Obama announced last night that he will circumvent Congress and protect 5 million undocumented workers from deportation. Despite the fact that this is one of the most sweeping changes to immigration policy in decades, none of the four major networks aired the speech. Univision delayed its live telecast of the Latin Grammys to show the president:
Like it or not, the networks probably aren’t wrong about viewers being more interested in their shows than a presidential announcement, even though a recent Gallup poll did show that Americans view immigration as one of the most important “problems” facing the nation today. As The Washington Post points out, viewership of presidential speeches has declined over the years, and particularly during Obama’s presidency, as the number of distractions on our TVs, computer and tablets have increased. And even if it’s a sad reflection of the nation’s priorities, for the networks, the decision to keep Obama off most broadcast TV stations is just business.
It’s a sad world we live in when people would rather watch Big Bang Theory over legislation that will affect 5 million people.
Team blackness also discussed even more Cosby rape allegations, the price of texting, and Steve McQueen’s new upcoming move about Paul Robeson.
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Mnemosyne
I wonder if part of the problem is timing. Obama’s speech was over before I got off work yesterday (I’m on the west coast).
Though it sounds as though they (smartly) timed the speech to coincide with the opening of the Latino Music Awards where it would get the most coverage by the Spanish-language press, and the start time of the awards show was pushed back 15 minutes so everyone could see the speech simulcast in the theater.
beth
I think it’s more the fact that you can now watch pretty much everything somewhere else whenever you want to. People don’t want to miss Big Bang Theory because they know they can watch the president’s speech on the internet or dvr it on CNN. I’m not sure it’s a slam against Obama as much as it’s just changing times.
Suzanne
@beth: That’s what I think, too. People know they can catch it (or the highlights) on YouTube if they want to. I’ve seen quite a few commenters assert that it’s due to the networks showing disrespect to a black president. I remain unconvinced that this specific incident is due to racism, as they stopped showing Shrub’s speeches, too.
I really think people increasingly do not stay informed. There is less social pressure to vote or read about the issues or to engage with government at many levels. I bet over half of the residents of my city know who the mayor is. Or who their Senators are, or how many there are.
burnspbesq
WRONG!
The President didn’t circumvent jack shit.
The Secretary of Homeland Security, acting pursuant to authority specifically granted by Congress, established a set of priorities for enforcement action.
Get your fucking facts straight, and stop buying into stupid wing nut framing of issues.
Jeezus H. Keerist on a Segway.
Linnaeus
I tend not to watch presidential speeches, but I do read the text of them later.
lethargytartare
The president was on? I was watching “Fun with Flags!”
agorabum
Why watch live when you can see it without (dumb) talking heads online?
Also, he absolutely has authority.
Congress has recognized this and in 6 U.S.C. 202 (5) it has directed the secretary of homeland security to establish “national immigration enforcement policies and priorities.” that’s all he’s doing. Congress doesn’t like it, it should change the law.
Rex Tremendae
Another vote for “I don’t have to watch it live on TV to know what he said.”
JDM
I didn’t watch it. I read about it the next day. I can watch it now if I want to, but reading what it does is more succinct and informative. How exactly does that make me some sad excuse for a human being?
Mj_Oregon
Maybe the networks didn’t carry it but at least three of the Portland broadcast stations did – probably because it was the same time as their hours long newscasts, but still, it was live here in NW Oregon.
dance around in your bones
Well, I watched Obama’s speech live on the White House website….but I REALLY liked watching the reactions later from Latinos on Spanish news clips – crying, happy people.
That was muy fantastico!
john b
I watched it live on CBS and it was on our Fox station as well. I’m not sure where this person got their information from. CBS and Fox both had their news teams do a short into to it as well (I know because that was when I switched from Fox to CBS).
And yes, it absolutely is important that these are on broadcast TV. Lots of people for whom this change will make a huge difference don’t have the luxury of cable (or internet that is capable of streaming video).
Cervantes
I’m assuming you are not altogether surprised.
C.V. Danes
The president would have been better served by issuing his address as a series of linked tweets. That’s about the level we’re at now when it comes to public dialog.
Gus
It’s a sad day that people would rather watch Big Bang Theory over watching paint dry.
nellcote
The national networks didn’t broadcast it but a lot of local affiliates did.
Mnemosyne
@nellcote:
IIRC, the Obama administration does that a lot, which is one of the reasons the Villagers hate him — his press folks bring stories directly to local affiliates rather than, say, only giving stories to the New York Times or Washington Post.
mclaren
But…but…but…everyone on this site keeps telling me “President Obama doesn’t have the power to do that!”
Obama has to follow the law, you keep bleating in plaintive tones of Democratic impotence. Obama can’t just go and do something on his own without congress authorizing and funding it, you whine, like the whipped-ass little bitches you are.
Get a clue, people. A president has enormous power. With executive orders and by sequestering funds or transferring funds from one program to another, a president can do anything from start a war to end one to sending in military troops to the deep south to end strikes if he really seriously intensely wants to do it.
Obama could’ve declared a national emergency and signed an executive order requiring the U.S. to change over to a single-payer national medical care system, and everyone would’ve bitched and whined for a while, the op-ed assholes would’ve whimpered and thrown printy-print-print tantrums, the talkshow and talk radio sociopaths would’ve howled with outrage, and then everyone would’ve gotten over it.
Ditto with fucking Ferguson. If Obama really seriously wanted to end the fucking ongoing trainwreck in Ferguson, he could’ve sent in goddamn federal troops, declared martial law, then had the Attorney General indict the entire fucking police force for gross ongoing conspiratorial felonious racist premeditated violation of the civil rights of every person of color in the entire county. Obama just didn’t want to do it. Too much hassle, too much controversy, too much criticism.
Obama is a smart guy but his Spocklike cold-bloodedness and pathological timidity and compulsive middle-of-the-roadism does not serve him well in crisis situations like the debt showdown with the Republicans or clashes with the American military-prison-police-surveillance-torture complex.
opiejeanne
We watched it on CBS last night. They showed it during the news in Seattle. They showed part of it on NBC then interrupted it to go back to their news program.
opiejeanne
@lethargytartare: We have Dish so we got to watch both, although Big Bang was on later here.
Fred
I never watch political speeches. I’m very interested in the policy ideas and the political back and forth but speeches are just dull.