Obama Oval Office Speech Reaction: Plays Defense

The boys at MSNBC hated Obama’s Tuesday night Oval Office speech: “I don’t sense executive command,” Chris Matthews groaned, while Keith Olbermann fumed, "I don't think he aimed low, I don't think he aimed at all. It's startling." Things are a little calmer on the blogosphere, though no less critical—liberal bloggers are primarily upset that Obama failed to use the words “climate change” or call for putting a price on carbon. “That suggests to me that this speech was primarily about containing the damage to his administration, and was not the pivot point in the energy debate that many people were hoping for,” writes Josh Green at The Atlantic. Ezra Klein chimes in, “The optimistic take, at least for environmentalists, is that this is the language and approach Obama uses when he really means to legislate. The pessimistic take is that Obama shied away from clearly describing the problem, did not endorse specific legislation, did not set benchmarks, and chose poll-tested language rather than a sharper case that might persuade skeptics."