With the thrill of passing a trillion dollar porkapalooza bill past them, it seems many Democrats are getting that queasy, hangover feeling as they wake up to the realization that they’re going to have to take responsibility for the consequences of their actions. Newsweek’s Howard Fineman reports today that the “establishment” is already in major […]
March 11, 2009 – 12:02 pm
Apparently Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell has been listening to some Dave Matthews. Today, McConnell delivered strong remarks from his grandfather’s porch on the Senate floor opposing the president’s budget. Two things jumped out at me. First, a pretty startling statistic that is sure to get a lot of play on the right. According to McConnell, […]
March 11, 2009 – 10:38 am
President Obama delivered a solid speech on education yesterday, trying to create a bit of space between him and the teachers’ unions, challenging students not to be slackers and drop-outs, and talking up parental responsibility. He introduced a new phrase to the Obama lexicon: “cradle to career,” to describe his vision of pre-school through post-secondary education. […]
The web has been filled with contentiousness and hot air over yesterday’s presidential stem cell directive (including here), but these two pieces present an analysis a cut above the rest: Slate‘s William Saletan offers a fresh perspective on the issue and how it relates to another moral policy dilemma currently confronting the country. In today’s Washington […]
President Obama’s remarks on stem cell policy today were disappointing. Not because of the policy change – that was expected – but because the president missed an opportunity to have a serious discussion about the issue, instead opting for tired, dogmatic attacks. Serious people understand that many Americans appreciate the enormous healing potential of stem […]
As Vinca mentioned below, Robert Schlesinger offered his opinion about President Obama’s use of the teleprompter – and given Schlesinger’s thorough knowledge of White House speech history, his opinion should be given weight. But I don’t think he’s entirely right. The crux of Schlesinger’s argument is that there’s no difference between delivering a speech using […]
In line with what Ed says below about the tone of POTUS’ comments to the New York Times, a very excellent and very short book has just come out from the Hoover Institution Press. Getting off Track by Hoover scholar John Taylor traces the origins of the current global crisis and concludes that ill-considered government […]
The Chicago Tribune offers some insight into the Obama-Favreau speechwriting team, which emphasizes crafting speeches as stories. “You and I always tell a story pretty well,” the president reportedly told Favreau, and I think that’s a nice way to look at the process. Also, I nominate David Axelrod for head of the speechwriters’ union: “I’ve […]
President Obama’s interview with the New York Times the other day covered a lot of ground, including four things that struck me: 1) The president offered some reassuring words on the economy, which needed to be said: What I don’t think people should do is suddenly stuff money in their mattresses and pull back completely from spending. I […]
A few notes from the week: Prime Minister Gordon Brown gave a terrific speech to a Joint Session of Congress this week. Among the many lovely sections, a moving tribute to our shared sacrifice in the darkest days of the last century: Cemetery after cemetery across Europe honours the memory of American soldiers, resting row […]
Lately, Republicans have been united in opposition to two public figures: Barack Obama and George Bush. While conservatives have tripped all over themselves to praise Rush Limbaugh’s leadership and vision, they wasted no time distancing themselves from the man who may turn out to be the most conservative president elected in this century. Bush was barely mentioned at the recent CPAC […]
Politico‘s Carol Lee writes about President Obama’s ubiquitous teleprompter (which I’ve mentioned a couple times before). Calling it the president’s “safety net,” Lee writes: Obama’s reliance on the teleprompter is unusual – not only because he is famous for his oratory, but because no other president has used one so consistently and at so many events large […]
Wall Street Journal reports today that the Administration is signaling flexibility about the tax increases proposed in its budget. This could be a reflection of the fact that, on tax battles, Republicans usually have a home turf advantage and moderate Dems don’t want to play there. I was thinking about President Clinton’s 1995 declaration to […]
With the financial services sector still in turmoil, and capitalism itself on trial, audiences may be more receptive than usual to new thinking about the U.S. financial system. Enrique Goni, CEO of a Spanish bank called Caja Navarra, offered his perspective on banking and finance in remarks at the National Press Club today. His bank’s […]
