President Obama gave interviews on healthcare reform to all three broadcast networks on Wednesday. The CBS Evening News said Obama "has had a change of heart" on "one element" of his plan. CBS: "Do you believe that each individual American should be required to have health insurance?" Obama: "I have come to that conclusion. During the campaign I was opposed to this idea because my general attitude was, the reason people don't have health insurance is not because they don't want it, it's because they can't afford it. ... I'm now in favor of some sort of individual mandate as long as there's a hardship exemption." On NBC Nightly News, Nancy Snyderman also said that "on the issue of an individual mandate for health insurance the President said he has been persuaded." Tim Johnson of ABC World News asked the President "who would decide what medical care is unnecessary, and therefore, should not be paid for?" Obama: "We don't think that we have to impose draconian measures to force patients to use a generic instead of a brand name drug, for example, or to force a hospital to administer one test instead of five tests, but, if, generally speaking, there is consensus that this will work in most circumstances, then I think most patients and doctors don't want to spend money unnecessarily."
The Politico reports Obama "did his best to personally jolt the process Wednesday -- delivering Rose Garden marching orders, sitting for interviews with three TV networks and unleashing his political organization to run ads pressing moderate Democrats and Republicans to get on board." The CBS Evening News reported Obama "says he wants it done now -- as in this summer -- universal healthcare. As he put it today, it time for us to buck up and there are a lot of bucks at stake." The Politico says Organizing for America, the Democratic National Committee "arm containing the dormant Obama presidential campaign, is going up in Washington D.C. and eight states -- and targeting moderate Democrats as well as Republicans" -- with an ad on healthcare. The Washington Times says the ad targets "the states of swing-vote senators, asking viewers to contact Congress in support of the bill."
Bloomberg News reports that, in separate interviews, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and senior political strategist David Axelrod said Obama "may rely only on Democrats to push health-care legislation through the U.S. Congress if Republican resistance doesn't eventually give way."
USA Today reports that the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee "advanced a $600 billion overhaul" of the healthcare system Wednesday, "pushing President Obama's top domestic priority past its farthest legislative milestone to date." The bill "could change significantly before Congress acts." The Washington Post reports the "13 to 10 party-line vote...underscored the mounting tensions in Congress and the country over the president's signature item. From one end of Pennsylvania Avenue to the other, lawmakers, lobbyists and the president himself all moved quickly to position themselves for the intensifying battle."
Coverage of the third day of Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor focused on the nominee's avoidance of direct and controversial answers, with several reports saying she "dodged" questions. Reports also cover the emerging consensus that Sotomayor will be confirmed.
ABC World News reported committee members "tried to pin" Sotomayor "down on a number of social issues," but, "for the most part, she has dodged their efforts." ABC added, "The questions were more intense but her answers remained elusive. ... She kept her responses safe." Sotomayor: "I have ruled according to the law. You just have to look at my record to know. All I can say to you is what the court's done." On NBC Nightly News, justice correspondent Pete Williams said, "Nothing has arisen so far to derail this nomination. And Judge Sotomayor seemed to show today that she knows it." The AP reports Sotomayor "determinedly sidestepped volleys of Republican questions on abortion and gun rights," keeping her "demeanor cool and her opinions mostly private." Sotomayor "had yet to make a slip -- certainly not the gaffe that even Republicans concede would be necessary to derail her nomination."
The Los Angeles Times says Sotomayor "dodged questions on abortion, gun rights and gay rights." The Wall Street Journal reports Sotomayor "said little to illuminate the legal philosophy she would bring to the high court -- or to give Republicans ammunition to muster a bigger protest vote against her confirmation." McClatchy reports Sotomayor "revealed only what she wanted to, and nothing more." The New York Times also reported Sotomayor's "composure remained intact and her confirmation to the Supreme Court seemed on track."
Franken Stumps Sotomayor With "Perry Mason" Question In the Washington Post, Dana Milbank writes that Sotomayor "was breezing through" the day "when she was tripped up by, of all people, Al Franken," whose "question was deft and devastating: 'What was the one case in 'Perry Mason' that Burger won?' For the first time this week, the future justice was stumped." The Hill similarly says Franken "has turned out to be the only member" of the committee to "stump" Sotomayor. USA Today reports the "Perry Mason reference was one of several moments in which Sotomayor flashed a down-to-earth personality and a grasp of pop culture that has helped charm Democratic and Republican senators."
