What People Are Saying

As the months drag on and the unemployment rate rises, President Barak Obama took to the national airwaves with a plan to bring jobs and restore confidence in the government. Did he accomplish his goal? Here is what a few news sources are saying.

www.Ibtimes.com said that the Nielsen ratings company reported that 31.4 million viewers watched the president's jobs speech, 10 million more than those who watched his State of the Union or other major speeches. Obama challenged Republicans and Democrats alike to momentarily set aside their partisan leanings and pass the measures.

In http://newsok.com, Oklahoma State Representative Tom Cole, R-Moore said that Americans have made it clear that they will “not support a return to the same failed stimulus policies that brought nine percent unemployment, but Congress is ready to work with President Obama on proven job creation polices like tax relief and free trade. The infrastructure investments and tax breaks the president outlined could earn bipartisan support in Congress but only if they are fiscally responsible.”

According to www.voanews.com, Congressional reaction has been mixed to the President’s plan to jolt the stalled U.S. economy and create jobs.  Democrats reacted enthusiastically to the president's proposals to rebuild old and decaying bridges and highways and to help struggling homeowners refinance their mortgages.  Republicans say they may be able to work with the president on some aspects of the plan, but many expressed doubt that the whole package will be approved.  

For Mr. Obama’s strongest supporters, his jobs speech on Thursday night to a joint session of Congress seemed to affirm their belief that after a rough patch, said www.nytimes.com. The White House had temporarily seized the upper hand, in both substantive and political terms. They reported that, after ceding much of the debate over the economy to Republicans, Mr. Obama had framed next year’s election as a struggle between a president with a plan for creating jobs and reducing the deficit and a Republican Party that would rather score political points and adhere slavishly to ideological positions than address the needs of Americans

According to www.csmonitor.com, President Obama may have shucked his Mr. Cool persona in stumping for his jobs proposal, heatedly and repeatedly demanding that Congress “Pass this bill!” – aggressively taking his message straight to the district of House Republican Majority Leader Eric Cantor and the home state of Speaker John Boehner. The jacket’s off, the sleeves rolled up, the fists clenched tight. He’s (figuratively) grabbed them by the shirt front. But over on the GOP side of the ring, the congressional leadership seems to be using judo’s “gentle way,” not Ultimate Fighting Championship® knock-out tactics.

www.huffingtonpost.com said that “expectations for the president's speech were too high and his team was already tamping them down.” It was preceded by a huge logistical misstep and was being rejected by many Republicans before it even took place. And in the end it offered very few new ideas. Yet in the face of all this, President Obama delivered what is perhaps his best speech since taking the oath of office. Whether it results in the passage of the American Jobs Act remains to be seen. But it did what it was supposed to do: it put Republicans on defense for the first time in months. And it provides the president with some much-needed momentum. Though the substance wasn't new, the style was. The tone was different. The language was different. For the first time since taking office, President Obama sounded like Candidate Obama. Not in a political way. Not in a partisan way. But in a positive way.”