IN FOCUS: STATS

• Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010 - Full text of the bill
• Senate Vote 208 - Passes Financial Regulation Bill - NYT, 7-16-10
• Senate Vote 206 - Final Senate Hurdle for Financial Regulation Bill - NYT, 7-15-10
• Obama must listen to Bill Clinton to get re-elected: The news that Barack Obama is behind Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee in a new national opinion poll and even with Sarah Palin will surely give the White House much food for thought. How does President Huckabee sound to you? Or President Palin? If the election were held today they seem at least as likely as Obama to win. It signals a major reversal for the Democratic Party in the midterm election for one reason only -- they are unable to get their message out starting at the top. In the era of the one-word sound bites, Republicans are outmaneuvering Obama and his fellow Democrats in the all- important message stakes.... - Irish Central, 7-18-10
• Americans Disapproving Obama May Enable Republicans: Americans disapprove of U.S. President Barack Obama's handling of almost every major issue and are deeply pessimistic about the nation's direction, offering a bullish environment for Republicans in the November congressional elections. A majority or plurality disapproves of Obama's management of the economy, health care, the budget deficit, the overhaul of financial market regulations and the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, according to a Bloomberg National Poll conducted July 9- 12. In addition, almost 6 in 10 respondents say the war in Afghanistan is a lost cause. The Senate is scheduled to begin voting on the financial regulation bill today. Almost two-thirds say they feel the nation is headed in the wrong direction, an even more sour assessment than in March when 58 percent felt that way. Two-thirds of independent voters are pessimistic, while just 56 percent of Democrats offer a vote of confidence.... - Bloomberg, 7-15-10
• Harry Reid Jumps Out to a Lead Over Sharron Angle in New Nevada Senate Poll: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has regained a solid lead over his Republican opponent Sharron Angle in the Nevada Senate race, a new poll shows, after weeks of relentlessly portraying Angle as too extreme. Reid leads Angle 44 percent to 37 percent in the new Mason-Dixon poll, conducted for the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Ten percent were undecided, and 5 percent chose"none of these candidates."... - CBS News, 7-16-10
• Obama White House tries to turn around bad poll numbers: The polls aren't looking good for President Obama. ABC News says 51% would prefer to see a Republican Congress elected in November, as a check on Obama. A CBS News poll says only 13% of Americans say Obama's economic plan has helped them personally.... - USA Today, 7-14-10
• VP Favorable Ratings: Gore Down; Cheney, Biden Flat Americans more negative than positive toward Gore, Cheney: Americans' current views of former Vice President Al Gore have become significantly more negative compared with three years ago, and are among the worst for him in more than a decade. The July 8-11 Gallup poll, finding 44% of Americans viewing Gore favorably and 49% unfavorably, was conducted after the announcement that he and his wife were separating, and amid a police investigation into allegations that he committed sexual assault in 2006. Gallup last measured Gore's image in October 2007, after he was named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, when 58% of Americans had a favorable view of him. All three party groups are less favorable toward Gore now compared with 2007, though his rating has declined more among Republicans (from 32% to 16%) and independents (from 57% to 43%) than among Democrats (from 79% to 72%)... - Gallop.com, 7-14-10

THE HEADLINES....

• Arizona immigration law: Backers are hopeful after court hearing: A federal judge heard a Justice Department case against the new Arizona immigration law Thursday. The questions she asked of both sides may hint at how she may rule.... - CS Monitor, 7-23-10
• Sherrod fallout: Obama says forced ouster wrong: President Barack Obama has ordered a more patient, deliberative style of governance from his aides and Cabinet members in the wake of a convulsive week surrounding the ouster of Agriculture Department official Shirley Sherrod. After telling Sherrod he regretted her forced resignation over racial remarks she made to an NAACP audience, Obama said in a nationally broadcast network interview he believes Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack"jumped the gun" in sacking the veteran Georgian federal worker....
  "One of the things I shared with Ms. Sherrod was the fact that the stories that she was telling about her own biases and overcoming them, those were actually good leasons for all of us to learn, because we all have our own biases," Obama told ABC in an interview."I wrote this in my own book."
  "There was times when I had stereotypes, both blacks and whites, that you had to work through, and you had to admit to yourself," he said."We should acknowledge the enormous progress that we've made since the time Shirley Sherrod was a child in the Jim Crow South. I'm sitting here as a testament to this myself, as president."... - AP, 7-23-10
• Rangel: Ethics trial will let him make a case to the public: Rep. Charles B. Rangel remained defiant Friday in the face of allegations that he broke House rules in his personal financial dealings, vowing to make his case to the public during the ethics committee in a trial slated to begin Thursday, the first of its kind in eight years."I'm in the kitchen and I'm not walking out," Rangel (D-N.Y.) told reporters at a news conference in Harlem. The House ethics committee announced Thursday that an investigative subcommittee had found that Rangel broke unspecified congressional rules.... - WaPo, 7-23-10
• Obama, Clinton pledge US support for AIDS fight: President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton have pledged the support of the United States in the global fight against AIDS. Speaking Friday via prerecorded video at the close of an international conference dedicated to the disease, the two said they were committed to building upon progress and taking the lead in ensuring a sustainable and effective response.
  "Ending this pandemic won't be easy, and it won't happen overnight," Obama told delegates gathered in the Austrian capital."But thanks to you, we've come a long way — and the United States is committed to continuing that progress."
  "As we push to expand access to these resources, the United States will continue to work with our partner countries and with civil society to help empower citizens to lead the charge in their own countries," Clinton said.... - AP, 7-23-10
• Obama, Republicans get ready for new Wall Street battle: We've long had the political debate over the effectiveness of the stimulus bill; then this year came the battle over the impact of new health care law. Get ready for the political fight over the value of new Wall Street regulations. President Obama is set to sign the financial regulation bill next week, and he and the Republicans have started an argument that will last until the Nov. 2 congressional elections and beyond. The law will protect consumers, stop the"shadowy deals" that led to the financial crisis of 2008, and keep taxpayers from being"on the hook for Wall Street's mistakes," Obama said last evening.... - USA Today, 7-17-10
• Obama chides Republicans for thwarting jobless extension: President Barack Obama stepped up criticism of Republicans Saturday for blocking jobless aid, hammering home a Democratic election year attack line that casts the opposition as the party of the rich.
  "Too often, the Republican leadership in the United States Senate chooses to filibuster our recovery and obstruct our progress. And that has very real consequences," Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address. Senate Republicans have used the filibuster, a procedural hurdle demanding 60 votes in the 100-member chamber, to block at least three Democratic initiatives to extend unemployment insurance. Republicans cite the need to curb government spending amid a record budget deficit.
  "Think about what these stalling tactics mean for the millions of Americans who've lost their jobs since the recession began. Over the past several weeks, more than two million of them have seen their unemployment insurance expire," the president said.... - LAT, 7-17-10
• White House Memo Shifting Politics in Presidents' Vacations: It has been 100 years, the local newspaper reports, since a sitting president chose this picturesque seaside village as his vacation spot. When William Howard Taft arrived in July 1910, he sprained his ankle playing golf, the captain of his yacht got “a terrible sunburn” and the townsfolk made such a ruckus about who would entertain him that Mr. Taft decided to give a speech from the bandstand on the village green. President Obama faces pressures of a different sort. Mr. Obama arrived here Friday for a summer weekend getaway with his wife, Michelle, and their daughters, Malia, 12, and Sasha, 9 — a precursor to a longer family vacation they are planning next month on Martha’s Vineyard. But what sounds like a much-needed family escape from the literal and political heat of Washington to some sounds like hypocrisy to others, given recent statements by both the president and first lady urging Americans to spend their vacation time and money along the shores of the oil-stricken Gulf of Mexico.... - NYT, 7-16-10
• Senators Look for BP-Lockerbie Link: Just as BP stopped oil from flowing into the Gulf of Mexico, the company faces unwelcome attention from the U.S. Congress on another issue: whether it sought the release of convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi to help get a $900 million exploration agreement with Libya off the ground. Soon after his release last year, BP acknowledged that it urged the British government to sign a prisoner transfer agreement with Libya, but stressed it did not specify al-Megrahi's case. It reiterated that stance this week when four U.S. Democratic senators asked the State Department to investigate whether there was a quid pro quo for the Lockerbie bomber's release.... - Fox News, 7-17-10
• West Virginia Governor Picks Ex-General Counsel to Succeed Byrd: West Virginia’s governor, Joe Manchin III, announced on Friday that he had chosen Carte P. Goodwin, his former general counsel, to temporarily fill the Senate seat long held by Robert C. Byrd. Mr. Goodwin, 36, will serve until a special election is held, which will probably be later this year. Mr. Manchin has expressed interest in being a candidate in that race. At an event announcing his appointment in Charleston, Mr. Goodwin said it would be impossible to fill the shoes of Mr. Byrd, a Democrat who died last month after serving more than a half-century in the Senate.... - NYT, 7-17-10
• Financial Overhaul Signals Shift on Deregulation: Congress approved a sweeping expansion of federal financial regulation on Thursday, reflecting a renewed mistrust of financial markets after decades in which Washington stood back from Wall Street with wide-eyed admiration. The bill, heavily promoted by President Obama and Congressional Democrats as a response to the 2008 financial crisis, cleared the Senate by a vote of 60 to 39, largely along party lines, after weeks of wrangling that allowed Democrats to pick up the three Republican votes to ensure passage. The vote was the culmination of nearly two years of fierce lobbying and intense debate over the appropriate response to the financial excesses that dragged the nation into the worst recession since the Great Depression.... - NYT, 7-16-10
• Congress acts, but bank bill has work ahead: In the end, it's only a beginning. The far-reaching new banking and consumer protection bill awaiting President Barack Obama's signature now shifts from the politicians to the technocrats. The legislation gives regulators latitude and time to come up with new rules, requires scores of studies and, in some instances, depends on international agreements falling into place. For Wall Street, the next phase represents continuing uncertainty. It also offers banks and other financial institutions yet another opportunity to influence and shape the rules that govern their businesses.... - AP, 7-16-10
• Obama Pushes Agenda, Despite Political Risks: If passage of the financial regulatory overhaul on Thursday proves anything about President Obama, it is this: He knows how to push big bills through a balky Congress. But Mr. Obama’s legislative success poses a paradox: while he may be winning on Capitol Hill, he is losing with voters at a time of economic distress, and soon may be forced to scale back his ambitions. The financial regulatory bill is the final piece of a legislative hat trick that also included the stimulus bill and the landmark new health care law. Over the last 18 months, Mr. Obama and the Democratic Congress have made considerable inroads in passing what could be the most ambitious agenda in decades... - NYT, 7-16-10
• Ex-Manchin Aide Tapped For Byrd Seat, W.Va. Gov. Picks Former Aide Carte Goodwin To Fill Byrd's US Senate Seat: Gov. Joe Manchin is tapping former chief counsel Carte Goodwin, a member of a prominent West Virginia family, to succeed the late U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, Democratic officials told The Associated Press on Friday. Manchin is scheduled to present his appointee at a Friday afternoon press conference at the Capitol.
  The 36-year-old Goodwin, a Charleston lawyer, would hold the seat until November. That's when the governor wants general election voters to decide who will serve the final two years of Byrd's term. The Legislature has begun a special session to consider a proposal from Manchin to allow for a fall vote.... - AP, 7-16-10
• Financial reform bill another win for Obama, but will the public care?: Following the Recovery Act and health-care reform, the newly approved financial reform bill shows that President Obama is adept at getting his agenda through Congress. But the American public cares about one thing right now: the economy.... - CS Monitor, 7-16-10
• Pelosi plays down tensions between White House, Democratic lawmakers: At her weekly news briefing Thursday, less than 48 hours after she and other House Democrats criticized Obama's political operation at a private caucus meeting, she said she and her fellow leaders visited the White House on Wednesday to smooth over the tension and discuss the legislative agenda.
  "We had a very positive meeting with the president yesterday," Pelosi said."Our major focus was on jobs. . . . There is absolutely no reason to think that the White House has been anything but cooperative with us in terms of our political efforts to retain control of Congress."
  The current flare-up was sparked by White House press secretary Robert Gibbs's public comments over the weekend that the House majority was in doubt and that it would take"strong campaigns by Democrats" to avert dramatic losses. WaPo, 7-15-10
• Obama to share electric vision at Holland stop Other agencies less optimistic on costs: President Barack Obama will hail a vision of low-cost, high-powered electric vehicles in Michigan today that other government agencies have suggested is overly optimistic, especially in its estimates of how much the cost of batteries can be reduced. The president's trip to the groundbreaking for a battery plant in Holland will highlight the more than $5 billion the administration has committed toward boosting electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. White House officials said Wednesday that the programs would help lower the cost of some batteries by 70% and provide enough components to build 500,000 electric-drive vehicles a year in the U.S. by 2015.... - Detroit Free Press, 7-15-10
• AZ immigration law gets first major court hearing: A federal judge is scheduled to hear arguments Thursday over whether Arizona's new immigration crackdown should take effect later this month, marking the first major hearing in one of seven challenges to the strict law. U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton also will consider arguments over Gov. Jan Brewer's request to dismiss the challenge filed by Phoenix police Officer David Salgado and the statewide nonprofit group Chicanos Por La Causa.... - AP, 7-15-10
• Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston reunite: What it means for Sarah Palin: Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston – former boyfriend and father of her son – have reconciled and could be married in six weeks. Politically speaking, is this good for Sarah Palin or Roger Clinton redux?... - CS Monitor, 7-15-10
• Obama enlists Bill Clinton's aid on economy: U.S. President Barack Obama sought on Wednesday to lift sagging confidence in his economic stewardship by enlisting the help of predecessor Bill Clinton, as a leading business group issued a scathing critique of the administration's policies... - Reuters, 7-14-10
• Major banking bill faces final vote this week: President Barack Obama on Tuesday secured the 60 votes he needs in the Senate to pass a sweeping overhaul of financial regulations, all but ensuring that he soon will sign into law one of the top initiatives of his presidency. With the votes in hand to overcome Republican delaying tactics, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Tuesday took steps to end debate on the bill Thursday, setting the stage for final passage perhaps later in the day. The House already has passed the bill.
  "This reform is good for families, it is good for businesses, it's good for the entire economy," Obama said as he prodded the Senate to act quickly.... - AP, 7-14-10
• White House Official: Recovery Act Has Created 3 Mln Jobs: The Obama administration's stimulus push has saved or created about 3 million jobs and is on track to save an additional 500,000 by the end of the year, according to a new report by President Barack Obama's Council of Economic Advisers.... - WSJ, 7-14-10
• For Obama, more on legislative priorities: President Barack Obama is discussing legislative priorities with Democratic congressional leaders for a second day Wednesday. The president met with the Senate Democratic leadership on Tuesday. On Wednesday it's the House Democrats' turn. Obama is getting the meetings in before Congress takes its August break.... - AP, 7-14-10
• Sarah Palin rebuts NAACP charge of Tea Party racism: Using her favored and unorthodox means of communicating with nearly 2 million followers via her Facebook page, Sarah Palin Tuesday night expressed sadness over an as yet unpublished NAACP convention resolution accusing Tea Party activists of tolerating racist elements in their midst. The former Republican governor of Alaska, who appears to be positioning herself for a possible run at the 2012 GOP presidential nomination using the disgruntled Tea Party's concerns over expanding and fiscally irresponsible government as a major portion of her base, said:
  I am saddened by the NAACP’s claim that patriotic Americans who stand up for the United States of America’s Constitutional rights are somehow"racists." The charge that Tea Party Americans judge people by the color of their skin is false, appalling and is a regressive and diversionary tactic to change the subject at hand. - 7-14-10
• As NAACP aims to stay in national debate, charge of tea party racism draws fire: One thing is clear as the NAACP gathers this week for its 101st annual meeting: The civil rights organization is intent on being seen as still relevant. Even former Alaska governor Sarah Palin sent out a Twitter message and posted a statement on her Facebook page, helping to make the NAACP convention a hot topic on conservative Web sites. She condemned the organization's passage of a resolution denouncing what it called"racist elements" within the"tea party" movement.... - WaPo, 7-14-10
• Pelosi, White House Feud Over Gibbs' House Prediction: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the driving force behind the Obama agenda in Congress, sharply criticized White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs during a closed-door House Democratic caucus meeting late Tuesday, according to Democratic sources.
  Pelosi, irked since Sunday by what she and other top Democrats considered Gibbs' careless and dismissive comments that Democrats could lose their House majority this November, upbraided a top White House aide as she knocked Gibbs' unwelcome handicapping of House races.
  "How could he [Gibbs] know what's going on in our districts?" Pelosi said, according to Democrats who attended the meeting."Some may weigh his words more closely than others. We have made our disagreements known to the White House."... - Fox News, 7-14-10
• Obama To Nominate Former Clinton Official To Head OMB: President Barack Obama plans to nominate a former Clinton administration official to head the Office of Management and Budget, which is grappling with how to best reduce a $1.4 trillion deficit while the economy is on shaky ground. Obama will nominate Jacob Lew, who ran OMB from 1998 to 2001 under former President Bill Clinton... WSJ, 7-13-10
• Nelson ensures 60 votes for bank regulation bill: All but clearing the way for passage of financial regulations, conservative Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska said Tuesday he will vote for the sweeping overhaul of banking. His support ensures the legislation now has 60 votes to clear the Senate and land on President Barack Obama's desk for his signature. The House passed the bill last month.
  "This reform is good for families, it is good for businesses , it's good for the entire economy," Obama said as he announced his nomination of Jacob Lew to be the new director of the White House budget office.... - AP, 7-13-10
• Senior Republican wins weeklong delay on Kagan: The Senate Judiciary Committee postponed scheduled action Tuesday to send Elena Kagan's Supreme Court nomination to the full Senate for confirmation, setting a panel vote for next week.
  Republicans insisted on the delay, saying they needed more time to review Kagan's written answers to questions they posed to her after her confirmation hearings, and to inquire still further into how she would behave as a justice.... - AP, 7-13-10
• NAACP to vote on controversial resolution condemning 'tea party' supporters: Members of the NAACP will vote Tuesday on a resolution that condemns what the group calls"explicitly racist behavior" by supporters of the"tea party." The resolution, which is expected to pass, pits the civil rights group against the conservative grass-roots movement, which has repeatedly denied allegations of racism.... - WaPo, 7-13-10
• Obama looks to Bush's worldwide strategy on AIDS: President Barack Obama is trying to bring home some of the much-lauded strategies his predecessor used to fight AIDS around the world. The national strategy for combatting HIV and AIDS the Obama administration released Tuesday credits the Bush-era international campaign against AIDS for setting clear targets and ensuring a variety of agencies and groups worked together smoothly to achieve them.... - AP, 7-13-10

