There's a new sheriff in town, folks. And this time, he's not a fucking moron.

Never mind "knows what he's talking about," I'm still getting used to a President who knows how to TALK.

A Faux Gnus "reporter" not called on? How apropos.

Keep it up, Mr. President.

o
o

One thing Obama didn't say, but which I heard several times was, "Now c'mon media. You're not really as stupid as Republicans, are you?" I loved that.

The other question that surprised me, and that Obama sidestepped was when Helen Thomas asked if any Middle East countries had nuclear weapons. I thought it was pretty obvious she was asking about Israel.

Not bad for a beginner. Complete sentences delivered in a lucid format . Imagine that. Too bad he backed-off on the torturers. They deserve much much more than a "No one is above the law" pittance of a response. They tortured people for Christ's sake. Tortured! He needs to address these war criminal sooner than later when it will be viewed more and more like a "get even" response from the obstructionists who will continue to bedevil this articulate human lest he continue to expose their sophomoric illiteracy. The longer he and his wait to go after them the harder it will be. It'll take the Bush-lites completely off their game. I don't think they have the brains to "fight" two fronts at the same time. It'll slice and dice them.

It will be interesting to see how the loons of the right react to this. Not only was Obama poised, articulate and well informed on the subjects, I don't see where he left much for repubs to manufacture outrage from. Not that they won't find a way - it's what they do. But, they'll do so at the risk of being seen as even further separated from reality. Well played.

I liked Obama's opening remarks but I want to see more consistency in tone and substance. A president is necessarily a realist but if he's overeager to conciliate, he undercuts his own authority. Maybe Obama learned the hard way that poker isn't about showing the other players your cards in order to build goodwill. He's a decent guy who needs to convey that he's also capable of breaking your thumbs.

"I liked Obama's opening remarks but I want to see more consistency in tone and substance."

I think Obama is more shrewd than you think he is.

I'd also add that he's allowing the republicans to look really silly and petty right now. Plus he'll most likely end up with a stimulus package on his desk very soon. This ruckus, if anything, will only add to his political capital and diminish the Retaliban.

Excellent point. Agree with or disagree with President Obama, I think everyone's got to admire his skills. He sets a high standard of leadership by making a rational argument so well. Senate Republicans and centrists are embarrassing in comparison.

Although there were time restraints and the President had to move on, but, glad to see Helen Thomas attempt to ask a followup question. So many in the called "journalistic" corps have forgotten that technique of gaining information.

Obama's giving an hour-long speech disguised as a press conference.

That's hard to do.

Having 61 senatorial votes in your back pocket is such a game changer! -Kevo

Obama mentioned "the party is over," in reference to the fact that the US is a debtor nation with very few manufactured exports.

Is the party over? Permanently over? Permanently as in end of the American Empire over? Economists care to comment?

"Ideological blockage"--I love it! The new symbols for the obstructionist right should be a toilet plunger and some Metamucil.

If he keeps this up his pressers are going to have very high ratings. Bad news for Leno and Letterman.

Did you see the poll showing 58% disapproval 31% approval for Mitch McConnell and his gang of 1929 reenacters.

Actually, I thought the press conference did make news. He signalled that the weatherizing, energy research and school construction funding would be restored in the conference bill, and probably some of the tax cuts stripped out.

Our Obama is one cool cat. He knows exactly what he's doing and always seems to be a step ahead of everyone else. Watching the "anal"ysis afterwards, Tweety announced he was so proud of the quality of the journalists' questions. I thought Chuck Todd's question was one of the dumbest of the night.

"one of the dumbest"

But, did not beat out the A-Rod question.

Nor did he openly question his opponent's patriotism. Republicans are still loyal Americans, even if they are out there on the fringes of rationality. And though the Right Wing is working hard to make the next four years really bad; Obama was polite enough to point out only that people who colluded in the last 8 years are misinformed or not very bright.

Boy it's rocky and frustrating; and so reassuring to have a smart person in charge.

Very poignant comments! It was distressing to obstructionists and strong in mental appeal to the progressives. For those who remember the last awakening, President Obama sounder very much as did President John Fitzgerald Kennedy when he spoke to the nation. Yes, good to have intellectuals back in charge.

I thought Chuck Todd's question was one of the dumbest of the night.

I thought it was the dumbest. He's supposed to be MSNBC's best and brightest? Can't see it, myself.

Mixed feelings here. I was fine, right up until this: "bad teachers need to be fired after being given the opportunity to train effectively." How are you going to identify "bad teachers?" By their students' grades? Really? Test scores? That's a crock. Bush's solution was more testing, and you know what? It doesn't help. Not to get all "get off my lawn, you darn kids," but when I was in school, if I failed a class, it was my fault. Neither I, nor my parents, would have dreamed of blaming the teacher, and this was just over a decade ago.

Some of our most passionate, committed, and caring teachers are in the worst schools. Inner city kids are in a culture that marks those who try in school as losers. Give a teenager the choice between peer acceptance and academic achievement, and it's a rare teen that will choose to try in school. As a result, they actually hide things, like doing their homework. They're ashamed of trying, and many of them fail as a result. And for this, you would blame the teachers.

