The President just finished speaking a few minutes ago.
The President addressed the tragic deaths of our soldiers in Afghanistan. He gave tribute to our HEROES.
He made the decision to speak probably anticipating the market's response to downgrade and other bad economic news.
He made the case for continuing unemployment insurance, keeping the cut on the payroll tax, and investing in infrastructure. He also stated that he would be putting out
his own policy recommendations in the coming weeks. He said that he would be pushing for a balanced approach, decreasing our structural debt drivers and increasing revenue. He characterized the adjustments that are needed to Medicare as modest.
Those adjustments along with the expiration of the Bush tax cuts, the addition of tax revenue, and the cuts in defense, should improve our debt to GDP ratio and move us on toward a stable financial future.
I think that the decision to state what the White House policy would prefer will put pressure on the GOP. He needs to continue to push for these policies until they are passed into law.