To generally glowing media reviews, President Obama addressed Congress for the first time last night. Rather than focusing on the policy details of the speech, most commentators remarked on what they viewed as its optimistic tone, which was widely portrayed as a departure from recent White House pronouncements. On ABC after the address, for example, Jake Tapper called it "the most positive speech that President Obama has given since election night." Also on ABC, George Stephanopoulos said, "I think the White House has been a little bit frustrated by this criticism that he's been playing the fear card a little bit more than the hope card, and the structure of the speech reflected that."
On NBC, David Gregory also remarked on Obama's "change in tone. The President, who warned of an economic crisis that would be so severe the country may not be able to recover prior to the stimulus plan being passed, now talks about an ability for the country to rebound and come back." Also on NBC, Brian Williams said, "They're worried about this tightrope of public opinion."
On ABC, Donna Brazile said: "The speech was at times very somber, but at other times, it was upbeat, optimistic." On CBS, Bob Schieffer said, "Clearly he was trying not to raise false expectations but at the same time" he was "trying to give people hope that there is a way out of this." Also on CBS, Katie Couric said he "acknowledged the economy is in crisis but said it will recover and be stronger than ever, though not overnight." Similarly, on CNN, Anderson Cooper said, "Right off the start, from -- perhaps responding to those who said he's been too negative in some of his rhetoric over the last couple weeks, he started by saying: 'We will rebuild. We will recover. The US will emerge stronger than ever before.'"
The Chicago Sun-Times reports the President aimed "to repackage the confidence of Ronald Reagan and FDR," and offered "reassuring words" to the nation. The New York Times also describes the speech as a "Reaganesque exhortation to American resilience and an expansive agenda with a pledge to begin paring down a soaring budget deficit."
The Los Angeles Times similarly reports Obama "sought to rally the public with optimism and ambition." Ron Fournier writes for the AP that "Obama gave America the audacity to hope again." The Washington Times reports that Obama "sought to become rallier in chief Tuesday night." The Wall Street Journal says Obama "straddled the divide between fear and hope."
The Washington Post reports, "Not since Franklin Roosevelt delivered his first fireside chat, eight days into his presidency, have Americans been more hungry -- and more desperate -- for economic leadership."
The Financial Times, USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, the Detroit Free Press, Roll Call, The Hill, the Detroit News, the AP, McClatchy, USA Today, The Politico, the Wall Street Journal, and AFP also run accounts of Obama's speech.
Polls Show Very Positive Reaction CNN reports on its website that a CNN/Opinion Research poll of 484 adult Americans who watched Obama's speech found that 68% of respondents had "a very positive reaction, with 24 percent indicating that they had a somewhat positive response and 8 percent indicating that they had a negative reaction."
On CBS, correspondent Anthony Mason reported on the results of a CBS/Knowledge Networks poll of 500 Americans. Mason: "We asked people if they approve of Obama's plans for the economic crisis. Among the viewers who were watching, 62% said before they did approve, but afterwards that jumped to 79%."
Speech Contained Errors The AP runs a "Fact Check" analysis on President Obama's speech to Congress, suggesting that his assurances that only deserving homeowners will get help with their mortgages "rang hollow. Even officials in his administration, many supporters of the plan in Congress and the Federal Reserve chairman expect some of that money will go to people who used lousy judgment."
Meanwhile, the Washington Times runs a brief piece about Obama's mistake regarding which country invented the automobile, writing that he "misspoke Tuesday night when he credited the U.S." with the innovation.
USA Today reports Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, "who delivered the Republican response to Obama's speech from the governor's mansion in Baton Rouge, called on his party to return to core values and object to massive government spending intended to boost the economy." Many Republicans "criticized the recovery plan as bloated and say billions more being spent to prop up financial markets will have devastating long-term effects."
The Chicago Tribune reports Jindal's speech indicates "the GOP was prepared to oppose the president's economic program at almost every turn." Jindal "called for traditional Republican policies of tax cuts, less government involvement in the economy, and reliance on free markets and individual efforts." AFP reports Jindal "attacked President Barack Obama's 'irresponsible' economic policies on Tuesday but promised Republicans will find ways to work with the White House." The Washington Times reports Jindal "painted Democrats as 'irresponsible' for increasing government spending during a time of economic turmoil."
