President Barack Obama spent early Thursday morning honoring the return of fallen soldiers. Obama attended the return of 18 soldiers killed this week in Afghanistan at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
** QUICK HITS. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi today unveiled a national health care reform bill that has won support throughout her fractious party caucus, including the public option. Some thought it couldn’t be done. I first met her at a party at her San Francisco home, back when she was Northern California chair of the party at the designation of Jerry Brown. … Iran “accepted” the nuclear deal negotiated last week in Vienna. But with such huge caveats that more negotiations will be needed. Which, I believe, is the point. I suspect Israel’s patience is running a bit thin. … LA Times columnist George Skelton reveals two giant falsehoods in ex-eBay CEO Meg Whitman’s radio ads. She’s already spent many millions trying to be the Republican nominee for governor of California. … The California press is noticing that organized labor is donating very heavily to the favorite to be the next governor of California, former Governor-turned-Attorney General Jerry Brown. Lobbyist and political consultant Garry South’s candidate has been essentially ignored by labor. So he trashed labor’s significance and told a reporter, with regard to another campaign: “What happened with the major bunch-up behind that Democratic candidate, labor included, is you got an unelectable candidate,” South said. This is non-serious. Or has South forgotten that the candidate with whom he made his name, former Governor Gray Davis, was heavily backed by, yes, organized labor, which was critical to his election? Not really. He just thinks what’s left of the local press doesn’t know much. As in the case of the “big Bill Clinton endorsement,” actually part of a nationwide payback tour for Hillary backers.
** AFGHANISTAN, AGAIN: THE THICKET OBAMA’S NOT GETTING OUT OF. President Barack Obama is fixing to reveal his latest strategy for Afghanistan, perhaps after the election a week from Friday. He appears to be preparing to split the difference. Perhaps he should be preparing to split the territory.
Afghanistan has a government, of a sort, but it doesn’t really have a nation. It won’t have a nation unless we build it. And there is no guarantee that, as the saying goes, if we build it, they will come. …
** IT’S V-R DAY! VICTORY OVER RECESSION! START SPENDING! The American economy actually grew in the third quarter, at a rather torrid 3.5%. That’s good news, says President Barack Obama.
But is V-R Day, not that he said anything like that, Victory over Recession Day or Virtual Reality Day? While unemployment is always a lagging indicator, employment is notably lacking in this recovery. The recession began two years ago, though many on the right denied it for most of 2008.
President Barack Obama said U.S. economic growth in the third quarter affirms that the recession is abating, adding that the nation has “a long way to go” to fully recover and reduce unemployment.
He said a Commerce Department report that the economy grew at a 3.5 percent pace in the third quarter, after shrinking for four quarters, is “welcome news and an affirmation that this recession is abating.” It isn’t enough, he added.
“The benchmark I use to measure the strength of our economy is not just whether our GDP is growing, but whether we’re creating jobs, whether families are having an easier time paying their bills, whether our businesses are hiring and doing well,” Obama told business leaders in a speech on the White House grounds.
Washington policy makers are seeking to sustain the recovery from the worst recession since the 1930s and boost job growth. The unemployment rate reached a 26-year high of 9.8 percent in September. …
The bigger-than-expected growth may strengthen Democrats in Congress, said House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, who called the economic turnaround a response to Democratic fiscal and monetary policy. Economic growth weakens Republican arguments that Democratic priorities such as overhauling health care and limiting greenhouse gases should be put off until the economy improves, he said.
“They’re using the argument that this is a bad time,” Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, said in an interview. The growth “undercuts that because it shows by the time these things go into effect we will be out of the recession.”
** OBAMA TODAY. President Barack Obama is in Delaware and Washington today.
Early this morning, Obama made an unscheduled trip to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to honor the return of 18 soldiers fallen this week in Afghanistan.
As George W. Bush never did this, it’s the first occasion since 9/11.
Obama received his daily intelligence briefing onboard Marine One.
At 8:50 AM Pacific, Obama delivers remarks on the Administration’s plan to help small businesses at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
At 10:45 AM Pacific, Obama meets with Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore in the Oval Office.
Lee is the architect and patriarch of Singapore, having served as its prime minister from 1959 to 1990, during which time the small city-state became a leading Asian Tiger. His son is Singapore’s current prime minister.
Singapore hosts the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, which Obama will attend, next month.
