Way to Go, Helen!

Helen Thomas, who is always to be seen at the White House press briefings, got off a good one on Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. She called him on the fact that at the recent town hall meeting, all the guests were pre-screened, as were the questions that were posed to Obama. Gibbs tried to chuckle it off, but you could tell he was really uncomfortable. Have you ever watched Tony Blair or Gordon Brown before their houses of Parliament, when they had to answer a barrage of questions, mostly unfriendly? These guys gave rapid-fire answers to rapid-fire questions, and they needed to know what they were talking about! When I watch Gibbs, Axelrod and Obama himself try to explain even the simplest things, they falter, stutter, and struggle. None of them can respond on anything beyond their prescribed talking points, and it shows. Axelrod is probably the most obvious - his throat gets dry and he has to swallow a lot. Hooray for Helen! Seeing a really honest questioning session would make my day!
It was another dreary day for the economy. The unemployment figures came in at 467,000 jobs lost, the rate now stands at 9.5%, and the Dow fell 223 points. Our President can talk till he is blue in the face about how his programs are improving the economy, but until I see something positive happen, he is just blowing smoke.