Inspire Political Discourse

President Obama Calls Out Mitch McConnell

In his weekly remarks, President Obama accused Mitch McConnell of lying. You GO, Mr. President! 

Now, unsurprisingly, these reforms have not exactly been welcomed by the people who profit from the status quo – as well their allies in Washington.  This is probably why the special interests have spent a lot of time and money lobbying to kill or weaken the bill.  Just the other day, in fact, the Leader of the Senate Republicans and the Chair of the Republican Senate campaign committee met with two dozen top Wall Street executives to talk about how to block progress on this issue.

Lo and behold, when he returned to Washington, the Senate Republican Leader came out against the common-sense reforms we’ve proposed.  In doing so, he made the cynical and deceptive assertion that reform would somehow enable future bailouts – when he knows that it would do just the opposite.  Every day we don’t act, the same system that led to bailouts remains in place – with the exact same loopholes and the exact same liabilities.  And if we don’t change what led to the crisis, we’ll doom ourselves to repeat it.  That’s the truth.  Opposing reform will leave taxpayers on the hook if a crisis like this ever happens again.

Read the entirety of his remarks, or view the video. For more on this still developing situation , I filed my posts under the categories Mitch McConnell and Financial Reform.

Obama Mandates Rights to Gays Re Hospital Visitation and Medical Care Choices

On Thursday, President Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum that extends rights of hospital visitation to same-sex partners of gays, and directs respect for their choice of an advocate to make medical care decisions for them.

MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

SUBJECT: Respecting the Rights of Hospital Patients to Receive Visitors and to Designate Surrogate Decision Makers for Medical Emergencies

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World Nuclear Security Summit Hosted by Obama

President Obama hosted 47 world leaders at a summit yesterday, with the goal being to find ways to reduce the threat that terrorists such as al Qaeda could obtain nuclear materials or weapons.

President Obama completed a first meeting of world leaders on combating nuclear terrorism with a list of specific commitments from dozens of nations to eliminate or lock down nuclear materials, in what he called a “bold and pragmatic” program to finish the task in the next four years.

The meeting that Mr. Obama convened, and to a great degree stage-managed, was unlike any negotiations over arms control with the Soviets during the cold war or, more recently, the so-far fruitless talks to get North Korea to disarm. This was a far broader effort to persuade African, Latin American, Asian and European nations to agree on steps to deny terrorist groups the two materials necessary to make a bomb: plutonium and highly enriched uranium.

Mr. Obama began the session arguing that while superpower confrontation was far more remote, the risk of nuclear terrorism had never been greater, and he quoted the warning of Albert Einstein soon after the beginning of the nuclear age: “We are drifting towards a catastrophe beyond comparison.” [……]

He achieved some success[emphasis is mine].

At the end of two days of meetings, Mr. Obama could claim two major accomplishments: The summit meeting forced countries that had failed to clean up their nuclear surpluses to formulate detailed plans to deal with them, and it kicked into action nations that had failed to move on previous commitments.

A second summit meeting will be held in two years in South Korea, Mr. Obama said, to make sure countries are on track. [……]

Image source: Doug Mills, New York TImes

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President Obama and World Leaders Meet to Develop Battle Plan on the Threat of Nuclear Terrorism

President Obama and 47 presidents, prime ministers, and other heads of state from around the world meet in Washington today to develop a plan to keep nuclear weapons from falling in to the hands of terrorists.

Confronting what he calls the "single biggest threat to U.S. security," Obama is looking for global help in his goal of ensuring all nuclear materials worldwide are secured from theft or diversion within four years.

On the eve of what would be the largest assembly of world leaders hosted by an American president since 1945 — the San Francisco conference to found the United Nations — Obama said nuclear materials in the hands of al-Qaida or another terrorist group "could change the security landscape in this country and around the world for years to come."

This follows on the heels of his recent previous steps to rid the world of the threat of nuclear weapons.

Sweet.

A hug between the two former rivals after President Obama signs the health care reform bill. I love it.

Turning back the Reagan legacy

As Obama tackles health care reform, he simultaneously strikes at wealth inequality.

In the U.S., we have been dogged by wealth inequality via redistribution, since the Reagan years. Hence the near demise of the middle class. Along comes Obama.

The bill that President Obama signed on Tuesday is the federal government’s biggest attack on economic inequality since inequality began rising more than three decades ago.

Over most of that period, government policy and market forces have been moving in the same direction, both increasing inequality. The pretax incomes of the wealthy have soared since the late 1970s, while their tax rates have fallen more than rates for the middle class and poor.[.....]

Dancing With the Czars

Those silly Republicans are at it again. Making themselves look completely stupid, and wasting taxpayer dollars.

