Peter Bell, National Jrnl
Question? Call us at 800-207-8001 | Sign In | Learn About MembershipRepublicans have never been more confident that President Obama will lose re-election, according to the latest National Journal Insiders Poll, but Democratic conviction their party's leader will earn a second term still hasn't wavered. On average, GOP insiders polled by National Journal gave Obama slightly less than even odds he'll occupy the White House another four years. The 4.6 average score - based on a 1 (no chance at re-election) to 10 (virtual certainty) scale -- was a precipitous drop since the last...
Mitt Romney: "Women in Barack Obama's White House are earning less than men."
On October - 29 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
The Truth-o-Meter says: Half-True | Mitt Romney says women White House employees earn less than men under Barack Obama
As part of his campaign to court women voters, President Barack Obama has repeatedly noted that one of his first acts in office was his signing of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which makes it easier for workers who claim pay discrimination to sue for relief. But Mitt Romney’s campaign is using a clever counter-attack -- charging that Obama’s own White House pays female employees less than male employees. "Under President Barack Obama, women are lagging behind," says a mailer distributed to homes in northern Virginia, a key battleground in a ...
>> MoreObama’s Challenge: Not-So-Optimistic Voters
On October - 18 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Joan Vennochi, BostonGlobe
Barack Obama won the hope vote in 2008. Now, to keep the White House, President Obama needs to win back the disappointed.Michael Jones is one of them. Jones, one of the questioners during Tuesday night's debate, wanted to know what the president has done to earn his support in 2012. This time around, "I'm not that optimistic," said Jones.
Barack Obama won the hope vote in 2008. Now, to keep the White House, President Obama needs to win back the disappointed.Michael Jones is one of them. Jones, one of the questioners during Tuesday night's debate, wanted to know what the president has done to earn his support in 2012. This time around, "I'm not that optimistic," said Jones.
Lobbyists Ready for a Comeback Under Romney
On October - 16 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Anna Palmer, Politico
President Barack Obama’s gone further than any president to keep lobbyists out of the White House — even signing executive orders to do it.But the mood on K Street is brightening.
President Barack Obama’s gone further than any president to keep lobbyists out of the White House — even signing executive orders to do it.But the mood on K Street is brightening.
Actually, Obama’s WH Is Stocked With Lobbyists
On October - 16 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Tim Carney, Examiner
If Romney wins, will lobbyists defile the White House that Obama has kept so clean and so pure? That’s what Politico suggests with this piece today headlined “Lobbyists ready for a comeback under Romney.” President Barack Obama’s gone further than any president to keep lobbyists out of the White House — even signing executive orders to do it.
If Romney wins, will lobbyists defile the White House that Obama has kept so clean and so pure? That’s what Politico suggests with this piece today headlined “Lobbyists ready for a comeback under Romney.” President Barack Obama’s gone further than any president to keep lobbyists out of the White House — even signing executive orders to do it.
White House Defends Biden on Libya
On October - 12 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
David Jackson, USA Today
1:24PM EDT October 12. 2012 - The White House is defending Vice President Biden over his debate statement that "we weren't told" about requests for more security at a U.S. consulate in Libya before the Sept. 11 attack that killed ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others.White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Biden was referring to President Obama, the White House, and himself, as opposed to the State Department and other parts of the government.
1:24PM EDT October 12. 2012 - The White House is defending Vice President Biden over his debate statement that "we weren't told" about requests for more security at a U.S. consulate in Libya before the Sept. 11 attack that killed ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others.White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Biden was referring to President Obama, the White House, and himself, as opposed to the State Department and other parts of the government.
Is the White House Lying About Libya?
On September - 21 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Larry Kudlow, CNBC
Larry Kudlow is hearing from his beltway sources that the President may have put politics ahead of national security in the wake of the Libya attacks that killed four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens. Kudlow, Rep. Peter King (R-NY) and other skeptics charge the administration deceived the nation when it said the attacks had not been planned in advance.
Larry Kudlow is hearing from his beltway sources that the President may have put politics ahead of national security in the wake of the Libya attacks that killed four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens. Kudlow, Rep. Peter King (R-NY) and other skeptics charge the administration deceived the nation when it said the attacks had not been planned in advance.
How Obama Lost Control Over Congress Over Debt Talks
On September - 8 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
President Obama summoned the top four congressional leaders to the White House on Saturday morning, July 23, 2011. The night before, House Speaker John A. Boehner had withdrawn from negotiations to raise the $14 trillion federal debt limit and save the government from a catastrophic default. “Nobody wanted to be there,” Boehner later recalled. “The president’s still pissed.”
