William Saletan, Slate
The National Security Agency has been compiling a database of everyone's phone records. But don't worry. According to the Obama administration, it's just "metadata." "The information acquired does not include the content of any communications," says White House spokesman Josh Earnest. Analysts can only search "phone numbers and durations of calls," says President Obama. "They're not looking at content." James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, likens it to reading the Dewey Decimal...
Obama Confronts Xi On Hacking Attacks
On June - 8 - 2013 ADD COMMENTS
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. -- President Barack Obama's national security adviser says the president described for China's leader the types of problems the U.S. has faced from cyber intrusions and theft of intellectual property.
White House national security adviser Tom Donilon gave no specifics but says Obama also underscored for Chinese President Xi Jinping (shee jihn-peeng) that the U.S. has no doubt that the intrusions are coming from inside China.
Donilon says Obama requested that the Chinese government "engage" on the issue and also understand that that type of activity is inconsistent with the kind of relationship U.S. desires to build with China.
Donilon addressed reporters Saturday after Obama and Xi concluded two days of meetings at a resort in Rancho Mirage, Calif.
The Political Ground Is Shifting Under the President
On May - 27 - 2013 ADD COMMENTS
Scott Rasmussen
Despite a tough couple of weeks, President Obama's job approval ratings are holding up fairly well. As I write this, 47 percent of voters nationwide offer their approval. That's little changed from attitudes of late and essentially the same as the president enjoyed during most of his first term in office.But if you dig just a bit beneath the surface, it becomes clear that the controversies dogging the White House have had an impact.
Despite a tough couple of weeks, President Obama's job approval ratings are holding up fairly well. As I write this, 47 percent of voters nationwide offer their approval. That's little changed from attitudes of late and essentially the same as the president enjoyed during most of his first term in office.But if you dig just a bit beneath the surface, it becomes clear that the controversies dogging the White House have had an impact.
On IRS Targeting, White House Adds to Confusion
On May - 22 - 2013 ADD COMMENTS
Dan Balz, Wash Post
It is never good for an administration when a front-page newspaper article about an ongoing controversy begins as follows: "The White House offered a new account Monday of how and when it learned ."‰."‰. " That's what readers of The Post awoke to on Tuesday. In trying to contain the controversy and protect President Obama, White House officials have only added to questions about what happened.
It is never good for an administration when a front-page newspaper article about an ongoing controversy begins as follows: "The White House offered a new account Monday of how and when it learned ."‰."‰. " That's what readers of The Post awoke to on Tuesday. In trying to contain the controversy and protect President Obama, White House officials have only added to questions about what happened.
White House Did Not Tell the Truth About Benghazi
On May - 20 - 2013 ADD COMMENTS
Bob Woodward, MTP
DAVID GREGORY: Bob Woodward, you're no stranger to these kinds of controversies in Washington. How has the administration handled this, this past week?BOB WOODWARD: Well, first of all, I mean people are making comparisons to Watergate. This is not Watergate. But there are some people in the administration who have acted as if they want to be Nixonian. And that's a very big problem. I think--
DAVID GREGORY: Bob Woodward, you're no stranger to these kinds of controversies in Washington. How has the administration handled this, this past week?BOB WOODWARD: Well, first of all, I mean people are making comparisons to Watergate. This is not Watergate. But there are some people in the administration who have acted as if they want to be Nixonian. And that's a very big problem. I think--
White House Ensures Its Troubles Continue
On May - 17 - 2013 ADD COMMENTS
Ed Rogers, Washington Post
The president's press secretary, Jay Carney, could be facing his most challenging days since joining the White House staff "” and that's saying something.
The president's press secretary, Jay Carney, could be facing his most challenging days since joining the White House staff "” and that's saying something.
The Real Benghazi Scandal
On May - 16 - 2013 ADD COMMENTS
Ronan Farrow, The Atlantic
In a tense press briefing in the White House East Room on Monday, President Obama cleared his throat before addressing the subject on everyone's mind: last fall's attack on an American facility in Benghazi, Libya. Obama led with the basics: "Americans died in Benghazi.... Clearly, they were not in a position where they were adequately protected."Questioning how to change that truth is worth America's time.
In a tense press briefing in the White House East Room on Monday, President Obama cleared his throat before addressing the subject on everyone's mind: last fall's attack on an American facility in Benghazi, Libya. Obama led with the basics: "Americans died in Benghazi.... Clearly, they were not in a position where they were adequately protected."Questioning how to change that truth is worth America's time.
