Republicans, Pundits Respond To Obama's Address To Congress

February 25, 2009 5:27 a.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Responding to President Barack Obama's address to a joint session of Congress, Republicans Tuesday night were magnanimous in recognizing the historic occasion but firmly insisted that while they were ready to work with Democrats, they would oppose wasteful spending and "bigger government."

Giving the official GOP response, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said, "We witnessed a great moment in the history of our Republic. In the very chamber where Congress once voted to abolish slavery, our first African-American President stepped forward to address the state of our union. With his speech tonight, the President completed a redemptive journey that took our nation from Independence Hall, to Gettysburg, to the lunch counter and now, finally, the Oval Office... Regardless of party, all Americans are moved by the President's personal story."

"Republicans are ready to work with the new President... Here in my state of Louisiana, we don't care what party you belong to if you have good ideas to make life better for our people. We need more of that attitude from both Democrats and Republicans in our nation's capital," the governor added.

Jindal said Republicans had offered a proposal to fix the economy that does not raise taxes and "put more money and power in hands of Washington politicians." But Democrats had rejected the plan, he said, and instead "passed the largest government spending bill in history." The Democratic plan was "larded with wasteful spending" such as $8 billion for high-speed rail projects including a 'magnetic levitation' line from Las Vegas to Disneyland.

"We appreciate his message of hope - but sometimes it seems we look for hope in different places. Democratic leaders in Washington place their hope in the federal government. We place our hope in you - the American people," the governor said.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) released a statement echoing Jindal's speech.

"Tonight Kentuckians and all Americans were proud eyewitnesses to history as an African American president addressed a joint session of Congress for the first time," McConnell said. "Over the years, there have been many important markers in our nation's long journey toward racial equality. Few have been as compelling as seeing President Obama in the Speaker's rostrum tonight."

The Senate leader said he was "heartened" to hear of the President's commitment to help struggling Americans, but added that Democrats and Republicans will "have their differences."

"Republicans believe the road back to prosperity is paved with greater personal freedom, not bigger government. But one thing is clear: working through the current troubles will require a shared commitment as we address America's challenges ahead," McConnell said.

Several GOP lawmakers reacted to the President's speech via Twitter.

Rep. John Culberson (R-TX) wrote, "We are at war - seems to me honoring our troops should come on page one rather than the end of the speech."He later added, "This is a great privilege to be here and I will try hard to find ways to work together while preserving my core principles."

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich also tweeted,"Nobody messes with joe and the smiles and nancy handshake resembled a democratic pep rally not a state of the union--sophomoric and silly," referring to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and the President's remark about Vice President Joe Biden.

Gingrich also said, "Not wanting to burden our chilren with debt is an interesting pledge the week after passing $780 billion in unfunded spending."

Pundits seemed to agree that Obama made no effort to deliver a rhetorically excellent speech and spoke primarily with Americans struggling with the recession in mind.

The Wall Street Journal said he "straddled the divide between fear and hope... declaring the 'day of reckoning has arrived' for an indulgent nation but vowing to lead a recovery from the deepest recession since World War II. ... the speech was intended to be more about broad themes -- about trying to give Americans some optimism amid the gloom."

The Washington Post said, "Though he was optimistic, Obama mostly avoided flights of lofty rhetoric. He offered specific, sometimes wonkish explanations of how credit markets work, how the budget should be reformed."

CNN senior political analyst David Gergen gave the President an A for "political impact."

"It was inspiring...It was also the most ambitious speech that we have heard from a President in decades - the first half sounded like FDR fighting for the New Deal, the second half, Lyndon Johnson fighting for the Great Society. Rhetorically, I thought the speech was a B - it had very little music. Clearly, as he himself said, he wanted to speak plainly and until near the end, he avoided soaring language," Gergen said.

Politico thought Obama "struck a tone both sober and defiant of the immense perils he has inherited...[he] appeared to signal a more forceful response in cases of insolvent institutions demanding government intervention."

And the New York Times wrote, "Mr. Obama mixed an acknowledgment of the depth of the economic problems with a Reaganesque exhortation to American resilience... His words were often stern, but laced with optimism and humor as he said neither political party was free of blame for the nation's condition... While he did not break new ground on the policies he proposed, he framed his argument with fresh urgency."