By Caitlin Taylor

Mar 20, 2009 8:10am

The Note, 3/20/2009: So Special — Obama loses a week, as a great communicator doesn’t communicate

By RICK KLEIN Outrage, real or manufactured, has real consequences. Jokes about the Special Olympics, funny or not, aren’t funny. The blame game, no matter who’s really to blame, leaves no one blameless. A White House vegetable garden wouldn’t be complete without arugula. (Really.) Being the man who met the moment does not guarantee that he’ll meet every moment. This has been the Obama administration’s lost week — an anger-filled race to get out in front of a story that the White House has variously underestimated, fueled, belittled, and sought to channel. All President Obama has to do is revive the economy and end a war and fix healthcare and rescue schools and save the planet. But first he’s had to spend a week trying to get back a few million dollars from a government-owned insurance company. (Fighting with an insurance company — now there’s a populist opportunity, right up there with rooting against Duke.) The biggest shock: A message maestro can’t break through — not even with Jay Leno’s help (and it probably wasn’t helpful). (Leno, deadpan, on Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner: “I love that it’s all his problem.” [Laughter.] The president: “No, no, no . . . ) The best of communicators — failing to communicate: “The sluggish and unsteady response to the uproar over AIG bonuses highlights a larger problem of his White House: Obama’s surprisingly uneven campaign to educate people about the economic crisis and convince Washington and the broader public that he is in command of circumstances,” Politico’s Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen write. “The discipline and strategic focus of the campaign have yet to move into the White House. The story of the day often catches the president flat-footed or on the defensive — and regularly undercut by fellow Democrats.” Will he be able to meet this moment? “He is willowy when people yearn for solid, reed-like where they hope for substantial, a bright older brother when they want Papa, cool where they probably prefer warmth,” Peggy Noonan writes in her Wall Street Journal column. “The president seems everywhere and nowhere, not fully focused on the matters at hand.” A continuing messaging disconnect, when David Axelrod declares that “People are not sitting around their kitchen tables thinking about AIG,” even as the president talks about “our anger.” “A huge majority of Americans, most of whom are not millionaires, are really angry and has a right to be angry,” David Sirota writes at Open Left. “And we’re not talking sorta angry, we’re talking about Gallup’s new poll showing a whopping 84% of Americans saying they are ‘outraged’ or ‘bothered’ by the AIG mess. The only question, then, is why the president is letting his aides contradict him and disparage the majority of the country?” Room for more outrage? “At least 13 companies who have received some of the $300 billion in TARP funds owe hundreds of millions of dollars in back taxes,” ABC’s Matthew Jaffe reports. “Two of the companies owe more than $100 million in taxes, said Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., chairman of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight. Altogether, the 13 companies owed the government more than $220 million in unpaid taxes, he said.” Did Leno help? How many quotes from the appearance are likely to be remembered, other than this one: “It was like Special Olympics or something,” the president said of bowling a 129, per ABC’s Jake Tapper. Somebody get a Kennedy on the line . . . Special Olympics Chairman Tim Shriver tells ABC’s Robin Roberts that the president called him even before “The Tonight Show” aired — and wants some athletes over for basketball or bowling. “He expressed his disappointment and he apologized, in a way that was very moving,” Shriver said on “Good Morning America.” “It’s important to see that words hurt, and words do matter. And these words that in some respect can be seen as humiliating or a put-down of people with special needs do cause pain, and they do result in stereotypes. They do result in behavior that is neglectful and almost oppressive of people with special needs.” “One of the dangers of going on that show is that something you might say in a bar, when you’re not president of the United States, might get a laugh, but when you’re president of the United States, it ends up leading ‘Good Morning America,’ ” former White House press secretary Dana Perino said on “GMA.” “They’ve been, for a week now, in the midst of a total distraction. . . . They’ve given the Republicans a real opportunity here. . . . They’ve had some self-inflicted wounds.” James Carville counters: “Give the guy some credit — they’ve pushed a lot of stuff out there real early.” The official statement, out even before Leno aired: “The president made an off-hand remark making fun of his own bowling that was in no way intended to disparage the Special Olympics,” White House deputy press secretary Bill Burton said. “He thinks the Special Olympics is a wonderful program that gives an opportunity for people with disabilities from around the world.” The strategy we get . . . “Obama went on the show for the same reason that other famous people do — to promote his latest project — and for the same reason that other famous people do: to clear up ‘A Few Misconceptions About Some Horrible Things You May Have Heard’ before a large national audience, predisposed by habit to already be in a good mood,” Robert Lloyd writes in the Los Angeles Times. “Now this is the sort of remark that, sadly, has become commonplace in contemporary humor. But it’s nothing you’d want your president to say, or even to think.” “Conservative bloggers instantly seized on the President’s remark, calling it ‘insensitive,’ ” Bill Hutchinson writes in the New York Daily News. (They have worse labels, too.) A surprise video message — from the president “to the people and leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran: “In this season of new beginnings I would like to speak clearly to Iran’s leaders,” the president says. “We have serious differences that have grown over time. My administration is now committed to diplomacy that addresses the full range of issues before us, and to pursuing constructive ties among the United States, Iran and the international community. This process will not be advanced by threats. We seek instead engagement that is honest and grounded in mutual respect.” What the president was missing in Washington: “The case of the missing AIG bonus limits has become a tale of political intrigue and Democratic infighting that could threaten the re-election chances of a top senator and the credibility — if not the career — of one of President Obama’s top advisers,” the AP’s Julie Hirschfeld Davis writes. How likely is this to be a productive exchange of views? “Treasury staff were working with Sen. [Christopher] Dodd’s staff throughout this process,” Geithner tells CNN. ABC’s Jonathan Karl and Matthew Jaffe: “Geithner said he did not personally talk to Dodd or Dodd’s staff about the provision, which exempted employees who signed contracts before February from tough new executive compensation limits that Dodd and others included in the stimulus. Staffers at the Treasury Department were concerned that the provision would not stand up to legal challenges without the exemption for existing contracts.” The RNC has a new Web video going out Friday — complete with a tongue-tied Robert Gibbs and Sen. Dodd. How’s that timeline looking? “Interviews with senior Federal Reserve and Treasury officials, as well as members of Congress, leave little doubt that the bonus program was a disaster hiding in plain sight. Mr. Geithner is not the only one who appears not to have understood the populist fury the bonuses would set off,” Edmund L. Andrews and Jackie Calmes write in The New York Times. “Career staff officials at the Treasury, Fed and Federal Reserve Bank of New York exchanged e-mail messages about the A.I.G. bonus program as early as late February, according to a person familiar with the matter. A.I.G. itself revealed the bonus plan in regulatory filings last September.” Jane Hamsher picks up on overlooked portion of Wednesday’s hearing: “Elijah Cummings shot huge holes through the stories of both Timothy Geithner and Edward Liddy yesterday during the AIG hearing on Capitol Hill,” she writes at Huffington Post. Said Cummings, in his question to Liddy: “The media has been focused on the $165 million installment of the $450 million retention program for AIG Financial Products Division. However, for months, you and I have been going back and forth overall about the one billion dollars retention program that covers thousands of employees throughout AIG.” And does the timeline really matter? “Why didn’t he know about the bonuses earlier? And when he did get clued in, why didn’t he do anything to head off what was obviously going to be a distracting and perhaps damaging controversy?” Eugene Robinson writes in his Washington Post column. “A simpler way of asking the Geithner question is: Does he get it?” What’s he looking to get done again? “President Obama’s $3.55-trillion budget has stumbled into a series of economic and political pitfalls that threaten to undercut his grandest ambitions,” Janet Hook writes in the Los Angeles Times. “Into that tinderbox, a lit match has come from new deficit estimates. . . . The Congressional Budget Office report today is expected to reflect a worsening deficit outlook in part because economic conditions have deteriorated in the two months since the administration set its budget assumptions. The office is expected to project lower revenue and higher spending than what Obama’s budget assumed.” What’s getting done fast (but do Republicans really want to delay this?): “The Senate plans to vote next week on steep levies on employee bonuses after the House overwhelmingly approved a 90 percent tax on bonuses at American International Group Inc. and other companies receiving bailout funds,” per Bloomberg’s Ryan J. Donmoyer. “The Senate’s proposal on companies that got the federal money would place a 70 percent tax on the bonuses. Half that amount would be paid by employees, half by the companies.” Reconcile this: “Congressional Democratic leaders and the Obama White House are likely to use a parliamentary procedure to win passage this year of a national health-insurance program, people familiar with the discussions said Thursday,” Jonathan Weisman and John D. McKinnon write in The Wall Street Journal. “For Congress to pass such a monumental program using a special maneuver would be unusual. . . . Employing the tactic would almost certainly lead to more partisan clashes as President Barack Obama’s budget starts down the legislative path in coming days.” More details, from The Washington Post’s Lori Montgomery and Ceci Connolly: “House Democrats, in consultation with the White House, will give Republican lawmakers until September to reach a compromise on President Obama’s signature health-care initiative — otherwise, they will use a shortcut to move the measure through Congress without Republican votes.” (Quite a deadline — given that Congress is set to be on recess in August.) Tom Daschle makes the case, in a Washington Post op-ed: “When I withdrew from consideration to be secretary of health and human services, some pundits said health reform had received a devastating blow. While it would be flattering for me to believe that, it would also be completely wrong,” he writes. “It is disappointing that I will not be inside the administration, pushing for health reform. But that doesn’t mean I won’t be pushing for it.” The healthcare argument heats up in the states — Health Care for America Now debuts a new TV ad, targeting Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. David Brooks buys the too-much-at-once argument: “The president of the United States has decided to address this crisis while simultaneously tackling the four most complicated problems facing the nation: health care, energy, immigration and education. Why he has not also decided to spend his evenings mastering quantum mechanics and discovering the origins of consciousness is beyond me,” he writes in his New York Times column. “The results of this overload are evident on Capitol Hill. The banking plan is incomplete, and there is zero political will to pay for it. The president’s budget is being nibbled to death. The revenue ideas are dying one by one, while the spending ideas expand.” Something else that simply must get done: groundbreaking Friday for the White House vegetable garden. “The 1,100-square-foot garden will include 55 kinds of vegetables, including peppers, spinach and, yes, arugula,” Jane Black reports in The Washington Post. The Boston Globe’s Sasha Issenberg travels across the pond to glimpse Howard Dean in a sort of happy journey into the wilderness: “Now, unlike virtually all the other leaders of the Democratic comeback, Dean is out of office. He is easing into an exile as a Democratic version of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who spent the Bush years operating as a freelance visionary and policy entrepreneur, a permanent creature of the political margins credited with having successfully plotted his party’s recapture of power but not long trusted to actually wield it,” Issenberg writes. Take this, Mr. President (and Mr. Emanuel): “Everybody likes to think they did it all by themselves,” Dean said in an interview. “I don’t believe in the great-man theory of history. You really have to see change as a continuum. It doesn’t come in packets, it comes in waves.” Gov. Sarah Palin, R-Alaska, wants construction money — but not education funds. (And we thought the people of Ketchikan could use a school . . . ) Sean Cockerham, in the Anchorage Daily News: “Gov. Sarah Palin is refusing to accept more than 30 percent of the federal economic stimulus money being offered to Alaska, including dollars for schools, energy assistance and social services. The news Thursday drew anger from those who accused Palin of putting her national political aspirations ahead of the state’s interests, and admiration from others who say she has courage to turn down money that would expand government. The state Legislature will have an opportunity to override her decision.” The Kicker: “I do think in Washington it’s a little bit like ‘American Idol,’ except everybody is Simon Cowell.” — President Obama, to Jay Leno, in the line he wished would be the most-quoted from his appearance. “Look, he’s a competitive guy — I just don’t think they’ve got the inside game to go all the way. But I look forward to him proving me wrong.” — President O, to Coach K. Follow The Note on Twitter: http://twitter.com/thenote For up-to-the-minute political updates check out The Note’s blog . . . all day every day:

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User Comments

ABC is such a weak sister when it comes to unbiased reporting — this was a GREAT week for Obama overall and his message is gaining traction with the American people. I’m disgusted with ABC’s bias. I’m switching you from my home page – sorry. Enough bad news in the world without tainted bad news.

Posted by: Deborah from NC | March 20, 2009, 8:42 am 8:42 am

Is Obama “Celebrity in Chief” or Commmander in Chief.

Posted by: Mike | March 20, 2009, 8:43 am 8:43 am

I don’t know who Rick Klein is, but I really disagree with this editorial. I’m happy with how President Obama is handling the current difficulties. I’m not happy with the media’s role as ‘watchdog’. They tend to over emphasize the petty while completing missing the metaphorical ‘ice bergs’. It happened with the Bush administration, and it’s happening again with the Obama administration. They completely missed the housing and financial debacle.

Posted by: Nichole | March 20, 2009, 8:45 am 8:45 am

How much outrage would there be if Leno had asked Obama if the White House garden would be planted in cotton or watermelon?

Posted by: Gotterdammerung | March 20, 2009, 8:47 am 8:47 am

Hmmm…… Why should I read your reports, from what I gather you are not an Obama supporter. I understand that he made a gaffe and will probably make some more, and you should report on it, but doing so with a sneer hardly is unbiased. It kind of reduces your credibility don’t you think?

Posted by: Thinking | March 20, 2009, 8:48 am 8:48 am

That is why Presidents don’t do comedy shows. Alright when you need a laugh to get elected but deadly when your image must be Serious defender of the US Economy. Lesson 36 Learned? Let’s hope so. Move on and get it together quickly people.

