Obama 2008

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April 2009
- Memo Release Paralyzes CIA 'Shadow Warriors'
  
  Washington Post | Apr 22, 09 12:25 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The ripples from the release of the torture memos continue to ruffle the CIA, David Ignatius writes for the Washington Post. “America will be better off, in the long run, for Obama's decision to expose the past practice of torture,” he acknowledges. “We all knew the political wind would change,” said one officer. Still, his complicit colleagues—despite Obama’s assurances that they won't be prosecuted—are “broken and bewildered.” More »
- 'Inaugurabilia' Reaps $2M for Ceremonies
  
  Associated Press | Apr 22, 09 11:31 AM CDT
  
  (AP) - Barack Obama's inauguration fundraisers had no problem capitalizing on a hot market for keepsakes. Obama-themed clothing, jewelry, rulers, and piggy banks raked in a grant total of $2 million for the inaugural committee. Even before the tchotchke change, the committee was already debt-free—the $53 million in individual donations disclosed earlier this week put total fundraising well ahead of the $50 million cost of the swearing-in. More »
- Livid Wall Streeters See Themselves as Victims
  
  New York | Apr 20, 09 4:03 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Main Street doesn’t hold a monopoly on victimhood, Gabriel Sherman writes in New York . From AIG execs and their disappearing bonuses to Wall Street bankers who get dirty looks, the once-privileged feel like they’re shouldering too much blame. “It is difficult to sympathize with these people,” Sherman writes, “but you can understand their shock: Their world has been turned on its head.” More »
- Chavez Gives Obama Book —on Colonial Oppression
  
  Politico | Apr 18, 09 9:51 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez gave President Obama a Spanish-language book today about the historical ravages visited on Latin America by colonial powers, Politico reports. The English title of the 1971 book by Eduardo Galeano is The Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent. The gift came as Obama met with Chavez and other Latin American leaders. More »
- Research on Embryonic Stem Cells to Get OK, With Caveat
  
  New York Times | Apr 17, 09 2:29 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Obama administration will issue new guidelines significantly expanding the scope of stem cell research in July, though some caveats leave scientists dubious, the New York Times reports. The new rules will likely allow federal funds to flow to researchers using surplus embryos created in fertility clinics, a practice the Bush administration outlawed. But more controversial—and potentially more effective—methods are still a no-no. More »
- Obama: We're Not 'Out of the Woods Just Yet'
  
  New York Times | Apr 14, 09 12:37 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - President Obama said today that the US faces a long slog in finding its way out of financial tumult, but emphasized that he is seeing signs of hope, the New York Times reports. "Times are still tough," he said. "By no means are we out of the woods just yet. But from where we stand, for the very first time, we are beginning to see glimmers of hope." While he issued no major policy initiatives, Obama reaffirmed his determination to reform Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, notes the Washington Post . More »
- 'Glimmers' of Economic Hope, But Work's Not Done: Obama
  
  Bloomberg | Apr 10, 09 1:32 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - After a meeting today with the administration's top economic officials, President Obama said he’s starting to see “glimmers of hope,” Bloomberg reports. The president noted that government loans to small business are up but cautioned, “We’ve still got a lot of work to do.” Factory orders are up for the first time since July and home buying continues to rise, but unemployment is expected to continue to climb. More »
- Obama Seeks $83.4B for Wars
  
  Associated Press | Apr 9, 09 5:13 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - President Obama will ask Congress for $83.4 billion in supplemental funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the AP reports. Obama had in the past opposed such requests outside of the federal budget, but the administration says it's necessary one final time to fund the military through the end of the year. “This will be the last supplemental for Iraq and Afghanistan,” said press chief Robert Gibbs. More »
- Economy's 'Free-Fall' Nearly Over: Summers
  
  The Hill | Apr 9, 09 4:14 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Top Obama economic adviser Lawrence Summers said today that measures to stabilize the economy will have a discernible effect in the next few months, the Hill reports. Loosening credit and an increased flow of inventory from manufacturers means the sense of “free-fall” will dissipate, though jobless numbers will continue to rise. We can’t “hold out the prospect that unemployment will stabilize,” Summers said. More »
- Cheney's 'Dead Wrong,' We're Safer: Biden
  
  CNN | Apr 7, 09 4:47 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Joe Biden begs to differ with Dick Cheney's view that the US is less safe under President Obama. Cheney is not “out of line, but he is dead wrong,” Biden told CNN. In fact, the Bush administration left the nation in its weakest state since WWII, stretched thin and with "virtually no respect" anywhere, said Biden. “We are safer today; our interests are more secure today than they were any time during the eight years” under Bush. More »
- Turks, Saudis Foil Obama Assassination Attempt
  
