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John Heilemann: Will Speech Date Pissing Match Detract From Obama’s Jobs Message?

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On The Last Word Wednesday night, host Lawrence O’Donnell invited guests Richard Wolffe and John Heilemann to discuss House Speaker John Boehner and other Republicans’ response regarding Barack Obama‘s request to address a joint session of Congress to coincide with a GOP presidential debate.

O’Donnell kicked off the segment by showing radio host Rush Limbaugh‘s strategic advice to Boehner not to allow Obama to essentially steal away Independent voters by focusing on jobs — which is all American care about right now anyway — and making himself look “bigger” than Republicans (which is all something you can read more about right on over here).

O’Donnell good-naturedly (sure it’s a phrase) joked about having to admit Limbaugh had a point, although Wolffe felt the reaction to normal, “presidential” behavior on Obama’s part was “out of proportion.” Heilemann, meanwhile, agreed with Limbaugh on some points and discussed the whole thing in terms that were a bit more… colorful:

Rush Limbaugh was right in one respect, at least: the White House clearly was playing politics here, clearly intended to upstage the Republican debate, thought that he was doing something smart and clever and tough politically, though that Boehner would fold, and now is in the middle of this fight. The main point that I see here is that if this if is the kind of fight that we’re having — this kind of childish squabbling pissing match that we’re seeing already over just this speech — does anybody really think there’s a chance that there’s going to be any way for these two parties to come together and actually pass any legislation that will actually help the economy that will come out of this speech? I think not.

Have a look at the segment, from MSNBC:

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  • Norbit

    So now that the Petulant Prez made a fool of himself with his transparent attempt to upstage the GOP debate, maybe he can lead his media in misdirecting everyone’s attention to what he’ll do next; that is, CONDEMN the Racist Rhetoric of his party’s Black Congressional Caucus.

    Everyone’s watching your rank DISHONESTY and DOUBLE-STANDARD on display Mr. President!

  • RACE BAITING@6 RESIST WE MUCH!

    He caved its on the 8th …….now he’s up against football if what im reading is true

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_XO6P4J36FGPXPOS4WVQGWKWR4M Aeeazszs

    very good =======wwwjordanforworldcom
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  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_NWVKX2P2QBPQ6FHQHCHVIC2ALQ Fedup in Florida

    The funny thing is is that now that speech is going to have to be something really special, if he comes out with the SOS he is going to be hurting himself politically….  If he brings nothing new to the ”Obama Bull Turds on America” movie it will be very costly indeed for the prez…  I think this whole affair has raised the stakes for our commander and chief.

  • Norbit

    This will give another opportunity for Waters, or some other Black Caucus Socialist to Smear the “Tea Party” (codeword for white taxpayers) with their very predictable ’Racist’ LIE! 

  • B W

    Oh, stop ranting, already. I don’t care if the President’s speech is the same time as the GOP Debate, I know what he’s going say, anyway. I want to hear the GOP debate foreign policy, for the love of God (and the Party, itself).

  • B W

    Link? I haven’t seen this anywhere on the net.

  • B W

    Who cares what they say? They’re irrelevant. Obama knows they’ll be voting for him no matter what he does. The white, middle-class, is a different story. This is no different than Bush and the Evangelicals.

  • Norbit

    The GOP better get on board with the rest of the country on foreign policy, and pull 2/3 of our troops from around the world out; and bring them back here!

    No Iraq
    No Afghanistan
    No Germany
    No Korea
    No Japan

    Get them back, and unleash covert ops – with a news blackout!

  • Ajolily

    It is only right for him to change the date, I don’t think it was about caving. I don’t like Obama one bit but I don’t think he did this on purpose. His administration is just that clueless and the only smart thing was to change the date or time.

  • Norbit

    Who cares is the unemployed 20-something in Newark, who hears this from elected officials, hears NO CONDEMNATION (tacit approval), goes to Tea Party…!
    - that’s who cares!

    Where’s the CONDEMNATION Mr. President? - or, from the Democratic Media. (heh-heh-heh)

  • Ajolily

    Does the screw up detract from Obama’s jobs message? What jobs message? Even if he says anything intelligent no one will believe he intends to help the jobless. He’s had 2 ½ years and has only made it worse.

  • Ajolily

    Does the screw up detract from Obama’s jobs message? What jobs message? Even if he says anything intelligent no one will believe he intends to help the jobless. He’s had 2 ½ years and has only made it worse.

  • RACE BAITING@6 RESIST WE MUCH!

    I retract the cave part your right……but i cant believe theyre that clueless   oooops fat Ed just said “caved”

  • RACE BAITING@6 RESIST WE MUCH!

    I retract the cave part your right……but i cant believe theyre that clueless   oooops fat Ed just said “caved”

  • Anonymous

    Obama Detracts From Obama’s Job Message. Fixed it for you.

    Click on the link. It’s a riot.

    http://www.scoamf.com/2011/08/hitler-realizes-obama-is-stuttering.html

  • Anonymous

    You’re right. We can’t afford it. We’re broke. Sad to say. But it’s true.

