Obama Camp Confuses President's Record with Texas Gov. Rick Perry

An Obama campaign message predicting a George W. Bush-like presidency for Gov. Rick Perry (R-Texas), should he win the presidency, hit email inboxes Tuesday morning throughout the Lone Star State.

Positioning Perry as a major threat to the president's re-election campaign, Texas Obama director Hector Nieto solicited $5 donations from Texans "...while the media continues its honeymoon with Rick Perry."

While Perry's entrance into the GOP primary last Saturday was newsworthy, it pales in comparison to the 2007-2008 lovefest produced, written and approved by national media outlets, in support of Obama.

But, if projecting the president's rock star-like status in the media onto Perry was laughable, the next three points might make this the most bizarre campaign piece in which a candidate blames a challenger for his own failings:

Jobs Moving Overseas

• The claim: If Perry is president, more jobs will move across the pond.
• Reality: Perry would likely do markedly better than Obama by building a climate which fosters business in the U.S., rather than quell them as the president has. Under Obama's watch,  businesses have expanded overseas while 79 percent of stimulus funds for green jobs meant for Americas bled into foreign markets.

High No. of Minimum Wage Jobs

• The claim: Perry has increased number of minimum wage jobs in Texas.
• Reality: While this claim is true, it is better than no jobs at all in the economy Obama built. As the president continues to push for an increase in the minimum wage again, analysts observe such policy would kill more jobs, especially minimum wage jobs. In the end, the president stifles job growth while Perry fosters.

Perry Shrinks the Middle Class

• The claim: "It feels like we're working harder and harder under Gov. Perry."
• Reality: Obama would like us to believe he is the candidate of new heights, and it is true. Under the president's leadership, the shrinking Obama middle class sees higher inflation as unemployment rises, and yet, the White House keeps spending.

--Brandon De Hoyos, Guide to IM