As Senators continued talks on Capitol Hill yesterday on the stimulus bill, President Barack Obama called on lawmakers to pass the measure, warning that rapid enactment was crucial. His remarks, made during a visit to the Department of Energy, were seen by the media as part of an overall heightening of rhetoric on the issue. With debate on the Hill "anything but smooth sailing," NBC Nightly News said, "the President called on Congress to just get it done."
Obama, says McClatchy, made a "strong pitch" for the plan and "warned lawmakers...that the economic crisis could become a 'catastrophe' unless they stop bickering and act," while AFP says the President "attempted to take back command of the acrimonious debate over his 900-billion-dollar stimulus plan." Obama's "recent courtship of Republicans," the Wall Street Journal says, "gave way to blunt derision...as he tried to raise the political pressure" to pass the measure.
ABC World News said that while "Democrats once hoped for broad bipartisan support," ABC said, they are now "trying to eek out the narrowest of victories...in the Senate." Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Financial Times reports, said yesterday that "getting a good bill passed was more important than achieving bipartisan consensus."
Meanwhile, the CBS Evening News reported last night that a new CBS poll has found that public support for stimulus bill has "fallen 12 points this month to just over 50 percent. But the President is not giving up." At the White House yesterday, CNN The Situation Room reported, press secretary Robert Gibbs "didn't deny that the President's more forceful language was intentional." Gibbs also said, The Hill reports, that "White House officials are anticipating that the new numbers" on unemployment to be released this morning "will show the highest unemployment rate in 17 years."
CNN's The Situation Room said the Administration "is on a belated campaign to sell the stimulus and answer charges it's just a whole lot of pork." The White House, it added, "is losing the PR war on the stimulus." The Politico, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and the AP also report the story.
Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill yesterday, the temperature of the rhetoric was also increasing as the Senate continued debate on the stimulus bill. ABC World News reported, "moderates from both parties have been trying to hammer out a compromise," but "the calls for cooperation and bipartisanship are being drowned out by some very strident rhetoric."
Dana Milbank writes in the Washington Post this morning that while the "dealmakers went through their paces behind the closed doors of the committee room" yesterday, "the show horses came out of the gate yesterday with unbridled partisanship." Yesterday's emotional floor debate, NBC Nightly News said, "tells you there is a deep divide between Democrats," like Sen. Jack Reed, who called legislation "absolutely essential," and Republicans, like Sen. Richard Burr, who said "the priorities are wrong."
Also making note of the rising "partisan warfare," the CBS Evening News reported that the bipartisan group "met behind closed doors, seeking up to $100 billion in cuts, which they say is tough going." Still, Senate moderates, the AP reports, "struggled for a compromise" despite the rising "partisan tensions" and as "several Republican attempts to remake the bill -- with higher tax cuts, lower spending and fresh relief for homeowners -- failed on party-line votes."
But late Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reports, Majority Leader Harry Reid "suggested negotiations on what he described as 'the big amendment' to scale back and restructure the plan could clear a path for a final vote on the broader recovery package." Obama himself told reporters aboard Air Force One yesterday, the AP reports, that "he thinks the White House is 'in range' with lawmakers trying to finalize a massive economic stimulus package."
The bipartisan group of senators, the Washington Post reports, "has identified at least $80 billion in recommended cuts from the legislation, according to a draft given to The Washington Post, with a huge chunk of the recommended reductions coming in education funds." Reid, the New York Times (reports, "said he believed that Democrats could muscle the stimulus bill through with at least two Republican votes," but "said he would give the bipartisan group until Friday to reach a deal."
And as the group "worked furiously in backroom negotiations" late into the night on Thursday, the New York Times reports Senate Democratic leaders "said they would await the outcome of those talks before calling for a final vote on the measure, perhaps on Friday."
Roll Call, the Washington Times, USA Today, and the Los Angeles Times reported the story.
McCain "Noticeably Absent" From Talks In an article examining the "diverse" group of senators involved in the talks, the New York Times notes that "notably absent from Thursday's negotiations was Senator McCain."
