Goodwin Liu

TPMDC Morning Roundup

Eric Kleefeld | April 7, 2010, 9:01AM

Report: White House To Remove References To 'Islamic Radicalism'
The Obama administration will reportedly remove terms such as "Islamic radicalism" from the upcoming National Security Strategy document, in an effort to emphasize that the administration does not view Muslim nations through a lens of terrorism. "You take a country where the overwhelming majority are not going to become terrorists, and you go in and say, 'We're building you a hospital so you don't become terrorists.' That doesn't make much sense," said National Security Council staffer Pradeep Ramamurthy.

Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama will meet with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton 9:30 a.m. ET. He will receive the presidential daily briefing at 10 a.m. ET, and meet with senior advisers at 11 a.m. ET. He will depart from Andrews Air Force Base at 7:30 p.m. ET, en route to Prague, Czech Republic, where he will sign the new nuclear arms control treaty with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

Read more »

Barack Obama

TPMDC Saturday Roundup

Eric Kleefeld | January 30, 2010, 1:20PM

Obama Slams GOP Reversals On Fiscal Commission
In this weekend's YouTube address, President Obama called for taking action to reduce the budget deficit. He also blasted Republican Senators who stopped the formation of a Fiscal Commission, after having previously co-sponsored it:

"This past week, 53 Democrats and Republicans voted for this commission in the Senate. But it failed when seven Republicans who had co-sponsored this idea in the first place suddenly decided to vote against it," said Obama. "Now, it's one thing to have an honest difference of opinion about something. I will always respect those who take a principled stand for what they believe, even if I disagree with them. But what I won't accept is changing positions because it's good politics. What I won't accept is opposition for opposition's sake. We cannot have a serious discussion and take meaningful action to create jobs and control our deficits if politicians just do what's necessary to win the next election instead of what's best for the next generation."

Collins: Obama Administration Can't See A Terrorist 'Even When He Stands Right In Front Of Them'
In this weekend's Republican address, a very alarmed Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) lambasted the Obama administration's handling of the Abdulmutallab case:

"The Obama administration appears to have a blind spot when it comes to the War on Terrorism," said Collins. "And, because of that blindness, this administration cannot see a foreign terrorist even when he stands right in front of them, fresh from an attempt to blow a plane out of the sky on Christmas Day. There's no other way to explain the irresponsible, indeed dangerous, decision on Abdulmutallab's interrogation. There's no other way to explain the inconceivable treatment of him as if he were a common criminal."

Read more »

John Edwards

Report: John Edwards Could Admit To Being Father Of Rielle Hunter's Child

Eric Kleefeld | August 13, 2009, 5:44PM

The CBS affiliate in Raleigh, WRAL-TV, reports that sources close to John Edwards expect the ex-Senator and former presidential candidate to admit that he is indeed the father of his former mistress Rielle Hunter's child.

It's unclear exactly when he would admit this, but the station's sources said it could occur before the end of the current criminal investigation into whether Edwards illegally paid Hunter money from his campaign. The central allegation is that hush money was funneled to Hunter in order to keep her from revealing the affair.

Edwards admitted in the summer of 2008 that he did in fact have the affair with Hunter, but strongly denied that he was the father of her child. Hunter had previously stated that the father of her child was a former Edwards staffer, Andrew Young.

Budget

TPMDC Morning Roundup

Eric Kleefeld | May 11, 2009, 9:02AM

Obama Meeting With Health Industry On Lowering Costs
President Obama is meeting today with drug companies, insurance companies, hospital executives and doctors to work on an industry initiative to decrease health care costs by $2 trillion over 10 years. The New York Times points out that the government wouldn't necessarily have a direct way to hold industry to these promises, but that the industry itself is undertaking this initiative in order to head off direct price constraints from being imposed by the government.

Obama's Day Ahead
President Obama will be meeting with health care reform stakeholders at 11:30 a.m. ET in the Roosevelt Room. At 12:30 p.m. ET, he will deliver remarks from the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, on reforming the health care system and reducing costs. At 2 p.m. ET, he will welcome the University of North Carolina men's basketball team an the South Portico.

Read more »

Arlen Specter

TPMDC Sunday Roundup

Eric Kleefeld | May 3, 2009, 1:01PM

Specter: "I'm Becoming Much More Comfortable With The Democrats' Approach"
During his appearance today on CBS' Face The Nation, Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) said that besides just the tough Republican primary he was facing, there was genuine principle at work in his party switch. "Frankly, I was disappointed that the Republican Party didn't want me as their candidate," said Specter. "But as a matter of principle, I'm becoming much more comfortable with the Democrats' approach."

GOP Sen. Hatch: Obama Using "Code Words" For Wanting Activist Judge
Appearing on ABC's This Week, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) accused President Obama of using code words for the type of Supreme Court Justice he will seek. "He's also said that a judge has to be a person of empathy -- what does that mean? Usually that's a code word for an activist judge," said Hatch. "But he also said that, that, he's going to select judges on the basis of their personal politics, their personal feelings, their personal preferences. Now, you know those are all code words for an activist judge who's going to be partisan on the bench."

Read more »