President Obama's European trip receives mostly positive coverage in this morning's newspapers, with many articles contrasting his reception with that given to former President Bush in previous years. The Los Angeles Times notes that when Bush was in London in 2003, "protests were so furious and safeguards so tight that the president was kept deep inside his security bubble," but "by contrast, an admired...Obama touched down Tuesday and paid a placid visit to US Embassy staffers at a school in the heart of residential London." Similarly, The Hill says that unlike Bush, Obama "is immensely popular overseas, but that has not made him immune to criticism or outright intransigence from his fellow leaders." The CBS Evening News said of Obama, "What he represents to many countries overseas is a departure from the Bush administration, which alienated some foreign governments." Chris Matthews, at the opening of MSNBC's Hardball, said Obama is "the new emblem of the American people. He is us -- just as, to the consternation of our allies" Bush "was us for eight years."
McClatchy reports that topping Obama's agenda in Europe "is affirming...plans already under way to spend $2.5 trillion to stimulate economies...working out a new global framework to regulate financial markets" and "making sure that developed countries avoid protectionism." The New York Times adds that "for all of Mr. Obama's early optimism that the rest of the world would follow his lead on big stimulus packages, there is no clear move in that direction," which "suggests a rebuke of American economic leadership." The Financial Times says Obama "is the most popular US president in a generation, but you would have to go back more than two generations to find one with fewer cards to play." AFP reports, "Seldom has a US president faced such a stern first test overseas." USA Today reports that "the goal of the trip," according to Denis McDonough, deputy national security adviser, "is nothing less than 'restoring America's standing in the world.'" The AP notes Obama planned to meet with leaders of Britain, Russia, China, India and South Korea. AFP adds that Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown "will hold a joint press conference."
ABC World News, meanwhile, reported that "according to our ABC News/Washington Post poll, 43% of Americans say the country's image abroad is improving under...Obama. That number was just 10% under President Bush." The President "continues to get high marks at home, as well, 64% say they are confident the President's programs will improve the economy."
New GM CEO Firtz Henderson gave his first press conference yesterday. NBC Nightly News reported, "The old GM is dead. ... The new CEO says it is probable GM will remake itself in bankruptcy." The Financial Times reports Henderson said GM "is to close more car plants, lay off more workers and speed up consolidation of dealers." White House adviser Austan Goolsbee said, "We would contemplate restructuring bankruptcies, but we're not contemplating liquidation.'" The Wall Street Journal notes Henderson "praised" Obama's "strong voice of support." USA Today reports GM dealers "could shut down faster than expected." The Detroit Free Press says "gone are ousted-CEO Rick Wagoner's strong protests against bankruptcy." The Washington Post reports that the administration "will play a key role in reshaping General Motors' board of directors."
The Wall Street Journal points out, "Rarely has a company as big...as GM or Chrysler entered bankruptcy proceedings." According to the New York Times , "the administration appears to be drawing in part from a playbook used with troubled banks, with the goal of creating a new, healthier G.M. but leaving behind its liabilities and less valuable assets, perhaps for liquidation." The Detroit News reports Sen. Carl Levin said the administration's "public discussion of bankruptcy...is 'self-defeating' and raises the likelihood that the companies may have to go that route." The Wall Street Journal reports Ford officials "worry that a bankruptcy filing by a cross-town rival could severely disrupt Ford's operations."
The Washington Post adds that GM also announced a program "that would help a car buyer make payments if he or she becomes unemployed after the purchase." The Wall Street Journal reports Honda Motor Co. announced it "will cut North American production further, reduce pay of its salaried employees" and "force its hourly workers to take unpaid leave." The Washington Post note automakers will release March sales results today.
The New York Times reports UAW president Ron Gettelfinger "has bargained for days beyond contract expiration dates. And the Obama administration's deadline came and went this week without the union budging an inch. ... That may reflect his confidence that he has...support from" Obama. The Wall Street Journal adds that Gettelfinger "has said repeatedly that the union has already made substantial concessions compared with other stakeholders." The Wall Street Journal's Holman Jenkins writes, "President Obama rightly says 'sacrifices' must be made if GM is to emerge as a viable company. But there's one sacrifice he won't make: his re-election chances, by leaving the fate of the UAW truly up to a bankruptcy judge."
