How Obama plans to ace his big speech on ISIS
| Washington
President Obama鈥檚 speech Wednesday on the growing threat from Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria represents a major test of his leadership.
It鈥檚 being billed as an address to the nation, but it will reach far beyond that. Mr. Obama will be speaking foremost to the American people 鈥揇emocrats, Republicans, and independents 鈥� in the heat of the midterm campaign. And it comes at a time of heightened sensitivity to terrorism, the eve of the 13th聽anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, and the second anniversary of the attack on the US mission in Benghazi, Libya.
Congress will be another key audience. Obama is meeting Tuesday with the four top members of Congress 鈥� the Republican and Democratic leaders of each house 鈥� both to hear their views and to give them an advance taste of what he will say. But when he delivers his remarks to the public, Obama will also be looking for buy-in from rank-and-file members of Congress as he announces his strategy for dealing with Islamic State, the Sunni group also known as ISIS or ISIL.
In addition, administration officials plan to hold briefings for all members of Congress Wednesday and Thursday. 聽
鈥淭he president is interested in their buy-in, is interested in a congressional debate, and is interested in consulting closely with the leaders in Congress,鈥� White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Monday. Obama wants Congress to 鈥渇eel like the partners that they actually are, as the elected representatives of the American people.鈥�
Also important will be the president鈥檚 international audience 鈥� the nations already committed to helping the US take on ISIS, the regional allies he hopes to attract, and nonstate actors in the region, including ISIS itself, which controls parts of Syria and Iraq.
鈥淚t seems to me, you鈥檙e playing the inside game and the outside game,鈥� says Democratic communications strategist Peter Fenn. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a domestic audience, but it鈥檚 also an international audience.鈥�
Obama鈥檚 goal, says Mr. Fenn, will be to explain 鈥渆xactly what the threat is, what the policy is, what the short-term strategy is, and what he has in mind long term.鈥�
In an interview that aired Sunday on NBC鈥檚 鈥淢eet the Press,鈥� Obama outlined his goals for the speech.
鈥淲hat I'm going to be asking the American people to understand is, No. 1, this is a serious threat,鈥� Obama said. 鈥淣o. 2, we have the capacity to deal with it.鈥�
The president also said he will not deploy US ground troops.
鈥淭his is not the equivalent of the Iraq war,鈥� Obama said. 鈥淲hat this is is similar to the kinds of counterterrorism campaigns that we've been engaging in consistently over the last five, six, seven years.鈥�
And he will not go it alone. Obama said he wants a congressional vote, though he made clear that he believes he already has the authority to carry out his plan without one. On the international front, Secretary of State John Kerry is recruiting Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates to help.
Beyond the substance of Obama鈥檚 speech Wednesday, the 鈥渙ptics鈥� 鈥� including tone and body language 鈥� will be important as well. Obama has been criticized of late for not displaying the anger and passion that might have been called for after videos were released by ISIS showing two American journalists being beheaded.
Obama also took grief for playing golf right after he stepped out to condemn the first beheading. He was on vacation on Martha鈥檚 Vineyard at the time, but the media reviews were still unforgiving.
鈥淚 should've anticipated the optics,鈥� Obama told Chuck Todd, the new host of 鈥淢eet the Press.鈥� 鈥淵ou know, that's part of the job.鈥�
Obama said he thinks people who know him 鈥� including the press 鈥� know that he cares deeply. 鈥淏ut part of his job is also the theater of it,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not something that always comes naturally to me.鈥�
The 鈥渢heater鈥� of his address on Wednesday will also matter. The time and place have yet to be announced, but there have been news reports that he will speak during the day Wednesday, not in the evening, which may somewhat lower expectations.
Despite Obama鈥檚 low job approval ratings 鈥� averaging 42 percent 鈥� he can still expect a 鈥渞ally around the flag kind of sentiment, especially with these beheadings,鈥� says Bruce Buchanan, a presidential scholar at the University of Texas at Austin. 鈥淪o he鈥檚 got that as a peg upon which to locate these requests for attention and support, independent of his domestic standing.鈥�
Obama鈥檚 task is twofold, says Mr. Buchanan. First, the president has to explain the nature of the ISIS threat and his strategy for halting it. Once that鈥檚 done, he鈥檚 in a position to ask the public for support, and to be patient for the reported three-year implementation.
But 鈥渉e can鈥檛 seem to be the aloof professor,鈥� says Buchanan. 鈥淗e will need to show conviction and energy.鈥�
