Just More Words: A Speech About Nothing

Rudderless In A Storm Of Bad News, Obama Will Give A “Framing” Speech On The Economy Berefit Of Fresh Ideas Or New Solutions

OBAMA WILL DELIVER A “FRAMING” SPEECH ON THE ECONOMY ON THURSDAY WHICH WON’T INCLUDE ANY NEW IDEAS TO IMPROVE THE DISMAL ECONOMY

This Thursday, Obama Will Deliver A “Framing” Speech, With No New Policy Proposals Because “His Economic Team Made Clear They Don’t See Many Fresh Options.” “Mr. Obama’s address in Cleveland, described by his aides as a ‘framing’ speech, isn’t expected to include any major new proposals. While some of his political advisers had pushed for that, his economic team made clear they don’t see many fresh options, particularly when Congress hasn’t passed the bulk of a jobs bill that the president unveiled nine months ago, according to people familiar with the discussions.” (Carol Lee and Laura Meckler, “Obama To Revisit Economic Debate,” The Wall Street Journal, 6/11/12)

• Obama Still Believes That A Second Stimulus Contains His “Best Ideas For Spurring The Economy, And There Are No Alternative Policies Waiting In The Wings.” “People familiar with the speech say the White House believes those proposals still represent Mr. Obama’s best ideas for spurring the economy, and there are no alternative policies waiting in the wings. The speech will mark Mr. Obama’s first 2012 campaign event that is neither a large rally nor a fundraiser. About 1,000 people are expected to attend the event at Cuyahoga Community College, people familiar with the event said.” (Carol Lee and Laura Meckler, “Obama To Revisit Economic Debate,” The Wall Street Journal, 6/11/12)
• It’s Unclear If Obama’s Speech Will Include Any Details On What He Would Do In A Second Term. “Recent signs that the economy could be faltering spawned an intense internal debate among the president’s aides over the contents of the speech, people familiar with the discussions said, and put its details in flux. One option was for Mr. Obama to draw a sharper picture of what he would concentrate on if he won a second term, said people familiar with the discussions. It is unclear if Mr. Obama’s speech will include such a focus.” (Carol Lee and Laura Meckler, “Obama To Revisit Economic Debate,” The Wall Street Journal, 6/11/12)

Obama’s Advisors No Longer Expect The Economy To Improve And Have Given Up On Proposing New Solutions

“Privately, Senior Obama Advisers Say They Are No Longer Expecting Much Economic Improvement Before The Election.” “For the White House, it was just the latest entry in the when-it-rains-it-pours ledger. This has been one of the worst stretches of the Obama presidency. In Washington, there is a creeping sense that the bottom has fallen out and that there may be no second term. Privately, senior Obama advisers say they are no longer expecting much economic improvement before the election.” (Dana Milbank, Op-Ed, “Pileup At The White House,” The Washington Post, 6/11/12)

• “The Reality Is The Ideas Coming From Obama Are Likely To Be The Ones He Has Already Proposed.” “The ‘president is continuing to work with his team on potential new ideas’ to jumpstart the economy, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Monday when pressed about the sagging rate of job growth. The reality is the ideas coming from Obama are likely be the ones he has already proposed. There is no money and no political appetite for bolder ideas.” (Andrew Taylor, “Few Options Left For Obama On Economy Before Election Day As Gridlock Takes Hold,” The Associated Press , 6/5/12)
• Obama’s Proposals “Consists Mainly Of Marginal Initiatives …” “Obama’s ‘to do list’ consists mainly of marginal initiatives such as a tax breaks for companies that move their operations back to the U.S., hire new workers or boost their payrolls. A similar payroll tax credit was in place in 2010 but didn’t seem to do much to promote hiring. Economists say that companies hire workers based on how well their business is doing, rather than in response to tax incentives.” (Andrew Taylor, “Few Options Left For Obama On Economy Before Election Day As Gridlock Takes Hold,” The Associated Press , 6/5/12)
• Obama’s “To-Do List” For Congress Holds “Little Promise Of Lifting A $15 Trillion Economy From Its Torpor.” “Obama’s remaining ‘to do list’ for Congress contains a partial tax credit for new hires, extending tax breaks about to expire, renewing highway and mass transit construction programs and preventing interest rates on student loans from doubling. Even combined, they hold little promise of lifting a $15 trillion economy from its torpor.” (Andrew Taylor, “Few Options Left For Obama On Economy Before Election Day As Gridlock Takes Hold,” The Associated Press , 6/5/12)

WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS YOU CAN ALWAYS EXPECT ANOTHER SPEECH FROM THE PRESIDENT, UNFORTUNATELY THOSE HAVE FAILED TO HELP IN THE PAST

“When In Trouble, Give A Speech.” (Andrew Malcolm, “On Day 938 Of His Presidency, Obama Says He’ll Have A Jobs Plan In A Month Or So,” Los Angeles Times, 8/17/11)

• “But As A Tool To Make Things Happen — To Move Legislation, To Advance Foreign Policy Agendas, Or To Achieve Compromise On Tough Issues — The Speeches By Mr. Obama Have Struggled To Accomplish Their Tasks.”(Michael Shear, “Can Another Speech Really Help Obama?” The New York Times, 8/18/11)

“If Obama’s Fall Campaign To Tackle The Jobs Crisis Sounds Familiar, That’s Because It Is. This President Has Talked About Jobs More Than 200 Times Since Taking Office.” “If Obama’s fall campaign to tackle the jobs crisis sounds familiar, that’s because it is. This President has talked about jobs more than 200 times since taking office. He signed an $820 billion stimulus package to buy (mostly public sector) jobs, followed by an $18 billion jobs package lumping construction funds with hiring incentives for small business. We watched the Paul Volcker-led Economic Recovery Advisory Board of 2009 disappear, replaced by the much-hyped Council on Jobs and Competitiveness of 2011, chaired by GE’s Jeffrey Immelt.” (Nina Easton, “Washington Needs To Wake Up To The Jobs Crisis,” CNN Money, 8/24/11)

• “There’s Not Much To Show” For Obama’s Job Plans. “There’s not much to show for all that. In the 26 months after the nation’s unemployment rate first breached 9%, it slid back under only twice. Long-term joblessness is especially sinister: Minneapolis Fed chief Narayana Kocherlakota says it is unprecedented in post-World War II U.S. history to have this portion of the population unemployed for more than a year. Meanwhile a quiet cultural crisis brews as one out of five American men stop collecting paychecks — getting by instead on unemployment or disability checks, the incomes of friends and family, and in some cases illicit activity.” (Nina Easton, “Washington Needs To Wake Up To The Jobs Crisis,” CNN Money, 8/24/11)

Last Fall, Obama’s Jobs Act Included “Lots Of Campaign-Style Rallies In Swing States” But “Little Real Engagement” With Congress To Get Anything Passed.“Obama’s jobs initiative last fall featured lots of campaign-style rallies in swing states but little real engagement with Republicans controlling the House or serving as gatekeepers in the gridlocked Senate.” (Andrew Taylor, “Few Options Left For Obama On Economy Before Election Day As Gridlock Takes Hold,” The Associated Press , 6/5/12)

Timeline Of Obama’s Major Speeches On The Economy

January 8, 2009: “President-Elect Barack Obama To Deliver Major Speech On The Economy On Thursday.” “President-Elect Barack Obama will deliver a major speech on the economy at George Mason University tomorrow. He will make the case for urgent action on an American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan that will save or create over 3 million jobs while investing in priorities like health care, energy, and education that will jumpstart economic growth.” (The Office Of The President-Elect, “President-Elect Barack Obama To Deliver Major Speech On The Economy On Thursday,” Change.gov, 1/8/09)

April 13, 2009: “President Barack Obama To Give Major Speech On The Economy At Georgetown University.” “President Barack Obama will deliver a major speech on the economy Tuesday, April 14th, at Georgetown University. The speech will take place at 11:30 AM EDT in Gaston Hall. The President will discuss how each step his administration has taken to confront this economic crisis fits within his broader vision of how we move this economy from recession to recovery and ultimately to prosperity.” (Office Of Media Affairs, “Tomorrow: President Barack Obama To Give Major Speech On The Economy At Georgetown University,” WhiteHouse.gov , 4/13/09)

