Just weeks away from the Iowa caucuses, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich continues to see his popularity rising - in part, perhaps, due to his confident performances in Republican debates.
Some observers see that as good news for the White House.
"I think these debates are like presents under the Christmas tree for President Obama," said CBS chief White House correspondent Norah O'Donnell, in a political roundtable on Sunday's "Face the Nation." "They want more and more Americans to watch these debates where Mitt Romney managed to make a mistake."
Until recently, the Obama administration has chiefly targeted former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney as the likely Republican nominee (and Mr. Obama's competition) in 2012.
But as CBS' Bob Schieffer said Sunday, "It's no secret they really want to run against Newt" in the general election.
A number of Democratic lawmakers have hailed Gingrich's ascendance as the possible nominee, particularly given the candidate's long history in Washington - during which time he has undergone a lengthy ethical investigation, owned up to marital infidelity, and made any number of controversial statements.
"I did not think I had lived a good enough life to be rewarded by having Newt Gingrich be the Republican nominee," quipped longtime Democratic congressman Barney Frank, when asked about the possibility.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi echoed that sentiment, telling Talking Points Memo in an interview that Frank's comment "spoke for a lot of us" Democrats.
According to O'Donnell, the debates potentially provide increased opportunities for Gingrich to shine, and for Romney - who is viewed by many observers as a much more serious threat to Mr. Obama - to falter.
"They want more and more Americans to watch these debates where Mitt Romney managed to make a mistake, where he said he would bet $10,000 with Rick Perry," O'Donnell told Schieffer. "The Democratic National Committee was delighted by that remark. They got it trending worldwide on Twitter. #What10kWouldBuy, essentially, was the hashtag. And then, of course, they had Newt Gingrich delivering their best line of attack on Mitt Romney, when Newt Gingrich said to Mitt Romney, 'The only reason you're not a career politician is because you lost to Teddy Kennedy.'"
So while the core issues of the conflict must be negotiated, the basis of those negotiations is clear: a viable Palestine, a secure Israel. . . . We believe the borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognized borders are established for both states.
So, Obama said the 1967 borders would be a basis for negotiations for new borders to be arrived at by making "swaps" of unspecified size. That's much different from saying the 1967 borders would be reinstated.
Romney got one part right when he said, "That's not what Israel wanted to hear." Israeli leaders reacted strongly to Obama's statement, which was viewed as a policy shift for the United States. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that he "expects to hear a reaffirmation from President Obama of American commitments made to Israel in 2004 which were overwhelmingly supported by both Houses of Congress." Those commitments "relate to Israel not having to withdraw to the 1967 lines, which are both indefensible and which would leave major Israeli population centers in Judea and Samaria beyond those lines."
Our fact-checking colleague Glenn Kessler at The Washington Postwrote about Obama's comment, saying that "until Obama … U.S. presidents generally have steered clear of saying the negotiations should start on the 1967 lines," even though the Israelis and Palestinians had held negotiations with just the basis Obama mentioned.
On May 22, the president defended his remarks and complained that they had been misreported and misrepresented. He said that what he did was to "say publicly what has long been acknowledged privately."
O'Donnell noted that Democrats aren't "giving up" on Gingrich, but that regardless of who ends up the nominee, they were hoping for a long Republican primary.
"They want this to drag on, so it saps Mitt Romney's strength and drains his coffers," O'Donnell said of the Democrats.
Still, Dickerson argues that Gingrich does have a certain advantage over Romney: As a charismatic speaker, he's potentially able to deliver more stinging attacks against the president.
"One of the things Newt Gingrich may do... is talk about the president and his failures in an articulate way that a lot of people can watch, and so it's essentially a long string of attacks on the president," Dickerson told Schieffer. "And the president's approval rating in our latest poll is at 44 percent, 33 percent on the economy. That's his lowest number ever. People think the country is going in the wrong direction. That number 44 on approval, usually the strategists say that the president's approval rating has to be at about 50 to get re-elected. So he has got a lot of work to do there."
President Barack Obama is marking Hanukkah as a story of "faith over doubt."
Obama, first lady Michelle Obama and Vice President Joe Biden convened a Hanukkah celebration at the White House Thursday in an early celebration of the Jewish Festival of Lights.
Obama said the Hanukkah story was about "right over might, faith over doubt." In the Hanukkah story, a small band of Jews rededicating a Jerusalem temple found that a one-day supply of oil kindled a flame instead for eight.
The president noted "our unshakeable support and commitment to the security of the nation of Israel."
Obama said the Hanukkah story was about "right over might, faith over doubt." In the Hanukkah story, a small band of Jews rededicating a Jerusalem temple found that a one-day supply of oil kindled a flame instead for eight.
The president noted "our unshakeable support and commitment to the security of the nation of Israel."
Hanukkah begins at sunset on Dec. 20. Obama joked that everyone needs to be "careful that your kids don't start thinking Hanukkah lasts 20 nights instead of eight."
At last night's Kennedy Center Honors reception in Washington, D.C., a glowing Michelle Obama — holding hands with president Barack Obama — stunned the crowd in a strapless, tiered, cobalt blue custom gown by Vera Wang. The first lady topped off the look with elegant chandelier earrings by Miguel Ases and a chic braided updo.
