Obama starts town hall meetings next week with the American people

[bigdarryl]

Good idea instead of listening to theses pundit idiots on TV like Mathews who's running around saying Obama hasn't explained what jobs will be created in this bill or what this bill means to the average person. Now Obama gets to do it in town hall settings.I think the first town hall is in Indiana.

[rvablue]

1. Here he comes Repubs. Watch out!

Now this is a spectacular idea and one that is going to garner TONS of local TV news coverage.

FU cable hosts with your lopsided "panel" of experts.

Take it straight to the people, President Obama!

He's fired up and ready to go. No more RW lies and smears. It's not going to work this time!!!!

:bounce: :grr: :fistbump:
:bounce: :grr: :fistbump:
:bounce: :grr: :fistbump:
:bounce: :grr: :fistbump:
:bounce: :grr: :fistbump:

[jbnow]

9. Hopefully national coverage? They'll be broadcast if

he lets it be and that will be great.
Town halls weren't on TV during primaries and that was a shame but I bet they will show them now.

What a great idea.

[Sick_of_Rethuggery]

12. cnn.com/live will most probably stream it.

they used to stream all of the campaign appearances, even!

[rvablue]

15. OK, but my point is that LOCAL coverage can be much, much more effective

in rallying Americans to one side or the other.

This time it's for the good fight -- to save our economy.

It can also be abused. Shrubby did it with his reelection bid ... he rarely spoke with national media and talked with many, many local reporters.

The effect is that people think that you are taking the time to speak with the local faces they see all the time. It provides intimacy and the sense that one is actually being heard, rather than talked to.

And yeah, if the national media follows suit, fine. But right now I think President Obama and the rest of us Dems have seen what the national (especially cable) so far has done: give way, way too much air time to rebut and smear everything Obama says.

Local TV doesn't have the resources nor the time for that. So, the message can actually get past all of the noise.

ed: for some bad typos.

[jbnow]

25. I didn't mean national reporters... just hoping it is broadcast

by at least the cable stations so people all over the country can hear the questions and answers between Obama and the town hall audience.

I agree with you about local reporters...and also about how bad cable has been. (Also stupid, they say such uninformed things.)

[SemiCharmedQuark]

17. I don't know. WAPO has an article about how evils Obama is costing the stations money with his

public address.

[AyanEva]

2. :D

See, this is what a President should be like.

[PearliePoo2]

3. Yes...and Robert Gibbs just delivered a cool zinger

to Chuck Todd. Todd asked who was invited to the town hall meetings. Gibbs said "The public". Added.... we have never, ever screened who attends our town hall meetings/events and have never handed out a list of scripted questions and we don't ever intend to.
It was real quiet there for a minute. HA!

:toast:

[FLyellowdog]

5. I love this guy!

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

10. Yes, but I am sure they can expect Rightwing types to be sure to be a part

and to ask the most inflammatory questions possible in each and every one. Mr. President, why do you want to mandate partial birth abortion for all fifteen year olds? Mr. President why did you hang around with William Ayers? Blah, blah, blah blah.

They should allow every audience member to submit a question IN WRITING that they can pick from. I fully expect that they WILL select adversarial questions and they would be smart to do so. I hope that they are ALWAYS asked the Republican talking points of the day so that the President can detonate it himself personally, as only he can do. He can shut up the Republicans and the mockingbird press at the same time.

[PearliePoo2]

14. Oh yeah..good point.

The RePukes would love to take over and pack the house with angry hateful zombies asking stupid "gotcha" questions.
I'm sure President Obama's lead people will have it handled. Your suggestions are good ones.
He's heading to Fort Meyers Florida too. His Secret Service people will have their hands full.

:scared:

[RamboLiberal]

22. Yeah they are probably scouring now for their next "Joe the Plumber"

And you betcha there are some Freepers out their salivating at getting their fame like their hero Joe.

But I still love the idea of Obama taking the message to the people.

