A series of negative economic reports and a sharp sell-off on Wall Street dominated news coverage from national outlets last night and this morning, with some blaming the White House for the steep stocks decline. ABC World News' Charlie Gibson said, "No matter what the Administration seems to be doing with the economy, the market does not seem to like it." ABC's Betsey Stark added, "No, Wall Street, as one analyst I spoke to put it today, is underwhelmed by what's going on in Washington." The AP reports, "The war between Republicans and Democrats to frame the blame for the economy erupted in earnest this week." Republicans "pushed back against...Obama's claim -- echoed relentlessly by his Cabinet members and Democrats in Congress -- that he didn't cause the mess and shouldn't be judged yet on obligating taxpayers for a trillion dollars trying to fix it." Economic stories led all three network broadcasts, with ABC World News and NBC Nightly News focusing on the dire news about GM and the CBS Evening News noting "the Dow fell 281 points or four percent. That brings the loss for the year to nearly 25 percent."
On its front page, the New York Times reports, "After months of breathtaking declines, this is what Wall Street has come to: Blue-chip companies, once considered safe investments and cornerstones of the economy, are akin to penny stocks." On its front page, the Washington Post reports President Obama "cautioned against paying too much attention to markets and even said 'buying stocks is a potentially good deal,'" but "investor confidence has been sapped by signs that the US economy remains exceptionally weak 15 months after the start of the recession."
The Wall Street Journal's opinion page usually critical of Obama's policies this morning links the President's actions with the Dow's decline. The Wall Street Journal editorializes, "Recessions don't last forever, but bad policies can prolong the pain." Gerald F. Seib, also in the Wall Street Journal, says, "Any president, particularly the current one, has a lot of things to worry about. Should the level of the Dow Jones Industrial Average be one of them? In a word: yes." Under the headline "Obama's Radicalism Is Killing The Dow," Michael J. Boskin, a professor of economics at Stanford University who "chaired the Council of Economic Advisers under President George H.W. Bush," writes in the Wall Street Journal writes that "the illusion that...Obama will lead from the economic center has quickly come to an end. Instead of combining the best policies of past Democratic presidents -- John Kennedy on taxes, Bill Clinton on welfare reform and a balanced budget, for instance," Obama "is returning to Jimmy Carter's higher taxes and Mr. Clinton's draconian defense drawdown." Also in the Wall Street Journal, Steve Forbes criticizes the Obama Administration for "its continuation of the most destructive policies of the Bush administration." If President Obama "really takes" Franklin Roosevelt's "legacy seriously, he should suspend mark-to-market accounting rules, restore the uptick rule, and enforce the prohibition against naked short selling."
In what the AP calls a "surprise development," Senate Republicans "forced Democrats on Thursday night to put off a final vote on" a $410 billion omnibus spending bill "until next week. That will force Congress to pass a stopgap funding bill to avoid a partial shutdown of the government." Republicans "have blasted the $410 billion measure as too costly. But the reason for GOP unity in advance of a key procedural vote was that Democrats had not allowed them enough opportunities to offer amendments." The Washington Post says the GOP filibuster came "amid resistance over the legislation's huge price tag and more than 8,500 pet projects."
Under the headline "Omnibus Still One Vote Short," The Politico reports Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid "had been confident earlier in the evening that he had the 60 votes needed to cut off debate. But a half-hour after the roll call was to begin, Reid admitted he was still short and agreed to allow debate to continue for a few more days."
The New York Times reports, "The ability of the diminished minority to delay the bill signaled growing unease in Congress, among Democrats and Republicans, over the unprecedented levels of government spending in recent months and the staggering increase in the federal deficit." The Hill reports "Senate Democrats are debating whether" Sens. Russ Feingold and Evan Bayh "should be punished for opposing a $410 billion omnibus. ... One Democratic senator familiar with the discussions said his colleagues are irked that they 'bent over backwards' to include provisions important to Feingold and Bayh, only to have both lawmakers slam the omnibus."
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Though overshadowed by negative economic news, President Obama's White House summit on healthcare was reported by all three network newscasts and in today's major newspapers. Most stories laud the President's handling of his reform push, and credit him with tackling what ABC World News termed "one of the nation's thorniest political issues." NBC Nightly News noted President Obama "began his effort to reform the massive and complicated healthcare system, tying it to the economic crisis." Obama was shown saying, "It's one of the greatest threats not just to the well-being of our families and the prosperity of our businesses, but to the very foundation of our economy. And that's the exploding costs of healthcare in America today." The CBS Evening News noted the President "says you can't fix the economy without fixing the health care system."
Wolf Blitzer said on CNN's Situation Room that he "was struck at how open the President was. He wants to hear from everyone then come up with a plan. That was pretty extraordinary." Senior White House correspondent Ed Henry added that "that was striking because on the positive side, this can suggest this president is ready for solutions and is not going to pretend he has the monopoly and is going to leave Congress in charge to work with these groups to work out the details."
The Wall Street Journal similarly reports, "The sessions, which were open to the press and shown live on C-Span and the Internet, were in contrast to the approach" under former President Clinton in 1993, whose plan "was developed behind closed doors." The New York Times reports Obama "indicated for the first time that he was open to compromise on details of the proposal he put forth in the 2008 campaign."
