Bully Pulpit

President Obama's Bullying Pulpit

Ken Blackwell | Posted 04.04.2012

Read More: Health Care Law, Barack Obama, President Obama, Supreme Court, Health Care Reform, Obama Administration, Bully Pulpit, Health Care, Supreme Court Health Care, Obamacare, Politics News

The Justices will soon vote. They are on notice that Barack Obama will not only disapprove of them if they don't vote his way, he clearly intends to campaign against the Supreme Court if they rule ObamaCare unconstitutional.

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Friday Talking Points -- Ads Obama Should Run

Chris Weigant | Posted 11.16.2011

Read More: Special Election, President Obama, Jobs, Supercommittee, Obama, Democratic, We Cant Wait, Campaign, Anniversary, Republican, Deficit, Do Nothing Congress, Political Ad, Midotw, Congressional Budget Office, Most Disappointing Democrat of the Week, American Jobs Act, Most Impressive Democrat of the Week, Merkley, Ny-9, Anthony Weiner, Committee, House, Cbo, David Weprin, Two Million Jobs, Democrat, Congress, Ad, Bully Pulpit, Democrats, Barack Obama, New York, Mddotw, Chris Weigant, Score, Phone, Tell the Truth on Jobs, Jobs Plan, Jeff Merkley, Friday Talking Points, Senate, Politics News

Obama should run a few ads right now which do not even mention the election. Instead of saying "vote for me!" these ads should say "pass my jobs bill" in as many creative ways as possible.

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Friday Talking Points -- Give 'Em Hell, Barry!

Chris Weigant | Posted 11.09.2011

Read More: Salvatore DiMasi, President Obama, American Exceptionalism, Speech, Economy, 911, Jobs, Obama, Democratic, Friday Talking Points, Star Trek, Pass This Jobs Bill, Republican, Its Simple Math, Mojave, Midotw, Most Disappointing Democrat of the Week, American Jobs Act, Most Impressive Democrat of the Week, Taxes, Give Em Hell Barry, House, Dimasi, Democrat, Massachusetts, Congress, Democrats, Bully Pulpit, Barack Obama, Mddotw, Chris Weigant, Obama Speech, Jobs Plan, Economist, Senate, Harry S Truman, Politics News

President Barack Obama opened his re-election campaign last night with a wowzer of a speech to a joint session of Congress.

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Friday Talking Points -- In The Darkest Depths of Mordor

Chris Weigant | Posted 09.28.2011

Read More: Caucus, Debt, Blue Dog, Tea Party, Debate, President Obama, Mick Jagger, Ronald Reagan, John Boehner, Post Office, Economy, 14th Nervous Breakdown, Obama, Democratic, Sauron, Wall Street Journal, Republican, Deficit, Pelosi, Tolkien, Midotw, Nancy Pelosi, Hobbit, Tax Cuts, Most Disappointing Democrat of the Week, Most Impressive Democrat of the Week, House, Budget, Speaker of the House, Democrat, Congress, Democrats, Bully Pulpit, Barack Obama, Debt Ceiling, David Wu, Mddotw, Tax, Friday Talking Points, Boehner, Middle Earth, Dune, Senate, Fourteenth Amendment, Wu, Mordor, Politics News

If I were a hobbit, right about now I would be wondering just how the heck I wound up at the center of this Washington intraparty political fight, personally.

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The Empty Bully Pulpit

Robert Reich | Posted 09.28.2011

Read More: Debt, Unemployment, Debt Ceiling, Bully Pulpit, Obama Debt Ceiling, Barack Obama, Budget, Politics News

How did we get into this mess? Part of the answer lies with the president -- and his inability or unwillingness to use the bully pulpit to tell Americans the truth, and mobilize them for what must be done.

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Friday Talking Points -- Obama 2.0?

