March 12, 2009 – 10:25 am
Michael Steele’s interview with GQ, posted online today, has generated buzz because of Steele’s remarks on abortion. He uses the word “choice,” which triggered alarms across the right-wing and mainstream media. In context, Steele’s remarks on abortion may be a little looser than one expects from a Republican Party chairman, but they are in line […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Last week, Sears Chairman Edward Lampert issued, in Consumerist’s words, a “15-page manifesto” — also known as a letter to shareholders. Lampert covered a lot of territory, including a broad overview of how the financial crisis developed and grew. Among his interesting observations is how Wall Street reacts to messages from Washington – not just […]
Why is the Obama Administration talking so much about opinion journalists? A couple weeks ago, press secretary Robert Gibbs tore into CNBC’s Rick Santelli after Santelli riled up traders in Chicago opposed to the president’s homebuyer bailout plan. This past weekend, White House officials and other Dems did their best to anoint Rush Limbaugh leader […]