The Detroit News reports, "An alliance between Italy's Fiat SpA and Chrysler LLC presents 'an extraordinary opportunity,' Fiat Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo said Tuesday, adding he hoped an agreement would be concluded in the next few weeks." The New York Times notes that just four years ago, Fiat "was in such bad shape" that GM "paid $2 billion to buy its way out of its commitment to acquire" Fiat.
Sign up here to get the US News Political Bulletin emailed to you each morning at 8 a.m.
Media coverage of Health and Human Services nominee Kathleen Sebelius' announcement that she had paid over $7,000 in back taxes noted the Kansas Governor is the latest in a string of Obama nominees to have tax problems. Most sources, however, noted the relatively minor nature of the underpayments.
ABC World News reported, "Still another Obama cabinet nominee [Tuesday] said she's paid up back taxes, unpaid until now because of what she called unintentional errors." Sebelius "told senators she paid more than $7,000 to correct three years of returns." The Wall Street Journal reported this makes her "the fifth nominee to run into tax problems, though Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) said in a statement that the errors were 'minor [and] unintentional' and expressed strong support for her confirmation." The Los Angeles Times reports it "was not immediately clear how the disclosure would affect her prospects for Senate confirmation to the Cabinet post. Her unpaid taxes were substantially smaller than those of former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD), who was forced to withdraw as Obama's Health and Human Services nominee in February after it was disclosed that he had failed to pay more than $128,000 in taxes."
In a Washington Post /AP story focusing on Sebelius' taxes, the AP explains that "Sebelius (D), the governor of Kansas, alerted senators to the changes in aletter " Tuesday. The New York Times "The Caucus" blog notes "Sebelius said she had been unable to locate records needed to document three of the 49 charitable contributions she and her husband, Gary Sebelius, had made."
Bloomberg News notes that the "tax issue wasn't broached" in during questions Sebelius took at a meeting of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee on Tuesday. Likewise, "neither Sebelius nor the White House issued a comment" concerning the letter, McClatchy reported.
The Politico reports that the Senate Finance Committee's "reaction to Sebelius' tax issue was much different that the reaction to Daschle." Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) "called for a swift confirmation of Health and Human Services nominee Kathleen Sebelius even after a committee report revealed the Kansas governor owed $7,000 in back taxes," Roll Call reports.
Media coverage of a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Tuesday that examined the potential for fraud in the Troubled Asset Relief program was limited. The overall tone of the coverage, which included a brief report on CBS, was somewhat negative and focused on authorities' lack of oversight for the program.
The Financial Times reports US authorities "have launched more than a dozen criminal investigations into possible fraud involving bank bail-out funds, the special inspector-general for the troubled assets relief programme told Congress on Tuesday." Neil Barofsky, "described at a Senate finance committee hearing as the 'Tarp cop,'" estimated "the US had spent or lent almost $3,000bn of taxpayers' money to aid banks and other companies, which would 'inevitably attract those seeking to profit criminally.'
The CBS Evening News reported, "The TARP inspector general said billions may have been lost to fraud, though he gave no specific examples." The AP reports Barofsky told Congress that "banks that have received federal aid are using the money as they see fit, in some cases providing new loans to customers, retiring debt or buying mortgage-backed securities."
Meanwhile, McClatchy reports government watchdogs said the "massive programs designed to rescue the nation's financial sector are operating without adequate oversight, with vague goals and limited disclosure of their details to the taxpayers who are paying for them." Elizabeth Warren, "a Harvard Law School professor who leads a special congressional oversight panel monitoring the TARP program," said "'without a clearer explanation' about parts of the program, 'it is not possible to exercise meaningful oversight over Treasury's actions.'"
And The Hill reports, "Doubters from Wall Street to K Street think Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is overestimating what's left in the $700 billion piggy bank Congress created to bail out the financial sector." Geithner has said Treasury "still has $125 billion in the Troubled Asset Relief Program for banks, auto companies and other businesses lining up for help in the worst recession in generations." Estimate of the remaining funds range from the Center for a Responsible Federal Budget, $32 billion; RBS Greenwich economist Stephen Stanley, $15 billion; and Dow Jones Newswires, $52 billion.
The Washington Post reports, "Four regional banks from around the country yesterday became the first firms to repay emergency aid from the government, but the show of strength also underscored concerns about the health of a key element of the federal economic recovery program." The Treasury "has estimated that banks may return as much as $25 billion in the near term, about 13 percent of the money invested so far."
