NYTimes: Boehner Issued 'Unprecedented' Refusal of Obama's Request for Speech
"Speaker Says No, So Obama Delays Speech" is how The New York Times's September 1 front page headline spun the short squabble over the timing of President Obama's upcoming speech before Congress on his job creation plan. "Spat Over Which Day to Address Economy," added a subheadline.
The online version opted for a headline that went lighter on the loaded language: "Obama Moves Jobs Speech After Skirmish With Boehner."
For their part, Times writers Helene Cooper and Jackie Calmes ginned up the perpetual lament of partisan discord in Washington, before going on to portray President Obama as the bigger man for amending his initial wish to speak to Congress next Tuesday at 8 p.m. Eastern:
WASHINGTON — Any hopes that a kinder, gentler bipartisan Washington would surface once Congress returns after Labor Day were summarily dashed on Wednesday when President Obama and Speaker John A. Boehner clashed over, of all things, the date and time of the president’s much-awaited speech to the nation about his proposal to increase jobs and fix the economy.
In a surreal volley of letters, each released to the news media as soon as it was sent, Mr. Boehner rejected a request from the president to address a joint session of Congress next Wednesday at 8 p.m. — the same night that a Republican presidential debate is scheduled.
In an extraordinary turn, the House speaker fired back his own letter to the president saying, in a word, no. Might the president be able to reschedule for the following night, Sept. 8?
For several hours, the day turned into a very public game of chicken.
By late Wednesday night, though, the White House issued a statement saying that because Mr. Obama “is focused on the urgent need to create jobs and grow our economy,” he “welcomes the opportunity to address a joint session of Congress on Thursday, Sept. 8.”
Cooper and Calmes later went on to present Boehner's rejection of the September 7 speaking request as an "unprecedented" departure from decorum:
Congressional historians said Mr. Boehner’s move was unprecedented.
“The Senate Historical Office knows of no instance in which Congress refused the president permission to speak before a joint session of Congress,” Betty K. Koed, associate historian with the Senate, said in an e-mail. “Permission to speak in a joint session is given by resolution of the House and Senate, and arrangements are made through the leadership offices of each chamber.”
Of course, Obama wasn't "refused" permission to speak, as the text of Boehner's letter made clear, in which the Speaker "respectfully invite[d]" the president to "address a Joint Session of Congress on Thursday, September 8, 2011 in the House chamber, at a time that works best for your [President Obama's] schedule."
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Comments
An open letter to President Obama
Submitted by Beukeboom on Thu, 09/01/2011 - 1:45pm.
Another missive from my compadre to share with you all...
---
Dear President Obama,
In regards to your and your underlings' whinings and moanings concerning your rescheduled speech, I have some advice:
Life is rough...wear a cup.
Sincerely,
Captain Obvious
Awesome....
Submitted by Jarhead68 on Thu, 09/01/2011 - 2:04pm.
You have my sense of humor.
Oh My! The Race Card has now been played.
Submitted by Blonde on Thu, 09/01/2011 - 2:29pm.
"The interesting question is: What is it about this president that has stripped away the veneer of respect that normally accompanies the Office of the President? Why do Republicans think this president is unpresidential and should dare to request this kind of thing? It strikes me that it could be the economic times, it could be that he won so big in 2008 or it could be, let's face it, the color of his skin. This is an extraordinary reaction to a normal sequence of events," MSNBC contributor Richard Wolffe said on "The Last Word."
That didn't take long, did it?
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 200 (and Counting)
I think it's more the color of His black heart.
Submitted by Newsbubba on Thu, 09/01/2011 - 4:09pm.
"Congressional historians said Mr. Boehner’s move was unprecedented"
Well, I guess it won't be "unprecedented" anymore since Boner has set a new precedent!
I say "Unprecedented for the Un-presidential."
I think it was John Wayne who said, ...
Submitted by Newsbubba on Thu, 09/01/2011 - 4:04pm.
... "Life is tough. It's tougher if you're stupid."
Well, welcome to the "really tough" world, Bambi.
Obamalinsky FUBAR
Submitted by adamsmith on Thu, 09/01/2011 - 1:53pm.
This was a mistake. Obamalinsky figured he'd be cute and step on the Republican toes. Apparently one of his moronic advisors had just enough common sense to realize that if viewership was 10 to 1 with very few watching another one of his teleprompter readings the whole thing would blow up in his ugly face making him a bigger joke than he already is. He's running out of Saul Alinsky tricks and the more our side starts using that Commie bastard's techniques on them the better. The truth wins out everytime, and the Socialist/Progressive/Commies are running out of time. A Bolshevik Revolution may be on their list in order to speed up all the Commie "Hope and Change"......
