Obama thought to himself, “Well, this is awkward.” But what else was there to do but give the speech? The president spent about forty-five minutes politely and accurately ripping Ryan’s plan to shreds. Ryan got visibly upset and stormed off in sadness and anger. Ryan didn’t rebut the substance of Obama’s critique—the speech was factually accurate and fair. He whined about the etiquette and told Obama economic advisor Gene Sperling that Obama “had poisoned the well” for future deals.
