Moments before President Obama’s Sunday night address to the nation about the San Bernardino terrorist attack, NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt hoped the speech might be “a defining moment for his presidency.” By Monday morning, reaction from hosts and analysts on the Today show made it clear the presidential remarks were not impressive.
Co-host Matt Lauer turned to Bloomberg Politics managing editor Mark Halperin and wondered: “...are you surprised that in this speech he didn't offer anything new in terms of strategy or policy, that it was basically stay the course?” Halperin replied: “I'm surprised by that. I'm also surprised that had he didn't do a good enough job, or maybe any job, of reaching out to Republicans. This is a time when we need national unity....I think nothing new and no sense of bipartisanship, not good for the country.”
Moments later, Halperin added: “...this is fundamental responsibility of Washington, to protect the country, to protect American interests abroad. And when the President comes out, gives a speech, and then it becomes just politics, it becomes for the chattering class, I think that's a failure of leadership of both parties, but the President's got the primary responsibility now.”
Chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell joined Halperin in criticizing the President:
...with no new strategy to announce, having elevated this to a Sunday night primetime speech from the Oval Office....to not have a new strategy, to not explain new military options or new political options or to embrace some sort of unifying vision really is a problem....He needed to address the nation sooner, a lot of critics in his own party say, and in fact, he came to this position last night because of Democrats as well as Republicans, but primarily Democrats in the leadership who are up for Senate seats, saying, ‘You've got to deal with this. The country is really scared.’”
Halperin concluded: “This isn't a business-as-usual moment. And too much of what he's done, including last night, even using the Oval Office, was business as usual...”
Just two weeks earlier, on November 24, Haleprin appeared on Today and offered a defense of Obama’s weak response to terrorism:
He’s not a guy who wants to pound the table and says, “We’re going to get these guys. We’ll hunt them down across the world.” He thinks it’s counterproductive. He wants things to be low-key. Doesn’t want the United States to become the enemy of the region. He wants quiet diplomacy. He’s going to have his critics but the President feels like there’s this expression Bill Clinton uses which is, it’s better to be wrong and strong than right and weak. The President feels he’s right. And he doesn’t mind coming across as weak if he thinks he’s doing the right thing.
Here is a full transcript of the December 7 segment with Halperin and Mitchell:
7:06 AM ET
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: And we want to bring into this conversation Mark Halperin, who’s managing editor with Bloomberg Politics. Mark, good morning to you.
MARK HALPERIN: Good morning.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Pressure on the President; Did Oval Office Address Help Alleviate Fears?]
MATT LAUER: Mark, presidents don't do this often, they don’t go into the Oval Office, address in primetime. This president hasn't done it since 2010. These are moments of importance and crisis. Because of that, are you surprised that in this speech he didn't offer anything new in terms of strategy or policy, that it was basically stay the course?
HALPERIN: I'm surprised by that. I'm also surprised that had he didn't do a good enough job, or maybe any job, of reaching out to Republicans. This is a time when we need national unity. We're in the middle of a presidential campaign, he’s leaving office in a little over a year. The reaction from Republicans, as Andrea said, uniformly bad, not just the presidential candidates, but the Capitol Hill leaders. I think nothing new and no sense of bipartisanship, not good for the country.
GUTHRIE: But, Mark, the White House will be quick to say this is not a speech that is for the political class. It's not for you, it’s not for us sitting at this table. It's for regular Americans who might just be tuning into this issue. The problem with that, as I see it, is number one, it acknowledges that they need reassurance, that up to this point they haven't gotten it, and number two, that they don't know what our strategy is. Shouldn't they?
HALPERIN: They need to know what the strategy is. And again, I think Americans look at Washington – look, this is fundamental responsibility of Washington, to protect the country, to protect American interests abroad. And when the President comes out, gives a speech, and then it becomes just politics, it becomes for the chattering class, I think that's a failure of leadership of both parties, but the President's got the primary responsibility now. And you would like a world, like after 9/11, where the President addresses the country, says the we're in crisis, and Republicans say we're going to put partisanship aside for a moment and work with him. That's not what we're seeing.
LAUER: Andrea, using the President's own words, he said early in the speech, “Americans see the threat of terrorism as a cancer with no immediate cure.” Based on what you heard from the President last night, should Americans feel that at least there is a cure down the road?
MITCHELL: No, and I thought that was actually a bad metaphor to use because people think of cancer in one way. And what he needed to project, as Mark was saying, is that we have solutions. And in fact, with no new strategy to announce, having elevated this to a Sunday night primetime speech from the Oval Office which is, you know, incredibly –
LAUER: Rarified air.
MITCHELL: It’s rarified air, as you point out, and to not have a new strategy, to not explain new military options or new political options or to embrace some sort of unifying vision really is a problem. Our new poll is indicating that there are real concerns about terrorism, and there is a partisan divide on this, but so many people are now – after Paris and now of course San Bernardino – bringing it home. He needed to speak after Paris. It was too long for him to not try to correct the imagery that he had conveyed of a JV –
LAUER: Well, in fairness, he did hold a press conference after Paris.
MITCHELL: But a press conference is not – and a press conference doesn't convey that sense of urgency. He needed to address the nation sooner, a lot of critics in his own party say, and in fact, he came to this position last night because of Democrats as well as Republicans, but primarily Democrats in the leadership who are up for Senate seats, saying, “You've got to deal with this. The country is really scared.”
HALPERIN: This isn't a business-as-usual moment.
MITCHELL: Right.
HALPERIN: And too much of what he's done, including last night, even using the Oval Office, was business as usual, repeating basically what he thinks the right policy is with nothing new and no sense of urgency, which is what a lot of Americans are feeling.
GUTHRIE: Mark Halperin, Andrea Mitchell, good to have you both. Thank you.