Chris Weigant | Posted 09.14.2011

Read More: Mcconnell, Marijuana, Medical Marijuana, Adult in the Room, China, Eric Holder, Negotiations, Midotw, Press Conference, Most Impressive Democrat of the Week, Balanced, American People, Democrat, Congress, Joe Biden, Justice Department, Democrats, Bully Pulpit, Holder, Barack Obama, Mddotw, Hillary Clinton, Friday Talking Points, Senate, Pledge to America, Social Security, President Obama, Mitch McConnell, Instability, Clean Bill, Abdication, Ronald Reagan, Sherrod Brown, Diplomatic Recognition, Warp Speed, Democratic, Obama, Eric Cantor, Republican, Clinton, Schedule I, Default, Most Disappointing Democrat of the Week, Schedule II, Greece, Taxes, Uncertainty, Warp Time, Attorney General, Millionaires, Deal, Billionaires, Seniors, Debt Ceiling, Obama 2.0, Chris Weigant, Memo, Tax, Libya, Politics News

In the midst of the debt ceiling frenzy, nobody seems to have noticed that Obama is negotiating in a markedly different way than what we've seen from him in the past. He is at the absolute center of the showdown.

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Will Climate Change Chill Obama's Legacy?

William S. Becker | Posted 05.25.2011

Obama is the leader most likely to be blamed 20 or 30 years from now when people around the world are suffering from intense, diverse and irreversible stresses from climate change.

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Obama Should Beware Reagan Myths

Brendan Nyhan | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Public Opinion, Ronald Reagan, Bully Pulpit, Barack Obama, Pollster Analysis, Politics News

With Obama's staffing changes, it's worth noting that he's been reading and soliciting outside advice. He's signaled he's reviewing Reagan's presidency by reading a biography. But is he getting an accurate picture?

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Friday Talking Points [138] -- "Candidate" Obama Returns

Chris Weigant | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Elizabeth Warren, White House, Marijuana, Stanley, Narrative, Geithner, Don't Ask Don't Tell, Candidate Obama, Deficit, Warren, Hostage, Military, Emanuel, Midotw, Tax Cuts, Tax Cuts for Millionaires, Most Impressive Democrat of the Week, Press Conference, Reid, Stoner Jokes, Boxer, Democrat, Congress, Democratic Narrative, Bully Pulpit, Democrats, Barack Obama, Weed, Nomination, Judge, Aide, Mddotw, Rahm Emanuel, Harry Reid, Partisan, Senate, Barbara Boxer, President Obama, Speech, Economy, Middle Class, Jobs, Obama, Democratic, Marcus Stanley, Friday Talking Points, Republican, Bush Tax Cuts, Dadt, Gay Rights, Labor Day, Most Disappointing Democrat of the Week, Obstructionism, Play Games, Taxes, House, Millionaires, Gay, Prop 19, Chris Weigant, Tax, Tim Geithner, Proposition 19, Partisanship, Voinovich, Politics News

America (as, likely, everywhere else) always has a seamy underside, crawling with metaphoric maggots, to anything that is mostly seen as good by the m...

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Friday Talking Points [136] -- Girding For Battle

Chris Weigant | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Debt, Fcc, Existing Tax Law, Bright, Al Franken, China, Girding Your Loins, Deficit, Midotw, Nancy Pelosi, Tax Cuts, Most Impressive Democrat of the Week, Bobby Bright, Reid, Reconciliation, Battle, Abrams, Timothy Karr, Budget, Democrat, Bully Pulpit, Democratic Narrative, Democrats, Barack Obama, Election, Reich, Mddotw, Offense, Harry Reid, Republicans, Paul Ryan, Senate, Social Security, President Obama, 2010 Election, Free Speech, Democratic, Ryan Budget, Obama, Friday Talking Points, Bush Tax Cuts, Paul Abrams, Pelosi, 2010, Defense, Clinton, Bank of China Credit Card, Most Disappointing Democrat of the Week, Ryan, Billionaires Tax Cut, Taxes, Incrementalism, Bill Clinton, Robert Reich, House, Millionaires, Franken, Billionaires, Net Neutrality, Tax, Chris Weigant, Midterm, Federal Communications Commission, Medicare, Disappointing, Bipartisanship, Karr, Politics News

The battle looms. It is, in fact, right over a hill right in front of us. So, are Democrats girding their loins for the fight, and roaring their def...

