Obama To Make Prime-Time Debt-Ceiling Speech To Nation

In case you were wondering if and when President Obama would make a prime time speech from the White House to argue his case on the debt ceiling, wonder no more. The White House announced the president is scheduled to speak to the nation at 9 pm eastern time Monday from the East Room.

Earlier Monday, it was reported that the White House had cancelled two planned appearances by the president at campaign fundraisers because of the debt ceiling crisis. Now we know that the president had more in mind than working the phones.

Obama has been using the White House bully pulpit to raise the pressure on congressional Republicans to approve a debt ceiling increase by Aug. 2. He's done news conferences at the White House. And he's used stages beyond the White House. Last week, for instance, he argued for an increase at a town hall-style event in a Washington suburb.

But in the presidential tool kit, there's nothing quite like a prime time address from the White House to underscore the seriousness of a matter and to try and win public support.

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