Pres BO spoke to several audiences last night:
1) He wanted to persuade the left that he is a fighter. After all, there is a lot of disappointment in "yes we can" land that their man does not fight for anything.
2) He wanted to turn public opinion around, specially after last week's jobs report and the collapse in job approval polls; and,
3) He wanted to persuade markets that he is got ideas.
How did he do?
My guess is that the left liked the more 'aggressive" and "in your face BO". At the same time, they wanted a bigger "stimulus" rather than $400 billion.
However, I am not persuaded that last night's "pep talk" will do much to change public opinion.
First, we have "Teleprompter fatigue" in the US. How many more speeches can this man give before they become irrelevant and meaningless?
Second, Pres BO sounded angry last night. There is a difference between forceful leadership and an angry face. I agree with Michael Barone:
"I don’t think these proposals have the potential to turn around the careening economy, I don’t think many of them will become law and I don’t think this campaign initiative is likely to prove successful.
From the demeanor and affect of the unhappy warrior at the podium last night, I suspect he may feel the same way."
Third, and most important, the markets are down this morning:
"Stock index futures fell on Friday as investors remained skeptical about how much of President Barack Obama's $447 billion proposal to generate U.S. jobs would make it through Congress."
Pres BO did not disclose a lot of details last night. He promised to follow up the speech with the specifics or how the program will be paid for. (An AP fact check raised questions about "the paid for" promises!)
Let's be clear. We want the US economy to succeed. However, I did not hear anything last night that will encourage anyone to hire new employees or expand their business.
Again, we need more specifics rather an speech delivered in 43 minutes so that it would not interfere with the opening of the football season in Green Bay.
Check out our discussion of the speech with Richard Baehr & George Rodriguez PLUS a new great TV ad from the Romney campaign:
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