GOP Delay On Obama Picks Raise Tension
On May - 12 - 2013 ADD COMMENTS
President Obama’s latest cabinet-level nominees are running into deep resistance in the Senate, pitching Democrats and Republicans into another tense standoff over White House appointments.
The White House’s Crumbling Credibility
On May - 11 - 2013 ADD COMMENTS
Alex Koppelman, New Yorker
This White House Keeps on Digging
On May - 11 - 2013 ADD COMMENTS
Stephen Hayes, Weekly Standard
The Degraded Correspondents’ Dinner
On May - 2 - 2013 ADD COMMENTS
Robert Merry, National Interest
On the list of the many factors contributing to official Washington’s dysfunction these days, no one would put the degradation of the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner near the top. But, as a reflection of what’s wrong with Washington, it deserves serious attention. I speak as a journalist who attended his first White House Correspondents' Dinner in 1975. That’s thirty-eight years ago, but who’s counting? Neither am I counting how many I’ve attended, but I think it’s probably thirty-four.
On the list of the many factors contributing to official Washington’s dysfunction these days, no one would put the degradation of the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner near the top. But, as a reflection of what’s wrong with Washington, it deserves serious attention. I speak as a journalist who attended his first White House Correspondents' Dinner in 1975. That’s thirty-eight years ago, but who’s counting? Neither am I counting how many I’ve attended, but I think it’s probably thirty-four.
Barack Obama: For people with insurance, the only impact of the health care law "is that their insurance is stronger, better and more secure than it was before. Full stop. That's it. They don't have to worry about anything else."
On May - 2 - 2013 ADD COMMENTS
The Truth-o-Meter says: Half-True | Obama says people with health insurance ‘don’t have to worry’ about Obamacare rollout
Most Americans don’t need to worry about Obamacare "glitches and bumps" that may come next year, President Barack Obama says. All the parts of the health care law that affect them are already in place, and it’s all been good, he told reporters at a White House news conference on April 30, 2013. "For the average American out there, for the 85 to 90 percent of Americans who already have health insurance, this thing has already happened," he said. "And their only impact is that their insurance is stronger, better and more secure than it was ...
>> MoreBush’s Record Looks Worse and Worse
On April - 26 - 2013 ADD COMMENTS
Eugene Robinson, Washington Post
WASHINGTON -- In retrospect, George W. Bush's legacy doesn't look as bad as it did when he left office. It looks worse.I join the nation in congratulating Bush on the opening of his presidential library in Dallas. Like many people, I find it much easier to honor, respect and even like the man -- now that he's no longer in the White House.But anyone tempted to get sentimental should remember the actual record of the man who called himself The Decider. Begin with the indelible stain that one of his worst decisions left on our country's honor: torture.
WASHINGTON -- In retrospect, George W. Bush's legacy doesn't look as bad as it did when he left office. It looks worse.I join the nation in congratulating Bush on the opening of his presidential library in Dallas. Like many people, I find it much easier to honor, respect and even like the man -- now that he's no longer in the White House.But anyone tempted to get sentimental should remember the actual record of the man who called himself The Decider. Begin with the indelible stain that one of his worst decisions left on our country's honor: torture.
Obama Wants Immigration Reform to Fail
On April - 25 - 2013 ADD COMMENTS
Sen. Ted Cruz, CBS News
"President Obama does not want an immigration bill to pass," Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) told CBS News' Jan Crawford in an interview that aired on Wednesday. "I think that the president wants to campaign on immigration reform in 2014 and 2016. And I think the reason that the White House is insisting on a path to citizenship for those who are here illegally is because the White House knows that insisting on that is very likely to scuttle the bill."
"President Obama does not want an immigration bill to pass," Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) told CBS News' Jan Crawford in an interview that aired on Wednesday. "I think that the president wants to campaign on immigration reform in 2014 and 2016. And I think the reason that the White House is insisting on a path to citizenship for those who are here illegally is because the White House knows that insisting on that is very likely to scuttle the bill."
Don’t Mess With Muni Bonds
On March - 27 - 2013 ADD COMMENTS
Tom Cochran, RealClearPolitics
Anytime you drive down a highway, drop a child off at school or jump on a train, the last thing on your mind are tax-exempt municipal bonds, which help to pay for highways, schools and transit.You need to think about them now.Congress and the White House have targeted the tax-exempt status of these bonds as a way to raise revenue. Mayors and local elected officials, however, know that would be a penny-wise, pound-foolish decision.
