Media reports cast the controversy regarding President Obama's comments Wednesday evening on the arrest of Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates as a public relations problem for the White House. The story led all three network newscasts Thursday evening. Some reports say the controversy is overshadowing other news -- thereby undercutting the White House's message push for healthcare reform.
ABC World News reported the President again commented on the matter in an interview Thursday, telling ABC's Terry Moran, "I think that it doesn't make sense, with all the problems that we have out there, to arrest a guy in his own home if he's not causing a serious disturbance. What I can tell, the sergeant who was involved is an outstanding police officer, but my suspicion is that it would have been better if cooler heads prevailed."
The CBS Evening News said Obama "has placed himself right into the middle of a very controversial case." CBS added that arresting officer Sgt. James Crowley "pushed back against the President's comments." Crowley: "I support the President of the United States 110 percent, but I think he's way off base wading into a local issue without knowing all the facts." NBC Nightly News reports Obama's "choice of words has ignited a strong emotional response," and "colleagues say Crowley is an expert who teaches cadets how to avoid racial profiling." NBC's Chuck Todd said, "Privately, you talk to some aides and they do wish the word 'stupidity' could be taken back. But the President...seemed to stand by his critique."
The AP reports Obama said he was "surprised by all the hubbub over his comments." The President "didn't take back his words, but he allowed that he understood the sergeant who made the arrest is an 'outstanding police officer.'" The Los Angeles Times says that by "inserting himself" into the case, Obama "made the most overt step of his tenure into the nation's racial politics." The Christian Science Monitor says, "Usually, when a careful politician is asked about a situation in which he does not know all the facts, he plays it safe with a simple 'no comment.'" Obama "took a different path Wednesday night."
The Hill reports Obama's "effort to regain lost momentum on healthcare reform collapsed when he instigated a public-relations nightmare by wading into a local law enforcement incident." The Financial Times also says Obama "issued his strongest comments on race since becoming US president" in "remarks that overshadowed his push to win support for healthcare reform."
The Boston Globe reports Cambridge Police Commissioner Robert Haas "defended the actions" of Sgt. Crowley on Thursday, "saying he believed the sergeant acted 'consistent with his training' and without racial bias." For his part, Crowley told Boston radio station WEEI, "I know what I did was right. I don't have anything to apologize for." The Hill reports Obama's remark "has drawn a rebuke from the Fraternal Order of Police."
Media reports last night and this morning continued to pain a grim picture of President Obama's push for an overhaul of the US healthcare system. The Wall Street Journal reports that "the Senate's top Democrat on Thursday conceded that the chamber won't pass a health overhaul by August, giving the White House another setback as it presses its ambitious health agenda." The CBS Evening News said that Obama "finally conceded that Congress won't meet his demand of passing healthcare reform bills before the August recess." The Los Angeles Times similarly reports that President said that "he can live with a new timeline as long as it doesn't mean that work on Capitol Hill skids to a halt."
Stories on the President's remarks on healthcare, during a visit to Shaker, OH, tend to cast his criticism of Republicans for stalling his reform plans (an issue he also raised during his Wednesday night press conference) as inaccurate. Instead, media analysts generally agree that it is Obama's fellow Democrats who are slowing Obama's healthcare reform timetable. The AP, for example, says Obama "took a few swipes at Republican critics. But his biggest obstacles are fellow Democrats who control the House and Senate and are moving slowly on his call for widespread changes to US health care."
The Washington Post says Reid's announcement "highlighted internal Democratic divisions on the legislation and is likely to result in significant changes to the shape of the final bill."
The New York Times reports that "many House Democrats are wary of casting a potentially career-defining vote to raise taxes to pay for expanded health coverage unless Democratic senators are also on board for a tax increase." The Washington Times portrays the situation in more negative terms for the White House, reporting, "Senate Democrats defied...Obama on Thursday by scuttling plans to vote on health care reform by August."
Obama Criticizes Media Coverage Of Healthcare Debate The Chicago Tribune reports President Barack Obama "turned a $2 million evening of Democratic fundraising into a pep rally for his health-care reform push Thursday, telling donors in his home city that he's not going to wither under opposition." The Washington Post notes that Obama "complained about what he called the media's 'lack of sustained focus on the facts' concerning health care. 'That makes it very difficult,' he said." In a story headlined "Obama Raises Millions For Democrats," the AP notes Obama said "the nation must not return to a pattern of cutting taxes for the wealthy and letting the deficit soar, 'a path where our health care costs keep rising' and 'our financial markets remain an unregulated crapshoot.'"
Obama's Press Conference Performance Comes Under Fire With media accounts offering gloomy forecasts for Obama's healthcare plans, his performance Wednesday night is also coming under some criticism. The Politico says that Obama "came alive about 50 minutes into Wednesday night's news conference -- when somebody finally changed the subject" to race. In an editorial, the Financial Times calls Obama's television performance regarding healthcare reform "uninspiring." On its front page, the New York Times runs a story titled "For Public, Obama Didn't Fill In Blanks On Health Care."
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The Politico reports a "big chunk of the House climate change bill is in the hands of Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer -- and some of its supporters are worried that she's not up to the task." Senate aides privately "say that Boxer's abrasive personal style helped tank" the climate bill sponsored by Sen. Joseph Lieberman and then-Sen. John Warner last year, "and several recent embarrassing episodes involving the California Democrat have them worried about a repeat performance."