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Coverage of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's Wednesday address at the Council on Foreign Relations casts it as an attempt by Clinton to assert her influence within the Obama Administration. Clinton, the New York Times reports, "stepped back to center stage" in "an effort to recapture the limelight after a period in which Mrs. Clinton has nursed both a broken elbow and the perception that the State Department has lost influence to an assertive White House." The speech, observes the Times, "sounded like one Mrs. Clinton might have given" as a presidential candidate, "when she sought to make her foreign policy credentials a trump card over the rival who is now her boss." In similar reporting, the AP says Clinton "bounded back into the public arena in a choreographed event Wednesday aimed at reasserting her position as the Obama administration's top diplomat."
The "high-profile" speech, says the Washington Post, "reflected nervousness among Clinton's staff that she has faded from public attention since she broke her elbow last month." Similarly, McClatchy reports that the speech "came against the backdrop of criticism" that Clinton "has failed to put a personal imprint on American foreign policy and has been overshadowed by the White House" -- a notion "aides sharply dispute." The Los Angeles Times titles its story "Hillary Clinton's Star Power Overshadowed, Analysts Say," and reports that though Clinton "brought star power to her post," the "debut months of the administration's foreign policy have been dominated by her boss...as well as a White House inner circle that has strong ties to him."
The New York Times reports Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the new US commander in Afghanistan, said US Marines "had faced less resistance than expected in their operation to clear Taliban safe havens in the south, but that British troops just to the north were running into fiercer fighting than anticipated." McChrystal said he was "surprised by the resilience of pockets of Pashtun militants in western and northern Afghanistan."
ABC World News interviewed McChrystal, and asked him why Helmand Province has turned into "the most dangerous spot in Afghanistan right now." McChrystal said, "You have a combination of factors. There's the original home of the Taliban. There's the narcotics production, which pumps a lot of money into that and breeds corruption, and then there's the fact there's proximity to Pakistan, where a tremendous number of the leaders and whatnot can seek safe haven." The AP reports July "is shaping up as the deadliest month of the Afghan war for US-led international forces, with the number killed already matching the highest full-month toll of the nearly eight-year conflict."
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The Chicago Tribune reports Rep. Mark Kirk (R) will announce his "long-expected" entry into the Illinois Senate race on Monday. Although "some conservatives have criticized Kirk for being one of a handful of House Republicans who voted for Obama's cap-and-trade legislation on carbon emissions, Republicans nationally still see Kirk as their best bet." The AP adds that Kirk "was heavily recruited by national Republicans who see his ability to win votes in a Democratic district as their best chance of unlocking Obama's old seat."
The AP reports that New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D) brought in $1.5 million in the 2nd quarter and has $3.2 million in cash to fend off a primary challenger from Rep. Carolyn Maloney, who raised $577k and has $1.7 million in the bank. The Hill says that Gillibrand's 2-1 cash advantage "isn't as big as most incumbents' at this juncture but is still significant." The "real question" says the Politico, is "how much Maloney will raise in the third quarter, which will include next week's fundraiser with former President Clinton." Despite the fundraising numbers, the New York Daily News reports "Team Maloney insisted there's growing buzz surrounding her candidacy."
The Politico reports Mike Huckabee late Tuesday "credited" Gov. Sarah Palin "for showing her 'serious side' by penning an op-ed for The Washington Post. 'Clearly, the op-ed that she did for The Washington Post, I think, outlines a very important piece of policy that America ought to be talking about,' Huckabee said during an interview with Fox News' Greta Van Susteren." CNN adds that, in another interview, Huckabee said he was "concerned about speculation" Palin "may leave the GOP to become an independent. 'I hope she remains -- let me be real clear -- a part of the Republican Party,' Huckabee" said, adding, "I'm a little concerned when I hear her say that she may sort of branch out and go third party or go independent. That would be a big mistake because we need to rebuild the Republican Party, not abandon it."
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Conan O'Brien: Sonia Sotomayor "said that she felt out of place attending Princeton. ... Sotomayor says there were so many white males in Princeton, she felt like she was testifying in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee."
Conan O'Brien: Gov. Mark Sanford "has cleared his schedule this week to take personal trip with his wife. ... Sanford said he wanted to go somewhere exotic and romantic, but he's going to get this trip with his wife out of the way first."
Conan O'Brien: "A radical Islamic group is holding a rally in Chicago to try to replace the current world order with a global Islamic government. ... They said they chose Chicago because it's the only place you can fill a stadium with fanatics devoted to a lost cause."
David Letterman: "How about that Harry Potter movie? Opened today as a matter of fact. ... In this one, Harry goes up against Dick Cheney and his secret CIA hit squad."
Craig Ferguson: "President Obama recently said SpongeBob is his favorite cartoon. He loves to watch that silly little guy run around and say crazy stuff, annoying everyone. Reminds him of Joe Biden."
Jimmy Fallon: "Bill Clinton revealed that he now supports same sex marriage, even though he opposed it during his presidency. To be fair, during his presidency, he also opposed his own marriage."
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