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Why the Attack On Breitbart Isn't Really About Breitbart

Mark Joseph | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Andrew Breitbart, Cable, Old Media vs. New Media, Markos Moulitsas, New Media, Naacp, Bully! Pulpit, Old Media, Media News

The great thing about New Media is that the very nature of the give-and-take allows misunderstandings to be quickly corrected, unlike in the airtight, controlled Old Media sham.

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Tiger's Potential Bully Pulpit

Ellen Snortland | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Gender Equality, Augusta National, Martha Burk, Sex Addiction, Tiger Woods, The Masters, Sex Discrimination, Cult of Power, Bully Pulpit, Impact News

America's favorite golfer must understand that corporate dealmakers use 'men-only' clubs to maintain power Bully for him! Tiger Woods had earned my s...

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Leading With Conversation or how this President (finally) found his bully pulpit

Tom Gerety | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Leadership, Obama, Teaching as Conversation, Bully! Pulpit, Politics News

Barack Obama is smart, eloquent and well-informed; he has an even, sometimes too even, temperament; he can inspire a crowd and he can impress indivi...

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A Visit With Writer/Producer Brian Bird

Mark Joseph | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Michael Landon Jr., Fantasy Island, Step by Step, Touched by an Angel, Screenwriter, Saving Sarah Cain, Evening Shade, Hollywood, Producer, Bully! Pulpit, Brian Bird, Entertainment News

Brian Bird has been working in Hollywood for two decades now as a writer and producer. For many years he wrote and produced the CBS show Touched By An...

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What's Wrong With This Statement?

Candy Spelling | Posted 11.17.2011

Read More: Town Hall Meetings, Linguistics, Talking Points, Health Care Legislation, Bully Pulpit, Truth, Politics, Healthy Living News

George Lakoff, a UC Berkeley linguistics professor: "The Democrats still believe in Enlightenment reason: If you just tell people the truth, they will come to the right conclusion."

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It's Time To Lead, Mr. President

Chris Weigant | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: White House, Lead, Leadership, President Obama, Democratic, Reform, Obama, Legislation, Republican, Pelosi, Congressional Committees, Nancy Pelosi, Single Payer, Obstructionism, Press Conference, Health Care, August, House, Public Option, Democrat, Congress, Bully Pulpit, Democrats, Barack Obama, Chris Weigant, Health, Health Care Reform, Blue Dogs, Obstructionist, Vacation, Republicans, Healthcare, Senate, Politics News

Obama's legislative style has been to vaguely define what he's for, introduce a plan that is quite obviously open to lots and lots of negotiation, and then sit back and let Congress work it out.

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Be an Ex-President Without Being President First!

Dave Astor | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Supreme Court, White House, Gop, Election Fraud 2004, Al Gore, Newspapers, President Obama, Free World, George W. Bush, Time-Space Continuum, 9/11, Iraq, GOP Shenanigans, War and Peace, Star Trek, John Kerrey, Failing Newspapers, Election Fraud 2000, Iran, First Lady, Former Presidents, Ohio, Iran Election, All the News That's Fit to Print, Rip Van Winkle, President Bush, President Clinton, Bill Clinton, Florida, Michelle Obama, Washington Irving, Ex-Presidents, Election Fraud, Hypnosis, White House Vegetable Garden, Democrats, Bully Pulpit, Barack Obama, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Mainstream Media, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Tolstoy, Ahmadinejad, The Obamas, Iraq War, Republicans, Huffington Post, Comedy News

There's the Star Trek solution of changing the time-space continuum, but I'm hesitant to recommend that because of the damage it might do to the Obamas' new White House vegetable garden.

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