President Obama's speech on the economy yesterday coincided with a spate of negative data. The Washington Post headlines its front-page report "Obama: Economy Gaining Traction," and says Obama "voiced cautious optimism yesterday that the economy could be beginning to stabilize. But the economy wasn't cooperating." As the New York Times reports, "retail sales declined in March," after "two months of tentative gains and signaling more weakness in demand as worried consumers continue to tighten their budgets." Retail's "1.1 percent monthly drop in retail sales displayed the fragility of some recent 'glimmers of hope' in the economy cited by...Obama." In another report, "the Labor Department reported that wholesale prices showed more signs of weakness last month," with the producer price index falling "a seasonally adjusted 1.2 percent in March." The AP notes that the DJIA "closed down 137.63, or 1.7 percent, at 7,920.18. ... The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 17.23, or 2 percent, to 841.50, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 27.59, or 1.7 percent, to 1,625.72."
Another AP dispatch reports the President "devoted a significant portion of his speech to defending actions he has taken in the face of criticism he has heard mainly from Republicans -- but also from some of the more conservative members of own Democratic Party -- that he has 'been spending with reckless abandon, pushing a liberal social agenda while mortgaging our children's future.'" CNBC's John Harwood noted Obama "pulled out a parable from the Sermon on the Mount and said when it comes to building long-term policy, the United States has to act like the wise man." USA Today says Obama also "called on Congress to tackle unpopular tasks it has avoided for decades, such as overhauling the nation's health care and retirement systems, or risk continued economic crises." CNBC's Harwood also reported that Obama "defended the continued existence of the TARP program and said if banks need more capital, government is going to step in where it has to."
The Politico says Obama "clearly wants to take credit for some of the positive effects of his administration's actions, but he also wants to temper voters' expectations that the problems of the economy can be fixed quickly." The President's tone yesterday is being cast as one of "cautious optimism" by the Wall Street Journal. NBC Nightly News noted Obama said "hard times are far from over." Similarly, McClatchy reports Obama predicted 'more job loss, more foreclosures, and more pain' in 2009." The Financial Times adds, "While officials in both the US administration and the central bank think the economy will probably bottom out in the second half of this year they remain wary of calling the turn in the economic cycle." Bloomberg News reports that "economists...estimate that the pace of economic contraction eased in the first quarter of this year."
The Washington Times notes Republicans "continued to fault the president's economic plan, citing Congressional Budget Office projections that show an increase from the current $8 trillion national debt to $17.2 trillion over the next 10 years." The Hill reports that economists "say the Obama Administration "will be hard-pressed to avoid raising taxes on the middle class." The New York Times notes that Obama "again claimed that 'we've identified $2 trillion in deficit reductions over the next decade,' although "three-quarters of those 'reductions'" reflect questionable assumptions. The Washington Post editorializes: "Many of the savings identified in the president's budget are phony."
CNN reports on its website that "fifty-eight percent of people questioned in" one of its surveys "say Obama has a clear plan to deal with the recession. That's more than double the 24% who think that Republicans in Congress have a clear plan." USA Today, reporting on the latest Gallup poll, says "most Americans...approve of...Obama and the government's latest assertiveness. However, "by 3-to-1, those surveyed say government's expansion should be cut back when the economic crisis is over."
The Politico says Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee "attacked the implementation" of President Obama's stimulus, "raising the prospect that states will exploit a loophole to use money tagged for Medicaid to fund other programs."
In other stimulus news, the AP reports the $4 billion allocated "for the nation's public housing authorities may be too late for some complexes and should go to fixing up properties in healthier, more mixed-income neighborhoods." while the Wall Street Journal reports the White House is now mulling "how to hand out $7 billion allocated in the stimulus package for expanding broadband services." The AP also reports Vice President Biden held a conference call about stimulus implementation Tuesday with several governors and mayors. According to the Financial Times, state and local governments "are lining up to sell taxable bonds to take advantage of subsidies" provided in the stimulus package. The federal government "will pay 35 per cent of the interest on taxable bonds sold this year and next year to finance infrastructure projects." The Wall Street Journal notes state and local sales tax revenue "fell more sharply in the fourth quarter of 2008 than at any time in the past half century, and has continued to erode through the beginning of 2009."
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The Los Angeles Times says Treasury Secretary Geithner, "who oversees the IRS, initially didn't pay all his taxes. Neither did five other top nominees for the Obama administration or their spouses. Now, as tonight's tax deadline looms, some Americans are rhetorically asking: What would have happened to me if I had done the same thing? The resentful reaction to such disclosures resonates not just among the anti-tax people organizing protests around the country today, but in low- and high-income neighborhoods of cities like Los Angeles -- and even in the hallways of the Internal Revenue Service." National Treasury Employees Union President Colleen Kelley said members of her union are upset "over unusually strict rules that can cost IRS agents their jobs if they make a mistake, whereas Geithner and others are treated with relative leniency. In addition, the Geithner case is making the work of IRS compliance agents a bit harder, she said." Today the Washington Post has a feature on "tax defiers, deniers or protesters" who "cite myriad reasons for their stance that income tax is illegal."
