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Obama makes push on foreign policy seeking military votes

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    Chris Stirewalt and Mary Katherine Ham discuss the Obama campaign.

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What we inherited.

It's pretty simple.

-- -- and I understand.

In General Motors is a lot.

And that was vice president Joseph Biden giving a campaign speech yesterday in New York.

That was by the way or where he was in not talking about president Obama's big stick.

And this is a power play Internet.

And welcome and welcome -- much to Mary Katharine Ham.

She is a Fox News contributor she writes -- the daily caller she's.

By the way before we get under way I want to thank all the folks at Georgetown and you also out there in Internet land.

For a great show -- -- for him our special one hour it was a lot of fun.

OK so Mary Katharine.

What the administration in the campaign wanna be talking about today -- Is the ways in which President Obama is caring for.

America's.

Military families soldiers and military families are winding down the wars overseas providing consumer protections for families here at home.

And they're rolling that out Biden's speech.

It was part of that but then today.

The GDP numbers for the first quarter came out and they were.

They were when they were unhappy they never say a word in the -- not only did they miss expectations but it -- -- -- I decelerating.

Economic growth rate.

In the first quarter which is now what the president wants to see how successful from the presidency.

Well you have me.

He tension for the entire rest of the year it's gonna be Barack Obama trying to talk about what.

Goodies he's giving away because once we were having and you could -- be giving away with certain.

Constituencies that he can get those votes last week it was college students this week is the military's gonna focus on.

And he has a new program for each one that's gonna cost us however much money and he -- talk about those instead of talking about the economy.

Can he do that to some extent yes -- is it's a -- press corps in his hands for.

The most part a lot of time.

That's so he can he can do that I think.

Romney has a responsibility to keep the message on the economy because.

Even though the press corps.

Hearts for a Obama more than him he is in the spotlight every single day and has the ability to drive a -- and I think he he has a responsibility to stay on.

On topic instead -- running around down the rabbit hole.

So there but there's -- there's challenger to Romney because what he does have the ability to drive a narrative he doesn't have the ability to Barack Obama has to -- down not nearly as tonight the president can't.

He cannot overwhelm bad economic news or he can't actually -- the biggest problem for him.

Has been.

Iraq by.

Himself for people in his administration we -- reaching all the way back for a month.

To be -- -- moment -- -- do you -- for his comments about the Supreme Court -- what Hilary Rosen said.

What this as presents a knuckle headed to EPA did or what -- Secret Service guys did.

He is -- finds himself buffeted and blown off course by.

The -- moves back in his -- in terms of the national merit of a lot faster than it's gonna go over that front right.

It certainly does but I.

I think that economic news is so important that it will end up overriding a lot of these other issues he wants -- of the military's final that's pretty friendly.

Message people are gonna want to pay attention that say oh yes we like to do -- -- -- like.

But whatever we can't for the troops although I do think there's some.

Mitigating issues that the -- health care problems a study about those coming out the fact that military voting absentee voting for it.

Has been a problem for many elections in 2010 was a huge problem in Illinois New York DJ still hasn't done anything about that that's accurate -- might be like.

Hey guys we're really gonna take care of this whole voting thing for you instead and -- new programs that might be a pitch that I would makes -- those -- -- Community it's also a huge uphill battle a -- of the military times polls from 2008.

In sixty some percent.

Enlisted men and women voting at if you look at military -- -- there's other data.

And -- something.

When you look at officers.

Even when you get to Hispanic voters they have the percentages are still really high citizen uphill battle for Democrats they just have to peel off -- -- rightful.

And that and that's the whole thing when you're talking about this slice and dice the sort of slap chop politics.

That the president is doing.

Where you're trying to find individual groups and if you are even if you are a persuade -- voter.

Station -- I don't know at Fort -- down in North Carolina.

Or down in the down in the Tidewater Virginia.

It's that nor affect.

If you are one of these people.

All he needs is.

Well let's put it this way.

The president's situation with military voters is analogous to what Mitt Romney situation is with young voters are Hispanics that he doesn't need to win them he just needs a mile down his margin of defeat for -- Okay so.