USA Today reports that the "White House session...brought disparate factions together," and "Obama elicited promises of cooperation from lawmakers and stakeholders who in the past have been at loggerheads over how to fix the system."
Under the headline "Ex-Foes Of Health Reform Now Supporters," the Washington Post reports Obama launched his reform effort "surrounded by men and women who made their careers killing health-care reform," and notes that "in the room was Rep. Joe L. Barton (R-Tex.), who proudly reminded the crowd of 150 that he was instrumental in killing 'Hillarycare' in the 1990s. Yesterday, he announced that he supported the principles that have been outlined by Obama." The AP (3/6, Sidoti) says "the unanimity on the urgency to act underscored how the political environment has become more favorable to revamping the thorny system since... Clinton's attempt failed."
More skeptical is the story in the Chicago Tribune, which calls the summit a "largely symbolic event" that "showcased the political maneuvering -- and potential conflicts -- that are intensifying as Obama moves forward on reform." Likewise, The Hill headlines its story "Discord Lurks Beneath Obama's Health Summit," and says "Obama sounded all the right notes," but "amid those notes were faint hints of the discord to come as Republicans made clear they were willing to talk -- but not willing to roll over."
The Wall Street Journal reports two candidates "for top jobs at the Treasury have withdrawn their names from consideration, complicating already troubled efforts by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to staff his department at a time of economic crisis, according to people familiar with the matter." Annette Nazareth, "who was expected to be tapped as deputy Treasury secretary, and Caroline Atkinson, who was being considered to oversee international affairs, have both taken their names out of the running, these people said." Meanwhile, Susan Tierney "recently withdrew her name from consideration for the job of deputy secretary of energy for what a person close to her said were family reasons. Jane Garvey recently withdrew from consideration for the deputy secretary post at the Department of Transportation."
The AP reports that "Geithner has been criticized for staffing his department too slowly as it grapples with a banking crisis that has crippled the economy. ... Five weeks into his tenure, he has yet to name a single top deputy or assistant secretary." The Washington Times reports, "The withdrawals of Ms. Nazareth and Ms. Atkinson are the latest stumbling blocks for...Geithner, who has struggled to build a staff amid the worst financial crisis in decades."
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On its front page, the Washington Post reports, "By one measure, Rush Limbaugh is a clear winner this week: His ratings have nearly doubled since his feud with the White House burst into the media limelight. But the Obama administration's strategy of trying to elevate" Limbaugh "to leader of the opposition has prompted a vigorous counterattack," with NRSC Chairman John Cornyn "saying the move is an 'outrage' that 'reeks of hypocrisy coming from a president who campaigned against these very cynical political tactics last fall.'"
The AP reports that in the Minnesota Senate race trial yesterday, Al Franken (D) called for dismissal of Norm Coleman's (R) lawsuit, "saying the fight had gone on long enough and Coleman hadn't proved his case. The motion for dismissal filed by his lawyers could be argued before a three-judge panel on Friday." Meanwhile, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that a "new poll conducted by Rasmussen Reports shows that 46 percent of likely voters in the state favor a revote in the" Coleman-Franken contest, while 44% are opposed.
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The Hill reports that ex-Commerce Secretary William Daley "is leaning toward" running for the Illinois Senate seat currently held by Roland Burris (D), and Daley "would likely be an instant front-runner." The Chicago Tribune reports that the GOP "push for a special election to replace" Burris "was dealt a likely fatal blow Thursday by Senate Democrats, who turned thumbs down on the idea."
The Allentown Morning Call reported that ex-Congressman Pat Toomey (R), who currently serves as the president of the Club for Growth, "has begun telling friends that he will" launch a primary challenge to Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter (R) in 2010, setting up a rematch of the 2006 primary contest.
The Hill reports, "In an e-mail to fellow RNC members obtained by The Hill, Dr. Ada Fisher, North Carolina's national committeewoman, said" RNC Chairman Michael Steele "is 'eroding confidence' in the GOP and that members of his transition team should encourage him to step aside." However, CNN reported, Reince Priebus, the Wisconsin GOP chairman "who is heading up Steele's transition team, dismissed Fisher's criticisms," saying, "She has been spewing poisonous e-mails about Michael Steele from the day Michael Steele decided to run for chairman, on a weekly basis."
Long Island Newsday reports that New York Gov. David Paterson (D) "said Thursday that he would take a 10 percent 'symbolic' pay cut because of the recession - but not ask other officials to do the same." The New York Post adds that Paterson has been "criticized for giving fat pay hikes to more than a dozen senior aides."
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Jay Leno: "Hey, quite, quite a scare in Washington, DC, today. You may have heard about this. Police were called to the White House. Apparently, President Obama was in a meeting with some potential cabinet nominees. Someone noticed a suspicious looking document on the table no one had ever seen before. Turns out it was just a tax form," but it "gave them quite a fright."
David Letterman: "Rush Limbaugh is the new face of the Republican Party" and "he says that he can defeat President Obama in a debate. ... I'm thinking maybe a competitive eating contest, but I don't know about" a debate.
Jimmy Fallon: "Barack Obama bought a brand new swing set for his daughters, Malia and Sasha. It has a slide and a rope ladder. It's great. It's much nicer than the one George Bush used."
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