Obama administration

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Official Portrait of Michelle: Gun Show

First Lady's first formal photo highlights famous arms

(Newser) - The White House released the first official portrait of Michelle Obama today, People reports, and it calls attention to her most famous accessory. No, not the Kennedy-esque double strand of pearls—her rock-solid arms. In the photo, snapped in the Blue Room, the first lady also sports a sleek black...

Marri Faces Charges of Aiding Al-Qaeda

Indictment unsealed; transfer of 'combatant' to civilian court begins

(Newser) - The charges against Ali al-Marri include conspiracy and material support for terrorism, according to a federal indictment unsealed today. The only alleged enemy combatant held on US soil is incarcerated in a naval brig in South Carolina, where he has been held for over 5 years without being charged, and...

Vetting Process Leaves Agencies Understaffed

Stimulus increases workload, but senior posts vacant

(Newser) - President Obama’s nominee vetting process is making it hard for federal agencies to get to work on new projects, the Boston Globe reports. Of about 500 senior positions, only 70 have been filled. Normally that wouldn’t be a problem, but the passage of the stimulus package “may...

Unemployed Furious at Contrarian Govs

Constituents fear losing out on stimulus dollars over politics

(Newser) - Opposing the stimulus’ expansion of unemployment benefits may be good PR, but there’s one constituency it’s not playing well with: unemployed people. “It just seems unreasonable,” one jobless Texan tells the New York Times, “that when people probably need the help the most, that because...

'Radical' Budget Aims to Shrink Income Gap
'Radical' Budget Aims to Shrink Income Gap
ANALYSIS
Feb 27, 2009 11:35 AM CST

'Radical' Budget Aims to Shrink Income Gap

Overhauling tax code, Obama's plans would reverse 30-year trend

(Newser) - Barack Obama's first budget is, above all, an attempt to shrink the gap between rich and poor that has grown rapidly for 30 years, writes David Leonhardt of the New York Times. The "bold, even radical" budget hikes taxes on the rich while dropping them to their lowest point...

Noonan: OK, Now He's President
Noonan: OK,
Now He's President
OPINION
Feb 27, 2009 10:41 AM CST

Noonan: OK, Now He's President

President showed "Someone is in the kitchen"

(Newser) - Presidents don’t become presidential when they’re inaugurated, writes Peggy Noonan in the Wall Street Journal. “Every president has a moment when suddenly he becomes what he meant to be.” For Barack Obama, that moment came during his speech on Tuesday. “He put on the cloak,...

Dems Balk at Obama Tax on Rich

Increased burden on high-tax states to fund health reform, claims admin

(Newser) - President Obama is about to get into his first tax battle and, surprisingly, it might be with Democrats. Politico reports that Obama’s proposal to limit the federal tax deduction of state and local taxes for the wealthy is running into opposition from officials from high-tax, largely Democratic states. Obama’...

US Will Charge 'Combatant' in Military Custody

In policy shift, he will get civilian trial, not military tribunal

(Newser) - Ali al Marri, the only alleged enemy combatant held on US soil, will be charged by the Justice Department, possibly for supplying material support to terrorism, ABC News reports. The move to a civilian criminal trial is an about-face from the policies of the Bush administration, which had insisted on...

Pentagon Lifts Coffin Media Ban
 Pentagon Lifts Coffin Media Ban 
Feb 26, 2009 1:39 PM CST

Pentagon Lifts Coffin Media Ban

(Newser) - The Pentagon has lifted the media ban at Dover (Del.) Air Force Base and will allow photos of the coffins of US war casualties returning from overseas—provided the service members' families approve. Under the new rules, the families can withhold permission, CNN reports. Some relatives had lobbied against...

Afghanistan Demands Broader Strategy: Kissinger

Diffuse country calls for localized military approach

(Newser) - The US can no longer afford to follow “traditional anti-insurgency tactics” in such a large, ethnically diverse, and “forbidding territory” as Afghanistan, Henry Kissinger writes in the Washington Post. Instead of focusing on a stronger centralized government, he urges a “coherent” strategy that supports “local and...

