CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Flinching in the face of economic weakness, President Barack Obama's top aides refused to say Sunday in the run-up to the Democratic National Convention if Americans are better off than they were four years ago.
Obama campaigned in Colorado and Vice President Joe Biden in Pennsylvania as their senior surrogates sought to deflect discomforting questions and turn them into criticism of Republican challenger Mitt Romney.
"The Romney path would be the wrong path for the middle class, the wrong path for this country," said David Plouffe, one of Obama's top White House aides.
But responding to the question that has become a staple of presidential campaigns, he sidestepped when asked if Americans are better off than when Obama took office.
"We've clearly improved ... from the depths of the recession," he said.
Another aide, David Axelrod, said, "I think the average American recognizes that it took years to create the crisis that erupted in 2008 and peaked in January of 2009. And it's going to take some time to work through it."
Not only the economy, but the weather was also a concern for the Democrats with Obama planning to deliver his prime-time acceptance speech on Thursday night before a crowd of tens of thousands at a football stadium.
An enormous sand sculpture made in Obama's likeness served as a reminder, as if any were needed, that the Democrats were in town. A drenching rain caused damage on Saturday just as work was finishing on the project, but the five-member crew said they had been able to make repairs.
Planeloads of delegates flew into their convention city for two days of receptions before their first meeting in the Time Warner Cable Arena on Tuesday. Hundreds of demonstrators marched through the streets around the hall, protesting what they call corporate greed as well as U.S. drone strikes overseas said to kill children as well as terrorists.
No arrests were reported as dozens of police officers walked along with the parade, carrying gas masks, wooden batons and plastic hand ties.
Biden, campaigning in York, Pa., took a swipe at Romney on foreign policy.
"He said it was a mistake to end the war in Iraq and bring all of our warriors home," the vice president said. "He said it was a mistake to set an end date for our warriors in Afghanistan and bring them home. He implies by the speech that he's ready to go to war in Syria and Iran. "
Democrats have been critical of Romney for making no mention of the war in Afghanistan when he accepted the Republican nomination in Tampa, Fla., last week. He previously criticized Obama for setting a public date for the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from the war.
Romney also has faulted Obama for allowing the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad to remain in power. Yet his aides have refused to say for a week if he agrees with French President Hollande's promise to extend diplomatic recognition to a provisional government if Syrian rebels form one.
Romney spent Sunday at his Wolfeboro, N.H., vacation home, leaving only to attend church services with his wife, Ann.
Aides said he would spend much of the Democrats' convention week preparing for three fall debates with Obama, beginning on Oct. 3.
Running mate Paul Ryan was booked into North Carolina, counterprogramming the Democratic convention rhetoric.
San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro delivers the keynote speech on Tuesday, followed by First lady Michelle Obama's remarks.
Obama and Biden will be nominated for second terms on Wednesday night, when former President Bill Clinton has the role of star speaker.
Biden and Obama, deliver their nomination acceptance speeches on Thursday, the convention's final night.
The economy has recovered fitfully at best from the worst recession in decades, and national unemployment is 8.3 percent. Joblessness was spiking when Obama took office and peaked at over 10 percent before it began receding during his term.
While Republicans want the election to be a simple referendum on Obama's handling of the economy, he and the Democrats are determined to make Election Day a choice between him and his rival.
That strategy was on display in the Sunday interview programs.
Plouffe, asked on ABC to answer the better-off question with a yes or no, replied: "I think everybody understands we were this close to a Great Depression. We staved that off. We're beginning to recover. We have a lot more work to do. We need to grow jobs more quickly, we need to grow middle-class incomes more quickly."
Axelrod, on Fox, said, "I can say that we're in a better position than we were four years ago in our economy in the sense that when this president took office, we were losing 800,000 jobs a month. The quarter before he took office was the worst quarter that this country has had economically since the Great Depression, and we are in a different place, 29 straight months of job growth, 4.5 million private sector jobs."
"Are we where we need to be? No. But the problem with what Governor Romney said is for three days they never offered anybody a plausible alternative."
REG in AZ posted at 1:12 pm on Wed, Sep 5, 2012.