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After the President's nominee for CIA director, Leon Panetta, appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee yesterday, the CBS Evening News reported that his confirmation now "appears likely." During his appearance on Capitol Hill, the AP reports, Panetta "assured senators Thursday that the Obama administration will not send prisoners to countries for torture or other treatment that violates US values as he contended had occurred during the Bush presidency." Panetta also "said there is no intention to hold CIA officers responsible for the policies they were told to carry out."
USA Today reports members of the panel "generally hailed Panetta during the first day of his confirmation hearing," but Sen. Kit Bond "pressed" him "on what sort of arrangement the new administration would use to hold hard-core terrorists now that Obama has promised to close the prison at Guantanamo." The Washington Post reports Panetta "flatly denounced as 'torture' the CIA's previous use of waterboarding and said he would not allow secret prisons or the forced transfer of suspected terrorists to countries that condone torture. But Panetta also pledged an aggressive fight against al-Qaeda."
The New York Times reports Panetta "left open the possibility that the agency could seek permission to use interrogation methods more aggressive than the limited menu that President Obama authorized under new rules issued last month."
The Wall Street Journal reports the hearing "focused largely on Bush-era issues." Director Hayden "said no major changes are needed at the agency," in a "recent meeting with reporters," in which he "forcefully countered criticism of the agency...saying that Mr. Panetta would inherit 'the best leadership team in the federal government.'" The Los Angeles Times reports, "The hearing was marked by pointed exchanges over Bush administration counter-terrorism policies."
AFP reports, "Panetta said some kinds of renditions of prisoners were 'appropriate,'" and that "the United States had the right to temporarily hold and question 'high value' terrorist suspects captured abroad."
McClatchy, The Hill, and the Washington Times offers similar coverage.
USA Today reports the husband of Labor Secretary-designate Hilda Solis "paid about $6,400 Wednesday to settle tax liens that had been outstanding for as long as 16 years against his business, the Obama administration said Thursday." The disclosure "came shortly before a scheduled 2 p.m. meeting of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which will vote on US Rep. Hilda Solis' nomination as Labor secretary."
CNN's The Situation Room reported Solis is "dealing with a tax problem" that is "really focused on her husband" who "just yesterday -- after this revelation by 'USA Today' -- paid over $6,000 in tax liens -- some of them dating back as far as 16 years -- against his auto repair business." The CBS Evening News reported, "Another nominee has run into trouble, and you guessed it, taxes again. The Senate today put off a vote on Hilda Solis as Labor Secretary."
The AP reports Solis "became the latest Cabinet nominee to face questions about unpaid taxes Thursday as a Senate panel abruptly postponed a scheduled vote on her confirmation." The Washington Post reports Solis's confirmation vote "had already been delayed for weeks by questions over her role as unpaid treasurer of a pro-labor organization and her support of a hotly contested measure that would make it easier for workers to organize unions."
The Los Angeles Times reports the Obama Administration "conceded it had not discovered on its own that California tax liens had been filed against Solis' husband, Sam H. Sayyad." The Wall Street Journal reports Solis "is the fourth of President Barack Obama's senior appointees to run into trouble over tax issues." The Hill, Bloomberg, The Financial Times, Roll Call, and the Washington Times also report the story.
The Washington Post reports President Barack Obama today will host victims and families of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and USS Cole bombing at the White "for a face-to-face meeting as his administration struggles to decide how to handle detainees at Guatanamo Bay, Cuba, several of those invited said." In a statement, the White House said the President "wants to talk with these families about resolving the issues involved with closing Guantanamo Bay -- while keeping the safety and security of the American people as his top priority."
McClatchy reports that among those invited to attend today's meeting is retired Navy Cmdr. Kirk Lippold, who was commander of the USS Cole when it was attacked in October 2000. Last week, Lippold "condemned Obama's order to close Guantanamo," but on Thursday, Lippold "was more conciliatory, but still critical of the uncertainty surrounding Guantanamo."
