It’s Super Bowl Sunday – featuring the wisely favored Pittsburgh Steelers vs. the exciting upstart Arizona Cardinals. Here are some highlights of one of the best Super Bowls, the 1989 game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Cincinnati Bengals.
** OBAMA TODAY – SUNDAY. President Barack Obama appears live on NBC’s Super Bowl pre-game show, then hosts a Super Bowl party at the White House with Democratic and Republican members of the Senate and House, and some personal friends.
Here are the members of Congress who will be at Obama’s Super Bowl party today: Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), Congressman Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Congressman Artur Davis (D-AL), Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Congressman Charlie Dent (R-PA), Congressman Mike Doyle (D-PA), Congressman Trent Franks (R-AZ), Congressman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Congressman Paul Hodes (D-NH), Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes-Norton (D-DC), Congressman Patrick Murphy (D-PA), and Congressman Fred Upton (R-MI).
Obama is finalizing what looks like the likely appointment of Senator Judd Gregg, a New Hampshire Republican, to be his new secretary of commerce. Gregg’s appointment would give the administration three Republicans in the Obama Cabinet. It would also allow New Hampshire’s Democratic governor, John Lynch, to appoint a new US senator. That could get the Democrats to 60, enough to block any filibuster without getting a few Republican votes. But Lynch may opt to appoint another moderate Republican, Bonnie Newman, who was head of Republicans for Lynch when he ran for governor and was dean of Harvard’s JFK School of Government.
Yesterday, Obama congratulated the Iraqi government for apparently successful provincial elections around the country which may up the timetable for US withdrawal.
Here’s Alaska Governor and right-wing favorite Sarah Palin arriving at Saturday night’s Alfalfa Club dinner in Washington. She evidently did not speak, but did catch an Obama gibe about the dinner crowd he’s “pallin’ around with,” a reference to her claim that the president “pals around with terrorists.”
He also spoke last night at the annual Alfalfa Club dinner, an event closed to press but much leaked, and was reportedly very amusing. Here are some excerpts:
I am seriously glad to be here tonight at the annual Alfalfa dinner. I know that many you are aware that this dinner began almost one hundred years ago as a way to celebrate the birthday of General Robert E. Lee. If he were here with us tonight, the General would be 202 years old. And very confused. …
Now, this hasn’t been reported yet, but it was actually Rahm’s idea to do the swearing-in ceremony again. Of course, for Rahm, every day is a swearing-in ceremony. …
But don’t believe what you read. Rahm Emanuel is a real sweetheart.
No, it’s true. Every week the guy takes a little time away to give back to the community. Just last week he was at a local school, teaching profanity to poor children. …
But these are the kind of negotiations you have to deal with as President. In just the first few weeks, I’ve had to engage in some of the toughest diplomacy of my life. And that was just to keep my Blackberry. I finally agreed to limit the number of people who could email me. It’s a very exclusive list. How exclusive?
Everyone look at the person sitting on your left — Now look at the person sitting on your right – None of you have my email address. …
In his weekend video/radio address, President Barack Obama discusses the economic crisis, his economic revival program, the soon-to-be-outlined rest of the Wall Street bailout, and the need for forthcoming new regulations on the financial industry.
** OBAMA TODAY – SATURDAY. President Barack Obama works on plans for increased regulation of the nation’s financial sector, epicenter of the new global economic crisis. He appears tonight at the annual dinner of the Alfalfa Club, a Washington institution formed as part of the rich, good old boys’ network which has become a media standby. Notwithstanding the fact that the event is closed to the press. Nevertheless, reports emanate widely. Alaska Governor Sarah Palin – the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee and darling of the far right – will also be there, fueling exactly the dynamic that Team Obama wants.
On Sunday, Obama hosts a Super Bowl viewing party at his new pad with selected congressional attendees and friends. Obama is for the Pittsburgh Steelers – pride of the electoral Keystone State of Pennsylvania, owned for decades by a staunch Irish-Catholic Democratic family, the Rooneys – over the upstart surprise Arizona Cardinals. Who are backed by John McCain.
Obama is undoubtedly heartened by the latest news from Iraq. Saturday’s elections around the country for provincial office went off without an apparent hitch. Security was mostly provided by Iraqi forces. This is a positive sign for the idea of accelerating the withdrawal of US troops – now scheduled to be completed at the end of 2011 – back to Obama’s original campaign plan of 16 months.
Saturday’s provincial elections in Iraq came off without a hitch in a fresh sign of stability in the troubled nation.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger holds some private talks over the weekend, mostly focused on California’s chronic budget crisis. No public appearances are scheduled.
Some Republican legislators, who have essentially blockaded the budget for months by publicly refusing to consider any tax hikes, seem to be getting closer to going for a budget that includes tax hikes as well as program cuts and a spending cap.
Naturally, much of California’s far right – which is doing a remarkable job of driving the state’s Republican Party deeper into permanent minority status – is going bonkers over this.
And some liberal interest groups are striking against potential elements of a compromise. Which may mean that a deal is close.
Schwarzenegger said on Wednesday that he expects a budget deal in the next 10 days.
Meanwhile, Schwarzenegger won a victory Thursday when a superior court judge ruled against public employee unions seeking to overturn Schwarzenegger’s two day a month furlough for state workers. Schwarzenegger’s move saves $1.4 billion per year. He later announced that the furlough plan applies to state elected officials as well.
** OBAMA IN THE TANK. President Barack Obama went in the tank yesterday. For about two hours.
While most eyes were on the then impending vote in the House on Obama’s economic revival program, the new president ventured out to the Pentagon for his first meeting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the commanders of each of America’s armed services. Vice President Joe Biden and National Security Advisor Jim Jones came along.
They met in “the Tank,” a fabled secret meeting place better than any treehouse, for it’s supposedly impervious to all manner of surveillance. Jones had been there before, of course, as a former member of the Joint Chiefs when he was commandant of the Marine Corps.
But it was the first time for Obama. Let’s pause for a moment of silence for all those mad hatter “Manchurian Candidate” conspiracy theory promoters from the campaign as we think of Barack Hussein Obama in this holy of holies inner sanctum of America’s military establishment. Conducting the meeting at the pinnacle of the pyramid of US military command.
While more than a few gaskets may have popped out there in the far right precincts of the blogosphere and talk radio at the very thought, there might be a few on the left popping as well. … From my Thursday column.
** OBAMA AND THE CALIFORNIA WAY ON CLIMATE. President Barack Obama is choosing the California way of dealing with climate change. What this means is that major action to curtail greenhouse gases can happen faster, and without dealing with a traditional lobby-dominated Congress, with California and other states leading the way and doing the work.
** OBAMA: RIDING WITH HISTORY. (NOTE: As Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, this column was the featured column on the top of the front page of the Huffington Post.) … From my January 19th Huffington Post column.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer, bringing you English-language, jargon-free, fast-paced coverage of global and Russian news from the new Russia Today channel. You probably already know about CNN International, BBC World, and Al Jazeera. Russia Today, which also features culture, entertainment, and sports, is based in Moscow and is owned and operated by the TV Novosti division of Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti.
While it’s quite foolish to expect to see, say, criticism of Vladimir Putin on Russia Today, which I know as a former DemRussia advisor, the channel is very interesting nonetheless. With U.S. cable news chattering away as it does, this sort of respite can be informative. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in two wars in the region, it’s valuable to keep up with news and perspectives from the leading Middle Eastern-based TV news network. Based in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, Al Jazeera is very influential and more than a bit controversial.
Among them is what I’m sure is the first piece examining Schwarzenegger’s legacy as governor of California. Since he will actually be governor of California until 2011. No technology known to be disruptive to the space/time continuum was used in its preparation.
** TRACK GLOBAL AND NATIONAL ENERGY PRICES IN NEAR REAL TIME VIA BLOOMBERG ENERGY MARKET WATCH. After crashing over $147 for yet another record on July 11th, crude oil closed on Friday at $41.68 per barrel. Energy markets are closed on the weekend.
The drop of $106 per barrel since the record high over the summer comes on acknowledgment that the weak US economy will cut future demand and on the easing of previous geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. It is clear that that, contrary to much chatter, neither the US nor Israel is about to launch a strike against Iran. And the Russian war with Georgia, confounding much speculation and reporting to the contrary, actually decreased the geopolitical risk premium in the oil market.
President Barack Obama ripped Wall Street bankers for their billions in bonuses after being bailed out by the government.
** JERRY BROWN EASILY LEADS 2010 DEMOCRATIC FUNDRAISING RACE. As mentioned here a few weeks ago, former Governor-turned-Attorney General Jerry Brown easily leads the rest of the Democrats in fundraising for the 2010 California gubernatorial race.
Brown today reported raising $3.4 million last year, something he began in earnest only in the second half of the year. Potential rivals San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, who also begin in the second half, and Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi, each raise about a third of that.
With funds left over from his 2006 landslide victory for California attorney general, Brown has some $4.1 million cash on hand. In contrast, Garamendi has $750,000 and Newsom less than that.
Brown has not yet filed a gubernatorial campaign committee, unlike Garamendi and Newsom, and has his funds going into his AG campaign committee. This means that his biggest allowable contributions under state law are much lower than theirs.
As you can see, Brown has a much lower “burn rate” than his potential rivals.
Senator Dianne Feinstein continues to be talked of by some as a potential gubernatorial candidate. But as readers have noted from my coverage of the national intelligence situation, she more than has her hands full with what is traditionally a long-term commitment to serving as chair of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee, a post she just assumed this months after years of maneuvering to gain it.
Former state Controller Steve Westly, the eBay honcho-turned-greentech venture capitalist who was one of President Barack Obama’s earliest and biggest backers, is considering the race, as is Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and state Superintendent of Public Instruction. Villaraigosa, who’s had a controversial first term in LA, is running for re-election this year as mayor. None of them has set up a state campaign committee.
Aside from Westly and Brown – who ran against Bill Clinton for president in 1992 (finishing as distant runner-up for the nomination) and remained neutral in the 2008 primary though members of his family backed Obama – all the other potential candidates were with Hillary Clinton. Newsom was a national co-chairman of the Hillary Clinton campaign and Villaraigosa was a national chairman of the Hillary Clinton campaign.
** IT’S A MAN OF STEELE! REPUBLICANS ELECT FIRST BLACK NATIONAL PARTY CHAIRMAN, ON 6TH BALLOT. On the sixth ballot today at the Republican National Committee meeting in Washington, former Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele became the first African American national chairman of the Republican Party. Steele, a longtime favorite of neoconservatives and some moderate Republicans, finally pulled away from South Carolina GOP Chairman Katon Dawson with the rest of the field having dropped out.
Steele served one term as Maryland’s lieutenant governor before losing a 2006 race for the US Senate to then Congressman Ben Cardin, 55% to 44%.
Incumbent party chairman Mike Duncan, appointed by former President Bush, led in the first couple rounds of voting, but suffered from an anti-Bush backlash amongst most RNC members and dropped out. Dawson was hampered by his background of having been a member of a whites-only private club.
** NO PUFF OF SMOKE YET IN REPUBLICAN NATIONAL LEADERSHIP BATTLE. They’ve had four rounds of voting so far in that multi-candidate race for Republican national chairman. The current party chairman, Mike Duncan, had been appointed by President George W. Bush. He entered the race as the frontrunner, but after leading in the first two rounds of voting, has dropped out of the race.
Former Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele, who is black, then took the lead. But in the fourth round of voting, South Carolina Republican Chairman Katon Dawson took a narrow lead over Steele.
Steele, as one of the few black Republicans, has been touted for a long time by a number of conservative pundits. But he may not be conservative enough for many activist members, as he was once a member of the more moderate Republican Leadership Council.
Dawson has a problem in that he was once a member of a white-only private club.
Chip Saltzman, who managed Mike Huckabee’s campaign, dropped out of the race before the voting began. He had little apparent support, and was singed by having sent out a song called “Barack the Magic Negro” as part of a Christmas gift CD.
** GARAMENDI SHOWS SOME STRENGTH IN CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR’S RACE. Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi, making another bid for the governorship, provided the necessary vote on the State Lands Commission late yesterday to block some new oil drilling off the coast of Santa Barbara. A popular stance in a Democratic primary.
Garamendi also announced that he raised $1.1 million last year, and he’s picked up the help of former Steve Westly for Governor campaign manager and Howard Dean for President state campaign director Jude Barry.
Garamendi, who has about $750,000 in the bank, raised more than some insiders expected. Barry will work as senior advisor to Garamendi, and at least for now will also work with a few other clients, including the San Francisco 49ers.
** OBAMA ACTIVATES HIS ORGANIZATION. President Barack Obama’s follow-on political organization to his presidential campaign, Organizing for America, just sent out its first call to action to mobilize support for the Obama agenda.
The organization, which is now housed within the Democratic National Committee, emailed everyone who has hosted a house party for the president, encouraging them to do the same in support of the White House-backed economic recovery package.
“Last year, America lost 2.6 million jobs. This week, some of our biggest companies announced plans to cut tens of thousands more. The economic crisis is deepening, but President Obama and members of Congress have proposed a recovery plan that will put more than 3 million Americans back to work. You can learn more about how the plan will help your community by organizing an Economic Recovery House Meeting.”
Organizing for American has roughly 13 million e-mail addresses and two million active volunteers, though its strength in helping to advance specific legislative items has yet to be tested.
** HILLARY’S CAMPAIGN PRESS SECRETARY FINDS A NEW HOME IN CALIFORNIA. Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign press secretary Jay Carson is now representing a California-based green development company called Shangri-La Industries in Sacramento and elsewhere. Hollywood producer and major Democratic financier Steve Bing is the company’s founder.
Carson was press secretary for Hillary Clinton’s campaign and communications director of the Clinton Foundation. He’s now executive vice president for policy & business development of the Bing-backed firm, which focuses on “sustainable construction” in more environmentally sound new building and retrofit.
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama focuses on middle-class and worker issues today. He does so as word comes that the US economy contracted by 3.8% during the fourth quarter of 2008.
Obama names Vice President Joe Biden as chairman of the Middle Class Working Families Task Force. Biden has an op-ed piece on this in USA Today.
And labor comes back to the White House today, with Obama issuing several executive orders repealing Bush/Cheney policies on unions.
Obama also meets with the senior NCO (non-commissioned officer) leadership of the US Armed Forces in the White House.
Meanwhile, new US Mideast envoy George Mitchell meets with the Israeli opposition leader, former Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. The Likud leader currently leads in polls for the upcoming Israeli election.
Intel Corp. chairman Craig Barrett says there is a great deal of “denial” amongst the financial sector delegates at Davos, site of the annual World Economic Forum.
** OBAMA IN THE TANK. President Barack Obama went in the tank yesterday. For about two hours.
While most eyes were on the then impending vote in the House on Obama’s economic revival program, the new president ventured out to the Pentagon for his first meeting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the commanders of each of America’s armed services. Vice President Joe Biden and National Security Advisor Jim Jones came along.
They met in “the Tank,” a fabled secret meeting place better than any treehouse, for it’s supposedly impervious to all manner of surveillance. Jones had been there before, of course, as a former member of the Joint Chiefs when he was commandant of the Marine Corps.
But it was the first time for Obama. Let’s pause for a moment of silence for all those mad hatter “Manchurian Candidate” conspiracy theory promoters from the campaign as we think of Barack Hussein Obama in this holy of holies inner sanctum of America’s military establishment. Conducting the meeting at the pinnacle of the pyramid of US military command.
While more than a few gaskets may have popped out there in the far right precincts of the blogosphere and talk radio at the very thought, there might be a few on the left popping as well. … From my new column.
** OBAMA AND THE CALIFORNIA WAY ON CLIMATE. President Barack Obama is choosing the California way of dealing with climate change. What this means is that major action to curtail greenhouse gases can happen faster, and without dealing with a traditional lobby-dominated Congress, with California and other states leading the way and doing the work.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger holds private talks in and around the Capitol, mostly focused on California’s chronic budget crisis.
Some Republican legislators, who have essentially blockaded the budget for months by publicly refusing to consider any tax hikes, seem to be getting closer to going for a budget that includes tax hikes as well as program cuts and a spending cap.
Naturally, much of California’s far right – which is doing a remarkable job of driving the state’s Republican Party deeper into permanent minority status – is going bonkers over this.
Schwarzenegger said on Wednesday that he expects a budget deal in the next 10 days.
Meanwhile, Schwarzenegger won a victory yesterday when a superior court judge ruled against public employee unions seeking to overturn Schwarzenegger’s two day a month furlough for state workers. Schwarzenegger’s move saves $1.4 billion per year.
** OBAMA: RIDING WITH HISTORY. (NOTE: As Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, this column was the featured column on the top of the front page of the Huffington Post.) … From my January 19th Huffington Post column.
Russian media calls out individuals said to be responsible for the global economic crisis, all of whom are at Davos.Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin kicked off the annual World Economic Forum with a keynote address criticizing the US as epicenter of the financial crisis.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer, bringing you English-language, jargon-free, fast-paced coverage of global and Russian news from the new Russia Today channel. You probably already know about CNN International, BBC World, and Al Jazeera. Russia Today, which also features culture, entertainment, and sports, is based in Moscow and is owned and operated by the TV Novosti division of Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti.
While it’s quite foolish to expect to see, say, criticism of Vladimir Putin on Russia Today, which I know as a former DemRussia advisor, the channel is very interesting nonetheless. With U.S. cable news chattering away as it does, this sort of respite can be informative. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in two wars in the region, it’s valuable to keep up with news and perspectives from the leading Middle Eastern-based TV news network. Based in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, Al Jazeera is very influential and more than a bit controversial.
Among them is what I’m sure is the first piece examining Schwarzenegger’s legacy as governor of California. Since he will actually be governor of California until 2011. No technology known to be disruptive to the space/time continuum was used in its preparation.
The drop of $106 per barrel since the record high over the summer comes on acknowledgment that the weak US economy will cut future demand and on the easing of previous geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. It is clear that that, contrary to much chatter, neither the US nor Israel is about to launch a strike against Iran. And the Russian war with Georgia, confounding much speculation and reporting to the contrary, actually decreased the geopolitical risk premium in the oil market.
President Barack Obama signed equal pay for equal work legislation this morning in the White House.
** OBAMA IN THE TANK. President Barack Obama went in the tank yesterday. For about two hours.
While most eyes were on the then impending vote in the House on Obama’s economic revival program, the new president ventured out to the Pentagon for his first meeting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the commanders of each of America’s armed services. Vice President Joe Biden and National Security Advisor Jim Jones came along.
They met in “the Tank,” a fabled secret meeting place better than any treehouse, for it’s supposedly impervious to all manner of surveillance. Jones had been there before, of course, as a former member of the Joint Chiefs when he was commandant of the Marine Corps.
But it was the first time for Obama. Let’s pause for a moment of silence for all those mad hatter “Manchurian Candidate” conspiracy theory promoters from the campaign as we think of Barack Hussein Obama in this holy of holies inner sanctum of America’s military establishment. Conducting the meeting at the pinnacle of the pyramid of US military command.
While more than a few gaskets may have popped out there in the far right precincts of the blogosphere and talk radio at the very thought, there might be a few on the left popping as well. … From my new column.
** OBAMA RIPS WALL STREET PROFLIGACY. Emerging from a meeting this afternoon with his economic team, President Barack Obama had some choice remarks for Wall Street: All of us are going to have responsibilities to get this economy moving again. And when I saw an article today indicating that Wall Street bankers had given themselves $20 billion worth of bonuses — the same amount of bonuses as they gave themselves in 2004 — at a time when most of these institutions were teetering on collapse and they are asking for taxpayers to help sustain them, and when taxpayers find themselves in the difficult position that if they don’t provide help that the entire system could come down on top of our heads — that is the height of irresponsibility. It is shameful.
And part of what we’re going to need is for folks on Wall Street who are asking for help to show some restraint and show some discipline and show some sense of responsibility. The American people understand that we’ve got a big hole that we’ve got to dig ourselves out of — but they don’t like the idea that people are digging a bigger hole even as they’re being asked to fill it up.
And so we’re going to be having conversations as this process moves forward directly with these folks on Wall Street to underscore that they have to start acting in a more responsible fashion if we are to together get this economy rolling again. There will be time for them to make profits, and there will be time for them to get bonuses — now is not that time. And that’s a message that I intend to send directly to them, I expect Secretary Geithner to send to them — and Secretary Geithner already had to pull back one institution that had gone forward with a multimillion dollar jet plane purchase at the same time as they’re receiving TARP money. We shouldn’t have to do that because they should know better. And we will continue to send that message loud and clear.
** FOX NEWS POLL: OBAMA NATIONAL JOB APPROVAL RATING 65%. The new poll from Fox News, bastion of the right, frequent bete noire of Candidate Barack Obama, has President Barack Obama with a 65% job approval rating from US voters. Only 16% disapprove. Notice the question about the Secret Service and the safety of the first African American president.
More than a quarter of Americans say they were moved to tears during Barack Obama’s inauguration ceremony. And after his first week in office, there is widespread approval for the job Obama is doing as president. The latest FOX News poll finds 65 percent of Americans approve of the job Obama is doing, 16 percent disapprove and for 19 percent it is too soon to say.
Nearly all Democrats (85 percent) approve of Obama’s job performance. In addition, a 64 percent majority of independents approve, and about just as many Republicans approve (37 percent) as disapprove (36 percent) of the new president’s job performance.
And most Americans are pleased with the pace the new administration has set. Two-thirds (66 percent) say Obama is making policy changes at the right speed. For 5 percent Obama is not moving quickly enough and 24 percent think he is making changes too quickly.
Approval of Congress increased significantly in the last two weeks. Some 40 percent of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing, up from 23 percent (January 13-14, 2009).
The poll also shows the public is confident in the Secret Service doing their job. A sizable 66 percent majority is “extremely” (28 percent) or “very” (38 percent) confident the Secret Service can protect President Obama from harm.
Former President Bill Clinton, speaking earlier today at Davos, site of the annual World Economic Forum, talked of a reformed capitalism coming out of the current economic crisis.
** SCHWARZENEGGER WINS ON STATE WORKER FURLOUGHS. As anticipated, a Sacramento Superior Court judge this morning handed Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger a victory in a court case brought by California public employee unions seeking to block his move to order two furlough days per month for state workers. The move, occasioned by the deepening state of California’s chronic budget crisis, saves the state $1.4 billion per year and cuts state employee pay by about 10%.
Judge Patrick Marlette ruled that Schwarzenegger’s order is “reasonable and necessary under the circumstances.”
** NEW COLUMN COMING UP … OBAMA IN THE TANK.
** GALLUP POLL ON PARTISAN I.D. BY STATE – REPUBLICAN EDGE IN ONLY SEVEN STATES. A very interesting new Gallup Poll on the states and the political parties. One big takeaway: The Republicans have the edge today in only seven states. Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Alaska, Nebraska, Kansas, and Alabama.
** NEW POLL: CALIFORNIANS’ OUTLOOK DOUR, BUT WIDESPREAD FAITH IN OBAMA. The new Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) poll contains predictably dour views on the state’s direction, the economy, the state budget, and most state leaders. But it shows a stunning level of support for new President Barack Obama, who carried California over Republican John McCain, 61% to 37%.
The number of Californians viewing the state as heading in the wrong direction, 75%, is double what it was in January 2007 following Schwarzenegger’s second landslide election as California’s governor. Why the change? Well, the economic crisis, obviously, and frustration with the gridlock in California’s Capitol.
Here are the numbers on some specific proposals to solve California’s chronic budget crisis.
Alcohol excise tax: Overwhelming support for raising it by 5 cents per drink (85% favor, 13% oppose).
Vehicle license fee: A majority favor raising it by $12 (58% favor, 41% oppose).
Sales tax: A slim majority favor temporarily increasing the state sales tax by 1.5 cents (52% favor, 46% oppose); 47 percent favor and 50 percent oppose extending the state sales tax to include services such as vehicle repair, veterinary services, and tickets to sporting events.
Cutting state employee compensation: Residents are divided (49% oppose, 45% favor). The governor has proposed requiring employees to take two unpaid days off a month, eliminating two holidays, and changing overtime rules.
Shortening school year: A majority oppose it (63% oppose, 35% favor).
Majorities also favor raising the state income tax rate paid by the wealthiest residents (72%) and raising the state taxes paid by corporations (60%). But they remain opposed (55%) to borrowing money from future state lottery income to fill the budget gap.
A protracted impasse over the state budget appears to have made Californians more supportive of reforms in the budget process, as evidenced by their increased support for changing the two-thirds threshold for budget passage to 55 percent (54% in favor today, 46% in June 2003).
And a strong majority (70%) support a strict limit on annual state spending increases. Support for a spending cap has not been this high since June 2003 (70%) when the PPIC survey first asked the question.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose job approval rating had gone back up in the high 40s late last year, dropped back to 40% in this poll. He is, however, viewed much more favorably than the Legislature.
While Schwarzenegger was the commanding figure in California after his smashing 2006 re-election, today it is President Obama. 79% say he will be “a strong and commanding president.” In contrast, George W. Bush managed 54% in 2001 and 51% in 2005 following his elections to the presidency. Bush lost California both times.
