Media sources are reporting that the White House is examining options for a missile defense system for Europe, with some indications that the Obama Administration may drop the previous Administration's plans. The Washington Post reports President Obama "has said he is still reviewing the plan inherited from President George W. Bush to deploy interceptors in Poland and radar in the Czech Republic." But "a senior administration official..."highlighted the analysis of a Stanford physicist, Dean Wilkening, who recently challenged the Bush plan." Wilkening said he presented the White House with data showing two alternatives that would better protect Europe from an Iranian missile attack: one with radar in Turkey and interceptors in Romania and the other using a version of the Navy's Aegis theater missile defense system expected to be available in 2015."
The Christian Science Monitor reports Russian experts "say the ideal solution would involve a joint effort to guard against accidental missile launches or attacks by 'rogue' states such as Iran or North Korea in the future." The Politico reports that in a published interview, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev "suggested that Russia would be willing to consider options that did not require the US to abandon its existing missile defense plans."
The Los Angeles Times says that "politically, the White House hoped to use the Russia trip as a way to cast Obama as a tough-minded leader, not just a likable one." The Wall Street Journal notes that Russia yesterday "received a new assurance from Mr. Obama that offensive and defensive weapons systems would be considered together as negotiations go forward -- something the Bush administration had declined to do." Bloomberg News, meanwhile, reports that Obama insisted "that negotiations about nuclear disarmament remain separate from the conversations about the shield, said Michael McFaul, a National Security Council official."
Fox News' Special Report reported, "To defuse the standoff, Mr. Obama offered the Russians a compliment as he explained that US missile defenses pose no threat to Moscow." President Obama: "There is no scenario from our perspective, in which this missile defense system would provide any protection against a mighty Russian arsenal."
Obama, Medvedev Sign Nuclear Reduction Deal Presidents Obama and Medvedev yesterday signed a "tentative" agreement "to reduce their nuclear arsenals," reports USA Today. USA adds it is "a step toward a new agreement to replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START, that expires Dec. 5." While some media coverage (which included reports on all three network newscasts) tended to cast the deal as a potential harbinger of improved ties between the two countries, a number of stories pointed out that key unresolved issues remain a stumbling block in US-Russia relations. The AP, for example, reports that Obama "failed to crack stubborn Kremlin objections to America's missile defense plans."
The Wall Street Journal reports that while "the two presidents appeared to have overcome the acrimony that all but paralyzed relations late last year," they "focused on issues where reaching agreement was relatively easy." Similarly, NBC Nightly News called the "framework" for the arms treaty "the major achievement of the day," and added that "as for Afghanistan, the US military can now use Russian air space to move supplies and troops in and out of the country. But those were the easy topics."
The Los Angeles Times reports that "like many of his predecessors, Obama found out what difficult bargaining partners the Russians can make." He and Medvedev "two sides took small steps toward scaling back their nuclear arsenals but left wide differences and lingering difficulties on other issues."
Media outlets are reporting in generally favorable terms the expected deal between the Administration, Senate Democrats, and three hospital industry groups to cut hospital costs $150-155 billion and to help pay for healthcare reform. The New York Times reports if an agreement "is finalized, it would be the latest step in an on-going effort by the White House to win concessions from major health industry groups to help pay for legislation aimed at providing health insurance to all Americans."
The Washington Post reports "two industry sources" said the "nation's hospitals agreed last night to contribute $155 billion over 10 years toward the cost of insuring the 47 million Americans without health coverage." The Politico reports Vice President Joe Biden "is expected to announce Wednesday that three major hospital associations have agreed to provide $160 billion in savings to pay for a health care overhaul." The "timing of the announcement is aimed at sustaining momentum for health reform as Democratic congressional leaders embark on a critical five-week period in which they hope to pass bills out of the Senate and House by the August recess."
The AP reports the parties are "near agreement," adding the ""precise size of any deal was not available, although several days ago, talks were focused in the range of $150 billion to $155 billion over a decade."
