In his first public remarks on the situation, President Obama urged Americans on Monday to remain calm as the number of US cases of swine flu more than doubled and the World Health Organization raised its pandemic threat level. As the confirmed number of US cases reached 45 yesterday, ABC World News reported that the President "urged calm." The President was shown saying: "This is obviously a cause for concern and requires a heightened state of alert. But it's not a cause for alarm." Obama, McClatchy reports, "worked...to assure the nation, and perhaps the world, that an outbreak of swine flu is a cause for concern but not alarm." And as "fears of a growing deadly global swine flu epidemic appear to be growing by the hour," CNN's The Situation Room noted that "from the President on down, the Obama Administration is moving quickly to calm Americans about a possible pandemic."
On its front page, the New York Times also notes that the President had "only a few words about swine flu" in a speech at the National Academy of Sciences, but "behind the scenes at the White House, aides said the president was directing his administration to be ready in case an alarm needed to be sounded." The Administration, McClatchy says, is "perhaps mindful of the complaints about its response following Hurricane Katrina," and "strived to show that it was doing all it could to prepare for a crisis."
The Hill reports DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano "defended the government's response at a press conference Monday afternoon as reporters asked her about the risk of asymptomatic swine flu carriers entering the country." The CBS Evening News reported that the US-Mexico border "is still the busiest in the world," and is "now potentially the gateway for a deadly virus."
The AP reports that swine flu is "a potentially grave new threat" to the US economy. An "outbreak could batter the tourism, food and transportation industries in particular." Still, "most experts don't think a swine-flu outbreak by itself would eliminate many US jobs or severely worsen the economy."
Taking a more negative tone, the Washington Post reports that according to a 2006 Congressional Budget Office report, a pandemic "could cost the United States between 1 percent to 4.1 percent of annual economic output." Combined with the expected loss due to the recession and that may be "a contraction of 3.9 percent to 6.9 percent."
ABC World News reported, "Flu fears are impacting financial markets 'On the Money' tonight, with worries growing about travel, investors sent airline stocks down more than 14%. The hotel industry suffered as well, with those stocks down more than seven percent. On the other side stocks in the hospital sector were up almost 4.5% and pharmaceuticals up more than one percent."
The Wall Street Journal reports, "The spread of swine flu roiled trading in everything...as traders worried that consumers would rein in spending on travel and food perceived to be less safe because of the outbreak."
The Administration came under heavy criticism Monday after an incident involving Air Force One prompted a serious scare among residents in New York City. The CBS Evening News reported workers "in skyscrapers near Ground Zero looked out to see a low-flying 747 shadowed by a fighter jet. With images of 9/11 still fresh in their minds, people poured into the streets. Turns out it was one of President Obama's planes doing a photo shoot near the Statue of Liberty." The President "reportedly is furious about the incident, and the military office has apologized."
ABC World News showed New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg saying, "Why the Defense Department wanted to do a photo-op, right around the site of the World Trade Center catastrophe, defies imagination. The good news is, it was nothing more than an ill-considered, badly conceived, insensitive photo-op."
NBC Nightly News reported that "according to every agency either alerted or part of the planning, it was never part of the plan for the general public to be notified beforehand, but for those who live and work in lower Manhattan, the problem is, the memories of 9/11 are especially acute." The AP reports that an anonymous administration official "says a presidential Boeing 747 and a fighter jet flew low near ground zero in New York City Monday because the White House Military Office wanted to update its file photo of the president's plane near the Statue of Liberty."
Under the front-page headline "A 'Classified' Photo Op Turns Into A Soaring Blunder For The White House," the Wall Street Journal says, "The photo shoot looked like a terrorist attack. People watched in horror as a massive aircraft, trailed closely by an F-16 fighter jet, banked and roared low near the city, in a frightening echo of the events of Sept. 11, 2001."