On ABC after Gov. Jindal spoke, George Stephanopoulos said, "Starkly different philosophies," and the "big question tonight is, as you listen to Bobby Jindal, you listen to the President, who is going to be right? Which will work? When the President comes back here a year from now, will this stimulus package, this bank rescue package have started the seed, sown the seeds of a recovery?" On CBS, Katie Couric said, "I guess this is the real example of the ideological fault line that exists between Democrats and Republicans in Washington."
On MSNBC, Rachel Maddow said, "Honestly, the Republican response to Barack Obama's first State of the Union was to invoke government failure during Katrina as a model for how to move forward as a country. ... I'm absolutely stunned." Also on MSNBC, Chris Matthews said, "I was surprised by the fact that somebody from Louisiana was complaining about Federal spending.'
Roll Call reports Jindal "roundly criticized the economic stimulus package signed into law by President Barack Obama last week." The AP reports the "tone of the Republicans' response was in keeping with their nearly unanimous opposition to the $787 billion economic stimulus bill, which was backed by only three Republicans in the Senate and none in the House."
In a story headlined "Jindal's response: Panned, seared," The Politico reports that Jindal "hoped to step into the national spotlight Tuesday night to sound a hopeful yet defiant note in countering" the President "as the GOP's fresh and exciting face. Instead, he got panned. 'I think he had a really poor performance tonight, I'm sorry to say,' National Public Radio's Juan Williams said on a Fox News panel immediately following Jindal's remarks."
The CBS Evening News reported, "President Obama is making good on a campaign promise." The President "is expected to announce plans to withdraw all combat brigades from Iraq in 19 months. That would leave behind a dramatically smaller force than the 142,000 troops now on the ground, and go a long way toward meeting his campaign pledge to do it in 16 months."
The AP reports that Obama's "timetable is a compromise," as "some commanders and advisers worry that security gains could backslide in Iraq if troops are brought out too soon, while others think the bulk of US combat work is long since done." The Wall Street Journal reports that "top military officials in Washington and Baghdad ultimately crafted a trio of withdrawal plans for the president to consider. The plans had 16-, 19- and 23-month withdrawal timetables," and notes that "within the military, top officials were divided over the withdrawal options." The Washington Post says that "overall, the decisions will keep the total number of US combat brigades deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan at a relatively high level for the next two years, exerting continued stress on US ground forces wearied from repeated combat tours."
Interviewed on NBC Nightly News, Obama adviser David Axelrod said, "It should surprise no one that he is considering how to remove our troops from Iraq. It's something that he talked about for years as a candidate. And it's a commitment that he intends to keep." On its front page, the New York Times notes that "in his speech to Congress on Tuesday night, Mr. Obama said only that he would 'soon announce a way forward in Iraq that leaves Iraq to its people and responsibly ends this war.'"
Plan Would Leave 30-50,000 US Soldiers The CBS Evening News notes Obama's plan would leave "tens of thousands of troops in Iraq, perhaps as many as 50,000. They would be formed into so-called training and assistance brigades to support the Iraqi army and police, but they would still be capable of conducting combat operations and would be able to call in strikes from carrier or land-based aircraft."
The AP, meanwhile, says the President "expects to leave a large contingent of troops in Iraq" to "advise and train Iraqi security forces and to protect US interests, according to two administration officials." On its front page, the New York Times refers to a "'residual force' of tens of thousands of troops to continue training Iraqi security forces, hunt down foreign terrorist cells and guard American institutions, as he said he would during last year's campaign."
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The Chicago Tribune reports Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, Illinois' senior Senator, "summoned embattled Sen. Roland Burris to his office Tuesday to advise him to leave as other members of the clubby institution offered the junior senator a polite but chilly reception." Durbin said, "I told him that under the circumstances, I would consider resigning if I were in his shoes. He said he would not resign, and that was his conclusion." The Chicago Sun-Times adds Durbin "said he told Burris he would not support his candidacy in 2010. Durbin said he asked Burris if he was going to run in 2010 and Burris said he has not decided. A source told the Sun-Times that Burris is not going to run."
