Senate Democrats yesterday criticized the $300 billion in tax cuts proposed in President-elect Obama's economic stimulus plan, which media observers saw as an early indication of tension between Capitol Hill and incoming Administration.
The Politico says Senate Finance Committee Democrats, "in a closed-door meeting with Obama's economic chief Lawrence Summers and senior adviser David Axelrod...criticized the tax cuts included in the bill." On its front page, the New York Times notes that Axelrod said after the meeting that "the president-elect's team was not concerned by the emerging pockets of criticism of his plan."
The Washington Post reports Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid "said Summers will return to the Senate for a rare Sunday meeting and further discussions on the bill. 'He learned a lot about how we feel,' Reid said after yesterday's session." Glenn Trush, in his blog for The Politico, notes Reid also said the bill is "a work in progress that isn't written in stone."
The AP reports Democrats yesterday "complained openly about the incoming administration's proposed tax cuts." The Wall Street Journal reports "the Democrat-led Congress is eager to assert some control and is beginning to chafe at the president-elect's demand for quick approval" of the stimulus bill.
The AP reports Democratic senators yesterday "were especially critical of a proposed $3,000 tax credit for companies that hire or retrain workers."
The Hill calls it "the first rift between the Obama White House and congressional Democrats," who "questioned the lengths to which...Obama was seeking to win over Republicans."
On MSNBC's 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, GOP media consultant Mike Murphy said, "I think Obama building his own center coalition between some Democrats and Republicans is the right way to go. Otherwise he's just going to be the tax collector for a liberal majority in the Congress and that'll engulf his presidency."
Democrats Not In Concert On Obama Deadline The Financial Times reports House Speaker Nancy Pelosi "promised that legislators would not leave for a scheduled break on February 16 without passing the bill." The Politico notes Pelosi told reporters, "We are staying until it is done."
The Wall Street Journal reports "even a Democrat-controlled Congress doesn't make the task" of passing a stimulus bill "easy. Rep. James Moran (D., Va.), a member of the House Appropriations Committee, said Mr. Obama's deadline of the scheduled Feb. 13 Presidents Day recess would be 'almost impossible to meet.'"
President-elect Obama's speech on the economy at George Mason University received extensive media attention last night and this morning. As NBC Nightly News noted, "all three broadcast networks took that live today" and "it was across cable." To largely favorable reviews, the speech led all three network broadcasts, and is being reported on front pages across the nation. Some analysts are casting the address a departure from decades-long presidential rhetoric about the role of government.
Under the headline "Obama Puts His Trust In Government," for example, the Los Angeles Times says on its front page, "Only government, he said, can restore the purchasing power needed to preserve jobs." The Chicago Tribune calls the speech "the start of a campaign asking Americans to accept massive new spending as a 'reinvestment' in the nation. The Wall Street Journal notes Obama embraced "the role and power of government."
Much of the coverage of the address, however, tends to remark of the stark tone of Obama's warnings about the health of the economy. The Hill reports Obama's famous rhetoric has taken a darker tone." However, most commentators found Obama's urgency thoroughly justified. NBC Nightly News reported that "while short on specifics...Obama said that Congress needs to act fast." ABC World News said Obama's address "was a part of the carefully planned campaign to win support for his strategy for a stimulus package." Yet the Washington Post notes that "in tone and manner, Obama's speech was eerily reminiscent of the early declarations from the past four presidents, who took office warning of economic perils that lay just around the corner."
The CBS Evening News reported "Obama warned Congress today there is not a moment to waste when it comes to approving his economic stimulus plan." USA Today also says "the urgency of Obama's remarks was underscored" by yesterday's economic news, while the AP reports there is "little or no dispute about the need for action." The Politico similarly reports Obama used "some of his gravest language yet."
McClatchy, the AP, The Politico, the Detroit Free Press, AFP, The Financial Times and Washington Times also report on the speech this morning.
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CNN's The Situation Room reported President-elect Obama "appeared with his handpicked choice to be the new Democratic Party leader," Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine. Outgoing DNC Chairman Howard Dean "was conspicuously absent from the event over at the Democratic Party headquarters in Washington. Governor Dean is traveling to American Samoa today, but he has a history of clashing with some of President-elect Obama's top aides, including the incoming White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel."
