Barack Obama

Read the latest post-presidency news about President Barack Obama on Newser.com

Stories 2541 - 2560 | << Prev   Next >>

Diplomatic Obama Our Own Spock
 Diplomatic  
 Obama Our 
 Own Spock 
OPINION
May 7, 2009 11:40 AM CDT

Diplomatic Obama Our Own Spock

Cool-headed 'cultural translator' appeals to Star Trek generation

(Newser) - With the release of Star Trek tomorrow, we’ll be seeing a lot of Spock again—but we’ve been watching his earthly counterpart all year. President Obama is our own version of the charismatic half-Vulcan, writes Jeff Greenwald for Salon. His cool head and appealing intellect tie him to...

Budget Cuts Trim 'Pennies, Not Dollars'

(Newser) - President Obama’s vow to scour the federal budget for savings hasn’t amounted to as much as many hoped, the Washington Post reports. The administration will today announce $17 billion in proposed cuts to 121 programs, a sliver of the $3.4 trillion budget. “Even if you got...

Oh, No! A Single Woman May Replace Souter
Oh, No! A Single Woman May Replace Souter
OPINION
May 6, 2009 9:41 AM CDT

Oh, No! A Single Woman May Replace Souter

Lack of a ring turns top female Supreme Court candidates into targets

(Newser) - David Souter is a lifelong bachelor, but the possibility of a bachelorette replacement has started an uproar. Why? Because those potential Supreme Court justices are women, and when a powerful woman is unmarried it "seems to make everyone think: lonely, misfit, or lesbian," write Dahlia Lithwick and Hanna...

A Doubting Washington Greets Karzai
 A Doubting 
 Washington 
 Greets Karzai 

ANALYSIS
May 6, 2009 7:46 AM CDT

A Doubting Washington Greets Karzai

Afghan president has 'plateaued,' diplomats say

(Newser) - Nearly eight years after the fall of the Taliban, Hamid Karzai comes to the White House today to meet an administration distinctly unimpressed with his governance of Afghanistan. In interviews with two dozen Washington officials, the Washington Post finds anger and frustration with a president overseeing a weak and corrupt...

Stakes Massive Ahead of Obama Af-Pak Summit

Zardari, Karzai in DC as Taliban surge in crumbling Pakistan

(Newser) - Barack Obama begins two days of talks with the leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan today as his administration faces what may be its first foreign policy crisis: rising militancy in the Swat Valley that threatens to spread across the nuclear-armed nation. Obama and his team are expected to pressure Asif...

Obama Attacks Tax Havens to Save Health Care: Reich

(Newser) - Offshore tax havens may not be fair, but they’ve been around for decades. So why is President Obama taking them on now, Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich asks in Salon. It’s not to try to keep jobs here, as the White House claims; the move might even drive...

How the Justice Confirmation Game is Played
How the Justice Confirmation Game is Played
Analysis
May 5, 2009 12:20 PM CDT

How the Justice Confirmation Game is Played

Prepare for a spectacle as the 3 branches, special interests collide

(Newser) - The process of replacing David Souter has begun in earnest, so get ready for “Washington at its best (or worst, depending on your perspective),” writes Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post. All three branches of government, and a boatload of special interests and egos, will brawl it out...

Big Biz, Dems Rebel on Offshore Tax Reforms

Business groups and lawmakers worry about effect on US competitiveness

(Newser) - President Obama’s plan to crack down on the tax practices of US-based multinationals has elicited much squawking from business groups and lawmakers who fear it may limit the competitiveness of American firms, the Hill reports. Even Democrats have greeted Obama’s proposals with trepidation: “I want to make...

Anthropology Book By Obama's Mom to Hit Shelves

Study of Indonesian craftsmen will hit shelves 14 years after her death

(Newser) - Barack Obama's mother died before she finished revising her Ph.D dissertation for publication, but two of her fellow anthropologists have now completed the job, reports the Chicago Tribune. Stanley Ann Dunham's Surviving Against the Odds: Village Industry in Indonesia—the study of blacksmiths and other rural craftsmen she completed...

How Obama Can Ensure Victory for His Justice
How Obama Can Ensure Victory for His Justice
OPINION
May 4, 2009 1:04 PM CDT

How Obama Can Ensure Victory for His Justice

Vet Souter's successor like heck, and talk to all the right people

(Newser) - If Barack Obama wants to avoid a drawn out battle over his Supreme Court nominee, Mark Halperin has some advice:
  • Vet the nominee exhaustively, and if anything comes up, make sure it comes out early and favorably.
  • Be ready to play up “whatever Horatio Alger elements” of the nominee’
...