  CBS News | Apr 6, 09 3:08 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Turkish police have arrested a Syrian man who planned to try to assassinate President Obama, CBS News reports today. The Turks moved on the man, who appears to have been impersonating an Al-Jazeera correspondent, based on information from Saudi intelligence services. The plot was to be carried out in Istanbul, with the help of three accomplices. More »
- Obama Fakes Center, Goes Liberal
  
  Weekly Standard | Apr 4, 09 6:36 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - If President Obama were a quarterback, he’d be a master of the fake, Fred Barnes writes in the Weekly Standard . Using “misdirection,” he markets “his product—the liberal agenda, plus a few add-ons—in a manner that disguises what he's really up to.” While trumpeting the free market, Obama has effectively nationalized GM, co-opting management and imposing an environmentalist agenda, all while making it “sound like the corporate equivalent of car repair.” More »
- US May Soften on Iran Civil Nuke Program
  
  Financial Times (UK) | Apr 3, 09 2:54 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - In negotiations with Iran, the Obama administration may be willing to accept less than a complete halt of uranium enrichment activities for civil use, the Financial Times reports. Insiders say an internal review of the administration’s policies now under way will take into account the apparently immovable stance of the Iranian regime. The “zero enrichment solution, though still favored, simply is unfeasible,” a watcher said. More »
- Senate Panel's Tax Scrutiny Hampers Confirmations
  
  Time | Apr 3, 09 2:15 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The sheer number of tax-related problems that have slowed confirmation of Obama nominees has some insisting the process has become tougher, Time reports. Not so, says Sen. Charles Grassley. “We are vetting nominees for the current administration the same way we vetted nominees for the previous administration,” said the ranking Republican on the Finance Committee. More »
- Obama Polling Machine Kicks Into Gear
  
  Politico | Apr 3, 09 11:37 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - President Obama is increasingly reliant on polling data as he fine-tunes his budget pitch, relying on Washington outsiders in an operation more involved than his predecessor’s but less comprehensive than President Clinton’s. The process, sources tell Politico, is almost completely focused on pushing policy and not on measuring Obama’s popularity. Right-hand man David Axelrod is in charge of digesting the data. More »
- G20 Measures 'Necessary, But 'No Guarantees': Obama
  
  Associated Press | Apr 2, 09 2:38 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - President Obama touted the resolutions of the G20 summit today in London, saying swift and muscular action was needed to reverse the global economic downturn, the AP reports. Steps like the injection of funds into the IMF and the creation of a global regulatory body “were necessary,” he told a packed press conference. “Whether they were sufficient, we’ve got to wait and see.” More »
- Queen-Michelle PDA A-OK: Royal Court
  
  CNN | Apr 2, 09 1:10 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Michelle Obama’s hands-on encounter with Queen Elizabeth yesterday was not a breach of protocol, Buckingham Palace assures CNN. The two shared a surprising half-embrace, virtually unheard of from Her Highness. “It was a mutual and spontaneous display of affection and appreciation,” the Royal Press Office said. Besides, the reception where the PDA occurred was “an informal occasion.” More »
- April Fooled: Coulter Buys Obama Detroit NASCAR Ban
  
  Media Matters | Apr 2, 09 11:41 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Car & Driver managed to punk at least one blogger with an April Fools’ item about President Obama banning bailed-out automakers from NASCAR: Ann Coulter, reports left-leaning watchdog Media Matters. “With their racing budgets deemed ‘unnecessary expenditures,’” the article read, “GM and Chrysler are ordered to cease racing operations at the end of the season.” Coulter’s response was a livid one. More »
- Obama Meets With Hu, Plans Visit to China
  
  Time | Apr 1, 09 10:10 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - President Obama and Hu Jintao of China met today at the G20 summit in London and agreed to close cooperation on issues ranging from the economic crisis to global security, Time reports. Obama will travel to China later this year. Meanwhile, high-level representatives will meet in Washington during the summer to launch a "strategic and economic dialogue.” More »
March 2009
- Obama Eyes Syria as Path to Mideast Peace
  
  New Yorker | Mar 30, 09 5:00 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - President Obama may renew stalled talks between Israel and Syria, both to revive hopes of Mideast peace and isolate Iran, but the approach is laden with pitfalls, Seymour M. Hersh writes in the New Yorker . Some observers doubt Israel will ever move 20,000 settlers out of the Golan Heights—land that Syria demands to have back—and others warn Obama against negotiating with an ally of Iran that arms both Hamas and Hezbollah. More »