Obama Has Time For Everyone And Everything Except Those That Count In Order To Avert The Sequester
OBAMA BEMOANED A CULTURE OF
PROCRASTINATION IN WASHINGTON
Obama: “I
don’t know why it is in this town folks leave stuff to the last minute. There
is no other profession, no other industry where people wait until the 11th hour
to solve these big problems. And obviously, it creates a lot of uncertainty in
our economy.” (President Barack Obama, Interview With WJZ
(CBS), 2/20/13)
DESPITE VOWING THAT SEQUESTRATION
WOULD NOT HAPPEN, OBAMA HAS BEEN EVERYWHERE BUT THE NEGOTIATING TABLE WHILE THE
SEQUESTER DEADLINE APPROACHES
FLASHBACK:
Obama In October 2012: “First Of All, The Sequester Is Not Something That I
Proposed. It’s Something That Congress Has Proposed. It Will Not Happen.”
OBAMA: “Bob, I just need to comment on this. First of all, the sequester is not
something that I proposed. It’s something that Congress has proposed. It will
not happen. The budget that we’re talking about is not reducing our military
spending, it’s maintaining it.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks
By The President And Governor Romney In The Third Presidential Debate, Boca
Raton, FL, 10/23/12)
“Obama’s Greatest Adversary
In The Latest Budget Battle Isn’t The Republican Leadership In Congress — It’s
His Confidence In His Own Ability To Force A Win.” “President
Barack Obama’s greatest adversary in the latest budget battle isn’t the
Republican leadership in Congress — it’s his confidence in his own ability to
force a win. He has been so certain of his campaign skills that he didn’t open
a line of communication with House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority
Leader Mitch McConnell until Thursday, a week before the spending ax hits. And
when they did finally hear from Obama, the calls were perfunctory, with no
request to step up negotiations or invitations to the White House. That’s
because Obama’s all-in on an outside strategy, doing just about everything
other than holding serious talks with Republicans.” (Carrie Budoff Brown and
Jake Sherman, “Is President Obama Overplaying Sequestration Hand?,” Politico, 2/22/13)
- In Recent Weeks, Obama Has
“Talked In Tough Terms That Signal Little Interest In Compromise — Or
Suggestion Of Backing Down.” “Throughout, he’s talked in tough terms that signal
little interest in compromise — or suggestion of backing down. He’s
navigating a thin line. Obama is convinced he’s got the upper hand on
Republicans. Yet he can go only so long before he risks being perceived as
a main actor in Washington’s dysfunction, threatening a core element of
his political brand — and the fragile economic recovery he’s struggled to
maintain. The calls placed Thursday to Boehner and McConnell were
prompted, in part, by a White House desire to inoculate Obama from that
exact criticism.” (Carrie Budoff Brown and Jake Sherman, “Is President
Obama Overplaying Sequestration Hand?,” Politico,
2/22/13)
- “Obama’s Been Virtually Absent
From The Legislative Process — More So Than During Previous Budget
Showdowns.”
“But Obama’s been virtually absent from the legislative process — more so
than during previous budget showdowns. And if the president wants his
public offensive to work, he needs to keep attention focused on
Republicans and why they refuse to consider new revenue as part of a deal
to avert the $1.2 trillion sequester.” (Carrie Budoff Brown and Jake
Sherman, “Is President Obama Overplaying Sequestration Hand?,” Politico,
2/22/13)
- “There Has Been No Discernible
Effort By The White House To Work On A Bill That Might Pass.” Instead, Obama is putting his
energy toward campaigning against the GOP’s cuts-only approach, concluding
that he can win either way.” (Carrie Budoff Brown and Jake Sherman, “Is
President Obama Overplaying Sequestration Hand?,” Politico,
2/22/13)
- “Even Democrats No Longer
Expect Obama To Be The Lead Negotiator On A Deal.” (Carrie Budoff Brown and Jake
Sherman, “Is President Obama Overplaying Sequestration Hand?,” Politico,
2/22/13)
Obama Took The Time To
Tour The Nation To Sell His State Of The Union Proposals
After Obama’s State Of The
Union Address – Nearly Two Weeks Away From The Sequester – Obama Went On Tour
To Campaign For The Priorities He Outlined In His Speech. “Hours
after delivering his first State of the Union address of his second term, Obama
issued a new challenge to a nation still picking itself up from an economic
slump: ‘If you work full time, you shouldn't be in poverty.’ ‘There's no magic
bullet here, it's just some common-sense stuff. People still have to work
hard,’ Obama said at an auto parts plant in Asheville. He argued that just a
few changes - like increasing the minimum wage, investing in research and
incentivizing companies to do business in the U.S. - could go a long way toward
a resurgence in American manufacturing.” (Josh Lederman, “Obama Pitches
Manufacturing Plan On Plant Tour,” The Associated Press,
2/22/13)
- From North Carolina, Obama Went
To Georgia To Promote His Preschool Proposal. “President Barack Obama turned
his State of the Union roadshow to the topic of education on Thursday with
a trip to Georgia, where he touted proposals to provide preschool access
