Hello
A quick Sunday mishmash under the cut.
ETA Fareed Zakaria's EXCELLENT article, titled: A Victory for Obama From An Unlikely Quarter - Pakistan.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs today told Fox News Sunday that the healthcare bill will pass by next weekend. He added that those on next week's Sunday talk shows "will be talking about healthcare not as a presidential proposal but I think as the law of the land."
According to Gibbs, president Obama is eager to campaign on the new healthcare law coming November. "once it passes we're happy to have the 2010 elections be about the achievement of healthcare reform".
Republicans, how adorable of them, continue to be really worried about the effect that passing this bill will have on Democrats in November. Karl Rove has such good heart, i could waterboard him from love:
"If they pass this thing, I think they lose the House of Representatives this fall".
And Eric Cantor apparently recovered from the trauma of having the president wiping his stupid smile on TV, and now he's back to fine whining form:
"They're bending the rules".
Oh, you poor baby.
As for Republicans threat to campaign on repealing HCR, David Axelrod can't wait:
"Let's have that fight. Make my day."
And, for those who actually want to REALLY know what's in the president's bill, Here's an excellent summary. Any Democrat voting against this historic bill, should be kicked out of the party tomorrow. Time to show loyalty.
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Couple of other things:
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Fareed Zakaria praising president Obama on what looks like turning the corner on the mess in Pakistan
....First, the Obama administration de-fined the problem correctly. Senior ad-ministration officials stopped referring to America's efforts in Afghanistan and instead spoke constantly of "AfPak," to emphasize the notion that success in Afghanistan depended on actions taken in Pakistan. This dismayed the Pakistanis but they got the message. They were on notice to show they were part of the solution, not the problem.
...Second, the administration used both sticks and carrots. For his first state dinner, Obama pointedly invited Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh—clearly not Pakistan's first choice. Obama made clear that America would continue to pursue the special relationship forged with India under the Bush administration, including a far-reaching deal on nuclear cooperation. But at the same time, the White House insisted it wanted a deep, long-term, and positive relationship with Pakistan. Sens. John Kerry and Dick Lugar put together the largest nonmilitary package of U.S. assistance for the country ever. Aid to the Pakistani military is also growing rapidly...
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Obama appoints Goodwin Liu, 39, "an unabashed liberal legal", to the federal appeals court
...Goodwin Liu, 39, is an unabashed liberal legal scholar who, if confirmed, could become a force on the federal appeals court for decades. There's talk that in time, the Rhodes Scholar, former high court clerk and current assistant dean and law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, could be the first person of Asian descent chosen for the Supreme Court.
"I can easily imagine him" as a high court nominee, said Erwin Chemerinsky, a Liu supporter and dean of the law school at the University of California, Irvine.
Obama's choice of Liu for the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco drew quick and vociferous criticism from conservatives. Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, described Liu as "far outside the mainstream of American jurisprudence."...
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The number of Veterans homeless on a typical night dropped 18 percent
VA’s Community Homeless Assessment Local Education and Networking Groups (CHALENG), which conducts a widely cited, annual census of homeless Veterans, estimated 107,000 Veterans were homeless each night last year. That figure was 131,000 in 2008 and 154,000 in 2007...
..."It will take the dedication, creativity and hard work of many parts of American society to end homelessness among Veterans," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. "But mostly it takes the resolve to say: It is unacceptable for a single Veteran to spend the night on the streets of America."
...VA has approximately 4,000 agreements with community partners. Last year, more than 92,000 homeless Veterans were served by VA’s specialized homeless programs. This is an increase of 15 percent from the previous year.
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presidential historian and author Fred Greenstein, professor of politics emeritus at Princeton University, gives president Obama Leadership Report Card. Bottom line: DAMN GOOD LEADER.
Public Communication: A. Reason: Obama has offered highly substantive arguments for his agenda and moved to respond to a complex media environment.
Organizational Capacity: A. Reason: Obama, surrounded by strong personalities, has kept unity among his troops, delivered a strong message, and shown himself to be even-handed.
Political Skill: Incomplete. Reason: As a conciliator, it's unclear if his style will work in a polarized political world.
Policy Vision: B. Reason: When addressing his vision, he enunciates it in terms of an integrated set of components, though he appears open to junking portions that aren't politically feasible.
Cognitive Style: A. Reason: He has a style marked by a capacity for complex thinking and analytical detachment and a preoccupation with seeking evidence.
Emotional Intelligence: A. Obama has clear command of his emotions, as he himself noted when he said that he doesn't get too high when things are going well or too low when they aren't.
"Indeed," adds Greenstein, "he may turn out to be the rare political leader who is marked by both a first-rate temperament and a first-rate mind."
President Barack Obama listens during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, March 11, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
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Behind-the-scenes video of Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks visiting the White House last week to screen their new series "The Pacific."
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Finally, this is for you, you know who you are. :)
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