Facts About Jobs Before and Since Obama (September 2012 - Election Edition)

UPDATE (NOV 4 2012): October 2012 employment results were released on Friday 11/2/2012. The 170,000 jobs created exceeded expectations and are a sign of continued consistent recovery.

ORIGINAL POST (OCT 2012)

While GOP conspiracy theorists (like former General Electric CEO Jack Welch) embarrass themselves with baseless allegations that the White House somehow manipulated the numbers, President Obama spent the day touting the undeniably positive facts included in the Bureau of Labor Statistics report.

1. September saw 114,000 new jobs added, making it the 31st consecutive month of private sector job growth. 
2. The unemployment rate dropped dramatically from 8.1% to 7.8%, the lowest point in four years. (Notably, this month's decline was NOT due to workers who "gave up" and dropped out of the workforce.)
3. The economy has added 5.2 million jobs since March 2010.

Chart created by Steve Benen of Maddow Blog, using BLS numbers

A few months of consecutive private sector job growth might be luck, but thirty-one consecutive months of increases is an undeniable positive trend that is evidence of a steadily improving economy and the directional correctness of our nation's economic policy.

Romney and his GOP supporters can (and probably should) continue to key on the unacceptable pace of the economic recovery, but results like these take much of the sting out of any election season barbs they throw at the President.

In a November 2011 post, I said that Obama only needed continued consistent forward motion in U.S. labor results to re-secure his place in the White House for four more years. With this year's employment trends, which have been capped off nicely by September's significant reduction in the nation's unemployment rate, I stand by my prediction.

Facts About Jobs Before and Since Obama (August 2012)

The Bureau of Labor Statistics provided unemployment and job market numbers on Friday for the period of August 2012. With 103,000 private sector jobs added in August and 7,000 public sector/government jobs eliminated, the report reflected a disappointing net gain of 96,000 new jobs.

The Bureau's August release also shows a reduction in the unemployment rate from 8.3% to 8.1%. While this is positive news on its face, the decline in the unemployment rate results mostly from a decrease in the number of Americans who are seeking work, not from an increase in the number of newly created jobs.

The big picture bad news embedded in the August job statistics is that the economy and job market continue to recover at a pace which almost everyone, including the President, finds to be unacceptably sluggish.

The good news is we now have 30 consecutive months of positive job growth. Additionally, according to Steve Benen on the Maddow Blog, in the first eight months of 2012 the economy yielded 1.2 million new private sector jobs, which is already better than five of the eight Bush/Cheney years in their entirety.

Our choices in the upcoming presidential election are becoming increasingly clear. Some of us will decide that President Obama has made the right choices and opt to give him four more years to finish the job of repairing a devastated economy. Others will conclude that the speed of the recovery is simply unacceptable and will opt for the Romney alternative.

Regardless of your choice, I believe it's important to pursue and process the unadulterated facts. The graph above represents actual job growth results and trends (red = Bush, blue = Obama), which I believe illustrate simply and plainly the real world impact of the policies of the current and prior White House administrations.

By the end of the Bush administration, we were losing more than 600,000 jobs per month. Under President Obama job growth has been slow, but steady and positive.

My question for Mr. Romney is this - what specifically are you proposing that is different from the Bush-era policies that led to so much of the "red ink" and job loss in the chart above?

Turn of Phrase - Ebert's Thumbs Up to Obama

Roger Ebert, film critic
Photo: HuffingtonPost.com

"We need health care in this country. I suspect many of those opposed to it have never had to go through a health ordeal like mine. 

They may think they are well off and can handle their own expenses. They have no idea."

- From a short essay by Roger Ebert, movie critic and cancer survivor.

Ebert and other like-minded pop culture liberals (musician Paul Simon, comedian Patton Oswalt, author Lemony Snicket, etc.) are participating in an online endeavor called 90 Days, 90 Reasons, which is the brainchild of writer Dave Eggers and entertainment agent Jordan Kurland.

The goal of the 90 Days project is to "restart the fire" around the Obama campaign. Through a series of short essays written by various pop culture figures, one per day in the 90 days leading up to the election, the project highlights 90 reasons President Obama deserves a second term in office.

Turn of Phrase - Paul Ryan Is Good For America

Paul Ryan, Republican VP nominee

"He’s what a Republican should be: an honest, open-minded, solution-oriented fiscal conservative."

