How much air time does this egomaniac need? Now he’s going to address a joint session of Congress Wednesday, September 9th.
The last time a president addressed a joint session of Congress that wasn’t a State of the Union, or the traditional first address by a new president, was Sept. 20, 2001, when President George W. Bush spoke on the war on terrorism following the 9/11 attacks.
After plans for the session had been reported, Reid and Pelosi released a letter of invitation to the president: "Our nation is closer than ever to achieving health insurance reform that will lower costs, retain choice, improve quality and expand coverage. We are committed to reaching this goal. We would like to invite you to address a Joint Session of the Congress on Wednesday, September 9 on health insurance reform. Thank you for considering this invitation to speak to the Congress and the nation."
Obama plans to give lawmakers a more specific prescription for health care legislation than he has in the past, aides said.
Congress technically returns to Washington on Sept. 8, the day after Labor Day. But many members had planned Sept. 9 as their first workday, so Obama is seizing the first moment when he will have maximum impact.
The address to Congress, the second since Obama took offiice, is a way for White House aides to achieve maximum news coverage as they kick off their plans to recovery from a disappointing August congressional break, which saw the president’s poll number fall as voices of opposition to health care legislation rose.
Let’s see, Wednesday, prime time…what’s on cable…
Honestly, does he think this is going to help? If you remember, the last time he did this, his ratings were down.
It’s not as if the public ignored Obama entirely as he took questions in the East Room on Wednesday night. Indeed, 24.5 million viewers tuned in across the broadcast and cable networks. Still, that tally was the smallest prime-time audience of Obama’s presidency, dropping 50 percent from five months ago. And Fox’s decision not to air the presser paid off: The network won the 8 p.m. time slot with an episode of “So You Think You Can Dance.”
This time people could watch Mythbusters or CSI on cable. I think I’d rather watch something like this:
