Nobel Peace Prize

Amusing

Christina Bellantoni | October 9, 2009, 5:11PM

CBO Director Peter Orszag

This year, the Nobel Prizes were announced via live stream on the Internet for the first time.

It's kind of funny that everyone - including the White House - was so unprepared for the news.

The committee boasted about the change this week and even crafted a nifty YouTube page that lists all the upcoming events.

So when Peter Orszag wins the Nobel Prize in Economics on Monday, at least we'll all be ready.

Nobel Peace Prize

Are Elected Republicans Plotting Nobel Strategy Or Just Taking A Long Weekend?

Christina Bellantoni | October 9, 2009, 4:41PM

President Barack Obama

Crickets seem to be a theme of the last few days, but there's been a fairly stunning quiet from (most) Republicans today regarding President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize win.

Check out our site - with the exception of Mike Steele, conservative pundits and media types, most of the Republican responses have come via television interviews. (Sen. John McCain's is here, Sen. Jim Inhofe's is here, CA Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a laudatory statement.)

Whenever there's news like this, my inbox is usually full of messages from Republican members of Congress, or GOP fundraising lists. Today, very very few.

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Nobel Peace Prize

Gibbs: Obama Will Accept Award In Oslo

Christina Bellantoni | October 9, 2009, 12:42PM

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs

The White House had been dodging this question earlier, but White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters just now that Obama will travel to Oslo in December to pick up the Nobel Peace Prize.

Pressed if Obama will also attend the climate talks in Copenhagen - which the White House hasn't committed to yet - Gibbs wouldn't say. He did acknowledge the talks are close in distance and date to the Nobel ceremony.

Nobel Peace Prize

Surprise! White House Adjusts To Nobel News

Christina Bellantoni | October 9, 2009, 12:21PM

White House sources tell me the shock was real today when President Obama was chosen for the Nobel Peace Prize.

No one was ready, instead focused on some upcoming battles on Afghanistan and health care, and staffers were preparing for Obama's planned speech this afternoon on financial regulatory reform.

Still, the team is playing catch up - they haven't even updated the White House blog yet, though the Barack Obama Twitter feed offered the one-word reaction above.

Robert Gibbs said Obama was "very surprised" and said that when he called the president with the news, "I believe he was asleep."

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Nobel Peace Prize

Obama: 'I Will Accept This Award As A Call To Action'

Christina Bellantoni | October 9, 2009, 11:33AM

President Obama in the Rose Garden just now said the Nobel Peace Prize is "a call to all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st century."

Calling himself "surprised and deeply humbled," Obama said he does not feel he deserves to be in the company of the "transformative" and inspiring people who have earned the prize.

He said the prize often is given "as a means to give momentum to a set of causes."

"I will accept this award as a call to action," Obama said, outlining his goals - a world without nuclear weapons, confronting the threat of climate change and respectful of its peoples' diverse religions and practices.

"These challenges can't be met by any one leader or any one nation," he said.

He called for "unwavering commitment to the rights of all Israelis and Palestinians to live in security in nations of their own."

"This award is not simply about the efforts of my administration," he said, it's shared with everyone who fights for "justice and dignity."

Full text of his statement after the jump.

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Nobel Peace Prize

Bush 43 Not Expected To Issue Statement

Christina Bellantoni | October 9, 2009, 11:08AM

A source tells TPMDC that "needless to say," President George W. Bush isn't going to issue anything about President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize win today.

Nobel Peace Prize

RNC Response Sets The Tone: What Has Obama Accomplished?

Christina Bellantoni | October 9, 2009, 9:47AM

Mike Steele's statement:

"The real question Americans are asking is, 'What has President Obama actually accomplished?' It is unfortunate that the president's star power has outshined tireless advocates who have made real achievements working towards peace and human rights. One thing is certain - President Obama won't be receiving any awards from Americans for job creation, fiscal responsibility, or backing up rhetoric with concrete action."

