Barack Obama

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

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Inaugural Bibles: Past Presidential Picks

Lincoln provided the Bible, but Obama must turn to others for verse ideas

(Newser) - As Barack Obama prepares to take the oath of office Tuesday with his hand on the Lincoln Bible, the Wall Street Journal offers a sample of the Bibles other presidents have chosen—and the passages they've chosen to open them to. Eisenhower, Carter, and Bush Sr. took their oaths on...

Obama Staffers Stocking Up on Midnight Oil

President may encourage having families to White House for evening meals

(Newser) - The early-bird White House of the Bush administration is almost history, Politico reports. Unlike President Bush, who was usually out the door by 6pm, President-elect Obama’s staffers are expecting long, late hours to match their heavy workload. The Obama team is already working on ways to keep workers in...

Holder: Waterboarding Is Torture

But supports FISA, Patriot Act

(Newser) - Eric Holder minced no words when asked about waterboarding in his confirmation hearing today. “Waterboarding is torture,” the AG-designate said, a declaration neither Michael Mukasey nor Alberto Gonzales was willing to make. He said that, even in emergencies, the president couldn’t override the constitution. Republicans also leapt...

GOP Still on Board With Geithner Despite Tax Errors

Treasury nominee 'going to be just fine' with bigger problems he'll be facing

(Newser) - Timothy Geithner’s tax mistakes are minor compared with how much he could contribute as Treasury secretary, Republican leaders say. “I don’t think we can get a better person for this position,” Senate Finance Committee No. 2 Orrin Hatch told the Washington Post. Geithner’s errors include...

Biden Plans to Shrink VP Power
 Biden Plans to Shrink VP Power 
Interview
Jan 15, 2009 10:05 AM CST

Biden Plans to Shrink VP Power

But he'll be 'the guy in the room'

(Newser) - Most vice presidents enter office wanting to grab power and make a name for themselves. Not Joe Biden. The VP-elect is determined to roll back Dick Cheney’s massive power grab, he tells the New York Times. Will that make him less effective? “The only value of power is...

Marketers Have Inauguration Fever, Too

Companies tie products, events to Obama's big day

(Newser) - Marketers for products from cognac to commemorative coins are looking to cash in on Barack Obama’s Tuesday inauguration, the New York Times reports. “Obamabilia” includes bottles of Hennessy with a “44” on the label, special magazine issues, and Tshirts galore. Other companies, like Quaker Oatmeal, are hosting...

Critics Question Toughness of Obama's SEC Pick

Confirmation hearing today for Schapiro

(Newser) - As Mary Schapiro, Barack Obama's nominee to lead the SEC, heads to Capitol Hill to face Senate confirmation hearings today, questions linger about her light touch with big Wall Street firms. A seasoned regulator, Schapiro nevertheless spent much of last year cracking down on small brokerages and minor players, reports...

Approval Ratings: Obama 71%, Bush 34%

(Newser) - Barack Obama can seem to do little wrong in the eyes of the public. About 71% of Americans approve of his efforts in a new Wall Street Journal/NBC poll. The results, which show that just 14% disapprove of him, are largely unchanged from December. President Bush, by contrast, will leave...

Obama Meets With Lefty Media Pundits

Convo with liberals follows dinner with conservatives

(Newser) - Barack Obama recalibrated his bipartisan scale today, CNN reports, meeting with liberal commentators a day after convening with conservative writers at columnist George Will's home. The left-leaners included Maureen Dowd and Frank Rich of the New York Times and MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow. Obama aides remain mum about both off-the-record...

Obama Pens Hopeful Letter to Daughters

President-elect cites Sasha, Malia as inspiration, encourages them to aim high

(Newser) - Barack Obama sets out his hopes and dreams for his daughters, and everyone in America, in an open letter in Parade. “I want to tell you a little more about why I decided to take our family on this journey,” the president-elect writes of the jarring effects of...

