James Q. Lynch, CR Gazette –
He didn’t say the Iowa economy is “doing fine,” but Sen. Tom Harkin thinks President Obama is not getting enough credit for the state being in “pretty good shape.”
“He should get a lot of credit for it,” Harkin said Friday.
However, the five-term Democrat isn’t sure that will be enough to guarantee Obama a second term.
In his weekly conference call with reporters, Harkin drew an analogy to Democratic Gov. Chet Culver’s unsuccessful re-election bid in 2010.
“Iowa was in pretty good shape, quite frankly,” he said. Culver “had done a pretty good job” of helping the state recover from crippling floods in 2008 and had expanded preschool while maintaining a balanced budget and building a budget surplus, Harkin said.
“And yet, the campaign against him was that Iowa was in bad shape,” Harkin said.
He sees GOP presidential challenger Mitt Romney taking the same approach.
“Whatever they can do to beat up on Obama, they will do,” Harkin said. “That’s what Romney is about.”
What the president has been about for Iowa has been support for export markets and biofuels production, both of which have been a “tremendous boon to our Iowa economy,” Harkin said.
“I wouldn’t be to the point of saying he’s responsible for all that, but the policies the president has put in place have led to some pretty good prosperity in agriculture,” Harkin said.
Whether the economy is doing well in Iowa or not doing as well as someplace else won’t be the only issue in the November election, Harkin said.
“I think people want to know, ‘What will my future will be like?’” he said. “How will it be different if you’re in or if the other person is in?”
So while voters don’t necessarily reward past performance, the president’s vision will be an advantage in the campaign.
Romney offers the “view of a person born to wealth and power,” Harkin said, noting Romney’s father was a governor and head of General Motors. “Mitt Romney never had to worry about anything.”
“His America, his view of what’s happening in America, is much, much different than my view,” Harkin said. “I had a different pathway. I see American very differently than does Romney and so does Barack Obama.
Voters, he said, “want to know what you’re going to do. That’s what’s going to come out in this campaign.”
I meant equal not egual
Romney wants to take my RR pension and Obama wants to give the country to the Illegals…now I have to decide who is the lesser of the two evils before Nov. How the hell did Mitt get the Rep. go ahead anyway? Its a shame that you HAVE to be extreemly wealthy to be the president because none of them have a clue about the middle class(or whatever you want to call it).
The choice of our political leaders is despicable. What has Obama accomplished in 4 years?
Did Bush screw it up? YES he did. That’s what happens when you have two wars at the sametime. I’m still not sure what Iraq was all about? Afghanistan was necessary, but not 11 years later, still going.
Where is the next JFK?
We need a leader of men and women; not a politician that sells out to special interest.
There both useless. The people of this country need and deserve something better, but the forces in the shadows will never allow that.
Sad but true. Where is the next great President? I suspect he or she has not been born yet.
A total drug induced comment by Peter L.
By all means Tommy-boy, let obmama run on his record. If obmama does that, he is toast in November. Things have gone to shit since he took office. Largest debt by ANY president ever. And obmama wants ANOTHER 4 years? For what? To further prove to us that liberal ideas still don’t and will NEVER work?
obmama is the black version of Jimmy Carter only worse. obmama’s only chance of winning is to rip apart Romney. It’s his only hope because he surely cannot run on his record as president. That’s what obmama is all about!
My income went from 44,000 to 12,000. I used to hate bush, Now i wish he would come back. The press is all one-sided. They love Obama. I’m just sick of what he has done. You have to be a idiot not to see. Open your eyes. He is draging us all down.
Lol maybe if you did quality work, you won’t be making so much less. Its your own fault.
Go build a spaceship, smoke your dope and collect your SSI check Peter. Next.
a.) I don’t eat at McDonalds.
b.) It is quite rare that I turn on the TV.
c.) I have a good enough pension that I do not have to worry the rest of my life.
d.) I paid into it, and it is private.
e.) No one, especially anyone like you, can ever take it away from me.
f.) You cannot be a drughead to collect this kind of pension. They never hire, and constantly test for, and fire drugheads.
It aint the best I can do, but it says it all.
Yes Tommy, Obama is only second to Karl Marx. Keep it going and we all will be eating pig-sh*t.
Hey Peter, If you’re so amazingly bright why do you keep espousing such stupid statements and ideas? You are such a typical liberal! on another note for you that hate wealthy people, why is it that there are many wealthy Jews( Like most wealthy people, they earn it, and most of ’em are liberals and socialist leaning? Also, “bama” seemingly isn’t crazy about Isreal or Jews. What’s that about? I don’t know about you but I never made a dime to support my family working for a poor man. You wanna be rich, get off your dead ass and earn it. The libs have made everybody “egual” so we all have the same chance to get rich, Right?
if the fact that romney was born to wealth means he is therefor automatically out of touch, does that mean that president kennedy was out of touch?
Romney has proven he is out of touch by the things he has said.
Proof, can you explain your statement here?
Do you think Obama is in touch by saying last week, “The private sector is doing fine?
I wonder what Harkin even knows about Iowa. He has not lived here for decades. How is he even qualified to coment on this state let alone be a representitive for Iowa?
“I wouldn’t be to the point of saying he’s responsible for all that, but the policies the president has put in place have led to some pretty good prosperity in agriculture,” Harkin said.
I would sure like to see Harkin tell us what policies that Obama has put in place to help agriculture. Be specific Mr. Harkin, I want to know.
Both Harkin and Obama have no clue what they are doing. Obama will be beaten soundly in November. I have no clue why people in Iowa continue to vote for Harkin, he is a fool.
Sooner Tommy Bahama Harkin is gone the better.
And I can’t wait to get rid of Barrack Oblaim-a. Nothing is his resposibility.