This was a PR boner of epic proportions
Submitted by Galvanic on Thu, 09/01/2011 - 2:32pm.
As you alluded to, the national audiences for Obama's TV addresses have shrunk over the past two years as Americans get turned off by the same old rhetoric over and over again.
While scheduling Obama's joint address to the Congress on the same night as the GOP debate, the WH ran the risk of having a smaller audience than the GOP, which would've sent more shocks into the DNC and their proverbial base.
I expect that for every MSM pundit who blames the GOP for not cooperating on this, there will be another one exasperated with the amateurism of this WH.
Obamalinsky
Submitted by bknownst on Thu, 09/01/2011 - 3:51pm.
Well put! Another case where the Democommunist party underestimated the GOP and got bitch slapped. Who cares about another useless speech by the Obamaliar except the propaganda wing of their party, mistakenly called the main stream media.
To Hell with moving his speech
Submitted by IgnatzJFahrquar on Thu, 09/01/2011 - 2:12pm.
Can we have the Prez election moved up a year? You talk about jobs creation. Get his sorry a$$ outta there now and you would see an economy grow like at no other time.
Speech
Submitted by stan25 on Thu, 09/01/2011 - 2:26pm.
He won't get much of an audience anyway. Most of the TV viewing audience will be watching the season opener of the NFL.
GEAUX SAINTS! BEAT GREEN BAY!
Submitted by Beukeboom on Thu, 09/01/2011 - 2:33pm.
GEAUX SAINTS! BEAT GREEN BAY! WHO DAT!!!
wAAHH
Submitted by compguytracy on Thu, 09/01/2011 - 2:49pm.
Did someone lose their pacifier? your just jealeous beuk, don't want to watch a real team in action, gotta root for the 'Aints! Oh well, you and your sexual partner must be used to dissappointment all of the time. Playoffs! Playoffs! Were not talking playoffs! Thank you Jim! Where you a fan of the Aints back in the day! i loved the pack since day 1, when they picked mandarich over sanders, the 2-14, the infante years. etc, etc, etc.! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tie0tz7jGDI
"Don't you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought?" Orwell, 1984
Ceteris paribus
I am a life-long, diehard
Submitted by Beukeboom on Thu, 09/01/2011 - 2:54pm.
I am a life-long, diehard Saints fan starting in the early 70's when I was a kid. When my parents moved us to south Mississippi in '76 we weren't all that far from New Orleans so Dad took my brother and me to a bunch of Saints games. I've stuck with them through many rough seasons.
Bragging Rights... Or Insanity?
Submitted by stratman on Thu, 09/01/2011 - 4:11pm.
As a (longer) lifetime Cleveland Browns fan, I am unimpressed with how rough you think you've had it.
Just ask any Steeler fan.
;-)
If I were unemployed...
Submitted by Order270 on Thu, 09/01/2011 - 2:35pm.
...I would be on the edge of my seat waiting for this speech so the job offers can start flying in. And now that the disaster of the scheduling is out of the way, it's all down hill from here. I can see it now..."The start of the NFL season will be delayed so the President can announce a jobs plan he has urgently held on to for over a month."
Unprecedented Incompetence
Submitted by MLGoodell on Thu, 09/01/2011 - 2:38pm.
No doubt other House Speakers at other points in history have told a President that the date he had in mind for a speech to a joint session of Congress wouldn't work. The difference was it was done behind closed doors. In this case the White House released the letter requesting the joint session before Boehner had had a chance to respond.
This, of course, is not the way the President of a Democracy acts, but that of a dictator. Obama, as witnessed by his frequent references to "This balance of powers," or "The Chinese President has it a lot easier than I do," has issues with the hindrances imposed by Democracy. You can tell that, in his heart of hearts, the only difference between him and Khadaffy (Version 2010), is Obama's memoir doesn't have a green cover.
Boehner played it brilliantly
Submitted by jon_torlin on Thu, 09/01/2011 - 3:11pm.
Consider this: Soetoro trying to do the speech on top of the GOP debate is an act much like where he "scratches his nose" with the middle finger and other childish petulant acts. He thought he could one-up them and is deluded enough to think people still listen to what he says despite his collapsing popularity.
So the time is re-scheduled to the next day. Which happens to be an NFL day. People in this country LOVE their football and I hope that Soetoro doesn't do something like have his stations (NBC, CBS, ABC) try to preempt everything including the game so that he can give his "blame everyone but me" speech.(I know that's what it's going to amount to, the manchild does not have a solution for anything and anything he does touch goes belly up like the "green" companies filing for bankruptcy one after another) Even if the game isn't preempted, there ain't no way in hell people will watch him(except his most ardent supporters, most of whom are in MSNBC) versus a football game.