At 11:40 AM, Obama meets with Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy in the Oval Office.
At 12:45 PM, Obama meets with senior advisors in the Oval Office.
At 2:45 PM Pacific, Obama meets with representatives of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Congressional Black Caucus, Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus in the Roosevelt Room.
Obama flew very early this morning on Marine One to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for a solemn movement.
Obama is prepping today for his Afghanistan strategy session on Friday with the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
National Security Advisor General James Jones is in Moscow today on a two-day visit to confer with top Russian leaders on the Iranian crisis, Afghanistan, NATO, and other matters.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Pakistan, conferring with that nation’s leaders.
Obama is monitoring geopolitical crises in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq.
Obama is also monitoring the meeting of the European Union’s council of ministers in Brussels. The group is discussing the powers of the first president of the European Union, who may be elected in the next few months by representatives of EU nations.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is the leading candidate for president of the European Union. Blair, of course, is at once loved and hated, highly controversial for his role in backing America in the invasion of Iraq and the war on terror. He’s a longtime favorite here on New West Notes, which has occasionally been referred to as New Labour Notes. Blair’s recasting of the sclerotic Labour Party as New Labour galvanized Britain and ended the right’s seeming lock on politics there.
Tony Blair is also the subject of a scathingly clever roman a clef novel — with an explosive conclusion — by ex-Blair friend Robert Harris called The Ghost. Roman Polanski, the director of Chinatown, made it into a movie starring former Bond Pierce Brosnan as “Adam Lang” and Ewan McGregor as the ghostwriter of his memoirs. However, it was not complete when Polanski was arrested in Switzerland, where he’s long had a home, on a 32-year old California sex charge. The movie was to have been released in February, when the formal British inquiry into Iraq, which begins in 26 days, is to wrap up.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in Washington today.
Schwarzenegger will receive the National Park Trust – 2009 Bruce F. Vento Public Service Award for his role in preserving parks during California’s chaotic budget crisis.
This event is at the Newseum.
Schwarzenegger delivers remarks at 9:45 AM Pacific.
The National Park Trust cites Schwarzenegger for “his leadership and innovation in the protection of public lands in California and for his life-long commitment to children’s health and to connecting them with the outdoors.”
In the evening, Schwarzenegger attends a gala marking the opening of a new building at Georgetown University’s school of business.
First Lady Maria Shriver is a Georgetown grad, though not in business.
Schwarzenegger will deliver remarks, after which McDonough School of Business Dean George Daly will present Gov. Schwarzenegger with the school’s Dean’s Medal.
Schwarzenegger’s remarks will be webcast live at 6 PM Pacific on www.msb.georgetown.edu.
** MAD MEN REVIEW: “THE GYPSY AND THE HOBO.” … From my October 26th review.
** CHINATOWN’S 35TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION AND THE POLANSKI SCANDAL. In one of the great ironies, the 35th anniversary edition of Chinatown came out this month, nearly at the same time that its director, Roman Polanski, was arrested in Switzerland after fleeing Los Angeles over 30 years ago following a guilty plea and brief imprisonment for unlawful sex with a minor.
Chinatown, the tale of a smart, tough detective investigating what he thinks, at first, is a simple case of infidelity in late 1930s Los Angeles, is my favorite film. On the surface, it’s a period detective picture, a big Hollywood movie with the trappings of film noir. Beneath, it’s much more. Armed with an alarmingly intelligent screenplay by Robert Towne, brilliantly cast from stars Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway down through the extras, the film creates its own mesmerizing world through evocative music, costuming, and production design.
“You may think you know what you’re dealing with, Mr. Gits. But believe me, you don’t.” (Words to always keep in in mind, which I sometimes have not.) From my October 23rd essay.
** OBAMA IN THE THICKET OF “AFGHANIRANISTAN.” Considering that he is the most recent winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, President Barack Obama is in a seemingly curious set of positions. He’s spurred major military offensives in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and has been deeply enmeshed in a tense stand-off with Iran.
There are many complex things to be said about each of these situations, which are all interrelated with not only one another, but also US relations with such challenging countries as Israel and Russia. But let’s start with the basic versions. …
Obama is in the thicket of “Afghaniranistan,” a multi-faceted complex of geopolitical crises. He is actively using military force in two of the countries, and has threatened, at the least, tough sanctions in the third. (The Obama Administration also recently accelerated the development of advanced bunker-buster bombs, suitable for use against, say, underground nuclear facilities.)