Sign up here to get the US News Political Bulletin emailed to you each morning at 8 a.m.
Top
On Tuesday, voters in the NY20 Congressional District cast their ballots in the closely-watched special election to fill the seat formerly held by New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D) and with all precincts reporting, Scott Murphy (D) held a scant 65-vote lead over Jim Tedisco (R), but the New York Times says that "10,055 absentee ballots were issued - and 5,907 received so far, state election officials said - meaning the election cannot be decided until the paper ballots are counted." The New York Post reports, "Republicans have filed a lawsuit requiring all paper ballots be impounded, the first step in what's expected to be a protracted process." The Washington Post says the result "left frozen a race that the two major national parties were trying to interpret as either an endorsement of President Obama's economic policies or the start of a GOP comeback after recent national defeats."
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that attorneys for Minnesota Senate candidate Norm Coleman (R) "all but conceded defeat Tuesday and promised to appeal after a" three-judge panel "ordered no more than 400 new absentee ballots opened and counted, far fewer than the Republican had sought in his effort to overcome a lead held by" Al Franken (D). The Politico, describing the ruling as "a blow to" Coleman, reports, "In the minutes after the ruling was issued, Democrats began trumpeting the decision, saying that Coleman's ability now to retake the lead is a tall order." CQ Politics reports, "More than a quarter of the ballots included in the court order came from Democratic-leaning Hennepin County, which includes the city of Minneapolis," where voters backed Barack Obama over John McCain 63%-35%, and the Wall Street Journal adds, "Some observers believe, based on which ballots the court is looking at, that Mr. Franken may actually increase his lead."
Sign up here to get the US News Political Bulletin emailed to you each morning at 8 a.m.
In a front page story, the Washington Post reports that Attorney General Eric Holder has overruled the opinion of Justice Department attorneys who "concluded in an unpublished opinion earlier this year" that the bill to give DC a seat in the House "is unconstitutional, according to sources briefed on the issue."
The Politico reports that Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd (D) "moved to change the location of a $1,000-a-head April 7 fundraiser in New York City Tuesday, after learning that it was to be held at an exclusive club long criticized for having no minority members."
The Louisville Courier-Journal reported on its website that Kentucky Sen. Jim Bunning (R) said Tuesday "that fundraising for his re-election campaign next year has been 'lousy' so far," but said that it has "improved recently."
Sign up here to get the US News Political Bulletin emailed to you each morning at 8 a.m.
Roll Call reports that a American Research Group survey of 535 New Hampshire registered voters conducted March 27-30 shows NH2 Rep. Paul Hodes (D) leading ex-New Hampshire Sen. John Sununu (R) 42%-36% in a trial heat of the race for the state's open Senate seat.
The Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot reports a Public Policy Polling survey of 740 likely Virginia Democratic primary voters conducted March 27-29 shows Brian Moran (D) leading his Democratic gubernatorial foes with 22%, followed by ex-DNC Chief Terry McAuliffe (D) with 18% and state Sen. Creigh Deeds (D) with 15%; 45% were undecided.
Sign up here to get the US News Political Bulletin emailed to you each morning at 8 a.m.
Top
Jay Leno: "President Obama is giving General Motors 60 days to come up with strategy of viability for the American taxpayers' money. You know what GM should have said? 'Hey, you first.'"
Jay Leno: "President Obama also said if you do buy a new car, you will be able to deduct that's right, I said deduct -- the sales tax from your income taxes. Or you can just take a job with the White House and not have to pay taxes at all."
David Letterman: "So the United States government is now running General Motors, because if there's anyone who knows anything about streamlining costs, it's the US government, ladies and gentlemen."
Sign up here to get the US News Political Bulletin emailed to you each morning at 8 a.m.
Top
Click image for larger view.
Smart analysis, insightful reporting, in-depth perspective—in a new, digital format.
Log in | Buy Now | See sample
View sample page 2View sample page 3View sample page 4View sample page 5advertisement
Get your POLITICALBULLETIN
Click image for larger view.
Smart analysis, insightful reporting, in-depth perspective—in a new, digital format.
Log in | Buy Now | See sample
View sample page 2View sample page 3View sample page 4View sample page 5Embed exclusive U.S. News headlines, rankings, columns, and blog postings to your Web site, blog, or social network.
advertisement
Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our Terms and Conditions of Use and Privacy Policy.
