THE OBAMA PRESIDENCY:
IN FOCUS: STATS
In Focus: Stats
- Poll: Obama's rating at all-time high NBC/WSJ poll shows gap between popularity of president and his policies: 68 percent have a favorable opinion of the president, including 47 percent whose opinion is "very positive" — both all-time highs for Obama in the poll.
67 percent say they feel more hopeful about his leadership and 60 percent approve of his job in the White House.
Yet the percentage of Americans who are confident that Obama has the right goals and policies for the country — 54 percent — is slightly smaller, suggesting that the president is more popular than his policies are. An example: 57 percent tend to support the stimulus, compared with 34 percent who tend to oppose it. - MSNBC, 3-7-09 - FOX News Poll: Obama Believes in Bigger Government: Despite the president's claim that he doesn't believe in bigger government, a new poll shows there is widespread belief among Americans that he does.
President Obama's job approval rating stands at 63 percent, with 26 percent saying they disapprove.
92 percent of Democrats say they approve -- more than three times as many as the 30 percent of Republicans who give Obama the thumbs up. Among independents, 61 percent approve.
Just over half of Americans -- 52 percent -- think so far Obama is meeting expectations and 14 percent say he is actually exceeding expectations. - Fox News, 3-5-09 - FACT CHECK: Obama 'tax hikes' a matter of words: President Barack Obama says he would lower taxes on 95 percent of Americans now and raise them on the rich in 2011. Republicans say he will increase taxes for all and in the midst of a recession to boot. So who's right? Yes, all Americans would pay more under the president's policies. His own aides concede that. But no, Obama would not raise taxes in the midst of a recession, as long as his economic assumptions bear out. - AP, 3-7-09
THE HEADLINES....
The Headlines...
- Obama Ponders Outreach to Elements of the Taliban: President Obama declared in an interview that the United States was not winning the war in Afghanistan and opened the door to a reconciliation process in which the American military would reach out to moderate elements of the Taliban, much as it did with Sunni militias in Iraq. - NYT, 3-8-09
- Analysis: Obama's ambitious plans raise questions: President Barack Obama offered his domestic-policy proposals as a "break from a troubled past." But the economic outlook now is more troubled than it was even in January, despite Obama's bold rhetoric and commitment of more trillions of dollars. - AP, 3-7-09
- When economy bottoms out, how will we know?: When will this wretched economy bottom out? The recession is already in its 15th month, making it longer than all but two downturns since World War II. For now, everything seems to be getting worse: The Dow is in free fall, jobs are vanishing every day, and one in eight American homeowners is in foreclosure or behind on payments. But the economy always recovers. It runs in cycles, and economists are watching an array of statistics, some of them buried deep beneath the headlines, to spot the turning point. The Associated Press examined three markets — housing, jobs and stocks — and asked experts where things stand and how to know when they've hit bottom. None of them expects it to come anytime soon. - AP, 3-7-09
- Obama Turkey visit to focus on Iraq, Afghanistan: For one of his first foreign visits, President Barack Obama will call on NATO ally Turkey, an overwhelmingly Muslim country viewed as critical to aiding the U.S. pullout from Iraq, turning around the Afghanistan war and blocking Iran's nuclear ambitions. - AP, 3-7-09
- Obama on stimulus: 'I know we did the right thing': While aknowledging an "astounding" number of job losses in February, President Barack Obama told critics of his $787 billion economic recovery plan Friday that it is saving jobs and said, "I know we did the right thing." He suggested that critics talk to 25 police recruits in Ohio's capital city who owe their jobs to stimulus spending and "talk to the teachers who are still able to teach our children because we passed this plan." - AP, 3-6-09
- Source: Obama to reverse limits on stem cell work: Reversing an eight-year-old limit on potentially life-saving science, President Barack Obama plans to lift restrictions Monday on taxpayer-funded research using embryonic stem cells. The long-promised move will allow a rush of research aimed at one day better treating, if not curing, ailments from diabetes to paralysis — research that crosses partisan lines, backed by such notables as Nancy Reagan and the late Christopher Reeve. But it stirs intense controversy over whether government crosses a moral line with such research. - AP, 3-6-09
