Republicans seem to be keying in on the Obama Administration’s cap-and-trade carbon control proposal as a way to take back some ground on the budget. Recognizing that most Americans love the environment until it costs them something, Republicans peppered Tim Geithner yesterday with questions about how the plan would financially impact individuals and businesses. And […]
Proving that soul can make anything sexy, new Late Night host Jimmy Fallon and his house band, The Roots, Slow Jam news about the stimulus.
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is on the “inherited” beat today, as he testifies before the House Ways and Means Committee. Geithner’s an interesting case because, on the one hand, he wasn’t in Washington as recent spending was turning into deficits; on the other hand, he was an architect of the TARP program that made a substantial contribution […]
Yesterday the Justice Department released several memos written by lawyers in the Bush Administration in the year following the 9/11 attacks. The subject: How far the president’s legal authority extends in pursuit of terrorists. Most of the memos supported a wide berth for the president. Most of the opinions were later rejected. Earlier in the […]
Congressman Paul Ryan, an up and coming leader in the Republican Party, offers a few economic policy ideas in today’s Wall Street Journal. They’re certainly worth paying attention to. What’s more interesting, though, is that Ryan begins his op-ed this way: “Inheriting countless challenges, Congress and the Obama administration have moved quickly on many fronts […]
The President’s Weekly Radio Address was a somewhat outmoded custom that President Obama refreshed by ditching the “Radio,” setting up cameras, and putting “Your Weekly Address” on YouTube. This week’s address is a strong pitch in favor of the pretty radical changes the president proposed in his budget. As an opportunity for the president to […]
February 27, 2009 – 4:23 pm
President Obama’s speech today announcing the future withdrawal of US forces from Iraq was outstanding. The president struck exactly the right tone – congratulating the assembled Marines on their success while recognizing that we haven’t quite put a ribbon on the whole project just yet. While Democrats (I’m looking at you, Harry Reid) have too often […]
February 27, 2009 – 10:15 am
If you’re interested in nerdy speech algorithms (and who isn’t, am I right?), consider taking a look at Speech Wars, a web site that not only offers States of the Union and Inaugural Addresses going back to the beginning of the country, but also allows you to find out how frequently particular words have been used […]
February 26, 2009 – 3:17 pm
In case you missed it, Barack Obama had absolutely nothing to do with the budget deficit weighing like a rock on his efforts to lead America out of darkness. President Obama’s favorite word these days is “inherited.” It modifies the word “deficit” almost every time the president utters it. In this week’s address to a […]
February 25, 2009 – 5:50 pm
Today, President Obama nominated his third candidate for Commerce Secretary, former Washington governor Gary Locke. Recognizing the “three strikes” pressure weighing on the nomination, the president smartly joked: “I’m sure it’s not lost on anyone that we’ve tried this a couple of times, but I’m a big believer in keeping at something until you get it […]
February 25, 2009 – 3:08 am
President Obama’s address in Congress last night was fine, if a little repetitive. Not repetitive of itself, but of the same messages we’ve been hearing for months (and from both Administrations, really). Economy’s rough, bad loans, losing jobs, taking action, improving credit, preventing foreclosures, holding scoundrels accountable. And of course there was the laundry list […]
February 24, 2009 – 5:33 pm
Last week, new RNC chairman Michael Steele generated some buzz when he said in a Washington Times interview that Republicans would be developing an “off-the-hook” messaging strategy to connect to a wider cross-section of voters. More interesting, I thought, was Steele’s assertion that developing a deep bench of prospective GOP candidates would be his top priority, rather […]
February 24, 2009 – 4:20 pm
This evening President Obama will address a joint session of Congress, the speech which is usually a State of the Union address, except when it’s the president’s first year in office. No one wants to saddle the new guy with having to report on the state of a union he’s just taken charge of. This […]
February 23, 2009 – 5:23 pm
“I would like to thank” is one of those standard phrases used in just about any speech in which acknowledgments are necessary. But it always sounds … wrong. Too clunky or indirect. Yet it’s hard to come up with better options. “Thank you, X” sounds a bit too robotic. I remember early in the most recent Bush Administration a directive went […]
February 23, 2009 – 4:32 pm
I’ve noted before that President Obama suffers from a bit of message schizophrenia when it comes to government spending. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad. Sometimes we’ve had too much, sometimes we haven’t had enough. This was on display again this morning as the president made opening remarks at his Fiscal Responsibility Summit. The topline […]