Which is a seemingly odd place for the most recent Nobel Peace Prize winner to be. … From my October 21st column.
** MAD MEN REVIEW: “THE COLOR BLUE.” … From my October 19th review.
** MAD MEN REVIEW: “WEE SMALL HOURS.” … From my October 12th review.
** WHY OBAMA DOESN’T DESERVE THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE, OR THE OLYMPICS RAP. … From my October 9th column.
** ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, JERRY BROWN, BILL CLINTON AND THAT CRAZY CALIFORNIA GOVERNORSHIP. … From my October 8th essay.
** MAD MEN REVIEW: “SOUVENIR.” … From my October 5th review.
** IRANIAN CRISIS: PROGRESS, PROBLEMS. … From my October 2nd column.
** IRANIAN CRISIS: RUN-UP TO NEGOTIATION. … From my September 30th column.
** 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 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, 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. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer. The NWN live link to AJ does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** SCHWARZENEGGER’S CALIFORNIA. Here is my series of five columns on the governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger for the Los Angeles Times in debate last fall, prior to the global economic meltdown, with Pulitzer Prize-winning former Times reporter/editor Bill Boyarsky, whose columns are also included. 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. You can listen to my recent video webchat with Schwarzenegger here.
** TRACK GLOBAL AND NATIONAL ENERGY PRICES IN NEAR REAL TIME VIA BLOOMBERG ENERGY MARKET WATCH. Having crashed over $147 for yet another record on July 11th, 2008, crude oil is trading around $78 per barrel.
This is up about $44 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity.
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| Comments (47) |
Great video of the President with the fallen soldiers.
GREAT pre-dawn video of the President getting on Marine One and taking off by the spotlit Washington Monument.
It’s very moving watching this.
Bush couldn’t be bothered.
Barack always rises to the occasion.
Jonas Blane says:
October 29, 2009 at 6:53 am
Great video of the President with the fallen soldiers.
Is Blair going to be president of Europe?
Is Polanski’s new movie going to come out?
BB: Obama is also monitoring the meeting of the European Union’s council of ministers in Brussels. The group is discussing the powers of the first president of the European Union, who may be elected in the next few months by representatives of EU nations.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is the leading candidate for president of the European Union. Blair, of course, is at once loved and hated, highly controversial for his role in backing America in the invasion of Iraq and the war on terror. He’s a longtime favorite here on New West Notes, which has occasionally been referred to as New Labour Notes. Blair’s recasting of the sclerotic Labour Party as New Labour galvanized Britain and ended the right’s seeming lock on politics there.
Tony Blair is also the subject of a scathingly clever roman a clef novel — with an explosive conclusion — by ex-Blair friend Robert Harris called The Ghost. Roman Polanski, the director of Chinatown, made it into a movie starring former Bond Pierce Brosnan as “Adam Lang” and Ewan McGregor as the ghostwriter of his memoirs. However, it was not complete when Polanski was arrested in Switzerland, where he’s long had a home, on a 32-year old sex charge. The movie was to have been released in February, when the formal British inquiry into Iraq, which begins in 26 days, is to wrap up.
“it was not complete when Polanski was arrested in Switzerland, where he’s long had a home, on a 32-year old California sex charge.”
Is my faint brain right to see hints in this about the real reason Polanski suddenly was arrested?
Good for Obama, he’s got the balls Bush never had.
This looks weird, too.
…..The movie was to have been released in February, when the formal British inquiry into Iraq, which begins in 26 days, is to wrap up.
This footage of Obama honoring the dead is iconic. Thank you for presenting it. I’ m looking forward to your article on Afghanistan.
I can’t believe Bush never went to Dover ONCE. I don’t think the war was ever real to him.
Additional video today?
The “Warrior President” never honored the real warriors. Or visited the consequences of his hubris. What a clown he was.
Brasky says:
October 29, 2009 at 11:16 am
I can’t believe Bush never went to Dover ONCE. I don’t think the war was ever real to him.
This is sooooo suspicious.
Dana says:
October 29, 2009 at 9:33 am
“it was not complete when Polanski was arrested in Switzerland, where he’s long had a home, on a 32-year old California sex charge.”
