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President Obama's Weekly Address

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Other Politics
Posted on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 09:37:15 AM EST
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Less interested in the President's words than in the President's actions at this point.

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    President Obama's Weekly Address | 43 comments (43 topical)

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    Behold: (5.00 / 2) (#1)
    by Addison on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 09:42:23 AM EST
    Just this week, the Senate Finance Committee approved a reform proposal that has both Democratic and Republican support.

    It is accomplished.

    And, then he went on to say (5.00 / 2) (#2)
    by Inspector Gadget on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 09:45:48 AM EST
    "It's bogus, it's deceptive, and it's all too familiar."
     

    Of course, he was talking about the way the lobbyists have invaded DC handing out campaign contributions trying to keep the reps from voting in a decent HCR bill.

    Who knows more about bogus and deceptive?

    [ Parent ]

    It is duplicitious to have secret mtgs. (5.00 / 12) (#6)
    by oculus on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 11:07:00 AM EST
    at the WH with big pharma and insurance industry and then publicly excoriate lobbyists.

    [ Parent ]
    He certainly learned well (5.00 / 1) (#11)
    by TeresaInSnow2 on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 11:29:44 AM EST
    from the master (Bush) of Clear Skies, Healthy Forests (which are cynical opposites of their names)!  

    All you gotta do is pretend something is a certain way, and it makes it so.

    [ Parent ]

    Pols making their own reality (5.00 / 1) (#12)
    by MO Blue on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 11:32:25 AM EST
    Just keep repeating the same theme until fiction becomes fact.

    [ Parent ]
    Does he want it to become fact or want (none / 0) (#14)
    by oculus on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 11:42:50 AM EST
    us to think it is fact?

    [ Parent ]
    Think it is fact is my guess (none / 0) (#22)
    by MO Blue on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 12:21:45 PM EST


    [ Parent ]
    Wow, no kidding (5.00 / 1) (#26)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 01:24:34 PM EST
    They screwed him but good too and now he wants to fight, but he sounds like such a liar right now.  How do I trust this guy?  I know how we have gotten to this place in this debate and he is being soooo dishonest about that.  So I'm going to have to go forward without trust....as if he were some sort of politician :)  It cracks me up.  Man it is hard though to have to consider this his weekly address to me and it is full of misconceptions about how we got here :)

    [ Parent ]
    From TL side bar: (5.00 / 1) (#27)
    by oculus on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 01:31:23 PM EST
    link

    Is the title a reference to Blazing Saddles?  (This is not a serious question.)

    [ Parent ]

    it is duplicitous (5.00 / 1) (#30)
    by sancho on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 02:46:52 PM EST
    but what's the point of being president if you can't have secret meetings with industry leaders regarding bills you hope to pass that will (mostly) help their industry? that's why you were elected president.

    [ Parent ]
    Ouch (5.00 / 2) (#32)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 03:25:48 PM EST


    [ Parent ]
    He sure leaves a lot out of that (5.00 / 7) (#3)
    by Anne on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 10:10:51 AM EST
    little lecture, doesn't he?  I love the way he demonizes the very industry he's been taking oodles of cash from and playing increasingly suspect footsie with.

    And not for the first time, he has touted how he was able to bring together the doctors and the nurses and businesses and so on, but the one glaring omission from all the "coming together" is - you guessed it - the people.

    I could not watch it to the end, sorry; I almost stopped it when he started in with the kumbaya stuff, but I hung in for a few more minutes.

    I guess what struck me most is that - unless it was in the final minutes I couldn't bring myself to watch - he did not take advantage of his bully pulpit to express what he wants the Congress to pass.  What he believes would be the best plan.  What he is committed to getting Congress to put on his desk.

    Gah.  Time to go out and run errands in the rain.

    Surely you jest (5.00 / 4) (#4)
    by MO Blue on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 10:34:39 AM EST
    What he believes would be the best plan? If anything this broadcast was less specific than usual. Same old broad generalities. He has those bullet points down pat.