Administration Drops Charges Against Cole Suspect The AP reports Susan Crawford, "The Pentagon's senior judge overseeing terror trials at Guantanamo Bay dropped charges Thursday against an al-Qaida suspect in the 2000 USS Cole bombing, upholding President Barack Obama's order to freeze military tribunals there. The charges against suspected al-Qaida bomber Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri marked the last active Guantanamo war crimes case."
The Washington Times reports Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said "that the dismissal was made 'without prejudice,' meaning the US government may continue to prosecute him at a later date."
The Politico reports that former Vice President Dick Cheney's "warnings about the risks of closing Guantanamo Bay prison and changing other Bush-era policies this week angered Democrats and some top counter-terrorism experts, who said Cheney was reviving the same scare tactics voters had rejected in electing Barack Obama."
While former Vice President Dick Cheney spoke out this week against closing Guantanamo Bay, the CBS Evening News reported, "there were some in the Bush-Cheney Administration who wanted to do just that." During his final years in office, President Bush "said repeatedly he wanted to close the prison" and as it "turns out, it was his own vice president who stood in the way."
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The AP reports lawyers for Minnesota Senate candidate Al Franken (D) yesterday told Minnesota's Supreme Court "that he should be certified as the winner of his tight Senate race with Republican Norm Coleman without waiting for the outcome of his rival's legal challenge" and issued a provisional election certificate, allowing him to be seated in the Senate pending the outcome of the various legal challenges to the election. The Justices "took the case under advisement and didn't say when they might rule, but their many questions suggested they were skeptical of Franken's arguments." The St. Paul Pioneer Press adds Justice Christopher Dietzen "said the court could not stop the Senate from refusing to obey the conditions of a provisional election certificate. That is, the Senate could seat Franken provisionally and then refuse to unseat him if Coleman wins his suit."
The Hill reports, "Top staffers at the Republican National Committee were told to submit their resignations today, with some being told they will not get their jobs back in what insiders call a top-to-bottom review of the entire organization," in the opening move to reform the organization by new chairman Michael Steele. In a blog posting, The Politico adds that a GOP source says that Steele "has requested the resignations of the entire RNC staff and signaled a dramatic turnover at the party organization."
The New York Daily News reports Federal Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald "got political" Wednesday and "blasted" Gov. Sarah Palin "for bringing her Down syndrome child on stage after a debate," saying, "That kid was used as a prop. And that to me as a parent blew my mind."
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NBCNewYork.com reported that New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D) is already facing a potential primary from NY4 Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D), and now "News 4 New York has confirmed that" NY14 Carolyn Maloney (D) "has been telling her supporters she too may join the race."
The AP reports that former OH1 Rep. Steve Chabot (R), who lost in 2008, has filed for a rematch with Rep. Steve Driehaus (D). Roll Call adds that Driehaus' "victory was attributed, in part, to elevated black voter turnout in the Cincinnati area due to the presence of now-President Barack Obama at the top of the ticket," which won't be present in 2010.
The AP reports actor Val Kilmer (D) is considering a run for New Mexico governor in 2010, saying, "I'm just looking for ways to be contributive. And if that ends up being where I can make a substantial contribution, then I'll run." Kilmer added, "If I run, I'm going to be the next governor."
The Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot reported that Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell, the presumptive GOP gubernatorial nominee, leads "all three Democratic" gubernatorial hopefuls, "according to a Rasmussen Reports poll released Thursday. McDonnell leads" ex-state Delegate Brian Moran 39%-36%, ex-DNC Chief Terry McAuliffe 42%-35%, and state Sen. Creigh Deeds 39%-30%
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Jay Leno: "This week in Washington, President Obama took time out from his busy day to read a book to a group of second graders. Did you see that on the news? It was a fairy tale about a cabinet nominee who once paid all his taxes."
Jay Leno: "It came out today that the House Democratic Caucus spent $500,000 of taxpayers' money for retreats at luxury resorts and spas. The Democrats say the time was used for strategic planning for the country. ... So, the resorts are being used for strategic planning. Really? Then what is the Capitol building for? Hello?! Hello?! Isn't this work?"
Craig Ferguson: "Another one" of President Barack Obama's nominees "is having tax issues, which proves one thing: The Democrats like raising the taxes," but "they hate paying them."
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