The Golden Report

28 DAYS UNTIL IOWA

TOP STORY: President Obama delivered a major speech today in Oswatomie, Kansas, the site of a speech by President Theordore Roosevelt on August 31, 1910 in which the 26th President laid out his vision for a “new nationalism.”

It is a theme that President Obama hopes to adopt as a central message of his 2012 presidential election campaign, and a defining vision for his administration. As such, it was the most significant speech the President has given in months- going back at least to the Address to a Joint Session of Congress in September on jobs and the economy.

FROM THE PRESIDENTS REMARKS:

“There’s been a great debate over the best way to restore growth and prosperity, restore balance, restore fairness. Throughout the country, it’s sparked protests and political movements—from the tea party to the people who’ve been occupying the streets of New York and other cities…

…But…this is not just another political debate. This is the defining issue of our time. This is a make-or-break moment for the middle class, and for all those who are fighting to get into the middle class…

I’m here in Kansas to reaffirm my deep conviction that we’re greater together than we are on our own. I believe that this country succeeds when everyone gets a fair shot, when everyone does their fair share, when everyone plays by the same rules. These aren’t Democratic values or Republican values. These aren’t 1 percent values or 99 percent values. They’re American values. And we have to reclaim them.”

ON ROOSEVELT

“Roosevelt also knew that the free market has never been a free license to take whatever you can from whomever you can. He understood the free market only works when there are rules of the road that ensure competition is fair and open and honest. And so he busted up monopolies, forcing those companies to compete for consumers with better services and better prices. And today, they still must. He fought to make sure businesses couldn’t profit by exploiting children or selling food or medicine that wasn’t safe. And today, they still can’t.”

ON REPUBLICAN OPPOSITION

“Now, just as there was in Teddy Roosevelt’s time, there is a certain crowd in Washington who, for the last few decades, have said, let’s respond to this economic challenge with the same old tune. “The market will take care of everything,” they tell us. If we just cut more regulations and cut more taxes — especially for the wealthy — our economy will grow stronger. Sure, they say, there will be winners and losers. But if the winners do really well, then jobs and prosperity will eventually trickle down to everybody else. And, they argue, even if prosperity doesn’t trickle down, well, that’s the price of liberty.

Now, it’s a simple theory. And we have to admit, it’s one that speaks to our rugged individualism and our healthy skepticism of too much government. That’s in America’s DNA. And that theory fits well on a bumper sticker. But here’s the problem: It doesn’t work. It has never worked. It didn’t work when it was tried in the decade before the Great Depression. It’s not what led to the incredible postwar booms of the ‘50s and ‘60s. And it didn’t work when we tried it during the last decade. I mean, understand, it’s not as if we haven’t tried this theory.

Remember in those years, in 2001 and 2003, Congress passed two of the most expensive tax cuts for the wealthy in history. And what did it get us? The slowest job growth in half a century. Massive deficits that have made it much harder to pay for the investments that built this country and provided the basic security that helped millions of Americans reach and stay in the middle class — things like education and infrastructure, science and technology, Medicare and Social Security.”

ON INEQUALITY

“We simply cannot return to this brand of “you’re on your own” economics if we’re serious about rebuilding the middle class in this country. We know that it doesn’t result in a strong economy. It results in an economy that invests too little in its people and in its future. We know it doesn’t result in a prosperity that trickles down. It results in a prosperity that’s enjoyed by fewer and fewer of our citizens.”

WHAT THIS SPEECH MEANS

For President Obama, the Osawatomie speech has the potential to be a watershed and a turning point.

If the President and his re-election campaign (and his Administration, for that matter) can capture the themes that he discussed today, put them in terms the average American will understand, and continue to hammer them repeatedly over the next eleven months, it will draw enough of a contrast between the President and his Republican opponent that places the President on the side of the average American, thereby paving his road to re-election.

We know the President can deliver a good speech- and he did again today- but we have also learned that his Administration has been remarkably weak at translating speeches into policy, and into winning arguments for those policies. If they fail to do so again with this idea of wealth inequality, economic fairness and “21st century new nationalism,” then today’s debate remains the same.

CAMPAIGN 2012

New polls out so far this week show one clear message: Newt Gingrich is leading the Republican presidential race. Some pundits are even going as far as saying the nomination is now Gingrich’s to lose.

While the Romney campaign contests this, they are clearly worried, making their candidate available to the media for the first time, today appearing on Neil Cavuto’s show on FOX News and on Sunday sitting down with Chris Wallace on FOX News Sunday, in what will be Romney’s first Sunday morning talk show interview in more than 20 months.

ABC NEWS/WASHINGTON POST IOWA POLL

• Gingrich 33%
• Paul 18%
• Romney 18%
• Perry 11%
• Bachmann 8%
• Santorum 7%
• Huntsman 2%

CBS/NEW YORK TIMES IOWA POLL

• Gingrich 31%
• Romney 17%
• Perry 11%
• Bachmann 9%
• Santorum 4%
• Huntsman 1%

Both of the above polls were taken in the days before Herman Cain officially withdrew from the race. Both polls asked respondents to rank their candidates with, and without, Cain, and the numbers without Cain are reported above.

REAL CLEAR POLITICS AVERAGE OF IOWA POLLS: Gingrich +11.6%

POLITICO LEAD STORY TONIGHT “THE MITT PIVOT”

“With Gingrich surging in the caucuses, narrowing Romney’s advantage in New Hampshire and staking out a sizable lead in national polls, the former Massachusetts governor is entering a post-frontrunner phase that requires a more active engagement with both voters and his GOP rivals.

“It’s time for our closing argument. And I’m making the closing argument to the American people,” Romney said.

Hopes for wrapping up the nomination with a quick-strike victory, which would require a strong showing in Iowa, are fading. Romney’s comments effectively marked a public concession that the play-it-safe approach he’s held to so far this year – limiting his interviews and doing only modest amounts of retail campaigning – simply won’t cut it anymore.”

CONTEXT: The “Closing Argument” comment came in Romney’s Cavuto interview today

THE TRUMP DEBATE: Only two candidates- Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum- have agreed to participate in the candidates forum to be moderated by Donald Trump on Tuesday December 27th. Today, Romney announced he would not participate.

WALL STREET: As the markets continue to watch Europe with great intent, markets were relatively quiet in trading today.

• DOW up 52
• NASDAQ 6
• S&P 500 up 1

CITIGROUP announced today that they are cutting 4,500 jobs next year, which is equal to about 2% of its workforce worldwide. A few months ago, Bank of America announced plans to cut 30,000 jobs next year.

FINALLY Alec Baldwin was kicked off an American Airlines plane today after using with his mobile phone as the plane was attempting to take off.

From the AP:

“After explaining what happened, Baldwin let out a storm of tweets ripping AA for their conduct. “#theresalwaysunited” he wrote, referring to the airline’s competitor, United. Then, he wrote, “But, oddly, 30 Rock plays inflight on American. #theresalwaysunited,” referring to his own TV show.

“United Airlines should buy Words With Friends,” Baldwin continued, propping up the competitor once again.

Baldwin then got on another plane, which he indicated by tweeting, “Now on the 3 o’clock American flight. The flight attendants already look…..smarter.”

But while they’ve got Baldwin on their plane now, American won’t be getting his business going forward.

#theresalwaysunited Last flight w American. Where retired Catholic school gym teachers from the 1950’s find jobs as flight attendants,” the Emmy-winner stated.

The onslaught continued, as he joked, “Now, as I was kicked off this flight, the word I was playing was UNITED,” and then said, “My words with friends user name is now #theresalwaysunited.”nts 24, Lions 10, in New Orleans tonight.

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