But honoree Barbara Cook and First Lady Michelle Obama broke ranks. Both dressed in brilliant blue.
It's called the lipstick effect. Say you covet a Chanel suit, but can't afford it. Buying a Chanel lipstick gives you an affordable little taste of Chanel glamour. Maybe that's why makeup sales are up this year, as my colleage Tiffany Hsu reported on Saturday. Over the first 10 months of the year, unit sales were up 5% and dollar sales were up in all categories of makeup. And I predict that by the end of the year those figures will be even higher. I already know of some Smashbox kits and Sephora coupons going into stockings of some of those dear to me.
J.J. Abrams told a star-studded group attending Thursday's 21st annual Beat the Odds Awards benefit for the California branch of the Children's Defense Fund that he is "single-handedly bringing back the skinny tie." But not so. "My tie is skinnier," rejoined Zachery Quinto (Mr. Spock in the most recent "Star Trek" movie). And thus may a trend begin. [A previous version of this post incorrectly said the event happend Friday.
If you missed out on the Versace for H&M collection, you may have a second chance. Some of the items are back in stores as customers return things they may have bought in the frenzy but later realized didn't quite work (for whatever reason).
The Council of Fashion Designers of America is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a show at the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC. More than 100 items will be shown by designers such as Bill Blass, Michael Kors, Narciso Rodriguez and Thom Browne. The show is scheduled Feb. 10-April 20.
When first lady Michelle Obama steps outside the White House, all eyes are watching. For a handful of lesser-known independent designers that make her blog-worthy wardrobe, a sartorial endorsement from America's first lady can provide a big boost in business.
Widely praised for her fashion choices, the FLOTUS is the ongoing subject of many fashion blogs and best-dressed lists, but it's not her taste in haute couture that has everyone talking. While Obama has described her style as "wear what you love," fashion blogger Mary Tomer Byun, founder of Mrs-O.com, says there is some important, if subtle, messaging there. "I do think there's a deliberate effort by the first lady and her team to showcase up-and-coming and lesser-known American design talents and to wear pieces from more affordable retailers."
The first lady's style team often selects from designers only known within fashion's inner circles, with selections from small labels like Isabel Toledo. Beyond going small, Obama's style choices are often symbolic -- a signature she has increasingly used. "For the most recent state dinner to host the president of South Korea, Mrs. Obama wore a draped jersey gown by South Korean-born designer Doo-Ri Chung," Byun says. "The sartorial nod showed respect for the culture of her dinner guests, which is just a wonderful gesture that elevates the role of fashion."
Her stylish choices are worth much more than just critical raves. According to a 2010 study published by the Harvard Business Review, Obama's wardrobe created $2.7 billion in value for 29 brands worn over the course of 189 public appearances from November 2008 to December 2009. While it's more difficult to measure the effect on small brands, many sing her praises long after their piece has been put back on the hanger. Indian designer Naeem Khan told The Wall Street Journal, "It's the gift that doesn't stop giving," 12 weeks after Obama donned a design to a state dinner.
"When Mrs. Obama wears one of our designs, we receive incredible feedback and piqued interest from retailers and editors on a global level," says Prabal Gurung, whose dresses have been chosen by Obama's style team several times. "Both have a direct effect on our business."
The National Preserve America Community application process for Historic Filipinotown (HiFi) was facilitated by Pilipino American Network and Advocacy (PANA), co-chaired by Dr. Ben Marte and Dr. Leo Pandac. As a Preserve America Community, HiFi will be featured in the National Register Travel Itineraries and in “Teaching with Historic Places” curricular materials created by the National Park Service. “PANA is grateful to First Lady Michelle Obama for bestowing HiFi with this honor.” said Marte, “We are also very proud to have facilitated the involvement of the many partners that made this designation possible, including Search To Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA), My HiFi, the Pilipino Workers Center (PWC), the HiFi Neighborhood Council, Inc., Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, City Council President Eric Garcetti, , the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) and numerous other organizations and individuals.”
Historic Filipinotown was designated by the City of Los Angeles in 2002, culminating almost 30 years of advocacy by community leaders and activists seeking recognition of the area’s significance to the Filipino American Community. Downtown redevelopment after WWII displaced Los Angeles’ original Filipino enclave, causing many families to move west and settle along the Temple Street and Beverly Boulevard corridors. Today, the neighborhood is very diverse, with Filipinos living alongside numerous other ethnic and immigrant groups. However, it continues to serve as a historic and cultural center for the community, as evidenced by the numerous Filipino churches, community-based organizations, small businesses and other institutions still in existence. Additionally, the neighborhood is home to the Filipino WWII Veterans’ Memorial and Gintong Kasaysayan, Gintong Pamana (A Glorious History, A Glorious Legacy), the largest Filipino American-themed mural in the country.
1Historic Filipinotown is part of the Asian and Pacific Islander Preserve American Neighborhoods (API PAN) project, which includes Los Angeles’ Chinatown, Koreatown, Little Tokyo and Thai Town. API PAN was initiated by the City’s Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) with the support of the Asian and Pacific Islander Small Business Program (API SBP). This project aims to build collaboration and strengthen the respective neighborhoods by providing training and resources in historic preservation, cultural tourism, hospitality services, marketing and promotion. Leading HiFi’s involvement in the API PAN is Search To Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA).
