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Don’t ignore Obama’s economic speech today. It’s a sign of things to come… Is the Pacific trip up in the air? … Another incumbent bites the dust in Alabama. … Is Artur Davis’ loss a surprise, or not surprising at all? … Immigration’s key role in GOP primaries, but does it fizzle in general elections? … Only the third-ever all-female governor’s race. … and when the truth isn’t good enough.
From NBC’s Chuck Todd, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg
*** ’Bam On The Run: President Obama’s trying to make a big case on the economy today on his latest stop on his White House to Main St. tour in Pittsburgh, PA. (He speaks at Carnegie Mellon University at 1:30 pm ET.) But it isn’t going to get noticed in today’s oily news cycle. But don’t ignore the speech. It should be read carefully; because the themes in it will be themes he touches on again, as he tries to sell the recovery (read: fall 2010 and 2012.) By the way, many economists expect big numbers from Friday’s jobs report, but keep in mind it'll be heavy with Census hires.
*** On Oil: The White House is clearly trying to divorce BP now after a shaky marriage. NBC’s Pete Williams reported that a Justice Department investigation of the company began "some weeks ago" into whether criminal and civil laws were violated in the Gulf Oil spill. (By the way, BP’s stock fell 15 percent yesterday after it admitted “top kill” didn’t work. Now, it’s on to the “cut-and-cap” containment strategy.) It was also intriguing yesterday that White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs didn’t immediately say Obama is staying with his Indonesia trip later this month. Critics will say if this trip was canceled once for something more political -- the health-care vote. So if it was postponable for the health care vote, how is it not postponable for this? As awkward as the international diplomacy may be re: canceling for a second time, remember, the president HAS to return to the region later this year for an economic conference.
*** Filling Space: We’ve noted some of the legitimate criticism of this president on the oil crisis, particularly on the P.R. front. But it seems some talkers and columnists have gone into overdrive. There's not much since the weekend that is new as it relates to Obama and the oil spill to warrant further criticism, but they don't know what else to talk about. They have that video without much new to say -- and there’s nothing like having to talk over video when there isn’t much to add. The analysis can't be the same, so the default to fill the space is often more “questions” about the president and the administration’s response. This is a dangerous period, politically, for the administration as it is kind of like an August around Washington with Congress out of session and all eyes only on one story, one region and one president.
*** ‘Yesterday’...: … Another incumbent went down to defeat. Parker Griffith became the latest incumbent to lose, and by a wide margin, 51%-33%. He thought when he made his party switch from Democrat to Republican, it would help his chances at reelection in November and perhaps he would have been right but he'll never know. Instead, he went the way of Arlen Specter. His party switch and his conservative bona fides became the main issue in the primary. And Mo Brooks, a county commissioner, won handily, clearing the 50 percent threshold and avoiding a runoff even against two other candidates. Brooks now becomes the favorite this fall and will likely become the first Republican ever elected from this district to Congress. Party switchers always struggle. But THIS is clearly NOT the year to try it.
*** ‘Maybe I'm Amazed’...: Or maybe not that Rep. Artur Davis lost. Davis was expected to cruise to victory in the Democratic primary for governor of Alabama -- and make history as the first African American in the state to win his party's nomination for the office. But black voters and leaders didn’t rally around Davis. Instead, he lost by a wide margin, 62%-38%, to state Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks, who is white. Sparks was the one who was able to get the “support from the state's four major black political groups,” AP writes. Why? Davis snubbed black leaders, saying he and black voters needed “no permission” from black groups. Plus, Davis voted against health care -- maybe a good position in Alabama in a general election, but a tough one to get around in a Democratic primary when half the electorate is black and so is the president of the United States. Davis' defeat is a good lesson for any African American or Hispanic politician who thinks they automatically will get support based on skin color or ethnicity. By the way, the two candidates who may be most intrigued by Davis' defeat are Roy Barnes and Thurbert Baker, two Democrats running for governor in Georgia where some believe race could play a role in how the primary turns out.
