Legal Commentary

Sunday Talk Shows

By Jeralyn

I just received the transcript from NBC's Meet the Press today. Here's Valerie Jarrett on Scott Brown's Senate victory:

I think the question to be asked, and what we learned from the Massachusetts victory, is that people are sick and tired of Washington not delivering for them.

And so, the question is really will the Republican Party become-- be willing to come and work with us? A silver lining is Senator Brown said yes, he's looking forward to coming to Washington and working with the Democrats. And we're hoping that that provides new leadership within the party.

On yesterday's Osama bin Laden tape: [More...]

VALERIE JARRETT: We have no independent-- confirmation that that is, in fact, his voice. But let's look-- the fact of the matter is that he's a murderer. He has attacked Americans. In fact, he's killed more Muslims than any other group in the region. And so, the President is committed to going after Al Qaeda and all other affiliates and bringing them to justice.

DAVID GREGORY: Is he in direct command and control of Al Qaeda? Is that the view of the intelligence community?

VALERIE JARRETT: We have-- we have no independent verification of that whatsoever. But we are gonna go after Al Qaeda and its affiliates and certainly him for the atrocities of the past

On the economy:

JARRETT: ....We turned the economy around. We are moving forward in the right direction. However--

DAVID GREGORY: We can't say-- I'm sorry, you can't say you've turned the economy around when there are four million jobs have been lost on the President's watched. When the debt is higher. And the stimulus did not produce the jobs that the Administration said it would.

VALERIE JARRETT: Well, I actually disagree with everything you just said. Let's-- let's take a look. We have pulled it back from the brink of disaster. That was our first and primary goal. The President took some bold steps that were not necessarily popular, but that did stabilize the financial system.

This is a long haul, David. And we are not satisfied. Having any American who wants to work unemployed is something that the parent-- the President takes to heart each and every day. This isn't something that's gonna be repaired in one year. We're gonna have to push forward. But that doesn't mean that we give up. And that doesn't mean that jobs haven't been a top priority from day one.

More on Scott Brown:

JARRETT: We are working so hard to put out country back on the right track. And what we want is partners in the Republican Party. And we're hoping that with Senator Brown we have that.

On the change Obama has brought during his first year in office:

VALERIE JARRETT: Well, I think what we've seen is-- a dramatic difference in terms of how the United States is perceived around the world. I think that the President has been able to travel across the world and to establish relationships with world leaders that lie-- lay a foundation for keeping America safe. And-- and making us a partner around the world so that we can tackle challenges collectively with other world leaders.

I think that he has pulled back-- the economy from the brink of disaster. That's an enormous amount of change when you consider where we were a year ago. Right on the economic brink. And he's added discipline in government to try to get control of our-- of our fiscal house. So, I think that we've seen enormous change.

Sounds like during his State of the Union, we will hear Obama tell us the economy has turned the corner, we're going to ramp up counter-terror efforts to go after al Qaeda, congratulate Scott Brown and reach out to Republicans.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on January 24, 2010 (boomark / email).