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Just hours before he started his "White House to Main Street" jobs tour with a visit to Lehigh County, Pa., President Obama reportedly told top advisers he was "shocked at the level of ignorance among the common people regarding what it takes to generate jobs," according to unnamed aides.
The tour is billed as an opportunity to get the president out of the White House, where he's been holed up for nearly a full working day, to mingle among the citizenry in order to "take the temperature on what Americans are experiencing during these challenging economic times."
But even before Air Force One touched down at Lehigh Valley International Airport this morning, the president expressed dismay at the general lack of understanding of macroeconomics soon to be displayed by those he might meet in factories, shops and diners.
Although Obama recognizes that most communities "don't have the benefit of the kind of intellectual firepower" with which he has surrounded himself at the White House, nevertheless he had "hoped business owners and workers would be better informed," aides said.
"You would think that entrepreneurs and CEOs would realize the vital role the federal government plays in generating economic prosperity," the president reportedly told his inner circle. "But instead they'll probably prattle on about something called 'free enterprise.' I know now that I'll have to spend a lot of time explaining that there's no such thing as a free lunch, let alone a free enterprise. In this country, you have to make your money the old-fashioned way ... by lobbying Congress to appropriate it, or writing memoirs and such."
The president planned to discuss the subject over a complimentary midday meal at the Hamilton Family Restaurant near downtown Allentown, before boarding Air Force One to return to the White House, where he'll create more jobs.