Posted by: Mona Lisa | March 20, 2009, 8:49 am 8:49 am

BO is an absentee Jimmy Carter. Keep this up and he will be absent permanetly in ’12…

Posted by: hmn... | March 20, 2009, 8:55 am 8:55 am

Deborah from NC What was so great for Obama this week??? It was a disastor.

Posted by: billy bob | March 20, 2009, 8:56 am 8:56 am

What a jerk! Thinking it is o.k. to make fum of people with disabilities. What’s worse is the demdogs defending him!

Posted by: bozobama | March 20, 2009, 8:56 am 8:56 am

Quote from the “Greatest Story ever Sold” 2006. Bush was a great manipulator of the media. If Americans do not reclaim democracy the next President will be the master of the media. Need I say more. This is a celebrity world, yes and America is the living “Drama Queen”. Every month there is a new crisis. We are living in on a roller coaster ride for the screams and fun. What about people like us that want to get off?

Posted by: clancy49 | March 20, 2009, 8:57 am 8:57 am

Come on people. Do you really believe Obama’s special olympics remark was said maliciously?

Posted by: Get_Real | March 20, 2009, 8:59 am 8:59 am

The whole financial world has been exposed as having been completely gutted by the guys who just ran out the door, and all you idiots in the press can do is point to the guys who just walked in and exposed it, as if it was them who gutted it. How the hell do you people justify your paychecks? What happened to the 4th Estate? You people are children chasing balls into the street.

Posted by: Rick | March 20, 2009, 8:59 am 8:59 am

I am sure if George Bush had made a joke about Special Olympics it would have been buried like ABC,CBS and MSNBC have done. How do you call yourselves journalists.

Posted by: RepublicofTexas | March 20, 2009, 9:00 am 9:00 am

Why is there no mention of one of the bigger blunders of the week? The Ballerina informs the Commander of the American Legion that BHO is planning to privatize parts of the VA. Poor Shinseki is left sitting there with his finger in his nose, while the Commander leaves in a huff and brings down a world of do-do on unsuspecting and unknowing Senators and Congressmen. Emanuel folds in a day, not having a clue as to what he did wrong.

Posted by: ChainsUCanBelieveIn | March 20, 2009, 9:03 am 9:03 am

Obama has never had a bad week. He did more for this country in his first week, than any president in history. Whites will always speak negative of our President because they are racist.

Posted by: Wendy | March 20, 2009, 9:03 am 9:03 am

Thinking, are you saying you only want to read media reports from those in the tank for Obama? Only 100% support 100% of the time for you? Your post contradicts your name. Were you speaking out during the campagine when ABC did nothing but show their bias toward Obama? My goodness, when people actually show they can think for themselves and express opnions that are not favorable of the POTUS they are slammed.

Posted by: notafan | March 20, 2009, 9:04 am 9:04 am

Wrong again ABC, the only thing happening in America is that Obama continues to be the only ADULT in the room – when will the GOP and DC media get it, this is serious trouble the country’s in and treating it as an ongoing frenzy of 24-hour sound bites hurts all of you.

Posted by: abql | March 20, 2009, 9:05 am 9:05 am

Boy it sure was easy when Bush was president, all the democrats had to do was sit back and critize anything that Bush did. Now the shoe is on the other foot reality has set in and it looks like those same democrats do not like it.

Posted by: billy bob | March 20, 2009, 9:05 am 9:05 am

“Give the guys some credit he pushed alot out there early”… REALLY??? Maybe he should have been more concerned of the overall impact instead of timing..He doesn’t have any probem spending the taxpayer dollars going West to appear on shows…
It is amazing how the cruel special olympics referral makes it burried in the stories. Wouldn’t that have been a headline for anyone else??? Get over this guys’ celebraty status… Oh and another one… did you know “Michelle grew up talking like a white girl”…
I guess they can throw as many stones as they like.. Call them out for what they say like you would anyone else.

Posted by: jmh | March 20, 2009, 9:06 am 9:06 am

Not too soon for ebonics? I can’t wait. The white illiterate “Ah’m” and “Ihh’ll” mixed with the teleprompter cadence is inspiring. (tongue in cheek)I had rather listen to Johnsons southern drawl or Bush 43′s jibberish. ‘bama needs a speech coach.
Did I mention the ‘Fed’ just monitised 1.2 trillion of the T bills that no one will buy! No matter how it is spoken that cannot be good.

Posted by: Tim Wieand | March 20, 2009, 9:07 am 9:07 am

This man has a real problem. He has an Attention Deficit Disorder – hence, the teleprompter. He cannot focus on anything more than a few minutes and even then knocks the Special Olympics. If you have a child in the Special Olympics or work with them you would be outraged too. We need a President, now ABC cover it up like you usually do, but we heard him loud and clear.

Posted by: Jane | March 20, 2009, 9:07 am 9:07 am

”A White House vegetable garden wouldn’t be complete without arugula.(really).”
Oh my God, stop the presses. Are we back to that again???
I’m done with ABC news, what a joke.

Posted by: Christine | March 20, 2009, 9:08 am 9:08 am

Posted by: Jane | March 20, 2009, 9:10 am 9:10 am

leave him alone , leave him alone !!!
(britney spear gaff) LMAO
This guy can’t speak without a teleprompter or he will screw things up.Obama Change you cab believe on..LMAO
The only change I’m getting out of this fake for President is pocket change..

Posted by: Frank | March 20, 2009, 9:10 am 9:10 am

Plenty of koolaid to go around. Step right up to the liberal fountain, watch your messiah walk on water.

Posted by: bo | March 20, 2009, 9:10 am 9:10 am

I just heard on an ABC radio show, that Michell is planting a new garden at the White House. Why is that “spring time news”? (Ya’ll remember that photo online about a watermelon patch growing at the White House? And some “outrage” from groups because of it?!)

Posted by: Mphilly | March 20, 2009, 9:11 am 9:11 am

Has anyone else noticed how it looks like Obama is watching a tennis match when he gives a speech. His head goes back and forth, from teleprompter to teleprompter.

Posted by: billy bob | March 20, 2009, 9:12 am 9:12 am

You mean he is not the Messiah? Good grief, now what shall we do? Seriously though, I think he is doing a fantastic job. The current state of this country (and the world for that matter) was not screwed up in one day, week or month. It will take just as long to correct it. Stay the course, keep your nose to the grindstone and quit trying to count your chickens before they hatch. Stop worrying about what we don’t have and focus on what we do have and keep it sacred. Treasure our blessings and all other items will fall into place. After all we have the right guy on the team, now… let him do his work.

Posted by: Get A Grip | March 20, 2009, 9:13 am 9:13 am

Finally ABC is doing some accurate reporting…Congrats!!!! its been a while of left wing bias. Obama is a clown and those of you who support this experiment are hypocrites. Bush would have said this and you would be calling for impeachment. Its a shame we need a teleprompter to be our president. Obama and his admin are destroying this country and by the time you put down the kool-aide it will be too late. This week was a disaster for him. His fake outrage on the bonus plans after HE HIMSELF signed the stimulus bill. He knew it was there. He is a liar. Always has been. You can’t not be and be in Chicago politics.

Posted by: chad | March 20, 2009, 9:13 am 9:13 am

“I’m disgusted with ABC’s bias.”
So now ABC is showing bias by actually REPORTING the news?!?! LOL!

Posted by: Stacey | March 20, 2009, 9:14 am 9:14 am

Thinking, are you saying you only want to read media reports from those in the tank for Obama? Only 100% support 100% of the time for you? Your post contradicts your name
****************************************
II said when you report with a sneer.

Posted by: Thinking | March 20, 2009, 9:15 am 9:15 am

I disagree with you, Mr. Klein. I started the week watching Jon Stewart confront Jim Cramer over, basically, the media’s irresponsibility in not reporting the truth about Wall Street. I learned more than I ever wanted to know about credit swaps and the bonus structures of large corporations. I saw President Obama on Leno, and I continue to think he is one sharp dude. I read in our local papers about layoffs at formerly successful companies, but I also read about local people organising to strengthen our local economy. I get my news from numerous sources, and I have to say, ABC News is the least relevant to me. I really think you people are pushing an agenda.

Posted by: Amy in Maine | March 20, 2009, 9:17 am 9:17 am

Funny what happens when we see the reality of the Washington and Wall Street relationship. Pathetic and disgusting. Bailouts are deadly. Americans begged Washington not to do it. Washington did not heed the calls – millions and millions of calls.

Posted by: blister | March 20, 2009, 9:17 am 9:17 am

The ironic point here is that Obama tries to use the media to publicly humiliate anyone with a different opinion than his and then he goes on Leno and publicly humiliates himself.

Posted by: whathappened08 | March 20, 2009, 9:19 am 9:19 am

I can’t believe how many posts there are saying ABC is bias against Obama. Where were all you people during the election when ABC was in the tank for him? Seems you dems don’t like anyone to report anything remotely negative against your precious O. Grow up, get real, and accept it. He is not perfect, and his mistakes should be reported just like any other politician. You have done nothing but bash Bush for years, your still doing it, and you whine when someone dares bash Obama. Last time I checked, America was a country of free speech. Everyone has a right to their opnion and a right to express it as long as it does no harm to someone. This article does no harm to Obama or his admin. It is just stating facts, things that actually happened this week. Can’t take the heat? Get out of the kitchen.

Posted by: notafan | March 20, 2009, 9:19 am 9:19 am

I wonder how Bobo would have felt if Leno called him the Affirmative Action President?
This guy does NOT belong in the White House. He is destroying America.

Posted by: No Common Sense in DC | March 20, 2009, 9:20 am 9:20 am

Why would anyone want to be President?

Posted by: Eric | March 20, 2009, 9:21 am 9:21 am

If you don’t pay (or refuse to pay) your share of taxes, you SHOULD NEVER be bailed out by us already strained tax payers.

Posted by: KD | March 20, 2009, 9:22 am 9:22 am

You see President Bush would never have made a comment like that because he was a man of character. Only people like Obama who has none – believes in everything, and adheres to nothing, would do something so stupid.
****************************************
Please Just Google Bush then Gaffe. Get real this happens to all people.

Posted by: Thinking | March 20, 2009, 9:23 am 9:23 am

Mr. Obama should spend more time in his office. He’s all over the place. Is he going to give back all of that money that he received from AIG? How about that Special Olympic gaffe? The President doesn’t seem to be focused. I notice he has softened the outrage about the bonuses. It turns out that the Whitehouse was fully informed weeks ago, and helped to save the bonuses, yet engaged in demonizing the people that received them.

Posted by: Vivi | March 20, 2009, 9:24 am 9:24 am

Trillions and Trillions and Trillions being pushed through Congress to build up the Government and weeken the private sector. America will be “remade” alright. Obama’s smile no longer fools me.

Posted by: Mike | March 20, 2009, 9:25 am 9:25 am

Obama makes one gaffe and the Republicans go berserk. At least Obama isn’t prone to making gaffes unlike the last occupant.

Posted by: Elvis | March 20, 2009, 9:25 am 9:25 am

Give Obama a break, he didn’t have the teleprompter. When he speaks without it, his true capabilities are displayed. I think that it should be obvious to everybody that this limo liberal really has no compassion for anybody except himself and his power. So typical.

Posted by: brian | March 20, 2009, 9:28 am 9:28 am

I have to say this, if Obama was white his approval rating would be below 7%.

Posted by: Mike | March 20, 2009, 9:28 am 9:28 am

Lets just suppose that was President Bush saying that about the Special Olympics , do you really think the media and Mr. Shriver would be so unconcerned, so accepting!!FORGET IT!!They would have been all over it, in fact if any Republican had said that they would be booted out of whatever position they were in. SUCH HYPOCRIPSY IN THE NEWS!!!

Posted by: NT | March 20, 2009, 9:29 am 9:29 am

I saw him last night. I thought he did great. He spoke to the people and it was a great idea becuase so much of what he was saying hte usual way, radio address, etc, nobody listens. But you come on a talk show and everyone tunes in. Sad, but that’s where our society is. He did the job beautifully and you get the feel that is taking this mess, oneby one, and peeling back the onion and it will be fixed. He IS teh man for the job. If folks are looking at him and thinking negative, they are just sour grapes. Ihave never seen such a group of sour grapes bad sports as the republicans have been absolutely shameless in their HOPE obama does badly. It’s disgusting. Anti-American traitors. Obama is doing a great job that is a hard job. Keep up the good work, Mr President!

Posted by: matt | March 20, 2009, 9:30 am 9:30 am

We should be more concerned about what Obama and the liberal congress are doing to our country. Our great grandkids will be paying for their liberal agenda. They need to be stopped…NOW!!!!!

Posted by: bo | March 20, 2009, 9:30 am 9:30 am

Let’s stop paying too much attention to Obama’s Image and more to what his and the top Dems agenda is going to do to this country. I agree, it must be stopped!

Posted by: Mike | March 20, 2009, 9:33 am 9:33 am

Just have HOPE…he’ll get the real intention of being president at some point. ;)

Posted by: JW1824 | March 20, 2009, 9:34 am 9:34 am

He doesn’t know how to run a country. He only knows how to run his mouth.