In addition to PANA and SIPA, another group working to promote Historic Filipinotown is My HiFi, which focuses on historic and cultural preservation. My HiFi is currently identifying the neighborhood’s heritage assets and promoting cultural tourism and community revitalization.
This includes a digital archive project of historic photographs and oral histories that will contribute to the City’s Office of Historic Resources “Survey LA” program. My HiFi is also developing an interactive, web-based map of the neighborhood’s cultural and historic places.
“Preserve America Communities are committed to preserving their past by using their heritage to build a better future,” said Wayne Donaldson, chairman of the Federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP).
“Historic Filipinotown’s designation as a Preserve America community is the result of the hard work of many community leaders who have brought the neighborhood’s rich and diverse history into the spotlight. I’m proud to represent Historic Filipinotown on the Los Angeles City Council and even prouder to have been able to work with the community to raise its profile in the rest of the city and in our nation,” said Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti.
Congressman Xavier Becerra (CA-31), who also represents Historic Filipinotown, expressed his support: “Historic Filipinotown is a cultural hub for the Filipino American community and for many of us not of Filipino descent in Los Angeles. Its diversity in culture, thriving small businesses and engaged citizenry make it a landmark in the 31st congressional district. I congratulate all those who worked to make this designation possible and I applaud the Preserve America Initiative and First Lady Michelle Obama for honoring the Historic Filipinotown community with this great distinction.”
WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama is marking Hanukkah as a story of "faith over doubt."
Obama, first lady Michelle Obama and Vice President Joe Biden convened a Hanukkah celebration at the White House Thursday in an early celebration of the Jewish Festival of Lights.
Obama said the Hanukkah story was about "right over might, faith over doubt." In the Hanukkah story, a small band of Jews rededicating a Jerusalem temple found that a one-day supply of oil kindled a flame instead for eight.
"We're jumping the gun just a little bit," President Obama joked to the crowd, which included Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and ambassador to Israel Michael Oren.
"The way I see it, we're just extending the holiday spirit. We're stretching it out. But we do have to be careful that your kids don't start thinking Hanukkah lasts 20 nights instead of eight. That will cause some problems..."
He added, "And we never need an excuse for a good party."
Mrs. O. was sparkling in her cobalt dress and strands of Erickson Beamon black pearls, which went nicely with President Obama's blue tie.
If President Barack Obama sends his family on ahead to Hawaii while he stays in Washington to wrap up business with Congress, the taxpayers will be on the hook for tens of thousands of dollars, Keith Koffler reports on his White House Dossier blog.
Obama, who has been criticized sharply for scheduling a 17-day vacation during the country’s current economic mess, reportedly has said he may delay departure until Congress extends the payroll tax holiday. If that occurs, Michelle and Obama’s two daughters may go on ahead without him.
“But sending his family ahead of him could easily cost taxpayers an added $100,000, and possibly much more,” Koffler wrote on his blog.
“Last year, when Obama was delayed by Congress, Michelle left early for Hawaii, and the cost of her separate flight alone totaled about $63,000. This did not include related security and staff costs or the money for a cargo plane that may trail the first lady’s jet on such a trip.”
Read more on Newsmax.com: Obama Vacation May Cost More If Family Goes First
Important: Do You Support Pres. Obama's Re-Election? Vote Here Now!
President Barack Obama will delay his Hawaii vacation if needed as Congress dukes it out over extending the payroll tax holiday, the top Senate Democrat said Wednesday.
That conversation came during a meeting with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and other Senate Democratic leaders and Obama in the Oval Office earlier Wednesday.
"I'll paraphrase it, but I'm pretty close," Reid said. "He said, 'Michelle and the girls are going to have a great time in Hawaii. They don't need me there.'"
White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett seemed to confirm Reid's comments in an interview not long after.
"He is intending to stay right here in Washington," Jarrett said on MSNBC. "He intends to hold Congress accountable. Leader Reid made the same commitment."
Of course, congressional leaders often threaten Christmas vacation this time of year, and presidents often vow to stay behind and finish work when there's pending business on Capitol Hill. But somehow, Congress always tends to get out of town when the holidays approach.
Republicans, including GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, had already pounced on Obama's vacation in Hawaii, which is scheduled to begin Dec. 17.
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) added that Obama would push the House to come back into session if they adjourned without the payroll tax cut extension.
"What the president made clear was … that the House would leave at its peril, its political peril, and they will face the embarrassment of trying to explain why they're taking the holiday off while working families across America are going to see their taxes increase," Durbin told reporters afterward.
The top Senate Democrats kept up the political gamesmanship over keeping the expiring payroll tax holiday, insisting that Congress stay in Washington until they agree to extend the temporary 2 percent tax cut that is scheduled to end after this year.
"Don't go home Speaker [John] Boehner, because we're going to be here," said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). "And you'll be embarrassed before the American people if you do."
"We are not going to go home until we finish this," Reid said. "Is it going to be embarrassing to Republicans? Humiliate them? Probably, as it should be."