- Government-run plan could trip up health overhaul: Giving Americans the option of buying medical coverage through the government — an idea put forth by President Barack Obama — is a potential deal breaker for some Republicans and insurance companies whose support would ease the way for a health care overhaul. The proposal, which Obama advocated in his presidential campaign, would for the first time offer government-sponsored coverage to middle class families, as an alternative to private health plans. By some estimates, it could reduce premiums by 20 percent or more — making it much more affordable to cover the estimated 48 million people who don't have health coverage.... - AP, 3-6-09
- Fight Brewing Within GOP Over Soul, Future of Party: This week's dustup between GOP chief Michael Steele and influential radio host Rush Limbaugh underscored the struggle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party. - Fox News, 3-6-09
- Dean under consideration for surgeon general: report: Former Vermont governor Howard Dean was under consideration by the Obama administration for U.S. surgeon general, CNN reported on Friday, but a source said he was not interested in the post. - Reuters, 3-6-09
- Congressman Labels Obama 'Abortion President' Ahead of Stem Cell Reversal: Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., accused Obama of launching two attacks on pro-life measures. - Fox News, 3-6-09
- Democrats blast Limbaugh for comment on Kennedy: A Democratic official rebuked conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh on Friday for suggesting a health care proposal will be named in memory of Sen. Edward Kennedy, who is battling brain cancer. On his radio show, Limbaugh said President Barack Obama's proposed health care revisions will be championed by "the liberal lion Teddy Kennedy." - AP, 3-6-09
- Top Dems adjust to life in Obama's shadow Pelosi and Reid balance executive priorities with legislative powers: As the party's highest-ranking elected officials, they used their congressional majorities to thwart key elements of Bush's agenda. Now with Obama the Democrats' unquestioned leader, Reid and Pelosi play less visible and more intermediary parts.... - MSNBC, 3-6-09
- CIA destroyed 12 harsh interrogation tapes: The CIA destroyed a dozen videotapes of harsh interrogations of terror suspects, according to documents filed Friday in a lawsuit over the government's treatment of detainees. The 12 tapes were part of a larger collection of 92 videotapes of terror suspects that the CIA destroyed. The extent of the tape destruction was disclosed through a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union against the government. - AP, 3-6-09
- Gupta withdraws from surgeon general search: CNN medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta won't be the next surgeon general, the Obama administration confirmed Thursday. Gupta, 39, a neurosurgeon with star appeal, was seen as President Barack Obama's first pick for the job. He would have brought instant recognition to the office of surgeon general, a post that has lacked visibility since the days of C. Everett Koop during Ronald Reagan's presidency. - AP, 3-5-09
- Obama: Every voice must be heard on health reform: President Barack Obama pumped health care allies and skeptics alike for ways to overhaul the nation's costly and frustrating system Thursday and heard only applause and agreement when he told them there's "a clear consensus that the need for health care reform is here and now." - AP, 3-5-09
- Congress passes stopgap bill to avoid shutdown: With a $410 billion catchall spending bill stalled in the Senate and a midnight deadline looming, Congress rushed through stopgap legislation Friday to keep the government running for another five days. The House passed the bill by a 328-50 vote; the Senate acted by unanimous voice vote. President Barack Obama will sign the measure later Friday. The stopgap measure was needed because on Thursday night, Senate Republicans unexpectedly put the brakes on the sweeping measure. The so-called omnibus bill would award domestic agencies with big spending increases and it also contains about 8,000 pet projects sought by lawmakers. - AP, 3-5-09
- Treasury secretary's choice for deputy withdraws: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is two steps further away from filling the ranks of his senior staff. As markets quake and Treasury confronts the worst economic crisis in decades, Geithner has seen two people he had hoped to name to key posts withdraw from consideration. - AP, 3-5-09
- Senate preparing huge spending bill for Obama: Senate leaders hoped Thursday to clear for President Barack Obama a huge spending bill that awards big increases to domestic programs and is stuffed with pet projects sought by lawmakers in both parties. The $410 billion spending bill, spanning 1,122 pages, has an extraordinary reach, wrapping nine spending bills together to fund the annual operating budgets of every Cabinet department except for Defense, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs. - AP, 3-5-09