Posted by: Katie | March 20, 2009, 9:35 am 9:35 am

notafan
“You have done nothing but bash Bush for years” Oh for Pete’s sake. I didn’t hate Bush because he was a Republican from Texas, or an Evangelical, or inarticulate. I hated him because he ordered the invasion of Iraq after we were attacked by Saudi terrorists, organised by a Saudi princling holed up in Afghanistan. I happen to think you should have a defensible reason for taking the nation into war. That’s me. I hated him because he said the US didn’t have to abide by the Geneva Convention, a document the US was instrumental in drawing up. I hated him
because his administration privatized military supply systems, leading to billions of dollars lost to fraud. Don’t ask me why Republicans aren’t up in arms about that wasted money. Is Obama full of himself? Yeah, a tad. So is every news anchor I’ve ever watched, people who make it to the national scene usually aren’t the retiring type. I don’t care if Obama rubs you the wrong way, fine, but don’t twist the facts, diss his policies before they are even implemented, and spread misinformation just cause you don’t like him. Or, actually, go ahead. I’m not listening to you anyway.

Posted by: Amy in Maine | March 20, 2009, 9:37 am 9:37 am

get obable a teleprompter STAT

Posted by: pink stocks are a scam | March 20, 2009, 9:37 am 9:37 am

Obama had a bad week. Really? Obama didn’t even write this AIG tarp stuff. It was done before he took office. And they’re going to tax those bonus’ into oblivion and I think they’re leanring just what greedy SOB’s these bank and insurance people are. Why is this Obama’s fault???? My God, is everything Obama’s fault? The man is FIXING other people’s messes and dealing with OTHER people’s greed. These are the problems we have. They’re not Obama’s fault. Clearly I think 90% of American know that, and I think the other 10% WANT him to fail so I’m not thinking too highly of them. When you see a headline like this, I think “ahhh, you’re one of those who WANTS him to fail”. Try try as you will, I think folk are on board with Obama and the more you TRY to send a message that he’s failing, the more folks will stand by him. So knock yer’selves out. The man is doing a great job under hugely strenuous circumstances and I laugh to see Republicans all of a sudden become PC and crying about their delicate sensibilities. Please. You people constantly say we’re toopc and Obama was maknig fun of himself. Spare us your crocodile tears. Remember bushand the “love” OB’s were giving women???? LOL! Let Obama make about a hundred more ofthem, THEN we’ll talk.

Posted by: oh please | March 20, 2009, 9:38 am 9:38 am

It’s going to take more than one comment for publishers to be able to produce 4 books of Obamaisms as was the legacy of George Bush. Meanwhile how does your outrage over this one comment displace your anger over the deficit economy, lost American and Iraqi lives as well as those of our allies who joined us in an ill-fated war, the government response to Hurricane Katrina, Bernie Madoff and all the rest?!? I guess Americans aren’t as resilient as we like to believe we are if this last statement is giving you an ulcer above all else we’ve experienced during the last 8 years as a nation.

Posted by: Marolkisan | March 20, 2009, 9:38 am 9:38 am

OBAMA = ONE.BIG.ASS.MISTAKE.AMERICA

Posted by: Charlie | March 20, 2009, 9:40 am 9:40 am

I agree. Sour grapes. Never have I seen a group of Americans wish America would fail so their party would gain political advantage. It’s disgusting. I’ve never known a group of people to act so despicable than how republicans have been acting since Obama won.

Posted by: frank | March 20, 2009, 9:41 am 9:41 am

I have to say this, if Obama was white his approval rating would be below 7%.
Posted by: Mike
***************************************If Bobo were white and republican, the House of Pelosi would have already dafted an article of impeachment. This president and congress are a joke. Somebody stick a fork in them.

Posted by: No Common Sense in DC | March 20, 2009, 9:43 am 9:43 am

It was always known that Obama had no experience. He lied about being able to bring people together, too. Why did you’all vote for him?

Posted by: tina | March 20, 2009, 9:44 am 9:44 am

“if Obama was white his approval rating would be below 7%”…why? I’m white, I could care less what color he is. How does someone get this clueless. What in the world difference does it make what color he is. Does being black make him smart???? because he’s a heck of a lot smarter than any republcians out there. HE is taking this mess a nd peeling back the layersone and by one and addressing all the MANY MANY problems that happened when Republicans were not watching the store for the past 8 years. His skin tone didn’t do that. And if only 20% of the country is black, and his approval rating is around 60 or 70%, how do you reconcile that? Man, you people are stupid.

Posted by: oh please | March 20, 2009, 9:46 am 9:46 am

Obama and his administration are cleaning out the country’s fridge. It hasn’t been cleaned for a dozen years or so and there is some ugly stuff in there, hiding under tinfoil and casserole lids. It will look and smell awful. Nobody wants to watch someone clean out a fridge. Obama and his administration have fumbled on communication this week, but that is all. The fact is that these bonuses aren’t a big deal. They aren’t. $165 million is a lot of money, but it still isn’t worth the time and momentum being spent chasing it. The fact that TARP 1 allowed the bonuses was a mistake. TARP 2 won’t allow them going forward, but can’t undo the mistake of TARP 1. Constitutionally, it can’t, and Obama’s administration knew it. The country needs to move on. There are much more important things to do than indulge our national temper tantrum over this. It sucks, but instead of demanding that Congress and the Obama administration make chasing this money a top priority, we need to demand that companies accepting taxpayer-funded help start acting in good faith. That means no retention bonuses, no office renovations, no expensive retreats. And Obama, watch your mouth next time you go on Leno.

Posted by: Hil | March 20, 2009, 9:49 am 9:49 am

Dear oh please:
Obama got special treatment all his life. He’s the first affirmative action president.

Posted by: tinas | March 20, 2009, 9:50 am 9:50 am

Oh Please : You are right, I am stupid. I voted for this inexperienced, babblehead, Bobo that we call president. Now, I’m afraid he’ll wreck what is left of our country before he resigns. Even Obama knows he is in way over his head.

Posted by: No Common Sense in DC | March 20, 2009, 9:51 am 9:51 am

What’s with the race comments? Who cares if he’s black or white? He’s actually Mulatto, but the color of his skin doesn’t matter concerning what he is doing in office.

Posted by: bozobama | March 20, 2009, 9:56 am 9:56 am

Hil
OMG that is the best analogy I have ever seen on a political blog. Cleaning out the fridge…you nailed it!

Posted by: Amy in Maine | March 20, 2009, 9:58 am 9:58 am

You know, under the circumstances, to take on this culture of corruption is an honorable endeavour; so I’m not surprised when after the call for transparency was made, Dodd’s duplicity came to the surface almost immediately — for sure, he is not the only one who shall fall because of it. This is not about Republicans or Democrats — its about corruption in high places, and it cares not to which party one belongs. The “body politik” is in for one Humdinger of a time….

Posted by: Spartan Phoenix777 | March 20, 2009, 9:59 am 9:59 am

Amy in Maine, I’m just saying, why all the whining about abc now and none during the campagine? its a reasonable question. weather you agree or not those posting here seem to be upset that this reporter in not still in the tank for Obama. Another thing, I don’t care who you hate. Remember, its still a free country. Your reasons are ligit but there are ligit reasons to question, and even disagree with the current admin. Notice I didn’t say I hate the current POTUS or his admin. Hate is such a waste of time and gives off too much negative energy. You should try letting some of yours go. It may help you to not jump on other posters and help you to have constructive consersations.

Posted by: notafan | March 20, 2009, 10:02 am 10:02 am

I’m really getting tired of the American people doing nothing but bickering, arguing and complaining about anything and everything. This country will not last much longer unless people stop with the party line politics and start coming together to turn things around, to expect 1 man, The President, to be able to change things overnight is unrealistic. People need to get thicker skin in this country and stop all the whinning!

Posted by: DC70 | March 20, 2009, 10:05 am 10:05 am

“Obama didn’t even write this AIG tarp stuff” No he just signed it. So your saying he either signed something he never read or he read it and signed it without understanding it? Either way its not looking so good for him.

Posted by: notafan | March 20, 2009, 10:05 am 10:05 am

Obviously, if you can write a blog and have a thousand or so people to read it you’re a pundit. I think the writer would admit that he problably couldn’t do a better a job, otherwise he would’ve been president. It’s not to say that you cannot point where the President makes a mistake. But to base this piece solely on something he said that came accross bad is unconscientious.
Most people would understand that he meant to say that’s how bad his bowling is. Remember when he called himself a mutt, and people thought a President shouldn’t be saying that about himself? The guy just does not take himself too seriously. Maybe that’s why most people tend to like him. I guess this is the price you pay for being on top. Every joker on every corner has become an expert at analyzing your mistakes.

Posted by: D. | March 20, 2009, 10:05 am 10:05 am

Democrats are unbelievable. The President should be spending a bit more time fixing this AIG mess and a lot less time on talk shows and doing his NCAA brackets on ESPN. His comments on Leno get brushed aside like it was nothing. If President Bush had made those comments he would have been buried by the media and you know it. I’m so sick of this celebrity fantasy world you people are living in!! He is not some movie star or sports figure. He is the PRESIDENT and needs to act like it!! I agree with Billy Bob, this week was a disastor. If the Bush administration had spent over 1.5 TRILLION dollars his first two months in office there would be millions of people demanding his resignation. Wake up people.

Posted by: Keith | March 20, 2009, 10:06 am 10:06 am

Obama is right- He is a mutt. He hasn’t even fulfilled his promise to get his family a dog. He has no follow-through. He needs to go.

Posted by: No Common Sense in DC | March 20, 2009, 10:09 am 10:09 am

……I voted for this inexperienced, babblehead, Bobo that we call president. ……. Even Obama knows he is in way over his head.
Posted by: No Common Sense in DC | Mar 20, 2009 9:51:29 AM
——————————-
You’re right. And I literally killed Jesus.

Posted by: D. | March 20, 2009, 10:13 am 10:13 am

And by the way…all you people that still have your Obama stickers on your cars, go ahead and take them off, the election is over.

Posted by: Katie | March 20, 2009, 10:14 am 10:14 am

Make no mistake, Obama is just a front man, Pelosi and Reid are the ones actually in charge and calling the shots. I imagine it was them that sent Obama on his rock star tour so they can push through their agendas. Just out of curisoty, where’s the next stop, Inside Edition, Hollywood Insider?

Posted by: Get Real | March 20, 2009, 10:17 am 10:17 am

Make no mistake, Obama is just a front man, Pelosi and Reid are the ones actually in charge and calling the shots Posted by: Get Real ****************************************
While Obama is making basketball picks and insulting kids with special needs. Pelosi and the puppet administration are stopping immigration from deporting illegals. Millions of Americans unemployed while tens of millions of illegals are employed, paying no tax, getting free education and healthcare. Welcome to “Change we can believe in”!

Posted by: No Common Sense in DC | March 20, 2009, 10:27 am 10:27 am

notafan
“why all the whining about abc now and none during the campagin?”
Oh, I emailed ABC after watching the debate where George and Charlie did nothing but question Obama’s patriotism for the first twenty minutes. That would be like questioning McCain about how many planes he crashed in the airforce – completely irrelevant and insulting. My sense then and now is that ABC is angling to be the mainstream version of FOX News. I think they are slanting the news to appeal to the the rightwing, like carving out that niche. Maybe that appeals to you, so be it.

Posted by: Amy in Maine | March 20, 2009, 10:32 am 10:32 am

Amy: All Rick Klein did was quote what the publications from around the country said about Obama,and company this week. Obams didn’t get much “happy ink” this week. Would you perfer Klein just make up some happy news? How is reporting what happend biased?

Posted by: No Common Sense in DC | March 20, 2009, 10:38 am 10:38 am

Amy, ABC is/was so in the tank for Obama from the start. The fact that they didn’t coddle him enough for you is scary. Those of you calling for 100% support 100% of the time for Obama are drinking too much kool-aide. Just because Obama demands it doesn’t mean he deserves it and you and others like you need to take off those blinders before he takes you over the cliff. He’ll have a net to catch him but I’m afraid you’ll be on your own.

Posted by: notafan | March 20, 2009, 10:42 am 10:42 am

Come on over to us, Amy. We weed out all the stuff you don’t want to hear or read! We have a unique journalistic approach, we believe in promoting only one side and only what we want you to hear. Give us a try, you’ll like us. MSNBC.com

Posted by: MSNBC Staffer | March 20, 2009, 10:49 am 10:49 am

When do these apologies translate into an admission of incompetence?

Posted by: Tom Beebe | March 20, 2009, 10:50 am 10:50 am

I am an obamabot. I have been programmed to peruse message boards and political boards to perpetually spread the obama agenda. Obama is a wonderful man. Obama is the best politician in the history of mankind. Obama is the answer to America’s problems. Obama is the answer to America’s problems. Obama is is is is America’s problems, problems, problems. Caution, malfunction, Obama overload, must reboot……

Posted by: obamabot | March 20, 2009, 10:59 am 10:59 am

When do these apologies translate into an admission of incompetence? Posted by: Tom Beebe**************************
First, Bobo has to become competent enough to realize he is incompetent. May never happen. He is well educated, but he ain’t the brightest crayon in the box.

Posted by: No Common Sense in DC | March 20, 2009, 11:00 am 11:00 am

Jimmy Carter was at the White House this week. It is rumored that he was giving Bobo advice on Iran and managing the economy. When Carter left the White House he presented Mr. Obama his favorite book: “Being President for Dummies”.

Posted by: No Common Sense in DC | March 20, 2009, 11:14 am 11:14 am

Deborah from NC: If this was a great week for Obama, I can’t wait to see a bad week.

