The segment then featured a clip of an Obama speech which cut to FDR and then back to Obama. (Each time, the audio of one would fade into the other.) After Tapper explained just how Roosevelt wrote economic speeches while imagining everyday working Americans, the ABC correspondent continued making the connection between the two Democrats. Tapper announced, "Now, President Obama does not do anything like that. But he does read some of the e-mails and letters that struggling families write to the White House." According to "White House aides," this "helps him focus on the nature of the problem."
Earlier in the segment, Tapper did hedge, "But, Mr. Obama may have a ways to go in his pitch before he can credibly claim the oratorical mantle of FDR." Regarding the President's predictions of an economic "catastrophe" if the stimulus isn't passed, Tapper noted, "And that's been a fine line for the President to walk, between alarm and hope."
There were no congressional Republican voices mentioned or featured in the story. The only outside criticism came from the usually liberal historian David Brinkley. First Tapper observed, "Historians say so far, Obama's oratory has helped where his actions have been wanting." Brinkley then mildly complained, "You see Obama sputtering a lot in January and February 2009. It's his rhetoric that keeps saving him."
A transcript of the February 17 segment, which aired at 7:05am, follows:
DIANE SAWYER: And now, from the global economy to the U.S. and the trillion dollar week in American life. The President is going to sign, as we said, that $787 billion stimulus bill today. And it has consumed his first three and a half weeks in office. Just three and a half weeks. As you can see from White House pictures, a kind of scrapbook just released. Remember? Here he is serving cookies to senators on Super Bowl Sunday in the White House screening room. And later on, this is the moment in the Oval Office, that he hears that Congress reached a compromise on the bill, that it is actually going to happen. Senior White House correspondent Jake Tapper is outside Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, about to fly to Denver, for the signing with the President. Jake?
JAKE TAPPER: Good morning, Diane. Well, that's right. President Obama this morning will jet to Denver, where he will sign the stimulus bill at a museum that features solar panels and other environmental technology. You'll hear the President take on a more optimistic tone than some of the alarm he sounded in recent weeks, where he's warned, for instance, that a catastrophe could happen if Congress doesn't act. And that's been a fine line for the President to walk, between alarm and hope.
BARACK OBAMA: I believe in hope. But I also believe in action.
TAPPER: This has been the President's challenge, committing urgency to prod action, as seen in these new White House photos, showing the President lobbying lawmakers on the stimulus bill, while simultaneously avoiding a panic and instilling confidence.
OBAMA: I'm constantly trying to thread the needle between sounding alarmist, but also letting the American people know the circumstances that we're in.
TAPPER: Historians say so far, Obama's oratory has helped where his actions have been wanting.
DOUGLAS BRINKLEY (Presidential historian): You see Obama sputtering a lot in January and February 2009. It's his rhetoric that keeps saving him.
TAPPER: The President is, of course, a student of history. Jimmy Carter's malaise speech is a good example of how not to discuss the national mood.
JIMMY CARTER: It is a crisis of confidence.
TAPPER: And Obama has praised how Ronald Reagan was able to make America feel good again.
RONALD REAGAN: The shining city upon a hill.
OBAMA: In his first fireside shot, Franklin Roosevelt, FDR, told his fellow Americans there's an element of-
FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT: -the readjustment of the financial system, more important than currency. More important than gold. And that is the confidence of the people themselves. Confidence and courage-
OBAMA: -confident and courage are the essentials of success in carrying out our plan.
TAPPER: But, Mr. Obama may have a ways to go in his pitch before he can credibly claim the oratorical mantle of FDR.
BRINKLEY: It needs to be packaged a little bit better. So, it's not just an argument of what company we should bailout.
TAPPER: Now, FDR, when writing his economic speeches would picture a workplace where one man was painting a ceiling, another was fixing a car, a third man was on a cash register. He would tray to tailor his speeches to those three individuals. Now, President Obama does not do anything like that. But he does read some of the e-mails and letters that struggling families write to the White House. But he does read the letters and e-mails that families send to the White House. His aides say it helps him focus on the nature of the problem. Diane?