Nobel Peace Prize

Axelrod: World Can Agree On Obama Goals Of Reducing Threats To Humanity, U.S.

Christina Bellantoni | October 9, 2009, 7:32AM

David Axelrod appeared on Morning Joe this morning to say President Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize is an affirmation of the causes he's championing: nuclear nonproliferation, climate change and building global alliances.

Axelrod told the MSNBC morning show crew that liberals, conservatives and everyone in between "ought to be able to agree on the need to reduce the threats to humanity and the threats to our country and that's what the president's working on."

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Nobel Peace Prize

Gibbs Gets Wake Up Call Honors: Mr. President, You're A Winner

Christina Bellantoni | October 9, 2009, 7:01AM

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs did the early morning duty today to let President Obama he'd won the Nobel Peace Prize.

A senior administration official tells TPMDC Gibbs called the White House just before 6 a.m. and woke Obama to share the news.

"The president was humbled to be selected by the committee," the official says.

There will be more coming out of the White House reacting to the news today.

Worth noting, Gibbs also had pre-dawn wake-up call duties during Obama's first trip abroad, telling Obama that North Korea had fired a test missile.

Nobel Peace Prize

President Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize

Christina Bellantoni | October 9, 2009, 6:15AM

President Barack Obama

President Barack Obama, in his tenth month in office, was chosen this morning as the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.

The one-liner from the committee - it goes to Obama "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples."

More:

"For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world's leading spokesman. The Committee endorses Obama's appeal that 'Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges.'

Late update: Obama will make brief remarks at 10:30 a.m. ET in the White House Rose Garden.

Later update: Here's the full release from Oslo, text after the jump.

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Health Care

Crickets From House, White House On Opt-Out Idea

Christina Bellantoni | October 8, 2009, 4:38PM

Bush Cricket

House Democrats are telling me they aren't paying much attention to the scuttlebutt on the opt-out public option idea that we've been covering all day at TPMDC.

As Brian detailed earlier, when asked about it, Speaker Nancy Pelosi reaffirmed her stance the House bill will have a "robust" public option.

All day the Dems I've checked in with have echoed the line, but privately some House aides are saying they have tuned out that debate. They are confident their bill will put more heft behind the public option and figure whatever the Senate has to do to get something passed will happen but may not look anything like the final compromise that reaches President Obama.

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Census

Republican Senators Vitter, Bennett Attempt To Force Census To Ask Immigration Status

Christina Bellantoni | October 8, 2009, 2:27PM

Sen. Bob Bennett (R-UT) and Sen. David Vitter (R-LA)

Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) and Sen. Bob Bennett (R-UT) want to amend the pending Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations bill (which funds NASA and the census, among other things) to force census takers to ask immigration status.

The amendment ties funding for the census bureau to asking of the question on "all future" decennial censuses.

Vitter said because some states have included illegal immigrants in their counts, that's led to more Congressional seats.

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Health Care

Gibbs Dodges On Compromise Public Option Idea

Christina Bellantoni | October 8, 2009, 1:55PM

White House Press Sec. Robert Gibbs

Asked during the briefing just now about the idea of an opt-out public option, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was pointedly non-committal.

"I have not talked to them about that but I can certainly ask if that's something that's been evaluated," Gibbs said, presumably referring to the White House policy shop.

Asked again what President Obama thought about the idea, Gibbs offered one of his most frequent dodges: "I have not talked with him."

Gibbs added the White House is "pleased" with the progress on health care and said when the legislation finally makes it to the Senate floor, "There will be a lot in the legislation that we hope members representing a lot of different constituents can support. I think they will, and I think we'll get health care reform done this year."

White House aides haven't responded to questions about the new idea today.

Debt

Pro-Biz Group Pays 'Uncle Sam' To Wander Around DC With Anti-Debt Sign

Christina Bellantoni | October 8, 2009, 12:07PM

Randolph Bragg, an actor from Northern Virginia, holds a sign as part of a paid stunt done by a group calling itself Defeat the Debt

Meet Randolph Bragg, a Northern Virginia actor who was paid $150 to educate the public about the national debt by standing outside the White House in a tattered Uncle Sam costume.

