44 44: Obama says Asia trip about jobs

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0500

By Scott Wilson President Obama used his weekly radio and Internet address Saturday to draw a line between his recent trip to the economic engines of Asia and job creation at home, calling it a "task I will continue to focus on relentlessly in the weeks and months ahead." Obama's message, which he recorded before leaving Seoul, South Korea, the last leg of his Asia trip, highlights the mounting political concern in the White House over what so far appears to be a jobless economic recovery. While expanding for the first time in more than a year, the economy continues to shed jobs, a trend that ranks as the chief worry of the electorate in poll after poll. The national unemployment rate has pushed above 10 percent for the first time in decades.

State dinner superlatives

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:17:09 -0500

By Sarah Lovenheim State dinners, banquets paid for by the government and hosted by a head of state, are held to foster relationships following serious conversations concerning foreign affairs. Many U.S. presidents have held state dinners in the State Dining Room at the White House, a room that seats 120 people. Guests typically include foreign dignitaries, members of Congress and the president's cabinet, among others. The occasion's marked by entertainment, a four or five course meal and speeches. Black or white tie dress is often required. Then-President Clinton laughs during a toast by French President Jacques Chirac at a state dinner honoring Chirac in February of 1996 at the White House. (AP Photo/St. Petersburg Times, John Pendygraft) A peek into the past recalls some state dinners to remember. Below you'll find a list of superlatives -- these nuggets can serve as dinner table banter on Tuesday, as President Obama hosts

Gallup: Obama approval rating drops below 50 percent for the first time

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:27:34 -0500

By Garance Franke-Ruta President Obama's job approval rating has dropped below 50 percent for the first time since he assumed office, according to Gallup's tracking poll. The poll averages results over three days. When Obama took office, the poll measured his approval rating at 68 percent for the Jan. 21-23, 2009, period. His approval rating was as high as 54 percent just two weeks ago, but the overall trend line has been down since the summer. "Although the current decline below 50 percent has symbolic significance, most of the recent decline in support for Obama occurred in July and August," explains pollster Jeffrey L. Jones. "He began July at 60 percent approval. The ongoing, contentious debate over national health-care reform has likely served as a drag on his public support, as have continuing economic problems. Americans are also concerned about the Obama administration's reliance on government spending to solve the

DNC raised $11 million in October -- and is raising more off Sarah Palin

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:12:23 -0500

Updated 11:55 p.m. By Garance Franke-Ruta The Democratic Party raised $11.5 million in October, a record month for a non-presidential election year in the post-McCain-Feingold era, according to a party source. That leaves the Democratic National Committee with $12.9 million in cash on hand and $4.4 million in outstanding debts. The Republican National Committee raised $8.7 million in October has $11.2 million cash and no debt. All told, the DNC has raised $66.3 million so far this year, compared to the Republican National Committee's $69.2 million. Including transfers and in-kind donations, the total haul this year at the DNC was $73.3 million, compared to $76.9 million at the RNC, according to Democratic and Republican sources. On Friday, the DNC e-mailed a fundraising solicitation that seeks to take advantage of former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's return to the news. "Remember, this is the person who coined the term 'Death Panels'

Senate ethics committee admonishes Burris

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:12:45 -0500

By Paul Kane Sen. Roland W. Burris (D-Ill.) has been admonished by the Senate ethics committee for his public comments about his appointment last December to the body. In a three-page "public letter of qualified admonition" issued Friday, the committee formally reprimanded Burris for statements -- some made under oath to an Illinois legislative committee -- in which he denied trying to raise any campaign contributions for indicted former governor Rod Blagojevich for his political committees. Continue reading at Capitol Briefing»

A Saturday night date with health reform

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:40:36 -0500

By Ben Pershing Cancel those weekend plans: You've now got a date Saturday night with health-care reform. The Senate measure faces a key procedural vote Saturday evening, and Harry Reid is still working to assemble the requisite 60 votes. Politico says Reid and fellow Democrats "projected confidence they could clear the first hurdle for health reform." The Washington Post writes that "a tepid assessment of the public insurance plan he crafted emerged as the latest potential obstacle" to passage. USA Today notes that the public option in the Senate bill "would cover less than 1.5% of the population," raising questions about how much impact the provision will actually have, positive or negative. The New York Times says that Reid has essentially taken "ownership" of the Senate bill, which, if it eventually becomes law, "would be the biggest accomplishment of his career. Should the bill fall victim to the complex political,

FEC relaxes rule on luxury-jet travel by candidates

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:07:13 -0500

By Dan Eggen The Federal Election Commission on Thursday eased restrictions on the use of luxury jets by federal candidates, ruling that Senate and presidential candidates can pay discount prices for private air travel as long as they are not doing so on behalf of their own campaigns. Campaign-finance reform advocates immediately condemned the decision and said it will severely undermine the impact of 2007 ethics legislation, which was aimed at requiring all federal candidates to pay full freight when riding on private jets owned by corporate sponsors or wealthy donors. But the FEC, by a vote of 4 to 2, ruled that a candidate is not actually a candidate if they are traveling on behalf of their leadership political action committee (PAC), a party PAC or any other committee not explicitly tied to an individual election campaign. The distinction does not apply to House candidates, who "are generally prohibited

