Obama's Press Conference Performance

[Guest shebavon]

Frankly, I thought he was on target, though long-winded, especially for the first few questions. Unlike his predecessor, he was definitely articulate and engaged with his press corp audience.

 

Although O'Reilly tried to mock him, even Dick Morris gave him high marks for getting his message out, and winning over the voters.

 

If that was not enough, David Gergen also sang Obama's praise, at least for delivery.

 

As to whether or not the stimulus will work, the jury is out on that one.

[Gaybutton]

I watched it too. I thought he was forthright, direct, and tried to explain his position so that people could really understand what he was saying and why he was saying it. I also liked the way he refused to allow Helen Thomas to continue her reign as queen bee of the White House correspondents when she tried to cut him off with another question. He simply ignored her and moved on to the next correspondent. I'll bet she'll be fuming over that for quite some time.

 

I hope his economic package does pass mostly intact and that it works. It ought to be obvious to anyone, and he made it clear, that the Republican policies simply did not work. Maybe Obama's policies will. I can't imagine that very many people would disagree with the idea that a totally different approach to pulling the USA out of this economic mess is at least worth trying.

[Guest GaySacGuy]

I think he did a good job, and tried to answer the questions, not attack someone like Bush generally did. He also maintained a very professional demeanor.

 

I don't know how many times it has to be said that republican tax cuts for the very rich don't help the economy..just helps the republicans "earn" donations.

 

Also, I think he made it clear...although some republicans must be deaf...HE WON!!!

[Guest laurence]

I found his press conference so boring that I switched to some other channel. I only lasted through the first two questions that droned on forever. And, yes, I am an Obama man.

[Gaybutton]

I found his press conference so boring that I switched to some other channel.

That's all part of what it takes to be a good, effective politician. You have to look good on television and you have to be entertaining. I'm sorry he wasn't entertaining enough. He needs to learn that you lose people if you take more than 30 seconds to answer a question, especially if you can't include a couple catchy one-liners within the answer.

 

I'm sure many people thought the same way . . . that time is much better spent being entertained by watching 'The Simpsons' or reruns of 'I Love Lucy' than watching the President explain his new policies during his first press conference. Well, that's ok. I'm sure plenty of people will contact the White House and ask that he intersperse his next press conference with a magic act, spinning plates, and a sing-along. That'll be sure to hold everyone's attention.

[Guest laurence]

I'm sure many people thought the same way . . . that time is much better spent being entertained by watching 'The Simpsons' or reruns of 'I Love Lucy' than watching the President explain his new policies during his first press conference.

 

Actually I watched a program on the Life of Abraham Lincoln. He knew how to speak both eloquently and briefly.

 

[Guest MonkeySee]

Actually I watched a program on the Life of Abraham Lincoln. He knew how to speak both eloquently and briefly.

Geithner knows how to speak, too. Too bad, wall street did not think much of his content.

[KhorTose]

What am I supposed to do? I voted for, gave money to, and actively worked for the Obama campaign but I hate his stimulus plan. He is trying to be bipartisan to a group of radical religious nuts that can only recite one mantra. They sit in their ivory tower under the picture of George W. and chant TAX CUTS over and over. Obama in this package has catered too much to them, and in doing so he is setting himself up for failure. There is no more help for the states, where money could be put to immediate use and there is a stupid plan to give people who buy a house a 1500 tax credit. I plan to sell my home to my brother, and then he can sell it back to me and we will both get rich at the government fountain. These are just two dumb ideas in what is an under funded and scattered plan, that will only lead to another bailout down the road. Lets do it now and lets do it right. This is why I voted for the man. Quit putting the horse before the cart, and heal the nations economic woes first and then the GOP will have to fall in line and become bipartisan. It really pisses me off to see him cater to these dunder headed assholes.

[Guest laurence]

Geithner knows how to speak, too. Too bad, wall street did not think much of his content.

Wall Street just may not want to hear the truth. No one likes bad tasting medicine.

[Guest GaySacGuy]

I can't say that I am in a position to evaluate the stimulus plan, but I will (have to) trust his financial advisors this time, and hope they are right. Obama has as much at stake here as the rest of us, so I am sure he must be convinced that this is right and will work.

 

With his press conference, I believed him. I thought he was telling the truth. With Bush I always felt (kenw) like he was lying and tryiing to protect himself and the big money people.

 

Let's hope this is right. The market tanked another 400 points overnight...that's now over 5% in one night. I can't take too many more hits like that!!!

[Guest GaySacGuy]

Wall Street just may not want to hear the truth. No one likes bad tasting medicine.

 

Especially when you caused the illness in the first place. All the big bankers and big traders did this to us!!

[Guest shebavon]

We have to be forward looking not backward. Hopefully the best minds in the nation are figuring out how best to staunch the bleeding economy.

 

If I remember correctly, four years ago, after a much narrower presidential and congressional election, GW announced that he had earned political capital and intended to spend some. I guess that meant he had some sort of mandate to lead. And lead he did, the nation right over a cliff.

 

Congress including the Republicans owe it to the nation and respect the will of the people who overwhelmingly gave us Obama and a more one party congress than in recent memory.

 

They are certainly entitled to a honeymoon period to enact their programs and attempt to govern.

 

Elections have consequence used to be the Republican mantra.

[Guest Astrrro]

I watched it too. I thought he was forthright, direct, and tried to explain his position so that people could really understand what he was saying and why he was saying it.