In a story headlined "AIR HEADS IN DC TERRORIZE CITY," the New York Post reports that while "the Air Force had permission for the 10 a.m. flyover, no one bothered to warn the people on the ground, and as the two jets hurtled toward lower Manhattan, many mistook Obama's plane for Osama's."
The New York Daily News reports, "A perfect storm of idiocy led to a frightening 9/11 flashback for thousands of New Yorkers Monday when a jumbo jet and an F-16 fighter jet buzzed lower Manhattan without warning." The New York Times says, "Aides to President Obama, who was not on board, said he was incensed when he learned of the event Monday afternoon." The Washington Post says the White House "issued a profuse apology over the incident."
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The AP reports "top House Republicans" are "calling for the CIA to release to Congress its records on the classified briefings it conducted for lawmakers on its harsh interrogation program in an effort to establish what Democrats knew about those techniques." The Politico adds that House minority leader Rep. John Boehner "is upping the ante on Speaker Nancy Pelosi - asking the Obama administration to release CIA notes taken during a 2002 briefing session with Pelosi and other Congressional leaders."
According to The Politico, Pelosi "didn't cry foul when the Bush administration briefed her on 'enhanced interrogation' of terror suspects in 2002, but her team was locked and loaded to counter hypocrisy charges when the 'torture' memos were released last week." The Politico notes that "many Republicans obliged, led by former CIA chief Porter Goss, who is accusing Democrats like Pelosi of 'amnesia' for demanding investigations in 2009 after failing to raise objections seven years ago when she first learned of the legal basis for the program."
Bret Stephens, in his column for the Wall Street Journal, writes, "Maybe [Pelosi] is suffering from amnesia. Maybe, for instance, the speaker doesn't remember that in September 2002, as ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, she was one of four members of Congress who were briefed by the CIA about the interrogation methods the agency was using on leading detainees."
Media sources are continuing to run assessments of the Obama Administration at 100 days. While some sources question the significance of the period, most reports offer a positive appraisal of the Administration's record so far.
The AP reports the economy "will determine whether Barack Obama achieves what few presidents have: a far-reaching change in American politics that might even earn its own title and legacy. Will there be an Obama version of the New Deal, the Great Society or the Reagan Revolution?"
USA Today reports the "second 100 days" of Obama's Presidency, "from Wednesday until about the time Congress begins its summer recess, looms as a period no less critical in how his tenure ultimately will be judged." Obama adviser David Axelrod said, "These are going to be important months. I'll stipulate that the next 100 days aren't going to be any easier in certain ways than the first 100."
The Politico reports, "With the still-boiling debate over torture ongoing, one of the Big Three car companies on the verge of bankruptcy and even an outbreak of swine flu dominating the headlines, Obama and his aides may be able to lessen the focus on the traditional milestone they deride as an overwrought 'Hallmark holiday.'" The Washington Post reports the "notion that a presidential term can be reasonably assessed in just more than three months seems a stretch, especially in light of recent history."
Meanwhile, the AP reports Fox "became the first broadcast network to turn down a request by President Barack Obama for time, opting to show its drama 'Lie to Me' on Wednesday instead of the president's prime-time news conference." ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC and CNBC "are all carrying the 8 p.m. EDT event, on Obama's 100th day in office."
Obama Gets High Poll Marks The Politico reports President Obama "scores high marks for how he has handled his job in his first three months in office, according to new polls released as the 100-day anniversary of his presidency approaches this Wednesday." A Gallup survey "found 56 percent of Americans giving Obama an excellent or good job rating, vs. 20 percent who grade him terrible or poor so far." In a new Washington Post poll, "69 percent of those surveyed approved of Obama's job performance."
Republicans Still In Transition At 100 Day Mark USA Today reports the Republicans have "searched for direction and hunted for leadership, but what" they "ultimately hope to find is the strategy that can counter a popular Democratic president." As President Obama "rounds his first 100 days in office this week, many Republicans acknowledge they have endured a rocky transition to life without control of the White House. But upcoming debates in Congress on health care and climate change could provide the GOP with an opportunity to reinvent itself as a taxpayer advocate."
