Barack Obama: Latest News on the Former President - Page 94

Dec 16, 2009 4:40 PM CST

Clinton Far More Popular Than Obama

Secretary of state trumps him 75%-51%

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton may not be president, but she's more popular for it: the secretary of state enjoys much higher approval ratings than her boss and former rival. A poll of self-described "news watchers" gave Clinton a 75% approval rating, with 21% disapproval, while Obama's numbers were 51%-45%.

Obama Helps Kill Cheaper Drug Imports

Dana Milbank

Dec 16, 2009 8:58 AM CST

Obama Helps Kill Cheaper Drug Imports

Sides with big pharma on proposal he backed as candidate, senator

(Newser) - Proving once again that campaign promises are sturdy stuff, Barack Obama yesterday led the charge to kill a health care reform amendment that would have made it easier to import cheaper prescription drugs from places like Canada—even though he touted the idea in the campaign, and co-sponsored a similar...

Up to 56,000 Contractors
Headed to Afghanistan

Dec 16, 2009 7:30 AM CST

Up to 56,000 Contractors Headed to Afghanistan

'Second surge' would expand role of private sector in war zone

(Newser) - Talk of the 30,000 troops Obama is sending to Afghanistan fails to note that they're likely to be joined by as many as 56,000 civilians, according to a tally by a congressional agency. The second surge would bring the number of independent contractors in Afghanistan to somewhere between...

Obama: Insulation Is 'Sexy'

cash for caulkers

Dec 15, 2009 12:34 PM CST

Obama: Insulation Is 'Sexy'

President goes to Home Depot to pitch 'cash for caulkers'

(Newser) - President Obama set up his official podium at Home Depot today to pitch what some are calling his “cash for caulkers” program. Obama wants Congress to give consumers cash incentives to make their homes more energy-efficient. “I know the idea may not be very glamorous, although I get...

No-Show Bankers Show Who's on Top

andrew ross sorkin

Dec 15, 2009 7:28 AM CST

No-Show Bankers Show Who's on Top

With bailout funds repaid, Wall Street snubs the president

(Newser) - Obama’s meeting with top bankers yesterday spoke volumes about the new power dynamic between Washington and Wall Street—and not in the White House’s favor. Three top bankers, Lloyd Blankfein, John Mack and Richard Parsons, called in rather than showing their faces. Their excuse was weather that had...

Obama Overstates Domestic Al-Qaeda Threat: Experts

Dec 14, 2009 3:25 PM CST

Obama Overstates Domestic Al-Qaeda Threat: Experts

President, Clinton cite US arrests, but link to Pakistan appears weak

(Newser) - The White House has been overstating the link between recent domestic terrorism arrests and al-Qaeda activities in Pakistan and Afghanistan, security experts say. In justifying the Afghanistan troop buildup, President Obama cited recent arrests within the US; Hillary Clinton cited some of the same incidents a few days later. But...

Obama Prods 'Fat Cat' Bankers on Reform, Loans

Dec 14, 2009 2:07 PM CST

Obama Prods 'Fat Cat' Bankers on Reform, Loans

Meeting sparsely attended thanks to weather

(Newser) - Less than 24 hours after jabbing at "fat cat bankers," Barack Obama rounded up every one of them he could find and prodded them to lend more, modify mortgages, and get behind financial reform methods. "America's banks received extraordinary assistance from American taxpayers to rebuild their industry,...

Obama Gives Himself
a 'Solid B+'

Dec 14, 2009 7:42 AM CST

Obama Gives Himself a 'Solid B+'

Tells Oprah he's headed for A- if health reform passes

(Newser) - Barack Obama is pretty pleased with the job he’s done so far as president; when Oprah asked him how he’d grade himself during last night’s “Christmas at the White House” special, he replied, “A good solid B+.” He gave himself credit for stabilizing the...

President on
Gatecrashers:
'Never Again'

Dec 14, 2009 3:21 AM CST

President on Gatecrashers: 'Never Again'

Obama 'unhappy' with everyone involved

(Newser) - President Obama said he was angry about the "screw up" that allowed a couple to crash his state dinner two weeks ago. The president said he was "unhappy with everybody who was involved in the process" because "although I chafe at being in the bubble, I also...

House Passes Financial Regulations Overhaul

Dec 11, 2009 2:14 PM CST

House Passes Financial Regulations Overhaul

Bill passes 223-202, with Senate to act next year

(Newser) - The House today passed a sweeping overhaul of financial regulations that would govern Wall Street and reconfigure the power of the agencies overseeing the banking system. The vote was 223-202, with nearly all Republicans in opposition because of fears over too much government intrusion. The bill is designed to address...

