WH Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel: "We Rescued the Economy"

How? It's as if he tossed a drowning man a brick instead of a life preserver!

The sheer hubris of these people indicate that their ego's will lead them to a fall!

WASHINGTON, July 22 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama shifts his effort to convince the American people healthcare reform is the right thing to do right now to prime time Wednesday.

In an evening news conference, Obama is expected to outline the case for healthcare reform as well as provide an update on what has been accomplished since he took office in January.

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel told The New York Times Obama intends to use the news conference as a "six-month report card," to talk about "how we rescued the economy from the worst recession" and the legislative agenda moving forward, including health care and energy legislation.

Political observers said Obama is at a pivotal moment in his presidency because how he handles the healthcare issue during the next few weeks could help shape the rest of his presidency and his relationship with Congress, among other things.

Rescued the Economy or Enriched His Campaign Contributors?

It's hard to see signs of Obama rescuing anything in the last six months except his campaign contributors. He nationalized banks and insurance companies who are now paying big bonuses to their executives. He took over Chrysler and GM and handed them over to his union buddies. Obama supported cap and tax legislation which is a huge payback to environmental groups and investment bankers. And signed stimulus legislation which didn't generate many jobs but did provide billions for groups like ACORN.

Meanwhile, despite his repeated promises to the contrary, unemployment continues to skyrocket and looks to go into double digits very soon:

And even conservative forecasts of Obama's plans, which are rapidly becoming outdated by events, show a reckless increase in debt which cannot possibly be sustained:

Meanwhile, Obama's popularity is sinking and is below what Jimmy Carter's was at the six month point in his presidency.

Will Reporters Ask the Tough Questions Tonight?

To reporters interested in covering the news this should be like sharks who smell blood in the water. So far, the "news" media has been largely silent, if not supportive of Obama's plans. But just as there were big ratings to be made by propping up an inexperienced black man for President there may be bigger ratings in watching him fall; or even giving him a push.

While I won't be watching the news conference live (I can't stand watching Obama preen and strut) I will look for highlights of tough questions later. If readers happen to catch any particularly interesting moments, please relate them in the comments section.