The What Ifs that Never Were for Obama
With House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan unveiling his new budget plan today, the question in many quarters has already shifted to how will President Barack Obama respond.
If a recent New York Times article looking back on Obama’s response to Ryan’s previous budget last April is any indication, the answer could wildly shift on the smallest turn of fortune. The story provides an inside look at the chaotic moments before Obama gave a speech smearing the Republican budget as a stunned Ryan sat in the front row.
“There’s nothing serious about a plan that claims to reduce the deficit by spending a trillion dollars on tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires,” Obama thundered at George Washington University. “And I don’t think there’s anything courageous about asking for sacrifice from those who can least afford it and don’t have any clout on Capitol Hill.”
With Ryan stuck in his seat, Obama turned the substantive budget director into a straw man intent on building an America where “roads crumble,” “bridges collapse” and “families who have children with autism or Down’s syndrome … fend for themselves.”
To hear The New York Times tell the story, however, Obama might have chosen very different words had he only known that Ryan was in the audience – never mind, of course, that the White House had extended the invitation.
The paper’s account of the frantic moments before the President stepped on stage crackles with tension. Here is an excerpt:
President Obama was backstage at an auditorium at George Washington University last April preparing to give a major speech, when William M. Daley, then his chief of staff, spied an unexpected guest in the audience: Representative Paul D. Ryan, the Republican chairman of the House Budget Committee, whose budget plan Mr. Obama was about to shred.
“Try to tell the president!” Mr. Daley directed an aide.
It was too late to deliver a warning.
As readers, we are left to wonder what could have been had the message only reached Obama sooner. We can imagine a young aide with arms outstretched, hopelessly running toward the president. The story is so incredible as to be not credible.
It is hard to believe that the White House could have been unaware of Ryan’s presence not only because he was sitting in the front row but also because Obama opened the speech by acknowledging the presence of the bipartisan fiscal commission on which Ryan served.
It is hard to believe that the substance of the speech would have changed even with more advanced notice. Would Daley have changed the numbers in the speech or just the words? Had the White House previously assumed that Ryan would fail to see the speech on television or read one of the hundreds of articles the next day?
Above all, it is hard to believe because this is not an isolated “what if” moment. Every time, events have handed Obama an opportunity to get serious about budget policy, he has decided to play politics instead. There was the moment when he could have embraced the recommendations of the Bowles-Simpson commission but distanced himself instead. Then, there was the moment when Obama gave a prime-time speech about the debt limit but chose to focus on proposals already off the table.
A good storyteller could inject suspense into any of these moments. But when viewed together, they form a trend that will continue for as long as Obama remains in the Oval Office. Don’t look for any real suspense on the budget until November, and hopefully then there will be no “what ifs.”
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Comments:
Jul '11
Re: The What Ifs that Never Were for Obama
As far as the story here goes, of course it is a lie. Obama is a Chicago thug and that is how the game is played. There are a never ending supply of valid stories as to why the government should continue its spending binge but the overwhelming fact is that it cannot without devastating consequences. Those consequences have to be made clear to the independents and very soon. Obama's refusal to care about the issues needs exposure.
The correct response now to his speeches, and also if Obama is voted in again, is to shout "You lie", flip up both birds simultaneously and walk out with middle fingers raised high en masse. The Ricochet code of civility has little place in the battle for the very fiscal life of our country. Having just finished Steyn's latest I am not in a good mood at all about the future. In fact, we are doomed without the dramatic action that Mr Ryan wishes to start(and even he falls short).
Dec '10
Re: The What Ifs that Never Were for Obama
"...the question in many quarters...." It's those quarters, if they really exist, that may be interesting. I just can't imagine anybody, from the left or the right, that has any question as to how Obama will respond.
Mar '11
Re: The What Ifs that Never Were for Obama
I guess it's too much to expect that Mr Obama could have changed the speech on the fly, once he noticed that Mr Ryan was sitting in the front row?
I am reminded of Peter's story of when Mr Reagan (or his staffer) dropped his prompter cards and then proceeded to deliver a flawless speech.
Different times, different President.
Mar '11
Re: The What Ifs that Never Were for Obama
That is pretty harsh stuff coming from the Times. As harsh as they are ever going to be capable of.
I don't for a second believe that they didn't know Ryan was in the audience. It was a thuggish move from the very beginning. He expected that this would result in the Republicans giving up more in order to get a deal more to his liking.
Re: The What Ifs that Never Were for Obama
I especially liked in The Times article when Obama expresses surprise upon learning that people thought his speech was "harsh." This after he concluded the speech by saying: "My critique of the House Republican approach has been strong."
Feb '11
Re: The What Ifs that Never Were for Obama
It's a peculiar story for the Administration's insiders to tell about themselves, leaving the reader with the reaction of mendacity ("OMG! Ryan is in the front row!" Yeah, right where you put the place card for him) or incompetence (gosh, we wish the smartest President ever could notice Ryan in the front row, but now that the speech is in the prompter, it's not like we can change the words the President actually says).
Oct '10
Re: The What Ifs that Never Were for Obama
As far as how this will affect Ryan, I can't imagine it will do anything other than stoke the fire in his belly.
Apr '11
Re: The What Ifs that Never Were for Obama
This story is really about changing history. Democrats have read polls showing support across the political spectrum for Simpson Bowles. They are actively trying to claim it was republicans, not democrats, who rejected it. The Times article notes this as though it were a fact. This morning on CBS Senator Durbin stated three times that he voted for Simpson Bowles. Remember, Simpson Bowles report was received at a time when democrats held the Senate, the House and the Presidency, yet its failure is the republicans fault