Motley Moose – Archive

A little bit of political history was made today when President Obama addressed Republicans at their conference in Baltimore:

President Obama traveled to a House Republican retreat in Baltimore on Friday and delivered a performance that was at once defiant, substantive and engaging. For roughly an hour and a half, Obama lectured GOP leaders and, in a protracted, nationally-televised question-and-answer session, deflected their policy critiques, corrected their misstatements and scolded them for playing petty politics.

Sam Stein – Obama Goes To GOP Lions’ Den – And Mauls The Lions Huffington Post 29 Jan 10

In a live television broadcast the president delivered a prepared address and then participated in a question-and-answer session with Republicans which is unlike anything in recent domestic political history.  Coming at a time when Obama’s presidency is under increasing criticism for messaging and policy it was a masterful performance which demonstrated his keen grasp of policy and the process of politics as currently practiced in Congress.

While uninhibited in his criticisms of Republican obstructionism he took responsibility for some of the ‘gridlock,’ discussed specific policy issues in some detail and threw the Republicans some red meat on perceptions which may help encourage them to a more consensual approach to current legislative challenges.

But the optics clearly put Obama in the driver’s seat and he didn’t miss the opportunity to put Republicans on notice:

So, yes, I want you to challenge my ideas, and I guarantee you that after reading this I may challenge a few of yours. (Laughter.) I want you to stand up for your beliefs, and knowing this caucus, I have no doubt that you will. I want us to have a constructive debate. The only thing I don’t want — and here I am listening to the American people, and I think they don’t want either — is for Washington to continue being so Washington-like. I know folks, when we’re in town there, spend a lot of time reading the polls and looking at focus groups and interpreting which party has the upper hand in November and in 2012 and so on and so on and so on. That’s their obsession.

And I’m not a pundit. I’m just a President, so take it for what it’s worth. But I don’t believe that the American people want us to focus on our job security. They want us to focus on their job security.

Obama At House Republican Retreat In Baltimore Huffington Post 29 Jan 10

Perhaps this represents something of a turning point in the toxic politics of the past year.

The implications of this performance were immediately clear to all concerned:

White House officials told the Huffington Post they were absolutely ecstatic. MSNBC’s Luke Russert, who was on the scene in Baltimore, relayed that a Republican official and other GOP aides had confided to him that allowing the “cameras to roll like that,” was a “mistake.”

So effective was the president that Fox News cut away from the broadcast 20 minutes before it ended.

Sam Stein – Obama Goes To GOP Lions’ Den – And Mauls The Lions Huffington Post 29 Jan 10

There were certainly some uncomfortable moments:

Obama said Republican lawmakers have attacked his health care overhaul so fiercely, “you’d think that this thing was some Bolshevik plot.” His proposals are mainstream, widely supported ideas, he said, and they deserve some GOP votes in Congress.

“I am not an ideologue,” the president declared.

But Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., pointedly asked Obama: “What should we tell our constituents who know that Republicans have offered positive solutions” for health care, “and yet continue to hear out of the administration that we’ve offered nothing?”

Obama showed little sympathy, disputing Price’s claim that a Republican plan would insure nearly all Americans without raising taxes.

“That’s just not true,” said Obama. He called such claims “boilerplate” meant to score political points.

Stephen Ohlemacher and Charles Babbington – Obama Takes Questions From House GOP AP via Huffington Post 29 Jan 10

I guess.  Obama even invited the Republicans to ‘fact check’ his comments on the stimulus and deficit:

Now, we increased it by a trillion dollars because of the spending that we had to make on the stimulus. I am happy to have any independent fact-checker out there take a look at your presentation versus mine in terms of the accuracy of what I just said.

Obama At House Republican Retreat In Baltimore Huffington Post 29 Jan 10

So be it, the fact-checking has already begun.  The televised session was apparently so popular that C-SPAN has decided to rebroadcast it:

Reacting to a wave of interest in President Obama’s televised dialogue with Congressional Republicans, C-Span said it would replay the session in prime time tonight.

Brian Stelter – C-Span to Replay Obama’s Q&A With G.O.P. NYT 29 Jan 10

C-SPAN video of the entire session here.  Happy days!