This morning's remarks by Barack Obama on the latest unemployment figures included the usual self congratulations we've come to expect from The One. CBS News quotes him as saying:
Such hard-working Americans are why I ran for President. They're the reason we've been working swiftly and aggressively across all fronts to turn this economy around; to jumpstart spending and hiring and create jobs where we can with steps like the Recovery Act. Because of this plan, cops are still on the beat and teachers are still in the classroom; shovels are breaking ground and cranes dot the sky; and new life has been breathed into private companies like Sharon Arnold's.
The woman to whom Obama referred appeared with him this morning and POLITICO describes her as "Sharon Arnold, a small biz owner from Illinois."
In a brief presentation viewable at C-SPAN's Web site, Arnold explained she owns a small landscaping business that has benefited from government contracts. Last year, however, she "had to lay everyone off, including myself." All of her employees went on unemployment. But now, things are just so much better. Under Obama, stimulus money is flowing back to Illinois and she's been able to hire back 90 percent of her employees.
One aspect of all this I predict we won't hear about from the mainstream media is Arnold's background. She is also enthusiastic about at least one other Federal program, the Department of Transportation's Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program. In 1998, former Illinois Democratic Senator Carol Moseley Braun entered into the Congressional Record:
Listen to a letter from Sharon Arnold, who is president of SSACC, Inc., a certified women-owned disadvantaged business enterprise in Pontiac, IL:
I know that without the [DBE] program I would lose the opportunity to compete. That is all this program does for me; it gives me the opportunity to compete.
Business setbacks didn't appear to dampen Arnold's ability to give substantial amounts of money to various Democratic politicians over the years. Federal Election Commission records show she's given money to Al Gore, Mary Landrieu, Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell. And even with times as tough as they've been, Arnold managed to scrape together $3,500 to give to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.
A little research disclosed that Arnold is also a Feng Shui enthusiast. She wrote in a testimonial:
We have found that working within the theory of the Feng Shui application, it gives the entire premises a feeling of true oneness with the environment and a sense of personal comfort within the perimeters of the office staff interactions, as well as those who come into our office.
No doubt Arnold is feeling a true oneness with the environment in Washington these days. As do much of the mainstream media, which is why Arnold's Democratic connection isn't deemed newsworthy.
