Tag Archives: obama

Israeli media laud Obama ‘bear hug’

Something have changed it seems, from the photos. And Obama might have a little renewed motivation and interest for this “impossible project” with Israel and the Middle East.

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Israeli media laud Obama ‘bear hug’

by Katie Glueck
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If the coverage in the famously ferocious Israeli press are any indication, President Barack Obama’s first presidential trip to Israel was a smashing success.

“U.S. President Barack Obama may well define his Israel visit with ‘Veni Vidi Vici’: I came, I saw, I conquered,” declared Alon Pinkas, writing in the influential liberal newspaper Ha’aretz. “Mission: Accomplished. Goals: Achieved. Media coverage? Couldn’t be better. Expectations? Reasonable. Deliverables? Maybe down the road, maybe not.”

Israeli media laud Obama ‘bear hug’
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/03/israel-trip-obama-89237.html

Obama formally orders deeply destructive cuts, blames Congress

So, Obama reduces the deficits, cuts defense, makes some unpopular decisions – and lets all the blame fall on the Repubs. Both now and for a slowing recovery.

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From Reuters:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama formally ordered broad cuts in government spending on Friday night after he and congressional Republicans failed to reach a deal to avert automatic reductions that could dampen economic growth and curb military readiness.

As the United States staggered into another fiscal crisis, the White House predicted that the spending cuts triggered by the inability of Obama and lawmakers to forge a broader deficit-reduction agreement would be “deeply destructive” to the nation’s economic and national security.

“Not everyone will feel the pain of these cuts right away. The pain though will be real. Beginning this week, many middle-class families will have their lives disrupted in significant ways,” Obama told journalists after his meeting with Republican and Democratic congressional leaders.

Is Washington Getting Less Dysfunctional…

First two bipartisan economic bills in the House, and now the Immigration Reform..

A big part of this might be the loss in November, and Repubs being kept out of power. But also, they don’t have to/can’t “get rid of” Obama anymore.

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From Molly Ball, The Atlantic:

From immigration reform to the debt ceiling, there are rampant signs the Capitol isn’t the gridlocked mess to which we’ve become accustomed.

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Don’t look now, but things are actually getting done in Washington, D.C.

Witness the last month: We didn’t go over the fiscal cliff. We averted (at least for the moment) a debt-ceiling standoff. On Monday, Congress passed, with barely any drama, aid for victims of Hurricane Sandy. And the bipartisan push for comprehensive immigration reform seems to be going awfully well.

Could Washington really be getting less dysfunctional? Are we seeing an abatement of the constant rancor and gridlock that have so defined Congress in recent years? And if we were, would we even know what it looked like?

Is Washington Getting Less Dysfunctional
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/01/is-washington-getting-less-dysfunctional/272652/

A professional hostage negotiator shares his thoughts

A pro explains; Obama needs a trump card and deprive the hostage takers of the control of the situation.

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From the Plum Line:

The use of hostage-taking imagery to describe the coming debt ceiling crisis is now so ubiquitous that I thought I’d ask a veteran police hostage negotiator what he thinks of the looming standoff.

His advice: Obama must have a trump card in his back pocket that will resolve the situation without the GOP’s help, if necessary. One of the most important goals is getting the hostage taker to realize that ultimately, he’s not in control of the situation.

There are two possible trump cards for Obama. One is the “platinum coin” option, in which the government mints a trillion-dollar coin and uses it to pay its debts, which is currently getting a lot of blogospheric love. (Josh Barro explains how this might work; Kevin Drum dissents.) There’s also the 14th Amendment option, which some legal observers believe empowers the President to ignore the debt ceiling.

Obama’s fiscal trap for Republicans

This sums it up well – and we’ll see what the next few days brings.

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Obama’s fiscal trap for Republicans:

US President Barack Obama (28 Dec)

President Obama’s purpose is political, not fiscal

America’s reckless politicians may still take the country over the cliff into an uncertain land where recession looms.

But President Obama has sprung his trap. The Republicans are in a corner – over a barrel – although perilously unaware of their plight. Before the election, during the election and since his victory, he has insisted the rich must pay a little more in taxes. It is a policy that appeals to his party but doesn’t really make much of an economic impact. But its purpose is political, not fiscal.

He has announced his fallback position. If there is no bipartisan deal by the leaders of the Senate, he will get Democrats to introduce a minimalist bill. It would be, Mr Obama said in his weekly address, an “up-or-down vote on a basic package that protects the middle class from an income tax hike, extends vital unemployment insurance for Americans looking for a job, and lays the groundwork for future progress on more economic growth and deficit reduction”.

If Republicans vote it down, they will be directly voting to bring in a tax rise on “ordinary Americans”.

I’ll say it again. Republicans are voting for a tax rise on most people. (…)

(Via BBC News – Home)