Tag Archives: white house

Political Circus: McCain vs. Seacrest

Posted on November 5, 2010 by admin| Comments Off

Washington (CNN) — Politics is serious business — but not all of the time. From the halls of Congress to the campaign trail, there’s always something that gets a laugh. Here are some of the things you might have missed.

Fightin’ words

Radio host/jack-of-all-trades Ryan Seacrest lashed out on his website at Meghan McCain after she criticized President Obama’s decision to appear on Seacrest’s show before Tuesday’s election.

Seacrest fought back on his nationally syndicated radio show. “She thinks ["On Air with Ryan Seacrest"] is just lowbrow,” he said. “I just want to be clear — it is the lowbrow show she wanted to be on twice to come promote her stuff.”

As he says on “American Idol” — Seacrest out.

Like a scene from ‘Gone with the Wind’

From Friday’s White House pool report from political website The Daily Caller: “At 9:48 POTUS and FLOTUS exited the south Portico and boarded Marine One. POTUS wore no coat over his suit, but FLOTUS wore a fashionable tan or light brown coat. POTUS put his hand on FLOTUS’ back as they walked and looked over at her, appearing to say something. And with that, the first couple was off for southeast Asia.” (The abbreviations stand for “president of the United States” and “first lady of the United States.”)

Watch where you put that hatchet

Former Delaware Senate rivals Chris Coons and Christine O’Donnell took part Thursday in a time-honored tradition in the state by burying the hatchet — literally, The Delaware News Journal reports.

Time to make the coffee

The New York Daily News reports on former President George W. Bush’s daily ritual since leaving the White House, saying his “internal alarm clock” makes him wake up before 5 a.m. And he’s taken on a more domestic role by making coffee for his wife, Laura. When outside, it’s all adventure: “He hits dirt-bike trails around Dallas regularly.”

First chef of New York?

New York governor-elect Andrew Cuomo’s girlfriend — cooking sensation Sandra Lee — won’t be taking on the title of first lady or any official duties, the Daily News reports. Cuomo’s staff says Lee “would never expect any taxpayer dollar to support the contributions she makes nor would she want to burden the state in any way.”

Notable quotable

“Tuesday night, voters completely rejected the efforts of a charismatic African-American. … Rick Fox is off ‘Dancing with the Stars.’” — NBC’s Jay Leno

The picture you need to see

From Getty Images: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton receives a Hongi (Maori greeting) during a welcome ceremony at New Zealand’s Parliament on Thursday.

Headline of the day

From Reuters:“Putin to Bush: My dog bigger than yours”

Late-night laughs

David Letterman: “[Sarah Palin] says she wants limited government. … Does she mean fewer elected officials? Or few elected officials who will resign in the middle of their term? I think limited government will be perfect for her limited abilities.”

Jon Stewart mocking the White House press corps: “Uh, Mr. President, Tom Patterson, UPI. Do you suck? Quick follow-up: do you suck so bad you don’t even know how sucky you are? I would like your answer in the form of ‘you suck.’”

Jimmy Fallon: “In his new book, George W. Bush says he considered dropping Dick Cheney from the 2004 ticket because he wanted to demonstrate he was in charge — not Cheney. But then Cheney nixed the idea, so it went back to normal. He didn’t do it.”

Political Circus: McCain vs. Seacrest

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Campaign circus: 12 months of GOP hunks

Posted on October 27, 2010 by admin| Comments Off

Washington (CNN) — As Election Day gets closer, the rhetoric gets more intense, interesting and, shall we say, passionate. Here are some things you might have missed.

It’s certainly not the FDNY calendar

Vanity Fair magazine has unveiled “Red Meat,” its official 2010-11 Republican Beefcake Calendar — House Minority Leader John Boehner in a Speedo-style bathing suit is a must see.

Whoopsie

The White House recently sent out a press release with a glaring error. The press shop misspelled first lady Michelle Obama’s name. On Wednesday, they sent a corrected press release to reporters.

This isn’t amateur night at The Apollo

California Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman was booed by an audience Tuesday night at a debate when she declined to end negative ads. Her opponent, Democrat Jerry Brown, accepted the challenge.

Here’s Johnny

“Daily Show” host Jon Stewart lambasted Republicans on his show Tuesday night for saying Washington is broken and needs “change,” without laying out specifics on how they will fix it.

He was especially tough on Sen. John McCain — using sound bytes of the Arizona Republican saying that the system is broken. “John McCain has always worked here and always will and he is the caretaker from ‘The Shining,’ ” said Stewart.

