Breaking: President Obama on the cliff at 5pm eastern

[bigtree]

Zeke Miller ‏@ZekeJMiller

BREAKING: THE PRESIDENT delivers a statement on the fiscal clif at 5pm

[Gregorian]

1. I knew it. I predicted last night that he'd come out while they were in hiding. YES.

[Cha]

24. Good Call, Gregorian!

[leftstreet]

2. Friday news dump. Cowardly n/t

[Comrade_McKenzie]

4. Don't call my President a coward. nt

[madokie]

11. Yup my President too

There's things he might could be accused of but Coward is not one of them

[leftstreet]

30. These 'negotiations' already make him look weak

He needs to go bold

[mcar]

5. Nice

not

[bigtree]

6. not as bold, perhaps

. . . as posting self-serving insults on an internet message board

[reflection]

7. Why?

I don't think he was waiting on the Friday news dump. I think the Republicans just happened to melt down on a Thursday night.

[trumad]

10. Really--- You don't even know what he's going to say?

You make a wrong turn here?

[SidDithers]

12. Internet tough guys are fucking hilarious...nt

Sid

[MineralMan]

13. Oh, for pete's sake. The Republicans bailed yesterday.

When was you thought the President would speak about it?

Your snide, sarcastic attitude about President Obama is getting really, really old, you know. I, for one, am sick of it.

President Obama will speak at 5 PM. I'll be listening. You can do as you please. But please spare us the sarcasm when you don't even know what he'll say. That's just juvenile.

[dionysus]

14. oh noes...

[JoePhilly]

17. Right, Obama should have talked about Boehner's failure LAST NIGHT ... a week ago!!!

Why has Obama not come out and told us why Boehner's Plan B failed in the House sooner than the day after!!!

What is Obama hiding about what he knows about future events???

Why won't Obama tell me what Santa is bringing me for Christmas!!!

[Rex]

19. Sure, right - the man that risked a war with

another nation (to kill OBL) that has nukes is a coward...excuse me while I sit here and don't believe you know jack shit about the POTUS.

[leftstreet]

33. That same person just threw vulnerable seniors under the bus

He needs to make a bold statement

[leftynyc]

21. Screw you

Big bad anonymous poster - so fucking brave.

[SidDithers]

27. Nailed it...

Sid

[leftstreet]

38. Sorry if I struck a nerve

Obama needs to make a bold statement after what just happened

[TeamPooka]

28. yes Fridays can be a news dump day but in this case it's an end of week status update

for the people re: deal negotiations with republicans
and a chance to apply more leverage
and a chance to get the last word over the GOP going into the weekend news shows.
much more proactive than cowardly from a politics standpoint but I understand how many would not be able to perceive the nuances involved in the situation.

[leftstreet]

31. He just threw seniors under the bus

He needs a bold explanation as to why

How is this so difficult for people to understand?

[TeamPooka]

34. when did the seniors get run over? Was there a deal cut or law passed? Your pretend history is funny

but funny strange
not funny haha.

[leftstreet]

35. Did Boehner offer the chained CPI, or did Obama?

Maybe I'm misinformed...

[TeamPooka]

37. why are you so locked into what didn't happen?

and not what will happen now?

[leftstreet]

39. What else 'won't happen' next time?

Will Obama pretend-offer the Food Stamp program?

Or pretend-offer Veterans benefits?

nyuck-nyuck-nyuck

He looks weak

[TeamPooka]

41. Shouldn't you be focused on the Mayans today? Sounds like your kind of pretend crisis.

[leftstreet]

43. You're minimizing an historic event

A Democratic President offered to cut Social Security

I'm sorry, but this is big

[geek tragedy]

40. When was he supposed to react to a Thursday evening development?

Idiotic criticism.

[DevonRex]

45. Yeah!!! He should have responded on Wednesday

to something that happened on the next day, Thursday!!! That'd show how brave he is!!! Really!!!

[bigtree]

3. WH official confirms Reid is meeting with POTUS now.

Zeke Miller ‏@ZekeJMiller

WH official confirms Reid is meeting with POTUS now.

[bluestateguy]

8. The "fiscal cliff" is imaginary and doesn't exist

I'm going Christmas shopping.

[bigtree]

20. the 'cliff' involves more than just deficit reduction measures

the new proposal is to kick all of the sequester cuts down the road and focus on extending the unemployment benefits and extending the tax breaks for folks under $250,000

[bluestateguy]

22. La la la la la la la la la!!!!!

I can't hear you....

[bigtree]

26. was talking past cynicism, anyway

. . . to folks interested and affected.

[DJ13]

9. My question is

Is it possible to stand on the edge of a cliff and wave a white flag without falling off?

[JoePhilly]

18. According to Boehner, no.

[cthulu2016]

15. Blah, blah, will be here ready to negotiate, blah

There's nothing really to say. He's just keeping himself on TV sounding reasonable.

(And if 15 minutes from now he says something game-hanging and dramatic I will have been wrong.)

[bigtree]

23. I'm betting folks with expiring unemployment benefits will find him 'reasonable

[cthulu2016]

25. There is great PR value to sounding reasonable

I'm not knocking it. Just noting that he most likely won't have anything substantial to say.

Not his fault. There is nothing substantial to say. There isn't much he can do unilaterally

[Cha]

16. Thank you, bigtree! Love hearing from our President.. :)

[applegrove]

29. Thanks. Go Bama!

[Fire Walk With Me]

32. There. Is. No. Cliff.

This is AUSTERITY being snuck in under another name. Remember Greece. STAND UP FIGHT BACK!

[bigtree]

36. There are expiring unemployment benefits

. . . and expiring tax cuts which will effect as many as 97% of working-class Americans.

A report says that he's going to propose postponing sequestration.

[TDale313]

42. Any updates? n/t

[cthulu2016]

44. Nothing worth reporting. Just a general call to fix things after Xmas.

[TDale313]

46. Thanks.