MoonHowler

Consider this an open thread to discuss the Address to Congress as it is given. ( 9 PM)  After tonight, it will be for any subject  you hearts desire.

21 Thoughts to “Obama’s Econcomic Address to Congress”

  1. TWINAD
    February 24, 2009 at 9:43 pm

    Intelligent and eloquent…two words never used to describe our former POTUS. Glad to use them tonight.

  2. Moon-howler
    February 24, 2009 at 10:01 pm

    He certainly seems to be prioritizing problems. I hope he can accomplish it all. I have read the Bill Clinton slipped him the word that he needed to be more upbeat.

    So who is being naughty and who is being nice? What is his most important message?

  3. IVAN
    February 24, 2009 at 10:13 pm

    There is no doubt about who is in charge in this administration.

  4. Moon-howler
    February 24, 2009 at 10:22 pm

    @IVAN
    Absolutely! Upbeat but serious. I am waiting to hear a good whine from the Republicans. Someone has already started. Actually I shouldn’t say that. They were fairly well behaved.

  5. Moon-howler
    February 24, 2009 at 10:28 pm

    Bobby Jindal is being very eloguent so far. Very bi-partisan. He is addressing the problem rather than attacking the opposition. So far, he gets my approval.

    Pulling that approval in a bit. He wants to end volcano monitoring? Tell that to the people of Portland or Seattle. Maybe we should stop monitoring hurricanes? I am all for volcano monitoring. Tsunamis also.

  6. Slowpoke Rodriguez
    February 24, 2009 at 10:31 pm

    I thought it was a good speech. I certainly don’t agree with all he said, but certain points he made very well, and he sure did it better than Bush did. I really can’t attack the guy on his policies, since that problem is in Congress. Obama did a good job tonight overall.

  7. Lucky Duck
    February 24, 2009 at 10:51 pm

    From a Republican perspective, I thought he did an excellent job outlining our major issues and some of his attempts to address them. He seems to rise above strict ideology from both sides (Pelosi/Canter as examples on both sides) and admits there can be disagreements along the way but action is necessary.

    I can only hope both houses of Congress can follow his example. They have deadlocked this Nation for years. They argue about partisan problems or about things that are so far down the ladder of nationwide importance (flag burning, school prayer etc IMHO and ignore issues that affect all of us like health care, Social Security, Energy) I wish Congress would step up, grow up and govern like they are supposed to do.

    I wish President Obama well.

  8. Moon-howler
    February 24, 2009 at 10:53 pm

    I thought so too, Slowpoke. I thought Congress was pretty well behaved also, considering it was Congress…the bad boys in town. Justice Ginsberg looked fabulous considering what all she has been through.

    Not to be a softie, Bush couldn’t help it that he wasn’t eloguent. He was the sort of person I always felt guilty about thinking unkind thoughts.

  9. WhyHereWhyNow
    February 25, 2009 at 4:57 am

    I second Lucky Duck’s remarks re. Obama’s speech. Taking into consideration the list of problems that man is facing, I can’t complain about the challenges in my own life, nor can I allow myself to let up on them. I woke up this morning with a new determination.

    As for Bobby Jindal’s GOP response … all I can say is who ever wrote that speech must have been a double agent for Sarah Palin. It was dreadful. Hurricane Katrina as the hallmark for the revival of the Republican Party???? Huh?

    I did find the personal story to be compelling and the overall delivery was strong, but that speech! I’m truly astonished. It reminded me of the 8th grade civics essays I used to write, and I didn’t get a lot of A’s.

  10. Second-Alamo
    February 25, 2009 at 5:49 am

    It was a very uplifting presentation, and a needed one for the economic times. How it all works in the long run remains to be seen. Half our problem is that preaching doom and gloom become self serving. Tell someone they may not have a job next year, and you can bet he’s going to stop spending. I can’t wait for the SNL coverage of Nancy P’s jack-in-the-box performance though!

  11. Lucky Duck
    February 25, 2009 at 7:17 am

    I second that thought Second-Alamo, Nancy Pelosi’s knees have got to aching this morning for as many times as she leaped last night. She must have been a cheerleader in college. I think she startled the VP a dozen times last night.

