President Obama challenges Congress. Last night – the President pitched his much anticipated jobs plan to a joint-session of Congress – calling on Members to immediately pass what he’s calling “The American Jobs Act” – a $447 billion proposal – filled mostly with $250 billion worth of tax cuts – with the rest of the money going toward infrastructure spending – aid to states – and an extension of unemployment benefits. The President hammered home the point that these are all proposals that have garnered bipartisan support in the past – and there’s no reason why Republicans shouldn’t support them this time around.

As for how this bill will be paid for – the President outsourced that decision to the Gang of 12 – calling on them to find an addition $447 billion worth of cuts or revenue raisers in addition to the $1.5 trillion they’re already tasked with finding. But the President did say he hopes they looked toward raising revenue from the wealthiest in America – people like Warren Buffett who pay a lower tax rate than his secretary – to cover part of the cost of the jobs bill. He also called for cuts – or in his words “modest adjustments” – to Medicare and Medicaid too. As for the tone – the President was nearly pitch-perfect – and finally showing some of the fight many progressives have been waiting to see.

Now the big question - will Republicans say "Yes"? If they do, they take away the President's ability to play Harry Truman and run against a do-nothing Congress, and the economy will still be in bad shape. If they say "No," they hand Obama a big club to use against them. The worst scenario? They say "yes" to parts of it, he caves in and compromises for a weaker bill, so the economy still sucks next year, but he can no longer run against Congress. This is starting to get interesting.

-Thom

(What do you think will happen? Tell us here.)

The Daily Stack

Quote: "Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek but a means by which we arrive at that goal." -- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Hour One: If it's Friday, it's "Brunch With Bernie"... the honorable Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) joins Thom with all the news from our nation's capitol and as always he'll be spending the hour taking your calls and answering your questions too...
Follow Bernie: campaign site.

Article: "Rebuilding Vermont After Hurricane Irene: Questions and Answers" by Bernie Sanders.

Toll free number for Vermonters needing help: 1-800-339-9834.

Transcript: "The Republican Debate at the Reagan Library", September 7, 2011.

Article: "Transcript: Obama shares jobs plan with Congress" by CNN.

Thom will be live Sunday 4-7 PM ET with a Special 9/11 call-in show simulcasted jointly by Sirius/XM Radio & FreeSpeech TV. What's the legacy of 9/11? You can call into the show @ (866) 987-THOM.

Video: "Government is not the solution to our problem government IS the problem", Ronald Reagan.

Article: "Boehner Yells 'Hell No You Can't!' On House Floor (VIDEO)" by Ben Frumin, March 21, 2010.

Article: "Cantor sees common ground between Dems, GOP" by Rebecca Stewart.

Article: "Cut Defense And I'll Quit Super Committee: Kyl" by Colin Clark.

Video: "Conversations w/ Great Minds - Bill McKibben, 350.org P 1".

Video: "Conversations w/ Great Minds - Bill McKibben, 350.org P 2".

Talk Radio News Segment: Victoria Jones, White House Correspondent

Article: "Obama Takes Jobs Pitch On The Road" by Geoff Holtzman.

Article: "Obama And Eric Cantor Schedule Dueling Jobs Speeches On Cantor's Home Turf" by Grace Wyler.

Article: "Reid urges GOP to resist Tea Party pressure on jobs plan" by Josiah Ryan.

Article: "House Dems want full jobs package" by Mike Lillis.

Article: "More Volatility as Stocks Drop Sharply" By Christine Hauser.

Article: "Clinton: Al Qaeda behind “credible but unconfirmed” terror threat" by Laura Rozen.

Article: "Syria unrest: Protesters call for international help" by BBC.

Hour Three: New Docs Detail How Feds Downplayed Ground Zero Health Risks Anthony DePalma, Pro Publica

Book: "City of Dust: Illness, Arrogance and 9/11" by Anthony DePalma.

Article: "New Docs Detail How Feds Downplayed Ground Zero Health Risks" by Anthony DePalma.

Article: "Two Santa Clauses or How The Republican Party Has Conned America for Thirty Years" by Thom Hartmann.

Video: "Buddy Roemer on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart".

The good: "Ohio justices, lawyer task force to study death penalty" by Jim Leckrone.

The bad: "Lawmaker's sign cracks decorum at Obama job speech" By Laurie Kellman.

The very, very ugly: "Bush Credits ‘The Work That Was Done’ During ‘My Presidency’ For Osama Bin Laden’s Death" by Ben Armbruster.

Site: "Environmental Advocates of the New River Valley".

Article: "US trade deficit shrinks in July, raising hopes of 3d-quarter growth" by Alex Kowalski.

Site: "Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP)".

Site: "Cost-Of-Living Adjustment (COLA)".

Book, site: "Web of Debt", Ellen Brown.

Article: "GOP Voted For $50 Billion To Rebuild Iraq Without Cuts, Now Insist On Cuts To Offset Funding To Rebuild America" by Tanya Somanader.

Article: "As cartels rapidly expand in U.S. cities, authorities confront futility of drug arrests" by Stephen C. Webster.

Article: "Texas usurps Oklahoma for hottest ever 3-month span, averaging 86.8 degrees" by AP.

Crazy alert: "" by .

Article: "Nasa warns of fresh risk from £468m satellite falling from space" by Andrew Hough.

Hour Two: Thom confronts Pam Geller about her new book, "Stop the Islamization of America: A Practical Guide to the Resistance"

Hour Three: Robert Greenwald, Brave New Foundation on his new campaign "War Costs"

And, the best of the rest of the news and your calls right here on...

The Thom Hartmann Program... your media support group for we the people.

Read an excerpt here, and buy the book!