  • ObamaSux

    These 3 bozos look and sound like Moe, Larry and Curly.  I’ll even through in Schemp who looks like Richard Maddow. Which of the 4 is the dumbest?

  • B W

    If Bush had done what you suggest we do, we might have caught Osama 9 years ago. I don’t understand how a President can tell the country’s main enemy that we’re going to send thousands of troops to look for him and not expect him to completely disappear from the map. Covert ops without leaking it to the media would have been so much better, cheaper and more efficient.

  • http://thefunemployed.blogspot.com/ rance

    O’Donnell says this like people are actually going to tune in to the President’s speech they have already heard…last summer….when he was focusing on jobs.

  • Darladoon

    i thought government doesn’t create jobs, ajolily?

  • Darladoon

    it was a far more reasonable/rational discussion than anything you’re ever likely to
    hear on fox.  

  • B W

    See, I just don’t think the average American cares at all what Maxine Waters and her friends think. They’re paying attention to what Obama and the GOP candidates are saying about job creation. What the Black Caucus says, no matter how much talk-radio blows it up, is just background noise.

  • http://profiles.google.com/fatlibertarianinokc Fat Libertarian

    JOBS PROGRAM?

    Bring our troops home from around the world.

    Suspend the income tax until further notice.

    Institute a 5 cent national sales tax on new, non-essential items (electronics).

    End departments of Homeland Security, Agriculture, TSA and Education (and more)

    End job hiring regulations. (Get government out of the way)

    End the minimum wage to encourage more hiring. (They’ll have more money anyway)

    End the government student loan programs (raises the cost of schooling, while lowering it’s value)

    End all federal home loan programs.  (Stop screwing up the housing market)

    This would reduce government spending, spur economic growth, and encourage job creation.

    WHICH IS WHY OBAMA WOULD NEVER PURSUE SUCH A THING.

  • Anonymous

    you have never watched fox, that is what you said, so how would you know

  • Darladoon

    if you pay attention to the media (see:  mediaite.com) then you can’t ignore fox

  • Darladoon

    all these ideas are horrible, except for the 1st

  • Brer Orabbit

    Detract from what? Obama has no message. His message is pure political demagoguery.

  • Anonymous

    so you dont watch and just get your information from soundbites….ok lol

  • B W

    It doesn’t, but the more the Government stands in the way of the private sector with taxes, and regulations, the slower it takes for jobs to be created. Businesses plan ahead by economic quarters, months and months in advance. Even if Obama announces something next week, business owners will wait to see what happens in the short-term future.

  • B W

    And let healthcare companies compete across state-lines, to spur competition in the healthcare sector, which would immediately drive down costs and expand accessibility. You see, the answer to every problem is not always “government”. 

  • Anonymous

    i do love odonnell though, well his promos anyway ” i used to write tax codes, i know they are unfair”  the man tells you straight up he is corrupt 

  • Darladoon

    this government hasn’t:

    1.  increased taxes

    2.  increased regulations

    3.  started new programs

    so i really don’t know what you’re talking about (as usual)

    and btw, in the “texas miracle” over 1/2 of new jobs are PUBLIC SECTOR jobs

  • Darladoon

    this government hasn’t:

    1.  increased taxes

    2.  increased regulations

    3.  started new programs

    so i really don’t know what you’re talking about (as usual)

    and btw, in the “texas miracle” over 1/2 of new jobs are PUBLIC SECTOR jobs

  • Darladoon

    yeah, if innumerable 10 minute segments are “soundbites” 

  • Darladoon

    yeah, if innumerable 10 minute segments are “soundbites” 

  • Darladoon

    yeah, if innumerable 10 minute segments are “soundbites” 

  • Darladoon

    many states don’t allow cross-state or inter-state competition

  • Anonymous

    at least i watch msnbc to see other views……cnn,npr etc

  • Anonymous

    You are wrong. 

    1) The Govt has increased taxes- just not until after the Presidental election.  They have not gone into effect yet but they have been increased.  Context is everything.

    2) You are so wrong on this it isn’t funny.  Not even worth giving examples- if you dont see this you are just insane.  But since you will whine:  NLRB, Oil, CAFE, and EPA have all increased regs.  Look at what the feds are trying to do to Texas- you are just silly.  I am sure there are hundreds of other examples. 

    3) What is a program to you?  Obamacare isnt a program?  Buying GM & Chrysler?  Cash for Clunkers?  What the hell are you talking about?  Are you just making up talking points?  Hell, the Gunwalking thing was a program and that is going to cost us all big. 

  • Obama – The – Destroyer

    0lbammie ain’ got nomo joose. He toas.

    -0bammie ? – He da worse- < — Black Caucus

  • Anonymous

    Much like Bernie Sanders. They at least tell you outright that they’re socialists.

    O’Donnell is beyond repulsive though.

  • Anonymous

    Much like Bernie Sanders. They at least tell you outright that they’re socialists.

    O’Donnell is beyond repulsive though.

  • Darladoon

    the government has already increased taxes, but not yet?  huh?!

    and if you’re talking about the bush tax cuts expiring?  that’s not a “tax increase”.  

  • Darladoon

    of course, o’donnell is repulsive, but cheney is a noble figure.  

