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Breyer and Thomas on the new Supreme Court Justice
Tweet Share on Facebook May 10, 2010 Comment (1)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
Supreme Court judges don't like talking about the politics of potential new members, but they have some advice for what kind of temperament President Obama should look for as he replaces retiring Justice John Paul Stevens. At a recent House hearing, Justice Stephen Breyer suggested an older judge because the work can be boring, the life sedentary. Imagination is key, too. "You have what I would call a certain kind of imagination. You have to be able to think yourself beyond the room into the lives of the people whom these decisions will actually affect," he says. Finally, plan on sticking around "long-term" so presidents can't pack the court, says Stephens. Justice Clarence Thomas wants somebody who the other judges can get along with and "an honest person, a person who is conscientious...a capable, good person." What's more, he likes diversity in the backgrounds of court colleagues. "I don't think it matters as much what the experience is as long as it's experience making decisions, and hard decisions," says Thomas.
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Despite Oil Spill and Terror Threat, Obama Holds His Own
Tweet Share on Facebook May 7, 2010 Comment (1)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 68:
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Obama’s Online Buzz Is Coming Back
Tweet Share on Facebook May 6, 2010 Comment (3)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
President Obama has got his Internet buzz mojo back. Our monthly Zeta Interactive review of political buzz on the web, which last month had him at low of 51 percent, has jumped to 55 percent and probably because he was leading the fight against Goldman Sachs, the most buzzed about issue last month.
Zeta Interactive, the digital marketing firm that logs political buzz searches, also found that Obama's healthcare plan swooned in the monthly buzz contest, likely because it was finally signed into law and the fight over it died down.
But Zeta tells us that the nation seems agitated and eager for the fall elections.
"With so many hot button political topics occurring in the past month, online buzz surrounding the political landscape has reached new heights, with more volume and frequency than we have ever seen before on Zeta Buzz," says the company's CEO Al DiGuido. "People are taking to the Internet to weigh in with their opinions on these topics, and the overriding theme seems to be that of dissatisfaction. Whether it's the overwhelmingly negative tone being used to describe the Goldman Sachs congressional hearings, or the millions of bloggers calling for change in the upcoming primaries, our buzz findings illustrate that a wave of unease and uncertainty has penetrated through the online landscape."
Here's their April Update:
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Boehner: GOP House Majority Would Repeal Obama’s Healthcare Bill
Tweet Share on Facebook May 6, 2010 Comment (15)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
House Minority Leader John Boehner last night vowed to pass a bill repealing President Obama's healthcare reform plan if the Republicans win control of the House in the fall elections. "If we win the majority we will have a bill on the floor to repeal the bill and replace it with common sense reforms," he told Whispers. "I don't know what happens in the Senate or the White House but we're going to do everything we can that this bill never, ever goes into effect," he says.
Of particular concern is the bill's language allowing for some public funding of abortion practices and advice. "We haven't had publicly funded abortion for 30 years. This is a very big change, it's unfortunate," he said.
Boehner took aim at the abortion provision because he was the recipient last night of the 2010 Henry J. Hyde Defender of Life Award presented annually by Americans United for Life. The group's president, Charmaine Yoest, heaped praise on Boehner who has rarely tried to make abortion a political cornerstone of his career or profile. "John Boehner has joined to take a stand for life," she said, noting that he prefers to work in the less "glamorous" area of legislation than grab headlines. For his part, Boehner said that he doesn't look at the issue politically.
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Poll: Americans Want Jobs Before Wall Street Reform
Tweet Share on Facebook May 6, 2010 Comment (4)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
Punishing Wall Street for the mortgage crisis is a popular notion, but Americans want more jobs first. In a Winston Group poll, 58 percent said slashing the jobless rate was key, while 36 percent said reforming Wall Street was Job One. "Americans are still asking, "Where are the jobs?'" says Winston's Myra Miller. FYI: GOP and independent voters focus on the unemployment rate, while Democrats look at monthly job figures as the key to the employment turnaround.
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Republicans Prepare to Attack Obama for Oil Spill Response
Tweet Share on Facebook May 5, 2010 Comment (12)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
With President Obama now facing his own Hurricane Katrina moment in the Gulf of Mexico, Republicans are relieved that for once the White House can't blame the disaster on the usual suspect: Former President Bush.
For now, the Republicans are united in backing the oil cleanup in the Gulf, but they are also readying an assault on the administration's handling of the crisis which some compare to former Bush's handling of Hurricane Katrina. "This is a disaster of epic proportions that the administration is not going to be able to blame George Bush for," said one GOP official.