CNN's The Situation Room later reported many Dean supporters "believe this was a slight" and "they suggest, at some point, that it may be about Rahm Emanuel, the new incoming chief of staff for Barack Obama, who had a couple of pretty public clashes with Howard Dean during Dean's tenure."
The Politico reports that "according to Dean loyalists," the outgoing chairman's "conspicuous absence...was no accident. Rather, they say, it was a reflection of the lack of respect accorded to the outgoing party chairman by the Obama team."
The CBS Evening News reported during the campaign, President-elect Obama "said if he were elected the days of corporate lobbyists setting the agenda in Washington would be over. But today he named a former lobbyist for Raytheon, William Lynn, to be number two at the Pentagon. An Obama spokesman acknowledged the contradiction, but said Lynn had come so highly recommended the President-elect felt he needed to appoint him."
The AP, however, notes Lynn is "a defense contractor's lobbyist," and Obama's choice "appeared to break with his self-imposed rules to keep lobbyists at arm's length." The Hill reports Lynn's selection is "garnering accolades from lawmakers and defense experts. But it is putting the president-elect's transition team in a delicate position."
The Washington Post reports that in addition to Lynn, Obama announced "Robert F. Hale as undersecretary of defense-comptroller, Michale Flournoy as undersecretary of defense for policy, and Jeh Charles Johnson as general counsel."
The New York Times /AP reports that House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich "is rallying opposition to Dr. Sanjay Gupta becoming the next surgeon general, contending the 39-year-old CNN correspondent lacks experience."
Congressional Quarterly reports that as an alternative to Gupta, Conyers is "pushing Dr. Herbert C. Smitherman Jr., a Detroit physician and assistant dean at Wayne State University, which borders Conyers' Detroit district."
The Politico adds that the choice of Dr. Gupta ranks as the President-elect's "most outside-the-box Cabinet choice." But Obama's team has "touted Gupta as the perfect pick to be a spokesman for Obama's effort to remake the American health-care system." New York Times columnist Paul Krugman "cited Gupta's TV work in a Tuesday blog post opposing Gupta's selection, writing, 'I don't have a problem with Gupta's qualifications. But I do remember his mugging of Michael Moore over 'Sicko,'" a feature documentary about public health in the US."
The Hill notes that the Conyers letter cited the Krugman article, though it specified that Krugman, unlike Conyers, "does not have a problem with Gupta's qualifications." Conyers is described as friends of Michael Moore, "a Michigan native who is an ardent backer of the legislator's universal healthcare bill." The dustup between Moore and Gupta "occurred on CNN's 'Larry King Live' in the wake of Gupta's televised report on SiCKO," and "has been viewed over 239,000 times on YouTube."
The Los Angeles Times reports Attorney General-designate Eric H. Holder Jr. "repeatedly pushed some of his subordinates at the Clinton Justice Department to drop their opposition to a controversial 1999 grant of clemency to 16 members of two violent Puerto Rican nationalist organizations, according to interviews and documents." President Clinton's decision "outraged law enforcement officials who had tried to contain a bombing campaign in New York, Chicago and elsewhere in the 1970s and 1980s by groups seeking independence for Puerto Rico from the United States."
Leahy Predicts Holder Will Be Confirmed The Politico reports, "Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) is dismissing Republican criticism of Eric Holder, confidently predicting that Barack Obama's attorney general nominee will be confirmed. ... 'That's going to happen,' Leahy said at a Thursday news conference with a dozen leading law enforcement officials."
The BLT blog reports that Leahy "issued a 'guarantee'" that Holder will be confirmed. "Every senator has the right to vote for or against a nominee. I can guarantee you this: Eric Holder is going to be confirmed as attorney general of the United States," Leahy said. BLT adds that Leahy "further predicted that Holder would be confirmed with 'an awful lot of Republican votes.'"
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The Politico reports, "Neither Al Franken nor Roland Burris have been officially certified as senators, but Democratic leaders are still open to seating Franken while refusing to seat Burris until he has his paperwork in order." Republicans "see inconsistency in this stance, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) says the cases are totally different."
But in her Wall Street Journal column, Kimberley A. Strassel compares the Senate Democrats' stances on Illinois Senate appointee Roland Burris and Minnesota Democrat Al Franken, saying that "Democrats were only too happy to install an unpleasant 'comedian' [Franken] with a dubious victory, while turning away a law-abiding Illinois official with a legal appointment [Burris]. Scandal aside," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid "was focused on the political numbers."