Is my faint brain right to see hints in this about the real reason Polanski suddenly was arrested?
I agree, it’s very iconic. Obama executed a perfect salute as the casket went past him.
Lorena says:
October 29, 2009 at 10:33 am
This footage of Obama honoring the dead is iconic. Thank you for presenting it. I’ m looking forward to your article on Afghanistan.
He did. It took Bill Clinton five years to get that right.
Perhaps.
> Jonas Blane says:
October 29, 2009 at 11:44 am (Edit)
Additional video today?
It was a deliberate PR decision not to draw attention to the deaths.
> Brasky says:
October 29, 2009 at 11:16 am (Edit)
I can’t believe Bush never went to Dover ONCE. I don’t think the war was ever real to him.
Thanks.
The new piece is online now.
> Lorena says:
October 29, 2009 at 10:33 am (Edit)
This footage of Obama honoring the dead is iconic. Thank you for presenting it. I’ m looking forward to your article on Afghanistan.
I present a set of interesting coincidences.
>#
Dana says:
October 29, 2009 at 9:33 am (Edit)
“it was not complete when Polanski was arrested in Switzerland, where he’s long had a home, on a 32-year old California sex charge.”
Is my faint brain right to see hints in this about the real reason Polanski suddenly was arrested?
#
Len says:
October 29, 2009 at 10:01 am (Edit)
This looks weird, too.
…..The movie was to have been released in February, when the formal British inquiry into Iraq, which begins in 26 days, is to wrap up.
1. I don’t know.
2. Probably.
> Capitol Boy says:
October 29, 2009 at 8:38 am (Edit)
Is Blair going to be president of Europe?
Is Polanski’s new movie going to come out?
He’s an excellent head of state.
> Capitol Boy says:
October 29, 2009 at 8:36 am (Edit)
Barack always rises to the occasion.
Jonas Blane says:
October 29, 2009 at 6:53 am
Great video of the President with the fallen soldiers.
It is quite dramatic.
> Jonas Blane says:
October 29, 2009 at 6:56 am (Edit)
GREAT pre-dawn video of the President getting on Marine One and taking off by the spotlit Washington Monument.
Whenever I listen to Lee Kuan Yew or other Singaporean leaders, I’m wildly impressed with the quality of executive leadership there (Of course, I’m not wild about all Asiatic values regarding individual freedoms, etc). One of my childhood buddies is now probably the leading American business person there.
Here is the book the host is talking about that Polanski made into his movie.
http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Robert-Harris/dp/1416551824/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256846161&sr=1-1
Bill, I want you to know that I’ve never watched one second of Mad Men, I don’t even have TV service, but the first season has arrived at my home via Netflix. Your influence grows…:-)
Clutch, it is my theory that TV dramas if not already will be more and more shaped to the needs of DVD releases, which is prefect for the season long arcs etc. modern shows do versus the classic “done in one” model (to borrow a phrase coined by Comics Buyer’s Guide editor Maggie Thompson to describe comics with standalone stories versus to be continued).
I wonder for a show like Mad men how much of its revenue comes from being broadcast versus the sale of DVDs?
” TRIATHLON says…”
For
Useless
Crap,
Knowing
You
Offends
Us
lol
Better.
TRIATHLON says:
October 29, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Hey, Garry!
Kiss my straight ass!!!!
… The California press is noticing that organized labor is donating very heavily to the favorite to be the next governor of California, former Governor-turned-Attorney General Jerry Brown. Lobbyist and political consultant Garry South’s candidate has been essentially ignored by labor. So he trashed labor’s significance and told a reporter, with regard to another campaign: “What happened with the major bunch-up behind that Democratic candidate, labor included, is you got an unelectable candidate,” South said. This is non-serious. Or has South forgotten that the candidate with whom he made his name, former Governor Gray Davis, was heavily backed by, yes, organized labor, which was critical to his election? Not really. He just thinks what’s left of the local press doesn’t know much. As in the case of the “big Bill Clinton endorsement,” actually part of a nationwide payback tour for Hillary backers.
Very nice.
> Brasky says:
October 29, 2009 at 3:56 pm (Edit)
” TRIATHLON says…”
For
Useless
Crap,
Knowing
You
Offends
Us
I don’t know the specifics. When the season ends in a few weeks, I’ll look into it for the post-season piece.
