Geithner's response -- Well, David, that's a--let me just say that's a ridiculous table...
Gregory -- You're certainly not disputing those numbers. And this is what happened with the jobs report this week. The New York Times described it this way. "Feeble Job Numbers Show Recovery Starting To Stall...
Geithner -- The, the economy absolutely slowed in the first half of the year. There's no doubt on that. And when the economy slows, job creation will slow, and that's what's happening. It slowed because...
Geithner then went on to blame, among other things, higher gas prices (a gallon of gas up over 100 percent since Obama's inauguration) and really terrible weather across the country which slowed construction spending.
The Big Lug Nut decided last year not to seek a change in the state’s unemployment law and that has resulted in 13 fewer weeks of benefits being available to out-of-work Iowans.
Because the BLN did not pursue a federal program for which Iowa qualified in September 2009, potentially 18,000 Iowans missed out on extended unemployment benefits for private-sector workers that were funded by the federal government at no cost to the states.
This is the same man who said (video below) -- "I've been leading the charge in terms of extending unemployment benefits".
During the debate over the extension, Iowa Workforce Development had to use words like "about" and "could" when describing Iowans eligible for additional unemployment benefits because they new the truth that those people wouldn't qualify.
The man who's administration told us unemployment would rise no higher than 8%, last figured at 9.5%, is mad that CONgress has yet to authorize borrowing $34 billion to fund another extension of unemployment benefits.
In the Quad City Times you'll read that for the second straight year Iowa employers will be taxed more to support the Iowa Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund.
The BLN brags that its only a half a million dollars, and in the scam of things it is only a drop in the bucket when compared to his $875 million (plus interest) I-JOBS program.
Dave Price, WHOHD, questioned the BLN on how many jobs have been created by his borrowing scam, it's a quest they began two months ago (No Controlling Authority?) and the Culver Crew still can't come up with an answer.
I've never been a fan of the Bill Clinton thumbs up
Culver seems to have got it down pat.
Branstad should have been more clear on the debate format, wanting response time, especially after the moderators had just gone over it with the viewers.
Culver stumbled over Sioux City seeming to call it Sewer Water City.
I love how Branstad shot down Culver's AAA bond rating by noting how Enron and Lehman Brothers both received the same rating from Moody's.
Culver used a majority of his time regarding the judicial selection process to go back to a previous question about bonding.
Culver seemed to be bragging about the 30,000 Iowans collecting extended unemployment benefits, but because Culver did not seek a change in the state's unemployment law roughly 18,000 Iowans have missed out on an 13 weeks of benefits paid for by the federal government.
When questioned by Branstad, Culver could not name one (let alone the three asked for) of his biggest mistakes, yet said he takes full responsibility for his mistakes.
That lends credence to the belief that the mistakes he's admitting to making are just an insincere campaign ploy.
When Culver was given a chance to question Branstad he just talked and talked before finally asking him to admit I-JOBS was being funded with gaming revenue.
Those revenues continue to fall and I-JOBS could end up being paid back from the state's general fund.
Branstad scored with the 300,000 jobs he created as Governor versus the 50,000 jobs Culver has lost.
Education came up and Culver brought up his two "amazing" children.
Those kids have made a commercial for him, Clare seems to take after her dad and John after his mom, Mari.
Culver also claims preschool could be the defining issue in the campaign, which makes me wonder what happened to embryonic stem cell research?
Just last week it was to be a key to Culver winning re-election.
Branstad pointed out that preschool should not be an entitlement, funded by taxpayers for everyone, but should be paid for on the basis of need.
Congratulations to Culver on not breaking out Sweaty Chetty until roughly half way through the debate.
When questioned about what he would have done different about the floods of 2008, Culver started off his response about the tornado that hit the Little Sioux Scout Ranch and then mentioned being to Cedar Rapids 100 times.
When asked again what he would have done different, his response was nothing.
I loved how Branstad tied Jack DeCoster to the Dymmycrats with his $10,000 campaign contribution to Attorney General Tom Miller and to Culver via a $400,000 donation to the Democratic Governors ASSociation, which has funded Culver's campaign.
Thankfully nobody called Decoster a bad egg or a rotten egg.
I'm not sure what to make of Culver's claim that the "facts are getting in the way of the truth".