First lady Michelle Obama and her dog, Bo, welcomed military families to the White House on Wednesday, the first visitors to see this year's White House holiday decorations.
As usual, the decorations are impressive: There are 37 Christmas trees alone, and a 400-pound gingerbread White House. The official White House Christmas Tree in the Blue Room -- a balsam fir from Schoeder's Forevergreens near Neshkoro, Wis. -- stands more than 18 feet tall.
The visitors included Blue Star and Gold Star military families (families with members in the armed forces and families with members who have died in service).
Obama invited the children to the State Dining Room where White House chefs Cris Comerford and Bill Yosses and White House florist Laura Dowling demonstrated holiday crafts and treats.
She said the decorations this year pay tribute to military families. Visitors will be able to send handwritten notes to troops stationed around the world, she said.
"They'll also see the Gold Star tree, which honors our nation's Gold Star families whose loved ones have made the greatest of sacrifices for our country," she said, according to the White House transcript. "The tree is decorated with beautiful, special ornaments, each of which has a space for Gold Star families who visit here to write their loved one's name and to hang it on the tree."
Michelle Obama also commented on the gap between civilians and the families of the less-than-1 percent of Americans who serve in the military.
“I also know that not every American hears these stories. Not every American knows what a Blue Star family is, or a Gold Star family is. We don’t all understand what it’s like to be in a military family.
“And that’s one of the reasons why Jill and I started our Joining Forces initiative, because we wanted to rally all Americans to honor, recognize and support our military families. We wanted to make sure that never again would someone have to ask the question, what is a Gold Star family, and what does that sacrifice mean? We all should know.”
The Joining Forces initiative created by Michelle Obama and Jill Biden was designed to energize action from every sector of our society — individuals, businesses, nonprofits, philanthropy and faith-based institutions — to give service members, veterans and their families support. The initiative has mainly focused on public awareness, employment, education and wellness.
In addition to making public appearances and producing public service announcements, the initiative has spurred the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education and military child advocacy group Military Child Education Coalition to commit to collaborating and implementing military child-related curriculums in 100 universities around the country in 2012. Joining Forces has also led Medscape, a site for health care professionals, to launch a resource center and curriculum on military family health care last summer.
Perhaps most important, Joining Forces has focused on unemployment.
According to the latest jobs report, since last month, veteran unemployment dropped 0.4 percent for veterans of all generations, and a full 1 percent for those who have separated from the military since 9/11. Yet, according to a recent Stars and Stripes article, the unemployment rate among military spouses currently sits at 26 percent.
More than 1,500 private sector companies have risen to the challenge and already hired more than 20,000 veterans and spouses in the past four months, according to a Joining Forces spokesperson. The White House is also working with the American Logistics Association, the International Franchise Association, the Defense Department’s Military Spouse Employment Partnership, and has put up the “Veterans Job Bank” website.
Michelle Obama acknowledged that the holidays ahead would be tough for some families.
“You truly represent what is best about America,” the first lady told the families at the White House on Wednesday.
“I want to thank all of the Gold Star families for your enduring strength and commitment to this country. And I want to thank all of the troops, all of our veterans, all of our military families, whose service and sacrifice inspires us all,” she said.
“So thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We can’t say it enough. Thank you. I know for some of you, this holiday season will be tough. But hopefully, it’s times like this that make you know that you live in a grateful nation, and that we are just so inspired by your sacrifice. And hopefully, this is a memory that will stay with you every holiday season.”
Visitors to the White House can also thank service members overseas, by writing handwritten notes that will be sent to troops during the holidays.
President Barack Obama said the structural problems hampering the U.S. economy could take “more than one president” to correct, according to excerpts of a 60 Minutes interview that will air Sunday evening.
In response to a question about whether Mr. Obama underestimated how difficult it would be to fix the economy, Mr. Obama said, “I always believed that this was a long-term project.”
“For individual Americans, who are struggling right now, they have every reason to be impatient. Reversing structural problems in our economy that have been building up for two decades, that was going to take time. It was going to take more than a year. It was going to take more than two years. It was going to take more than one term. Probably takes more than one president.”
Mr. Obama also said it was “possible” the unemployment rate could fall from its current level of 8.6% to as low as 8% by November 2012.
While Obama claims that he's focused on the economy, his policies are the biggest roadblocks to job creation - something Wisconsin small business owners know all too well. The unpredictability of his regulatory regime and tax policies leave businesses skittish and less likely to hire new workers. The cost of Obamacare saps their extra capital. And the mountain of national debt destabilizes the credit and stock markets.
Luckily, Wisconsinites have a Republican governor and a Legislature working to counteract the effects of Washington's roadblocks to economic prosperity. Their reforms have promoted small business growth and empowered the private sector while at the same time making government more efficient and less costly.
Recently, we've seen some encouraging signs of Wisconsin businesses hiring new workers, despite the difficult Obama economy. In Sheboygan, Rockline Industries is expanding. West Business Services is adding jobs in Wausau and Blue 7 Solutions is hiring in Bayside.
But consider how much more progress - actual progress - the state could be making without the burden of the Obama presidency. Consider, too, how much better off the entire country would be if the president were willing to work with House Republicans to help small businesses, lower taxes, balance the budget and ramp up domestic energy production.
