September 2009 Archives
Sep 30 2009, 7:45PM
On Climate Change, Resignation, Already?
So after much chatter, we are only finally seeing the start of the
long climate-change bill fight. Senate Democrats introduced a draft of
a climate bill Wednesday that suggests the legislation will include a
more ambitious greenhouse gas emissions target than one passed by the
House. The New York Times reports:
The measure, sponsored by Senators Barbara Boxer of California and John Kerry of Massachusetts, seeks to achieve by 2020 a 20 percent reduction from 2005 levels of carbon dioxide emissions, compared with 17 percent in the House bill, according to the 801-page draft, which circulated on Tuesday. The House and Senate bills both include a long-term target of an 83 percent reduction by 2050.
Sep 30 2009, 4:59PM
Essay In Prestigious DoD Journal Criticizes DADT, And Other Signs Of A Shift
This seems to be a first: an article in the Joint Forces Quarterly, an influential warfighting journal, contends that there is "no scientified evidence to support the claim that unit cohesion will be negatively affected if homosexuals serve openly." The article, "The Efficacy Of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, was first noticed by the Boston Globe. Author Col. Om Prakash happens to be detailed to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, which will undoubtedly draw even more attention to the article. Prakash concludes that the ban ought to be repealed and proposes several ways to make the transition.
Sep 30 2009, 4:07PM
Supreme Court To Hear Major National Security Case
The Supreme Court has decided to take a bundle of cases that could change the way the Justice Department prosecutes terrorism suspects and could well change the way current prosecutions of Guantanamo Bay detainees are disposed of. At first glance, in Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, the stakes don't seem that important: they involve the definition of a few words. But the way the government has defined those words -- "train" -- "expert," "advice," "assistance," "personnel" -- are bound up with the way prosecutors determine whether someone has given material support to a terrorist and is therefore liable for terrorism conspiracy charges.
Sep 30 2009, 12:38PM
Scalia Gets Another Crack At Gun Control
It looks like the Supreme Court is going to take another big bite at gun control. Last year, the Court overturned the District of Columbia's ban on handguns, but left it unclear whether the ruling would apply to states and cities. Now Chicago's strict gun control law is under scrutiny. I didn't much care for last year's opinion, written by Justice Antonin Scalia. I'm not a lawyer but I thought the minority made strong arguments about the nature of the Second Amendment and as a federalist I like the idea of communities being able to set these regulations without having them overturned. That said, I thought D.C.'s gun ban was draconian but that the District had every right to impose it. I wrote about the case and the murder of a friend here.
Given the tenor of Scalia's opinion last year, which put a lot of emphasis on the right of persons to protect themselves in their home, I don't think the court will touch concealment laws of assault weapons or other restrictions. Scalia made a big deal about handlock requirements being unconstitutional because the owner would need quick access to their firearm. Even if the Court strikes down Chicago's ban on handguns, I think a panoply of restrictions will get upheld. At this point, I don't see Democrats getting too flustered by this.. They've largely dropped the issue. President Obama's reaction to the Scalia ruling last year was muted. And there's no politician proposing anything like say, the licensing of all handguns, as Bill Bradley proposed in his failed 2000 presidential bid. For good or ill, Democrats have come to accept the prevalence of firearms in America--a fact of life the Court will uphold as well.
Given the tenor of Scalia's opinion last year, which put a lot of emphasis on the right of persons to protect themselves in their home, I don't think the court will touch concealment laws of assault weapons or other restrictions. Scalia made a big deal about handlock requirements being unconstitutional because the owner would need quick access to their firearm. Even if the Court strikes down Chicago's ban on handguns, I think a panoply of restrictions will get upheld. At this point, I don't see Democrats getting too flustered by this.. They've largely dropped the issue. President Obama's reaction to the Scalia ruling last year was muted. And there's no politician proposing anything like say, the licensing of all handguns, as Bill Bradley proposed in his failed 2000 presidential bid. For good or ill, Democrats have come to accept the prevalence of firearms in America--a fact of life the Court will uphold as well.
Sep 30 2009, 12:13PM
Do American Schoolkids Need 9/11 Education?
In Shira Engelhart's 4th grade class in Virginia, students asked why the pilots on the plane didn't just say "no" to the hijackers on 9/11. In his journal, an elementary school student offered a possible explanation that the attacks were perpetrated by German soldiers during the period when there were frequent wars between the U.S. and Germany. When Ms. Engelhart asked her class what happened on 9/11, eight out of 24 of her students knew that something bad occurred but were not sure what, while the rest of her class did not know the day is significant. Some students responded that it was their sibling's or parent's birthday. Elyse Ross, a teacher in New York City, said her school did nothing to commemorate or educate the students about the day. Michael Volodarsky, who worked as a tour guide at the Ground Zero Museum Workshop said he guided a group of fourth graders; about half of the group knew definitively that 9/11 was a terrorist attack that killed thousands of people and the remainder of the group had either vaguely heard of it or did not know of it at all.
The September 11th Education Trust announced the launch of a trial curriculum to be tested this year. The curriculum includes various lesson plans, videos, interactive exercises that includes utilizing Google Earth to locate global terrorism. Relatives of victims provide video testimonials, as do Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The curriculum will be tried in New York City, California, New Jersey, Alabama, Indiana, Illinois and Kansas. The primary purpose of the curriculum is teach about the 9/11 attacks in historical and present day terms. The Trust provides a range of material from enough for a few class sessions to a whole semester's curriculum
However, Ms. Engelhart wonders whether such attention is really so necessary: "The thing about this event is--what's the purpose of teaching it to our children? What do we want them to take out of it? That there are mean people out there who don't like us and who take their anger out the wrong way? It's not a very teachable moral that we need to focus on. I think it's a historical event that changed America and every child should know what happened, but there is no need for 'drilling' it into such young children. I think that would just be drilling negativity and fear into them. We need to figure out a teachable lesson and what our intentions are when teaching about 9/11."
The September 11th Education Trust seeks to channel this historical background into civic activism and a better understanding of what is going on in the world today.
In simplistic (but realistic) terms, 9/11 precipitated what the Bush administration called a "war on terror." But even that phrase has come under scrutiny. How do we-- and should we -- teach middle school students about the horrors of terror when there is no happy ending to provide? Giuliani believes it is important to teach 9/11 in the context of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but as Ms. Engelhart puts it: "[9/11 did change] America forever and sparked the war on terror, but that's not something these kids--even middle schoolers--get. They don't know any life other than the last few years. They don't remember TV when the President wasn't talking about this war." The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are facts of life that young students are familiar with, without the context of 9/11.
It is fairly obvious that students should be taught about 9/11. But how? Should students from different states be taught the events in different ways? New York City students may react more strongly to images showcasing a changed city skyline. How should students who have never been on a plane be taught about airport security without instilling a fear of flying? At what age should students be taught about it? Should it be through classes, assemblies, moments of silence, or museum visits?
Ms. Ross thinks that there is a general hesitation to teach elementary school students about the topic but "we underestimate our kids' ability to grapple with such difficult topics. Remarkably, kids can understand this stuff, as long as it is presented in an understandable way." Ms Ross suggests pictures book as the best means of teaching young students: "Books with pictures would be great. Kids are used to discussing issues of right and wrong presented in picture books."
Mr. Volodarsky thinks that the key element in educating students about 9/11 needs to be physical, tangible objects. He thinks that 9/11 "possesses an awesome legacy" and that middle school students can absorb "the strong lessons of preservation, community, and hope in the wake of the attacks...9/11 education is a crucial aspect of any successful educational curriculum."
Yet the issue needs to be handled with care, because some students are not able to comprehend the scope of the issue. Ms. Ross says that "in under-resourced communities, most elementary kids haven't left their neighborhood, let alone seen other parts of the world. It is very difficult for these students to understand such a global topic when their perspective is so limited."
Sep 30 2009, 11:19AM
Bono, Politician
I saw U2 last night at FedEx field near Washington, D.C. You had to be awed by the spectacle of the show, the 360 degree video screen and stage set, dubbed the claw, the 90,000 fans singing along but it was a reminder again, too, that Bono may be as good a politiician as we've ever seen. Politics for rock bands is either predictible or treacherous. When Michael Stipe of R.E.M. wears an Obama button at a concert, it's all appreciated by his fans. When the Dixie Chicks or other groups slide into politics they risk alienating their base.
Last night's show was overtly political and bipartisan. He singled out George W. Bush for praise several times because of the increase in AIDS funding under his administration. He noted that Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Pat Leahy were in the audience and praised them as well as George W. Bush's Chief of Staff Josh Bolton. He dedicated "New Year's Day" to Ted Kennedy and a shortened version of the Beatles "Blackbird" to TIm Shriver. Bishop Desmond Tutu appeared on the giant 360 screen, which floated like an alien spacecraft over the state, to introduce "One" -- which is also the name of Bono's campaign to end poverty. VOlunteers from Amnesty International mounted the 360 degree outer ring of the state carrying masks bearing the likeness of Burmese leader-under-arrest Aung San Suu Kyi. When he introduced the band he described each as being in his cabinet, likening the drummer Larry Mullen Jr to the head of OMB. You don't hear the phrase OMB at many concerts. There was a tribute to Iranian dissidents too, as the stage was bathed in green lights and pictures from their protests lit up the video screens. It'd be easy to dismiss Bono as a wannabe messiah or picture him taking the act to Vegas in 20 years. But no rocker has had a bigger impact politically and the deft political skills that got him to this point were on stage last night in Washington.
Last night's show was overtly political and bipartisan. He singled out George W. Bush for praise several times because of the increase in AIDS funding under his administration. He noted that Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Pat Leahy were in the audience and praised them as well as George W. Bush's Chief of Staff Josh Bolton. He dedicated "New Year's Day" to Ted Kennedy and a shortened version of the Beatles "Blackbird" to TIm Shriver. Bishop Desmond Tutu appeared on the giant 360 screen, which floated like an alien spacecraft over the state, to introduce "One" -- which is also the name of Bono's campaign to end poverty. VOlunteers from Amnesty International mounted the 360 degree outer ring of the state carrying masks bearing the likeness of Burmese leader-under-arrest Aung San Suu Kyi. When he introduced the band he described each as being in his cabinet, likening the drummer Larry Mullen Jr to the head of OMB. You don't hear the phrase OMB at many concerts. There was a tribute to Iranian dissidents too, as the stage was bathed in green lights and pictures from their protests lit up the video screens. It'd be easy to dismiss Bono as a wannabe messiah or picture him taking the act to Vegas in 20 years. But no rocker has had a bigger impact politically and the deft political skills that got him to this point were on stage last night in Washington.
Sep 30 2009, 9:05AM
The Lessons of Leaks
In the fall of 2004, as President George W. Bush and Sen. John Kerry entered the home stretch of the presidential campaign, portions of a bleak intelligence estimate about the future of Iraq were leaked to reporters. Among the most alarming findings was the possibility that sectarian violence and political incompetence in Iraq's fledgling governmental institutions could ignite a civil war. Bush had seen this report months earlier, but in his public remarks, he didn't ratchet down his sunny optimism about Iraq's future. Did intelligence analysts privy to the Iraq report's contents decide to leak them in order to embarrass the president and trip up his reelection bid?
The president thought so. A former senior intelligence official who spoke regularly with the president told me Bush became convinced that a left-wing contingent of CIA employees had given the embarrassing information to reporters. Bush also thought that this fit a pattern of information control emanating from Langley. Earlier the same year, The New York Times and The Washington Post had run the first stories about the CIA's covert program of detaining and interrogating certain "high-value terrorists." A former CIA official, who was directly involved in the program, told me that alarm bells went off at headquarters. The information contained in the news reports was so specific--and accurate--that senior officials presumed the leak must have come from within the agency's Counterterrorist Center, which was managing the program day-to-day, or the larger operations directorate, of which the CTC was a part. At the time John Helgerson, the inspector general, had just wrapped up a lengthy report about the program, which quoted CIA officers who were convinced that the agency's activities would be exposed by the media.
The president thought so. A former senior intelligence official who spoke regularly with the president told me Bush became convinced that a left-wing contingent of CIA employees had given the embarrassing information to reporters. Bush also thought that this fit a pattern of information control emanating from Langley. Earlier the same year, The New York Times and The Washington Post had run the first stories about the CIA's covert program of detaining and interrogating certain "high-value terrorists." A former CIA official, who was directly involved in the program, told me that alarm bells went off at headquarters. The information contained in the news reports was so specific--and accurate--that senior officials presumed the leak must have come from within the agency's Counterterrorist Center, which was managing the program day-to-day, or the larger operations directorate, of which the CTC was a part. At the time John Helgerson, the inspector general, had just wrapped up a lengthy report about the program, which quoted CIA officers who were convinced that the agency's activities would be exposed by the media.
Sep 30 2009, 8:52AM
Career Staff Get Key Posts At Justice's National Security Division
In a pro-forma press release today, the Justice Department's National Security Division (NSD) released the names of its leadership today. Reporting to David Kris, the assistant attorney general in charge of the NSD, are several credentialed national security lawyers with significant connections to the Democratic Party. But there are also officials -- Brad Weigman, Sheryl Walter, Tanisha Guahar, Leonard Bailey, Carol Cordero and George Toscas -- who have served more than one president.
Sep 30 2009, 6:30AM
Question Of The Day: Palin's Memoir
What do you think we'll learn about Sarah Palin from her memoir, "Going Rogue: An American Story," slated for release Nov. 17? Anything? Bonus: suggest an alternate title (please be civil).
Sep 30 2009, 6:00AM
The Rundown, 9/30
It could be a very important day for Afghanistan, as President Obama will meet with his entire national security team to discuss U.S. policy going forward. Gen. Stanley McChrystal's report is out in the open, and the general has made it clear that he sees more troops and a strategic reengineering as completely necessary--the alternative being failure. Others, including Vice President Joe Biden, have pressed for a scaled-back mission to seek out and kill al-Qaeda terrorists. We'll find out at some point if the whole team, assembled today at the White House, comes to any agreement.
The president will also tour the NIH headquarters in Bethesda, MD and will make an announcement about stimulus funding, along with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).
The president will also tour the NIH headquarters in Bethesda, MD and will make an announcement about stimulus funding, along with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).
Sep 29 2009, 6:35PM
A Way To Pressure Baucus, Conrad And Lincoln?
Republican activists have tried to urge the donorsphere to withhold checks from the GOP political committees as a way of punishing the alleged political indiscretions of Republican senators. Hasn't worked. An e-mail below, from a non-lefty Democrat -- a guy whose e-mails to me before have been pretty centrist, proposes a version of the tactic:
"After the failure of Schumer's public plan in committee, it's now time to come down on Baucus, Conrad and Lincoln for their dishonesty about their concerns anout the public plan option. According to polls, doctors want a public plan; Dems want it and even Republicans favor it by a plurality. The only reason the 3 of them don't support a public plan is because it is called a "public plan" and they fear they'll be demonized as socialists. As such, reasoning with them won't work.But you know what might work? I got a call today from the DSCC asking me for money. I said, while I support many Democratic candidates, I will refuse to give money to the DSCC until the 3 of those senators change their vote on Schumer or Rockefeller's plan.. Maybe that will induce the kind of pressure (money) they understand.And if I'm mad about this, I can only imagine how angry the left wing of my party will be."
Sep 29 2009, 6:30PM
The Invisible Primary, 9/29
Tracking the GOP race to 2012
Charlie Crist will use college football to raise money for the Florida GOP on a trip to Massachusetts, as the state GOP is charging $5,000 for tickets to watch the FSU/Boston College game in a stadium box with Crist this Saturday; Rick Santorum, who will be in Iowa this week, says he's looking forward to reading Sarah Palin's memoir; Santorum also held a conference call with reporters this morning, saying the GOP needs to tone down the "shrill" messaging found on conservative talk radio; 55 percent of Minnesotans don't want Tim Pawlenty to run in 2012, while half say they might vote for him if he wins the nomination, according to a Star-Tribune poll; Newt Gingrich is on a school tour with Al Sharpton and Education Secretary Arne Duncan; and Jeb Bush will pitch education reform to House and Senate committees in the Arizona legislature on Thursday.
Charlie Crist will use college football to raise money for the Florida GOP on a trip to Massachusetts, as the state GOP is charging $5,000 for tickets to watch the FSU/Boston College game in a stadium box with Crist this Saturday; Rick Santorum, who will be in Iowa this week, says he's looking forward to reading Sarah Palin's memoir; Santorum also held a conference call with reporters this morning, saying the GOP needs to tone down the "shrill" messaging found on conservative talk radio; 55 percent of Minnesotans don't want Tim Pawlenty to run in 2012, while half say they might vote for him if he wins the nomination, according to a Star-Tribune poll; Newt Gingrich is on a school tour with Al Sharpton and Education Secretary Arne Duncan; and Jeb Bush will pitch education reform to House and Senate committees in the Arizona legislature on Thursday.
Sep 29 2009, 6:10PM
Hurtling Toward 2010, 9/29
The 2010 midterms are just around the corner (sort of). Here's what's happening:
Carly Fiorina's exploratory committee's website was a flop, according to consultants; Michael Moore wants another Democrat to run in place of Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), predicting Dodd will lose; the National Republican Congressional Committee expanded its target list to include some usually safe Dems; Kentucky Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo, who is running for Senate, bashed Gov. Steve Beshear (D) and his support for Mongiardo's candidacy...and the recording made its way to YouTube, making things pretty awkward; and Democrat Jerry Brown beats all potential GOP opponents in the California gubernatorial race, according to Rasmussen.
Carly Fiorina's exploratory committee's website was a flop, according to consultants; Michael Moore wants another Democrat to run in place of Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), predicting Dodd will lose; the National Republican Congressional Committee expanded its target list to include some usually safe Dems; Kentucky Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo, who is running for Senate, bashed Gov. Steve Beshear (D) and his support for Mongiardo's candidacy...and the recording made its way to YouTube, making things pretty awkward; and Democrat Jerry Brown beats all potential GOP opponents in the California gubernatorial race, according to Rasmussen.
Sep 29 2009, 5:18PM
Public Option's Dead? Tracking Reaction
The Atlantic Wire tracks reaction to the first major vote on the "pubic option." The consensus: it's dead, dead, dead.
Sep 29 2009, 5:15PM
"This Is Not An American Battle"
President Obama, appearing with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen today after their meeting at the White House, pointed out with regard to Afghanistan that "this is not an American battle. This is a NATO mission." It may be a NATO mission, but in domestic political discourse, it's sure viewed as an American battle: a war that the U.S. is engaged in--one that the left is starting to want the U.S. to leave.
Pointing out NATO's mission in Afghanistan, even as America was the impetus for that mission and has by far the most troops there, may not be the most significant thing a president can say. It's just a matter of fact. But it expresses a philosophical difference from the way Afghanistan is talked about--a difference that fits quite nicely within Obama's geopolitical philosophy of shared responsibility and his aversion to American unilateralism.
Pointing out NATO's mission in Afghanistan, even as America was the impetus for that mission and has by far the most troops there, may not be the most significant thing a president can say. It's just a matter of fact. But it expresses a philosophical difference from the way Afghanistan is talked about--a difference that fits quite nicely within Obama's geopolitical philosophy of shared responsibility and his aversion to American unilateralism.
Sep 29 2009, 3:35PM
Well, So Much For That
The Senate Finance Committee put the kibosh on the public option today with Democrats Baucus, Conrad, Lincoln, Nelson and Carper voting against it. Will the Democrats who voted against it pay a real price with their base? What now? It's hard to see it coming back but I suppose nothing's impossible. Still, can liberals who were wedded to this idea still get behind a reform bill that doesn't have it? Will any Republicans come aboard? Oy.
Sep 29 2009, 3:11PM
President Santorum
Good lord, it can't be. Rick Santorum, the former Republican senator from Pennsylvania, is making so secret of his presidential ambitions. I suppose if Robert Dornan and Alan Keyes can run for president, why not a prickly conservative who soundly lost reelection in 2006? Santorum may be best known for his AP interview in which he likened homosexuality to man-on-dog sex. It's hard to see why social conservatives would rally around Santorum more than, say, Palin or Pawlenty. But every senator looks in the mirror and sees the next president, so there's no reason it shouldn't apply to ex-senators, too. My favorite Santorum anecdote actually comes from Bob Kerrey. After Santorum denounced Sen. Mark Hatfield, the Oregon Republican, for his opposition to the balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, the Nebraska Democrat was asked what he thought. "Santorum, that's Latin for a--hole."
Sep 29 2009, 2:08PM
The Politics of Polanski
Interesting debate on the left about Roman Polanski's arrest in Switzerland and his likely extradition to the United States. Katrina vanden Heuvel, the editor of The Nation, has expressed doubts about the Polanski case in her Tweets. "Polanski should
have served time then, but there's evidence of prosecutorial misconduct
& victim has spoken." So has Glenn Greenwald of Salon: I agree with most of it - there's just ambivalence about starting to punish someone for what they did more than 30 years ago." Conversely, Clara Jeffery, the editor of Mother Jones, decries the ambivalence on Twitter: "Srsly, all it takes 4 smart lefties 2 think Polanski shdn't B punished for child rape is agitprop doc?" She says this in reference to a recent documentary that questioned judicial handling of the case.
There's more at The Atlantic Wire. There's no way this will rise to the level of national discourse like the O.J. trial, but it is casting a light on rape and extradition. One hopes Obama isn't careless enough to weigh in, but I would have thought he'd avoid the Skip Gates arrest, too, with a quip about being focused on health care and the presidency.
There's more at The Atlantic Wire. There's no way this will rise to the level of national discourse like the O.J. trial, but it is casting a light on rape and extradition. One hopes Obama isn't careless enough to weigh in, but I would have thought he'd avoid the Skip Gates arrest, too, with a quip about being focused on health care and the presidency.
Sep 29 2009, 1:58PM
Biden In 2016: Don't Believe The Hype
Bulletin! Breaking News! Urgent! Flash! Stimulus: the Vice President goes to Iowa for a major Democratic function! Click. Whhr. Response: he's thinking about running for president. ... We'll turn it into a question, just in case.
The prospect that Vice President Joe Biden will run for president in 2016 is remote, on the molecular level, for a multitude of reasons having to do with his age, his career, his desires, and his standing within the party. Now, the Iowa Democratic Party has invited him to host its annual Jefferson-Jackson fundraising dinner because he is, by virtue of his position, one of the most popular Democrats in the land, the vice-fundraiser in chief -- and, yes -- a man who, because he spent several cycles campaigning in Iowa for president, knows quite a few people there. The story isn't much more complicated than that, and linking his November, 21, 2008 appearance with 2016 ambitions obscures a very important intervening event: the 2012 general election.
The prospect that Vice President Joe Biden will run for president in 2016 is remote, on the molecular level, for a multitude of reasons having to do with his age, his career, his desires, and his standing within the party. Now, the Iowa Democratic Party has invited him to host its annual Jefferson-Jackson fundraising dinner because he is, by virtue of his position, one of the most popular Democrats in the land, the vice-fundraiser in chief -- and, yes -- a man who, because he spent several cycles campaigning in Iowa for president, knows quite a few people there. The story isn't much more complicated than that, and linking his November, 21, 2008 appearance with 2016 ambitions obscures a very important intervening event: the 2012 general election.
"Hasn't anyone looked at a general election map to identify the 10 most swingable
swing states for 2012 ... And noticed where Iowa ranks on said map?" a vice presidential adviser says.
(In point of fact, getting the 2014 or 2015 J-J invitation would be an indication that Biden has given 2016 a remote thought.)
So -- Biden's visit has 100% to do with raising money for 2010 and reminding Iowans about the Obama-Biden ticket in 2012, if it has anything to do with presidential politics whatsoever.
Sep 29 2009, 1:02PM
Paging Dr. Obama
When people like Ben Bernanke say the recession is over, they sound like doctors telling a patient who nearly died in a car accident that he's no longer bleeding. Some comfort.
That is how glib and detached pronouncements that the recession is over must be to the public, which is coping with high unemployment, evaporated equity, and shrunken investments. Even when Democrats acknowledge recovery is not complete and will be gradual they use spatial and temporal terms that are rather meaningless. President Obama has said the economy has been pulled "back from the brink"; Joe Biden has spoke of a new "trajectory" for the economy; New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, running for reelection, has likened fixing the economy to turning a large ship. If Democrats want to convince the public that the economy's improving, they must quit talking like pop economists and more like doctors. As the party in power they are largely responsible for helping heal the economy, and they need to diagnose its problems, treat them, and describe what recovery will bring -- and what it will not.
That is how glib and detached pronouncements that the recession is over must be to the public, which is coping with high unemployment, evaporated equity, and shrunken investments. Even when Democrats acknowledge recovery is not complete and will be gradual they use spatial and temporal terms that are rather meaningless. President Obama has said the economy has been pulled "back from the brink"; Joe Biden has spoke of a new "trajectory" for the economy; New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, running for reelection, has likened fixing the economy to turning a large ship. If Democrats want to convince the public that the economy's improving, they must quit talking like pop economists and more like doctors. As the party in power they are largely responsible for helping heal the economy, and they need to diagnose its problems, treat them, and describe what recovery will bring -- and what it will not.
Sep 29 2009, 12:56PM
I Want To Believe (In The Public Option): A Polling Breakdown, With An Eye Toward UFOs
As liberal Democrats will try (and are expected to fail) to add a public-option provision to Chairman Max Baucus's health care bill this week in the Senate Finance Committee, Media Matters for America points out that more Americans believe in UFOs than oppose the public option.
It sounds outlandish, but it's about right: a 2007 Associated Press poll (cited by Media Matters) found that 34 percent of Americans believe in the existence of UFOs. Meanwhile, anywhere from 26 to 42 percent oppose the public option, according to recent major polls not commissioned by backers or opponents of said option. The public-option support/opposition breakdown, reported by major polls this month, is:
55 percent support/42 percent oppose, according to a Sept. 12 Washington Post/ABC poll, which worded its question pretty neutrally: "Would you support or oppose having the government create a new health insurance plan to compete with private health insurance plans?"
It sounds outlandish, but it's about right: a 2007 Associated Press poll (cited by Media Matters) found that 34 percent of Americans believe in the existence of UFOs. Meanwhile, anywhere from 26 to 42 percent oppose the public option, according to recent major polls not commissioned by backers or opponents of said option. The public-option support/opposition breakdown, reported by major polls this month, is:
55 percent support/42 percent oppose, according to a Sept. 12 Washington Post/ABC poll, which worded its question pretty neutrally: "Would you support or oppose having the government create a new health insurance plan to compete with private health insurance plans?"
Sep 29 2009, 12:15PM
From Obama, Strategic Silence On The Zazi Case
President Obama and his top advisers have decided to communicate about the unfolding terrorism case against Denver shuttle driver Najibullah Zazi in a way that marks a significant departure from what Americans are used to: they've largely kept silent.
A senior administration official conceded it was "deliberate" to "leave enforcement matters to law enforcement, and to not let politics seep into at all." The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense have also kept quiet, leaving the FBI and the New York Police Department - two law enforcement agencies - to communicate with the public about what the government believes is perhaps the biggest foiled domestic terrorist plot since September 11, and certainly the largest potential plot since Obama became president.
Sep 29 2009, 10:37AM
Never Waste An Iranian Nuclear Crisis
President Obama has a chance to end the era of post-Cold-War paradigm of American global hegemony, Michael Lind proposes at Salon, suggesting the president sits at a moment in history in which the Pax Americana can be replaced with an FDR-style power collective, replacing our Cold-War-era rivalries with Russia and China with partnerships. And lo and behold: Obama will face his first major foreign-policy test/opportunity this week as talks are opened with Iran.
So far, Obama has approached Iran's newly disclosed nuclear facility with an eye toward partnerships, and if Iran is recalcitrant at the talks, a collaborative sanctions regime, including Russia and China, will probably be the next step...but only after the old Cold War allies of U.S., Britain and France joined together to condemn the facility during the U.N. summit. If Russia and China do enter a sanctions partnership with the U.S., Iran's nuclear ambitions could prove a crisis point for international paradigms after all.
So far, Obama has approached Iran's newly disclosed nuclear facility with an eye toward partnerships, and if Iran is recalcitrant at the talks, a collaborative sanctions regime, including Russia and China, will probably be the next step...but only after the old Cold War allies of U.S., Britain and France joined together to condemn the facility during the U.N. summit. If Russia and China do enter a sanctions partnership with the U.S., Iran's nuclear ambitions could prove a crisis point for international paradigms after all.
Sep 29 2009, 6:30AM
Question Of The Day: Iran's Missile Tests--Cause For Worry?
Iran tests missiles a couple times a year. Is there any reason we should be more worried about Iran now than we were before its most recent missile tests?
Sep 28 2009, 6:35PM
The Invisible Primary, 9/28
Tracking the GOP race to 2012
Sarah Palin is done with her memoir, which will be titled "Going Rogue: An American Story"; Rick Santorum's trip to Iowa will happen this week, with a speech at the University of Dubuque Thursday; Eric Cantor pooh-poohed President Obama's attempts to get the Olympics to Chicago in 2016; Mitt Romney, meanwhile, praised them; Romney says he wants to return to Iraq and Afghanistan; Newt Gingrich and Bobby Jindal raised a combined $350,000 for Virginia gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell; and Jindal will attend fundraisers in Virginia and DC tonight and tomorrow.
Sarah Palin is done with her memoir, which will be titled "Going Rogue: An American Story"; Rick Santorum's trip to Iowa will happen this week, with a speech at the University of Dubuque Thursday; Eric Cantor pooh-poohed President Obama's attempts to get the Olympics to Chicago in 2016; Mitt Romney, meanwhile, praised them; Romney says he wants to return to Iraq and Afghanistan; Newt Gingrich and Bobby Jindal raised a combined $350,000 for Virginia gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell; and Jindal will attend fundraisers in Virginia and DC tonight and tomorrow.