In terms what the president can do for the military by the way the reason military support the president is those two southern states we just mentioned Virginia and North Carolina.

Are key to his maps -- division that they have is picking off one or two of those states from what is traditionally the red column so they can give something back.

Like Wisconsin or even Pennsylvania maybe.

In terms of making this argument.

You grew up in North Carolina and you're familiar with some people in the military job.

How persuasive in the president's argument it.

You know I think it's tough I think -- certain parts of the military there are a lot of black and Hispanic.

Folks a lot of young people down military but they do skew more conservative Hispanics blacks or young people in the regular population so that's going to be a problem -- -- The other problem for him I think is that.

The economy is affecting people getting out of the military just recently back from combat -- -- even though he can make the -- look I I got you home.

Well what is at home once you get here and there's not a lot of options for veterans and the unemployment rate is sky high.

-- million a million unemployed veterans and how you campaign that's the one that hits home -- -- you talk about families that sometimes several children.

Why is going to work everybody you know trying to hand over -- are.

Make this happen I think.

That becomes the tough part of -- right around.

Well -- -- I was talking to and this is just anecdotal but where I live there are a lot of military families there and especially people who have been in a long time is their rotation as military rotations and it tends to bring you closer and closer to the Pentagon.

And in my neighborhood there a lot of military -- I was talking to this woman whose husband is is coming back.

And will soon metric you laid out of the army.

And she said that with the defense cuts.

The contractors aren't hiring.

And he doesn't have a great private sectors skill set that's gonna let him get an equivalent level job they have four kids -- -- The worry the White House has attempted to sort of bridge that gap with the best jobs program of some sort but has never really put it together it hasn't.

It had there's no little on the ground out results for that.

For that work as of now and given government corruption -- there will be.

So on the eight on that this growth right now basically the way it works is this.

You have.

Two things that you care about when you see GDP growth rate.

How does it compare to the previous quarter and how does it match up with the expectations that economists lay out that they say well this is about what we expect to see because if it misses right.

What they're saying as well maybe there's something that we haven't observed a minute there's a problem here that we haven't identified and this one was bad because it did -- -- it was fell short of the growth rate of the previous quarter and also came up short on expectations.

We saw.

In the last two years.

And we saw this movie before.

We saw what happens when optimism in the beginning -- -- recovery summer.

And right that was two Summers their recovery summer when those expectations are met it's actually worse than just having what we have which is cutie cutie numbers people get.

-- -- -- -- The more out punch in the gut yeah this what that is.

And that's that's the main thing for their Romney Obama fight these numbers are bad for him it doesn't matter how good he is on the soft.

To solicit it doesn't matter how well he -- targets if people are being touched by these numbers and think they are every single day he knows it.

That's a huge obstacle for -- and that charisma may not taking over -- the home well.

And you know certainly the the issue for the president is this and you know I've written about before.

George H.

W.

Bush.

In 1992 had successfully prosecuted the first.

Major US overseas military action since the Vietnam War.

He had a presided over the demise of the Soviet Union under that started under Reagan.

He was them.

Arguably the most qualified person to ever be president of the United States in the modern era.

And Bill Clinton beat him just because and remember this it's the growth rate was double.

Double in the second quarter of 1992 what it is now and George of George H.

W.

Bush to law.

And so it's remarkable his numbers are this high -- -- he deserves some sort of credit.

But I do you think you get you can get hammered with these numbers mean it is looking very bad for folks out there and I just.

That Romney is not the strongest candidate on earth but there's a -- to talk about here especially -- the White House Correspondents' Association dinner.

I am not this is my anniversary so I -- CNN.

Did you get ahead all of Washington DC DC to get married on -- correspondents is -- -- I think basically that's why you like her that's why you have good -- -- -- Twitter follow.

I competed with correspondents -- -- -- take my wedding.

Take -- take that could have -- HCA what we thank you very much for being with his English -- pretty happy anniversary what a nice thing and we'll leave you with.

I wouldn't Johnny and -- says I think the military is check when it comes immediately only ever hear about the bad stuff.

That's pretty bad -- true -- and sank so we think we thank you for pointing that out we're going to take it.

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