Think the White House is trying to amplify the president’s jobs speech?
It put out a one-paragraph statement tonight from Gov. Dannel P. Malloy praising the speech, not exactly SOP from the White House. The statement quantifies one impact of President Obama’s plan in Connecticut: an extension of unemployment benefits to nearly 80,000 residents who will max out by the end of the year.
“The President’s proposals will be a direct benefit to Connecticut residents and businesses. For example, by investing in infrastructure his proposal would put people to work; by funding education he will avoid layoffs of teachers and increased class sizes; and by extending unemployment insurance he will keep out of poverty the approximately 78,000 Connecticut workers who will have exhausted their unemployment benefits by the end of this year.”
The governor’s office issued a longer version of the same statement.
Sandwiched around the paragraph distributed by the White House was this: “Tonight, the President made clear tonight that the time for politics is over, and the time for action is now. President Obama proposed a plan to put Americans back to work, cut their taxes and step up the pace of our economic recovery.”
And this: “Importantly, this plan will not increase our national debt. Indeed, if enacted it will accelerate economic growth and reduce the nation’s long-term deficit. I applaud the President for acting boldly in the face of recent data suggesting that our economic recovery has slowed. Congress should act quickly to pass this plan.”
Apparently brevity is appreciated in Washington.