    He did express what he wants Congress to pass. A HCR bill. IOW something that he can put a check mark in the HCR column.

    [ Parent ]

    Words words words (5.00 / 2) (#5)
    by mmc9431 on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 10:42:56 AM EST
    If he thought he could cruise through his term as the "lofty orator", he's about due for a rude awakening. The public has grown tired of speeches. Even his supporters are tuning him out.

    His "do nothing" reputation is now the butt of jokes for comedian's across the country. (It didn't take long for the country to label Gerald Ford the oaf, once the comic's started).

    Obama better quake up and realize that his window of opportunity is closing fast. The latest Gallup poll has Hilary with a more favorable rating than Obama! The luster is fading and Obama needs to realize that it takes more than lofty speeches to lead.

    You guys watched? (5.00 / 4) (#7)
    by Stellaaa on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 11:11:20 AM EST
    I am impressed that you still have the stamina.  

    I listened to him on the radio in New Orleans answering questions and he was flubbing all over the place.  He punted on the questions and could not explain why things have not "changed".  

    The $250 for Seniors (5.00 / 3) (#8)
    by Stellaaa on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 11:13:57 AM EST
    I don't know, I know Seniors are sacred, but man did that piss me off.  In the meantime HUD is asking for $200 million for Housing Authorities extra and they got denied.  Who cares, the Housing Authority tenants are so poor no one notices.  

    NPR reported the $250 for seniors is (5.00 / 2) (#9)
    by oculus on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 11:17:10 AM EST
    because everyone else is getting stimulus-type benefit next year.  Not sure if that is accurate.  To moi:  pennies from heaven!  To Obama--don't piss off the seniors, who are wary of any tampering with Medicare.

    [ Parent ]
    And because (5.00 / 2) (#10)
    by TeresaInSnow2 on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 11:27:40 AM EST
    seniors aren't getting a COLA this year? or is it next year.

    Yes, the economy is so bad, the COL didn't increase -- theoretically.

    [ Parent ]

    No COLA for 2010 (none / 0) (#13)
    by MO Blue on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 11:37:53 AM EST
    So for those seniors living on strictly SS or with limited other income, this will provide them a little help.

    I'm definitely O.K. with that but I would like it to be based on need and not just a flat $250 across the board.

    [ Parent ]

    I don't really know (5.00 / 2) (#17)
    by Steve M on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 12:04:03 PM EST
    what percentage of seniors, particularly the most needy ones, file tax returns.  The statistic I saw is that only 1/3 of Social Security recipients pay taxes on their benefits, for example.

    I wouldn't think you would want to institute a whole new application process just to means-test a $250 benefit.  Now if you already had the information on who needs it and who doesn't, sure.

    [ Parent ]

    They did it for the (none / 0) (#18)
    by TeresaInSnow2 on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 12:06:43 PM EST
    $600 rebate last year.

    [ Parent ]
    Medicare means tests re premium. (none / 0) (#20)
    by oculus on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 12:19:01 PM EST
    Not sure if Social Security may legally access this info though.  

    [ Parent ]
    I don't know the specirfics but I (none / 0) (#21)
    by MO Blue on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 12:19:48 PM EST
    think that they can already determine the people making over a certain level of income.

    I received a notice from Medicare that the part B premium could increase for Medicare Part B for those making over a specified level of income. If they have the ability to do it on Medicare Part B, I don't know why they couldn't use the mechanism already in place to distribute the $250.

    [ Parent ]

    I would assume (none / 0) (#28)
    by Steve M on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 02:26:30 PM EST
    that if you make over a certain level of income, you are most likely in the class of seniors that file tax returns.

    [ Parent ]
    Don't worry. It is taxable. (none / 0) (#15)
    by oculus on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 11:43:55 AM EST


    [ Parent ]
    Folks who don't need it (none / 0) (#16)
    by TeresaInSnow2 on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 12:03:51 PM EST
    will still get a portion of it, though.