How Obama Has Gutted Welfare Reform
On September - 8 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Robert Rector, Washington Post
To hear Bill Clinton tell it, there’s no truth to the charges that President Obama gutted welfare reform. The White House, fact-checkers and some journalists have said the same, playing down Obama’s decision to exempt states from the law’s work requirements.Working closely with members of Congress, I helped draft the work requirements in the 1996 law, and I raised the alarm on July 12, when the Obama administration issued a bureaucratic order allowing states to waive those requirements. The law has indeed been gutted. Here’s how:
To hear Bill Clinton tell it, there’s no truth to the charges that President Obama gutted welfare reform. The White House, fact-checkers and some journalists have said the same, playing down Obama’s decision to exempt states from the law’s work requirements.Working closely with members of Congress, I helped draft the work requirements in the 1996 law, and I raised the alarm on July 12, when the Obama administration issued a bureaucratic order allowing states to waive those requirements. The law has indeed been gutted. Here’s how:
White House Backs Blacklisting Militant Organization
On September - 7 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
The Obama administration has decided to blacklist as a terrorist organization the Haqqani network, the militant organization responsible for some of the deadliest attacks against American troops in Afghanistan, several American officials said late Thursday.
President Has One Job to Save: His Own
On September - 4 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Mike Lupica, New York Daily News
The President becomes one more American this week, officially and in front of the country, trying to keep his job. He knows he is talking to so many who don’t have jobs and can’t find jobs. Or have taken lesser jobs, sometimes two, to somehow make ends meet. Still: In Foreclosure America, Barack Obama tries to persuade those who voted for him last time and those he needs to vote for him this time why he shouldn’t get kicked out of the White House.
The President becomes one more American this week, officially and in front of the country, trying to keep his job. He knows he is talking to so many who don’t have jobs and can’t find jobs. Or have taken lesser jobs, sometimes two, to somehow make ends meet. Still: In Foreclosure America, Barack Obama tries to persuade those who voted for him last time and those he needs to vote for him this time why he shouldn’t get kicked out of the White House.
Mitt Romney: ‘I Accept Your Nomination For President Of The United States’
On August - 30 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
In his speech to the Republican National Convention on Thursday night, Mitt Romney began his remarks by declaring, "I accept your nomination for president of the United States."
In making his case for why America should elect him to serve in the White House, the former Massachusetts governor said, "I wish president Obama had succeed because I want America to succeed."
He later added, "When the world needs someone to do the really big stuff, you need an American."
Below, a live blog of the latest developments to unfold at the convention.
Christie’s NJ Cures Won’t Work in Washington
On August - 29 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Steve Kornacki, Salon
The praise he directed toward Mitt Romney seemed perfunctory and almost incidental, with the heart of Christie’s speech devoted to extolling his own achievements in New Jersey. His intent was the same as that of any governor with presidential ambition: to portray his own executive leadership as a refreshing model of innovation, bipartisanship and results, one that the current occupant of the White House refuses, for some strange reason, to emulate.“We need politicians to care more about doing something and less about being something,” Christie said....
The praise he directed toward Mitt Romney seemed perfunctory and almost incidental, with the heart of Christie’s speech devoted to extolling his own achievements in New Jersey. His intent was the same as that of any governor with presidential ambition: to portray his own executive leadership as a refreshing model of innovation, bipartisanship and results, one that the current occupant of the White House refuses, for some strange reason, to emulate.“We need politicians to care more about doing something and less about being something,” Christie said....
Romney-Ryan: Bring It On
On August - 9 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Stephen Hayes & Bill Kristol, Weekly Standard
"One of the things that the White House is also focusing on is dropping everything that they have on the Paul Ryan budget plan - the Democrats, the media, the White House - all piling up on the Ryan budget plan," Sykes said to Romney. "You have embraced that plan. You've endorsed that plan. The Democrats think that the Republicans have handed them a weapon because they're now going to say that you conservative Republicans, you want to balance the budget on the backs of the frail, the elderly and the poor. How will you respond to that?"Romney answered, first, by...
"One of the things that the White House is also focusing on is dropping everything that they have on the Paul Ryan budget plan - the Democrats, the media, the White House - all piling up on the Ryan budget plan," Sykes said to Romney. "You have embraced that plan. You've endorsed that plan. The Democrats think that the Republicans have handed them a weapon because they're now going to say that you conservative Republicans, you want to balance the budget on the backs of the frail, the elderly and the poor. How will you respond to that?"Romney answered, first, by...