- White House Health Care Summit: The wrap up session: President Obama entered the room with Senator Edward M. Kennedy, who said said he looked forward to being a "foot soldier" in the push for health care reform and "this time we will not fail." - NYT, 3-5-09
- Clinton accuses Iran of seeking to intimidate: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton swiped hard at Iran on Wednesday, accusing its hardline leaders of fomenting divisions in the Arab world, promoting terrorism, posing threats to Israel and Europe, and seeking to "intimidate as far as they think their voice can reach." - AP, 3-4-09
- Key Democrats oppose Obama's tax deduction plan: President Barack Obama's proposal to limit itemized tax deductions for high earners is running into opposition from key Democrats in Congress who worry that charities and the housing market would be hurt. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus questioned Wednesday whether the proposal was viable, a day after his House counterpart also expressed reservations. - AP, 3-4-09
- Obama takes aim at costly defense contracts: President Barack Obama said on Wednesday the U.S. government was paying too much for things it did not need and ordered a crackdown on spending "plagued by massive cost overruns and outright fraud." - AP, 3-4-09
- Senate votes to preserve earmarks in spending bill: The Senate has approved 13 pet spending projects sought by a lobbying firm accused of funneling illegal campaign contributions to lawmakers. Senators voted 52-43 to preserve the so-called earmarks in a 1,000-page- plus catchall spending bill even though they were sought by the PMA Group, a lobbying firm that closed up shop after being raided by the FBI last year. They included money for high-tech firms and colleges in Pennsylvania. - AP, 3-4-09
- Obama's plan to hike taxes meets fierce opposition: President Barack Obama's call to raise taxes on high earners and greenhouse gas polluters met fierce opposition Tuesday from congressional Republicans and also a few Democrats. "I would never want to adversely affect anything that is charitable or good," Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, said of Obama's call to limit high-income taxpayers' itemized deductions for charitable donations and mortgage interest. - AP, 3-3-09
- Trade nominee is 4th Obama pick to owe back taxes: Another Obama administration nominee has tax troubles. This time, it's Ron Kirk, the president's choice to be U.S. trade representative. Kirk owes an estimated $10,000 in back taxes from earlier in the decade and has agreed to pay them, the Senate Finance Committee said Monday. AP, 3-3-09
- Obama pushes centers as one focus of health reform: President Barack Obama has been vague about details of his healthcare reform efforts, but he provided a hint on Monday of one direction he could take -- community health centers. - Reuters, 3-3-09
- Economic gloom shrouds Obama talks with Brown: A pall of economic gloom Tuesday hung over President Barack Obama's talks with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who came armed with a plan for huge reforms of the reeling global finance system. - AFP, 3-3-09
- Clinton vows to work for creation of Palestinian state: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pressed her "aggressive" Middle East diplomacy on Tuesday, saying she was sending two envoys to Syria and vowing to work towards a Palestinian state. - AFP, 3-3-09
- US: 'Inescapable' movement to Palestinian state: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton promised Tuesday to work with the incoming Israeli government, but delivered a clear message that could put her at odds with the country's next leader: Movement toward the establishment of a Palestinian state is "inescapable." - AP, 3-2-09
- Obama lifts veil on Bush-era terror methods: President Barack Obama's administration lifted the veil further Monday on past "war on terror" tactics, releasing Bush-era legal memos and revealing the CIA destroyed 92 controversial interrogation videos. Hours after Attorney General Eric Holder ruled out the use of waterboarding as an interrogation technique -- because it amounted to torture -- his Justice Department released nine internal documents from the previous administration, which had given legal grounding to the controversial policies..... - AP, 3-2-09