September 11, 2009: “Obama To Give Major Speech About Economy On Monday.”“President Barack Obama is to give a ‘major’ speech on the economy Monday, one year after the collapse of Lehman Brothers sparked a global financial crisis, the White House said.” (“Obama To Give Major Speech About Economy On Monday,” Agence France-Presse, 9/11/09)

December 5, 2009: “Obama To Promote New Job Ideas During Tuesday Speech.” “In his latest job creation effort, President Barack Obama is trying to find practical and politically feasible ways of spurring hiring among skittish employers. Among the ideas expected in his economic speech Tuesday is an expanded program that gives people cash incentives to fix up their homes with energy-saving materials, senior administration officials have told The Associated Press.” (Will Lester, “Obama To Promote New Jobs Ideas During Tuesday Speech,” The Associated Press, 12/5/09)

January 5, 2010: “Obama To Tout Job-Creating Efforts In Ohio Speech. “President Barack Obama will travel to Ohio on Jan. 22 to build public support for his jobs agenda. … Obama has called for a new burst of federal spending, perhaps $150 billion or more, to create jobs and steady the economy. The spending would be focused on infrastructure improvements, tax cuts for small business, and retrofitting millions of homes to make them more energy-efficient.” (“Obama To Tout Job-Creating Efforts In Ohio Speech,” The Associated Press , 1/5/10)

January 27, 2010: “In Key Speech Obama Pledges To Create Jobs.” “Declaring ‘I don’t quit,’ an embattled President Barack Obama vowed in his first State of the Union address Wednesday night to make job growth his topmost priority and urged a divided Congress to boost the still-ailing economy with a new burst of stimulus spending.” (Jennifer Loven, “In Key Speech Obama Pledges To Create Jobs,” The Associated Press, 1/27/10)

September 6, 2010: Obama Delivers “Major Speech” To Unveil “New Plan To Spur Growth.” MIKE VIQUEIRA: “This week Mr. Obama will respond. Today he travels to another swing state, Wisconsin, for a Labor Day address. Then in what is being touted as a major speech, the president goes to Cleveland on Wednesday where he will unveil a new plan to spur growth, including more tax breaks for business. And on Friday, Mr. Obama holds a White House press conference where the economy is expected to be the major topic.” (NBC’s, “Today,” 9/6/10)

January 25, 2011: “Obama’s State of the Union Focus: ‘Winning the Future.’” “Nearly three months after what he described as the ‘shellacking’ suffered by his party in the midterm elections, the president will try to balance a call for job creation and deficit reduction. He will offer his vision to promote hiring with what officials describe as ‘targeted investments.’ He will frame it as a plan for ‘winning the future. ’” (Peter Maer, “Obama’s State Of The Union Focus: ‘Winning The Future,’” CBS News, 1/25/11)

September 8, 2011: “President Obama Gave A Major Speech On Jobs And The Economy Before Congress In Which He Outlined A New Jobs Plan.” “Last night, President Obama gave a major speech on jobs and the economy before Congress, in which he outlined a new jobs plan. It’s rare for a president to address Congress in situations other than the annual State of the Union address, but this speech was a response to stagnant job growth and a U.S. economy that is struggling to recover from recession.” (“President Obama Presents ‘American Jobs Act’ To Congress,” PBS, 9/9/11)

December 6, 2011: “President Barack Obama Traveled To Osawatomie, Kansas To Make A Major Speech On His Economic Policies.” “On Tuesday, President Barack Obama traveled to Osawatomie, Kansas to make a major speech on his economic policies.” (Fred Wertheimer, “Teddy Roosevelt And His 1910 ‘New Nationalism’ Speech, A Call To Arms Against Corporate Money In Federal Elections,” The Huffington Post, 12/7/11)

June 12, 2012: Obama Will Attempt To “Reboot his Economic Pitch For The 2012 General Election” At A Speech In Cleveland On Thursday. “Under growing pressure to reboot his economic pitch for the 2012 general election — either with new ideas, or just with a sharper, more capably delivered contrast message — President Obama will attempt to do just that in a Thursday speech.” (Alexander Burns, “A ‘Framing’ Speech For Obama,” Politico, 6/12/12)