Barack Obama

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

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Massive Voter Turnout Not So Massive After All

Election sees only a modest increase in participation among eligible voters

(Newser) - Contrary to hype about massive turnout on Election Day, roughly the same percentage of eligible voters hit the polls in 2008 as in 2004, reports Politico. While a record number of ballots were cast—up to 128.5 million votes— the increase in the percentage of eligible voters in the...

Gen X to Boomers: We Get It Now
Gen X to Boomers:
We Get It Now
OPINION
Nov 9, 2008 5:09 AM CST

Gen X to Boomers: We Get It Now

With Obam's election, Gen X sees the political light

(Newser) - Sorry, boomers, for taking so long to drop the cynicism and eye-rolling, writes Heather Havrilesky in Salon. But to those who "became rational adults at the exact moment a reckless frat boy boomer became president," your generation's idealism and tales of '60s radicalism fell flat, she spills. Barack...

At White House, Youth Will Be Served

Obamas must shelter girls from negatives, capitalize on positives on time in spotlight

(Newser) - Malia and Sasha Obama will be the youngest residents of the White House since 1977, and it will be a major responsibility for their parents to keep the spotlight from burning them, experts tell Newsday's parenting columnist. Today's 24/7 news cycle and the Obamas' status as the nation's first black...

Please Kill Our Hopes 'Gently,' Obama
 Please Kill Our 
 Hopes 'Gently,' Obama 
OPINION
Nov 8, 2008 7:40 PM CST

Please Kill Our Hopes 'Gently,' Obama

(Newser) - People the world over are investing their hopes in Barack Obama's warm, intelligent persona, but the president-elect is destined to disappoint, Matthew Parris writes in the London Times. Like any pop star or religious icon, he represents more myth than reality. The turning point will come when "Yes we...

Vote Greyhound for First Pooch



 Vote 
 Greyhound 
 for First 
 Pooch 
OPINION
Nov 8, 2008 3:51 PM CST

Vote Greyhound for First Pooch

Loyal, cuddly and in need of a political push

(Newser) - So the Obamas are looking for a hypoallergenic rescue dog? Well, Jezebel has just the breed for them: Greyhound. Today known mostly as racing dogs, Greyhounds have a proud history. They were protected by law in the Middle Ages, they appear in Chaucer, Shakespeare and the Simpsons, and are the...

Can Obama Be the New FDR?
 Can Obama Be the New FDR? 
OPINION
Nov 8, 2008 1:08 PM CST

Can Obama Be the New FDR?

Nation needs Roosevelt's action, inspiration

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s call yesterday to “act swiftly” to address the economic crisis clearly echoed Franklin Roosevelt’s inaugural address during the Depression: “action, and action now.” But while Obama's “crisp competence” was welcome, he wasn't particularly inspirational, and, Joe Nocera writes in the New York ...

Obama's Youth Mandate Far Greater Than JFK's

His lead with under-30s is biggest in 'modern American history'

(Newser) - Barack Obama enters office with the biggest youth mandate in modern political history, Politico reports. He outpolled John McCain by 34 points—66% to 32%—among voters younger than 30. That's four times the margin that led John F. Kennedy to say, “The torch has been passed to a...

DC Anticipates 1.5M for Historic Inauguration

More than 1.5 million expected for historic event

(Newser) - Hotel rooms will be as scarce as McCain-Palin T-shirts in Washington on Inauguration Day, the Wall Street Journal reports, as a record-breaking tide of Obama supporters—especially black Americans—makes a pilgrimage to witness the historic moment. More than 1.5 million people are expected to flood the city for...

Obama Kicks Off Transition Fundraising

President-elect seeks private funds to bankroll transition team

(Newser) - Barack Obama's campaign fundraising is over but his victory fundraising has only just begun, Politico reports. The president-elect is seeking cash from private donors to supplement the $6.3 million of public money his team will get to fund the transition. The practice has been common since the Reagan presidency...

What Now, Jon?
 What Now, Jon?
Nov 8, 2008 2:35 AM CST

What Now, Jon?

Jokes about Obama may not fly with left-leaning host, audience of The Daily Show

(Newser) - Yes, satirists and late-night comics seem to have trouble finding Obama jokes, but they'll survive, writes Dan Kois in New York magazine. What worries Kois is that his beloved Daily Show may not be so fortunate. Jon Stewart and crew simply may not have it in their hearts to take...

