March 26, 2009 – 11:22 am
Turns out all those people who suggested that Republicans lack a coherent plan to counter President Obama’s proposals are wrong. As Politico reports: House Republicans have begun unveiling detailed alternatives to President Barack Obama’s policies — a concerted effort to push back against Democratic efforts to label them “the Party of No.” On Wednesday, it […]
The Wall Street Journal’s “Numbers Guy,” Carl Bialik, has an intriguing story in today’s edition. Bialik’s piece includes a complex environmental problem and a communications challenge. The environmental problem: There’s a big batch of plastic floating in a concentrated area of the Pacific Ocean (pieces of it pictured at right). It may be the size […]
March 25, 2009 – 11:03 am
Not an especially scintillating presidential press conference last night, but few are. Hopefully, some teenagers planning to tune in to American Idol were unwittingly served up a lesson in American democracy instead. Two quick thoughts on a couple of hobby horses. ABC’s George Stephanopoulos reported on his blog (“George’s Bottom Line”): “The president had a […]
Politico‘s Jonathan Martin writes today about President Obama’s efforts to communicate his message via non-WH press corps messengers: The highest-profile moments in the new approach have been well-noted, such as the president giving an interview to progressive radio host Ed Schultz and Obama calling on a reporter from the liberal-leaning Huffington Post at his first […]
Team Obama hit a much-needed home run today with its plan for Public-Private Investment Partnerships to buy up troubled bank loans and inject liquidity into the securitization market. As of this moment, the Dow is up about 5.5%, and most of the talking heads on TV seem to be (a) breathing more comfortably and (b) […]
Special Olympics competitor Kolan McConiughey has offered President Obama a perfect public relations opportunity: He’s challenged the president to a bowling match. According to celebrity news site TMZ, McConiughey has bowled three perfect games (scoring 300) and averages 266, compared with Obama’s 129 (and my own high score of 11 — I can only imagine […]
March 19, 2009 – 11:03 pm
President Obama rolled an ugly gutter ball during his Tonight Show appearance. ABC’s Jake Tapper explains: The first appearance by a sitting president on “The Tonight Show” may well end up being the last. President Obama, in his taping with Jay Leno Thursday afternoon, attempted to yuk it up with the funnyman, and ended up insulting the […]
Former president Bush (sigh) in the news again today, as an announcement was made about his upcoming book, tentatively called Decision Points. The memoir will not be a chronological history of Bush’s life and experiences in the Oval Office. Rather, it will highlight significant decisions he made personally and politically. According to the publisher’s press release: […]
Nice bit of rhetoric from President Obama in Costa Mesa last night, as reported in today’s Mike Allen Playbook. On the AIG situation (sorry, “outrage”), Obama said: Listen, I’ll take responsibility. I’m the president. So — we didn’t draft these contracts. And we’ve got a lot on our plate. But it is appropriate when you’re […]
Former president George W. Bush (still gets me choked up) gave his first post-White House speech yesterday, regaling invited guests in Alberta (the Texas of Canada) with stories about being president, about not being president, and about all the big topics you would expect in a GWB speech (Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo, oil). Protestors, of course, made an […]
March 16, 2009 – 11:29 am
ABC News is out today with some pretty striking results from its survey of Iraqis’ opinions about life in their country: While deep difficulties remain, the advances are remarkable. Eighty-four percent of Iraqis now rate security in their own area positively, nearly double its August 2007 level. Seventy-eight percent say their protection from crime is […]
March 14, 2009 – 11:57 am
The Washington Post reports on President Obama’s “inherited” tic in an article today. It begins: In his inaugural address, President Obama proclaimed “an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics.” It hasn’t taken long for the recriminations to return — or for […]
Much of the media and blogosphere have proclaimed today “Jon Stewart Day” in honor of the Daily Show host’s skewering of CNBC’s Jim Cramer last night. Commentators have made a habit of slobbering over Stewart in the last few years – promoting him as the antidote to boring old news, the guy who’s able to […]
March 13, 2009 – 11:09 am
President Obama had a good appearance yesterday before the Business Roundtable, a collection of CEOs from top companies. In his remarks, and particularly in the Q and A, the president sounded like the pragmatic, facts-first leader that drew many non-traditional Democratic supporters to him. His remarks on cap-and-trade were especially encouraging. While his insistence that […]
March 12, 2009 – 12:43 pm
I don’t know much about the Charles Freeman saga that recently ended with Freeman’s withdrawing his name from consideration to be chairman of the National Intelligence Council. I never heard of the man before last week and I only read brief highlights of the arguments at The Atlantic and The Weekly Standard. David Broder published a […]