Posted by: shiggybop | March 20, 2009, 11:15 am 11:15 am

No Common Sense in DC
The headline and the first paragraph of this Note state that Obama is a failed communicator, the past week as “lost,” and it even denigrates the freaking vegetable garden idea, using an old insult from the campaign meant to define Obama as elitist. There is no balance to this piece. And, it contradicts what I perceived this week.
The media is having a terrific time attacking the President, and his administration, and reporting on McCain’s tweets, and I’m tired of trying to figure out what story is important, and what is politics, and what has a shred of truth in it. All I know is, Obama didn’t look like a failed communicator to me, he looks like he is dealing adroitly with very complicated issues, and he is doing what I elected him to do.

Posted by: Amy in Maine | March 20, 2009, 11:15 am 11:15 am

All I know is, Obama didn’t look like a failed communicator to me, he looks like he is dealing adroitly with very complicated issues, and he is doing what I elected him to do.
Posted by: Amy in Maine
Then obviously your Government education has failed you, yet again! This is one of those weeks that will go down in Presidential history. This is “The Tweed Ring” all over again.

Posted by: No Common Sense in DC | March 20, 2009, 11:19 am 11:19 am

It’s a freeking joke.
To laugh or to cry, that’s the question.

Posted by: two cats | March 20, 2009, 11:23 am 11:23 am

So far this week: Iran tells Obama to bugger off, He admits that he passed into law a bill he never read, he insulted all the special-needs children in American. One of the most respected coaches in NCAA history to the pres to “kiss off”, on his watch as Commander-in-Cheif, to naval ships run into each other. 85% of those polled agree that Iraq surge was right- OBAMA WRONG, first American President in HISTORY to participate in a comedy show, worst employmet numbers since Carter, Ok’ed purchase of ANOTHER trillion dollars in T bills than banks won’t buy, has his own party point fingers at each other, and last, but not least “takes the responsibility but not the blame” WHAT THE HELL IS A BAD WEEK?

Posted by: No Common Sense in DC | March 20, 2009, 11:35 am 11:35 am

It’s a freeking joke.
To laugh or to cry, that’s the question
Posted by: two cats
The answer is cry because the joke is on the American taxpayer- the backbone of this country!

Posted by: No Common Sense in DC | March 20, 2009, 11:38 am 11:38 am

Oh, and I forgot. Geithner will likely be sacked before he can come up with a mortgage plan, leaving 18 of 18 positions vacant in Treasury. The only reason the Republicans AND DEMOCRATS haven’t already bumped “Turbo Timmy” is that there is nobody to replace hem.

Posted by: No Common Sense in DC | March 20, 2009, 11:42 am 11:42 am

here’s why Rick Klein is an obvious partisan fool: “European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana has welcomed an unprecedented, videotaped offer by US President Barack Obama for renewed ties with Iran.”
“Iran today hailed an unprecedented direct appeal by the US president, Barack Obama, for better relations between the two countries…”
And there’s more – but what does KLEIN lead with…
A joke about the Special Olympics – which wasn’t really a joke about the Special Olympics – but a joke about Obama – told by Obama – making fun of Obama…
Does ANYONE wonder why most people around the world despise the media as it’s operated today?

Posted by: Fred | March 20, 2009, 11:47 am 11:47 am

Yes. We’ve all become so politically correct in the US that EVERYTHING is sacred, nothing can be joked about, and we all squabble on the Internet to no end.

Posted by: parrishkline | March 20, 2009, 11:50 am 11:50 am

0bama an adult? With the DVDs (wrong format, even) and the Reset Button, does that sound like it came from someone with “gravitas”?
And the private-insurance scheme for vets wounded in action? Does that sound like a winner?
He “accepts responsibility” in one sentence and puts the blame on everyone else in the next.
And was 0bama being malicious with his “Special Olympics” crack? No more so than with his “lipstick on a pig” remark directed at Sarah Palin last summer. 0bama wasn’t malicious, he was just totally ignorant and uncaring of the impact of his words, because he is so full of himself.
And as predicted even before the election, the concept of racism is being brought up by the left in virtually every criticism of 0bama. Looks like the post-racial, post-partisan Presidency is neither.
But if he keeps up like this, there is one thing he will be: a single-term President.

Posted by: Nick in Virginia | March 20, 2009, 11:51 am 11:51 am

negative spin on President Obama’s performance the past week, Rick Klein?
Is this an editorial column?
Why not be truthful and print the column as:
RICK KLEIN’S [jaded] OPINION
of current affairs.
President Obama is doing a great job.
The criticism of the new president seems to reflect people’s anxiety with the economic crisis and events in international arena, as a means of venting frustration.
As a President, He is visible, willing, and informed.
By communicating to varied audiences through various mediums, he’s showing his availability & interest in reaching people and providing hope in our future with solutions.

Posted by: gus amaral | March 20, 2009, 11:54 am 11:54 am

No Common Sense in DC …..You forgot that Obama also is the first President to receive money for an autobiography before he was in office. Yes $500K paid up front.

Posted by: deanbob | March 20, 2009, 11:54 am 11:54 am

I think everyone has said something that came out wrong….he is only human. Let’s not get carried away with something so trivial. He and his wife care deeply for all people especially anyone with some kind of physical difficulty. Anyone who makes more of this, dislikes him completely and is just looking for just one more thing to pin on him. I wish I had a nickle for every gaffe Bush said….and he didn’t mean them either. Things come out…period.

Posted by: talmag | March 20, 2009, 11:56 am 11:56 am

God bless the educated in this country.
President Obama is a godsend in these troubled times.

Posted by: Sister Dolores | March 20, 2009, 11:58 am 11:58 am

As someone who has a family member who is in the special olympics, I am disgusted with this man. I wish we could have a recall election.

Posted by: DJ | March 20, 2009, 11:59 am 11:59 am

I would prefer my president stay in the White House and demonstrate that he is working on preventing the banking and economic crises from getting worse, especially since the adminstration’s economic forecasts have already proven inaccurate and the deficit will be a TRILLION more than projected.

Posted by: deanbob | March 20, 2009, 12:00 pm 12:00 pm

Jane….get real….I have a calendar with twelve months of Bush’s gaffs. Have you never said anything that came out and you were sorry it did? If not, you are the only perfect person…we all have things we wish we did not say. Please…get real.

Posted by: talmag | March 20, 2009, 12:01 pm 12:01 pm

Let’s see he made a gaffe that could hardly be heard. Most people would probably not heard it at all had the media not brought our attention to it early in the evening. I knew about it, was listening for it, and missed it. Today it has been played several times and I could still barely hear it. This is another case of majoring in minors. He apologized, end it, move on.

Posted by: George | March 20, 2009, 12:02 pm 12:02 pm

Gee wiz, folks, get a grip.
Do some research and find out what is behind the economic disaster we are ALL facing. It’s called the Community Reinvestent Act established under President Carter. Research who pushed it, who expanded it and who defended it when there were warnings it was leading to disaster. Then make some literate comments and offer solutions -

Posted by: Terry | March 20, 2009, 12:04 pm 12:04 pm

Mrs. Obama has showed great interest in our soldiers and families. We are so thankful for her voice.

Posted by: wife of Marine | March 20, 2009, 12:04 pm 12:04 pm

No Common Sense in DC | Mar 20, 2009 11:19:23 AM……How many know what your “Tweed” reference was about?

Posted by: deanbob | March 20, 2009, 12:05 pm 12:05 pm

Obama has completed one important hurdle. He outlasted Harrison’s tenure as president (31-32 days). He may or may not outlast Taft (approximately 150 days).

Posted by: No Common Sense in DC | March 20, 2009, 12:05 pm 12:05 pm

No Common Sense in DC | Mar 20, 2009 11:19:23 AM……How many know what your “Tweed” reference was about?
I would dearly hope that anyone who studies American History would recall it.

Posted by: No Common Sense in DC | March 20, 2009, 12:07 pm 12:07 pm

Anyone (in any position) can say anything. But results speak louder than all the words in Websters.

Posted by: deanbob | March 20, 2009, 12:07 pm 12:07 pm

Research who pushed it, who expanded it and who defended it when there were warnings it was leading to disaster. Then make some literate comments and offer solutions -
Posted by: Terry
Well said!

Posted by: No Common Sense in DC | March 20, 2009, 12:11 pm 12:11 pm

NYT: Thursday, when he appeared as the sole guest on “The Tonight Show,” with Jay Leno:
“The president joked that it was mere coincidence that his Final Four picks were all from swing states, and revealed he has been working on his bowling in the White House, recently rolling a 129. But most of the discussion was devoted – perhaps for the first time in the show’s history – to in-depth discussions of tax policy, as well as macroeconomics and finance. And there was a reassurance from the president that the American people “should have complete confidence in the banks,” and should not be putting their money “in their mattresses…”the American people are in a place where ‘they understand that it took us a while to get into this mess, and it will take us a while to get out of it.’
“I think they are going to give us some time,” he added.

Posted by: Fair Reporting | March 20, 2009, 12:13 pm 12:13 pm

Mr. Leno also asked about the Congressional vote to levy a 90 percent tax on bonuses awarded to executives at companies that received bailout funds.
“I understand Congress’s frustration,” Mr. Obama said. “But the best way to handle this is to make sure you close the door before the horse gets out of the barn. What happened here was that the money’s already gone out and people are scrambling to try to find ways to get back at them.”
Mr. Obama said that he would like to see a change in tax policy “going back to the 1990s, where you and I, who are doing fairly well, pay a little bit more to pay for health care, to pay for energy, to make sure the kids can go to college who aren’t as fortunate as my kids might be. Those are the kinds of measured steps we can take.”

Posted by: Fair Reporting | March 20, 2009, 12:14 pm 12:14 pm

No Common Sense in DC …..You forgot that Obama also is the first President to receive money for an autobiography before he was in office. Yes $500K paid up front.
Posted by: deanbob | Mar 20, 2009 11:54:32 AM
oops! My bad. I also forgot that he pressed for soldiers injured in defending our freedom to pay a portion of thier medical bill. That kinda went away in a hurry. I repeat: WHAT THE HELL IS A BAD WEEK IN THIS ADMINISTRATION?

Posted by: No Common Sense in DC | March 20, 2009, 12:14 pm 12:14 pm

Mr. Leno asked whether somebody should go to jail for the financial misdeeds that are the source of so many headlines today.
“Here’s the dirty little secret,” Mr. Obama said. “Most of the stuff that got us into trouble was perfectly legal. And that is a sign of how much we’ve got to change our laws.”
“The answer is to deal with those laws in a way that gives the average consumer a break,” he said. “When you buy a toaster, if it explodes in your face, there’s a law that says your toasters need to be safe. But when you get a credit card or a mortgage, there’s no law on the books that says if that explodes in your face financially, somehow you’re going to be protected. So this is the need for getting back to some common sense regulation.

Posted by: Fair Reporting | March 20, 2009, 12:15 pm 12:15 pm

Also, China worried about our credit really worries me too!

Posted by: No Common Sense in DC | March 20, 2009, 12:16 pm 12:16 pm

Oh yeah, and the $210 Million in unpaid taxes from TARP (CRAP) reciepents. That may just be the tip of the iceberg.

Posted by: No Common Sense in DC | March 20, 2009, 12:20 pm 12:20 pm

Regarding the President’s video message to Iran; This is a terrific gesture that will be well received everywhere. It is exactly the sort of thing people were hoping for – and why during the election campaign support for Mr. Obama outside the U.S. must have been in the 70-80% range. Friendly, thoughtful and respectful, yet by no means soft on the difficult issues facing the two countries. I hope that even if the President should receive the cold shoulder from the current leadership in Tehran – a very likely reaction – he will not be discouraged from pursuing this new style of foreign policy; it is the best way of restoring respect and admiration for the United States around the world.
— Christoph, Hamburg, Germany

Posted by: Christoph | March 20, 2009, 12:21 pm 12:21 pm

I voted for this clown. I drank the Kool-Aid. It’s wearing off. Where is the GOOD news you Bobobots keep talking about? I could use some good news!

Posted by: No Common Sense in DC | March 20, 2009, 12:23 pm 12:23 pm

The Fed announced it will pump a $1 trillion into the system by buying debt from our treasury. This has never worked – ever. Can you say Zimbabwe?

Posted by: deanbob | March 20, 2009, 12:24 pm 12:24 pm

How refreshing that the most powerful person in the world consistently displays depth and maturity.
President Obama, We support you.

Posted by: gg | March 20, 2009, 12:26 pm 12:26 pm

Obama is beautiful. It is so good to have a true peacemaker in the White House, one with the ability to convey his appreciation of the world’s many wonderful and diverse cultures.

Posted by: cynthia | March 20, 2009, 12:28 pm 12:28 pm

How refreshing that the most powerful person in the world consistently displays depth and maturity.
My 6 year old Jack Russell show depth and maturity, but I sure don’t wan’t my dog to be in charge of my money.
What has this clown actually accomplished, except to worsen a bad situation? The answer is zip, zero, nada. He is merely a puppet to Pelosi, Reid and the rest of the socialists in D.C.

Posted by: No Common Sense in DC | March 20, 2009, 12:31 pm 12:31 pm

The House overwhelmingly approved on Thursday a near total tax on bonuses paid this year to employees of the American International Group and other firms that have accepted large amounts of federal bailout funds, rattling Wall Street as lawmakers rushed to respond to populist anger.
In a statement, President Obama suggested he was supportive of the legislation, urging Congress to deliver a “final product that will serve as a strong signal to the executives who run these firms that such compensation will not be tolerated.”

