Fox asks: “Where's the jobs summit?” Answer: Washington, DC, December 3, 2009.

Written by Julie Millican

Published

On one of Fox's so-called “straight” news programs today, Bill Hemmer revived an old attack-that Obama focused too much on health care and not enough on jobs. He reminded his guest, Steve Forbes, and his viewers that Obama held a widely-publicized health care summit while attempting to address health care reform, and poised the following insightful question to Forbes: “What if you turned that around? What if you did a summit with five of the best CEOs in America? Put that on television. ... What would they say?” While they spoke, on-screen text asked, “Where's the jobs summit?”

I think I know the answer. On December 3, 2009, Obama held a widely-publicized jobs summit, which included CEOs from American Airlines, Boeing, Google, Walt Disney, Home Depot, Xerox, PG&E, and FedEx to name but a few. In fact, far from limiting the jobs summit to just “five” CEOs in America, Obama invited dozens of them. Here's but a sampling of what they said:

  • Disney's Bob Iger: According to USA Today, Disney CEO Bob Iger “pushed for easing immigration policies that make it hard for tourists to visit and spend money in the United States.”
  • Boeing's James McNerney: USA Today also reported that: “Boeing's James McNerney suggested more government support for small businesses to aid those who supply the parts for his jumbo jets.”
  • FedEx's Frederick Smith: USA Today reported that, “FedEx CEO Frederick Smith called for lowering the corporate tax rate -- an idea echoed by other CEOs, including Iger. 'Our corporate tax rate is simply not competitive,' Smith said. 'It advantages financial services at the expense of industry.'”
  • Google's Eric Schmidt: On CNN, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said that his “number one suggestion” to President Obama would be “to get banks lending to small businesses, because small businesses create the majority of jobs in the United States.”

Not to be outdone, Forbes sniffed that Obama shouldn't just invite CEOs of big corporations to this economic summit that they so desperately wish Obama would hold. Forbes opined that Obama should “bring on small businesses” as well, a “point” Hemmer couldn't agree with more. Well, guess what? At the jobs summit that Fox News forgot Obama had, the 130 person guest list included-that's right-small business owners! And, indeed, one of the six panel discussions held at the jobs summit was on “Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs and the Engine of Job Growth.” That certainly sounds to me like Obama brought “on small businesses.”

But far be it for Fox to let pesky little facts get in the way of their attacks on Obama. It's not like they're supposed to be a news outlet or anything.

From the April 2 broadcast of Fox News' America's Newsroom: