The weakest part of our political system, by a considerable margin, is the presidential nominating process. It tends to exclude from consideration those with the greatest experience in what is uniquely the president's responsibility, foreign policy and military strategy. It tends less strongly to exclude members of Congress, particularly House members but also senators, whose extensive voting records inevitably contain material that is politically damaging at some point in the process.
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Expanding on a promise to freeze discretionary spending for five years, President Obama on Tuesday pledged an ambitious reorganization of federal government to make it more nimble and cost-effective. In a State of the Union address that offered a few big ideas in lieu of what the White House dismissed as a "laundry list" of smaller objectives, Obama exhorted members of Congress to put their new civility to work.
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By:
Andrew Taylor
01/25/11 8:46 PM
The nation faces a crushing burden of debt and is on course for an economic disaster without dramatic action to wrestle the budget deficit under control, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan said Tuesday in the Republican response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address.
And such spending cuts must start immediately as the price of getting GOP conservatives to cast a painful vote to increase the government's ability to borrow to pay its bills this spring, Ryan said.
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After President Obama uses the State of the Union address to call for increased "investment" in projects like high-speed rail and clean energy, Republicans will deliver a response emphasizing the urgent need to cut federal spending. House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan will do the talking, but the fact is, Republicans aren't speaking with one voice these days when it comes to the most important item on their agenda. Everyone in the GOP wants to cut the deficit, but there is increasing tension over how much and how fast.
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After President Obama uses the State of the Union address to call for increased "investment" in projects like high-speed rail and clean energy, Republicans will deliver a response emphasizing the urgent need to cut federal spending. House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan will do the talking, but the fact is, Republicans aren't speaking with one voice these days when it comes to the most important item on their agenda. Everyone in the GOP wants to cut the deficit, but there is increasing tension over how much and how fast.
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President Obama is expected to continue revising his annual State of the Union speech until right before he delivers it -- and what he leaves out is likely to reveal as much as what he includes.
Obama will "spend most of his time talking about the economy," said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, and "talking about the challenges that we face both in the short term in terms of doing whatever we can to help create jobs ... [and] to continue working on issues like competitiveness and innovation."
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Foreign workers without proper clearances or identification are being smuggled onto U.S. and NATO bases in Afghanistan, a breach in security that presents a serious threat to troops and civilian employees, according to documents and interviews with U.S. officials.
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Since his party's November shellacking, President Obama has worked hard to show America that he is not anti-business, notably by picking General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt and Chicago banker Bill Daley for prominent posts in his administration.
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Last Thursday was the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's inaugural speech and, while the anniversary did not go unmentioned, it got less attention than I expected. I suspect that those of us who can remember that snowy day -- why do we schedule our great national outdoor ceremony for a day that is as likely as any to be the coldest of the year? -- are inclined to overestimate the hold that Kennedy has on Americans five decades after he took the oath of office.
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President Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday comes at a critical moment in his presidency, with many Americans doubting his ability to mend the economy as he prepares to start his re-election bid. Obama also faces a delicate epoch in American politics, with voters sick of corrosive partisan bickering and lawmakers choosing their fights and words carefully after the recent mass carnage in Tucson.
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