Move over, Zagat Guide

Former President Clinton, perhaps the most sought-after campaigner this year, is also the most sought-after diner. Restaurants around the world are using his visits to attract customers — and it’s working. A tip here: You might want to call ahead for the “Clinton Table” at the Bukhara restaurant in New Delhi, India.

A scary day for Democrats

“Tonight Show” host Jay Leno used Halloween to take a shot at Democrats, saying: “Of course this Sunday is Halloween — the scariest day of the year. Unless you’re Democrat and that’s next Tuesday that would be the scariest day of the year.”

I want a best friend

The New York Post reports that White House senior adviser David Axelrod is in the market for a dog and has been “begging his wife for a dog” since coming to Washington. The only problem? His wife, according to the paper, says he has to wait until he moves back home to Illinois.

Picture of the day: Her very own ‘Mini-Me’

Former first lady Laura Bush has something to cheer about in this picture from Getty Images: She received her bobble-head doll during California first lady Maria Shriver’s annual Women’s Conference on Tuesday.

Campaign circus: 12 months of GOP hunks

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Axelrod hopes GOP gains bring cooperation

Posted on October 10, 2010 by admin| Comments Off

Washington (CNN) — White House senior adviser David Axelrod is looking for a silver lining in expected Democratic losses in November’s congressional elections.

While saying he thought his party would retain its majority in both the House and Senate in the November 2 voting, Axelrod told the CBS program “Face The Nation” that that he hoped Republican gains would bring more cooperation.

He accused Republicans of deliberate obstruction as a political strategy since President Barack Obama took office last year with majorities in both the House and Senate.

“The posture of the Republican Party from the moment we got here has been basically to deprive the president of bipartisan support so they could accuse him of not being bipartisan,” Axelrod said.

“So I’m hoping that with more seats, the Republicans will feel a greater sense of responsibility to work with us to solve some of these problems,” he said.

Former Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie indicated a continued GOP hard-line stance on spending issues.

“I think there will be areas where there’s cooperation and areas where there’s opposition,” Gillespie said on the same program. “Look, the Republicans, if they take control of the House and get very close in the Senate, are going to try to put the brakes on all this reckless spending.”

Gillespie said “common ground” was possible on a few issues such as free trade agreements, but maintained his focus on spending controls.

“If they can find some areas where you can get spending restraint with this administration, Republicans would be happy to go along with that,” he said.

Axelrod hopes GOP gains bring cooperation

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White House denies Obama-Clinton ticket in the works

Posted on October 6, 2010 by admin| Comments Off

Washington (CNN) — White House spokesman Robert Gibbs is pouring cold water on the red-hot speculation — fueled by journalist Bob Woodward in a CNN interview — that President Barack Obama may create a so-called “dream ticket” of Obama-Clinton in his 2012 re-election battle.

“No one in the White House is discussing this as a possibility,” Gibbs told CNN Wednesday morning.

The speculation that Obama may dump Vice President Joe Biden as his running mate and shift him over to the secretary of state job — moving current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to the VP slot — was sparked by Woodward in an interview Tuesday night with CNN’s Chief National Correspondent John King.

“It’s on the table,” Woodward said on “John King, USA.” “Some of Hillary Clinton’s advisers see it as a real possibility in 2012.”

Obama advisers outside the White House note privately that it’s significant that Woodward attributed the theory to Clinton advisers and not White House aides or Obama advisers, signaling this may only have traction among Clinton supporters hoping she would move one step closer to the Oval Office and be set up as the likely Democratic nominee for president in 2016.

Video: Woodward: ‘Hard to be president’

Woodward is the author of “Obama’s Wars,” a book that takes a close look at deliberations between Obama, Biden, Clinton and all of the other top players inside the White House over sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan. The journalist suggested Tuesday that Obama will need his secretary of state to bring the party together in two years.

“President Obama needs some of the women, Latinos, retirees that she did so well with during the [2008] primaries and, so they switch jobs, not out of the question, and the other interesting question is, Hillary Clinton could run in her own right in 2016 and be younger than Ronald Reagan when he was elected president,” he said.

Clinton will be 69 years old and three months in January 2017. President Ronald Reagan was just shy of his 70th birthday in January, 1980.