The 17 bearded "Sams" were all over the D.C. area Tuesday, holding signs and handing out fancy brochures sending people to Defeat the Debt to get a handle on "why you should care" about skyrocketing debt. The group also ran a full-page Wall Street Journal ad.

The Employment Policies Institute is behind the effort, which senior research analyst Justin Wilson told TPMDC has cost them "millions" and is funded by private donations.

TPM readers may be familiar with EPI front man Rick Berman, a conservative who is affiliated with tons of groups working to "defeat" various things, including the Employee Free Choice Act.

"People accuse us of being a front group on this issue ... there's no hidden agenda," Wilson said.

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Louie Gohmert

Debating Hate Crimes, Gohmert Rambles On About Bestiality, Sex With Corpses, Voting For A Black Man

Christina Bellantoni | October 7, 2009, 6:24PM

See it to believe it - here's Rep. Louie Gohmert, on the House floor yesterday, offering his assessment of the "wide open" definition of sexual orientation.

Gohmert (R-TX) rambles about being "oriented toward animals, bestiality" ... "oriented toward corpses, toward children."

"There are all kinds of perversions, what most of us would call perversions, some would say it sounds like fun, but most of us would say were perversions and there have been laws against them," said Gohmert, last known for holding the "What bill" sign during President Obama's September speech to a joint session of Congress.

This was during a debate that started about Don't Ask, Don't Tell and then veered into a debate on hate crimes.

Watch our clip to the end, when Gohmert talks about racism and tells his colleagues he voted for Alan Keyes.

DNC spokesman Hari Sevugan quipped, "It looks like Rick Santorum just picked up his first endorsement of 2012."

Afghanistan

Gibbs: 'We're Getting There' On Troops Decision

Christina Bellantoni | October 7, 2009, 4:14PM

Press Secretary Robert Gibbs

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters today that President Obama is getting closer to a decision on troop levels in Afghanistan.

"We're getting there," Gibbs said.

As I laid out earlier, Obama is in the Situation Room this afternoon talking Pakistan, and has another meeting Friday.

Gibbs wouldn't give a timeline, saying only that Obama has six hours of meetings scheduled over the next few days.

"It's not just a military question. It has to be looked at and focused on a number of different areas at a number of different levels. And that's what the president's intent on doing," Gibbs said. "We're still in the process of -- of working through this. I don't -- if the president's come to a decision, he hasn't told me."

FL-SEN

Crist Holding Fundraiser With Convicted (And Later Pardoned) Governor

Christina Bellantoni | October 7, 2009, 3:34PM

Frmr. Gov. Fife Symington (R-AZ) and Gov. Charlie Crist (R-FL)

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is about to embark on a major fundraising push, with several top dollar events scheduled in the coming weeks, but one in particular caught TPMDC's eye.

That's an Oct. 30 fundraiser hosted by former Arizona Gov. Fife Symington in the state's Camelback Mountain. Symington was convicted of bank and wire fraud and resigned in 1997, but the conviction was overturned and President Clinton pardoned him in 2001.

The event is listed on a document circulated among donors and obtained by TPMDC listing several upcoming fundraisers for Republican Senate candidates.

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Afghanistan

No Longer Charlie Wilson's War, Former Congressman Says He Feels Obama's Pain on Afghanistan Decision

Christina Bellantoni | October 7, 2009, 2:09PM

Fmr. Rep. Charlie Wilson (D-TX)

It's not quite the "bombshell" that Buzzflash calls it, but former Rep. Charlie Wilson opined on Afghanistan in an interview with the Scranton Times.

Wilson (D-TX), whose role in the covert operation in Afghanistan later inspired the film "Charlie Wilson's War," said he thinks President Obama is in a "very tough situation" when making his decision on whether to send more troops.

