Barack Obama: Latest News on the Former President - Page 95

Dexter Filkins

Dec 2, 2009 8:49 AM CST

Obama Gambles on Dubious Afghan Allies

Surge relies on corrupt Karzai government, poorly-trained military

(Newser) - By announcing an 18-month timetable, Barack Obama has thrown down the gauntlet for an Afghan government and military that have so far proven unreliable. Hamid Karzai’s government is considered among the world’s most corrupt, but Obama seems to be betting that the withdrawal timetable will encourage it to...

Party Crashers Make
Desirée Rogers Look Bad

TOO-SOCIAL SECRETARIES

Dec 2, 2009 8:09 AM CST

Party Crashers Make Desirée Rogers Look Bad

Is White House social secretary to blame for Michaele and Tareq Salahi?

(Newser) - A week’s worth of finger-pointing over how Michaele and Tareq Salahi managed to crash a state dinner has now turned the spotlight on a controversial figure: White House social secretary Desirée Rogers. Unlike demure secretaries before her, the attention-grabbing Rogers “arrived in Washington this year to great...

Salahis Fit In With DC Poseurs

Maureen Dowd

Dec 2, 2009 6:26 AM CST

Salahis Fit In With DC Poseurs

Washington's full of preeners, fakers, and wannabes

(Newser) - The Salahis have finally gotten a real invite to a high-brow Washington event—a Congressional hearing into their infamous party crashing. Surely, the Salahis shouldn’t have been allowed to slip in—it shows a Secret Service “with glaring—and chilling—vulnerabilities and liabilities,” writes Maureen Dowd in...

Cheney: Obama Looks Weak

Interview

Dec 1, 2009 11:15 AM CST

Cheney: Obama Looks Weak

Ex-VP says Afghan decisions made for 'small 'p' political reasons'

(Newser) - Dick Cheney’s on the warpath again, this time bashing Barack Obama for “agonizing” over his Afghan strategy, and projecting “weakness” to the troops. “Every time he delays, defers, debates, changes his position, it begins to raise questions,” Cheney tells Politico in an interview at his...

Next Hurdle for Afghan Surge: Paying for It

Dec 1, 2009 9:16 AM CST

Next Hurdle for Afghan Surge: Paying for It

Dems don't want to pony up for Obama's plan

(Newser) - Getting Congress to fund Barack Obama’s new Afghanistan strategy might be as arduous a process as the strategic review that devised it. Democrats, cold to the idea of sending more troops, don’t want to foot the bill; some are proposing a war tax to cover it. “If...

White House
Fires Back
at Politico

7 MORE THINGS

Dec 1, 2009 8:21 AM CST

White House Fires Back at Politico

But don't be fooled, good relationship is maintained

(Newser) - Politico has joined Fox News in the doghouse after running a piece on "seven stories Barack Obama doesn't want told," and the White House is firing back—sort of. Marc Ambinder got his hands on a joke email that's been circulating among staffers. He shares the White House's...

Troop Surge Number? 34K

AFGHAN strategy

Dec 1, 2009 7:36 AM CST

Troop Surge Number? 34K

With NATO troops, total close to McChrystal request

(Newser) - The Washington Post has—or thinks it has—the much anticipated number of troops President Obama will deploy to Afghanistan, and it's 34,000. That, combined with 5,000 he's said to be seeking from NATO allies, brings the total within shooting distance of Gen. Stanley McChrystal's request for 40,...

Obama Issues Orders for More Afghan Troops

Nov 30, 2009 2:20 PM CST

Obama Issues Orders for More Afghan Troops

Briefed military last night, will reveal number and other details tomorrow

(Newser) - After weeks of deliberation, President Obama has settled on a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan and ordered the military to carry it out. The exact size of the troop escalation has not been announced, but sources put the number in the neighborhood of 30,000 more troops. The...

The Obama
He Doesn't
Want You
to See

7 not-so-hot Baracks

Nov 30, 2009 10:20 AM CST

The Obama He Doesn't Want You to See

President loath to look weak, profligate

(Newser) - President Obama’s ability to control his image seems to be spinning out of control, with several damaging narratives taking hold in the public consciousness. Politico breaks down the narratives Obama is most threatened by:

Obama the Big Spender: Though economists cheered on the stimulus, the backlash was severe among

...

Obama
to Unveil
Afghan
Endgame

Nov 30, 2009 3:51 AM CST

Obama to Unveil Afghan Endgame

30K troop boost may go down easier with exit talk

(Newser) - When President Obama announces his planned boost in US troops in Afghanistan tomorrow, he'll also reveal his exit outline, according to administration sources. "He wants to give a clear sense of both the time frame for action and how the war will eventually wind down," an insider told...