Jason Linkins:

Over the past few days, I've written about the wildly outsized claims of czars in the Obama administration undermining the government. Republican Senators are sending letters and GOP House members are holding up posters and attempting to pass thoroughly baffling bills to prevent the Obama White House from appointing advisers.

These elected officials seem to be unaware of some basic facts. Many of the people they insist need to be confirmed by the Senate already have been confirmed. Many of the people they consider to be holding unprecedented appointments are merely filling well-established positions. In some cases, these lawmakers seem to have forgotten that they themselves passed laws that mandated the appointments. And in a few cases, they just select some established functionary at random -- like a State Department envoy or the Deputy Secretary of the Interior -- and call that guy a "czar" just for fun!

All of these fears and complaints are indicative of either a powerful desire to mislead or an advanced mental disease that hopefully Dr. Charles Boustany will be able to treat, with some sort of Louisiana voodoo poultice.

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/16/dancing-with-the-czars-de_n_289465.html

VIDEO : PRESIDENT OBAMA SPEECH TO CONGRESS ON HEALTHCARE REFORM SEPT. 9, 2009

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Click here to read the transcript.

IPD Political News Summary: Wednesday, April 15, 2009

               Pete Souza/White House

| The biggest story of the past couple of days was the introduction of Bo Obama, the newest resident of the White House, on Tuesday. A Portuguese Water Dog, Bo is completely adorable. If you'd like to see his intro to the press, the best video is from the BBC, and NYT has the best pics.
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| On Tuesday night, Reuters reported that another U.S.-flagged and U.S.-owned ship, the Liberty Sun, was attacked by Somali pirates. The pirates attacked with rockets and automatic weapons, but failed to board the ship. The crew was unharmed, but the ship did suffer damage, and contacted the U.S. Navy for help. They are now under escort by the USS Bainbridge. __________________________

Obama Reverses Bush Policy and Announces Overhaul of How Federal Contracts Are Awarded

:: Fulfilling another campaign promise, Obama announced the reform of government contracting procedures, and signed an executive memorandum to begin the process. From the AP:

Obama joined lawmakers to announce an executive memorandum that commits his administration to a new set of marching orders for awarding contracts. Obama said "the days of giving defense contractors a blank check are over" and said changes could save up to $40 billion a year.

Obama's presidential memo changes government contracting procedures. It directs Peter Orszag, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, to work with Cabinet and agency officials to draft new contracting rules by the end of September. Those new rules, White House aides say, will make it more difficult for contractors to bilk taxpayers and make some half-trillion dollars in federal contracts each year more accessible to independent contractors.

AP photo.
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McCain to Help Obama Get a Line-Item Veto

:: McCain, angry at all the pork in the omnibus budget (from the last/110th Congress), blasted President Obama for deciding to sign the spending bill.

"The measure has over 9,000 unnecessarily and wasteful earmarks. So much for the promise of change," McCain said. "What are we doing here? Not only business as usual; an outrageous insult to the American people."

Within a few hours, McCain did an about face, and said that he would reintroduce legislation to give the president a line-item veto right, in order to enable him to go after wasteful spending.

On Tuesday, McCain, along with Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), announced that he would reintroduce legislation to provide the president with a line-item veto to target wasteful spending. This came just one week after the president's press secretary, Robert Gibbs, told reporters that Obama would "love to take [a line-item veto] for a test drive."

Had McCain deliberately greased the legislative wheels to give the president the tool he desired? Or was he simply acting on a long-held view about how best to combat wasteful spending? The Senator's office did not immediately say whether they had talked to the White House about the measure.

READ MORE HERE.
AP photo.
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Official Portrait of Michelle Obama

Taken in the Blue Room by White House photographer, Pete Souza. You can view President Obama's official portrait here.
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US Abandons UN Conference on Racism

:: The US is boycotting the conference over language in the documents that is very hostile to Israel. From POLITICO:

White House aides told Jewish leaders on a conference call today that the United States will boycott the United Nations' World Conference on Racism over hostility to Israel in draft documents prepared for the April conference.

The aides, including an advisor to U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice, Jennifer Simon, and longtime Obama advisor Samantha Power, said the administration will not participate in further negotiations on the current text or participate in a conference based on the text, sources on the call said.

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Roland Burris Update or Will This Guy Ever Take a Bow and Leave the Stage?

:: Okay. On Friday, President Obama told Burris to spend time over the weekend considering his future. Or, in other words, Obama would like to see Burris resign, as would most Democrats, although the White House did not come out and say that in so many words. From the AP:

WASHINGTON — The White House on Friday called on embattled Illinois Sen. Roland Burris to take the weekend to think about his future.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs would not go so far as to call on Burris to resign from the Senate, as Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn did on Friday.