Meanwhile, Roll Call reports Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) "declined Monday evening to predict when his committee would begin marking up its health care reform bill, although he appeared to virtually guarantee legislation would hit the floor before the August recess." Baucus said, "Clearly. Not a question." Fox News' Special Report noted the "problem is -- no clarity on whether or not there will be a so-called public option. Most people say it will be in there but they haven't decided how it will be paid for, that's the second problem."
The Wall Street Journal reports White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said it is "more important that health-care legislation inject stiff competition among insurance plans than it is for Congress to create a pure government-run option." Emanuel said, "The goal is to have a means and a mechanism to keep the private insurers honest. The goal is non-negotiable; the path is [negotiable.]"
The New York Times, in a front page story, profiles Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound, a health insurance cooperative that has adopted "electronic medical records and a collaborative model of primary care." On Capitol Hill, "those innovations have made Group Health a prototype for a political compromise that could unclog health care negotiations in the Senate and lead to a bipartisan deal."
Democrats Have Unveiled Few Details On Costs The Hill reports congressional Democrats "this month will answer the $1 trillion-plus question: how they plan to pay for comprehensive healthcare reform." President Obama "and congressional Democrats vowed repeatedly that their bill will be completely paid for, but offered few details on offsetting new benefits that are expected to cost more than $1 trillion over a decade."
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A number of media outlets are reporting on renewed calls for the Administration to revisit the economic stimulus package, prompted in part by Vice President Biden's acknowledgement on ABC's This Week that the White House "misread" the potential for higher unemployment. The AP reports economists "and heavyweight Obama backers such as Warren Buffet already are calling for another stimulus, saying the recession proved to be deeper and more devastating than originally believed." The "need for a new stimulus has been a matter of internal debate within the Obama administration, according to people familiar with internal discussions. But White House officials have made no public commitments."
In his Wall Street Journal column, Gerald F. Seib says the "release last week of unemployment numbers has Washington dividing along three lines of argument about the existing stimulus package. Depending on your perspective, the stimulus plan: a. Isn't working. b. Is preventing unemployment from being even worse, or c. Hasn't had enough time to really kick in yet." Republicans "are mostly voting for option A, of course, while the administration and its allies are picking various combinations of B and C."
The Hill reports a "group of unions, including the AFL-CIO and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), said they will start pressing lawmakers for a jobs bill. They said the $787 billion economic stimulus approved earlier this year, though helpful, wasn't big enough and didn't include enough government spending."
Roll Call reports Rep. Eric Cantor "said Monday he will request a meeting with President Barack Obama to discuss another stimulus package, but he said it should be paid for by cutting waste from the first one." Cantor "jumped on Vice President Joseph Biden's remarks on Sunday that the administration misread how bad the economy was." Larry Kudlow, at the opening of CNBC's The Kudlow Report, said, "Topic A-1 tonight is Vice President Joe Biden's acknowledgment that team Obama misread the poor economy and the rising unemployment rate." Kudlow added, "What Mr. Biden missed yesterday was not just a misreading of the economy, but a misreading of the solution to the economy. Tax rates should have been slashed across the board to individuals, businesses, and investors."
Bloomberg News reports the US "should consider drafting a second stimulus package focusing on infrastructure projects because the first plan was 'a bit too small,' said Laura Tyson, an adviser to President Barack Obama." In a speech in Singapore, where Tyson stressed "that she was speaking for herself and not the administration," she said "the current plan 'will have a positive effect, but the real economy is a sicker patient.'" Bloomberg adds her "comments contrast with remarks made two days ago by Vice President Joe Biden and fellow Obama adviser Austan Goolsbee, who said it was premature to discuss crafting another stimulus because the current measures have yet to fully take effect."