Posted by: Fair Reporting | March 20, 2009, 12:33 pm 12:33 pm

it is the best way of restoring respect and admiration for the United States around the world.
— Christoph, Hamburg, Germany
Posted by: Christoph | Mar 20, 2009 12:21:44 PM
America has always had respect because we carry the biggest stick and we act act the world’s cop. This clown wants to give away the stick.

Posted by: No Common Sense in DC | March 20, 2009, 12:35 pm 12:35 pm

DETROIT — The Obama administration signaled its intent Thursday to provide broad relief to the American auto industry with the creation of a $5 billion fund to aid troubled parts suppliers. Financing from the Treasury Department for suppliers is the initial step by a presidential task force to stabilize the ailing industry, and could be followed by more bailout money for General Motors and Chrysler.
One industry analyst said the program could mean members of the task force want to keep the automakers solvent and operating without the disruption of bankruptcy filings.

Posted by: Fair Reporting | March 20, 2009, 12:36 pm 12:36 pm

Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said the $5 billion fund, drawn from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, would keep factories running while the industry undergoes a wider restructuring.
“The Supplier Support Program will help stabilize a critical component of the American auto industry during the difficult period that lies ahead,” he said.
More than 500,000 workers are employed by auto-supply firms in the United States. Many of those companies have been struggling to survive because of the financial problems of their biggest customers, most notably G.M. and Chrysler.

Posted by: Fair Reporting | March 20, 2009, 12:37 pm 12:37 pm

In a statement, President Obama suggested he was supportive of the legislation, urging Congress to deliver a “final product that will serve as a strong signal to the executives who run these firms that such compensation will not be tolerated.”
Posted by: Fair Reporting | M
This stupid attempt at “cover your arse” in unconstitutional on so many levels that it isn’t funny. Shows the fortitude and percision of our elected officials. – NOT! What a joke!

Posted by: No Common Sense in DC | March 20, 2009, 12:38 pm 12:38 pm

Terry,
I can recommend an article on CNN that explains how we got into this financial mess, and it wasn’t as a result of the Community Renivestment Act.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/01/29/economic.crisis.explainer/index.html

Posted by: Amy in Maine | March 20, 2009, 12:39 pm 12:39 pm

The Obama administration introduced a Web site on Thursday to help troubled homeowners find out if they’re eligible for any relief under its loan modification or refinancing programs.
The site, MakingHomeAffordable.gov, provides homeowners with a general idea of whether they’ll qualify for a loan modification or refinancing by answering four or five questions.

Posted by: Fair Reporting | March 20, 2009, 12:40 pm 12:40 pm

Yes, isn’t it so refreshing to have a president honoring his campaign promises like transparency and bringing changes to Washington! Right, we can see thru the lies and the money of those working is being thrown in the feed troughs of pork stys.

Posted by: deanbob | March 20, 2009, 12:42 pm 12:42 pm

More than 500,000 workers are employed by auto-supply firms in the United States. Many of those companies have been struggling to survive because of the financial problems of their biggest customers, most notably G.M. and Chrysler.
If you go on to read, the purpose of this is keep the supply of parts moving to OEMs because suppliers have NOT been paid. The $5 billion ONLY APPLES TO NEW ORDERS!
In other words, if Detroit doen not pay the old invoices, the money can NOT be used to pay them.
Who is in charge of this asylum?

Posted by: No Common Sense in DC | March 20, 2009, 12:43 pm 12:43 pm

WASHINGTON — Today, Michelle Obama will begin digging up a patch of White House lawn to plant a vegetable garden, the first since Eleanor Roosevelt’s victory garden in World War II.
While the organic garden will provide food for the first family’s meals and formal dinners, its most important role, Mrs. Obama said, will be to educate children about healthful, locally grown fruit and vegetables at time when obesity has become a national concern.
In an interview in her office, Mrs. Obama said, “My hope is that through children, they will begin to educate their families and that will, in turn, begin to educate our communities.”

Posted by: Fair Reporting | March 20, 2009, 12:44 pm 12:44 pm

The Senate, by unanimous consent, has approved the nominations of John Holdren as President Obama’s science adviser and Jane Lubchenco as the administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, according to the office of Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader.
Dr. Holdren has been widely praised by the scientific community for decades of work on issues ranging from nuclear proliferation to climate and energy policy.

Posted by: Fair Reporting | March 20, 2009, 12:49 pm 12:49 pm

The CNN article noted: “However, nearly half of the loans made in 2006 were of the subprime variety, which increased the risk of borrowers defaulting on many banks’ balance sheets.” Many of these loans are related to the Carter and Clinton CRA issue.

Posted by: deanbob | March 20, 2009, 12:51 pm 12:51 pm

MOSCOW — Three former American secretaries of state and a former secretary of defense were in Moscow on Thursday for informal meetings with top Russian officials in an attempt to pull relations between the United States and Russia out of a tailspin before the countries’ presidents meet for the first time next month.
The flurry of so-called track two diplomacy by figures outside government was another gesture of outreach to Russia. A month ago, the Obama administration sent a letter proposing a dialogue on curbing Iran’s nuclear ambitions that could diminish American needs for a missile defense system in Eastern Europe.

Posted by: Fair Reporting | March 20, 2009, 12:51 pm 12:51 pm

Those of you who voted for this guy need to get over yourselves. Bush dealt with one 1000 times this type of reporting DAILY and UN-deservedly half the time. Grow up.
Realize that the guy you voted for is a fraud…who is doing everything he can to destroy the prosperity of this country and re-build it in the Socialist, redistribution of wealth mold he has been raised to believe is “fair”.
Taxes are going to go SKY high for most of us, and in a year or so…because of HIS ridiculous spending, inflation is going to make life even harder for EVERYone. Thanks for voting for this idiot.

Posted by: Tom | March 20, 2009, 12:52 pm 12:52 pm

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Many detainees locked up at Guantanamo were innocent men swept up by U.S. forces unable to distinguish enemies from noncombatants, a former Bush administration official said yesterday. ”There are still innocent people there,” Lawrence B. Wilkerson, a Republican who was chief of staff to then-Secretary of State Colin Powell, told The Associated Press. ”Some have been there six or seven years.”

Posted by: Fair Reporting | March 20, 2009, 12:54 pm 12:54 pm

Ex-Bush Admin Official, on Gitmo:
Wilkerson, who flew combat missions as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam and left the government in January 2005, said he did not speak out while in government because some of the information was classified. He said he feels compelled to do so now because Cheney has claimed in recent press interviews that President Barack Obama is making the U.S. less safe by ordering Guantanamo closed and reversing other Bush administration policies.
The administration is now evaluating what to do with the prisoners who remain at the U.S. military base in Cuba.
”I’m very concerned about the kinds of things Cheney is saying to make it seem Obama is a danger to this republic,” Wilkerson said. ”To have a former vice president fearmongering like this is really, really dangerous.”

Posted by: Fair Reporting | March 20, 2009, 12:56 pm 12:56 pm

Tom: I did vote for this guy. I am over myself. I do realize he is a fraud. I know that he is destroying the prosperity of this country. I know taxes ARE going sky high any yes, I know that hyperinflation is next. I already lived through the Carter years.
Now, HOW DO WE GET THIS JERK OUTTA THERE BEFORE HE KILLS US ALL? We can’t take four years of this and survive.

Posted by: No Common Sense in DC | March 20, 2009, 12:57 pm 12:57 pm

”I’m very concerned about the kinds of things Cheney is saying to make it seem Obama is a danger to this republic,” Wilkerson said. ”To have a former vice president fearmongering like this is really, really dangerous.”
And letting the Gitmo terrorists loose in the U.S. is not dangerous? I am no fan of Cheney, but he is right on this one!

Posted by: No Common Sense in DC | March 20, 2009, 12:59 pm 12:59 pm

Obama to Battery Developers: Step Up & Innovate, Funds Will Follow:
March 20, 2009
Earlier this year, the nonprofit policy group Next 10 released a report on how energy efficiency and clean technology has provided stimulus for California’s economy — lending a fresh set of data to back up something we’ve noted more than once: The U.S. might do well to follow California’s lead on supporting clean energy, improving efficiency, and creating green jobs.
President Barack Obama seems to agree. Speaking after a tour of Southern California Edison’s Electric Vehicle Technical Center in Pomona, Calif., he had plenty of kudos for the Golden State, saying “Californians aren’t just bearing the brunt” of the recession, but also “doing what needs to be done to overcome it.” Namely, developing clean technology.
Obama likened the work at Edison’s lab — and more directly, recent federal allocations — to historical breakthroughs in science and technology:
“[O]ften, our greatest discoveries are born not in a flash of brilliance, but in the crucible of a deliberate effort over time. And often, they take something more than imagination and dedication alone — often they take an investment from government. That’s how we sent a man to the moon. That’s how we were able to launch a world wide web. And it’s how we’ll build the clean energy economy that’s the key to our competitiveness in the 21st century.”

Posted by: Fair Reporting | March 20, 2009, 1:11 pm 1:11 pm

The President also highlighted the $2.4 billion competitive grant program for advanced vehicle battery technology development included in the stimulus package, announcing some new details: The Department of Energy will award up to $1.5 billion in grants to U.S.-based manufacturers for battery and component production for plug-in hybrid vehicles. U.S.-based makers of electric-vehicle components, including motors, will get a smaller chunk — up to $500 million in grants.
Another $400 million will go toward demo projects for plug-in hybrids and “other electric infrastructure concepts,” according to a release from the DOE today, including truck-stop charging stations, electric rail and EV technician training.

Posted by: Fair Reporting | March 20, 2009, 1:12 pm 1:12 pm

WASHINGTON — Three powerful House committee chairmen have agreed to work together on legislation to overhaul the health care system, starting with the view that most employers should help finance coverage and that the government should offer a public health insurance plan as an alternative to private insurance.
The unified approach contrasts with the competition and rivalry among committee chairmen that helped sink President Bill Clinton’s plan for universal health insurance 15 years ago.
Mr. Miller, chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, which has jurisdiction over employee benefits, said the three lawmakers had decided to “try and work as one committee” to produce a comprehensive health care bill this summer.
At a recent White House forum, Mr. Obama said he was willing to compromise on details. “I just want to figure out what works,” he said.

Posted by: Fair Reporting | March 20, 2009, 1:18 pm 1:18 pm

deanbob
The huge spike in subprime mortgages occurred in 2005-2006, the result of mortgage brokers beating the bushes to find borrowers (remember those brokers got commissions making these loans, no matter how unqualified, it was hugely profitable to them to sell mortgages.)
The idea that Jimmy Carter or even Bill Clinton is responsible for banks lowering their standards to lend money to unqualified people, is a self serving and inaccurate rightwing smear job.

Posted by: Amy in Maine | March 20, 2009, 1:24 pm 1:24 pm

The idea that Jimmy Carter or even Bill Clinton is responsible for banks lowering their standards to lend money to unqualified people, is a self serving and inaccurate rightwing smear job.Posted by: Amy in Maine
Sorry Amy, I am Independant and grew up during the Carter Administration (and yes I voted for Carter,too). This one goes directly to Jimmy Carter and the Community Reinvestment Act. I thought it was a good thing at first (because at the front end of his administration, mortgage rates were 21% and no banks were lending). It became readily apparent about 1979 or 1980 that CRA was a bad deal and ripe with corruption.

Posted by: No Common Sense in DC | March 20, 2009, 1:32 pm 1:32 pm

I will blame Ronald Regan for not ending, adjusting, or setting up oversite of CRA.

Posted by: No Common Sense in DC | March 20, 2009, 1:33 pm 1:33 pm

My sister’s former boss (Bank of Georgia) and OMB director Burt Lance was just one of a long list of crooks with their hands caught in the CRA coffers.

Posted by: No Common Sense in DC | March 20, 2009, 1:36 pm 1:36 pm

In 1991 or 92, Clinton had budget surplus and expanded CRA.

Posted by: No Common Sense in DC | March 20, 2009, 1:39 pm 1:39 pm

The truth is this administration is doing the work that needs to be done..We have become a nation of whiners and complainers..I am sad to say..perhaps mars will become habitable and we can move you there-with a lifetime supply of suckers and gummy bears

Posted by: cowgirl | March 20, 2009, 1:54 pm 1:54 pm

Nocommonsense: You need to find a street corner to hang your “end is near” sign…really, you need to work on having a positive attitude-no one ever accomplished anything with a negative one, and quite frankly…we are not going to let the 25% of you who can’t get over losing the election bring the country down –any further.

Posted by: cowgirl | March 20, 2009, 2:00 pm 2:00 pm

No Common Sense in DC
The Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 was a law that required banks to make loans in the neighborhoods where they took deposits, i.e. it was a law aimed at eliminating discriminatory loan practices. The law specifically says, however, banks are not required to make high risk loans.
The Bush administration loosened regulations in the original bill, to make it possible for more banks to offer subprime mortgages. Banks initially found these subprime mortgages to be wildly profitable. It was the banks that lowered their income requirements for getting a loan, no Congressional law forced them to do that. It is a fact that loans made by neighborhood banks under CRA requirements were LESS likely to go into default.
That, of course, doesn’t fit the rightwing’s preconceived idea of who is to blame for the housing crisis and financial mess. But who cares about the facts. Right?
http://www.businessweek.com/investing/insights/blog/archives/2008/09/community_reinv.html

Posted by: Amy in Maine | March 20, 2009, 2:00 pm 2:00 pm

The only people who are outraged about this comment are the media and the Republicans.
The media thinks that bashing our president will score them ratings and I am sorry to say…LOOK AT THE STATE OF OUR MEDIA TO SEE HOW SUCCESSFUL THAT WILL BE. YOU HAD YOUR CHANCES TO HOLD BUSHES FEET TO THE FIRE AND NONE OF YOU HAD THE AUDACITY TO DO IT.
The Republicans are lead by a drug addict buffoon…WHO SAID THAT MICHAEL J FOX WAS MAKING HIS PARKINSON’S SEEM WORSE FOR SYMPATHY.
SO NEITHER OF YOU FOOLS HAVE A LEG TO STAND ON….SO WHY DONT YOU SHUT IT AND LET BARACK OBAMA MAKE AMENDS.

