Obama’s entourage outside 1789 in Georgetown
Archive for the ‘Barack Obama’ Category
Scenes From DC
Posted: June 6, 2011 in Barack Obama, Beltway DramaTags: Barack Obama, Beltway Drama, Washington DC
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Budget Deal Reached, No Government Shutdown
Posted: April 8, 2011 in Barack Obama, Budget, Congress, House of Representatives, Obama Administration, Politics, SenateTags: Barack Obama, Budget, Congress, Government Shutdown, House of Representatives, Obama Administration, Politics, Senate
View of Capitol Hill on the Eve of Shutdown
Posted: April 8, 2011 in 2012 Elections, Barack Obama, Budget, House of Representatives, Obama Administration, Politics, SenateTags: Barack Obama, Budget, Government Shutdown, House of Representatives, Obama Administration, Politics, Senate
T-minus 2 hours and 30 minutes to shutdown
Preparing for the Government Shutdown
Posted: April 8, 2011 in Barack Obama, Budget, Congress, Economy, House of Representatives, Obama Administration, Politics, SenateTags: Barack Obama, Budget, Congress, Economy, Government Shutdown, House of Representatives, Obama Administration, Politics, Senate
Here’s a good guide from CNN on what will/won’t be affected by the government shutdown.
Update: Also see this guide from the Washington Post about how government agencies will be affected. Their shutdown countdown clock at T-minus 4 hours and counting…
Obama’s Re-Election Team Announced
Posted: April 8, 2011 in 2012 Elections, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, PoliticsTags: 2012 Elections, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Politics
From Mike Allen’s Playbook earlier this week, a look at who’s who in the Obama re-election campaign:
Jim Messina, Campaign Manager
Jen O’Malley-Dillon, Deputy Campaign Manager
Julianna Smoot, Deputy Campaign Manager
Rufus Gifford, Director of Finance
Liz Lowery, Deputy Finance Director
Ben LaBolt, Press Secretary
Katie Hogan, Deputy Press Secretary
Mitch Stewart, Battleground States Director
Jeremy Bird, National Field Director
Marlon Marshall, Deputy National Field Director: Marshall will leave his post as National field director for the DCCC to join the re-election campaign in Chicago. He served as field director in Nevada, Ohio and Indiana for Hillary Clinton’s Presidential campaign in 2007 and 2008 before joining the Obama campaign as the General Election Director in Missouri. Marlon is a native of St. Louis and attended the University of Kansas.
Obama Announces 2012 Re-Election Bid
Posted: April 4, 2011 in 2012 Elections, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Obama Administration, PoliticsTags: 2012 Elections, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Obama Administration, Politics
The campaign is expected to file re-election papers with the FEC today. This allows them to start fundraising for the president’s re-election effort, which, given his status of incumbency, should be considerable. According to Jessica Yellin’s sources, the Obama campaign is shooting for a record-breaking $1 billion warchest.
Will be interesting to see how the other Republicans react to this announcement, specifically the ones who haven’t yet declared whether they’re in or out for 2012 – Palin, Trump, Huntsman, Huckabee, and Paul. Will the timing of the president’s announcement force them to tip their hands and commit to the race once and for all?
Let the games begin!
Update: First response from one of the president’s 2012 challengers comes from @MittRomney:
@barackobama I look forward to hearing details on your jobs plan, as are 14m unemployed Americans
Will update this post as other responses come in.
Update II: See this report by CNN’s Jim Acosta on the same issue of how/when the 2012 GOP potentials decide to get in the race.
Update III: Tim Pawlenty responds with this video.
The quote from the candidate: “In order for America to take a new direction, it’s going to take a new president.”
Update IV: The Republican National Committee has launched a new website and a $270,000 money bomb for the next 72 hours – $1,000 for each vote needed in the Electoral College to win the presidency. They also released the following video on their YouTube channel:
Piling On
Posted: March 3, 2009 in Barack Obama, Beltway Drama, Media, PoliticsTags: Barack Obama, Beltway Drama, Democratic National Committee, Media, Michael Steele, Politics, Republican National Committee, Rush Limbaugh, Tim Kaine
DNC Chairman Tim Kaine enters the Limbaugh-Steele fray and takes a few shots at both of them. The most interesting thing in watching all of this is that Limbaugh and Kaine Steele effectively played right into the Democrats’ hands. The Democrats are going to get a lot of political mileage and talking points out of this episode.
As for Steele, I don’t know how effective he’ll be as a national party leader from here on out. I mentioned in a previous post that there is no media or political figure on the right or left who has the kind of muscle or influence that Limbaugh and his listeners do. The only national GOP figures who have criticized Limbaugh and avoided apology so far are Rep. Eric Cantor and Gov. Jon Huntsman. But if this becomes some sort of ideological litmus test for any Republican who has hopes for national exposure, then it will make for a very interesting set of election cycles in 2010 and 2012.
