Ahh, the children and grandchildren. Politicians love to describe how big-bad Washington is robbing them blind. “Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren,” then Sen. Barack Obama declared in 2006, when he voted against raising the debt ceiling. “Passing on ever-increasing …
Barack Obama
Birtherism Is Dead, But the Birther Industry Continues
Of course, Donald Trump declared victory. “I am really honored and I am really proud, that I was able to do something that nobody else could do,” he said in New Hampshire Wednesday morning, after President Obama released the …
Political Deja Vu: Remembering that Other Gang of Six…
Count me among those skeptical that a new deficit summit/commission/gang will produce bipartisan consensus – and not just political theater. It’s no big secret what needs to be done to reduce the nation’s debt – raise taxes, cut spending or do both. While the details of what gets cut and who gets taxed are open to negotiation, …
Why Stakes Of Budget Showdown Are Bigger Than Passports, Trash and National Parks
In a matter of hours, not days, the country is likely to find out if trash will be picked up in Washington, D.C., next week, if Yosemite will temporarily shutter its gates, and if government-issued BlackBerrys will go silent. But there is something more than just the the smell of Washington city streets and views of Half Dome at play in …
Today In Twitter Wars: David Axelrod vs. Eric Fehrnstrom
Twitter wasn’t even a factor in the 2008 election. But that won’t be the case in 2012.
Exhibit A: Today’s impromptu tweet battle between President Obama’s top message adviser David Axelrod and Mitt Romney’s top communications adviser Eric Fehrnstrom.
It started when Fehrnstrom baited Axelrod with a tweet referring to Romney’s …
Obama Meets With His High-Tech Money, But It’s “Not A Fundraiser”
Air Force One took off at 3:20 p.m. Thursday, headed for the San Francisco Bay Area, where President Obama will dine with a high-powered group of high-tech executives to officially talk about innovation. “It’s not a fundraiser,” says White House Press Secretary Jay Carney.
But many of the invitees are among the biggest donors to …
Across Pennsylvania Ave., The Kumbaya Continues
Speaker John Boehner called it “a very nice lunch,” and sounded optimistic notes on finding “common ground.” Rep. Kevin McCarthy, another member of the GOP leadership, spoke of looking to places “where we can work together.” Rep. Eric Cantor praised “the need for all of us to work together.”
That was the news coming out of Wednesday’s …
Amid WikiLeaks Disclosures and Democratic Confusion, Obama Goes To Afghanistan
Like his last clandestine trip to Afghanistan in March, President Obama’s secret arrival Friday in the war-torn country is officially about one thing: Thanking U.S. troops for their service.”I would stress that the focus of our trip is really to see the troops and to see those that work at the embassy,” Gibbs told reporters on board Air …
In the ArenaUncategorized
Disgraceful
Just in time for Independence Day, we have Dorothy Rabinowitz pretty much calling the President of the United States unpatriotic:
Those qualities to be expected in a president were never about rhetoric; Mr. Obama had proved himself a dab hand at that on the campaign trail. They were a matter of identification with the nation and to all
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In the ArenaUncategorized
Bring it On?
Former Bush Deputy Commissar for Rove-Inspired Propaganda Pete Wehner has weighed in on the President’s “kick ass” comment to Matt Lauer and he was just shocked–shocked–by it. I agree it was pretty stupid and transparent: it smacked of Obama trying to prove that he was really, really pissed off about the oil spill. He probably is, but …
Public Perception of Oil Spill vs. Katrina
More Americans have a negative view of the federal government’s response to the oil spill than they did of the federal response to Hurricane Katrina, according to a just released ABC News/Washington Post poll. According to the survey, conducted June 3-6, 69% of respondents would rate the federal government’s response to the oil spill …
Was That Angry Enough?
Count me among those who are a little bored with the media narrative that President Obama doesn’t appear “angry” enough about the BP oil spill. Sure, symbolism is important in times like these and the public wants to know that its commander-in-chief is sufficiently engaged and cares about what’s happening. But shouldn’t the media focus …
1,000 Words: Beach Edition
President Obama on Louisiana’s Fourchon Beach today
REUTERS/Larry Downing