- Extraordinary Measures A new memo shows just how far the Bush administration considered going in fighting the war on terror: In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the Justice Department secretly gave the green light for the U.S. military to attack apartment buildings and office complexes inside the United States, deploy high-tech surveillance against U.S. citizens and potentially suspend First Amendment freedom-of-the-press rights in order to combat the terror threat, according to a memo released Monday. Many of the actions discussed in the Oct. 23, 2001, memo to then White House counsel Alberto Gonzales and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's chief lawyer, William Haynes, were never actually taken. - Newsweek, 3-2-09
- Web-Savvy Obama Team Hits Unexpected Bumps Washington Post: Issues Of Technology, Security And Privacy Slow The Administration's Effort To Foster Instant Communication: The team that ran the most technologically advanced presidential campaign in modern history is finding it difficult to adapt that model to government. WhiteHouse.gov, envisioned as the primary vehicle for President Obama to communicate with the online masses, has been overwhelmed by challenges that staffers did not foresee and technological problems they have yet to solve. - CBS News, 3-2-09
POLITICAL QUOTES
Doug Mills/The New York Times President Obama spoke at a White House conference on health care. Political Quotes
- Sen. Richard Shelby "Some banks should be allowed to fail, say two top Republicans": "Close them down, get them out of business. If they're dead, they ought to be buried," Sen. Richard Shelby, the Ranking Republican on the banking committee, told ABC's This Week. "We bury the small banks — we've got to bury some big ones, and send a strong message to the market." He did not mention any banks by name, although he responded to a question about Citigroup by noting that "Citi's always been a problem child." - CNN, 3-8-09
- Sen. John McCain "Some banks should be allowed to fail, say two top Republicans": Former GOP presidential candidate John McCain told Fox News Sunday that he did not think President Obama "made the hard decision, and that is to let these banks fail." He did not call for nationalization of troubled financial institutions, which many Republicans oppose, but said their assets should be sold. "Unfortunately, the shareholders and others will take a beating," he said. - CNN, 3-8-09
- Eric Cantor: White House spending stance has 'no credibility': The Virginia Republican said on State of the Union Sunday that the White House's contention that the legislative process was too far along to change course was completely inaccurate. "Let's call it how it is. First of all, if you make a promise, people expect that you live up to it. And that's why this administration's refusal to go in and change this bill is, I think, is a false position.
"There is no way anyone could take what Mr. Orszag has said with any credibility. Of course they're negotiating on this bill in the Senate right now. To say that we would have drawn it differently, but leave $430 billion plus on the table like this? No way. People are expecting this administration to live up to the promises made."
"There is no question that we’ve got to change this entire process, it is a system gone bad," he said.
"Listen, the future of the Republican Party is tied to the future of this country. People right now are desperate for leadership, are desperate for us in this party as well as the other to begin talking about ideas that deal with the relevant challenges that they're facing every single day," he said.
"And it is not about individuals, it's not about Rush, it's not about Rahm Emanuel, it's not about any particular individual... if we do not begin to start acting more like adults in this town and produce so that people can get back to work, all of us are very concerned with where this country will end up." - CNN, 3-8-09 - Remarks of President Barack Obama, Weekly Address, Saturday, March 7, 2009, Washington, DC - WH Blog, 3-7-09, Mp3
- Obama: Time of crisis can be 'great opportunity': "We will get through this," Obama said in his weekly radio and video address, taped Friday after another week of downbeat news. "We've experienced great trials before, And with every test, each generation has found the capacity to not only endure, but to prosper — to discover great opportunity in the midst of great crisis. That is what we can and must do today. And I am absolutely confident that is what we will do."....
"What I don't think people should do is suddenly stuff money in their mattresses and pull back completely from spending," Obama told the newspaper in an interview posted on its Web site Saturday. "I don't think that people should be fearful about our future. I don't think that people should suddenly mistrust all of our financial institutions because the overwhelming majority of them actually have managed things reasonably well."....
