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
Amid all the hand-wringing over how would-be underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab somehow slipped through security gaps on Christmas Day, it’s easy to forget that anti-terrorism officials did yeoman’s work last fall by thwarting Najibullah Zazi’s plot to detonate bombs in New York City’s subway system. Zazi, an airport-shuttle …
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
–Leaders from 46 countries have descended on Washington for this week’s nuclear summit. Whether anything beyond mere symbolism can be achieved is not yet clear.
–The meeting to watch today? Obama’s sit-down with Chinese President Hu Jintao. He needs to lock up China’s support for U.N. …
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
–Bart Stupak is expected to announce his retirement today. The heat generated from an arduous year of health reform debate and his role in forging a compromise on abortion language seems to have taken their toll on the 18-year vet.
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 …
–President Obama heads to the Czech Republic on Wednesday night. He’s returning to the site of his April, 2009 speech on nonproliferation to sign a new …
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
–Democrats have been careful not to appear gleeful over promising economic news as the jobs market continues to struggle. Cautious optimism ruled the day Sunday even as the White House economic team reacted to a very positive unemployment report.
–Unemployment woes are
The White House isn’t just turning the other cheek to Hamid Karzai, though they’re not yet throwing counter-punches either. Following the Afghan president’s allegations of dastardly foreign meddling and fraud, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told a gaggle of reporters in his office this morning that the administration wants Karzai to …
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
–Dexter Filkins and Mark Landler describe a growing deficit of trust between the White House and Hamid Karzai.
–Obama prods him in an interview with Matt Lauer on “Today.”
–AHIP caved fairly quickly to the administration’s needling over pre-existing conditions for minors. The …
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
–Obama worked in an address to the troops and a sit-down with President Karzai in just six hours on the ground in Afghanistan. The brief weekend trip was his first to the nation as commander in chief. Michael tagged along to tell the tale.
–Reuters describes how the entire thing was …
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
–So health care is done for now. Congress is running off on recess and President Obama is headed to Camp David for the weekend. Everyone could probably use a rest.
–Majority Leader Reid, caught up in the moment, accidentally voted “no” on health care (again) yesterday before …
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