*** Byrne, Baby, Byrne (and James or Bentley): Sparks will take on the winner of state community college chairman Bradley Byrne and either businessman Tim James or Robert Bentley. (The top two will face off in a July 13th runoff, but the margin between James and Bentley is too close to call yet). By the way, speaking of Ag Commish, Dale Peterson, who gave us that entertaining ad (with all the jump cuts and the rifle) failed to qualify for the runoff for that office. In yesterday’s races, just one of the candidates with the most provocative ads might make it through -- James -- who got wide attention for his English-only ad that helped boost him. That ad and Susana Martinez’s win in New Mexico are signs of just how big a role immigration is playing in GOP primaries this cycle. The question is, does immigration translate to a general election. Remember, immigration played an out-sized role in many GOP primaries in 2006 but fell flat in the general. The president is meeting this week with Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, who signed into law that state’s controversial immigration bill, who is on his Council of Governors.
*** 'She's a Woman': We mentioned Martinez in New Mexico. The county prosecutor won last night, giving national Republicans their preferred candidate. That means New Mexico will elect its first female ever to be governor this fall, since Martinez’s opponent will be Lt. Gov. Diane Denish (D). This will be just the third all-female gubernatorial matchup in U.S. history. The others, NBC’s Sarah Blackwill points out, were Kay Orr vs. Helen Boosalis in the 1986 Nebraska governor’s race and then, in 2002, Linda Lingle against Mazie Hirono in Hawaii.
*** ‘Getting Better’? After a string of races in which the NRCC didn’t get its preferred candidate, allowing opponents to push the Tea Party/ideological divide storyline, the NRCC got a win in MS-1. Impressively, in a three-candidate field, state Rep. Alan Nunnelee avoided a runoff by getting more than 50 percent, and now gives the GOP a very good shot at flipping this seat in the fall. By the way, Gallup shows Republicans with a 49%-43% lead in the generic ballot, their largest lead ever in the poll. Republicans are rightfully enthusiastic. But with this Gallup poll be very careful. It has a tendency to swing like an EKG report right after you go running.
*** When the truth isn’t good enough: What strikes us about the flap over Illinois Republican Senate candidate Mark Kirk’s award in the military is let’s say he’s only guilty of rounding off the edges. In this day and age, you’re not going to get away with rounding the edges. But what puzzles us, what makes no sense about this, is that his record -- on its own -- is admirable. And his opponent Alexi Giannoulias (D), as Kirk points out, never served. So what was he doing? The truth seemed good enough, but apparently wasn’t for Kirk.
*** The Rest of the Day: Before heading to Pittsburgh, President Obama meets with Gen. Ray Odierno, the top U.S. commander in Iraq (remember Iraq?). When Obama returns to Washington, he and the first lady will host a concert in honor of singer Paul McCartney. McCartney is being awarded the Third Gershwin Prize for Popular Song from the Library of Congress. Vice President Biden is in New York City touting the stimulus and what it's done for jobs and infrastructure in the state at 2:45 pm ET. Dr. Jill Biden receives an award from the group behind Sesame Street at 7:00 pm ET in New York City.
*** 'Jet'-setter: Tune into MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Reports, as Mitchell reports live from Israel, as she covers the Gaza flotilla story.
*** More Midterms: In Illinois, Bloomberg reports there’s “another video featuring U.S. Senate candidate Mark Kirk of Illinois making false claims of being the U.S. Navy’s intelligence officer of the year.” … Charlie Crist laments fair-weather friends. … A liberal group is running ads targeting senators on climate-change legislation.
Countdown to CA, IA, ME, NJ, ND, SC, SD, and VA primaries, and AR run-off: 6 days:
Countdown to Election Day 2010: 153 days
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When people are yelling about taxes and big government and government spending it needs to be recognized as just scare tactics intended to manipulate public opinion and to rationalize returning to 'more of the same', the 'more of the same' that got us the severe problems we have today. They may come on strong with a lot of bravado but it is all empty as they have no answers, only criticisms. When I look around and see the problems we are fighting today, returning to 'more of the same', more of government doing nothing, just allowing Special Interests and the select few to have their way, it scares me a whole lot more than having government spending / big government and taxes are not near as scary as the costs of the problems we are experiencing. It is like when a child has a temperature of 103 and you really can't worry about taking it down too low but rather need to quickly address the problem and get the temperature down; likewise Socialism shouldn't be a concern now but rather we desperately need government to take control and resolve the problems. And returning to 'more of the same' is the con that will satisfy only the few (<5%) and be a continuing catastrophe for the majority (>90%).