Instead, the president has spent the past three months traveling the country campaigning for his American Jobs Act, his "jobs plan" that received bipartisan opposition in the U.S. Senate. Refusing to admit that a second stimulus would create more spending than jobs, he continues to champion it for political purposes.
Meanwhile, Republicans in the House of Representatives have written and passed over 20 bills that would directly spur job creation - without raising taxes or accumulating more debt. Even better, each bill passed the House on a bipartisan vote. The president says he wants a bipartisan jobs bill, and House Republicans have 20 of them ready to go. If only he and Senate Democrats would act.
But the truth is as long as the Democrats and Obama are in campaign mode, they are uninterested. With the dismal record that they have, their campaigns have made the cold political calculation that it is in their best political interest to be uncooperative and then blame the other side.
In a vain attempt to win in 2012, they've ensured that the American people will continue to lose jobs and lose hope. Republicans across the country, in Wisconsin and Washington, have done everything they can to grow the economy. But as long as Obama resides in the White House, the results of their work remain limited.
In 11 months, Americans will have a choice: to repeat the past three years or to change course. With 86% of the country saying we're heading in the wrong direction, that seems like a pretty easy choice.
Washington - Congressional Republicans threw a monkey wrench in President Barack Obama's plans to nominate an individual to head the "first-ever consumer watchdog" agency.
Obama, in his weekly White House address, spoke Saturday of his nominating former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to lead the forming agency "whose job it is to protect American families from being taken advantage of by mortgage lenders, payday lenders and debt collectors."
"Tens of millions of Americans use these services. Protecting them from unscrupulous practices is an important job. And that's why I nominated Richard Cordray," Obama explained.
Obama said Cordray has the support of "most attorney generals across the country" on both sides of the aisle and expressed dismay Republican members of Congress blocked his nomination.
"On Thursday, Republicans blocked his nomination," Obama said. "They refused to even allow it to come up for a vote."
Senate Republicans had vowed since May to block confirmation of any Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director unless they get structural changes to the agency, which was formed as part of the Wall Street reform law passed last year.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday that President Obama ignored his party's call for more accountability and transparency in the bureau's structure.
Obama vowed to persist with his efforts to counter the "high-powered lawyers and lobbyists" that work in the interest of financial institutions.
He condemned the "irresponsible behavior" on Wall Street that "contributed to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression."
House Speaker John Boehner, in the GOP weekly address, voiced disapproval of the president postponing a decision to support an energy measure included in a jobs bill Republican members of Congress will act on next week.
Today, America faces a make-or-break moment for the middle class," he said, echoing a theme outlined during a Kansas speech earlier in the week. "I believe that this country succeeds when everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share and everyone engages in fair play."
Obama also reiterated his push for congressional Republicans to extend the Social Security payroll tax cut, which is set to expire at the end of the year.
And using the approaching holidays as leverage, he called on Congress to act on his priorities before leaving Washington for the year.
"No one should go home for the holidays until we get this done," Obama said. "So tell your members of Congress, 'Don't be a Grinch.' Tell them to do the right thing for you and for our economy."
Meanwhile, Republicans pushed their recipe for the nation's economic struggles.
Set for a House vote next week, the GOP plan ties an extension of the payroll tax and extended unemployment benefits to a provision that jump-starts work on a pipeline to carry oil from Canada to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast.
Obama wants to postpone a decision on the project, known as the Keystone XL pipeline, until after next fall's elections.
"You've heard President Obama say the American people 'can't wait' to take action on jobs," House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio says in the Republicans' weekly address. "Well, the Keystone project is the very definition of an idea the American people can't wait for Washington to take action on."
Boehner continued: "This is no time for the same-old my-way-or-the-highway theatrics. It's no secret that Democrats and Republicans often disagree about the best way to create jobs, but we can't let those disagreements prevent us from acting when we agree."
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama isn't backing down from demanding that Republicans confirm his pick to head a new consumer watchdog agency, saying Republican lawmakers are depriving middle-class Americans of better protection against the kind of deceptive business practices that contributed to the financial meltdown.
Every day that the country must wait for a director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau "is another day that dishonest businesses can target and take advantage of students, seniors and service members," Mr. Obama said Saturday in his weekly radio and Internet address.
"So I refuse to take 'no' for an answer. Financial institutions have plenty of high-powered lawyers and lobbyists looking out for them. It's time consumers had someone on their side."
Senate Republicans this past week blocked President Obama's appointment of Richard Cordray, a former Ohio attorney general, to lead an agency they said had been given too much power and too little accountability.
Without a director, the office designed to shield consumers from the excesses behind the 2008 financial crisis is unable to operate at full strength.
With voters set to begin selecting a Republican presidential nominee in less than a month, President Obama suggested the disagreement is another example of two parties who see fairness very differently. He said a consumer watchdog agency is critical to protecting ordinary Americans from the greed of the financial sector.
Senate Republicans this past week blocked Obama">Obama's appointment of Richard Cordray, a former Ohio attorney general, to lead an agency they said had been given too much power and too little accountability.
Without a director, the office designed to shield consumers from the excesses behind the 2008 financial crisis is unable to operate at full strength.