And I think Boehner knew that. I hope this was a brilliantly clever move and not something by accident, but I'm guessing Boehner has thought the same thing, who's gonna watch the bogus potus lie some more/blame some more when they can watch football?
And the bogus potus' ratings will continue to go down. There's no where else for him to go at this point.
-Jon
Pre-empt? well...
Submitted by kata on Thu, 09/01/2011 - 3:21pm.
it looks like that's exactly what he's trying to do.
NBC also perpetrated the infamous Heidi Bowl back in '68,
Submitted by SickofLibs on Thu, 09/01/2011 - 3:32pm.
which paved the way for the technological wonder known as Heidi Phones:
The network execs could not communicate with the guys actually pushing the buttons. Mind you, this was a mere 8 months before Apollo 11, where NASA had no problems talking with Neil Armstrong who was ON THE SURFACE OF THE FREAKIN' MOON.
Tune in tomorrow for Part II of my new series, "NBC Could F-up A Free Lunch."
Screw Blobama
Submitted by compguytracy on Thu, 09/01/2011 - 2:38pm.
My Super Bowl Champion Packers Are going for 2 in A ROW that night, i aint watching this assclown community agitator fuck my country up more. Go Pack, Go, and btw, Bears still suck Chigago BOY
"Don't you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought?" Orwell, 1984
Ceteris paribus
Dude
Submitted by Denny Crane on Fri, 09/02/2011 - 12:14am.
I can see your excited for your cheeseheads, but do you mind? Watch the F bombs. That could be considered a bannable offense. The other language is pretty juvenile too.
What's happened to the language here? NB used to be much cleaner and mature.
We Are The 53%
The "unprecedented" comment
Submitted by tincan53 on Thu, 09/01/2011 - 3:09pm.
The "unprecedented" comment came right out of the White House talking points. All of BSNBC, NBC, ABC, CBS and CNN anchors are nothing more than bobble heads of the democRAT group of thugs.
Don't waste your time, Denny...
Submitted by Jer on Fri, 09/02/2011 - 1:22am.
compguytracy's body of work here is essentially comprised of depositing a large pile of repulsive bilge sprinkled with a healthy dose of f-bombs and various and sundry vulgarities, as well as the following elegant description of the First Lady:
Ugh
Submitted by compguytracy on Tue, 07/12/2011 - 12:14pm.
Gorillas in the mist? Precious? What a fugley woman. shes so ugly youd have to have 3 bags, one for her, one for you, and one for the guy watching.
Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2011/07/12/michelle-obama-fir...
On the other hand, he has managed to avoid using the inflammatory term "ridicul*us", an egregious offense on my part not long ago which was immediately caught and deleted by NB's intrepid mods.
Jer
edit. Sorry. This was intended as a reply to Denny's post.
Boehner has more power than
Submitted by jessieH on Thu, 09/01/2011 - 3:20pm.
Boehner has more power than Soros's puppet? Who would have thought.
Obama vs. NFL
Submitted by NVRAT on Thu, 09/01/2011 - 3:26pm.
I`m loving this. Can`t wait to see the FOX ratings. No since watching the other stations and seeing Dumbo`s ears flapping and his teleprompter babbling about "It`s not my fault".
I wonder if he really waved his hands and stopped Hurricane Irene, or what ever, from being so Dangerous?
Go Packers and Saints. I like both teams.
He's creatin' jobs!
Submitted by SpaceManSpiff on Thu, 09/01/2011 - 3:40pm.
Just watch Dear Leader say how his speech created x # of jobs by counting the NFLs opening day as people going to work after being laid off.
This just in..............
Submitted by Tomorama on Thu, 09/01/2011 - 3:52pm.
This just in:
I saw a copy of what Boehner REALLY sent to Obambi and it simply read -
WE WON.......................
I noticed many leftist mouth pieces and bloggers are leaving out the itty bitty important part of this issue that Obambi PICKED this night KNOWING that the Republicans are having a debate that night.
That IS the main beef here and shows this petulant child for what he is here, a mere CHILD.
"Of course, Obama wasn't
Submitted by celator on Thu, 09/01/2011 - 4:28pm.
"Of course, Obama wasn't "refused" permission to speak..."
Ken, exactly right. If anything, as you say, the Speaker invites Obama to address the Joint session. But the hysterical NYT and the rest of the MSM quacks just won't make that clear.
Folks, check out this funny
Submitted by Beukeboom on Thu, 09/01/2011 - 4:45pm.
Folks, check out this funny Photoshop.
Caption
Submitted by mandrake on Thu, 09/01/2011 - 4:58pm.
Damn, did you just spit on my shoes?