President Obama on Wednesday pulled rank on the Republican presidential candidates, announcing a key jobs speech next week on the same night as a GOP 2012 primary debate in California.�
The two-hour debate, at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, was supposed to start at 8 p.m. on Sept. 7. In his letter to congressional leaders Wednesday, Obama requested to speak before a joint session of Congress at the very same time.�
Republicans quickly slammed the president for the move. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus called it a "thinly-veiled political ploy."
"President Obama's decision to address Congress at the same time as a long-scheduled Republican Presidential debate cements his reputation as Campaigner-in-Chief," he said in a written statement.
A Reagan Library official, speaking to Fox News, says there is no official reaction yet from the organizers of the debate, but the event has been on the schedule for months. The Reagan Library is expected to issue a statement shortly. Politico, which is co-sponsoring the debate with NBC News, said the debate would not be postponed.�
The White House insisted the timing was coincidental. Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters there were many scheduling "considerations" and suggested the president has no interest in detracting from the debate viewership.�
He said the administration would "welcome" a decision by debate hosts to "adjust the timing of their debate so that it didn't conflict."�
But Carney downplayed the debate as one of many on the political calendar. He said the White House would "carry forward" with its planned speech regardless of "whatever the competing opportunities on television are, whether it's the wildlife channel or the cooking channel."�
Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe didn't buy the White House explanation. "No, that's not just coincidental," the Oklahoma senator told Fox News Radio, suggesting mischief was afoot. "Why else would he choose 8 o'clock on Wednesday?"
However, by scheduling the speech on the same night, the president runs the risk of becoming even more of a punching bag should the debate sponsors push back the time.�Republican candidates would have an immediate opportunity to rebut the president's speech on live TV.
"Potentially, it will backfire," said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics. "Obama's elevated this debate to a face-off with him rather than a face-off with the Republican candidates."
Andrea Saul, spokeswoman for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, said in a statement that viewers will have a choice between "Republican candidates talking about the future of America, or Barack Obama talking about the future of his presidency."
Though the debate is one of many, it would be the first to feature Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who jumped into the race shortly after the last debate, which was co-sponsored by Fox News. Perry has quickly vaulted into the lead position in many national polls.�
Technically, the president must be formally invited by Congress in order to address a joint session and can't just show up.�
In a statement, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi indicated the timing wouldn't be a problem.�
"And with an address before a Joint Session of Congress next week, the president will give renewed urgency to the jobs crisis facing our nation," she said.�
Obama is expected to outline proposals for both long-term deficit reduction and job creation.�
The plan is likely to include a mix of infrastructure spending and tax relief, as well as other proposals. For months, the president has been pushing for new trade agreements, patent reform and an extension of the payroll tax cut, among other initiatives.�
With Republicans in control of the House and Democrats in control of the Senate, the president will need bipartisan support for any proposals he lays out. After bitter partisan debates led to last-minute agreements on government funding and a debt-ceiling increase, the president is calling on lawmakers to come together around his new proposals.�
"It is my intention to lay out a series of bipartisan proposals that the Congress can take immediately to continue to rebuild the American economy by strengthening small businesses, helping Americans get back to work, and putting more money in the paychecks of the Middle Class and working Americans, while still reducing our deficit and getting our fiscal house in order," Obama wrote in his letter Wednesday to Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker John Boehner.
world news/november 3 2009 world newspapers yahoo news yeshiva world news
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