 

I also liked the way he refused to allow Helen Thomas to continue her reign as queen bee of the White House correspondents when she tried to cut him off with another question. He simply ignored her and moved on to the next correspondent. I'll bet she'll be fuming over that for quite some time.

 

I did not see the press conference but he's an effective communicator and appears to be a good leader.

 

I never understood why Helen Thomas gets special treatment. Time to put the old biddy out to pasture.

 

[Gaybutton]

heal the nations economic woes first and then the GOP will have to fall in line and become bipartisan.

I'd love to live to see that day come. Part of the problem with the Republicans, in my opinion, is that in reality they couldn't care less about anyone except themselves. They put getting themselves re-elected as priority number 1, ahead of anything else including the national interest. They'll continue to support the white collar criminals who have no problem about treating themselves like royalty and live lavishly on obscenely high salaries and severance packages at the expense of everyone else, including helping themselves to other people's retirement pensions. The Republicans will continue to support them because they rely on their money to get re-elected. It sometimes seems as if the laws are designed to get the criminals off the street as long as that street isn't Wall Street.

[KhorTose]

I did not see the press conference but he's an effective communicator and appears to be a good leader.

 

I never understood why Helen Thomas gets special treatment. Time to put the old biddy out to pasture.

 

Helen worked for a major wire service for years. As the first women in the White House press corp she first covered Kennedy and started a trend of being the first to be called on and ending the press conference with "Thank you Mr. President." She hated Bush........Okay I stop here as I just found a good Wiki article. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Thomas

 

Basically, putting her front and center again is a subtle slam on Bush and his presidency.

 

[Guest MonkeySee]

Doesn't look like Geithner is getting much slack from anyone. As New York Federal Reserve chief, wasn't he instrumental in Paulson's first stimulus package? Here is the opinion of a blogger at:http://hotair.com/archives/2009/02/11/the-only-man-for-the-job-lays-an-egg-on-wall-street/

 

When Tim Geithner ran into trouble in his confirmation over unpaid taxes, Barack Obama and the Democrats insisted that Geithner had to be confirmed. He was not just the best qualified candidate for Treasury Secretary, they insisted; he was the only person qualified to handle the economic crisis. The Senate confirmed him, and the rest of us sat back to wait for the brilliance of Geithner and the plan that only he could devise to solve it.

Yesterday, after a delay, Geithner finally unveiled his master plan — and Wall Street realized that this emperor has no clothes:

Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner vowed yesterday to bring the “full force” of the U.S. government to battle the financial crisis, assembling an unprecedented coalition of agencies and mustering federal resources on a scale rarely seen except at wartime. But the lack of detail in his plan dismayed lawmakers and investors, triggering a steep sell-off on Wall Street.

Treasury officials said they would commit $1.5 trillion in public and private funds, just for starters — with the possibility of more than $2 trillion — to aid banks, unfreeze consumer credit markets and stem the soaring foreclosure rate.

How Geithner would accomplish some of those tasks remained unclear yesterday. The Treasury Department provided only the most general descriptions of how struggling homeowners and small businesses would be helped. And officials said they have yet to design a program that is a core part of the plan: A public-private initiative that would encourage investors to buy up the toxic assets now weighing down the books of banks and threatening to overwhelm the firms with losses.

Cleansing the financial system of these assets, which are backed by failing mortgages and other troubled loans, has vexed officials since Congress approved the $700 billion rescue package in October. But financial analysts said Geithner, who took a strong hand in casting the new plan, appeared to have no better grasp on a solution than his predecessor, Henry M. Paulson Jr.

“What they did is over-promise and under-deliver,” said Thomas Barrack, chief executive of Colony Capital, a private investment firm in Los Angeles. “They said there was going to be a plan, so everybody expected a plan. And there was nothing.”

How did investors react to Geithner’s plan? Stocks tanked across the board. The Dow Jones lost 4.6% and the S&P fell by almost 5% as investors fled.

Larry Summers, the former Treasury Secretary and now on Obama’s Council of Economic Advisors, insisted that the market performance means nothing about the plan, but investors realized yesterday that the administration has no plan, despite the promises of Obama and Geithner. After all, Geithner stood on his podium and told investors that the federal government would give all of the toxic assets a soft landing. If he had a real plan to do that, investors would have been buoyed by that news and would have been encouraged to buy — or at least not to sell. But all Geithner had was a bunch of slogans and concepts, and investors realized that The Indispensable Man hasn’t got a clue.

Even Democrats in Congress were displeased by Geithner’s performance. They expected a coherent plan, with clear costs and processes. Barney Frank and Chris Dodd criticized the Obama adminstration for not having its homework done by now. Republicans agreed, and Richard Shelby called Geithner’s performance “son of Paulson” — and not in a complimentary way.

Time to look for a better Treasury Secretary. Maybe this time, we can find one smart enough to successfully file his income taxes.

 

 

[Guest shebavon]

Geithner looks much better today, as he explains how the admin must slowly and deliberately work out the details so they may get it as right as possible.

 

Under Paulson, did we not lose 78 billion of the 350 thus far spent? Not to mention the lack of accountability. He was judge, jury, and executioner all rolled into one.

 

How long has Obama been in office? What ever happened to the normal political honeymoon period.

 

Should they not have the opportunity to try out the ideas that got them elected?