Obama's Big Speech
So who's excited for President Obama's big speech today at 1:35 Eastern? The White House is vaguely outlining the speech. Apparently Obama will call for "keeping domestic spending low, finding additional savings in our defense budget, reducing excess health care spending while strengthening Medicare and Medicaid, and tax reform that reduces spending in our tax code."
We're waiting for details. The general vibe here seems to be that President Obama is trying to swoop in and get more attention in the aftermath of Ryan's well-received budget plan. Jennifer Rubin at the Washington Post has some Republican thoughts on the upcoming speech:
President Obama has promised to speak about his thoughts on the debt crisis. It’s not clear, however, why he didn’t do this at the State of the Union or what, if anything, he is going to accomplish. But as a matter of communications strategy, there’s reason to question sending the president out to talk to the country in these circumstances. An adviser of a senior Senate Republican has this take: “They didn’t think this one through. They’re winging it.” He sees a three-pronged dilemma for the president: “His base won’t let him touch Social Security, Medicare was gutted in ObamaCare, and they couldn’t pass a tax hike with a supermajority Democratic Congress.”
A Republican communications guru also takes a dim view of the effort, telling me, “This speech, to me, is incredibly reactionary, as is everything they seem to do at the White House. Paul Ryan made a big splash with his plan, and now the White House is playing catch-up. Notice that the speech is in middle of the day and not at the White House but instead at George Washington University. So, it’s a ‘major-minor’ speech?” The guru sees a White House obsessed with spin: “All the White House believes the president has to do with this speech is reclaim the headlines. So, he just has to sound good. In their mind, he could be reading out of the phone book.”
Speechifying is the big weapon in the Obama administration arsenal. When a speech goes over well, it goes over very well. Usually, however, they're forgettable. Either way, Rep. Paul Ryan will respond to the speech tomorrow.
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Comments :
Re: Obama's Big Speech
Obama is going to be in trouble if his new plan doesn't consist of substantially more than just soaking the rich. He already assumed several big tax hikes on high-earners in his February budget, which nonetheless ran trillion- or near-trillion-dollar deficits every year for the next decade..
Aug '10
Re: Obama's Big Speech
Obummer has succeeded in one important way, and this is probably the point of his entire agenda. He is the focal point of most discussions nearly every moment of the day, and he doesn't really care whether it's positive or negative. It's called selfless narcissism, bordering on malignancy.
May '10
Re: Obama's Big Speech
Another Obama speech? Oh, joy of joys! Oh, dream of dreams! The nation breathlessly awaits for word from on high!
Kidding. I could not care less about anything he has to say. It's all empty gas, as always.
May '10
Re: Obama's Big Speech
"Keeping domestic spending low". I don't think any of those words mean exactly what he thinks they mean. Something of an achievement.
Jun '10
Re: Obama's Big Speech
In Obama's second term, this will be the new plan: If we all just worked for the TSA, and spent our days groping each other at the airport, it would take our minds off being bankrupt, maybe. We could also sleep at the airport, on cots, to cut transportation costs. That $8 gas is a killer. No more expensive drives out to the gated storage facility where your old bed sits behind an orange roll-up door. I'll be great.
Sep '10
Re: Obama's Big Speech
What is going on is simply a media PR war. It doesn't matter what he says or promises. At this point Obama can say anything the media will report it with a straight face and the legion of Democratic pundits will craft the appropriate narrative for the drones.
It's great that we have Republicans who are actually taking a responsible position, but if the GOP continues to pretend that this is all that's needed they will lose the war once again. When it comes to something like budgets that really no one understands, it's always a "he said, she said" situation. Democrats will accuse the Republicans of rape (or murder as the case may be) and Republicans already labeled class 1 sex-offenders have to go in front of a jury of nincompoops.
The only way to fight this is to re-focus the debate onto the credibility issue. Does Obama keep any promises? Since when have the Democrats been serious about anything much less cutting spending? Obama says this today but what will he say next month? We don't believe him. Don't bother to much rebutting details of his plan. It's meaningless.
May '10
Re: Obama's Big Speech
Substance will not happen at 1:35et on a Wednesday. That is reserved for 5:57et on a Friday.
Jun '10
Re: Obama's Big Speech
Let's put it this way, I would prefer a root canal or colonoscopy.
What should be set as the over/under on his stock phrases?: "Let me be clear" and "Make no mistake." I say 3. Two "clears" and one "no mistake."
Mar '11
Re: Obama's Big Speech
I am as excited about this speech as I am about Mitch Daniels entering the race.
No doubt there will be Styrofoam Greek Columns behind the Grand Orator as he makes it perfectly clear how his dream is to turn the USA into Greece.
Nov '10
Re: Obama's Big Speech
I swear he's on TV more than O'Rielly and Hannity combined.
Aug '10
Re: Obama's Big Speech
Bingo!
May '10
Re: Obama's Big Speech
Wait. "Keep" spending low? It's not low now, it's sky-high. Once again, Ricochet's language guidelines leave me speechless/wordless.
Jan '11
Re: Obama's Big Speech
Does anyone think that Obama will do anything other than posture? He'll speak with the same condescension toward the country that he showed with that guy who asked him about the price of gas. Even though he put out a budget already that had nothing to do with the deficit, he's going to "explain" things to us.
A disgrace.