Over the past few days, Republican leaders have been urging fellow lawmakers to ignore the urge to haul British Petroleum or administration officials to congressional hearings while the cleanup is going on. But in their comments, it is clear that the GOP is putting the administration on notice that they plan to dig deep into their handling of the crisis.
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Lance Armstrong and Ray LaHood Push Bike Paths
Tweet Share on Facebook May 4, 2010 Comment (6)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who struck public opinion gold when he lambasted people who text while driving, has hit the jackpot again with another personal peeve: the need for more bike paths. This time he's getting shout-outs from seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong and President Obama. Armstrong tweeted praise for LaHood last weekend: "Sec of Trans Ray LaHood talked about need 4 bike infrastructure on NPR today. Pretty sweet." Also last week, when a White House guest praised LaHood to him, President Obama said, "Oh, you must be a bicyclist." So what's the deal? LaHood and his wife are longtime bikers, often seen along Washington's C&O Canal. He's advocating for more bike paths as part of the nation's infrastructure and green plan.
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A New Push for Term Limits
Tweet Share on Facebook May 4, 2010 Comment (11)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
There's a new campaign to put some teeth into term-limit promises politicians make—and then break. The idea: a bonded term limit. It would require candidates to set aside cash or personal property before they enter office that would pass to charity if the vow is broken. "The credibility of a politician's promise is directly proportional to the loss he might suffer by breaking it," says Bob Neff of the new Alliance for Bonded Term Limits. "Good intentions can be abandoned when there is nothing to lose by doing so." Neff isn't only chasing term limits. To get Congress on the right track, he wants those up for re-election tossed out and replaced with new members not drunk on seniority or the "lush trappings" of Capitol Hill. ABTL Director Bob Hansen adds: "Vote every single one of them out."
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Palin Headed to NRA Convention
Tweet Share on Facebook May 3, 2010 Comment (14)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
After former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin urged a "Don't Retreat, Instead—RELOAD!" strategy to her fellow Tea Party and anti-Washington fans on Twitter last month, she was slapped by liberals and Democrats for using deplorable gun imagery. But Palin is not about to holster her rhetorical sidearm. What's more, she's leading a posse of Second Amendment-supporting Republicans to the annual National Rifle Association convention later this month in Charlotte, N.C. Take a gander at who's on the docket, which looks like the conservative roundup for the 2012 GOP primaries: Palin, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton, South Dakota Sen. John Thune, South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, and Indiana Rep. Mike Pence.
"It's a big deal," says the NRA's top lobbyist and convention organizer Chris Cox. "It's a beauty contest of those who support the Second Amendment," he says, adding that the speakers will also include media and Hollywood elite, and even some Blue Dog Democrats like Tennessee Rep. John Tanner and North Carolina Rep. Heath Shuler.
With expectations of a record-setting crowd of 80,000, Cox says gun owners are fired up more than ever over concerns about liberal politicians banning guns and Washington's spending. "It's an indication of where the American people are on the Second Amendment," he says. Critics, he adds, "try to paint us as an extreme, but we are the deepest part of the river; we are the strongest part of the river," says Cox.
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Press and Hollywood Huddle for a Night of Parties
Tweet Share on Facebook May 3, 2010 CommentBy Maura Judkis, Washington Whispers
"Nerd Prom" isn't just a cute moniker for the annual White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, held Saturday night. Dressed up in their tuxes and gowns, journalists revert back to their high school ways: President Obama is prom king, and a ballroom of antsy guests tolerate the ceremonial main event, but eagerly anticipate the after-parties.
Those parties have a hierarchy of their own, with the Bloomberg/Vanity Fair event at the French Ambassador's residence accessible to only the coolest of the cool, such as Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, actors Scarlett Johannson, Jessica Alba, Morgan Freeman, designer Donatella Versace, the Jonas Brothers, and Matthew Morrison of Glee, among dozens of other celebs better-known for gracing the cover of People than Politico.
But when an organization decides to host a party for the first time, it shakes up the social scene. Last year, the Capitol File party was a hot spot for those uninvited to the more exclusive Bloomberg affair, but this year, MSNBC decided to throw a bash at the Mellon Auditorium, drawing celebs such as Jon Bon Jovi, Alec Baldwin, Olympian Lindsey Vonn, and Gabourey Sidibe of "Precious." That left Capitol File's party a tad lower in star wattage: among the celebrities who attended the local magazine's bash were Dennis Quaid, in town to talk healthcare reform, web publisher Arianna Huffington and Wolf Blitzer, of CNN. Party-hopping celebs who made an appearance before moving on to other events included Ashley Judd, Ewan McGregor, and Kim Kardashian.
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