We are learning that the problems in the gulf likely were precipitated by long running lax government oversight and the lack of stringent controls. We know that was actually the case with the problems on Wall Street and with the investment banks with a resulting run away greed, self-indulgence and gross dishonesty; calling it 'open markets' and 'deregulation' and 'smaller government' didn't make it any easier. We don't want Socialism but we do desperately need government to actually be responsible and to be at least as much as is needed. We now also emphatically know that giving Special Interests 'Carte Blanche' and hoping for the 'trickle down' effect doesn't work; in fact it has failed miserably. To now allow ourselves to be sold on government doing nothing, on returning to 'more of the same' would be a naïve self-inflicted disaster. There are those who have no answers, are totally focused only on their political ambitions, whom are aggressively using the scare tactics and deceptive appeals to people's self-interests, who attempt to obstruct all efforts and who are just 'puppets' for Special Interests and the select few who 'pull their strings'. For them it is all about money; money for their campaigns, for them and for Special Interests' excessive profits. To put them in charge again would be to return to 'more of the same'. What we need is to be objective and rational enough to check our emotions and attachments and to see through the subterfuge to select and support a government that will responsibly attack the problems and serve the people.
Fiesty Hi, thanks for posting that transcript.
I am learning my way around this, I had to get my other email address to I can post under my nom de plume. I dont watch Mornin'Joe cant stand him or Mika. Chuck was over the line on this one, but then again, I think he is in over his head as the WH correspondent.
Hi Gingerbread Mamma! **Hugs** good to see you out today! This new format is similar to FB. I too enjoyed Red's posting of the transcript...more to follow.
Hi GM!
Was hoping you would join! I'm still undecided about this new fangled format... I see lots of positives but so far it leaves me 'cold' as far as the atmosphere! Doesn't seem to have the 'family' feel that we all admired so much about FR...
Agree with you about the Chuck thing. I admired his numbers ability during the campaign and then when he got the promotion it appeared to go straight to his head. He left Mark & Domenico out on a limb as far as I'm concerned!
As for his comments... I love how the righties either can't or won't believe what their 'lying' eyes are reading!
Shiela, MD,
Thank goodness someone else said. I am sooooooooo tired of everyone getting on the President for they perceive as his lack of response. It's ridiculous. The man has so much on his plate and I believe he is earnestly trying to deal with it all in the most comprehensive way possible. If he gets on TV then there will be those who say it is politically motivated. Folks are asking him to be something he is not. I personally prefer his calm and methodical demeanor than shooting from the hip. These pundits need to go pound it.
I would be interested in a posting by Chuck Todd about those comments. It does seem to me that he was over the line. How about it First Read?
I wouldn't hold my breath NewDay...
Rick, KY challenged him last week and then magically his post disappeared... Hmmm I wonder why??
What I'm picking up these days as far as the MSM goes - is somewhere along the line these journalists/pundits have started to believe that we NEED them... when in fact it's the other way around!
Well I am talking about the crowd who's IQ isn't level with a turnip you know... you'll always have the lemmings who latch on to anything they're spoon fed!
Speaking of Rick...Dude where are you? Come out come out where ever you are! We MISS you..
You BETCHA!
Red he may of left on his "Driving Miss Daisy Tour" said he was going in June. It's either that or as P.O.ed as he was end of the week he is out trying to figure out a way to stake out Mr. Todd as bait for a wild dingbat hunt down in the soggy bottom.You Betcha
Hi IR!
Thanks for reminding me... I know he was sure pi$$ed last week! Thought he would of said something though before he left!
