Clinton administration

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Bill Clinton, aka 'President of the World'

Chris Matthews' glowing TV special focuses on years since office

(Newser) - To most of us, he's "the former president," "Bill Clinton," or maybe "Bubba." But to Chris Matthews on this Presidents' Day, Clinton is President of the World, the name of his much ballyhooed, frenetic TV special airing tonight at 10pm. Taking a look at...

Obama Names Gene Sperling Top Economic Adviser
Obama Names Gene Sperling
Top Economic Adviser
UPDATED
Jan 7, 2011 11:15 AM CST

Obama Names Gene Sperling Top Economic Adviser

He's done the job before, under Clinton

(Newser) - President Obama named current Treasury adviser Gene Sperling as his next top economic aide today, taking over for Larry Summers as director of the National Economic Council, the AP reports. It’s familiar territory, the Los Angeles Times adds: Sperling had the same job under Bill Clinton, and he faced...

Kagan Pushed to Ban Late-Term Abortions in '97

Told Clinton that otherwise he risked GOP veto

(Newser) - As a White House adviser in 1997, Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan urged then-President Bill Clinton to support a ban on late-term abortions, a political compromise that put the administration at odds with abortion rights groups, according to documents reviewed by the AP. Kagan told Clinton that if he didn't...

Clinton-Led Recovery Is the Last Thing Haiti Needs

Unofficial aid czar has a record of corrupt dealings

(Newser) - Bill Clinton's high-profile, perpetually teary-eyed presence on the ground in Haiti has snagged him the unofficial role of aid czar in the rebuilding effort, Mary Anastasia O'Grady writes in the Wall Street Journal , and that's very bad news for Haitians. As president, O'Grady writes, Clinton did plenty to show he...

2010 Won't See Another Republican Revolution
2010 Won't See Another Republican Revolution
OPINION
Sep 29, 2009 9:38 AM CDT

2010 Won't See Another Republican Revolution

Parallels with 1994 are exaggerated

(Newser) - Hopeful Republicans are starting to play up the similarities between 1994 and 2010 but any talk of a second Republican Revolution is probably just wishful thinking, writes Ed Kilgore in the New Republic. The Republican capture of the House in '94 was made possible by retiring Democrats—some 22 of...

Historian Sheds Gossipy Light on Clinton Years

In new book, ex-prez discusses Lewinsky, Yeltsin's drunken caper

(Newser) - Between 1993 and 2001, historian Taylor Branch met regularly with then-President Clinton for a series of taped interviews. The transcripts form the basis of a new book, The Clinton Tapes: Wrestling History with the President, to be released next week. USA Today got a look and singles out some highlights:...

Liberals Ought to Ditch the Public Option
Liberals Ought to Ditch the Public Option
OPINION
Sep 8, 2009 11:40 AM CDT

Liberals Ought to Ditch the Public Option

An incentivized private market can cover everyone, at lower cost

(Newser) - Liberals need to abandon the notion that no health care reform is acceptable without a public option, former Clinton aide and health industry consultant Matt Miller writes in the Washington Post. Progressives’ top priority should be to make sure every American can access group coverage outside an employment setting, and...

Clinton Health Care Defeat Molds Dem Strategy

Democrat's all-encompassing issue is 'too big to drop,' warn Bill's aides

(Newser) - Top aides to Senate Democrats met with former Clinton administration advisers before the congressional summer break in another bid to determine where the last health care reform push went wrong, and how to avoid a repeat of the mistakes, reports the New York Times. Here are a few of the...

Obama Success Could Hinge on Address

Big speech to Congress next week likely to make or break health care reform

(Newser) - Barack Obama's address to a  joint session of Congress next Wednesday could well be the biggest moment of his presidency, Nate Silver writes in FiveThirtyEight. Two-thirds of voters are still confused about the president's plans for health care, and this speech will be a make-or-break chance to give them some...

Sorry, Mr. President, Nobody Likes Change

Let's reform health care, as long as it can stay the same

(Newser) - If you listen to pandering politicians or ranting radio hosts, you’d think Americans want big, far-reaching change right away. They might disagree on what change, but nobody likes the way things are. Well, you’d be wrong, writes Michael Kinsley for the Washington Post. As the health care debate...

Obama's Approval Rating Sinks to 50%

(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...

On Health Care, Left Should Cut Deals
 On Health Care, Left 
 Should Cut Deals 
OPINION
Aug 13, 2009 7:43 AM CDT

On Health Care, Left Should Cut Deals

(Newser) - Presidents from FDR to Nixon to Clinton tried and failed to reform the health care system, but with Barack Obama closer than ever before, the left is already blasting him for compromising too much. That's a shame, writes Clinton strategist Paul Begala, who regrets "setting the bar at 100%"...

Welfare Rolls Soar Along With Unemployment

Many make shift as jobless benefits run out

(Newser) - Welfare rolls are on the rise nationwide for the first time since President Clinton signed a bill overhauling the system in 1996, the Wall Street Journal reports. Welfare recipients’ ranks fell in some areas at the beginning of the recession, but now 23 of the 30 biggest US states are...

On Hot-Button Issues, Obama Keeps Cool
On Hot-Button Issues, Obama Keeps Cool
Analysis
Apr 22, 2009 10:56 AM CDT

On Hot-Button Issues, Obama Keeps Cool

Takes steps thought to be sudden death for pols—and scores

(Newser) - Barack Obama has been “dancing on cultural third rails with seeming impunity,” reports Jonathan Martin of Politico. He’s gone to France and called America “arrogant,” liberalized relations with Cuba, and eased up on medical marijuana—all moves that Bill Clinton wouldn’t have touched with...

Lefty Lobbyists Ready for Battle

(Newser) - Toughened by years in the political wilderness, liberal lobbyists are organized and ready to support President Obama on issues ranging from health care to taxing the rich, the New York Times reports. “This is no longer going to be Barack Obama standing by himself getting pilloried by the special...

Emanuel and 3 Pals Never Miss Their Morning Calls

Emanuel, Carville, Begala, Stephanopoulos talk every day

(Newser) - Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel may have his hands full these days, but not too full to touch base every single morning with three longtime pals: James Carville, George Stephanopoulos, and Paul Begala, reports Politico. The four Dems never skip the chance to trade information and gossip, often in...

Supreme Court Strikes Down Web Porn Law

Overturns Child Online Protection Act on 1st Amendment grounds

(Newser) - The US Supreme Court closed the door today on legislation designed to protect children from Internet pornography, the New York Times reports. The legislation, which was signed into law in 1998 but never took effect, was repeatedly struck down on First Amendment grounds. It set strict fines and jail time...

Bush White House Empties Out Today

Staffers wistful as all traces of them get wiped away

(Newser) - By the close of business today, the White House will be almost empty of staff, reports Politico. By Monday, there will be no physical trace of the Bush administration left in the building, as if 8 years of history could be unwritten by the crew of cleaners and painters. Says...

Holder Pushed Clemency for Puerto Rican Militants

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...

OSHA Gutted by Bush White House
OSHA Gutted by
Bush White House

Dec 29, 2008 12:23 PM CST

OSHA Gutted by Bush White House

Safety standards eased in response to industry pressure

(Newser) - Under President Bush, political appointees at OSHA caved to industry pressure by withdrawing or watering down workplace health and safety regulations, the Washington Post reports. From 2001 to 2007, the agency issued 86% fewer "economically significant" rules than it did under Clinton. It's "like turning a ketchup bottle...

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