The White House announced last night that President Obama will address a joint session of Congress on Thursday, September 8th regarding his plan for jobs and to improve the economy. While I appreciate President Obama presenting information on his plan on the biggest political stage available, doesn't anyone in the administration have a calendar?
The National Football League's first game of the season between the New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers takes place at 8:30 on the 8th. If the television choice is between President Obama and an NFL game, football will win. If the game is pre-empted by Obama's speech, people will get upset.
In this case, President Obama and Congress need to follow the lead of our Canadian friends. This spring, a political debate was postponed because of a Montreal Canadiens' first round playoff game. I hope that President Obama reconsiders the date of his speech, or at a minimum, schedules the address for 7:00 Eastern time.
Thursday, September 01, 2011
What Are You Doing, Mr. President?
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2 comments:
Well, it was scheduled for the 7th, but the Republicans got all up in arms because there's a Republican candidate debate that night and they asked Mr. Obama to change the date. They specifically asked him to change it to the 8th. Since job creation is such a huge, pressing issue, the administration wanted to give the speech as soon as possible, so they agreed to the 8th "in the spirit of bipartisanship". It's no accident, IMO, that the Republicans specifically asked for the date of the NFL season opener.
Political posturing has even invaded sports, it would seem.
Gilahi - I saw that the Republicans asked for the 8th, and overall, that is a great move by them. If Obama speaks in prime time, everyone (meaning the millions of football fans) will criticize President Obama for interrupting the game.
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