The right and the left are taking President Obama to task over his involvement in Libya. House Speaker John Boehner sent the President a letter on Tuesday informing him that as of this weekend, he will be in violation of the War …
Barack Obama
Debt Limit Talks Enter Crunch Time, But Negotiators Remain Far Apart
Between now and August 2, Congress is highly likely to vote to raise the federal debt limit. And yet, much of what you read and hear seems to suggest otherwise. News headlines are forbidding. Business gurus issue dark warnings; …
GOP to Obama: End the Mediscare Strategy
It’s a little hard to take seriously the Republicans trying to shame Obama and other Democrats out of vilifying Paul Ryan’s plan to overhaul Medicare. GOP lawmakers and candidates for office – although not Ryan primarily …
At AIPAC, President Obama Distinguishes Between Israel And Its Leadership
For the better part of half a century, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee has fought for a singular goal: To rally United States government support for the policy goals of the Israeli government. On Sunday, President Obama appeared before AIPAC’s annual conference to argue that the interests of Israel and its government, led by …
Q&A: The White House Economic Team’s Departing Lefty
Jared Bernstein, the most prominent Manhattan School of Music alumnus on the White House economic team, has left his job as Vice President Biden’s chief economist. He was the most liberal member of the team, so it’s no …
Austin, Texas: Obama’s Home Away From Home
Barack Obama’s first visit to the U.S.-Mexico border as President is the main attraction of Tuesday’s Lone Star state swing. Obama will tour a cargo facility and give a speech in El Paso, the latest effort in a push to court a …
Pawlenty in Iowa: Let’s Get This Campaign Started
It’s a long way from Abbottabad and the White House Situation Room, but in Adel, Iowa, last night, about 100 locals turned up at their town library to take the measure of a leading GOP presidential candidate, Tim Pawlenty. With …
Official: Bin Laden Mission Was Kill Or Capture, Not Just Kill
Reuters’ Mark Hosenball is reporting that the U.S. special forces that raided Osama bin Laden’s compound Sunday were under orders to kill the terrorist leader, not capture him. But an administration official tells TIME that the report is not accurate.
“No U.S. forces go in and, if someone surrenders to them, will kill them,” the …
Political Vindication in Obama’s Bin Laden Speech
This is an exciting day–I can’t remember ever feeling jubilant about someone’s death before–and it’s probably lame to start dissecting the politics. Especially since the basic politics are no-duh obvious: This is a really great day for President Obama. But since this is supposed to be a blog about politics, and the dissections have …
Killing Bin Laden: A Pivotal Political Moment for Obama
When American troops dragged Saddam Hussein from his spider hole in Dec. 2003, the political implications seemed huge: Pundits quickly asked whether George W. Bush had just clinched reelection, whether the anti-war candidate Howard Dean was now “toast”, and whether public support for the Iraq war might surge. But in the end, Saddam’s …
After Bin Laden: A Stronger America
President Obama walked down an empty corridor to the East Room of the White House on Sunday night to announce the killing of Osama bin Laden. It was like he was walking out of a forgotten dream. Remember that quest we began …
Conservatives Go After Another Obama Pastor
The Obamas ended up attending Shiloh Baptist Church in Washington’s Shaw neighborhood (and three blocks from my house–thanks for the wake-up via low-flying security helicopters, Mr. President) for Easter services on Sunday. Obama himself has said that the First Family doesn’t plan on joining a Washington-area church, so this was just a …
Outside Group Spending: A Tale of Two Barack Obamas
This is a tale of two Barack Obamas.
The first Barack Obama appears in December of 2007. It’s just a few days until the Iowa caucuses, and a shadowy third-party group with ties to John Edwards is about to start running ads, …