ELECTIONS 2010, 2012....

• House Democrats set aside $20 million for ads: Democrats expanded their plan for the final four weeks of television advertising during the fall election campaign, reserving another $20 million in air time to defend endangered incumbent lawmakers. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee so far has reserved air time in media markets that cover 40 of its closest campaigns, according to the advertising plans reviewed Thursday. The reservations indicate Democrats would be in position to defend some of their most vulnerable — and powerful — incumbents, such as House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton of Missouri and Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt of South Carolina.... - AP, 7-23-10
• Records show Greene's military flops: Surprise U.S. Senate nominee Alvin Greene frequently mentions his 13 years of military service, but records obtained Thursday by The Associated Press show that the veteran who has called himself an"American hero" was considered a lackluster service member at best. The records, which document his superiors' decisions to pass over Greene for promotion, cite mistakes as severe as improperly uploading sensitive intelligence information to a military server, and as basic as an overall inability to clearly express his thoughts and perform basic tasks.... - AP, 7-23-10
• Surprise SC Senate candidate makes first speech: In his first campaign appearance, South Carolina's surprising U.S. Senate candidate Alvin Greene avoided any major gaffes Sunday as he hit his three major themes of jobs, education and justice. The speech started off with a joke and ended with Greene timidly waving, a shy smile spreading across his face as he got a standing ovation before a friendly audience in his hometown of Manning. Greene's 6 1/2 minute speech at the local NAAP's monthly meeting was mostly serious. Left out was any mention of his suggestion earlier this month that creating a line of action figures modeled after him could give South Carolinians jobs. In their place came platitudes familiar to anyone who has heard a stump speech.
  "Let's get South Carolina and America back to work and let's move South Carolina forward," said Greene, one of about a dozen lines that got applause from the several hundred folks crammed into a sweltering junior high gymnasium.... - AP, 7-19-10
• Obama foes Romney, Palin start to mix it up a little bit: President Obama and House Democrats have had their differences lately, but so have some of the Republicans who would like to replace Obama.
  An anonymous adviser to Mitt Romney went after Sarah Palin this week, telling Time magazine's Mark Halperin that the ex-Alaska governor is"not a serious human being." Another nameless Romney aide added about Palin:"If she's standing up there in a debate and the answers are more than 15 seconds long, she's in trouble." Ouch!
  Politico ran those quotes by an equally anonymous Palin aide, who said the former Massachusetts governor's team is violating Ronald Reagan's 11th commandment: Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican."You'd think we'd all be working together toward a common goal -- that being 2010 -- and that should be the focus right now," the aide said."Those who try to claim the mantle of Reagan would be good to follow one of his most sacred tenets."... - USA Today, 7-16-10
• Can Republicans take back the Senate?: The kerfuffle caused by White House press secretary Robert Gibbs' acknowledgment that there are enough seats in play to flip control of the House this fall has eclipsed another interesting political debate: Could Republicans win the Senate majority too? The answer? Yes -- but it remains a significantly longer shot than the GOP taking over the House. Senate Republicans need a net gain of 10 seats, which, if history is any guide, will be difficult. The last time one party made double digit seat gains was in 1980 when Republicans defeated nine incumbents and won three more Democratic open seats for a 12-seat pickup. (Thank you Ronald Reagan!) Still, if the last few elections have taught us anything, it's that history isn't always determinative... - WaPo, 7-16-10
• Palin's Ground Game Spurs Campaign Buzz: Through Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has burst back into the political spotlight this month, while her family life has once again become part of the broader American conversation. But it is Ms. Palin's groundwork on behalf of candidates across the country, along with her continued fund-raising abilities, that has Republican leaders and political strategists wondering whether she is gearing up for a presidential bid in 2012. Ms. Palin's intentions remain unclear, and unstated. She declined to comment through her political-action committee.
  But her influence is undeniable: On Sunday, SarahPAC disclosed contributions of at least $87,500 to Republican candidates she has endorsed, and a tantalizing $210,000 she has spent on consultants of her own. Ms. Palin also appears to have honed her pitch. Last week, SarahPAC posted a"Mama Grizzlies" video online aimed at reaching out to women voters. In the clip, women carried signs such as"I am not the 'Angry Mob.' I am an angry tax-bled 'Hockey Mom.'" Political experts said the video—with its high production values.... - WSJ, 7-17-10
• GOP Candidates Seize Funding Edge: Republican candidates for Congress have seized the fund-raising lead from Democrats in the closest House and Senate races. Republicans in a dozen of the closest Senate contests claimed 58% of the nearly $50 million in total contributions during the three-month period that ended June 30, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of financial reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. That is a change from the first fund-raising period of the year when Democrats brought in a slight majority of contributions in those races.... - WSJ, 7-17-10
• Is Jim DeMint an Ace in the Hole for Barack Obama?: South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint , who once proclaimed that he’d rather have “30 Republicans in the Senate who believe in principles of freedom than 60 who don’t believe in anything,” continues to endorse Senate candidates and give leaders in his own party migraine headaches. But one politician must be smiling from ear to ear when he follows DeMint’s antics: President Barack Obama . That’s because, more than Florida’s Marco Rubio, Kentucky’s Rand Paul or Colorado’s Ken Buck — all endorsed by DeMint in GOP Senate primaries against the wishes of party strategists and insiders — the president stands to benefit the most, long term, from DeMint’s rhetoric and actions leading up to the 2010 midterm elections.... - Roll Call, 7-15-10
• Outsider Wins Alabama GOP Gov Nomination: Self-described outsider Robert Bentley won Alabama's Republican nomination for governor Tuesday night over establishment candidate Bradley Byrne with a strong showing in rural areas.
  In the unofficial count, Bentley had 56 percent of the vote to Byrne's 44 percent with 83 percent of the precincts reporting. Bryne ran strong in the state's four big counties, but Bentley outperformed Byrne in small counties, including areas where Tim James and Roy Moore did well when they ran third and fourth in the June 1 Republican primary.... - AP, 7-14-10