"From the day I took office, I knew that solving this crisis would not be easy, nor would it happen overnight," Obama said in the weekly address. "And we will continue to face difficult days in the months ahead. But I also believe that we will get through this — that if we act swiftly and boldly and responsibly, the United States of America will emerge stronger and more prosperous than it was before." - AP, 3-7-09
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kV_D6avFtdo&hl=en&fs=1]
- Obama: US should reach out to Taliban moderates: "But you've seen conditions deteriorate over the last couple of years. The Taliban is bolder than it was. I think ... in the southern regions of the country, you're seeing them attack in ways that we have not seen previously."... "The national government still has not gained the confidence of the Afghan people. And so it's going to be critical for us to not only, get through these national elections to stabilize the security situation, but we've got to recast our policy so that our military, diplomatic and development goals are all aligned to ensure that al-Qaida and extremists that would do us harm don't have the kinds of safe havens that allow them to operate."... "If you talk to Gen. Petraeus, I think he would argue that part of the success in Iraq involved reaching out to people that we would consider to be Islamic fundamentalists, but who were willing to work with us.".... "There could be situations — and I emphasize 'could be' because we haven't made a determination yet — where, let's say that we have a well-known al-Qaida operative that doesn't surface very often, appears in a third country with whom we don't have an extradition relationship or would not be willing to prosecute, but we think is a very dangerous person." - AP, 3-7-09
- Sen. McCain: 'Generational Theft' Being Committed With Big Government Spending: Well, it is impossible for anyone to predict the market, but I think two things. One, America will come out of this. We will. There is no doubt about it. There have been worse times, not many, and this is a terrible time, but we will come out of it, but I think the market might be reacting because they have not confidence yet that the Obama administration is taking the necessary steps to cure the housing market and to bring about an economic recovery. They do not have confidence that the government is taking sufficient steps early enough that they are sort of playing catch-up.
I think two things. One is that these steps have not been taken early enough. They always seem to be reacting to circumstances rather than anticipating. The second thing is that we are laying a debt on future generations of Americans, which is unconscionable. We are committing generational theft when we just keep spending hundreds of billions and even trillions of dollars at a time.
We will continue to fight. There are 9,000 earmarks in it. Incredibly, the president and his chief of staff and director of his budget of OMD have both said this is last year's business. It is this year's business. It is this is this year's spending, this year's debt and this year's pork barrel projects which breeds corruption, and we have former members of Congress convicted, in prison, and it is all because to a large degree -- because of this earmark, pork barrel spending, which is - just, I cannot describe to you have a terrible it is, and the American people are tightening their belts and having to make tough decisions. Meanwhile, it is business as usual here in the Congress. $2 million for astronomy awareness in Hawaii.
I think a lot of them are, but there are appropriators, Republicans, a number of them, who are on the Appropriations Committee, who consistently vote against our efforts to curtail this outrageous spending, and again I want to point out the reason we did not have a bill last year is that the Democrats would not pass these bills last year. They wanted to wait until this year so they could get a better deal, and this bill is eight percent more spending than we did last year in the toughest of times, and there are 9,000 pork barrel projects on it. It is as bad as anything as I have seen around here, given the economy of the country....
Well, the president said he wants to work on reform. It is long overdue. We need to work on reform, and he will face some of the greatest resistance from his own party, who have said, majority leader and Congressman Steny Hoyer's said, "We are not going to change. It is our prerogative."....
Forty percent Republican earmarks. Republicans let's spending get completely out of control. We paid a very heavy penalty for it in the last election because we did not stick to our principles.
I think you are going to see a real revolt out there on the part of the voters. We are seeing an increase in the independent voter registration. Americans are very fed up. Look at new low approval ratings for Congress. We either act or they are going to elect people who will act responsibly.If we keep this up, two things, I think, are going to happen. At some point the Chinese may stop buying our debt. The second thing that's going to happen, if we keep printing money, trillions of dollars worth that we don't have, then it is going to cause hyperinflation. And that inflation is the greatest enemy of the middle-income Americans, because they are on a fixed income. And it has happened in the past. It would not be the first time that governments got into such deep debt that they printed more money, and the currency was debased. I worry a great deal about it when we are laying these multi- trillion dollar debts on future generations of Americans. - Fox News, 3-5-09
- Karl Rove: Obama, not Bush, is to blame for the financial crisis: "It makes them look small and churlish. And hastens the moment in which people say, you know what, it is your problem. And frankly, it is their problem in many respects.... he president and every Democrat worth his or her salt were out today saying the old guy's numbers, the old guy's job losses, the old guy's recession. When will it be their recession?" - Dallas Morning News, 3-6-09
- Barack Obama "Rebuilding America, town by town": This city of Columbus needs the courage and the commitment of this graduating class to keep it safe, to make sure that people have the protection that they need. This economy needs your employment to keep it running. Just this morning we learned that we lost another 651,000 jobs throughout the country in the month of February alone, which brings the total number of jobs lost in this recession to an astounding 4.4 million.