Obama Kicks Off Radical College Aid Revamp

The administration's goals are both ambitious and controversial

(Newser) - President Obama’s education proposals have taken a backseat to the economy and health care, but the changes he proposes in student lending are about to ignite a fierce lobbying battle, the Washington Post reports. Obama’s plan to move all federal funds for student lending to the Department of...

White House Takes Aim at Offshore Tax Dodges

The Obama Administration will unveil details of its tax-haven crackdown today

(Newser) -  White House plans to curb offshore tax avoidance will be rolled out today, the Wall Street Journal reports, with the target on both US multinationals and wealthy individuals who are sheltering an estimated $700 billion in US earnings overseas. The plan takes particular aim at “deferral,” which...

Women Celebrate Michelle O.
 Women 
 Celebrate 
 Michelle O. 
OPINION
May 3, 2009 12:22 PM CDT

Women Celebrate Michelle O.

The 'tough' but 'normal' First Lady has a lot going for her, and is making the best of it all

(Newser) - Michelle Obama: Whether you see her as a role model for working moms, an angry black woman, a sensible style icon, or an irrepressible hugger, everyone seems to have an opinion about the new first lady. The Guardian got 12 prominent women to muse on the different sides of Michelle;...

Chrysler Downfall Gives Obama Leverage With GM
Chrysler Downfall Gives Obama Leverage With GM
ANALYSIS
May 2, 2009 2:24 PM CDT

Chrysler Downfall Gives Obama Leverage With GM

President has already shown he'll play hardball to resurrect a sputtering automaker

(Newser) - Chrysler’s spiral into bankruptcy may give the Obama administration leverage in drastically reshaping General Motors, David E. Sanger and Bill Vlasic write in the New York Times. GM bondholders now know Obama isn't kidding about bankruptcy court, and could fear being stuck with paltry court payouts. Obama's offer of...

Obama May Bring Back Military Terror Courts

(Newser) - Barack Obama is leaning towards reinstituting military commissions as a way of trying Guantanamo detainees, and could begin publicly doing so as soon as next week, officials tell the New York Times. Obama has been a staunch critic of the system, but the administration is increasingly worried about the hazards...

Building 'Brand Obama' Falls to Ex-Mardi Gras Queen

White House social secretary brings marketing savvy to the role

(Newser) - The White House is the jewel in the crown of the Obama brand and it’s her job to promote it, White House social secretary Desirée Rogers tells Amy Chozick of the Wall Street Journal. Rogers has taken the event-organizing role to a new level, Chozick writes, and unlike...

The White House Hits Twitter, Facebook, MySpace

(Newser) - The White House is now tweeting, Facebooking, and showing off President Obama's hoops skills on MySpace, the Washington Post reports. Following a election run that relied on social networking sites, the Obama administration is attracting online friends and followers with regular updates. As of this writing, nearly 80,000 are...

Edwards Cost Clinton Dearly: Penn
Edwards Cost Clinton Dearly: Penn
May 1, 2009 4:24 PM CDT

Edwards Cost Clinton Dearly: Penn

Ex-senator's fall from grace touches off second-guessing

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton strategist Mark Penn is kicking himself in the wake of reports that Elizabeth Edwards thinks her husband shouldn't have run for president, ABC News reports. If news of John Edwards' infidelity had forced him to drop out of the race, Penn said, “No question in my mind,...

Obama May Look Off-Court to Fill Souter Vacancy
Obama May Look Off-Court to Fill Souter Vacancy
ANALYSIS
May 1, 2009 7:54 AM CDT

Obama May Look Off-Court to Fill Souter Vacancy

Expect a woman from outside appeals circuit

(Newser) - With everyone attempting to predict President Obama's thinking on a nominee to replace David Souter on the Supreme Court, CBS News makes two observations. The White House has dropped hints that it wants someone who is not a federal appeals court judge—as all nine current justices once were. And...

Chrysler Bankruptcy Obama's Blunt Message to GM
Chrysler Bankruptcy Obama's Blunt Message to GM
OPINION
Apr 30, 2009 3:08 PM CDT

Chrysler Bankruptcy Obama's Blunt Message to GM

President not afraid to use 'the big stick' on ailing firms

(Newser) - In announcing Chrysler’s bankruptcy, President Obama shows other troubled firms and industries there’s a point where bailouts stop and hard choices begin—and that message must ring especially clear at General Motors, writes Tom Walsh for the Detroit Free Press. GM’s creditors will now be under a...

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