Obama administration

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Let McChrystal Make His Case to Congress
 Let McChrystal 
 Make His Case 
 to Congress 
peggy noonan
Oct 9, 2009 1:39 AM CDT

Let McChrystal Make His Case to Congress

National debate is needed to build consensus

(Newser) - President Obama may not want to hear from Gen. Stanley McChrystal, but Congress certainly does, writes Peggy Noonan, and he should let them. Staying on in Afghanistan and withdrawing are both unappealing options that could have dire consequences, and even though the Pentagon doesn't want to do it, the country...

Canada to US: Are We Still Friends?
 Canada to US: 
 Are We Still Friends? 
Analysis
Oct 8, 2009 10:13 PM CDT

Canada to US: Are We Still Friends?

American protectionism worries our northern neighbor

(Newser) - Canada’s biggest problem now also happens to be its best friend: America. PM Stephen Harper once worried that Canada’s “special relationship” with the US had been lost under George W. Bush—and it hasn’t improved a bit under Obama, writes Luiza Ch. Savage in Macleans. Not...

Top Wall Street Execs Have Direct Line to Geithner

Treasury chief's calendars show frequent contact with big players

(Newser) - A look at Timothy Geithner's phone calendars show the Treasury secretary has maintained close ties with Wall Street executives he has known for years. Executives at Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Citigroup can reach the nation's most powerful economic official at will. While there's nothing inherently wrong with keeping tabs on...

Lower-Key McCain Edges Back Into Picture

(Newser) - After 11 months licking his wounds, John McCain is getting back out there, appearing on TV more often and acting little like the man who gave a gracious, conciliatory concession speech last November. He's finding support within the GOP, where his combative approach hasn't always resonated, because his target is...

Glenn Beck's Mormonism Is the Apocalyptic Kind

Ties to radical mid-century LDS thought could sully Romney 2012

(Newser) - Most of the media has been understandably wary of tying Glenn Beck’s Mormonism to his jeremiad against President Obama and the enemies of freedom, Adam Reilly writes. And yet, Beck is a clear inheritor of a particular strain of mid-century Mormon political ideology that espoused virulent anti-communism and the...

Afghan Rift? It's Just 'Smoke and Puffery'
Afghan Rift?
It's Just 'Smoke and Puffery'
OPINION
Oct 8, 2009 12:45 PM CDT

Afghan Rift? It's Just 'Smoke and Puffery'

McCain, others inflate controversy so Obama looks weak: Klein

(Newser) - There’s been much consternation recently about the supposed break between the White House and Stanley McChrystal over strategy in Afghanistan. But it’s really all “smoke and puffery,” a political ruse perpetrated by John McCain and some neocon compatriots, writes Joe Klein in Time. The furor has...

CIA Knew of 'Secret' Iran Facility: Panetta

Once agency was certain this spring, Obama kept info as leverage for talks

(Newser) - The CIA knew about Iran's recently revealed uranium-enrichment facility and had been collecting intelligence on it since 2006. The US, the UK, and France had been on the lookout for a new secret plant since the 2002 revelation of the Natanz facility. When intelligence and covert operations uncovered a new...

Pelosi Eye Roll Hints at Dem Rift on Afghanistan

She doesn't seem to be on the same page as Reid

(Newser) - It was a little thing. After Tuesday’s powwow with the president on Afghan strategy, Harry Reid emerged from the White House with Nancy Pelosi and announced: “Everyone said that ‘whatever decision you make, we will support it,’” as the House speaker rolled her eyes. Though...

Lawmakers Get Court Date With Obama
Lawmakers Get Court Date
With Obama
Oct 7, 2009 10:27 PM CDT

Lawmakers Get Court Date With Obama

Rep. who walked out on health speech among hoops invitees

(Newser) - Four cabinet secretaries and one GOP representative who walked out of President Obama’s joint address to Congress last month are among some 16 invitees for tomorrow’s White House fall basketball game. Rep. John Shimkus is the lone Republican on the list; that Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has enough...