“Now you talk to Hillary Clinton or her advisers and they say ‘no, no there’s not a political consideration here,’” Woodward continued. “Of course the answer is — you point out to them that her clout around the world when she goes to Europe, Asia, anywhere, is in part, not just because she’s secretary of state or because she was married to President Clinton, (but) that people see a potential future president in her.”

Back in 2008, Biden also suggested that as former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, his dream job was secretary of state. But Democratic officials privately say that after getting a taste of the number-two job as vice president, they find it hard to believe Biden still wants to be secretary of state, which would now be seen as a step down.

White House denies Obama-Clinton ticket in the works

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Jobs loom over Obama’s talk of wars, peace

Posted on September 23, 2010 by admin| Comments Off

(CNN) — Foreign policy may be the focus of President Barack Obama’s address to the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday, but domestic concerns will continue to remain in the forefront for many White House aides.

When Obama steps to the podium in New York, he will seize a unique opportunity to update the American public — and the broader international community — on the administration’s overseas priorities, according to White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.

Among the topics likely to be covered: the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, nuclear nonproliferation efforts in Iran and North Korea, and “real opportunities” to achieve “a lasting peace in the Middle East.”

But how much do people back home care? And — perhaps more important — will yet another day focused on foreign policy hurt Democrats’ efforts to convince voters that economic recovery is really their top priority?

With the nation’s unemployment rate stuck stubbornly close to double digits, a stronger economy remains the key issue in the looming midterm elections. Fewer than one in five Americans consider the economy to be in good shape, according to a September 1-2 CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll. Eighty-one percent characterize economic conditions as poor.

Roughly half of all Americans believe the economy is as bad or worse than it was two years ago, when Obama was running for president.

Nearly 60 percent of Americans disapprove of the administration’s handling of the economy.

The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Adding to Obama’s woes: turmoil with his economic team. The White House announced Tuesday that Larry Summers, the president’s top economic adviser, will return to academia at the end of the year.

The announcement followed July’s departure of Budget Director Peter Orszag and the exit this month of former Council of Economic Advisers chief Christina Romer.

And while some analysts may give Obama credit for winding down the Iraq war or launching a new round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks — both issues tied to the broader struggle against terrorism — there’s scant evidence voters are impressed.

Americans surveyed in the poll gave Republicans a 20-point edge — 54 to 34 percent — on the question of which party can do a better job handling terrorism. They split virtually evenly, favoring Republicans 45 to 42 percent, when asked which party can do a better job handling the war in Afghanistan.

Despite those numbers — and the critical importance of economic issues — Obama may still be hoping to find a degree of political solace in international affairs.

“Traditionally, presidents who have faced problems in their domestic agenda have turned to foreign policy to shore up their standing with the public,” CNN Polling Director Keating Holland notes.

“Previous presidents have found that acting as commander in chief, in an arena where they can act largely unchecked by Congress, has served them well. Obama may be facing a different environment in 2010, but he’s using the same playbook that most of his predecessors have since World War II.”

Nevertheless, the White House plans to quickly remind voters more worried about pocketbook issues that the president has not forgotten their concerns. Obama is set to return to the subject of the economy next week when he travels to New Mexico, Wisconsin, Iowa and Virginia.

While in Wisconsin, he’ll also raise funds for U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, who is suddenly facing a tough re-election race.

In short: Obama’s U.N. visit may be the focus of discussion on Thursday, but the economy is far more likely to remain in the headlines in the dwindling stretch run to Election Day.

Jobs loom over Obama’s talk of wars, peace

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Obama pushes kids to work hard in ‘back-to-school’ speech

Posted on September 14, 2010 by admin| Comments Off

(CNN) — President Barack Obama Tuesday delivered his second back-to-school message to the nation’s students — an event marked by far less controversy than the first time around.

The speech — delivered to a thunderous round of applause from students at Julia R. Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — encouraged students to make the most of their educational opportunities.

“Nobody gets to write your destiny but you,” Obama said.

“Your future is in your hands. Your life is what you make of it. And nothing — absolutely nothing — is beyond your reach, so long as you’re willing to dream big, so long as you’re willing to work hard, so long as you’re willing to stay focused on your education — there is not a single thing that any of you cannot accomplish.”

The president said education “never has been more important.”

“I’m sure there are going to be times in the months ahead when you’re staying up late doing your homework or cramming for a test, or you’re dragging yourself out of bed on a rainy morning and you’re thinking, oh boy, I wish maybe it was a snow day,” he said. “Let me tell you, what you’re doing is worth it. … Nothing is going to have as great an impact on your success in life as your education.”