More Than 750 "Tea Parties" Planned The Hill reports more than "750 Boston Tea Party-styled protests" are scheduled for today. House Minority Leader John Boehner, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich are expected to appear at events. The Washington Post says organizers "plan to dump a million tea bags in Lafayette Square today to demonstrate displeasure at government spending and tax policies." According to Fox News' Special Report , "They're planning a tea party like the one in Boston 236 years ago, but this time they're protesting pork projects, government bailouts and record breaking deficits."
Yesterday former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich pleaded not guilty to 16 counts of racketeering and fraud, including, according to the CBS Evening News, "an alleged scheme to sell President Obama's old Senate seat." The Chicago Sun-Times reported on its website, "The ex-governor and his brother, Robert Blagojevich, were released on $4,500 personal-recognizance bonds, after they were formally charged." Rod Blagojevich's lawyer, Sheldon Sorosky, "asked for a quick return to court so he can seek expanded travel privileges. Blagojevich, 52, wants to be allowed to go to Costa Rica to film a reality TV show there but needs the judge's permission." The AP identifies the reality show as NBC's "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here!" The AP also reports that Blagojevich "did not make a statement...but told reporters and spectators when he entered the courthouse that he was 'innocent of every single accusation.'"
The Chicago Tribune says Blagojevich's "first appearance since his stunning arrest more than four months ago unleashed 'Blagomania' one sidewalk outside the courthouse," with "cameramen" piling "in front of him, unwilling to give ground and miss a shot." The New York Times adds, "Though the Blagojevich case will not go to trial for months," he "has already drawn unwanted attention to other public figures, like" IL7 Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr. (D), "whose ties to Mr. Blagojevich are now under scrutiny."
According to Roll Call, Jackson "has spent an additional $15,000 to cover his legal expenses, according to first-quarter 2009 campaign finance reports released Monday. ... Jackson's campaign paid $100,000 to [his lawyer] on Dec. 18." MSNBC's Jim Warren, former managing editor of the Chicago Tribune, on MSNBC's Hardball yesterday, said that "talking to a couple lawyers close to the case...totally undermined my prevailing assumption that Patrick Fitzgerald took it easy on" President Obama. According to Warren, Fitzgerald was "very aggressively questioning a host of witness, including the notorious...Tony Rezko...about the involvement of Barack Obama in any of this and came away apparently with nothing."
Reports of a warning about "rightwing extremism" issued by the Homeland Security Office of Intelligence and Analysis have been met with denunciations from conservative talk show hosts. Highlighting the reaction of the American Legion, which took issue with suggestions "that some soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan could be recruited by right-wing extremists to participate in violent actions," the Washington Times reports David K. Rehbein, the Legion's national commander, said in a letter to DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano that he thought it "important for all of us to remember that Americans are not the enemy. The terrorists are." The Times went on to note criticism of the report from Republican Reps. Lamar Smith, Peter T. King, Ron Paul, and Dana Rohrabacher. The AP reports DHS "officials said there was no specific information about an attack in the works by right-wing extremists."
The Politico says DHS "is especially concerned with attempts to "radicalize returning veterans in order to exploit their skills and knowledge derived from military training and combat." The warning makes numerous comparisons "to the 1990s, a period when the country was rocked by several acts of domestic terrorism including the 1995 bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City." A number of cable TV pundits picked up on criticism of the report from Rush Limbaugh, who depicted it as coming directly from Secretary Napolitano, with President Barack Obama's approval. CNN's Lou Dobbs asked, "Why are there not names named and specific targets referenced here if there is a legitimate threat to the interests of the United States?" Fox News' Your World led its broadcast with the DHS warning, stating, "While it takes aim at conservatives, it ignores liberal groups like ACORN breaking into foreclosed homes, housing activists storming Bear Stearns, violent anti-capitalist protests at the G20, and Code Pink."
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The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports, "The national debate over Minnesota's Senate dispute boiled with new energy Tuesday," with Republicans urging Norm Coleman (R) "to fight on" and Democrats pressing "him to give up" following a state court decision giving the win to Al Franken (D). The AP adds that Coleman "must overcome some daunting challenges" as he appeals the ruling, including convincing the state Supreme Court "that three veteran trial judges botched his lawsuit challenging" Franken's 312 vote lead. USA Today says "election experts say the race's final stages may now be in sight."
The Hill reports that Scott Murphy (D) "now leads" Jim Tedisco (R) "by 47 votes in the seesawing" NY20 special election, thought "There are still no absentee results from Tedisco's biggest county - Saratoga - and only limited results from two big Murphy counties - Warren and Washington."
The AP reports that ex-House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R) is seemingly "everywhere these days, headlining an endless circuit of GOP dinners, popping up on TV news shows, authoring yet another best-selling book and acting as a policy guru to out-of-power congressional Republicans on how to do battle with the Democratic White House," leading to some to speculate he is "laying the groundwork for a White House bid in 2012."
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Jay Leno: "Whew! Last night, I had that great new drink, the Navy SEAL. Three shots -- boom -- and you're done."
David Letterman: "How about that Obama dog? They got a new dog. ... Yeah, a little Portuguese water dog. And the dog, as you would expect," is "not house broken yet." In fact, earlier today, "he left a bigger mess in the Oval Office than Bush did."
Jimmy Fallon: "I saw this today. President Obama gave a major speech on the economy and, once again, he promised Americans change, specifically pennies, nickels, dimes, and stuff like that."
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