The Washington Post reports "billions in federal stimulus dollars have kept cuts" in state budgets "from being worse." The Obama Administration "has studied several Capitol Hill proposals to help the states but has decided not to move forward on any of them." Earlier this year, "high-level meetings in the White House to address California's fiscal calamity yielded no intervention, partly because policymakers feared that bailing out one state would create a cascade of demands from across the country."
The Wall Street Journal reports, "A group of the biggest U.S. banks said they would stop accepting California's IOUs on Friday, adding pressure on the state to close its $26.3 billion annual budget gap." The Journal notes that "after state leaders failed to agree on budget solutions last week, California began issuing IOUs -- or 'individual registered warrants' -- to hundreds of thousands of creditors."
The Financial Times reports that California's debt rating "was slashed by Fitch Ratings to triple B - two notches above junk -- after the state was forced to issue IOUs for certain payments while it frantically tries to agree a budget. Further downgrades are possible, Fitch said."
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Both the media and the political punditry continue to struggle with what to make of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's decision to step down. One theme is that she is set to join the world of media pundits. ABC World News reported that "sources tell ABC News" that Palin "is being offered everything from hosting TV shows to radio, to speaking engagements" but so far, "her political future was unclear." NBC Nightly News adds that stepping down and "taking her fight elsewhere could make Palin a very rich woman indeed. With her book deal, with speeches, possibly a talk show. It's a long way from Wasilla." Indeed, Eugene Robinson, writing in the Washington Post, says Palin "is by nature more of a firebrand opinion-maker than anything else. I know one when I see one. She can deny it all she wants, but really she's -- gulp -- one of us."
Republicans struggles to understand Palin's move are being highlighted by the media. For example, the CBS Evening News says that "even her allies in the Republican Party are perplexed." The New York Daily News says "even Rush Limbaugh is stumped. 'As far as I know, nobody in Palin's camp or Palin herself has said what the hell this is about and why she's doing this,'" said Limbaugh, who added that "he doesn't believe her decision to step down won't stop her from launching a 2012 presidential bid." The Hill reports, "Staunch GOP conservative" Rep. Steve King "doubts that Sarah Palin will be able to resurrect her political career after calling it quits as governor of Alaska."
NBC Nightly News reported Al Franken's (D) "six-year tour in the US Senate from Minnesota is set to begin officially" Tuesday "when he is sworn in. The arrival of the comedian turned politician gives the Democrats a 60-vote so-called Supermajority." The Hill adds that Franken, "referring both to the new Democratic majority that his election provides and the pair of Minnesota Senate seats," said, "A lot has been made of this number 60. The number I'm focusing on is the number 2. I see myself as the second senator from the state of Minnesota." The Los Angeles Times suggests that the supermajority may mean little, as Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy (D) and West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd (D) "are sidelined by serious illness." Also, "several moderate Democrats are expected to have reservations about the energy" and healthcare bills, meaning "a handful of" GOP "votes could be necessary to pass any sweeping piece of legislation."
The Boston Globe reports state Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill "plans to leave the Democratic Party this week, two advisers said yesterday, in what is probably a first step toward an independent challenge to" Gov. Deval Patrick (D). Cahill, described as a "a fiscal conservative," has told supporters he "feels estranged from the Massachusetts Democratic Party, whose tax-and-spend philosophy, as he describes it, is more liberal than his own."
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Conan O'Brien: "That was quite a surprise. Over the weekend, Sarah Palin shocked the country by resigning as governor of Alaska, out of nowhere. It's crazy. ... Republicans aren't sure who is going to fill her role in the party, but they are in talks with several of the Real Housewives of New Jersey.'"
Craig Ferguson: "Of course, the very big news, you can't avoid it, Sarah Palin's quitting as governor of Alaska. Everybody is shocked. ... Palin hasn't made a decision this controversial since deciding whether to wear her hair up or down."
David Letterman: "Mark Sanford...described his girlfriend as his 'soulmate.' ... And I thought, well, if there is one thing that beautiful women love, it's a fiscal conservative, am I right?"
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