Four point four million jobs. I don't need to tell the people of this state what statistics like this mean, because so many of you have been watching jobs disappear long before this recession hit....
In Savannah, Georgia, the police department would use this funding to hire more crime and intelligence analysts and put more cops on the beat protecting our schools. In Long Beach, California, it will be able to help fund 17,000 hours of overtime for law enforcement officials who are needed in high-crime areas. West Haven, Connecticut will be able to restore crime prevention programs that were cut, even though they improved the quality of life in the city's most troubled neighborhoods. And the state of Iowa will be able to rehire drug enforcement....
So for those who still doubt the wisdom of our recovery plan, I ask them to talk to the teachers who are still able to teach our children because we passed this plan. I ask them to talk to the nurses who are still able to care for our sick, and the firefighters and first responders who will still be able to keep our communities safe. I ask them to come to Ohio and meet the 25 men and women who will soon be protecting the streets of Columbus because we passed this plan. (Applause.) I look at these young men and women, I look into their eyes and I see their badges today and I know we did the right thing. - WH Blog, 3-7-09 - Obama orders overhaul of 'broken' US contracting: "Far too often, the spending is plagued by massive cost overruns, outright fraud, and the absence of oversight and accountability.... It starts with reforming our broken system of government contracting. There is a fundamental public trust that we must uphold. The American people's money must be spent to advance their priorities, not to line the pockets of contractors or to maintain projects that don't work." - AP, 3-4-09
- Britain PM Gordon Brown: US must lead on economy, climate change: "We should seize this moment because never before have I seen a world willing to come together so much, never before has that been more needed."... Brown pushed lawmakers to embrace his "global New Deal" plan for overhauling the rules of international finance and share the wealth of a world economy he promised would double over the next 20 years. President Barack Obama's historic election has given "the whole world renewed hope in itself," he said, adding that "now more than ever the rest of the world wants to work with you" including "your friend Europe."... "Should we succumb to a race to the bottom and to a protectionism that history tells us that in the end protects no one? No."... "I believe you, the nation that had the vision to put a man on the moon, are also the nation with a vision to protect and preserve our planet Earth."... "Our shared message to Iran, it is simple: We are ready for you to rejoin the international community, but first you must cease your threats and suspend your nuclear programs."... AFP, 3-4-09
- REMARKS BY PRESIDENT OBAMA AND BRITISH PRIME MINISTER GORDON BROWN AFTER MEETING: "Where are the Brits? They're over there," President Obama said, playfully, during a press Q&A following a meeting with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
"In fact, they're everywhere," Prime Minister Brown replied. And in that spirit of Anglo-American equity, the President and Prime Minister took questions from reporters from both sides of the pond.
"I think that there are a set of shared values and shared assumptions between us," President Obama said said during a meeting with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. "That we believe in the free market, we believe in a government that is not overbearing and allows entrepreneurs and businesses to thrive, but we also share a common belief that there have to be sufficient regulatory structures in place so that the market doesn't spin out of control." - WH Blog, 3-3-09 - President Obama to PBS' "The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer" in an interview "Analysis: Obama embracing crisis as opportunity": "I think that we are at an extraordinary moment that is full of peril but full of possibility, and I think that's the time you want to be president," Obama told PBS' "The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer" in an interview Friday. "I think there's a sense that right now we are having to make some very big decisions that will help determine the direction of this country, and in ways large and small the direction of the world for the next generation. "And I won't lie to you. I wish that they weren't all having to be made at once. It would nice to be able to stage them on one another," Obama added. - AP, 3-2-09
HISTORIANS' COMMENTS
Historians' Comments
- Bruce Buchanan "Obama taking big political risk with budget": "What you've got is a context that makes a very ambitious budget strategy possible in a way that wouldn't be possible in times we would call normal," said Bruce Buchanan, a presidential scholar at the University of Texas. "This is a rare moment." - San Francisco Chronicle, 3-8-09
