Julie Mason

Obama defends Olympic trip to Denmark

The White House defended President Obama’s trip to Denmark this week to promote Chicago’s bid for the Olympic Games, saying health care reform is in good enough shape for him to miss a couple of days. “I think he believes he can do this and get back in time,” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said. “He felt strongly and personally that he should go and make the case of the United States, and that’s what he’s going to do.” Obama will lead a delegation that includes first lady Michelle Obama, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Oprah Winfrey and others. The International Olympic Committee on Friday...

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Obama tries to reboot after rough July

At the six-month mark amid polls showing slipping public support for his ideas, President Barack Obama is convening the Cabinet for a two-day huddle. “It’s an opportunity for the president, the vice president, senior White House staff and Cabinet officials all to get together and talk about the agendas both past and forward, [and] how we can continue to work together to make progress,” said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs. He added, “It’s not a midcourse correction or a report card.” The group will gather at Blair House and the White House Conference Center, across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House. They will dine together today and...

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Polls on economy, health care bring Obama down to earth

President Barack Obama’s plans to mount a new appeal for public support on health care reform were brought up short by a spate of new polls showing enthusiasm for his policies — including health care — on the wane. A new poll by ABC News and The Washington Post found public support for Obama’s leadership on health care reform dropped from 57 percent in April to 49 percent in July, while support for his handling of the economy dropped from 58 percent to 52 percent. The White House had hoped to rally public favor behind Obama’s health care agenda in order to pressure Congress to move quickly to shape reform. But rising public doubts highlighted in several...

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Constant campaign continues for Obama White House

With their health care and economic programs far from settled, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday took a sharp detour from policy back to electoral politics. Obama was in New Jersey, stumping for embattled Gov. Jon Corzine, while Biden headed to Richmond to raise money for gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds. Their absence from Washington at a crucial time underscores acute Democratic worries about 2009 races and beyond — and also the administration’s continued dedication to the endless campaign. “Hello, New Jersey,” Obama told a rally for Corzine in Holmdel after a private reception with big donors. “We are counting on...

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Tough talk from Obama on health, but no clear action

Saying he wants to “put everybody on notice,” President Barack Obama took an aggressive stance on passing health care reform, denouncing “cynics” and “small thinking” working to derail his efforts. “There was a lot of chatter during the week that I was gone,” the president said in the Rose Garden. “For those naysayers and cynics who think that this is not going to happen, don’t bet against us.” After a week overseas that saw health care reform placed on a legislative back burner, Obama dropped the consensus-building, sales-themed rhetoric of the past several months for a more authoritative message. The shift in tone...

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Obama asks for patience as unemployment mounts

The Obama administration Thursday insisted its $787 billion stimulus program geared toward job creation was working, despite new figures showing the nation’s jobless rate climbed to its highest point in nearly 26 years. “We’ve taken some extraordinary measures to blunt the hard edges of the worst recession of our lifetime,” said President Barack Obama. “But as I’ve said from the moment that I walked into the door of this White House, it took years for us to get into this mess, and it will take us more than a few months to turn it around.” Unemployment rose to 9.5 percent in June, and economists and White House officials predict it will reach 10...

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Global warming bill a test of Obama’s Capitol clout

The White House blamed “misinformation” for a tough battle over energy and climate change legislation, urging lawmakers to embrace the future by supporting the bill. “I know this is going to be a close vote, in part because of the misinformation that’s out there that suggests there’s somehow a contradiction between investing in clean energy and our economic growth,” President Barack Obama said. The past few days have seen a final-hour push by the White House to gather support for the bill. With a House vote set for Friday, the administration quickly added an energy event — remarks in the Rose Garden — to Obama’s schedule. Energy in...

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Obama strengthens rhetoric on Iran, but still 'waiting to see'

President Barack Obama toughened his rhetoric on Iran Tuesday, declaring he is “appalled” by the government crackdown and vowing “no iron fist” would prevent the world from witnessing post-election violence in Tehran. “We have seen courageous women stand up to brutality and threats, and we have experienced the searing image of a woman bleeding to death on the streets,” Obama told reporters at a mid-day press conference. “While this loss is raw and painful, we also know this: those who stand up for justice are always on the right side of history.” In nearly an hour of fielding questions, the president continued to calibrate his response on...

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Watchdogs push Obama on health care execs visiting White House

A watchdog group pressing the Obama administration to fulfill promises on transparency filed a request Monday for the names of health care executives who have visited the White House. “If you are going to criticize other people for secrecy, you better have an open door,” said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. “They talk about transparency more than they exhibit it.” The organization’s Freedom of Information Act request follows an earlier demand for a log of coal executives visiting the White House, which was followed by a lawsuit when those records were refused. A spokesman for the administration...

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Obama defends stimulus despite new jobless data

Feeling pressure to show results from massive federal spending amid the highest unemployment in 26 years, President Barack Obama defended his stimulus plan Monday, promising to “create or save” 600,000 more jobs in the next 100 days. The White House later conceded those jobs would include some temporary, summer and part-time jobs, which economists regard as not stimulative to the economy. The unemployment rate is 9.4 percent — well above what the White House predicted when it sold Congress on the stimulus bill. “The reason that this wasn’t a $787 billion hundred-day plan economic recovery plan, why it’s a two-year recovery plan, is because we never...

