Washington Sketcher Dana Milbank has some harsh theater criticism for Larry Summers, as the White House’s awkward spokesman in chief. “On the one hand, Summers is a brilliant economist. On the other hand, Obama clearly needs somebody else to sell his economic message,” Milbank concludes.
Summers is someone who is always going to look …
President Barack Obama participates in a town hall meeting on health care insurance reform at Gallatin Field in Belgrade, Mont., Aug. 14, 2009. (Official White House photo by Pete Souza)
–Obama departs on a two-day Midwest trip today with townhalls and business tours on the agenda. Jeff Zeleny writes it’s an effort to shore up …
I need say nothing else. From Time’s London Bureau Chief Catherine Mayer:
Who won the second of the televised debates between the three men battling to be Britain’s next Prime Minister? The current Labour PM Gordon Brown? His Conservative challenger David Cameron? The Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, elevated by last week’s d
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Official White House photo by Pete Souza
–Marco Rubio is the subject of an IRS probe into whether alleged use of Republican party credit cards for personal expenses warrants criminal charges. A wider federal inquiry involving the U.S. attorney, FBI and IRS has been launched into the Florida GOP’s expenses. The latest wrinkle in …
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
–If Mitch McConnell raised the curtain on this season of financial reform political theater yesterday, then the White House serves as backdrop for the first act today. Obama is set to meet with Speaker Pelosi, Leader Reid, Senator McConnell, Rep. Boehner and Rep. Hoyer at the White House …
Official White House photo by Pete Souza
—Mega-scoop from Ben Smith: Andy Stern reportedly plans to step down as president of the Service Employees International Union. Stern is a titan of the labor movement and the American left, not to mention an intimate ally to the White House. Marc Ambinder
US President Barack Obama (R) toasts with his Czech Republic’s counterpart Vaclav Klaus (C) and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev after signing the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) in Prague on April 8, 2010. JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images
–Obama and Medvedev signed the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty today in …
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
–As Kate mentioned, parliamentarian Alan Frumin ruled early this morning that two minor clauses relating to Pell Grant funding in the health care reconciliation bill don’t make the cut for budget rules. It’s a minor hiccup and won’t radically alter the legislation. The Senate is expected …
As the Massa implosion fades, Capitol Hill returns today to health care reform with both chambers considering obscure parliamentary procedures in order to pass legislation before Easter recess, which officially starts March 28. The House is on a shorter leash, with the White House pushing them to get something done before President Obama …
More than five days after he began but two days too late to prevent a cut off in services that will now have to be fixed retroactively, Senator Jim Bunning gave up his one-man filibuster of a $10 billion bill to extend unemployment benefits for 30 days. The measure passed with large bipartisan support 78-19. The Kentucky Republican said …
I didn’t think it was possible for Senator Jim Bunning, a Kentucky Republican, to get more unpopular with his colleagues: he was forced, feet dragging, to announce he wouldn’t run for reelection after fellow Kentuckian and minority leader Mitch McConnell wouldn’t even endorse him. But tonight, he is pariah to a whole new level. …
The meeting has begun, between Republicans Mitch McConnell and John Boehner, Democrats Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer, and the senior White House staff, including President Obama.
This is the first of what Obama has promised to be monthly gatherings between Republicans and Democrats, and basically nobody has much hope that …
The Grand Ole Opry may have been next door but Sarah Palin preached to the choir on Saturday at the National Tea Party Convention and brought down the house. The two-day event, held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Hotel, had been a relatively placid affair – Tea Partiers learned how to social network and reach out to young …