W.H. furious over speech delay

[WI_DEM]

Who cares? The White House cares. Very much.

“It is a big deal that the House said ‘no’ to the president from our end,” a White House source with intimate knowledge of what took place between the House and the president told me Thursday. “This confirms what we all know: They will do anything in the House to muck us up.”

(Gee, do you think so? yet the president keeps taking it again and again).



Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0911/62505.html#ixzz1Wnwdupmn

[Sarah Ibarruri]

1. But in "retaliation," our president will give the GOP everything they want, always. nt

[opihimoimoi]

6. NOT TRUE.....

[Sarah Ibarruri]

10. Okay, you have my attention. I'm listening. nt

[Bluebear]

62. No follow up but they used all caps so they really really meant it!

[no_hypocrisy]

2. You know what? Let this incident be a great education to the WH.

From now on, they KNOW how low the House leadership will stoop and its motivations. They won't be seen as cynical. They will have realistic low expectations and try to plan accordingly including a Plan B and press release on the assumption they will be played every time until the President leaves the WH or democrats take both Houses, whichever comes first.

[mazzarro]

24. Yeah right

This WH has an insatiable hunger for capitulating to the rethugs. I'll bet you that it won't be long before the next one occurs.

[lumberjack_jeff]

42. You'd think so, wouldn't you?

Past performance is a good indicator of future results.

[opihimoimoi]

3. The GOPers are looking to muck the Pres big time...The GOP must be defeated nx year

Its the only way outta this mess THEY BCAUSED

[flamingdem]

35. Correct. The GOP will put out any message to make Obama look bad and it is repeated on DU nt

[MadHound]

4. The White House knew perfectly well that the speech was conflicting with the debate,

Why did they set themselves up for this embarrassment?

Frankly, I don't see this as a big deal, but it is simply another indication of how this administration operates. They keep setting themselves up for failure.

[Harmony Blue]

8. Yeah if this report is true

they shouldn't be angry about being sucker punched as they set themselves up for it.

[dgibby]

15. Gives new meaning to the phrase

"If you can't run with the big dogs, stay on the porch". Can you imagine what LBJ would have done to Boehner if he'd pulled this crap on him?

[MrTriumph]

25. Yes, LBJ would have gotten an apology from the R's and the R debate rescheduled!

Thanks for bringing up our most tenacious Democratic president.

[TwilightGardener]

16. I keep wondering why the White House is expected to honor the opposition's primary debate,

an occasion in which he will be bashed from start to finish, in 2011. And the next night is football. And the previous night Congress will not have convened. The Wh didn't exactly have the whole week open.

[MadHound]

34. Why announce his program in front of a Joint Session of Congress?

Why not do it from the Oval Office instead?

Why didn't he have this big announcement before vacation? Why not have it next Tuesday? Why pick a fight that you know is going to embarrass you over such a petty matter?

[TwilightGardener]

36. Joint session of Congress makes sense--this is a very important issue and

Congress needs to act. The American people know there's an unemployment problem--Obama's target is the people who can actually DO something about it. I don't think his staff thought he would be turned down for his date--it has never happened before, from what I've heard. Their failure is in not realizing just how little respect he is afforded by R's, and that previous customary courtesies given to Presidents in the past will not be extended to him. They should have foreseen that.

[MadHound]

37. If either he or his staff didn't think he would be turned down,

After the obstructionism of the past three years, then they are utter fools and need to resign now in order to make way for people with political sense. How many times does one have to be beat over the head with Republican obstructionism before you realize that you are dealing with unreasonable people and have to either work around them or go through them? Seriously.

And this speech would have had the same amount of gravitas if it were given in the Oval Office as it would in Congress. You don't need a Joint Session to communicate to the American people just how bad our jobs situation is, we're living out the nightmare every single day.

[TwilightGardener]

38. I agree, whoever it was on his staff that thought they would play straight with him

needs to go, especially after his having been kicked in the nuts for 2 1/2 years. That said, again, I fully understand the need to address Congress--Obama needs the American people to watch him telling Republicans, to their nasty faces, in their chamber, that something has to give.

[KurtNYC]

30. good point

fortunately this matter will be forgotten in 15 seconds

[sad sally]

45. Could it possibly be that not everybody working for the President

has his best interests at heart?

We know that Boehner and the Republicans will do everything they can to make the President look bad, but did Mr. Daley and/or Mr. Pfeiffer set him up to look weak; did they coordinate their actions? Am guessing things just don't happen by accident in the White House.

"It all started when White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley called Boehner Wednesday morning to tell him about plans for the jobs speech.