> Dana says:
October 29, 2009 at 3:07 pm (Edit)
Clutch, it is my theory that TV dramas if not already will be more and more shaped to the needs of DVD releases, which is prefect for the season long arcs etc. modern shows do versus the classic “done in one” model (to borrow a phrase coined by Comics Buyer’s Guide editor Maggie Thompson to describe comics with standalone stories versus to be continued).
I wonder for a show like Mad men how much of its revenue comes from being broadcast versus the sale of DVDs?
Wow, hope ya like it!
> Clutch J says:
October 29, 2009 at 1:16 pm (Edit)
Bill, I want you to know that I’ve never watched one second of Mad Men, I don’t even have TV service, but the first season has arrived at my home via Netflix. Your influence grows…:-)
That’s the one …
> Horst says:
October 29, 2009 at 1:03 pm (Edit)
Here is the book the host is talking about that Polanski made into his movie.
http://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Robert-Harris/dp/1416551824/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256846161&sr=1-1
Yes, there is all the caning, and all that …
I recall Gray Davis saying he admired the Singaporean model of justice.
> Clutch J says:
October 29, 2009 at 12:56 pm (Edit)
Whenever I listen to Lee Kuan Yew or other Singaporean leaders, I’m wildly impressed with the quality of executive leadership there (Of course, I’m not wild about all Asiatic values regarding individual freedoms, etc). One of my childhood buddies is now probably the leading American business person there.
I love what the President did today at Dover. He is a class act like we haven’t seen at the national level for a long time.
Now I’ll read Bill’s new article and maybe get depressed.
Mark Twain would be laughing off his chair hearing about this “recession” talk. Everyone lies to suit themselves. These Sunday Morning Talk Show panels are hilarious because some say “recession” means its formal definition of 2 quarters of declining GDP in a row, others define “recession” as being bad times. The moderators are oblivious.
Well, we are out of recession. GDP is higher than previous horrible quarters. Big deal. Bush and Obama have done the Great Bailout and there will not be another. The big banks are even bigger and more bloated with toxic assets. They get more profit and bonuses because there are fewer of them.
The days ahead are very very dark. The 2017 usa $20 trillion debt and the interest payments will become increasingly toxic as the smart people begin to bail well ahead of that 2017 date. The last people out lose their money.
Just saying…
President Obama’s plans are working. The economy is coming back, right on schedule, as forecast but better. It’s been getting better for months. My own business improved five months ago.
Russia is with you and President Obama on Iran.
Oh, give me a frakking break with this BS. You sound like a drunken Buzzy Cal.
Sam Loomis says:
October 29, 2009 at 7:24 pm
Mark Twain would be laughing off his chair hearing about this “recession” talk. Everyone lies to suit themselves. These Sunday Morning Talk Show panels are hilarious because some say “recession” means its formal definition of 2 quarters of declining GDP in a row, others define “recession” as being bad times. The moderators are oblivious.
Well, we are out of recession. GDP is higher than previous horrible quarters. Big deal. Bush and Obama have done the Great Bailout and there will not be another. The big banks are even bigger
What new video today?
New intelligence advisors and the great LA police chief stepping down.
We’ll see, now that Iran has nixed the deal.
> sergei says:
October 30, 2009 at 12:57 am (Edit)
Russia is with you and President Obama on Iran.
Weren’t yo here a while back talking about the big China trade war that Obama had kicked off?
That never happened. Nor will it.
> Sam Loomis says:
October 29, 2009 at 7:24 pm (Edit)
Mark Twain would be laughing off his chair hearing about this “recession” talk. Everyone lies to suit themselves. These Sunday Morning Talk Show panels are hilarious because some say “recession” means its formal definition of 2 quarters of declining GDP in a row, others define “recession” as being bad times. The moderators are oblivious.
Well, we are out of recession. GDP is higher than previous horrible quarters. Big deal. Bush and Obama have done the Great Bailout and there will not be another. The big banks are even bigger and more bloated with toxic assets. They get more profit and bonuses because there are fewer of them.
The days ahead are very very dark. The 2017 usa $20 trillion debt and the interest payments will become increasingly toxic as the smart people begin to bail well ahead of that 2017 date. The last people out lose their money.
Just saying…
I aim to entertain …
> marcos leon says:
October 29, 2009 at 5:58 pm (Edit)
Now I’ll read Bill’s new article and maybe get depressed.