"It's probably best to make a calculated withdrawal. ...If I were the president, I'm not sure what I'd do. I'd probably shut it down, rather than lose a lot of soldiers and treasure," Wilson, now 76, told the newspaper in advance of an event Thursday at the Scranton Cultural Center.

He said the U.S. is being viewed as an occupier and he worries the war could be "another Vietnam."

Tim Pawlenty

Pawlenty To Make Iowa Debut

Christina Bellantoni | October 7, 2009, 10:44AM

Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN)

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is heading to Iowa in a key early test of his ability to build support among potential Republican caucus goers.

Pawlenty, who recently announced a new political action committee will be the "featured guest" at the Nov. 7 Leadership for Iowa event at the state fairgrounds.

Matt Strawn, Chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa, issued a release praising the Minnesotan as "innovative" and "conservative," and noted Pawlenty was known for balancing the state budget, reducing spending and enacting health care and education reform measures.

Pawlenty will be joined by Republican candidates for governor hoping to oust Democrat Chet Culver in 2010. Tickets are $25 per person and can be purchased here.

Late update: The Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party took a cue from the national Democrats who have been hammering Pawlenty as an absentee governor lately, and put out tongue-in-cheek statement.

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Afghanistan

As Obama Decides About Afghanistan, Here's What We Know

Christina Bellantoni | October 7, 2009, 9:40AM

President Obama and his war council

Eight years after the United States first sent troops to Afghanistan following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, President Obama is wrestling with the right strategy - pulled in one direction by military brass, wanting to win the war but cognizant of increasing casualties, and warned by antiwar liberals who fear a prolonged conflict like Vietnam to make sure he has an exit strategy.

There are 68,000 troops there already, thanks in part to the change in strategy Obama announced in March. He said then he wanted to "disrupt, dismantle and defeat" al Qaeda and nearly doubled the troops deployed to the region as he started to implement a drawdown in Iraq. That was following up on a campaign promise since the president has said Afghanistan is the "war we need to win."

Sources interviewed about the president's thinking and strategy said Obama wants to make sure it's a deliberative process since there is so much on the line. They said it hasn't been easy signing letters to families of troops killed abroad and he wants to avoid mistakes made by the Bush administration.

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Tea Party

Tea Partiers Looking For Donations

Christina Bellantoni | October 6, 2009, 6:45PM

The Tea Party group is planning another big push later this month, with a week-long bus tour leading up to Nov. 11 that's meant to mark the one-year point from the 2010 Congressional elections.

The "Tea Party Express: Countdown to Judgment Day" starts Oct. 25.

"If you liked what we did with the first Tea Party Express you're going to love what we have in store for our second effort. It's going to be even bigger and better yet!" they promise in an email to fans and distributed through conservative media outlets.

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Afghanistan

18 Lawmakers Speak Up At White House Afghanistan Meeting

Christina Bellantoni | October 6, 2009, 5:10PM

President Barack Obama

An administration official tells TPMDC President Obama heard from 18 members at the meeting today on Afghanistan in the State Dining Room.

"He made it clear that he wants to get their input - and will continue to get their input going forward," the official said.

Obama told the 30 or so Congressional leaders present his decision-making process will be "rigorous and deliberate" but would also have a "sense of urgency." He told them it was important to put in place a strategy that helps Congress make decisions about where to devote military resources.

"The president was clear that he will make the decision that he thinks will best prevent future attacks on the American homeland and our allies. He also made it clear that his decision won't make everybody in the room or the nation happy, but underscored his commitment to work on a collaborative basis with the understanding that everyone wants what is best for the country," the official said.

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Barack Obama

White House Playing Its Cards on Afghan Policy Review Very Close to the Vest

Christina Bellantoni | October 6, 2009, 1:17PM

Gen. Stanley McChrystal, President Barack Obama

Even close Obama aides say they don't know when the President will be making the decision about whether to accept the McChrystal troop surge recommendation, and are pushing back on reports suggesting it would be late October or early November.