- From Slate columnist William Saletan, who plans to vote for Obama but who appreciates the candid, legitimate, fiscally conservative voice that Paul Ryan brings to the political arena.

In an excellent Slate article this morning, Saletan rejoices at Romney's choice of Vice Presidential running mate, praising Ryan in large part because the GOP congressman from Wisconsin is obsessed with fiscal conservatism, rather than social conservatism, and for all the right reasons. 

Regardless of political loyalties, reasonable Americans agree that sustaining our current level of deficit-spending and debt-building is a losing strategy. 

While you might disagree with the difficult budget choices Ryan proposes (or "draconian measures" as Democrats would call them), you have to acknowledge that he brings a more educated, considered, and specific approach to solving our fiscal problems than almost any other national politician, most of whom simply spout unrealistic knee-jerk party-line rhetoric about tax cuts and national debt.

In his article, Saletan notes that Romney's selection of Ryan, a serious and focused politician, may also help to elevate our national discourse. 

"Unlike many of his colleagues, Ryan isn’t a wanker or a hater. He’s in it for solutions, not spite. 

Instead of bickering about Romney’s tax returns and repeating the obvious but unhelpful observation that the unemployment rate sucks, we’ll actually have to debate serious problems and solutions."

I know enough about Paul Ryan's beliefs and values to recognize that his addition to the ticket doesn't change my political affiliation, but like William Saletan, I'm excited about the possibility of an election that possesses the potential to re-focus Americans on critical issues and maybe even surfaces a solution or two.

Turn of Phrase - A Purposeful President and His Policy-Free Opponent

"Has there ever been a campaign with so few major plans on the table?

President Obama’s proposals are small and medium-size retreads, while Mitt Romney has run the closest thing to a policy-free race as any candidate in my lifetime."

- From conservative writer David Brooks, in a recent column in which he asserted that the 2012 presidential election has the potential to be the dullest ever.

I completely agree with Brooks' characterization of the election as monotonous and uninteresting, and in fact, made a similar observation in a post I wrote a couple of months ago (Will 2012 Be Our Most Boring Election Ever?). In that article, my estimation of a thoroughly lackluster campaign was dead on, although my assumption that the candidates would conduct themselves with "refreshing" civility has proven incorrect.

We were all taught in childhood that if we had nothing nice to say, then we should say nothing at all. If our two presidential candidates followed that adage, we'd have not only the most boring, but also the quietest election in U.S. history.

UPDATE: Obama's Job Growth Record (June/2012)

According to Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting released last Friday, 84,000 private sector jobs were created in June. The version of the chart below has been updated to include those results.

The disappointing number of jobs created in June reflects a still sluggish economy, and it's true that adding only 84,000 new private sector jobs does not reduce the overall unemployment rate, which remained steady at 8.2%.

Two other facts to note:

1. Though we only had a modest 84,000 private sector jobs created, June was the 28th consecutive month of job growth. 
2. In January 2009, we experienced a loss of 839,000 jobs. This means the most recent month of Obama is still net 923,000 jobs better than the last month of George W. Bush.

Note: We all agree we want more private sector jobs to be created, but we aren't unanimous in our opinions about the elimination or expansion of government jobs. That's why it's helpful to look at private sector employment (this graph) separately from public sector or government job activity.

Obama Demonstrates Bold Leadership On Complex Issues

Photo: Chip Somodevilla
Getty Images

This week's Supreme Court decision to uphold the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) marked a major victory in President Obama's courageous fight to revise the broken healthcare system in America.

While the ACA may be both Obama's signature achievement and his achilles heel, there is no denying its boldness.

The President’s attack on the lobbyist-dominated monstrosity that is the American healthcare system showed enormous mettle. Regardless of what one thinks of Obamacare, it should be noted that no other president has been able to muster the know-how, the political muscle, and the intestinal fortitude to successfully pass legislation to overhaul our broken healthcare system.

Obamacare is not the only recent example of the President's willingness to take a stand and lead America forward. 

Two weeks ago, in a statement delivered from the White House Rose Garden, the President declared the United States will no longer pursue deportation of undocumented immigrants who were brought into the country illegally as children.

