Repackaging the Obama Agenda
The core message of Obama's speech: Stay the course. The big decisions of his first term have been made. Now he has to hope like hell he decided right.
Right now, things don't look too good for him. So - he's fiddling with his message. He's sprinkled it with a lot of zingers to excite his base - and a few rhetorical concessions to appease his critics. Along the way, he deviated more than once from strict truth.
ZINGER:
To recover the rest [of the TARP money], I have proposed a fee on the biggest banks. I know Wall Street isn't keen on this idea, but if these firms can afford to hand out big bonuses again, they can afford a modest fee to pay back the taxpayers who rescued them in their time of need.
Only it's not a fee - it's a tax, assessed on the basis of the banks' loan portfolios. The more the banks lend, the higher the tax, exactly the opposite of rational policy. And of course the new tax will fall on institutions that never received a dime of TARP money, while sparing institutions (like the auto companies) who still owe the most.
ZINGER:
So tonight, I'm proposing that we take $30 billion of the money Wall Street banks have repaid and use it to help community banks give small businesses the credit they need to stay afloat. I am also proposing a new small business tax credit - one that will go to over one million small businesses who hire new workers or raise wages. While we're at it, let's also eliminate all capital gains taxes on small business investment; and provide a tax incentive for all businesses, large and small, to invest in new plants and equipment.
A few graphs up, President Obama was congratulating himself on the superior transparency and accountability of his version of TARP as compared to George W. Bush's version. But how is it accountable to convert an emergency rescue program into a permanent slush fund for politically favored lending institutions? And if employment tax credits create jobs, why are they going only to some businesses, but not all? Why play favorites?
CONCESSION:
Look, I am not interested in punishing banks, I'm interested in protecting our economy. A strong, healthy financial market makes it possible for businesses to access credit and create new jobs. It channels the savings of families into investments that raise incomes.
Attention Republicans! President Obama appreciates markets - and understands that it's private sector investment, not big government, that drives growth. Honestly. Truly.
CONCESSION:
But to create more of these clean energy jobs, we need more production, more efficiency, more incentives. That means building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in this country. It means making tough decisions about opening new offshore areas for oil and gas development. It means continued investment in advanced biofuels and clean coal technologies. And yes, it means passing a comprehensive energy and climate bill with incentives that will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy in America.
Previous Obama statements on energy have almost always omitted mention of nuclear power. If this is not a first, it's close to it. And did the president just tip-toe up to a mellifluous Obama reformulation of "drill, baby, drill"?
CONCESSION:
And that's why we will continue to shape a Doha trade agreement that opens global markets, and why we will strengthen our trade relations in Asia and with key partners like South Korea, Panama, and Colombia.
Colombia! For years, Democrats in Congress have stalled the Colombia payback, partly for protectionist reasons, but also as sorehead payback against the other side in the Central American policy wars of the 1980s. But Chris Dodd, the senator who employed the most obdurate of the soreheads, is retiring before the outraged voters of Connecticut can dismiss him - and democratic Colombia has suddenly been elevated to an acceptable trade partner.
ZINGER:
To make college more affordable, this bill will finally end the unwarranted taxpayer-subsidies that go to banks for student loans.
The private market for student loans is the National Endowment for the Arts of American progressivedom: a red flag, an ideological marker out of all proportion to its real importance. Still - Team Blue will applaud.
ZINGER:
And by now it should be fairly obvious that I didn't take on health care because it was good politics.
Actually, Democrats do believe HCR is good politics - which is why they were so baffled and blindsided when it proved bad.
CONCESSION:
Obama delivered a right-wing sounding defense of HCR, emphasizing protection of middle class incomes and deficit reduction more than universal coverage. He even acknowledged the conservative complaint of the unseemliness of the internal Democratic party logrolling.
And I know that with all the lobbying and horse-trading, this process left most Americans wondering what's in it for them.
One correction here. I dont think the logrolling left most Americans wondering what was in the reform FOR MOST AMERICANS. It left them wondering what was in the reform FOR THE LOGROLLERS.
CONCESSION:
Barack Obama, born-again deficit hawk and middle-class tax cutter.
Starting in 2011, we are prepared to freeze government spending for three years. Spending related to our national security, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security will not be affected. But all other discretionary government programs will. Like any cash-strapped family, we will work within a budget to invest in what we need and sacrifice what we don't. And if I have to enforce this discipline by veto, I will.
We will continue to go through the budget line by line to eliminate programs that we can't afford and don't work. We've already identified $20 billion in savings for next year. To help working families, we will extend our middle-class tax cuts.
He'll also renew the child tax credits enacted by, ahem, his unnamed predecessor and the Congresses led by an unnamed political party.
ZINGER:
Mr. Civility speaks:
From some on the right, I expect we'll hear a different argument - that if we just make fewer investments in our people, extend tax cuts for wealthier Americans, eliminate more regulations, and maintain the status quo on health care, our deficits will go away. The problem is, that's what we did for eight years. That's what helped lead us into this crisis. It's what helped lead to these deficits. And we cannot do it again.
Later, the president will deplore pundits who turn reasoned political positions into grotesque and distorted cartoons.
ZINGER:
It's time to require lobbyists to disclose each contact they make on behalf of a client with my Administration or Congress. And it's time to put strict limits on the contributions that lobbyists give to candidates for federal office. Last week, the Supreme Court reversed a century of law to open the floodgates for special interests - including foreign corporations - to spend without limit in our elections. Well I don't think American elections should be bankrolled by America's most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign entities. They should be decided by the American people, and that's why I'm urging Democrats and Republicans to pass a bill that helps to right this wrong.
Justice Alito was videotaped mouthing "Not true" at this paragraph. He should have listened more carefully to the slippery orator. Obama was using a special verb form that might be called "the Clinton conditional," in which you declare your opposition to something that has not in fact happened or that your opponents have not in fact done. Thus, "I don't think the Democratic Congress should ban Christian Sunday Schools" or "I don't want President Obama to create a Soviet style gulag here in the United States." What's untrue about that?
ZINGER:
It's getting late by now, and the uncommitted have switched to see where Jay Leno has migrated these days. As the party shrinks, it's time to serve the strongest hooch.
This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are. We are going to crack down on violations of equal pay laws - so that women get equal pay for an equal day's work. And we should continue the work of fixing our broken immigration system - to secure our borders, enforce our laws, and ensure that everyone who plays by the rules can contribute to our economy and enrich our nations.
Although actually the immigration hooch was not really very strong, was it?