    [ Parent ]
    COLA (none / 0) (#24)
    by Stellaaa on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 12:31:26 PM EST
    I am sure that families on "welfare" are not gonna get the COLA either, but I don't see anyone offering them $250.   There are so many places to use that money for a bigger bang, forgiving college loans, etc., these kids did not get the GI Bill or any of the post WWII generation benefits.  

    Sorry to rant, but it just rubs me the wrong way.  This is just tinkering for no reason, when they should tinker with some things they don't.  

    Ok, now I will go to the Farmer's market and buy some pumpkins.  It's out of my system.  

    [ Parent ]

    That $250 is set off re death panels. (none / 0) (#25)
    by oculus on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 12:35:58 PM EST


    [ Parent ]
    SS death panels are far more interesting (5.00 / 1) (#29)
    by Inspector Gadget on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 02:46:05 PM EST
    They are financially focused.

    My mom died in May. I reported it to SS around the 23rd of the month and 3 days later they over-drafted her checking account by taking back her March and April payments plus her 2009 $250 stimulus check through an electronic withdrawal. It took us 4 months and the help of our Senior Senator to get the money back. The neighbor who lost his wife two years earlier said they did the same to him and he never was able to get the money back.

    SS must be really different for every senior based on what I'm reading in this thread. I don't know any who don't have to file an income tax return, or ever got a $600 stimulus check.

    [ Parent ]

    I guess the lesson here is (none / 0) (#37)
    by DFLer on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 05:37:34 PM EST
    Don't report the death for a couple of months and close the account first.


    [ Parent ]
    My condolences, Inspector (none / 0) (#38)
    by Spamlet on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 06:29:44 PM EST


    [ Parent ]
    This is why the $250 is for seniors: (none / 0) (#23)
    by steviez314 on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 12:28:01 PM EST
    There is no COLA to SS this year due to no inflation.  There is also no increase to Medicare premiums for the same reason.

    HOWEVER, there will be an increase in Medicare Part D premiums, despite the zero COLA.

    The $250 will go a ways towards covering that premium increase (depending on the Part D plan).

    [ Parent ]

    Obama says: (5.00 / 1) (#19)
    by my opinion on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 12:12:19 PM EST
     "In fact, the insurance industry is rolling out "In fact, the insurance industry is rolling out the big guns and breaking open their massive war chest - to marshal their forces for one last fight to save the status quo. They're filling the airwaves with deceptive and dishonest ads."

    Obama does:

    "At a meeting last April with corporate lobbyists, aides to President Barack Obama and Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) helped set in motion a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign, primarily financed by industry groups, that has played a key role in bolstering public support for health care reform."

    Who is "deceptive and dishonest?"

    I can't stand the way he talks (5.00 / 5) (#31)
    by Inspector Gadget on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 02:52:02 PM EST
    Not the sing-song preacher's rhythm, and not the over-the-top fancy...

    rolling out the big guns and breaking open their massive war chest - to marshal their forces for one last fight to save the status quo. They're filling the airwaves

    Good grief.

    He could have just said: Those lobbyists I haven't done a thing to eliminate are giving your representatives bribes, and nothing is going to change there. Even the bill I like is a Republican bill. Now, I need to get to AF One for a personal trip to San Francisco to meet with my best money raisers.


    [ Parent ]

    I can't stand the way he talks or the way he poses (5.00 / 1) (#40)
    by BrassTacks on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 11:42:00 PM EST
    when he talks.  What's with the nose in the air all the time?  Look at the picture at the top of this thread.  Is he looking toward heaven?  Does he have a crook in his neck?  Or is it just an arrogant, better-than-you pose?   In any event, I don't know people who talk like him or strike that pose when they talk.  I hate it.  I wish he talked and looked more like a regular person.  