Sep 28 2009, 6:05PM
Hurtling Toward 2010, 9/28
The 2010 midterms are just around the corner (sort of). Here's what's happening:
The Countrywide loans story was revived today in The Wall Street Journal, which Sen. Chris Dodd's opponent, former Rep. Rob Simmons (R), promptly used in a fundraising email; Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) is asking for more information on Countrywide's loans; unnamed sources tell the Denver Post that the White House offered a job to Andrew Romanoff, the primary opponent of Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO), which Romanoff allegedly turned down before entering the race (the White House denies an offer); and GOP recruit John Guedry has decided not to run against Rep. Dina Titus (D) in Nevada's third district.
The Countrywide loans story was revived today in The Wall Street Journal, which Sen. Chris Dodd's opponent, former Rep. Rob Simmons (R), promptly used in a fundraising email; Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) is asking for more information on Countrywide's loans; unnamed sources tell the Denver Post that the White House offered a job to Andrew Romanoff, the primary opponent of Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO), which Romanoff allegedly turned down before entering the race (the White House denies an offer); and GOP recruit John Guedry has decided not to run against Rep. Dina Titus (D) in Nevada's third district.
Sep 28 2009, 5:28PM
LaHood: 10 House Republicans Could Back Health Care
I mentioned on Friday that I'd gone to see Ray LaHood, the Secretary of Transportation. LaHood, as you probably know, was a Republican congressman from Illinois before he was Obama's transportation secretary, and he's a bona fide Republican--he took over the seat once held by House Minority Leader Bob Michel, which includes Peoria. I asked LaHood about health care and he told me that every Cabinet member has been enlisted in selling the package and that he thinks that in the end as many as 10 House Republicans might support the final passage of a bill. That doesn't sound like a lot, but it seems important to me for a couple of reasons. It gives the president some bipartisan cover assuming that he can't get any in the Senate, where all eyes are on Olympia Snowe, the moderate Republican senator from Maine. Sure, passage of what the president wants is inevitable in the House, where Democrats have a huge majority and there's no fussing around with 60 percent of the body being needed for passage. Any Republican support would be a blessing, and as a former House Republican LaHood is in a position to help get it. He helped pull in eight crucial GOP l votes for the president's energy bill earlier this year, something that Obama called and thanked him for the next day. "Part of the reason I have this job is because I can help bring in Republican votes," LaHood says. He helped recruit former GOP congressman John McHugh to be Army Secretary. "When people call me on their road projects, I take their temperature on health care."
Sep 28 2009, 5:00PM
Obama's Olympic Gamble
Must say that I'm surprised the president is going to Copenhagen this week to lobby for Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. Sure, we knew everyone from the First Lady to Oprah to Valerie Jarrett would be there to lobby for the president's adopted hometown. But it is going to be embarrassing if he gets there and the International Olympic Committee goes with one of the other cities bidding--Rio de Janiero, Tokyo or Madrid. South America has never hosted the games, and Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva is emerging as a powerful and popular world leader. Of course, if the president brings the games home it's a great win and one that probably wouldn't hurt Democratic chances in next year's Senate and gubernatorial elections in Illinois. It can't look good, though, if the U.S. doesn't get it. Then again, if the U.S. lost its bid and Obama hadn't gone...
Sep 28 2009, 4:58PM
Muslim Politics, Across The Street
A mixed blessing of working in Washington is that politics are all around--particularly foreign politics. Wandering around, it's not uncommon to find a group of 50 or so protesting the Chinese or Russian embassies, or, a perennial favorite, the World Bank.
Today, a few hundred protesters marched around the Saudi embassy, which happens to be across the street from the Atlantic's offices in the Watergate, chanting "al-Baqee, al-Baqee, rebuild al-Baqee!" and waving signs that read "Stop Wahhabi Terrorism": men, women and children bused in from other cities and mostly wearing black, the women with their heads covered.
Today, a few hundred protesters marched around the Saudi embassy, which happens to be across the street from the Atlantic's offices in the Watergate, chanting "al-Baqee, al-Baqee, rebuild al-Baqee!" and waving signs that read "Stop Wahhabi Terrorism": men, women and children bused in from other cities and mostly wearing black, the women with their heads covered.
Sep 28 2009, 2:39PM
Some Savings, At Some Point
Time's Michael Scherer points out that, because there's no historical precedent for the kind of reforms Democrats are seeking to make in the U.S. health care system, there's no real way to predict how they'll change costs. No one knows how health care markets will react to these changes, because they've never happened before. Cost savings are one of the big selling points for health care reform, and all of President's fire and brimstone about the consequences of inaction has centered around escalating costs and the need to reverse the course. But as Scherer notes, Obama is without a hard number to augment his rhetoric of cost control as he tries to sell his plan to the American people--which makes the selling a bit harder.
Sep 28 2009, 12:46PM
Iranian Security Chief: West Hypocritical For Nuclear Criticism
Iran's state-run Press TV quotes Saeed Jalili, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, after Iran tested missiles on Sunday:
"The West takes no action on disarmament while countries that possess nuclear weapons threaten the world. According to Article VI of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, all the nuclear-weapon-states should draw up a roadmap toward fulfilling their disarmament obligations," Jalili said.
Sep 28 2009, 11:20AM
How About Some Regulation For Washington?
In the midst of attempting to take copious financial regulatory measures, officials in Washington might be forgetting something very key: regulating themselves. The Wall Street Journal today has one of those articles that I really hate to read. It provides a discouraging update to the news that Countrywide -- formerly the largest U.S. mortgage company -- had a special VIP club, in which some public officials enjoyed benefits not provided to average Americans. This serves as the perfect example of why we should be worried about the too cozy relationship between finance and Washington. But it gets worse.
Sep 28 2009, 10:33AM
Progressives Hit Baucus
With the Senate Finance Committee slated to vote on whether to add a public option to Chairman Max Baucus's (D-MT) health reform bill this week, two progressive groups are hitting Baucus with this ad in his home state. In it, a man driven into debt by a congenital heart disease suggests Montanans can't trust Baucus because he's taken millions of dollars in donations from the health care and insurance industries:
Sep 28 2009, 10:13AM
Controversy Brews Around National Equality March
It's been a months-long battle of contentious town hall meetings, a congressional review period and clashes with black church leaders; mayor-for-life Marion Barry even declared a "civil war." But compared to California, Washington, D.C. just hasn't gotten much national press on its gay marriage squabbles.
In July, the city council voted 12 to 1 to recognize gay marriages performed in other countries and states, and it's expected to consider a bill allowing unions as early as next month. This follows months of slow and steady bridge-building by local advocates to churches and the African-American community -- key demographics that helped pass California's Proposition 8 last October, banning gay marriage in the liberal state.
In July, the city council voted 12 to 1 to recognize gay marriages performed in other countries and states, and it's expected to consider a bill allowing unions as early as next month. This follows months of slow and steady bridge-building by local advocates to churches and the African-American community -- key demographics that helped pass California's Proposition 8 last October, banning gay marriage in the liberal state.
Sep 28 2009, 6:30AM
Question Of The Day: But People Want A Public Option...
The public option likely won't make it out of the Senate Finance Committee when it's put to a vote this week (though it could come back on the floor). Meanwhile, major polls show that most Americans want one. Is this a case of the legislature not giving the people what they want? If so, is there anything wrong with it?
Sep 27 2009, 3:23PM
The Sunday Shows In Five Sentences Or Less
Today was Clean-Up Day. Perhaps the most respected name in the Defense establishment, Sec. Robert Gates, was sent out to calm nerves, portray an administration that was properly deliberating a decision, to simmer down reports of alleged dissension between Gen. Stanley McChrystal and the President on Afghanistan.
1. Gates said that the White House interagency process would come up with a recommendation to the President within weeks, not months. He also said that, given the difficulties in moving troops into Afghanistan, if POTUS were to make such a decision, troops wouldn't begin to arrive until midway through the first six months of 2010.
2. Sen. John McCain played the role of presidential counselor. Nice touch by the White House, which made sure to have POTUS call McCain yesterday, before he appeared on "This Week." McCain:
3. Very important nuance from Sen. Evan Bayh, who hinted that the level of Senate pressure directed at POTUS even from conservative Democrats might not be as acute as initially thought: "The number of troops is a tactical question, John, in pursuit of a strategic goal. The president sets the strategy and then will listen to his commanders about how many troops he needs to achieve that strategy. And what you heard the secretary say is, very clearly, we need to decide an essential question. Is Afghanistan capable of being a coherent nation-state? Can they reconcile their differences enough where their government can have enough trained troops and police to control their own territory? Can Afghanistan, with our help, be a coherent nation-state? If yes, more troops would be warranted; if no, you take a different approach. "
4. Gates, on whether the Karzai government was legitimate enough: "The key is whether the Afghans believe that their government has legitimacy. And everything that I've seen in the intelligence and elsewhere indicates that remains the case."
5. President Clinton said that whether Sen. Hillary Clinton ran for president again was "up to her." Still, he said, "we're not getting any younger." And the VRWC: -- it lives!
1. Gates said that the White House interagency process would come up with a recommendation to the President within weeks, not months. He also said that, given the difficulties in moving troops into Afghanistan, if POTUS were to make such a decision, troops wouldn't begin to arrive until midway through the first six months of 2010.
2. Sen. John McCain played the role of presidential counselor. Nice touch by the White House, which made sure to have POTUS call McCain yesterday, before he appeared on "This Week." McCain:
"Yesterday we had a good conversation, as we always do. I pointed out that, in Iraq, the Maliki government was certainly failing. And this election in Afghanistan, it was corrupt. There is corruption from the cop on the street to the president's brother, Karzai's brother, and that issue has to be addressed if we're going to succeed....But we're not going to have a chance to succeed if we withdraw...We've really got the status quo, which Admiral Mullen and General McChrystal say is not succeeding, or we can implement this new strategy, which is really an old strategy called counterinsurgency, or we'd better get out."
3. Very important nuance from Sen. Evan Bayh, who hinted that the level of Senate pressure directed at POTUS even from conservative Democrats might not be as acute as initially thought: "The number of troops is a tactical question, John, in pursuit of a strategic goal. The president sets the strategy and then will listen to his commanders about how many troops he needs to achieve that strategy. And what you heard the secretary say is, very clearly, we need to decide an essential question. Is Afghanistan capable of being a coherent nation-state? Can they reconcile their differences enough where their government can have enough trained troops and police to control their own territory? Can Afghanistan, with our help, be a coherent nation-state? If yes, more troops would be warranted; if no, you take a different approach. "
4. Gates, on whether the Karzai government was legitimate enough: "The key is whether the Afghans believe that their government has legitimacy. And everything that I've seen in the intelligence and elsewhere indicates that remains the case."
5. President Clinton said that whether Sen. Hillary Clinton ran for president again was "up to her." Still, he said, "we're not getting any younger." And the VRWC: -- it lives!
BILL CLINTON: "Oh, you bet. Sure it is. It's not as strong as it was, because America has changed demographically. But it's as virulent as it was. I mean, they're saying things about him. You know, it's like when they accused me of murder, and all that stuff they did. ... But ... it's not really good for the Republicans and the country, what's going on now. I mean, they may be hurting President Obama. They can take his numbers down. They can run his opposition up. But, fundamentally, he and his team have a positive agenda for America. Their agenda seems to be wanting him to fail." ...
Sep 27 2009, 1:33PM
Committees In The Coal Mine
Democrats' wallets are thinner than usual as their congressional committees are experiencing underwhelming fundraising this year.
Polls have detected slippage for Democrats for the 2010 elections, but the drop in donations should be much more worrisome because donations come almost entirely from the party faithful and people hold cash more precious than what they say to pollsters. Money talks, and what's being said is that people are not satisfied with the party. This could be either the beginning of a liberal backlash against a party that still hasn't passed health-care reform (not to mention with a public option) or further regulated banks. If this isn't the beginning of a revolt, it may be a sign of the kind of ambivalence that would keep Democrats home on Election Day.
Polls have detected slippage for Democrats for the 2010 elections, but the drop in donations should be much more worrisome because donations come almost entirely from the party faithful and people hold cash more precious than what they say to pollsters. Money talks, and what's being said is that people are not satisfied with the party. This could be either the beginning of a liberal backlash against a party that still hasn't passed health-care reform (not to mention with a public option) or further regulated banks. If this isn't the beginning of a revolt, it may be a sign of the kind of ambivalence that would keep Democrats home on Election Day.
Sep 26 2009, 8:30AM
Question Of The Weekend: What Would It Take?
After the disclosure of Iran's secret nuclear program, sanctions loom near on the horizon. What would it take to get Iran to give up its nuclear program?
Sep 25 2009, 5:57PM
Conservatives Who Want To Cap Emissions
They exist...but they all live in Europe. With Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), the leading U.S. climate skeptic (which puts him high in the running for leading climate skeptic worldwide) having pledged to bring his views to the international climate summit in Copenhagen in December, Salon's Joe Conason takes a look at how the conservative leaders of France, Germany, and Sweden all lay claim to climate-consciousness...despite their conservatism. Of course, Sarkozy and Merkel are no Palin and Romney: American conservatism and European conservatism have more differences than just climate change, and American conservatives may not soon emulate their foreign analogues, on a wide range of other issues too. But environmentalists can hope.
Sep 25 2009, 4:23PM
A Different View: So What If Iran Gets The Bomb?
The political scientist John Mueller, the Woody Hayes Chair of National Security Studies at the Ohio State University, has written "Atomic Obsession: Nuclear Alarmism from Hiroshima to Al-Qaeda," and his thesis is that the world's magical thinking and alarmism about nuclear energy and nuclear weapons has significantly distorted policy making and threatens to leave the United States more vulnerable to more pressing threats. Mueller's opinions are not shared by most of his colleagues, but they are taken seriously -- he's not a provocateur. I asked Mueller this morning to put the news about Iran in the context of his theories. How much of a threat is Iran's proliferation? How much of a threat is the West's obsession with Iran's proliferation?
"No one has been killed by nuclear weapons in recent memory and lots of people have been killed by our obsession with proliferation, especially in Iraq," he says.
Sep 25 2009, 3:53PM
"If I Were Mr. Obama's Adviser..."
Here's the interview with Time in which Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad denies that Iran broke rules in building a nuclear plant without notifying the International Atomic Energy Agency (Ahmadinejad says Iran wasn't required to and that Iran works within the IAEA's framework). Ahmadinejad looks mildly surprised as Time Managing Editor Richard Stengel informs him that President Obama is (as they speak) about to accuse Iran of building the undisclosed site
"Mr. Obama is about to say [this]?" he asks, through a translator. He doesn't look altogether ruffled, though.
"Mr. Obama is about to say [this]?" he asks, through a translator. He doesn't look altogether ruffled, though.
Sep 25 2009, 1:59PM
ACORN Decries "Lynching"
Led by Democrats this time, the House of Representatives has voted again to deny any federal funds to ACORN in the wake of its scandal, and ACORN is decrying its public treatment since that scandal broke as a "public lynching" called for by Fox News.
The House passed a continuing resolution today that will keep the federal government up and running through October, and the bill contained language, as reported by The Huffington Post's Ryan Grim, that prohibits any of its funding from going to ACORN, which has received federal funds in the past for non-political work assisting low-income citizens.
The House passed a continuing resolution today that will keep the federal government up and running through October, and the bill contained language, as reported by The Huffington Post's Ryan Grim, that prohibits any of its funding from going to ACORN, which has received federal funds in the past for non-political work assisting low-income citizens.
Sep 25 2009, 12:55PM
They'll Be Back Tuesday
The Senate Finance Committee's health care markup, which has been going on since Tuesday with a total of 564 amendments on the agenda, has finally adjourned for the weekend after hours upon hours of voting and debate each day. The committee will resume marking up the "chairman's mark"--Chairman Max Baucus's draft legislation--on Tuesday, at which point it's expected to consider adding a public option to the bill (which currently provides for co-ops), in the form of an amendment offered by Sens. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Jay Rockefeller (D-WV). It's not expected to pass, as the co-op plan was engineered and pushed forward as a compromise by some Democrats in the room (Baucus and Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota). It's long been public knowledge that "at least three" Democrats in the Senate oppose a public option, and the intriguing part on Tuesday will be exactly how many Democrats on the committee support it.
Sep 25 2009, 12:01PM
Census Worker Death: Time for Calm
My pals at Talkingpointsmemo.com are doing an ace job tracking the death of that Census worker in Kentucky, the one with the word "Fed" written on his chest. The first gruesome details of the case played perfectly into concerns that an antigovernment atmosphere had led to a murder. But Zach Roth notes that the FBI has not determined if it was a homicide and also notes that the marijuana-and-meth trade in that part of the state raises the possibility he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. So everyone should take a deep breath.
Sep 25 2009, 11:21AM
Obama, Terror, Nukes and the Week That Was
The most remarkable story of the week -- the most important story to most Americans -- was not the breaking story that featured the President of the United States and the leaders of the world. The FBI and NYPD may have broken up the biggest domestic terrorism plot since 9/11. And this administration, deliberately, chose to stay in the background, chose to let senior law enforcement officials take the lead, and did nothing to generate the sort of panic and fear that the office of the president, when marshaled to discuss these types of things, can bring to bear, even by accident.
Sep 25 2009, 10:55AM
More Obamaites to Copenhagen
It looks like Ray LaHood is the latest to join the delegation of Obamaites and Chicagoans going to Copenhagen for a final pitch to get the 2016 Summer Olympics for the windy city. I saw LaHood this morning for an interview and asked if the former congressman from Peoria, Illinois was getting involved in the pitch. He said that he was and would help reassure International Olympic Committee members that Chicago had the transportation infrastructure to handle the megaevent. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, the former superintendent of Chicago schools and an IOC member as well as First Lady Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey are going to Denmark as well. Will Chicago Goldwater Girl Hillary Clinton show up as well? I wouldn't be shocked.
Sep 25 2009, 9:26AM
Iran's Secret: What's Next?
First, note a distinction made by former chief UN weapons inspector David Albright: Iran is more worried about being found in non-compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty than it is with whatever the UN Security Council resolves. The former includes built-in punitive measures, and it is quite possible that Iran built this secret facility with an expansive interpretation of the NPT in mind. Second: there are roughly three levels of economic sanctions against Iran. Level one -- the least punitive -- would be to stop selling them gasoline, something they can't produce themselves. Level two -- a broader array of sanctions on other goods. Level three -- the world shuns Iran's key export -- oil. That would cripple their economy and produce significant suffering among the Iranian people. Here's betting that the U.S. is now working to build Russian and Chinese support for the tier-one sanctions. Finally, note the deadline for compliance set by French President Sarkozy: December. What happens if Iran does not allow full IAEA inspections by then? That was left unstated. Implicitly, the threat of military action by Israel (which, just between us, would make the Saudis and Egyptian leaders kind of happy, although they would pretend to be outraged) has been moved closer to the edge of the table. Still, there is every indication that President Obama wants to do everything he can to settle this dispute peacefully. He was briefed on this intelligence before he became president, and yet he still pursued a strategy of engagement. Iran's acknowledging something the U.S. already knew does not necessarily change the strategic calculus all that much. Indeed, Obama went out of his way this morning to stress that Iran still had a right to a "peaceful" nuclear energy program.
Sep 25 2009, 9:26AM
An Immune System for the Planet: Bill McKibben on Organizing Popular Action When Political Leaders Disappoint
Bill McKibben, author of the first global warming book for a general audience, was none too impressed with President Obama's speech to the U.N.'s climate summit on Tuesday. Obama stressed the urgency of the climate crisis and the need for diplomatic cooperation by industrial giants but also by developing countries. While many listeners appreciated the president's strong-handed rhetoric, McKibben thought he set the bar too low. Or, actually, not low enough.
The environmental writer and activist (and erstwhile Atlantic contributor) spearheads a global movement to embrace an atmospheric carbon target of 350 parts per million (ppm). This figure is a good 20 percent below the 450 ppm target that's recently populated pragmatic debate and that was espoused in the climate bill the House passed over the summer. But just ten months ago, leading climatologist Jim Hansen presented a paper stating that "if humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted," atmospheric carbon must inch no higher than 350. A bit disconcerting, given the current level of around 390.
The environmental writer and activist (and erstwhile Atlantic contributor) spearheads a global movement to embrace an atmospheric carbon target of 350 parts per million (ppm). This figure is a good 20 percent below the 450 ppm target that's recently populated pragmatic debate and that was espoused in the climate bill the House passed over the summer. But just ten months ago, leading climatologist Jim Hansen presented a paper stating that "if humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted," atmospheric carbon must inch no higher than 350. A bit disconcerting, given the current level of around 390.
Sep 25 2009, 9:25AM
The State Dept.'s Growing Language Barrier
GAO recently released a report (.pdf) on "persistent foreign language shortfalls" in the Foreign Service, the diplomatic arm of the State department. 31% of overseas officers stationed at language-designated positions fall short of the speaking and reading proficiency requirements for their jobs. This number rises to roughly 40% when focused on officers serving in locations of strategic significance, like East Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The report states, for example:
43 percent of officers in Arabic language-designated positions do not meet the requirements of their positions (107 officers in 248 filled positions), nor do 66 percent of officers in Dari positions (21 officers in 32 positions), 38 percent in Farsi (5 officers in 13 positions), or 50 percent in Urdu (5 officers in 10 positions).
Sep 25 2009, 6:30AM
Question Of The Day: Will G20 Produce Anything Substantive?
The G20 is meeting in Pittsburgh, and financial regulatory reform will be high on the agenda. Will the summit produce anything that will substantially affect financial practices, markets and the global economy?
Sep 25 2009, 6:00AM
The Rundown, 9/25
It's day two of the G20 summit in Pittsburgh (which Caitlan Smith says is a fitting location), and big topics from financial regulatory reform to global economic progress to climate change will be discussed near smokestacks and river. After the massive meeting in New York, Obama will play host to a slightly less massive meeting of international bigwigs, with morning and afternoon sessions, a lunch in between, and a press conference when it's all over.
American moneyman Timothy Geithner will speak at the morning session, and he'll host a working lunch with finance ministers.
American moneyman Timothy Geithner will speak at the morning session, and he'll host a working lunch with finance ministers.
Sep 24 2009, 10:21PM
WH Counsel Greg Craig Might Leave Because of Gitmo?
Here is a story from the Washington Post and Pro Publica that reports the facts faithfully but does not, I believe, come to the correct conclusion. The essence of the article is that Greg Craig, the White House counsel, is taking the blame for the Guantanamo closing and the messiness that resulted from it, and that the administration took away Gitmo from his portfolio, and that Craig may be, ah, promoted out of the White House to a job on the federal bench or become an ambassador.
Here's what I don't get: if there's one thing that would cause Craig to earn the displeasure of his boss, President Obama, Gitmo wouldn't be it. It was Obama who insisted on closing Gitmo in a year. The administration always assumed that Congress would give them some problems. It anticipated a bit of panic (though not as much panic as the Democrats ginned up). But -- as the end of the year-long closure period approaches -- the process, it turns out, seems to have been a good one. Now -- it was very messy. It required adjustments and more supervision from other White House managers -- Craig is not much of a manager -- but -- Gitmo's gonna be closed, relatively on time, maybe a few months late. The administration has concluded that it needs no new legal authority to get the prisoners off of the island. Many prisoners have been released. Others have been transferred to friendly countries. Trials -- always the toughest part of this -- are beginning. But a major symbol of American badness is no longer haunting the halls of our country's self-identity. Closing Gitmo, from A to Z, is an unprecedented feat of bureaucracy. I know from first hand reporting that, if there's one thing that President Obama respects his counsel for, it's been his commitment to getting Gitmo right.
Sep 24 2009, 6:08PM
The Invisible Primary, 9/24
Tracking the GOP race to 2012
Ed Schultz has challenged Eric Cantor to a debate on health care; Public Policy Polling finds Mike Huckabee performing best in a speculative election matchup against Obama, taking 41 percent vs. Obama's 48, beating out Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, and Jeb Bush; controversial Sheriff Joe Arpaio's planned attendance at a Romney fundraiser at Chase Field in Phoenix is reportedly costing Romney some support for the event; and Palin, in her speech in Hong Kong, pressed for deeper involvement in Afghanistan.
Ed Schultz has challenged Eric Cantor to a debate on health care; Public Policy Polling finds Mike Huckabee performing best in a speculative election matchup against Obama, taking 41 percent vs. Obama's 48, beating out Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, and Jeb Bush; controversial Sheriff Joe Arpaio's planned attendance at a Romney fundraiser at Chase Field in Phoenix is reportedly costing Romney some support for the event; and Palin, in her speech in Hong Kong, pressed for deeper involvement in Afghanistan.
Sep 24 2009, 5:32PM
Hurtling Toward 2010, 9/24
The 2010 midterms are just around the corner (sort of). Here's what's happening:
Massachusetts gained a senator today, as Gov. Deval Patrick (D) appointed Paul Kirk, formerly the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, to serve in place of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy until a special election is held; Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) will not run for governor; a Club for Growh-commissioned poll shows New York's 23rd district race to succeed Rep. John McHugh (R) to be a three-way tossup; Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) insists she's running for governor, despite Gov. Rick Perry's (R) claim of skepticism; and a Marist poll reported that 62 percent of New Yorkers think the White House should mind its own business when it comes to Gov. David Paterson's (D) reelection plans.
Massachusetts gained a senator today, as Gov. Deval Patrick (D) appointed Paul Kirk, formerly the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, to serve in place of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy until a special election is held; Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) will not run for governor; a Club for Growh-commissioned poll shows New York's 23rd district race to succeed Rep. John McHugh (R) to be a three-way tossup; Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) insists she's running for governor, despite Gov. Rick Perry's (R) claim of skepticism; and a Marist poll reported that 62 percent of New Yorkers think the White House should mind its own business when it comes to Gov. David Paterson's (D) reelection plans.
Sep 24 2009, 5:09PM
Senator Paul Kirk
Anyone who's met Paul Kirk knows he's a charmer, an old school lawyer-lobbyist in the vein of Robert Strauss, another former Democratic National Committee chairman. Apparently the Kennedys wanted him in the job, and now he's got it. But was this really the best pick, and what have Democrats done with their chances to appoint five senators since the election? I will be careful here since one of the picks involves my boss's brother.
Sep 24 2009, 4:48PM
Louisiana Dems: Defund Vitter
Pursuant to the Senate's vote to cut off federal funding for the scandal-ridden ACORN, employees of which were caught on giving prostitution-business advice to a fake pimp with a camera, the Louisiana Democratic Party has seized on the opportunity to remind people of another prostitution-related scandal, that of Sen. David Vitter (R-LA): the party has launched a petition to "defund" Vitter, just as ACORN was defunded.
Sep 24 2009, 4:24PM
The Abolition of Nuclear Weapons: Is It Possible?
I don't know the answer to the above question. But it's amazing that the idea now gets such serious discussion. Today, the president led the UN's passage of a resolution calling for such a goal. And while resolutions are all well and good, this one comes at a time when serious policy makers and one-time hawks now see the end of nukes as a realistic thing. Reagan's Defense Secretary Frank Carlucci and one of his arms control pointmen, Richard Burt, are on board with Global Zero, the group that's pushing this the hardest.
Sep 24 2009, 3:37PM
(Don't) Read The Bill!
For all the clamor over senators "read the bill" that we've heard this summer, Slate's John Dickerson has an argument against reading the bill: senators have staffs to do that for them, like homebuyers use lawyers to review final contracts, so they can focus on the big picture. And just because they read it doesn't mean they understand it.
Sep 24 2009, 3:37PM
Most Folks Aren't Sick Of Obama Just Yet...
Is President Obama overexposed? CBS News's latest finds that 58% of those surveyed say that he's making about the right number of television appearances (with four percent -- presumably in the White House -- who think he's making too few appearances.) Broken down by age, younger folks want to see Obama more than older folks. 56 percent of independents surveyed are OK with the level of presidential saturation, while 40% aren't. Even 37% of Republicans are comfortable. So maybe this question isn't worth asking...
Sep 24 2009, 3:02PM
What Will Health Reform Do to Medicare Advantage?
The next reform battle will be fought in a peculiar trench of the health care landscape: Medicare Advantage. The latest controversy began when Humana Inc., an insurance company, sent a note to its enrollees predicting that health care reform would kick millions off Medicare Advantage -- an option for seniors to buy private insurance with public money. Some lawmakers castigated the company and a sterner whipping could be forthcoming. The Wall Street Journal op-ed page is spearheading the conservative indignation and some liberal blogs are playing defense.
But is it true? Will health care reform cut into Medicare Advantage?
But is it true? Will health care reform cut into Medicare Advantage?
Sep 24 2009, 2:38PM
The Politics Of The Latest GMTO Decisions
To take care of the remaining prisoners at Guantanano Bay -- and to figure out how to hold them and pay for their detentions after Guantanamo closes in January, the Obama administration needs Congress to appropriate some money and to recognize a few untested claims of legal authority.
That's the policy underneath the politics of the latest administration decision on detention policy. Advocacy groups are cheering what they take to be a new tack by the administration, but what they've hailed turns out to be the legal equivalent of a stay: for now -- for now -- the administration doesn't think it needs any new authority to close the Guantanamo Bay ledger.
That's the policy underneath the politics of the latest administration decision on detention policy. Advocacy groups are cheering what they take to be a new tack by the administration, but what they've hailed turns out to be the legal equivalent of a stay: for now -- for now -- the administration doesn't think it needs any new authority to close the Guantanamo Bay ledger.