IR-- I'am ROTFLMAO!!! at that posting it was a scream!!!!! :)
I don't know for sure he never did say just exactly when he was leaving. I had a lot of trouble following along last week myself. Things were slow as heck getting up and more postings than usual seemed to not make it up. Guess we all Know the reason why now. I never did see the post that he put up and then got took down but it must of been a doozy. From the TruthTeller I would have expected no less. Let's give him a bit and if he doesn't show up I'll fire up my old pick-em-up and get out my KY Redneck detector and slide over the mountain and scare him up. I value the company to much just to have it disappear on us. Tell you who else I haven't seen yet is Nashville.
OMG! KY Redneck detector! TOOO funny! Can the cougars come along for the ride
Wait a sec... I've got his e-mail addy... I'll try to reach out to him that way and get back to you! Still wouldn't mind going along for a field trip down in your neck of the woods! ;0)
IntheMiddle, TX
I ask you and everyone else that is against off-shore drilling; Do you like driving? Do you like mowing the lawn? etc. If the answer is yes, then stop with the fake drama.
well this is why i'm against off shore drilling, we can't trust the companies that are drilling to not lie. its clear that BP has lied to the president, and the governers of the gulf states. they are not trying to just cap the well, they are trying to save it, and they don't care how much has spills, or how many fish it kills, or the people who are out of work because of this, all they care is about BP!!!!
This format is getting the best of me. It took me five tries yesterday to get registered. I think I may have it. I wanted to say how much I agreed with the Jody's posting.
I don't know what is up with Chuck Todd but I have always found him to be somewhat disrespectful of the President when he speaks of the President and when he was asked questions. He left me cold.
As for these pundits/no-it-alls, they know nothing. It is only their opinions. I do not need to see President Obama on the TV showing his indignation just to appease the press only for them to say too little too late. Why does no one believe he is working to get done all that can be done. He DOES have other issues to deal with as well. He is damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. Luckily, he is intelligent, even-keeled, and methodical. That is what we need - not him on TV.
I voted for the right person - President Obama!!!!!!!
**thumbs up**
I've said all along... I voted for the right man at the right time for the right job!
And don't let the format get you down... I love reading your posts!
Just curious but did you ever complain about Ed Schultz or Kieth Oberman being disrespectful to GWB? What about Chris Mathews and his obvious hatred of the Clintons?
Can somebody tell me how the republicans can continually convince the working poor that unions are bad for them. How is better pay bad, how is having medical insurance bad, how is a pension plan bad, how are safer working conditions bad? Is it good to have excutives that make hundreds of millions, and in some cases billions, while the employees who perform the work that enables these profits, are killed and maimed, and many are working but still depend on government programs when they are sick or injured. Trickle down economics only works for the extremely wealthy, the middle class is still waiting for some of this wealth to trickle down but it has never happened. When working people make a little extra money they don't hide it in the Cayman islands to beat the taxes, that money rolls right back into the economy and the owners still get rich. If a working man makes some extra bucks by working a little overtime he buys tires for the car or school clothes for the kids, or a dishwasher for the wife, the point is he most likely spends it. What is the government (us) going to do when it is saddled with a whole generation of ex wal-mart employees who never made much more than minimun wage, have no medical insurance, no pension and are now old, sick, and destitute. I'm tired of the socialism remarks if you do not want the government to absorb these costs, and you don't want the private sector to absorb these costs, what are you going to do. Please don't tell me I can put some of that ten dollars an hour away in a personal health savings account. Please don't tell me I can barter with a heart surgeon. If these costs are not covered by the private sector as fringe benefits then we pay higher taxes for the government to help or we step over the sick and destitute living in the street. If we keep up with the trickle down economics (Piss on you economics) we will soon look like a third world country. These working poor people who don't want government invovled, don't want unions, don't want regulations on business, don't want higher taxes, better hope they never get what they want. The Walton family is collecting Picaso's while we absorb the cost of their employee,s health-care. BP made around 5 billion dollars in the first quarter, but republican lawmakers keep voting to block the raising of the cap on the amount they are liable for (currently 75 million). I know they don't want to raise taxes but they will have to in order to pay for the cleanup. I'm a democrat and I want my country back from big business.