With voters set to begin selecting a Republican presidential nominee in less than a month, Obama">Obama suggested the disagreement is another example of two parties who see fairness very differently. He said a consumer watchdog agency is critical to protecting ordinary Americans from the greed of the financial sector.
"Today, America faces a make-or-break moment for the middle class," he said, echoing a theme outlined during a Kansas speech earlier in the week. "I believe that this country succeeds when everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share and everyone engages in fair play."
Obama">Obama also reiterated his push for congressional Republicans to extend the Social Security payroll tax cut, which is set to expire at the end of the year.
And using the approaching holidays as leverage, he called on Congress to act on his priorities before leaving Washington for the year.
"No one should go home for the holidays until we get this done," Obama">Obama said. "So tell your members of Congress, `Don't be a Grinch.' Tell them to do the right thing for you and for our economy."
Meanwhile, Republicans pushed their recipe for the nation's economic struggles.
Set for a House vote next week, the Republican plan ties an extension of the payroll tax and extended unemployment benefits to a provision that jump-starts work on a pipeline to carry oil from Canada to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast.
Obama">Obama wants to postpone a decision on the project, known as the Keystone XL pipeline, until after next fall's elections.
"You've heard President Obama">Obama say the American people `can't wait' to take action on jobs," House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio said in the Republicans' weekly address. "Well, the Keystone project is the very definition of an idea the American people can't wait for Washington to take action on."
Boehner continued: "This is no time for the same-old my-way-or-the-highway theatrics. It's no secret that Democrats and Republicans often disagree about the best way to create jobs, but we can't let those disagreements prevent us from acting when we agree."
WASHINGTON — Debate over extending the payroll tax cut for 170 million workers has become an exercise in political maneuvering as Republicans reluctant to go along with President Barack Obama's plan worry that they'll be accused of raising taxes on the middle class if they don't.
Rep. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma City, said there is a sense among Republicans that refusing to extend the payroll tax cut — enacted as a temporary measure last year — would be viewed as a tax increase.
“The pure optics are part of this, obviously,'' Lankford said.
Rep. Tom Cole, R-Moore, said partisan sniping over the details of a package to extend the tax cut and long-term unemployment benefits may leave people wondering whether lawmakers were “really trying to secure tax relief or score political points.”
Cole said Republicans were trying to find common ground with Obama, even though many were not enthusiastic about the extensions, but that the president was still “going to rail and demagogue on it.”
“There are going to be a lot of twists and turns and some sharp disagreements before it's over,” Cole said.
There already are very sharp disagreements, as Democrats want to raise taxes on millionaires to make up for the payroll tax money diverted from Social Security — something Republicans oppose. House Republicans want an expedited decision from Obama on an oil pipeline before backing the tax cut extension, while Democrats don't want the pipeline in the package.
Rep. Dan Boren, D-Muskogee, said, “Which party comes out as the winner in this has yet to be determined.”
Boren's position is more aligned with that of many Republicans. He doesn't think the payroll tax cut enacted last year is big enough for many people to notice since, for the average family, it is less than $1,000 spread out over 12 months.
But he may be willing to back another year of the payroll tax cut if the provision for expedited consideration of the Keystone XL pipeline is part of the package. The proposed 1,700 mile pipeline would run from Canada, through Oklahoma, to the Texas Gulf Coast.
Boren said Obama and Democrats have the political advantage now, since Republicans have portrayed themselves as the party of tax cuts, but he said the tables could be turned as the debate progresses if Republicans show themselves willing to negotiate.
The Keystone XL pipeline, with its promise of thousands of construction jobs, could help the GOP, Boren said.
The path forward is not entirely clear, and Oklahoma lawmakers predicted negotiations may last almost until Christmas.
Republicans argue that increasing taxes on the rich penalizes job creators but had a tough time combating Obama's message that the wealthy should do a little more just to give everyone else a $1,500 tax break.
In a clever twist, House Republicans threw up a roadblock, making a payroll tax extension conditional on Obama agreeing to a controversial US-Canada oil pipeline project, thrusting the president back into a heated row.
The president last month deferred a decision on whether the pipeline, which supporters say will create thousands of jobs, should be built, drawing claims he caved in to environmentalists and liberals in the Democratic coalition.
"The President says the American people can't wait on jobs. Well guess what, we agree wholeheartedly with the president," said House speaker John Boehner.
"The Keystone pipeline project will create tens of thousands of jobs immediately."
With the House expected to vote early next week, Obama has issued a veiled threat to veto any bill to extend the payroll tax cut that includes the pipeline project.
And top Senate Democrat Harry Reid warned: "If the House sends us their bill with Keystone in it, they are just wasting valuable time because it will not pass the Senate."
Other sweeteners included in the House bill to win Republican votes, including an attempt to defund part of Obama's healthcare law, are also likely to be stripped out by the Democratic Senate.
The new wrangling is likely to further run out the clock towards the Christmas holidays, as any changed Senate bill will have to go back to the House for another vote.
Keystone also looms as a tough end-of-year vote for Democratic lawmakers torn between their president and a project touted as a job creator.
"The president is serious. But in politics, I think everybody understands that you get the best deal you can," said Representative Emanuel Cleaver, an ally of Obama, apparently suggesting the president could back down.