Posted by: Becky | March 20, 2009, 2:01 pm 2:01 pm

Where is NY Gov. Paterson ? He had terribly blamed the show SNL
which created positive and fun joke about Paterson. If Gov. Paterson
has truly took care of the special people, he should act and announce your
concern against President Obama’s the word.

Posted by: Sharon-NY | March 20, 2009, 2:07 pm 2:07 pm

Hey he scored 126; that’s not a bad comparison. Let them try. As for me I go sailing with C.R.A.B. (Chesapeake Region Accessible Boating). Check out the website

Posted by: aganadagnu | March 20, 2009, 2:15 pm 2:15 pm

I am not outraged at the gaffe by BO. Every single day I make gaffes without thinking. I do not for a second believe he meant anything malicious. Now. Onto the AIG mess. I do find him at fault with much of this fiasco for having chosen and kept Geithner, a man who could not bother to pay his own back taxes. Huge mistake. HUGE. Next, Dodd knew exactly what was going on with those bonuses and is seeking to cover his own butt through backpedaling and finger pointing. Both need to go. Dodd and BO both received substantial campaign donations from AIG – their ability to be objective was always compromised. As for BO having a bad week? I’m afraid we are in for much worse weeks in the next 4 years.

Posted by: Jill | March 20, 2009, 2:27 pm 2:27 pm

Obama and Sen Dodd who insured that AIG Executive bonuses were guaranteed by law each received over $100,000.00 in contributions from AIG. If we are now asking AIG Executives to return their legal bonuses should’t Obama, Sen Dodd, and every Politician who voted to Guarantee AIG Excutive bonuses be asked to return those contributions?

Posted by: valwayne | March 20, 2009, 2:33 pm 2:33 pm

I don’t understand why so many people who claim to hate this column keep reading it every day and adding responses. Have you not found a blog summary more to your liking? I see the same people raising the same issues ad nauseatum. Perhaps you are really professional protestors who show up to rattle cages and antagonize perceived enemies regardless of the “cause,” or you just haven’t found a blog worthy of your rants and tirades? And shame on some of you conservatives who are so thin-skinned or gullible that you can’t respond to criticisms without stooping to the same name-calling and ramblings as your opponents. It is getting more and more difficult to get past the “liar, liar” mentality and find responses that are factual, logical, and coherent on both sides of the issues. Luckily there are a few who still provide them.
Anyway, the media continually lampooned Bush from Day 1 for his misuse of facts and obliteration of the English language. Reagan was pounded for not attributing the lines from a poem he used when addressing a grieving nation after the Challenger Disaster. We learned of Carter’s “lust” from his interview with Playboy. All Presidents and wannabes have faltered in public, and each time journalists, pundits and comedians had a field day. But they did not seek out a forum like late night talk shows to carry any message while in office. Even Clinton (#1 Celebrity President until now) only appeared in movies as himself and not to discuss any real issues. Why don’t the American people (and the world) deserve a better venue than one built on punchlines? If there was a belief that a televised address would not be seen by as many people (despite recent viewer numbers to the contrary) and an interview format would be better, then why Leno. Why not Charles Gibson or Morley Safer or Tom Brokaw or Barbara Walters? He’s not campaigning for the job or surrounded by the afterglow of his inauguration anymore – you’d think his forums would reflect not only his status but the gravity of recent developments and scope of public reaction. Besides, wasn’t Bush vilified for being at Camp David and Crawford during times of regional and national distress? Why is this any different? People are outraged, disheartened, frustrated and cynical (not to mention being told repeatedly we are on the brink of a global catastrophe), and our President goes to California and on the Tonight Show to send a message to the country and the world that he’s got everything under control. This is his attempt to defuse public anger, assuage people’s fears and reassure everyone. Show of hands of all who were convinced. I don’t know if it’s out of ignorance, inexperience, arrogance or all three. But so far he and his handlers just don’t seem to get it or haven’t learned from their past mistakes.

Posted by: older&wiser | March 20, 2009, 2:35 pm 2:35 pm

“It is so good to have a true peacemaker in the White House…”
Tell it to the dozens of Pakistani civilians he’s killed in multiple drone strikes since becoming President. Didn’t hear about that? I’m not surprised.

Posted by: Justin | March 20, 2009, 2:39 pm 2:39 pm

Lost week?!?!!
It will be more like lost 4 years if he keeps going the way he has so far.

Posted by: TheEnforcer | March 20, 2009, 2:51 pm 2:51 pm

older&wiser
“Perhaps you are really professional protestors who show up to rattle cages and antagonize perceived”
What are you talking about?
A scan of today’s comments shows the true “cage rattlers” call President Obama “BO”,a jerk, Celebrity in Chief, Bobo, a liar, a mutt, a babblehead…
Yeah, I shouldn’t be on this blog. I do prefer MSNBC’s First Read. Somehow, I feel driven to come to ABC and try to inject some reality into the rightwing blogsphere. But, why? Why do I bother?

Posted by: Amy in Maine | March 20, 2009, 3:11 pm 3:11 pm

older&wiser:
Bite me.

Posted by: crassandra | March 20, 2009, 3:51 pm 3:51 pm

“It is getting more and more difficult to get past the “liar, liar” mentality and find responses that are factual, logical, and coherent on both sides of the issues. Luckily there are a few who still provide them.”
___________
Would that be YOU, older&whizzer?
To use your words, I’ll help you explain YOUR SLANT on everything from “lust” to people’s fears :
“I don’t know if it’s out of ignorance..”
Probably.

Posted by: Frangelica | March 20, 2009, 4:01 pm 4:01 pm

1 month from now everybody is going to distance themselves from BO, gietner, dodd and hopefully Pelosi.

Posted by: ANYBODY | March 20, 2009, 4:22 pm 4:22 pm

It’s really interesting to read through the comments from ‘start-to-finish.’ Folks tend to ‘jump in’ when they read an ‘unpopular comment’ that they tend to agree with. Kinda’ like; “let me echo the same.”
Now, Tim Wieand, Jane, Frank, bo, billy bob, chad, whathappened08, notafan, no sense, vivi, mike, NT, JW, Katie, pink, Charlie, tina, Hil, Keith, Get Real, Tom Jill, older and enforcer;
“It is going to be EXTREMELY DIFFICULT for all of you to endure the Pain of four (4) years and quite likely eight (8) years of President Barack Obama. For as “Best Bets” say; “There’s a High Liklihood President Barack Obama WILL BE SUCCESSFUL!” It would be wise and Much Healthier for you, to “grow up”, accept reality and “get over it!”

Posted by: bobj72 | March 20, 2009, 4:23 pm 4:23 pm

Deborah in NC, you are CLUELESS….. Obama is a turning out as predicted. far left, not competent, divisive and arrogant. thanks a lot, deborah…..

Posted by: sub | March 20, 2009, 4:23 pm 4:23 pm

becky: You have 2 different personalities. Hatred for anybody who doesn’t think like you and love for an idiot who doesn’t know what he’s doing.
What will it take for you to see the light? BO strangling a special needs kid. BO just plain is in over his head and he brought his chicago crime with him.

Posted by: lazy bum | March 20, 2009, 4:27 pm 4:27 pm

bobj72: BO has such a good start! Next thing you know he will be caught in a scam for excepting money from AIG and making sure that they recieved bonuses. Oh wait that already happened.

Posted by: lazy bum | March 20, 2009, 4:30 pm 4:30 pm

Wow I had such great expectrations from him. I drank the koolaid and everything. Now I’m not so sure. The change I was hoping for seems like it’s worse than the 8 years of #*^$^$ bush.

Posted by: Barack fan | March 20, 2009, 4:32 pm 4:32 pm

I am no Obama supporter. This was a bad week for Obama and that makes it a bad week for America. I do not want his plans to take this country into more socialism to succeed.
Some one needs to get their act together.
Ok I can not resist. Ask the Telepromter for the answers.

Posted by: Don | March 20, 2009, 4:48 pm 4:48 pm

Did we really have to trot out comments from every pundit who has their own personal agena or ratings to think about? I have never seen a President work or try so hard in his first 100 days. Just think, if the voting electorate was just a bit more knowlegdeable, a little less knee-jerk reactionary and could put things into perspective better, maybe Mr. Obama would not have to expel so much effort communicating.

Posted by: CND FOX | March 20, 2009, 4:50 pm 4:50 pm

Posted by: lazy bum | Mar 20, 2009 4:30:28 PM
“lazy bum” you say; ….. “excepting money from AIG and making sure that they recieved bonuses.” ….
________________________
I ACCEPT your comment as “true manifestation of extremely high intellect!”

Posted by: bobj72 | March 20, 2009, 4:56 pm 4:56 pm

In my opinion, Obama uses rhetoric and then hands it off for others to do. Since he has never run anything, this management style is precarious for the nation. I don’t see it getting any better, and the nation may suffer.

Posted by: benvictor | March 20, 2009, 5:26 pm 5:26 pm

I agree that the AIG bonuses were an outrage, but does anyone realize that the big banks are essentially insolvent? Unless Obama fixes the banks and gets the financial system on its way to recovery (which will take approximately another year or so), you can forget about anything else. Obama has to focus on 2 things right now: implementing the bank plan to buy up these toxic assets (which will take more taxpayer funds along with private “vulture” investors) and his budget, which is presently being frittered away by the out-of-control Congress (and I’m a registered Democrat who is just about fed up with my own party’s lack of discipline, cohesion, and grandstanding). To tell you the truth, after Obama passes healthcare and gets an energy policy on track, he’ll do better with a Republican majority in Congress, because they are much better organized. Republicans are completely devoid of ideas, and their trickle-down economic theories have been thorougly discredited, but they are much, much easier to deal with as a legislative body. It seems strange of me to be saying this, but it’s true. Pelois is Obama’s worst nightmare.

Posted by: Laura Brown | March 20, 2009, 5:31 pm 5:31 pm

All of this just makes me smile because at the end of EACH day, Barack Obama IS the President of the United States, period. He is NOT a perfect person as there is no such thing but maybe, just maybe if as a nation we were one, which we are not, it would be a better world. Stop the daily bickering and analying of every word he says and give the man more then 60 days. Yes, his comment about the Special Olympics would have been better of not being said but he was making fun of himself…Again, see comment about “not being perfect”.

Posted by: Paul | March 20, 2009, 5:35 pm 5:35 pm

Why the hell are people defending Obama and his staff for such gross incompetence and lying to the public?
Obama and his tax cheats are just liberals and socialists- borderline criminals or just plain idiots.
Obama said what he said. He’s the President and is acting like a contestant on an bad M-TV show.

Posted by: pat | March 20, 2009, 5:37 pm 5:37 pm

When the President gets off his teleprompter, the true arrogance and mean-spirited man emerges. Remember the erroneous Nancy Reagan seance remark and the hasty apology? Now he slams the disabled and scurries to recant. There’s something Freudian about these recurring slips. He’s just mean and angry.

Posted by: leftout | March 20, 2009, 5:46 pm 5:46 pm

Empty Suit? The Emperor has no clothes? We didn’t elect a leader, we elected a campaigner. So far what we’ve experienced is an unbelievable level of hypocracy, incompetence and an complete lack of knowledge of our economy, protocol and experience. Looks like he’s actively competing with Carter for worst POTUS in our lifetime.

Posted by: Diane | March 20, 2009, 5:50 pm 5:50 pm

“socialists-borderline criminals”
—————
Huh?
Do the base wingnuts ever tire of the same words?

Posted by: Fonda Sue in WallaWalla | March 20, 2009, 6:09 pm 6:09 pm

Has anyone noticed that most of the Repub idiots start posting here after
5 PM?
Guess that’s when they let the blue collar employees out of Walmart.

Posted by: candid is art | March 20, 2009, 6:12 pm 6:12 pm

left out (in the cold):
“Now he slams the disabled”
The president was attempting a self-deprecating remark. Your interpretation is off base – You are the type who will find any reason to solicit your agenda.
By the way, you guys lost.

Posted by: Rush Limbaugh is your hero | March 20, 2009, 6:19 pm 6:19 pm

I cannot believe all of the morons on here who still support this clown. He is nothing w/out his trusty tele prompter. Those who voted for him should be embarrassed.He obviously has no idea what he is doing.

Posted by: Geez | March 20, 2009, 6:20 pm 6:20 pm

Candid as art, here’s my middle finger you bit*h

Posted by: Duh | March 20, 2009, 6:21 pm 6:21 pm

A joke about the Special Olympics – which wasn’t really a joke about the Special Olympics – but a joke about Obama – told by Obama – making fun of Obama…

Posted by: Fred | March 20, 2009, 6:22 pm 6:22 pm

I think this man is in way over his pay grade and scared to death. You can see it in the eyes from time to time, especially when the teleprompter’s gone.