The Hill reports House Financial Services Committee Republicans "are using President Obama's 100 days in office to slam the government's efforts to shore up the financial markets and broader economy."
Media reports on the General Motors restructuring plan that would give the government a majority stake were mostly matter-of-fact, noting the deep cuts called for by the proposal. The story was covered extensively by both print media and wires, and was covered by each of the networks. Some reports were skeptical of the intent of the proposal, noting bond holders would likely reject it.
The AP reports General Motors, "once the colossus of American capitalism, will become a leaner, government-owned company if the Obama administration goes along with the automaker's plan to slash jobs, close plants and eliminate the legendary Pontiac brand." NBC Nightly News reported, "The US government under the current debt exchange proposal from GM will own up to half the shares from the auto maker. Meanwhile, bondholders who have lent the company up to $27 billion, will only get 10%. That is the controversy that could keep this from happening and could force GM into bankruptcy."
The CBS Evening News reported, "The government rejected its first restructuring plan, so GM says it will cut deeper and faster." The Washington Post reports in a front page story that GM's "partial nationalization proposal -- a last-ditch effort developed by GM and the Obama administration's auto task force to keep the leading US carmaker out of bankruptcy -- raised hackles in Congress and ratcheted up the game of brinksmanship with the company's bondholders, who have until May 8 to accept or to try to negotiate better terms."
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The AP reports, "An ethics complaint was filed Monday against" Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R), "claiming the legal defense fund established for her last week to challenge such claims is an ethics violation itself." A Palin spokeswoman said, "As we've been saying, the number of ethics complaints filed against the governor and her staff -- as well as the tortured logic they contain -- continue to constitute the most disturbing trend in Alaska politics. It's obvious the intent with this unprecedented action against the governor is to see her administration paralyzed and for her to declare personal bankruptcy."
Roll Call reports that a Lake Research Partners survey of 600 likely Illinois Democratic primary voters conducted April 19-22 shows state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias (D) leading a hypothetical Democratic Illinois Senate primary contest with 24%, followed by IL9 Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D), who paid for the poll, with 22%, and Illinois Sen. Roland Burris (D) with 18%; 36% were undecided.
Roll Call reports that Republicans are "cautiously optimistic" that they can defeat Scott Murphy (D), who won narrowly won NY20 special election, in the 2010 general election. Roll Call adds, "In addition to state Assemblyman Jim Tedisco (R) - who" was defeated "by less than 400 votes - potential Republican candidates in 2010 include former state Assembly Minority Leader John Faso, state Sens. Betty Little and Roy McDonald, Richard Wager, a former aide to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I), and Saratoga County District Attorney James Murphy, who is no relation to the Congressman-elect."
The AP reports that Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn (D), who took over after Rod Blagojevich (D) was thrown out of office, "says he has raised about $250,000 with the intent of seeking a full term as chief executive in 2010."
Roll Call reports this morning that Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck (R), "known for his hard-line views on illegal immigration," yesterday launched a bid to challenge Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet (D). The Politico adds, "All eyes are now on" former Rep. Bob Beauprez (R), "who is still mulling over a Senate campaign and has higher name identification than" Buck.
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Jay Leno: "Great to be back. As you know, I was sick for two days last week. Had to go to the hospital" after "I ate a raw pig a friend brought back from Mexico."
Jay Leno: "But you learn a lot about the system. You know, like, people say, 'Oh, where do hospitals get the nerve to charge $10 for an aspirin?' ... See, this is why President Obama wants to do something about healthcare in this country. See, under his plan, hospital aspirin only costs a dollar maximum." Of "course, there would be a $9 tax on it."
David Letterman: "We're getting close to President Obama's first 100 days in office," and he has had to deal with "a lot of trouble," including a "global financial crisis, pirates," and "swine flu." Plus, "Obama's got a live-in mother-in-law. ... I'm telling you, this guy cannot catch a break."
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