Christmas showdowns between Obama and Congress are nothing new and help set the tone for the political fights to come.
In his first festive season in office in 2009, the president fought up until Christmas Eve to win Senate passage of his landmark health care reform law.
Last year, Obama dueled with Republicans, agreeing an extension to Bush-era tax cuts and winning Senate ratification of a new nuclear deal with Russia, a victory which replenished his political stock after a mid-term election rout.
NEW YORK -- Two top campaign advisers to President Barack Obama hit the media circuit this week to help shape a general election narrative against potential GOP challengers -- still weeks before the Iowa Caucus and perhaps months before the Republican nominee has been chosen.
While aides to past reelection campaigns have typically waited until it became clear who they'd face in the general election before taking direct aim in the media, Robert Gibbs, a former White House press secretary who is now advising Obama's reelection effort, explained to The Huffington Post that "no one thought it made sense to let the Republicans attack the President for months and months without some fact checking and pushback."
For the past several days, Gibbs and chief strategist David Axelrod have tried to define former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, long considered by Team Obama as the most likely nominee, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is now leading in most primary polls. On CBS's "Face the Nation" Sunday, Gibbs described Romney as "a political gymnast of the highest order," who will "say virtually anything to get elected to any office." Across the dial, Axelrod told NBC's David Gregory that "when it comes to his public character, [Romney] doesn't have a core," echoing past criticism from White House senior adviser David Plouffe.
The campaign turned its attention to Gingrich Monday, with Axelrod calling him the "Godfather of Gridlock" in the morning on MSNBC and again at night on CNN. Gibbs brought up Romney's "trust issue" on Tuesday's "Morning Joe" and told "Today" co-host Ann Curry on Wednesday that he doesn't "think voters are going to like, quite frankly, either one of them." That afternoon, Axelrod told reporters at a forum hosted by Bloomberg View that Romney belongs in the "martini party set" and made a crack about Gingrich's credit line at Tiffany's.
On Thursday, Obama campaign press secretary Ben LaBolt, who regularly fires off tweets digging into Romney's rhetoric and record, responded to a new ad targeting President Obama's job creation record by saying that Romney would "put Wall Street profit ahead of middle class security."
Team Obama shouldn't be expected to sleep through the Republican primary, and past reelection campaigns have surely used the period leading up to the Iowa caucuses to stock up on opposition research, raise money, talk to reporters, and plot a general election strategy. But some veteran political reporters and operatives told The Huffington Post that the Obama campaign's decision to engage so publicly with specific candidates -- along with its aggressive pushback through the news media and social media -- is a risky move for an incumbent president's campaign which could otherwise try staying above the primary fray, and let the candidates tear each other apart, well into spring 2012.
Washington Post reporter Dan Balz said the Obama campaign's "focus on Romney is earlier than we've seen in the past."
Take the economy: Unemployment numbers are still bad, but they are improving, reaching levels not seen since the very start of the crisis. GDP growth has been anemic but it long ago stopped contracting, as it was when Obama first took office, thanks to effects of the global financial crisis and US credit crunch. Asset management firm BlackRock, meanwhile, predicts that GDP growth will increase in the last quarter, hitting the 3% mark that puts the economy beyond “treading water” territory into real growth that companies large and small will invest in, both in terms of equipment and real estate upgrades, and new hiring. Macroeconomic Advisors puts the figure at 3.7%.
The GOP would love to challenge Obama on foreign policy, but here he is nearly unimpeachable. He’s steadfastly refused to commit U.S. resources to overseas adventures, resisting the “nation-building” that candidate George W. Bush had promised to not engage in. He corrected the Bush-era excesses by pulling out of Iraq and announcing a timetable to withdraw from Afghanistan. If a president John McCain had used drone strikes as much as Obama did, Republicans everywhere would be crowing about the president’s use of “smart power” in the War on Terror.
As Todd Purdum recently explained in Vanity Fair, in an article about George Kennan and his disillusionment with our country’s military-driven growth and global-policeman interventionist foreign policy stance, there should never have been anything inevitable about the U.S. jumping into global hot spots just because it could. Obama is perhaps the only president in the last fifty years to successfully resist committing huge numbers of American lives and treasure to an overseas engagement. With that accomplishment, he joins only Dwight Eisenhower, who ended the Korean War, if we go back a little further. And yet, when asked Thursday at a press conference if he was engaging in a policy of appeasement with Iran, he smartly suggested that the reporter “ask Osama bin Laden and the 22 out of 30 top al-Qaida leaders who have been taken off the field whether I engage in appeasement. Or whoever is left out there, ask them about that.” The GOP may try to pin Obama on foreign policy, but when he starts defending his record in such stark terms, it’s pretty easy to see how this is a losing fight.
If the economy rebounds even partly, and his foreign policy continues to be effective, what can the Republicans pin on Obama? The birth certificate is public and the country has grown comfortable, or at least used to, seeing him on the world stage. The “otherness” that plagued him during the early days of his presidency has been all but eradicated. The incumbent advantage will begin to manifest itself as the GOP nominee struggles to present a vision for America that differs significantly from where we already are. With social issues always being marginalized in general elections (and with Rick Perry proving even the GOP primary season is barely hospitable to his anti-gay TV spots), it’s becoming clear that no credible alternative narrative to the Obama era is going to emerge from this Republican party or its Tea Party wing.