On the topic of economic development, Culver's plan to end brain drain in Iowa is with BRAIN SUCK.
As my lovely and talented wife pointed out to me, brain gain would have been more appropriate.
In his closing statement, Culver claimed Terry Branstad is against civil rights?
Larry is one of the nicest people you'll ever meet and when you say that about someone in broadcasting it is quite a statement.
Larry and I worked for the same company when he was in news at WHO TV and I was at KLYF Radio.
Larry organized the company basketball team and just a couple years ago organized a successful (and fun) reunion of onetime WHO TV/Radio and KLYF employees, where I reminded him that my grandmother (98 this month) was the house mother at his Iowa State fraternity and Larry shared nice memories of that experience.
Besides continuing Republican out of control spending, what have Dummycrats accomplished since achieving majority status of both houses in January of 2007?
Well, they've doubled the number of their taxpayer-financed trips abroad, spending $13 million just last year alone.
There was no Brain Suck moment for Culver, but it was odd during the Arizona immigration law question, that Culver claimed "Illegal is Illegal" and then criticized Branstad for wanting to fill up the jails with detained illegals.
Branstad scored when he said only 34% of flood money that has been allocated has reached businesses.
Culver tried to claim that it took Branstad 12 years to close the books on the 1993 flood.
Twelve years would be 2005 and almost to the end of the second term of The Pickle, Governor Vilsack.
Culver became annoying by wanting to go back several times to answer previous questions, on unemployment and preschool, when the debate had moved on to the next question.
At one point the crowd turned on him when he tried to go back to Terry Branstad not rebutting the preschool question.
Numerous times Culver tried to circumvent the format by wanting rebuttal time after he'd had a rebuttal.
I'm not sure why he just didn't use time from the next question to revisit the previous question, like he'd been doing.
I thought Terry Branstad scored when he highlighted how free preschool for all had actually hurt K-12 and College education, especially in lieu of Culver's 10% budget cuts.
Branstad hit a home run here when he said -- “Now we now know what I-JOBS is, It’s Illinois jobs”.
Branstad further drilled the point home when he mentioned the people from Illinois that marched with Culver at the University of Iowa Homecoming parade.
Culver lamely turned it into having support from all over including his sister here from New York.
Must be here to help him pack up Terrace Hill.
Is part of Culver bringing IBM, Google and Microsoft to Iowa include constant name dropping?
They must have required numerous free plugs.
Culver has also increased the total number of jobs created by 5,000 in one month, from the first debate figure of 16,000, to 21,000.
Culver continues to be no mathlete when he criticized Indiana as having unemployment at 50% above the U.S. average.
Indiana's August rate was 10.2%, during the same time period the U.S. rate was 9.6%.
I loved Branstad's shot at Staci Appel-sauce for brains and her Supreme Court sitting husband, Brent, when Branstad mentioned how partisan the judicial nominating process has become.
In his closing remarks, it sounded like Culver was claiming Branstad was Governor in the 1920s and I know during the debate I heard Culver call his opponent Blanstad.
Lastly, I felt sorry for the people that had to shake the hand Culver used to mop the flop sweat after the debate was over.
Rosy Scenario wrote a story for the Ragister stating 7,300 jobs have been added.
A somewhat closer look reveals 2,800 were professional and business services jobs, but most of those were through temporary agencies.
2,000 employees were added in government, but again these were mostly temporary census jobs.
The Ragister tries to compare it to the national average of 9.7%, but doesn't mention the lowest unemployment rates are in neighboring states like North Dakota (4%), South Dakota (4.8%) and Nebraska (5%).
Maybe they should have gone into debt like the Big Lug Nut did for Iowa with his borrowing scam and Obama did for the country with the stimulus.
With his faithful idiot companion, Joe, Barack Obama helped guide the United States to the third-largest one day increase in the nations debt in U.S. history.
It's enough to make the country wonder, who was that last man?, when they inaugurate the next President.
CONgress is expected again to take up extension of unemployment benefits with a price tag of $35.5 Billion, it has not passed because Dummycrats are against attempts to make it deficit neutral.
Why do they want to hurt unemployed and future generations of Americans?
They could just recoup the $7.1 billion in over payments and they'd be a fifth of the way there.
