President Obama at a Labor Day event in Detroit, Michigan (hits GOP around 11:30 mark)
President Obama
uses the 'R' word ('R' as in Republican):
Last year, we worked together, Republicans and Democrats, to pass a payroll tax cut. And because of that, this year the average family has an extra $1,000 in their pocket because of it. But that’s going to expire in a few months if we don’t come together to extend it. And I think putting money back in the pockets of working families is the best way to get demand rising, because that then means business is hiring, and that means the government -- that means that the economy is growing. (Applause.)
So I’m going to propose ways to put America back to work that both parties can agree to, because I still believe both parties can work together to solve our problems. And given the urgency of this moment, given the hardship that many people are facing, folks have got to get together.
But we’re not going to wait for them. We’re going to see if we’ve got some straight shooters in Congress. We’re going to see if congressional Republicans will put country before party. We’ll give them a plan, and then we’ll say, do you want to create jobs? Then put our construction workers back to work rebuilding America. Do you want to help our companies succeed? Open up new markets for them to sell their products. You want -- you say you’re the party of tax cuts? Well then, prove you’ll fight just as hard for tax cuts for middle-class families as you do for oil companies and the most affluent Americans. Show us what you got.
It shouldn't be noteworthy that President actually named names, but usually he leaves it up to the audience to fill in the blanks. And when he does name names, he often feels compelled to attack his political allies with at least as much intensity as his political enemies. But here, while he did give both parties credit for the payroll tax cut, when it came to criticism, he went straight after Republicans.
This might not amount to anything. It was just one speech, and it was to a progressive audience on Labor Day. But if it's a sign that President Obama is planning to draw a sharper contrast between his agenda and the Republican agenda, then maybe the White House is coming to grips with the reality of the situation they are confronting: a weak economy, collapsing poll numbers, and a Republican House of Representatives that is committed to blocking anything that could turn this country around.
Given those facts, especially the last one, the next 15 months of the Obama presidency aren't going to be about actually getting new things done. Republicans simply won't allow it. They smell blood and they want him out of the White House more than they want anything else in the world. So that means most of the rest of President Obama's first term will be about the choice between his agenda and the Republican agenda. And the measure of success won't be whether or not he manages to convince Republicans to compromise—he won't—the measure of success will be whether he manages to get Americans on his side, and on the Democratic side, so that come January 2013, we can get the country moving again.