Posted by: Just Bill | March 20, 2009, 6:27 pm 6:27 pm

Tuesday, March 17, 2009: Support for the Democratic Congressional candidates fell to a new low over the past week, allowing the GOP to move slightly head for the first time in recent years in the Generic Congressional Ballot.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 41% said they would vote for their district’s Republican candidate while 39% would choose the Democrat. Democrats held a 6% to 7% lead in January.
——————
Looks like the starry eyed fawning over this liberal cabal is losing it’s luster! Good morning, America! See how clearly you can think after a couple of cups of strong coffee? It’s almost worth the 30% hit that my retirement fund has taken, just to watch these liberal freaks get “shot down in flames”! Mark it as read: “Breaking News”, Democrats lose control in the winter of 2010, as a disgusted populice returns to their collective senses. More at 11:00pm!

Posted by: fireyourguns | March 20, 2009, 6:27 pm 6:27 pm

I think the President is doing a good job of communicating his policies for the country. Did I miss something. No. The American people knows that this has been the system set up by politicans for decades, and AIG did what it’s always has done….”grind on the backs of the American taxpayers with a sense of entitlements….The President’s message has been for 2 years how the ‘deregulations” has created 2 classes of people, the rich and powerful and the poor and poorer. CHANGE DOESN’T COME OVERNIGHT, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE DEAL WAS CLOSED BY HIS PREDECESSOR, YOU REMEMBER THE ONE WHO PARADED IN FRONT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WITH PAULSON AND BERNEKE, ASKING FOR BAILOUTS FOR BANKS AND BIG COMPANIES. THESE CONTRACTS WAS ALREADY THERE FOR THE 2ND HALF TO BE DOLED OUT BY THE CURRENT PRESIDENT, SO THE “NO MEN” AND THEIR FOLLOWERS CAN START HOLLERING. THE AMERICAN PEOPLE IS SMARTER….AND WE HAVE YOUR BACK, MR. PRESIDENT SO YOU CAN FULLFILL YOUR MANDATE WE ELECTED YOU TO DO…..FIX THE CORRUPTION, CREATE SOLID JOBS, START ‘REAL GROWTH’, HEALTHCARE, EDUCATION, CLEAN ENERGY TO BREATH, AND TAKE THE ‘BUBBLE’ OUT OF THE ECONOMY. Keep working Mr. President, we Americans got your back.

Posted by: sngeorgia | March 20, 2009, 6:30 pm 6:30 pm

Duh,
ironic …
you highlighted the very point!

Posted by: candid is art | March 20, 2009, 6:32 pm 6:32 pm

Hey Candid as art…Fu** you! HAHAHAHAHA! Try to find an independent thought!

Posted by: Duh | March 20, 2009, 6:33 pm 6:33 pm

Hey Candid as art, you suck just like the idiot who seems to screw up w/out his tele prompter, it’s not change we can believe in. He’s Bush’s 3rd term!

Posted by: Duh | March 20, 2009, 6:35 pm 6:35 pm

Hey Candid as art, how do you like all the “change”going on? I think it sucks! I’m sure you don’t b/c you must be some kind of idiot that thinks the govt should do everything for you.

Posted by: Duh | March 20, 2009, 6:36 pm 6:36 pm

Oh excuse me it’s “candid IS art”, am I candid enough for you as*hole?

Posted by: Duh | March 20, 2009, 6:37 pm 6:37 pm

Bobj72, seems like you took the words right out of my post. “Grow up” is what I said. We live in a free country. We are allowed to voice our disapproval of the POTUS. It is our right. So far Obama hasn’t taken that away. Give him time. If you don’t like what you read here go somewhere else. All you dems can dish it out but cry like little babies when someone says one thing against your precious boy. I said it earlier, just because Obama demands 100% support 100% of the time does not mean he deserves it. He won’t get my blind faith. No, thank you I don’t care for kool-aide!

Posted by: notafan | March 20, 2009, 6:46 pm 6:46 pm

This is a pathetic story- totally biased and manufactured and the American people aren’t buying it. ABC is a right-wing mouthpiece. Please unsubscribe me from your drivel. And Jake Tapper you aren’t much better sometimes. You both only care about writing sensational garbage in order to further your narcissism. You don’t care about other people at all. You are both pathetic.

Posted by: Julia | March 20, 2009, 7:11 pm 7:11 pm

Obesity worsens the country’s health problems and costs a lot of money. Why be snide about arugula?
And while you’re at it, why don’t you try kale, broccoli, sweet potatoes, and all those other veggies at the top of the nutrient charts?

Posted by: HealthyDieter | March 20, 2009, 7:16 pm 7:16 pm

When will the President finally release a copy of his original birth certificate, instead of just the recently created abstract? It’s just a birth certificate, what could there be to hide. Why would he send lawyers into court to prevent its release? Does anybody know?

Posted by: Terry | March 20, 2009, 7:26 pm 7:26 pm

Our president made a serious mistake with what he said about Special Olympics. But he apologized for it in a sincere manner, something I never remember W. doing – sincerely or not.
And our president has been in office all of two months, and you expect for him to have fixed an economy that was run into the ground by EIGHT YEARS of W’s presidency, six of them with control of all three branches of government?
As for the complaints we keep hearing about our president going on the Tonight Show, or spending money going out talking with the American people: What, you would prefer that he use a U.S. aircraft carrier as a prop for a “Mission Accomplished” announcement (and have the skipper turn the boat around so the camera angle would be better?).

Posted by: Michael | March 20, 2009, 7:40 pm 7:40 pm

You guys are so OFF on the Special Olympics remark. My granddaughter has participated in the Special Olympics for several years. She has cerebral palsy. She giggled and was glad the President saw humor in him not being able to do something well and being able to make fun of himself.
It may be offensive to some, but I doubt to the majority of those who are disabled.

Posted by: J | March 20, 2009, 7:52 pm 7:52 pm

Ready for this? Crude oil will reach $150 per barrel by the end of 2009, according to MarketWatch on CNBC. If you think the Stimulus will offset high energy bills, you’re not thinking, period. My avice? “Invest” in a decent woodstove.

Posted by: Cindy merrill | March 20, 2009, 8:35 pm 8:35 pm

Concerning the Special Olympics gaffe: he was just saying out loud what we all think but dare not say.

Posted by: russ | March 20, 2009, 8:54 pm 8:54 pm

He bashes the handicapped, screws up the the economy, then presumes to tell the Iranian people that we will work with those in power to fix our relationship.
Maybe he can get Achmadinawhackjob a spot on Leno, ya’ think?

Posted by: Hopeless in CA | March 20, 2009, 9:32 pm 9:32 pm

Face it Folks, this is how Obama really thinks and talks without his teleprompter. He Does Not have “Superior Judgement”. Obamabots must be truely broken-hearted.
The rest of us had him figured out early on.

Posted by: from Ohio | March 20, 2009, 9:43 pm 9:43 pm

I think we are witnessing the Emperrr’s New Clothes.

Posted by: Hugh White | March 20, 2009, 9:52 pm 9:52 pm

JUST BECAUSE YOU DON’T AGREE WITH AN ARTICLE IT DOESN’T MEAN IT’S BIAS. God you people are stupid. And if any of you really believe Obama had a good week, just go look at the polls, which are showing his numbers are dropping. He has the most ambitious platform in decades, and it’s falling flat on his face already.

Posted by: David | March 20, 2009, 9:53 pm 9:53 pm

Give the guy a break! Everyone seems to be saying how all these mishaps could affect his re-election chances. Look at all the major mistakes he’s made in just two months. He’s just getting started. I’m sure there’s plenty more where that came from. By the time 2012 rolls around, he and his Obamites will provide opponents with loads of fresh fodder.

Posted by: Eye C | March 20, 2009, 10:04 pm 10:04 pm

First of all he is not a great commnuicator, he a good speech reader. Davy Crocket was a great comunicator, learn the difference…
Second, the “Gaff” some are defending not only shows his ignorance but his lack of caring for others. If anyone other than Obama had done that, the Media and those defending him would of had a cow over it.
Third, I have a relative who’s best friend has an immediate Family member that works in the White House. The word is that Obama hasn’t the faintest idea what he is doing…and Obama knows it and has expressed it.
IF I was allowed to tell you what that Immediate Realtive does it would get that person in trouble…which is why I am being vague..

Posted by: Patch W Adams | March 20, 2009, 11:29 pm 11:29 pm

Again it’s nice to see that all of the Obama Supporters have received the E-mail telling them to get out and Support the President and his policies….He Needs your Help!
I get the Same E-mails…
BE A GOOD “O” SUPPORTER!
oh love the “He’s only been in Office 2 months” Thats Classic!

Posted by: Patch W Adams | March 20, 2009, 11:34 pm 11:34 pm

HERE IS ONE OF THE LATEST E-MAILS to the OBAMA INTERNET ARMY!
The current debate in Washington over President Obama’s budget has made one thing clear — ensuring our long-term prosperity won’t come without a fight.
Partisan voices and special interests are showing real resistance to President Obama’s call for making the necessary reforms and investments in energy, health care, and education. That’s why we need to bring the conversation back into homes and communities across America.
Last week, thousands of you pledged your support for the President’s economic plan and encouraged your friends and family to join you in a national display of support. Now I need you to take the next step.
This weekend, supporters like you are organizing Pledge Project Canvasses to talk to people in their communities about this plan and mobilize support in neighborhoods across the country.
Host or attend a Pledge Project Canvass in your neighborhood this weekend.
It’s absolutely crucial that Americans hear from you about this plan — we can’t leave this important debate up to a Washington establishment that doesn’t welcome change.
It’s up to you to show Washington that Americans are demanding this new direction and won’t stand on the sidelines while our country’s future is at stake.
On these canvasses, you’ll join fellow supporters in your community to:
Talk with people about the President’s plan
Ask them to sign their names to the pledge
Provide information on how to contact and urge their elected representatives to support the plan
Host or attend a canvass this weekend:
http://my.barackobama.com/pledgecanvass
Nothing is more powerful than having people hear from ordinary Americans about the vision President Obama has laid out for our country. Join us this weekend.
Thanks,
Mitch
Mitch Stewart
Director
Organizing for America
BE A GOOD “O” SUPPORTER!!!
lol funny stuff..

Posted by: Patch W Adams | March 20, 2009, 11:38 pm 11:38 pm

This is nothing compared to what they are doing to our economy:
World Considering Ditching Dollar As Reserve Currency
Link: http://www.midwestfreepress.com/2009/03/20/world-considering-ditching-dollar-as-reserve-currency/#comment-61
Mexico City Native

Posted by: Mexico City Native | March 21, 2009, 12:13 am 12:13 am

Rick Klein, I really think your report is purposely intended to be bias. As much as you would like to think itsn’t the truth is in the words. Obama’s had a good night on Jay Leno. What you remember it to be isn’t what other people think it should be. Whenever I read you editorial I am left wondering are you for real. Your work is clearly seen for what it is bias. You can disagree with me, but deep down in ones heart they know the truth and your truth truely stands out as bias.

Posted by: sharicia | March 21, 2009, 12:45 am 12:45 am

He has hurt many families in America. He needs to say he is sorry in the public, not to an organization.
In addition, someone who claims to have experienced prejudice and stereotypes throughout life, and has written about them in great detail, should be more sensitive and refined from life’s lessons.
Furthermore, Obama claimed he was going to have the world think ‘highly’ of America again. Will this joke help?
For someone who spoke of equality as a creed. Does this joke match that philosophy?
For someone that said he would stand for all people. Does this stand up for those that participate in the special Olympics?
The fact is Obama claimed a higher standard. To much is given, much is required.
Obama has just showed us that ‘yes we can’ destroy what a campaign stands for with a single joke.
During the campaign for the White House in 2008, the media criticized Palin for being ‘common,’ ‘not-polished,’ ‘not-compassionate’ and ‘not presidential.’ However, compare Sarah Palins attitude in this video created three weeks ago for the Special Olympics in Boise, Idaho.
You decide the more ‘presidential’ among them. Watch: http://tinyurl.com/ccz6nj