    [ Parent ]
    We don't know if he "compartmentalizes" (none / 0) (#33)
    by Militarytracy on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 03:29:24 PM EST
    issues that he has to deal with well. I find myself dwelling on that at the moment :)  He HAS to figure out this healthcare for all thing and he HAS to stay or go in Afghanistan.  Perhaps he got the two issues with their schools of thought lumped together :)

    [ Parent ]
    That, or the incredible (none / 0) (#34)
    by Inspector Gadget on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 03:56:09 PM EST
    reference to military actions came to him and he needed to put it to use before he forgot it.

    Or, of course, if every little thing can be given military phraseology, we won't be so sensitive when he is really talking about physical war.

    [ Parent ]

    Maybe this was meant to tie (none / 0) (#35)
    by Anne on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 04:30:05 PM EST
    in with the latest "give money to help the president pass health care reform" campaign that is making its way to mailboxes and In Boxes and via telephone calls lately.  I don't think there is ever an opportunity wasted to make money, is there?

    But, he could easily have tacked onto that little guns 'n' war segment the truth: "and thanks to that massive war chest, millions of dollars flowed to my campaign, I've partnered with some industry groups to keep them somewhat happy - enough not to endanger the cash flow - and the not-so-secret deals should pay me rich rewards, even if the American people get screwed."

    And really, once you break it down, that address was just the same old, same old, whole lotta nothing that we always get.  It's still all about ideas and themes and that old standby - "change;" I wonder, though, if he's noticed that there hasn't been a whole lot of it.  Guess not - I still feel like he's preaching to the devoted and trying to bamboozle the skeptical.

    On further reflection, I think it is a speech that lends itself quite well to an SNL-style "translation."  

    [ Parent ]

    Your first sentence was probably on the (none / 0) (#36)
    by Inspector Gadget on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 04:57:02 PM EST
    mark. I'm just wondering which side of the aisle he will give the money to once he gets his hands on it.

    Although he isn't doing transparency the way he said he would, it is truly amazing how much of what is going on in his administration is making very clear how corrupt the system is.

    Campaign reform, and ending donations from lobbyists must be done. I think it will take a whole new list of occupants in the House and Senate to accomplish what needs to be done.


    [ Parent ]

    Personhood, not the human kind (none / 0) (#39)
    by good grief on Sat Oct 17, 2009 at 08:38:39 PM EST
    Campaign reform, and ending donations from lobbyists must be done.

    Absolutely -- but wait til Supremes hand down the decision on Citizens United v FEC to see if they allow corporations to fund elections directly and without limit.

    [ Parent ]

    At least he's OUR crook (none / 0) (#41)
    by Xclusionary Rule 4ever on Sun Oct 18, 2009 at 09:24:54 AM EST
    I admire you all for your skepticism and independence; however, I would much rather be sitting here today complaining about a Democrat lying, cheating and stealing to get health care reform through than complaining about a Republican expanding the Patriot Act and explaining why we are going to Bomb Bomb Bomb Iran next week.

    I absolutely hate that Obama chose to first make slimy deals with unelected industry officials before starting the DC tango to get this bill to a vote, and I suppose it was really a ploy to keep money out of GOP hands, but that's life. Clinton failed at this, Carter failed, and LBJ was operating in a much different world when he pushed social welfare reforms through.

    Give the thin black duke a little space.  Just a little.

    You're entitled to your opinion (none / 0) (#42)
    by Inspector Gadget on Sun Oct 18, 2009 at 10:14:00 AM EST
    and no one is doing anything more than expressing their own.

    "a little space"? He's been given a mighty wide berth, so on that you're right. He needs much less wiggle room if we want him to start acting like a democrat.

     

    [ Parent ]

    Sick of Clinton getting lumped in there (none / 0) (#43)
    by Lysis on Sun Oct 18, 2009 at 11:10:45 AM EST
    Clinton fought like hell against a more  hostile congress (all 8 years, not just the last 6) and did a lot more to advance the progressive agenda than Obama has even attempted to do. Clinton always stated the progressive goals loud and proud, then did his best to get as much passed as he could. Obama compromises before he even leaves the starting gate.

    [ Parent ]
    President Obama's Weekly Address | 43 comments (43 topical)

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