Sep 24 2009, 1:40PM
"Do The Job You Were Elected To Do"
I'm not sure if Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) has any historical relationship with his 1990s predecessor, Republican Arne Carlson, but the latter had some choice words for Pawlenty this week amid Minnesota's struggle to deal with its budget deficit: "do the job you were elected to do." Pawlenty's trips out of state are "a criticism that Minnesotans have been dancing around," Carlson said, as reported by local news station KARE 11, the subtext here being that Pawlenty, who will not seek reelection in 2010, is already off and running for president. Meanwhile, a Pioneer Press op-ed suggests economics is not his strong suit, particularly that he "has preferred borrowing money (called bonding at the state level) or kicking the fiscal can down the road with budget gimmicks or by shifting the burden to local government"--a damning accusation while there's a budget crunch in the state, and, more significantly to Pawlenty's presidential aspirations, as economic conservatism dominates as the national Republican zeitgeist.
Sep 24 2009, 11:18AM
Snubfest: Obama And Gordon Brown
It seems that every time Gordon Brown and Barack Obama are in the same place, news arises of a major snub.
First there was President Obama's removal of a bust of Winston Churchill, lent by Tony Blair to President Bush in 2001, from the Oval Office in January. Then, at his first formal meeting with Brown this spring, when the latter came to the U.S. to address Congress, there was no traditional joint press conference, leading to British headlines suggesting "humiliation" for Brown. On his way out of town, Brown gave Obama an ornamental pen made from wood from the Victorian anti-slave ship HMS Gannet; Obama gave Brown a set of DVDs. More reports of snubbery.
First there was President Obama's removal of a bust of Winston Churchill, lent by Tony Blair to President Bush in 2001, from the Oval Office in January. Then, at his first formal meeting with Brown this spring, when the latter came to the U.S. to address Congress, there was no traditional joint press conference, leading to British headlines suggesting "humiliation" for Brown. On his way out of town, Brown gave Obama an ornamental pen made from wood from the Victorian anti-slave ship HMS Gannet; Obama gave Brown a set of DVDs. More reports of snubbery.
Sep 24 2009, 7:02AM
Language Lessons In Nuclear Diplomacy
As the United Nations Security Council, led by President Barack Obama, addresses the topic of nuclear nonproliferation, it's worth paying careful attention to the language of nuclear diplomacy.
The line between a country that is capable of building a nuclear weapon at a moment's notice and a country that possesses them is very blurry. If Obama says that the U.S. pledges to never use nuclear weapons on a country that does not possess them, it has serious implications for the protective umbrella under which Japan and South Korea huddle. In practical terms, the least destructive response to a conventional North Korean attack against South Korea could be a tactical nuclear weapon. What will the doctrine say to terrorists who possess nuclear weapons but aren't harbored by a state? What about a state that combines its technology with a terrorist entity to produce a WMD? What if North Korea decides to give its nuclear weapons to another state?
The line between a country that is capable of building a nuclear weapon at a moment's notice and a country that possesses them is very blurry. If Obama says that the U.S. pledges to never use nuclear weapons on a country that does not possess them, it has serious implications for the protective umbrella under which Japan and South Korea huddle. In practical terms, the least destructive response to a conventional North Korean attack against South Korea could be a tactical nuclear weapon. What will the doctrine say to terrorists who possess nuclear weapons but aren't harbored by a state? What about a state that combines its technology with a terrorist entity to produce a WMD? What if North Korea decides to give its nuclear weapons to another state?
Sep 24 2009, 6:30AM
Question Of The Day: Does The World See Us Differently?
President Obama made sure to differentiate himself from his predecessor when he addressed the U.N. yesterday. America has "re-engaged" at the U.N., "paid our bills," and joined the Human Rights Council. Do you think the world sees America as differently as Obama has portrayed it?
Sep 24 2009, 6:00AM
The Rundown, 9/24
After his big speech, today figures to be another big one for President Obama in New York, as he'll chair a special session of the U.N. security council devoted to nuclear non-proliferation. And we just might see Obama get one of his first international victories if the Security Council passes a non-proliferation resolution, as the president has made non-proliferation a centerpiece of his agenda this week. So, for Obama's fans that means...score!
Then it's on to Pittsburgh (which is supposed to be lovely this time of year) where the president will host a working dinner with G20 leaders as part of the G20 Summit there. The international work just never ends.
Then it's on to Pittsburgh (which is supposed to be lovely this time of year) where the president will host a working dinner with G20 leaders as part of the G20 Summit there. The international work just never ends.
Sep 23 2009, 6:07PM
Is Russia Coming Around On Sanctions?
For years, the United States has played Charlie Brown to Russia's Sally. Every time it appeared as if Russia were about to soften its opposition to tougher sanctions against Iran, Russia would pull away, leaving the U.S. frustrated and unfulfilled. Interests, financial and security, diverged too much. Today, the Obama administration insists that its "reset" strategy is bearing real fruit. A senior administration official, briefing the White House press corps on the Medvevev-Obama bilateral meeting in New York this afternoon, said that post-meeting remarks by Medvedev about the inevitability of sanctions represented a "real change" in Russia's position.
Sep 23 2009, 5:30PM
The Invisible Primary, 9/23
Tracking the GOP race to 2012
Sarah Palin delivered her much-anticipated speech to the CLSA Investors' Forum in Hong Kong today, touching on a wide range of topics and criticizing the government and the Fed in particular for bailouts; Mike Huckabee, when asked if he'll run in 2012, said it's "too early to jump into the shark-infested waters"; Jeb Bush criticized the National Republican Senatorial Committee for backing Gov. Charlie Crist over conservative upstart Marco Rubio in Florida's Senate race; and Newt Gingich placed an op-ed in The Washington Times, saying "the conservative hour in America has once again arrived."
Sarah Palin delivered her much-anticipated speech to the CLSA Investors' Forum in Hong Kong today, touching on a wide range of topics and criticizing the government and the Fed in particular for bailouts; Mike Huckabee, when asked if he'll run in 2012, said it's "too early to jump into the shark-infested waters"; Jeb Bush criticized the National Republican Senatorial Committee for backing Gov. Charlie Crist over conservative upstart Marco Rubio in Florida's Senate race; and Newt Gingich placed an op-ed in The Washington Times, saying "the conservative hour in America has once again arrived."
Sep 23 2009, 5:00PM
Hurtling Toward 2010, 9/23
The 2010 midterms are just around the corner (sort of). Here's what's happening:
New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine (D) is accusing challenger Chris Christie (R) of "throwing his weight around" to get out of penalty for traffic incidents; the latest polling shows Missouri's Senate race as a toss-up, with 46 percent support each for Robin Carnahan (D) and Rep. Roy Blunt (R); T. Boone Pickens endorsed Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), who will face a tough primary challenge from Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison; Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington is asking the Justice Department to investigate Rep. Mike Ross's (D-AR) sale of a commercial property; and Linda McMahon (R) has cut her first TV ad in Connecticut's Senate race.
New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine (D) is accusing challenger Chris Christie (R) of "throwing his weight around" to get out of penalty for traffic incidents; the latest polling shows Missouri's Senate race as a toss-up, with 46 percent support each for Robin Carnahan (D) and Rep. Roy Blunt (R); T. Boone Pickens endorsed Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), who will face a tough primary challenge from Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison; Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington is asking the Justice Department to investigate Rep. Mike Ross's (D-AR) sale of a commercial property; and Linda McMahon (R) has cut her first TV ad in Connecticut's Senate race.
Sep 23 2009, 4:06PM
ACORN Suspends Tax Preparation Services
After Big Government blogger James O'Keefe videotaped ACORN workers, including a tax specialist in its Baltimore office, advising him (posing as a man who wanted to run for Congress) and a young woman who accompanied him (posing as a prostitute), on how to run a prostitution ring and get child tax credits for underage girls, ACORN has suspended its tax-preparation assistance services and its partnership with the IRS in educating citizens tax credits and preparation. The IRS, likewise, announced it is severing ties with ACORN. ACORN says it will revisit the decision after its internal review, which is being headed by former Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harshbarger.
Here's the letter sent this week to IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman:
Here's the letter sent this week to IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman:
Sep 23 2009, 3:47PM
Palin's PAC Gets More Than It Gives
Doing some quick math on the list of PACs (political action committees, aka fundraising and donating organizations that serve as a politician's political-money arm) headed by potential 2012 GOP candidates I posted yesterday, The Enlightened Despot's Nick Saint points out that, of all of them, Sarah Palin's SarahPAC seems to be the stingiest, raising more money than it gives out, and doing so to a greater degree than any other on the list. This year, SarahPAC has raised 2.653 times what it's given out ($732,867 raised vs. $276,200 given). The next stingiest (by this ratio, not by dollars given) is Mitt Romney's Free and Strong America PAC, at 1.257.
SarahPAC ranks third in money raised, trailing Eric Cantor's ERICPAC (which sits at #2) by $271,726. Romney's PAC has raised the most of the group this year.
SarahPAC ranks third in money raised, trailing Eric Cantor's ERICPAC (which sits at #2) by $271,726. Romney's PAC has raised the most of the group this year.
Sep 23 2009, 2:37PM
Obama's Speech: Reactions
Max Fisher has reactions to President Obama's speech rounded up at the Atlantic Wire, laying out what news came of the president's address to the U.N. So far, commentators are reacting to his call for help from other countries in addressing the world's problems; the applause he got on Israeli settlements (it was more than he got on Sudan); contrasts with the previous administration; his criticism of the UN.; and whether the speech was boring. Check it out at the Wire.
Sep 23 2009, 2:00PM
DeLay: GOP Is Leaderless, Health Care Will Pass
The party-discipline master formerly known as "the Hammer" predicts health reform will pass and he says his own Republican Party has no leader, is mired in infighting, and can't take advantage of President Obama's stalled popularity. Politics Daily contributor Emily Miller spoke with DeLay on the sidewalk of a strip mall where he was practicing up for his gig on Dancing with the Stars. On that lack of GOP discipline: "Republicans are leaderless...so we're just fighting each other instead of Obama's radical policies. There's no political leader of the party taking control. So, Republicans are just attacking each other for being too far right or too far left. Even Rush and Hannity are doing it."
Sep 23 2009, 1:47PM
Obama's Secrets: A Different Standard, Or A Different Emphasis?
The Obama administration's new state secrets privilege policy makes it harder, in theory, for the Justice Department to invoke the doctrine, while leaving the privilege intact -- and, in a way, fortifying it for use in the future. So far, the loudest objection to the policy, which was announced this morning, is that the administration refuses to apply the new rules to ongoing or legacy litigation, which leaves them defending assertions of the privilege that don't meet their current standards.
According to policy analysts, the biggest change is the department's voluntary decision to adopt a "significant harm" standard for each privilege assertion. Current case law provides little guidance here, which has given implicit permission to the executive branch to invoke the privilege when the harm to national security would be only slight. In practice, if the administration sticks to its guns, the number of future cases that involve an assertion of the privilege would decline significantly.
"It's a matter of emphasis and policy means, not a fixed rule," a senior Justice Department official who drafted the policy acknowledged in an interview. The official agreed to discuss the application of the privilege and provided new details on the condition of anonymity. A White House spokesman said President Obama has reviewed and endorsed the new guidelines.
During the presidential campaign and in April of 2009, Obama said the privilege ought to be "modified." I think it is appropriate to say that there are going to be cases in which national security interests are genuinely at stake and that you can't litigate without revealing covert activities or classified information that would genuinely compromise our safety.
But searching for ways to redact, to carve out certain cases, to see what can be done so that a judge in chambers can review information without it being in open court, you know, there should be some additional tools so that it's not such a blunt instrument.
According to policy analysts, the biggest change is the department's voluntary decision to adopt a "significant harm" standard for each privilege assertion. Current case law provides little guidance here, which has given implicit permission to the executive branch to invoke the privilege when the harm to national security would be only slight. In practice, if the administration sticks to its guns, the number of future cases that involve an assertion of the privilege would decline significantly.
"It's a matter of emphasis and policy means, not a fixed rule," a senior Justice Department official who drafted the policy acknowledged in an interview. The official agreed to discuss the application of the privilege and provided new details on the condition of anonymity. A White House spokesman said President Obama has reviewed and endorsed the new guidelines.
During the presidential campaign and in April of 2009, Obama said the privilege ought to be "modified." I think it is appropriate to say that there are going to be cases in which national security interests are genuinely at stake and that you can't litigate without revealing covert activities or classified information that would genuinely compromise our safety.
But searching for ways to redact, to carve out certain cases, to see what can be done so that a judge in chambers can review information without it being in open court, you know, there should be some additional tools so that it's not such a blunt instrument.
Sep 23 2009, 11:54AM
Obama's Speech To The U.N., Full Text
Here's President Obama's first speech to the U.N. General Assembly as president, which he made this morning in New York, declaring that the U.S. has "re-engaged the United Nations." Full transcript as released by the White House:
Sep 23 2009, 11:18AM
From Obama, A Nuclear Resolution With Teeth?
Tomorrow, President Obama chairs a special session of the United Nations Security Council devoted to nuclear non-proliferation, a topic near and dear to his heart. For the first time since his speech in Prague this spring, Obama will address America's nuclear posture -- a topic almost as important as the words of the resolution. The resolution itself (see this draft obtained by the Politico) is a mix of standard "P-5" -- that is, permanent members of the security council, the US, China, France, Britain and Russia -- rhetoric and a rededication to nonproliferation principles that the current administration believes were abandoned by the previous administration.
Sep 23 2009, 10:32AM
Palin: Controversial At Home, Controversial Abroad
If there's one thing we know about Sarah Palin, it's that she's not for everyone. Her average favorable/unfavorable split is currently 37.8/49.6. Hence, this bit from AFP's story on her speech in Hong Kong:
Her performance, which was closed to the media, divided opinion.
Some of those who attended praised her forthright views on government social and economic intervention and others walked out early in disgust.
"She was brilliant," said a European delegate, on condition of anonymity...
Two US delegates left early, with one saying "it was awful, we couldn't stand it any longer". He declined to be identified.
Sep 23 2009, 10:16AM
VIDEO: Palin's Closed-Door Speech In Hong Kong
Sarah Palin spoke to the CLSA Investors' Forum in Hong Kong today, and, though the event was closed to media, a snippet of video is available here, apparently taken by an attendee (quality looks sub-professional, but both image and audio are pretty good).
You can see what looks to be the beginning of her the speech, as she tells the audience she'll discuss "Main Street USA, and how perhaps my view of main street representing perhaps a lot of other people, how that affects you and your business."
The attendees interviewed later in the video, one can tell, aren't huge Palin fans, but they're respectful and appreciative of her remarks.
You can see what looks to be the beginning of her the speech, as she tells the audience she'll discuss "Main Street USA, and how perhaps my view of main street representing perhaps a lot of other people, how that affects you and your business."
The attendees interviewed later in the video, one can tell, aren't huge Palin fans, but they're respectful and appreciative of her remarks.
Sep 23 2009, 7:30AM
Security Theater In New York City
For those entranced by security theater, New York City is a sight to behold this week. A visit to one of the two centers of the action -- the Waldorf Astoria, where the presidents of China, Russia, the Prime Ministers of Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and the President of the United States -- are all staying. (Who gets the presidential suite? Our POTUS.) Getting to the Waldrof is a little intimidating, which is the point. Wade through the concrete barriers, the double-parked police cars, the NYPD mobile command post, a signals post, acreages of metal fencing, snipers, counter surveillance teams, FBI surveillance teams in street clothes, dodge traffic and a dignitary motorcade or two, and you're right at the front door of the hotel. A Secret Service agent from the Midwest gestured dismissively when a reporter showed him a press credential. "You don't need it. Just go in that door over there."
Sep 23 2009, 6:18AM
Excerpts From Obama's Speech Today
Taking his turn before the United Nations General Assembly meeting today, President Obama will urge countries not to use America's past penchant for "acting alone in the world" as an excuse to avoid getting their hands dirty.
"Those who used to chastise America for acting alone in the world cannot now stand by and wait for America to solve the world's problems alone. We have sought - in word and deed - a new era of engagement with the world. Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges," he plans to say, in excerpts distributed by the White House.
"If we are honest with ourselves, we need to admit that we are not living up to that responsibility. Consider the course that we are on if we fail to confront the status quo. Extremists sowing terror in pockets of the world. Protracted conflicts that grind on and on. Genocide and mass atrocities. More and more nations with nuclear weapons. Melting ice caps and ravaged populations. Persistent poverty and pandemic disease. I say this not to sow fear, but to state a fact: the magnitude of our challenges has yet to be met by the measure of our action."
"Those who used to chastise America for acting alone in the world cannot now stand by and wait for America to solve the world's problems alone. We have sought - in word and deed - a new era of engagement with the world. Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges," he plans to say, in excerpts distributed by the White House.
"If we are honest with ourselves, we need to admit that we are not living up to that responsibility. Consider the course that we are on if we fail to confront the status quo. Extremists sowing terror in pockets of the world. Protracted conflicts that grind on and on. Genocide and mass atrocities. More and more nations with nuclear weapons. Melting ice caps and ravaged populations. Persistent poverty and pandemic disease. I say this not to sow fear, but to state a fact: the magnitude of our challenges has yet to be met by the measure of our action."
Sep 23 2009, 6:17AM
Question Of The Day: Would You Run If Obama Asked You Not To?
The White House has reportedly asked New York Gov. David Paterson not to run for reelection. If you were in Paterson's position as an unpopular Democratic governor, and the White House asked you not to run, what would you do?
Sep 23 2009, 6:00AM
The Rundown, 9/23
With the U.N. still convened in New York, it's still meetings galore for President Obama. Today he'll attend the session along with Hillary Clinton and meet with Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, as well as Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. Discussion topics with the latter will probably include sanctions on Iran and the nuclear arms agreement being sought by December. Expect the two to slap each other on the backs with glee over Obama's decision to cancel missile-shield plans...or not.
Timothy Geithner will testify before the House Financial Services Committee on financial regulatory reform, as he is wont to do.
Timothy Geithner will testify before the House Financial Services Committee on financial regulatory reform, as he is wont to do.
Sep 22 2009, 6:00PM
The Invisible Primary, 9/22
Tracking the GOP race to 2012
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced he'll launch a PAC, which could mean a step toward a 2012 run; Haley Barbour announced he'll cut off state funding for ACORN...but ACORN no longer exists in Mississippi; and Rick Santorum's media adviser talked up his boss's presidential prospects; and author and Wall Street exec Ken Morris, who lost out in the charity eBay bidding war for a dinner with Sarah Palin, has pledged to donate $100,000 to veterans' charities if Palin will sit down with him for an on-the-record dinner instead.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced he'll launch a PAC, which could mean a step toward a 2012 run; Haley Barbour announced he'll cut off state funding for ACORN...but ACORN no longer exists in Mississippi; and Rick Santorum's media adviser talked up his boss's presidential prospects; and author and Wall Street exec Ken Morris, who lost out in the charity eBay bidding war for a dinner with Sarah Palin, has pledged to donate $100,000 to veterans' charities if Palin will sit down with him for an on-the-record dinner instead.
Sep 22 2009, 5:39PM
PAC Wars
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty joined the PAC club today. That is, he announced he'll form a political action committee, something every other possible 2012 Republican White House candidate has besides Newt Gingrich, Bobby Jindal, and Charlie Crist. PACs raise and give money to other candidates and politicians, and, in so doing, to curry favor, court endorsements, and build up the profile of their leaders. The strength of one's PAC--the money it's able to throw around--reflects on the status of the candidate.
It also lets figures like Pawlenty raise money for a potential run. For instance, Mike Huckabee, who is out of politics at the moment, is conducting all his political activity through Huck PAC. Same goes for Sarah Palin and SarahPAC. And for Mitt Romney and his Free and Strong America PAC.
Pawlenty, who will not seek a third term in 2010, could use one. Hence, his Freedom First PAC will start raking in the cash.
It also lets figures like Pawlenty raise money for a potential run. For instance, Mike Huckabee, who is out of politics at the moment, is conducting all his political activity through Huck PAC. Same goes for Sarah Palin and SarahPAC. And for Mitt Romney and his Free and Strong America PAC.
Pawlenty, who will not seek a third term in 2010, could use one. Hence, his Freedom First PAC will start raking in the cash.
Sep 22 2009, 5:30PM
Hurtling Toward 2010, 9/22
The 2010 midterms are just around the corner (sort of). Here's what's happening:
The National Republican Congressional Committee is attacking Rep. John McHugh's (R) challenger, Bill Owens, as an "Obama Democrat"; Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE) could announce this week or next whether he'll run for Senate; the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee released a web ad attacking Carly Fiorina, who is expected to challenge Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), for her tenure as CEO of Hewlett-Packard; and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman formally announced her bid for governor of California.
The National Republican Congressional Committee is attacking Rep. John McHugh's (R) challenger, Bill Owens, as an "Obama Democrat"; Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE) could announce this week or next whether he'll run for Senate; the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee released a web ad attacking Carly Fiorina, who is expected to challenge Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), for her tenure as CEO of Hewlett-Packard; and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman formally announced her bid for governor of California.
Sep 22 2009, 4:27PM
Andrew Cuomo's Dilemma
What's a Cuomo to do? He's found himself in a remarkable position in recent weeks. The New York State Attorney General is phenomenally popular in a state where Democrats are suffering and the governor, David Paterson, has been asked not to run by the president. If someone had told you in 2006 that Eliot Spitzer would be driven from office and Cuomo would be immensely popular, it would have been hard to believe. After all, he had a messy divorce from a Kennedy, and the former Housing and Urban Development Secretary had alienated the black community by running against Carl McCall for governor in 2002, who was considered to be next in line. Cuomo doesn't want to alienate African-American voters by challenging Paterson directly. But will the president's nudge have the effect of dissuading Paterson from running or moving black support away from the state's first African-American governor? So far, Patterson is digging in his heels, but so did Jim Bunning in Kentucky, the Republican senator who was prevailed upon to drop out of his reelection bid. If Patterson's money dries up, he may not have a choice. In the meantime, Cuomo can't be seen to be gleeful. But he's in a tough position. In a blue state, he's the most popular of pols but boxed in at a time when the Dems could easily lose the governorship and the Senate seat held by Kirsten Gillibrand.
The thing to watch for is black opinion in New York. Does Obama's abandonment of the governor affect it or not? And what happens to Paterson's money? It's a bizarre situation. About the only thing weirder would be a Spitzer comeback, and is that even so impossible to imagine? Yeah, probably.
The thing to watch for is black opinion in New York. Does Obama's abandonment of the governor affect it or not? And what happens to Paterson's money? It's a bizarre situation. About the only thing weirder would be a Spitzer comeback, and is that even so impossible to imagine? Yeah, probably.
Sep 22 2009, 2:29PM
Blame The Economy For Obama's Geopolitical Ineffectiveness
The Jerusalem Post has an interesting theory on why world leaders are saying no to President Obama these days:
It's the economy, stupid.
Everyone has worked it out by now: The great secret is out. America's economy has made Obama a weak president, and he will likely remain weak throughout his first term. He has about two years to pull the American economy out of its free-fall before he begins his reelection campaign. If he can do it, and that's a big if, chances are good that he'll get reelected, and in his second term he can try to pull some geopolitical strings. But for the next three years, expect to see a world that says no to Obama. No meaningful and dramatic diplomatic initiative can come out of the White House in the next three years, as long as Obama remains weak.
Sep 22 2009, 1:24PM
Protect Insurance Execs From Bad Rap
There's a fake PSA to "protect insurance companies" from all the mean things Democrats are saying about them up on FunnyorDie, starring Will Ferrell, Jon Hamm, Donald Faison (Turk from Scrubs), Robert Ben Grant of Reno 911, and others. According to the video, it was organized by MoveOn.org (MoveOn has yet to confirm):
However, a note of fact-checking: the claim that 80 percent of Americans support the public option, repeated both by Don Draper and Reno's Deputy Travis Junior, isn't actually true according to major polls. Public-option support is as 55 percent, according to a poll released Sept. 14 by The Washington Post and ABC, while a June 20 CBS poll placed it at 73 percent and an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll conducted by Hart/McInturff, also in June, put it at 76 percent. I'll update the post if I find out where the figure came from.
UPDATE: The 80-percent figure comes from a poll released by the Employee Benefit Research Industry on June 11. The survey actually showed 83 percent in favor of creating a public health insurance plan.
However, a note of fact-checking: the claim that 80 percent of Americans support the public option, repeated both by Don Draper and Reno's Deputy Travis Junior, isn't actually true according to major polls. Public-option support is as 55 percent, according to a poll released Sept. 14 by The Washington Post and ABC, while a June 20 CBS poll placed it at 73 percent and an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll conducted by Hart/McInturff, also in June, put it at 76 percent. I'll update the post if I find out where the figure came from.
UPDATE: The 80-percent figure comes from a poll released by the Employee Benefit Research Industry on June 11. The survey actually showed 83 percent in favor of creating a public health insurance plan.
Sep 22 2009, 11:50AM
564 Amendments To Go...
The Senate Finance Committee's markup of Chairman Max Baucus's health care bill is underway, with 564 amendments on the table. Members are now making their opening statements, framing the process that generated the bill. The markup will determine, in part, whether health reform gets passed--whether the committee produces something that can pass on the Senate floor. It will take a while: the bill isn't expected to be ready for floor debate until next week. Watch at your peril at C-SPAN.org.
Sep 22 2009, 11:28AM
Glenn Beck: Hurting Conservatism?
Forget Time's cover-story question of whether Glenn Beck is hurting America: Peter Wehner of the conservative magazine Commentary says Beck is hurting the conservative movement, calling him "a roiling mix of fear, resentment, and anger--the antithesis of Ronald Reagan."
"At a time when we should aim for intellectual depth, for tough-minded and reasoned arguments, for good cheer and calm purpose, rather than erratic behavior, he is not the kind of figure conservatives should embrace or cheer on," Wehner writes.
"At a time when we should aim for intellectual depth, for tough-minded and reasoned arguments, for good cheer and calm purpose, rather than erratic behavior, he is not the kind of figure conservatives should embrace or cheer on," Wehner writes.
Sep 22 2009, 11:10AM
Obama's FDR Moment
Public support for the war in Afghanistan stands at 39%. On the right, George Will wants us out, on the left, Senator Russ Feingold. Thomas Friedman is feeling "ambivalent," and he's not alone. This weekend, President Obama remarked that, "the first question is, are we doing the right thing?"
General Stanley McChrystal submitted his sixty-six-page Commander's Initial Assessment of the war last month, after having offered a supplementary counterinsurgency guide to ISAF leaders days before that. The Obama administration is still "reviewing the document," according to The Washington Post, as though Kremlinologists are required to catch the general's nuance. At two pages a day, they should have an idea early next week. This is on top of ten months of daily intelligence briefings, and eight years of reported successes and failures. The administration is, by all appearances, stalling.
General Stanley McChrystal submitted his sixty-six-page Commander's Initial Assessment of the war last month, after having offered a supplementary counterinsurgency guide to ISAF leaders days before that. The Obama administration is still "reviewing the document," according to The Washington Post, as though Kremlinologists are required to catch the general's nuance. At two pages a day, they should have an idea early next week. This is on top of ten months of daily intelligence briefings, and eight years of reported successes and failures. The administration is, by all appearances, stalling.
Sep 22 2009, 9:50AM
Sneaking a Peek at the Climate Summit Playbook
Today, nearly a hundred world leaders are meeting in New York for the U.N. Climate Change Summit. Impressive though this gathering may seem--especially when placed in the fabulous PR context of Climate Week NYC, an events line-up featuring everyone from Ban Ki-Moon to Harrison Ford--it is a mere glimpse of what this December's U.N. Climate Conference in Copenhagen holds. Attendees of this conference will be charged with the grand task of hammering out a follow-up to the Kyoto Protocol, a set of binding greenhouse gas reduction targets that took force in 2005 and has been ratified by 184 countries--though conspicuously not by the U.S. or China. Riding the wake of a global economic crisis and the escalating urgency of climate change, the Copenhagen conference promises to be a high-wire act of shifting power currents and geopolitical tensions. Today's summit is, then, an opportunity for key players to feel out their competitors and lay the groundwork for effective negotiation come December.
Sep 22 2009, 9:34AM
Obama's Letterman Moment
They joked about how cold the studio was and how Sasha and Malia, when they reached the age for dating, would be surrounded by men with guns. The political performance on a talk show, once a rarity, is now a semiregular event--although Letterman noted with bitterness that George W. Bush never came on the Late Show. Nothing Obama said was particularly new or different, but if you're not used to watching Obama at length, you had to be impressed, I think, by his sheer confidence. Television is kind to the tall and thin, and that's Obama, who exuded a quiet comfort if not the sheer enjoyment that marked some of the other famed Letterman appearances like those of Bob Dole or John McCain, who Letterman also slobbered over, as well as Al Gore who famously smashed an ashtray on the show, complete with goggles, to show the idiocy of government regulations governing such things.
Sep 22 2009, 6:30AM
Question Of The Day: Do Media Appearances Matter?
After President Obama's five Sunday-show appearances this weekend, and his appearance on Letterman last night, we ask: How much do media appearances actually influence opinion? Do enough people notice, and does the impact last?
Sep 22 2009, 6:00AM
The Rundown, 9/22
Today will be laden with foreign policy dealings, as...
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas come to the White House for individual meetings with President Obama, then a three-way meeting after those. Settlements will be discussed far and wide.
...The U.N. Climate Change Summit gets underway in New York, with world leaders gathering to discuss plans for a treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which the U.S. never ratified anyway. President Obama will speak.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas come to the White House for individual meetings with President Obama, then a three-way meeting after those. Settlements will be discussed far and wide.
...The U.N. Climate Change Summit gets underway in New York, with world leaders gathering to discuss plans for a treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which the U.S. never ratified anyway. President Obama will speak.
Sep 21 2009, 6:15PM
The Invisible Primary, 9/21
Tracking the GOP race to 2012
Sarah Palin will address the CLSA Investors' Forum in Hong Kong on Wednesday, and the event will be closed to press; a fan paid $63,500 for a dinner with Palin; 50 percent of Minnesotans think Tim Pawlenty has a good shot at winning the GOP nomination in 2012, according to Rasmussen; Mike Huckabee won the straw poll at the Values Voter summit this weekend in Washington, DC.; and New Gingrich called concerns over high health care costs "arbitrary."
