Obama administration

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Skirting Pay Cap Will Be a Piece of Cake

Obama proposal leaves wiggle room, and Wall St. usually good at finding it

(Newser) - The squeeze on big paydays for executives of bailed-out banks will probably leave Wall Street plenty of wiggle room. Consultants on executive pay say the caps imposed by President Obama yesterday will probably apply only to a few executives—not star traders, brokers, and salespeople who routinely earn whopping pay...

Black Leaders Pin High Hopes on New AG

Civil rights advocates see opportunity for change under Holder

(Newser) - For decades, black men have been arrested, convicted, and sentenced to execution at disproportionate rates. Now, with the appointment of the country's first African-American attorney general, black leaders are hoping Eric Holder will help the Justice Department reform what they see as a broken system. "The most important thing...

Obama Widens Faith-Based Initiative

Softens campaign trail stance

(Newser) - Barack Obama announced his new-look faith-based initiative at the National Prayer Breakfast this morning, promising a program that won’t favor any particular religious group, or even religious groups over secular groups, the AP reports. “Far too often, we’ve seen faith wielded as a tool to divide us,...

Obama: Stimulus Critics 'Misguided'

(Newser) - President Obama goes to bat for his stimulus package today in an editorial in the Washington Post, calling it “more than a prescription for short-term spending—it’s a strategy for America’s long-term growth.” He says the criticisms of it are “misguided,” advocating “half-steps...

US Cancels Gas, Oil Leases Near Utah Parks

Administration moves to drilling in environmentally sensitive areas

(Newser) - The Obama administration is scrapping the sales of oil and gas leases on areas of federally protected land spanning 130,000 acres in Utah, Bloomberg reports. “Those are American iconic treasures we need to make sure are being protected,” Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said today, adding that the...

$700K in Fees Could Bring Panetta Scrutiny

CIA nom got speaking, consulting money from troubled banks

(Newser) - President Obama’s nominee to head the CIA could be the next to come under scrutiny after the Wall Street Journal reported today that Leon Panetta has made more than $700,000 in the past year in speaking and consulting fees—with some coming from troubled banks and an investment...

In Daschle's DC, Money Doesn't Talk, It Swears
In Daschle's DC, Money Doesn't Talk, It Swears
ANALYSIS
Feb 4, 2009 3:15 PM CST

In Daschle's DC, Money Doesn't Talk, It Swears

Under Obama, influence peddling may be on the way out

(Newser) - It’s not your parents’ Washington anymore. DC used to be a cultural and social backwater, but no longer, writes Norman Ornstein for the New Republic. The “sheer amount of money sloshing around” the capital destroyed Tom Daschle's bid to head HHS nominee; he got "caught up in...

Obama Transition Not So Flawless After All
Obama Transition Not So Flawless After All
OPINION
Feb 4, 2009 2:52 PM CST

Obama Transition Not So Flawless After All

Blunders show new administration to be quite ordinary, blogger writes

(Newser) - News coverage has so far given the impression that Barack Obama’s transition is one of the smoothest, best-executed in history. But with a number of recent blunders grabbing headlines, the administration’s image is coming back down to earth, writes Ed Morrissey for Hot Air. “Most transitions feel...

'Sleazy' Cheney Has No Right to Talk Terror

(Newser) - Dick Cheney’s claim that a terrorist attack is more likely during an Obama administration “is sleazy in the extreme,” Joe Klein writes for Time. Even if you can “leave aside the fact”—which Klein cannot—“that if Dick Cheney and his alleged boss had...

Deep-Red Gregg Is a Strange Fit for Obama
Deep-Red Gregg Is a Strange Fit
for Obama
Analysis
Feb 4, 2009 1:53 PM CST

Deep-Red Gregg Is a Strange Fit for Obama

Commerce nom tried to get rid of agency, but is bridge to big business

(Newser) - Judd Gregg is a fairly bizarre choice for commerce secretary, Pete Engardio writes in BusinessWeek, considering the Republican senator once called for the elimination of the Commerce Department. Gregg is a true fiscal conservative, who’s voted against bills to tighten emission standards, raise taxes on gas producers, and negotiate...