People are better off today because the downslide is ending and the recovery has begun. People are better off today because Obama took over after Bush-Cheney blew through the surplus given them by Clinton, after Bush-Cheney strarted the dynamically growing deficit by totally focusing on the interests of the 1% and irresponsibly ignoring the interests of the 99%, after Bush-Cheney brought this country to several crisis points in several areas with the costly exploitation by the few, allowed by permissive politicians and rationalized as "conservative", with Obama having effectively minimized the downslide by responsibly responding to the problems over the Republicans' arrogant faulting and stubborn blocking, as they put their political ambitions and the serving of their masters, "the money", above any concern for the costs to the people. The people are better off today because we didn't have the likes of Romney-Ryan in charge who would focus on serving the 1% and just say "let the rest fail".
soricobob posted at 5:55 am on Mon, Sep 3, 2012.
Let's see, it took George W only 8 years to bring the economy down, so why would we expect it to be recovered in 4?
Dale Whiting posted at 5:33 pm on Sun, Sep 2, 2012.
It's not for the President's aids to say. It's for each of us to say.
Very few are better off today than they were on January 20, 2008. And many of us have predicted that because of that, President Obama will not be re-elected. But so what? Does government run the economy? No. Business runs the economy. Sure government can contribute both positively and negatively to the economy. And what can be positive at one time can be negative at another time.
It will take us another 4 to 8 years to see significant improvements to our economy, if we are lucky, that is. But very little done by whomever is president from 2012 to 2016 will make a difference. If the president is re-elected, someone else, likely a Republican, will be elected in 2016. If Romney is elected in 2012, he'll have very little to cite to as having significantly helped in 2016. If Paul Ryan's idea of budget cuts [once called "trickle down economics"] comes into play, we shall be witnessing the end of such overly symplistic and naive theories.
So, Mr. Romney, perhaps it's your turn to fail! Bring it on!
asuaguila posted at 2:50 pm on Sun, Sep 2, 2012.
If you are not better off, it's your own fault. Quit blaming the government for your failures. We just refinanced our mortgage saving $300 a month. Our Prius has been paid off for two years now ,meaning we don't much for gas. My wife just graduated from ASU and was offered a job in her field.
REG in AZ posted at 2:11 pm on Sun, Sep 2, 2012.
It seems like some want to blame the Democrats for the economy, but that isn't reality and if believed it is just asking for more of the same. How did the jobs go away and who profited in the process - whose supporters are they and why are they paying mega-millions to continue their exploitive ways? If you look at who really profited, who is using propaganda to blame "big government", government spending and the deficit, which while worthwhile corrections they just didn't cause the problems, and look at who wants to maintain their status quo with permissive, co-responsible politicians allowing their continued exploitation, and if you can consider all of that with an open, objective and rational mind, you should be able to see who is being the problem while they are feeding their insatiable "more" (never enough) appetite and just peddling propaganda to the people, who continually loose more. And to find fault with politicians' performances during our down turn - who put their political ambitions above all else, stubbornly blocking and arrogantly faulting all efforts, withholding bipartisanship, protecting tax cuts for the very wealthy and just being irresponsible while depending on propaganda to con the people and manipulate public opinion? Give credit for what has been accomplished and prevent returning to more of the same, Bush-Cheney style, no matter how rationalized.
Jesus Christo de Nogales posted at 2:09 pm on Sun, Sep 2, 2012.
Mr. Owebama. How is allowing 1,760,000 illegal occupiers to stay in the US and giving them work permits going to help lower unemployment? Do you not understand that these young, educated, motivated and potential small business creators are the only possibility for improving the standard of living in the poor Spanish speaking countries they came from? And you want to keep them in the US instead of helping our poor neighbors? Shame on you! No wonder the Spanish speaking peoples of the world hate the United States that steals their best and brightest. Shame on you.
Americans need to unite to help Mexico and Central America by returning these illegal occupiers back to their home land. You keep them in the US and you are only helping one person. Send them back and you are helping millions of their fellow citizens. Are you with me America?
chatmandu002 posted at 1:44 pm on Sun, Sep 2, 2012.
Obama = No hope, No change, No transparency and No leadership.