Sarah Palin will address the CLSA Investors' Forum in Hong Kong on Wednesday, and the event will be closed to press; a fan paid $63,500 for a dinner with Palin; 50 percent of Minnesotans think Tim Pawlenty has a good shot at winning the GOP nomination in 2012, according to Rasmussen; Mike Huckabee won the straw poll at the Values Voter summit this weekend in Washington, DC.; and New Gingrich called concerns over high health care costs "arbitrary."
Sep 21 2009, 5:45PM
Hurtling Toward 2010, 9/21
The 2010 midterms are just around the corner (sort of). Here's what's happening:
Virginia gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds (D) is ramping up his attack on opponent Bob McConnell for his graduate thesis in a new TV ad; in a possibly very awkward moment, New York Gov. David Paterson (D) greeted President Obama today when he landed in New York for a speech on education, after reports that the White House is pressuring Paterson not to seek reelection; Ben Smith reports Obama avoided contact with Paterson while observing a community college class; Tim Griffin , an ally of Karl Rove and a former U.S. attorney under the Bush administration, will challenge Rep. Vic Snyder (D-AR); and a rumor is floating that Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) will resign her seat before the end of the year before she challenges Gov. Rick Perry in the 2010 gubernatorial primary (H/T Swing State Project).
Virginia gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds (D) is ramping up his attack on opponent Bob McConnell for his graduate thesis in a new TV ad; in a possibly very awkward moment, New York Gov. David Paterson (D) greeted President Obama today when he landed in New York for a speech on education, after reports that the White House is pressuring Paterson not to seek reelection; Ben Smith reports Obama avoided contact with Paterson while observing a community college class; Tim Griffin , an ally of Karl Rove and a former U.S. attorney under the Bush administration, will challenge Rep. Vic Snyder (D-AR); and a rumor is floating that Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) will resign her seat before the end of the year before she challenges Gov. Rick Perry in the 2010 gubernatorial primary (H/T Swing State Project).
Sep 21 2009, 4:40PM
Bill O'Reilly: Poster Boy For The Public Option
Since Bill O'Reilly said last week that he wants working Americans to have the option of a government-created health insurance policy, he's popped up on various liberal blogs and press releases, including one sent out by the Democratic National Committee. Today, he makes a cameo in a web video produced by liberal activist group Americans United for Change.
Sep 21 2009, 4:10PM
Boxed Into A Corner On Afghanistan, The President Resists
As he made the rounds of the Sunday talk shows, President Obama made one thing clear when asked about whether he'd send more troops to Afghanistan: the question was moot because Gen. Stanley McChrystal, his top commander in Afghanistan, hadn't yet asked requested any more troops.
But in McChrystal's confidential assessment, which was leaked to the Washington Post this weekend, the general makes clear his intention: "Broadly speaking, we require more Civilian and military resources, more ANSF, and more ISR and other enablers."
In plain language, that sounds like a request for more troops.
In plain language, that sounds like a request for more troops.
Sep 21 2009, 3:35PM
Palin Can't Hide
You're probably going to hear what Sarah Palin has to say behind closed doors in China this week.
The ex-governor of Alaska is slated to give a speech to a prominent investors club in Hong Kong on Wednesday and is catching grief for barring press coverage of the address. You can safely bet that some or all of Palin's speech will almost surely be revealed by someone's cell phone or digital recorder. Palin is too big, too controversial a figure to have her speech hidden.
The ex-governor of Alaska is slated to give a speech to a prominent investors club in Hong Kong on Wednesday and is catching grief for barring press coverage of the address. You can safely bet that some or all of Palin's speech will almost surely be revealed by someone's cell phone or digital recorder. Palin is too big, too controversial a figure to have her speech hidden.
Sep 21 2009, 2:58PM
Change We Can Believe In
From The Huffington Post's compilation, posted today, of the funniest protest signs of 2009:
Sep 21 2009, 2:01PM
Why Was McChrystal's Report Leaked?
Joe Klein wonders why Gen. Stanley McChrystal's confidential report on Afghanistan to Defense Secretary Robert Gates--in which he states that not sending more troops "will likely result in failure"--got leaked to The Washington Post's Bob Woodward. While everyone expected to get some sort of picture of McChrystal's Afghanistan outlook, Klein surmises:
What's provocative about the report is that it was leaked to Woodward--a serious breach of conduct by someone, possibly in the military (or a supporter the military's position). This was an effort to lobby a quick decision on troop strength--which the military wants, so that it can begin planning the 2010 fighting season in Afghanistan. But a quick decision is not a good idea right now.
Sep 21 2009, 11:34AM
Are Americans More Laissez-Faire, After The Meltdown?
That's what a new Gallup survey suggests, finding that 45 percent of Americans, the highest reading in a decade, said there is too much "regulation of business and industry" when the polling agency asked them earlier this month, vs. 24 percent who say there's too little and 27 percent who say we have the right amount.
People also think the government is "trying to do too many things" these days, Gallup reports, as 57 percent, also the highest reading in a decade. Lest we take the latter nugget as a referendum on President Obama's domestic agenda and, in particular, health care reform--where polling suggests most people support the public option, the most aggressive proposal for government involvement currently on the table--let's remember that two things are prominently associated with government activity: the health care debate and financial bailouts. Those who oppose financial bailouts and those who oppose health reform have common ground on this question.
People also think the government is "trying to do too many things" these days, Gallup reports, as 57 percent, also the highest reading in a decade. Lest we take the latter nugget as a referendum on President Obama's domestic agenda and, in particular, health care reform--where polling suggests most people support the public option, the most aggressive proposal for government involvement currently on the table--let's remember that two things are prominently associated with government activity: the health care debate and financial bailouts. Those who oppose financial bailouts and those who oppose health reform have common ground on this question.
Sep 21 2009, 10:41AM
Cyber Security: Einstein And The Privacy Debate
Within the next two weeks, as National Cyber Security Awareness Month begins, the White House is finally expected to name its executive cyber security coordinator, and former assistant secretary of defense Frank Kramer is the leading candidate. One of Kramer's selling points is that he sees a public debate about cyber security as urgent and necessary. The communications challenge he faces is, in some ways, the same old story: when it comes to homeland security, we do a poor job of estimating risk. Where DHS spent $50 billion since its inception on Project BioShield, which stockpiles medicines in the event of an improbably widespread biological terrorism event, it has spent about $80 million on cyber security, even though cyber security breaches happen regularly, and are regularly damaging. It's a fairly large miscalculation, one that has shaped policy and the public's response to it. Since the beginning of the administration, there have been more than 100 confirmed cyber attacks on major American corporate and government interests.
Sep 21 2009, 9:45AM
Another Justification For Holder's Torture Re-Examination
One of the main lines of argument cited by the seven former CIA directors in urging President Obama to reverse his attorney general's decision to review CIA interrogations is that career lawyers at the Department of Justice had already reviewed those same files.
For the uninitiated, this means that the preliminary report sent to Holder by the Office of Professional Responsibility on the torture-related lawyering of the Bush-era DOJ political appointees -- a report prepared by career prosecutors -- recommended that the cases deemed closed during the Bush administration be re-examined.
Holder is following the advice of his in-house 'internal affairs' shop... and didn't simply make the decision after reviewing the files himself.
Career prosecutors under the supervision of the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia determined that one prosecution (of a CIA contractor) was warranted. A conviction was later obtained. They determined that prosecutions were not warranted in the other cases.But the Justice Department's response to these claims contains a buried piece of information: "Given the recommendation from the Office of Professional Responsibility as well as other available information, he believed the appropriate course of action was to ask John Durham to conduct a preliminary review..."
Attorney General Holder's decision to re-open the criminal investigation creates an atmosphere of continuous jeopardy for those whose cases the Department of Justice had previously declined to prosecute
If criminal investigations closed by career prosecutors during one administration can so easily be reopened at the direction of political appointees in the next, declinations of prosecution will be rendered meaningless
For the uninitiated, this means that the preliminary report sent to Holder by the Office of Professional Responsibility on the torture-related lawyering of the Bush-era DOJ political appointees -- a report prepared by career prosecutors -- recommended that the cases deemed closed during the Bush administration be re-examined.
Holder is following the advice of his in-house 'internal affairs' shop... and didn't simply make the decision after reviewing the files himself.
Sep 21 2009, 8:51AM
Where's the Anger?
There's a smart piece in The Washington Post this morning about the effort in Congress to contain some of the more outlandish banking fees being imposed on customers. In particular, overdraft fees, which everyone knows to be high, are targeted. In this case, these are fees banks impose after all but encouraging people to overspend and not telling them that they're overdrawn. It's amazing that we've gotten to this point--trillions in bailouts, an economic collapse brought about in no small measure because of the irresponsible behavior of banks, and this is the kind of de minimus regulation that's being considered? I'm sure there's still a populist streak in American life although it seems most animated when it comes to Obama's birth certificate or hatred of Dick Cheney. But in terms of sustained anger and the actors who helped create and perpetuate the crisis that we find ourselves in, it seems sorely lacking. Have there been any protests on the Washington mall about bank lending practices from housing to student loans? Is anybody proposing a boycott of, say, Bank of America?
Sep 21 2009, 8:46AM
Monday Morning Quarterback: Net Neutrality
Item: Climate Change the focus at UNGA meetings
QB: US and China are trying to outdistance each other, with China calling for a 1% of GDP expenditure on clean energy, and the US announcing voluntary steps. Both both countries realize that the other faces serious internal obstacles to changing policy anytime soon. In the US, that obstacle is "the United States Senate."
Item: George Packer tours AfPak with Richard Holbrooke.
QB: There are hints that the US wants to use Kashmir as leverage to reduce Pakistan's cooperation with the Taliban.
Item: Creigh Deeds gains in new WashPost poll of Virginia gubernatorial race.
QB: Still, more voters than not say they want a new (i.e, not-Democratic) direction from state government. Deeds still faces an ill-wind, despite all the help the Post is giving him.
Item: More drip-drip from Matt Latimer's days as a White House speechwriter.
QB: Including: Bush on whether to include an anti-gay marriage line in a speech: "I'm not going to tell some gay kid in the audience he can't get married."
Item: DailyKos polls four key Blue Dog districts: AR-04, GA-12, MI-01 and TX-28
QB: Support for a "public option," fairly neutrally described, outpaces support for Barack Obama in those districts.
Item: In speech today, FCC chairman Julius Genachowski announces plans to codify "net neutrality."
QB: He'll propose rules making it illegal for access providers to limit access to others' sites or apps. But there will be some wiggle room for network management. As always, wait for the rule itself before reacting.
QB: US and China are trying to outdistance each other, with China calling for a 1% of GDP expenditure on clean energy, and the US announcing voluntary steps. Both both countries realize that the other faces serious internal obstacles to changing policy anytime soon. In the US, that obstacle is "the United States Senate."
Item: George Packer tours AfPak with Richard Holbrooke.
QB: There are hints that the US wants to use Kashmir as leverage to reduce Pakistan's cooperation with the Taliban.
Item: Creigh Deeds gains in new WashPost poll of Virginia gubernatorial race.
QB: Still, more voters than not say they want a new (i.e, not-Democratic) direction from state government. Deeds still faces an ill-wind, despite all the help the Post is giving him.
Item: More drip-drip from Matt Latimer's days as a White House speechwriter.
QB: Including: Bush on whether to include an anti-gay marriage line in a speech: "I'm not going to tell some gay kid in the audience he can't get married."
Item: DailyKos polls four key Blue Dog districts: AR-04, GA-12, MI-01 and TX-28
QB: Support for a "public option," fairly neutrally described, outpaces support for Barack Obama in those districts.
Item: In speech today, FCC chairman Julius Genachowski announces plans to codify "net neutrality."
QB: He'll propose rules making it illegal for access providers to limit access to others' sites or apps. But there will be some wiggle room for network management. As always, wait for the rule itself before reacting.
Sep 21 2009, 6:30AM
Question Of The Day: When Will Conservative Energy Fade?
Conservatives have been energized all summer in protesting President Obama, his health care reform effort, and the rest of his agenda. When will the energy fade?
Sep 20 2009, 4:39PM
The Sunday Shows In Five Sentences Or Less
1. ObamaObamObamaObamaObama. NoObama on Fox.
2. On ABC, Obama said he disagreed that elements of the Baucus plan were tantamount to a massive tax increase on the middle class: "I don't agree. I think what they were referring to, and I haven't looked at the quotes, but I think they were concerned about whether or not this was actually affordable. On whether a mandate is equivalent to a tax increase: "What I've said is that if you can't afford health insurance, you certainly shouldn't be punished for that...For us to say that you've got to take a responsibility to get health insurance is absolutely not a tax increase. What it's saying is, that we're not going to have other people carrying your burdens for you anymore."
2. On ABC, Obama said he disagreed that elements of the Baucus plan were tantamount to a massive tax increase on the middle class: "I don't agree. I think what they were referring to, and I haven't looked at the quotes, but I think they were concerned about whether or not this was actually affordable. On whether a mandate is equivalent to a tax increase: "What I've said is that if you can't afford health insurance, you certainly shouldn't be punished for that...For us to say that you've got to take a responsibility to get health insurance is absolutely not a tax increase. What it's saying is, that we're not going to have other people carrying your burdens for you anymore."
Sep 19 2009, 8:00AM
Question Of The Weekend: Obama's Blitz
Can President Obama's media blitz--appearances on five Sunday talk shows this weekend--save health reform?
Sep 18 2009, 5:18PM
Calm Conservatism Lives At The Values Voter Summit
Eric Cantor, the dynamic Republican House Whip who's become a leading voice against President Obama's economic policies, stands before a crowd of around a thousand conservatives and tells them America will soon be paying a billion dollars every day in debt service, and that our "credit card company" is none other than Communist China.
The crowd gives a worried murmur: "Oooh." No one shouts.
This seems like non sequitur these days, after a summer in which crowds of angry tea partiers waved signs calling President Obama a Fascist, a Communist, a Marxist, and a Kenyan; in which the riled up and fearful screamed in the faces of their elected legislators at town hall meetings; in which Joe Wilson shouted "You lie!"; and in which a man's finger actually got bitten off (by a liberal).
The crowd gives a worried murmur: "Oooh." No one shouts.
This seems like non sequitur these days, after a summer in which crowds of angry tea partiers waved signs calling President Obama a Fascist, a Communist, a Marxist, and a Kenyan; in which the riled up and fearful screamed in the faces of their elected legislators at town hall meetings; in which Joe Wilson shouted "You lie!"; and in which a man's finger actually got bitten off (by a liberal).
Sep 18 2009, 5:14PM
Why the Left Should Miss Irving Kristol
It was sad to hear that Irving Kristol passed away this afternoon. The founding father of neoconservatism leaves behind an extraordinary legacy as a promoter of ideas, as a mentor to so many on the right, and as a father and husband. At a time when neoconservatism is so wildly resented on the left, it's worth remembering the noble tradition that Kristol founded most notably through The Public Interest, the small journal he introduced to the world in 1965 with Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Daniel Bell. Later, Nathan Glazer would replace Bell. The journal brought appropriate skepticism and rigor to the prevailing faith in government that held sway at the apex of the Johnson administration and Nelson Rockefeller's big government rule in New York. The magazine asked important questions about whether programs really worked and what were the limits of public action. If you were a serious student of public policy you could disagree with the magazine but you couldn't ignore it. Whether it was James Q. Wilson on crime or Nathan Glazer on affirmative action, the magazine was essential reading and Kristol himself. I remember being recently out of college, working in public policy and being enamored of this essay on the twentieth anniversary of the magazine's founding and the appropriate skepticism the magazine brought to bear on what seemed to be deep seated panics of the time--a fear of "automation," for instance or the "urban crisis." Other journals and institutions would try to reform liberalism from within--The Washington Monthly and The New Republic, where I worked. The now much-dismissed Democratic Leadership Council comes to mind, too. But the first broad strokes of a serious criticism of modern liberalism were painted by Kristol. You don't need to agree with everything he wrote--or certainly with where his disciples took the country--to admire his work on this sad day.
Sep 18 2009, 4:06PM
"There Will Not Be Radar. Russia Won"
Just another tidbit of Easter European reaction to President Obama's missile defense decision, to drop Bush-era plans for a missile shield with radar based in the Czech Republic and missiles based in Poland: a news headline (not an op-ed) on page 1 of major Czech newspaper Mlada Fronta Dnes today read "There Will Not Be Radar. Russia Won"
Loose translation of the story from Google Translator here.
Loose translation of the story from Google Translator here.
Sep 18 2009, 2:36PM
Former CIA Directors Urge Torture Prosecution Reversal
The Justice Department investigation into CIA torture allegations may have already jeopardized American intelligence capabilities, seven former CIA directors told President Obama. In a letter, the spy chiefs urge him to reverse Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to re-review case files of a dozen interrogations for possible criminal prosecution. Letter to President Obama from Former DCIs and DCIAs (2).pdf
Sep 18 2009, 2:35PM
Cantor: If Election Were Today, GOP Would Take Back House Majority
As Democrats struggle with health care reform and conservative energy has swelled, some have speculated the party's national political dominance could be slipping. House Minority Whip Eric Cantor is among them.
After his speech at the Family Research Council's Values Voter Summit in Washington, DC, I asked Cantor whether he agreed with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's statement in a fundraising email yesterday that Democrats will face their toughest midterm elections ever in November 2010.
He sees the GOP's advantage as more immediate.
"I absolutely think it's gonna be tough for them. I think if the election were held today, we would have the majority of the House back, and I think that that is reflecting the American public's dissatisfaction with Speaker Pelosi's agenda," Cantor said.
After his speech at the Family Research Council's Values Voter Summit in Washington, DC, I asked Cantor whether he agreed with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's statement in a fundraising email yesterday that Democrats will face their toughest midterm elections ever in November 2010.
He sees the GOP's advantage as more immediate.
"I absolutely think it's gonna be tough for them. I think if the election were held today, we would have the majority of the House back, and I think that that is reflecting the American public's dissatisfaction with Speaker Pelosi's agenda," Cantor said.
Sep 18 2009, 12:26PM
Values Voters Love The (Former) Miss California
De-throned conservative Miss California Carrie Prejean spoke at the Values Voter Summit at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC today, and the people loved her. She got a standing ovation as she took the stage in the hotel's massive ballroom (a sizably larger ovation than her speaking predecessor, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor), delivering multiple applause lines on how she was raised with the conservative Christian values that, some maintain, cost her the beauty crown.
Sep 18 2009, 10:07AM
(More) Trouble For Health Reform Over Illegal Immigrants?
As evidenced by Joe Wilson, illegal immigrants are a hot-button issue in the health care debate. Would Democratic proposals cover them? The Congressional Research Service says maybe, given a lack of citizenship verification requirements. Now The Hill reports that Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), who sits on the Finance Committee that will vote on Chairman Max Baucus's recently released bill, is withholding support over how that bill treats illegals--namely, it says they're not allowed to purchase health insurance through the exchanges it would create.
Health reform has at times been a mess of liberals, conservatives, and moderates dropping their support from opposite sides of the same issues. Add treatment of illegal immigrants to the list.
Health reform has at times been a mess of liberals, conservatives, and moderates dropping their support from opposite sides of the same issues. Add treatment of illegal immigrants to the list.
Sep 18 2009, 8:59AM
Michelle's Delicious Legacy
I'm not sure what Michelle Obama's most lasting legacy will be. Will she be associated with a cause like Nancy Reagan's just-say-no, antidrug campaign or more broadly iconic like Jackie Kennedy? As the first African-American First Lady, probably the latter. But the marriage of her office and the moment makes me think her interest in what and how we eat may be as enduring as anything else.
Known already for fulfilling the dreams of foodies everywhere by planting a vegetable garden at the White House, the First Lady attended the opening of the first farmers market near the White House yesterday. I was going to go but when I saw the Tweets of fellow foodies about how long the lines were and the security required to get in---perhaps the first marriage of magnetometers and heirloom tomatoes--I decided to forego standing in a throng to see the First Lady. Besides, I'd already spent too much on Gerber Daisies and Emmanthaler Swiss at Whole Foods anyway.
Obviously, lots of Americans were rethinking how they ate before the Obamas came to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue but Michelle is giving the cause a push in a profound way--not just through notoriety, I think, although that certainly adds rocket fuel to the pursuits of Michael Pollan and Alice Waters and The Atlantic's own Food Channel.
But the First Lady is giving what could be seen as an elite and effete movement a more populist cast. She made it a point to promote the double Food Stamps policy of local DC farmers markets whereby government recipients get twice the value of the stamps putting that
Thai eggplant within reach. By being a Chicagoan who loves burgers and fries--and isn't shy about letting interviewers know it--she's less precious than say, Alice Waters, who one has to love but who I basically wanted to deck after seeing her "60 Minutes" interview in which she pooh-poohed the idea the farmers market food is too expensive--and then proceeded to poach an egg in extra virgin olive oil in the giant fireplace in her kitchen. If the First Lady makes eating well a middle-class and working-class virtue she will have done a lot for all of us. Taking the elitism out of this movement would be a welcome thing.
Known already for fulfilling the dreams of foodies everywhere by planting a vegetable garden at the White House, the First Lady attended the opening of the first farmers market near the White House yesterday. I was going to go but when I saw the Tweets of fellow foodies about how long the lines were and the security required to get in---perhaps the first marriage of magnetometers and heirloom tomatoes--I decided to forego standing in a throng to see the First Lady. Besides, I'd already spent too much on Gerber Daisies and Emmanthaler Swiss at Whole Foods anyway.
Obviously, lots of Americans were rethinking how they ate before the Obamas came to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue but Michelle is giving the cause a push in a profound way--not just through notoriety, I think, although that certainly adds rocket fuel to the pursuits of Michael Pollan and Alice Waters and The Atlantic's own Food Channel.
But the First Lady is giving what could be seen as an elite and effete movement a more populist cast. She made it a point to promote the double Food Stamps policy of local DC farmers markets whereby government recipients get twice the value of the stamps putting that
Thai eggplant within reach. By being a Chicagoan who loves burgers and fries--and isn't shy about letting interviewers know it--she's less precious than say, Alice Waters, who one has to love but who I basically wanted to deck after seeing her "60 Minutes" interview in which she pooh-poohed the idea the farmers market food is too expensive--and then proceeded to poach an egg in extra virgin olive oil in the giant fireplace in her kitchen. If the First Lady makes eating well a middle-class and working-class virtue she will have done a lot for all of us. Taking the elitism out of this movement would be a welcome thing.
Sep 18 2009, 8:41AM
Friday Morning Quarterback: BMD = Bull Moose Democrats?
Item: Sen. Olympia Snowe tells CNBC's John Harwood that the Republican has changed.
QB: Snowe really does want to sign onto health care reform; like Sandra Day O'Connor's power over the Rehnquist Court, Snowe is, at times, basically the only senator who really matters. The Snowe Senate. A party one of one.
Item: Valerie Jarrett says that "there won't be a dry eye in the room" when Michelle Obama makes the case for Chicago to get the Olympics in 2016.
QB: Not sure that the IOC is that receptive to tearful approaches... does this mean that the presentation will be chock full of American dogs, ponies and babies?
Item: A law requiring Indiana voters to show a photo ID before they vote has been ruled unconstitutional by the state supreme court.
QB: This may well be the second major election law case that the Supreme Court will decide this session. But the decision was narrow enough to give the state legislature enough latitude to fix it.
Item: Mike Pence tweets: "If you're going to be at the Values Voters Summit this morning, I'd love to meet you after I speak around 9."
QB: You dog, you!
Item: Gov. Tim Pawlenty's home newspaper notices that he's "working hard to attract the attention of conservatives."
QB: Pawlenty is a conservative, but he's been tagged with a - gasp! -- media-friendly "moderate" label. BTW: Pawlenty will soon set up a national PAC.
QB: Snowe really does want to sign onto health care reform; like Sandra Day O'Connor's power over the Rehnquist Court, Snowe is, at times, basically the only senator who really matters. The Snowe Senate. A party one of one.
Item: Valerie Jarrett says that "there won't be a dry eye in the room" when Michelle Obama makes the case for Chicago to get the Olympics in 2016.
QB: Not sure that the IOC is that receptive to tearful approaches... does this mean that the presentation will be chock full of American dogs, ponies and babies?
Item: A law requiring Indiana voters to show a photo ID before they vote has been ruled unconstitutional by the state supreme court.
QB: This may well be the second major election law case that the Supreme Court will decide this session. But the decision was narrow enough to give the state legislature enough latitude to fix it.
Item: Mike Pence tweets: "If you're going to be at the Values Voters Summit this morning, I'd love to meet you after I speak around 9."
QB: You dog, you!
Item: Gov. Tim Pawlenty's home newspaper notices that he's "working hard to attract the attention of conservatives."
QB: Pawlenty is a conservative, but he's been tagged with a - gasp! -- media-friendly "moderate" label. BTW: Pawlenty will soon set up a national PAC.
Sep 18 2009, 7:15AM
What Baucus Got Right
Liberal critics of the proposal Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont) released this week see it as a dead end in the health care reform debate. But if President Obama actually signs legislation revamping the health care system, it's more likely that the Baucus plan eventually will be seen as the foundation.
The reason is that Baucus' draft bill offers the most fiscally sustainable framework yet devised for expanding coverage. It progresses much further than any other Congressional bill toward solving two fundamental and inter-related problems: creating a revenue stream that rises as fast as health care costs, and reshaping the incentives in the medical system in ways that should help "bend the curve" on those long-term cost increases. Without those two elements any coverage expansion will prove unaffordable, and thus unsustainable, over time. "Whatever its other pros and cons," said one senior Obama administration official integral to the health care debate, "the [Baucus] mark provides proof of concept that you can significantly expand coverage in a fiscally responsible way."
The reason is that Baucus' draft bill offers the most fiscally sustainable framework yet devised for expanding coverage. It progresses much further than any other Congressional bill toward solving two fundamental and inter-related problems: creating a revenue stream that rises as fast as health care costs, and reshaping the incentives in the medical system in ways that should help "bend the curve" on those long-term cost increases. Without those two elements any coverage expansion will prove unaffordable, and thus unsustainable, over time. "Whatever its other pros and cons," said one senior Obama administration official integral to the health care debate, "the [Baucus] mark provides proof of concept that you can significantly expand coverage in a fiscally responsible way."
Sep 18 2009, 6:30AM
Question Of The Day: Toughest Midterm Ever For Dems?
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in a fundraising email Thursday, called 2010 "the toughest Midterm Election that Democrats have ever faced." Is she exaggerating, or are Democrats really in that much trouble?
Sep 18 2009, 6:00AM
The Rundown, 9/18
It's showtime for Republican 2012 White House hopefuls: the Family Research Council's Values Voter Summit will kick off here in Washington, DC at the Omni Shoreham hotel (it runs through Sunday), and if there ever was a time to impress socially conservative voters, it's now. The GOP-star-studded lineup of speakers today will include Mike Huckabee, Eric Cantor, Mike Pence, Tim Pawlenty, Bill O'Reilly, Michelle Bachmann, Mitch McConnell, and, not to be left out, Stephen Baldwin. Over the next two days, Mitt Romney Rick Perry, Roy Blunt, and John Boehner will speak...oh, and so will Carrie Prejean.
Sep 17 2009, 6:00PM
The Invisible Primary, 9/17
Tracking the GOP race to 2012
The contenders in the first GOP 2012 straw poll, held at the Values Voter Summit that starts tomorrow in Washington, will be Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee, Bobby Jindal, Sarah Palin, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty, Mike Pence, Mitt Romney, and Rick Santorum, as those names were included on the official list, which came out today; Romney took aim at President Obama on the missile defense decision; and so did Eric Cantor.
The contenders in the first GOP 2012 straw poll, held at the Values Voter Summit that starts tomorrow in Washington, will be Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee, Bobby Jindal, Sarah Palin, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty, Mike Pence, Mitt Romney, and Rick Santorum, as those names were included on the official list, which came out today; Romney took aim at President Obama on the missile defense decision; and so did Eric Cantor.
Sep 17 2009, 5:21PM
Hurtling Toward 2010, 9/17
The 2010 midterms are just around the corner (sort of). Here's what's happening:
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called 2010 the "toughest midterm election Democrats have ever faced"; Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) trails former Rep. Rob Simmons (R) 44-39 in a new Quinnipiac poll, though no public polling has been done taking newly announced GOP challenger Linda McMahon into account; Rasmussen calls the Virginia governor's race a toss-up, as Republican Bob McDonnell still leads (by two percentage points), but has been put on the defensive by the revelation of a graduate thesis that criticized "cohabitators, homosexuals and fornicators," working women and feminists; the two squared off in a debate today; Rasmussen also shows Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) overtaking GOP rival Gov. Rick Perry in the Texas gubernatorial race, leading 40-38 after trailing by 10 points in mid-July; Attorney General Martha Coakley leads the race for the late Sen. Ted Kennedy's seat, though Joe Kennedy could take it if he ran, according to a Suffolk University poll released last night; and underdog Cheryle Jackson (R) scored an endorsement from EMILY's List in the race for the Illinois Senate seat now held by Sen. Roland Burris.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called 2010 the "toughest midterm election Democrats have ever faced"; Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) trails former Rep. Rob Simmons (R) 44-39 in a new Quinnipiac poll, though no public polling has been done taking newly announced GOP challenger Linda McMahon into account; Rasmussen calls the Virginia governor's race a toss-up, as Republican Bob McDonnell still leads (by two percentage points), but has been put on the defensive by the revelation of a graduate thesis that criticized "cohabitators, homosexuals and fornicators," working women and feminists; the two squared off in a debate today; Rasmussen also shows Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) overtaking GOP rival Gov. Rick Perry in the Texas gubernatorial race, leading 40-38 after trailing by 10 points in mid-July; Attorney General Martha Coakley leads the race for the late Sen. Ted Kennedy's seat, though Joe Kennedy could take it if he ran, according to a Suffolk University poll released last night; and underdog Cheryle Jackson (R) scored an endorsement from EMILY's List in the race for the Illinois Senate seat now held by Sen. Roland Burris.