[HOLOS]

24. How Refreshing and Pro-People for a Change!!

[shaniqua6392]

4. He must bypass the media and talk straight to the American people.

The media is creaming him every day. They started it two days after the inauguration and it worsens every day.

[FrenchieCat]

11. Aye. I remember on inauguration day, they were already projecting how

the next day, the praises would stop.....and so they did.

[shaniqua6392]

19. I think they were referring to it as "the honeymoon period".

I knew right then that they were just trying to boost their ratings at his very popular inauguration like the leaches that they are. I also knew that they would begin to smear him right after that. I am glad that he is just going to speak to us directly. He should do that once a week. He is a comforting force for my family. We could listen to him all day.

[Marrah_G]

6. This is a great idea

[polmaven]

13. Governor Patrick has been doing it

since his inauguration.

I'm sure it is just a bit more complicated for the President, but I think it's a great idea.

[City Lights]

7. Brilliant idea.

Bypass the corporate media whenever possible.

[traxster]

8. I can't wait until he comes to NC!!!!

[skeewee08]

16. Way to go President Obama! Smack the rethugs right in the mouth!

[avaistheone1]

20. Woohoo! Take that! And that you repukes!!!

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

18. Once again, Obama leading out front. Change coming to a town near you.

[nc4bo]

21. Maybe I'm mistaken but I think both the town/cities that he's visiting have 10% unemployment rates

at least that's what I thought I heard earlier today.

Truly people in pain. I'm so glad he's doing it. THE PEOPLE need to hear from their President up close and personal.

[Arkana]

23. Good. If the Dem Senators and Congressmen won't speak the fuck up,

then Obama should do it first and shame them into standing up for themselves. God, their spines were so reduced to gelatin during the Bush years that they forgot to grow them back.

[DeschutesRiver]

26. Anyone know where I can find a list of where the stimulus/cuts are going?

I did see a list on a fox channel and it had things like quite a few million for preventing/treating STDs, a lot of millions to flu shots, and stuff like that. I admit I couldn't keep watching because it irritated me - both the fox people and frankly, what I saw listed. Not saying those aren't good things to spend money on, but for god's sake, how many new jobs are being created by giving out flu shots? There were other items listed but they equally made no sense to me, in terms of job creation.

Or do I have this whole stimulus thing wrong? Are we just blindly spending money like throwing darts at a board? Does it make no difference in terms of job creation what we spend the money on? Flu shots, for example, seem of temporary benefit to society compared to fixing bridges and roads. I heard the infrastructure provisions were watered down because it could take a couple of years for some of that work to be ready. Yet I thought there were tons of "shovel ready" jobs? Honestly, I am confused about the scope and purpose of this stimulus now. Heck, I can't even figure out who is getting the tax cuts. Went to WH.gov and didn't see a thing yet, but I haven't finished reading it all.

The town hall deal would probably be a good idea. So would a written list, right out front, on the WH.gov site.

[stillcool]

27. I don't know what Fox news says...

but you can read the original Senate bill here: http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/ezraklein_archive?month=02&year=2009&base_name=the_senate_stimulus_bill

I guess anyone can argue about what 'stimulates' the economy. Getting people jobs, certainly helps, but so does cutting people a break so they can 'spend' some money. You lose your job, you lose your health care. You get sick, you aren't going to be spending any money.

[DeschutesRiver]

28. thanks for the link

Yeah, I guess the sick part is true. But it seems like short term, and while that is important, we have to think past just getting through 2009.

Besides, for the short term, I thought we had that covered with the promised middle class tax cuts? I am hoping that the "tax cuts" that everyone is bitching about, and that the repugs want, will be those promised cuts. But what I've gleaned so far isn't promising.

[stillcool]

29. You really have to read what is in it..

and what it is targeted to do. Unfortunately, Fox news, or any other news program does not focus on the whole. They pick and choose what they want you to know.