** OBAMA AND THE CALIFORNIA WAY ON CLIMATE. President Barack Obama is choosing the California way of dealing with climate change. What this means is that major action to curtail greenhouse gases can happen faster, and without dealing with a traditional lobby-dominated Congress, with California and other states leading the way and doing the work.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin delivered a keyenote address at Davos yesterday opening the annual World Economic Forum. More directly than Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who spoke later, he criticized the US for starting the global economic crisis and scoffed at Wall Street.
** OBAMA TODAY. Fresh off the big win for his economic revival program late yesterday in the House of Representatives, President Barack Obama meets with his senior staff and advisors this morning in the White House. In the afternoon, he and Vice President Joe Biden confer separately with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Obama is getting reports from his new Mideast envoy, former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, who is on a tour of the region. Mitchell is meeting today with Palestinian leaders, but not with Hamas.
This morning, Obama signed a new equal pay for equal work bill.
The Obama team is happy that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has accepted an invitation to appear on the same platform with him Saturday night at the so-called Alfalfa Club annual dinner in Washington. The club is a group of mostly older rich white guys who put on a private dinner every year for top politicians. It’s not open to the press, but is much leaked.
I believe it’s part of the Obama strategy to encourage the continued prominence of Palin, and to goad Rush Limbaugh from time to time, thus elevating his stature, in order to define the Republican Party on terms Obama is very comfortable with.
Meanwhile, US-style hyper-capitalism is taking a pasting in Switzerland at the annual Davos conference of global movers and shakers. Wall Street folks were all the rage a year ago. Not so this year, with the leaders of Russia (Vladimir Putin in a keynote address) and China blaming Wall Street for starting the global economic crisis.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger holds private talks in and around the Capitol, mostly focused on California’s chronic budget crisis.
Some Republican legislators, who have essentially blockaded the budget for months by publicly refusing to consider any tax hikes, seem to be getting closer to going for a budget that includes tax hikes as well as program cuts and a spending cap.
Naturally, much of California’s far right – which is doing a remarkable job of driving the state’s Republican Party deeper into permanent minority status – is going bonkers over this.
Schwarzenegger said yesterday he expects a budget deal in the next 10 days.
Meanwhile, a judge conducts a hearing today on a lawsuit by public employee unions trying to block Schwarzenegger’s plan to furlough state workers. If he is blocked from this move, which would save $1.4 billion, Schwarzenegger says he’ll have to lay-off some workers.
** OBAMA: RIDING WITH HISTORY. (NOTE: As Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, this column was the featured column on the top of the front page of the Huffington Post.) … From my January 19th Huffington Post column.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer, bringing you English-language, jargon-free, fast-paced coverage of global and Russian news from the new Russia Today channel. You probably already know about CNN International, BBC World, and Al Jazeera. Russia Today, which also features culture, entertainment, and sports, is based in Moscow and is owned and operated by the TV Novosti division of Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti.
While it’s quite foolish to expect to see, say, criticism of Vladimir Putin on Russia Today, which I know as a former DemRussia advisor, the channel is very interesting nonetheless. With U.S. cable news chattering away as it does, this sort of respite can be informative. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in two wars in the region, it’s valuable to keep up with news and perspectives from the leading Middle Eastern-based TV news network. Based in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, Al Jazeera is very influential and more than a bit controversial.
Among them is what I’m sure is the first piece examining Schwarzenegger’s legacy as governor of California. Since he will actually be governor of California until 2011. No technology known to be disruptive to the space/time continuum was used in its preparation.
The drop of $106 per barrel since the record high over the summer comes on acknowledgment that the weak US economy will cut future demand and on the easing of previous geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. It is clear that that, contrary to much chatter, neither the US nor Israel is about to launch a strike against Iran. And the Russian war with Georgia, confounding much speculation and reporting to the contrary, actually decreased the geopolitical risk premium in the oil market.
President Barack Obama met this morning at the White House with top business leaders to discuss his economic revival program.
** OBAMA ECONOMIC REVIVAL PROGRAM PASSES HOUSE IN PARTY-LINE VOTE. President Barack Obama got a major win late today when the House of Representatives passed his $825 billion economic revival program, 244 to 188. No Republican voted for it. Republicans tried earlier today to substitute a tax cuts-only program, which, with only 170 votes, lost a lot of Republicans.
Nevertheless, Obama, who spent two hours today over at the Pentagon in a meeting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff – I’ll have a column on that – is having Democratic and Republican legislative leaders over this evening for drinks.
His economic program goes on to the Senate, where it is expected to receive some Republican support.
** CALIFORNIA’S SOLAR POWER USAGE PICKED UP LAST YEAR. While he’s been consumed of late with the state’s chronic budget crisis, Schwarzenegger got some good news on another front. With his Million Solar Roofs initiative starting to kick in, California’s installation of solar electricity doubled in 2008 from the year earlier, according to the state’s Public Utilities Commission.
** SCHWARZENEGGER GENIALLY DELIVERS A DOUR MESSAGE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger made his annual appearance today at the January luncheon of the Sacramento Press Club. Despite repeated questions, he gave no particular details about the ongoing negotiations on California’s chronic budget crisis. He did say that the state’s climate change program, now on the verge of getting the greenlight from the new Obama Administration, will be fully implemented.
As for legal challenges to his proposed furloughs of state workers, he said that if they succeed, which he doubts, he will have to actually lay off state workers.
He also said that the legal motion today by former Governor-turned-Attorney General Jerry Brown to replace the prison receiver and drop the $8 billion construction program he’s ordered is necessary. But that, in any event, that money will never be spent.
** BROWN AND SCHWARZENEGGER ADMINISTRATION SUE TO END PRISON RECEIVERSHIP AND $8 BILLION CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM. Former Governor-turned-Attorney General Jerry Brown appeared this morning at a Capitol press conference with state finance director Mike Genest and state corrections chief Matthew Cate to announce the filing of a motion in federal court to replace the current receiver overseeing the state’s long troubled prison system and terminate the receiver’s plan to require the state to spend $8 billion on construction to meet a constitutional standard of health care. The current receiver’s plans are dangerous to the state’s already overburdened finances.
“The court should terminate this unaccountable prison receivership and its $8 billion construction plan, restoring a dose of fiscal reality to the provision of inmate medical care in California,” said Brown. “The federal receivership has turned into its own autonomous government operating outside the normal checks and balances of state and federal law.”
** OBAMA AND THE CALIFORNIA WAY ON CLIMATE. President Barack Obama is choosing the California way of dealing with climate change. What this means is that major action to curtail greenhouse gases can happen faster, and without dealing with a traditional lobby-dominated Congress, with California and other states leading the way and doing the work.
New US Mideast envoy George Mitchell kicked off his tour of the region yesterday in Egypt.
** OBAMA TODAY. A big day for President Barack Obam. He meets this morning with business leaders in the White House on the economic crisis, then makes some public remarks.
In the afternoon, he and Vice President Joe Biden go out to the Pentagon for their first meeting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The’ll be going over the drawdown of US combat troops from Iraq and what looks like a min-surge of US troops to Afghanistan.
And tonight, the House of Representatives votes on Obama’s economic revival program. Some Republicans have seized on some pork that has inevitably made its way into the package. How many Republican votes will Obama get in the House? Probably not many. Of course, that’s not a problem on this issue.
The truth is, Obama doesn’t need any House Republican votes. And he only needs a couple of Senate Republican votes if the minority party decides to try a filibuster.
But it serves Obama’s long-term interests to try to be bipartisan. Or at least to appear to try to be bipartisan.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger makes his annual appearance today at the January luncheon of the Sacramento Press Club. He also holds private talks in and around the Capitol, mostly focused on California’s chronic budget crisis.
Schwarzenegger will get lots of questions about the budget crisis at the Press Club luncheon, naturally, but may not have many specifics about the ongoing negotiations.
Some Republican legislators, who have essentially blockaded the budget for months by publicly refusing to consider any tax hikes, seem to be getting closer to going for a budget that includes tax hikes as well as program cuts and a spending cap.
Naturally, much of California’s far right – which is doing a remarkable job of driving the state’s Republican Party deeper into permanent minority status – is going bonkers over this.
The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association is running some ads in a few markets making the argument that it’s all a spending problem, and not a revenue problem, notwithstanding the fact that big cuts have already been agreed to.
** “MAC IS BACK?” HEY, IT NEVER LEFT. MACINTOSH TURNS 25. Whenever John McCain and his backers would start up one of their chants in the campaign that “Mac is back,” I’d say, what the heck are they talking about? It’s never left.
So here we are, 25 years to the day since Apple launched the Macintosh computer. And the Mac, unlike my old friend John McCain, is going as strong as ever, maybe even stronger. It hasn’t taken over the world, as Steve Jobs hoped. But it’s changed the face of computing in many ways, and is doing a lot better than any other computer in this global recession.
I’m a Mac guy since the ’80s. I run what we laughingly call my operation, a one-person operation, that is, as a Mac shop. Two Apple laptops on a wireless network, with a six-year old iBook as an emergency back-up.
But it’s deeper than that. I was there in Silicon Valley 25 years ago when the Macintosh was launched by Steve Jobs.
I was working with Senator Gary Hart then, and had gotten to know his backer, Apple’s marketing and PR guru Regis McKenna (I later worked with him as assistant to the chairman at his firm). Regis, who came up with the Apple logo, told me that I really didn’t want to miss the 1984 Apple shareholders’ meeting. As usual, he was right. …
** OBAMA: RIDING WITH HISTORY. (NOTE: As Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, this column was the featured column on the top of the front page of the Huffington Post.) … From my January 19th Huffington Post column.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin kicks off the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland with a keynote address.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer, bringing you English-language, jargon-free, fast-paced coverage of global and Russian news from the new Russia Today channel. You probably already know about CNN International, BBC World, and Al Jazeera. Russia Today, which also features culture, entertainment, and sports, is based in Moscow and is owned and operated by the TV Novosti division of Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti.
While it’s quite foolish to expect to see, say, criticism of Vladimir Putin on Russia Today, which I know as a former DemRussia advisor, the channel is very interesting nonetheless. With U.S. cable news chattering away as it does, this sort of respite can be informative. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in two wars in the region, it’s valuable to keep up with news and perspectives from the leading Middle Eastern-based TV news network. Based in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, Al Jazeera is very influential and more than a bit controversial.
Among them is what I’m sure is the first piece examining Schwarzenegger’s legacy as governor of California. Since he will actually be governor of California until 2011. No technology known to be disruptive to the space/time continuum was used in its preparation.
The drop of $106 per barrel since the record high over the summer comes on acknowledgment that the weak US economy will cut future demand and on the easing of previous geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. It is clear that that, contrary to much chatter, neither the US nor Israel is about to launch a strike against Iran. And the Russian war with Georgia, confounding much speculation and reporting to the contrary, actually decreased the geopolitical risk premium in the oil market.
President Barack Obama dispatched his special envoy to the Middle East, former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, to the region for a trip beginning today.
** OBAMA AND THE CALIFORNIA WAY ON CLIMATE. President Barack Obama is choosing the California way of dealing with climate change. What this means is that major action to curtail greenhouse gases can happen faster, and without dealing with a traditional lobby-dominated Congress, with California and other states leading the way and doing the work.
“Dedicated to building America’s future, supporting fresh ideas and candidates who share our vision for reform and innovation. SarahPAC believes America’s best days are ahead. Our country, founded on conservative principles and the fight for freedom, must confront the challenges of the 21st century with integrity, innovation, and determination.
“SarahPAC believes energy independence is a cornerstone of the economic security and progress that every American family wants and deserves.
“SarahPAC believes the Republican Party is at the threshold of an historic renaissance that will build a better future for all. Health care, education, and reform of government are among our key goals. Join us today!”
Yay.
** CONFIDENCE IN OBAMA CHANGE UP IN WAKE OF INAUGURAL ADDRESS. The new Hotline poll shows a whopping 75% of US voters “confident that he will bring real change to the way things are done in Washington, DC.” 68% said that they watched President Obama’s Inaugural Address last week. 33% said it was the best inaugural address ever. 45% said it was better than most. 16% said it was about the same as past inaugurals.
63% say they approve of Obama’s performance as president. 76% say they have a favorable impression of Obama, while only 15% have an unfavorable impression.
** LATE MORNING UPDATE: NO CALIFORNIA BUDGET DEAL YET. A breathless situation, no?
** NEW COLUMN COMING UP … OBAMA AND THE CALIFORNIA WAY ON CLIMATE POLICY.
** OBAMA’S FIRST NETWORK TV INTERVIEW, EXCERPTED.INTERVIEW OF THE PRESIDENT BY HISHAM MELHEM, AL ARABIYA. White House Map Room 5:46 P.M. EST, Monday 1/26/08.