Finally, Obama seems to have learned perhaps his most difficult lesson: how to be the master of Congress. He’s taking credit for good ideas and pointing fingers at the failures, while appearing to the public as engaged but above the fray. He learned all the lessons of the debt ceiling debacle in time to benefit rather than suffer from the super committee’s failure. He’s dared congressional Republicans to attack his middle-class populism by wearing the cloak of a Republican, Teddy Roosevelt, when talking about it. And if Congress fails to pass the payroll tax extension before its December recess, the administration will surely paint its Republican leaders as not just do-nothings, but hypocrites to boot.
Come general-election season, Obama should be able to describe his first term as one in which: he took the right steps on the economy which, due to simple outside lag time, are just now paying off; he avoided military entanglements while keeping the country safe and hunting down terrorists; and he stared down the extreme wings of both parties in order to maintain a centrist course, while also increasing health care coverage for millions of Americans. In short, whereas it was once hard to see how the president could possibly win a second term, it’s now difficult to understand how he could lose.
BAGHDAD, -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki departed Sunday for an official visit to the United States to hold talks with U.S. leaders over bilateral ties, an Iraqi official television reported.
"Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki left Baghdad on an official visit to the United States in response to an invitation of U.S. President Barack Obama," the state-run channel of Iraqia said.
Maliki and Obama will talk about the bilateral ties within the Strategic Framework Agreement (SFA) signed between Baghdad and Washington late in 2008 along with the security pact named Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), the TV said.
Maliki's several-day visit came as thousands of U.S. troops are leaving Iraq according to the SOFA security pact.
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will visit Fort Bragg Wednesday and speak to the troops there.
In a news release, the White House said Obama wanted to speak directly to the troops as the American involvement in Iraq comes to an end.
The President will speak about the enormous sacrifices and achievements of the brave Americans who served in the Iraq War.
Obama has made frequent trips to North Carolina, a politically important state he carried in the 2008 election. The Democrats will hold their national convention in Charlotte Sept. 3-6.
George W. Bush made four visits to Fort Bragg as president, including a visit during All-American Week in 2008.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki traveled today to Washington as the U.S. troop withdrawal from his country enters its final days.
Maliki is due to hold wide-ranging talks with U.S. President Barack Obama during his two-day visit, which comes less than a month before the complete withdrawal of U.S. troops who have been based in the country since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
Ali Mussawi, a media adviser to the Iraqi prime minister, said the trip would "open a new phase of relations between Baghdad and Washington."
The U.S. military withdrawal leaves behind an Iraqi security force with more than 900,000 troops.
Obama and Maliki will discuss the removal of the troops and what the administration says are "efforts to start a new chapter in the comprehensive strategic partnership between the United States and Iraq."
Analysts note that though the war is winding down, the United States will continue to have a presence in the country, which is still wracked by violence. Vice President Joe Biden made a surprise stop in Iraq last month to talk with Maliki about U.S.-Iraqi cooperation on a variety of fronts, including law enforcement, defense and security.
The White House says Obama _who ran for office in 2008 promising to wind down the war in Iraq — also will tout the war's close during interviews Tuesday with local television anchors from across the country.
He mentioned the close of the war in one of four local television interviews he did Thursday, suggesting to WISH-TV in Indianapolis, Ind., that he could be back in the battleground state to announce new initiatives for returning veterans.
"We've got a whole bunch of them who are going to be coming back this month because we've ended the war in Iraq as I promised," Obama told the station.
Republicans on the campaign trail and in Congress have criticized Obama for withdrawing all U.S. troops from Iraq and failing to secure an agreement with Maliki to keep some forces in the country.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney told the Republican Jewish Coalition in Washington on Wednesday that the troop withdrawals in Iraq and Afghanistan were "based upon electoral expediency, not military requirement."
A recent Gallup poll found that three out of four Americans support pulling troops out of Iraq and pollsters say a majority of Iraqis also support the move.
The administration is looking to underscore what it clearly sees as a foreign policy success. News reports said Biden on Thursday moved up a trip to Florida by a few hours to welcome home 350 Navy sailors as they returned to Mayport Naval Station from a seven-month deployment in Iraq aboard the USS Gettysburg.
The United States ended its combat mission in Iraq on Aug. 31, 2010, and drew down to fewer than 50,000 troops from approximately 144,000 in January 2009. The administration maintains that violence in Iraq has remained at its lowest level since 2003, though some analysts fear a return to violence after U.S. troops withdraw.
The White House has said Obama and Maliki have "agreed that it was in the best interests of both the United States and Iraq to draw down U.S. forces by the end of 2011 and embark on a new phase in our relationship_ a long-term strategic partnership across a range of sectors."
On a related issue, a group of Iranian-Americans, along with former FBI Director Louis Freeh, will protest outside the White House during Maliki's visit, urging Obama to press Maliki to cancel a Dec. 31 deadline to expel a camp of more than 3,000 Iranian dissidents who have been stranded in Iraq since 2003.
