My Trip To The White House Today
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As you may or may not have heard, the White House held a little economic roundtable today with progressive media on the anniversary of the passage of the recovery act (aka the stimulus bill). I was one of the attendees, along with John Aravosis, Atrios, Matt Yglesias, Chris Hayes, Thom Hartmann, and a few others (Aravosis has a great picture of the meeting here, check me out, pensive as HELL 
. We met with Jared Bernstein, who is Vice President Biden’s Chief Economist.
Some notes on substance:
* The stimulus is working, and the folks at the White House seem really frustrated that this story isn’t being told. Bernstein, at least twice, indicated that he thought progressive media – especially the blogs – wasn’t doing a good job telling this story. I think he’s very wrong. Up until today as they’ve done with other important issues, the White House has gone into Idiot Democratic Governing Mode. What’s that? It’s overdoing in the opposite direction what the Bush administration did in over-politicizing everything.
Part of modern governing is also campaigning, and the White House has dealt with the stimulus as if people will just make the connection between the bill congress passed and the fact that cops and teachers kept their jobs and roads and bridges are being built. This isn’t the case. The White House has the best bully pulpit in domestic politics, and they should have been using that as a drumbeat in favor of the act. They’ve started in recent days, but it’s been a year. To be upset at progressive outlets, particularly blogs, to do this is absurd.
The way the vast majority of us write about this stuff is based on what’s new and what’s hot. If the White House is not saying something or saying it loud enough, it doesn’t make waves and we don’t write about it. They’ve fallen down on the messaging job here, not us.
* Bernstein reiterated to us just how close to the edge the economy was when they took over. Again, the act rescued us from ruin from the Bush era policies. Bernstein specifically noted that supply side economics has been a “huge bust”. You wouldn’t know this based on how often Fox News has Art Laffer on to sell snake oil, but you wouldn’t expect any better.
* He also noted, as has been said elsewhere, that we’re in year 2 of the plan, which is the “Recover” phase (which follows last year’s “Rescue” and precedes the “Reinvest” which is still in progress). We’ve gone from a contracting economy to one that’s expanding – but that the high unemployment rate is “not acceptable”.
* In response to a question from Thom Hartmann about whether it was wise to have green jobs go to foreign-owned firms, Bernstein said that the goal was to have American jobs, so while of course the preference is for US companies to benefit, the overall goal was American jobs.
* He said “clean energy” about a thousand times. So they’re all for it. Me too.
* My question, because I am not a wonk on policy and because I am a nerd, was about whether the recovery act or related money might be used with private industry to fill in the gaps left in the space program after the cancellation of the Constellation program. Bernstein couldn’t go into a whole lot of detail on this (which I understand, since this is basically NASA territory but I had to ask something) but noted that the program’s cancellation was part of the president’s plan to get rid of inefficient programs and move to a more useful model for NASA.
He didn’t seem to be the right person to ask if the President supports my beloved “Mars, bitches” plan for NASA but I will pursue this whenever I get this kind of access.
* When asked about populism and its newfound popularity on the left and right nowadays, Bernstein noted that Obama is “extremely balanced” and has shown anger and indignation versus the banks. Unlike some others, I’m not interested in ANGRY BARACK IS ANGRY moments. If we wanted a drama queen, we would have elected McCain. I far rather prefer someone like Obama who analyzes the situation, assesses the right course of action, and implements it with an eye towards adjusting as we go along. This is called logic and common sense and if Obama loses an approval point or three because he isn’t giving a tv-ready response, so be it I say.
* On a lighter note: OMG THE WHITE HOUSE IS AWESOME. I honestly crossed something off my bucket list today. It was like walking on an Aaron Sorkin set but it was TEH REAL. When you go to the White House you really get the sense that REALLY IMPORTANT STUFF IS GOING ON.
* I also got to pop my head in on the White House briefing room which is really really really small. And I met my Twitter nemesis, from television, ABC’s Jake Tapper.
Good times.
54 Responses to “My Trip To The White House Today”
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© 2000-2011 Oliver Willis
There needs to be an Oliver and Jake Tapper reality show
Pretty cool stuff.
But why are your pictures so dark? Turn up the contrast!
Sounds like an incredible day. Your identification and naming of “Idiot Democratic Governing Mode” is spot on; it’s the reason 95% of Americans got tax cuts under Obama but only 12% know it. The Right is louder and blow hardier, and what they’re saying is being taken as truth despite the fact that there is little reality whatsoever to their spin. It’s incredibly frustrating.
I will totally back your “Mars, bitches!” campaign as and when. Just say the word.
Pics are from my iPhone, as I didn’t want my first trip to White House to devolve into Oliver Lugs Around His SLR.
In my estimation, you just got cooler.
