Will Romney Be Invited to Obama's Jobs Summit?

Barack Obama announced today that come December, he’ll be holding a jobs summit. Looks like the 10.2 percent unemployment rate and the failure of the massive stimulus bill now has the White House grasping at straws, hoping to find something that works now.

Or, at least give Americans the impression that they’re trying to find something that works.

“I’m hoping that this is not just another press conference,” House Republican Whip Eric Cantor told POLITICO. “We’ve seen a lot of these dog and pony shows out of the White House, but there’s no follow through.” Cantor complained that the White House has not listened to Republican ideas on job creation.

When I first heard this news, my immediate thought was, “Mitt Romney has to be invited to this jobs summit, right? It would only make sense.” But then I realized that Obama would never invite Romney to such a thing. Just like Obama never once considered Romney to be his auto czar. While someone who is truly trying to solve these kinds of problems would include Romney, we have to remember that Obama is still playing politics. I will be shocked if Romney is invited to participate in Obama’s jobs summit.

Think of it this way: Obama holds his jobs summit and invites Romney to participate. Jobs summit is successful. Romney is now able to trumpet his success at jobs summit. In the end, Obama gave Romney the means to prove he can accomplish what Obama has failed to do over the past year. Romney now has this to use against Obama in 2012.

So don’t expect to see Romney’s name on the jobs summit roster. Like Cantor said, this is only a dog and pony show.