Q Mr. President, thank you for this opportunity, we really appreciate it.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you so much.
Q Sir, you just met with your personal envoy to the Middle East, Senator Mitchell. Obviously, his first task is to consolidate the cease-fire. But beyond that you’ve been saying that you want to pursue actively and aggressively peacemaking between the Palestinians and the Israelis. Tell us a little bit about how do you see your personal role, because, you know, if the President of the United States is not involved, nothing happens — as the history of peacemaking shows. Will you be proposing ideas, pitching proposals, parameters, as one of your predecessors did? Or just urging the parties to come up with their own resolutions, as your immediate predecessor did?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think the most important thing is for the United States to get engaged right away. And George Mitchell is somebody of enormous stature. He is one of the few people who have international experience brokering peace deals. And so what I told him is start by listening, because all too often the United States starts by dictating — in the past on some of these issues — and we don’t always know all the factors that are involved. So let’s listen. He’s going to be speaking to all the major parties involved. And he will then report back to me. From there we will formulate a specific response.
Ultimately, we cannot tell either the Israelis or the Palestinians what’s best for them. They’re going to have to make some decisions. But I do believe that the moment is ripe for both sides to realize that the path that they are on is one that is not going to result in prosperity and security for their people. And that instead, it’s time to return to the negotiating table.
And it’s going to be difficult, it’s going to take time. I don’t want to prejudge many of these issues, and I want to make sure that expectations are not raised so that we think that this is going to be resolved in a few months. But if we start the steady progress on these issues, I’m absolutely confident that the United States — working in tandem with the European Union, with Russia, with all the Arab states in the region — I’m absolutely certain that we can make significant progress.
Q You’ve been saying essentially that we should not look at these issues — like the Palestinian-Israeli track and separation from the border region — you’ve been talking about a kind of holistic approach to the region. Are we expecting a different paradigm in the sense that in the past one of the critiques — at least from the Arab side, the Muslim side — is that everything the Americans always tested with the Israelis, if it works. Now there is an Arab peace plan, there is a regional aspect to it. And you’ve indicated that. Would there be any shift, a paradigm shift?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, here’s what I think is important. Look at the proposal that was put forth by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia –
Q Right.
THE PRESIDENT: I might not agree with every aspect of the proposal, but it took great courage –
Q Absolutely.
THE PRESIDENT: — to put forward something that is as significant as that. I think that there are ideas across the region of how we might pursue peace.
I do think that it is impossible for us to think only in terms of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and not think in terms of what’s happening with Syria or Iran or Lebanon or Afghanistan and Pakistan. These things are interrelated. And what I’ve said, and I think Hillary Clinton has expressed this in her confirmation, is that if we are looking at the region as a whole and communicating a message to the Arab world and the Muslim world, that we are ready to initiate a new partnership based on mutual respect and mutual interest, then I think that we can make significant progress.
Now, Israel is a strong ally of the United States. They will not stop being a strong ally of the United States. And I will continue to believe that Israel’s security is paramount. But I also believe that there are Israelis who recognize that it is important to achieve peace. They will be willing to make sacrifices if the time is appropriate and if there is serious partnership on the other side.
And so what we want to do is to listen, set aside some of the preconceptions that have existed and have built up over the last several years. And I think if we do that, then there’s a possibility at least of achieving some breakthroughs. …
Q Absolutely. Let me take a broader look at the whole region. You are planning to address the Muslim world in your first 100 days from a Muslim capital. And everybody is speculating about the capital. (Laughter.) If you have anything further, that would be great.
How concerned are you — because, let me tell you, honestly, when I see certain things about America — in some parts, I don’t want to exaggerate — there is a demonization of America.
THE PRESIDENT: Absolutely.
Q It’s become like a new religion, and like a new religion it has new converts — like a new religion has its own high priests.
THE PRESIDENT: Right.
Q It’s only a religious text.
THE PRESIDENT: Right.
Q And in the last — since 9/11 and because of Iraq, that alienation is wider between the Americans and — and in generations past, the United States was held high. It was the only Western power with no colonial legacy.
THE PRESIDENT: Right.
Q How concerned are you and — because people sense that you have a different political discourse. And I think, judging by (inaudible) and Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden and all these, you know — a chorus –
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, I noticed this. They seem nervous.
Q They seem very nervous, exactly. Now, tell me why they should be more nervous?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think that when you look at the rhetoric that they’ve been using against me before I even took office –
Q I know, I know.
THE PRESIDENT: — what that tells me is that their ideas are bankrupt. There’s no actions that they’ve taken that say a child in the Muslim world is getting a better education because of them, or has better health care because of them.
In my inauguration speech, I spoke about: You will be judged on what you’ve built, not what you’ve destroyed. And what they’ve been doing is destroying things. And over time, I think the Muslim world has recognized that that path is leading no place, except more death and destruction.
Now, my job is to communicate the fact that the United States has a stake in the well-being of the Muslim world, that the language we use has to be a language of respect. I have Muslim members of my family. I have lived in Muslim countries.
Q The largest one.
THE PRESIDENT: The largest one, Indonesia. And so what I want to communicate is the fact that in all my travels throughout the Muslim world, what I’ve come to understand is that regardless of your faith — and America is a country of Muslims, Jews, Christians, non-believers — regardless of your faith, people all have certain common hopes and common dreams.
And my job is to communicate to the American people that the Muslim world is filled with extraordinary people who simply want to live their lives and see their children live better lives. My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy. We sometimes make mistakes. We have not been perfect. But if you look at the track record, as you say, America was not born as a colonial power, and that the same respect and partnership that America had with the Muslim world as recently as 20 or 30 years ago, there’s no reason why we can’t restore that. And that I think is going to be an important task.
But ultimately, people are going to judge me not by my words but by my actions and my administration’s actions. And I think that what you will see over the next several years is that I’m not going to agree with everything that some Muslim leader may say, or what’s on a television station in the Arab world — but I think that what you’ll see is somebody who is listening, who is respectful, and who is trying to promote the interests not just of the United States, but also ordinary people who right now are suffering from poverty and a lack of opportunity. I want to make sure that I’m speaking to them, as well.
Q Tell me, time is running out, any decision on from where you will be visiting the Muslim world?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I’m not going to break the news right here.
Q Afghanistan?
THE PRESIDENT: But maybe next time. But it is something that is going to be important. …
Q President Bush framed the war on terror conceptually in a way that was very broad, “war on terror,” and used sometimes certain terminology that the many people — Islamic fascism. You’ve always framed it in a different way, specifically against one group called al Qaeda and their collaborators. And is this one way of…
THE PRESIDENT: I think that you’re making a very important point. And that is that the language we use matters. And what we need to understand is, is that there are extremist organizations — whether Muslim or any other faith in the past — that will use faith as a justification for violence. We cannot paint with a broad brush a faith as a consequence of the violence that is done in that faith’s name.
And so you will I think see our administration be very clear in distinguishing between organizations like al Qaeda — that espouse violence, espouse terror and act on it — and people who may disagree with my administration and certain actions, or may have a particular viewpoint in terms of how their countries should develop. We can have legitimate disagreements but still be respectful. I cannot respect terrorist organizations that would kill innocent civilians and we will hunt them down.
But to the broader Muslim world what we are going to be offering is a hand of friendship.
Q Can I end with a question on Iran and Iraq then quickly?
THE PRESIDENT: It’s up to the team –
MR. GIBBS: You have 30 seconds. (Laughter.)
Q Will the United States ever live with a nuclear Iran? And if not, how far are you going in the direction of preventing it?
THE PRESIDENT: You know, I said during the campaign that it is very important for us to make sure that we are using all the tools of U.S. power, including diplomacy, in our relationship with Iran.
Now, the Iranian people are a great people, and Persian civilization is a great civilization. Iran has acted in ways that’s not conducive to peace and prosperity in the region: their threats against Israel; their pursuit of a nuclear weapon which could potentially set off an arms race in the region that would make everybody less safe; their support of terrorist organizations in the past — none of these things have been helpful.
But I do think that it is important for us to be willing to talk to Iran, to express very clearly where our differences are, but where there are potential avenues for progress. And we will over the next several months be laying out our general framework and approach. And as I said during my inauguration speech, if countries like Iran are willing to unclench their fist, they will find an extended hand from us. …
It turns out that 90% of the executives running the bailed-out banks were running them when they crashed.
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama goes up to Capitol Hill today to discuss his economic recovery program with Senate and House Republicans. The House Republicans, whose ranks have been diminished to essentially conservative members, are likely to oppose Obama. Senate Republicans, who have to appeal to actual states, rather than gerrymandered districts, are more open to Obama.
The truth is, Obama doesn’t need any House Republican votes. And he only needs a couple of Senate Republican votes if the minority party decides to try a filibuster.
But it serves Obama’s interests to try to be bipartisan. Or at least to appear to try to be bipartisan.
In other action, Obama’s holdover Defense Secretary Bob Gates is testifying to a joint hearing of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees. The US has just dispatched 3000 additional troops to the troubled war in Afghanistan. Gates is discussing a coming “surge” in the moutainous failed state that has confounded foreign militaries for centuries.
Meanwhile, Obama is catching a break on some geopolitical crises. Not that they are necessarily “breaks,” as Obama and his emissaries have been in touch with global players for months, and at least one of the developments is directly tied to his inauguration as president.
Israel has all its troops out of the Gaza Strip. And Russia has restarted natural gas flows to Europe through Ukraine. With the likelihood of Ukraine moving back into the embrace of Moscow. So much of what Russia is doing is to reassert itself in the “Post-Soviet Space.” The US has an emerging set of deals to supply the troubled war in Afghanistan outside the usual supply lines through increasingly unstable Pakistan. But more work remains with Moscow to lock all that down further, especially with regard to the transit of weapons.
Meanwhile, Iraq is beginning to look to a swifter US withdrawal of combat troops, with Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki saying that Iraq can be ready for a withdrawal of all US combat forces in 16 months.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger holds private talks in and around the Capitol, mostly focused on California’s chronic budget crisis. Schwarzenegger appears at a meeting of the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisors this afternoon. But press will only be allowed in for a “photo spray” at the top of the meeting.
Some Republican legislators, who have essentially blockaded the budget for months by publicly refusing to consider any tax hikes, seem to be getting closer to going for a budget that includes tax hikes as well as program cuts and a spending cap.
Naturally, much of California’s far right – which is doing a remarkable job of driving the state’s Republican Party deeper into permanent minority status – is going bonkers over this.
And environmentalists are deeply suspicious of what the Republicans might want in exchange for at last coming to a resolution on the budget crisis, and will hold a press conference today charging that the right wants to wreck the state’s environmental safeguards in exchange for a needed tax hike.
** “MAC IS BACK?” HEY, IT NEVER LEFT. MACINTOSH TURNS 25. Whenever John McCain and his backers would start up one of their chants in the campaign that “Mac is back,” I’d say, what the heck are they talking about? It’s never left.
So here we are, 25 years to the day since Apple launched the Macintosh computer. And the Mac, unlike my old friend John McCain, is going as strong as ever, maybe even stronger. It hasn’t taken over the world, as Steve Jobs hoped. But it’s changed the face of computing in many ways, and is doing a lot better than any other computer in this global recession.
I’m a Mac guy since the ’80s. I run what we laughingly call my operation, a one-person operation, that is, as a Mac shop. Two Apple laptops on a wireless network, with a six-year old iBook as an emergency back-up.
But it’s deeper than that. I was there in Silicon Valley 25 years ago when the Macintosh was launched by Steve Jobs.
I was working with Senator Gary Hart then, and had gotten to know his backer, Apple’s marketing and PR guru Regis McKenna (I later worked with him as assistant to the chairman at his firm). Regis, who came up with the Apple logo, told me that I really didn’t want to miss the 1984 Apple shareholders’ meeting. As usual, he was right. …
** OBAMA: RIDING WITH HISTORY. (NOTE: As Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, this column was the featured column on the top of the front page of the Huffington Post.) … From my January 19th Huffington Post column.
** ANOTHER DAY: 24 AND THE AGE OF OBAMA.One of the signature TV series of the Bush/Cheney years is back. What relevance, if any, does it have in the new age of Obama? … From my January 13th column.
** CIA: THE PANETTA PICK AND THE FEINSTEIN FACTOR.President-elect Barack Obama named his top intelligence leadership team on Friday. And, as I expected, new Senate Intelligence Committee chair Dianne Feinstein rather quickly backed down from her opposition to Leon Panetta and championing of a CIA insider for the post, of only a few days ago. The whole exercise was very instructive in old and new political dynamics. … From my January 12th column.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer, bringing you English-language, jargon-free, fast-paced coverage of global and Russian news from the new Russia Today channel. You probably already know about CNN International, BBC World, and Al Jazeera. Russia Today, which also features culture, entertainment, and sports, is based in Moscow and is owned and operated by the TV Novosti division of Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti.
