Friday Round-Up

By Vinca LaFleur (WWW)
March 6, 2009 – 7:36 pm

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 upon row – often alongside comrades-in-arms from Britain. There is no battlefield of liberty on which there is not a piece of land that is marked out as American and there is no day of remembrance in Britain that is not also a commemoration of American courage and sacrifice far from home.

In the hardest days of the last century, faith in the future kept America alive and I tell you that America kept faith in the future alive for all the world.

Almost every family in Britain has a tie that binds them to America. So I want you to know that whenever a young American soldier or marine, sailor or airman is killed in conflict anywhere in the world, we, the people of Britain, grieve with you. Know that your loss is our loss; your families’ sorrow is our families’ sorrow and your nation’s determination is our nation’s determination that they shall not have died in vain.

Check out the full text here, and a cool interactive deconstruction of his remarks here.

Robert Schlesinger, chronicler of White House speechwriters and keeper of the Thomas Jefferson Street blog, pushes back on those who think President Obama overuses the teleprompter.  And even though he doesn’t actually say so, it looks like he follows the Podium Pundits blog…

And speechwriting fans can test their knowledge of presidential speeches and writers here.  Tip:  The first question isn’t as obvious as it looks.  Back story:  Here.

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Feehery Bashes Bush Bashing

By Ed Walsh (WHWG)
March 6, 2009 – 3:09 pm

bush-obama3Lately, 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 conference. Newt Gingrich, who did mention him, attacked “Bush-Obama” economic policies.

In today’s Politico, former GOP Hill leadership staffer John Feehery offers fellow Republicans a refresher on how Presidents Bush and Obama are different:

One believes in the free-market system; the other deeply distrusts it. One loved the investment class; the other has shown deep disdain for it. One pushed against domestic spending, the other pushes for it. One pushed to boost defense and intelligence spending; the other will seek to slash it.

Conservatives say their beef with Bush is that the former president spent too much money. Gee. If only Republicans had controlled Congress and been able to stop him.

In truth, fickle Republicans and conservatives don’t like George Bush because he wasn’t popular when he left office. And now that he’s out of power, there are no consequences for dissing him.

Sure, old leaders don’t get much respect from people still in the game (just ask Bill Clinton). But George Bush put together a center-right majority that twice captured the White House. If the message is that even he’s not conservative enough for the refashioned Republican party, whom do conservatives expect to join their coalition?

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Prompting Obama

By Ed Walsh (WHWG)
March 5, 2009 – 2:20 pm

obama-prompterPolitico‘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 and small.

Lee also discusses the hassles the prompter creates for photographers and TV camera operators trying to get a good shot of the president without a pane of glass in front of him.

A White House spokesman brushes off any concern that the president is over-reliant on the device by saying that it’s the message people care about most.

True, but at some point people may begin to wonder why the most gifted orator to hit the White House in some time hasn’t taken the training wheels off.

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Boehner, Cornyn, Bayh on Taxes and Spending

By Ed Walsh (WHWG)
March 5, 2009 – 10:30 am

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 a group of Houston businessmen that “I think I raised your taxes too much.”

Before we run the risk of that, someone should check in with the president (or his team) and find out how much might be too much. Is there a level of taxation that even they think would go too far?

***

Republicans are pressing the spending message hard. John Boehner is in today’s Washington Post and John Cornyn’s most recent email to NRSC supporters gets printed in Politico. Read More »

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Re-branding Banking

By Ed Walsh (WHWG)
March 4, 2009 – 7:02 pm

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 operating model gives customers – Goni calls them “citizens” – a bigger say in how their money is managed and who benefits from their profits. Each year the bank shows each customer how much money the bank made on his or her assets and allows the customer to direct 30% of that figure to a non-profit of the customer’s choice.

Goni calls the model “civic banking,” and says he believes all banks are headed in this direction. Read More »

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The Sears Manifesto

By Ed Walsh (WHWG)
March 4, 2009 – 4:00 pm

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 verbal messages, but policy messages:

Just as our nation’s leaders can contribute to a downward spiral of confidence they can also contribute to an uplifting of confidence. And this is not just about words. Any actions that contribute to respect for private property and the rule of law will be immediately greeted by improved investor sentiment. Whether as a bondholder or stockholder, investors need to know that they have rights and that the rules of the game are going to be fair and predictable. Any rule changes or actions should not simply be decided and announced over a weekend. Improved oversight can be constructive. Allowing significant policy changes to work their way through the system over time, rather than implementing them overnight because of stock price declines, can break the cycle of panic and fear.

