Disrespected Congress? They've done that all by themselves, but that's not the point. The president was not introducing a bill to Congress. Only members of Congress can do that. The president outlined in general terms his proposal for dealing with the problem. This is what presidents have done many times in the past prior to the introduction of major legislation.The bill is called the American Job Act and it is scheduled to be introduced in the House next week.
Gee, Flopper...is it just me, or was the time to introduce the bill during the Joint Session of Congress in which Obama wasted everyone's time by repeating 15 times that we needed to pass a bill IMMEDIATELY that nobody's seen yet, with the cost "paid for" by spending cuts the specifics of which nobody's seen either?
Look if you're going to call the Congress into a Joint Session and get major network coverage for a speech on a "plan"...don't you think it would make sense to actually PRESENT the plan? If you can't then why the heck bother to convene the Joint Session in the first place? That was nothing but a stump speech...you admitted as much in your post. You want to talk about being disrespectful of a venue? Giving THAT speech was disrespectful to both Congress and the American people.
Typically when an administration proposes major legislation, the president will present a case to congress or the nation in very general terms outlining the key points, often laced with fiery rhetoric. The Whitehouse then follows the speech with more details. The bill, which contains the details is introduced by a member of congress. If it's a bill with significant cost, Congress ask the CBO to determine the cost.
What makes this legislation a bit unique is that all sides know in advance the legislation has no chance of passing. Just like the bill the House passed to repeal the Healthcare law, it's a politically statement to be used in the upcoming election. Obama will accuse the Republicans of standing in the way of unemployment reduction and having no plan, which they don't.
I believe the House will eventually past some part of the bill probably the tax incentives for business. Of course it will be too late next year for it to reduce unemployment before the election.
So you're admitting that Obama called a Joint Session of Congress for nothing more than a campaign stump speech? And that the "bill" that he proposed was DESIGNED to be something the Republicans would never vote for? So why did we just get put through all the buildup and hype to what is in essence a "non event"? If this was the jobs plan that Obama had in mind all along it's obvious that he's been misleading the country. He never HAD a plan to lower unemployment. What he had was a plan to try and keep HIS job by painting the Republicans as "obstructionists". How would you feel about what's happening right now if YOU were one of the people who was out of work and quickly running out of money to support yourself? Then tell me why you want this guy in office for four more years? He's not fixing anything. He's playing political games while people suffer.