Presidential Radio Address Pledge Drive In Its Final Day

WASHINGTON—Host President Obama and special guest Ed Begley, Jr. hunkered down in the Oval Office with a phone bank full of Cabinet member volunteers Friday for the final day of the annual presidential radio address pledge drive. “We’ve been saying it all week, folks: The deployment of more troops to Afghanistan, the spending of billions to bail out the banks, the podcast—these things you’ve come to depend on from this weekly address do not pay for themselves,” Obama said as he loosened his tie and sipped from a coffee mug. “It’s never too late to show your commitment to the United States by donating at the hundred-million-dollar level, and as our thanks, we’ll send you a stylish presidential radio address messenger bag. Remember, we get our support from listeners and incredibly wealthy taxpayers like you.” A Republican-response pledge drive will reportedly kick off Monday, as the GOP tries to raise enough donations to permanently shut down NPR.