Dismal Week for the President--Great Week for Romney

I think the President is glad that it's Friday--it has been a miserable week for the sitting president.

Economy

It started off with the disappointing news of the economic recovery.  Despite two consecutive months of job growth, the month of March only added 120,000 jobs.  To make matters worse, in the first week of April, 380,000 individuals filed for unemployment. According to the Washington Post, this is the highest number of filings since January. 

Promises and hopes of an economic recovery have been blurred--economic stability in America is far from a reality.

Tax Returns & Paying "Fair Share"

Today the White House released the Obama's 2011 tax returns.  As much as the Obamas would like to deny it, he and Michelle paid 20.5% on their $790,000 income.  Their effective tax rate is well below the 30 percent that Obama argues is the magic number which guarantees that the wealthiest Americans will pay their "fair share."

SAUL LOEB/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

No matter how the Administration spins it, Obama applied tax deductions which dropped his effective tax rate to 20%. (It is important to remember that this is just 6% points higher than Mitt Romney's highly criticized tax rate on his investment income).  

It will now be much harder for Obama to push for "The Buffet Rule."

Sorry Mr. President, it appears that you too, paid a much lower tax rate than your secretary.

War on Women

As I have mentioned before, over the past few months, the Democrats have strategically exploited "hot button" issues like contraception with the hopes of successfully staking claim on the female demographic. Their efforts have been successful and it appears that the majority of women have swarmed their allegiance back to President Obama.

The battle over the gender gap seemed to be working.  

It was easy to target Mitt Romney and highlight his apparent "women problem."

But things began to crumble when the 2011 annual report for the White House staff was released.  A blaring gap in gender pay was evident in the Presidential staff payroll.  According to the report, female employees were paid 18% less than their male counterparts.  (Click here to read full Free Beacon article).

Image from businessnewsdailycom

Hypocrisy at its finest.  

The President boasts of being an advocate for equal pay for women and non-discrimination in the workplace.  He champions himself on being a proponent for women's causes.  

Unfortunately, this report highlights that his actions speak louder than his words.

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Furthermore, FoxNews opinion writer Gretchen K. Hamel wrote yesterday that among the 93 golf outings that this president has taken since taking office, only two of those outings included female guests. 

Champion for women? Not so sure. 

Things got worse when the Washington Post highlighted the fact that Mitt Romney has always surrounded himself with top female executives.  This was true during his years at Bain, the Olympics and during his tenure as Governor of Massachusetts.  (It should be mentioned that his Lt. Governor was a woman).  Ann Romney told the Washington Post, "When Mitt Romney was governor, he had more women on his cabinet than any other governor in the country."

Governor Romney and Lt. Governor Healey

Mitt Romney's woman problem?  More like a problem with the way the media chooses to portray his relationship with women. 

Lastly, the dismal week continued when Hillary Rosen--a trusted Obama advisor and DNC spokesperson told CNN that "Ann Romney has never worked a day in her life."

Boom. 

 It was a destructive bomb that insulted stay-at-home moms and provided a much-needed rallying cry for conservative women to unite.

Approval Ratings

The final blow came when latest polls show that President Obama's approval rating has dropped to its lowest point of the year.

It goes without saying that it was a bad week for the president.  

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My hope is that the dust will settle and the issues will return to substance, but two things are clear: 1) November is a LONG ways away and 2) Voters are paying attention to every detail.

So, I don't mind if the Left continues to advocate a "War on Women," I just hope that instead of manufactured controversies over contraception, the focus will be on this president's failed economic policies and what that reality has meant to women all over this country.

Once the issues return to the economy, it will be difficult for this president to defend his dismal record and failed policies.

Scott Olson/Getty Images

Mitt Romney's experience of resuscitating broken companies, making weak organizations stronger and restoring prosperity to the broken will begin to appear as a life-line that Americans will be desperate to grab.

Go Mitt!!