While it’s quite foolish to expect to see, say, criticism of Vladimir Putin on Russia Today, which I know as a former DemRussia advisor, the channel is very interesting nonetheless. With U.S. cable news chattering away as it does, this sort of respite can be informative. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in two wars in the region, it’s valuable to keep up with news and perspectives from the leading Middle Eastern-based TV news network. Based in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, Al Jazeera is very influential and more than a bit controversial.
Among them is what I’m sure is the first piece examining Schwarzenegger’s legacy as governor of California. Since he will actually be governor of California until 2011. No technology known to be disruptive to the space/time continuum was used in its preparation.
The drop of $104 per barrel since the record high over the summer comes on acknowledgment that the weak US economy will cut future demand and on the easing of previous geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. It is clear that that, contrary to much chatter, neither the US nor Israel is about to launch a strike against Iran. And the Russian war with Georgia, confounding much speculation and reporting to the contrary, actually decreased the geopolitical risk premium in the oil market.
President Barack Obama this morning ordered the EPA to swiftly review California’s climate change legislation, previously blocked by the Bush/Cheney Administration, and accelerated implementation of new fuel efficiency standards.
** NEW COLUMN COMING UP … OBAMA AND THE CALIFORNIA WAY ON CLIMATE.
** GEITHNER CONFIRMED AS TREASURY SECRETARY ON MOSTLY PARTY-LINE VOTE, AS GOVERNANCE SWINGS TO THE WHITE HOUSE. Former New York Federal Reserve Bank president Timothy Geithner, who ran afoul of a past tax mishap and is blamed by some for not recognizing the Wall Street meltdown, was confirmed this afternoon by the US Senate on a 60 to 34 vote. Geithner will place his hand on the economic advisory and management tiller alongside that of Obama’s chief economic advisor in the White House, former Treasury Secretary and Harvard University president Larry Summers.
Obama is creating a system of czars and special envoys within the White House, which in some respects simply go around the traditional Cabinet posts.
Thus former Clinton Environmental Protection Agency chief Carol Browner, head of a new White House council on energy and the environment, is more powerful than new EPA chief LInda Jackson and Energy Secretary Steve Chu. (It’s noteworthy that Schwarzenegger spoke before his appearance today on Obama’s move clearing the way for California’s climate program to go into effect with Browner, not a Cabinet member.) Summers is more powerful than Cabinet members on economic policy. And while it might be unwise to say that Obama’s national security advisor, retired Marine General Jim Jones – former commander of NATO and commandant of the Marine Corps – is more powerful than Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, it might not be inaccurate.
** SCHWARZENEGGER AND ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERS LAUD OBAMA MOVE, PROMISE ACTION. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, joined by L.A. state Senator Fran Pavley, the bill’s author back in 2002, and other environment leaders this afternoon praised President Barack Obama for paving the way for federal approval of the state’s landmark law cutting tailpipe emissions of greenhouse gases.
In a Capitol press conference in which most of the questions came from a few Sacramento reporters talking about the state’s budget impasse – getting the predictable very limited responses from Schwarzenegger, as negotiations are at a critical point – the former action superstar praised Obama for his prompt action on climate change policy. At last, says Schwarzenegger, California has a real ally in the White House.
Obama directed the Environmental Protection Agency, which under President Bush dragged its heels for years before finally disallowing California’s climate law, to promptly re-evaluate the legislation.
Scwharzenegger also greatly praised Pavley, a Democrat who very much returned the favor, for her role. As a state assemblywoman, she authored the tailpipe emissions law in 2002 and co-authored the omnibus climate legislation of 2006.
Schwarzenegger, also praised former Governor-turned-Attorney General Jerry Brown, who has been fighting the federal government and automakers in court on this issue since taking office two years ago.
I’ll have a full report on all this, and the background behind it, in a column tomorrow morning.
President Barack Obama’s administration will engage in “direct diplomacy” with Iran, the newly installed U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said Monday. Not since before the 1979 Iranian revolution are U.S. officials believed to have conducted wide-ranging direct diplomacy with Iranian officials. But U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice warned that Iran must meet U.N. Security Council demands to suspend uranium enrichment before any talks on its nuclear program.
Iran is hurting with the crash in global oil prices, which creates opportunities. The Islamic republic has little refining capability and oil that is more expensive to produce. There has been tremendous discord in Iran for over a year about the country’s economic performance.
** MINNESOTA SENATE RECOUNT TRIAL BEGINS. With Republican incumbent Norm Coleman losing by 225 votes to comedian Al Franken in the race that is poised to give Democrats their 59th seat in the US Senate, the lawyers and judges are taking over. Coleman is suing to overturn the verdict of the state’s canvassing board. Today the trial begins that should give a definitive nod to one or the other candidate, probably Franken, the former Saturday Night Live star.
** SCHWARZENEGGER APPLAUDS OBAMA CLIMATE DECISION, HOLDS AFTERNOON PRESS CONFERENCE IN LIVE WEBCAST. “With this announcement from President Obama less than a week into his administration, it is clear that California and the environment now have a strong ally in the White House. Allowing California and other states to aggressively reduce their own harmful vehicle tailpipe emissions would be a historic win for clean air and for millions of Americans who want more fuel-efficient, environmentally-friendly cars. My administration has been fighting for this waiver since 2005 and we will not give up until it is granted because we owe it to our children and to our grandchildren to do more than just protect our natural resources, we must also work to improve them so that we leave behind an environment for future generations that is better than it is today.”
President Barack Obama is running into some Republican resistance to his economic revival program. But how much does it matter?
The Morning Column: MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK
An eventful week ahead in presidential politics and geopolitics.
Eventful for California politics? Maybe, maybe not.
President Barack Obama continues working on his economic revival program in a week in which corporate reports are expected to reach very dismal levels. He also sets the stage for a huge shift in environmental and energy policy in the US, and goes out to the Pentagon for his first meeting in the highly secure “Tank” with the Joint Chiefs of Staff on accelerating the US drawdown in Iraq and how best to surge forces and pursue politics in Afghanistan.
There’s emerging Republican opposition to Obama’s big economic program, but it’s unclear how much it matters. Perhaps it matters most for relations on other issues down the line, as the truth is that the Democrats have simply roll over the Republicans, especially in this time of deep economic crisis and discrediting of laissez-faire philosophy.
In geopolitics, many moves ahead on the various crises in the Middle East and South Asia, but the focal point of the week lies in Switzerland, where the annual Davos conference takes place.
In California politics, a boost from the Obama Administration for the state’s climate policy. President Obama pledged last year to support California’s climate change legislation, blocked for years by the foot-dragging and greenhouse denial of the Bush/Cheney Administration.
But the overhanging question remains: Will there be a resolution of the state’s chronic budget crisis? The state stops paying some people starting next week.
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich’s impeachment trial starts today. But he’s in New York on a whirlwind media tour.
The sideshow that transfixed much of the media after the election, the purported effort by Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich to sell Obama’s vacated US Senate seat, takes a fresh turn this week. The Illinois Legislature will almost certainly impeach the embattled governor sometime in the next few days.
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama makes a major environmental announcement this morning, essentially backing California’s climate change policy and accelerating federal fuel efficiency standards. I wrote about that yesterday and will be writing a lot more about it. He also meets with his economic team in the White House.
Meanwhile, Obama is catching a break on some geopolitical crises. Not that they are necessarily “breaks,” as Obama and his emissaries have been in touch with global players for months, and at least one of the developments is directly tied to his inauguration as president.
Israel has all its troops out of the Gaza Strip. And Russia is restarting natural gas flows to Europe through Ukraine. At a cost down the line to the notion of Ukraine joining NATO. The US has an emerging set of deals to supply the troubled war in Afghanistan outside the usual supply lines through increasingly unstable Pakistan. But more work remains with Moscow to lock all that down further, especially with regard to the transit of weapons.
Meanwhile, Iraq is beginning to look to a swifter US withdrawal of combat troops. And Afghanistan is looking to a surge of US combat troops.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger holds private talks in and around the Capitol, mostly focused on California’s chronic budget crisis. Schwarzenegger has no scheduled public events today.
Some Republican legislators, who have essentially blockaded the budget for months by publicly refusing to consider any tax hikes, seem to be getting closer to going for a budget that includes tax hikes as well as program cuts and a spending cap.
Naturally, much of California’s far right – which is doing a remarkable job of driving the state’s Republican Party deeper into permanent minority status – is going bonkers over this.
** “MAC IS BACK?” HEY, IT NEVER LEFT. MACINTOSH TURNS 25. Whenever John McCain and his backers would start up one of their chants in the campaign that “Mac is back,” I’d say, what the heck are they talking about? It’s never left.
So here we are, 25 years to the day since Apple launched the Macintosh computer. And the Mac, unlike my old friend John McCain, is going as strong as ever, maybe even stronger. It hasn’t taken over the world, as Steve Jobs hoped. But it’s changed the face of computing in many ways, and is doing a lot better than any other computer in this global recession.
I’m a Mac guy since the ’80s. I run what we laughingly call my operation, a one-person operation, that is, as a Mac shop. Two Apple laptops on a wireless network, with a six-year old iBook as an emergency back-up.
But it’s deeper than that. I was there in Silicon Valley 25 years ago when the Macintosh was launched by Steve Jobs.
I was working with Senator Gary Hart then, and had gotten to know his backer, Apple’s marketing and PR guru Regis McKenna (I later worked with him as assistant to the chairman at his firm). Regis, who came up with the Apple logo, told me that I really didn’t want to miss the 1984 Apple shareholders’ meeting. As usual, he was right. …
** OBAMA: RIDING WITH HISTORY. (NOTE: As Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, this column was the featured column on the top of the front page of the Huffington Post.) … From my Monday Huffington Post column.
** ANOTHER DAY: 24 AND THE AGE OF OBAMA.One of the signature TV series of the Bush/Cheney years is back. What relevance, if any, does it have in the new age of Obama? … From my January 13th column.
** CIA: THE PANETTA PICK AND THE FEINSTEIN FACTOR.President-elect Barack Obama named his top intelligence leadership team on Friday. And, as I expected, new Senate Intelligence Committee chair Dianne Feinstein rather quickly backed down from her opposition to Leon Panetta and championing of a CIA insider for the post, of only a few days ago. The whole exercise was very instructive in old and new political dynamics. … From my January 12th column.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer, bringing you English-language, jargon-free, fast-paced coverage of global and Russian news from the new Russia Today channel. You probably already know about CNN International, BBC World, and Al Jazeera. Russia Today, which also features culture, entertainment, and sports, is based in Moscow and is owned and operated by the TV Novosti division of Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti.
While it’s quite foolish to expect to see, say, criticism of Vladimir Putin on Russia Today, which I know as a former DemRussia advisor, the channel is very interesting nonetheless. With U.S. cable news chattering away as it does, this sort of respite can be informative. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in two wars in the region, it’s valuable to keep up with news and perspectives from the leading Middle Eastern-based TV news network. Based in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, Al Jazeera is very influential and more than a bit controversial.
Among them is what I’m sure is the first piece examining Schwarzenegger’s legacy as governor of California. Since he will actually be governor of California until 2011. No technology known to be disruptive to the space/time continuum was used in its preparation.
This is a significant advance since the inauguration of President Barack Obama, relecting the oil market’s view that the US economy will experience a recovery under the new American administration.
The drop of $101 per barrel since the record high over the summer comes on acknowledgment that the weak US economy will cut future demand and on the easing of previous geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. It is clear that that, contrary to much chatter, neither the US nor Israel is about to launch a strike against Iran. And the Russian war with Georgia, confounding much speculation and reporting to the contrary, actually decreased the geopolitical risk premium in the oil market.
Steve Jobs introduced the Macintosh computer 25 years ago today at this Apple shareholders meeting on January 24, 1984.
** OBAMA TO DIRECT E.P.A. RECONSIDERATION OF CALIFORNIA’S GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS LAW. On Monday, President Barack Obama will order the US Environmental Protection to reconsider its Bush/Cheney era denial of California’s landmark tailpipe emissions law. The EPA is expected to shortly issue the customary waiver granted California for decades under the Clean Air Act to go beyond federal regulations regarding air pollution.
This move will allow not only California, but 13 other states which subsequently adopted similar laws, to move ahead with the first real moves to combat climate change. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and former Governor-turned-Attorney General Jerry Brown sued the Bush/Cheney Administration for its years of foot-dragging on the law, which was enacted in 2002, and for its 2007 denial of the law.