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Poking the Bear

By Ed Walsh (WHWG)
March 4, 2009 – 2:05 pm

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 of the Republicans. (Former Obama campaign manager David Plouffe continues the effort in today’s Washington Post.)

Now Politico‘s Michael Calderone reports that Gibbs went after CNBC’s Jim Kramer at yesterday’s briefing, snarkily calling into question Kramer’s track record for picking stocks.

If the Administration is this easy to ruffle, expect many more opinion makers to take their shots and revel in some White House attention.

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Getting Hot About Carbon

By Ed Walsh (WHWG)
March 4, 2009 – 12:25 pm

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 Politico reports that even some moderate Senate Democrats, like Nebraska’s Ben Nelson, are wondering if we should start implementing a plan to collect at least two-thirds of a trillion dollars in new taxes while the country is mired in recession.

In 1993 and 1994, Democrats lost the message battle on health care reform and couldn’t approach the subject again for 15 years. Are they starting down the same path with their carbon plan?

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FR: Joe the Millennial

By Vinca LaFleur (WWW)
March 3, 2009 – 6:39 pm

Jake Melville, one of our talented young associates at West Wing Writers, has the lead feature in the latest issue of The Influential Executive newsletter.  His topic?   How to Bridge the Generational Communication Gap — with pointers every Boomer executive can use on how to keep it real, drop the formality, and find humor that Millennials will find funny.  Read on here!

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“She Filed an Amendment” (Ow!)

By Ed Walsh (WHWG)
March 3, 2009 – 3:39 pm

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.

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Tuesday Hat Trick

By Ed Walsh (WHWG)
March 3, 2009 – 1:39 pm

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 to the deficit the Obama Administration and current Congress have “inherited.”

***

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that Norm Coleman’s lawyers have suggested that a three-judge panel set aside the November election because voting problems were substantial enough to cloud the result.

It’s time for Coleman to end this. Read More »

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The Civil Liberties Straw Man

By Ed Walsh (WHWG)
March 3, 2009 – 6:05 am

eric-holderYesterday 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 day, Attorney General Eric Holder delivered a speech to the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. His topic: preserving civil liberties in the fight against terrorism.

“Too often over the past decade, the fight against terrorism has been viewed as a zero-sum battle with our civil liberties,” Holder said, without specifying who views it that way.

Holder added: “[N]othing is more important to me than defending our nation and its citizens from acts of terrorism, and ensuring that our government abides by the letter and the spirit of our Constitution. Some see a tension between these two goals.”

The reality is that, from time to time, there will be tension between the protection of civil liberties and the pursuit of criminals or terrorists. That’s one of the reasons courts exist – to adjudicate those differences.

Contra Holder’s assertion, the memos released yesterday make clear that the Bush Administration (over the past decade) made the determination that protecting the nation from terrorists didn’t require a rollback of civil liberties to the extent discussed in late 2001. Read More »

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Another Heir, Apparently

By Ed Walsh (WHWG)
March 2, 2009 – 1:32 pm

paul-ryan1Congressman 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 to implement their economic agenda.”

I’m not sure if the congressman is sending up the president’s habitual use of “inherit,” or if he genuinely believes that he and his colleagues — most of whom have been in office for several terms — are unwitting victims of a terrible inheritance.

I wonder if anyone currently serving in government is willing to admit they were familiar with Washington before last month.

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Obama Overreach?

By Ed Walsh (WHWG)
March 2, 2009 – 10:27 am

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 speak directly to Americans about why he thinks his budget priorities are appropriate and necessary, it works well.

But it also reflects a growing sense that President Obama may be starting to overplay his hand. For instance, toward the end of the address he says, “Because [the budget] represents real and dramatic change, it also represents a threat to the status quo in Washington…. I know these steps won’t sit well with the special interests and lobbyists who are invested in the old way of doing business.”

Probably true, but a lot of people have legitimate problems with the president’s budget, too: people who don’t think the government should institute a multi-billion dollar carbon reduction program during a recession; who wonder if the U.S. government is best equipped to be the banker of choice for students; or who question the wisdom of making it harder for private insurers to participate in Medicare. Read More »

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Government for the People

By Vinca LaFleur (WWW)
February 27, 2009 – 7:00 pm

abe-by-kalmanBefore we say goodbye to February and our bicentennial celebration of Lincoln’s birth, I wanted to post this piece of magnificence — a reminder that great communication comes in many forms.

Thank you Maira Kalman!

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