First-ever Weekly Video

If they want this thing to be a YouTube hit....

If, on the other hand, they merely want to double the audience for the weekly radio address, then it's probably a fine idea!

I think it could have used more cowbell.

Doing all this will require not just new policies, but a new spirit of service and sacrifice, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. [...] in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people. And that is how we will meet the challenges of our time -- together. Thank you.

I love it when he says stuff like this. It's so refreshingly NOT aimed at laying blame, but encouraging cooperation.

(especially when you edit out the "Main Street - Wall street part)!)

Pie charts. And PowerPoint animation doo-dads. My hope is that by the next time (after 20Jan, hopefully before) an "up-or-down" vote is scheduled in the Senate, Obama's screenside chat will be leavened with enough data making the case FOR congressional action, to make the R-senators' phones ring louder than they've heard before. Also.

I don't understand why Bush would be resistant to some form of middle class aid/unemployment extensions. It's not as if he has a problem with deficit spending and he could go out claiming that he did more than just help the wealthy.

On the substance: Part of the rescue plan should be loan guarantees for the auto industry. Wish he'd have said that explicitly.

Unemployment is a good thing (with limits) to Bush's cronies. It depresses wages as people become desperate. Unemployment insurance has the same effect. With that and savings, you may not have to take $6 an hour less than you deserve.

PNNTO: Our local US Rep, Rogers(R)MI-8, suddenly decided that after 8 years of binging, gov't spending was *not* a good thing and voted against the $700B bailout several times. I've noticed a number of midwest senators/reps voting the same way.
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I believe that their (the GOP) game plan is to dig, as deeply as possible, the hole that Obama, the new administration and congress have to climb out of.
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The bus driver hit a tree, slid into a ditch, and now the bus is burning...who's going to notice that he's slashing the tires instead of helping people out of the bus?

I think having the radio address on youtube will just about guarantee that infinitely more people who NEVER listen to the radio address will hear the message that Obama is trying to impart. I actually think low key is better because it almost comes off like his camapign ads where he was talking to the people directly and I think there has been some campaign withdrawal from a lot of people. Besides that I can pretty much guarantee you that every cable news program will run at least some of the youtube clip which again will get it wider circulation. And then maybe a consequence that even Obama's people werent thinking of when they came up with this idea is that people from around the world will also be able to go on youtube and see what our president is talking about. So when Ahmadenijad is trying to whip up opposition to the "great Satan" maybe some Iranians will go on youtube and see that he is lying through his teeth. Not saying it will happen but if it does it could be a pretty powerful propaganda piece, no?

kbang, I think you may be right. The "screw things up so bad" philosophy has been a republican style of governing since Reagan.
The counter point, I guess I was thinking, is that Bush doesn't care about anyone other than himself and so blowing off his party to help his legacy is a trade he would make in a Minnesota Minute.

As to the medium, I am pleased that we have moved passed 1930s technology.

By the way I want to post this video again via Sully, I want to know who this Schiff guy is and why he isn't being considered for Treasury Sec
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http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/11/vindication.html

Man o man do I hope the rest of the GOP follows Jim Demint's lead. The precise reasons he gives for saying McCain hurt the Republican brand are actually the only glimmers of hope they had for ever regaining support from moderates. The more Republicans say stuff like this, the more I think they will lose even more seats in Congress in 2 years until they become a pathetic shell of a party. My prediction for 2 years from now, the GOP will split and we will finally have a truly viable third party made up of mostly Moderate Republicans and some libertarians. I am serious about that. There is no way this Republican party will stay together as far as some factions in the party are from each other!
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http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/11/14/gop-senator-mccain-betrayed-republican-principles/

Pnnto: I hear what you're saying about Bush, but I don't see anyone on the red side of the aisle leading the rescue charge.
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What concerns me more, though, is the unwillingness of the Reid and the Senate Dems to bring *some kind of a comprehensive rescue plan* to the floor for an "Up or Down" vote (remember that phrase from 2000-2006?). Taking such action would throw a spotlight on the tire slashers and Rome's fiddler-in-chief. Even if it doesn't pass or achieve cloture, at least the hole will have a name.
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Sadly, it appears as though Reid has the vapours over the Lieberman issue, and is willing to fritter away countless hours getting his No-Joe going instead of using the lame-duck session to make the going smoother in 2009. *sigh*

I think I would trade off letting Lieberman keep his chairmanship if they would replace Reid.

Lets see how this Lieberman stuff plays out. Some pretty heavy hitters are lining up against him-Schummer, Durbin, Leahy. And his support seems to be coming from lightweights like my senator Klobuchar.
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SG, that clip is amazing. The dude was right and watching Ben Stein make a fool out of himself never gets old. The republicans on Faux don't make predictions they make wishes.