Conservative pundits questioned the President’s motives in making the election-year policy change, while Republican Congressional leaders had relatively little to say on the issue, partly in deference to Mitt Romney, who continues to take a nuanced non-position on the announced changes.

Why would the President take the politically risky step of allowing some illegal immigrant children to stay in the U.S.?

Turn of Phrase - Arizona Governor Jan Brewer Is Pissing Me Off

"They want chaos. They want a larger voting base as far as I’m concerned and they want the illegal immigration to continue. 

Now they’ll have all the illegals and they can all do whatever they want and register to vote. Although it’s illegal if you’re not a citizen to register. But they’re not enforcing the law so what is going to happen to them? He’s looking for votes."

- From Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, in remarks she made about President Obama on the same day the Supreme Court struck down three of the four provisions of Arizona's contentious immigration legislation (SB1070). Incidentally, the Court upheld the most controversial element of the law, the "show me your papers" component.

Is it just me or has Governor Brewer become more brazen in her blatantly disrespectful treatment of Barack Obama, the duly elected President of these United States? 

Remember this picture of Brewer wagging her finger in President Obama's face like he's a little league umpire who just called her kid out on strikes?

Brewer attempting to call down the President
on the tarmac during his visit to Arizona.
Photo: AP

Civility and graciousness in political discussions should be a universal goal, and between elected professionals who must work together to govern our nation, it should be mandatory. 

That is not to say that Bill Maher who is a comedian, not a politician, can't say mean funny things about Sarah Palin, or that Rush Limbaugh, who is a rhetorical masturbator - but not a politician, can't give a clever nickname to Nancy Pelosi. 

Elected politicians, though, should be more thoughtful in choosing their words, particularly those governors who are prone to running off at the mouth and making public allegations that imply illegal activity on the part of other politicians - and especially, when the other politician holds the title PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

Governor Brewer's repeated disrespect for President Obama really pushes my buttons - but I feel that may be obvious by now?

As I said though, we should all strive to be more tactful and courteous in our political discourse. That's why I decided on the headline above, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer Is Pissing Me Off, instead of these alternate titles that I briefly considered for this post, but ultimately rejected. 

Jan Brewer - Who the Fuck Do You Think You Are?

Would Someone Please Have Sex With Arizona Governor Jan Brewer?

Governor Jan Brewer - Disrespecting President Obama Almost As Much As She Disrespects Hispanic-Americans

Sorry Arizona, I Guess Stupid Bitchville Already Had a Governor

Hey Asshole, Even Fox News Is Starting to Think You're an Idiot (see)

I don't know, those seem kind of harsh, but in retrospect, I'm still not sure I chose the best headline.

Turn of Phrase - Romney's Pathetic Non-Answer On Immigration

Romney at Hispanic Leadership
Network lunch on Friday
Photo: Charles Dharapak /AP

"Some people have asked if I will let stand the president's executive action. 

The answer is that I will put in place my own long-term solution that will replace and supersede the president's temporary measure. 

As president, I won't settle for a stop-gap measure. I will work with Republicans and Democrats to find a long-term solution."

- From Mitt Romney, in response to President Obama's bold unilateral decision to change to U.S. immigration policy. Last Friday, the President issued an executive order stating the U.S. would no longer pursue deportation of young illegal immigrants who were brought into the country as children.

No one expects Romney to solve anything - he's a candidate, not the President. Nonetheless, his empty rhetoric and vague promises continue to disappoint. Dude, just tell us what you think!

Romney's address to the Hispanic Leadership Network today in Florida provided him with the perfect opportunity to rebut Obama's action and outline specifics of his own plan for addressing the immigration challenge (and if he has no plan, he could still give Americans some idea of what he thinks would be fair).

Instead, Romney gives us more waffly non-answers and another mouthful of partisan criticism of President Obama, who at least took a substantive policy position, decided on important first steps, and implemented them.

Did you read about Romney's new economic approach?

President Obama's Immigration Reform - The Right Thing To Do

Sergio Baron, 17 of Elizabeth, NJ
and his siblings, beneficiaries of
the new immigration policy.
Photo: Tim Farrell / Star Ledger

Last Friday President Obama announced an executive order that will, at least temporarily, significantly shift American immigration policy and make daily living much less stressful for nearly one million young illegal immigrants living in the U.S.

According to the President's order, his administration will cease deporting and begin granting work permits to illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, and who have since followed our nation's laws.

