Barack Obama

(Newser) - As Barack Obama’s inauguration brings one thing once deemed impossible—a black US president—it will be accompanied by the renewal of another seemingly intractable issue, David Remnick writes in the New Yorker : the Arab-Israeli conflict. Obama claims to understand “the obligation to repair the world” set out in the Talmud; “the obligation of constant engagement is deep; the cost of negligence is paid in blood,” Remnick writes. More »

(Newser) - Barack Obama's studied silence on the Gaza attacks—there’s only one president at a time, and so on—isn’t playing well in the Middle East, writes Simon Tisdall in the Guardian . “Foreign wars don't wait for Washington inaugurations,” Tisdall notes. Many Arabs and Muslims “cannot understand why, given his promise of change, he has not spoken out.” More »

(Newser) - Bill Richardson’s Cabinet nomination was big for the Hispanic community, and with the New Mexico governor backing out, Politico reports, Latino leaders are pushing Barack Obama to choose another of their own for the Commerce slot. Says the head of one group, “We hope we can keep that intact.” More »

(Newser) - President-elect Obama’s visit to Capitol Hill today is as much about an economic stimulus package as it is about stimulating the White House-Congress relationship neglected by Bill Clinton and George W Bush, writes Manu Raju in Politico. A bipartisan, inclusive approach should earn Obama points with lawmakers—but if he’s too pliant, he could quickly develop a reputation for weakness. More »

(Newser) - Like millions of other children, the Obama girls returned to school today. Unlike the rest of the nations’ kids, they were accompanied by a cadre of police, Secret Service agents, and media, the Washington Post reports. The Obama family’s new life in Washington is off to its official start, with the president-elect acknowledging that leaving his Chicago home yesterday left him “choked up,” the Chicago Tribune reports. More »

(Newser) - Nancy Pelosi is thrilled to work with “a president whose vision I respect and whose agenda I will help stamp” after 2 years of butting heads with Republicans, she tells the New York Times . The speaker of the House doesn’t mind ceding her role as the face of the Democratic Party to Barack Obama, but it may take some adjustment, say some. More »

(Newser) - For decades economists believed that a second Great Depression was impossible; all the Fed had to do, they said, is print more money. But as Paul Krugman writes, monetary policy has failed; despite "supplying liquidity like an engine crew trying to put out a five-alarm fire," credit remains elusive and the economy is tanking. For the New York Times columnist, only fiscal policy—that is, massive government spending—can stave off a repeat of the 1930s. More »