February 2009
Clinton starts 2009 being $6 million in debt →
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton rang in the new year still saddled with $5.9 million in debts left over from her unsuccessful 2008 presidential campaign, according to records filed Saturday with…
Civil rights activists reflect on how country has... →
They are each in their late 60s, these local veterans of civil rights activism. Over the years, they witnessed a time in America when African-Americans were lynched; when people were beaten and…
Obama pokes fun at chief of staff Emanuel at... →
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama poked fun at his volatile chief of staff in a free-for-all roasting of Washington and its politicians Saturday night. Obama attended the Alfalfa Club dinner,…
‘Purple finger’ power: Iraqi leaders praise... →
BAGHDAD (AP) — Passing through razor-wire cordons and police checkpoints, Iraqi voters Saturday took another step in the nation’s quest for stability in provincial elections that were carried off…
Obama readies new road map for how to spend $350B... →
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Saturday promised to lower mortgage costs, offer job-creating loans for small businesses, get credit flowing and rein in free-spending executives as he…
Daschle’s tax problem: Second nominee →
by Noam N. Levey Former Sen. Tom Daschle, tapped by President Obama to lead his healthcare reform campaign, failed to pay more than $128,000 in taxes in the three years before Obama nominated him in…
Obama brand protection: Copyrights →
by Mark Silva President-elect Barack Obama has created his own brand - represented both by the iconic images of the candidate who campaigned for “change” and by the “Yes we can” and “Change We Can…
Axelrod: Geithner eyeing Wall St. bonuses →
by Mark Silva The White House - and that means the president - clearly is angered by news that Wall Street has paid out billions of dollars in bonuses while collecting billions of dollars of federal…
Palin lying low during trip to Washington →
Sarah Palin has firmly remained in the media spotlight since her bid for the vice presidency ended four months ago, but the Alaska governor is set to embrace a decidedly lower profile when she…
Obama’s stimulus: Economists not in line →
by William Neikirk One big surprise in the debate over President Obama’s $819 billion stimulus package is that Alice Rivlin and Martin Feldstein agree that it is a flawed plan that should be…
Obama: CEOs must stop “draining” funds →
by Christi Parsons President Barack Obama says his team is preparing a new strategy for reviving the American financial system, and promised to make sure that corporate executives don’t drain public…
Labradoodles for Obama: A leg up? →
by Mark Silva Here’s a question for the Obama White House, with all its new lobbying rules about who can come into the administration and what they can do there, based on what interests they’ve…
Having a few friends over for the Super Bowl... →
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sure, it’s all about bipartisanship. Not to mention the perks of watching the Super Bowl at the White House with the first fan playing host. President Barack Obama is inviting a…
Political cloud lifts; smoke screen lingers →
Is that dark cloud over Illinois finally gone, now that Rod Blagojevich has been ousted from the governor’s office? President Barack Obama and the Democratic boss of Chicago, Mayor Richard Daley,…
January 2009
Barack Obama would not be won over by a black... →
Sir Nigel Sheinwald our ambassador in Washington is considered a “dead man walking” after he wrote a leaked memo during the election campaign in which he described Barack Obama as “aloof” and…
Official: Obama leaning toward GOP senator for... →
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama appeared Saturday to be leaning toward appointing a third Republican to his Cabinet, a move that would place the fiscally conservative Sen. Judd Gregg at the…
Barack Obama to dilute ‘Buy American’ plan after... →
President expected to water down “Buy American” plans in his economic stimulus package after Europe threatens retaliation.
President Obama’s Weekley Address: “The American... →
In today’s weekly address, President Obama addressed the latest economic news and discussed the progress of the America Recovery and Reinvestment Plan. He also announced that Treasury Secretary…
This is the subprime house that Barack Obama built →
As a young but influential Chicago politician the American president helped to create the housing bubble says Christopher Booker.
Analysis: Rebuilding the GOP with Steele →
Republicans took the first step toward rebuilding on Friday after suffering demoralizing losses in November that left them with little power and the knowledge that much needs to be done to restore…
Labor union tells lawmakers: We’re watching you →
The head of America’s fastest-growing labor organization tells newly elected office-holders: Live up to your promises or face the wrath, and the money, of labor next time round.
New homeland security chief dives right in →
In her first full week as the nation’s homeland security secretary, Janet Napolitano got a full dose of the job’s diverse responsibilities — responding to ice storms in the Midwest, dealing with…
Michelle Obama bans daughters Malia and Sasha from... →
Michelle Obama America’s First Lady has banned celebrity socialising for her daughters Malia and Sasha as she attempts to forge a normal family life in the White House.
Weekly Radio Address - Moving forward →
In the weekly address, President Barack Obama addressed the latest economic news and urged the passing of an America Recovery and Reinvestment Plan. He also announced that Treasury Secretary Timothy…
Barack Obama’s halfbrother George arrested in... →
Barack Obama’s Kenyan halfbrother George has been arrested in Nairobi on charges of possession of marijuana.