Sep 17 2009, 4:10PM
"Imma Let You Finish But Canada Had Best Health Care"
Is the Baucus bill picking up steam? Eh, not so much. But it showed a little more signs of life today when self-styled moderates including hypercentrist Joe Lieberman and the most courted Senator in Washington, Olympia Snowe were among a group to praise Baucus's efforts. Yesterday, Snowe seemed to criticize them. So today's slight praise of the bill seemed to add to the feeling that there was something that might get built upon. Of course, it's not enough to appease most Democrats who think the bill is a big sell out to insurance interests. Last night, Keith Olbermann was fairly apoplectic over the bill. Since the measure has no public option and is cheaper than other packages, it's considered a big bust. But maybe there's at least the beginning of a conversation to be had here. Meanwhile, the president held a big rally in College Park, Maryland this morning to tout the bill. But the crowd, filled with Democratic supporters of the president and folks shipped in by health care groups, booed Baucus and one sign lampooned Kanye West: "Thanks Obama and Imma let you finish but Canada had the best health care of all time." Such are the pressures from left and right on the president as he tries to hold all Democrats together and peel off a couple of Republicans.
Still betting that nothing passes or a very stripped down bill that makes Baucus look liberal. But we'll see.
Still betting that nothing passes or a very stripped down bill that makes Baucus look liberal. But we'll see.
Sep 17 2009, 3:15PM
Defending ACORN
Glenn Greenwald defends ACORN (as do John Cole and Anonymous Liberal, two bloggers he links to), basically making the argument that, hey, low-level ACORN employees have gotten caught in some pretty compromising positions (UPDATED: see James O'Keefe's videos here, here, and here), causing an uproar over the estimated $1.5 million to $2 million per year it gets from the federal government for non-political purposes...meanwhile, Wall Street's hubris has caused taxpayers to spend trillions recovering from the financial crisis, hundreds of billions of which have actually gone to Wall Street itself. It's a question prioritizing outrage: ACORN's federal funds are small potatoes compared to the massive influence and umbilical-like connection the financial sector enjoys with the very government entities that are supposed to regulate it.
Sep 17 2009, 1:45PM
A Czech Resident On The Missile Shield Decision
An ex-pat friend living in the Czech Republic e-mails on what Czechs are saying of President Obama's decision, announced today, to drop Bush-era plans for a missile defense system housed partly in their country. (The Czech Republic was to host the radar portion; Poland, the missiles.)
They weren't crazy about hosting the radar, but it's all about Russian power. Here's what he said:
They weren't crazy about hosting the radar, but it's all about Russian power. Here's what he said:
This thing is a double edged sword for them. On one hand, not many Czechs are super pumped about the radar - but they are less pumped about Russia vetoing thier foreign policy initiatives.
For instance - last winter when Putin shut the gas off (or as he put it, Ukraine), everyone here saw the real play. All the eastern countries were hung out to dry by the Germanies of (richer) Europe. The Czechs, in like 2006, started getting a larger portion of gas from Norway, which although criticzed at the time, proved to be a brilliant decision last winter.
Sep 17 2009, 1:26PM
Or Maybe Obama Is An Appeaser...
When it comes down to it, Barack Obama and conservatives operate from fundamentally different cognitive triads: they don't agree about what America ought to be doing, they don't agree about what its role in the world should be, and they have different preconceptions about what will happen in the future.
Sep 17 2009, 12:37PM
Does Obama Need An Enforcer?
Could it be that the White House needs to watch more hockey and less boxing?
Boxing terms have been mostly used to describe President Obama's tactics in dealing with punches from the right: "rope-a-dope" and "counterpunching" namely. But reading a Washington Post report that said the administration has mostly tried to get above conflict reveals that they're treating Obama like a hockey center instead of a heavyweight.
Boxing terms have been mostly used to describe President Obama's tactics in dealing with punches from the right: "rope-a-dope" and "counterpunching" namely. But reading a Washington Post report that said the administration has mostly tried to get above conflict reveals that they're treating Obama like a hockey center instead of a heavyweight.
Sep 17 2009, 11:47AM
On The Baucus Plan, Missing The Forest For The Trees
When Democrats talk about health care reform privately, or at wonky National Journal breakfast sessions, they riff on fundamental changes to the "delivery system," which is a wonky way of talking about the interactions between patients, doctors, insurers, hospitals and the government. The preferred Republican approach -- the one reflected in virtually every health care proposal that GOPers have introduced to the public over the past two decades -- is to change incentives for consumers of health care. In Democratic proposals, the emphasis is always on changes to the incentives that providers -- hospitals and doctors -- currently play with. If there's an subrosa intellectual argument, this is it.
Sep 17 2009, 11:40AM
Why Gates and Obama Dropped The Bush Shield
Are we fighting the cold war? Or is this something new?
Today is the 70th anniversary of the Russian invasion of Poland during World War II. In terms of politics, for a president allegedly obsessed with czars, his seeming capitulation to a would-be czar -- Vladimir Putin -- is not helpful. That's how hawks jumped on the news, breaking in European papers overnight, that the White House had decided to abandon a missile defense program first proposed by the Bush Administration in the waning months of the former president's term. From their point of view, the construction of a new NATO-operated radar station in the Czech Republic and a small missile site in Poland projected American strength and resolve and rewarded allies who had hung tough during the war on terror. The Bush administration's fervor was abetted by clients in government, like the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency, and by defense contractors who are hoping to design and build a missile defense shield for the United States. In terms of geopolitics, it was a zero sum game: empower NATO at the expense of Russia and convey a message to Iran that the U.S. was serious about protecting its allies from their developing threats. From a ground-based perspective, the Bush administration read intelligence from the DIA and CIA and concluded that the threat to Europe from long range Iranian missiles was real, and Iran intended to wield the threat at its soonest convenience. Representative of the reaction is this statement from Sen. John McCain: "This decision calls into question the security and diplomatic commitments the United States has made to Poland and the Czech Republic, and has the potential to undermine perceived American leadership in Eastern Europe." At a simpler level, Obama's being called an appeaser, and Democrats are being accused of wanting to weaken the country. This syllogism is a gut response to the presence of missiles -- as in -- missiles in allied countries pointing at Russia GOOD...taking them away....WEAK.....Russia...BAD.
Today is the 70th anniversary of the Russian invasion of Poland during World War II. In terms of politics, for a president allegedly obsessed with czars, his seeming capitulation to a would-be czar -- Vladimir Putin -- is not helpful. That's how hawks jumped on the news, breaking in European papers overnight, that the White House had decided to abandon a missile defense program first proposed by the Bush Administration in the waning months of the former president's term. From their point of view, the construction of a new NATO-operated radar station in the Czech Republic and a small missile site in Poland projected American strength and resolve and rewarded allies who had hung tough during the war on terror. The Bush administration's fervor was abetted by clients in government, like the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency, and by defense contractors who are hoping to design and build a missile defense shield for the United States. In terms of geopolitics, it was a zero sum game: empower NATO at the expense of Russia and convey a message to Iran that the U.S. was serious about protecting its allies from their developing threats. From a ground-based perspective, the Bush administration read intelligence from the DIA and CIA and concluded that the threat to Europe from long range Iranian missiles was real, and Iran intended to wield the threat at its soonest convenience. Representative of the reaction is this statement from Sen. John McCain: "This decision calls into question the security and diplomatic commitments the United States has made to Poland and the Czech Republic, and has the potential to undermine perceived American leadership in Eastern Europe." At a simpler level, Obama's being called an appeaser, and Democrats are being accused of wanting to weaken the country. This syllogism is a gut response to the presence of missiles -- as in -- missiles in allied countries pointing at Russia GOOD...taking them away....WEAK.....Russia...BAD.
Sep 17 2009, 11:36AM
Big News In Labor: UNITE HERE Rejoins AFL-CIO
Some big news in the labor movement: UNITE HERE, one of the six unions that split from the AFL-CIO in 2005 to form the competing federation Change to Win, has rejoined the AFL-CIO on the closing day of the latter's convention in Pittsburgh.
The 2005 split meant a schism in the labor movement, creating two massive federations in the AFL-CIO and the newfangled, organizing-driven Change to Win, under the charismatic guidance of Service Employees International Union President Andy Stern. That meant two competing power structures, both seeking to organize workers and throw their political weight behind Democratic candidates.
The 2005 split meant a schism in the labor movement, creating two massive federations in the AFL-CIO and the newfangled, organizing-driven Change to Win, under the charismatic guidance of Service Employees International Union President Andy Stern. That meant two competing power structures, both seeking to organize workers and throw their political weight behind Democratic candidates.
Sep 17 2009, 10:55AM
Second Day: A Missile Decision Based On Facts And Values
The Obama administration did its best to portray the decision to reconfigure its missile defense posture in Europe as a choice dictated by the hard imperatives of technology, the assessment of the intelligence community, and the prerogatives of national security.
Senior military officials explained to reporters that the timing of the announcement was simply a factor of the Pentagon budget calendar - a decision on whether to endorse the Bush administration's program of record - an advanced radar system in Poland and ten high-altitude missile interceptors in The Czech Republic was about due. Iran has put a lot of effort into building effective short and intermediate range missiles and, within a few years, will have the capability of firing a few hundred at locations across Europe and the Middle East. 10 interceptors at a cost of $75 million each are no match for hundreds of Iranian warheads. Patriot missile defense systems, supplanted by mobile, transportable Aegis radar systems, stationed perhaps in Turkey and in Israel and in Poland would provide a more effective actual defense against actual threats. Should Iran improve its missile capability, the Pentagon can quickly ramp up its long-range interceptor research, a senior official said yesterday.
Sep 17 2009, 10:20AM
The Politics of Missile Shields
President Obama's apparent decision to scrap plans for a missile shield based in Poland and the Czech Republic is significant in and of itself. The plan's been controversial both here and in Eastern Europe and especially in Russia even though the defensive plan was aimed at rogue missiles from Iran. But it feels more like the end of a generation long missile-shield era. Anyone who was around in the 80s remembers the Reagan administration's intense ambitions for a missile shield the protect against intercontinental ballistic missiles fired from the old Soviet Union. Such a plan, based on satellite lasers, seemed fantastic at the time and still does. But it had enough power as an idea to help propel the startling arms reductions of the late 80s. And, indeed, technology caught up with Reagan's vision enough that the program continued not only in the first Bush administration but under Bill Clinton, too. Don Rumsfeld, who had killed the anti-ballistic missile program as Secretary of Defense under President Ford, was a huge advocate of its expansion when he was Secretary of Defense under George W. Bush.
This latest move will be hotly debated but a couple of things seem certain. For conservatives, who have made missile shields a centerpiece of their defense vision for a generation, this can only make them hate Obama more. More details will emerge later today, but can anyone doubt the apoplexy building at The Weekly Standard?
This latest move will be hotly debated but a couple of things seem certain. For conservatives, who have made missile shields a centerpiece of their defense vision for a generation, this can only make them hate Obama more. More details will emerge later today, but can anyone doubt the apoplexy building at The Weekly Standard?
Sep 17 2009, 10:14AM
Dancing With The Czars
I'm usually reluctant to post web ads, since they're produced to try to get free advertising when blogs cover them (as an alternative to paying for TV time), but you've gotta give credit to a good pun. The Democratic National Committee has been in a heavy spat with the Republican Party over criticism of the "czars," with each side sending out many press releases and memos to reporters every day. But the DNC beat their counterparts to the punch of who could appropriate the phrase "dancing with the czars" in talking-point/advertising format, co-opting a joke Glenn Beck himself actually came up with first, as it's the title of a web video they sent out this morning that counts the alleged "czars" of the Bush administration. Unfortunately, there's no actual dancing in it:
Sep 17 2009, 8:47AM
Thursday Morning Quarterback: Appeasement!!
Item: WH won't build new BMD system in Poland and Czech Republic; says intel on Iran's missile development program is consistent with a different posture;
QB: Politics of this suck, short-term. Without WH pre-cooking, right will spin this as appeasement to Vlad Putin. But this is as much Gates's decision as it is Obama's, and public opinion in Poland is more complicated. More on this as WH / DoD unveil more details later.
QB: I don't know, but Time's journalism will certainly help with his ratings. At Time, Jesus, Obama, women's health and Oprah covers sell... let's see if Glen's does, too.
Item: FBI to release new surveillance guidelines.
QB: A battle between the FBI (and WH) and the Congress over the future of National Security Letters is shaping up. FBI wants to convince public that they're being transparent.
Item: Mitt Romney arrives in DC for a week of fundraising, think tank consulting, and values voter courting.
QB: Some Romney allies are hopeful that Romney will run, (if he does run) as a can-do pragmatist who has experience working with both sides of the aisle... and some long-time Romney aides have begun to admit that the run-to-the-right strategy in 2008 didn't work.
Item: C. Deeds and B. McDonnell meet in their first debate since McDonnell's grad school thesis put him on the defense. Meet's David Gregory is hosting at Fairfax Chamber of Commerce.
QB: Deeds has gained traction with women in Northern Virginia over past two weeks. McDonnell's folks claim that race was always gonna tighten up here.
Sep 17 2009, 6:30AM
Question Of The Day: What Percentage Of Obama Opposition Is Race-Related?
Jimmy Carter says race is motivating opposition to President Obama. Racism surely accounts for at least a few Obama-opposers, but it surely doesn't account for all of them. What percent of opposition to Obama would you say has something to do with race?
Sep 17 2009, 6:00AM
The Rundown, 9/17
Happy Constitution Day! On this day in 1787, the U.S. Constitution was signed. The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia has events lined up all day; the Georgetown University Law Center will host a Constitution Day discussion and honor the producer of Frontline's "Bush's War"; and the constitution lovers at Cato's Center for Constitutional Studies will hold a symposium on the Supreme Court's October 2008 and 2009 terms, in celebration.
Sep 16 2009, 10:00PM
Joe Kennedy Would Win Nomination For Ted Kennedy's Seat; Martha Coakley Leads
Were he to run for his late uncle's Senate seat, Joe Kennedy would win the Democratic nomination, almost ensuring a general-election victory, according to the first major poll to study the race for the late Sen. Ted Kennedy's vacant seat in the U.S. Senate.
59 percent of respondents to Suffolk University's live-telephone poll of 500 Massachusetts residents said they'd vote for Joe Kennedy if he ran, though Kennedy has said publicly that he won't.
59 percent of respondents to Suffolk University's live-telephone poll of 500 Massachusetts residents said they'd vote for Joe Kennedy if he ran, though Kennedy has said publicly that he won't.
Sep 16 2009, 6:15PM
The Invisible Primary, 9/19
Tracking the GOP race to 2012
Tim Pawlenty ordered all Minnesota state agencies to sever ties with ACORN; Mitt Romney will swing through greater DC to help Virginia gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell, address the Values Voter Summit, and deliver remarks at a Foreign Policy Initiative luncheon; Mike Huckabee drew a crowd at a fundraising dinner in Texas; and a New York Times blogger chronicles his "dinner" with Newt Gingrich.
Tim Pawlenty ordered all Minnesota state agencies to sever ties with ACORN; Mitt Romney will swing through greater DC to help Virginia gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell, address the Values Voter Summit, and deliver remarks at a Foreign Policy Initiative luncheon; Mike Huckabee drew a crowd at a fundraising dinner in Texas; and a New York Times blogger chronicles his "dinner" with Newt Gingrich.
Sep 16 2009, 5:29PM
Hurtling Toward 2010, 9/16
The 2010 midterms are just around the corner (sort of). Here's what's happening:
The big news of the day was that Linda McMahon, CEO of WWE and wife of Vince McMahon, has jumped into Connecticut's GOP Senate primary, hoping for an eventual showdown with Chris Dodd; Virginia gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell will get some campaign help this weekend from Mitt Romney; a new PAC was formed to target controversial House Republicans like Joe Wilson; Congressional Quarterly outlines the tough Senate reelection race Michael Bennet will face in Colorado; and Rasmussen released some foreboding poll numbers this week for Democrats Bennett, Harry Reid (NV), and Paul Hodes (NH).
The big news of the day was that Linda McMahon, CEO of WWE and wife of Vince McMahon, has jumped into Connecticut's GOP Senate primary, hoping for an eventual showdown with Chris Dodd; Virginia gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell will get some campaign help this weekend from Mitt Romney; a new PAC was formed to target controversial House Republicans like Joe Wilson; Congressional Quarterly outlines the tough Senate reelection race Michael Bennet will face in Colorado; and Rasmussen released some foreboding poll numbers this week for Democrats Bennett, Harry Reid (NV), and Paul Hodes (NH).
Sep 16 2009, 5:14PM
RNC Reaches Out To Women, Trumpeting Leads In VA And NJ
The Republican Party has a massive disadvantage among women: they're 10 percent more likely to identify as Democrats than men are, and they make up more of the country. To address this problem, the Republican National Committee is reaching out to women with a series of conference calls designed to get them more involved; the first one was held last night, and RNC Political Director Gentry Collins had a lot of good things to talk about--namely, two gubernatorial races that Republicans are currently leading.
Sep 16 2009, 3:30PM
CBO: Baucus Proposal Would Save $49 Billion Over Ten Years
While liberals, insurance companies, Republicans, unions, governors, and universal coverage fans have all come out opposed to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus's health reform bill, it does have one thing going for it: the Congressional Budget Office and Congress's Joint Committee on Taxation estimate that it will save $49 billion over the first ten years of implementation, if it were to go into effect in 2010.
Sep 16 2009, 2:59PM
Reid Thanks Baucus, Recognizes Bill Will Change
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) thanked Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus for his work on the health care bill released today by the latter, but tacitly recognized that the bill will likely change if it's to make it through the upper chamber. In an official statement, Reid called it "another important piece to the puzzle":
I appreciate Chairman Baucus' hard work over the past several months. His proposal is another important piece to the puzzle and brings us a step closer to having a comprehensive health insurance reform bill on the Senate floor. There will be a healthy and vigorous debate in the Finance Committee as Senators work to strengthen this proposal. I look forward to working with Chairman Baucus and Senator Dodd as well as the White House in the coming weeks to forge a final Senate bill that lowers costs, improves quality, preserves choice and creates competition.
Sep 16 2009, 2:47PM
Does Anybody Actually Like the Baucus Health Care Bill?
Behold the agony of compromise! Sen. Max Baucus was the supposed gang leader of the Senate's Gang of Six, a group of three Democrats and three Republican senators charged with reaching a bipartisan compromise on health care. Today Baucus released his health care proposal, and the Gang of Six appears to have dwindled to a Wolfpack of One. Let's review the loudest gripers:
Sep 16 2009, 2:15PM
Get Your Opinions Here
Opinions are breaking, and you're missing them. So go to the snazzy new commentary-aggregating Atlantic Wire, which debuted on our site today, and learn, for instance...
- people don't believe Ben Bernanke when he says the recession is "very likely over"
- pundits are divided, not necessarily along party lines, on whether reprimanding Rep. Joe Wilson was stupid or a crucial triumph for civilization and the North
- what value is being placed on GOP Senate votes for health care reform
- who sees race baiting in President Obama's opponents
There's a wide world of politics and news commentary out there, so be glad our newfangled Atlantic Wire crew can separate the wheat from the chaff.
- people don't believe Ben Bernanke when he says the recession is "very likely over"
- pundits are divided, not necessarily along party lines, on whether reprimanding Rep. Joe Wilson was stupid or a crucial triumph for civilization and the North
- what value is being placed on GOP Senate votes for health care reform
- who sees race baiting in President Obama's opponents
There's a wide world of politics and news commentary out there, so be glad our newfangled Atlantic Wire crew can separate the wheat from the chaff.
Sep 16 2009, 2:00PM
Insurers Don't Like The Baucus Bill, Either
Yes, it's the kiss of death as far as anyone who agrees with the demonization of the health care industry is concerned: health insurers are praising Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus for his efforts on his long-awaited health reform bill. But, and this is an important but--they don't like it.
His plan to create insurance co-ops is unnecessary in their view, and that's a big focal point of the proposal: it stands in for President Obama's favored government-administered health insurance plan, allegedly driving down insurance premiums via the same mechanism, by forcing for-profit insurance companies to compete with something that doesn't have to make money.
No wonder they're against it.
His plan to create insurance co-ops is unnecessary in their view, and that's a big focal point of the proposal: it stands in for President Obama's favored government-administered health insurance plan, allegedly driving down insurance premiums via the same mechanism, by forcing for-profit insurance companies to compete with something that doesn't have to make money.
No wonder they're against it.
Sep 16 2009, 1:10PM
Liberal Activists Do Not Like Baucus Bill
The gigantic conglomeration of liberal activists and interest groups Health Care for America Now (HCAN) is not a fan of Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus's health care bill, which was released this morning. HCAN and its member organizations have accounted for almost all of the activist and advertising push behind President Obama's health care reform effort this summer--it comprises nearly every influential liberal group one can think of--and it has decided that Baucus's attempt at a compromise does not pass muster.
HCAN National Campaign Manager Richard Kirsch had this to say about it, in a statement emailed to press:
HCAN National Campaign Manager Richard Kirsch had this to say about it, in a statement emailed to press:
Sep 16 2009, 11:53AM
Linda McMahon Has Some Talent Working For Her
Another note about WWE CEO Linda McMahon's Senate candidacy: while it's easy to overlook the seriousness of McMahon's primary bid, she's got some upper echelon political talent working for her. The team includes: Mike Slanker, political director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee during the 2008 election cycle; Ed Patru, former spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee who most recently, during the '08 campaign, handled communications for the now-defunct group Freedom's Watch; Scott Howell, a media specialist who has cut TV ads for President Bush and numerous GOP Senate and congressional campaigns; and pollster Hans Kaiser.
So while former Rep. Rob Simmons is the frontrunner in the now-four-way GOP primary that also includes former ambassador Tom Foley and state Sen. Sam Caliguri, the self-funding McMahon has a serious team in place.
And if you're wondering whether McMahon will have pro wrestlers campaign for her--another advantage she might enjoy, on top of her person wealth to self-fund--the campaign says that decision hasn't yet been made.
So while former Rep. Rob Simmons is the frontrunner in the now-four-way GOP primary that also includes former ambassador Tom Foley and state Sen. Sam Caliguri, the self-funding McMahon has a serious team in place.
And if you're wondering whether McMahon will have pro wrestlers campaign for her--another advantage she might enjoy, on top of her person wealth to self-fund--the campaign says that decision hasn't yet been made.
Sep 16 2009, 11:05AM
Smackdown: WWE CEO Jumps Into Connecticut Senate Race
Chris Dodd has been in for a tough reelection challenge for some time, but nobody thought any metal chairs would get thrown. That all changed today when Linda McMahon, co-founder and CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, and wife of Vince McMahon, jumped into the cage.
She'll compete in the GOP primary, where former Rep. Rob Simmons is the accepted frontrunner and holds a significant lead over Dodd in head-to-head general-election polls. From McMahon's announcement press release:
She'll compete in the GOP primary, where former Rep. Rob Simmons is the accepted frontrunner and holds a significant lead over Dodd in head-to-head general-election polls. From McMahon's announcement press release:
"I have spent the past 30 years growing what began as a 13-employee small business into a publicly traded, global entertainment company that now provides over 500 jobs here in Connecticut. I understand what it takes to balance a budget, create jobs and grow the economy," said Linda, a co-founder and former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, Corp. (NYSE: WWE). "Washington is out of control, and sadly, Senator Chris Dodd has lost his way and our trust. I can't sit by on the sidelines anymore knowing that I have both the experience and the strength to stand up to special interests and bring badly needed change to Washington."
Sep 16 2009, 10:53AM
Baucus Caucus? Not So Much
Sen. Max Baucus has introduced his own health care bill. This is important because he chairs the Senate Finance Committee and because he's pledged to come up with a bill that could attract Republican support. But no Republicans have embraced the measure since it came out this morning, and the ranking member of the committee, Chuck Grassley, distanced himself from it. So does this mean the possibility of a bill that some Republicans support is dead? Who knows?
Sep 16 2009, 9:48AM
Do Women Legislators Benefit From An Underdog Effect?
Politico ran an article yesterday about a new Stanford/University of Chicago study finding that women lawmakers outperform their male counterparts. The study focuses on three measures of performance: how many bills legislators introduce, how many co-sponsors they recruit, and, most significantly, how much discretionary spending they bring home to their districts. In all three categories, women are a head above men. On average, the study found, they sponsor three and co-sponsor 26 more bills per Congress than male legislators, recruit 25 more co-sponsors per term, and rake in 9 percent more discretionary spending. (You can download the report here.)
Sep 16 2009, 6:30AM
Question Of The Day: The Jackass Bump
Were it to have any effect whatsoever, would calling Kanye West a "jackass" help or hurt President Obama's approval ratings? Do you like him more or less after hearing about it?
Sep 16 2009, 6:00AM
The Rundown, 9/16
We were right not to believe it yesterday: Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus is yet again supposed to release his bipartisan-negotiated health care bill today, though senators pretty much know what's in it already.
President Obama will display some homerism today on the South Lawn of the White House, as he stumps for Chicago's 2016 Olympics bid with Michelle, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, Chicago2016 representatives, the U.S. Olympic Committee, and U.S. Olympians and Paralympians. The presidential weight could be enough for Chi-town to get the bid, but don't count out Rio as a darkhorse. South America has never hosted the Olympics...just saying.
President Obama will display some homerism today on the South Lawn of the White House, as he stumps for Chicago's 2016 Olympics bid with Michelle, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, Chicago2016 representatives, the U.S. Olympic Committee, and U.S. Olympians and Paralympians. The presidential weight could be enough for Chi-town to get the bid, but don't count out Rio as a darkhorse. South America has never hosted the Olympics...just saying.
Sep 15 2009, 6:02PM
Hurtling Toward 2010, 9/15
The 2010 midterms are just around the corner (sort of). Here's what's happening:
President Obama is attending a fundraiser in Philadelphia for Sen. Arlen Specter (D) tonight; seven weeks out, Bob McDonnell (R) leads Creigh Deeds (D) in cash in Virginia's 2009 gubernatorial race; Illinois Senate candidate Rep. Mark Kirk (R) got booed at a rally; possible California Senate candidate Carly Fiorina (R) is "not going to write big checks for her campaign like Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner," a staffer for her exploratory committee tells the San Francisco Chronicle after RedState claimed Fiorina wouldn't "self-fund" (the exploratory committee says Fiorina has held that position all along); Whitman (R), meanwhile, will help out the state GOP with some money for voter registration; and a Research2000/Daily Kos poll shows Sen. Chris Dodd (D) still trailing challenger Rob Simmons, 42-26, which isn't quite as bad as other polling has suggested.
President Obama is attending a fundraiser in Philadelphia for Sen. Arlen Specter (D) tonight; seven weeks out, Bob McDonnell (R) leads Creigh Deeds (D) in cash in Virginia's 2009 gubernatorial race; Illinois Senate candidate Rep. Mark Kirk (R) got booed at a rally; possible California Senate candidate Carly Fiorina (R) is "not going to write big checks for her campaign like Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner," a staffer for her exploratory committee tells the San Francisco Chronicle after RedState claimed Fiorina wouldn't "self-fund" (the exploratory committee says Fiorina has held that position all along); Whitman (R), meanwhile, will help out the state GOP with some money for voter registration; and a Research2000/Daily Kos poll shows Sen. Chris Dodd (D) still trailing challenger Rob Simmons, 42-26, which isn't quite as bad as other polling has suggested.
Sep 15 2009, 5:11PM
Rockefeller: I Can't Vote For Baucus Bill
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus was slated to release his bipartisan-negotiated health care bill, but it got pushed back until tomorrow. Regardless, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) says he'll vote against it, based on the information that's been circulating. Citing taxes on expensive health plans (like those held by coal miners), the lack of a public option, and other issues, he told reporters on a conference call today: "The way it is right now...there is no way that I can vote for the Senate package for a lot of reasons, and obviously the lack of a public option is one of them, so I want to be very clear about that."
Sep 15 2009, 2:10PM
Obama Embraces Patriot Act; As Senator, He Was Skeptical
The Obama administration wants Congress to reauthorize three controversial provisions of the 2001 USA Patriot Act scheduled to expire later this year, but said in a letter to two senators that it is open to adding (unspecified) civil liberties safeguards. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the sunsetting provisions next week and wants to consider broader reforms. Five months ago, it asked the administration for its views; just yesterday, the administration responded. Some of the changes to the law Barack Obama sought as a senator -- including modifications to the administrative subpoena power known as National Security Letters -- are not part of the corpus of his views today.
In a letter to Sens. Russ Feingold and Dick Durbin (Durbin-Feingold 091409.pdf), assistant attorney general Ronald Welch, the chief DOJ liaison to Congress, said that the administration supports the so-called "roving wiretap" provision, which allows the government to continue surveilling terrorism suspect under a single wiretap warrant even if the suspect changes the medium of communication. According to Weich, the administration will not authorize such a warrant unless it has "specific" evidence that the suspect is actively working to avoid detection by authorities. About 22 such wiretaps are authorized every year. "We believe the basic justification offered to Congress in 2001 remains valid today," Weich writes.