Obama Unveils Budget, Slams 'Dishonest Accounting'

(Newser) - Barack Obama rolled out his ambitious 2010 budget proposal today, promising a break from the “dishonest accounting” of the past. “For too long, our budget has not told the whole truth,” the president said. “Large sums have been left off the books, including the true cost...

Lobbyists Open War Chests to Battle Obama

(Newser) - In his address to Congress, President Obama made it clear certain industries are in his crosshairs, from agribusiness to defense to health care. But those industries aren’t taking it lying down, the Wall Street Journal reports. They’re spending big on lobbyists, hoping to derail—or at least reshape—...

Two-Thirds of Americans Back Afghanistan Surge

Two-thirds of Americans support Afghanistan 'surge'

(Newser) - The 17,000 additional troops President Obama plans to send to Afghanistan will ship out with the support of two-thirds of Americans, a contrast to the public’s poor reception of George W. Bush’s Iraq surge, the Washington Post reports. Polls also show Obama’s troop increase has widespread...

Obama Budget Taxes Wealthy to Expand Health Care

Projects deficit will soar to $1.75T

(Newser) - President Obama's budget plan, which he delivers to Congress today, attempts to balance a broad spending program with a commitment to slash the deficit in half by the end of his first term. It calls for tax increases on the wealthy and spending cuts to fund a "down payment"...

And the Winner Is ... Portuguese Water Dog

(Newser) - After a wait that felt almost as long as the presidential campaign, the Obamas have decided to adopt a Portuguese water dog, People reports. Her daughters can hardly wait, Michelle Obama said. “So Sasha says, 'April 1st.' I said, 'April.' She says, 'April 1st.' It's, like,...

Congress Debates Easing Cuba Travel Restrictions

(Newser) - A bill pending in the US House includes a provision relaxing travel restrictions on Cuban-Americans who wish to visit Cuba by slicing out funding for enforcement of a 2004 law, the Miami Herald reports. The bill, which will likely see a vote today, allows annual visits rather than one every...

Obama Goes on the Liberal Defensive
Obama Goes on the
Liberal Defensive
ANALYSIS
Feb 25, 2009 9:06 AM CST

Obama Goes on the Liberal Defensive

President stressed facing problems head-on

(Newser) - In his speech last night, President Obama outlined an expansive liberal agenda, write John F. Harris and Jonathan Martin in Politico, but packaged it in conservative language, stressing caution and prudence. As if to preempt critics—in what they call a "pre-buttal"—the president invoked “responsibility” 14...

Obama Finds His Inner Roosevelt
 Obama Finds 
 His Inner 
 Roosevelt 
ANALYSIS
Feb 25, 2009 7:23 AM CST

Obama Finds His Inner Roosevelt

President stakes his legacy on ending economic crisis

(Newser) - Barack Obama's address to Congress last night “staked his presidency on bringing the nation out of its economic crisis,” writes Steven Pearlstein in the Washington Post. Not since FDR have citizens been so desperate for economic leadership, and yesterday's speech made clear that Obama plans to reshape American...

15 Things We Learned About Obama Last Night

President reminds us of his gifts and plans

(Newser) - So what did last night teach us about our president? Mark Halperin runs down the list in his Time blog The Page:
  • He's optimistic and realistic, and unafraid to be both at the same time.
  • He's unafraid to use his wife as a political asset.
  • He likes Joe Biden, really,
...

8th-Grader's Letter Inspired Obama Speech

South Carolina teen becomes face of stimulus with plea for education funding

(Newser) - South Carolina eighth-grader Ty'Sheoma Bethea became the symbol of the stimulus package in President Obama's speech to Congress last night, WSAV reports. The president has repeatedly referred to Bethea's dilapidated school in his calls for spending on education infrastructure, and during his speech he quoted from a...

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