The new rules, which impact approximately 800,000 "foreign nationals" living in America, apply specifically to undocumented immigrants who are under 30 years of age, and who were brought to the U.S. prior to their 16th birthday. Immigrants must also be either currently enrolled in school, high school graduates, or members of the armed services, in order to be exempt from deportation.

In his explanation for the policy change, President Obama put a human face on the immigration issue, noting that the children of illegal immigrants "study in our schools, play in our neighborhoods, befriend our kids, pledge allegiance to our flag. It makes no sense to expel talented young people who are, for all intents and purposes, Americans."

The poignant short video below, Illegal by John X. Carey, illustrates the need for immigration reform, particularly as it relates to children, by showing the real life challenges a group of talented young immigrants face in the U.S., even though they don't remember life before America. Do yourself a favor, and watch.

Illegal from John X. Carey on Vimeo.

Turn of Phrase - Jeb Bush on Bipartisanship, Obama, and the Grover Norquist Tax Pledge

"Back to my dad’s time and Ronald Reagan’s time—they got a lot of stuff done with a lot of bipartisan support that right now would be difficult to imagine happening."

- From former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, lamenting the demise of  bipartisanship in the last 30 years. Bush added that in today's political arena, [Reagan] "would be criticized for doing the things that he did."

"Presidents matter, and this president lost his chance to be a transcendent figure."

- From Jeb Bush, commenting on President Obama's failure to lead meaningfully (and not just rhetorically) on deficit reduction.

Lastly, a video quote from Bush about lobbyist Grover Norquist's ridiculous and gimmicky "Taxpayer Protection Pledge."

I didn't live in Florida for most of Jeb Bush's term as Governor, so I don't have many personal recollections of Jeb's policy positions, his accomplishments, and his mistakes, as many of my Florida friends and readers most assuredly do. 

I'm also not attempting to put Bush on a pedestal, but I will say this - compared to the rest of the GOP these days, Jeb ain't so scary.

Meet Luther, President Obama's Anger Translator

Comedy Central's Key and Peele help us understand the true message behind President Obama's words.

In this clip, Luther, the President's anger translator, interprets the President's address to the attendees of the Radio and TV Correspondents' Dinner.

Obama's Job Creation Tightrope Walk

The new Obama campaign ad attacks
Romney's record on job creation.

The nation's jobless statistics for May were released last week, and the results were undeniably abysmal.

Forecasters had anticipated the creation of 150,000 news jobs in May, and instead, Department of Labor reporting showed only 67,000 jobs were added - a number so low it fails to even keep up with the nation's population growth.

The overall unemployment rate also rose for the first time in months from 8.1% to 8.2%, and numerous other economic indicators, like GDP growth, manufacturing orders, and auto sales also declined.

What does all this mean for everyday Americans? Essentially, it means we're no more fucked than we were last month, but we're also no closer to putting the last remnants of the Bush economic morass behind us.

As the general election in November creeps ever closer, the Obama campaign is most assuredly getting nervous over the serious slowdown in job growth. Early in the year, the economy, as well as the President's approval ratings, seemed to be picking up steam, but in the last two months the recovery has all but stalled out.

The President and his staff must walk an incredibly tenuous tightrope at this point. While it's true that President Obama inherited an economic disaster, he's been in office for three full years now, and the "we didn't start the fire" argument is no longer an adequate rebuttal to criticism of the President's failure to engineer an economic turnaround.

Democrats can continue to trot out the Job Creation Chart, and while the fact remains that private sector job growth continues to be positive (in the blue), the trend for 2012 shows each month in decline. Click to enlarge the chart.

In May, 82,000 private sector jobs were added (note: this stat doesn't reflect 15,000 public sector jobs that were eliminated). This job creation number is below expectations, but still far better than the 839,000 jobs lost in President Bush's last month in office. As the overall unemployment number grows, most Americans will perceive Obama's recent results as better than catastrophic Bush era figures, but not good enough.

With news of a second consecutive month of relatively poor economic indicators, and the increasing ineffectiveness of playing the Bush/Congress blame game, the Obama campaign has transitioned its focus to an emphasis on Romney's lack of economic success as governor of Massachusetts.

