Reply #32: I wonder ...

[RoyGBiv]

I wonder how much the relative calm of this speech was related to the meeting with BP today. Was a quid pro quo involved? I don't rip you to shreds right now, and you do what I'm telling you to do without forcing it down your throat ...

Someone on GD posted a message comparing this speech and Obama's general approach to corporations in general to Kennedy's dealings with the steel industry raising prices after Kennedy had gone to bat for them previously. I think it was an apt criticism generally if not specifically in the context given. However, after the events of yesterday, I'm left wondering whether Obama and Kennedy did take similar stances with a different approach. Then too, during the so-called steel crisis, Kennedy had actually done a lot of "behind the scenes" work before it came to a head and produced his public smack down.

Obama, being an intelligent person, would know of the differences in the circumstances involving the two scenarios. Kennedy had a basically friendly press, for one, and that was a big deal with how things turned out. The press was largely responsible for the public backing his line in the sand. With the current state of the press, Obama can count on a very large and loud contingent of the press framing anything he says or does negatively, which leads one to question just how deeply Obama can get into a one-on-one with a major industry.

I'm not sure, but I think Obama's somewhat tepid remarks may be at least partially a recognition that he's got to take a different approach than Kennedy had the luxury of taking, and he's pretty much having to wing it to try to find the right one.