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February 07, 2009
Obama To Take His Plan To The People
Obama to take his plan to the people
By Andrew Ward and Alan Beattie in Washington
Barack Obama will make the case for his economic recovery plans direct to the American people next week with campaign-style roadshows in states hard-hit by the economic downturn.
Mr Obama’s travel plans were announced on Friday before Senate Democrats and moderate Republicans reached a tentative agreement on a $780bn fiscal stimulus plan and ahead of the Treasury department’s expected announcement of a fresh financial rescue package on Monday.
Mr Obama will hold town hall-style meetings in Indiana on Monday, and Florida on Tuesday, in his first public events outside Washington since taking office.
The president will conduct his first White House press conference on Monday evening as he adopts an increasingly combative approach to selling his plans in the face of persistent Republican opposition.
Democratic leaders hoped to pass the Senate stimulus last night or over the weekend. Further negotiations will be needed to agree on final legislation with the House of Representatives before it can be signed into law by Mr Obama.
The White House faces another tough battle to win support for the financial package due for announcement on Monday, including an overhaul of the troubled asset relief programme and measures to clean up “toxic assets” on Wall Street.
Next week’s public relations blitz reflects some concern within the administration that Republicans have been winning the message war with their calls for more tax cuts and less spending in the stimulus.
Mr Obama waged a charm offensive on congressional Republicans during his first two weeks in office, but his patience has worn thin in recent days as opposition has hardened.
In a fiery speech to a meeting of congressional Democrats on Thursday, the president lashed out at the “phoney arguments” and “false theories of the past” that Republicans were using to resist his economic plans.
The protracted and bitterly partisan negotiations have raised questions over Mr Obama’s ability to impose his will on Congress, in spite of Democrats holding strong majorities in both chambers.
Harry Reid, Senate majority leader, told his colleagues that the eyes of the world were on Capitol Hill on Friday as they scrambled to reach agreement over the stimulus.
“If we succeed, there will be plenty of credit to go around. But if we fail, our entire country will suffer the consequences,” he said.
Both parties claim to have public support for their positions, with Democrats accusing their opponents of holding up economic recovery, while Republicans accuse Democrats of trying to force through a “big government” social agenda under the guise of job creation.
Democrats say they have already made concessions by making tax cuts about a third of the overall value of the bill, and accepting Republican amendments to increase tax relief.
Moderate Republicans had been pushing for something close to the $819bn package approved by the House.
A sub-plot of the debate has focused on speculation about which variation of the plan Mr Obama supports, an issue complicated by the fact that the White House has spoken only in general terms about the bill.
On Thursday Mr Obama told reporters he would back a bill “roughly in the $800bn range”.
Mr Obama wants to sign a final bill into law by the end of next week.
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And there is this.............
Monday Night Political Football: Obama Demanding Lots of Prime Time from Whining TV Networks
Washington Post TV writer Lisa de Moraes reported Friday that Team Obama is demanding a lot of free TV space in prime time in the next few weeks: a Monday night press conference, a "stimulus" push on the Monday night after that, the 16th, and the State of the Union on Tuesday, February 24. (What about House, and The Bachelor?)
Network suits are already whining, but are too afraid of pulling out the Just Say No card:
President Obama's desire to talk -- and talk, and talk -- to the American public could cost broadcast networks millions, and millions, and millions of prime-time TV dollars.
Broadcasters are bracing themselves for the likelihood of three prime-time interruptions in three weeks, totaling at least three hours of prime time -- and ad breaks -- yanked.
"His economic stimulus package apparently does not extend to the TV networks," one network exec noted.
Obama's reps have alerted broadcasters that the president will hold a news conference Monday, according to network execs. It's expected to eat up the first hour of prime time; that alone could cost broadcasters more than $9 million in lost ad revenue....
"Notice they're not going on Friday or Saturday," one network exec complained. "They're . . . preempting our better shows. You're not happy to lose a 'House' if you are Fox, or two of the better comedies at CBS, or 'The Bachelor' at ABC -- we're all going to take a bath."
The networks were not afraid to tell President Bush that his political salesmanship wasn't worth pre-empting in prime time. But none want to "incur the wrath" of Obama .
"As we're meeting this guy, from a network perspective, it's like, 'Is this part of the plan for him?' " the network exec said. "Is this what it's going to be: Is he going to take to the airwaves every time he has something to say?"
Such a strategy, of course, could backfire.
"Do people really want to come home after looking for a job, or after being at a job they hate, sit down to veg out in front of their favorite show -- and he's on again?" said one TV suit, who suspects/hopes the Average Joe's reaction to too much Obamavision might be "nothing he's going to say is going to help me get a job, or put food on the table."
Said the TV suit: "He could lose a lot of goodwill doing this."
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Wild Thing's comment........
Between his TV speeches every other day and his press secretary every day … saturation point has been reached. Heck I was sick of his face when he said he was going to run for President.
Posted by Wild Thing at February 7, 2009 05:55 AM
Comments
He's a real POS, isn't he? If he wanted to be a tv star, he should have moved to Hollywood, not DC. I am glad, though, to hear the stations are now whining about him. He's going to cost this Nation dearly for generations to come. He's already making Jimmy Carter look like a mild mannered librarian. But so many "entitlement bound" people wanted to teach Bush and America a lesson (why?) that they voted in the WORST person they could find. We all have our favorite shows during the week and we don't want to miss them because of his lazy butt. Demands will get him nowhere.
Posted by: Lynn at February 7, 2009 07:11 AM
I hope Obama costs the networks multi-millions of dollars of prime time TV. It was those networks that pushed so hard for him to get elected so now chickens may have come home to roost. I hope NBC looses the most.