Delaware Now the 2010 Senate Race to Watch
Delaware Now the 2010 Senate Race to Watch
ANALYSIS
Oct 7, 2009 11:49 AM CDT

Delaware Now the 2010 Senate Race to Watch

GOP's Castle could beat likely foe Beau Biden: Silver

(Newser) - GOP Rep. Mike Castle just made Delaware’s 2010 senatorial election interesting, writes Nate Silver. The former governor threw in yesterday against “hypothetical” opponent Beau Biden for his father’s open seat, and the odds are decent it will change hands. Though the popular moderate Republican could run into...

Jones Emerges as Strong Voice for Obama

National security adviser sheds early uncertainty about role

(Newser) - Jim Jones’ rocky start in the Obama administration as national security adviser now seems like a thing of the past. Where once Jones lamented publicly that he was unsure of his role, he has now settled in as a top administration voice, wielding his four-star clout in the Pentagon and...

Tax Breaks for New Jobs Gain Bipartisan Support

But some dismiss move as 'corporate welfare'

(Newser) - Support is building in Washington for the idea of giving companies tax breaks when they hire new workers. President Obama’s economic team has been exploring the possibility for weeks, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle like the idea of helping unemployed constituents. “There’s a lot...

Nothing Wrong With Czars, Experts Testify

But GOP's Collins vows to keep the 'issue' alive with more hearings

(Newser) - The anti-czar crusade hit quite the speed bump yesterday, when five constitutional scholars testified in a Senate hearing that it was indeed perfectly legal for the president to have policy advisers. They said the principle dated back to FDR and that, assuming the czars didn’t have any actual legal...

US Wades Into Chaos in Guinea

Clinton sends diplomat, accuses junta of 'criminality'

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton has stepped into the crisis in the junta-ruled nation of Guinea, calling for "appropriate actions" against the military government, which she said "cannot remain in power." Clinton took the unusual step of dispatching a senior diplomat, who pinned blame for the recent killings and rapes...

Schwarzenegger Latest in GOP to Back Reform

Calls for health bill this year in opposition to congressional GOP's wish for do-over

(Newser) - Arnold Schwarzenegger today became the highest-ranking elected Republican to back President Obama's push for health care reform. California's governor urged lawmakers "on both sides of the political aisle at the national level to move forward." He spoke after New York City's Mike Bloomberg, a Republican-turned-independent, also endorsed reform....

Obama Mulls Tax Cuts, Spending to Goose Economy

Grim jobs outlook spurs talks on new stimulus measures

(Newser) - The Obama administration is examining new ways to boost the economy amid troubling unemployment statistics. The White House and Democratic leaders in Congress are considering strategies that include new transportation spending and an extension of tax credits for first-time homebuyers and small businesses struggling with operating losses. A proposal to...

Military Advice to Obama Should Be Private: Gates

Defense secretary joins criticism of McChrystal

(Newser) - Military commanders should give their advice on Afghanistan to President Obama, not to the public, Robert Gates said today. In an implicit reprimand to Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who has commented openly on his low opinion of the administration’s Afghanistan policy, the defense secretary said such advice should be given...

Weak Afghan al-Qaeda Calls Surge Into Question

Whether Taliban will facilitate or shun terror group is up in the air

(Newser) - The principal rationale for the original US invasion of Afghanistan was the elimination of an al-Qaeda safe haven. Almost a decade later, the terrorist group is much diminished there, as well as in Pakistan, prompting serious second thoughts within the administration about ramping up forces in the region. Aides to...

Petraeus Goes Quiet, for Good or Ill
Petraeus Goes Quiet, for
Good or Ill
ANALYSIS
Oct 5, 2009 6:11 AM CDT

Petraeus Goes Quiet, for Good or Ill

Face of Iraq surge disappears in Afghanistan debate

(Newser) - By the end of George W. Bush's second term David Petraeus was the country's most famous military man, carpeting the media with interviews and pressing the flesh on Capitol Hill. The general who personified the Iraq troop surge is still around, and spoke up in strategy sessions with Barack Obama...

I'd Vote for Health Bill: Frist

Obama's reforms are a step in the right direction, former Senate majority leader says

(Newser) - Health care reform legislation has the unexpected support of a prominent physician: former Senate Republican leader Bill Frist. If he were still in politics, “I would end up voting for it," Frist said. The surgeon also blamed some Republicans for not engaging seriously in the health care debate:...

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