White House adviser is open to additional economic stimulus

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:55:32 -0500

By Alec MacGillis In a sign of the gathering momentum for additional economic stimulus, a top White House economic adviser on Thursday expressed openness to the possibility of additional aid to local governments to prevent layoffs or even to the creation of a new public jobs program to spur employment. Jared Bernstein, Vice President Biden's chief economic adviser, said in a speech at a Brookings Institution conference that, with unemployment now at 10.2 percent, the administration is looking for new ways to assure that the apparent uptick in the economy -- the GDP rose by more than 3 percent last quarter -- translates into more hiring. In addressing the possibility of fiscal relief for cities and new public jobs programs, both of which were touted in a Brookings' paper for the conference, Bernstein emphasized that he was not expressing any official administration preferences about how to proceed. But his comments

Incoming N.J. and Va. govs tell how they won -- and why Palin didn't campaign for them

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:03:57 -0500

By Dan Balz AUSTIN -- On the day that Sarah Palin kicked off her book tour to enthusiastic crowds, the two newest Republican governors sought to explain why the former Alaska governor had not campaigned on their behalf this fall. Palin is a potentially potent force among some conservative voters, but also someone whose unpopularity among independent voters could prove to be a negative in a campaign. But both Virginia Gov.-elect Robert McDonnell and New Jersey Gov.-elect Chris Christie said her absence in their states had nothing to do with concerns that she might prove to be a drag on their candidacies. McDonnell said he had tried to get Palin to campaign for him earlier in the year but "she was in such incredible demand" that "we were just not able to work out anything." Once she stepped down as governor and might have had more time on her hands,

Senate finally ready to move on reform

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:19:35 -0500

By Ben Pershing Two weeks after the House passed its health-care bill and exactly a month after the Senate Finance Committee reported out its version of the measure, the Senate's compromise plan is finally ready for its closeup. Harry Reid "presented an $848 billion health-care overhaul package on Wednesday that would extend coverage to 31 million Americans and reform insurance practices while adding an array of tax increases, including a rise in payroll taxes for high earners," the Washington Post writes, adding that Democrats were "jubilant" that the measure was projected to cut federal deficits by $130 billion over the next decade. The House and Senate bills "have differences on taxes, abortion coverage and a public-insurance plan and would require considerable work to reconcile," the Wall Street Journal reports. "As with the House bill, the uninsured are likely to be the biggest winners from the Senate bill. It would offer

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Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:19:35 -0500

Obama warns North Korea, Iran on nukes

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:06:07 -0500

Your Browser DoesNot Support IFrames. On the final leg of his Asian tour, President Obama announced fresh steps to encourage North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons and laid out a possible new punishment against Iran for defying efforts to end its own nuclear weapons program. (Video by the Associated Press)

The GOP: Luddites or high tech?

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:56:37 -0500

By Dan Balz AUSTIN -- Are Republicans trailing the Democrats in their ability to exploit new technology to communicate with voters -- or overtaking them? That issue flared briefly during the opening day of the Republican Governors Association annual conference here Wednesday. Former Ohio representative John Kasich offered a provocative assessment of his party's failures on that front when he complained about the lack of success of his former colleagues in Washington in projecting a compelling message to the country. "I think Republicans need to learn to communicate with the tools of the 21 st century," Kasich said. "The women in Iran have been more effective using Twitter than House Republicans have been getting their message out to the country. We need to embrace the modern tools of the 21 st century.... Let's get with it with this stuff." Republicans are clearly envious of the success of President Obama's campaign

First lady promoted exercise and nutrition during visit with Va. school children

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:16:55 -0500

First lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack hand out fruit to school children at Hollin Meadows Elementary School in Alexandria. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP) By Michael Alison Chandler First lady Michelle Obama visited Hollin Meadows Elementary School in Alexandria on Wednesday to tour the school's outdoor classrooms and promote the importance of nutrition and physical education to learning. "Anyone who has kids knows they need recess and exercise to focus. If you own a dog, you know that," Obama said, drawing laughs from school officials. The aging brick school, which has a science and math focus, has more than 14,000 square feet of gardens on its campus, and teachers often bring their lessons outside. The courtyard hosts an outdoor library, and math and science lessons can involve measuring worms or studying the anatomy of real plants, rather than diagrams. It was one of 61 schools in Fairfax County recognized by

As 2010 looms, GOP lays its bets on opposing health-care reform

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:19:53 -0500

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill about health-care reform in November. (Charles Dharapak/AP) By Dan Balz "All the anxiety's on the other side," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said with a smile earlier this week, as the Senate prepared for a historic floor debate over health care. "The hand-wringing, the agonizing, the how-do-I-explain this-to-my-constituents is on the other side." On the day he spoke, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and White House officials were still putting out fires in their effort to round up the 60 votes necessary to clear the procedural hurdle allowing the Senate to go ahead with the debate. Reid would say only that he was "cautiously optimistic" that he would have the votes when he needed them. McConnell went out of his way to draw a contrast with the other side. "I've got a cheerful, upbeat, optimistic team ready

Midday Quiz: Palinology

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:45:15 -0500

Our political trivia question of the day (visit www.washingtonpost.com/politicaltrivia for more): A new Washington Post-ABC News poll surveyed America's views on Sarah Palin. How many self-described independents surveyed said they "would definitely" (as opposed to "would consider" or "would definitely not") vote for Palin if she were a candidate in 2012 for president?: • 20 percent • 11 percent • 6 percent • 0 The answer to this question and more lives here.