POLITICAL QUOTES

• Biden: Afghan withdrawal may start with 'a couple of thousand troops': As few as"a couple of thousand" U.S. troops may leave Afghanistan in the first phase of withdrawing forces from there beginning a year from now, Vice President Joe Biden said in an interview broadcast Sunday."It could be as few as a couple of thousand troops; it could be more," Biden told ABC's"This Week." Asked about a book that quotes him as saying the troop withdrawal would start with"a whole lot of people" leaving Afghanistan, Biden confirmed the comment but said he was responding to an assertion that there might be no withdrawal at all at that time."I did say it," Biden acknowledged, calling the July 2011 withdrawal date"the beginning of a transition" based on the ability of Afghanistan forces to provide security around the country.... - CNN, 7-18-10
• Vice President Joe Biden defends Tea Party against 'racist' claims: Tea Partiers have gotten some support from an unlikely source -- the Vice President of the United States. VP Joe Biden told ABC News' Jake Tapper on Sunday that he doesn't think the ultra-conservative group is"racist."
  "I wouldn't characterize the Tea Party as racist," he said on Sunday's"This Week." But"there are individuals who are either members of or on the periphery of some of their things, their -- their protests -- that have expressed really unfortunate comments."
  The remarks come on the heels of the NAACP's move last week to demand that Tea Party leaders"repudiate it's racist elements."
  Sarah Palin was quick to defend the group.
  "I am saddened by the NAACP's claim that patriotic Americans who stand up for the United States of America's Constitutional rights are somehow 'racists,'" she said via Facebook.... - NY Daily News, 7-18-10
• Weekly Address: President Obama Says GOP Senate Leadership Choosing to"Filibuster Our Recovery and Obstruct Our Progress"
  Remarks of President Barack Obama Weekly Address The White House July 17, 2010: Now in the past, Presidents and Congresses of both parties have treated unemployment insurance for what it is – an emergency expenditure. That’s because an economic disaster can devastate families and communities just as surely as a flood or tornado.
  Suddenly, Republican leaders want to change that. They say we shouldn’t provide unemployment insurance because it costs money. So after years of championing policies that turned a record surplus into a massive deficit, including a tax cut for the wealthiest Americans, they’ve finally decided to make their stand on the backs of the unemployed. They’ve got no problem spending money on tax breaks for folks at the top who don’t need them and didn’t even ask for them; but they object to helping folks laid off in this recession who really do need help. And every day this goes on, another 50,000 Americans lose that badly needed lifeline.
  Well, I think these Senators are wrong. We can’t afford to go back to the same misguided policies that led us into this mess. We need to move forward with the policies that are leading us out of this mess.
  The fact is, most economists agree that extending unemployment insurance is one of the single most cost-effective ways to help jumpstart the economy. It puts money into the pockets of folks who not only need it most, but who also are most likely to spend it quickly. That boosts local economies. And that means jobs.
  Increasing loans to small business. Renewing unemployment insurance. These steps aren’t just the right thing to do for those hardest hit by the recession – they’re the right thing to do for all of us. And I’m calling on Congress once more to take these steps on behalf of America’s workers, and families, and small business owners – the people we were sent here to serve.
  Because when storms strike Main Street, we don’t play politics with emergency aid. We don’t desert our fellow Americans when they fall on hard times. We come together. We do what we can to help. We rebuild stronger, and we move forward. That’s what we’re doing today. And I’m absolutely convinced that’s how we’re going to come through this storm to better days ahead. - WH, 7-17-10
• Obama: GOP blocking unemployed, small business aid: President Barack Obama says Senate Republicans are playing politics with bills that would extend benefits to the unemployed and increase lending to small businesses. Striking a deeply partisan tone in his weekly radio and online address, Obama said the GOP leadership has chosen to"filibuster our recovery and obstruct our progress" by blocking votes on agenda items the president says would breath life into the economic recovery.
  "These steps aren't just the right thing to do for those hardest hit by the recession," Obama said."They're the right thing to do for all of us." The address was recorded at the White House before Obama flew to Maine on Friday for a weekend family vacation... - AP, 7-17-10
• Wall Street Reform: Final Votes Approach: Remarks by the President in Selection of Jack Lew to be Director of OMB: Before I begin, I just want to note a breakthrough that we've had on our efforts to pass the most comprehensive reform of Wall Street since the Great Depression. Three Republican senators have put politics and partisanship aside to support this reform, and I'm grateful for their decision, as well as all the Democrats who've worked so hard to make this reform a reality, particularly Chairman Dodd and Chairman Barney Frank.
  What members of both parties realize is that we can't allow a financial crisis like this one that we just went through to happen again. This reform will prevent that from happening. It will prevent a financial crisis like this from happening again, by protecting consumers against the unfair practices of credit card companies and mortgage lenders. It will ensure that taxpayers are never again on the hook for Wall Street's mistakes. And it will end an era of irresponsibility that led to the loss of 8 million jobs and trillions of dollars of wealth.
  Now, as we finish our work on Wall Street reform, we're also mindful that we've got significant work to do when it comes to reforming our government and reducing our deficit.
  This reform is good for families. It's good for businesses. It's good for the entire economy. And I urge the Senate to act quickly so that I can sign it into law next week..... - WH, 7-13-10

HISTORIANS & ANALYSTS' COMMENTS

• Julian E. Zelizer: Why Obama's poll numbers have sunk: President Obama's supporters have been frustrated about the apparent paradox of this administration. With the recent passage of historic financial regulation legislation, many Democrats are having trouble grasping why his approval ratings still lag and why Democrats might lose control of the House in the fall elections.
  Supporters say the economic stimulus bill, education and health care reform, and now financial reform, should have Americans looking at the White House with the same admiration they had for President Roosevelt in the 1930s or President Johnson at the height of his success in 1964 and 1965.
  But according to a recent CBS News poll, just 40 percent of those polled approved of how the president was handling the economy. This was a drop of five percentage points since June....
  Rather than complain about what the public thinks or dismiss liberals as unrealistic, Obama would do better to be more responsive to public concerns, with joblessness at the top of his list. The president must give serious consideration to another stimulus package, and be willing to spend the kind of political capital that he used in pushing for health care and financial regulation. He must also be willing to look at some of the shortcomings of the first bill, such as insufficient funds for public works projects and for assistance to the states. - CNN, 7-19-10
• Analysis: Dems enacted much of Obama's agenda: Far-reaching legislation aimed at reining in Wall Street marks the latest and likely the last major achievement by President Barack Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress, an 18-month partnership that strove simultaneously to fix a battered economy and enact sweeping changes to health care, education and more. Whatever the longer term impact — the most far-reaching changes in the health care legislation won't start until 2014 — the immediate aftermath is unemployment that scrapes double digits and deficits far deeper than Obama and his allies inherited in January 2009. The Republicans who worked ceaselessly to thwart the president's agenda are emboldened, while Democrats who voted it into law brace for majority-threatening election losses.... - AP, 7-17-10
• Julian E. Zelizer: Professor of History and Public Affairs, Princeton Gulf oil spill containment: Obama's Katrina or turning point toward reelection?: When President Clinton responded to the Oklahoma City bombing, he did so forcefully, with an expansive legislative agenda to strengthen the nation’s ability to fight against domestic terrorism. Just because the Gulf Oil spill might finally have reached a turning point, there is no way to see victory for the administration. It is clear that administration policies allowed for this kind of off-shore drilling to take place, despite great doubts and concerns, and there is evidence the administration is still authorizing risky drilling to occur (see offshore drilling). The response has not been forceful and a huge amount of environmental damage has been caused as a result of this -- damage that won’t be repaired.... - Politico, 7-16-10
• DANIEL HENNINGER: Berwick: Bigger Than Kagan: If the American people want the health-care world Dr. Berwick wishes to give them, that's their choice. But they must be given that choice.... - WSJ, 7-14-10
• Allan Lichtman: Scholar's"13 Keys" Predict Another Obama Win: Although the next presidential election is 28 months away, President Barack Obama's reelection in 2012 is nearly guaranteed despite former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s prediction that Obama has only a 20 percent chance, according to American University Professor Allan Lichtman. Lichtman’s"13 Keys" system predicts the outcome of the popular vote based on the performance of the party and not the use of candidate preference polls, campaign tactics, or events.... - American University, 7-14-10

IN FOCUS: STATS

• Poll affirms a vote for judicial know-how: Some Senate Democrats and legal activists are advising President Obama to look beyond the"judicial monastery" to find a replacement for retiring Justice John Paul Stevens, but the public does not seem to share that view.
  A Washington Post-ABC News poll shows that judicial experience is the most valued quality among a list of professional and personal characteristics. Seven in 10 say service as a judge is a positive quality for a Supreme Court nominee, while only 5 percent see it as a negative. In contrast, 35 percent view experience outside the legal world as a positive.
  Overall, two-thirds of Americans say they are comfortable with Obama selecting the nation's next justice, including nearly a third of Republicans. That is comparable with a Fox News poll conducted last May before the president chose Sonia Sotomayor to be his first nominee to the court... - WaPo, 4-29-10

THE HEADLINES....

• Obama tours Gulf Coast while following failed NYC bombing: Driving through the marshy lowlands southeast of New Orleans on Sunday, President Obama got his first glimpse of the fallout from a huge oil spill moving in from the Gulf of Mexico -- an event that has teetered on the verge of crisis as the administration has rushed to demonstrate the situation is under control.
  "We will do what's necessary to protect the American people, to determine who's behind this potentially deadly act, and see that justice is done," Obama said of the attempted car bombing as he stood in a parka in front of a Coast Guard cutter on a rural estuary.... - WaPo, 5-2-10
• Obama jokes at correspondents dinner: It may be one of the more difficult speeches a president has to make every year, an address that requires diplomacy, a slight hint of salaciousness, and just enough self-deprecation to make the hits at political foes seem just all in good fun. Oh -- and the chief executive has to end on a serious, high-minded note about how politicians and the reporters who cover them are really on the same side of democracy, even when they spar.... - Boston Globe, 5-2-10
• White House Correspondents Dinner: Obama Can Also Be His Own Comedian:
  It really is true. Barack Obama can staff himself better on nearly all fronts than those who staff him -- even comedians. Leno just didn't hit his groove during his routine -- but President Obama said preemptively that night that everyone knew what happened to those who followed Leno's time slot -- and well, he wasn't gonna take any chances.... People were gasping and laughing pretty hysterically at the edginess of Obama's remarks. Leno just couldn't beat him.... - Huffington Post, 5-3-10
• White House Correspondents' dinner: D.C. spiffs up its act: There is one essential thing to be learned from this year's White House Correspondents' Association dinner about Washington's relationship with fashion: It has improved significantly. The appearance of the guests took on a decidedly more elegant and sophisticated tone compared to years past, when the annual convergence of media, politics and Hollywood glitter earned its"nerd prom" epithet.... - WaPo, 5-2-10
• Palin appearance draws fans, foes in Wichita: Sarah Palin hailed Wichita as a city of"hard working and patriotic liberty-loving Americans" during a rousing speech Sunday night at Intrust Bank Arena. The former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate, appearing at a fund-raiser for the Bethel Life School Association of Wichita, spoke to a crowd of a few thousand people. The evening had a few technical glitches. Problems with the sound system led to several short delays before the speech. Entertainer Pat Boone, who hosted the event, filled some of the time by leading the audience in a round of"Rock My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham."... - Wichita Eagle, 5-2-10
• UK Today News: Vera Baker Denies The Alleged Obama-Baker Cheating Scandal: The alleged Obama – Baker affair: Just a few days ago the National Enquirer put up a shocking article in it’s magazine which was something on the lines of"Did Barack Obama have a relationship with Vera Baker?" The National Enquirer insists that they have proof they the US President cheated on his wife Michelle Obama with his former campaign aide Vera Baker back in 2004 and even stayed at a Washington hotel. An alleged security camera has revealed everything. The magazine say that Vera had put in lots of hard work to get him onto the street of success during his campaign days; and it was then that the two grew closer. Vera Baker, on the other hand, has reportedly denied that any such thing ever occured even though sources say that she could be paid $1 Million to confirm the news.... - UK Today News, 5-10
• Who is Vera Baker? And what did she do for Barack Obama?: If you're wondering who Vera Baker -- the woman rumored to have been involved with Barack Obama during his Senate race -- is, then you must not have been paying attention to the Republicans during the 2008 presidential campaign.... - Zap2it.com, 5-1-10
• U.S. presses BP to stop gushing Gulf Coast oil leak: A huge oil slick caused by an underwater leak continued to creep toward the U.S. Gulf Coast on Monday as the Obama administration pressed energy giant BP Plc to stem the oil gushing from its ruptured offshore well. President Barack Obama visited affected communities on Sunday, pledging a"relentless relief effort" but keeping the focus on the British oil giant BP."Let me be clear: BP is responsible for this leak. BP will be paying the bill," Obama said."We are dealing with a massive and potentially unprecedented environmental disaster.""The oil that is still leaking from the well could seriously damage the economy and the environment of our Gulf states and it could extend for a long time. It could jeopardize the livelihoods of thousands of Americans who call this place home," Obama said during his visit to Louisiana.... - Reuters, 5-3-10
• Obama urges Congress to act quickly on campaign finance reform: Corporate and other donors will gain even more influence over politics and government this year unless swift action is taken to force them to reveal who they are in broadcast campaign ads.
  "The American people have a right to know when some group like"Citizens for a Better Future' is actually funded by ‘Corporations for Weaker Oversight'," Obama said during his weekly radio address.... - LAT, 5-1-10
• Obama will fight for new campaign finance rules: President Barack Obama on Saturday pressed Congress for swift action on measures to restrict political advertising by corporations and labor unions, saying that"no less than the integrity of our democracy" is at stake. Legislation introduced in Congress this week would require that corporations and unions identify themselves in political ads they pay for and that the chief executive or other top official state that"I approve this message." The measures are in response to a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling in January that upheld the First Amendment rights of these groups to spend money on campaign ads, thus enhancing their ability to influence federal elections. Obama slammed the decision at the time, saying the court had given a"green light to a new stampede of special- interest money in our politics" and pledging to work with Congress on a"forceful response" to the ruling.... - SIFY, 5-1-10
• Protests against Arizona immigration law go nationwide: Thousands of protesters in cities across the United States waved American flags as they rallied Saturday against Arizona's tough new immigration law and pushed for national immigration reform."Si se puede,""Yes we can" and"Boycott Arizona" were common refrains for groups protesting from Los Angeles, California, to New York City. May 1 is traditionally a rallying day for supporters of immigration reform. But protesters across the country said they were galvanized by Arizona's recent passage of a law cracking down on illegal immigration.... - CNN, 5-1-10
• Immigration a hot topic in Whitman and Poizner's last debate: The GOP rivals trade attacks over Arizona's new law, as well as each other's business dealings and consistency on policy issues... - LAT, 5-3-10
• All the Obama 20-Somethings NYT, 5-2-10
• Washington honors memory of civil rights leader Dorothy Height: In the movement, there was Thurgood. There was Martin. There was Miss Dorothy.
  Height, perhaps the most influential woman in the leadership of the civil rights movement, was remembered Thursday in a stirring 90-minute program at Washington National Cathedral that summoned the sometimes painful and majestic march toward equality for blacks and women in America."She lived to see the country change," said Olivia G. White, dean of students at Hood College in Frederick and one of the hundreds of members of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority who filled the pews -- along with President Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), and others well known and unknown.
  "She was raised in a different America, beyond the experience of many," President Obama said in his eulogy, looking out over pews filled with elderly men with canes, women in fine millinery and children holding on to the white-gloved hands of mothers."Jim Crow ruled the South. The Ku Klux Klan was on the rise. Lynching was all too often the penalty of black skin. And slaves had been freed within living memory."... - WaPo, 4-30-10
• Goldman Sachs is focus of criminal investigation: U.S. attorney's office in New York is conducting an inquiry into the investment bank’s mortgage securities deals. LAT, 4-29-10
• In financial regs debate, senators look to details: Now it's all about the details. With Republicans ceding the way for debate, legislation to impose sweeping new controls on financial institutions faces a test from both parties. Some Democrats seek tougher restrictions on banks; some Republicans aim to ease consumer protection provisions. Senate officials expect about two weeks of votes on amendments that could change the bill in substantial ways.... - AP, 4-29-10
• Arizona immigration law boosts Gov. Brewer's rating But points scored with own party may be erased by sales-tax push: Signing the nation's toughest immigration legislation into law has thrust Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer into the national spotlight, and recent polls suggest the move has given her job-performance ratings a boost. But her support of Senate Bill 1070 is unlikely to carry her gubernatorial campaign through the summer and into the fall, analysts say. That's because Brewer has put herself at the forefront of yet another controversial issue: Proposition 100, the temporary sales-tax hike that goes before voters next month. Brewer's advocacy of the 1-cent-per-dollar tax increase is such a sore point with core Republican voters that her stance on the immigration bill may not be enough to mitigate it when voters head to the polls in August for the primary elections, political experts say.... - The Arizona Republic, 4-29-10
• Kirk to skip Palin fundraiser: Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mark Kirk won't attend next month's Illinois Republican Party fundraiser featuring Sarah Palin, campaign aides said Tuesday. Instead, his aides said, the five-term North Shore congressman will be in Washington for House votes on May 12 when the former vice presidential candidate is scheduled to be in Rosemont raising money....- Chicago Tribune, 4-28-10
• In Greeting Iowa Voters, Obama Focuses on Finances: President Obama strongly criticized Senate Republicans on Tuesday for blocking proposed legislation to tighten regulation of the financial system, vowing that he would “not let this effort fall victim to industry lobbyists who want to kill it.""It’s one thing to oppose reform, but to oppose even talking about reform in front of the American people?” Mr. Obama said to cheers from the audience."That's not right." Mr. Obama’s appearance here in Iowa, the first stop of a two-day tour of three Midwestern states, was intended to convince voters before the midterm elections that his economic policies were working despite the high unemployment rate.... - NYT, 4-28-10
• Arizona's immigration law has ripple effect: Arizona's tough new immigration law has spawned calls for boycotts, a travel warning from Mexico to its citizens and a possible federal lawsuit, but a key Republican senator said Tuesday that it is not likely to result in comprehensive immigration reform this year. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham had been the lone GOP senator supporting reform, but he said it appears a reform bill must wait until 2012 to gain enough public and political support to pass. A reform bill could not pass without bipartisan support."Good people in Arizona are so afraid of an uncontrolled border that they passed a law that I think is unconstitutional," Graham said at a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee."We've got a long way to go to prove we can secure the border."... - Arizona Republic, 4-28-10
• Biden to speak at daughter's commencement at Penn: Vice President Joe Biden will speak at a University of Pennsylvania commencement ceremony where his daughter will get her master's degree. The Philadelphia Ivy League school announced Tuesday that Biden will address graduates of the School of Social Policy and Practice on May 17. Ashley Biden will receive a master's in social work at the ceremony.... - WaPo, 4-27-10
• Unemployment challenges Obama's economic narrative: Even as he touts his efforts to put more Americans to work, President Barack Obama faces a public increasingly skeptical of his ability to bring jobs back to Main Street. During stops in Iowa, Illinois and Missouri, Obama will try to convince voters that his economic policies are working, despite an unemployment rate that's expected to remain at painfully high levels for months if not years. Those voters - many of them crucial independents - will be key to Obama's re-election prospects in 2012. And his fellow Democrats, facing a tough political climate in the November, need their support even sooner.... - AP, 4-27-10
• Debate stalls on Wall St. overhaul: One Democrat’s defection stings party’s Senate push; Brown says GOP compromise would protect Mass. firms: Senate Republicans, including Scott Brown of Massachusetts, united with a lone Democrat yesterday to block debate on legislation designed to overhaul the nation’s financial regulations and prevent a repeat of the 2008 economic meltdown. The 57-to-41 vote — three shy of the number that Senate rules say are needed to end the filibuster and proceed — is a setback for Democrats who have been pushing for the biggest overhaul of financial regulations since the Great Depression. It could give Republicans, who oppose several key aspects of the proposal, more momentum in brokering a bipartisan compromise. Polls suggest the legislation is popular with the public, but it has drawn strong opposition from securities industry lobbyists. Democrats appeared intent on pushing forward, betting that Republicans will eventually cave under public pressure to support the bill.... - Boston Globe, 4-27-10
• Troubled Senate Climate Bill to Undergo EPA Analysis: The Senate climate bill may be on life support, but its authors plan nonetheless to send their measure to U.S. EPA as soon as this afternoon for an economic study that needs to be completed if the legislation has any chance of reaching the floor before the start of the summer.
  Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has promised to have the EPA study"well in hand for the debate" on the sweeping bill, which would curb greenhouse gas emissions across the U.S. economy. Typically, EPA's work takes about six weeks to complete, which means Reid cannot expect to start a floor debate until at least after lawmakers return from their Memorial Day recess in early June. For now, the Senate measure is on hold for a completely different reason. Republican Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, the bill's principal GOP co-sponsor, threatened Saturday to abandon the climate negotiations unless Reid gives up on plans this year to tackle legislation overhauling the nation's immigration policies.... - NYT, 4-27-10
• G.O.P. Blocks Debate on Financial Oversight Bill: Senate Republicans, united in opposition to the Democrats’ legislation to tighten regulation of the financial system, voted on Monday to block the bill from reaching the floor for debate. As both sides dug in, the battle has huge ramifications for the economy and for their political prospects in this year’s midterm elections. Republicans said they were intent on winning substantive changes to the bill and accused the Democrats of rushing the most far-reaching overhaul of the financial regulatory system since the Great Depression. Both sides say they expect the overhaul eventually will be approved.... - NYT, 4-27-10
• For Derek Jeter and World Series champion New York Yankees, visiting the White House never gets old: When Derek Jeter was a kid, he dreamed of playing shortstop for the Yankees. But visiting the White House five times and meeting three different Presidents never entered his mind."All the stuff that comes along with it isn't part of the dream," Jeter said."These are just the perks." Jeter and his teammates will make the trip from Baltimore to Washington to visit wounded veterans Monday morning at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, then proceed to the White House to meet with President Obama Monday afternoon.... - NY Daily News, 4-26-10

