By Bill O'Reilly
As we reported Thursday night, there are some good things in Mr. Obama's proposed new law called the American Jobs Act. The problem is how to pay for it. The president has not explained that yet. Therefore, Republicans are wary of the bill because it looks like yet another income tax increase will be part of the package, and the GOP is not going to go for that.
But the Republican Party should be very careful. It should be open-minded and willing to negotiate with Mr. Obama because the public is watching. There are some anti-Obama people who condemn everything the president does, and that actually helps him, makes him a sympathetic figure in the eyes of some independent voters. If the GOP is perceived to be putting party over country, Mr. Obama's re-election chances will rise dramatically.
But there is another very important element to the economic debate: Is President Obama sincere?
Thursday night he said he wants jobs created in America. He wants the "Made in America" label to be his brand. But watching the speech Thursday night with the first lady was GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt, one of the president's top economic advisers. As you may know, Mr. Immelt is shipping some GE business to China, and he's also sitting on billions of dollars overseas that GE has paid no tax on. Talk about a loophole.
That struck "Talking Points" as incredibly disingenuous, and I put it to White House spokesman Jay Carney:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL O'REILLY: Guess who moved his airline division to China and his med tech division from Wisconsin to China? That's Jeffrey Immelt. "Made in America" Jay? Why -- you should have…
JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Look…
O'REILLY: …you, Jay, you should have walked and threw him out of that box.
CARNEY: He's -- he's a lot bigger than I am. Bill, you're big enough. Maybe you could have done it.
O'REILLY: I would have done it if you let me and gave me permission.
CARNEY: The fact of the matter is the president is not saying that every American company should not have any business overseas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Not good enough. If Mr. Obama is sincere about creating American jobs and closing corporate loopholes, he must surround himself with businessmen who are doing just that. Appearances matter.
"Talking Points" believes Mr. Obama is sincere in that he wants the economy to get better and that he wants to create jobs. It's in his own self-interest to want that.
The problem is Barack Obama doesn't see the big picture. I am certain the presence of Jeffrey Immelt Thursday night did not even occur to the president. He just doesn't know what the big deal is. He also doesn't realize that his economic plan to have the federal government basically control a major part of the economy is not working and will not work.
All American presidents make mistakes, but learning from the mistakes is the key to the great image that a president seeks.
Right now we have yet another stalemate over creating jobs. Not good for the folks.
And that's "The Memo."
Pinheads & Patriots
You may know that the Ford Motor Company did not take bailout money, even when it was offered. Most of the American car companies did. Now Ford says you should take that into consideration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why was buying American important to you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wasn't going to buy another car that was bailed out by our government. I was going to buy from a manufacturer that's standing on their own, win, lose or draw. That's what America is about, is taking the chance to succeed and understanding when you fail that you've got to pick yourself up and -- and go back to work. Ford is that company for me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
It's a pretty good ad, is it not? Patriotic.
— You can catch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" and "Pinheads & Patriots" weeknights at 8 and 11 p.m. ET on the Fox News Channel and any time on foxnews.com/oreilly. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com.
