Obama's 'Macho' Stimulus Plan Forgets Women

(NEWSER) - President Obama “is currently just flinging stuff against the wall, in trillion-dollar chunks, to see what sticks,” and his plans for health care are no different, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal writes on Politico. Thanks to failed bailouts and a “trillion-dollar stimulus that has not stimulated,” America is up to its neck in deficits, and the Democrats’ health plans will drive up costs and decrease quality. "This here is a fine pot of gumbo," scolds Jindal, a GOP hopeful for 2012. More»

South Carolina teen becomes face of stimulus with plea for education funding

(NEWSER) - South Carolina eighth-grader Ty'Sheoma Bethea became the symbol of the stimulus package in President Obama's speech to Congress last night, WSAV reports. The president has repeatedly referred to Bethea's dilapidated school in his calls for spending on education infrastructure, and during his speech he quoted from a letter the 14-year-old wrote to Congress urging lawmakers not to neglect education. More»

President will push hard for the agenda he wants

(NEWSER) - President Obama got his way, more or less, on the stimulus, but the process demonstrated Congress' abiding disinterest in bipartisanship. For future big-ticket items—and there are a lot of them—the president will take a tougher approach, Mike Allen and Jonathan Martin write for Politico. Chief of staff Rahm Emanuel offers a preview: “He has an open hand, but he has a very firm handshake.” More»

Speech seen as message to tight-pursed GOP governors

(AP) - President Obama today urged the nation's governors to invest more state resources in education, saying that a highly skilled workforce is crucial for the US to remain competitive with other countries. "The fact is that too many states are making cuts in education that I think are simply too big," Obama said at his annual meeting with governors today. "Nothing more clearly signals what you value as a state than the decisions you make about where to invest. Budgets are about choices." More»

At least 28 more plan to seek one

(NEWSER) - Ten of the first 11 states to apply for a waiver from the controversial No Child Left Behind law will be freed from the law's requirements by President Obama today, the AP reports. Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oklahoma, and Tennessee received the waivers; New Mexico's application was not approved, but it is working with the White House to get the OK. Another 28 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, are expected to seek waivers in the future; the heavily populated states of California, Pennsylvania, and Texas are among those that have not yet signaled they will apply. More»