  • Anonymous

    Going into Afghanistan was more about sending a message that we wouldn’t tolerate other governments harboring and supporting these groups.  It was also about the appearance or taking the offensive. The execution wasn’t optimal obviously.  But there’s no chance of any president ever getting re-elected by sitting on his hands publicly after such an event as 9/11.  A program of only covert ops with a media blackout would never have flown with the media, the American people, our allies, etc.  Iraq… huge mistake.

    Please stop with the Huntsman stuff.  This guy is positioning himself to run as an independent and it will put 0bama back in office by default.  He can’t with the R primary, he needs to heed Reagan’s 11th commandment.

  • Anonymous

    What Obama’s jobs message might that be?

  • Anonymous

    What Obama’s jobs message might that be?

  • Anonymous

    I’m not going to pick a dog here. I plan on watching both the speech and the debate (a GOP debate on MSNBC? How in the hell can you miss that train wreck?) , but this whole thing seems like a petty, political gimmick. One which also backfired on the POTUS.

    I’m not sure who the hell this guy is listening to, but he’d better fire all of them pronto. Once again, this is amateur hour in the White House.

  • James

    Fat ED, John Heilmann (who), and Richard (pencilneckgeek) Wolffe, all on MSNBC
    screen at once!
    I bet only the cameramen in the studio were the only viewers left within 60 seconds
    of that segment.
    Ratings magnets. all !!!!!!

  • Anonymous

    What “jobs message”… we already know what it is, it’s “wow is me, the republicans are being mean to me and Bush left me with a heavy inheritance”

  • Anonymous

    If Bush had done that we wouldn’t have had Afghanistan to hunt Osama from.

  • Anonymous

    It was also about putting a big old American boot in al-Qaeda’s ass. Mission accomplished.

  • Anonymous

    They ought to.

    It isn’t background noise. It’s a Congressional call to arms. These people want a race war. They need it. God help them if they get it, because they’re going to lose it.

  • Anonymous

    What? Are they serious? Obama has a jobs policy he wants to talk about? Wow, I gotta hear that. Will it be aired on the Daily Show?

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_JUT2TATEV3OHGQ7HZRYN472XVM Felix

    Soooooo, yesterday it was a “Smart Political Move” on Obama’s behalf, as touted by the media. Now that Boehner has bitch-slapped The Messiah, calling his bluff, the media toadies resort to calling it “caving” or “a pissing match” when Boehner makes a “Smart Political Move” back at him.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_JUT2TATEV3OHGQ7HZRYN472XVM Felix

    Cheney is as noble a figure as Obama (not to be confused with the ”Nobel” Peace Prize that Dear Leader “earned”).

  • Anonymous

    What they surely all know, and just don’t say, is that “the pissing match” IS the end-goal . . . . not jobs, not better government, not a stronger or better America . . . . simply the continuing game of one-upsmanship.
     

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_FSPIVAFYI672OH5NOKVRTEZA4U MadCharles

    Obama has no job message. Besides, any statement Obama makes has an expiration date attached….

  • Anonymous

    None of the states allow it. The entire “compete across state lines” concept is a false one from the start. Literally every form of insurance except the National Flood Insurance Program is regulated at the state level. And the premiums reflect the cost in the area that the insured resides. So, even if I in Florida could call an insurance company in Wyoming and get insurance, that insurance would reflect Florida costs and the premiums would not be all that different.

    The insurance carriers have created a business model that allows them to operate in each of the 50 states as a standalone unit, thus not engaging in interstate commerce. It also allows them to best deal with the costs and actuarial structure of any one state without having to balance the other 49. They then have their national company which basically functions as a franchise liscensing company and a seller of reinsurnace. This is all perfectly legal and actually makes the most sense from all angles.

    The cross-state thing was originally based on car insurance being sold nationally. Well, it isn’t. It is advertised nationally. Call on of those companies and see what the first question is. It will be “where do you live.” And you will then be offered insurance form the unit that operates in your state at rates that reflect the realities in your state.

    There is already huge competition among health insurers. Blue Cross is effectively national. Humana. AMS, and so on. And they all have companies in each state.

    Want to drive down costs and spur competition? Easy. Use the Ryan Medicare plan for everyone. Yep. Everyone. Give everyone a voucher and send them out into the market. That will cause the insurers to set their rates to those voucher amounts and to use service and quality as their competitive tools. But just across state lines is simply a false concept.

    I am not advocating government paid health insurance for everyone, simply making 2 points. First, there is already competition and second, the Ryan plan is step one to government paid private health insurance for everyone. It may say it will only be to replace Medicare, but watch. Programs like that are inevitably expanded by vote currying Congress Slime on both sides that care not what stuff costs.

    By the way, the largest issue with health care is the insurers. These private companies that are, right now, the gatekeepers to health care. Nameless, faceless private sector cubicle farmers that decide if you get that treatment or not. So the bureaucracy everyone seems to want to avoid already exists. It is just n the private sector.

    The false statements, misrepresentations and flat out lies about health care continue to astound me.

  • Anonymous

    Exactly. It is all about the endless need to play a game and not govern. Both sides should be ashamed.

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