First 100 Days: Speech to Congress

More than 35-percent into the First 100 Days of his Presidency, Barack Obama delivered a speech to a joint session of Congress.

Did you notice?

1. A member of Congress stroking the President's back as he went by her as he walked down the aisle and to the podium? Likely, a well-intentioned gesture and one certainly by a Democrat who knows him, but should a President be subjected to such a familiar, personal gesture in such a setting?


Here's the "rub" in real time and slo-mo


2. The President jumped his start. The protocol for such addresses is that the President is announced.  He enters the chamber to applause and cheers. He takes the podium. The Speaker of the House gavels the chamber to silence and formally introduces the President. More cheering and then the President begins.  In this case, the President started to talk before the 2nd introduction.  I think he realized this and made a joke about it to Pelosi and Biden.

3. No words were harmed in the delivery of the speech. On the speech, the President's supporters say it was designed to reassure Americans that this economy will turn for the better, to speak about the steps that have been taken, to emphasize the next phases of the recovery plan, which include focusing on energy, health care and education and to reassure Americans they will not be bankrupting future generations.

Now, some people have criticized President Obama for sounding too gloomy since taking the Presidency. Some want him to be more positive, more "FDR-like." Those folks may just be haters. But, for the sake of discussion, what if some of them are correct?  Was he optimistic last night? I think a fair reading says he was. He certainly wasn't overtly negative. However, could he have done better? Did he dot all the i's and cross all the t's in the optimism playbook? Look at his final paragraph in the speech. It is supposed to be uplifting and let's stipulate that his tone was positive. However, were the words positive? The paragraph is laced with "ifs." 

"...if we come together and lift this nation from the depths of this crisis; if we put our people back to work and restart the engine of our prosperity; if we confront without fear the challenges of our time and summon that enduring spirit of an America that does not quit, then someday years from now our children can tell their children that this was the time when we performed, in the words that are carved into this very chamber, "something worthy to be remembered."

Such a paragraph, from an optimism viewpoint, would have been better constructed if all the "ifs" were replaced with "when" or even better, more declarative:  We WILL come together...we WILL put our people back to work...our children WILL tell their children...etc.

So much for speech making, what about the substance, the philosophy? Republican Congressman Mike Castle tells me he doesn't disagree with the President's speech in terms of direction of the country, but that the devil is still in the details, or lack of them, so far.  Castle, R-Delaware, calls the speech a good outline but "light" on details. On the big issue of how far government will go, he does not believe banks will be nationalized.

Are we on the road to resurgence or ruin?

A few days ago, I asked former U.S. Attorney Patrick Meehan, who is now exploring a run for the Republican nomination for Governor of Pennsylvania. Meehan responded, "I think the jury is out on that. Clearly one of the things that we need to do is stop the hemorrhaging. You want to be able to sustain the jobs that we have and arguably some of the stimulus may go with that. I don't think that there were as much people against the concept of the stimulus. It was a question as to whether the stimulus was being directed at the right things." And he added, "If this does not work, we're going to be in very dire straits and the real issue is where are we going to be in five and ten years down the road when we're paying for all of these obligations." Meehan believes small business needs to be helped more.

One aside. I asked Meehan if he ever witnessed political pressure on the U.S. Attorney's Office to go after anyone. (Vince Fumo has alleged that he was a political target of the Bush White House.)  Meehan says, "No. None whatsoever." I asked Democratic Congressman Joe Sestak about which road we are on, resurgence or ruin. He believes we are in an economic war and when in war, the nation has to deficit spend. That "this preventive medicine is absolutely critical now." The Delaware County Congressman says, "We are on the road to resurgence," however, he thinks the stimulus plan is too light. "I actually wish it was more bold and even more aggressive...It's the minimum amount needed. I would have voted for 1 trillion dollars," primarily to stop the hemorrhaging of jobs. Sestak believes we will be back to a normal GDP by 2011.

But, as unemployment moves upward, keep this Sestak stat in mind. The Congressman tells me in his view, the nation is in a depression if unemployment hits 11-percent.

I hear over and over again from people on both sides of the aisle that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has been a disappointment. Yes, the tax issue is still an issue for many Americans, especially since their doing their taxes now. But for Wall Street, the issue still is not enough detail. Not enough confidence. Congressman Sestak tells me the markets keep falling not because of the stimulus bill, but "because a week and a half ago, it was that the Secretary of the Treasury...dashed the market's expectations when he came forward with a new plan for the 350 billion dollars to get the credit going again and actually did a very poor job by saying we're still working on it."

Taking a page from President Reagan, as President's since have, President Obama's address featured a number of ordinary, yet special Americans invited by the President and/or Vice-President to sit near the First Lady. You may have noticed a Philadelphia Police Officer sitting between First Lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, wife of the Vice-President. That Officer is Richard G. DeCoatsworth.  He was one of 24 invited guests. The White House was emphasizing the themes of hope and courage.  Here is how the administration describes him and why he was invited:

"Officer DeCoatsworth of the Philadelphia Police Department has demonstrated courage above and beyond the call of duty. On September 27, 2007, DeCoatsworth was following three suspicious-looking men who had parked and exited their vehicle. He began to pursue them, when a fourth male exited and fired a shotgun blast directly into the officer's face. DeCoatsworth was temporarily blinded after being struck at almost point blank range, but when his vision returned, he was still standing. Bleeding from the face, DeCoatsworth chased the perpetrator on foot for nearly two blocks. The officer returned fire and put out flash information on the subject during the pursuit, before he finally collapsed. Due to DeCoatsworth's relentless efforts and the information he dispatched, police were able to apprehend the dangerous suspect a short time later. Following his recovery, he returned to the police force on June 26, 2008 and was promoted to the elite highway patrol for his heroic actions. For his courage and determination, DeCoatsworth was honored by the National Association of Police Organizations with its 2008 TOP COPS Award."


NBC10 Political Analyst Steve Highsmith is following President Barack Obama's First 100 Days online.

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