:: Today, Burris' office said that Burris plans to attend the Pres.' speech tomorrow night. My only question is, will this man ever get it??

WASHINGTON — Embattled U.S. Sen. Roland Burris plans to return to Washington in time to attend President Barack Obama's address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night.
Burris's office said the senator was in Chicago on Monday but planned to return to Washington to conduct legislative business and attend Obama's speech to the House and Senate, meeting jointly

Additional/recent articles on the Burris saga:

• Washington Post, Chicago Tribune Call For Burris Resignation
• Democrat: Burris "in deep shit"
• White House To Burris: Think About Your Future This Weekend
• Burris' Chief Of Staff Quits
• BREAKING: Governor Quinn Calls On Burris To Resign
• Darrel Thompson Jumps Off Burris Ship
• Senate Ethics Panel Could Act on Burris Without Waiting for Criminal Investigation 
• Sam Stein Schakowsky: Hold Election Even If Burris Doesn't Resign
• Quinn: Burris Should Resign Next Week
• What Burris Knew- And Didn't Say- Under Oath
• Source: Feds interview Burris about Blagojevich
• Burris Attending Obama's Speech Despite White House Warning
• James Warren: For Burris, It's Hail Mary Time

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The White House to Hold a 'Fiscal Responsibility' Summit Today

:: The summit is an effort to begin a national conversation on the myriad fiscal problems faced by the US.  From The Washington Post:

President Obama and Vice President Biden plan to convene a White House "fiscal responsibility" summit Monday afternoon to launch a national conversation on how to put the nation on sounder financial footing.
The administration is still finalizing a guest list of more than 100 participants -- a mix of Democratic and Republican lawmakers, economists, policy specialists and special interest group representatives.
The three-hour, high-level gabfest, which will be open to press, begins in the State Dining Room with remarks by Obama and Biden. Participants will then be divided into five breakout sessions, before a wrap-up by the president.

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President Obama Names Urban Affairs Director

:: President Obama names Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion as the White House Director of Urban Affairs. The position was created by the president to coordinate urban affairs. From MSNBC:

"Vibrant cities spawn innovation, economic growth and cultural enrichment. The urban affairs office will focus on wise investments and development in our urban areas that will create employment and housing opportunities and make our country more competitive, prosperous and strong," the president said.

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President Obama Hosts Leaders of Major Progressive Groups at White House Last Night

:: This is a good thing. From The Plum Line:

At a private White House cocktail reception last night for leaders of major progressive groups, Barack Obama and his wife Michelle appealed to these leaders and signaled that their groups would play a key role in driving the big progressive changes at the heart of the White House’s legislative agenda, an attendee tells me.

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In One of Their Trademark Hypocritical Moves, House Republicans Ask Pres Obama for Autographs

 
 
:: Sweet. In yet another defining moment, House Republicans ask Obama for autographs, even as they diss him in Congress. ZERO Republican yes votes on the Recovery Act in Congress, and only THREE Republican votes for it in the Senate.
Completely embarrassing: the major hypocrisy and audacity in asking a president whom you clearly despise, for an autograph.
Could these people possibly be bigger LOSERS?  Nah....
From HUFFPOST:

The sharpest message of the bunch, however, comes with a photo of Obama being approached by Republican lawmakers after a meeting where he pitched the economic recovery package.

"House Republicans surround the President after the meeting," the caption read. "Many of them were seeking his autograph. Every House Republican eventually voted against the bill."

(In other words: there was one piece of paper they were happy to see him sign.)

Image courtesy of the White House.
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FULL VIDEO: President Obama's First Press Conference - February 9, 2009

To read the complete transcript, click here.

Obama Says "Yes" to Labor and the Middle Class

:: The Prez signs executive orders which reverse anti-labor orders enacted by Bush H.W. and Bush 43. He is also re-introducing Biden's task force which focuses on the middle class, and Joe will be in charge. GO, OBAMA! :)
From HUFFPOST:

Among the George W. Bush-era executive orders that Obama was to reverse was one that allowed unionized companies to post signs informing workers that they are allowed to decertify their union. Critics claimed it was unfair because nonunion businesses are not required to post signs letting workers know they are legally allowed to vote for a union.
Two Democratic sources also said Obama would prevent federal contractors from being reimbursed for expenses that were intended to influence workers' decisions to form unions or engage in collective bargaining. A third Obama order would require federal vendors with more than $100,000 in contracts to post workers' rights under the National Labor Relations Act.
The final order would require service contractors at federal buildings to offer jobs to qualified current employees when contracts changed. For instance, rank-and-file workers could continue working on the same federal project even if the administrative contract expired.

AP photo/Ron Edmunds 
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