Don’t we have 9% unemployment and two wars to worry about? Once again: Too many of our contemporary public officials can barely agree on trivial matters much less major policy. We are now in the middle of a debate about the date the President will address a joint session of Congress. How pathetic can it get? Let’s face it: It wasn’t a coincidence the White House wanted to do the Joint Session the same night as a GOP debate that will feature Rick Perry at the Reagan Library. Couldn’t the White House have simply called and worked the date out with Speaker Boehner beforehand? Then again, we need to ask: Has any other President had to ask permission far in advance? What has the precedent been before? And are we supposed to sit here and believe — after seeing a debt ceiling debate that has never before happened in history — that here we are again only a month later watching yet another event that has never before happened: A President being denied his Joint Session date request? So many coincidences here. But does weakness and being “nice” draw your political enemeies in to challenge you when they know there is no price to pay?
The partisanship is so thick that these people can’t even agree on a date the President will speak to a joint session. see this letter First in History? Under the rules of the House the Speaker must “formally” invite the President to speak at a Joint Session. No one can find (yet) an instance where a formal invite has been denied. Boehner does not appear to be actually refusing Obama’s invite but suggesting a different day. Why would it be denied? Why would September 7 be a problem? Because the White House just happened, by some amazing coincidence, to want the joint session to be on the same night as the first GOP debate with Rick Perry. The White House of course wants the two events to happen on the same night so Perry — now leading in the polls — won’t get another poll bump.
Kudos for Pres. Obama. A great Tactical move on his part. Besides, when should the President have to reschedule ‘his” speech around a bunch of Republican Debaters? Never !!! His speech to the Joint Session of Congress is most important!
If this is the Obama people’s way of “getting back” at the Republicans, then we’re in big trouble.
I’m with you. This is silly beyond words and we do not have time for this.
The debt ceiling was a convenient dodge to both parties. Everybody wants to talk about “jobs” but nobody wants to do anything about them. It will cost money. Of course getting people back to work will bring in more tax dollars but apparently that’s not considered a good answer.
No group represents the unemployed in an effective way. No group represents workers — all workers — in an effective way.
Funny how the people in the Middle East got together and did so much over the past year for themselves.
Yet in our safe country that’s full of phones, Internet, TV and other ways to communcate, somehow we can’t get together and we can’t do anything for ourselves. Until we can solve the “invisibility problem” things will not change. The visible groups with big money and/or big voices will keep on getting what they want and the rest of us will be ignored.