to all four-year-olds across America.” (Jeff Mason, “Obama Touts Preschool
Initiatives In State Of The Union Tour,” Reuters, 2/14/13)
- After Georgia, Obama Traveled
To Chicago To Promote, Once Again, The Proposals He Outlined In His State
Of The Union Speech . “President Barack Obama was wrapping up his post-State
of the Union tour by talking about how government can build ‘ladders of
opportunity’ into the middle class. During remarks Friday at Hyde Park
Academy in Chicago, his hometown, Obama was to discuss proposals to raise
the federal minimum wage and pair businesses with recession-battered
communities to help them rebuild and provide job training. He also was to
talk about creating jobs for young people from poor families, and
encouraging fatherhood and low-income couples to marry.” (“Obama:
Government Needs To Build ‘Ladders Of Opportunity,’” The Associated Press,
2/15/13)
- Obama Did Not Mention The
Sequester Once In Any Of The Three Public Events He Held For His
Post-State Of The Union Tour. (President Barack Obama, Remarks
By The President On Manufacturing, Asheville, NC, 2/13/13; President
Barack Obama, Remarks
By The President On Early Childhood Education, Decatur, GA, 2/14/13;
President Barack Obama, Remarks
By The President On Strengthening The Economy For The Middle Class,
Chicago, IL, 2/15/13)
Obama Took The Time To
Golf With Tiger Woods
After His State Of The Union
Tour, Obama Went On Vacation In Florida To Play Golf With Tiger Woods – Two
Weeks Before The Sequester. “President Barack Obama’s
three-day Florida golf getaway featuring a round with Tiger Woods opened him to
criticism of tone-deafness for playing when he’s at a budget impasse with
Congress that threatens automatic spending cuts in less than two weeks.”
(Margaret Talev, “Obama Golf With Woods In Florida Risks Muddling Message,” Bloomberg, 2/19/13)
- Meanwhile, Vice President Biden
Was Skiing In Aspen. “If you’re among the lucky few who gets President’s Day
off and are planning to go to the Aspen or Snowmass area this weekend,
keep your eyes peeled for the Veep. Vice President Joe Biden heads to
Snowmass today with his family for a ski trip through Monday, his office
reported.” (Allison Sherry, “Vice President Joe Biden Heads To Snowmass To
Go Skiing Today,” Denver Post’s The Spot,
2/15/13)
Obama Took The Time To
Give A Campaign-Style Speech At The White House And Follow It Up With
Interviews To Local TV Stations And Radio
When Obama Returned From His
Golf Vacation, He Gave A “Campaign-Style” Speech On The Sequester, Surrounded
By First Responders. “Obama on Tuesday surrounded himself
with firefighters and other first responders at the White House, where he said
Republicans would be at fault if the spending reductions take effect and cost
the jobs of emergency personnel. The campaign-style event marked the beginning
of what aides described as an intensifying push to pressure Congress to
postpone the cuts — or to blame Republicans in Congress if it doesn’t.”
(Zachary A. Goldfarb, “Sequester Just Over A Week Away. But Blame Game Has
Already Begun,” The Washington Post,
2/19/13)
- The Washington Examiner’s Brian Hughes: “After Obama’s sequester event,
one of the first responders on stage told me that he ‘felt like a potted
plant.’” (Brian Hughes, Twitter
Feed, 2/19/13)
After The White House
Speech, Obama Took His Sequester Argument To Local Television Stations And
Radio, Including Al Sharpton. “Two days after a White
House speech, one day after interviews with eight local television stations,
President Obama takes his sequester argument to the radio on Thursday.The
president tapes radio interviews Thursday afternoon with Al Sharpton, Joe
Madison and Yolanda Adams, all of whom host shows with predominately
African-American audiences.” (David Jackson, “Obama Takes Sequester Argument To
Radio,” USA Today, 2/21/13)
Yesterday, Obama Had An
Off-The-Record Meeting With Reporters. “President Barack
Obama held an off-the-record meeting with top White House reporters on Thursday
afternoon, POLITICO has learned. The meeting, with reporters from major print
and television outlets, comes days after the White House Correspondents
Association complained publicly about their lack of access to the president during
a golf outing in Palm Beach, Fla., and one day after Obama met with local
television reporters.” (Dylan Byers, “President Obama Holds Off-Record Meeting
With Top White House Reporters,” Politico, 2/21/13)
Obama’s Agenda Next
Week? Take The Time For Another Campaign-Style Event In Virginia
Obama Plans To Travel To A
Virginia Shipyard On Tuesday To Make His Case On Sequestration In Another
Campaign-Style Event. “President Barack Obama is expected to
visit Newport News Shipbuilding on Tuesday, sources told the Daily Press. The
event comes as the company, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, is
trying to adjust to Navy cutbacks that sparked a delay in a contract to refuel
and modernize the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln.” (Michael Welles
Shapiro and Joe Lawlor, “Obama To Visit Shipyard Tuesday,” Daily Press, 2/20/13)
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