Obama Headed
to Copenhagen
for Climate Talks

updated

Nov 25, 2009 10:28 AM CST

Obama Headed to Copenhagen for Climate Talks

He'll propose 17% cut in US emissions of greenhouse gases

(Newser) - Barack Obama will head to Copenhagen on Dec. 9—the day before his Nobel Prize ceremony in Oslo—to advocate for a comprehensive global climate accord. The White House had vacillated on whether Obama should go, since no one expects a legally binding treaty, insiders tell Politico . But Obama decided...

Obama Is the Anti-Cowboy

Analysis

Nov 25, 2009 9:26 AM CST

Obama Is the Anti-Cowboy

Slow decision on Afghanistan a contrast from Bush's gut checks

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s prolonged Afghanistan strategy review has if nothing else distinguished him from his predecessor—Obama is anything but the “gut player” Dubya claimed to be. In fact, he’s put on “a spectacle of deliberation unlike anything seen in the White House in recent memory,”...

The Skinny on the State Dinner

Michelle wore...

Nov 25, 2009 7:49 AM CST

The Skinny on the State Dinner

Michelle Obama wore Naeem Khan, and other tidbits

(Newser) - Didn't have a ticket to the country's hottest social event? No worries. Here's the who and what of last night's state dinner honoring Indian PM Manmohan Singh:

The outdoor tent was decorated with local, sustainably harvested magnolia branches and ivy; centerpieces of hydrangeas, roses, and sweet peas evoked India's state

...

Obama: US, India
Natural Allies

first state visit

Nov 24, 2009 1:25 PM CST

Obama: US, India Natural Allies

Countries will have 'defining relationship' for 21st century

(Newser) - President Obama declared that US ties with India will be "one of the defining relationships" of the 21st century as he welcomed India's prime minister for the first state visit of the Obama administration. At the conclusion of about two hours of talks, Obama said he and Prime Minister...

SNL a Right-Wing Mouthpiece

OPINION

Nov 24, 2009 1:14 PM CST

SNL a Right-Wing Mouthpiece

Or latest sketch just a 'vehicle to make anal sex joke'

(Newser) - Saturday’s SNL cold opener—which poked fun at Obama’s deficit spending—conclusively marked the show as an “occasionally humorous right-wing propaganda organ,” writes Ethan Porter of True/Slant . SNL’s been obviously anti-Obama since the primaries, pausing only to mock Sarah Palin, who's far less popular than...

What Happened to Our
Basketballer-in-Chief?

Golf well? No, he can't

Nov 24, 2009 11:07 AM CST

What Happened to Our Basketballer-in-Chief?

Obama has traded basketball for golf

(Newser) - The old Obama played hoops—and he did it quite well. So why do we keep seeing him on golf courses? Since he took office, the one-time "Baller-in-Chief" has played basketball about seven times, compared to 25 rounds of golf. The White House has remained mum on what's behind...

Fading Hope
T-Shirt Blasts
Obama

Nov 24, 2009 10:45 AM CST

Fading Hope T-Shirt Blasts Obama

Streetwear maven FreshJive says president hasn't lived up to hype

(Newser) - It's getting to be change we can't believe in—a new “Hope is Fading Fast” T-shirt turns the president’s iconic poster into an indictment from the dissatisfied left. The shirt comes from FreshJive , a well-known LA streetwear purveyor with a decidedly liberal bent—founder Rick Katz once commented...

Race-Speech Obama Is MIA

OPINION

Nov 24, 2009 2:13 AM CST

Race-Speech Obama Is MIA

Prez's actions failing to match his clear rhetoric of past

(Newser) - The moral clarity that Barack Obama revealed in his groundbreaking Philadelphia speech on race has been nowhere to be seen recently, writes Richard Cohen. The Obama who made that speech wouldn't have let the Chinese stage-manage his appearances, or allowed the civilian trial of Khalid Sheik Mohammed go forward without...

US Recruits Allies
for Afghan Surge

Nov 21, 2009 8:39 AM CST

US Recruits Allies for Afghan Surge

White House is quietly looking for 3K to 7K NATO troops

(Newser) - President Obama isn't planning to go it alone: The administration has hopes that from 3,000 to 7,000 NATO troops will be committed to joining the US troop surge in Afghanistan by the time he rolls out his new strategy after Thanksgiving. Advanced talks are underway, the Wall Street ...

Obama's Stimulus Finally
Gets Some Respect

Nov 21, 2009 6:21 AM CST

Obama's Stimulus Finally Gets Some Respect

Warring economists agree that it has helped—if not enough

(Newser) - Economists are still fighting about whether the economic stimulus was too small, or too big and wasteful, but a consensus is emerging, at least, that the $787 billion package, flawed as it is, is working. With a quarter of the money now spent, the New York Times says a broad...

Barack Obama

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