ELECTIONS 2010, 2012....

• Internal GOP wars shaping policies nationwide: Internal GOP politics are profoundly affecting major policies such as immigration, health care and deficit spending, as elected Republicans shift right to fend off challengers in primary elections. The moves may leave a lasting imprint on society long after flashy political events, such as Florida Gov. Charlie Crist's decision to abandon the GOP in hopes of winning a Senate seat, are minor memories. They show that conservative movements such as the tea party phenomenon are influencing the nation well ahead of the November elections.... - AP, 5-3-10
• Immigration a hot topic in Whitman and Poizner's last debate: The GOP rivals trade attacks over Arizona's new law, as well as each other's business dealings and consistency on policy issues. LAT, 5-3-10
• Parties Snipe at Crist, but May Court Him Later: A bipartisan scolding broke out in the wake of the decision by Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida to ditch the Republican Party and make an independent Senate bid, with leaders of both parties calling his move a self-serving piece of aggrandizement, rather than an act of principle.
  "Elections are about trust," said Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader,"and, frankly, it is unclear whether Governor Crist deserves any.""As usual," added Senator Robert Menendez, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee,"Charlie Crist is putting his political ambition first." But if Mr. Crist wins — unlikely, but hardly impossible — won’t both parties find themselves at his doorstep?... - NYT,
• Fla. gov dumps GOP, runs for Senate as independent: Former GOP darling Gov. Charlie Crist defected from the Republican Party on Thursday to run as an independent for U.S. Senate after months of being ripped by conservatives as too supportive of President Barack Obama.
  "I don't have either party helping me. But I need you. I need you more than ever," the governor said, surrounded by cheering supporters carrying signs that included"Democrats for Crist."
  Crist was mobbed by supporters after the speech. One man shouted,"I love you!" and Crist replied,"I love you more, brother." He said he felt liberated. Asked why, he said,"Because I only belong to the people and that's a wonderful place to be. That's what it's all about."... - AP, 4-29-10
• Fla. gov. on cusp of independent bid for US Senate: The very thing that once made Gov. Charlie Crist the clear Republican choice to run for U.S. Senate is also what will perhaps make it inevitable that he will eventually buck the party to run as an independent: his embrace — literally and figuratively — of bipartisanship.... - AP, 4-29-10
• Active campaign shapes up for Republicans: Eric Dahlberg quit his job working for a government agency that oversees the state’s health law last month so he could concentrate on his new passion, running full time for the state Senate. The 32-year-old Chelmsford selectman believes that Scott Brown’s US Senate victory paved the way for Republicans like him to focus on the economy instead of"the lunatic" social issues that have less bearing, he says, on daily life. If Republicans have an opportunity to rebuild the state party, it may be with candidates like Dahlberg. Yesterday marked the deadline for legislative candidates to submit voter signatures to qualify for the ballot. The final tally of candidates will not be known for a few weeks, but more than 500 took out qualifying papers in recent months, according to an informal list maintained by the secretary of state, a sign of what is likely to be an active campaign season. The state Republican Party, which now claims just a small fraction of the seats on Beacon Hill, says it hopes to field more than 100 legislative candidates around the state and will spend the next few months determining who among them are serious enough to warrant further help from the party... - Boston Globe, 4-28-10
• McCain needs to provide real leadership of old on immigration: Arizona has never needed Sen. John McCain more — the"maverick" version of years gone by, that is. The man who understood the inherent evil of demonizing groups of people. The McCain who stood up to strident voices, understanding that fearful, reactionary sentiments must never be codified into punitive laws.
  His state has enacted just such a law, an immigration-enforcement measure that basically equates Latinos with illegal immigrants. Under the law signed by Gov. Jan Brewer, police would be required"when practicable" to detain anybody about whom there is"reasonable suspicion" of being in this country illegally. Immigrants would be required to carry documents showing they are in this country legally; those who do not produce such documents could be charged with a misdemeanor. Finally, if the police in any jurisdiction choose not to enforce the law with sufficient zeal — and many law enforcement authorities in Arizona are loath to do so — they could be sued.
  Arizona — the nation, really — needs a Republican leader of the kind McCain used to be. The kind of man who once co-sponsored a sensible set of reforms for the nation’s immigration laws.... - The Kansas City Star, 4-26-10