Update: Some very good observations from Greg Sargent:
The problem for Steele, of course, is that by hitting Rush — and provoking a response from the talk show host — he’s left himself in the unenviable position of having to answer Rush’s implicit demand that he say whether he’s With Rush Or Against Him when it comes to Rush’s desire for Obama to fail. It’s not a good position to be in: Either Steele distances himself from Rush and angers the base, or he throws in his lot with the GOP’s pro-failure brigade and makes it easier for Dems to paint the GOP as petulant, partisan obstructionists.
Amusingly, either choice would help Rush: The first gives him a potent rallying point, and the second demonstrates his power over the party. What’s more, all this underscores again the astonishing degree to which the interests of Rush and Democrats are aligned here, since both Rush and Democrats want Steele, and every other Republican, to publicly make exactly the same choice.
Who Runs the Republican Party?
Posted: March 2, 2009 in Barack Obama, Beltway Drama, Media, PoliticsTags: Barack Obama, Beltway Drama, Eric Cantor, Media, Michael Steele, Phil Gingrey, Politics, Rahm Emanuel, Republican National Committee, Republicans, Rush Limbaugh
Much has been made of Rush Limbaugh’s widely quoted “I hope Obama fails” comment, which he first made on his radio show a few days before Obama’s inauguration, and repeated it again at CPAC this past weekend.
Democrats have seized the initiative and are trying to make Rush Limbaugh the face and driving force of the GOP. Rahm Emanuel himself threw down the gauntlet on the Sunday talk shows yesterday.
Keep in mind Republican Rep. Phil Gingrey publicly apologized after making comments in a Politico story criticizing Rush Limbaugh.
Eric Cantor, the second highest ranking Republican in the House of Representatives, distanced himself from Limbaugh’s comments yesterday.
Now, we’ll see if Michael Steele, the chairman of the Republican Party, is going to face the same kind of pressure to make amends with Limbaugh.
These episodes show just how large of a shadow Limbaugh and his audience casts on the Republican Party. I can’t think of anyone else in political or media circles on the right or left who has this much muscle that they can force a sitting member of Congress to issue a public apology. The question now is how far will he go with his rhetoric and how far is the Republican Party and the base willing to follow him?
Update: Limbaugh responds to Steele:
“Why do you claim to lead the Republican Party when you seem obsessed with seeing to it President Obama succeeds?” Limbaugh addressed Steele.
“I frankly am stunned that the chairman of the Republican National Committee endorses such an agenda. I have to conclude that he does because he attacks me for wanting it to fail,” said Limbaugh.
Late last week, Steele told CNN’s D.L. Hughley that Limbaugh is an “entertainer” whose comments are “ugly.”
Also on his radio program Monday, Limbaugh said Steele is being used by the “liberal media.”
“Michael Steele has been around long enough to know that the liberal media will use him by twisting what I say or what others say,” he said. “He took the bait, he bit down hard on the bait, he launched an attack on me, even though the premise of what was said to him was false.”
Update II: Damn, that was fast. Steele apologized to Limbaugh.
Limbaugh said he’s not in charge of the Republican Party, but every time a Party leader or elected official has to kiss his ring every time they say or do something that annoys him, it just reinforces the Democrats’ message strategy that Limbaugh is the de facto leader of the GOP.
Update III: Andrew Sullivan has reactions to the Limbaugh-Steele feud from the conservative blogosphere.
Jindal’s Rebuttal
Posted: February 25, 2009 in Barack Obama, PoliticsTags: Barack Obama, Bobby Jindal, GOP, Is It 2012 Yet?, Politics, Republicans
Louisiana governor and rumored 2012 presidential candidate Bobby Jindal was tapped to give the GOP rebuttal to Barack Obama’s first address to Congress. John Cole brutally explains the sacrificial lamb nature of this political tradition. It seems especially relevant this year considering Obama’s well known reputation as a public speaker. Anybody who would have to follow him would have an easier time taking the stage after the Rolling Stones or U2.
Now, in fairness, the responses are always awful. Every year (with the exception of Jim Webb) someone is trotted out and forced to give the response, and it is at this point the political equivalent of throwing a virgin into a volcano. It is beyond time for them to end. However, there was something just especially awful this year, and already the comparison to Kenneth from 30 Rock is sweeping across the intertubes.
Jindal’s speech is being panned left, right, and center, with some of the harshest and most surprising criticism coming from his own party.
This was not a good national coming out party for Jindal, especially if he has presidential ambitions in 2012. However, one bad national speech does not mean it’s the end of your aspirations for higher office. Remember Bill Clinton’s much panned speech during the 1988 Democratic National Convention? He went on to bigger and better things four short years later.
Quote of the Day
Posted: February 25, 2009 in Barack Obama, Politics, QuotesTags: Barack Obama, Politics, Quotes
“The helicopter I have now seems perfectly adequate to me. Of course, I’ve never had a helicopter before. You know? Maybe — maybe I’ve been deprived and i didn’t know it.”
– President Barack Obama
Icepicks and Nukes 