongoing recession.” In fact, the National Bureau of Economic Research announced on December 1, 2008, that based on “economy-wide measures of economic activity,” including domestic production and employment, the recession began in December 2007.

Fox repeatedly falsely blamed Obama for TARP and bailouts. Fox hosts and contributors repeatedly advanced the falsehood that Obama was responsible for TARP, the AIG bailout, and the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bailouts. In fact, Bush proposed TARP and signed the TARP legislation. Furthermore, each of these bailouts all occurred while Bush was in office.

* Bolling blamed Obama for bailouts initiated under Bush. Fox Business’ Eric Bolling attributed TARP spending, the AIG bailout, and the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bailouts to Obama when in fact spending for all of these programs was initiated under Bush.

* Palin trashed the Obama WH over Bush administration-initiated bailouts. Fox News contributor Sarah Palin stated that a “fundamental difference” between “what’s coming from the White House” and “a lot of conservatives” is the “belief that government is not the answer. The bailouts, the takeovers of the private sector — that’s not the answer.” She went on to laud “free enterprise” and say: “I don’t think that is what we’re seeing coming out of the White House. It’s quite fundamental, the difference there.”

* Fox Business’ Smith claimed the Obama administration decided which banks would receive TARP funds. Reporting on certain banks that had repaid TARP funds, Fox Business’ Sandra Smith falsely claimed “the government, the Obama administration, deemed these banks necessary to receive these funds.” In fact, the banks Smith mentioned reportedly obtained the funds under the Bush administration in December 2008.

Hannity referred to an “Obama recession” before Obama had even taken office. In November 2008, Hannity repeatedly blamed the recession on then-President-elect Obama, attributing the market decline to the public’s anticipation of Obama’s policies. On November 11, 2008, Hannity asked (accessed via Nexis), “Is this an Obama recession?” Hannity later explained: “He promises a trillion dollars in new spending. Promises to raise the capital gains tax. Promises to tax business further and are a lot of people looking at the marketplace saying, you know what? I’m getting out while the tax rates are this level not the higher rates. So, in other words, is he causing activity in the market to go down?” According to Nexis, Hannity also referred to the “Obama recession” on November 14 and 20, 2008, and February 10, 2009 (less than a month after Obama’s inauguration).”

Fox repeatedly blamed Obama for deficit spending that occurred because of Bush policies. Fox News personalities including Bernie Goldberg, Karl Rove, Hannity, Brian Kilmeade, and Dick Morris all pushed the falsehood that Obama was responsible for a record-setting deficit of more than $1 trillion in Fiscal Year 2009. In fact, in January 2009, prior to Obama’s inauguration, the Congressional Budget Office projected that, including spending authorized under the Bush administration for the TARP and government takeovers of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the deficit would total $1.2 trillion in Fiscal Year 2009, which ran from October 1, 2008, to September 30, 2009.

not just fox, some would blame Obama for the weeds in their yard if they could find a connection between him and someone on the board of the fertilizer company,,,,lol


just makes me respect him more, I know he was well aware of the type of EXCESSIVE scrutiny he would face when he left his 'normal' life to take on the White House role,,

at some point in time obama is going to have to accept responsibility for what happens during his presidency. blaming bush is one thing, but if he chooses to do something about it (or not)...he needs to own it and not point fingers. he's a big boy.

The point of the post is to point out that POX lies like dogs to keep the sheep in line. People who watch POX and believe that crap are idiots.

Obama can take the credit for stopping us from being in a full blown depression up to this point.

I know that.

I think he does, but he cant perform time travel and change what was already happening either,,,

he needs to lead the country(as much as a President can anyway) towards trying to progress and away from regression,,,,and I think he is up to the job but not sure that means it will happen because he is only one part of government system that will have to make that happen

The Fox (and other right leaning media) has one objective for the past 2 years. To wash clean the republican party of any wrong doing after 8 disastrous years. Just to remind people...Bush was barely having any approval rate in his second term..but Fox relies on the fact, that many GOP backers were extremely dissatisfied when Obama was elected. So they have been eating the sour grape for the past 2 years and found their candyman - Fox News, which had a serious controversial and unprofessional behavior of circulating BS news during the election time.

I'm not trying to save Obama here..he has got some major issues that many won't agree and won't like, but what really is leading to his demise is his light handed way of dealing with his worst opponents, sometimes bending over for them, while many were actually voting for Obama to go after those people in the first place.

This makes Obama look weak and easily pushed around by anyone..a puppet. And trust evaporates as people see no progress , no matter what..even though they would just "want to" trust Obama, but he is not listening anymore and he himself destroying his own supporter base.


Meanwhile the other side uses various forms of propaganda to alienate the entire government from the people and especially gain back the momentum they lost after the 2008 elections. So they will be throwing the kitchen sink if they need to.
The current economic crisis is a perfect environment for extremism to grow and the republicans are using it as a weapon against the current administration. There is some truth that the Obama administration isn't doing enough, many realizes that, but they also realize the fact, that the GOP has been riding on this to gain support.

I say, anyone with a conscious mind is just as confused right now..I would say this mid-term election time, the biggest voting base will be either the non-voters and the independents.

double

I was one of those who wanted the Democrats to prosecute the Bush administration for illegal war activities. I was very disappointed when I found out that they weren't going to but I did understand that looking forward is more positive than trying go back and restart.

I will never vote for the T party candidates, they support racism. I will not vote for the republicans because of their actions these last two years. Immature pouty party line ********.

So I will look to the other parties that are out there to get my vote.

I know that I look at Obama realistically and I hold him responsible for his actions in office. Which so far have been okay. He is really trying to make things better. Things were an extreme mess when he came in and the fact we are not in a depression means that he isn't failing.

Just like blaming President Bush was just an MSNBC, ABC and CNN thing?

Not gonna happen, he has professional finger pointer's on his payroll.

I heard he was furious when he found out they couldn't figure out how to blame the Haiti Earthquake on him.

To be fair, the same can be said about every network.

Not really, the media tends to lean to the left in most cases. Only Fox and a couple other's dont so the lefties and Obamaites have a field day on it.

Personally I would just ignore the crap they ALL said about president Bush when he was in office, and continue to say about him to this day.

I have met the man, he is far from an idiot.

I have also met Biden, and he IS an idiot........

of course your right, but the lefties won't listen to that... lefties think that they should control all media and only air there agenda, whether it's right or wrong....

I don't know about leftist news being untrue since I don't watch it but I have watched Fox News Channel and they are being inaccurate and promoting fear and hate.

i've seen all news media outlets promote fear and hate, lies, and deception...they all report what they want to further their agenda...it's not just fox news...it's all of them. it just depends on which way you lean as to which media outlet pisses you off the most.

I have 'met' OBama,, and he is brilliant,,,,,

I have also 'met' Shemar Moore and Howard Hewitt of Shalamar and an AFrican King, and........

Shermar Moore from Ciminal Minds?!?!?

yes, from criminal minds

How in the hell did you meet him? He is from and lives in Oakland........

I'm wanna meet Matthew Gray Gubler though. I've met his mom, she used to be head of the Nevada Republican Party, and he is Republican also and from Vegas.