Obama Sorry for Reagan 'Seance' Joke

President-elect calls Nancy over 'careless and offhanded' quip

(Newser) - President-elect Obama called Nancy Reagan today to apologize for joking that she held seances in the White House, the AP reports. At a news conference in Chicago, Obama said he had spoken with all the living presidents as he prepares to take office in January. Then he smiled and said,...

Promised First Dog May Be 'a Mutt, Like Me': Obama

With daughter's allergies, choice of pooch will be 'a major issue,' president-elect grins

(Newser) - Of all the pressing questions looming before the Obama administration, one is dominating discourse at water coolers, around dinner tables, and even on the president-elect's website: What kind of dog are Malia and Sasha getting? The president-elect's first press conference today quickly turned to the family pet, which he laughingly...

Byrd, 90, Resigns as Appropriations Chairman

Senator, rumored to be under pressure from Reid, will be replaced by Hawaii's Inoyue

(Newser) - Robert Byrd resigned today as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, acquiescing to Democratic leaders who reportedly wanted him out of the job, the Hill reports. Byrd, 90, has been hospitalized three times in the past year, and said he was willing to leave the committee in younger hands—namely,...

White Comics Lack Nuance Needed to Mine Obama
White Comics Lack Nuance Needed to Mine Obama
OPINION
Nov 7, 2008 3:37 PM CST

White Comics Lack Nuance Needed to Mine Obama

President-elect not lacking in comic fodder; it's mainstream comedians who are lacking

(Newser) - Bill Maher recently said Barack Obama “needs to give comedians something to work with.” The President-elect is “too perfect,” he groused, and worse, liberals are afraid to laugh at black people. If only Dave Chappelle were working, laments Salamishah Tillet for the Root. He’d quickly...

Stocks Close Up 248 Despite Tough Jobs News

But Friday rally can't heal brutal weekly losses

(Newser) - Stocks gained today despite a big bump in unemployment last month and poor earnings reports, MarketWatch reports. The indexes looked positioned for another late-Friday bloodbath but instead rose sharply in what could be a vote of confidence for President-elect Obama’s economic team. The Dow rose 248.02 to 8,...

He's Got a Crush on Obama—Michelle

'I like him,' Biden says of boss; 'I love her,' VP-elect adds of Mrs. O

(Newser) - Well, this could get awkward: Joe Biden has a thing for an Obama, and not the one you might think. “I like him,” the VP-elect told a USA Today reporter who ran across him at a Chicago hotel gym today. “I love her.” Biden, who said...

McCains Urge Unity, 'Good Will'

Vanquished GOP candidate presses supporters to 'get our country moving again'

(Newser) - John McCain released his first public statement today since conceding the election, congratulating President-elect Barack Obama and urging supporters to work together with the new administration, the Hill reports. “Although we were disappointed with the results,” the joint statement with wife Cindy said, “we must move beyond...

No Quick Fix on Economy: Obama
 No Quick Fix 
 on Economy: Obama 
UPDATED
Nov 7, 2008 2:39 PM CST

No Quick Fix on Economy: Obama

US 'strong and resilient,' president-elect says at first news conference

(Newser) - Barack Obama addressed the nation today for the first time since his presidential victory, focusing his remarks on the economy, the New York Times reports. “It is not going to be quick and it’s not going to be easy for us to dig ourselves out of the hole...

Billy Graham Done Advising Presidents: Son

But influential pastor supports and would like to pray with Obama

(Newser) - Billy Graham, the pastor who has advised every president since Eisenhower, won’t be counseling Barack Obama, the AP reports. Graham, who turns 90 today and is in failing health, “feels like his time and day for that is over," said Graham’s son Franklin. "He would...

How He Almost Didn't Run
 How He Almost Didn't Run 
Nov 7, 2008 2:20 PM CST

How He Almost Didn't Run

Obamas struggled for months about Barack's White House bid

(Newser) - Barack Obama needed months to be persuaded that he should run for the White House, and wife Michelle, who had veto power, finally agreed on one condition: that he give up smoking. The tidbit appears in Part 1 of a seven-installment Newsweek series reported along the campaign trail on...

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