** OBAMA TODAY - SUNDAY. President Barack Obama is in the White House. He has no scheduled public events today. Vice President Joe Biden appears on the CBS program, Face The Nation. The director of Obama’s National Economic Council, former Treasury Secretary and Harvard president Larry Summers appears on Meet The Press.
Obama and his team are devising stricter regulations for the financial industry in the wake of last fall’s Wall Street meltdown and of major abuses by Wall Street executives of the first part of the federal bailout of the industyr.
Obama is also fielding criticism from congressional Republicans about his economic revival program and contemplating what sort of changes, if any, he might need to make.
Obama is dispatching his longtime confidante, White House senior advisor Valerie Jarrett, as his representative at Davos, the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum this week in Switzerland. Summers and National Security Advisor Jim Jones were planning to go, but Obama is holding Summers back in Washington to work on the economic revival program and General Jones for Obama’s Wednesday trip to the Pentagon to meet with the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
** “MAC IS BACK?” HEY, IT NEVER LEFT. MACINTOSH TURNS 25. Whenever John McCain and his backers would start up one of their chants in the campaign that “Mac is back,” I’d say, what the heck are they talking about? It’s never left.
So here we are, 25 years to the day since Apple launched the Macintosh computer. And the Mac, unlike my old friend John McCain, is going as strong as ever, maybe even stronger. It hasn’t taken over the world, as Steve Jobs hoped. But it’s changed the face of computing in many ways, and is doing a lot better than any other computer in this global recession.
I’m a Mac guy since the ’80s. I run what we laughingly call my operation, a one-person operation, that is, as a Mac shop. Two Apple laptops on a wireless network, with a six-year old iBook as an emergency back-up.
But it’s deeper than that. I was there in Silicon Valley 25 years ago when the Macintosh was launched by Steve Jobs.
I was working with Senator Gary Hart then, and had gotten to know his backer, Apple’s marketing and PR guru Regis McKenna (I later worked with him as assistant to the chairman at his firm). Regis, who came up with the Apple logo, told me that I really didn’t want to miss the 1984 Apple shareholders’ meeting. As usual, he was right. …
President Barack Obama discusses the economic crisis and his recovery program in his weekly video/radio address.
** OBAMA’S WEEKEND ADDRESS.We begin this year and this Administration in the midst of an unprecedented crisis that calls for unprecedented action. Just this week, we saw more people file for unemployment than at any time in the last twenty-six years, and experts agree that if nothing is done, the unemployment rate could reach double digits. Our economy could fall $1 trillion short of its full capacity, which translates into more than $12,000 in lost income for a family of four. And we could lose a generation of potential, as more young Americans are forced to forgo college dreams or the chance to train for the jobs of the future.
In short, if we do not act boldly and swiftly, a bad situation could become dramatically worse.
That is why I have proposed an American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan to immediately jumpstart job creation as well as long-term economic growth. I am pleased to say that both parties in Congress are already hard at work on this plan, and I hope to sign it into law in less than a month.
It’s a plan that will save or create three to four million jobs over the next few years, and one that recognizes both the paradox and the promise of this moment – the fact that there are millions of Americans trying to find work even as, all around the country, there’s so much work to be done. That’s why this is not just a short-term program to boost employment. It’s one that will invest in our most important priorities like energy and education; health care and a new infrastructure that are necessary to keep us strong and competitive in the 21st century.
Today I’d like to talk specifically about the progress we expect to make in each of these areas.
To accelerate the creation of a clean energy economy, we will double our capacity to generate alternative sources of energy like wind, solar, and biofuels over the next three years. We’ll begin to build a new electricity grid that lay down more than 3,000 miles of transmission lines to convey this new energy from coast to coast. We’ll save taxpayers $2 billion a year by making 75% of federal buildings more energy efficient, and save the average working family $350 on their energy bills by weatherizing 2.5 million homes.
To lower health care costs, cut medical errors, and improve care, we’ll computerize the nation’s health records in five years, saving billions of dollars in health care costs and countless lives. And we’ll protect health insurance for more than 8 million Americans who are in danger of losing their coverage during this economic downturn.
To ensure our children can compete and succeed in this new economy, we’ll renovate and modernize 10,000 schools, building state-of-the-art classrooms, libraries, and labs to improve learning for over five million students. We’ll invest more in Pell Grants to make college affordable for seven million more students, provide a $2,500 college tax credit to four million students, and triple the number of fellowships in science to help spur the next generation of innovation.
Finally, we will rebuild and retrofit America to meet the demands of the 21st century. That means repairing and modernizing thousands of miles of America’s roadways and providing new mass transit options for millions of Americans. It means protecting America by securing 90 major ports and creating a better communications network for local law enforcement and public safety officials in the event of an emergency. And it means expanding broadband access to millions of Americans, so businesses can compete on a level-playing field, wherever they’re located.
I know that some are skeptical about the size and scale of this recovery plan. I understand that skepticism, which is why this recovery plan must and will include unprecedented measures that will allow the American people to hold my Administration accountable for these results. We won’t just throw money at our problems – we’ll invest in what works. Instead of politicians doling out money behind a veil of secrecy, decisions about where we invest will be made public, and informed by independent experts whenever possible. We will launch an unprecedented effort to root out waste, inefficiency, and unnecessary spending in our government, and every American will be able to see how and where we spend taxpayer dollars by going to a new website called recovery.gov.
No one policy or program will solve the challenges we face right now, nor will this crisis recede in a short period of time. But if we act now and act boldly; if we start rewarding hard work and responsibility once more; if we act as citizens and not partisans and begin again the work of remaking America, then I have faith that we will emerge from this trying time even stronger and more prosperous than we were before. Thanks for listening.
** OBAMA AND HIS COMMANDERS.Now we’re into one of the most fascinating parts of the new Obama Administration, President Barack Obama’s relationship with America’s military commanders. How successful will he be in working with these people, and in carrying out the shift away from the old Bush/Cheney priorities?
Next week, Obama goes to the Pentagon, for a meeting in the highly secure “Tank” with the Joint Chiefs of Staff. While he’s keeping Defense Secretary Bob Gates on, we don’t yet know how many of the individual service chiefs — Navy, Marines, Army, Air Force — Obama intends to retain after their terms end. Nor do we know what his plans are for the current chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Navy Admiral Mike Mullen. Nor do we yet know what he wants to do with the current chiefs of the US Armed Forces’ international commands.
We do know that Obama already met, on Wednesday, with one general whose job looks secure for now, Central Command chief David Petraeus, as well as JCS chief Admiral Mullen, Defense Secretary Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Obama’s national security advisor, former Marine Corps commandant and NATO commander Jim Jones. …
Petraeus, subject of a memorable MoveOn.org ad as “General Betray-us” (done by a one-time colleague of mine), appears key to all of this. …
A top Republican operator, a John McCain man who admires Petraeus, told me this the week before Obama’s inauguration: “Now America’s smartest general and America’s smartest politician get to work together.”
For all the blood-and-guts hero worship of Petraeus on the far right, he’s actually a very political general. At the dawn of his career, upon his graduation from West Point, he married the daughter of the Military Academy’s commanding general. His approach around the Iraq surge was at least as political as it was military, playing the various Iraqi factions against one another and for the US and even engaging with Iran on its interests in quelling the violence.
Petraeus arrived in Washington on the night of Obama’s inauguration, having just concluded a lengthy tour of the Middle East, Central Asia, and South Asia, during which he consulted with the leaders of the various former Soviet republics and with top Russian figures. … From my Friday column.
“Think different.” The Mac turns 25.
** NEW COLUMN COMING UP … MACINTOSH TURNS 25.
** OBAMA TODAY – SATURDAY. President Barack Obama meets with his economic team in the White House. They are going over his economic recovery program, which is going to have some some changes going through Congress.
Meanwhile, Obama is catching a break on some geopolitical crises. Not that they are necessarily “breaks,” as Obama and his emissaries have been in touch with global players for months, and at least one of the developments is directly tied to his inauguration as president.
Israel has all its troops out of the Gaza Strip. And Russia is restarting natural gas flows to Europe through Ukraine. At a cost down the line to the notion of Ukraine joining NATO. The US has an emerging set of deals to supply the troubled war in Afghanistan outside the usual supply lines through increasingly unstable Pakistan. But more work remains with Moscow to lock all that down further, especially with regard to the transit of weapons.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in Los Angeles today. He has some private talks. His focus, naturally, is on the chronic California budget crisis. Schwarzenegger has no scheduled public events today.
Republican legislators, who have essentially blockaded the budget for months by publicly refusing to consider any tax hikes, seem to be getting closer to going for a budget that includes tax hikes as well as program cuts and a spending cap.
Naturally, much of California’s far right – which is doing a remarkable job of driving the state’s Republican Party deeper into permanent minority status – is going bonkers over this.
** OBAMA: RIDING WITH HISTORY. (NOTE: As Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, this column was the featured column on the top of the front page of the Huffington Post.)
As the hours count down to his inauguration, Barack Obama must be hearing the hoofbeats of history. He certainly invokes it. Indeed, he seeks to be one of its great riders.
For all the president-elect’s evocation of Abraham Lincoln — and his own description of Lincoln in “The Audacity of Hope” as both deep-seated idealist and ultra-pragmatist was more revealing of Obama’s political character than anything produced by any media outlet — fate and his own design cast what Obama says as our brand-new president alongside somewhat more contemporary figures.
Obama takes office as the 44th president of the United States at a moment of multi-faceted crisis. But it is not a moment like that of Lincoln’s inauguration. President Bush and his essentially feckless administration leave behind the worst economy since the Great Depression, an environment increasingly out of whack, two troubled, troubling, and mismanaged wars, a black eye around the globe, and a sense of fatigue from years of overwrought hysteria. Lincoln’s challenge was of a very different nature.
So the figures of comparison for Obama, his fellow riders of history if you will, are, notwithstanding his hero Lincoln, different. … From my Monday Huffington Post column.
** ANOTHER DAY: 24 AND THE AGE OF OBAMA.One of the signature TV series of the Bush/Cheney years is back. What relevance, if any, does it have in the new age of Obama? … From my January 13th column.
** CIA: THE PANETTA PICK AND THE FEINSTEIN FACTOR.President-elect Barack Obama named his top intelligence leadership team on Friday. And, as I expected, new Senate Intelligence Committee chair Dianne Feinstein rather quickly backed down from her opposition to Leon Panetta and championing of a CIA insider for the post, of only a few days ago. The whole exercise was very instructive in old and new political dynamics. … From my January 12th column.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer, bringing you English-language, jargon-free, fast-paced coverage of global and Russian news from the new Russia Today channel. You probably already know about CNN International, BBC World, and Al Jazeera. Russia Today, which also features culture, entertainment, and sports, is based in Moscow and is owned and operated by the TV Novosti division of Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti.
While it’s quite foolish to expect to see, say, criticism of Vladimir Putin on Russia Today, which I know as a former DemRussia advisor, the channel is very interesting nonetheless. With U.S. cable news chattering away as it does, this sort of respite can be informative. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
Among them is what I’m sure is the first piece examining Schwarzenegger’s legacy as governor of California. Since he will actually be governor of California until 2011. No technology known to be disruptive to the space/time continuum was used in its preparation.
** TRACK GLOBAL AND NATIONAL ENERGY PRICES IN NEAR REAL TIME VIA BLOOMBERG ENERGY MARKET WATCH. After crashing over $147 for yet another record on July 11th, crude oil closed on Friday at $46.47 per barrel. Energy markets are closed on the weekend.
This is a significant advance since the inauguration of President Barack Obama, relecting the oil market’s view that the US economy will experience a recovery under the new American administration.
The drop of $105 per barrel since the record high over the summer comes on acknowledgment that the weak US economy will cut future demand and on the easing of previous geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. It is clear that that, contrary to much chatter, neither the US nor Israel is about to launch a strike against Iran. And the Russian war with Georgia, confounding much speculation and reporting to the contrary, actually decreased the geopolitical risk premium in the oil market.
Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th president of the United States and delivers his inaugural address.
** NEW COLUMN COMING UP … MACINTOSH LAUNCH: 25TH ANNIVERSARY.
** OBAMA REVERSES ABORTION BAN. President Barack Obama late this afternoon signed an executive order reversing the longtime Republican-enforced ban on public funds to international organizations that provide planned parenthood services.
The Bush policy had banned U.S. taxpayer money, usually in the form of Agency for International Development funds, from going to international family planning groups that either offer abortions or provide information, counseling or referrals about abortion. The rule also had prohibited federal funding for groups that lobby to legalize abortion or promote it as a family planning method.