Today's White House meeting with 30 members of Congress is designed to open the floor for questions, a White House aide said. Congressional leaders from both parties will be at the table in the State Dining Room, along with lawmakers who control the Pentagon's purse strings and defense, intelligence and foreign policy on the hill. They range on the ideological spectrum from progressive Reps. David Obey (D-WI) and Nita Lowey (D-NY) to Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI).

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Tom DeLay

DeLay's Moment Of Truth: Will He Be Booted Tonight?

Christina Bellantoni | October 6, 2009, 10:54AM

Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay

"What's a little pain when you can party?" Tom DeLay told the judges who cooed over his dual foot fracture last night on ABC's Dancing with the Stars.

Clad in a bedazzled shirt featuring an elephant, DeLay tried his hardest to push through the pain, but still he and partner Cheryl Burke (in a sparkling dress with a donkey applique) only managed to earn 15 out of 30 possible points from the judges.

DeLay's daughter Dani told supporters in an email right before the show that he was planning a "sassy" Samba that was a political spoof choreographed by Cheryl. It wasn't quite sassy, as they "danced" around the stage to the tune of "Why can't we be friends."

As we noted last week, injuries have hurt DeLay with the judges, and he revealed last night he now has stress fractures in both feet.

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Health Care

Six Dem Governors Hold Out On Health Care Letter

Christina Bellantoni | October 5, 2009, 4:50PM

Gov. Mike Beebe (D-AR), Gov. Bev Perdue (D-NC), Gov. Brad Henry (D-OK), Gov. John Lynch (D-NH), Gov. Jay Nixon (D-MO) and Gov. Dave Freudenthal (D-WY)

It gives a sense of how tough the health care battle is that Democrats could only get 22 of the 28 governors from their own party to sign a letter to Congressional leaders urging they pass a bill this year.

It's a standard letter addressed to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Speaker Pelosi and Minority Leader Boehner, telling them states "will only achieve the health care security and stability they need if we succeed in working together with the Congress and the President to achieve health care reform."

But missing from the signatures at the bottom are six governors: Mike Beebe (AR), Jay Nixon (MO), Bev Perdue (NC), John Lynch (NH), Dave Freudenthal (WY) and Brad Henry (OK).

The letter, circulated by Reid's office and the Democratic Governors Association late Friday, is by no stretch of the imagination controversial.

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Bill Frist

Bill Frist's Surprise -- and Maybe Elusive -- Support for Obama

Christina Bellantoni | October 5, 2009, 3:21PM

Echoing President Obama's "the time is now" call to action on health care reform, former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) writes in his new book that those who argue Obama is trying to do too much, too fast, with too much money should ask themselves: "Can we afford to do nothing about a wasteful and inefficient health-care system that drains billions from our economy, weakens the competitiveness of thousands of businesses through excess costs and yet fails to deliver basic care to far too many of our citizens?"

Released today, "A Heart to Serve," is "not a political memoir," Frist tells fans on his Web site. But with its seeming embrace of Obama and health care reform, the book has thrust Frist back into the political arena.

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NV-SEN

GOP Candidate for Harry Reid's Seat Embraces John Ensign

Christina Bellantoni | October 5, 2009, 12:09PM

Sue Lowden, GOP Senate candidate in Nevada

Not every Republican is running away from Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) as revelations about his love triangle with two former staffers threatens to tank his career.

Sue Lowden, among a field of Republicans hoping to challenge Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in Nevada, had some warm words for Ensign over the weekend.

Lowden told the newspaper in Elko she wants Ensign to campaign for her:

She also said Friday she stood by her comments that she hopes to see Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., campaigning for Republicans in Nevada. Democrats criticized her earlier for saying she didn't think Ensign should resign after he confessed to an affair with a staffer. Ensign is under fire against this week over new disclosures related to the affair.

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