Bush League

I hope all of you saw Jay Carney's performance yesterday as he told the press corps with a straight face that he was stunned that everyone was getting all in a tither about Obama scheduling his Jobs speech on the same day as the GOP debate on NBC.

I don't know about you, but this is simply fraught with danger for the President on several counts:

First, given the One's past performances, he is long on rhetoric and demagoguery and very short on specifics. If NBC will only move the debate back by an hour, it will give the GOP hopefuls virtually unlimited material to blast the president. Instead of the GOP response being from a relatively unknown representative from Hay Seed, Kansas, they will have all the GOP candidates giving the president broadside after broadside for 90 minutes.

Second, it just looks petty. The GOP debate was scheduled months ago. The American public has been waiting for the president's, ahem, plan for 30 months. A plan that should stand on its own with no distractions. By scheduling the address on the same day as the GOP debate simply manufactures a distraction. Honestly this looks like yet another unforced error by the rookies around at the White House.

Third, it distracts from the message (assuming there is on). I would like to give the president the benefit of the doubt here, but my guess is that we will hear more Keynesian nonsense. You know, balanced approach (raise taxes), invest in education (teacher's union), invest in infrastructure (spend, spend, spend), Green jobs! Etc. but for just a moment let's say he has something new that he wants to communicate to the American people. By creating this kerfuffle with the GOP debate, he runs the risk of diluting whatever message he wants to communicate.

Fourth, the President runs the risk of looking like everyone is subservient to him. On the heels of vacationing at one of the most exclusive communities in the world, unemployment remains above 9%, he comes back to Washington and declares that he will have his speech in front of the joint houses and on the day of the GOP debate. Obama may be accused of many things but being humble in not among them.

Why oh why would he put all of these negatives in play just to be spiteful?

Update: President 'caves' and moves jobs speech to Thursday.

Wow, what an unforced error. Exit question: How much grief will he get from the left for caving? Exit question 2: Will anybody be watching him given the first NFL game will be opposite his speech?

What an unforced error