Biden on Obama’s middle-class efforts →
by Frank James The Obama Administration announces its Middle Class Working Families Task Force at a White House event today and the man who will be in charge of it, Vice President Joe Biden, has an…
Republican supports Obama’s stimulus →
by Mark Silva Not a single Republican in the House voted for the $819-billion economic stimulus plan that President Barack Obama is promoting. But Charlie Crist, the Republican governor of Florida,…
Obama vs Limbaugh: ‘Adult beverages’ →
by Mark Silva President Barack Obama should think twice before making too much of the criticism of radio’s Rush Limbaugh, Republican Sen. John McCain suggests. While Limbaugh slams the Obama…
Obama’s half brother arrested in Kenya →
George Obama, the half brother of U.S. President Barack Obama, has been arrested by Kenyan police for possession of marijuana, police said Saturday.
Obama facing dilemma on protectionism in stimulus... →
WASHINGTON (AP) — Less than two weeks into office, President Barack Obama faces a dilemma over protectionist provisions in a massive economic stimulus bill: Backing the measures could set off a trade…
First black Republican leader Michael Steele says... →
Michael Steele throws down the gauntlet after becoming chairman of the Republican National Committee.
Don’t let crisis breed protectionism or social... →
DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — World leaders looking for hope amid recessionary gloom turned their attention Saturday to a long-stalled global trade deal, increasingly seen as a necessary bulwark against…
FDA: Gov’t opens criminal investigation into... →
WASHINGTON (AP) — Responding to reports of shoddy sanitation practices and inspections, federal health officials have opened a criminal investigation into the Georgia peanut-processing plant at the…
New president weighs grim options in dealing with... →
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama campaigned on a promise to redirect U.S. troops and resources to Afghanistan from Iraq, but he has done little so far to suggest he will significantly widen…
Tom Daschle: Taxing problems for a second top... →
The nomination of a second senior Barack Obama Cabinet pick has hit problems after it emerged that Tom Daschle had failed to pay his taxes in full.
Obama: Republican Commerce sec’y? →
by Peter Nicholas Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) is under consideration for the Commerce secretary post in President Obama’s cabinet, raising the prospect that Democrats could gain a filibuster-proof…
Daschle’s tax records to be scrutinized →
The Senate Finance committee will meet Monday to review the tax records of former Sen. Tom Daschle, President Obama’s nominee for secretary of health and human services who, according to sources,…
Senate braces for ‘hard slog’ on stimulus →
Democrats admit it’s going to be a tough fight in getting President Obama’s economic stimulus plan passed with bipartisan support, but they are optimistic it can still be done.
Obama’s dress code: ‘Pull up your pants’ →
by David Zucchino DURHAM, N.C. - When candidate Barack Obama told MTV viewers in November that “brothers should pull up their pants,” Kent Williams Jr. was thinking the same thing. Williams, the…
Barack Obama’s Super Bowl party →
by Mark Silvaand updated with guest list. No passing up a chance like the Super Bowl. For a good bipartisan bowl of chips and dips. And a good shot at the biggest national television audience of the…
Sarah Palin, President Obama: Dinner →
by Mark Silva Gueess who’s coming to dinner Saturday night? President Barack Obama and Sarah Palin — they won’t actually arrive together, but both are expected at the exclusive and private Alfalfa…
Obama: Middle class ‘American moment’ →
by Mark Silva President Barack Obama, creating a “Task Force on the Middle Class” today, also signed executive orders aimed at strengthening labor unions - this on a day when the nation’s Gross…
RNC Chairman Steele: ‘I love puppies’ →
by Mark Silva Michael Steele, former lieutenant governor of Maryland, became the first African-American chairman of the Republican National Committee today after the party’s leaders, divided during…
State of the Union: Late recession hits Peoria... →
Suddenly, this city’s motto rings hollow: “It’s Better Here,” doesn’t match the mood in a place where the recession hit late, but is now hitting hard.
Angry senator wants pay cap on Wall Street... →
One day after President Barack Obama ripped Wall Street executives for their “shameful” decision to hand out $18 billion in bonuses in 2008, Congress may finally have had enough.
Republican Mitt Romney accuses Obama of answering... →
HOT SPRINGS, Va. (AP) — Republican Mitt Romney, a potential candidate for the White House in 2012, accused President Barack Obama on Friday of answering to the “most extreme wing of the abortion…
Iraq security forces seal borders and clear... →
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq imposed a nationwide security lockdown Friday before key regional elections with blanket measures not seen since the deadliest years of the insurgency, underscoring the high…
Analysis: Billions in stimulus package have little... →
WASHINGTON (AP) — They call it “stimulus” legislation, but the economic measures racing through Congress would devote tens of billions of dollars to causes that have little to do with jolting the…
Sen. Roland Burris hires chief of staff →
Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.), who arrived in Washington without any staff to back him up, has just snagged his first high-profile hire. Darrel Thompson, senior adviser to Senate Majority Leader Harry…
Steele elected RNC’s first black chairman →
Republican National Committee Chairman Mike Duncan, who was elected to lead the committee in 2007, dropped his re-election bid Friday, telling committee members: “Obviously the winds of change are…