America's educational establishment does need change, but it needs to be driven by people who actually know what's going on. Ask teachers what they need, and give it to them. Ask students why they're failing, and work to change that. Teachers are now expected to control a class room, present the curriculum in an entertaining fashion and police their students. Their class rooms may have 25 desks, but 30 students assigned. They probably can't count on much support from parents, many of whom are single and working 12 or more hours a day. Many of their kids have to ride buses for 30-40 minutes each way to and from school, and many of them work. They may not have enough books available so that students can take them home. Therefore, they may not be able to assign homework that requires reference to a text. Finally, students are passed from one grade to another, whether they earned it or not. What's a high school algebra teacher supposed to do when faced with kids who don't have the basic arithmetical skills that they were supposed to have learned in 6th grade? He has to cover those basic topics before they can learn algebra. What's a literature teacher supposed to do when they're supposed to cover, for example, Romeo and Juliet, but their students are reading at a 5th grade level?

There are things that the federal government can do to help. They can provide direct funding to pay for these things. They can provide a single, national curriculum that ensures that students everywhere have the same educational expectations, and they can enforce that if kids don't meet the basic requirements, they cannot be advanced. They can provide funds to ensure that teachers are paid a decent wage, and that there are enough teachers so that class sizes are kept small (and there are plenty of studies that show that class size and quality of education are inversely correlated).

Accountability must start with the students.

But, did not beat out the A-Rod question.

I never get tired of talking about baseball. But I was, not for the first time, embarrassed for Fletcher.

Have to disagree on Stein question. Obama was quite emphatic that no person is above the law, that the law should take its course. If I were one the perps of the late unpleasantness I'd have taken zero comfort from his remarks. What I heard was a tacit "go for it" directed to the Hill.

So much to say about this speech/news conference: President Obama is a Master, in the spiritual sense. Yes, he is a human and does not do it perfectly, and he acknowledges that, as well. Most of the questions from the media are less than informed because they have been so dumbed down that they lack the knowledge and courage to ask informed questions. The question from the CNN guy, Ed Henry, I think, about the dead coming into Dover AFB under cover of night: what prevented CNN from covering the arrivals? I believe CNN stands for Courage?No Never. What could or would the previous administration have done to them were they to "sneak" someone in to take photos? There were photos taken by courageous contractors, who lost their jobs. Did CNN step in to support them and offer them jobs? I doubt it.

What is going on right now is that the entire Corporate News Structure is being challenged to reinvent itself. It is way over 8 years that they have been whipped into submission to their "owners". A good example is the A-Rod drama. Read Dave Zirin's column in The Nation magazine. A-Rod is a symptom. The collusion of MLB owners, commissioners and the union are behind the scenes, pulling the strings. We, the American public/consumers, have been misdirected to look at A-Rod and Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire as the cause of the meltdown of the reputation of MLB and professional sports, in general. None of these guys is bright enough or powerful enough to pull this off, singly.

My point, if there is one, is that we, as "consumers" of the news product, must be more vigilant and practice discretion in what we ingest into our minds. Salmonella-infested peanut products are a symptom of a lack of oversight and regulation. You don't blame the bacteria for the deaths and illness they cause; you look to the system that allowed them to get into the consumer food chain in the first place.

Our responsibility here is to look behind the questions and the answers to their source. Informed consumption is wise consumption.

I am committed to Oneness through Justice and Transformation
peace,
st john

Chill the fuck out. He's got this.

I didn't see the press conference last night, so I just finished watching the full length video clip on the provided link.

Very impressive performance by Obama. What a nice contrast to: the past 8 years of Bush and all of his press secretaries, and to all of the Republican Presidential candidates from last year.

Except for 3 consecutive questions late in the conference, his answers ranged from 3 to 8 minutes in length. At no point did he appear incoherent or confused, and most of the time he was clearly comfortable and well informed. Even when he didn't completely or directly answer a question, he didn't completely ignore it or engage in the embarrasingly obvious dodges.

Like Hilzoy and many other commentators, I thought he did a great job addressing questions about the stimulus bill and about the bipartisan or lack thereof.

I also liked seeing him call on Sam Stein from Huffington Press and agree that Stein asked a better question than some of the MSM reporters.

I also agree that Chuck Todd's was the dumbest question in the conference by far. While the A-Rod question was lightweight, it was also about something that was just in the news in the last day and it was essentially a throwaway -- it took only 78 seconds for question and answer combined. Whereas Chuck Todd's question demonstrated a fundamental ignorance of economics in a press conference that was primarily about the economy.

Heh, even with preview, in 4th paragraph:

"bipartisan" should have been "bipartisanship"

Looked a bit nervous and distracted, however. Uh, uh, uh,...uh. Can't blame him...taking a big, big multi-trillion dollar high risk gamble. May not be a fun presidency.