National Journal: Message of Obama's Speech 'Us vs. Them'

It’s Us versus Them.

That was the stark message of President Obama’s news conference Wednesday, according to the respected National Journal.

The president has launched a class-warfare campaign on several fronts, the Journal reported:

• Rich versus Poor.
• Us versus Them.
• Those who support children vs. versus rich fat cats who don't.

“In Obama's world, Democrats are for kids and Republicans are for corporate jets,” the Journal said. “That is a sharp distinction that could help put the GOP on defensive, but it may not be enough to persuade Republicans to change their posture on the debt-ceiling talks.”

In Obama’s thinking, if Republicans get their way, the end result would be unbalanced deal that lifts the debt limit but forces the government to make deeper-than-necessary cuts. Children would not go to college, and the United States would be defenseless against global warming.

"If we do not have revenues, that means there are a bunch of kids out there who do not have college scholarships," Obama said. "[It] might compromise the National Weather Services. It means we might not be funding critical medical research. It means food inspection might be compromised. I've said to Republican leaders, 'You go talk to your constituents and ask them, "Are you willing to compromise your kids' safety so some corporate-jet owner can get a tax break?" ' ''

Obama’s “rhetoric was sharper, even harsher, than in the past -- and it threatens to anger Republican leaders just as he's supposedly reaching out to them in compromise,” the Journal wrote.