Ugh, Mr. President, all your voters are not selfish assholes.

[RB TexLa]

Only place this "mandate" could have come from in the people who voted for President Obama. That is not the only factor that caused us to vote for the president. To say we are so damn selfish that all we care about are jobs is very insulting. There are many decent people who voted for him and this is the president saying we are selfish assholes who only care about jobs.




The provision would have removed a requirement that states seek permission from the federal government to provide family planning services for Medicaid recipients.

An Obama aide said the president personally called House Democratic leaders to urge them to remove the family planning provision.

One of those calls was to Rep. Henry Waxman, D-California. Waxman is the chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and one of the most influential liberal members in the House.

The Obama aide said the president urged Waxman and other Democrats to take out the provision because it was a hot button issue among Republicans and did not focus on the mandate of creating jobs as quickly as possible.



http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/27/obama.stimulus/

[Life Long Dem]

1. Oh great from CNN. They haven't been too trustworthy of late

[Thrill]

2. Obama isn't calling anyone selfish. This is just something that doesn't need to be in this bill

It was going to be scrapped in the Senate anyway

[asthmaticeog]

3. A lot of DU thinks this bill is an omnibus "everything I want all at once" law. nt

[sandnsea]

9. Democrats tried to get everything in

and as badly as this country has been neglected, I'm glad of it. Part of the title is "reinvestment" after all. I think it's stupid to remove contraceptive assistance in an economic crisis, but Republicans have never been known for their smarts. I hope every girl in Kentucky gets pregnant and then tells the welfare office they'd have gotten birth control if McConnell hadn't ripped it out of the state assistance package.

[Jackpine Radical]

4. Now that the Republicans have refused to play ball, he might as well

put it back in.

[Mari333]

5. hey Obama..do you finally get it?

being nice doesnt work. start throwing strikes.

[cali]

7. he gets how to handle the repukes far better than the likes of DU

armchair strategists. And he's throwing plenty of strikes. They're just whizzing right over your head.

[sandnsea]

6. Huh?

Are you saying the President said somebody is selfish?

[DireStrike]

8. I'm glad when questionable initiatives are removed from bills

Riders annoy the hell out of me.

Questionable in terms accomplishing the stated purpose of the bill.

[CoffeeCat]

10. I have to say that I agree with Obama...

After all, this is a new day in politics.

You want a stimulus/jobs bill passed, then send up a stimulus/jobs bill.

If we want to pass legislation regarding family planning funding--then let's do it up. It's good
legislation, but let's keep it separate.

That's a Republican ploy...to slip some anti-choice provision into a big war-funding bill---then scream
"You hate our soldiers!" when Dems won't vote for it.

Let's not play those same games.

It's a new game in town, but it's a good game. And it's going to take some time for everyone--even Dems--to adjust.

[merh]

13. That makes sense.

Keep it simple and don't co-mingle purposes.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

11. You've Got To Be Kidding...

Obama was 100% correct in his actions.

[RB TexLa]

12. So the mandate given to him by the voters is to create jobs and that's it.

We are so selfish that is all we care about?

[asthmaticeog]

14. There will be other bills coming before congress, you know.

Why risk tanking the stimulus program by tacking on something arguably unrelated that the opposition could use to kill it with? Make that a separate fight.

[KharmaTrain]

15. It's Called Playing Poker...

President Obama is coming to the table with a lot of chips in play...and trying to see what he can parlay and when. This economic mess won't be fixed with one "stimulus"...but a series of them...and each will be a greater opportunity to add in social spending as part of a recovery and growth program.

While job creation is important...the implosion of the economy is even more pressing. People continue to lose jobs and homes, money remains very tight and the overall economy is stalled. President Obama will have to push several big programs through in the next months if he's to get any tangible results. And he'll need a couple GOOP votes here and there to make it happen. That's what's at the heart of his "charm offensive".

I'm sure he knows he will face a lot of obstructionists and is trying to splinter the opposition by showing he's reasonable at this stage, only to come back with this program and others further down the road.