C'mon, Mr Prez, Nobody Will Run Bank for $500K
C'mon, Mr Prez, Nobody Will Run Bank for $500K
OPINION
Feb 4, 2009 12:34 PM CST

C'mon, Mr Prez, Nobody Will Run Bank for $500K

Obama, after pledge to be above the noise, falls prey to it instead

(Newser) - Sure, bankers make too much money, but President Obama’s ceiling “is just a misguided attempt to quiet the peanut gallery,” writes Megan Barnett in Portfolio. The $500,000-per-year executive cap will discourage banks from taking needed government cash, and drive away top talent. “Money is what...

Obama and McCain Back at It, Over Stimulus

'Season of cooperation' short-lived as Mac rips 'comical' spending bill

(Newser) - How to spend hundreds of billions of dollars has a way of opening up old rivalries, the Washington Times reports, with John McCain—who recently pledged to cooperate with President Obama—spearheading the Senate effort to rewrite the stimulus package. “I cannot and do not support the package on...

Warming Will Wipe Out Calif. Agriculture: Energy Sec.

Top US producer faces disaster without swift action on climate change

(Newser) - Energy Secretary Steven Chu sees dire effects of global warming, particularly on his home state of California, he tells the Los Angeles Times. Some 90% of the snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains, a vital storehouse for water used in farming and cultivation, could disappear, he said. “We’re...

Busted Fatcats Have Everything —Except a Clue

High-fliers fail to realize that national mood has turned against them

(Newser) - The real problem with Tom Daschle is the $5 million he made on the post-Senate gravy train, not his unpaid taxes, Steven Pearlstein writes in the Washington Post. Daschle, John Thain, and their fellow corporate and government high fliers have run afoul of an American public that's "no longer...

Obama Puts $500K Limit on Exec Pay at Bailout Firms

(Newser) - Executives at companies that get “exceptional help” from the federal government are in for a big pay cut, President Obama announced today. Top-level executives will have salaries capped at $500,000, Obama said, “a fraction of the salaries that have been reported recently.” The only other compensation...

Pelosi, Not GOP, Thorn in Obama's Side
 Pelosi, Not GOP, 
 Thorn in Obama's Side 
ANALYSIS
Feb 4, 2009 10:10 AM CST

Pelosi, Not GOP, Thorn in Obama's Side

President's relationship with House speaker on the rocks over stimulus

(Newser) - President Obama might have criticized how House Republicans rolled over for President Bush, but likely expected something similar from Democrats. But Speaker Nancy Pelosi has already shown she won’t hew to Obama’s agenda, reports Time. They’re out of step on the auto bailout, tax cuts, and most...

Senate Dems Don't Have Votes to Pass Stimulus

Senate moderates, GOP insist on stripping out billions

(Newser) - President Obama’s first big bill, the stimulus package passed by the House, lacks the votes to clear a Senate filibuster, reports the Washington Post. Senate moderates are proposing to strip $200 billion in spending to win GOP supporters. Says Democratic whip Dick Durbin, “100 decisions” will be “...

Pentagon to Send 30K New Troops to Afghanistan

Heartland strategy seeks to cut off Taliban's supply of fighters, drug money

(Newser) - US commanders are finalizing plans to beat back the resurgent Taliban with tens of thousands of extra American troops in Afghanistan, the Wall Street Journal reports. As part of Barack Obama's emerging strategy, reinforcements will be deployed in rural areas where Kabul's grip is weak, including along the border with...

Obama May Cap Pay of Bailed-Out Execs at $500K

Pay to be capped at $500,000, bonuses canceled

(Newser) - The Obama administration plans to announce sharp new limits today on how much executives of bailed-out companies can make, the New York Times reports. The rules, still being hammered out, would cap the pay of top executives at $500,000 and bar them from receiving any bonuses apart from normal...

Losing Daschle Hurts, but Won't Kill Health Plans

Replacing his political clout will be the biggest challenge

(Newser) - The loss of Tom Daschle is a blow to President Obama’s plans for health-care reform, but the administration still has the resources to get the job done, Jonathan Cohn writes in the New Republic. Daschle was not only to head the Department of Health and Human Services, but also...

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