I think the thing that really needs to be reemphasized over and over is that messaging is almost as important as legislating these days. You can’t just expect to do the right thing and have people know that you did the right thing, you have to sell it a lot.
Also, I am very upset that there was no Thom Hartmann in all those pictures.
The pic over at Americablog makes you look like you’re being debriefed on the Russian terrorists who have a loose nuke in a Tom Cruise movie:
http://www.americablog.com/2010/02/so-i-went-to-white-house-today.html
That’s a compliment, obviously.
The benefits of living in DC. You may get the snow that stops global warming, but sometimes you get to talk shop with suits in the big house.
“Pensive”? Looks more like a James Earl Jones impression.
Did you ask your crew here what to ask there? I might have asked about economic multiplier effects… Dennis might have asked about Sarah Palin’s perfume… either way you might have had other questions to ask.
Jesus, dude, BIG day!
Aw, next thing you know, you’re going to be going to Villager parties and then hanging with undersecretaries for something or the other and then you’ll get all cautious because you don’t want to burn your friends and maybe kill your next big career move.
And when all that happens, I’ll be forced to claim I knew you when you didn’t suck.
Nice suit, tho.
Yeah, its very situation room. The real one, not the Wolf Blitzer world.
Nice Pics, but yo Oliver you were the only brother in the room! And where are the sistas’? Is it gonna be up to me?!? Just askin’?
Yeah, I noticed this as well.
My God, Look there, in those photographs. Snow! In Winter of all things! Well, I think I’ve just gone and proven beyond a doubt that the sun doesn’t exist, this calls for a beer.
But I am sitting in my office, and I don’t see ANY BEER around me. There is no beer in my office. Therefore, I have proven that beer does not exist anymore. Sorry to ruin your night, Rex.
Oh come on now, Mambo, you can’t expect me to believe your office exists now can you? I’ve never seen it, nobody I know has ever seen it, and to my knowledge there has never been any study performed on whether it was ever built. You’re just throwing red herrings out now. Besides, if Beer doesn’t exist, then how can you explain my blurred vision?
Outstanding
Were you disappointed (did it leave you somewhat empty)that Rahm Emanuel didn’t pop in and call you guys “fuckin retards”?
I’m newer to this than most, but while I agree with your messaging complaint. I think you dismiss it far too easily. I am pretty positive that most of the major lefty blogs focused more on the smallness of the bill rather than the programs included initially. It got better over this year, but most of the coverage flipped to repub hypocrisy and though that’s great fodder, it can’t be repeated enough that they don’t care about that.
I think the concept of “bully pulpit” is outdated. When there was a limited amount of info sources a larger portion of people could get the President’s message with far less noise.
The “liberal media” myth, the runup to Iraq succeeds because the right speaks as one voice. I don’t think the left should or could emulate that. But I think the repeated positive posts about the effectiveness of the stimulus, actual projects discussed with some insight repeatedly throughout the year could have gone a long way. How many comments have you read about Obama sold progressives out because he didn’t go bigger “when he had 60 votes”? Our liberal betters jumped on how ineffective this would be nearly as fast as the republicans and spent most of this year complaining about how small it was.
I see nothing wrong with identifying policy disagreements but there is a real disconnect with most of the blogs I read not wanting to appear too cheerleady.
Aside from that little quibble, I think it is very cool the WH invited you. Hopefully, you get these for the next seven years. Please send Trapper my coldest regards.
Art Laffer’s selling snake oil but David Brock’s MediaMatters and the progressive media are giving us the gospel on our economic plight. Right. Did they discuss the upcoming inflation that our unprecedented projected deficits will cause?
Wow Oliver that is something cool. That pic of you in the “briefing room” looks like a scene out of a political movie. HA HA
“The stimulus is working, and the folks at the White House seem really frustrated that this story isn’t being told. Bernstein, at least twice, indicated that he thought progressive media – especially the blogs – wasn’t doing a good job telling this story. ”
You should have told him the people that they want to get the message across to are the ones that don’t watch or read progressive material.
Uh oh! How long till Dennis chimes in screaming “CONSPIRACY! Obama is setting up a propaganda operation with bloggers and no conservatives were invited? What happened to transparency??!!?!1″
“Bernstein, at least twice, indicated that he thought progressive media – especially the blogs – wasn’t doing a good job telling this story.”
Many progressive blogs are too busy being called traitors and pro-GOP by moderate Dems in and outside of the White House. Just sayin’.
Did they discuss the upcoming inflation that our unprecedented projected deficits will cause?
Did you worry about similar unprecedented deficits under the last POTUS?
Zing!
Noted economist Dick Cheney has assured us all that deficits don’t matter, as long as a Republican is president.
One topic not discussed…..
Obama’s Faith-based Economics
–Brian Reidl
The elephant in the conference room none of the bloggers noticed.
