He Can't Say It Like He Wants to Anymore

Grassley says death panel language gone from Senate bill

(NEWSER) - The White House has chosen to fight fire with fire in its battle for health care reform, the Washington Post reports. An email from David Axelrod posted on the White House web site expresses bafflement at the "lies and distortions" of opponents. Axelrod, whose email went up after Sarah Palin defended her claims against death panels, suggests supporters strike back with “a chain e-mail of our own." He lays out Obama's broad goals as well as "common myths" about reform. More»

Sources say White House press secretary considering 2012 campaign role

(NEWSER) - White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs—who recently told reporters no major administration reshuffle was on the way—is likely to be headed for the exit himself as part of the overhaul, according to Politico. Gibbs is seriously considering stepping aside to work on President Obama's 2012 campaign, although no final decision has been made and administration officials haven't settled on a successor, say sources. More»

But Axelrod says Obama will veto any health care threat

(NEWSER) - Any Republican attempt to repeal health care reform legislation won't make it past President Obama's veto pen, top adviser David Axelrod tells the Huffington Post. The president is willing to give ground in other areas and is prepared to accept an across-the-board continuation of Bush-era tax cuts even for the wealthiest taxpayers, according to Axelrod. "We have to deal with the world as we find it—the world of what it takes to get this done," he said. More»

As big ticket failures abound, Emanuel's practicality could have helped

(NEWSER) - From health care reform to unemployment to Guantanamo Bay, many Washington insiders think President Obama would be much better off today had he listened to his brash-but-practical chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel. Top staffers like David Axelrod have a “strong view of the historic character Obama is supposed to be,” a supporter tells the Washington Post . But Emanuel “knows the geography better,” and is willing to do “the small, marginal things a White House could do to mitigate the problems on the Hill.” More»

President's miscalculations include scale, momentum

(NEWSER) - Scott Brown’s Senate victory in Massachusetts is the final nail in the coffin of the Obama administration’s first-year political strategy, John F. Harris and Carol E. Lee write for Politico . The miscalculations cover “three major counts":

• Believing 2008 was a game-changer: The Obama team thought the "election represented something seismic." But "the assumption that Obama would be swimming mostly with the current rather than often against it on issues such as health care, financial regulation and global warming was naive in retrospect."