Obama administration – News Stories About Obama administration - Page 34

Prosecutors Hope Plea Deals Will Close Gitmo Cases

Nov 13, 2009 4:45 PM CST

Prosecutors Hope Plea Deals Will Close Gitmo Cases

Federal, Military prosecutors fight for rare testimony

(Newser) - Federal and military prosecutors looking to convict Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other high-profile Guantanamo Bay detainees are competing with each other to offer plea bargains to lower-profile inmates in exchange for testimony. Some detainees have remained at Gitmo because they are considered too difficult to prosecute, and the evidence against...

New White House
Counsel Scares
GOP, Other
Lawyers

Nov 13, 2009 1:56 PM CST

New White House Counsel Scares GOP, Other Lawyers

Bauer is a skilled, controversial Democratic veteran

(Newser) - Robert Bauer, the new White House counsel, is a longtime Democratic operative known for his hard-nosed style and work ethic. He is a veteran of the Clinton impeachment proceedings and represented House Democrats during the Bush years, where he was known for his aggressive strategy—he went as far as...

9/11 Plotters Will
Face Death: Holder

Nov 13, 2009 12:38 PM CST

9/11 Plotters Will Face Death: Holder

New York trial represents proper US tradition, AG says

(Newser) - Confessed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed and his four co-defendants will face the death penalty, Eric Holder confirmed today, and the AG leapt to defend the decision to try them in a civilian court in New York. They will “answer for their alleged crimes in a courthouse just blocks...

Republicans Decry Decision to Try 9/11 Planner in NYC

Nov 13, 2009 12:15 PM CST

Republicans Decry Decision to Try 9/11 Planner in NYC

GOP slams AG's 'dangerous mentality'

(Newser) - Republican leaders are sharply criticizing the Obama administration’s decision to prosecute Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in civilian court. John Boehner called the plan to try the confessed planner of the 9/11 attacks in New York "irresponsible” and accused AG Eric Holder of "reverting to a dangerous pre-9/11 mentality....

White House Counsel
Craig Stepping Down

UPDATED

Nov 13, 2009 5:44 AM CST

White House Counsel Craig Stepping Down

He's taken flak over Guantanamo Bay policy

(Newser) - White House counsel Gregory Craig is expected to resign as early as Friday, reports the Washington Post. Craig has taken much heat over the clumsy handling of the Guantanamo Bay closure, and his resignation isn't a huge surprise. It's still the highest-level departure in the Obama administration. He will be...

US to Karzai: Clean Up Corruption or ... Nothing

No Leverage dept.

Nov 12, 2009 11:59 AM CST

US to Karzai: Clean Up Corruption or ... Nothing

Threatening troop withdrawal like threatening suicide: 'stupid'

(Newser) - President Obama is gravely serious about pressuring Hamid Karzai to reel in Afghan corruption—but has almost zero “or else” options. The most logical threat to entice Karzai to clean up his government, pulling out US troops, is “stupid,” a former ambassador tells the New York Times...

White House
Eyes TARP Cash
to Slash Deficit

Nov 12, 2009 6:17 AM CST

White House Eyes TARP Cash to Slash Deficit

Administration debating options for leftover $200B

(Newser) - The White House is debating using some of what remains in the $700 billion bailout fund to help cut the nation's deficit. Around $210 billion remains unspent and financial institutions are expected to repay another $50 billion over the next 18 months. The administration wants to keep some of that...

Obama:
Forget
Bush's
Playbook

KARL ROVE

Nov 12, 2009 3:31 AM CST

Obama: Forget Bush's Playbook

Making 2010 a referendum on prez won't work for Dems

(Newser) - Karl Rove is flattered that President Obama appears to be borrowing the strategy he devised for President Bush in the 2002 midterm elections, but he warns it won't work for the Democrats next year. Making the midterms a referendum on the White House worked in 2002 because national security...

'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'
Gone in 2010: Frank

Nov 11, 2009 2:13 PM CST

'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Gone in 2010: Frank

Repeal will be part of next year's defense authorization bill

(Newser) - A provision repealing the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy will be included in the 2010 defense authorization bill, Rep. Barney Frank says. The authorization would see debate and a vote in spring and summer, and go into effect in October. “'Don’t ask, don’...

White House's
Fox News Foe
Stepping Down

TURNOVER DEPT

Nov 10, 2009 2:11 PM CST

White House's Fox News Foe Stepping Down

Communications director Anita Dunn leaving as planned

(Newser) - President Obama’s communications director will cede her post to a deputy at the end of the month, Chris Cillizza has learned. Anita Dunn notably took on the Fox Network and accused it of being a Republican mouthpiece. Dunn, who said from the start she was taking the post on...

