He just can’t help himself. Yesterday in Pueblo, Colorado, President Obama told a cheering crowd:

I believe in this American industry, and now the American auto industry has come roaring back and GM is number one again. So now I want to do the same thing with manufacturing jobs not just in the auto industry, but in every industry.

Obama says he wants to do the same thing he did for the auto industry for every industry? That’s his plan?

First of all, General Motors and the U.S. manufacturing sector is not as hot as Obama thinks it is. GM’s profits fell 41 percent last quarter and U.S. manufacturing shrank for the second straight month in July.

But turning back to Obama’s bailouts, he ended up spending $80 billion on General Motors and Chrysler and both companies ended up declaring bankruptcy anyway. His administration then interfered with the bankruptcy process of both companies, undermining the rule of law and making it more expensive for every other distressed company in America to survive financially.

Throughout the White House-led bankruptcy process, Obama repeatedly favored his union campaign contributors while shortchanging non-union employees. These interventions did not come cheap. A non-partisan independent study found that Obama’s interference with the rule of law cost taxpayers $26.5 billion. In other words, if Obama had not interfered with the bankruptcy process, taxpayers would have gained $3.5 billion on the auto bailout, instead of losing $23 billion.

And now Obama wants to bring this “success” to every other industry in America? We can’t afford it.

Obama’s stimulus already got rid of the work requirements for food stamps. His administration is even running radio ads asking more Americans to sign up for the program. That’s right: Obama is openly advocating for increasing American dependency. And last month, his Health and Human Services Department invited states to stop enforcing all welfare requirements entirely.

Do Americans really want more people dependent on welfare and more government owned companies? Because that seems to be Obama’s 2012 campaign platform.

Campaign 2012
Polls: A new Fox News poll shows Obama has opened up a 49 percent to 40 percent lead on Romney. A new CNN poll has Obama’s lead at 52 percent to 45 percent. Both polls show Obama leading among independents by 11 points.

Obama: Obama campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki acknowledged Thursday that the campaign was no longer pleading ignorance about the story of a Kansas City man who is accusing Romney of killing his wife. “No one is denying he was in one of our campaign ads. He was on a conference call telling his story,” Psaki told reporters on Air Force One yesterday. The previous day Psaki had said, “we don’t have any knowledge of the story of the family.”

Romney: Romney sat down for an interview with MSNBC’s Chuck Todd that will air as part of a documentary on the two candidates on August 24th. Obama declined to be interviewed. And Romney sat for an extended interview with Businessweek.

Democratic Convention: BuzzFeed reports that the Democratic Platform Drafting Committee agreed to add language supporting marriage equality to this year’s party platform.

Massachusetts Senate: The New Republic‘s Alec MacGillis explains why Elizabeth Warren’s campaign is struggling.

In Other News
The Wall Street Journal, Debate Over ‘Fiscal Cliff’ Weighs on Growth: Dithering in Washington over the “fiscal cliff” of automatic tax increases and spending cuts set for year-end is already hindering economic growth, according to economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal.

Associated Press, Justice Department Not Seeking Goldman Charges: After a year-long investigation, the Justice Department said Thursday that it won’t bring charges against Goldman Sachs Group Inc. or any of its employees for financial fraud related to the mortgage crisis.

Righty Playbook
Mickey Kaus details how Obama gutted welfare reform.

The Heritage Foundation’s Robert Rector rebuts President Clinton’s defense of Obama’s welfare change.

Walter Russell Mead notes that the U.N.’s carbon trading scheme has increased carbon emissions.

Lefty Playbook
The Daily Beast‘s David Frum makes his case against selecting Paul Ryan for Vice President.

Rachel Maddow‘s Steve Benen says Romney supports mass government worker layoffs.

New York Magazine‘s Jonathan Chait admits the Tax Policy Center study has no idea what is in Romney’s tax plan.