Bailout Hasn't Failed, But Banks Need More

(Newser) - The Wall Street bailout has not failed, but it hasn’t worked yet, either, as evidenced by the renewed call from Barack Obama and the Fed to release more TARP funds, the New York Times reports. Banks that received bailout funds are clamoring for more to stabilize their finances, but...

Celeb Chef Plans Inaugural Fete
 Celeb Chef Plans Inaugural Fete 
Jan 14, 2009 12:48 PM CST

Celeb Chef Plans Inaugural Fete

(Newser) - Alice Waters is heading to Washington, and the inauguration eve dinner prepared by one of the country's highest-profile chefs is one of the capital’s hottest tickets, the Huffington Post reports. The Chez Panisse founder says she hopes the event will highlight her advocacy of local food and communal eating....

Obama Will Get Next $350B, Pelosi Signals

Speaker sees close vote on authorizing remaining bailout funds

(Newser) - Barack Obama will get the $350 billion in bailout funds he’s asking for, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi indicated today on ABC’s Good Morning America. The Democrat didn’t explicitly guarantee victory in what’s expected to be a close vote, but said she believed Obama would get the...

Poll: Nation Prefers a Mutt for Obamas

43% want first family to get pooch from shelter

(Newser) - A majority of Americans think the First Family should adopt a mutt, according to an AP poll. While the nation’s pet-less are split on the issue, pet owners, who represent 60% of the population, went 2-1 in favor of a mixed breed. That may not be enough to sway...

With Obama, Introspection Makes a Comeback

President-elect is pragmatic, but his thinking is mysterious

(Newser) - Looking at President Bush gets John Dickerson wondering, in Slate, if anything complex is going on behind the simple facade (Answer: Probably not). President-elect Obama prompts a different question: “How much of his true thinking is he actually sharing with us?” Obama, unlike Bush, is deeply self-reflective, and seems...

Hot Tickets Lead to Inaugural Scalping

Congress not pleased with Inaug. scalping

(Newser) - DC’s hottest tickets are to Tuesday's Inauguration, and with only 240,000 available, scalped tickets are starting to show up on Craigslist, Politico reports. Says an economist, “You can’t stop supply and demand.” But congressional offices, which distribute the tickets, are trying. “It’s the...

'A-Student' Hillary Aces Her Senate Hearing
'A-Student' Hillary Aces Her Senate Hearing
OPINION
Jan 14, 2009 8:07 AM CST

'A-Student' Hillary Aces Her Senate Hearing

Forget Geithner, it's Clinton who's queen of the 'hot nerds': Dowd

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton breezed through her Senate confirmation hearing yesterday, writes Maureen Dowd, "performing as the A-student she always is" on topics from nuclear proliferation to governance in the Arctic. While Tim Geithner got caught up in controversy over back taxes, Hillary charmed the windy John Kerry and buttered the...

Obama Team Scrambles to Save Geithner

PR blitz tackles nominee's tax, immigration issues

(Newser) - Barack Obama's transition team distributed talking points defending Timothy Geithner within minutes of emerging news on the Treasury nominee's tax and immigration issues, Politico reports. The PR push stressed that Geithner had paid off all his back taxes and that his former housekeeper's legal status did not lapse until the...

Hollywood Decorator's New Gig: White House

(Newser) - This is one transition pick who won't have to sit through confirmation hearings: Michelle Obama has chosen an interior decorator from Los Angeles for the family's private quarters in the White House, Domino magazine reports. Michael Smith has previously done work for the likes of Steven Spielberg, Dustin Hoffman, Michelle...

Please, White Folks: Let Us Have DC for the Big Day

You've had 43 chances to see a white prez inaugurated, after all; how about a day of atonement?

(Newser) - A unique plea for keeping crowds manageable in Washington during Barack Obama's inaugural festivities next week gets an (admittedly tongue-in-cheek) airing from blogger Sister Toldja on Me, Myself An Eye: Stay home, white people. Sheer math, for one thing, should do it: "Chances whites have had to go see...

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