Obama schedules joint session job speech at same time as GOP Debate.

[Bull Moose Base]

I swear to God if they move that debate one hour back I'm voting for 3rd Party.  Do not surrender!!!

[Bull Moose Base]

Not only is Obama stepping on the GOP debate but the dust-up is also eclipsing Palin's Iowa Tea Party drama.  Boehner's historic refusal is actually a preview of the GOP response to the proposals in the speech itself.

[Bull Moose Base]

Not only is Obama stepping on the GOP debate but the dust-up is also eclipsing Palin's Iowa Tea Party drama.  Boehner's historic refusal is actually a preview of the GOP response to the proposals in the speech itself.

Who says its historic? You?

The House historian.  Also me.

[Bull Moose Base]

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http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/44343546/ns/today-today_news/t/boehner-rejects-obama-date-jobs-speech/#.Tl7B82WKZNw

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/31/obama-joint-session-jobs_n_943471.html

Wednesday is congress's first day back in session after recess.  Thursday night is NFL kickoff.  Besides the appearance of bravado, and Rush Limbaugh baiting the GO Pinto a pissing contest... how exactly does this speech timing hurt the GOP anyway?

[Bull Moose Base]

Just like how Perry scheduled his announced over Bachmann's win at the Iowa Fair. If you can't stand the heat...

And Romney scheduling his jobs plan to jump ahead of Obama's.  That's baseball.

I know... let's make it a double-header! Obama can give his speech at 8pm and the debate can start at 9pm (or how ever much later the speech is expected to run). That way we can hear each candidate's answer to Obama.

Seems obvious to me the Obama speech happening the same night is better for the GOP.  They just can't say yes.

[Bull Moose Base]

It is fair to criticize Obama and he has deserved some of his "too weak" criticism but whining over a date?

I'm not criticizing him for "weakness." 

I'm criticizing him for his stupid and crass "self invitation," and for at least looking like he was thinking "I'm POTUS!  I'm supreme!  Everyone else bow to slightest whim."  It was really stupid, on several levels.

When has a president ever had any qualms about addressing congress when he felt like it?

[Bull Moose Base]

how many joint sessions of Congress can you address before it becomes a nonevent?
i'd say Obama's already reached saturation here.

Other than his SOTU (and unofficial SOTU in 2009), this will be his second one.

[Bull Moose Base]

There's no known precedent for a president's request to put a speech on the calendar to be denied and Boehner's camp didn't initially raise any objections to the timing (until heckled into it by Rush Limbaugh).  The only reason for Obama to think it was an open question is that he's dealing with the most obstructionist opposition to a president in history, which arguably he should have factored in before going to the press.  Anyway, the GOP debate would have had a bigger audience if they followed Obama.  Not that Boehner actually cares about GOP debates.

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2011/05/06/boehner_skipped_gop_debate.html

[Bull Moose Base]

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That is the WH side of the story.  Boehner's office says no, the WH just set the date unilaterally without advance discussion. Dems are annoyed about the lack of notice too actually. Fun, fun.

Generally, the invitation comes first, then the White House speaks.  That didn't happen.

Like engraved "Mr. and Mrs. John Boehner Sr request your presence" invitations?  You're saying there's no precedent for the president saying "I want to address congress on this date."?  I haven't heard anyone besides Boehner say what Obama did was unusual while House and Senate historians have called Boehner's rejection unprecedented.  Boehner's camp isn't even denying that they raised no objections when called about the date.

I think the new timing is better for Obama than his requested one anyway.

[Bull Moose Base]

Like engraved "Mr. and Mrs. John Boehner Sr request your presence" invitations?  You're saying there's no precedent for the president saying "I want to address congress on this date."?  I haven't heard anyone besides Boehner say what Obama did was unusual while House and Senate historians have called Boehner's rejection unprecedented.  Boehner's camp isn't even denying that they raised no objections when called about the date.

I think the new timing is better for Obama than his requested one anyway.

As far as I know, there is an invitation, by letter, send by the House and Senate for anyone to address a joint session.  I actually posted the link stating that, and there is an invitation sent, even for the SOTU.  There were some question on if one should have been sent to Clinton in 1999.

Congress passes a joint resolution first, and then invites the person delivering the address:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_session_of_the_United_States_Congress

While I'll stop short of complaining that the Obama thinks of himself as a monarch, and that this emperor has no clothes, at the least someone at the White House screwed up.

It was like Al Haig saying, "I'm in charge, here, at the White House," and quickly getting a call from Tip O'Neil saying, "No, you're not."

Yeah but that's a formality.  There's never been any known hesitation with the date a president requested so why expect a problem.  Even Boehner's own account doesn't dispute that they voiced no objection when they first heard the date.  There was no real reason for Obama to think it wouldn't go forward- that's never happened before until Coach Limbaugh called for this block.

I'm in the minority but I do buy that the conflict was a coincidence of sorts.  Not that Obama's people didn't know about the debate or even enjoy the humor of it but I assume they primarily wanted to do it as soon as congress was back in session.  First night back in session was the one Obama asked for. They probably figured one of the 20 GOP debates falling on the same night wasn't a reason to avoid the date, especially considering the debate can easily be delayed by an hour (and obviously would have been has there been a conflict).  They also wanted to avoid Thursday because of the NFL conflict but will apparently navigate that one without much problem either.

or maybe the POTUS shouldn't have waited 32 months into his term before focusing on jobs

or maybe Obama should have come back from vacation a few days earlier.

or maybe he should have given the speech from the White House instead of from a joint session of Congress.  Could have done it Wednesday then.

This is what I was thinking. Maybe he needs the applause.

Obama wants to show it's his current priority- hence, doing it as soon as congress is back- that he is dependent on congress to act- hence addressing them and calling on them to pass his plan.

[Bull Moose Base]

It's 7PM EST Thursday by the way.  History books will record it as Obama, Kid Rock, Packers vs Saints.

[Bull Moose Base]

31 million people watched Obama's speech.