-
Ford CEO Mulally Shows Off Fleet, Style at Auto Show
Tweet Share on Facebook January 26, 2010 Comment (4)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally led his personal tea party to Washington today to kick off the annual Washington Auto Show as America's only major carmaker to ignore the federal bailout and survive.
"I am so pleased we haven't used the precious tax dollars," he said in an opening address attended by the media and some key lawmakers like Democratic Rep. John Dingell of Michigan. "So how's it going?" he added with a broad smile. "It's going really well."
-
Obama Coalition Shrinks to Young, Rich, and Minorities
Tweet Share on Facebook January 26, 2010 Comment (2)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
On Inauguration Day just over a year ago, President Obama was buoyed by a very broad and rare coalition of hopeful Americans that included even Republican women. But in Year 2, he enters with the support of the small coalition of rich liberals, youth, and minorities that always backs center-left Democrats, according to Quinnipiac University pollster Peter Brown. Today's facts: Fifty-eight percent of younger voters approve of the president's job performance, in contrast with other age groups. Of liberals, 74 percent approve, and 49 percent of college grads do also. Men and women split their approval, 42 percent and 48 percent. And the white-black gap is up, with 36 percent of whites approving, compared with 87 percent of African-Americans.
-
James Lee Witt to Replace Napolitano at Homeland Security?
Tweet Share on Facebook January 26, 2010 Comment (4)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
Former Federal Emergency Management Agency boss James Lee Witt may finally be getting the promotion his former boss, Bill Clinton, never gave him. Sources in the disaster-recovery world say that he is being brought to the attention of the Obama administration as a potential replacement for Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. Officials, however, say she's safe, despite GOP attacks over her handling of the alleged Christmas underwear bomber. Witt could get a tryout as the U.S. coordinator for Haiti recovery.
-
Obama’s State of the Union Addresses a Sick Nation
Tweet Share on Facebook January 25, 2010 Comment (7)The votes are in on how the nation views the state of the union, and the verdict suggests that President Obama ought to show up looking like a doctor when he gives the big speech to Congress Wednesday.
That's because a total of 52 percent of those polled by Synovate eNation for Washington Whispers view the health of the nation as flulike or near death. Just 2 percent say it's excellent, and 46 percent suggest it's on the comeback or at least not as bad as the miserable 2009.
-
Rick Santelli Gets Credit for Tea Party Movement
Tweet Share on Facebook January 25, 2010 Comment (9)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
It has been almost a year since CNBC reporter Rick Santelli’s Squawk Box rant against government debt and bailouts and his call for a new American tea party. Now, as the tea-party movement his comments sparked reaches into every political race in the nation, Santelli’s getting credit for his role. “I still think that all the dynamics that I felt as it was happening are still in place today,” says Santelli, who wants to add one new element: heavy-handed government reform of healthcare.
-
Scott Brown's Election Spurs GOP Recruitment
Tweet Share on Facebook January 22, 2010 Comment (6)Republican Scott Brown's unexpected election to the Senate from Massachusetts, coming on the heels of insurgent GOP wins in the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial races, is prompting potential Republican House and Senate candidates to consider their own long-shot bids.
House GOP aides say that after Tuesday's election, some five potential candidates have indicated that they are now likely to enter House races. And Senate aides say that potential candidates who have hesitated about running are now looking to get in, too.
-
Zogby Gives Obama an F After Brown Win
Tweet Share on Facebook January 22, 2010 Comment (6)Pollster John Zogby updates our weekly Obama Report Card with a grade on the president's performance. Zogby uses his polling, expert analysis, and interaction with major players to come up with a grade and some comments that capture how he see's the president's week ending.
John Zogby on Week 53:
-
Connecticut’s Blumenthal Completes Nixon Trifecta
Tweet Share on Facebook January 22, 2010 Comment (1)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
When Connecticut Democratic Attorney General Richard Blumenthal announced plans to run for retiring Sen. Chris Dodd's seat, it was one more in a string of political hits for none other than Richard Nixon, Blumenthal's one-time boss. If elected, he'd join a small club of former Nixon aides turned senators that includes Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Elizabeth Dole, who formerly represented North Carolina. Former Nixon aide Stephen Hess of the Brookings Institution says that if Blumenthal wins, as expected, "What White House, other than Richard M. Nixon's, produced three United States senators? I wish I had put down a small bet on that trifecta."
- Check out our gallery of Whispers political caricatures.
- Want your Whispers first? Check out U.S. News Weekly.
-
Growing Support for Nuclear in D.C.
Tweet Share on Facebook January 21, 2010 CommentBy Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
The green movement and the administration's desire for new energy sources are having an interesting effect on nuclear power. It's finding favor with D.C.'s influentials. "There's a growing sentiment in this city" for nukes, says Thomas Donohue, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. And not just among politicians. Donohue says green activists also are climbing on board. A change in attitude could speed new plant construction and job creation, he says, adding that there are 26 outstanding applications before the feds.
-
Barack and Michelle Obama: Uncle Rocky and Auntie Michelle
Tweet Share on Facebook January 21, 2010 Comment (4)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
She's practically a member of the first family, so when President Obama's 5-year-old niece, Suhaila Ng, and her Georgetown Day School class visited the White House this month, they got the royal treatment. Obama took time to sit on the floor to play and talk with the kids. Asked to introduce the prez, Suhaila simply told her buddies that he is "Uncle Rocky." Later, the first lady came in with pup Bo, and Suhaila called her "Auntie Michelle."