Obama's Suddenly a Centrist

Peggy Noonan

Dec 11, 2009 8:34 AM CST

Obama's Suddenly a Centrist

Shifting president must be worried about independents

(Newser) - President Obama must be worried about independents and moderates, because he’s made a dramatic shift to the center in recent days. In an economics speech Tuesday, Obama lavished praise on small businesses, promising tax cuts as incentives to grow. “This is how Republicans, moderates and centrists think, and...

Angelina Jolie Hates Obama

HE OWES DARFUR MORE

Dec 11, 2009 8:26 AM CST

Angelina Jolie Hates Obama

Actress slams president's Darfur policy in Newsweek

(Newser) - Angelina Jolie “hates” President Obama so much that she and partner Brad Pitt “get in nasty arguments all the time” about him, sources tell Us —and she lets a bit of her distaste shine through in a piece she wrote for Newsweek on Darfur. “When the...

Huckabee Tied
With Obama in
2012 Poll

Dec 11, 2009 8:07 AM CST

Huckabee Tied With Obama in 2012 Poll

Fox host polls stronger than any other Republican hopeful

(Newser) - Mike Huckabee would give Barack Obama a run for his money if an election were held today; he’s just 1% behind the commander in chief in a new Public Policy Polling survey. Among the 1,253 surveyed, 46% said they’d back Obama, 45% Huckabee. Despite the heat he...

How Obama Can
Earn the Peace Prize

OPINION

Dec 10, 2009 10:29 AM CST

How Obama Can Earn the Peace Prize

Get out of Iraq, stop the drone attacks, and get a state for Palestine

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s Nobel Prize was more of a nudge toward peace than a recognition of his accomplishments in pursuit of it. Juan Cole of Salon offers some ways Obama could live up to the award:

Get out of Iraq on time. We’ve done what we can, and the

...

Obama: 'War Is
Sometimes
Necessary'

nobel acceptance speech

Dec 10, 2009 7:53 AM CST

Obama: 'War Is Sometimes Necessary'

Obama accepts peace prize by saying force morally justified

(Newser) - President Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize today with, paradoxically, a defense of war. Obama began his speech by acknowledging the controversy surrounding his reward, both because his accomplishments are slight and because of the wars he presides over. “We will not eradicate violent conflict in our lifetimes,”...

Obama Praises
Public-Option
Compromise

Dec 9, 2009 4:37 PM CST

Obama Praises Public-Option Compromise

President praises deal, says it will still provide more choice

(Newser) - President Obama applauded Senate Democrats for yielding on the public option in favor of a "creative framework" for health care reform that could attract wider support. "I support this effort, especially since it's aimed at increasing choice and competition and lowering cost," Obama said at a health...

Only 50% Prefer
Obama to Bush

Poll Numbers

Dec 9, 2009 12:44 PM CST

Only 50% Prefer Obama to Bush

Latest numbers show steady decline for president

(Newser) - Only 50% of respondents to a recent poll say they prefer Barack Obama to George W. Bush, with 44% saying they’d like Dubya back. Given Bush’s vast unpopularity at the end of his term, that’s probably the most troubling number for the president in the latest Public...

Nobel Speech
Bedevils Wartime
President

Dec 9, 2009 5:51 AM CST

Nobel Speech Bedevils Wartime President

Obama faces minefield in Oslo tomorrow

(Newser) - What to say when you're a Nobel Peace Prize winner who's just ordered 30,000 more troops to war? Barack Obama's acceptance speech in Oslo tomorrow presents a rhetorical minefield, testing the president's ability to articulate a moral vision for his foreign policy in the face of an escalating war...

Obama to Tackle
Jobs, Deficit

speech preview

Dec 8, 2009 8:53 AM CST

Obama to Tackle Jobs, Deficit

Pols split on how to use bailout bucks for recovery

(Newser) - President Obama will today outline a new push to tackle the country's surging unemployment and mounting deficit. The speech, at the Brookings Institution, comes as legislators are locked in a debate over how, exactly, to use surplus TARP funds to boost a tepid recovery. Republicans oppose dipping into the surplus,...

McCain Gets
His Fight On

centrist no more

Dec 7, 2009 5:50 AM CST

McCain Gets His Fight On

Rebounds from 2008 as feisty, fired-up partisan

(Newser) - Barack Obama's old opponent is back, taking a leading roll in attacking his policies on health care and Afghanistan, but he's not the same John McCain the president defeated a year ago. McCain has pulled an Al Gore, bouncing back from an election he lost as a moderate to take...

Barack Obama

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