Sep 15 2009, 2:09PM
Obama: Health Reform = Better Wages
At his speech to workers at the GM plant in Warren, Ohio today, President Obama gave an argument for health reform that sounds pretty good: getting paid more. From the White House transcript:
Think about it. If you're a member of the union right now, you're spending all your time negotiating about health care. You need to be spending some time negotiating about wages -- but you can't do it -- (applause) -- but I want to make sure that you understand - you've got to understand Fritz's position here. He's trying to build this company back up. And if health care costs are going up 30 percent or 20 percent every year, it's very tough for him. So we all have an interest in reforming the health care system so that the cost for employers don't go up; that means the cost for you don't go up, and that means you can actually start bringing home a little more take-home pay. That's what this is all about if you've already got health insurance. (Applause.)
Sep 15 2009, 1:00PM
Not Top Secret: The National Intelligence Strategy
On its face, the National Intelligence Strategy document released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence this morning seems like a pro-forma exercise in accounting -- accounting for the dollars that Congress appropriates to the intelligence community, accounting for all the committees, processes, buzzwords and contracts. But in the hands of Adm. Dennis Blair, it is a document about priorities and about competing values. (Only in the United States does the intelligence community release its strategy -- albeit broadly -- and invite the media to ask questions.) Embargoed Document - 2009 NIS.pdf
Sep 15 2009, 12:34PM
Wilson's Wife Stands By Him
Everyone else is piling on Rep. Joe Wilson these days, but at least his wife is standing by him. In a video Wilson's campaign posted to YouTube today, Wilson's wife Roxanne talks about the "you lie!" outburst; after the speech she asked him, "Who's the nut that hollered you 'you lie!'"...only to find out it was her husband. She also says President Obama was gracious to accept Wilson's apology, and that he "doesn't deserve" the treatment he's getting "from Congress."
Sep 15 2009, 11:55AM
Joe Wilson And The Half Apology
One of the ironies of the CIA leak case was the way the White House half apologized for the president's 2003 State of the Union address claiming that Saddam Hussein was seeking uranium in Africa. After former Ambassador Joe Wilson wrote his scathing op-ed in which he claimed that he had been dispatched to the African country of Niger to investigate such claims--and found them lacking--the White House did something bizarre. They could have said that Wilson was mistaken and that the White House stood by those claims. Indeed, British intelligence never backed off of them. Or they could have said that Wilson was right, thanked him for his government service and vowed to listen more closely. Instead they chose a course that was the worst of all worlds, they conceded that the line should not have been in the State of the Union speech, not because it wasn't true, but because it had not been proven true enough to merit inclusion in the president's most important speech. White House and other administration officials trashed Wilson privately and, famously, outed his wife, a CIA official, which launched an investigation that entangled everyone from Bob Woodward to Robert Novak to myself to the vice president.
Sep 15 2009, 11:45AM
Blame The Conservative Media
In the latest issue of the New Yorker, Hendrik Hertzberg portrays the fringes of contemporary conservatism and the fantasies about "death panels," Obama's Kenyan birth, and his Marxist, Communist, Fascist identity:
This sort of lunatic paranoia--touched with populism, nativism, racism, and anti-intellectualism--has long been a feature of the fringe, especially during times of economic bewilderment. What is different now is the evolution of a new political organism, with paranoia as its animating principle. The town-meeting shouters may be the organism's hands and feet, but its heart--also, Heaven help us, its brain--is a "conservative" media alliance built around talk radio and cable television, especially Fox News. The protesters do not look to politicians for leadership.
Sep 15 2009, 10:04AM
"Jackass," And The Value Of Off-The-Record
ABC's Terry Moran broke some news he wasn't supposed to last night when he tweeted that, during a CNBC interview, President Obama had called Kanye West a "jackass" for breaking on-stage at the VMAs and grabbing the microphone from Taylor Swift. The tweet that was posted, then deleted, Politico reports, was:
TerryMoran: Pres. Obama just called Kanye West a "jackass" for his outburst at VMAs when Taylor Swift won. Now THAT's presidential.
Sep 15 2009, 6:30AM
Question Of The Day: The Senate Finance Bill
The Senate Finance Committee is scheduled to finally unveil a health reform bill today. Did you think this day would ever come? And have the committee's protracted negotiations hurt President Obama's push for reform?
Sep 15 2009, 6:00AM
The Rundown, 9/15
We won't believe it until we see it, but, after many months of laborious bipartisan negotiating--and with many feet tapping impatiently in Washington--Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus is slated to release his committee's health care bill. All eyes have been on the Finance Committee for some time, with the White House waiting, and waiting, for a bill that has a shot at making it through the Senate. Now we'll find out what they've come up with...and be able to speculate as to whether it will pass.
Sep 14 2009, 8:00PM
Do Bagram Detainees Have Habeas Rights? Gov't Says No
The Obama administration says a lower court got it wrong when, for the first time, it granted habeas corpus rights to detainees at the Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan. In an appeals court ruling filed late today, Solicitor General Elena Kagan argues that long-term detainees held at Bagram, because of their status as legitimate enemy combatants, do not have the right to challenge their detention in federal court. The precedent set by Boumediene v. Bush, she argues, does not apply to the Bagram detainees because habeas rights do not apply to non U.S. citizens detained as enemy forces in a country where the U.S. was engaged in "active hostilities."
US-opening-brief-as-filed.pdf
US-opening-brief-as-filed.pdf
Sep 14 2009, 6:00PM
The Invisible Primary, 9/14
Tracking the GOP race to 2012
Charlie Crist caught some flak for appointing former aide George LeMieux to Florida's vacant U.S. Senate seat from none other than Rod Blagojevich; Mike Huckabee proclaimed journalism dead; the first major GOP 2012 straw poll looms next weekend at the Family Research Council's Values Voter Summit in Washington, DC; Tim Pawlenty is trying to position himself on health care and states' rights; and Rick Santorum asked for prayers about his potential 2012 bid.
Charlie Crist caught some flak for appointing former aide George LeMieux to Florida's vacant U.S. Senate seat from none other than Rod Blagojevich; Mike Huckabee proclaimed journalism dead; the first major GOP 2012 straw poll looms next weekend at the Family Research Council's Values Voter Summit in Washington, DC; Tim Pawlenty is trying to position himself on health care and states' rights; and Rick Santorum asked for prayers about his potential 2012 bid.
Sep 14 2009, 5:46PM
Hurtling Toward 2010, 9/14
The 2010 midterms are just around the corner (sort of). Here's what's happening:
'09 Virginia gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell (R) dropped the F-bomb while discussing transportation funding in a radio interview; Rep. Bobby Bright (D-AL) is drawing fire from a seniors group for comments against a cost-of-living increase for Social Security recipients; Portsmouth businessman Sean Mahoney may jump into New Hampshire's Senate race as a Republican, challenging the current GOP favorite; Sen. Blanche Lincoln's (D-AR) poll numbers are less than great, according to a Daily Kos/Research 2000 poll; and a Public Policy Institute of California poll shows Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) with a solid 53 percent approval heading into her reelection race (h/t Swing State Project).
'09 Virginia gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell (R) dropped the F-bomb while discussing transportation funding in a radio interview; Rep. Bobby Bright (D-AL) is drawing fire from a seniors group for comments against a cost-of-living increase for Social Security recipients; Portsmouth businessman Sean Mahoney may jump into New Hampshire's Senate race as a Republican, challenging the current GOP favorite; Sen. Blanche Lincoln's (D-AR) poll numbers are less than great, according to a Daily Kos/Research 2000 poll; and a Public Policy Institute of California poll shows Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) with a solid 53 percent approval heading into her reelection race (h/t Swing State Project).
Sep 14 2009, 4:25PM
Opposing Health Reform: Bad Politics?
A new TV ad from Americans United for Change flashes forward to November 2010:
For a while now, it's seemed that moderate Democrats are the ones at risk of losing their seats for health reform "yes" votes. Then again, the Washington Post/ABC poll published today found, among other things, that intensity gap is closing, with 30 percent "strongly" behind President Obama's push for reform, vs. 36 percent "strongly" against it...so maybe things are changing.
For a while now, it's seemed that moderate Democrats are the ones at risk of losing their seats for health reform "yes" votes. Then again, the Washington Post/ABC poll published today found, among other things, that intensity gap is closing, with 30 percent "strongly" behind President Obama's push for reform, vs. 36 percent "strongly" against it...so maybe things are changing.
Sep 14 2009, 3:09PM
Obama's Regulation Speech Thin On Too Big To Fail
On the one-year anniversary of the fall of Lehman, the President has decided it might be a good idea to visit New York and chastise Wall Street explain to Wall Street the regulation he believes necessary to avoid another financial crisis. But one area of reform where his speech is disappointing thin is dealing with the too big to fail problem. He has only three talking points that begin to touch on this problem. I'm unconvinced any of them will necessarily solve it.
Sep 14 2009, 2:52PM
Does Dropping Public Option Mean Health Reform Passes?
A Washington Post/ABC poll suggests it does. The poll reports that President Obama's health care initiative does not enjoy the public's support: 46 percent support "the proposed changes to the health care system being developed by (Congress) and (the Obama administration)" while 48 percent oppose it. But, from the Post's write-up...
Without the public option, 50 percent back the rest of the proposed changes; a still sizable 42 percent are opposed. Independents divide 45-45 on a package without the government-sponsored insurance option, while they are largely negative on the entire set of proposals (40 percent support and 52 percent oppose). Republican opposition also fades 20 points under this scenario.
Sep 14 2009, 2:20PM
The Great Unwinding Begins -- And So Does The Selling
The moment that changed the world, that humbled the United States economy, can be pinpointed to a span of a few hours on the afternoon of September 16, 2008. The buck broke. The Reserve Primary money market fund, which held a significant percentage of assets that were considered rope-tied secure, began to trade for less than a dollar. The culprit was the $785 million in bonds that Lehman Brothers, which had just declared bankruptcy, had invested in the fund. It was now worthless.
Sep 14 2009, 1:33PM
The Obama Monologues
Didn't get enough of the 2008 campaign? Want to hear more about President Obama's meteoric rise to the White House? Are you a fan of theater?
Obamanologues (pron. Obama-na-logues, as opposed to Oba-monologues) will open September 25 and run through October 11 at the Flashpoint Theater in DC. The show is comprised of 11 chronological monologues, presenting different perspectives on the president and his White House ascension. From promotional materials:
Obamanologues (pron. Obama-na-logues, as opposed to Oba-monologues) will open September 25 and run through October 11 at the Flashpoint Theater in DC. The show is comprised of 11 chronological monologues, presenting different perspectives on the president and his White House ascension. From promotional materials:
The monologues are presented in styles ranging from conversational to rebellious to scholarly, and aim to depict some of the emotions and behaviors displayed by people in living rooms, classrooms, bus stops, and churches all around the country. Each monologue depicts a distinct moment during the election season and shares heartfelt experiences of euphoria and disappointment, hoping and wishing, anger and frustration, pride and joy, debating and anticipating.
Sep 14 2009, 1:00PM
Pawlenty Two-Steps On Health Care And States' Rights
Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty is a self-professed "Sam's Club Republican"-- fiscally conservative. But when it comes to legislation, Pawlenty balks at buying in bulk. During a tele-town hall run by the Republican Governors Association on Friday, Pawlenty pushed against President Obama's national health-care reform proposals, invoking states' rights under the Tenth Amendment. He raised the possibility of filing Tenth Amendment lawsuits, but softened his remarks over the weekend, telling ABC's "This Week" that the federalism battle should not be in courts but that "in the political sense, in the common sense arena, we need to have a clear understanding of what the federal government does well and what should be reserved to the states." Pawlenty slipped in a jab at ex-Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney in his remarks, deriding the Bay State's health care as the nation's most expensive and a prime example of "Obamacare" gone awry.
Sep 14 2009, 12:09PM
The Other 9/12 Rally
Just how many people attended Saturday's 9/12 tea-party protest? Estimates by conservatives range from the hundreds of thousands to the millions -- numbers they say indicate a growing anti-Obama grassroots movement. Unsurprisingly, liberal pundits are pushing back, saying protesters came out in the tens of thousands. So far, the debate is hinging on photos of the rally, which appear to show the National Mall packed from the Capitol to the Washington Monument, 16 blocks away. A National Park Service map pegged to the 2008 inauguration appears to show that the Mall holds about a million people. Bloggers have overlaid the map with photos from Saturday. Case closed, right? Not so, as there's an important detail both conservatives and liberals are ignoring.
Sep 14 2009, 11:23AM
The 9/12 Conversation
Democrats: ignore the 9/12 demonstrators at your peril. I spent a little bit of time in downtown Washington this Saturday, admittedly for the less wholesome purpose of visiting the International Spy Museum with a friend. But there were plenty of 9/12ers around, and I fell into conversation with a number of them. Those conversations, combined with an appraisal of the news coverage and blog write-ups of the event itself, suggest to me that the protests, the protesters, their anxiety, and the potential they have to influence the 2010 elections ought to be taken seriously. Forget the numbers. The U.S. Park Police has stopped giving estimates for events on its territory, and that's probably a smart PR move on their behalf. The D.C. Fire Department estimated a crowd of about 70,000; some Democrats who attended thought it seemed larger. Whatever the number, it was big enough. People who are predisposed to dismiss these protests as racist found, natch, a number of people bearing Confederate flags and holding some racist signs. A somewhat larger contingent sported placards against the "czars." The plurality of people held signs like, "I'm not Astroturf." In short, there was a mix of people. Plenty of cranks, but plenty of people who seemed angry for reasons once cannot dismiss as irrelevant.
Sep 14 2009, 11:16AM
Beware Of Decoys In The Abortion Wars
At 7:20 a.m. on Friday, a pro-life protester was shot. He was 63 years old and had spent much of his life protesting abortion. He was brandishing a graphic photo of a fetus outside a Michigan high school when someone sped by in a car and shot him down. The suspect, now in custody, is also linked to another recent, unrelated murder and told police that he had planned to kill a third person. The other victim and intended victim had each employed the suspect's mother upwards of ten years ago, so his motive in these cases does not seem related to the abortion debate.
Sep 14 2009, 10:20AM
The Economy, Then And Now
A year ago tomorrow Lehman Brothers announced its collapse, marking the beginning of the end of the self-sustained U.S. financial system, as big banks crumbled one after the other and ultimately received $2 trillion $290 billion in government money to keep existing. President Obama will use the occasion to deliver a speech on Wall Street this afternoon, outlining a retreat from the government's involvement with financial institutions. So how does the economy today, and Americans views of it, compare to a year ago? According to Gallup's charts, the economy is worse, but Americans are more optimistic that it's getting better:
Sep 13 2009, 12:14PM
Santorum Asks For Prayers About 2012
From LifeSiteNews.com:
Speaking to a room full of prominent US Catholic leaders Friday night, Senator Rick Santorum was challenged to run for the Republican Presidential nominaion. Responding to a room already thick with applause, Santorum revealed that he was indeed "thinking about it" but asked for prayers and detailed his thinking on the matter.
His remarks came after his address to the closing dinner of the 12th annual Catholic Leadership Conference - an invite-only gathering of Catholic leaders from academia, law, media, medicine, and politics, as well as leaders of movements within the Church such as pro-life, pro-family and evangelization. Posing the challenge was long-time legal, political, and media activist Keith Fournier.
Sep 13 2009, 11:57AM
The Sunday Shows In Five Sentences Or Less
1. Snowed? Sen. Susan Collins, apparently, is NOT looking to her to partner-in-crime, Olympia Snowe, for cover on a public option trigger. Collins rejected it today on CNN's State of the Union.
"The problem with trigger is it just delays the public option," Collins told CNN Chief National Correspondent John King, "because the people who are going to be making the determination about whether the market is competitive enough, want the public option."
2. Snowe, on Face the Nation, said that the public option was not currently part of the "Gang of Six" negotiations in the Senate.
3. On Fox News Sunday, Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) said that the House TRICOM health care bill not pass muster with the Senate. On This Week, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius ruled out public funding for abortion in the health care bill.
4. New thrust for Republicans: we agree with the President -- heck, we're 80 percent of the way there. That's what Sen. John Cornyn said on Meet the Press with David Gregory. Is this a sign that the President succeeded in reframing the debate? On Fox News Sunday, Sen. Orrin Hatch said the President's speech "probably" succeeded in improving the odds of getting a bill passed.
5. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) refuses to apologize to the President again.
Sep 12 2009, 7:16PM
Glenn Beck = MSM
Glenn Beck's recent successes in getting Van Jones to
leave the White House, a member of the National Endowment for the Arts
reassigned, and pushing ACORN out of next year's census are more
examples that the "right-wing noise
machine" is no more. It is now part and parcel of the mainstream media.
Sep 11 2009, 4:48PM
Leaving -- And Return To -- Afghanistan
America may leave Afghanistan, but Afghanistan may not leave America.
As influential commentators push for immediate withdrawal, they need to answer a question about what may follow if their wishes become reality. Under what conditions should the United States ever return to fight on the ground in Afghanistan after leaving? After all, recent converts to the position that America should get out of Afghanistan haven't become pacifists. Instead they see our military's counterinsurgency strategy as nation building and believe it doesn't promote America's vital national security interests. The most prominent thinker in this regard is George Will who said he wants the United States to attack al-Qaeda mostly from air and sea, while leaving Afghans on their own to construct a state and civil society.
As influential commentators push for immediate withdrawal, they need to answer a question about what may follow if their wishes become reality. Under what conditions should the United States ever return to fight on the ground in Afghanistan after leaving? After all, recent converts to the position that America should get out of Afghanistan haven't become pacifists. Instead they see our military's counterinsurgency strategy as nation building and believe it doesn't promote America's vital national security interests. The most prominent thinker in this regard is George Will who said he wants the United States to attack al-Qaeda mostly from air and sea, while leaving Afghans on their own to construct a state and civil society.
Sep 11 2009, 2:32PM
GOP In 2010: Focus On Dems In Congress, Not On Obama
Focus groups run by Republican strategists in August suggest that independents who voted for Obama remain patient with the Commander in Chief, are open to government intervention, but have an archly negative view of Democrats in Congress, all of which suggests a road map for GOP campaigns to follow in 2010. Ed Gillespie, a former senior White House official, and five of the most influential Republican pollsters, conducted five rounds of interviews with self-identified independents who had not yet decided which party merited their support in the next congressional election. The findings include admissions against interest, including the fact that independent voters "demonstrated great patience" with the President and "give him credit for trying to improve the bad economy," which they see as an inheritance from the Bush administration. The voters remain sour on the GOP brand, and although it wasn't tested, the pollsters conclude that "voters do not yet See the Republicans in Congress as offering alternatives." However, independents are "harshly negative" about Democratic leaders in Congress and about policies that are identified as "Democratic." These voters are anxious about the economy, and in particular, about increasing deficits and debt.
Sep 11 2009, 1:12PM
Coast Guard Scare: What It Really Means
The United States Coast Guard regularly patrols the waterways around Washington, D.C. Its cutters communicate with each other, and with the agency's Washington Field Office, on a radio frequency of 157.050 megahertz. Most of the time, the radios are broadcast in the clear, and most of the transmissions are analog, which means that almost any commercially available radio scanner can pick them up. Often, the Coast Guard operates on frequencies designed as "Marine" -- which civilian boats, equipped with transceivers, can monitor and use as a way of calling for help.
Sep 11 2009, 12:02PM
Internal DNC Memo On Health Care Speech Focus Groups
The Democratic National Committee's dial group testing of the President's health care address on Wednesday showed a significant increase in the number of voters who held positive opinions about the president's plan, according to an internal DNC memo obtained by this column. address.pdf
Research conducted with 49 voters in Tempe, Arizona by David Binder, who was Obama's campaign focus group guru, suggests to Democrats that the speech was "effective at alleviating concerns of voters and impressing upon them that the President has a strong plan to reform health care," the memo says. "Even among those voters who held neutral or negative opinions of the President, substantial positive movement was shown as the proportion of these participants supporting the President's plan increased by nearly 40% after the speech.
Sep 11 2009, 11:53AM
Obama's First 9/11 As President
Eight years ago, Barack Obama was a state senator from Illinois. Now the world wrought by 9/11--an America with two wars to prosecute--is his. He's the president we've had since 9/11 who isn't named Bush.
Obama's world is so fluid. If someone had told you in the fall of 2006, when Americans were dying in Iraq and the Democratic wave began, that three years later Iraq would be relatively calm and we'd be talking about defeat in Afghanistan you'd have been amazed. Three years ago, the left loved to tweak George W. Bush about not finding Bin Laden. Now, they don't bug Obama about the same failure to fine a 6'5" man with supposed dialysis needs.
Obama's world is so fluid. If someone had told you in the fall of 2006, when Americans were dying in Iraq and the Democratic wave began, that three years later Iraq would be relatively calm and we'd be talking about defeat in Afghanistan you'd have been amazed. Three years ago, the left loved to tweak George W. Bush about not finding Bin Laden. Now, they don't bug Obama about the same failure to fine a 6'5" man with supposed dialysis needs.
Sep 11 2009, 10:48AM
Democrats Send Mixed Messages On Insurance For Illegals
House Democrats have taken to the hustings to prove that Rep. Joe Wilson (R-You-Lie) was wrong in insisting that the "Obama plan" would give illegal immigrants access to health insurance. Senate Democrats, meanwhile, are going out of their way to prove that Wilson may have had a point. Even though the Senate bill explicitly bans illegal immigrants from receiving new government benefits, based on some deep diving from the Senate Finance Committee, chairman Max Baucus is now going to add a citizenship requirement for access to the new health insurance exchange, according to Time. If the goal is to prevent illegal immigrants from accessing non-emergency health care in this country, then good on ya. But the move suggests a capitulation that will further inflame the debate and provide ammunition to those who believe that the Democratic bills includes backdoors to cover care for illegal immigrants. Apparently, the standard of truth is this (per Time's Michael Scherer): if Democrats pave a road, they have to somehow figure out how to prevent illegal immigrants from using it, or else they'll be accused of immigrant coddling -- or providing incentives for illegals to stay in or come to the United States. Of course, maybe it's cruel to prevent illegal immigrants from purchasing health insurance.
Sep 11 2009, 10:41AM
Closing The Book On The Bush Legacy
Thursday's annual Census Bureau report on income, poverty and access to health care-the Bureau's principal report card on the well-being of average Americans-closes the books on the economic record of George W. Bush.
It's not a record many Republicans are likely to point to with pride.
On every major measurement, the Census Bureau report shows that the country lost ground during Bush's two terms. While Bush was in office, the median household income declined, poverty increased, childhood poverty increased even more, and the number of Americans without health insurance spiked. By contrast, the country's condition improved on each of those measures during Bill Clinton's two terms, often substantially.
Sep 11 2009, 6:30AM
The Rundown, 9/11
Today, the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack, will be about remembering what happened eight years ago. President Obama, after beginning his day with meetings at the Pentagon, will speak at the September 11 anniversary memorial at the Pentagon Memorial, hosted by Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
Vice President Biden will speak at a September 11 commemoration ceremony at the World Trade Center site in New York; Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will participate, before throwing out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium tonight.
Vice President Biden will speak at a September 11 commemoration ceremony at the World Trade Center site in New York; Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will participate, before throwing out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium tonight.
Sep 11 2009, 6:00AM
Question Of The Day: Are We Safer?
Is the country safer, or less safe, than it was immediately after the terrorist attacks that took place eight years ago?
Sep 10 2009, 5:30PM
The Invisible Primary, 9/10
Tracking the GOP race to 2012
Sarah Palin will auction off a dinner for five with her and her husband Todd for charity; Tim Pawlenty welcomes President Obama to Minnesota for an upcoming stop to promote health care reform, but doesn't like the president's reform plan; he'll also dole out $574,000 from his gubernatorial campaign war chest to political organizations and charities across Minnesota; Mike Pence urged Obama to press on in Afghanistan; Eric Cantor, meanwhile, was busy with his blackberry during part of Obama's speech to Congress.
Sarah Palin will auction off a dinner for five with her and her husband Todd for charity; Tim Pawlenty welcomes President Obama to Minnesota for an upcoming stop to promote health care reform, but doesn't like the president's reform plan; he'll also dole out $574,000 from his gubernatorial campaign war chest to political organizations and charities across Minnesota; Mike Pence urged Obama to press on in Afghanistan; Eric Cantor, meanwhile, was busy with his blackberry during part of Obama's speech to Congress.
Sep 10 2009, 4:50PM
Hurtling Toward 2010, 9/10
The 2010 midterms are just around the corner (sort of). Here's what's happening:
Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) woke up Thursday morning with a tougher-than-expected reelection challenge on his hands after shouting "You lie!" at the president--Democratic challenger Rob Miller, who came within eight points of Wilson in '08, had raised $200k since Wilson's outburst as of midday Thursday, though the Cook Political Report says it's still a safe district for Republicans; the same Cook report moved Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's reelection race from "likely Democratic" into the "toss-up" column, citing sagging poll numbers for Reid; and The Weekly Standard hears from two sources that Hillary Clinton is considering stepping down as secretary of State in the fall to run for governor of New York, which would definitely shake up the race...picture a showdown between Clinton and Giuliani.
Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) woke up Thursday morning with a tougher-than-expected reelection challenge on his hands after shouting "You lie!" at the president--Democratic challenger Rob Miller, who came within eight points of Wilson in '08, had raised $200k since Wilson's outburst as of midday Thursday, though the Cook Political Report says it's still a safe district for Republicans; the same Cook report moved Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's reelection race from "likely Democratic" into the "toss-up" column, citing sagging poll numbers for Reid; and The Weekly Standard hears from two sources that Hillary Clinton is considering stepping down as secretary of State in the fall to run for governor of New York, which would definitely shake up the race...picture a showdown between Clinton and Giuliani.
Sep 10 2009, 4:08PM
Poverty Survey May Help Obama's Case
The latest poverty figures released by the Census Bureau today might just serve to buttress some of the main points in President Obama's congressional address last night. According to a Reuters report, the bureau reported the U.S. poverty rate rose to its highest level in 11 years in 2008, to 13.2 per cent from 12.5 per cent in 2007.
The bureau also said this is the first statistically significant increase in annual poverty rate since 2004 and translates into a increase of 2.5 million people in real numbers, from 37.3 million to 39.8 million. Real median household income also fell 3.6 percent to $50,303 in 2008, breaking a string of three years of annual income increases and coinciding with the recession that started in December 2007. According to The New York Times, when adjusted for inflation, median family incomes were lower in 2008 than they had been a decade previously.
The bureau also said this is the first statistically significant increase in annual poverty rate since 2004 and translates into a increase of 2.5 million people in real numbers, from 37.3 million to 39.8 million. Real median household income also fell 3.6 percent to $50,303 in 2008, breaking a string of three years of annual income increases and coinciding with the recession that started in December 2007. According to The New York Times, when adjusted for inflation, median family incomes were lower in 2008 than they had been a decade previously.
Sep 10 2009, 3:09PM
The Strangest Reactions To Obama's Speech
Today has (mostly) all been about reactions to President Obama's speech to Congress last night, and we've heard the full spectrum, from Karl Rove's foreboding prediction that Democrats' future in Congress is in trouble to public-option-opposing Sen. Ben Nelson's proclamation that it was a "a bit of a game-changer." But lost in the evaluations of good and bad were the simply strange...and the Atlantic Wire's Mara Gay has the strangest reactions rounded up here. Two favorites: "My ears rang with the joy of a small child on Christmas morning" and "Why is Rep Charles Boustany bathed in ethereal heavenly light?"
Sep 10 2009, 2:42PM
RomneyCare: It's Working (Mostly), And It's Popular (Largely)
The nation's most ambitious experiment in universal health insurance is succeeding on its own terms, and has become fairly popular, a new survey minds. 96% of working age adults have health insurance in the state today, which is significantly higher than the national average. Also up: the percentage of people with private health insurance. It's now as high as 70% among seniors. An Urban Institute study finds that 72% of state residents are happy with the effort. The Massachusetts plan included an individual mandate, required employers to either provide coverage or pay into an insurance pool, expanded Medicaid and created a new government health care program for the lower middle class, and created a health connector agency that matches individuals with the private plan of their choice. About half of those who enrolled in the new programs are now covered by government-run plans.
Sep 10 2009, 2:30PM
13 Percent Of TV Households Watched Obama
That's according to the early data from TV by the Numbers: President Obama averaged 21.2 million viewers just on ABC, CBS, and NBC, for views from 13.2 percent of all TV households, across all stations that aired his speech. Will that be enough to shape the health care debate? Mark Blumenthal points out that the viewership of events like these is usually skewed toward the president's fans, as people are more likely to watch the Obama give an hour-long speech on health care if they like him and what he has to say in the first place. That having been said, 72 percent of CNN viewers liked the speech, according to an instant post-speech poll...so, among the people who like and follow him, it looks like Obama did well. 13 percent isn't a whole lot of the country, but the most important audience members were those sitting in the room.
Sep 10 2009, 12:47PM
News Industry: Don't Water Down Media Shield In Committee
72 major news organizations and associations have asked Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) not to water down the federal media shield bill that his committee is now taking up. The Free Flow of Information Act, introduced in the Senate by Arlen Specter (formerly the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, before his party switch), would exempt journalists from being compelled to reveal confidential sources in federal court, with exceptions (e.g. national security, threat of death and significant bodily harm). Needless to say, the news industry likes it: confidential sources give us things like Watergate and Enron, and journalists don't like knowing that the iron-clad agreements they make with sources can be pried open by federal courts with threats of imprisonment, or actual prison time. And lots of members of Congress agree: the House passed it by voice vote March 31. See the letter and list of news organizations after the jump:
Sep 10 2009, 12:11PM
Joe Wilson: Campaign Enemy #1?
Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), the congressman who yelled "You lie!" at President Obama last night, has suddenly found himself in a tough reelection race: Rob Miller, the former Marine who lost 54-46 to Wilson in 2008 (a relatively good showing), had raised $100,000 within eight hours of Wilson's outburst.
Now, that number is up to $200,000, according to a source at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), and, while Miller was by far the poorer candidate up until last night, he's now probably richer.
Now, that number is up to $200,000, according to a source at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), and, while Miller was by far the poorer candidate up until last night, he's now probably richer.
