Obama Hires Clinton Talent —to Avoid Clinton Mistakes

Obama's attorney-general pick helped commute sentences for PR nationalists

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama’s attorney-general nominee fought for clemency for 16 militant Puerto Rican nationalists during his time in the Clinton administration, the Los Angeles Times reports. Eric Holder pushed Justice Department subordinates to pave the way to Clinton’s clemency grant, documents show, sparking fury from law-enforcement officials who’d tackled a US bombing campaign by Puerto Rican groups. More»

30K resumes? Clintons? Veteran juggles it all for Obama

(NEWSER) - The man in charge of Barack Obama’s transition doesn’t just know where the levers of power are—he practically lives in the engine room. John Podesta is managing his immense task—juggling 30,000 resumes for 8,000 jobs, not to mention some big egos—with surprising calm, despite his reputation for a snappish temper. “Let’s just say my in-box is filled,” he tells the Washington Post. More»

Enough already with Harvard and Yale: blogger

(NEWSER) - The Supreme Court and White House may as well be decorated in ivy, complains David Bernstein. "Once Elena Kagan gets confirmed, every Supreme Court Justice will have attended Harvard or Yale law schools," he writes. And Kagan—whose bachelor's degree, for the record, is from Princeton—was nominated by a Harvard-educated president who beat Yale and Harvard opponents to succeed a Yalie who himself succeeded ... oh, you get the picture. More»

Clinton was still in contention in June: new memoir

(NEWSER) - The Obama campaign seriously considered Hillary Clinton for vice president, but ultimately the perception that her husband was "too big a complication" combined with bad memories from the primary campaign to sink her chances. Barack Obama “said if his central criterion measured who could be the best VP, she had to be included in that list," writes campaign manager David Plouffe in a new memoir, The Audacity to Win. More»

(NEWSER) - President Obama's job-approval rating slipped to 50% in Gallup poll results out today, a new low for the 10-month-old administration, the Los Angeles Times reports. The drawn-out health care reform debate apparently is dragging down the number, which hit 69% after the inauguration. The disapproval number is 43%. "It's real easy to stay popular in Washington if you don't do anything at all," a White House rep said. More»