Turn of Phrase - Clinton's Tough Talk On Syrian Massacre Is Only a Good Start

Mass grave in Houla, Syria
Photo: Reuters

"Those who perpetrated this atrocity must be identified and held to account. The United States will work with the international community to intensify our pressure on Assad and his cronies, whose rule by murder and fear must come to an end."

- From Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, after learning details of the government-sanctioned massacre of more than 100 civilians in the Syrian city of Houla.

In light of United Nations reports that at least 49 children and 34 women were included among the dead, and recognizing that random artillery shelling, as well as point-blank shootings, were the methods used to murder the Syrian civilians, Secretary Clinton's tough talk is a good start, but it must be followed up by timely and decisive action.

Diplomatic officials are expected to exercise caution with their words, but there's no need to tread lightly when addressing the dictatorial regime of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, who in Houla has sanctioned the execution-style murder of entire families in their own homes.

The United States has joined several European governments in expelling the top Syrian diplomat remaining in Washington, and General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, has indicated that American forces are ready to act, if asked to do so.

As with Clinton's words, these actions are steps in the right direction. Now the Obama administration must move with urgency to take an authoritative leadership role in influencing Russian policy towards Syria, which is currently favorable to Assad. With Russia on board, the United States, together with its U.N. allies, can then employ the tactics needed to arm opposition forces and empower the people of Syria to bring an end to Assad's reign of terror.

When President Obama made the decision to actively involve the U.S. in the toppling of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, he was reportedly motivated, in part, by the story of former President Bill Clinton's biggest regret. On more than one occasion, Clinton has apologized for the most significant policy mistake of his presidency - failure to intervene in the Rwandan genocide of the mid-90s, an event that resulted in the killing of more than 800,000 people.

As President Obama and Secretary Clinton develop and guide American foreign policy regarding the looming civil war in Syria, they should be reminded, once again, of the story of Rwanda in 1994. Caution and prudence may be diplomatic virtues, but when thousands of civilians are being ruthlessly murdered by their own government, an abundance of patience can be deadly.


Click here to see more opinions and video of the attack on Houla. Be forewarned, the video is gruesome and includes images of some of the children killed in the attack. I couldn't watch it for more than 30 seconds, and I felt it was too horrific to post directly on my blog. Nonetheless, it's part of the truth of what is happening in Syria and should be shared.

Will 2012 Be Our Most Boring Election Ever?

GOP voters listening intently.
Photo: Edward Linsmier / Getty

Every four years in American politics one presidential candidate or another is likely to characterize that year’s contest as “the most important election of our lifetime,” and of course that sentiment is, almost always, untrue.

Nonetheless, self-important politicians imagine that the world events and domestic issues with which they must wrangle are the most grievous in history, or at least that's what they'd like voters to believe.

For this November’s general election, the "most important" moniker rings particularly hollow. While the election is shaping up to be a close race, it's not piling up the necessary political tender to catch fire and become an impassioned barnburner. Perhaps it all feels anti-climactic compared to the historic aura that surrounded the 2008 election, or maybe it's simply pre-convention summer doldrums. For whatever reason, this year’s presidential contest is showing early signs that it may be the most boring, not the most important, election of our lifetime.

Maybe it’s the choice of candidates that make this election feel like a potential snoozer.

It’s no secret that Mitt Romney has struggled to unite the Republican Party. With key policy positions that possess Gumby-like flexibility, the Republican establishment and GOP rank-and-file voters have been slow to warm to Romney. Primary turnout has been low, and while the GOP base has finally rallied around its frontrunner, they did so reluctantly, committing to Romney only after test-driving every other candidate in the market.

The caution and control Romney practices in his daily interactions with the public have enabled him to avoid any significant political pitfalls, but they have also added to his robotic demeanor and inhibited his ability to forge meaningful connections with his audience. As for Romney’s bank of engaging ideas, they sound distressingly similar to the strategies of our last Republican administration. “Yay,” cried the GOP, “more of what we used to do.”

Democrats, meanwhile, continue to be periodically inspired by President Obama, but some of his luster has most assuredly worn off.

SNL - Will Ferrell's George W. Bush Visits Biden

Will Ferrell returned to Saturday Night Live to guest host last weekend. In the show's hilarious opening skit, Ferrell reprised his role as President Bush in order to console and commiserate with an adolescent-acting Vice President Biden.