The AP reports, "Emerging from the hour-long private meeting with Durbin, Burris looked a bit shaken and inexplicably said he was under orders not to comment, other than to say the session was a 'great discussion.'" Roll Call reports Durbin "said he told Burris he was 'disappointed that he didn't make a clear and accurate description' of his contacts with Blagojevich aides and associates, including the revelation that Burris had attempted to raise campaign cash for the governor while he was lobbying for the Senate appointment."
Burris Gets Cold Shoulder At Obama Speech The AP reports Burris "got unmistakably polite but distant treatment from House and Senate members at President Barack Obama's address to Congress Tuesday - a sure sign of trouble in the culture of Capitol Hill." A "few nodded, smiled at him or shook his hand. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. gave him a hug on his way into the chamber."
The Louisville Courier-Journal reports that Kentucky Sen. Jim Bunning (R) on Tuesday "all but declared war" on National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Sen. John Cornyn "and threatened to sue the GOP if committee officials recruited an opponent to run against him in Kentucky's 2010 Republican primary." The attack came after reports surfaced yesterday that the NRSC was recruiting a primary challenger for Bunning. Roll Call adds Bunning's "rant left high-level Republican operatives on Capitol Hill stunned Tuesday afternoon with some wondering how much damage the Senator's hostility - or 'paranoia' as one Republican described it - will do to his 2010 re-election campaign which, even at this early point in the cycle, already appears to be on the ropes."
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports on more "setbacks" for Norm Coleman (R) in the Minnesota Senate trial, as ballots he "wants to count took a beating in testimony on Tuesday, while ballots he thinks are illegal were protected by the judges hearing the U.S. Senate trial." The Politico adds that Coleman yesterday "refused to rule out an appeal if a three-judge panel rules against his challenge in what he called 'the race that never ends.'"
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The New York Daily News reports that a Siena College Research Institute survey of 622 registered New York voters conducted Feb. 16-18 shows that "just 19% of New York voters" say they would elect Gov. David Paterson (D) to a full term in 2010, while 57% prefer someone else. In a hypothetical primary match-up, the survey show Paterson trailing New York AG Andrew Cuomo (D) 51%-38, "a stunning turnaround, considering Paterson was up 35% to 33% just last month." In a hypothetical general election match-up, the survey shows Paterson trailing Rudy Giuliani 51%-36%. Cuomo, meanwhile, leads Giuliani 51%-38%. In a story headlined "FADING PATERSON GETS POLL-VERIZED," the New York Post says Paterson "blamed his poor showing on the multimillion-dollar TV and radio campaign being waged against his proposed state spending cuts by hospitals and health-care workers, as well as by teachers unions."
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that a Public Policy Polling automated survey of 797 likely GOP Texas primary voters conducted Feb. 18-20 shows Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) leading Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) 56%-31% in a hypothetical gubernatorial match-up. On its website, CQ Politics quotes pollster Dean Debnam as saying, "Rick Perry is in grave danger of losing in the primary. It's partly because he's worn out his welcome with a certain segment of the Republican electorate but the even bigger reason is that Kay Bailey Hutchison is just a lot more popular than him."
In a front-page story, the Washington Post reports that the Senate voted yesterday to take up a measure giving a full House vote to the District of Columbia, and "for the first time in years, the bill also has a champion in the White House." The New York Times adds, "Sponsors of the voting bill were optimistic they could win Senate approval by the end of the week after consideration of changes proposed by Republican opponents." However, the Wall Street Journal says in an editorial that while the bill's passage is "all but certain," it "runs afoul of the plain language of the Constitution."
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Jimmy Kimmel: "President Obama gave his first" speech "to a joint session of Congress tonight. Obama focused on the three most critical things he wants Americans to understand: First, that the economy is in a lot of trouble; second, that the road to recovery won't be easy; and third, that it's all President Bush's fault."
The rest of the late night shows were in reruns last night.
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