- Julian Zelizer "Obama taking big political risk with budget": As it is, taking on health care, global warming and a major increase in spending on education and social programs all at once is "a huge political risk," said Julian Zelizer, a political historian at Princeton University. "In 2004, we forget, Bush looked as strong as any president," Zelizer said, until he took on just one issue, Social Security, and failed. - San Francisco Chronicle, 3-8-09
- Bruce Schulman "Obama taking big political risk with budget": By reaching so high, Obama's fortunes rest on the economy. "If the economy recovers and there's prosperity in 2011, he'll beat any Republican," said Boston University historian Bruce Schulman. "If not, many, many Republicans could beat him." - San Francisco Chronicle, 3-8-09
- David Frum "Why Rush is Wrong": The party of Buckley and Reagan is now bereft and dominated by the politics of Limbaugh. A conservative's lament. - Newsweek, 3-7-09
- Robert Dallek "Will Obama Be a President Defined by War?": It's the unfinished agendas of domestic reformers that have lately been on the minds of presidential historians like Robert Dallek. Dallek has in recent months become a Cassandra about Obama's plans for reform, prophesying the potential undoing of Obama's domestic agenda by affairs abroad. He tends to reference the foreboding historical adage, "war kills reform."... "If Obama gets drawn too deeply into Afghanistan it can be very destructive to his reform agenda," Dallek said. - Real Clear Politics, 3-2-09
- Allan Lichtman "Will Obama Be a President Defined by War?": "American history teaches us that the world has a way of unexpectedly catching a president's attention and priority," said Allan Lichtman, a presidential historian at American University. "Not only do presidents have limited power to control the economy but limited power to predict the economy," Lichtman said. - Real Clear Politics, 3-2-09
- Julian Zelizer "Will Obama use 'Facebook politics'?": The battle over the federal budget is about to begin. President Obama has laid out an ambitious agenda.... As the president pushes for Congress to enact his budget, he is unlikely to receive much Republican support. The vote over the first economic stimulus bill revealed that partisanship is alive and well in Washington. In addition, the budget proposal will open the president up to the familiar Republican attack of being a tax-and- spend liberal. Obama should not underestimate how effective such criticism can be. He can just ask Bill Clinton, who saw Republicans take over Congress in 1994 following the defeat of his health care proposal....
Using what might be called "Facebook politics," the netroots could raise money to campaign against opponents of Obama's budget proposals. They might also encourage volunteers to explain and promote Obama's policies to their neighbors. They could also provide a forum to counteract Republican attacks, and remind senators of the kind of voter turnout they might encounter in the midterm elections if they decide to stand in the way of Obama's program. Of course, Republicans could counter with their own Web-based politics, but so far they have lagged behind the Democrats. When Obama proposed the economic stimulus legislation in January, he didn't really use Facebook politics and instead relied on an inside-the-beltway approach. He let legislators hammer out the details without heavy-handed presidential intervention....
If Obama can show that Facebook politics is as organizationally strong as the party politics of yesteryear, then he would on to something big. Not only would the president be able to tap into a powerful political army that could pressure legislators into supporting his agenda, but he very well could introduce a new paradigm for governance, one that would remain a model for future presidents. On the other hand, when he calls on the netroots to support him against those pesky senators, he might learn that many of his virtual supporters have already clicked onto another page. - CNN, 3-2-09 - Leo Ribuffo "Analysis: Obama embracing crisis as opportunity": "Whenever there's a crisis in American life, whoever is in charge has used it for a backlogged agenda," said Leo Ribuffo, a history professor at George Washington University. "This is what leaders are supposed to do: take advantage of the situation to do what they think is good for the country." - AP, 3-2-09
- Robert Dallek "The First 100 Days: Lyndon Johnson Fulfilled Kennedy's Legacy Johnson wanted to assure the country that he would carryout the policies of his predecessor": "By contrast with Mr. Obama, Johnson had no mandate to govern except for being vice president. No one expected a Southern politician to suddenly replace the youngest man ever elected to the White House. . . . Johnson understood that his greatest initial challenge was to provide reassurance—to convince not just Americans but people around the world, who looked to the United States for leadership in the cold war, that he could measure up to the standard JFK had set as an effective president at home and abroad." - US News & World Report, 3-5-09
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