POLITICAL QUOTES

• Palin calls oil spill 'tragic' and defends offshore drilling: Gulf of Mexico oil spill or not, Sarah Palin on Saturday defended offshore drilling as an essential component of U.S. energy security. Speaking to a crowd of mostly Republicans at the Independence Events Center, the former Alaska governor called the oil spill"very tragic" but added:"I want our country to be able to trust the oil industry." She said the U.S. must wean itself from foreign oil in order to be truly free."We've got to tap domestically because energy security will be the key to our prosperity," Palin said...."We believe that God shed his grace on thee," she said."We still believe that America is exceptional."... - Kansas City Star, 5-2-10
• Remarks by the President on Oil Spill, Venice, Louisiana: ... I also want to stress that we are working closely with the Gulf states and local communities to help every American affected by this crisis. Let me be clear: BP is responsible for this leak; BP will be paying the bill. But as President of the United States, I'm going to spare no effort to respond to this crisis for as long as it continues. And we will spare no resource to clean up whatever damage is caused. And while there will be time to fully investigate what happened on that rig and hold responsible parties accountable, our focus now is on a fully coordinated, relentless response effort to stop the leak and prevent more damage to the Gulf.... - WH, 5-2-10
• President Obama Trades Jokes with Jay Leno: You might have heard we passed a health care bill. And some Republicans have suggested that the bill contains a few “secret” provisions. That’s ridiculous. There aren’t a few secret provisions in the health care plan. There are like hundreds. And tonight, in the interest of transparency, I’d like to share a couple. Let’s see here. This provision is called the “Bay State of Denial.” It reads, “This bill shall cover short-term memory loss related to the passage of Massachusetts health care reform.” Good news, Mitt, your condition is covered! This next provision is called the “Jersey Shore-Up.” It reads, “The following individuals shall be excluded from the indoor tanning tax within this bill: Snooki, J-Woww, the Situation, and House Minority Leader John Boehner.” This provision ought to put a common misconception to rest. It says right here: “If you do not like the ruling of your death panel, you can appeal it.”
  Some of you are seasoned veterans who have been on the political beat for decades. Others here tonight began their careers as bloggers not long ago. But I think it’s fair to say that every single reporter in this room believes deeply in the enterprise of journalism. Every one of you, even the most cynical among you, understands and cherishes the function of a free press in the preservation of our system of government and our way of life. And I want you to know that for all the jokes and occasional gripes, I cherish that work as well. In fact, tonight, I wanted to present you all with a bipartisan, Congressional resolution that honors all those wonderful contributions that journalists have made to our country and our world. Unfortunately, I couldn’t break the filibuster. WH, 5-2-10
• President Obama pokes fun at Scott Brown at dinner: President Obama poked fun at Republican Senator Scott Brown, referring to his long-ago centerfold in Cosmopolitan magazine, at the White House Correspondents Association dinner on Saturday night."Speaking of tween heartthrobs, Scott Brown is here. .. I admire Scott, a rare politician in Washington with nothing to hide," said Obama. Obama, who delivered his lines with perfect aplomb, moved on quickly to tease his own adviser, the balding, middle-aged David Axelrod."Now you should be aware that Scott Brown is not the only one with a salacious photo spread floating around. Recently, David Axelrod was offered a centerfold opportunity of his own. Now I did not know that Krispy Kreme had a catalog, but it's true," he said, drawing widespread laughter.... - Boston Globe, 5-2-10
• Weekly Address: President Obama Calls on Congress to Enact Reforms to Stop a"Potential Corporate Takeover of Our Elections" Remarks of President Barack Obama Saturday, May 1, 2010 Weekly Address Washington, DC That’s one of the reasons I ran for President: because I believe so strongly that the voices of ordinary Americans were being drowned out by the clamor of a privileged few in Washington. And that’s why, since the day I took office, my administration has been taking steps to reform the system. Recently, however, the Supreme Court issued a decision that overturned decades of law and precedent – dealing a huge blow to our efforts to rein in this undue influence. In short, this decision gives corporations and other special interests the power to spend unlimited amounts of money – literally millions of dollars – to affect elections throughout our country. This, in turn, will multiply their influence over decision-making in our government....
  In the wake of the recent Supreme Court ruling, we face a similar challenge. That’s why it’s so important that Congress consider new reforms to prevent corporations and other special interests from gaining even more clout in Washington. And almost all of these reforms are designed to bring new transparency to campaign spending. They are based on the principle espoused by former Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis – that sunlight is the best disinfectant....
  In addition, these reforms would address another troubling aspect of the Supreme Court’s ruling. Under the bill Congress will consider, we’ll make sure that foreign corporations and foreign nationals are restricted from spending money to influence American elections, just as they were in the past – even through U.S. subsidiaries. And we’d keep large contractors that receive taxpayer funds from interfering in our elections as well, to avoid the appearance of corruption and the possible misuse of tax dollars.
  Now, we can expect that these proposed changes will be met with heavy resistance from the special interests and their supporters in Congress. But I’m calling on leaders in both parties to resist these pressures. For what we are facing is no less than a potential corporate takeover of our elections. And what is at stake is no less than the integrity of our democracy. This shouldn’t be a Democratic issue or a Republican issue. This is an issue that goes to whether or not we will have a government that works for ordinary Americans – a government of, by, and for the people. That’s why these reforms are so important. And that’s why I’m going to fight to see them passed into law. WH, 5-1-10
• Clinton: Syria's provocations may plunge Middle East into war: Syrian President Bashar Assad is pursuing dangerous policies that could unleash war on the Middle East, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned on Thursday night. In a speech to the American Jewish Committee in Washington, Clinton said that Syria's transfer of weapons to Hezbollah militants in Lebanon risks throwing the region into instability.
  "We have spoken out forcefully about the grave dangers of Syria's transfer of weapons to Hizbollah," Clinton said."We condemn this in the strongest possible terms and have expressed our concerns directly to the Syrian government." She added:"Transferring weapons to these terrorists - especially longer-range missiles - would pose a serious threat to the security of Israel. It would have a profoundly destabilizing effect on the region."All states must stop supplying weapons to terrorist groups such as Hizbollah and Hamas. Every rocket smuggled into southern Lebanon or Gaza sets back the cause of peace."... - Haaretz, 4-30-10
• Obama says Arizona immigration law is 'polarizing': President Barack Obama criticized Arizona's controversial new immigration law, which opponents fear could lead to ethnic profiling, saying it was"polarizing."
  "These kinds of shortcuts, I think, will end up polarizing the situation instead of solving the problem," Obama told reporters on Air Force One. The US president noted that"if you've got hundreds of thousands of people coming in, not playing by the rules, that's a problem. And the federal government has been abdicating on its responsibilities for a very long time on this issue."That's why I've called for comprehensive immigration reform, and I want that to proceed, and I want it to be done on a bipartisan basis," Obama underscored. But"what I think is a mistake is when we start having local law enforcement officials empowered to stop people on the suspicion that they may be undocumented workers, because that carries a great amount of risk that core values that we all care about are breached."This isn't just my opinion. You've seen a number of very prominent Republicans say that this is a problem," the president added.... - AFP, 4-29-10
• Obama to Muslim world: A 'new beginning' has started: President Obama said tonight that the U.S. will set up exchange programs with business people throughout the Muslim world as part of the overall outreach program he outlined last year.
  "The new beginning we seek is not only possible, it has already begun," Obama told the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship in Washington, D.C...."Over the past year the United States has been reaching out and listening," he said. - USA Today, 4-26-10

HISTORIANS & ANALYSTS' COMMENTS

• Miss him? Bush's reputation might be ready for a rebound: "You can't begin to really assess a presidency with any sort of objectivity until they've been out of office for years," said Steven Schier, a political scientist at Carleton College in Minnesota."It will be 30 years before we can accurately assess the Bush presidency."
  "We aren't going to have a really good perspective for a while," said Bert Rockman, a presidential historian at Purdue University in Indiana."I don't think his presidency will be regarded as top drawer - it may well be well below the median - but it may not be at the bottom any longer."... - Miami Herald, 5-2-10
• Is the oil spill Obama's Katrina? Not yet: "This is not Katrina yet," said Julian Zelizer, a history professor at Princeton University."While terrible, the oil spill does not equal the kind of human suffering that was seen in New Orleans. This is something (Obama) must respond to and improve his plan, but a distinction must be made.".... - Reuters, 5-3-10
• Could immigration furor create positive evolution?: "The whole country has taken notice," said Marshall Trimble, Arizona's state historian, who dislikes the new law but thinks something had to be done about illegal immigration."I don't think people realized how serious a problem it is."... - AP, 5-3-10
• Lessons from the Gulf oil spill: "We are looking at a wildlife disaster that is unthinkable: This could be the Exxon Valdez on steroids," historian Douglas Brinkley, author of The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast, said in an interview. Brinkley has seen those TV ads in which British Petroleum -- owner of the lease site -- claims its initials stand for"Beyond Petroleum.""We've got to stop listening to the oil companies' fake environmental rhetoric," Brinkley said."There is no such thing as overregulation of this industry. Offshore drilling carries real dangers. It must be tightly regulated."... - Seattle PI, 5-2-10
• Q&A: Historian Allan Meltzer on the Fed Nominations: Allan Meltzer, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, is a leading historian of the Federal Reserve System. (He’s at work on Volume II his Fed history.) We talked with Dr. Meltzer — who has been critical of the Fed’s recent monetary policy — about the White House’s latest nominations to the Federal Reserve Board:
  With the latest nominations, President Obama will have named four governors to the Fed in a short period. Will that help Obama?
  Meltzer: It will help Obama when he might need it. He’ll have a board that will be sympathetic to his views. Not necessarily because they’re politically motivated, but because they believe that it’s more important to do something about unemployment. That’s why the Burns board [Arthur Burns served as Fed chairman from 1970 to 1978] voted for the high money growth under price controls, because they were more concerned about unemployment than inflation. Unemployment first, then we’ll take care of the inflation later… I expect that the board will eventually appear to be a much more dovish place than it was some time ago. The issue will be, we have high unemployment. How can we raise interest rates? They’ll have the support of the business community, the labor unions, the Congress, the administration and the public... - WSJ, 4-29-10
• Gil Troy: Obama the president is not Alexander the Great: Obama wants to solve the conflict by cutting through what seems to be the Gordian knot, the obstacle to peace: Israeli intransigence. I understand Barack Obama’s impatience with Israel. I see his logic whereby if only Israel would freeze, concede and withdraw, the conflict would end. I can imagine the appeal, for the first African-American US president – the first incumbent president to win a Nobel Peace Prize in decades, the first to pass such sweeping health-care legislation – to seek his next big win in the Middle East.
  Just as Alexander the Great legendarily solved the problem of the Gordian knot by slicing it in half rather than untying it, Obama wants to solve the Arab-Israeli conflict by cutting through what the world has deemed to be the obstacle to Middle East peace: Israeli intransigence.
  Alas, Obama is no Alexander.
  So far, the more Obama pulls at this Gordian knot, the tighter it gets; the more Obama pressures Israel, the more the Palestinians raise their demands. Obama is failing – and flailing – because he is blind to history. He is ignoring the history of Israeli willingness to compromise.... - Jerusalem Post, 4-26-10
• Julian E. Zelizer: Washington has always helped set rules for Wall Street: On Sunday, Sens. Chris Dodd and Richard Shelby said that they were close to a bipartisan compromise on financial regulation, which could be reached as early as this week.
  Yet many Republicans are attacking the regulations by painting them as yet another example of big government taking over private markets. Even if the bill will likely pass, GOP leaders are planning to use this floor debate to raise philosophical concerns about the role of government in economic life...
  But on the fundamental question, as to whether the government has a right to intervene in these issues and whether these reforms somehow break with the traditions of American history, that is a much easier question to resolve. While there has been tension between markets and government, it is equally important to remember that a close partnership has always existed in this country. The ties between government and markets are as American as apple pie. In other words, government can help markets prosper. - CNN, 4-26-10

IN FOCUS: STATS

• Poll show health care plan gains favor President Obama reaches for a pen to sign the health care bill Tuesday. A poll finds increased support for the measure: By 49%-40%, those polled say it was"a good thing" rather than a bad one that Congress passed the bill. Half describe their reaction in positive terms — as"enthusiastic" or"pleased" — while about four in 10 describe it in negative ways, as"disappointed" or"angry." The largest single group, 48%, calls the legislation"a good first step" that needs to be followed by more action. And 4% say the bill itself makes the most important changes needed in the nation's health care system.
  "After a century of striving, after a year of debate, after a historic vote, health care reform is no longer an unmet promise," Obama declared in a celebration at the Interior Department auditorium with members of Congress, leaders of advocacy groups and citizens whose personal stories were cited during the debate."It is the law of the land."... - USA Today, 3-23-10
• House passes Democratic changes to health bill: The House has passed key changes to its just-approved overhaul of health care legislation. The changes are part of a prearranged agreement to guarantee passage of the historic legislation. The changes passed by a 220-211 vote. That bill now goes to the Senate for final approval, where it only requires a simple majority to pass.... - AP, 3-22-10

THE HEADLINES....