The Speaker did not object, but, Republicans say, he had to look at logistics and did not expect WH Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer to tweet the details an hour later."

[seabeyond]

47. the report i heard was he got the ok from boehners office earlier.

how does it make it obamas fault?

[Liberal In Texas]

5. Maybe at some point the admin. will get mad enough to hit back.

One can only hope.

[DCBob]

11. hitting back would have made matters worse.

[mazzarro]

26. That will be the hope to believe in when and if it happens -- n/t

[tridim]

31. Hit back?

They have hit back with words already, so I assume you want the WH to get physical?

Can you explain how you would like to see that go down?

[lamp_shade]

7. Politico and "a White House source with intimate knowledge". Oh sure. n/t

[Blue_Tires]

32. I was wondering the last time Politico actually had three named sources for a story...

Not saying that this isn't true, but so much of their content is unnamed...

[Fumesucker]

9. Wait a minute...

I've seen this spun as a HUGH! victory for Obama here on DU, an eleven dimensional chess move of fiendish subtlety.

[Harmony Blue]

13. The truth is that

the WH amdinistration's core premise is that if they look reasonable that the Republicans will be called out on their shenanigans by the public. Reality is, centrists, I's, Democrats, etc want the WH administration to fight back and lead. If us, the ordinary public has to do the fighting what is the point of a Democratic Republic? We elected the Democrats into office to represent us, and to fight for us. If we have to do the fighting can they send their paychecks to us?

[ClassWarrior]

21. Exactly! "Why should the American people trust somebody who does not have clear values?..."

"The very idea that there is a 'center' marginalizes progressives, and sees them as extremists, when they simply share fundamental American values. The term 'center' suggests there is a 'mainstream' where most people are and that there is a single set of views held by that mainstream. That is false.

"The fallacy matters in terms of Democratic electoral strategy. The Democratic base consists of people who are mostly or totally progressive, just as the Republican base consists of people who are mostly or totally conservative. How does the Democratic Party as a whole, and how do Democratic candidates in particular, speak to those who are biconceptual?

"I am a cognitive scientist and believe that people's brains play a significant role in elections. From the perspective of brain science, the answer is a no-brainer. (Sorry, I couldn't resist!) You speak to biconceptuals the same way you speak to your base: you discuss progressive values, and if you are talking to folks with both progressive and conservative values, you mainly talk about the issues where they share progressive values. What that does is evoke and strengthen the progressive values already there in the minds of biconceptuals...

"The losing strategy is to move to the right, to assume with Republicans that American values are mainly conservative and that the Democratic party has to move away from its base and adopt conservative values. When you do that, you help activate conservative values in people's brains (thus helping the other side), you offend your base (thus hurting yourself), and you give the impression that you are expressing no consistent set of values, which is true! Why should the American people trust somebody who does not have clear values, and who may be trying to deceive them about the values he and his party's base hold?..."

Read more at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/george-lakoff/no-center-no-centrists_b_60419.html

NGU.

[HereSince1628]

12. IOW...chief of staff makes mistake, throws tizzy to cover his ass.

tempest in a DC teapot.

[Life Long Dem]

14. Before I looked at the source I thought a Huffington Post.

I was close. Politico is just as bad at spin and BS.

[AngryAmish]

17. How many times does Rush Limbaugh have to kick the President in the nuts?

Why does he take it?

[Cool Logic]

18. Well then, make some lemonade.

The Prez can play games too...by beginning a little late and running a little long, he can ensure that the Rs don't have enough time to respond by kick-off time.

[godai]

23. No, Repub response is one week later. Pres speaks at 4 pm west coast!

This did not work out well and the referenced article confirms that this was not a minor matter. But, meaningless in the long run, just more kneecapping.

[Llewlladdwr]

29. Great Idea!

The President can be late for yet ANOTHER speech. That'll certainly make the Administration look competent.

[unblock]

19. if this were the case, the white house could have insisted, per article 2, section 3

the white house can call congress to session, it is not a matter for the house to bicker about.

constitutionally, the white house chose to defer to the house for whatever reason. i fight not worth having or whatever.

"furious" may be a minority view within the white house, but the ultimate decision was not one that indicated "furious".

[Recovered Repug]

48. Calling the congress into session does not give the

president the authority to address it.

[unblock]

49. The state of the union clause does

The state of the union speech is traditionally an annual (January) speech, but the constitutional requirement is "from time to time".
So the president can declare that he needs to update congress as to the state of the union.

[Recovered Repug]

50. The SOTU requires the president to give a report, not a speech.

The tradition of giving the SOTU in the form of a speech by the president was started by Wilson. To be technical, Wilson restarted the tradition that Jefferson ended.