KT:

What are you talking about?

This is fantastic!

There's so much more that they can do with this format, e.g. visuals of the data or situations Obama mentions. I can also watch this again and again to make sure that I understood what was said, and view the address per on my own schedule (which is key).

I've never understood the whole "weekly radio address" thing, but if Obama wants to call me and my neighbors to action, or to reassure us with respect to his plans, this format is exactly what's needed. Even if this were an administration that I wanted to kick out of office, and couldn't stand the sight of, I'd be watching this.

I love it, actually.

@SG: Wow. Just. Wow. Great clip! Peter Schiff == Voice in the Wilderness. Faux: Dow 16000! No housing bubble! Invest in GS, MER, WaMu! I hope they all took their own advice...big time!

kbang
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There won't be a rescue package in the lame duck and pretty much everyone knows it. The republicans are already blaming McCain's loss partially on the fact that he voted FOR the last bailout package. Combine that with how Paulson is totally phucking up the current set up while AIG is sipping lemonade in the shade and still getting paid on the tax payer dime and its GUARANTEED that the repubs are going to block this legislation. And there is something else to consider. With Obama giving up his Senate Seat tomorrow we no longer have a majority in the Senate if I understand it correctly. To be honest with you I think the most we can hope for from this lameduck congress is for the Dems to offer a plan and then make each and every Republican vote against it so that the nation will be once again outraged that the Republicans are playing politics instead of trying for solutions. But I honestly think we have 0 chance of passing an kind of stimulus package or rescue bill. And even if it gets pass Bush would NEVER sign it. Did you hear that dumbazz trying to still promote his free market principles during this G20 pow wow. He is a frikking joke now. Even Hugo Chavez is clowning him saying Bush is more of a socialist than he is. We are going to have to wait till next year to get anything done and just hope the Auto makers can make it till then. By the way Sully has the reasoning behind why we can't just let the Automakers go into bankruptcy up on his website. I am having problems posting links right now though. What it comes down to is that normally in chapter 11 businesses like the airline companies could continue to operate because they could take out loans to hold them over while they had restructuring going on. But now there is no money there to be lent to the Auto makers and therefore they would end up in chapter 7 bankruptcy whereby they would have to start liquidating assets and making layoffs immediately

Oh and to give me early 2 minutes hate on LIEberman how about Rachel Maddow calling him out last night??!! Im going to send her a love letter (email) today for that. Joe must go!
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SG,
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*sigh* You're right. Guess I was jus' hopin' that the Dems would grow a...backbone and at least bring *something* up to a vote to make the GOP go on record as opposing relief. I really don't think that Reid even has the...guts to do that.
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I'm heartened that cooler heads are calling for Big3 aid. Let's hope they prevail.
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I'm heading outside now to cheer up...to rake leaves...in the rain...*sigh*

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I assume you are just being facetious, Karen. He is talking to Americans as if they were adults, laying out what he wants to do and sounding a serious but optimistic tone.
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This is a good way of bypassing you in the MSM, particularly TV, who would slice out a couple of irrelevant and misleading sound bytes, throw them out in the standard three-window screaming-heads format, the roladex Republican spouting nonsensical talking points and the roladex Democrat arguing with the roladex Republican, not addressing the substance of the message.
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And then the MSM print media mulling and pondering snarkily over the lack of puppies and writing up a piece on the process: how many views, whether the desk conveyed "Presidential!" and who he was REALLY addressing!!!one!!! Pelosi??? The UAW???? What does that say to Wall Street????? SNARK!!!! WOULD YOU HAVE A BEER WITH THIS FELLOW????
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So in that sense, it was a big success.
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A word of caution about the bailout:
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While it might be this or that, one thing is certain and that is that the auto industry represents the core of our shriveled manufacturing base.
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Rhetoric aside, the consequences of an entitiy like GM going under will have severe consequences, and I'm not sure that "the principal of the thing" is a good enough argument against saving it.
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It is already bad enough, so maybe we need to get past the rhetoric, and ask what might happen if we don't do the bailout.
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Life isn't fair, but I don't think that "volunteering" our country into a depression is exactly the smartest move we could make right now. Oversight, yes, but rhetoric?
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Toss it out like yesterdays' garbage, and, oh yeah, the GOP...

Is this signs of that backbone?
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http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/14/congress.automakers/index.html

Is this signs of that backbone?
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/14/congress.automakers/index.html
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BTW, the mad mod won't let me post the http part...