According to a Greg Sargent exclusive followed by a Peter Baker story, Rahm Emanuel asked Bill Clinton to approach Joe Sestak about not running in the Senate Democratic primary in Pennsylvania. Obama endorsed Arlen Specter and, according to Sargent:
The White House maintains that Clinton’s overtures to Sestak merely constituted an
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—No hard assurances yet that “top kill” will work, but man-in-charge Thad Allen sounds cautiously optimistic this latest method may work to stop the flood of BP oil into the Gulf of Mexico. For President Obama, taking heavy criticism for not being involved enough in the situation, a political disaster could be averted by a quick …
The first draft of history is always going to be controversial, especially when it’s on something as touchy as health care reform – monstrous legislation the full effects of which we will not know for years to come. So it should probably come as no surprise that Jonathan Alter’s take on Barack Obama’s first year in the White …
This ad may be the best Arlen Specter can do in the final week of his primary if Obama declines to come in for a final push:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-MqJFxMDOg]
(h/t PoliticsPA)
President Obama may have (one hopes inadvertently) killed the immigration bill prematurely last week, but that doesn’t mean that Senate Democrats aren’t still pushing ahead with the legislation. Senators Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer last week introduced a 22-page outline of a bill – noticeably without South Carolina Republican …
I would point out two things about the SEC suit: The investigation began well before Obama was elected president and Goldman was warned in July 2009 — hardly the height of financial reform debate — that charges were coming. From the Wall Street Journal:
Goldman said it first heard from the SEC about the investigation in August 2008,
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Republicans have been crying foul over the timing of last Friday’s Securities and Exchange Commission announcement of an investigation into wrong doing by Goldman Sachs. Yes, the timing – just as the Democratic push for financial regulatory reform seemed doomed and just as Goldman’s stock was approaching something close to where it …
I first met Dr. Dorothy Height nine years ago at the United Nations Summit on Racism in Durban, South Africa. I had the privilege of a quick interview during which she talked about co-writing the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights with former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt in 1948, nearly 20 years before passage of the Civil …
One advantage the GOP had in the health debate was its total disregard for nuance when it came to messaging. Again and again, Republicans over-simplified provisions in the Democratic plan and convinced a lot of Americans that reform was bad in the process. They said the bill would gut Medicare by slashing half a trillion dollars in …
President Barack Obama today announced his intention to make 15 recess appointments, signaling his frustration with the Senate’s foot dragging. The White House pointedly noted that these nominees have been waiting an average of 214 days for confirmation. Overall, the White house said, Obama has 217 nominees before the Senate who’ve …
“We feel like we’ve been pregnant for 17 months, let’s get on with it already.” Those were the words of Democrat Rep. Louise Slaughter, chairwoman of the House Rules Committee, on Saturday, as she moved health reform one step closer to the finish line.
Well put. After all the hearings and debates and town halls; after the Gang of Six …
Ohio Congressman and former presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich today announced his support for health care reform. Kucinich was one of two progressives who voted against the legislation when it passed the House in November on the grounds that it didn’t go far enough towards the single payer system they supported. The other member …
The White House has released parts of the health care statement President Obama will make today at 1:45 p.m. The President’s remarks are meant to give Democrats the confidence to follow the only available path left – a reconciliation package in the Senate and House passage of the underlying Senate bill. The statement will be a …