There was no talk of growth projections or unemployment rates, price tags or policy-riders. President Obama’s address Thursday night to a joint session of Congress, billed as the introduction of the White House’s new jobs plan, was not a speech that aimed to explain economic theories or win over legislators. It was an effort by the President to tell the American people that he is right, that Congress is standing in the way of economic recovery, and that he is offering a fix, which he will not let go gently.
Obama slipped into the speech in his favorite political role: the adult, scolding Washington for its skewed priorities, its failure to live up to its responsibilities. He went as far to declare “a political crisis.” “The people of this country work hard to meet their responsibilities. The question tonight is whether we’ll meet ours,” he said. “The question is whether, in the face of an ongoing national crisis, we can stop the political circus and actually do something to help the economy.”
His solution, which he laid out in the speech’s first act, was to pass what he called the American Jobs Act. It wasn’t an offer to negotiate or join heads, it was a demand: “Pass this jobs bill…” was the phrase that started every section. “You should pass it right away” emphasized every pause. The particulars of the plan — an aid package to states, tax credits for firms that hire veterans or the long-term unemployed, infrastructure spending, school renovations, extended benefits fort the unemployed, an expanded payroll tax cut — are similar to what Obama has long proposed, a continuation of previous efforts. And the size, some $450 billion, was larger than early reports suggested. But the President got into none of that.
Obama presented his plan as a natural path, one that would be an aberration not to follow. “There should be nothing controversial about this piece of legislation, he said. “Everything in here is the kind of proposal that’s been supported by both Democrats and Republicans – including many who sit here tonight.” He called languishing public infrastructure “inexcusable.” He invoked business lobbies and labor groups. He even turned the Norquistian pledge on Republicans in calling for an extension of the payroll tax cut passed last December: “I know some of you have sworn oaths to never raise any taxes on anyone for as long as you live. Now is not the time to carve out an exception and raise middle-class taxes, which is why you should pass this bill right away.”
The plan would cost nothing, Obama said, because Congress would find a way to pay for it. He asked the deficit reduction supercommittee to find an extra half trillion dollars while they’re hunting for the $1.5 trillion in savings called for in August’s debt ceiling deal. (He also pledged to release his own deficit plan — an even larger one — one week from Monday.)
Even in a long riff on deficit reduction, Obama extended no bow to Republican sensibilities. He went out of his way to work in a line about collective bargaining rights, and mounted a scolding defense of the social safety net. “What we can’t do – what I won’t do – is let this economic crisis be used as an excuse to wipe out the basic protections that Americans have counted on for decades,” he said.
By the end of the speech it was clear he wasn’t exactly giving a call to action. He was issuing a threat. “Regardless of the arguments we’ve had in the past, regardless of the arguments we’ll have in the future, this plan is the right thing to do right now,” he said. “You should pass it. And I intend to take that message to every corner of this country.” Pass it, he meant, or I will try to publicly shame you for the next year as I run for re-election.
The effects of Obama’s speech — and his plan — will be limited. Some of his proposals, already in place in some form this year, haven’t prevented the recovery from grinding to a halt. Plenty of others won’t pass the sniff test in the GOP-controlled House. And there’s little evidence that presidential rhetoric can significantly move votes in Congress, let alone the needle of public opinion. But Obama needs to ignite a fire under the recovery (or his base) to get re-elected. And that’s the spark he tried to create Thursday night.