• It's the law of the land: Health overhaul signed: Claiming a historic triumph that could define his presidency, a jubilant Barack Obama signed a massive, nearly $1 trillion health care overhaul on Tuesday that will for the first time cement insurance coverage as the right of every U.S. citizen and begin to reshape the way virtually all Americans receive and pay for treatment. After more than a year of hyperpartisan struggle — and numerous near-death moments for the measure — Obama declared"a new season in America" as he sealed a victory denied to a line of presidents stretching back more than half a century. Democratic lawmakers cheered him on, giving the White House signing ceremony a rally-like atmosphere as they shouted and snapped photos with pocket cameras or cell phones.... - AP, 3-23-10
• Obama Signs Health Care Overhaul Bill, With a Flourish: With the strokes of 20 pens, President Obama signed his landmark health care overhaul — the most expansive social legislation enacted in decades — into law on Tuesday, saying it enshrines"the core principle that everybody should have some basic security when it comes to their health care."
  Republican lawmakers plan to put up roadblocks to the health reconciliation bill. At a news conference on Tuesday, from left, were Senators Jon Kyl, Judd Gregg and Mitch McConnell. Mr. Obama signed the measure, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, during a festive and at times raucous ceremony in the East Room of the White House. He spoke to an audience of nearly 300, including more than 200 Democratic lawmakers who rode a yearlong legislative roller coaster that ended with House passage of the bill Sunday night. They interrupted him repeatedly with cheers, applause and standing ovations.
  "The bill I'm signing will set in motion reforms that generations of Americans have fought for and marched for and hungered to see," Mr. Obama said, adding,"Today we are affirming that essential truth, a truth every generation is called to rediscover for itself, that we are not a nation that scales back its aspirations."... - NYT, 3-24-10
• Obama signs health care reform into law: President Obama signed legislation into law Tuesday that will overhaul the nation's health system and, jubilant Democrats hope, overhaul their own political fortunes and become not their Waterloo, but the GOP's. For House Speaker Nancy Pelosi enactment marks the pinnacle of her career, delivering a landmark law that has eluded Democrats for decades without a single Republican vote. Weeks after insisting that the House could not pass the legislation, the San Francisco Democrat led her chamber to do just that, showing a mastery of legislative maneuvering unmatched by any of her predecessors from either party in recent memory.
  On Tuesday, Obama singled out Pelosi as"one of the best speakers the House of Representatives has ever had," and Republicans turned to her as the chief target of their ire. So widespread were her kudos that she rivaled the president as the Washington leader most responsible for bringing Democrats' hard-fought victory to fruition.... - SF Chronicle, 3-23-10
• Biden to Obama:"A big [expletive] deal": After introducing Obama at Tuesday's health-care bill signing ceremony, Vice President Biden turned to the president and said,"This is a big [expletive] deal."... - WaPo, 3-23-10
• Ted Kennedy is celebrated for his longtime support of health-care reform: While President Obama gathered with lawmakers for a bill-signing ceremony in the East Room of the White House on Tuesday afternoon, dozens of others came to commemorate health-care legislation here, on a quiet hillside in Section 45 of Arlington National Cemetery. The grave site of Edward M. Kennedy consists of only a white cross and a flat marble footstone, but it has attracted hundreds of visitors during the past several days. First came Vicki Kennedy, the widowed wife, staying for several hours Sunday while Congress prepared for its decisive vote. Next was Patrick Kennedy, the son, who left behind a note written on his congressional stationery Monday morning. Then, on Tuesday, health-care advocates and student groups were led to the grave by tour guides, one of whom pointed to the white cross and recalled,"The Great Ted Kennedy, the man who championed health care."... - WaPo, 3-24-10
• Health bill included big Republican idea: individual mandate: The lawsuit against the health care overhaul filed Tuesday by Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum is focused on a provision that has long been advocated by conservatives, big business and the insurance industry. The lawsuit by McCollum, a candidate for governor, and 12 other attorneys general, focuses on the provision that virtually all Americans will need to have health insurance by 2014 or face penalties. The lawsuit calls this an"unprecedented encroachment on the liberty of individuals." It states the Constitution doesn't authorize such a mandate, the proposed tax penalty is unlawful and is an"unprecedented encroachment on the sovereignty of the states."... - Miami Herald, 3-24-10
• Israel Absorbs Twin Rebukes From Top Allies: Israel found itself at odds with its two most stalwart allies on Tuesday as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu culminated a tense visit to Washington with a face-to-face session with President Obama that apparently failed to resolve the impasse between the two over a comprehensive Middle East peace plan.... - NYT, 3-24-10
• Economic Scene In Health Care Bill, Obama Attacks Wealth Inequality: For all the political and economic uncertainties about health reform, at least one thing seems clear: The bill that President Obama signed on Tuesday is the federal government's biggest attack on economic inequality since inequality began rising more than three decades ago... - NYT, 3-24-10
• Gap in health care law's protection for children: The Obama administration is scrambling to fix a potential problem with a much-touted benefit of its new health care law, a gap in coverage improvements for children in poor health, officials said Tuesday.... - AP, 3-24-10
• Obama to sign health care reform into law, then promote it on the road: President Obama will sign sweeping health care reform legislation into law at the White House on Tuesday, according to two Democratic officials familiar with the planning....
  Passage of the bill was a huge boost for Obama, who made health care reform a domestic priority. Aides said Monday that Obama exchanged handshakes, hugs and"high-fives" with staffers when the outcome of the House vote became apparent."I haven't seen the president so happy about anything other than his family since I've known him," said senior adviser David Axelrod, adding that Obama's jubilation Sunday night exceeded his election victory in November 2004."He was excited that night, but not like last night."... - CNN, 3-23-10
• A look at the health care overhaul bill: Congress approved a major overhaul of the nation's health care system for President Barack Obama's signature. Here are some of the features of the legislation.... - AP, 3-23-10
• Republicans' new health care reform bill rallying cry: Repeal it: Republicans couldn't stop Democrats from passing the health care reform bill Sunday. Now, they vow to make the bill – and big government spending – the core issue of the 2010 elections.... - CS Monitor, 3-22-10
• 10 states line up to sue over health bill, Florida AG says: Virginia, 10 other states plan to file suit challenging health care reform bill... Florida AG Bill McCollum:"This is a tax ... on just living, and that's unconstitutional"... McCollum says bill would force states to spend money, which violates 10th Amendment
  (CNN) -- Ten states plan to file a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the new health care reform bill, Florida's attorney general announced Monday. Bill McCollum, the Republican attorney general under fellow Republican Gov. Charlie Crist, told a news conference that the lawsuit would be filed once President Obama signs the health care bill into law. He said he'll be joined by his counterparts in Alabama, Nebraska, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Washington... McCollum said the lawsuit would challenge the bill's provision requiring people to purchase health insurance, along with provisions that will force state government to spend more on health care services.... - CNN, 3-22-10
• Healthcare victory could bolster Pelosi: Keeping her majority come November will be another test for the House speaker.... - LAT, 3-23-10
• On health care, Pelosi kept Democrats thinking big: The landmark health care bill about to be signed into law is as large as it is due in no small part to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's stewardship. When Democrats in Congress and the White House were despondent and inclined to retreat on health care just two months ago, Pelosi stood firm against despair and downsizing. As a result, she could emerge from the yearlong struggle among the most powerful speakers in history...."It's safe to say that she's going to change some of the ways that we look at effective speakers, and maybe create a new definition of how to get things done under incredibly difficult circumstances," said Ray Smock, who was House historian for a dozen years under former speakers Tip O'Neill, Jim Wright and Tom Foley. - AP, 3-22-10
• Debra J. Saunders: ObamaCare means: Don't look behind the curtain: You've really got to hand it to President Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Saddled with a majority of both houses and a hold on the White House, they somehow managed to pass the Senate health care bill in the House. It's practically a miracle. And because Washington loves a victory, Pelosi is now seen as stronger, not as a Democrat who unconscionably lost 34 Dems and every Republican... - SF Chronicle, 3-22-10
• Before health vote, a weekend of ugly discourse: Remember how shocking it was six months ago when Rep. Joe Wilson shouted"You lie!" to the president? Suddenly, that outburst seems positively genteel. From the"N-word" and anti-gay slurs being leveled at congressmen by protesters right outside the Capitol, to a shout of"baby killer!" within the chamber itself, to veiled and not-so-veiled threats online, the weekend saw an explosion of stunningly ugly discourse. What is going on? Is our political culture sinking ever lower? Actually, say political historians, not necessarily, though it surely may seem so. In reality, they say, such a descent into incivility happens periodically at times of significant political change.... - AP, 3-22-10
• On final day, Obama works vote outside public view: Capping a long day and a consuming political journey, President Barack Obama celebrated the passage of health care legislation on Sunday with hugs, high fives and an emboldened attitude. Said the president to the nation,"Tonight, we answered the call of history." At nearly midnight in Washington, with a big swath of country asleep or headed that way, Obama strode into the ornate East Room with Vice President Joe Biden backing him. There was no hour too late for the president to embrace this moment.
  "I want to thank every member of Congress who stood up tonight with courage and conviction to make health care reform a reality," Obama said as the top members of his own health care team stood beaming nearby."I know this wasn't an easy vote for a lot of people. But it was the right vote."... - AP, 3-22-10
• House Passes Historic Health Care Reform Legislation: The House of Representatives on Sunday passed a sweeping $940 billion health care bill in a historic vote that will dramatically change the U.S. health care system and expand health insurance coverage to 32 million more Americans over the next decade."Tonight's vote is not a victory for any one party ... it's a victory for the American people. And it's a victory for common sense," President Obama said in a statement after the vote. He added:"This isn't radical reform, but it is major reform. It will not fix everything that's wrong with our system, but it will move us in the right direction. This is what change looks like.".... - PBS Newshour, 3-22-10
• House Approves Health Overhaul, Sending Landmark Bill to Obama: House Democrats approved a far-reaching overhaul of the nation’s health system on Sunday, voting over unanimous Republican opposition to provide medical coverage to tens of millions of uninsured Americans after an epic political battle that could define the differences between the parties for years. Reporters gathered around Representative Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker, at the Capitol on Sunday. Ms. Pelosi called the health care bill"liberating legislation."
  With the 219-to-212 vote, the House gave final approval to legislation passed by the Senate on Christmas Eve. Thirty-four Democrats joined Republicans in voting against the bill. The vote sent the measure to President Obama, whose yearlong push for the legislation has been the centerpiece of his agenda and a test of his political power. After approving the bill, the House adopted a package of changes to it by a vote of 220 to 211. That package — agreed to in negotiations among House and Senate Democrats and the White House — now goes to the Senate for action as soon as this week. It would be the final step in a bitter legislative fight that has highlighted the nation’s deep partisan and ideological divisions.... - NYT, 3-22-10
• With the vote, a new stature for Obama: President Obama scored a stunning political and legislative victory on health care last night that not only will earn him a place in history books, but promises to establish him as a stronger leader of the Democratic party after a tumultuous first year.... Boston Globe, 3-22-10
• Obama achieves health law success that eluded past: Rarely does the government, that big, clumsy, poorly regarded oaf, pull off anything short of war that touches all lives with one act, one stroke of a president's pen. Such a moment has come. After a year of riotous argument, decades of failure and a century of spoiled hopes, the United States is reaching for a system of medical care that extends coverage nearly to all citizens. The change that's coming will reshape a sixth of the economy and shatter the status quo. To the ardent liberal, President Barack Obama's health care plan, passed by the House on Sunday night, is a shadow of what should have been, sapped by dispiriting downsizing and trade-offs. To the loud foe on the right, it is a dreadful expansion of the nanny state.... - AP, 3-22-10

POLITICAL QUOTES

• Remarks by the President and Vice President at Signing of the Health Insurance Reform Bill East Room: Our presence here today is remarkable and improbable. With all the punditry, all of the lobbying, all of the game- playing that passes for governing in Washington, it’s been easy at times to doubt our ability to do such a big thing, such a complicated thing; to wonder if there are limits to what we, as a people, can still achieve. It’s easy to succumb to the sense of cynicism about what’s possible in this country.
  But today, we are affirming that essential truth -– a truth every generation is called to rediscover for itself –- that we are not a nation that scales back its aspirations. (Applause.) We are not a nation that falls prey to doubt or mistrust. We don't fall prey to fear. We are not a nation that does what’s easy. That’s not who we are. That’s not how we got here.
  We are a nation that faces its challenges and accepts its responsibilities. We are a nation that does what is hard. What is necessary. What is right. Here, in this country, we shape our own destiny. That is what we do. That is who we are. That is what makes us the United States of America.
  And we have now just enshrined, as soon as I sign this bill, the core principle that everybody should have some basic security when it comes to their health care. (Applause.) And it is an extraordinary achievement that has happened because of all of you and all the advocates all across the country.... - WH, 3-23-10 Video
• This is What Change Looks Like: Good evening, everybody. Tonight, after nearly 100 years of talk and frustration, after decades of trying, and a year of sustained effort and debate, the United States Congress finally declared that America’s workers and America's families and America's small businesses deserve the security of knowing that here, in this country, neither illness nor accident should endanger the dreams they’ve worked a lifetime to achieve.
  Tonight, at a time when the pundits said it was no longer possible, we rose above the weight of our politics. We pushed back on the undue influence of special interests. We didn't give in to mistrust or to cynicism or to fear. Instead, we proved that we are still a people capable of doing big things and tackling our biggest challenges. We proved that this government -- a government of the people and by the people -- still works for the people.
  Today’s vote answers the dreams of so many who have fought for this reform. To every unsung American who took the time to sit down and write a letter or type out an e-mail hoping your voice would be heard -- it has been heard tonight. To the untold numbers who knocked on doors and made phone calls, who organized and mobilized out of a firm conviction that change in this country comes not from the top down, but from the bottom up -- let me reaffirm that conviction: This moment is possible because of you....
  Tonight’s vote is not a victory for any one party -- it's a victory for them. It's a victory for the American people. And it's a victory for common sense.... - WH, 3-22-10
• "Make True on that Promise": Remarks by the President to the House Democratic Congress Capitol Visitor Center Auditorium, Washington, D.C.: In his remarks to the House Democratic Caucus yesterday, President Obama put the upcoming health insurance reform effort into a larger context with some powerful thoughts about how he got invovled in politics and what moments like now mean for the country. ...
  And this is one of those moments. This is one of those times where you can honestly say to yourself, doggone it, this is exactly why I came here. This is why I got into politics. This is why I got into public service. This is why I’ve made those sacrifices. Because I believe so deeply in this country and I believe so deeply in this democracy and I’m willing to stand up even when it’s hard, even when it’s tough.
  Every single one of you have made that promise not just to your constituents but to yourself. And this is the time to make true on that promise. We are not bound to win, but we are bound to be true. We are not bound to succeed, but we are bound to let whatever light we have shine. We have been debating health care for decades. It has now been debated for a year. It is in your hands. It is time to pass health care reform for America, and I am confident that you are going to do it tomorrow. - WH, 3-21-10 WH, 3-21-10
• Fiery Boehner: 'Hell no you can't!': In his final words from the floor of the House before a vote on health care reform legislation, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) led a fiery round of rhetorical questions....
  "Can you say it was done openly with transparency and accountability, without backdroom deals and struck behind closed doors, hidden from the people?," Rep. Boehner asked."Hell no you can't!"
  "Have you read the bill? Have you read the reconciliation bill? Have you read the manager's assessment?" he asked."Hell no you haven't."
  The acting speaker then banged his gavel, saying calmly,"Both sides would do well to remember the dignity of the House."
  "By our actions today, we disgrace their values. We break our ties to history in this chamber," Rep. Boehner said.... - NECN, 3-21-10

