The Morning Meeting: Stimulus Billions, Obama & The Arab World, Recession Snapshots & Octuplets!
EmailOne week into his term, Barack Obama heads for Capitol Hill today — on a mission to lobby House and Senate republicans for his stimulus package. This is in essence a battle between supporters of tax cuts and those who believe government spending can and will have a greater stimulative effect. And, of course, it’s a battle involving hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars. At the same time, President Obama is being seen across the Arab world in the first full-length interview he’s done since the inaugural, with the Al-Arabia network. It’s another clean break from the Bush years — a promise to listen, not dictate — and it comes as his Mideast envoy George Mitchell begins his initial tour.
We have all sorts of snapshots from the recession this morning: a gloomy 2009 retail forecast; home prices take another tumble; college endowments take a big hit; Citi says it won’t buy that $50 million jet after all; and — one of the lone winners in this rough time — McDonald’s posts good numbers. Guess those cheap and fast meals are recession-friendly fare.
Eight is enough? Too much? Any parent hearing the news from a southern California hospital this morning — about the babies known for the moment only as "A through H" — can be excused for having his/her head spinning. Eight babies born yesterday in four delivery rooms, forty-six doctors and nurses attending, twenty-four pounds of babies altogether. And all eight babies are apparently doing well. Someone here has already researched the number of diapers a baby typically runs through in its first year (it’s 2,788); whatever your metric, it’s mind-boggling. We wish the (still-unidentified) Mom & Dad the best of luck.
Stay tuned…
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Of the eight babies born to an American couple some years ago seven recently celebrated their tenth bithday.
I do not know what bearing, if any, modern fertility treatments had on these multiple births.
Posted by: Candadai Tirumalai | January 27, 2009, 10:01 am 10:01 am
“President Obama is being seen across the Arab world in the first full-length interview he’s done since the inaugural, with the Al-Arabia network.” – ABC News
So the Pres gives his first interview to a foreign news agency.
Huuuuummmmm . . . . . .
That’s OK I guess but he does realize he’s the President of the United States not the World, right?
When NoBo makes these symbolic gestures for the World he should be smart enough to know he’s also making a statement to the people who elected him.
Right now what I’m getting from his first weeks is that he cares too much what the World thinks of him.
That makes me wonder if he can make the unpopular decision when it’s required.
Posted by: Noz | January 27, 2009, 10:25 am 10:25 am
Arab TV, eh? Nice, he just surrendered.
Posted by: Mark | January 27, 2009, 10:42 am 10:42 am
Jimmy Carter talked to people in this part of the world until he was blue in the face. What did he really accomplish?
Well, it got Saadat (spelling?) killed.
That was the end result.
If Obama can actually do something good,
great. I suppose it doesn’t hurt to try.
Well, I don’t know. Tell that to Saadat’s family.
Posted by: cc | January 27, 2009, 11:04 am 11:04 am
Citi Bank is not buying the 50 million dollar jet? Oh, good for them.
Were the citizens about to run them out of town on a rail? I know they didn’t decide this out of concern for the people. The numbnuts realized it was Very bad PR.
That’s it.
Some people won’t do the right thing to save their soul. They have to be threatened first.
Posted by: Speak up, citizens | January 27, 2009, 11:09 am 11:09 am
On my site, I wrote a piece laying out what is actually in the Obama Stimulus Plan and couldn’t help but think that this could very well go the way of most plans like this. Less about the economy and more about everything else. As of now, the non-economic parts seem to be coming out but we will see in the end. It has to be stimulus for right now or the public isn’t going to be happy with it.
Posted by: elementaryfinance | January 27, 2009, 3:37 pm 3:37 pm
Who is out there that can HELP or at least STOP what is going on in our country!!! I am loosing my house tomorrow to a Sheriff Sale and can’t even believe how fast things turned for for the worst for me and my family!! Medical bills, mortgage payments and two kids and a wife that need medical attention!!
Someone PLEASE get back to me,
Matt
Posted by: Matt | January 27, 2009, 10:17 pm 10:17 pm