Cup of Folger’s by my side tonight, all I can think as the caffeine kicks in is this: Someone PLEASE page President Barack Obama’s message man. Or fire the guy and get a new one.
About the only thing worse than the economy was listening in on that press conference, and it’s only because I could hear the ZZZZZZZs from the media. Not that what Obama was saying was a bore, but it was how he answered the questions. The Associated Press had the first shot with the Reuters reporter in the on deck circle, and Obama took forever what seemed like 15 minutes to answer the first question. Then he took another chunk of prime time to address the second question. By the time he finished that one, about engaging Iran, I started thinking NASCAR wouldn’t be a bad alternative to watch.
All kidding aside, the wonk-in-chief made a case we all know very well: That the last line of defense between a painful recession and a masochistic economic depression is federal goverment spending. The private sector isn’t doing it, he basically argued, so it’s time to inject taxpayer dollars for a jolt, not unlike this cup of coffee and sweetner next to me.
Elsewhere, U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter drew a hardline on the stimulus package now that its in the hands of the Congressional conference committee:
“My support for the Conference Report on the stimulus package will require that the Senate compromise bill come back virtually intact including, but not limited to, overall spending, the current ratio of tax cuts to spending, and the $110 billion in cuts.”
That’s a man in the crosshairs of both Democrats and Republicans, as the Scranton Times notes with a lengthy list of challengers from both the left and right. Can Specter survive this time around? Forgive me, but I sense some change in the air. The Pennsylvania Republican Party from my perch appears to have gotten more conservative, not less, and the anti-incumbent wave since 2005 is rooted in conservative politics. Me wonders if that is a foreboding sign for Specter.
And if I may say, the place to be is not with my coffee cup in the newsroom or even Boca Raton, which I hear is lovely this time of year. No, the place today to have been was inside a Philadelphia courtroom where Rendell and retired state Sen. Vincent Fumo testified during Fumo’s corruption trial. Standing room only, apparently. Read on. Methinks you will find some real insight into the pressures of life as a state Senator.
