Here’s his weekly address where he details all of the big things he’s been up to… Lot’s to talk about there, right? So what did the AP choose to lead with? Here’s the title, “Obama: Crisis is time of ‘great opportunity’”: WASHINGTON (AP) – President Barack Obama on Saturday challenged his country to see its [...]

  Thanks to the powerful stand taken by two Democrats, Evan Bayh, a centrist after my own heart, and Russ Feingold, a staunch, principled liberal, both of whom will vote against the $410-billion spending bill as long as it contains 9,000 earmarks, the Senate leadership came up one vote short on moving the bill forward. [...]

Say what?! At a time when the U.S. Postal Service says it is experiencing a financial crisis, it purchased a $1.2 million home from an employee so he could relocate, a CNN investigation has found. Postal Service spokesman Greg Frey said the home will be resold, as others have been. “It’s not like we threw [...]

Barack Obama is now turning Wednesdays into his own upscale version of Chamber of Commerce/Rotary Club mixers, serving up cocktails, Maryland crab, Wagyu beef, Nantucket scallops and citrus salad — according to a recent Associated Press review of 2009 White House parties. I confess to not knowing what Wagyu beef is, but I do know [...]

Not good news … The U.S. economy continued to hemorrhage jobs in February, bringing total job losses over the last six months to more than 3.3 million, and taking the unemployment rate to its highest level in 25 years [now at 8.1%]. The government reported Friday that employers slashed 651,000 jobs in February, down from [...]

I’m no fan of Rush Limbaugh. I find him neither elucidating nor entertaining — even on occasions when I agree with him. But he is quite popular with a core group and is increasingly powerful within the Republican party. What’s behind this expanding power? Would you believe the Democrats are? Apparently, Democratic strategists, inside and [...]

I think it’s fair that people are nervous about Obama’s plans. I am too. But what I don’t think is fair are comments from folks claiming that they’re certain he’ll destroy the economy, that he’s declaring genocide against entrepreneurs and other assorted nonsense. That brings me to Christopher Buckley, whose father was the late, great [...]

That’s one of the questions a recent NBC/WSJ asked voters and the results show that they know Obama inherited a massive mess and they’re more than willing to be patient with the new guy. Nate Silver pulls some data… What we find is that roughly 50% of voters think Obama will own the economy in [...]

“We don’t believe it makes sense to significantly subsidize the production and use of sources of energy (like oil and gas) that are dramatically going to add to our climate change (problem). We don’t think that’s good economic policy and we think changing those incentives is good for the country.” – Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner [...]

Another bailout on the horizon? It just keeps getting better and better… Public pension funds across the U.S. are hiding the size of a crisis that’s been looming for years. Retirement plans play accounting games with numbers, giving the illusion that the funds are healthy. The paper alchemy gives governors and legislators the easy choice [...]

Chuck Todd does that voodoo that he does so well… To paraphrase Dickens, the last six weeks have been the best of times for Obama and the Democrats, and the worst of times for the Republicans. Just consider the latest findings from our NBC/WSJ poll: Obama’s favorability rating is at 68% (an all-time high in [...]

And given the trend of these numbers being revised upwards, February’s numbers will most likely be over 700,000 by next month. As I’ve said before, it’s getting worse and there are no signs that it’s going to get any better any time soon. From CNBC: ADP said on Wednesday that private employers cut 697,000 jobs [...]

Oh Yeah? You and what army? The silver lining news is filled these days with stories about a few professions that are actually hiring (the military, repo men/women). “Where to find a paycheck,” was a segment this morning on CNN. But there’s one kind of employment our new President has absolutely ensured will be expanding: [...]

It’s not just out-of-touch Republicans and us lonely Centrists who are disturbed by the profligate spending of Congress. Joining the call for fiscal sanity is none other than Democratic Senator (and one-time VP hopeful) Evan Bayh. In a Wall Street Journal editorial, he writes: This week, the United States Senate will vote on a spending [...]

Here’s some change we can believe in: President Barack Obama plans to change how government contracts are awarded and who can earn them, a move his aides say would save taxpayers about $40 billion a year by making the process more competitive. Obama is to sign a presidential memo Wednesday that changes government contracting procedures, [...]

In 2008, both major presidential candidates promised to curtail earmarks. The only one who has yet to blink on the issue lost his fight today to reign in the excesses of the new spending bill. John McCain just can’t win. The story: The Senate voted overwhelmingly to preserve thousands of earmarks in a $410 billion [...]

Yes, I’m genuinely asking. Because after reading stories like this, I think a lot of people believe that tax brackets are things that you fall into and then ALL of your income is taxed at that rate. This is obviously not true because that system wouldn’t make ANY sense, but ABC apparently found some wealthy [...]

Lots of talk today about Obama’s budget, and David Brooks draws the first line in the sand… Those of us who consider ourselves moderates — moderate-conservative, in my case — are forced to confront the reality that Barack Obama is not who we thought he was. His words are responsible; his character is inspiring. But [...]

It’s sad to see, but I think it pretty much cements the common wisdom that Rush runs this party right now… Steele told CNN host D.L. Hughley in an interview aired Saturday night: “Rush Limbaugh is an entertainer. Rush Limbaugh — his whole thing is entertainment. He has this incendiary — yes, it’s ugly.” Steele, [...]