America's Day of Reckoning Has Arrived

“The State of Our Economy is a Concern that Rises Above All Others”

U.S. Presidents usually give a major speech before a joint session of Congress when they have served for a year. President Barack Obama could not wait that long. He spoke on Tuesday night because America needed a stopper. He accomplished that, and provided an outline for the future.

President Obama delivered a serious, ambitious speech. It was realistic, pointing out past mistakes and emphasizing responsibility and accountability. It was holistic, calling for new energy, health care and education initiatives to address our cultural and economic deficiencies and foster sustainable prosperity.

The President did what a new leader needs to do in a complex, deteriorating situation – he bought some time. He gave us the big picture; now we need the details. It is crucial that a solid plan for the banking system be forthcoming.

Republican Response Recycles Vaporware

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal gave the opposition party's response. It was, in a word, weak. Gov. Jindal offered little guidance and less vision, essentially saying to Americans: Folks, we'll lower your taxes and you're on your own. Evidently, the Republican plan is no plan.

Read the full text of President Obama's speech at the Washington Post.

Examining a Failure to Communicate

Dow Dives – Was Confidence Subverted by Cable News?

Last Thursday, Ron Morris, Director of Entrepreneurial Studies at Duquesne University, and founder of Pittsburgh Business Radio, interviewed professors Conway Lackman and Bill Carlson about the state of the mortgage industry, the economy, and the economic stimulus plan. It was an informative and entertaining conversation that ended too soon. For me, the most revealing comment was made off-air as the professors were leaving. How do I know that? Ron Morris believed it was interesting enough to delay his next guests while he told the story. Here are the highlights:

I've been teaching down there now for about eight years … I run into Bill or Conway and I have never not had a fascinating conversation with them. … I just want to tell you something they said on the way out the door. … I said Conway, why is it – cause the market just closed at the lowest point since October of 2002, and I said, Conway, why is that? And he said, Ron, somebody's not explaining this thing right, 'cause, he said, it's not a bad economic stimulus plan. He said it's pretty good. It must be in the communication because I think it's good. […]

Morris' faculty biography describes him as a "knowledge philanthropist." He speaks with a candor that engenders trust. Ron closed the story with a solid endorsement of the functional knowledge of his two colleagues:

Conway Lackman and Bill Carlson, over the 8 years I've been at Duquesne, have made me more money than any other individuals I've met in my entire life. … They tell me things, and I listen and then I do things based on one of the things they tell me.

If you're willing to accept that the economic stimulus plan is "pretty good," but it's not being explained right – well, how can that be? President Obama has clearly demonstrated his ability to communicate. Think Progress might have the answer. They calculated that in a sample period during the stimulus debate, Republicans appeared on cable news shows nearly twice as often as Democrats. Only five percent of the guests were economists.

The full 43 minute interview with Lackman and Carlson is available as an MP3. You can hear the quoted remarks in the first three minutes of the next hour's program.