Secure America Now: "For his first interview as president, Barack Obama chose Arab TV for an apology."
On July - 12 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
The Truth-o-Meter says: Mostly False | Ad says Obama apologized, showed weakness on Iran
A new ad from an independent group claims President Barack Obama apologized and showed weakness on Iran. The ad comes from Secure America Now, which calls itself a "broad-based grassroots coalition of 2 million national security activists." A reader in Florida asked us to check it out. It uses clips from an interview Obama gave in the White House during his first days in office with the Arab network Al Arabiya. A female voiceover says, "For his first interview as president, Barack Obama chose Arab TV for an apology." (The words ...
>> MoreA Very Mitt Romney Vacation
On July - 11 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Margaret Carlson, Bloomberg
At the end of his summer vacation last week, Mitt Romney got the question inevitable for anyone in the White House or hoping to get there:At Bradley's Hardware in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, Romney was asked if, at a time of such "grim economic news," he should be vacationing at all. Romney responded that if he became president, he would make sure all Americans get the "capacity to take a vacation now and then with their loved ones."We're not supposed to begrudge our leaders their time away. Point taken. What people resent is how politicians carefully calculate...
At the end of his summer vacation last week, Mitt Romney got the question inevitable for anyone in the White House or hoping to get there:At Bradley's Hardware in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, Romney was asked if, at a time of such "grim economic news," he should be vacationing at all. Romney responded that if he became president, he would make sure all Americans get the "capacity to take a vacation now and then with their loved ones."We're not supposed to begrudge our leaders their time away. Point taken. What people resent is how politicians carefully calculate...
White House’s Stunning Dishonesty on Health Care
On July - 10 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
Yuval Levin, NRO
In preparation for this week’s House vote to repeal Obamacare, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has an op-ed in today’s Washington Post heralding the wonderful effects the law has supposedly already had on American health care. The argument she makes is just stunningly dishonest, and is readily refuted by data and analysis that the administration itself has made available. It’s astonishing that the administration expects anyone to buy this stuff.It takes real chutzpah for the Obama administration to make this argument. As the administration’s own...
In preparation for this week’s House vote to repeal Obamacare, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has an op-ed in today’s Washington Post heralding the wonderful effects the law has supposedly already had on American health care. The argument she makes is just stunningly dishonest, and is readily refuted by data and analysis that the administration itself has made available. It’s astonishing that the administration expects anyone to buy this stuff.It takes real chutzpah for the Obama administration to make this argument. As the administration’s own...
LOOK: Obama Knows How To Stay Cool
On July - 7 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
It's hot out there as the summer heat has states in multiple regions of the country seeing record-setting temperatures exceeding 100 degrees.
Looking to beat the heat? We recommend listening to this guy:
Image via AP: President Barack Obama gestures to members of the media, telling them to stay hydrated and drink water, as he crosses the South Lawn of the White House to board Marine One helicopter, Friday, July 6, 2012 in Washington. Temperatures in the Washington area are expected to hit the triple digits this weekend and an excessive heat warning is in effect for most of the Saturday.
Former Politico White House Correspondent Pleads Guilty To Assaulting Ex-Wife
On July - 5 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
It turns out there’s another side to Joe Williams, the White House Correspondent and former college football player who recently parted ways with Politico. On May 24 of this year, he plead guilty to second degree assault against his ex-wife, paid a $200 fine and received six months of probation.
Barack Obama: "If you're one of the more than 250 million Americans who already have health insurance, you will keep your health insurance."
On June - 29 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
The Truth-o-Meter says: Half-True | Barack Obama says that under his health care law, those who have health insurance will keep it
After the Supreme Court upheld the health care bill he’d signed into law, President Barack Obama applauded the decision in a speech at the White House. In that speech, Obama responded to critics, including Mitt Romney, who say the law could force many Americans off their health care plans. "If you're one of the more than 250 million Americans who already have health insurance, you will keep your health insurance," Obama said. "This law will only make it more secure and more affordable." This is a variation on a line Obama has ...
>> MoreWhite House Warned About Leak Emails
On June - 25 - 2012 ADD COMMENTS
As the leak investigation into the unauthorized disclosures of classified information enters into its third week, White House staffers have been warned not to delete any emails or destroy other information that could be pertinent to investigators, according to officials familiar with the matter.