** OBAMA AND HIS COMMANDERS.Now we’re into one of the most fascinating parts of the new Obama Administration, President Barack Obama’s relationship with America’s military commanders. How successful will he be in working with these people, and in carrying out the shift away from the old Bush/Cheney priorities?
Next week, Obama goes to the Pentagon, for a meeting in the highly secure “Tank” with the Joint Chiefs of Staff. While he’s keeping Defense Secretary Bob Gates on, we don’t yet know how many of the individual service chiefs — Navy, Marines, Army, Air Force — Obama intends to retain after their terms end. Nor do we know what his plans are for the current chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Navy Admiral Mike Mullen. Nor do we yet know what he wants to do with the current chiefs of the US Armed Forces’ international commands.
We do know that Obama already met, on Wednesday, with one general whose job looks secure for now, Central Command chief David Petraeus, as well as JCS chief Admiral Mullen, Defense Secretary Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Obama’s national security advisor, former Marine Corps commandant and NATO commander Jim Jones. …
Petraeus, subject of a memorable MoveOn.org ad as “General Betray-us” (done by a one-time colleague of mine), appears key to all of this. …
A top Republican operator, a John McCain man who admires Petraeus, told me this the week before Obama’s inauguration: “Now America’s smartest general and America’s smartest politician get to work together.”
For all the blood-and-guts hero worship of Petraeus on the far right, he’s actually a very political general. At the dawn of his career, upon his graduation from West Point, he married the daughter of the Military Academy’s commanding general. His approach around the Iraq surge was at least as political as it was military, playing the various Iraqi factions against one another and for the US and even engaging with Iran on its interests in quelling the violence.
Petraeus arrived in Washington on the night of Obama’s inauguration, having just concluded a lengthy tour of the Middle East, Central Asia, and South Asia, during which he consulted with the leaders of the various former Soviet republics and with top Russian figures. …
The declines, once centered in housing-related industry when, in retrospect, the recession began a year ago, are now across the board.
Needless to say, the first $350 billion of the Wall Street bailout – in which spending went on with virtually no accountability – has done very little for California.
** SENATOR WHO? I took the day off for some personal time yesterday, leaving the house at 9 AM after putting the site up, so don’t really know all the ins and outs on the withdrawal of evident frontrunner Caroline Kennedy for the appointment to Hillary Clinton’s former seat in the U.S. Senate from New York. Rumors fly, with very conflicting stories apparently coming from various associates of New York Governor David Paterson, who conducted an extremely awkward two-month selection process in sharp contrast to the processes followed by several other states.
In any event, with Kennedy out, Paterson has just appointed a member of Congress from upstate New York, Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand. Something of a protege of Hillary’s, Gillibrand was backed by the National Rifle Association and voted against the Wall Street bailout.
Gillibrand was first elected to the Congress in 2006, defeating an incumbent Republican by six points in the big Democratic surge that year a week after his wife phoned police complaining of domestic violence. Gillibrand’s father is a major Republican lobbyist who was close to former Governor George Pataki.
** POIZNER GETS ANOTHER BIG ENDORSEMENT. California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, the apparent frontrunner for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 2010, picked up another endorsement this week when state Senate Minority Leader Dave Cogdill gave him the nod. Poizner, a super-rich former Silicon Valley entrepreneur, is also backed by Assembly Minority Leader Mike Villines and the great majority of the elected Republicans in the state.
** NEW COLUMN COMING UP … OBAMA AND HIS COMMANDERS.
** STEM CELL RESEARCH MOVES FORWARD WITH HUMAN TRIALS. The US Food and Drug Administration will today announce that embryonic stem cell research trials are about to begin.The Bush/Cheney Administration, under pressure from the fundamentalist right, blocked these moves for eight years, although California, under Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, in the interim created the largest stem cell research program in the world.
In a watershed moment for one of the most contentious areas of science and American politics, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared the way for the first-ever human trial of a medical treatment derived from embryonic stem cells.
Geron Corp., a Menlo Park, Calif., biotechnology company, is expected to announce Friday that it received a green light from the agency to mount a study of its stem-cell treatment for spinal cord injuries in up to 10 patients. The announcement caps more than a decade of advances in the company’s labs and comes on the cusp of a widely expected shift in U.S. policy toward support of embryonic stem-cell research after years of official opposition.
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama has a rather busy day. He and Vice President Joe Biden dropped by the presidential daily briefing at the White House early this morning. Now they are meeting with the Congressional leaders of both parties.
Late this morning, Obama and Biden meet with the National Security Council. The two then receive a daily briefing on the economic crisis, then have lunch together. After lunch, they hold a budget meeting in the White House, after which Obama meets with Treasury Secretary-designate Tim Geithner. Geithner was approved yesterday on an 18-5 vote of the Senate Finance Committee, and should be confirmed by the full Senate next week.
Obama yesterday signed executive orders to shut down the prison camp at Guantanamo and other “black site” prisons in foreign countries, notably Eastern Europe, and to end torture in interrogations. The closure will take a year, as the prisoners have been messily sorted and handled throughout.
President Barack Obama yesterday issued executive orders to end torture and close down Guantanamo and “black site” prisons.
Meanwhile, Obama is catching a break on some geopolitical crises. Not that they are necessarily “breaks,” as Obama and his emissaries have been in touch with global players for months, and at least one of the developments is directly tied to his inauguration as president.
Israel has all its troops out of the Gaza Strip. And Russia is restarting natural gas flows to Europe through Ukraine. At a cost down the line to the notion of Ukraine joining NATO. The US has an emerging set of deals to supply the troubled war in Afghanistan outside the usual supply lines through increasingly unstable Pakistan. But more work remains with Moscow to lock all that down further, especially with regard to the transit of weapons.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has private talks in and around the Capitol today. His focus is on the chronic California budget crisis. Schwarzenegger has no scheduled public events today.
Republican legislators, who have essentially blockaded the budget for months by publicly refusing to consider any tax hikes, seem to be getting closer to going for a budget that includes tax hikes as well as program cuts and a spending cap.
Naturally, much of California’s far right – which is doing a remarkable job of driving the state’s Republican Party deeper into permanent minority status – is going bonkers over this.
** OBAMA: RIDING WITH HISTORY. (NOTE: As Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, this column was the featured column on the top of the front page of the Huffington Post.)
As the hours count down to his inauguration, Barack Obama must be hearing the hoofbeats of history. He certainly invokes it. Indeed, he seeks to be one of its great riders.
For all the president-elect’s evocation of Abraham Lincoln — and his own description of Lincoln in “The Audacity of Hope” as both deep-seated idealist and ultra-pragmatist was more revealing of Obama’s political character than anything produced by any media outlet — fate and his own design cast what Obama says as our brand-new president alongside somewhat more contemporary figures.
Obama takes office as the 44th president of the United States at a moment of multi-faceted crisis. But it is not a moment like that of Lincoln’s inauguration. President Bush and his essentially feckless administration leave behind the worst economy since the Great Depression, an environment increasingly out of whack, two troubled, troubling, and mismanaged wars, a black eye around the globe, and a sense of fatigue from years of overwrought hysteria. Lincoln’s challenge was of a very different nature.
So the figures of comparison for Obama, his fellow riders of history if you will, are, notwithstanding his hero Lincoln, different. … From my Monday Huffington Post column.
** ANOTHER DAY: 24 AND THE AGE OF OBAMA.One of the signature TV series of the Bush/Cheney years is back. What relevance, if any, does it have in the new age of Obama? … From my January 13th column.
** CIA: THE PANETTA PICK AND THE FEINSTEIN FACTOR.President-elect Barack Obama named his top intelligence leadership team on Friday. And, as I expected, new Senate Intelligence Committee chair Dianne Feinstein rather quickly backed down from her opposition to Leon Panetta and championing of a CIA insider for the post, of only a few days ago. The whole exercise was very instructive in old and new political dynamics. … From my January 12th column.
A famed English newspaper, the London Evening Standard, was purchased yesterday by Russian oligarch and former KGB agent Alexander Lebedev for the munificent sum of one pound.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer, bringing you English-language, jargon-free, fast-paced coverage of global and Russian news from the new Russia Today channel. You probably already know about CNN International, BBC World, and Al Jazeera. Russia Today, which also features culture, entertainment, and sports, is based in Moscow and is owned and operated by the TV Novosti division of Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti.
While it’s quite foolish to expect to see, say, criticism of Vladimir Putin on Russia Today, which I know as a former DemRussia advisor, the channel is very interesting nonetheless. With U.S. cable news chattering away as it does, this sort of respite can be informative. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
Among them is what I’m sure is the first piece examining Schwarzenegger’s legacy as governor of California. Since he will actually be governor of California until 2011. No technology known to be disruptive to the space/time continuum was used in its preparation.
** TRACK GLOBAL AND NATIONAL ENERGY PRICES IN NEAR REAL TIME VIA BLOOMBERG ENERGY MARKET WATCH. After crashing over $147 for yet another record on July 11th, crude oil is trading in the $42 to $43 per barrel range. This is a significant advance since the inauguration of President Barack Obama, relecting the oil market’s view that the US economy will experience a recovery under the new American administration
The drop of $105 per barrel since the record high over the summer comes on acknowledgment that the weak US economy will cut future demand and on the easing of previous geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. It is clear that that, contrary to much chatter, neither the US nor Israel is about to launch a strike against Iran. And the Russian war with Georgia, confounding much speculation and reporting to the contrary, actually decreased the geopolitical risk premium in the oil market.
The famed “1984″ ad, introducing the Macintosh computer, aired during the Super Bowl 25 years ago today.
** FRANKEN WANTS THE SENATE TO DECIDE. Comedian Al Franken is out to short-circuit a lawsuit filed by Republican incumbent Norm Coleman in that tight Minnesota Senate race. Franken leads by an eyelash, and would be the 59th Democratic senator if he ultimately prevails.
Democratic candidate Al Franken made a bid Wednesday to short-circuit the court case that’s intended to give Minnesota a winner in its closely contested Senate race. Attorneys for Franken argued that a state court should dismiss the lawsuit filed by Republican Norm Coleman because the three-judge panel designated to hear the case lacks jurisdiction for Coleman’s type of complaint.
The proper venue, Franken’s attorneys argued, is the U.S. Senate, which has the power to judge the election of its members.
Franken declared victory over Coleman Jan. 5 after state officials certified recount results that gave him a 225-vote lead out of 2.9 million votes cast in the Nov. 4 election.
Coleman promptly challenged the results, arguing that some ballots were counted twice, absentee ballots that should have been counted were rejected, and procedures for accounting for missing ballots were not dealt with consistently over the course of the recount.
** CALIFORNIA ON THE POTOMAC. Senator Dianne Feinstein certainly had a high profile at the Obama Inaugural; she oversaw it as chair of the Congressional committee for the Inauguration and essentially acted as master of ceremonies at the Inauguration ceremony itself. Then she did the honors at the Congressional luncheon in the Capitol’s Statuary Hall honoring the president and vice president immediately after they were sworn into office.
But there were some big glitches, with many ticketed people not getting into the festivities, so Feinstein – who some still talk about as a possible gubernatorial contender notwithstanding her having just taken on a huge national and global role as chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee – may come in for some criticism.
Still, she hosted the key party for California politicos, with such potential gubernatorial candidates as former Governor-turned-Attorney General Jerry Brown, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, and former state Controller Steve Westly, one of Obama’s earliest and biggest backers, all on hand shaking hands. Newsom, a national co-chairman of Hillary Clinton’s campaign, was initially thrilled that he was profiled in the new Newsweek, but it proved to be a bad story saying he’s viewed as a “joke” by “Democratic insiders.”
Brown, a two-time runner-up for the Democratic presidential nomination, was making the rounds throughout, and held a big finance event hosted by longtime backer Melissa Moss. Greentech venture capitalist Westly, who was in the mix to be Obama’s secretary of energy, was very active as well, attending Vernon Jordan’s party and getting a good perch indoors for the freezing inaugural parade at a Pennsylvania Avenue law firm.
Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi, who has already declared his candidacy for governor, was also in evidence, and met with officials of five big unions.
Former Assembly Speaker and San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown was, reportedly, everywhere, to no one’s surprise.
Also spotted by my sources – veteran Silicon Valley executive John Thompson, the former CEO of Symantec – who is a strong finalist to be Obama’s secretary of commerce.
Orange County evangelical pastor Rick Warren gave a highly controversial benediction – controversial amongst some on the left because he backed the same-sex marriage ban – which in the end could hardly have been less objectionable.
But aside from Warren, the only Californian who rivaled Feinstein in terms of a high profile was Arianna Huffington.
The longtime commentator of the right turned left – now head of the biggest liberal news and commentary site in the world, the Huffington Post – was much in evidence at the most exclusive events. Everyone says the most star-studded party of all was her Huffington Post Inaugural Ball.