Last year, his first as president, Obama’s plan to deliver a similar message prompted an unexpected backlash from conservatives who worried he would push students to support his political agenda. However, the speech Obama delivered at a Virginia school included no political references and was welcomed by conservatives.

Video: Student athletes get Obama nod

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This year’s speech also focused on urging students to work hard in order to achieve their goals.

“More and more, the kinds of opportunities that are open to you are going to be determined by how far you go in school,” Obama said. “The farther you go in school, the farther you’re going to go in life. And at a time when other countries are competing with us like never before … your success in school is going to determine America’s success in the 21st century.”

He called on students to meet their responsibilities for school by showing up on time, paying attention in class, doing their homework, studying for exams and staying out of trouble.

“I wasn’t always the best student when I was younger. I made my share of mistakes,” Obama said, going on to describe a scolding from his mother about the need for more effort.

“It was pretty jolting, hearing my mother say that,” the president said. “But eventually, her words had their intended effect, because I got serious about my studies. I started to make an effort in everything I did. And I began to see my grades — and my prospects — improve. And I know that if hard work could make the difference for me, then it can make a difference for all of you.”

He also urged students to take on new challenges, with specific encouragement to rebound from disappointment and failure to try again.

“So, what I want to say to every kid … [is] that life is precious, and part of what makes it so wonderful is its diversity,” the president said.

“We shouldn’t be embarrassed by the things that make us different. We should be proud of them. Because it’s the things that make us different that make us who we are.”

Obama also announced a second “commencement challenge,” where a high school making positive changes and advancements is selected by the White House to have the president deliver its graduation speech. Obama addressed graduates from a high school in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in 2009.

Some of the controversy surrounding the president’s education address last year involved a proposed lesson plan created by the Education Department to accompany the speech. An initial version of the plan recommended that students draft letters to themselves discussing “what they can do to help the president.”

The letters “would be collected and redistributed at an appropriate later date by the teacher to make students accountable to their goals,” the plan stated.

After the criticism from conservatives, the White House distributed a revised version encouraging students to write letters about how they can “achieve their short-term and long-term education goals.”

Obama pushes kids to work hard in ‘back-to-school’ speech

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Conservatives accuse WH of circumventing immigration laws

Posted on August 23, 2010 by admin| Comments Off

Washington (CNN) — A group of conservative activists slammed the Obama administration Monday for allegedly planning to use its administrative authority to undercut immigration restrictions in the wake of congressional inaction on a comprehensive reform bill.

In a letter sent to the White House, leaders of 17 conservative grass-roots organizations cited reports that the administration is considering using its executive power “to effectively legalize significant numbers of illegal aliens.”

“We strongly urge that you refrain pursuing that tactic,” they wrote. “We believe that such an abuse of power would further polarize the immigration issue, which already is so controversial that reasonable discussion is confounded.”

Only Congress, they argued, “possesses plenary power over making our immigration policy. The administrative branch has limited discretion for dealing with aliens and quite limited policymaking authority.”

The letter, which also cites “abuses of the legislative process” during the health care debate, was signed by members of the Eagle Forum, Judicial Watch, the Family Research Council and a Washington-area segment of the Tea Party movement, among others.

The White House has “come up with a back door plan to bypass the Congress and the American people,” Colin Hanna, head of the group Let Freedom Ring, said at a news conference Monday.

“The administration is terrified that the illegal immigrant population is going to go down further because they want to keep them here in order to give them the amnesty and turn them into voters,” alleged Roy Beck, head of NumbersUSA, which favors tighter immigration restrictions.

At issue is an internal Department of Homeland Security memo outlining multiple options for assisting illegal immigrants in the absence of new legislation.

The 11-page document, titled “Administrative Alternatives to Comprehensive Immigration Reform,” describes how to reduce the threat of removal for some undocumented immigrants through various administrative and regulatory changes. It characterizes one potential change as “a non-legislative version of amnesty.”

Among other things, the document describes a draft proposal to “extend benefits and/or protections” to individuals currently “present in the United States without authorization.”

It also mentions the possibility of “deferred action,” defined as “an exercise of prosecutorial discretion.”

The document, initially obtained by GOP Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, indicates the suggestions have the “potential to result in meaningful immigration reform” without congressional action. It acknowledges, however, a broad price tag if the ideas are adopted without restraint.

“While it is theoretically possible to grant deferred action to an unrestricted number of unlawfully present individuals, doing so would likely be controversial, not to mention expensive,” the document says.