They whining and attacks on Chuck Todd are ridiculous. The supposed outrage on this site is coming from the same people who thought it was okay for Chris Matthews to say he had a "thrill up his leg" when Obama spoke. These complaints are coming from the same people, who day after day, on this site call anybody who disagrees with Obama a "racist", stupid or other nasty names. I happen to agree with Todd that it was not a good move for the WH to allow the EPA director to go on a fundraiser when we have an ecological disaster going on in the Gulf.
The new format here is fine. I did see Newsvine has an Honor Code. However, just like FR, they don't seem to enforce it. The vile namecalling on the site is the same as always. One recommendation for the site would be that people be limited to a certain number of words. That way we won't get copying and pasting of articles from other sites. People would have to be more succinct with their thoughts so we could avoid the daily pontificating by certain individuals.
You rang?
Hi All,
Well let's try this one more time, Anita and Fiesty, thanks for the kind words and *Hugs* to you both too.
I am fighting a balky 'puter and my lack of technology skills ain't helping. I'll be in touch later.
I'll see you later. :)
Still waiting on apology from Chuck Todd - and for those of you wondering - we expect an apology because CT is supposed to be a reliable, non-partisan news source - not FOX.
We should expect an apology and we are owed an apology and CT ignoring this issue is not going to make us go away.
Reminder - any time a republican says Rush Limbaugh isn't represntative of the republican party they have to call him and apologize.
We expect an apology from CT because we expected more of him and he has disappointed us and is now ignoring us.
Look Chuck Todd owes no one an apology. I agree he needs to have more backbone when on Morning Joe, and I imagine his contract requires him to appear on the show. However he did not say President Obama was ignorant or incompetent. Read the quote previously provided. I saw the show live, and didn't think much of it. What Chuck Todd was talking about was the politics of the head of the EPA attending a fund raiser, et cetera. He did not speak personally to the POTUS, or anyone in the WH, but rather the political machine, or arm of the WH. Either Chuck or someone else mentioned that the fundraiser had been planned long ago, and it wasn't as if the administration decided to have the EPA head attend a fund raiser after the spill, just they failed to cancel prior to Politico running a story on it.
In Chuck's defense when he tries to correct Joe, as he did the day before the EPA fund raiser story, on the Joe Sestak story he has to put up with a verbal attack that few would put up with. As it turned out Chuck was right Sestak was never offered the Secretary of the Navy position, and Joe's tirade against Chuck for being a fool to buy into WH spin was proven wrong the next day.
You can disagree with Chuck's analysis, or his willingness to withold disagreement on Morning Joe, when his face clearly indicates he thinks Joe's off base, but claiming he called Obama an idiot or incompetent simply is wrong.
on this one, I agree with you. Although Chuck does seem to have 'respect' issues with regards to the POTUS. Not sure if it stemmed from the snark during a Whitehouse Press Q&A about 10 months or so ago.
ps. are you Donovan?
Nope I'm not Donovan. Does Donovan bleed black and gold for the University of Iowa? If so he's a kindred spirit. I previously posted with my first name, city and state on First Read, but because I already had a newsvine account under a pseudonym I wasn't able to change it, not that I mind being hawkeyedemocrat. Hawkeye athletes (mainly football but hopefully basketball will be worth watching again soon) is a great passion of mine. The only passion that surpasses it, outside of course the passion I have for my family, is politics. In the fall of 08 my oldest son asked if you could choose between the Hawk's being National champs and Obama winning the election which would you pick. That was easy, Obama winning the election, I care more about our country and world than the personal gratification I would derive from my team winning the national championship. However he didn't stop there, he finally got me to commit that if I alone controlled events I would agree to Iowa never winning another football game the rest of my life in order for Obama to win the election. After 20 losing seasons, the last three while I was a student at U of I, that was a painful choice, even though I knew my verbalizing the choice wouldn't effect the future!
