In yet another example of why George Stephanopoulos is a terrible host on ABC's This Week, here he is saving Tim Pawlenty just as Katrina vanden Heuvel was trying to pin him down on the fact that President Obama ought to get some credit for saving
June 17, 2012

In yet another example of why George Stephanopoulos is a terrible host on ABC's This Week, here he is saving Tim Pawlenty just as Katrina vanden Heuvel was trying to pin him down on the fact that President Obama ought to get some credit for saving the auto industry in Mitt Romney's home state. Pawlenty lies and says that Romney, who said to let Detroit go bankrupt, would have saved the industry as well. Cue George Stephanopoulos making sure vanden Heuvel can't finish her point by bringing in George Will.

Vanden Heuvel did a good job of pointing out the record amount of obstruction we've seen from Republicans in regard to job creation as well during that little time she was allowed to speak. I guess some follow up from Stephanopoulos pointing out that Romney was not at all interested in saving the American auto industry is just too much to ask.

Transcript below the fold.

STEPHANOPOULOS: If you look at the numbers, isn't Austan right? I mean, there's no way you can make up all that revenue simply by limiting deductions for wealthy people.

PAWLENTY: Well, first of all, George, a number of things. The president's message, it could be worse and it's somebody else's fault four years into his presidency, that's not a basis to re-elect somebody. We don't give out participation ribbons for being president of the United States. You actually have to do something. His signature accomplishment, Obamacare, is unconstitutional.

And, of course, we've got to get this economy moving again. So Austan talks about these tax cuts. You're exactly right. Governor Romney, I was with him on the bus tour, said again yesterday after his tax reforms he wants upper-income Americans to be paying the same percentage -- even though overall the tax...

(CROSSTALK)

PAWLENTY: And, though, he's proposing to reduce spending from its current highs back to the historical norms of less -- no more than 20 percent of the GDP.

VANDEN HEUVEL: You know, I mean, you talked about a shrinking presidency. What's shrinking is our economy, and it's largely because any independent economist -- we've heard from Moody's saying that Romney's plan would make the economic situation worse. To invest in this country at this time, to understand that joblessness is the greatest crisis this -- this country faces, is something I think the president is beginning to step up to. When the jobless numbers came out in February, he didn't sit back and say, "Well, I did this, I did that. I'm just going to sit back." We said we've got to keep fighting for jobs. President Obama has a jobs plan. Mitt Romney does not.

(CROSSTALK)

PAWLENTY: ... how's it working? How's it working?

VANDEN HEUVEL: How's it working?

PAWLENTY: Not so well.

VANDEN HEUVEL: It's not working so well because you have in Congress a Republican Party that has decided that it is going to roadblock every possible jobs plans this administration puts forward. Any...

(CROSSTALK)

PAWLENTY: ... Garth Brooks song, long neck bottle, let go of my hand. When you're the president nearly four years, you don't get to -- you're the leader of the free world, president of the United States, you don't get to shrink back and say it's somebody else's fault.

(CROSSTALK)

VANDEN HEUVEL: Has he saved the auto industry in Mitt Romney's state? Has he?

WILL: We have...

PAWLENTY: Has he saved the auto industry?

(CROSSTALK)

PAWLENTY: That would have been saved under Governor Romney.

(CROSSTALK)

STEPHANOPOULOS: Let's bring in George Will on this.

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