  12. Leila
    February 25, 2009 at 8:52 am

    Folks, I assume this won’t count as off topic per M-H’s words “after tonight.” I just wondered if everyone knew that PWC and its immigration policy will be the first topic for the Kojo Nnamdi show on WAMU radio at just after 1 pm today. 88.5 FM. WAMU is an NPR affiliate. Kojo, if you are not familiar with him, is an able host.

    Corey Stewart and a woman named Audrey Singer from the Brookings Institution will be the guests. For those who can’t listen live (and possibly call in), the show will be archived. See more info at:

    http://wamu.org/programs/kn/09/02/25.php#25253

    If this was already reported, my apologies. I didn’t notice it reading posts last night.

  13. Moon-howler
    February 25, 2009 at 8:54 am

    WHWN, I thought Bobby J started off great! It degenerated. I felt it ended up in the gutter. But what a great start. He lost me about the volcano watch remark. I thought it was a stupid idea as a way to save money. In fact, it was an insensitive region remark. It got worse after that.

    I have to second what Lucky Duck said also (other than being Republican)

    President Obama definitely regained some lost political capital. We needed a speech that had a lot of hope and solution in it.

  14. hello
    February 25, 2009 at 9:43 am

    He is a great speaker, I didn’t agree with some of the things he said but he did make some very good points. Most notably was the fact that parents need to step up when it comes to their kids and eduction. I also liked the challenge for everyone to take on one year of high education. One thing that I didn’t like is that he referenced all of the problems ‘he inherited’ about 4 or 5 times. Everyone knows that and it seems like every time he talks about the economy it always starts out with him reminding people that he inherited it like we didn’t know. It’s almost like he is setting it up so that if the stimulus fails he can just say the ‘problems he inherited’ need more bailouts. Then those bailouts won’t fix anything and he will say ‘due to the problem I inherited even more bailouts are needed’.

  15. Moon-howler
    February 25, 2009 at 9:47 am

    I would say the same thing I am afraid. You can assume everyone knows but if you look around the various blogs, it might make you doubt it.

  16. ShellyB
    February 25, 2009 at 12:32 pm

    Hello, I agree with M-H that it’s necessary for Obama to bring certain people into the real world when he has the chance. You may be grounded in reality, but remember, around 20 percent of American’s population most certainly is not. Rush Limbaugh and Fox News are their only sources of information, and Rush was calling this the “Obama Recession” in November of 2008 (just in case any Rush listeners are reading this: George Bush was still president in November of 2008).

  17. ShellyB
    February 25, 2009 at 12:35 pm

    I’m also glad he reminded people that sweeping tax cuts for 95 percent of Americans, and returning the wealthiest 5 percent to the tax rates during the budget surplus/roaring economy years of the Clinton Administration is NOT the same thing as communism. He has to do that because some people just don’t know when to stop believing campaign propaganda.

  18. hello
    February 25, 2009 at 12:45 pm

    Good point ShellyB… however, there comes a point when people are going to get tired (I already am..) of him saying it as an opening line to any discussion on the economy.

  19. hello
    February 25, 2009 at 2:57 pm

    One thing I didn’t think about until today was when Obama said he intends to create White House offices on health reform, urban affairs policy and energy and climate change. In the words of the longest-serving Democratic senator… such positions “can threaten the Constitutional system of checks and balances. At the worst, White House staff have taken direction and control of programmatic areas that are the statutory responsibility of Senate-confirmed officials.”

    http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0209/19303.html

  20. ShellyB
    February 25, 2009 at 6:18 pm

    So Leila, what happened? Did Corey Stewart put on his new moderate face for the interview?

    Hello, the other positions in the executive branch don’t seem to hinder checks and balances. He’s delegating responsibility because there’s a lot on his plate.

  21. hello
    February 25, 2009 at 6:51 pm

    Hi ShellyB, did you happen to read any of the link? I’m concerned about the Constitutional system of checks and balances but I didn’t come up with that on my own. I read the direct quote from the LONGEST-serving DEMOCRATIC senator who seems to be concerned. If a Democratic senator is concerned about it (who by the way also bashed Bush on the same subject) then I doubt that it’s just a matter of Obama delegating responsibility. It’s obviously something that needs to be addressed.

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