[unblock]

51. you're suggesting that congress somehow has the constitutional power,

in a clause describing the powers and responsibilities of the president, the constitution somehow gives to congress the power to dictate the form of the presidential requirement to delivery information (not "a report", and certainly not necessarily a written one) regarding the state of the union?

[Recovered Repug]

53. No.

I am stating that the Constitution requires that the president give a report to congress, either oral or written. However, congress is a separate and equal branch of government designed to work with (in theory) the president, not for. Therefore, the president must be invited to speak to a branch that is (a as whole) his peers, not subordinates.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

20. When they say "the White House" is furious over the incident,

do they mean the President or some flunky staffer who messed up and is now trying to cover his behind?

[Lucky 13]

22. Nuh uh. Someone one here told me it's Rope-a-Dope.

Ninety nine dimensional chess!
All part of the plan!

[Recovered Repug]

27. No. Obama played this brilliantly.

This was another move, in a series of chess moves, to bring the Republicans to their knees. I read it here so it has to be true.

[Historic NY]

28. He should have pulled a Truman Turnip Day Speech on them...

[gkhouston]

54. I didn't know about this. Thanks for referring to it.

For others curious about Turnip Day, wiki has a nice article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turnip_Day_Session

[Historic NY]

57. snippets of text from the speech

http://millercenter.org/president/speeches/detail/3346

I would like to say a word or two now on what I think the Republican philosophy is; and I will speak from actions and from history and from experience.

The situation in 1932 was due to the policies of the Republican Party control of the Government of the United States. The Republican Party, as I said a while ago, favors the privileged few and not the common everyday man. Ever since its inception, that party has been under the control of special privilege; and they have completely proved it in the 80th Congress. They proved it by the things they did to the people, and not for them. They proved it by the things they failed to do.

I have repeatedly asked the Congress to pass a health program. The Nation suffers from lack of medical care. That situation can be remedied any time the Congress wants to act upon it.

Now everybody likes to have low taxes, but we must reduce the national debt in times of prosperity. And when tax relief can be given, it ought to go to those who need it most, and not those who need it least, as this Republican rich man's tax bill did when they passed it over my veto on the third try.

The first one of these was so rotten that they couldn't even stomach it themselves. They finally did send one that was somewhat improved, but it still helps the rich and sticks a knife into the back of the poor.

[gkhouston]

58. And there's the problem.

Can you imagine Obama saying "helps the rich and sticks a knife into the back of the poor"?

[bowens43]

33. So what's Obama going to do, hold his breath and stomp his feet

until boner changes his mind?

If Obama had any spine at all , the speech would go on at the originally scheduled time from the White House.

[uppityperson]

39. unrec for unnamed WH source and politico.

[jimlup]

40. My concern is that they are figuring out now that "they (the house) will do anything to muck us up"

I know that Obama took the high road here but damn it! I wish he had stood his ground and said look I'm the President - fuck you John Boehner.

[leftynyc]

41. Yawn

No named sources - garbage.

[indepat]

43. File it in the "No shit, Sherlock" file if there's still room in that file

:patriot:

[GOTV]

44. Why agree to it if it's so infuriating? W.H. has only themselves to blame

[Safetykitten]

46. Oh, is this part of the plan too? Acting furious? Let us know master planner types.

[thereismore]

52. Unnamed source is furious! OMG! nt

[lunatica]

55. I wish 'furious' would translate to something progressive

[nadinbrzezinski]

56. First base is to get pissed

the second is to fight back.

I ain't holding my breath.

[SixthSense]

59. The WH mucked itself up

The perfect time for this speech was not next Wednesday or next Thursday, but this past Wednesday or Thursday. You know, right before Labor Day Weekend? When people have time to reflect on big issues and talk about them with people they care about?

They manufactured their own embarrassment... why put yourself in the position where Boehner gets the final yes/no decision? Why try to schedule it on a night that would invite direct comparisons between the President and the dwarves at the GOP debate?

And then to put it on NFL opening season night... um... that's about the last time anyone wants to think about politics OR the miserable economy. So he has to schedule around the game (wtf?) and start too early for people in two time zones to easily watch the speech.

There's a lot of book smarts in this admin, but a serious lack of street smarts.

[blogslut]

60. Congress wasn't in session this last week

[SixthSense]

61. that's a fair point

Still, surely there were options for other dates than conflicting with a major political event and a major cultural event. And if it is important enough to be held above those things then it's important enough to call Congress back into session, which a President has the power to do.