No Drama Obama certainly was out of character at yesterday's speech commemorating the fifth anniversary of the financial crash. Yesterday was a horrible day in D.C. with the senseless killing of twelve innocent people at the Navy Yard. Even though this speech was scheduled far in advance, one might have thought that given the horrific circumstances, the President and his staff would have considered rescheduling the speech. Asked at a press conference after the speech whether the administration had considered rescheduling, press secretary Jay Carney said that option was never on the table and never discussed.
Frankly, I find that hard to believe, but if Carney had said that it had been discussed and the decision was made to go ahead despite the circumstances, the administration would have opened the door to even more criticism than is it is getting now. Even on normally Obama friendly MSNBC this morning the President was roundly chided for having the event in the first place, and then using it for one of the most partisan diatribes he has ever delivered. You really had to feel sorry for the people (props) standing behind him being forced to listen to this.
The President's frustration with Republicans poured out. One can understand his frustration for example on the failure to get any meaningful gun control only nine months after the horrors of Newtown. And while he spoke in a very logical sequence about what should be done to raise the debt ceiling and come to an agreement on the budget, his decrying about the sequestration cuts rang totally hollow since they were his idea. I don't want to replay the 2011 budget battle, but Obama and Boehner had a deal until Obama hit him up for and additional $600 in tax increases.
Obama needs the Republicans to get anything done, and I don't think he did anything to advance his cause with yesterday's speech. In the immortal words of Bette Davis, "Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy ride!"
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