Sep 10 2009, 10:54AM
Now What? 11 Unanswered Questions About HCR
Last night's presidential speech seemed to mollify liberals and harden conservatives, and the main media narrative -- the narrative of the savvy, if you will -- is that Obama delivered the speech that he ought to have delivered months ago. Health insurance reform is likely to pass (how's THAT for a COTS-like prediction), but there are many enhanced interrogations to be had before "likely" turns into "will."
1. Did the President concede too much last night? By ostensibly liming the cost of the final bill to $900 billion, is he inviting Republicans to find a way to force the costs higher? Is $900 billion enough to provide coverage for all, uh, 30 million Americans who don't have access to it now? (See below.)
2. Why did Obama abandon his preferred pay-for -- a cap on the deductions that high earners can take -- for a more complicated tax on gold-plated or "Cadlilac" insurance plans? One of his main constituents, the unions, oppose this because they've negotiated top-dollar plans already. Will health care come down to a fight about whether unions get an exemption? (Pre-negotiated plans?) In practice, will insurance companies pass the cost of this new tax onto consumers?
Sep 10 2009, 10:45AM
Once Again, A First-Rate Speech
I don't know how many people stayed tuned in to watch the whole hour-plus of this speech, counting intro and so on. But, once again among his major addresses, it will bear long-term study for its range, tone, and clarity:
- Conciliatory: You Republicans want to talk about tort reform? Let's hear your ideas.
- Tough: When you tell lies, we will call you out.
- Clarifying: For the first time ever, I felt as if I glimpsed a "larger idea" behind the Obama plan.
- Big picture: The role-of-government soliloquy at the end, including the connection to the moral and social-contract histories of Social Security and Medicare.
- Emotional, sans schmaltz: As he got ready for the end, I feared that he would tell the story of all the Lenny Skutnik figures in the First Lady's box. Instead, he told Ted Kennedy's story, with allusions only to Kennedy's Republican friends.
- Simple performance dynamics: Well delivered, including at crucial points talking over the applause to keep the rhythm going.
- Manners: Will it pay off for the Republicans to have booed him and, in the case of Rep. "Gentleman Joe" Wilson of South Carolina, to have yelled "you lie!" at the President? We'll see. Update: An ActBlue site supporting an opponent to Wilson raised more than $25,000 within three hours of his outburst. Via Simon Owens.
There will come a time when Barack Obama cannot pull himself out of pinch with a big speech. And obviously we don't know how this debate will turn out yet. But he hasn't fallen short on the big-speech front yet. More tomorrow.
- Conciliatory: You Republicans want to talk about tort reform? Let's hear your ideas.
- Tough: When you tell lies, we will call you out.
- Clarifying: For the first time ever, I felt as if I glimpsed a "larger idea" behind the Obama plan.
- Big picture: The role-of-government soliloquy at the end, including the connection to the moral and social-contract histories of Social Security and Medicare.
- Emotional, sans schmaltz: As he got ready for the end, I feared that he would tell the story of all the Lenny Skutnik figures in the First Lady's box. Instead, he told Ted Kennedy's story, with allusions only to Kennedy's Republican friends.
- Simple performance dynamics: Well delivered, including at crucial points talking over the applause to keep the rhythm going.
- Manners: Will it pay off for the Republicans to have booed him and, in the case of Rep. "Gentleman Joe" Wilson of South Carolina, to have yelled "you lie!" at the President? We'll see. Update: An ActBlue site supporting an opponent to Wilson raised more than $25,000 within three hours of his outburst. Via Simon Owens.
There will come a time when Barack Obama cannot pull himself out of pinch with a big speech. And obviously we don't know how this debate will turn out yet. But he hasn't fallen short on the big-speech front yet. More tomorrow.
Sep 10 2009, 10:06AM
Wilson's Apology
Rep. Joe Wilson, the conservative Republican congressman who shouted "You lie!" at President Obama during last night's address to a joint session of Congress, issued an apology last night:
"This evening I let my emotions get the best of me when listening to the President's remarks regarding the coverage of illegal immigrants in the health care bill. While I disagree with the President's statement, my comments were inappropriate and regrettable. I extend sincere apologies to the President for this lack of civility."
Sep 10 2009, 6:30AM
The Rundown, 9/10
While today will mostly be about reactions to President Obama's speech to Congress, with pundits, commentators and observers in full effect, other things will also happen, like...
Obama will hold a Cabinet meeting at the White House, then meet with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, before welcoming the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins to the White House at 6 p.m.
Obama will hold a Cabinet meeting at the White House, then meet with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, before welcoming the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins to the White House at 6 p.m.
Sep 10 2009, 6:00AM
Question Of The Day: Grade Obama's Speech
What letter grade do you give President Obama's speech to Congress? Explain why.
Sep 9 2009, 9:53PM
Did It Work?
Did the speech work? Did it reset the debate? I don't know and I don't think we'll know for awhile. But I thought it missed a few things that might have made it better:
Hope. There wasn't a vision of a world where you don't have to wrestle with your insurer to get reimbursed, where you can leave your job without losing your insurance, where you can get it. There was a lot of reassurance but I thought the hope element was undersold.
It Won't Cost You a Dime. Can it be true that the plan preserves everything people like in the current system, fixes what's wrong and adds nothing to the deficit? People smarter than me say it's possible. I'm not sure people are gonna buy it.
Too much in the room. I thought it was much more focused on the 535 elected officials in the room than any joint speech I'd seen. It kind of felt more like a Roosevelt Room talk than a speech to the country. A lot of process.
That said, the Kennedy riff was powerful and the portrayal of Kennedy as bipartisan leader was pretty brilliant. The line about government bureaucrats and insurance bureaucrats was a good conflation. Was it enough? I don't know. I don't think we'll know for awhile.
On a personal note, Tony Lee, the conservative writer, makes the point that we got to see another Joe Wilson give the White House hell. La plus ca change....
Hope. There wasn't a vision of a world where you don't have to wrestle with your insurer to get reimbursed, where you can leave your job without losing your insurance, where you can get it. There was a lot of reassurance but I thought the hope element was undersold.
It Won't Cost You a Dime. Can it be true that the plan preserves everything people like in the current system, fixes what's wrong and adds nothing to the deficit? People smarter than me say it's possible. I'm not sure people are gonna buy it.
Too much in the room. I thought it was much more focused on the 535 elected officials in the room than any joint speech I'd seen. It kind of felt more like a Roosevelt Room talk than a speech to the country. A lot of process.
That said, the Kennedy riff was powerful and the portrayal of Kennedy as bipartisan leader was pretty brilliant. The line about government bureaucrats and insurance bureaucrats was a good conflation. Was it enough? I don't know. I don't think we'll know for awhile.
On a personal note, Tony Lee, the conservative writer, makes the point that we got to see another Joe Wilson give the White House hell. La plus ca change....
Sep 9 2009, 9:07PM
Kennedy's Letter To The President
After the jump, the full text of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy's letter to President Obama, as referenced by the president during tonight's speech.
Sep 9 2009, 8:45PM
The President's Speech In Ten Key Points
Lifting up from the political goals of the speech, here's the news that the president made:
1. He called for a bill that includes an individual mandate to buy insurance, along with a hardship waiver.
2. He give a spirited defense of the public option but was clear that there were other options, like a trigger for the future or a co-op.
3. He endorsed a plan that would cost about $900 billion ... but said he wouldn't sign a plan that added to the deficit over 10 years. The $900 billion figure might pin down Democrats later on.
Sep 9 2009, 8:32PM
Obama's Speech: Full Text
Here's the full text of President Obama's speech to Congress:
Madame Speaker, Vice President Biden, Members of Congress, and the American people:
When I spoke here last winter, this nation was facing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. We were losing an average of 700,000 jobs per month. Credit was frozen. And our financial system was on the verge of collapse.
Sep 9 2009, 8:31PM
The Left Grades Obama
Democratic lawmakers were the target of President Obama speech tonight--both moderates who are skeptical that reform is too liberal, and liberals who say they'll vote against it if there's no public option. So how did the netroots grade him? Looks like a B.
MyDD's Jonathan Singer offered some of the most glowing praise of the night. He tweets:
MyDD's Jonathan Singer offered some of the most glowing praise of the night. He tweets:
Fantastic, historic, game-changing speech. Expectations were atronomical, but amazingly met and exceeded
Sep 9 2009, 8:17PM
Five Key Lines From President's Speech
"I am not the first president to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last," said President Obama. Based on a quick perusal, are five key lines from the President's health care speech tonight:
[On "death panels]
[On "death panels]
Some of people's concerns have grown out of bogus claims spread by those whose only agenda is to kill reform at any cost. The best example is the claim, made not just by radio and cable talk show hosts, but prominent politicians, that we plan to set up panels of bureaucrats with the power to kill off senior citizens. Such a charge would be laughable if it weren't so cynical and irresponsible. It is a lie, plain and simple.
[On public option]
It's worth noting that a strong majority of Americans still favor a public insurance option of the sort I've proposed tonight. But its impact shouldn't be exaggerated - by the left, the right, or the media. It is only one part of my plan, and should not be used as a handy excuse for the usual Washington ideological battles. To my progressive friends, I would remind you that for decades, the driving idea behind reform has been to end insurance company abuses and make coverage affordable for those without it. The public option is only a means to that end - and we should remain open to other ideas that accomplish our ultimate goal. And to my Republican friends, I say that rather than making wild claims about a government takeover of health care, we should work together to address any legitimate concerns you may have.
Sep 9 2009, 8:16PM
The Expectations
The Atlantic Wire has a rundown of dos and don'ts for President Obama tonight, according to various pundits. Among the dos: talk about Medicare, drop the public option, and be direct. Among the don'ts: leave the insured out of the equation, ditch the progressive grassroots, and, according to Mickey Kaus, give the speech. Of course, it's all a matter of opinion. You can't please em all.
Sep 9 2009, 5:38PM
House GOP Whip Count: Dems Lack Votes On Health Care
House Minority Whip Eric Cantor's (R-VA) office forwarded a count this afternoon of 44 moderate Democrats who have shown reservations, in some form or another, about the House health reform bill--the implication being that the White House's reform push is between a rock and a hard place: if either those 44 moderates, or the 60 liberals who have threatened to block reform without a public option, votes en masse against the bill, it wouldn't pass.
If it doesn't have a public option, the liberals could vote it down; but, as it stands, it's too liberal for 44 moderates.
If it doesn't have a public option, the liberals could vote it down; but, as it stands, it's too liberal for 44 moderates.
Sep 9 2009, 5:03PM
Franklin Kramer Is Top Candidate For Cyber Post
Franklin Kramer, a former assistant secretary of defense and well-regarded cyber security consultant, has been interviewed by several senior White House officials in recent weeks, fueling speculation that he is the leading candidate for the administration's top cybersecurity post. Reuters reported today that Kramer was the "leading" candidate, citing a senior administration official. Reached today in Washington, Kramer declined to comment.
Sep 9 2009, 3:33PM
Whip Count: Sanford Impeachment Would Pass SC House?
A South Carolina Democratic state representative tells the Associated Press that an effort to impeach Gov. Mark Sanford would get the 83 votes needed to make it through the South Carolina House, a day after 60 of 73 House Republicans, including House Speaker Bobby Harrell (R), signed onto a GOP caucus letter calling on Sanford to step down. The legislature is out of session until January, and, since it still looks unlikely that Sanford will resign--he recently told The Daily Beast's Will Cathcart that he wants to get back into the policymaking game--an impeachment effort could mount...if the House were to pass an impeachment resolution, Sanford would be tried by the Senate, where a majority of Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler (R), have also called on him to resign.
Sep 9 2009, 2:39PM
Obama's Intended Audience: 100 House Democrats...
Democrats -- and, in particular, the 100 or so liberal Democrats who have threatened to oppose a bill that doesn't include a public option -- are the main target of the president's persuasion tonight. Why? Legislative math.
As Ron Brownstein points out, in 12 years of governing, Republicans never had more than 235 House seats. Democrats have 257 today. Some of them are way out in the hinterlands, forcing the occupants to vote "no" on virtually every major initiative that's tagged as Democratic. There are about 25 of these seats -- lost causes, from the point of view of the White House. Looking back at the cap-and-trade vote, Nancy Pelosi lost 64 Democrats and picked up 8 Republicans.
Sep 9 2009, 2:21PM
Lewin Group: House Health Care Proposal Isn't So Pretty In 2020-2029
New cost projections on the House health care bill emerged today, and they're sure to become a GOP talking point within hours: The Lewin Group, a firm whose work on health care has been oft cited by Republicans from Bobby Jindal to Eric Cantor, released a 20-year projection today on H.R. 3200 that paints a not-so-rosy picture for the second decade of its reforms.
According to the study, the bill would be close to deficit neutral over its first ten years but would incur a $1.01 trillion net cost to the federal government from 2020-2029, "due to rapid growth in health care costs that will outpace the growth in incomes and revenues over the longer-term." The bill expands coverage but ultimately will lower the number of insured and increase overall costs, the group says.
According to the study, the bill would be close to deficit neutral over its first ten years but would incur a $1.01 trillion net cost to the federal government from 2020-2029, "due to rapid growth in health care costs that will outpace the growth in incomes and revenues over the longer-term." The bill expands coverage but ultimately will lower the number of insured and increase overall costs, the group says.
Sep 9 2009, 12:36PM
Justices Skeptical Of Campaign Finance Laws
Loads of bytes will be typed about today's historic Supreme Court argument (Read it here: cor.pdf ) about campaign finance law, but this statement against interest from Rick Hasen, a Loyola University election law expert who generally supports reform efforts, is indicative:
"There was absolutely nothing in the Citizens United oral argument questions of the two likely "swing justices" in this case to give any comfort to those who believe that Congress should have the power to limit corporate spending in candidate elections."
By swing justices, he means Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Sam Alito. Both oppose campaign finance legislation, but Roberts, in particular, has made it clear he'd prefer that the Court tailor decisions as narrowly as possible. But not here. The goal of this re-hearing was precisely to expand the scope of the court's eventual decision. It seemed to be an inevitable consequence when an Obama administration lawyer admitted last March that the government had the power to restrict the sale of books during the final 60 days before an election.
Sep 9 2009, 12:16PM
Listen: Supreme Court Case On Corporate Donations
The Supreme Court is hearing arguments today in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, a case in which the court will consider whether corporate money can be spent to advocate for political candidates; audio is being streamed here live from C-SPAN. If the court overturns the ban on corporate campaigning, it could drastically impact the way federal elections are financed. Candidates could have to spend more time and effort to raise money to counter corporate campaigning against them, and seeking corporate allies could become a key part of campaigns. Corporations would have much more clout than lobbying and political donations currently afford.
President Obama revolutionized campaign financing with record-breaking hauls, a massive online effort and tons of small donors, but, depending on what the Supreme Court decides, the Obama era of campaign funding could be ushered out as quickly as it was ushered in.
President Obama revolutionized campaign financing with record-breaking hauls, a massive online effort and tons of small donors, but, depending on what the Supreme Court decides, the Obama era of campaign funding could be ushered out as quickly as it was ushered in.
Sep 9 2009, 11:55AM
What A Republican Wants From Obama's Speech
Here's what House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) says Republicans are looking for from President Obama's speech to the House and Senate tonight. From the press conference after the House GOP's conference meeting today:
His task is going to be to convince the American people that the proposal of a government option doesn't mean a government replacement of the healthcare system as we know it. Secondly, the test will include his being able to convince members, as well as the public, that an expanded government role will save the taxpayers money. Because I think intuitively that most Americans believe that more government in health care means more rationing and more forced discrimination on the basis of gender and age.
Sep 9 2009, 11:22AM
Fighting Fear With Fear
A political strategist breaks down the health care fight in less than optimistic terms for Slate's John Dickerson:
[In his speech Monday to the AFL-CIO, Obama] suggested they benefited from a fundamental unfairness in the current system. This heartened reform proponents, who believe that Obama has to make insurance companies more obvious villains in order to explain the value of reform for those who already have insurance."Right now the fear of the unknown is trumping the fear of insurance companies," says one strategist involved with a third-party group advocating for reform.Supporters of reform like to paint the health care debate as a struggle between the forces of enlightened, Platonic reason against the serpent-tongued lies of conservative demagogues and insurance companies, and the confused, reactionary stupor of citizens too lazy not to be hypnotized by it. Obama has been cast as somewhere between a philosopher king and a Greek chariot god.
Sep 9 2009, 6:39AM
The First Amendment Is About To Be Redefined.
Oral arguments at the United States Supreme Court today could mark the end of more than 30 years of struggle for a tranche of conservative and libertarian intellectuals -- and for corporations that have had to find inglorious and meandering ways to influence the political system. Also at stake is how the court interprets the First Amendment. The stakes are that big.
Four weeks before the traditional First Monday in October start to its term, the court is taking the unusual step of convening to hear a case that does not involve life or death -- Citizens United v. FEC. Why the rush? Its ruling might very well require Congress to rewrite campaign finance laws in the middle of an election year, and the court is trying to be generous. The Supremes heard this case in March, but then it decided that the narrow range of issues at stake didn't do justice to the case. Like an edited version of a blog post, the court sent the case back to the litigants with the instruction to consider much broader principles than whether a certain action violated campaign finance laws.
Four weeks before the traditional First Monday in October start to its term, the court is taking the unusual step of convening to hear a case that does not involve life or death -- Citizens United v. FEC. Why the rush? Its ruling might very well require Congress to rewrite campaign finance laws in the middle of an election year, and the court is trying to be generous. The Supremes heard this case in March, but then it decided that the narrow range of issues at stake didn't do justice to the case. Like an edited version of a blog post, the court sent the case back to the litigants with the instruction to consider much broader principles than whether a certain action violated campaign finance laws.
Sep 9 2009, 6:30AM
Question Of The Day: I Can't Be A Rapper?
President Obama has a habit--demonstrated again yesterday--of telling students they're probably not going to be basketball players or rappers as he's encouraging them to work hard. Doesn't that, sort of, crush people's dreams? In Obama's world, where are the next Jay-Z and LeBron?
Sep 8 2009, 10:31PM
Media Challenge: Will They Take The Palin Bait?
Sarah Palin, the former Republican vice presidential candidate, has every right to submit an opinion piece on health care to the Wall Street Journal's op-ed page, and they've got every right to print it.
But Palin's existence in this debate does not (a) lend her voice any credibility and, beyond that, even if you believe that her experience as a state governor does give her at least a modicum of credibility, it does not follow that, because her voice is credible, it ought to be influential. Newt Gingrich is influential by rights; he's done the work, come up with original ideas, and been in the trenches. (Replacing Medicare with vouchers...not new or remotely plausible, even if GOPers do well in the next two elections. Quoting Ronald Reagan talking about that type of proposal...not new. Etc.)
But Palin's existence in this debate does not (a) lend her voice any credibility and, beyond that, even if you believe that her experience as a state governor does give her at least a modicum of credibility, it does not follow that, because her voice is credible, it ought to be influential. Newt Gingrich is influential by rights; he's done the work, come up with original ideas, and been in the trenches. (Replacing Medicare with vouchers...not new or remotely plausible, even if GOPers do well in the next two elections. Quoting Ronald Reagan talking about that type of proposal...not new. Etc.)
Sep 8 2009, 5:34PM
Video: Obama's Speech To Students
In case you didn't get to watch President Obama's controversial-in-concept-to-some-people speech to students today, in which he told them to work hard and didn't spread any communist propaganda, the White House has finally posted video of the address on YouTube. Here it is:
Sep 8 2009, 4:58PM
Bill Clinton: Stand And Deliver
Bill Clinton sat for an interview with Esquire just 48 hours after his return from North Korea, and, when the conversation turned to health care, Clinton said it's time for Democrats in Congress to "stand and deliver"--to get a bill before President Obama that will reform the nation's health system, even if it's not perfect, and to not be scared by opponents of Obama's push--otherwise health reform's failure will be their cross to bear:
[W]hat I'm more worried about is our people getting careless, forgetting the experience of '94, and that it is imperative that they produce a health-care bill for the president and make it the best one they can; if it's not perfect, we'll go back and fix it. But the people hire you to deliver. This electorate has suffered. They've suffered economically, they've suffered an enormous amount of sort of psychic insecurity from 9/11 to the economic breakdown, they've seen all this change going on around them, and they see in Obama a cool and intelligent guy who can multitask in a world where they know you've got to multitask. What they don't know is whether our guys are going to stand and deliver. And sooner or later you've got to stand and deliver. All we have to worry about is getting things done and doing them as well as we can. Don't even worry about the Republicans. Let them figure out what they're going to stand for. 'Cause as long as they're sitting around waiting for us to mess up, they don't have a chance.
Sep 8 2009, 3:46PM
The Kids Are Alright
Salon's Mary Elizabeth Williams documents her two daughters' reactions to President Obama's speech to school children today. Predictably, there were no accusations of communism or fascism:
...the most stinging criticism of the speech came from my younger child, who lasted 10 minutes before pronouncing it "boring," grabbing her Hannah Montana wig and leaving the room in a huff.
...As we shut off the TV, I asked my soon-to-be fourth-grader what she got from Obama's words. "It made sense," she said. "I'm going to try to work extra hard now because the president said it's good to do that and I trust him."
Sep 8 2009, 2:43PM
An Original Obama Believer Is Very Anxious
Ben Smith picks up on comments by one Steve Hildebrand, one of Obama's earliest and most committed presidential campaign advisers, on the man's disappointment with the Obama. Hildebrand tells Smith that he is losing patience with the White House. Smith does a good job in putting Hildebrand's place in context -- he is no longer an insider and, indeed, was frozen out of the campaign during its final few weeks.
He is also close to Obama, who retains a personal affection for him, even as Hildebrand has been vocally critical on subjects ranging from gay rights to White House appointments.
Hildebrand may protest my saying this, but he is a romantic when it comes to Obama and politics.
A veteran of Democratic politics and a campaigning mastermind, Hildebrand tried to join the Clinton campaign, and was ignored. A few months later, Obama's top Senate aide recruited Hildebrand to staff his first pre-campaign trip to Iowa. And Hildebrand, it can safely be said, was awed by the sight of young white teenage males go ga-ga over an inspiring multiracial figure like Obama. Hildebrand became one of the earliest true believers in Obama's promise -- and in his brand. But the Obama Hildebrand fell in love with is not who Obama really is. It's not that the campaign was too ruthless and pragmatic, it's that Obama is more cautious and more political than his brand ever seemed to let him be. Yes, his savvy campaign advisers allowed this dynamic to settle in among the Democratic base, which is why Obama won, in part, and is one reason why it appears as if liberals can't accept Obama's significant progressive accomplishments to date.
Sep 8 2009, 2:17PM
Secret Agent Man
Mark Sanford's political career may have about four months left in it: an impeachment push has gained support among South Carolina legislators in the wake of both Sanford's Argentinian scandal and Associated Press reports that he abused the state's airplane and travel funds on a few occasions. The legislature comes back in January.
At The Daily Beast, Will Cathcart talks to Sanford about where he is now and what the future holds. Sanford uses spy terminology to explain:
At The Daily Beast, Will Cathcart talks to Sanford about where he is now and what the future holds. Sanford uses spy terminology to explain:
Sep 8 2009, 12:39PM
How Obama Survived August
At the beginning of the month, I predicted that August might turn out be a bloodbath for Democrats. At the time, the Democratic self-containment on health care had dissolved, cranks were taking over constituent meetings, and that real anxiety about Obama had found a channel and political opponents of health care had an edge. And it was a bloodbath. No question: the White House was taken aback by the ferocity of the health care debate, the media was confused, activists were alarmed, and Republican enthusiasm shot up. But a funny thing happened on the way to the morgue...
Sep 8 2009, 11:52AM
Why BaucusCare Should Worry Democrats
Labor Day presented a good opportunity for President Obama to talk to one of the Democrats' more important -- and most ticked off -- constituents: Labor. It was, by all accounts, a fiery speech to the AFL-CIO union about the necessity of health care reform and the nasty special interests that were blocking its essential passage. What do the unions want from health care reform? Tim Fernholz has the goods:
Sep 8 2009, 11:20AM
Impersonating Obama
Slate's Christopher Maag reveals the professional subculture of presidential impersonation in an article posted today. Being the top impersonator of a sitting president can net the lucky look-alike $1 million per year, and evidently the Obama competition is fierce:
"We're in the proving time right now, and the cream will rise to the top," says Randall West, an Obama impersonator and formerly the owner of a Ford dealership in New Jersey. "Who's gonna be the man? I think I'm gonna be the man."
Sep 8 2009, 9:52AM
Obama Campaign Staffers Press President On Health Care
It seems pressure is coming from every direction in the health care debate. Today, it will come from former Obama campaign staffers.
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee will hold an event outside the White House today where former staffers of President Obama's 2008 campaign will call on the president to sign health care reform with a public option. It's part of an effort, launched last Thursday and based at YesWeStillCan.org, centered on a petition that reads: "We worked so hard for real change. President Obama, please demand a strong public health insurance option in your speech to Congress. Letting the insurance companies win would not be change we can believe in." The group says 400 former staffers, 24,000 campaign volunteers, and 39,000 Obama donors have signed on.
The Progressive Change Campaign Committee will hold an event outside the White House today where former staffers of President Obama's 2008 campaign will call on the president to sign health care reform with a public option. It's part of an effort, launched last Thursday and based at YesWeStillCan.org, centered on a petition that reads: "We worked so hard for real change. President Obama, please demand a strong public health insurance option in your speech to Congress. Letting the insurance companies win would not be change we can believe in." The group says 400 former staffers, 24,000 campaign volunteers, and 39,000 Obama donors have signed on.
Sep 8 2009, 7:50AM
One Crazy Summer: A Quiz
OK, hot shot. Think you've been paying attention to political blogs and the cable networks all summer? Test your knowledge of political neologisms right here, in the Atlantic's first annual -- probably only annual -- Summer 2009 Political Vocabulary Quiz.
1. A "birther" is someone who:
A. delivers babies.
B. births babies.
C. believes that Barack Obama was born outside the U.S. and is thus ineligible to be president
D. believes that, on our about the date of August 4, 1961, the Obama family orchestrated a conspiracy in to place birth announcements in Hawaiian newspapers.
E. C and D.
1. A "birther" is someone who:
A. delivers babies.
B. births babies.
C. believes that Barack Obama was born outside the U.S. and is thus ineligible to be president
D. believes that, on our about the date of August 4, 1961, the Obama family orchestrated a conspiracy in to place birth announcements in Hawaiian newspapers.
E. C and D.
Sep 7 2009, 1:34PM
Out Of Context Socialism In Barack Obama's Education Speech
I've found all the naughty socialist indoctrination in the advance text of the president's education speech tomorrow, and I've cut it out for you and annotated it, totally out of context. In bold, how an Obama hater -- someone who sincerely believes that Obama is a malevolent force -- might interpret the excerpts.
Obama: "And no matter what grade you're in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could've stayed in bed just a little longer this morning."
But the government forces you to go to school, ha ha ha.
But I'm here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I'm here because I want to talk with you about your education and what's expected of all of you in this new school year.
What's expected? The liberal socialist president EXPECTS something from OUR children?
Now I've given a lot of speeches about education. And I've talked a lot about responsibility.
Sep 7 2009, 6:00AM
Question Of The Day: August Highs And Lows
Congress has returned to Washington today, with August recess finally behind them. It's been a crazy month: there was town hall screaming, a finger bitten off, a maelstrom of controversy around Van Jones, health care speculation, the passing of Sen. Ted Kennedy, and the administration taking interrogation authority from the CIA. What were the highs and lows of August 2009?
Sep 6 2009, 8:42PM
A Hundred Ways Of Looking At Van Jones
Van Jones is a man who did not censor his political thoughts, did not hesitate to pursue the logical consequences of his beliefs and did not care what others thought of his affiliations. In other words, he is a man who has no business whatsoever serving in government, where such candor knows no quarter, particularly for a man of the left. Mr. Jones resigned on Saturday after it became clear that the White House had no intention of lending its institutional credibility to defend him.
Jones was a mid-level adviser on green energy issues. He was not a critical player; he had no budget authority, nor access to classified information, nor direct access to the president's ear. He wasn't a "czar," although it seems as if the White House was OK with the label as long as admiring environmentalists were applying it. And the stuff of the controversy, regardless of its provenance, was genuinely controversial: even when he was just a former communist with a habit of calling Republicans evil, the White House was OK with him. Then it was revealed that he had (mistakenly?) signed his name to a Truther petition.
Sep 6 2009, 1:46PM
The Sunday Shows In Five Or Fewer Sentences
Not too much news today...
1. Here's the real headline: couched in a warning to President Obama, Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) offered his support today for a "trigger" to a public health insurance plan, bolstering the White House's attempts to corral Midwestern Democratic senators ahead of the president's Wednesday night address. Speaking on CNN's State of the Union with John King, Nelson said that he could support a "true trigger, one that would only apply if there isn't the kind of competition in the business that we believe there would be." Nelson is as azure-colored and scruffy as a Blue Dog Democrat can get in the Senate, and he has been hostile to a public option of any type. But today, he's essentially given the president permission to write a mechanism into the health bill that would require the "market" to become more competitive over time, lest it be overtaken by a government-subsidized plan. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) said she was open to a trigger.
2. David Axelrod, the president's senior adviser, offered no specifics and very little insight into the president's comments on Wednesday. He repeated the basic administration formulation on the public option -- the president wants to ensure competition and quality and likes a public plan but won't veto a bill without it -- only to have the press write another "White House Backs Down on Public Option" story, which prompted Axelrod to insist to the Associated Press that the White House had not changed its position. Robert Gibbs, the president's press secretary, suggested that the speech on Wednesday would be light on veto threats and heavy on get 'er dun.
