This is becoming a habit for Meet the Press host David Gregory. Does anyone think he really does not know that the Republicans and their continued obstruction, blocking rebuilding our infrastructure and President Obama's jobs plan, shutting down the government and costing the economy billions of dollars and refusing to cooperate on anything if heaven forbid it might make the president look good has harmed our economy?
Whether he does or not, it didn't stop him from playing concern troll for John Boehner and the Republicans during his interview with former President Bill Clinton this week, from the way he framed this question to begin with, to the follow up question where he pretended to be clueless on the way they've governed.
GREGORY: How can a Democratic candidate for president, what challenges would a Democratic candidate for president, face running on the Obama economy?
CLINTON: First of all, that's not what anybody should do. We should run on making it better. But he didn't cause the meltdown, they actually say his administration took... stopped it from being worse, and there has been a concerted effort to stop implementing his economic plan in the second term, so none of you have any idea whether it would have worked or not.
GREGORY: But you don't lay this at Speaker Boehner and the Republicans uniquely, do you? I mean, do you really think it's their opposition to the president that has forced him to have such impediments to get the economy growing again?
CLINTON: No. We do have... keep in min the average crash takes ten years to get over. Has always. We got the jobs back in about six years. We now have to get the incomes up. I believe, let me just put it this way. I believe that if the two branches had been working smoothly together and taken advantage of this time when interest rates were lower than inflation to cut long term spending liabilities, but invest now in infrastructure, we would be in a lot better shape.
I think median wages would be going up. I think poverty would be going down. That is not what the Republicans believe. The Republicans believe government would always mess up a two car parade unless it's something they want to spend money on and... in Washington I'm talking about and they've just wanted to cut everything and not invest any money in the things that, at least I believe are important. We need to try to get back to working together again.
No, I'm not blaming them entirely... (crosstalk). How can you... you tell me. Mr. McCarthy of California, I like him. The fellow who was just elected to Mr. Cantor's...
GREGORY: Kevin McCarthy.
CLINTON: Yeah. I like him. Had a great visit with him at the inauguration. So what's the first thing he does after he becomes the number two guy in the House leadership? What is the very first thing he does?
He changes his position on whether we're going to fund the export import bank because the conservative populace say of that's just a Wall Street, crony capitalism deal. That's not a Wall Street crony capitalism deal. That's a financing device that allows us to compete with the sixty other countries in the world who are trying to save jobs in their countries and they help finance exports.
