Obama 2008

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March 2009
- White House Favors Managed Bankruptcy for Chrysler, GM
  
  Wall Street Journal | Mar 30, 09 4:05 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Obama administration’s favored plan to rescue GM and Chysler is a managed bankruptcy that would relieve them of their biggest liabilities by splitting the carmakers into “good” and “bad” components, the Wall Street Journal reports. The “good” GM would comprise profitable brands like Chevy and Cadillac as a standalone concern. The “good” Chrysler would become a subsidiary of Fiat, if that deal is finalized. More »
- ACLU: Lobbyist Rules Restrict Free Speech
  
  Politico | Mar 28, 09 1:34 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The ACLU and other watchdog groups on both the left and right think President Obama is carrying his crusade against lobbyists too far, Politico reports. Obama's recent directive forbidding government officials from discussing how to spend the stimulus with lobbyists infringes on free speech, they say. The groups plan to send a formal letter of protest to the White House next week. More »
- Bank CEOs' Obama Meeting Spurs Talk of Togetherness
  
  Bloomberg | Mar 27, 09 2:40 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - CEOs of the nation’s largest banks today assured President Obama they understand their institutions are vital to economic recovery and pledged to do all they can to help the government, Bloomberg reports. Following today’s White House meeting, Wells Fargo’s CEO said “the basic message” of the powwow “is we’re all in this together.” More »
- Budget Debate Devolves Into Verbal Slugfest
  
  The Hill | Mar 26, 09 4:24 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The White House today ridiculed a budget proposal laid out by House Republicans, but the GOP gave as good as it got, the Hill reports. Spokesman Robert Gibbs said the GOP document included a “picture of a windmill” but no substantive numbers. “It took me several minutes to read it,” he quipped. “I think the ‘party of no’ has become the party of no new ideas.” More »
- Dems to GOP: Draft Your Own Budget
  
  The Hill | Mar 26, 09 1:26 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Frustrated Senate Democrats today urged their GOP counterparts to stop criticizing President Obama’s proposed budget and provide an alternative, the Hill reports. “If it were easy to write a budget, then the Republicans would be writing one,” Dick Durbin said. Republicans responded that as the minority, that wasn’t their responsibility. “We will offer a series of alternatives by amendment,” a spokesman said. More »
- Obama Will Meet With Top Bank Execs
  
  Reuters | Mar 25, 09 11:33 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Amid growing dissatisfaction with government restrictions on bailout funds, President Obama will meet with bank CEOs on Friday, Reuters reports. Several banks have indicated that they will repay their TARP loans to avoid new government rules. In the meeting with execs from Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and others, Obama will urge them to “look beyond our own short-term interests,” an aide said. More »
- Bishop to Skip Obama Event Over Stem Cells, Abortion
  
  Associated Press | Mar 24, 09 3:46 PM CDT
  
  (AP) - The Roman Catholic bishop whose diocese includes the University of Notre Dame says he will boycott President Obama's May 17 commencement speech at the school because of Obama's support for abortion rights and embryonic stem-cell research. John D'Arcy said today that Obama's recent decision to fund embryonic stem-cell research brought the US government for the first time "into supporting direct destruction of innocent human life." More »
- No, Bloggers: Obama Doesn't Think Chirac Is French Prez
  
  Christian Science Monitor | Mar 23, 09 12:39 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The tone of a letter from President Obama to Jacques Chirac has some in the blogosphere wondering if Obama knows that Chirac is no longer the president of France, writes Jimmy Orr in the Christian Science Monitor reports. “Doesn’t Obama ever consult his staff before acting?” one concerned blogger wrote. Tempting hypothesis, but no: Obama’s letter is simply a response to one from Chirac on behalf of his foundation. More »
- New Solicitor General in Line for High Court
  
  Associated Press | Mar 21, 09 4:48 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Elena Kagan became America's first female solicitor general yesterday, putting her one step closer to a possible Supreme Court nomination, the AP reports. As the so-called "10th Supreme Court justice," Kagan will effectively audition for the high court if she argues a Voting Rights Act case next month. Justices will also routinely ask Kagan's opinion on cases before taking them up. More »
- Lobbying Rules Also Ensnare Do-Gooders
  
  Washington Post | Mar 21, 09 3:49 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Obama administration’s strict new rules on lobbying—aimed at stopping stereotypical DC weasels from cashing in—are also tripping up do-gooders, the Washington Post reports. Activists who work for non-profits and charities, many of whom registered as lobbyists for reasons of transparency and have a yen to work in the administration, are out of luck, too. More »
- Obama 'Kowtowing' to Iran: Kristol
  