3. On Van Jones, a variety of administration officials offered a tepid defense of the former adviser for green jobs and said that President Obama did not fire Jones and had not paid much attention to the Beckiverse (Glenniverse?)'s crusade to oust him.
4. Rudy Giuliani told NBC's David Gregory that he was still considering a run for governor of New York.
5. Various commentators expressed unease and bewilderment at the thought that a presidential address to school children is controversial.
1. Here's the real headline: couched in a warning to President Obama, Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) offered his support today for a "trigger" to a public health insurance plan, bolstering the White House's attempts to corral Midwestern Democratic senators ahead of the president's Wednesday night address. Speaking on CNN's State of the Union with John King, Nelson said that he could support a "true trigger, one that would only apply if there isn't the kind of competition in the business that we believe there would be." Nelson is as azure-colored and scruffy as a Blue Dog Democrat can get in the Senate, and he has been hostile to a public option of any type. But today, he's essentially given the president permission to write a mechanism into the health bill that would require the "market" to become more competitive over time, lest it be overtaken by a government-subsidized plan. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) said she was open to a trigger.
2. David Axelrod, the president's senior adviser, offered no specifics and very little insight into the president's comments on Wednesday. He repeated the basic administration formulation on the public option -- the president wants to ensure competition and quality and likes a public plan but won't veto a bill without it -- only to have the press write another "White House Backs Down on Public Option" story, which prompted Axelrod to insist to the Associated Press that the White House had not changed its position. Robert Gibbs, the president's press secretary, suggested that the speech on Wednesday would be light on veto threats and heavy on get 'er dun.
3. On Van Jones, a variety of administration officials offered a tepid defense of the former adviser for green jobs and said that President Obama did not fire Jones and had not paid much attention to the Beckiverse (Glenniverse?)'s crusade to oust him.
4. Rudy Giuliani told NBC's David Gregory that he was still considering a run for governor of New York.
5. Various commentators expressed unease and bewilderment at the thought that a presidential address to school children is controversial.
Sep 5 2009, 9:00AM
Question Of The Weekend: Jones: A Necessary Sacrifice?
Will Van Jones, the Obama administration's now former green jobs "czar," be the first of many "czars" who fall victim to their past remarks? Or was Jones, who called himself a communist, who (apparently unwittingly) signed a 9/11 conspiracy petition and who called the previous president a "fascist," genuinely a liability to the administration?
Sep 4 2009, 6:31PM
Obama To Meet With Liberals
Liberal Democrats in the House will get their wish: President Obama will meet with them face to face Tuesday or Wednesday to discuss health reform legislation.
House Progressive Caucus co-chairs Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) and Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) requested a meeting "as soon as possible" in a letter to Obama Thursday, in which they reiterated their pledge to block comprehensive health care reform that does not include a public option and made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that they oppose the "trigger" proposal the White House recently floated. (Under that plan, a public health insurance plan would be created only if private insurers fail to meet certain targets.)
House Progressive Caucus co-chairs Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) and Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) requested a meeting "as soon as possible" in a letter to Obama Thursday, in which they reiterated their pledge to block comprehensive health care reform that does not include a public option and made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that they oppose the "trigger" proposal the White House recently floated. (Under that plan, a public health insurance plan would be created only if private insurers fail to meet certain targets.)
Sep 4 2009, 4:42PM
Trouble For Jones
At his daily press briefing Friday afternoon, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said of the embattled green jobs czar Van Jones only that "he continues to work for the administration." Meanwhile, Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), a potential White House hopeful for 2012, is calling on Jones to resign.
Sep 4 2009, 4:15PM
What's So Bad About Obama's Education Speech?
President Obama's planned Sept. 8 speech to the nation's students has sparked what I'd call an automated controversy. The controversy isn't that Obama has announced something controversial, but rather than he's announced something. Full stop. He would like to speak to children about "the need to work hard and stay in school," according the AP, and conservatives are screaming as though playing the tape backward will unveil the subliminal message "Capitalism is deeeaaddd" or "Organize your communityyyy" or something. I'm sorry, I've recently pledged to avoid offering caricatures of the opposition, but this time I'm really struggling to find an opposition that doesn't caricature itself.
Sep 4 2009, 4:10PM
Sudan Envoy On Ad Campaign: If Anybody Wants To Help, Come On Down
A coalition of Sudan advocacy groups have waged an ad campaign for a week and a half now, suggesting President Obama, Vice President Biden, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton may have forgotten their campaign promises of urgent action on Sudan, Darfur's refugees, and conflict between political parties and armed groups in Sudan.
During a discussion with bloggers hosted by the State Department Friday, I asked retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Scott Gration, President Obama's special envoy to Sudan, what he thinks of the campaign. His message: we're doing a lot, and both Obama and Clinton are fully engaged. And if anyone wants to help, that help is welcome.
During a discussion with bloggers hosted by the State Department Friday, I asked retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Scott Gration, President Obama's special envoy to Sudan, what he thinks of the campaign. His message: we're doing a lot, and both Obama and Clinton are fully engaged. And if anyone wants to help, that help is welcome.
Sep 4 2009, 1:43PM
Joe Biden, Republicans Tying Stimulus to Healthcare Reform
Democrats celebrated the 200th day of their $787 stimulus plan this week, and the reception was surprisingly cheery. Both the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post ran stories that quoted economists praising the stimulus for turning the economy around. Goldman Sachs' chief US economist went so far as to say that without the stimulus, our third quarter GDP might be flat instead of projected to rise by 3 percent. So what are the Democrats doing? Bringing it all back to health care, of course!
Sep 4 2009, 1:24PM
Van Jones: Campaign Fodder
Van Jones, President Obama's green jobs czar, is having a tough week, politically. First, he had to apologize for calling Republicans "assholes" in February, before joining the administration, after a video of the comment surfaced and conservatives cried foul. Then it was discovered that he signed onto a 9/11 truth pledge in 2004, calling for investigations into whether people in the Bush administration "may indeed have deliberately allowed 9/11 to happen, perhaps as a pretext for war." In a statement last night, Jones said the petition "does not reflect my views now or ever." This morning, ABC's Jake Tapper reported that Jones was on the "organizing committee" of a 2002 march in San Francisco demanding a congressional inquiry into 9/11.
Sep 4 2009, 12:54PM
Obama Holds Conference Call With Progressives Who Oppose "Trigger"
President Obama will hold a conference call with progressive leaders on health care reform early this afternoon, a day after they sent him a letter requesting a meeting "as soon as possible" and reiterating their call for health reform that includes a robust public option, without a so-called "trigger."
The House Progressive Caucus's two co-chairs, Reps. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) and Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), will be on the call, their offices have confirmed; the two sent a letter to the Obama yesterday requesting a meeting and saying they oppose the "trigger" mechanism, recently floated by the White House, under which a government-run health insurance plan would be created if private insurance companies fail to meet certain market requirements.
The House Progressive Caucus's two co-chairs, Reps. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) and Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), will be on the call, their offices have confirmed; the two sent a letter to the Obama yesterday requesting a meeting and saying they oppose the "trigger" mechanism, recently floated by the White House, under which a government-run health insurance plan would be created if private insurance companies fail to meet certain market requirements.
Sep 4 2009, 11:07AM
"This Is My Town Hall For You"
That's what Rep. Baron Hill (D-IN), the policy leader of the conservative/moderate Blue Dog coalition, explained to a journalism student at a town-hall meeting Wednesday night who asked why she wasn't allowed to videotape the event for a school project.
"This is my town hall meeting, and I set the rules, and I've had these rules," Hill responded, in an authoritative tone. "Let me repeat that one more time. This is my town hall meeting for you. And you're not going to tell me how to run my congressional office. Now, the reason why I don't allow filming is that usually the films that are done end up on YouTube in a compromising position."
Well, we can see how that worked out:
"This is my town hall meeting, and I set the rules, and I've had these rules," Hill responded, in an authoritative tone. "Let me repeat that one more time. This is my town hall meeting for you. And you're not going to tell me how to run my congressional office. Now, the reason why I don't allow filming is that usually the films that are done end up on YouTube in a compromising position."
Well, we can see how that worked out:
Sep 4 2009, 10:14AM
9.7 Percent Unemployment: What Does It Mean For Democrats?
Unemployment rose from 9.4 percent to 9.7 percent today, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' new numbers. At the Business Channel, Dan Indiviglio says this looks ugly, but isn't really so terrible. From the White House's perspective, it's not that terrible either.
Sep 4 2009, 6:00AM
Question Of The Day: Trigger Vs. Co-Op
Which health care compromise has a better shot at making it through Congress and being signed by President Obama: the so-called "trigger" proposal, where a public insurance plan would be created if private insurers don't meet specific targets, or the co-op plan, where customer-owned, not-for-profit health insurance "co-ops" would be launched with government start-up money? Or will the public option prevail?
Sep 3 2009, 6:28PM
Environmentalists Open Forgery Tip Line
After DC lobbying firm Bonner and Associates reportedly sent a series of forged letters to members of Congress opposing Democratic cap-and-trade emissions legislation (part of its lobbying effort as a sub-subcontractor for the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity), environmental groups and other climate legislation backers have opened a tip line for forgeries and other such anti-cap-and-trade skulduggery.
Sep 3 2009, 6:23PM
Get Me Rewrite
Punditry and memory often don't mix. Consider Max Boot's Thursday column in the Wall Street Journal on "How To Win in Afghanistan." According to Mr. Boot, "If we don't make a substantial commitment--one that will require raising our troop strength beyond the 68,000 to which the administration is already committed--we are likely to lose."
For the record, I agree with him. But six years ago, he had a slightly different strategy for Afghanistan: In March 2003, he argued that the manhunt for Al Qaeda there "is a job for the U.S. intelligence community, the FBI and a small number of Special Operations troops," and that our Afghan involvement shouldn't stop us from invading Iraq. And the disastrously flawed thinking behind that recommendation largely explains how we got to the Afghan war's current sorry state.
For the record, I agree with him. But six years ago, he had a slightly different strategy for Afghanistan: In March 2003, he argued that the manhunt for Al Qaeda there "is a job for the U.S. intelligence community, the FBI and a small number of Special Operations troops," and that our Afghan involvement shouldn't stop us from invading Iraq. And the disastrously flawed thinking behind that recommendation largely explains how we got to the Afghan war's current sorry state.
Sep 3 2009, 5:18PM
Interview With Rep. Lynn Woolsey: Progressives Can't Support A "Trigger"
With the White House now floating a health care compromise, the "trigger" proposal offered by Sen. Olympia Snowe, I spoke with House Progressive Caucus co-chair Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) Thursday afternoon about the proposal, and whether her fellow House progressives could, potentially, get on board. She made it clear that the answer is no.
Woolsey is one of 60 liberal Democrats who have threatened to block health care reform without a public option. Under the so-called "trigger" plan, the government would set certain market goals for health insurance companies to meet; if they didn't, a public health insurance option would kick in.
Woolsey is one of 60 liberal Democrats who have threatened to block health care reform without a public option. Under the so-called "trigger" plan, the government would set certain market goals for health insurance companies to meet; if they didn't, a public health insurance option would kick in.
Sep 3 2009, 2:44PM
Obama's Green Jobs Czar Signed 9/11 Truth Statement
Van Jones, President Obama's green jobs czar (official title Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Equality) signed onto a "9/11 truth statement" in 2004 calling for an investigation by then-New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer into whether the Bush administration may have had foreknowledge of the 9/11 attacks, The Washington Times' Amanda Carpenter reports.
Sep 3 2009, 2:06PM
How to Pass a Health Care Bill
How hard was it to pass Medicare? Harry Truman failed to pass universal health coverage multiple times into the 1950s. John F. Kennedy failed to push Medicare through as a senator, and again as president. Even Lyndon B. Johnson couldn't pass the bill without "unseemly deal-making" and "a big pay-day to hospitals and doctors," writes David Leonhardt in the New York Times. And that was only after his 23-point landslide victory in 1964 coincided with the Democrats picking up their 68th seat in the Senate. In other words, it took a super-duper-majority in Congress and a hugely popular president. Matt Yglesias takes this history as evidence that Democrats needn't cling to the "get it right the first time" mantra.
Sep 3 2009, 1:41PM
Daschle: A Voice On Health Care, Behind The Scenes And In Front Of Them
Tom Daschle may have given up his chance to shepherd health reform through Congress when he withdrew as nominee for Health and Human Services secretary amid a tax flap, but he's still lending his voice to the debate, albeit sporadically. President Obama consulted with Daschle on his last working day before leaving for summer vacation at Camp David and Martha's Vineyard; the White House described Daschle's visit as a "quick check-in" and said the two agreed "that substantive reform that lowers costs, reforms the insurance industry, and expands coverage is too important to wait another year or another administration," and to stay in touch as the reform push continues.
Today, Daschle published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal invoking the late Sen. Ted Kennedy in calling for health care reform, pressing Democrats to use budget reconciliation to pass reforms if the preferable 60-vote avenue can't be attained, and arguing that Democrats cannot "ignore the human suffering" of the uninsured just to eschew the unpalatable reconciliation course.
Today, Daschle published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal invoking the late Sen. Ted Kennedy in calling for health care reform, pressing Democrats to use budget reconciliation to pass reforms if the preferable 60-vote avenue can't be attained, and arguing that Democrats cannot "ignore the human suffering" of the uninsured just to eschew the unpalatable reconciliation course.
Sep 3 2009, 12:09PM
More Nukes?
When a collection of nuclear arms control experts visited the Pentagon in July for a briefing on the president's nuclear posture review, they were escorted to the secure conference room by an employee for a government contractor whose company, SAIC, is staffing the review. And when Bradley A. Roberts, the Pentagon official in charge of the review, suggested at the meeting that a report he authored arguing for strong nuclear deterrence be used as a jumping off a point, the words rippled throughout Washington's arms control community: the Pentagon, it seemed, was about to take control the Nuclear Posture Review once more.
Tensions between hawks, doves and deterrencers have proliferated for decades, but in the administration of a president who has vowed to take concrete measures to change U.S. nuclear strategy and reduce American nuclear arsenals, they are especially acute. The White House's message to its allies has been low-key: trust Obama, they say, to make the right decisions in the end. But there are divisions at the top. Vice President Biden is fighting an effort, led by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, to modernize nuclear weapons, fearing that in doing so, the weapons' capabilities will be enhanced. The National Security Council has taken a largely passive role in interagency discussions -- so far. Even at the State Department, the talk is of compromise and vote-trading, with elements of the strategy review being used as bait to secure 67 vote majorities on major arms reduction treaties.
Sep 3 2009, 11:09AM
Dept. Of Amazing: Man Gets Finger Bitten Off Over Health Care
KTLA news reports that a 65-year-old man got his finger bitten off during a health care protest in Thousand Oaks, California, outside Los Angeles. The man, part of an anti-reform protest that formed across the street from a pro-reform MoveOn.org rally, reportedly attacked a reform backer during an altercation, and subsequently had is pinky bitten off:
Sep 3 2009, 10:17AM
No Curt Schilling In MA?
Former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling has said he's considering a run at the late Ted Kennedy's Senate seat in Massachusetts, but it might not be possible, Politico reports: Schilling, a big GOP supporter who campaigned for McCain in 2008, is registered as an independent and thus wouldn't be able to run on the GOP ticket, as it's too close to the candidate filing deadline for him to switch under Massachusetts election law.
That doesn't mean it's completely impossible: there's no doubt Schilling is conservative enough to satisfy the GOP's tastes, and the party machinery could back him in the election even if he's not on the GOP ticket. Sox fans like Schilling, but he's more conservative than the average Massachusetts resident. Plus, he was better as a Diamondback anyway.
That doesn't mean it's completely impossible: there's no doubt Schilling is conservative enough to satisfy the GOP's tastes, and the party machinery could back him in the election even if he's not on the GOP ticket. Sox fans like Schilling, but he's more conservative than the average Massachusetts resident. Plus, he was better as a Diamondback anyway.
Sep 3 2009, 6:00AM
Question Of The Day: Obama's Address To Congress
President Obama will address a joint session of Congress next Wednesday, one day after lawmakers return from August recess. What should he say, and can his primetime speech tip the scales in favor of Democratic health care reforms?
Sep 2 2009, 5:59PM
Ramadan Politics: A Slight To Azerbaijan?
Lisa Margonelli, at her Atlantic Correspondents blog, points out that Azerbaijan's foreign ministry is miffed that its ambassador was not invited to President Obama's post-Ramadan feast, but to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's instead. I'm not up on the protocols of international invitations, so I'll leave evaluations of the slight to others, but Margonelli suggests we need Azerbaijan as an ally as relationships with Europe, Russia, and the Caucasus develop, along with oil pipelines. Then again, they recently cracked down on two talking donkeys (Margonelli explains).
Sep 2 2009, 5:27PM
White House Floating "Snowe" Trigger
Senior White House officials, in conversations with reporters today, are floating the idea that President Obama is secretly negotiating with Sen. Olympia Snowe over a health care compromise that would phase in a government-funded health care alternative if private insurance companies fail to meet quality and cost benchmarks over a certain period of the time. The public discussion of the Snowe "compromise" is meant to test the reaction of House Democrats, who will pass a bill that includes an immediate public option added to a new health insurance exchange. The White House hopes that, having voted for a public option, House Dems would accept a "trigger" as part of a conference committee compromise rather than putting the kibosh on the entire health care reform project. In some ways, this strategy is old, and in some ways it's new. For months, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel has been pushing the idea of a "trigger" internally, and he and Snowe regularly trade legislative and political intelligence. When President Obama addresses a joint session of Congress next week, he will present an outline of a comprehensive health care bill -- one that will be universal in character. Privately, the White House is signaling that Obama is willing to sign a bill that is less than universal in its coverage ambitions, though the president will not say so publicly.
Sep 2 2009, 3:54PM
What Obama's Speech Needs To Do
Is Jon Favreau, the chief presidential speechwriter, going to get a break? The White House has announced that the president will address a joint session of Congress on September 9. A primetime, joint session speech is about the biggest thing a president can do rhetorically and so the pressure will be on to come up with something that's at once inspiring and clarifying. I say inspiring in the sense that Obama needs to bring back hope when it comes to health care, the idea that it's possible to have a future in which people with insurance don't worry about losing it and the uninsured can be insured, where bankruptcy need not look as a possibility over every serious illness. The debate so far has all been about problems, not hope and possibility. He also needs to clarify what he wants, what he would not tolerate and what his plan really stands for. It'll be easy enough to shoot down "death panels" and some of the more ludicrous criticisms of the health care plans in play. What will be harder to do is to explain the public option--if he chooses to even continue to defend it--or to explain how universal care could be achieved without it.
Sep 2 2009, 3:53PM
13 Out Of 19 Republicans Agree: States' Rights More Important Than Opposing Single-Payer
Most Republicans are sure of two things: they don't want a government takeover of health care, and they support states' rights. But what happens when the two are set against each other?
The GOP has spent all summer railing against President Obama's suggested public health insurance option as a socialist takeover, and GOP legislators in several states have adopted resolutions asserting states' rights to regulate health insurance. Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) hinted in late July that states might resist Obama's health care plan by asserting Tenth Amendment rights.
The GOP has spent all summer railing against President Obama's suggested public health insurance option as a socialist takeover, and GOP legislators in several states have adopted resolutions asserting states' rights to regulate health insurance. Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) hinted in late July that states might resist Obama's health care plan by asserting Tenth Amendment rights.
Sep 2 2009, 3:43PM
Whip Counting: Blanche Lincoln Opposes Public Option, Sort Of
Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) tells the Elder Law Task Force at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences that she won't support a solely government-funded public health insurance option, as reported by Arkansas News:
"For some in my caucus, when they talk about a public option they're talking about another entitlement program, and we can't afford that right now as a nation," Lincoln said in a speech to the Elder Law Task Force at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences...
"I'm not going to vote for a bill that's not deficit-neutral, and I'm not going to vote for a bill that doesn't do something about curbing the cost in the out years, because it would be pointless ... I would not support a solely government-funded public option. We can't afford that," Lincoln told reporters before her speech.
Sep 2 2009, 1:39PM
GOP As Defenders Of Medicare? Dems Find It Funny.
Republicans have spent the last week portraying Democratic health care reforms as a threat to Medicare benefits, dedicating themselves as the defenders of health care for seniors as President Obama presses for an overhaul of the nation's health care system. Democrats find this hilarious and maddening, and they're now pointing to an April 2 House vote in which a majority of Republicans supported ending Medicare as we know it.
Sep 2 2009, 12:40PM
Spitzer's Chances
In case you're wondering (perhaps prompted by our question of the day) whether former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer could again win a statewide office in New York someday, it appears to be up in the air.
SurveyUSA asked 500 New Yorkers yesterday whether they would vote for Spitzer if he ran for public office again; 15 percent said they'd vote for him no matter what, 39 percent said they'd vote against him no matter what, and 47 percent said it would depend on what office Spitzer ran for and who else is on the ballot.
SurveyUSA asked 500 New Yorkers yesterday whether they would vote for Spitzer if he ran for public office again; 15 percent said they'd vote for him no matter what, 39 percent said they'd vote against him no matter what, and 47 percent said it would depend on what office Spitzer ran for and who else is on the ballot.
Sep 2 2009, 11:52AM
Losing the Practical Case for Healthcare Reform
You can think about the healthcare bill as two overarching principles. The first is moral: Extending care to those who can't afford it; and keeping insurance companies from denying based on preexisting conditions or rescinding care when costs run high. The second is about fiscally practical: Making this year's bill deficit-neutral over ten years and limiting health care inflation in the years that follow. I think the moral argument is probably the better case for the public (it's much easier to tune out statistics than inspiring rhetoric laced with moral maxims) but recently I've been thinking more about the cost controls: Will they work? Which ones should we support? And will there be rationing?
Sep 2 2009, 11:14AM
Obama's Polling Drop Vs. Other Presidents
In his Sunday New York Times op-ed, David Brooks examined President Obama's polling slide--which has taken him from a 68 percent Gallup approval rating in January to a 52 percent rating today--and concluded that "All presidents fall from their honeymoon highs, but in the history of polling, no newly elected American president has fallen this far this fast."
Charles Franklin at Pollster.com takes some issue with this and places it into context.
Charles Franklin at Pollster.com takes some issue with this and places it into context.
Sep 2 2009, 10:29AM
The Levi Johnston Story, Unabridged Edition
In the October issue of Vanity Fair, Levi Johnston tells his story--not of his relationship with Bristol, or her campaign for abstinence, or of life, in general, as a traveling spectator of the McCain/Palin campaign--but of Sarah Palin herself, what she's like at home, what she does, says, and how she treats people. And it is not pretty. Not by a long shot.
Sep 2 2009, 6:00AM
Question Of The Day: Could Spitzer Win?
Sources told the New York Post yesterday that Eliot Spitzer is considering a comeback; others close to him say he's definitely not, and Spitzer himself declined comment. If Spitzer ran for Senate or state comptroller in 2010, could he win?
Sep 1 2009, 4:56PM
Michigan GOP Warns Of Dems Who Want To "Cancel Your Private Health Insurance"
Some congressional Democrats want to cancel your health insurance and put you on Medicare, Michigan Republican Party Chairman Ron Weiser warned supporters today in a fundraising e-mail, adding that Democrats have redoubled their health care efforts in memory of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy. This, of course, is not part of the health reform initiative being undertaken by President Obama, nor is it under serious consideration by Democratic leaders. The reference is to Democrats who support a single-payer system (many of whom have been disappointed by Obama's initiative)--specifically, according to a Michigan GOP spokeswoman, to a proposal by Rep. John Conyers (MI) for national single-payer coverage.
Sep 1 2009, 4:09PM
Gregg: A Leader Of Health Care Opposition
In just a few short months, Sen. Judd Gregg went from President Obama's nominee for Commerce secretary to a leading voice of the GOP opposition to the president's health care initiative. If Democrats seek to push part of their health reform plan through the upper chamber through the budget reconciliation process--a procedural shortcut that would only need 51 votes, vs. the 60 it takes to break a filibuster--Gregg would figure prominently in the GOP resistance. Today, The Hill reports that Gregg has hundreds of procedural objections lined up that could block parts of the plan from making it through: "We are very much engaged in taking a hard look at our rights under reconciliation," Gregg tells The Hill. "It would be very contentious."
Since health care is counted by the president as one of his top budgetary priorities, it looks like Gregg was right about those philosophical differences that prevented him from taking the Commerce job back in February.
Since health care is counted by the president as one of his top budgetary priorities, it looks like Gregg was right about those philosophical differences that prevented him from taking the Commerce job back in February.
Sep 1 2009, 2:55PM
"He's Weighing It"
That's what a source told the New York Post about Eliot Spitzer--that he's considering a return to electoral politics next year--while others said he's not, and Spitzer himself declined to comment. Here at Atlantic Politics, Marc recently wondered if a redemption might be possible for Spitzer and concluded that, like Ted Kennedy's immersion in the business of the Senate after Chappaquiddick and his failed presidential run, Spitzer's redemption would have to be one of public works--not just helping people forget about the prostitution.
Sep 1 2009, 1:43PM
In Released Docs, Government Reveals A Classified Term
One of the more intriguing redactions that classification reviewers made to the sheaf of recently released commiques between the Justice Department and the Central Intelligence Agency is the codeword used to compartmentalize the existence of and information about the secret detention facilities and the enhanced interrogation techniques.
Apparently, that code word is still in use -- and is therefore classified. In 2002, the Washington Post's Dana Priest wrote that the covert CIA activities were organized in a compartment called "GST," which was, she reported, a shortened version of a classified code name.
The government has never acknowledged the existence of a GST compartment -- until now, that is.
Sep 1 2009, 12:57PM
Obama Wants Federal Pay Capped
Yesterday, President Obama asked Congress to cap the annual cost-of-living pay increases that federal employees receive at 2%. That's a pretty bold move, considering it would be the lowest increase since 1988, according to USA Today. I'm actually pretty impressed by this move, as it makes sense on many levels.
Sep 1 2009, 12:05PM
Huckabee: Help Dole Retire Her Debt
Mike Huckabee is calling on his supporters to help former Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) retire her debt from the 2008 campaign she lost to Democrat Kay Hagan; Huckabee sent an email to supporters of Huck PAC today seeking online donations for Dole. Potential presidential hopefuls like Huckabee typically campaign and fundraise for candidates, while seeking endorsements from the party's elder statesmen; this is a little bit of both, and it could go a long way toward currying favor for Huckabee with Elizabeth and Bob Dole.
Sep 1 2009, 11:17AM
Surprise: Americans Confused About Health Care Reform
A CBS poll cuts to the heart of the matter: people are confused about health care reform. When asked if they understand "health care reform ideas," 67 percent of the 1,097 respondents chose "no, they're confusing," vs. 31 percent who said "yes, [I] understand reforms." This should come as little surprise--the health care system is already confusing as it exists, before the slew of proposed changes are even considered. It depends on how specific one considers the term "ideas" to be--the broad stroke of introducing a public option to drive down private insurance prices is a basic concept, but it's complicated once you delve into the specifics. CBS does not say how many poll respondents were journalists, pundits, congressional staffers or political strategists.
It also stands to reason that health reform ideas are confusing because a final proposal doesn't exist yet, and some of those ideas aren't actually on paper. 60 percent (vs. 31 percent) said President Obama hasn't done a good enough job of explaining things...but from what Marc reported earlier today, that's about to change.
It also stands to reason that health reform ideas are confusing because a final proposal doesn't exist yet, and some of those ideas aren't actually on paper. 60 percent (vs. 31 percent) said President Obama hasn't done a good enough job of explaining things...but from what Marc reported earlier today, that's about to change.
Sep 1 2009, 10:20AM
GOP's Pitch To Seniors, Part Two
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele is continuing to push his "seniors' health care bill of rights," first suggested last week in a Washington Post op-ed, in a new minute-long TV ad that's airing nationally on cable and in Florida, the official home of seniors, starting today.
Sep 1 2009, 7:40AM
Something New On Health Care: Deal-Breakers From The President
This time, the President is going to be specific. Next week, President Obama is going to give Democrats a health care plan they can begin to sell.
He plans to list specific goals that any health insurance reform plan that arrives at his desk must achieve, according to Democratic strategists familiar with the plan. Some of these "goals" have already been agreed to, including new anti-discrimination restrictions on insurance companies. Others will be new, including the level of subsidies he expects to give the uninsured so they can buy into the system.
He plans to list specific goals that any health insurance reform plan that arrives at his desk must achieve, according to Democratic strategists familiar with the plan. Some of these "goals" have already been agreed to, including new anti-discrimination restrictions on insurance companies. Others will be new, including the level of subsidies he expects to give the uninsured so they can buy into the system.
Sep 1 2009, 6:30AM
Afghanistan: The McChrystal Assessment
When the Afghan worker called to me, I was more curious than anxious.
It was just after one o'clock in the morning, and double-digits below zero. He stood in the doorway of the ramshackle kitchen like a schoolboy on the lookout, his demeanor more mischievous than malevolent. I always had a friendly relationship with the locals, and there was something inside that he very much wanted me to see.
Like most buildings on camp, the kitchen was assembled with little more than plywood and optimism, and offered no respite from the cold. My host and his three companions stood huddled around a card table, gawking and giggling at a portable DVD player.
It was just after one o'clock in the morning, and double-digits below zero. He stood in the doorway of the ramshackle kitchen like a schoolboy on the lookout, his demeanor more mischievous than malevolent. I always had a friendly relationship with the locals, and there was something inside that he very much wanted me to see.
Like most buildings on camp, the kitchen was assembled with little more than plywood and optimism, and offered no respite from the cold. My host and his three companions stood huddled around a card table, gawking and giggling at a portable DVD player.
Sep 1 2009, 6:00AM
Question Of The Day: Is Economy Hurting Health Reform?
If the economy was in better shape right now, would Americans be more supportive of President Obama's health care reforms? (H/T Chris Bowers)
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