There was a lot of complaining from the Very Serious People that Obama didn't offer any conciliation in his Inauguration to Republicans. Maybe the fact that he did do so in his 2009 speech and at the same time the Republicans went out to dinner the same night with a plan to oppose anything he offered even if they agreed with it.
In his State of the Union Speech tomorrow night, however, he plans to offer them something of great value: a Golden Bridge.
"President Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech will be less a presidential olive branch than a congressional cattle prod."
"Emboldened by electoral victory and convinced the GOP is unwilling to cut deals, Obama plans to use his big prime-time address Tuesday night to issue another broad challenge at a Republican Party he regards as vulnerable and divided, Democrats close to Obama say."
"He’ll pay lip service to bipartisanship, but don’t expect anything like the call for peaceful collaboration that defined his first address to a joint session of Congress in 2009, they say."
"When POLITICO asked how Obama is approaching the speech compared with his previous State of the Union addresses, a person close to the process of drafting the speech replied with a 2,500-year-old quote from Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu:
“Build your opponent a golden bridge to retreat across.”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/02/state-of-the-union-2013-obama-aggressive-87440.html#ixzz2KcSL5eSk
The Obama team plans to remind the GOP of the Kristol Premise-elections have consequences-and the President will push economic issues and propose new stimulus. This will be welcome news for Greg Sargent who is urging him to make a strong base for Keynesian stimulus.
"The recent economic contraction — which was driven largely by reductions in defense spending — provides the perfect jumping off point for this case. There’s also the looming sequester cuts, which everyone agrees will scuttle the recovery if allowed to go forward. Obama has at times addressed the true nature of the relationship between government spending and economic recovery, though he sometimes couches it in careful language about having to avoid “self inflicted wounds.” I’m hoping Obama builds a much more extensive case explaining another of his oft-repeated phrases:
“We can’t cut our way to prosperity.”
"This would entail spelling out with total clarity that the GOP approach to the sequester — to replace it only with spending cuts, and no revenue increases — is not only uncompromising, but is also deeply wrongheaded, a profound threat to the recovery, and completely at odds with the approach to governing that carried the day in the last election."
"In this context, it’s good to see, as Politico’s Glenn Thrush reports today, that Obama intends to be aggressive in his State of the Union speech. One person close to the drafting of the speech defined Obama’s approach to it with a 2,500 year old quote from Chinese war strategist Sun Tzu: “Build your opponent a golden bridge to retreat across.”
"If Obama makes good on the threat to be aggressive, there will be a great deal of gnashing of teeth among Republicans — and even neutral commentators — about his lack of “bipartisan outreach.” But Obama’s victory demonstrates that there is an emerging majority coalition of minorities, young voters, and college educated whites, especially women, that broadly shares his vision of governing. As Ron Brownstein recently detailed, this coalition is ascendant, and it is in Obama’s interests to keep speaking directly to these voters. His inaugural address, which laid out an expansive progressive vision that was all about reshaping the national debate around this coalition’s core priorities, was mocked by Republicans as too “liberal,” as speaking only to the base. But a majority of Americans, and a majority of self described moderates, ended up approving of it."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2013/02/11/the-morning-plum-go-on-offense-mr-president/
Actually what has been underscored in the months following the President's strong victory is that bipartisanship isn't necessarily the outgrowth of seeking it but rather showing your opponents the futility of resistance.
However, don't give up entirely at conciliation-give them a Golden Bridge-to retreat on.
http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/11/16925964-first-thoughts-focusing-on-the-economy?lite&ocid=msnhp&pos=1
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