The Will to Act

President Obama spoke about the S&P credit rating downgrade, and what needs to be done to get the U.S. fiscal house in order and to create jobs and economic growth.  After describing again the steps Congress can take immediately, he concluded: "Markets will rise and fall, but this is the United States of America. No matter what some agency may say, we’ve always been and always will be a AAA country... What sets us apart is that we’ve always not just had the capacity, but also the will to act -- the determination to shape our future; the willingness in our democracy to work out our differences in a sensible way and to move forward, not just for this generation but for the next generation.

And we’re going to need to summon that spirit today. The American people have been through so much over the last few years, dealing with the worst recession, the biggest financial crisis since the 1930s, and they’ve done it with grace. And they’re working so hard to raise their families, and all they ask is that we work just as hard, here in this town, to make their lives a little easier. That’s not too much to ask. And ultimately, the reason I am so hopeful about our future -- the reason I have faith in these United States of America -- is because of the American people. It’s because of their perseverance, and their courage, and their willingness to shoulder the burdens we face -– together, as one nation."

I might mention here that there's also been a flurry of political punditry about what President Obama must do immediately.  One prominent oped revived the oldest cry in the book: that President Obama has to make impassioned speeches promoting a new political narrative.  Maybe so.  But the same was said of President Kennedy (he needed to make "fireside chats") and President Clinton.  But here's the deal: the media spends more prominent time and space complaining about what President Obama doesn't say that presenting what he actually does say--which is one important reason that the strategy they demand probably wouldn't work as easily as they seem to believe.  The remarks above are a good example--covered live in the afternoon, but never heard from again.   Plus good proportion of stuff these bloviators complain that Obama isn't saying is stuff that he actually has said, but they weren't listening.  They were too busy listening to themselves, and each other.