President Obama kicked ass in his press conference in Toronto right now. Incredibly confident and he actually got applause in the end.
ETA Mark Halperin's comment:
"This was one of the president's better press conferences. He was relaxed and on-message and compelling, without making any news he didn't want to make. And his answers on topics from Kagan to deficit reduction, to US-Japan relations, to North Korea, to Afghanistan were all well modulated, well calibrated, smart, and (at times) nearly passionate".
http://thepage.time.com/
*
It just ended, so no video, but - this is not exact quote, it's more from memory, but it's pretty close - it was something like: "It's been 18 months and people are still surprised that i do what i said i'll do. I said i'm going to do HCR, they tell me not to do it because it's not good politically, but i still do it. They tell me not to touch DADT now, but it's the right thing to do and i'm doing it and i said i'll do it. People should learn this lesson about me. I set deadline to move all our combat troops from Iraq by the end of the summer, and that's exactly what's going to happen. And they continue to be surprised. Next year i'm going to call the bluff of the people hollering about the deficit, and we'll see".*
*
*
*************************************************************************
*
*
*
Few more items:
*
*
*
NYT Editorial
There is much to applaud in the financial regulatory reform bill announced last Friday by House and Senate negotiators. It would limit some of the riskiest activities of banks and regulate the multitrillion-dollar market in over-the-counter derivatives. It would give federal regulators the tools, if they need them, to shut failing large banks and financial firms instead of bailing them out.
In significant ways, the bill would also protect Americans directly. Consumers would be shielded from many forms of abusive and predatory lending, and investors could be empowered to influence corporate boards that have long been impervious to shareholder concerns.
The bill is a considerable accomplishment. It is the final version. Congress should pass it quickly.
At the same time — and in the months and years ahead — lawmakers must acknowledge the bill’s shortcomings and be prepared to take corrective action. Many of the bill’s provisions come with exceptions or exemptions that could, in practice, swallow the new rules.
// more
Elizabeth Warren on WS reform:
...Elizabeth Warren's statement comes as she is routinely floated as the best candidate to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: "It has been more than 20 months since the largest financial crisis since the Great Depression, and we are still living under the same set of rules we had in place before the meltdown. Thanks to the leadership of President Obama, Chairman Frank, and Chairman Dodd, that's about to change. Members of the House-Senate conference committee and their staffs worked through the night to produce the strongest set of Wall Street reforms in three generations. They created a strong, independent consumer agency that will have the tools to rein in industry tricks and traps and to cut out the fine print. For the first time, there will be a financial regulator in Washington watching out for families instead of banks," said Warren.
*
NYT: It’s ‘America the Swift’ in Bank Reform
...For anyone eager for change after the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, the reform may have seemed a long time coming. Though it may have taken an age, the breakthrough means that reform in the United States has moved faster and further than it has in the rest of the world. There, especially in Europe, the financial crisis was perceived as a problem made in America and had to be fixed in America.
Now, the agreement in Washington, if it gains final passage, could change that dynamic, and other countries may feel compelled to catch up. Since the United States narrowly sidestepped total financial collapse in 2008, Europe has itself been nearly overwhelmed by a crisis of its own — caused by sovereign rather than personal indebtedness — and the United States economy has begun growing again, albeit uncertainly.
"Two years ago, there was a lot of Schadenfreude, and for many Europeans the U.S. economic model was discredited — that Americans were living beyond their means," said Stewart Patrick, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington. "Now the shoe is on the other foot."
// more
*
Insurance Pools Readied in Some States
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is poised to award contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars to about 20 states to run new insurance pools for people with serious medical problems.
In another 20 states, where local officials chose not to participate, the federal government will run the pools through a private nonprofit entity.
Applications will be available to the public in many states on Thursday, and coverage could start as early as August, said Richard A. Popper, deputy director of the new federal Office of Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight.
After struggling for months to fend off Republican attacks on the new health care law, White House officials hope the high-risk insurance pool will produce tangible benefits for people who are uninsured — and for Democrats running in midterm elections this fall. The law has become an issue in many races.
Colorado, Maryland and North Carolina are in the vanguard of states planning to run high-risk pools with federal money.
"We are ready to go," said Michael T. Keough, executive director of the North Carolina Health Insurance Risk Pool. Mr. Keough said he was prepared to start taking applications as soon as the federal government approved his program.
// more
*
*
*
*************************************************************************
*
*
*
President Obama's on the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture:
"Today we celebrate the anniversary of the United Nations’ Convention Against Torture, one of the foremost international human rights documents. The United States was a leader in the document’s drafting, and remains dedicated to supporting its principles at home and abroad.
I continue to believe that brutal methods of interrogation are inconsistent with our values, undermine the rule of law, and are not effective means of obtaining information. They alienate the United States from the world, and serve as a recruitment and propaganda tool for terrorists. They increase the will of our enemies to fight against us, and endanger our troops when they are captured. The United States will not use or support these methods.
Over the past year, the Department of State has, at my request, gathered information from our embassies around the world about effective mechanisms to stop torture and assist its victims. I have asked the Department of State to share this information with interested international and non-governmental organizations, and to develop a system of advice and tools to share with governments and other relevant actors in addressing this problem.
The United States will continue to support the efforts of other nations and international and nongovernmental organizations, to eradicate torture through human rights training for security forces, capacity building, and encouraging robust legislation against such practices. We will also continue our close collaboration with international and domestic groups working to rehabilitate and reintegrate torture victims and offenders. I am sincerely grateful for the efforts of all the men and women around the world who are working to end the scourge of torture".
*
*
*
***********************************************************************
*
*
*
Next White House State Dinner: China
During his meeting with President Hu Jintao in Toronto today, President Obama invited the Chinese President to the United States for the next state dinner.
"The President extended an invitation to President Hu to visit the United States on a state visit. President Hu accepted, and the two sides will work out the timing," Ambassador Jeff Bader, senior director for Asian Affairs at NSC, told reporters following the meeting of the two presidents.
The two discussed economic and trade issues, Iran and North Korea. Afterward Obama touted the growth of their relationship over the past six meetings.
"We’ve worked very hard, and our teams have worked very hard, over the last 18 months to build a relationship of trust and mutual confidence," Obama said. "And it is my belief that we have accomplished many things as a consequence of that hard work."
*
*
*
***********************************************************************
*
*
*
Russia to buy 50 Boeing 737s worth four billion dollars
WASHINGTON, USA (AFP) – President Barack Obama on Thursday said that Russia was buying 50 Boeing aircraft valued at four billion dollars that could create 44,000 jobs in the struggling US economy.
"Consistent with my administration's national export initiative, this includes the sale of 50 Boeing aircraft worth four billion dollars that could add up to 44,000 new jobs in the American aerospace industry," Obama said.
In a statement released after Obama's comment, Boeing said that it had signed a document with the Russian state corporation Rostechnologii "confirming the decision by Rostechnologii to place an order for 50 Boeing Next-Generation 737 airplanes."
*
*
*
*****************************************************************
*
*
*
The always entertaining Slate's Barack Obama's Facebook Feed ;)
*
*
*
**********************************************************************
*
*
*
G-8, G-20, all by AP.
*
*