Steve Benen at MSNBC has some fun pointing out that Mitt Romney boldly promised that he could get unemployment down to 6 percent by the end of his first four years in office by virtue of the policies he would put in place. Of course, Romney lost, Obummer. But Romney must be thrilled that we’re below 6 percent, and it took just two years, not four.
During the last presidential campaign, Mitt Romney argued that he, and he alone, could give the economy a terrific boost. Sure, President Obama’s policies had successfully ended the Great Recession, but a Romney/Ryan administration would send the economy into overdrive.
In May 2012, the Republican candidate sat down with Mark Halperin, who pressed Romney to get specific about what Americans could expect to see under his presidency.
HALPERIN: Would you like to be more specific about what the unemployment rate would be like at the end of your first year?
ROMNEY: I cannot predict precisely what the rate would be at the end of one year. I can tell you that over a period of four years, by a virtue of the polices that we put in place, we get the unemployment rate down to 6 percent, perhaps a little lower.
Yep, Romney said that if he were elected, and given a chance to implement his bold economic vision, freeing the nation of the scourge that is Obama’s crushing agenda, the unemployment rate would drop to “6 percent” – maybe even “a little lower” – by the end of 2016.Of course, President Obama defeated Romney with relative ease, leaving Americans with economic policies that helped push the unemployment rate to 5.9% – in the middle of 2014, more than two full years ahead of Romney’s goal. …
Back when he made his original promise, Romney told FOX News: “People all across the country are saying, ‘Wow, 6 percent sounds pretty good.” Yup, pretty good. Wonder if Romney is saying that now that, under Obama’s policies, Romney’s goal has been reached in half the time.