HISTORIANS & ANALYSTS' COMMENTS

• Bruce Schulman: Before health vote, a weekend of ugly discourse: "I was on my way to work this morning and I saw an amazing bumper sticker," says Bruce Schulman, a historian at Boston University. It directed a vulgar curse word at Obama."It's hard for me to believe that we would have seen that a few decades ago," says Schulman."Even with Richard Nixon, who was so hated by many." Still, Schulman says, it's clear that with the Internet, social media and other platforms, many with extreme views now merely have a megaphone they didn't have years ago...."The rawest, most unfiltered comments now become part of the political discourse," Schulman says. - AP, 3-22-10
• How Will History View the Health Reform Debate?: After months of debate, deals and delays, a health reform bill is now headed to the president's desk. Three historians assess the significance of the moment, in the context of nearly 100 years of U.S. health care legislation.... - PBS Newshour, 3-22-10
• Robert Dallek, Presidential Historian, Stanford University: How Will History View the Health Reform Debate?: ...In terms of the future, I would say the argument will not disappear. I don't think we've seen the last of this debate about national health insurance. If it works well, the Democrats will have a very significant talking point for the future. If it falls short, if it's somehow seen as a failure, the Republicans are going to have a powerful talking point against the Democrats.... - PBS Newshour, 3-22-10
• Ellen Fitzpatrick, Professor of History, University of New HampshireHow Will History View the Health Reform Debate?: ...The battle over this legislation -- waged with skills and determination by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, reinforced by pressure from the grassroots who looked with dismay upon the prospect of another defeat at the hands of political inertia and incompetence -- marks a milestone in the young Obama presidency. Having staked so much on a promise of change, Obama redeems that pledge in ways that -- whatever the struggles ahead -- casts in stark relief the recalcitrance of his opponents. - PBS Newshour, 3-22-10
• Richard Norton Smith, Scholar in Residence, George Mason University, How Will History View the Health Reform Debate?: To state the obvious, it is an enormous personal victory for Barack Obama -- not only the magnitude and scope of what is being achieved but how it's been done, how it has been brought back from the grave. That is the stuff of instant legend as well as lasting history. In some ways, it's almost easier to predict what historians a generation from now will say than what voters will say six or seven months from now. What we can't know, what no poll can measure, is what aura will accrue to this president and his party as a result of pulling this rabbit out of a hat.... - PBS Newshour, 3-22-10
• Jordan Michael Smith: What Obama Could Learn from a New Book on FDR: Health care reform is a major victory for the United States. But, paradoxically, its very passage illustrates the depths of government dysfunction. Reform took 13 months, billions of dollars in advertising and lobbying, and Herculean patience and effort on the part of lawmakers, voters and grassroots supporters -- and still the United States' health care falls well short in terms of quality and breadth of coverage per capita than almost every industrialized country in the world. Even worse, the Supreme Court may strike down some of the new health plan's provisions.... - Huffington Post, 3-22-10
• Julian E. Zelizer: Pelosi emerges as powerhouse in D.C.: The passage of health care will certainly rank as one of the major political achievements of recent decades. Legislation that will eventually extend health care coverage to more than 30 million more Americans, greatly expand the number of options that citizens have when purchasing health care, bring healthy citizens into the pool of the insured and thus lower costs and create important regulations on health care companies will be remembered as one of the biggest domestic policy changes since the Great Society of the 1960s.
  While most attention will focus on President Obama for pulling off a Herculean task that eluded many of our great presidents, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi emerges from this battle as the real powerhouse in Washington. She has pursued a clear ideological agenda but through pragmatic political tactics. Like the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, she stands for something, yet knows how to round up votes.... - CNN, 3-21-10
• DAVID E. SANGER: News Analysis A Major Victory, but at What Cost?: The House’s passage of health care legislation late Sunday night assures that whatever the ultimate cost, President Obama will go down in history as one of the handful of presidents who found a way to reshape the nation’s social welfare system. After the bitterest of debates, Mr. Obama proved that he was willing to fight for something that moved him to his core. Skeptics had begun to wonder. But he showed that when he was finally committed to throwing all his political capital onto the table, he could win, if by the narrowest of margins. Whether it was a historic achievement or political suicide for his party — perhaps both — he succeeded where President Bill Clinton failed in trying to remake American health care. President George W. Bush also failed to enact a landmark change in a domestic program, his second-term effort to create private accounts in the Social Security system.... - NYT, 3-22-10
• With the vote, a new stature for Obama: "Some were saying the bloom was really off the rose," said Roger Wilkins, a historian and author who served as an assistant attorney general in the Johnson administration."There's a 'Bambi' quality to him. When you look at him, there's this lithe young man who likes to play backyard basketball."I think that everybody who thought that Bambi had moved into the White House knows that’s not true today." Wilkins continued."He is one tough fellow, and he has proved himself to be pretty good at politics as well." - Boston Globe, 3-22-10

IN FOCUS: STATS

• Poll: Republican resurgence among young adults: A new poll shows 18- to 29-year-old Republicans are more politically energized than young Democrats and are more inclined to vote in this fall's elections. Young adults are also extremely concerned about the economy.
  Forty-one percent of young Republicans say they plan to vote in November, compared with 35 percent of Democrats and 13 percent of Independents, according to the poll conducted by Harvard University’s Institute of Politics (IOP), a nonpartisan group. Fifty-three percent of those who voted for Sen. John McCain (R) of Ariz., in 2008 say they will definitely vote in midterm elections, compared with 44 percent of those who voted for President Obama.... - CS Monitor, 3-9-10
• Poll: Financially pinched, young adults lose faith: Young adults are financially anxious, worried that they can't meet their educational, housing and health care needs, according to a new poll that exposes a growing pessimism about achieving the American Dream. The poll by Harvard's Institute of Politics found that six out of 10 of those surveyed worry they may not meet their current bills and obligations. Nearly half of those attending college wonder whether they will be able to afford to stay in school. And more than eight out of 10 said they expect difficulty finding a job after graduation. Fewer than half said they believe they will be better off than their parents when they reach their parents' age.... - AP, 3-9-10
• Poll: U.S. has lost global standing under Obama: A majority of Americans say the United States is less respected in the world than two years ago and believe President Obama and other Democrats fall short of Republicans on the issue of national security, according to a poll by two left-leaning groups.
  The Democracy Corps-Third Way survey released Monday finds that by a 10-point margin - 51 percent to 41 percent - Americans think the standing of the United States has dropped during the first 13 months of Mr. Obama's presidency.
  "This is surprising, given the global acclaim - and Nobel peace prize - that flowed to the new president after he took office," the pollsters said.... - Washington Times, 3-9-10
• New poll spells potential trouble for Democrats: A new poll on Monday found signs of trouble ahead for President Barack Obama and his Democrats on national security issues such as the handling of terrorism suspects. The poll was conducted jointly by Democratic Corps, a Democratic organization, and Third Way, a progressive non-profit organization. It was done mainly to gauge voters' views on Democrats' handling of national security.
  The poll found 60 percent of Americans believe the United States is on the wrong track. It also found that people rated Democrats at about the same level as Republicans, in what amounted to an erosion of the advantage Democrats have held.
  "We would not want the election to be held today, with this poll," said Democracy Corps' chief pollster Stan Greenberg."If the election were held today, this would be a 'change' election."... - Reuters, 3-8-10

THE HEADLINES....

• Agencies lag in following Obama's openness order: President Barack Obama is having difficulty getting all federal agencies to follow his order to deliver"a new era of open government," according to a study of how they administer the Freedom of Information Act. The National Security Archive, a private group that publishes declassified government information and uses the act and lawsuits to pry out official records, found a decidedly mixed record in an audit of how 90 agencies responded to Obama directives to open more records, and the guidelines and training sessions that followed from the Justice Department.... - AP, 3-14-10
• Catholic hospitals support health care bill: A group representing Catholic hospitals is rallying behind President Barack Obama's health care bill. Support from the Catholic Health Association could help persuade anti-abortion lawmakers to provide critical votes in the House for the overhaul. The group's chief executive, Carol Keehan, writes on the association's Web site that the legislation isn't perfect, but is"a major first step" toward covering all Americans and would make"great improvements" for millions of people....- AP, 3-13-10
• Reports: U.S. Pressuring Israel to Scrap Building Plan: The controversial plan to build 1,600 apartments was approved during Vice President Joe Biden's visit to the region last week.... - AP, 3-15-10
• GOP Lawmaker: White House Job Offer to Sestak Would Have Been a 'Crime': A GOP lawmaker says that the White House committed a" crime" if it offered Democratic Rep. Joe Sestak a federal job in exchange for dropping his primary challenge to Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa.... - FOX News, 3-13-10
• Obama promise: Brighter education futures for kids: President Barack Obama is promising parents and their kids that with his administration's help they will have better teachers in improved schools so U.S. students can make up for academic ground lost against youngsters in other countries.
  A plan to overhaul the 2002 education law championed by President George W. Bush was unveiled by the Obama administration Saturday in hopes of replacing a system that in the last decade has tagged more than a third of schools as failing and created a hodgepodge of sometimes weak academic standards among states.
  "Unless we take action — unless we step up — there are countless children who will never realize their full talent and potential," Obama said during a video address on Saturday."I don't accept that future for them. And I don't accept that future for the United States of America."
  In the proposed dismantling of the No Child Left Behind law, education officials would move away from punishing schools that don't meet benchmarks and focus on rewarding schools for progress, particularly with poor and minority students. Obama intends to send a rewrite to Congress on Monday of the law.... - AP, 3-13-10
• Coffee vs. Tea: A political movement is brewing: The new Coffee Party movement deemed its official kickoff Saturday a"huge success," with dozens of talks held at coast-to-coast coffee shops as members came together to discuss the issues most important to them.
  Billed by many as an answer to the conservative Tea Party movement, the Coffee Party was born on Facebook just six weeks ago. While the group has become an instant hit online -- it boasts more than 141,000 Facebook fans as of Saturday -- gauging the success of this weekend's coffee meetups was predicted to be an indicator of the group's strength.... - CNN, 3-13-10
• Democrats move toward grouping health reform with student-aid bill: Democratic leaders said Thursday that they were increasingly inclined to release a final health-care bill that could accomplish two of President Obama's top domestic priorities: guaranteeing coverage to 30 million uninsured Americans and vastly expanding federal aid for college students.... - WaPo, 3-12-10
• Health Care Bill 'Still a Jump Ball,' White House Official Says: Passage of health care reform bill is"still a jump ball," official tells Fox News, as Democratic leaders point to progress...
  The prospects for Democratic victory on health care reform, the president's signature domestic initiative, have improved, but"it's still a jump ball," a top White House official intimately involved in the ongoing health care negotiations with House and Senate Democrats told Fox News late Friday. That assessment confirms that the White House and Democratic leaders so far lack the votes to pass health care in the House. And it undercuts somewhat the declaration Friday from Press Secretary Robert Gibbs that President Obama finally feels the wind at his back on the issue.... - Fox News, 3-12-10
• Obama prepares for showdown on health care: This time, the President acts as if he has set a deadline he can believe in... - Globe & Mail, 3-12-10
• Clinton Rebukes Israel for Housing Announcement: In a tense, 43-minute phone call on Friday morning, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel’s plan for new housing units for Jews in East Jerusalem sent a"deeply negative signal" about Israeli-American relations, and not just because it spoiled a visit by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.
  Such blunt language toward Israel is very rare from an American administration, and several officials said Mrs. Clinton was relaying the anger of President Obama at the announcement, which was made by Israel's Interior Ministry and which Mr. Netanyahu said had caught him off guard.... - NYT, 2-12-10
• Scott Brown to give GOP rebuttal to President's weekly radio address: US Sen. Scott Brown, who was elected on a wave of opposition to current health care reform plans, will give the GOP rebuttal to President Obama's weekly address as the White House ramps up their reform efforts. The high-profile address comes as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) announced yesterday he would push to pass the reforms through reconciliation.... - Boston Herald, 2-12-10
• Senators give Obama a bipartisan plan on immigration: The president is encouraged, but healthcare politics could jeopardize the proposal.... - LAT, 3-12-10
• At U.N., Clinton rallies for more women's opportunities worldwide: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told government delegates and activists here Friday that violence against women remains a"global pandemic" and that their"subjugation" constitutes"a threat to the national security of the United States." Speaking on the final day of a two-week U.N. conference on women's rights, Clinton urged U.N. member states to expand opportunities for women and end practices that subject them to discrimination and violence.... - WaPo, 3-12-10
• Dems look to health vote without abortion foes: House leaders have concluded they cannot change a divisive abortion provision in President Barack Obama's health care bill and will try to pass the sweeping legislation without the support of ardent anti-abortion Democrats. A break on abortion would remove a major obstacle for Democratic leaders in the final throes of a yearlong effort to change health care in the United States. But it sets up a risky strategy of trying to round up enough Democrats to overcome, not appease, a small but possibly decisive group of Democratic lawmakers in the House.... - AP, 3-12-10
• Dems Abandon Abortion Deal, Ready Health Vote: White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel emerged from a meeting in the Capitol with top Democratic lawmakers Thursday night saying,"We made a lot of decisions. We're getting towards the end."... - AP, Fox News, 3-12-10
• Obama Lists Who Will Get Prize Money From Nobel: President Obama has made good on a promise to give his $1.4 million in Nobel Peace Prize money to charity, releasing on Thursday the names of the organizations that will benefit.
  "These organizations do extraordinary work in the United States and abroad helping students, veterans and countless others in need," Mr. Obama said in a statement."I'm proud to support their work."
  Mr. Obama put Fisher House, an organization that provides housing for the families of those being treated at major military and Veterans Affairs medical centers, at the top of the list with a $250,000 donation. Fisher House was followed by the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, the project his two immediate predecessors are running to raise money for relief and reconstruction efforts in Haiti, which will get $200,000... - NYT, 3-11-10
• Senate approves $138-billion spending bill: The legislation, which must be reconciled with the House version, would extend jobless benefits and tax measures created to boost the economy, and help states pay for Medicaid.... - LAT, 3-11-10
• Key senators balk at adding student loan overhaul to health-care legislation: As they push to finish health-care legislation by the end of the month, Democratic leaders in Congress are weighing whether to add another of President Obama's priorities to the package: a popular proposal to overhaul the federal student loan program. The move could clear the way for Obama to claim victory on two of his most significant domestic initiatives in a single signing ceremony. Administration officials and House leaders have pressed aggressively for the addition in recent days. But key senators are objecting to the move, arguing that political resistance in the Senate and the rapidly rising cost of the education measure could jeopardize efforts to push health-care reform to final passage.... - WaPo, 3-11-10
• It's Obama vs. the Supreme Court, Round 2, over campaign finance ruling: Roberts calls scene at State of the Union 'very troubling' In remarks during a question-and-answer session with law students at the University of Alabama, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. protested the timing of President Obama's State of the Union disapproval of the court's decision in a major campaign finance case.
  President Obama and the Supreme Court have waded again into unfamiliar and strikingly personal territory. When Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. told law students in Alabama on Tuesday that the timing of Obama's criticism of the court during the State of the Union address was"very troubling," the White House pounced. It shot back with a new denouncement of the court's ruling that allowed a more active campaign role for corporations and unions.... - WaPo, 3-11-10
• Bill Clinton, Bill Gates unite in foreign aid plea: Former president Bill Clinton and Microsoft founder Bill Gates called Wednesday on US lawmakers to boost foreign aid to fight diseases like HIV/AIDS and malaria in the world's poorest nations. The leading philanthropists went to Capitol Hill to boost support for the so-called Global Health Initiative (GHI) and promote a crucial health aid budget bill proposed in 2009 by President Barack Obama's administration.
  "I hope you will pass this bill," Clinton said in testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee."It is a very good bill, I think, and I think it is the next logical step" in US efforts to boost global health care... - AFP, 3-10-10
• Obama Gets Tough on Health Care Fraud: President Obama continued his drive for a health care overhaul on Wednesday, ordering a crackdown on Medicare and Medicaid waste and fraud, while in Washington, House leaders said they hoped to have a completed bill to present to rank and file members Thursday morning....
  "The health care system has billions of dollars that should go to patient care, and they’re lost each and every year to fraud and abuse and massive subsidies that line the pockets of insurance company executives," Mr. Obama told about 500 mostly supportive local residents in the gymnasium of St. Charles High School here.... - NYT, 3-10-10
• Obama backs bipartisan crackdown on healthcare cheats: President Barack Obama, making a final push for healthcare reform, will back bipartisan plans to stamp out waste in government-run medical programs for the old and needy, the White House said on Tuesday... - Reuters, 3-9-10
• Mitt Romney: Tea Party movement is great as long as they vote Republican: Mitt Romney is supportive of the Tea Party movement but draws the line when it comes to a third party. CS Monitor, 3-9-10
• Ex-Congressman Massa says groping wasn't sexual: Former Rep. Eric Massa, a New York Democrat who resigned his seat Monday amid a sexual harassment investigation, goes on TV to defend himself.... - LAT, 3-10-10
• Obama takes hard-sell health pitch to Pa.: President Obama stepped up pressure Monday on his fellow Democrats to retool the nation's health care system, decrying those who put politics above policy. Saving his harshest rhetoric for the insurance industry, Obama began his latest attempt to pass his 10-year, $950 billion measure by declaring,"The issue here is not the politics of it."
  "It's hard for some members of Congress to make this vote. There's no doubt about that," Obama said. In contrast, he said,"What's hard is what millions of families and small businesses are going through because we allow the insurance industry to run wild in this country.",.... - USA Today, 3-8-10
• Obama hails contributions of 'daring' women: Crediting their role in the American story, President Barack Obama on Monday praised the nation's"daring, indomitable" women — including the one-time political rival who is now his secretary of state."Women like Hillary Rodham Clinton, who, throughout her career, has put millions of cracks in America's glass ceiling," Obama said in the grand East Room packed mostly with women."It's because of them — and so many others, many who aren't recorded in the history books — that the story of America is, ultimately, one of hope and one of progress, of an upward journey."
  "We're doing all of this not only because promoting women's empowerment is one of the best ways to promote economic development and economic success," Obama said."We are doing it because it's the right thing to do. I say that not only as a president, but also as the father of two daughters, as a son and a grandson, and as a husband." - AP, 3-8-10
• Joe Biden in Israel to press Mid-East peace talks: US Vice-President Joe Biden has arrived in Israel to promote a new round of Middle East peace talks more than a year after they stalled. Mr Biden - the highest-ranking Obama administration official to visit the region - will meet both Palestinian and Israeli officials. Iran's nuclear intentions are expected to be at the top of Israel's agenda.... - BBC News, 3-8-10
• Pa. Sen. Arlen Specter is penning a book: Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter, who switched to the Democratic Party last year, is writing a book about his experiences... - USA Today, 3-8-10
• Healthcare overhaul comes down to Pelosi and Obama: A bill's fate depends on whether the House Speaker can land enough votes - and whether the president can take control of the debate, which Democrats complain he has not done.... - 3-8-10
• Democrats Voice Health-Bill Doubts: Some House Democrats wavering over whether to back a health-care overhaul questioned whether it would effectively curb the country's health costs, highlighting a difficult issue that the White House and congressional leaders must address in the final negotiations on the measure. The issue is one of several that have been raised by Democrats over the bill, which President Barack Obama and Democratic leaders are pushing to pass by the end of March. Conservative Democrats have raised questions over the bill's language on abortion and tax increases, while liberals are unhappy with its failure to include a government plan that would compete with private insurers.... - WSJ, 3-8-10

