President Barack Obama will deliver his State of the Union address Wednesday night to a deeply divided country — and a deeply divided party. Amid plummeting polls, a wave of retirements and a sobering loss in Massachusetts, Democrats say they’re looking for leadership from the president.
But they want him to lead them in different directions.
Some want him to go down fighting on health care reform.
Others say he should try one last time and then move on. Some applaud his plan for a partial freeze on federal spending. Others say it will kill the social safety net. Some say it’s time for Obama to reach across the aisle. Others want him fired up and ready to go all over again, but some wonder whether he’s lost his 2008 campaign magic.
POLITICO asked Democrats on Capitol Hill and in statehouses around the country what they want to hear from Obama Wednesday.
Here is what they said.
Show your anger
Rep. Dennis Cardoza, a Blue Dog Democrat from the central part of California, is in the frustrated crowd.
“I want to hear what he’s going to do about foreclosures and the economy,” Cardoza told POLITICO. “I want to hear what he has planned for my state. He’s barely been visible there, and as far as I’m concerned, “The Jay Leno Show” doesn’t count.
“The early parts of this administration, they had attention-deficit syndrome. They would go from one issue to the other, there was a new initiative every day, and they didn’t do the confidence building that would lead the American people in the right direction.”
Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell wants Obama to keep amping up his newfound, more confrontational side. “I sure as hell know that if we sit around and do nothing, we’re going to get shellacked,” Rendell added. “It’s time to rock ’n’ roll.”
Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly wants the president to ditch the cool Obama: “I want to see the passionate Obama, not just the cerebral Obama.”
Talk about jobs
The half-dozen Democratic governors interviewed by POLITICO face high unemployment and crunched state budgets, and they have only one concern.
“All I care about is jobs,” Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm told POLITICO in an interview, her hand audibly banging the table. “How to get them, how to keep them, how to grow them. That’s it. That’s topic No. 1 — and topic No. 20.”
West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin III also had parochial concerns, including energy independence and domestic manufacturing jobs.
“I’ve been saying that for 15 years. If you think it’s not about jobs, ask someone that doesn’t have a job. Ask somebody that basically has one but needs to improve that job skill. You ask the people out there in the marketplace. ... If you want to give a person dignity and respect ... provide good jobs.”
Manchin, Rendell and Granholm all want specifics, whether it’s loan guarantees, tax credits for small businesses or infrastructure investment.
Make a decision on health care
Talk about contradictory advice. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland said he’d be “surprised” if Obama offers specifics on how he hopes to pass health care legislation. He admitted there are “pluses and minuses” to letting health care die.
“I think the president will speak to health care; I don’t want to imply that he will only speak about jobs and fiscal responsibility,” Hoyer said. “I think he’ll talk about both of those as major items of focus in this coming year.
But there are other issues ... health care is certainly one of them.” Rendell wants Obama to “double-down” on health care. “If we’re going to go down in 2010, let’s do something. If I’m a congressman who has lost, I want to be able to look back and say, ‘I was there. I got 30 million people health care,’” Rendell said. “Remember, Medicare was really unpopular when it passed ... and now you can’t pry it away from a senior citizen with a howitzer.”
And Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin thinks the president should “paint the picture of where we are and what’s happening to the average American out there.” Connolly wants bipartisan outreach: “We’ve got to say, ‘Here are the six, seven, whatever elements of health care we want to get passed. [We] hope we can get some bipartisan backing; we’re willing to meet you halfway.’ And then we’ve got to move on.”
Bash Wall Street
The left wants the president to continue the populist tone and connect with Main Street by bashing Wall Street. Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee said Obama should “balance the Wall Street voices” in his administration, like those of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, and add professorial types like former Clinton Treasury Secretary Robert Reich.
Washington Rep. Jim McDermott, a two-decade veteran of Congress, said Obama needs a little more Bill Clinton-style “I feel your pain” politics. “I think the president has to indicate that he understands the nature of [voters’] concern,” McDermott said.
Keep blaming Republicans
This never gets old for some Democrats. First, keep blaming George W. Bush. Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota: “I would say this — ‘Look, he inherited this mess, he didn’t create it.’ Somehow people have to be reminded, how did we get into this ditch?
We were on the brink of global financial collapse. He wasn’t in office.” Next, toss it back on Republicans. “I think the president may not have fully understood how determined the Republicans were to destroy him at any cost,” McDermott said.
Say what you want
Rep. Danny Davis has faith in his fellow Illinoisan. If Obama sticks to his script, he said, “he’ll be fine.” “My daddy used to tell us, ‘You don’t give a lot of advice because a wise man won’t need it and a fool won’t heed it,’” Davis said.
3 comments:
Copied directly from the SOTU transcript:
1. show your anger-And by the way, it's time for colleges and universities to get serious about cutting their own costs -– (applause) -- because they, too, have a responsibility to help solve this problem.
2. talk about jobs-Now, the House has passed a jobs bill that includes some of these steps. (Applause.) As the first order of business this year, I urge the Senate to do the same, and I know they will. (Applause.) They will. (Applause.) People are out of work. They're hurting. They need our help. And I want a jobs bill on my desk without delay. (Applause.)
3. make a decision on health care-Here's what I ask Congress, though: Don't walk away from reform. Not now. Not when we are so close. Let us find a way to come together and finish the job for the American people. (Applause.) Let's get it done. Let's get it done. (Applause.)
4. bash wall street-For these Americans and so many others, change has not come fast enough. Some are frustrated; some are angry. They don't understand why it seems like bad behavior on Wall Street is rewarded, but hard work on Main Street isn't; or why Washington has been unable or unwilling to solve any of our problems. They're tired of the partisanship and the shouting and the pettiness. They know we can't afford it. Not now.
5. keep blaming republicans-At the beginning of the last decade, the year 2000, America had a budget surplus of over $200 billion. (Applause.) By the time I took office, we had a one-year deficit of over $1 trillion and projected deficits of $8 trillion over the next decade. Most of this was the result of not paying for two wars, two tax cuts, and an expensive prescription drug program. On top of that, the effects of the recession put a $3 trillion hole in our budget. All this was before I walked in the door. (Laughter and applause.)
6. say what you want-With all due deference to separation of powers, last week the Supreme Court reversed a century of law that I believe will open the floodgates for special interests –- including foreign corporations –- to spend without limit in our elections. (Applause.) I don't think American elections should be bankrolled by America's most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign entities. (Applause.) They should be decided by the American people. And I'd urge Democrats and Republicans to pass a bill that helps to correct some of these problems.
Seems like he did a pretty good job to me. Now do you like him?
Obama gave an intense speech on wednesday night! he is planning on doing a lot for the American people, with fighting for the health care reform, to his freeze on federal spending. many politicians though, are still not satisfied. they still want to hear about what Obama will do with foreclosures and the economy, and with the jobs that are still avialable and not avialable to the American people. Obama has a lot to face!
I think that everyone is searching for a deciding answer from Obama in his upcoming address. I also believe that Obama is well aware of the pressing issues of this country, as well as the solutions expected of him in regard to these issues. Obama will address and make whatever decisions he thinks best and we must trust that we may become a better country through his, as well as our governments endeavors. I also hope that we might see the benefits of these endeavors in the near future.
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