To paraphrase Garrison Keillor who wrote in his column today about "a great nation immobilized by foolishness", it is the height of hyprocrisy to be whining about the Gulf disaster while not willing to give up not one creature comfort that Big Oil provides. Kinda like those idiotic Tea Party folk who decry Big Government all the while living off Social Security and enjoying national health insurance through Medicare. We are all saddened by the horror of the spill and the plight of the people in the Gulf with just one disaster after another but to spend 24/7 talking about it and having these media pundits on the air screaming about "when is HE going to stop it?" Well, that is just stupid. Unless they mean HE as in GOD that question makes no sense. He, President Obama, is NOT going to stop it. Period. The president of Plaquemines Parish was on CNN the other night and stated unequivocally that President Obama had responded to his every request after their 2 hr. visit last week and had even called him the next day to confirm deliverables. That sounds like an engaged President to me, Chuck Todd.
So true, glad that some of us are able to understand that. I did not know that the President was so powerful that he could just wave his arms, or talk on TV, or just go to the coast and everything would be better.
When this started, the worst case scenario was that the spill could last for 4 months. Has 4 months past? This is just crazy how the media is so impatient that 4 months is only 2 hours.
Maureen Dowd is a complete idiot. I did not vote to have a "Daddy" as President. I do not need a President to be my emotional rescue. I need an intelligent, thoughtful, visionary President who is committed to cleaning up the bulls**t left by the Bush Administration.
Partly, I agree with you that Dowd is a complete idiot. A public one at that. Now lets see who is going to clean up Obamao's mess. Sorry but he is one termer. This spill under Obamao smacks of corruption.
I don't think Maureen Dowd, or any of the others clamouring for a daddy figure are idiots, but I do wonder about them. Is it a matter of living in an echo chamber and hearing others in the media clamouring for a Clinton "I feel your pain" moment to such an extent they believe that the public really needs this moment, or does it reflect an actual personal insecurity or personality defect?
Early on many in the media tried to push the question is this Obama's Katrina, not just the far right lunatics, but respected mainstream media (i.e. George S on Good Morning America), after even conservative pundits rejected the connection this comparison was pretty much abandoned by the MSM. Then the mantra became where is Obama, Joe S. strongly implied Obama would be making his first trip to the gulf on Friday, when it was his second trip, and unlike a hurricane or massive tornado, earth quake, or other natural disaster to hit a community, the disaster was coming to our shores, and has been since the spill began (the question was always when and how much would reach the shore, even if initial efforts to cap the well had succeeded). Obama going to the coast is optics, it is window dressing, not to minimize the importance of window dressing, but presently this is an approaching economic and ecological disaster, unlike Katrina, etc, where Presidents come after the hurricane, tornado, earth quake has passed, to show support in the recovery efforts.
The media has played a quote from Obama in 2006 after his first post Katrina visit to NO where he states he never had occasion to go to NO before that trip. Pundits have twisted the actual facts and used the quote as evidence that Obama doesn't get it. Not once has a pundit pointed to a single reason as the junior US Senator from Illinois Obama should have been to the gulf sooner. He was not President, and was not on any committee directly involved with the investigation of the federal governments response to Katrina. There was no reason for a earlier trip to NO, and yet this fact is ignored. Instead Obama's failure to rush to NO despite his lack of official reason to go there is touted as proof that Obama lacks empathy for people on the gulf.
I rarely think the NYT's Andrew Ross Sorkin is the voice of reason, usually when I agree with him, he is not a lone voice on an issue. However this morning on Morning Joe he was the only one who was not agreeing with Joe, Mika, and all other guests who appeared on the shoe regarding the "daddy issue". ARS said this is a pundit problem, not a real problem, it's being driven by pundits and doesn't reflect reality. ARS said most people are more intelligent than the media gives them credit, the public knew Obama was an intellectual who keeps his emotions in check. The public knows Obama can't go down in a wet suit and fix the problem, and the problem is massive. The public understands that the Presidents involvement doesn't require him to take up residence in the gulf region, and that his attending other events does not cause the public to think he isn't focused on the spill.
co-signed and voted!