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Sotomayor pick has White House in full sales mode

President Barack Obama’s nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court squeezed Republicans into a corner and fortified his own party’s position with key constituencies. Meet Sonia Sotomayor » Name: Sonia Sotomayor » Age-birthdate-location: 54; June 25, 1954; New York, N.Y. » Experience: judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, 1998-present; judge, U.S. District Court Southern District of New York, 1992-1998; private practice, New York City, 1984-1992; assistant district attorney, New York County, 1979-1984 » Education: B.A., Princeton University, 1976; J.D., Yale Law School, 1979. » Family: Divorced; no children. Obama, relaxed...

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Administration focuses on strategy shift in Afghanistan

The White House on Tuesday defended President Barack Obama’s new war strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan, placing blame on the Bush administration for neglecting the region. “That’s the best way to keep this country safe, to go after the terrorist threat — something the previous administration didn’t do,” said spokesman Robert Gibbs. The remarks came as the administration makes major command and strategic shifts in Afghanistan, amid stepped-up criticism from former Vice President Dick Cheney, who claims Obama’s policies are endangering the nation. Congress this week is expected to consider the administration’s request for $91 billion to...

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Obama: Health industry concessions ‘watershed event’

President Barack Obama on Monday hailed as a “watershed event” a commitment from the health care industry to cut $2 trillion in spending increases over the next decade. Industry groups, eager to shape Obama’s push for health care reform, offered the concession as Congress and the White House prepare to tackle how to insure some 46 million Americans without coverage and bring down the costs for others. “What they’re doing is complementary to and is going to be completely compatible with a strong, aggressive effort to move health care reform through here in Washington,” Obama said. The president’s statement followed a closed-door meeting at the...

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White House takes tougher tone with Israel

The Obama administration signaled a tougher stance on Middle East relations Tuesday, pushing Israel to accept a permanent Palestinian state. “Israel has to work toward a two-state solution,” Vice President Joe Biden told the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee annual conference. “This is show me a deal — not based on faith. Show me.” President Barack Obama met privately with Israeli President Shimon Peres in the Oval Office, ahead of what is expected to be a more substantive visit later this month from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Biden told the pro-Israel lobbying group that Iran was exploiting the long-running conflict to expand its...

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First lady reverses early negative perceptions

Somewhere between being called unpatriotic by detractors and planting an organic garden on the South Lawn, Michelle Obama has become the nation’s sweetheart. “I don’t know how she’s done it, but she turned it around,” said Cindy Clifford, a Democratic consultant. A USA Today/Gallup poll found 79 percent of respondents approved of the way Michelle Obama is handling her job. Even among Republicans, her approval is at 64 percent, according to the poll. “I think it’s a lot of fun, the job that I have,” the first lady told a group of visiting children at the White House last week. “You know, it feels just like probably being a mom, being...

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In his first 99 days, Obama governs as he campaigned

On a routine Thursday earlier this month, President Barack Obama proposed a major new high-speed rail initiative, published a story on the economy in 31 newspapers, flew to Mexico, released the torture memos and attended an evening reception. The frenetic, campaignlike pace is no accident. In his first 99 days, the president is doing his job the same way he won it: by relentlessly campaigning and maintaining a high profile with appearances at public events. Ultimately, of course, Obama will be judged on the success of his policies, and right now he’s a picture of confidence. “I know there’s some who believe we can only handle one challenge at a time,” Obama said...

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Interrogation controversy casts long shadow on agenda

The White House tried in vain Thursday to maneuver past the controversy over declassified memos about CIA interrogation methods, but both Republicans and Democrats appeared determined to continue the debate. President Barack Obama, who has repeatedly said he wants to look forward and not back on issues related to the wartime conduct of the prior administration, focused on other matters and said nothing publicly about torture. But intensifying political conflict over the memos and how — or whether — to proceed with a legal probe of the Bush administration threatens to eclipse the president’s agenda on the economy, health care and climate change. “The president...

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Obama calls for $100 million in spending cuts amid trillions in new spending

White House officials pushed back Monday against criticism that a new round of proposed budget cuts is largely meaningless in the face of spiraling deficits. President Barack Obama convened his first-ever Cabinet meeting, tasking agency heads with cutting $100 million worth of programs that aren’t working. “None of these savings by themselves are going to solve our long-term fiscal problems, but taken together they can make a difference, and they send a signal that we are serious about changing the way government operates,” Obama said. But Republican critics in Congress, back at work after a two-week recess, scoffed at Obama’s $100 million in...

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Obama girds for struggle with Congress

President Barack Obama on Tuesday called on Americans to unify behind his embattled $3.6 trillion spending plan, acknowledging a tough sell on the direction he wants to take the country. But he signaled a strong intent to dig in and resist compromise on his three top issues: health care, energy and education. “I’m a big believer in persistence,” Obama said. “The best way to bring our deficit down in the long run is not with a budget that continues the very same policies that have led us to a narrow prosperity and massive debt.” He added, “It’s with a budget that leads to broad economic growth by moving from an era of borrow-and-spend to one...

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