Meanwhile, in a blog posting, The Politico reports, "In the 14 years since" Republican Norm Coleman "and wife Laurie purchased a home in St. Paul, he has refinanced or otherwise revised the terms of his mortgage 12 times, according to records obtained by a Coleman foe. The documents aren't especially sinister -- but they paint a portrait of a politician, who, like just about every other homeowner in the country, used his primary residence as an ATM machine as real estate prices spiked."
The AP reports that New York Gov. David Paterson (D), discussing Caroline Kennedy's pursuit of Sen. Hillary Clinton's Senate seat, said Thursday that "Kennedy, who has never held elective office, clearly has her drawbacks, despite her star power and private sector experience." Paterson said, "She does not have much political, I mean, legislative experience, which is a minus."
The New York Times reports that Gov. Paterson "continued to play down suggestions that he has already decided" to tap Kennedy to fill Clinton's seat, "as candidates seeking the appointment submitted lengthy vetting forms to the governor's office" yesterday.
McClatchy reports on a statement released Thursday from Gov. Sarah Palin's office, titled "Governor Palin Says to Media, "There You Go Again," in which Palin "expressed dismay at continuing efforts in the media to take her comments out of context to create adversarial situations." Among other things, the statement cites a "Particularly troubling...post on Politico.com titled, 'Palin: Media Goes Easy on Kennedy." It says, "The headline inflames the governor's quote in the transcript, in which she answered a question about media treatment of the prospect that Caroline Kennedy would be appointed to the U.S. Senate."
The Politico, in the report cited in the above McClatchy story, says that Gov. Palin "believes Caroline Kennedy is getting softer press treatment in her pursuit of" Sen. Hillary Clinton's "seat than Palin did as the GOP vice presidential nominee because of Kennedy's social class. 'I've been interested to see how Caroline Kennedy will be handled and if she will be handled with kid gloves or if she will be under such a microscope,' Palin told conservative filmmaker John Ziegler during an interview Monday for his upcoming documentary film, 'How Obama Got Elected.'"
In a story headlined "Media ends Bush battle; round two: Palin," the Washington Times reports that as President George W. Bush's "time in office" draws to a close, "the nation has recognized that journalists, for the most part, were hard on him." The Times goes on to report on continued "shabby press treatment of" Gov. Palin, noting that in an interview with the filmmaker Ziegler, the Governor said that "CBS anchor Katie Couric and others had used their unfair depictions of her to further their careers."
The AP reports that Missouri Sen. Kit Bond (R) "announced Thursday that he will not seek re-election in 2010, saying he wants to go out 'at the top of my game' and setting the stage for what one expert said could be a 'land rush' for the seat."
The Washington Times reports that Bond's decision dealt "his party another setback in a bid to cut into the Democratic majority in the chamber," and surprised "many local observers who thought he was preparing for another Senate race."
The Politico reports that Bond's move gives "Democrats a shot to pick up a seat in a state that has emerged as a major battleground," and calls his decision "a blow to Senate Republicans who may now have at least four of their incumbents seeking retirement at the end of the session."
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Jay Leno: "ABC has a new reality show about how our government protects our borders, waterways, and airports. Have you seen this? It's called 'Homeland Security USA,' or, as they call it in Afghanistan, 'the Terrorist Learning Channel.'"
Jay Leno: "Well, that's the name of the show: 'Homeland Security USA.' I think that's better than the original title," which "was 'Hey, Not So Fast, Ahmed.'"
David Letterman: "Couple of days ago" in "New Jersey," there were "UFO sightings. ... Believe me, it's not an invasion." The aliens are "actually here" because they "want some of that Federal bailout money."
David Letterman: "Do you have your tickets for the inauguration down in Washington. I sent in early. I sent the money in. I got my tickets back, lousy seats." You "know where they put me? ... I'm right between Govs. Spitzer and Blagojevich."
David Letterman: "Vice President-elect Joe Biden...is already getting acquainted with his new responsibility as Vice President. And he's starting every afternoon at 3:00. He picks up Sasha and Malia from school."
Conan O'Brien: "On Inauguration Day, Barack Obama will be riding in a brand new presidential limousine" made by General Motors. ... Yeah, the parade route is five miles long, so GM says Obama should only have to stop for gas twice."
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