In an analysis, the AP says President Obama, "at a critical moment in his presidency," finds "increasing need to talk about taming federal deficits as he struggles with a dour economy." Americans "are losing confidence in Obama's ability to lead an economic recovery." An Associated Press-GfK poll "shows public confidence has reversed on whether the president's $787 billion stimulus package" will "ultimately work to improve the economy. In January, 58 percent were confident it would. Now, it's the opposite, with 58 percent saying they doubt the stimulus will bring any significant improvement."
The AP runs the story on what was otherwise a good news day for the economy. ABC World News reported sales "of existing homes, a key economic indicator, were up 3.6 percent in June, and that's the third straight monthly increase." The AP says the "housing market is finally on the mend after its most far-reaching collapse in 70 years."
The positive news from the housing markets helped fuel a rally on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed over 9,000. NBC Nightly News reported, "The Dow was up 188 points, closing above the 9,000 mark for the first time since the month of January." The AP noted while the S&P 500 "rose 22.22, or 2.3 percent, to 976.29" and the Nasdaq "rose 47.22, or 2.5 percent, to 1,973.60."
States' Business Climates Ranked NBC Nightly News reported on a "new list of the states in the US where businesses are right now surviving and some thriving." The "annual CNBC study ranks all 50 states in 10 categories, including the quality of their work force, their infrastructure, the cost of doing business there." Virginia was the top-ranked state, followed by Texas, Colorado, Iowa, and Utah. Alaska finished last, with Hawaii, Rhode Island, Nevada, and West Virginia also at the bottom of the list.
States Running Short On Unemployment Funds On its front page, the New York Times reports, "Years of state and federal neglect have hobbled the nation's unemployment system just as a brutal recession has doubled the number of jobless Americans seeking aid. ... Sixteen states, with exhausted funds, are now paying benefits with borrowed cash, and their number could double by the year's end." The Wall Street Journal reports that while the "number of workers on jobless rolls is declining in an encouraging sign" for the economy, "the decrease partly reflects people exhausting their state benefits."
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The FBI arrests of 44 suspects including prominent politicians and five rabbis on corruption and money laundering charges in New Jersey is generating widespread coverage in all forms of media, including stories on all three network broadcasts last night, reports throughout the day and evening on CNN, Fox News and MSNBC, and prominent articles by major newspapers and wire services this morning. ABC World News reported, "Federal agents fanned out in massive raids, rounding up mayors, assemblyman, other public officials, even rabbis. The sweeping arrests cap a two-year investigation with allegations that are stunning, even by New Jersey standards." The CBS Evening News called it "a major corruption case" and notes that "the allegations include everything from bribery to selling organs." CBS added, "There were so many suspects, FBI agents needed a bus." NBC Nightly News characterized the operation as "a huge roundup" and notes that the arrests include "three city mayors and two state legislators."
The AP says that "even for a state with a rich history of graft, the scale of wrongdoing alleged was breathtaking." USA Today reports that New Jersey residents "were torn between shock and resignation" and notes that the "operation was essentially two investigations, one of money laundering, the other of political corruption," which "were linked by the same 'cooperating witness.'"
The Newark Star-Ledger adds that Chris Christie (R), "the former U.S. Attorney who launched the federal investigation more than two years ago" held a press conference and "called for the resignation all public officials involved in the sweeping investigation." Christie's role may draw additional attention, as he is the leading challenger to Gov. Jon Corzine (D) in this year's gubernatorial race.
The Hill reports this morning that New York state Sen. Darrel Aubertine (D) announced yesterday he would not enter the NY23 special election, "leaving Democrats without their leading potential recruit in a big special election." Roll Call says Aubertine's "decision greatly enhances the Republicans' chances of holding the upstate seat in a special election," as "Democrats must now scramble to find a strong candidate to square off against" Dede Scozzafava (R), who is "a proven vote-getter." The "Democrats may turn to former U.S. Attorney Daniel French, lawyer Brian McGrath, who has pledged to spend some of his own money on the race, or lawyer Michael Oot, their nominee in 2008." Similarly, The Politico calls Aubertine's decision "a blow to Democrats," saying, "Because of his conservative views on social issues, he had cross-over appeal in a state legislative district that was solidly Republican."
A new poll from Quinnipiac University (7/23) shows former Rep. Rob Simmons (R) widening his lead over Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd (D). Simmons now leads 48 percent to 39 percent, up from a 45 percent to 39 percent lead in a late May poll. Simmons leads 56 percent to 27 percent among independent voters. In the GOP primary, Simmons pulls 42 percent, while none of the other Republicans tops 5 percent. Dodd's approval did improve to 42 percent in the current poll from 38 percent in May and 33 percent in April. The poll surveyed 1,499 registered Connecticut voters from July 16-20.
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Conan O'Brien: "Political experts are now saying that President Obama is giving so many interviews and appearing on so many television shows that he's starting to dilute his own message...which I think is unfair because I thought Obama was pretty convincing last night on 'Ice Road Truckers.'"
David Letterman: On Sunday, Sarah Palin is "leaving office, and she will officially hand over her sash and her crown to her successor."
David Letterman: President Obama's health plan "will cost a trillion dollars...but that will be in three easy payments of $330 billion a month, so it's not that bad."
Jimmy Fallon: President Obama said "if a patient is choosing between a red pill and a blue pill that both work, go with the cheaper pill. Obama got that advice from his new surgeon general, Keanu Reeves."
Jimmy Fallon: "Ford announced they made a profit $2.3 billion over the last three months. I think it's because people responded to their new slogan, 'Ford: We're Not General Motors.'"
Jimmy Kimmel: "You've got to love North Korea. They're a great villain. They say crazy things, their leader looks like Ethel Merman, all their missiles are named 'Dong,' they're the best."
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