Representatives of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services — the Homeland Security agency responsible for drafting the memo — indicated in a statement last month that the document was merely brainstorming.

“Internal memos do not and should not be equated with official action or policy,” the statement noted. The Homeland Security Department “will not grant deferred action or humanitarian parole to the nation’s entire illegal immigrant population.”

CNN’s Alan Silverleib contributed to this report

Conservatives accuse WH of circumventing immigration laws

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Julian Assange: the hacker who created WikiLeaks

Posted on July 26, 2010 by admin| Comments Off

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Scott Bland,

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Obama talks with USDA employee forced out of her job

Posted on July 22, 2010 by admin| Comments Off

(CNN) — Shirley Sherrod got her wish Thursday: a conversation with President Barack Obama about her forced resignation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The president and Sherrod spoke by telephone after Obama apparently had some trouble getting through to her. Afterward, Sherrod told CNN that the call was “very, very good.”

Obama offered his support and said the two had faced similar issues in their pasts, Sherrod said.

However, she said they didn’t discuss whether the White House had a role in her ouster by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, which came after misleading and incomplete video footage of a speech she gave was posted on the internet and picked up in media reports.

“He didn’t go into that,” Sherrod said. “He wanted to reassure me that Secretary Vilsack was truly sincere … with his efforts to rid the agency of discrimination.”

Asked how it felt to talk to the president, Sherrod said: “Oh, gosh, you know, it was great.

“He’s the president of the United States of America. I respect him as that. I appreciate him as that,” Sherrod said. “And it felt like talking to someone else just sitting in the front of the car here.”

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama personally apologized to Sherrod in the phone call but did not lobby for her to take another job at the Department of Agriculture, as offered by Vilsack.

“This was not, ‘Hey, Shirley, take this job,’ ” Gibbs said at the White House. “That was not the specific purpose of the call.”

The president’s office sent Sherrod a text message indicating that Obama had been trying to get in touch with her, Sherrod told CNN producer Julie O’Neill.

Sherrod said she called the White House and was given another number to call. She dialed that number a few minutes later and spoke with the president.

According to O’Neill, Sherrod declined to have the phone call videotaped by CNN.

A White House statement said the two spoke for seven minutes.

“The president expressed to Ms. Sherrod his regret about the events of the last several days,” the statement said. “He emphasized that Secretary Vilsack was sincere in his apology yesterday, and in his work to rid USDA of discrimination.”

According to the statement, Obama also told Sherrod “that this misfortune can present an opportunity for her to continue her hard work on behalf of those in need, and he hopes that she will do so.”

The flap began after conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart last week posted a portion of a speech Sherrod gave in which she spoke of not offering her full help to a white farmer. The original post by Breitbart indicated that the incident Sherrod mentioned occurred when she worked for the Agriculture Department, and news outlets quickly picked up on the story.

However, the incident took place decades before she joined the department, and her speech in its unedited form made the point that people should move beyond race. In addition, the white farmer who Sherrod mentioned has told reporters that she helped him save his farm.

Sherrod was forced to resign Monday, but when the full story came out Tuesday, the White House pressured Vilsack to reconsider. Both Vilsack and Gibbs issued apologies to Sherrod on Wednesday, and Vilsack said he offered her another job in the Agriculture Department.

At the same time, White House aides said Wednesday on condition of not being identified by name that Obama was unlikely to call Sherrod or personally interject himself in the race-tinged controversy.

One aide said there wouldn’t be any more “beer summits,” a reference to the White House meeting Obama held last year amid the controversy over the arrest of Harvard law professor Henry Louis Gates Jr.

Gates, who is African-American, was arrested at his home by police Sgt. James Crowley, who is white, in what amounted to a misunderstanding. After Obama criticized the arrest, an ensuing uproar led to the White House discussion over beer involving Obama, Gates, Crowley and Vice President Joe Biden.

Until Thursday’s phone discussion between Sherrod and Obama, the White House had tried to separate the president from the issue by emphasizing that Obama played no role in the decision to force Sherrod to resign.

None of that mattered to Sherrod on Thursday. She said Obama was so easy to talk to that she invited him to visit south Georgia, where she is from. There was no word on whether the president would accept her invitation.

Obama talks with USDA employee forced out of her job

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Cheerleading doesn’t count as a real sport, judge rules

Posted on July 22, 2010 by admin| Comments Off

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Stacy Teicher Khadaroo,

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