** HUGE AUDIENCE AND HIGH RATINGS FOR OBAMA’S INAUGURAL. The new Gallup Poll shows that, as expected, there was a huge television audience for the inauguration of President Barack Obama, in addition to the two million or so folks who braved the bone-chilling weather to be there in person. And that Obama’s speech was extremely well-received.
Six in 10 Americans tuned in live to the presidential inauguration ceremonies on Tuesday. Another 20% heard or read news reports of the event while 20% caught none of it.
The live audience included 70% of nonworking Americans, but also 53% of those currently employed — suggesting that many workers either took the day off or had the opportunity to watch or hear the ceremonies at work.
Americans were clearly more interested in the inauguration of Barack Obama than they were in George W. Bush’s second inauguration four years ago. In 2005, only 40% of Americans said they watched or heard the inaugural ceremonies live.
The greater attention paid to Obama’s inaugural likely stems from the combination of his taking office for the first time, his being the first Democrat in eight years to assume the presidency, and the historic significance of the nation’s installing its first African-American president.
There was considerable pressure on President Obama, known for his oratory skills, to deliver an impressive inauguration speech, and from Americans’ perspective, he succeeded. Among those who saw or otherwise followed the inauguration on Tuesday, close to half — 46% — say Obama’s speech was “excellent.” That compares with a 25% excellent rating for Bush’s 2005 inauguration speech. Another 35% say Obama’s speech was good, while only 15% consider it “just okay” or worse.
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama has a rather busy day. He meets with top economic advisors in the morning at the White House to go over his economic revival program, then meets with his White House senior staff and with retired military officers.
In the afternoon, Obama goes over to the State Department in Foggy Bottom with Vice President Joe Biden and National Security Advisor Jim Jones. Obama, Biden, and Jones will meet there with top officials, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Then Obama and Biden speak to the State Department staff.
Obama is expected to sign executive orders today to shut down the prison camp at Guantanamo and other “black site” prisons in foreign countries, notably Eastern Europe, and to end torture in interrogations.
Meanwhile, Obama is catching a break on some geopolitical crises. Not that they are necessarily “breaks,” as Obama and his emissaries have been in touch with global players for months.
Israel has all its troops out of the Gaza Strip. And Russia is restarting natural gas flows to Europe through Ukraine. At a cost down the line to the notion of Ukraine joining NATO.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has private talks in and around the Capitol today. His focus is on the chronic California budget crisis. Schwarzenegger has no scheduled public events today.
Republican legislators, who have essentially blockaded the budget for months by publicly refusing to consider any tax hikes, seem to be getting closer to going for a budget that includes tax hikes as well as program cuts and a spending cap.
This viral mashup ad for Barack Obama in 2007 took off successfully on the “1984″ ad.
** OBAMA: RIDING WITH HISTORY. (NOTE: As Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, this column was the featured column on the top of the front page of the Huffington Post.)
As the hours count down to his inauguration, Barack Obama must be hearing the hoofbeats of history. He certainly invokes it. Indeed, he seeks to be one of its great riders.
For all the president-elect’s evocation of Abraham Lincoln — and his own description of Lincoln in “The Audacity of Hope” as both deep-seated idealist and ultra-pragmatist was more revealing of Obama’s political character than anything produced by any media outlet — fate and his own design cast what Obama says as our brand-new president alongside somewhat more contemporary figures.
Obama takes office as the 44th president of the United States at a moment of multi-faceted crisis. But it is not a moment like that of Lincoln’s inauguration. President Bush and his essentially feckless administration leave behind the worst economy since the Great Depression, an environment increasingly out of whack, two troubled, troubling, and mismanaged wars, a black eye around the globe, and a sense of fatigue from years of overwrought hysteria. Lincoln’s challenge was of a very different nature.
So the figures of comparison for Obama, his fellow riders of history if you will, are, notwithstanding his hero Lincoln, different. …
Russian natural gas is flowing again to Europe, ending a weeks-long crisis.
** ANOTHER DAY: 24 AND THE AGE OF OBAMA.One of the signature TV series of the Bush/Cheney years is back. What relevance, if any, does it have in the new age of Obama? … From my January 13th column.
** CIA: THE PANETTA PICK AND THE FEINSTEIN FACTOR.President-elect Barack Obama named his top intelligence leadership team on Friday. And, as I expected, new Senate Intelligence Committee chair Dianne Feinstein rather quickly backed down from her opposition to Leon Panetta and championing of a CIA insider for the post, of only a few days ago. The whole exercise was very instructive in old and new political dynamics. … From my January 12th column.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer, bringing you English-language, jargon-free, fast-paced coverage of global and Russian news from the new Russia Today channel. You probably already know about CNN International, BBC World, and Al Jazeera. Russia Today, which also features culture, entertainment, and sports, is based in Moscow and is owned and operated by the TV Novosti division of Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti.
While it’s quite foolish to expect to see, say, criticism of Vladimir Putin on Russia Today, which I know as a former DemRussia advisor, the channel is very interesting nonetheless. With U.S. cable news chattering away as it does, this sort of respite can be informative. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
Among them is what I’m sure is the first piece examining Schwarzenegger’s legacy as governor of California. Since he will actually be governor of California until 2011. No technology known to be disruptive to the space/time continuum was used in its preparation.
** TRACK GLOBAL AND NATIONAL ENERGY PRICES IN NEAR REAL TIME VIA BLOOMBERG ENERGY MARKET WATCH. After crashing over $147 for yet another record on July 11th, crude oil is trading in the $42 to $43 per barrel range. This is a significant advance since the inauguration of President Barack Obama, relecting the oil market’s view that the US economy will experience a recovery under the new American administration
The drop of $105 per barrel since the record high over the summer comes on acknowledgment that the weak US economy will cut future demand and on the easing of previous geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. It is clear that that, contrary to much chatter, neither the US nor Israel is about to launch a strike against Iran. And the Russian war with Georgia, confounding much speculation and reporting to the contrary, actually decreased the geopolitical risk premium in the oil market.
There is no substitute for history. Then Illinois State Senator Barack Obama delivers the speech that launched him to the White House – the keynote address of the 2004 Democratic National Convention.
** QUICK HITS. President Barack Obama was re-sworn in as president this afternoon in a private session with yesterday’s flubbing Chief Justice John Roberts, just to remove any shadow of a doubt … Caroline Kennedy, the favorite to be appointed to Hillary Clinton’s Senate seat by surprise Governor David Paterson, notwithstanding some rocky interviews, has withdrawn her name from consideration. … Clinton herself was confirmed as the new secretary of state on a 94-2 vote in the Senate. … California state Controller John Chiang says he will block Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s order for state employee furloughs, increasing the pressure on legislators to come to agreement on a new budget. … President Obama, a Mac guy with an iPod, will keep his BlackBerry, a point of major controversy. With added encryption.
** IN WAKE OF CHIEF JUSTICE FLUB, SHOULD OBAMA RETAKE THE OATH OF OFFICE?Some experts say yes. Several constitutional lawyers said President Obama should, just to be safe, retake the oath of office that was flubbed by Chief Justice John Roberts.
The oath reads: “I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
In giving the oath, Roberts misplaced the word “faithfully,” at which point Obama paused quizzically. Roberts then corrected himself, but Obama repeated the words as Roberts initially said them.
A do-over “would take him 30 seconds, he can do it in private, it’s not a big deal, and he ought to do it just to be safe,” said Boston University constitutional scholar and Supreme Court watcher Jack Beermann. “It’s an open question whether he’s president until he takes the proper oath.”
The courts would probably never hear a challenge, and some might argue that Obama automatically took office at noon because that’s when President Bush left the office. But because the procedure is so explicitly prescribed in the Constitution, Beermann said if he were Obama’s lawyer, he would recommend retaking it, just as two previous presidents, Calvin Coolidge and Chester Arthur, did under similar circumstances.
“The Constitution says what he’s supposed to say,” Beermann said. “… It’s kind of surprising the chief justice couldn’t get it right.”
** NEW COLUMN COMING … OBAMA AND HIS COMMANDERS.
** OBAMA: RIDING WITH HISTORY. (NOTE: As Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, this column was the featured column on the top of the front page of the Huffington Post.)
As the hours count down to his inauguration, Barack Obama must be hearing the hoofbeats of history. He certainly invokes it. Indeed, he seeks to be one of its great riders.
For all the president-elect’s evocation of Abraham Lincoln — and his own description of Lincoln in “The Audacity of Hope” as both deep-seated idealist and ultra-pragmatist was more revealing of Obama’s political character than anything produced by any media outlet — fate and his own design cast what Obama says as our brand-new president alongside somewhat more contemporary figures.
Obama takes office as the 44th president of the United States at a moment of multi-faceted crisis. But it is not a moment like that of Lincoln’s inauguration. President Bush and his essentially feckless administration leave behind the worst economy since the Great Depression, an environment increasingly out of whack, two troubled, troubling, and mismanaged wars, a black eye around the globe, and a sense of fatigue from years of overwrought hysteria. Lincoln’s challenge was of a very different nature.
So the figures of comparison for Obama, his fellow riders of history if you will, are, notwithstanding his hero Lincoln, different. …
** OBAMA TODAY. After attending services in the National Cathedral with the first lady, the Bidens, and the Clintons, President Barack Obama has a rather busy day in Washington.
The new president, after an eventful inaugural day replete with hitting 10 inaugural balls, hits the ground running today. Long-time press secretary and traveling strategist Robert Gibbs cancelled the customary media briefing as Obama consulted with his economic team in the morning. And prepped to consult with his extended national security team in the afternoon.
Obama is putting the finishing touches on his economic revival program with his friend, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, and his former colleague, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.
And he is consulting with his commanders on the multiplex challenges of Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, the overall Middle East, and Russia.
General David Petraeus is in Washington after visiting with top Russian figures and the leaders of the various former Soviet republics in Central Asia. Obama will consult with Petraeus, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, National Security Advisor Jim Jones, Defense Secretary Bob Gates, and Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton, and Obama’s combatant commanders around the world this afternoon.
President Obama this morning ordered a four-month suspension of trials of Guantanamo prisoners as he reviews the system.
Meanwhile, Obama is catching a break on some geopolitical crises. Not that they are necessarily “breaks,” as Obama and his emissaries have been in touch with global players for months.
Israel has all its troops out of the Gaza Strip. And Russia is restarting natural gas flows to Europe through Ukraine. At a cost down the line to the notion of Ukraine joining NATO.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has private talks in and around the Capitol today. His focus is on the chronic California budget crisis. Schwarzenegger has no scheduled public events today.
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama had one last swing round the dance floor at the last of the 10 Inaugural Balls they attended last night.
** ANOTHER DAY: 24 AND THE AGE OF OBAMA.One of the signature TV series of the Bush/Cheney years is back. What relevance, if any, does it have in the new age of Obama? … From my January 13th column.
** CIA: THE PANETTA PICK AND THE FEINSTEIN FACTOR.President-elect Barack Obama named his top intelligence leadership team on Friday. And, as I expected, new Senate Intelligence Committee chair Dianne Feinstein rather quickly backed down from her opposition to Leon Panetta and championing of a CIA insider for the post, of only a few days ago. The whole exercise was very instructive in old and new political dynamics. … From my January 12th column.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer, bringing you English-language, jargon-free, fast-paced coverage of global and Russian news from the new Russia Today channel. You probably already know about CNN International, BBC World, and Al Jazeera. Russia Today, which also features culture, entertainment, and sports, is based in Moscow and is owned and operated by the TV Novosti division of Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti.
While it’s quite foolish to expect to see, say, criticism of Vladimir Putin on Russia Today, which I know as a former DemRussia advisor, the channel is very interesting nonetheless. With U.S. cable news chattering away as it does, this sort of respite can be informative. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
Among them is what I’m sure is the first piece examining Schwarzenegger’s legacy as governor of California. Since he will actually be governor of California until 2011. No technology known to be disruptive to the space/time continuum was used in its preparation.
** TRACK GLOBAL AND NATIONAL ENERGY PRICES IN NEAR REAL TIME VIA BLOOMBERG ENERGY MARKET WATCH. After crashing over $147 for yet another record on July 11th, crude oil is trading in the $41 to $42 per barrel range. This is a significant advance since the inauguration of President Barack Obama, relecting the oil market’s view that the US economy will experience a recovery under the new American administration
The drop of $106 per barrel since the record high over the summer comes on acknowledgment that the weak US economy will cut future demand and on the easing of previous geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. It is clear that that, contrary to much chatter, neither the US nor Israel is about to launch a strike against Iran. And the Russian war with Georgia, confounding much speculation and reporting to the contrary, actually decreased the geopolitical risk premium in the oil market.
| Comments (38) |