  Weekly Standard | Mar 21, 09 1:45 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - President Obama’s recent address to Iran isn’t just weak, and it doesn’t just backpedal—it’s flat out “kowtowing,” William Kristol writes in the Weekly Standard . Unlike President Bush, Obama shows minimal respect for the Iranian people. Instead, he focuses on extending an olive branch to their repressive leaders. “He believes that we should speak nicely to our enemies, and carry no stick.” More »
- Health Care Debate Turns Nastier
  
  Politico | Mar 21, 09 12:45 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The claws have come out in the Capitol Hill debate on whether the government should create a public insurance plan to compete with private insurers, Politico reports. One of the first tangible signs begins today with an advocacy group's TV ad campaign against Sen. Charles Grassley in his home state of Iowa. Grassley has been the most vocal opponent of a public plan, arguing the government is “an unfair competitor” that would run private companies out of business. More »
- Krugman on Toxic Assets Plan: 'What an Awful Mess'
  
  New York Times | Mar 21, 09 11:51 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Obama administration’s new plan for dealing with toxic bank assets is “creating massive moral hazard,” Paul Krugman blogs in the New York Times . The idea of providing taxpayer money to insure the purchase of possibly worthless assets is equivalent to the poor practices laid bare in the Savings & Loan scandal of the 1980s. “This is an open invitation to play heads I win, tails the taxpayers lose,” Krugman writes. "The zombie ideas have won." More »
- If I Knew, I Would Have 'Rejected' Legislation: Dodd
  
  CNN | Mar 20, 09 5:10 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Sen. Chris Dodd says that if he had known the purpose of changes to legislation he drafted for the stimulus package, he “would have flatly rejected it,” CNN reports. Dodd’s rewrite, at the behest of unnamed Treasury officials, allowed AIG and others receiving federal assistance to dole out millions in previously promised bonuses. The Connecticut Democrat says he was led to believe that the changes were “technical and innocuous,” and that he agreed “reluctantly.” More »
- Obama Visit Lights Up Conservative Orange County
  
  Los Angeles Times | Mar 18, 09 11:52 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - President Obama will speak today at a town hall meeting in deep-red Orange Country, Calif.—though maybe the “conservative stronghold” tag is weakening, the Los Angeles Times reports. Hundreds swarmed the event site for tickets, even camping out overnight to get them in an area that gave Obama 48% of the vote. “We want to see our president because we believe in him,” said one. More »
- Obama Picks His Final Four
  
  ESPN | Mar 18, 09 11:13 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - President Obama has followed through on a campaign promise and filled out an NCAA basketball tournament bracket for ESPN, the sports network reports. Obama pledged in October to edify the college basketball audience with his picks, provided he won the election. His Final Four? Louisville, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, and Memphis. He's got UNC winning the title. More »
- Amid Recession, Obama to Prod Weary DNC Donors
  
  Bloomberg | Mar 16, 09 4:20 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - President Obama is set to address a Democratic fundraiser later this month—the first such event of his presidency—but the money might not flow from donors cowed by recession and overextended after the recent election, Bloomberg reports. “Nonetheless,” said a White House deputy press secretary, “the president feels a responsibility to help Tim Kaine build a party that will be an effective force for progress,” referring to the new DNC chair. More »
- Obama Will Hit Tonight Show Again
  
  New York Times | Mar 16, 09 12:23 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Barack Obama will appear on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno this Thursday during his tour of Southern California, the New York Times reports. Obama was a guest on Leno during the campaign, but sitting presidents rarely appear on late-night television. Aides say Obama will address issues related to the economy and be “as funny as the times allow.” More »
- Irish Home of Prez's Ancestor Has O'Bama Fever
  
  Los Angeles Times | Mar 13, 09 3:18 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Moneygall, Ireland, has two pubs, 298 people, and happens to be the birthplace of Barack Obama’s great-great-great-grandfather, the Los Angeles Times reports. The fact is not lost on the quaint hamlet, where one pub flies an American flag and the plumbing supply company uses the president’s face in its ads. “There’s a definitive blood link between our family and Barack Obama,” said one eighth cousin. More »
- Obama's Lobbyist Ban Haunting Him
  
  Politico | Mar 13, 09 8:15 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - President Obama’s campaign pledge to run a lobbyist-free White House is coming back to haunt him, writes Jonathan Martin in Politico. The problem is that there’s an army of Democratic specialists in hard-to-master policy areas who worked as lobbyists during the Bush administration—and they're all off-limits. “This town is filled with crackerjack tax attorneys, but you can go bowling in the Treasury hallway and not hit anybody,” says one lobbyist. More »