Senate Dems Say Obama Plans Don't Fix Spending

Nov 10, 2009 1:05 PM CST

Senate Dems Say Obama Plans Don't Fix Spending

Say legislation isn't aggressive enough on fee-for-service model

(Newser) - Some Democrats in the Senate are worried that reform legislation under consideration doesn't do enough to rein in out-of-control health care spending. President Obama has promised $2 trillion in savings over the next 10 years, but critics say the proposed changes aren't nearly aggressive enough on the current pay-per-visit system...

I Agree With
Beck—Obama's
Racist: Murdoch

STAND BY YOUR MAN

Nov 10, 2009 9:58 AM CST

I Agree With Beck—Obama's Racist: Murdoch

Asked about Beck brouhaha, News Corp. chairman is unrepentant

(Newser) - Rupert Murdoch backed his host over his advertisers in a Sky News interview last weekend, saying Glenn Beck probably shouldn't have called President Obama a racist on the air some months back, but what he said was right. Asked about the Fox host's assertion that Obama made racist comments during...

Obama to Honor Veterans During Alaska Visit

Nov 6, 2009 3:43 PM CST

Obama to Honor Veterans During Alaska Visit

First visit to chilly 49th state a refueling stop en route to Asia

(Newser) - President Obama will visit Alaska next week for the first time, stopping at Elmendorf Air Force Base to observe Veterans Day with base personnel while Air Force One refuels. Like most recent presidents, Obama will visit Alaska en route to Asia, the Anchorage Daily News reports. The president would like...

Flags at Half-Staff Through
Veterans Day: Obama

FORT HOOD SHOOTING

Nov 6, 2009 11:55 AM CST

Flags at Half-Staff Through Veterans Day: Obama

President calls the move a 'modest tribute' to Fort Hood victims

(Newser) - President Obama today ordered that American flags at all federal properties be flown at half-staff until Veterans Day—next Wednesday—to honor the people killed at Fort Hood yesterday. The gesture is “a modest tribute to those who lost their lives even as others were preparing to risk their...

Kiss Dem Agenda Goodbye, Say Hello to Job Worries

OPINION

Nov 6, 2009 9:22 AM CST

Kiss Dem Agenda Goodbye, Say Hello to Job Worries

Pelosi will try to ram health care through before Blue Dogs bolt

(Newser) - The Obama administration is running out of time in its race to enact its liberal agenda before Democratic candidates start caring more about their own re-election than the party line, writes Kim Strassel . Tuesday's results show that Obama's power is weakening, and will be the tipping point for many "...

Dems Will Regret Not Being Bolder on Economy

PAUL KRUGMAN

Nov 6, 2009 6:48 AM CST

Dems Will Regret Not Being Bolder on Economy

Voter backlash is about failure to lower unemployment

(Newser) - Paul Krugman doesn't buy the GOP conclusion that voters Tuesday rejected the Obama agenda. The election just showed that American voters are worried about their jobs, he writes, and this time next year, with unemployment still high, Democrats will likely regret not having been bolder on the economy when...

Voters Punished Obama,
Dems for Going Deaf

PEGGY NOONAN

Nov 6, 2009 5:19 AM CST

Voters Punished Obama, Dems for Going Deaf

Election should be a wake-up call for out-of-touch White House

(Newser) - The Democratic Party should view its walloping in Tuesday's election as an opportunity to start listening before it's too late, writes Peggy Noonan . The Democrats have been focusing on the wrong issues since they gained power last year and that explains the huge swing to the Republicans in Virginia and...

Tension Builds Between
Hillary, Obama

Joe Klein

Nov 5, 2009 6:50 PM CST

Tension Builds Between Hillary, Obama

Clinton a strong secretary, but not yet administration's voice

(Newser) - Ask Hillary Clinton or her staff about President Obama and they’ll praise him and tell you the relationship between the two really is strong. But the tensions between the State Department and White House are starting to show, writes Joe Klein . The president’s foreign policy hasn’t yet...

Dems Torn: Too Much
Change, or Not Enough?

ELECTION FALLOUT

Nov 5, 2009 9:15 AM CST

Dems Torn: Too Much Change, or Not Enough?

Do voters want them to ditch presidential agenda, or complete it?

(Newser) - Democrats in Congress reading the tea leaves of Tuesday’s elections find themselves split: were the Republican wins in Virginia and New Jersey a vote of no confidence in the administration’s agenda, or frustration that it isn’t moving fast enough? Most agree on the first step going forward:...

Health Bill Will Speed
Swing Back to GOP

KARL ROVE

Nov 5, 2009 4:00 AM CST

Health Bill Will Speed Swing Back to GOP

Suburban, independent voter trend is bad news for Dems

(Newser) - This week's election results spell out a trend that should scare Democrats in both red and blue states, warns Karl Rove . Suburban and independent voters turned away from the party at a rate that would have easily put John McCain into the White House last year, and the health bill...