And...Sept. 8 it is, White House says

The White House just put out a statement that puts the onus for clearing Sept. 7 as a date for President Obama's ballyhooed jobs speech on House Speaker John Boehner, and says the president will instead "welcome" the chance to speak on Sept. 8:

“Today, the President asked to address the Congress about the need for urgent action on the economic situation facing the American people as soon as Congress returned from recess. Both Houses will be back in session after their August recess on Wednesday, September 7th, so that was the date that was requested. We consulted with the Speaker about that date before the letter was released, but he determined Thursday would work better. The President is focused on the urgent need to create jobs and grow our economy, so he welcomes the opportunity to address a Joint Session of Congress on Thursday, September 8th and challenge our nation's leaders to start focusing 100% of their attention on doing whatever they can to help the American people."



It's a quiet end to a day-long partisan kerfuffle. But Obama ultimately will still be able to cut off some of the free media oxygen of whatever narrative emerges from the debate by speaking to the nation the next day, which was almost certainly the goal of choosing the night of the face-off in the first place.


On the other hand, the White House, at least in the short-term, handed Boehner an opportunity to look strong to his party. And voters may not care for seeing the issue of jobs - the most important domestic priority and the one the president's fate hinges on - as part of a political play.

This article tagged under: Barack Obama