By Dave
9:40: Investing in Education. Best anti-poverty campaign is a world-class education. Education outcomes shouldn't depend on where you live, rather on your potential. Revitalize Community colleges! Excellent. Community colleges do so much for this country and so much for students who can't afford or don't need to go to a four-year school.
9:42: Increased Pell Grants from money that used to subsidize banks for offering student loans. Debt forgiveness after ten years or for students who go into public service. All awesome ideas.
9:43: Finally the call for health insurance reform! Let's see the gloves come off, Mr. President!
9:45: Yes, let's clear somethings up! Nice joke about the politics, too. Starts off by framing this as a moral issue. People are suffering. That's why we need to do this. We can fix this problem.
9:46 Michelle looks realllly awkward....
9:47: HCR will bring down the deficit by $1 trillion over the next two decades. Obama takes his share of the blame for not explaining it well enough. What's in it for me? Without HCR more people will suffer, premiums will increase, more will lose coverage.
9:48: This is an improvement over the status quo. If you can bring down the deficit, bring down premiums, cover the uninsured, etc, etc. Let me know. Nice straight talk. Call 'em out.
9:49: Let's get this done!
9:50: That's right. Reminds us that our deficit is the result of not paying for two wars, not paying for tax cuts, etc, etc.Plus the recession made it worse. "All that was before walked in the door." Just stating the facts.
9:51: Specific steps to pay for what it took to save the economy. 1) Freeze discretionary spending for three years starting in 2011. Will enforce this discipline by veto! The gloves really are off. 2) Keep going through the budget to get rid of programs that don't work. Will extend middle class tax cuts, but will roll back others. 3) We still need to fix
9:53: Points to Deficit reduction commission. I don't have too much faith in it. But I think it's cool that he will create one by executive order because the Senate couldn't create one on it's own.
9:54: Restore pay-as-you-go law.
9:55: Nice little quip: That's how budgeting works...
9:56: Juxtapose right wing philosophy to what he's proposing now. Good reminder, right wing policies got us in this mess. Let's invest in our people, without leaving them a mountain of debt. Let's use common sense.
9:57: Washington suffers from a deficit of trust. Reminds them of work we've done so far. Mentions banning lobbyists from serving on boards. Republicans jeer but they have little room to talk on this issue. Note the total disrespect they have for this President.
9:59: Posting earmark requests on line. Good idea.
9:59: Nice that he can laugh at the stereotypes about him. "I didn't believe I'd usher in a post-partisan era"
10:00 Everyday is election day. We can't solve problems in a climate where I win when you lose. Not sure how much of this will get across. At least, he gets to scold the Republicans and look like the adult in the room. Commits himself to changing the tone in Washington.
10:01: Again comes back to a Washington that works and solves problems.
10:01: Don't run for the hills.
10:01: Calls out the Republican for filibustering every single issue. But now they have to step up to the plate. They need to solve problems too. Republicans can't just fulfill their short term ambitions.
10:03 Will begin monthly meetings with House Dems and Reps. This is a Congressional President.
10:03 Makes the transition to security. He really is the adult in the room. This is what strength looks like. Calls on Congress to put aside school yard taunts about who's tough.
10:05: Outlines the way his administration has made the country safer and how we will soon begin bringing troops home. This is his chance to remind us why we are fighting in Afghanistan and what is at stake in that country.
10:06 Promises to end the War in Iraq. All combat troops out by August. This isn't all troops but it's a good step. Make no mistake this war is ending. All of our troops are coming home.
I just saw this post--what fantastic running commentary! I feel Michelle's awkwardness, visualize the guy's tie!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to say that I missed the actual speech--but I checked the next day to see if he'd dive into health care more meaningfully, now that he doesn't have the supermajority. Granted, the Repubs are being the dicks we've come to know and loathe, but they actually *did* have reasonable proposals at some point in this discussion. Disappointed O didn't dive into that more.