Greg Sargent thinks this is wonderfully reassuring news:
Okay, this could reassure some folks who are hoping Obama will make a strong stand on health care tonight.
White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer told Capitol Hill staffers on a private briefing call that in his speech tonight, Obama will leave no doubt that his commitment to addressing health care is as strong right now as it was in his September speech, a White House official tells me.
[...]
As for how strongly Obama will signal is (sic) preferred way forward on reform, the devil will obviously be in the “additional details” he offers. But if his speech does in fact reaffirm his commitment to comprehensive reform as strongly as his September speech did, that could reassure a lot of people.
I think we’re supposed to greet this with hosannas and hallelujahs.
What we’re not supposed to do is point out that reaffirming his commitment in what will no doubt be a mighty fine speech is a very poor substitute for actually doing something about getting the healthcare bill passed.
Nobody has pointed this out more bluntly and plainly than Representative Anthony Weiner of New York:
And we’re not getting much guidance from (the Senate), and we’re also not getting much guidance from the mothership about what the White House really wants, and what they’re prepared to push for, etc. … (President Obama) needs to give us some legislative marching orders here, because anything less than that is going to be seen as his acquiescence to us essentially walking away from it. And I think that would be regrettable from all sides.
I don’t know why, but I get the distinct feeling that when he says “anything less than that”, he’s talking specifically about just sitting and speechifying (as opposed to rolling up the Presidential sleeves and getting to work issuing legislative marching orders).
What good is sitting alone in your room?
Come hear the music play.
Life is a Cabaret, old chum,
Come to the Cabaret.Put down the knitting,
[...]
Come to the Cabaret.
President Obama has spent enough time sitting in his room and knitting. It’s way past time to put down the knitting, and wade into the legislative cabaret.