Did Ron Paul Force Obama to Reschedule a Speech? - Michael Tennant, The New American, Sep. 1, 2011: "
"Who says Ron Paul can’t beat Barack Obama? The Texas Congressman’s threat to prevent the President’s upcoming speech to Congress from occurring the same night as a Republican presidential candidates’ debate — a debate in which Paul will participate — may very well have been the deciding factor in forcing Obama to postpone his appearance.
"Obama sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner Wednesday morning requesting to speak before a joint session of Congress on September 7 at 8 p.m. Eastern.... A GOP presidential debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library is already scheduled to take place at that same time.... Recognizing Obama’s move for the 'raw display of political gamesmanship' (in the words of McClatchy Newspapers’ Steven Thomma) that it was, Paul dispatched spokesman Jesse Benton to inform the press that the Congressman was “weighing his options” with regard to blocking Obama’s speech. Both houses of Congress have to adopt a concurrent resolution to call a joint session, a procedure normally done by voice vote, called unanimous consent. Any legislator, however, can object to that approach and force a recorded vote; and clearly Paul had that in mind. With Congress only returning to session September 7, the vote would almost certainly have taken place after Obama’s requested time, thus preventing him from stealing the Republican candidates’ thunder.
"Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) also indicated he would block the President’s speech, and it’s likely that Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), who is also scheduled to participate in the debate, would have done likewise.
"The White House backed down, opting to postpone Obama’s speech by 24 hours, putting the President in the unenviable position of trying to attract an audience opposite the first game of the National Football League season. Football fans needn’t worry, though: Obama’s communications director, Dan Pfeiffer, assured viewers of MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Thursday that the speech will be over before kickoff."
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"Who says Ron Paul can’t beat Barack Obama? The Texas Congressman’s threat to prevent the President’s upcoming speech to Congress from occurring the same night as a Republican presidential candidates’ debate — a debate in which Paul will participate — may very well have been the deciding factor in forcing Obama to postpone his appearance.
"Obama sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner Wednesday morning requesting to speak before a joint session of Congress on September 7 at 8 p.m. Eastern.... A GOP presidential debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library is already scheduled to take place at that same time.... Recognizing Obama’s move for the 'raw display of political gamesmanship' (in the words of McClatchy Newspapers’ Steven Thomma) that it was, Paul dispatched spokesman Jesse Benton to inform the press that the Congressman was “weighing his options” with regard to blocking Obama’s speech. Both houses of Congress have to adopt a concurrent resolution to call a joint session, a procedure normally done by voice vote, called unanimous consent. Any legislator, however, can object to that approach and force a recorded vote; and clearly Paul had that in mind. With Congress only returning to session September 7, the vote would almost certainly have taken place after Obama’s requested time, thus preventing him from stealing the Republican candidates’ thunder.
"Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) also indicated he would block the President’s speech, and it’s likely that Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), who is also scheduled to participate in the debate, would have done likewise.
"The White House backed down, opting to postpone Obama’s speech by 24 hours, putting the President in the unenviable position of trying to attract an audience opposite the first game of the National Football League season. Football fans needn’t worry, though: Obama’s communications director, Dan Pfeiffer, assured viewers of MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Thursday that the speech will be over before kickoff."
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