Apparently, either E.J. Dionne was not invited, or he was and decided not to attend:
Dems Are Losing the Message War
‘Nuff said right there. You don’t need to read the whole thing.
This has what to do with my comment about the picture quality?
I mean, it couldn’t be you’re responding to comments in a non-sequitur fashion as to disperse them through the thread, so instead of just squatting and dumping your usual feces you’re attempting to spray it violent-diarrhea like?
Oh no, wittle Dennis would never do that on his favorite blog.
True.
Get over yourself.
The biggest problem with opinion of the stimulus was created by the White House… it was way oversold. Perhaps they thought that was necessary to get it passed, but if so, they must accept that people think it’s been a waste, even if it hasn’t.
Yup, Buzz.
Classic case of overselling and under delivering.
It’s a recurring theme with Obama.
And they broke Rahm Emanuel’s rule of never letting a serious crisis go to waste.
Now they want to reset and rewrite, so they call in the nutroots.
Barack Obama doesn’t care about Black People?!?
I guess the Dem strategy is “Repeat it enough times and people will think it’s true.” Sorry.
“You keep using that word unprecedented. I do not think it means what you think it means”
Fair enough, but that does not give opponents the backing to denounce it as an utter failure. Partisan nonsense must be stopped…
No, the reason people think that is because it hasn’t delivered on the preposterous promises Obama made when he was selling the bill to the public. That is a fair criticism, it just isn’t fair to say that it has done nothing good whatsoever.
I’m in agreement with you, Buzz. It has done some good, but at enormous cost. Skepticism is justified, but you’re right, some good has occurred and that shouldn’t be overlooked. What’s going on now is just another sales job, IMO.
That I can agree upon. The administration oversold and is forever overselling the benefits. But, that says more about the audience, us, than them. Moronvotersayswhat?
Heh, I went to the White House (well, the OEOB) late last year for a piece for WireTap Magazine (it sadly never got published because the magazine folded), and yeah, OMG White House!! The briefing room is definitely small…
Are you an economics major, ow? What private sector positions have you held?
Just curious.
I suspect this is the setup for the inevitable “Ah, you haven’t run a company, so what the hell do you know?” Of course our great titans of Wall Street with their multimillion dollar bonuses have done such an awesome job on our economy with their experience and MBAs!
Never mind that the point of this meeting wasn’t to set economic policy but to discuss messaging, about how to get the story out on the economic indicators that are turning around and the jobs which have been created so far, but which hasn’t been told because of the media’s love of gotcha stories wallowing in “ZOMG Unemployment is a point higher than you predicted based on incomplete estimates FAIL!” And messaging is something Oliver and the other progressive bloggers in the meeting know rather a lot about IMHO.
Dennis, from your link:
Here’s another headline for you:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/7259323/US-bank-lending-falls-at-fastest-rate-in-history.html?utm_source=tmg&utm_medium=TD_US&utm_campaign=finance1802pm
Dennis, don’t you think it’s a little dishonest to talk about how bank lending creates jobs by lending money to hardware stores without also mentioning that bank’s are not currently lending money to hardware stores?
Exactly what happened to Oregon’s “Joes” and it’s 1600 employees.
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2009/05/joes_demise_didnt_have_to_happ.html
That’s an odd thing for you of all people to link to:
The Obama administration argues that both the stimulus and the health bill are better than people think. That’s entirely true, and this is actually an indictment — it means that on the two big issues of the moment, Republicans and conservatives are winning an argument they should be losing.
Some really powerful stuff: Obama & Marxism
http://therealrevo.com/blog/?p=20785#comment-25608
adj.
Having no previous example: unprecedented economic growth.
So Ferris, what do YOU think unprecedented means? Do you ever tire of being a douche?
I would be uncharacteristic of me, yes, Parthy, but my point was that EJ Dionne does not seem to be on the same train as the ‘Get out the message about how great a job the White House is doing’ the liberal propagandists here are on.
Farris,
LOL, I’m pretty sure your question regarding unprecedented wasn’t directed towards me. That graph is absolutley chilling isn’t it. Democrats remind me of overextended yuppies whose charge cards are turned down at a restaraunt who smile and whip out a second or third card and say no problem.
All Talk, No Action!
Got it. Sadly typical of this White House…
How did it feel to have been taken as a willing propagandist — who had fallen down on the job?
Glad to see you didn’t agree, by the way.
On the “lighter side” it is indeed an awesome place to visit. I did once back in ’90 or ’91, but on a weekend.
I really disagree with this. The Republicans have been doing their level best to paint Obama as some kind of extremist outsider who’s against mainstream Americans. Obama needs to get the message accross that he’s pissed about how conservatives are trying to screw them and show who’s really on their side. You don’t want to overdo it but a littel drama queening, wisely done, can be powerful stuff.
I agree, that was pretty blatant abuse of the reply button.