Obama Urges Bush to Help Automakers

President has raised taxes when business needs a break

(NEWSER) - Everyone loves a scapegoat. The American people have Wall Street fat cats, and President Obama has George W. Bush, writes David Harsanyi for the Denver Post. While Obama, "in a superbly eloquent and inspirational pitch, always reminds us that nothing is his fault," Harsanyi gripes, "nearly every initiative enacted in the first 50 days of the Obama administration has exacerbated what Bush started." More»

A rocky stretch this early won't define Obama's presidency

(NEWSER) - Stop worrying. “Sure, President Obama had a lousy week. A week is not a presidency.” In fact, writes Ruth Marcus in the Washington Post, despite Tom Daschle's withdrawal and the bumpy rollout of the stimulus, Obama is outperforming any reasonable standard. He’s signed major laws on pay equity and children’s health care, and his stimulus—finally passed—only barely differs from his original proposal. More»

Joe says Obama never called back; politicos talk bailouts on TV

(NEWSER) - Joe Lieberman told Meet the Press today that he regrets "some things I said in the heat of the campaign that I wish I'd said more clearly," and hopes Barack Obama will put, er, "country first" by leading in a bipartisan fashion. Lieberman said he called Obama during the campaign, but, oddly, never heard back from him, Politico reports. In other talk shows:

• On Fox News Sunday, Obama adviser David Axelrod urged the next Congress to create a new multi-billion-dollar bailout plan to create jobs, The Hill reports. “We don’t have time to waste here,” Axelrod said.

A 'prepackaged' plan likely would include government financing, take less time

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama’s transition team is looking at a streamlined, “prepackaged” bankruptcy for the Big Three automakers, Bloomberg reports. In a “prepack,” the companies already would have financing lined up when they go to court, and would have to reach agreements with banks, workers, and suppliers. The government likely would provide financing, but it “limits government financial commitment,” one lawyer said. More»

But Friday rally can't heal brutal weekly losses

(NEWSER) - Stocks gained today despite a big bump in unemployment last month and poor earnings reports, MarketWatch reports. The indexes looked positioned for another late-Friday bloodbath but instead rose sharply in what could be a vote of confidence for President-elect Obama’s economic team. The Dow rose 248.02 to 8,943.81. The Nasdaq gained 38.70 to 1,647.40, and the S&P 500 climbed 25.87 to close at 930.75. More»