Right Change: Carney Says Obama Has “Strong Case” of “Responsible Stewardship”

Disregard everything you’ve heard about Obama’s spending habits, he’s actually the most fiscally responsible President since Eisenhower. This is what White House press secretary Jay Carney implied during his press briefing today after he used a flawed analysis from Market Watch as proof. Many news sources have since debunked this report, but you didn’t need them to convince you that Obama is some budget hawk. Just in case you encounter someone who would believe such a thing, we have it broken down for you.

First, let’s look at Carney’s comments via Real Clear Politics:

“White House press secretary Jay Carney uses a questioned Market Watch report about spending under Obama to claim he has been a "responsible steward" of the economy. 



“Carney also made a surprising claim that President Obama will produce a surplus for his successor if he is given a second term. 


"Now, and I know the RNC likes to put this stuff out and contesting it and they cited the size of the budget deficit in 2009, 2010, and 2011 and the fact that they were among the largest in history. Well, of course they were, because what they never tell you is that President Obama was handed, on January 20, 2009, the single largest budget deficit in history and what they never tell you is that, unlike what will happen when President Obama leaves office, in four and a half years, the deficit that was handed to him in January of 2009 began as a surplus eight years earlier," Carney said at the press briefing today. 



"That is not something you hear the RNC talk about. and so when it comes to responsible stewardship of our budget and fiscal issues, i think we have a strong case," he said.”

It turns out their case really isn’t that strong, The Market Watch report tries to argue that Bush is responsible for 2009 (Stimulus) spending and takes away that spending from Obama’s record. It fails to mention that the Democratic-controlled Congress passed FY2009 spending, Obama passed the stimulus package, and Obama signed 2009 spending. It also fails to report that Bush’s 2009 proposed budget was $3 trillion, but the Democrats passed a level of spending in the dark that was 10% more than the final year of the Bush administration – it was a $3.518 trillion budget.

Market Watch also used the 2009 CBO estimates for Bush, which blamed Bush for $20 billion he never spent, but failed to use the 2009 CBO estimates for Obama.  If we use the 2009 CBO estimates for Obama, Obama’s spending increases. It also fails to use Obama’s actual budget for 2013 ($3.80 trillion), and instead uses the CBO baseline ($3.58 trillion.) Props to Political Math, The Blaze, and the Washington Post, who gave this Market Watch report three Pinocchios.

As a final word, let’s also not forget that the actual federal deficit is $5 trillion for FY 2012 when you include all of our unfunded pledged spending on entitlements.

Nice try Carney, but Obama is far from a responsible steward of money and the fact that you are trying to convince people of such is about the funniest thing we’ve heard all day.

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