Posted by: BobF at February 7, 2009 07:18 AM
Hugo Chavez Obama takes his plea to the people. It's a hard sell with his hand caught in the till. GE has jumped in bed with the Marxist, maybe people will see the connection between GE financial services, the federal defense contracts, the mandated CFL's and their connection with and control of the media (NBC) that elected this Communist.
Posted by: Jack at February 7, 2009 07:49 AM
The thing about this stimulus bill that nobody seems to get, especially all the 435 moronic representatives is, all spending "injected" into the economy must first be taxed or borrowed out of the economy. It is a zero-sum transfer that does not create any new demand, regardless of which level of government is doing the taxing, borrowing, or spending. In this case, the economic positive of states adding $200 billion to the economy will be negated by Washington first having to borrow $200 billion out of the economy. In other words, the government will end up printing money to make up for the short fall that is worthless.
Posted by: Mark at February 7, 2009 08:19 AM
He's doing everything he can along with pelosi, ried, boxer, feinstein, shcumer and company to shove this down our throats. He must truly believe that only he can fix the economy. Talk about being full of yourself. This guy sets an entire new standard.
Posted by: Glenn Cassel AMH1(AW) USN RET at February 7, 2009 11:50 AM
No to "stimulus" bill. Here's why:
Since Obama's earnest drive to convince the nation to weaken its economic strength through redistribution as well as weaken its national defense, has confirmed the very threats to our Republic's survival that the Constitution was designed to avert, it no longer is sustainable for the United States Supreme Court and Military Joint Chiefs to refrain from exercising WHAT IS THEIR ABSOLUTE CONSTITUTIONAL DUTY TO DEFEND THE NATION FROM UNLAWFUL USURPATION. The questions of Obama's Kenyan birth and his father's Kenyan/British citizenship (admitted on his own website) have been conflated by his sustained unwillingnes to supply his long form birth certificate now under seal, and compounded by his internet posting of a discredited 'after-the-fact' short form 'certificate'. In the absence of these issues being acknowledged and addessed, IT IS MANIFEST THAT OBAMA REMAINS INELIGIBLE TO BE PRESIDENT UNDER ARTICLE 2 OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION. Being a 14th Amendment 'citizen' is not sufficient. A 'President' MUST BE an Article 2 'natural born citizen' AS DEFINED BY THE FRAMERS' INTENT.
Posted by: Ted at February 7, 2009 12:47 PM
The guy is so far over his head you can't even see bubbles.
He can't possibly believe that his atrocity will work, other than to reward leftist programs and solidify more power for the authoritarian state.
What he, and we, will get is hyperinflation.
Posted by: Rhod at February 7, 2009 02:30 PM
Sounds like the makings of a new TV episode of the reality show Survivor. This one would be called Survivor: DC. I can see it now. Barry gets sent to Exile Island (Gitmo) where everyone forgets about him and just leaves him there. Alternatively, Barry gets the most votes at the first Tribal Council and must leave not only DC but the country as a whole. He can always move to Tehran, Iran or Jakarta, Indonesia where he will feel more at home.
B. Hussein Obama is a narcissistic POS still in campaign mode with an obsessive-compulsive need to be worshipped by millions of adoring believers (aka a cult).
http://www.freeulysses.com/uploaded_images/obama-speech-765496.jpg
Hopefully, this overexposure will continue to shine the bright lights of truth, as it is doing with his non-stimulus 'Stimulus' Bill, on Obama's race to turn the United States into a big government and Socialist State. Yes, I hope that B. Hussein Obama fails in his efforts to destroy the United States of America as the founders intended it to be and was until Barry came to town.
Posted by: Les at February 7, 2009 03:42 PM
Lynn, well said!
I know it is only on FOX channel but a few minutes ago they were complainging about Obama and what he had promised to have no corruption in his administration and how all the tax stuff about so many of them has been nothing but corruption. heh heh
Posted by: Wild Thing at February 7, 2009 05:45 PM
BobF., hahaha, yes, they will feel the pinch big time and they are all business and are not going to like it one bit. But they are such phony's because many of them didn't show Bush when he gave speechs. They will learn not to kiss up to Obama in the future and I love it too.
Posted by: Wild Thing at February 7, 2009 05:49 PM
Jack, Hahahha good one....."Hugo Chavez Obama"...Oh man why am I laughing that is what it is.
DITTO what you said, GE and NBC ( MSNBC ) worked harder then any other network.
Posted by: Wild Thing at February 7, 2009 05:56 PM
Mark, thank you so much. I could never explain it that good. I am horrible at this, it is so overwhelming.
I agree, I heard Rush say something the other day about " well folks they will have to start printing money now to pay for this"
Posted by: Wild Thing at February 7, 2009 05:59 PM
Glenn Cassel AMH1(AW) USN RET, AMEN this is exactly what they better learn, those that voted for him and the media.
"Talk about being full of yourself. This guy sets an entire new standard."
Obama is into Obama and power and getting his way.
Posted by: Wild Thing at February 7, 2009 06:04 PM
Ted, thank you and I agree. I pray everyday that one day soon this will be brought into happening and the Constitution will be followed.
No way is Obama imo President of the USA. No way. He is flesh sitting in the Oval Office that means harm to my ( all of our ) country.
The bills he signs, the executive orders he signs, every single thing he does is illegal since he is not officially President.
Posted by: Wild Thing at February 7, 2009 06:11 PM
Rhod, good to see you. LOL good way to describe him.
"The guy is so far over his head you can't even see bubbles." ( just visualizing a picture of this)
I agree, he knows it won't work, but he wants to make this country socialist and big government. He is against what our beloved America is about.
Posted by: Wild Thing at February 7, 2009 06:15 PM
Les, hahahahahahahhaa that is a good one, I love it. Perfect graphic thank you.
Posted by: Wild Thing at February 7, 2009 06:19 PM