Posted by: Jack | March 21, 2009, 1:20 am 1:20 am

Ravi Batra from the University of Texas hit the nail on the head with this article:
Reagan: The Great American Socialist
Friday 20 March 2009
by: Ravi Batra, t r u t h o u t | Perspective
Ravi Batra: Reagan was the
Ravi Batra comments that if Democratic President Barack Obama is a “small” socialist, then Reagan was the “Great American Socialist.” (Photo: University of Texas)
Socialism has been much in the news for some months. Recently, some GOP stalwarts charged President Obama with preaching the heresy. John Boehner, the House minority leader, characterized Obama’s stimulus package as, “one big down payment on a new American socialist experiment.”
“Socialism” is a pejorative term in American politics and needs to be carefully examined. It usually refers to increased government control over the economy, or policies that promote the redistribution of wealth. There is no doubt that President Obama’s economic measures, passed and proposed, will raise tax rates on the richest Americans to pay for increased government funding of health care, green energy and education. So the new president is indeed a redistributionist, but so was Ronald Reagan, except that Obama’s plans will transfer wealth from the rich to the poor, whereas Reagan’s bills transferred wealth from the poor and the middle class to the opulent. In fact, Obama’s measures are puny, whereas Reagan’s were massive. If the Democrat is a “small” socialist, Reagan was the Great American Socialist.
Let’s go back to the early 1980′s. In 1981, Reagan signed a law that sharply reduced the income tax for the wealthiest Americans and corporations. The president asserted his program would create jobs, purge inflation and, get this, trim the budget deficit. However, following the tax cut, the deficit soared from 2.5 percent of GDP to over 6 percent, alarming financial markets, sending interest rates sky high, and culminating in the worst recession since the 1930′s.
Soon the president realized he needed new revenues to trim the deficit, bring down interest rates and improve his chances for reelection. He would not rescind the income tax cut, but other taxes were acceptable. In 1982, taxes were raised on gasoline and cigarettes, but the deficit hardly budged. In 1983, the president signed the biggest tax rise on payrolls, promising to create a surplus in the Social Security system, while knowing all along that the new revenue would be used to finance the deficit.
The retirement system was looted from the first day the Social Security surplus came into being, because the legislation itself gave the president a free hand to spend the surplus in any way he liked. Thus began a massive transfer of wealth from the poor and the middle class, especially the self-employed small businessman, to the wealthy. The self-employment tax jumped as much as 66 percent.
In 1986, Reagan slashed the top tax rate further. His redistributionist obsession led to a perversity in the law. The wealthiest faced a 28 percent tax rate, while those with lower incomes faced a 33 percent rate; in addition, the bottom rate climbed from 11 percent to 15 percent. For the first time in history, the top rate fell and the bottom rate rose simultaneously. Even unemployment compensation was not spared. The jobless had to pay income tax on their benefits. A year later, the man who would not spare unemployment compensation from taxation called for a cut in the capital gains tax. Thus, Reagan was a staunch socialist, totally committed to his cause of wealth redistribution towards the affluent.
How much wealth transfer has occurred through Reagan’s policies? At least $3 trillion.
The Social Security hike generated over $2 trillion in surplus between 1984 and 2007, and if it had been properly invested, say, in AAA corporate bonds it could have earned another trillion by now. At present, the fund is empty, because it has been used up to finance the federal deficits resulting from frequent cuts in income tax rates. If this is not redistribution of wealth from the poor to the rich, what else is?
Thus, Reagan was the first Republican socialist – and a great one, because his wealth transfer occurred on a massive scale. His accomplishment dwarfs even FDR’s, and if today the small businessman suffers a crippling tax burden, he must thank Reagan the redistributionist. However, FDR took pains to help the poor, while Reagan took pains to help the wealthiest like himself.
Reagan’s measures were similar to those that the Republicans adopted during the 1920′s, which were followed by the catastrophic Depression. More recently, such policies were mimicked by President George W. Bush and they are about to plunge the world into a depression as well. Ironically, the Reagan-style socialism or wealth redistribution is about to destroy monopoly capitalism, the very system that he wanted to preserve and enrich.
Wake up America and elect leaders with a heart – not those who would tax your unemployment benefits and cut the capital gains tax.

Posted by: devilkev | March 21, 2009, 1:37 am 1:37 am

Classic.
“I bowl like a retard”
That’s my president.

Posted by: dualdiagnosis | March 21, 2009, 1:38 am 1:38 am

Patch W Adams: Can’t follow your logic. Why is it funny stuff to urge Americans to take part in their government? If more did instead of broadcasting and posting lies and trash, or laughing at the government of the United States, perhaps we wouldn’t be in the mess that were in that has been in the works since Reagan.

Posted by: devilkev | March 21, 2009, 1:46 am 1:46 am

All you Obama Rump Lickers, do yourselves a favor and google “The 45 Stated Communist Goals For The Takeover of America” and READ them. Then ask yourselves just WHICH political party in America today is implementing them?
It’s real simple people…
Obama = Illegal Kenyan Muslim Chimp.
Democrats = Communists

Posted by: mrunpc | March 21, 2009, 8:25 am 8:25 am

Hey Devilkev,
You’re referencing Ravi Batra? That’s a good one. For those of you who aren’t familiar with ol’ Ravi, he also wrote a book called “The Great Depression of 1990″.
So, Devilkev, do tell? Whatever happened to THAT brilliant bit of prophecy, HMMMMM?

Posted by: mrunpc | March 21, 2009, 8:28 am 8:28 am

Very good devil devilkev..There is also a very good article written by Albert Einstein in 1949, “Why Socialism?”…who is going to quarrel with the smartest man in the hemisphere???? No doubt..a republican

Posted by: cowgirl | March 21, 2009, 10:58 am 10:58 am

Excerpt from albert Einseins article…”Production is carried on for profit, not for use. There is no provision that all those able and willing to work will always be in a position to find employment; an “army of unemployed” almost always exists. The worker is constantly in fear of losing his job. Since unemployed and poorly paid workers do not provide a profitable market, the production of consumers’ goods is restricted, and great hardship is the consequence. Technological progress frequently results in more unemployment rather than in an easing of the burden of work for all. The profit motive, in conjunction with competition among capitalists, is responsible for an instability in the accumulation and utilization of capital which leads to increasingly severe depressions. Unlimited competition leads to a huge waste of labor, and to that crippling of the social consciousness of individuals which I mentioned before.

Posted by: cowgirl | March 21, 2009, 11:17 am 11:17 am

Patch Adams..let me sum it up by saying…You are delusional…LOL

Posted by: cowgirl | March 21, 2009, 11:22 am 11:22 am

It is important to know that although the bonuses to AIG are distasteful they were no surprise to anyone least of all the the Obama administration. Geithner and Congress have be in negotiation with AIG concerning Exec compensation since Nov. Geithner is on tape discussing the bonuses in NOV, JAN, and early March. So for them to pretend to be angry and shocked is insulting to the AMERICAN PEOPLE. Dodd was asked to make the amendment by the Treasury department (Geithner) and he did it but then lied about it! But the scariest thing of all is the fact that the Federal Budget committee has issued a report which states that if they pass Obamas budget it will BANKRUPT our nation in just a few years. Yet Obama states that he is Undetered! What can we think; is he undetered to Bankrupt the Nation???

Posted by: dburger | March 21, 2009, 11:35 am 11:35 am

By the way…Jay leno said at the end of his interview with the president “mr. president, this has been one of the greatest days of my life” guess that wasn’t important enough to be reported…but leno does influence more people than Rush Limbaugh

Posted by: cowgirl | March 21, 2009, 11:37 am 11:37 am

The classroom of kids that made a video of the hard times their families are having-their lack of food their worries they won’t have a house to cme home to-that they won’t be able to go to college, but will have to find a job to help their familys out..the video…”Is anyone Listening” Well the president watched that video and visited those kids in their school in calif, and told them “I am listening” NOW thats a President we can be proud of…He walks the walk…did’nt hear that reported on ABC-did you?

Posted by: cowgirl | March 21, 2009, 11:42 am 11:42 am

Do you think Obama would have apologized over his Special Olympics remark if he hadn’t been roundly criticized? Of course not. He is only moved by political expediency. ABC is one of the best mainstream media outlets but that’s not saying much.

Posted by: Citizen70 | March 21, 2009, 11:57 am 11:57 am

Ha!
Americans hate all their presidents….?
Is there any president you all agree on.. being good?
Was McCain going to be good or dull also or called bad names?
I tell you the world or …has worse presidents or had ….
I feel like — when a team is playing a game … we need to cheer it up or else it loses badly… we may analyze the game late … rather than be the cause of the loss or failure.
Some of it sounds more like destructive criticism

Posted by: glmstar | March 21, 2009, 1:57 pm 1:57 pm

Is ABC so bad off that this qualifies as a “Senior” Political Reporter?
I guy who is barely 30, and proud to boast of his work as Metro reporter for the Dallas Morning News and as editor-in-chief of the Daily Princetonian?
I’d like for my senior correspondents to at least be old enough to shave. Click on the link of his name for a bigger picture of this starry-eyed, “College Republican”.
Give me a break!
“Klein joined ABC News in 2007 from The Boston Globe, where he most recently covered Congress and national politics. He joined the Globe in 2000. Prior to coming to Washington in 2004 to cover the Bush-Cheney campaign, he covered the Massachusetts State House and Boston City Hall.
He previously worked as a metro reporter at The Dallas Morning News. A native of Long Island, NY, Klein graduated with a degree in politics from Princeton University, where he served as editor-in-chief of The Daily Princetonian. He lives on Capitol Hill with his wife, Laine.”

Posted by: wmholt | March 21, 2009, 2:31 pm 2:31 pm

Posted by: mrunpc | Mar 21, 2009 8:25:03 AM
…..”Muslim Chimp”…
_________________________
WHY IS IT, ‘the Least Intelligent of you’ chooses to cast insults, using baseless and totally stupid relationships to ‘SEMIERECT PRIMATES?’ Could it be, you adamently refuse to accept the “anthropological FACT” that You too, even in your paleness, evolved from the “LOINS OF AFRICA.”
You may “run, but you can’t hide.” NO you can’t distance yourself from your Black Roots, Mr. Charlie!

Posted by: bobj72 | March 21, 2009, 3:49 pm 3:49 pm

If you call lying communicating, then I guess he’s communicating. His feigned outrage over the AIG bonus’s is really too much. Him and Giethner knew about the change in the language in the bill and was hoping nobody would notice.
We just had 8 years of lying and bad communicating by the last administration, only to elect more of the same. Move along folks nothing to see here, same old s***.

Posted by: vnvet69 | March 22, 2009, 8:58 am 8:58 am

Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe says a high tax on bonuses paid to executives by companies receiving bailout funds could likely be structured in a way to avoid constitutional problems.
Some proposals are circulating to tax bonuses at rates varying from 70 percent to 100 percent as a way to recoup the $165 million paid to executives at AIG, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports.
One issue is whether such a bill violates the Constitution’s ban on Bills of Attainder that punish a person or group without a trial. Tribe told the Wall Street Journal that Congress could avoid that constitutional problem with a broad bill that doesn’t target “a closed class of named executives.” Also blunting any Bill of Attainder challenge would be the fact that the aim of the tax is fiscal rather than punitive, and it would apply in the future as well as retroactively, Tribe wrote in a summary posted at the Atlantic.
Another issue is whether retroactive taxes violate the ex post facto clause. Actually, it’s a nonissue, Tribe says. “The ex post facto clause applies exclusively to criminal punishment and poses no difficulty here,” Tribe told the Wall Street Journal Law Blog.
Tribe also addressed whether the law would violate the contracts clause, the takings clause and the due process clause in the Wall Street Journal Law Blog interview. He saw no problem. Many courts have ruled requirements for substantive due process are not violated if the legislation has a rational legislative purpose, “something nobody could deny in this instance,” according to Tribe.
The Wall Street Journal also points out that a tax rate approaching 100 percent is not unprecedented. The top federal income-tax rate was once 90 percent, and some excise taxes on specific transactions have hit 100 percent.

Posted by: cowgirl | March 22, 2009, 1:08 pm 1:08 pm

Rick, the above article might be a good place to start your next article…We would just like to see some of the things americans care about and need real information on addressed-instead of articles that are directed at creating meaningless anger..Inform us..don’t just try to keep these detrimental arguments going..We need more unity as a country to get through this-and i don’t feel the media as a whole are doing their part..and i am not just singling you out…I watched the 3 governors on Meet the press, I was very impressed with all 3..and unimpressed with the moderator. The press has become the antagonist of the people, and in case you haven’t noticed..we are not in a very good mood..

Posted by: cowgirl | March 22, 2009, 1:19 pm 1:19 pm

The Leno appearence, the bracket fill, the veggie garden, all to show us what common folk we have in the White House. Problem… none of it rings true. The elitism of Harvard shows through the shiny PR tricks. Jessee Jackson had it right, except he claimed Obama talked down to the black folks. Jessee, he’s so high he talks down to everybody ! You had it right bro, SNIP, SNIP.

Posted by: Tom Beebe | March 22, 2009, 3:04 pm 3:04 pm

Obama did excellent job this week. And he was dealing with public outrage. Tax Bill sailed through Congress. I still don’t feel it will become law though. Regardless legislators did react and listen to public. Since Bush Administration actually signed the original bailout agreement, and approved the retention payments/bonuses it was very difficult in second stimulus bill to pass strong limits, and any restrictions would have to apply after to agreements made after February 9,2009. Obama stated he was angry at payments, but that was it. This bill passing through congress and senate is still being debated. He can not make any further statements until legislature decides. Obama is attempting to stay positive, keep his mind on long range goal regarding the financial crisis. For now Obama can not say anything further for now. He did mention he would recommend possibly reviewing/recommending regulations regarding salaries/bonuses after crisis is resolved. Present crisis is not the time. System is too fragile.
Public does need to keep the heat going though. News please keep tabs on thse corporations. I do not considerate it good business practice to give bonuses regardless of company financial status/profit. Those Banks/Financial Corporations that do must change these practices. High risk practices any corporations get involved in may have to be evaluated as well.
Now we wait to see the final outcome of The Tax Bill.

Posted by: Sharon | March 22, 2009, 8:33 pm 8:33 pm

Barak Obama Not Ready From Day 1 – He Lied about That Too!!!!

Posted by: from Ohio | March 22, 2009, 9:16 pm 9:16 pm

The Obama’s are communicating positive messages. Thank you Michelle for encouraging healthy eating choices. Those of us in the nutrition arena know that this is crucial to teach both children and adults healthy eating choices to prevent disease. Thank you Ms. Obama, for your leadership!

Posted by: trini | March 23, 2009, 1:15 pm 1:15 pm

I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Sarah
http://grillsblog.com

Posted by: Sarah | March 28, 2009, 6:39 am 6:39 am

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The Note, 3/20/2009: So Special — Obama loses a week, as a great communicator doesn’t communicate

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