I particularly enjoyed when Bush draws a distinction between "smarty pants" types like Obama, and "speak first" guys like Bush and Biden.

"They're all brains. You and me, we're all gut and balls."

10 Best Fictional Tweets In Response To Obama's Gay Marriage Endorsement

Since President Obama's declaration of support for same-sex marriage on Tuesday, a wide of array of reactions have flooded the public airwaves.

In general it goes like this:
- Gay folks are grateful for the affirmation.
   (and nervous about the general election)
- Liberals are proud.
   (and nervous about the general election)
- Conservatives are not surprised.
   (and nervous about the general election)


In light of the ample coverage these real reactions have received, I think it's high time we look at what I imagined people might say.

Here are 10 of the most interesting (fictional) Tweets I read (made up) in response to President Obama's endorsement of gay marriage.

1. "I hate to say I told you so. No, I don't." - Rick Santorum
2. "I really don't see what all the fuss is about." - Kim Kardashian
3. "POTUS said what?" - David Axelrod
4. "What's next? Legalized marriage between a man and a dog?" - Snoopy
5. "It's not like you have to marry a guy to have sex with him." - Larry Craig
6. "Nyah, nyah, nyah." - North Carolina
7. "This means all four of my marriages meant nothing." - Rush Limbaugh
8. "That's what I meant when I said I opposed gay marriage." - Mitt Romney
9. "Is anyone going to finish that sandwich?" - Chris Christie
10. "Finally, someone actually did what I would do." - Jesus

Okay, so I made all that up, but not this.

According to Bristol Palin, it would have been nice if President Obama had not been so influenced by the thinking of his wife and daughters and had instead...

"...been an actual leader and helped shape [his daughters'] thoughts instead of merely reflecting what teenagers think after one too many episodes of Glee."

Good to see Bristol dishing out parenting advice to the President. If anyone knows about raising kids properly, it's a 21 year-old single mom whose baby's father just announced that he and his new pregnant girlfriend will name their baby after an Italian handgun. (Oh yeah, that last sentence is true.)

Obama Supports Marriage Equality for Me

Thank you, Mr. President. Not just for supporting my right to marry, but for acknowledging the okay-ness of who I am.

Romney Minimizes Obama’s Role In Killing Bin Laden and Unfairly Insults Carter

As we reach the one-year anniversary of the late night Seal Team Six raid on a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, the White House is exerting more than a little energy reminding Americans of the administration’s most significant national security accomplishment – the killing of Osama Bin Laden.

The Romney campaign is working equally hard to minimize the gravity of President Obama’s decision to authorize the attack on Bin Laden’s suspected hideout. While campaigning in New Hampshire on Monday, Mitt Romney went so far as to relate to a group of reporters that “even Jimmy Carter would have given that order.”

Investigative reports indicate that the President’s decision to launch an attack on foreign soil was by no means a decision that could be made lightly. With an estimated 50% chance that Bin Laden might not actually be at the compound, and in light of potential complications that could have arisen with the Pakistani military, the decision was anything but the slam-dunk that Romney implies.

President Jimmy Carter
Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

In his attempt to minimize the Obama decision, Romney also invokes the name of former President Jimmy Carter in a context which indicates that he views Carter as having been unqualified to conduct American foreign policy, implying that the 39th president was perhaps either too inexperienced or too cowardly.

It’s true that, for some Americans, Carter’s foreign policy street cred has been forever scarred, but the damage was done primarily by a singular notable failure - the inability to successfully resolve the Iranian hostage crisis, despite a military mission he authorized that attempted to do so.

Without arguing the merits of each individual foreign policy decision made during the Carter administration, it might be instructive to consider President Carter's international relations experience relative to Mitt Romney’s.

Obama at White House Correspondent's Dinner

Here is the closing bit from the President's stand-up segment at the White House Correspondent's Dinner on Saturday. As expected, the POTUS took jabs at politicians and the media in "roast-style" comedy. His comments about Jimmy Kimmel, this year's WHCD host, yielded my favorite stand-alone line of the night.

"Jimmy got his start on something called the 'Man Show.' In Washington, that's what we call a Congressional hearing on contraception."


The President also revealed his "secret agenda" for the second term...





(Apologies to subscribers who saw this post in your email three times. I had technical issues with the "editing" of the YouTube clip!)