8:53 PM: Eric Cantor caught blackberrying during the speech. That’s getting Twitter! Or something like that.
8:55 PM: Key passage …
But know this: I will not waste time with those who have made the calculation that it’s better politics to kill this plan than improve it. I will not stand by while the special interests use the same old tactics to keep things exactly the way they are. If you misrepresent what’s in the plan, we will call you out. And I will not accept the status quo as a solution. Not this time. Not now.
8:56 PM: Jon Cohn’s take on what the news is in the speech.
8:57 PM: “The character of our country” … speech picking up a cadence at this point. “When fortune turns against one of us …”
9:00 PM: Another key passage …
That large-heartedness – that concern and regard for the plight of others – is not a partisan feeling. It is not a Republican or a Democratic feeling. It, too, is part of the American character. Our ability to stand in other people’s shoes. A recognition that we are all in this together; that when fortune turns against one of us, others are there to lend a helping hand. A belief that in this country, hard work and responsibility should be rewarded by some measure of security and fair play; and an acknowledgement that sometimes government has to step in to help deliver on that promise.
