In The News Obama ready to pull all US troops out of Iraq by 2010Scotsman Parroting GOP talking points when the national spotlight was on him was not effective, and did not gain Jindal any memorable place in speech-making history. The morning after: What did Obama and Jindal really tell us? Los Angeles Times It wasn't technically a State of the Union speech, more of a Fate of the Union speech...... all the familiar dramatic elements: someone suffering from cancer, an unknown but earnest regular person plucked from obscurity to sit with the First Lady ...... The smooth, convincing delivery conveying empathy, connection, sincerity. ....... And certainly no recipe provided for how in this known world one country's government can pay for tax cuts for 95% of Americans, completely reform the entire health care system to cover everyone, develop an entire new energy system and technology, save the U.S. automobile industry, rebuild the country's crumbling transportation infrastructure as well as the entire educational system, stop high school dropouts, conquer cancer, save one-million-plus homeowners from foreclosure while bolstering the entire banking industry, protect national security by paying the military more, create "or save" 3.5 million new jobs, cut the trillion-dollar deficit in half in 46 months and one week, plus fight (and, who knows, maybe even not lose) a guerrilla war in a desolate mountainous region where no foreigners have "won" since Alexander. ........ poor, not-so-old Bobby Jindal was toast before he walked down that lonely hallway in the governor's residence in Baton Rouge ....... It was a hopeless assignment even if the personable, popular 37-year-old wasn't a rookie on the national stage. ....... coming from an historic, effusive, applauding Capitol Hill gang to one guy/gal talking alone to a staring camera and a gaggle of bored TV technicians earning evening overtime .......... (The texts of both, btw, are here for Obama and over here for Jindal.) ...... The son of an immigrant of color who brought his family from an impoverished far-away land to America awed by the openness, opportunity and abundance of the famous place. And the son went to school and worked hard and got elected to Congress and has two cute children and then returned home to right his chronically corrupt state as a reformer in public service. ....... "Americans can do anything!" Jindal's father told him one day in the grocery store.
Obama Scores Early Victory of Historic Proportions Washington Post Twenty-four days into his presidency, Barack Obama recorded last night a legislative achievement of the sort that few of his predecessors achieved at any point in their tenure. In size and scope, there is almost nothing in history to rival the economic stimulus legislation that Obama shepherded through Congress in just over three weeks. And the result -- produced largely without Republican participation -- was remarkably similar to the terms Obama's team outlined even before he was inaugurated: a package of tax cuts and spending totaling about $775 billion. ....... this is one remarkable president ...... The feat compares only with President Franklin D. Roosevelt's banking system overhaul in 1933, which cleared Congress within days of his inauguration.
Some Critics Blame Emanuel for Obama's Cabinet Troubles FOXNews Emanuel's combative style as political director in the early days of the Clinton administration earned him the nickname "Rahmbo," after the flame-throwing movie character Rambo. He was elected to Congress in 2002 and quickly became a major power. He wound up overseeing the party's House election efforts in 2006 and helped win a majority for Democrats through tireless fundraising and candidate recruitment.
Summers Says Obama Mortgage Plan to Focus on Lowering Payments Bloomberg gross domestic product will contract 2 percent this year, its biggest decline since 1946. ..... the stimulus will probably prevent the unemployment rate from going above 10 percent, after it reached 7.6 percent in January. ..... U.S. banks have sustained $758 billion in credit losses since the crisis began and have warned of more to come.