ELECTIONS 2010, 2012....

• Voter turnouts for primaries 'a concern': The red-hot race in Texas earlier this month between Gov. Rick Perry and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison for the Republican gubernatorial nomination helped drive the state to its biggest primary turnout in 20 years. And just how many people showed up for the election? About 1.5 million Texans cast ballots in the March 2 GOP primary for governor, according to the secretary of State's office. That means only about 1 in 10 of the 15.3 million Texans 18 and older who were eligible to vote actually cast a ballot, according to Curtis Gans at American University's Center for the Study of the American Electorate... - USA Today,
• McCain campaigns for NH Senate candidate: Arizona Sen. John McCain told New Hampshire voters Saturday that if the current health care bill passes, opponents will immediately launch a nationwide movement to repeal it.
  "We can repeal it, but I would hate to have to have that task; obviously because there's still the same resident of the White House," he said at a town hall meeting reminiscent of those he held during his two presidential campaigns.
  On Saturday, McCain was stumping for fellow Republican Kelly Ayotte, a former state attorney general who is seeking the U.S. Senate seat held by Sen. Judd Gregg.... - Boston Globe, 3-12-10
• Bush keeps Crist in his gun sights: Former Gov. Jeb Bush has been increasingly critical of Gov. Charlie Crist, but his election endorsement is still pending. There's been a lot of speculation about when Jeb Bush will finally make his preference official and endorse Marco Rubio for the Senate. But it strikes us that Rubio is better served for now with the popular ex-governor continuing with his current role: ostensibly neutral and taking increasingly tough shots at Charlie Crist from the sidelines.... - St. Peterberg Times, 3-14-10
• GOP nominates newcomer to succeed Murtha: Republicans last night selected a political newcomer who has never sought elected office as their nominee in the special election to succeed the late U.S. Rep. John P. Murtha. Tim Burns, a self-made millionaire from Eighty Four, Washington County, and a native of Mr. Murtha's hometown of Johnstown, handily defeated Bill Russell, who mounted a strong challenge to Mr. Murtha in 2008.... - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 3-12-10
• Palin will make an appearance at fundraiser for Bachmann: Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will bring her star power and fundraising prowess to Minnesota next month to help U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann with reelection. Bachmann announced Thursday that Palin will host a fundraising dinner April 7 at a Minneapolis hotel. There will be a private reception and photo opportunity at 4:30 p.m., a general reception at 5 p.m. and a dinner at 6 p.m. It's not known how much tickets will cost.... - Star Tribune, 3-11-10
• Cuomo Hands Paterson Case to an Ex-Judge: Facing growing political pressure, Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo on Thursday appointed an independent counsel to take over his office’s investigation into the Paterson administration’s response to a domestic violence case. Mr. Cuomo said Judith S. Kaye, the former chief judge of New York, would lead the inquiry, along with an investigation into whether the governor lied when he was questioned by the State Commission on Public Integrity about his office’s solicitation of Yankees World Series tickets.... - NYT, 3-11-10
• With a huge lead in Florida polls, Rubio dazzles crowd: The second poll in a week shows him more than 30 points ahead of Gov. Charlie Crist.... - Jacksonville.com, 3-11-10
• Romney Ties Decision on Presidential Bid to Outcome of November Elections: Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney suggested Sunday that his decision on whether to run again for president may hinge on the outcome of the November midterm elections....
  "I don't really have the pros and cons laid out yet," he said."It's something which we won't have to decide until some time after the November elections. My guess is after those elections are over and we see where the country is, and we see the features in our own lives that may affect a decision like that, we'll sit down and make a decision."... - Fox News, 3-8-10

POLITICAL QUOTES

• Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) Delivers Weekly GOP Address on Health Care: In the Weekly Republican Address, newly-elected Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts explains that the Democrats running Washington have their priorities all wrong. Sen. Brown says Americans"told me that they want their President and Congress to focus on creating jobs and reviving Americas economy. Instead, for more than a year now, we have seen a bitter, destructive, and endless drive to completely transform Americas health care system."
  "Somehow," Sen. Brown notes,"the greater the public opposition to the health care bill, the more determined they seem to force it on us anyway. Their attitude shows Washington at its very worst the presumption that they know best, and theyre going to get their way whether the American people like it or not."
  Sen. Brown says,"I havent been here very long, but, I can tell you this much already: Nothing has distracted the attention and energy of the nations capital more than this disastrous detour. And, the surest way to return to the peoples business is to listen to the people themselves: We need to drop this whole scheme of federally controlled health care, start over, and work together on real reforms at the state level that will contain costs and wont leave America trillions of dollars deeper in debt." - You Tube, 3-13-10
• Weekly Address: President Obama to Send Updated Elementary and Secondary Education Act Blueprint To Congress on Monday Remarks of President Barack Obama As Prepared for Delivery Weekly Address March 13, 2010: Under the leadership of an outstanding Education Secretary, Arne Duncan, we launched a Race to the Top, through which states compete for funding by committing to reform and raising standards, by rewarding good teaching, by supporting the development of better assessments to measure results, and by emphasizing math and science to help prepare children for college and careers.
  And on Monday, my administration will send to Congress our blueprint for an updated Elementary and Secondary Education Act to overhaul No Child Left Behind. What this plan recognizes is that while the federal government can play a leading role in encouraging the reforms and high standards we need, the impetus for that change will come from states, and from local schools and school districts. So, yes, we set a high bar – but we also provide educators the flexibility to reach it.... - WH, 3-13-10
• The Conscience of a Florida Conservative: "They voted for somebody they'd never heard of in Barack Obama because he ran on the platform of a very devoted centrist." That's the answer from Marco Rubio when asked about his stunning rise to national prominence as a Republican challenger to a popular Republican officeholder in the key electoral state of Florida. Underlying this strange political season, says Mr. Rubio, is the president's rapid uncloaking in office as anything but the postpartisan that voters thought they had elected."Within weeks," says Mr. Rubio,"he began trying to implement what appears to everyone else to be the left-of-center politics of the last 50 years, but in a much more aggressive way, using the excuse of a severe economic downturn as justification for growing and in essence redefining the role of government in America."... - WSJ, 3-15-10

HISTORIANS & ANALYSTS' COMMENTS

• Tevi Troy: Health Care: A Two-Decade Blunder: ...Fast-forward 19 years: it is the Democrats who are now faced with divining the results of another underdog’s victory. In January, a little-known state senator named Scott Brown defeated Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley in a special election for the United States Senate. Universal health care was once again on center stage. This time around, though, the Republican seized on widespread antipathy to what has come to be seen as an incoherent Democratic scheme for an unworkable federal takeover of health care.... - Commentary Magazine, 4-10
• Nerd is another word for smart Republicans have long been viewed as those who get gentleman’s"C" in the national classroom. In fact, it is almost a liberal trope to call Republican presidents"dumb."
  Eisenhower, Ford, Reagan and both Bushes (the latter more than the former) got this critique. Nixon was spared — but only because it so clearly did not fit his image as a Machiavellian manipulator. -
  Democrats, in contrast, are usually cited as the smart ones in American politics....
  But this simplistic analysis of smart Democrats contrasted with dumb Republicans does not fit reality. - Politico, 3-12-10
• Fred Greenstein: Obama Gets High Scores on Leadership Report Card: That's according to presidential historian and author Fred Greenstein, professor of politics emeritus at Princeton University. The author of the new Inventing the Job of President has just updated his initial Obama report card and declared the president a"rare political leader."
  In a scholarly paper, Barack Obama: The Man and His Early Presidency, Greenstein looks at six key leadership qualities and seems to find that the nation's first African-American president is up to snuff."Barack Obama is a fascinating political specimen," writes Greenstein, whose books include The Presidential Difference: Leadership Style from FDR to Barack Obama; The Hidden-Hand Presidency: Eisenhower as Leader; and How Presidents Test Reality: Decisions on Vietnam, 1954 and 1965.
  "Indeed," adds Greenstein,"he may turn out to be the rare political leader who is marked by both a first-rate temperament and a first-rate mind."... - US News, 3-12-10
• Julian Zelizer: GOP health care refusal could backfire: Most Republicans have opposed President Obama's health care bill from the first day he proposed reform. If the House passes the Senate bill in the next few days, it will probably do so without any Republican support.
  Regardless of whether the legislation passes, Republicans can already claim a victory, given that the struggle for legislation has lasted more than a year and tied up the rest of the Democratic agenda....
  Yet Republicans should be wary about celebrating too much. The strategy of obstruction poses significant risks....
  A recent leaked document from the Republican National Committee suggests that the party is planning to base its 2010 campaign on fear and negative attacks, rather than hope and ideas. Sometimes, in the enthusiasm over a battle, armies can lose sight of the war.
  Republicans might have regained their fighting spirit over health care, but the strategy could prove to be costlier than they expect. - CNN, 3-8-10