White House spokesman Jay Carney tried Wednesday to calm the jeers caused by President Barack Obama’s claim to rival or surpass the accomplishments of Presidents Lyndon Johnson, Franklin Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln, but instead padded his boss’ resume.
“This has obviously been of great interest in the conservative blogosphere, but the fact of the matter… [is] he was making a point about the volume and substance of the legislative accomplishments, and the foreign policy accomplishments, in his nearly three years in power, “ Carney claimed during the Dec. 21 daily press briefing.
The reaction to Obama’s statement followed the release of a video from a 60 Minutes interview, in which Obama calmly claimed that he “would put our legislative and foreign policy accomplishments in our first two years against any president — with the possible exceptions of Johnson, F.D.R. and Lincoln — just in terms of what we’ve gotten done in modern history.”
Obama’s use of “possible” implied that his accomplishments were greater that the three named president, but definitely greater than all other presidents, including Presidents Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.
Carney supported Obama’s claim to greatness by citing two legislative accomplishments — the 2009 health care reform law and his $1 trillion 2009 stimulus — and one foreign policy accomplishment, which was Obama’s formation of the coalition that supported his military campaign to remove Moammar Qaddafi from power in Libya.
But Carney then padded Obama’s resume with one item — “the bailout of the automobile industry” — that doesn’t fit either category, and a second item — killing Osama bin Laden — that is a military accomplishment.
The successful killing of bin Laden was achieved by Obama as commander-in-chief of the U.S. military. (RELATED: Full coverage of Barack Obama)
However, as a military accomplishment, it falls short of Roosevelt’s victory in World War II and Lincoln’s victory in the Civil War. It also falls short of Lincoln’s military decision to free slaves in southern states occupied by the federal forces. It also falls short of American presidents’ actions in World War I, the Korean War, the 1991 Kuwait war and the Afghan and Iraq campaigns.
Obama’s auto bailout was aided by a 2008 law signed by President George W. Bush, but it was mostly arranged by Obama’s Treasury Department, despite GOP calls for a greater role for Congress.
As economic policy, it falls short of Johnson’s support for the U.S. space program, Roosevelt’s management of war production and Lincoln’s support for the trans-continental railroad. It also is less ambition than previous presidents’ support for the interstate highway system, the electronics industry and the settlers’ expansion westwards during the 1800s, for example.
Carney suggested that other accomplishments should be considered, but declined to name them. “I could go on, and believe me, I will, as time permits,” Carney added, before answering a reporter’s question on recess appointments.
However, Obama did concede to 60 Minutes that his economic record is incomplete. “But, you know, but when it comes to the economy, we’ve got a lot more work to do,” he said.