The video: One of President Obama's own fans put him on the defensive this week, telling him at a televised town-hall meeting that she has grown "exhausted" defending him and was tired of waiting for his policies to turn the economy around. Velma Hart, chief financial officer for a veterans' services organization, said she and her husband had thought their "hot dogs and beans" days were over, but now they're not so sure (watch the video below). "I've been told that I voted for a man who said he's going to change things in a meaningful way for the middle class," Hart said. "I'm one of those people, and I'm waiting, sir. I'm waiting. I don't feel it yet."
The reaction: Middle-class Americans had better get used to franks and beans for dinner, says Ed Morrissey at Hot Air. That may not be the change they were voting for in 2008, but "it's the change Obamanomics delivers every time it has been tried." It's a laugh how Republicans have tried to spin this, says Dr. Wilmer J. Leon III at The Grio. Middle-class Americans, especially African-Americans, have every right to tell Obama they are frustrated and hurting — but that doesn't mean conservatives and their "failed" notions of "trickle-down economics," are offering any useful answers. Watch Hart's comments here:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.