Anytime you drive down a highway, drop a child off at school or jump on a train, the last thing on your mind are tax-exempt municipal bonds, which help to pay for highways, schools and transit.You need to think about them now.Congress and the White House have targeted the tax-exempt status of these bonds as a way to raise revenue. Mayors and local elected officials, however, know that would be a penny-wise, pound-foolish decision.
The Early Line on the 2014 Midterms
On March - 18 - 2013 ADD COMMENTS
Sabato & Kondik, Wall Street Journal
President Obama's greatest setback to date has been the 2010 midterm elections. Gains that Republicans scored in the House and Senate still circumscribe his agenda. It is no surprise, then, that the Obama White House wants to achieve something no other president has ever done: Retake full control of Congress in a midterm.
President Obama's greatest setback to date has been the 2010 midterm elections. Gains that Republicans scored in the House and Senate still circumscribe his agenda. It is no surprise, then, that the Obama White House wants to achieve something no other president has ever done: Retake full control of Congress in a midterm.
Republicans Release Video Promoting Capitol Tours
On March - 12 - 2013 ADD COMMENTS
BY JIM ABRAMS, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
House Republicans have put out a video to remind visitors that while they may be locked out of the Obama White House because of budget cuts, the doors to the Capitol are still open for tours.
The un-narrated 90-second video posted on YouTube is the latest effort by Republicans to needle the White House for stopping all public tours of that building because of the government-wide automatic spending cuts that went into effect at the beginning of the month.
The new video, headlined "Welcome to the United States Capitol," shows the Rotunda, Statuary Hall and other sites along the tour route through the Capitol, and ends with the line "this is your House. Tour it."
Obama Flails as GOP Stands Firm on Cuts
On March - 10 - 2013 ADD COMMENTS
Michael Barone, DC Examiner
They're flailing. That's the impression I get from watching Barack Obama and his White House over the past week.Things haven't gone as they expected. The House Republicans were supposed to cave in on the sequester, as they did on the fiscal cliff at the beginning of the year.They would be so desperate to avoid the sequester's mandatory defense cuts, the theory went, that they would agree to higher taxes (through closing loopholes) on high earners.But the Republicans didn't deal. They decided to take the sequester cuts and make them the basis for a continuing...
They're flailing. That's the impression I get from watching Barack Obama and his White House over the past week.Things haven't gone as they expected. The House Republicans were supposed to cave in on the sequester, as they did on the fiscal cliff at the beginning of the year.They would be so desperate to avoid the sequester's mandatory defense cuts, the theory went, that they would agree to higher taxes (through closing loopholes) on high earners.But the Republicans didn't deal. They decided to take the sequester cuts and make them the basis for a continuing...
Woodward vs. White House: D.C. at Its Weirdest
On March - 1 - 2013 ADD COMMENTS
Paul Farhi, Wash Post
Only in Washington does a tempest turn on the meaning of the word “regret.” Only in Washington does the back-and-forth between a legendary journalist and a White House wonk turn into an epic talking-head fest and trending Twitter topic.
Only in Washington does a tempest turn on the meaning of the word “regret.” Only in Washington does the back-and-forth between a legendary journalist and a White House wonk turn into an epic talking-head fest and trending Twitter topic.
The Obama White House Is Full of Itself
On March - 1 - 2013 ADD COMMENTS
Peggy Noonan, Wall St. Journal
Everyone has been wondering how the public will react when the sequester kicks in. The American people are in the position of hostages who'll have to decide who the hostage-taker is. People will get mad at either the president or the Republicans in Congress. That anger will force one side to rethink or back down. Or maybe the public will get mad at both.
Everyone has been wondering how the public will react when the sequester kicks in. The American people are in the position of hostages who'll have to decide who the hostage-taker is. People will get mad at either the president or the Republicans in Congress. That anger will force one side to rethink or back down. Or maybe the public will get mad at both.
White House Still Won’t Share Drone Memos
On February - 21 - 2013 ADD COMMENTS
WASHINGTON -- The White House is refusing to share fully with Congress the legal opinions that justify targeted killings, while maneuvering to make sure its stance does not do anything to endanger the confirmation of John O. Brennan as C.I.A. director.
