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Gas prices and five other liabilities for Obama in 2012

“Yes We Can” was so 2008. Now President Obama is the incumbent, with a record to defend. More than whom the Republicans nominate to run against him in 2012, how voters perceive Mr. Obama’s accomplishments and liabilities – two highly subjective categories, at times overlapping – will determine whether he gets four more years. Here are his top six liabilities, including still-high gas prices:
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Robert Reich
Mitt Romney's skewed praise of Bill Clinton

Mitt Romney has been praising Bill Clinton even as he heaps scorn on Obama, trying to associate himself with someone more popular and court the white male vote. It might backfire.
With meager jobs growth, 'time running out' for Obama (+video)

The 2012 presidential election may hang on voters' perceptions about the economy, and Friday's report that just 115,000 jobs were created in April won't do much to help Obama. What's the outlook for the months ahead?
GDP report puts Obama in economic 'gray zone.' Will Republicans profit?

GDP increased at a 2.2 percent annual rate in the first quarter, Commerce Department said Friday. That's below economists' expectations. The news gives Republicans ammunition against Obama.
What the 'Buffett rule' reveals about Obama tax reform plans

President Obama is pushing Tuesday for the so-called Buffett rule – a proposal to ensure that millionaires pay a higher rate on federal income taxes than the middle class. He and Democrats see it as a guarantee that the rich will pay more, even if Congress again extends the Bush tax cuts.
Economy adds 120,000 jobs. Why the dip from bigger gains in early 2012? (+video)

The unemployment rate fell from 8.3 percent to 8.2 percent in March. Economists had been expecting higher numbers of new jobs.
On the Economy
The problem with the 'trickle down' theory

The trickle-down, de-regulatory agenda presumes that the growth chain starts at the top of the wealth scale and “trickles down” to those at the middle and the bottom of that scale.  Problem is, that’s not how it works
Pity the Billionaire: The Hard-Times Swindle and the Unlikely Comeback of the Right

How we got to this grim pass in our political and economic system
On the Economy
Income inequality: It's a problem. Here's why.

Income inequality is strongly correlated with the inability of the next generation to achieve the American Dream. The more income inequality, the fewer people can achieve the 'Dream.' 
Unemployment rate falls. Job gains ease fears of new recession.

The unemployment rate fell to 8.6 percent last month, down from 9 percent. It's the latest sign that the US economy is steering clear of a new recession. Still, pitfalls linger.
Occupy protests spread to US college campuses

As the Occupy Wall Street protests have grown to cities across the United States, they've also taken root at US universities, where students have staged rallies and walk-outs from classes.
Economist Mom
Deja vu on tax policy

"Dynamic scoring," or adjusting revenue estimates based on the expected effects of tax policies on the size of the economy, won't fix the deficit problem
Why Obama picked Alan Krueger as next top White House economist

In a Rose Garden briefing, President Obama named Princeton University economist Alan Krueger as the next head of the White House Council of Economic Advisors.
Stock market volatility: Dow jumps on jobs report, plunges, then rises again

Stock market gains early Friday morning were wiped out by noon, before another rally ensued. A better-than-expected jobs report gave some analysts hope that another recession could be averted.
US economy 'has barely budged': 1.3 percent growth in GDP

The GDP grew at an annual rate of only 1.3 percent in the second quarter of 2011, announces the Commerce Department, which also revised first-quarter growth down to 0.4 percent.
The New Economy
America is playing with fire with its default talk

The US is the only major economy where leaders talk openly about the potential of default. It's dangerous because financial markets would punish the US with high interest rates if traders believed the US would default.
Monitor Breakfast Q&A: Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf

Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf discussed the "dangerous gamble" of a potential American default on its debt ceiling, the heavy impact of even slight shifts upward in US borrowing costs and his belief that a "great deal of the pain of this downturn lies in front of us still" at a June 14 Monitor breakfast.
Donald Marron
The 5 percent growth plan: nice but not promising

A presidential candidate thinks the US can grow its economy by 5 percent in a decade, and a professor has come up with a plan for it. The plan isn't impossible, but it's still not very realistic.
Tax VOX
Obama, where are your economists?

Politicians need a team of stellar economists for advice during campaign season, and Obama seems to have lost his
Obama loses a top economic adviser. In this economy, is that a good thing?

White House economist and longtime Obama adviser Austan Goolsbee says he's returning to academia. Considering Americans' views of the slow recovery, perhaps that helps the president.
New jobs down, unemployment up: Is the economy hitting a pothole or a ditch?

Unemployment increased to 9.1 percent in May, and only 54,000 new jobs were created. Economists point to lingering impacts of the tsunami plus rising food and gas prices.
Gas prices and five other liabilities for Obama in 2012

“Yes We Can” was so 2008. Now President Obama is the incumbent, with a record to defend. More than whom the Republicans nominate to run against him in 2012, how voters perceive Mr. Obama’s accomplishments and liabilities – two highly subjective categories, at times overlapping – will determine whether he gets four more years. Here are his top six liabilities, including still-high gas prices:
Donald Marron
Vague language is OK in early debt reduction talks

Non-specific terms like 'tax reform' and 'entitlement changes' help rally people around the idea that some changes must be made
Unemployment rate drops 0.1 percent, showing 'positive momentum' in job market

The United States added 216,000 new jobs in March, mostly in the private sector job market, driving the unemployment rate down to 8.8 percent.
Q&A with CEA Chair Austan Goolsbee

President Obama's chief economist, Austan Goolsbee, discussed the economic impact of rising oil prices, why he believes corporate leaders will create jobs in the US, and why it's a bad idea not to raise the US Government's debt ceiling at a Feb. 24 Monitor breakfast.
Unemployment rate drops to 8.9 percent. Has the economy turned a corner?

Not only did the unemployment rate fall, but the US economy added 192,000 jobs in February. But economists view the numbers differently.