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15 Jan 2011 12:58

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Politics: John Boehner keeps declining Obama’s high-profile invitations

  • nope Boehner was invited to ride with Obama on Air Force One to the Tucson memorial on Wednesday. He declined because he had GOP-related plans in D.C.
  • no way The House Speaker was then invited to a state dinner with Chinese President Hu Jintao – a pretty high-profile world leader – but he declined that, too. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Jan 2011 21:43

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U.S.: Obama to Arizona memorial: “Gabby opened her eyes”

  • This may have been one of Obama’s best speeches as president. Certainly at least a little jarring to hear cheering at a memorial for the fallen, but the way he was able to bring context to a terrible event really hit home. The way he spoke about the tragedy brought tears to quite a few sets of eyes, and it’s definitely good to see a major political figure speaking above the never-ending debate that it seems like everyone’s been sucked into over the last few days. It feels like a spark that had been missing for a while just came back. Again, though, it’s sad that this was the event to bring a speech like this out of him. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Jan 2011 11:17

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World: Hey everybody! Think good thoughts for Sudan today

  • Today, southern Sudan votes for independence: In potentially heartwarming news, Southern Sudan could be placed in charge of its own destiny if the vote in the country favors an independent state. As we noted last night, Obama has been pushing for this. Considering the recent electoral strife in the African continent (looking at you, Ivory Coast), it would be great news if this particular election went well. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Jan 2011 22:59

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World: Obama to Sudan: Please keep voting process peaceful. Please?

  • As the referendum proceeds, voters must be allowed access to polling stations; they must be able to cast their ballots free from intimidation and coercion. All sides should refrain from inflammatory rhetoric or provocative actions that could raise tensions or prevent voters from expressing their will.
  • President Barack Obama • In an editorial, published in the New York Times, emphasizing the need for an honest vote in Sudan tomorrow, where they’ll be deciding whether to split the southern part of the country from the main country – a vote that Obama has long pushed for diplomatically. Obama suggests that if Sudan follows through with the vote without incident, the Khartoum region’s government could be taken off a list of state sponsors of terrorism. He also emphasizes that Darfur is also important to this peace process: “There can be no lasting peace in Sudan without lasting peace in the western Sudan region of Darfur.” We’re totally with him on this. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Jan 2011 23:25

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Politics: Dear Obama: We’re everything you need in a press secretary

  • Look, now that Robert Gibbs is leaving you must be taking resumes or something. And before we go about submitting an application to the Obama/Biden beast (and spending hours upon hours updating our resume), we thought it might help to explain what you’d be getting if the ShortFormBlog staff took over the work of Mr. Professional himself, Robert “Obama’s bulldog” Gibbs. We can’t expect to be everything for you that he was, but we do have a lot of unique qualifications, including:
  • We like complaining! We notice that your administration doesn’t know when to complain about the right’s withering attacks on your character, on your policies, on your place of birth, on how ugly Bo is, on how much money Michelle spent on that trip to Spain, etc., etc. … God, can you give us a break? This job is really hard and we’re trying to save you from yourselves!
  • Blurby Press releases The Obama administration has had many PR innovations in its first two years in office – an open-source Web backend, a hugely-popular Twitter account, an entertaining Flickr account … but you’re missing something. You need press releases with giant numbers, profanity and myriad obscure pop-culture references. We can offer that.
  • The press will be putty Look … between CNN, Fox News, NBC, the other networks … they’ll all ask really tough questions and we’ll evade them by using the Socratic method. Sample dialogue: Them – “Why was Obama golfing during the oil spill?” Us – “Why do you care? You’re annoying and nobody watches your channel anyway, CNN.” Yeah, we’re good.
  • » So, what do you say, brah? We’re available to work immediately, and your organization could use someone like us. We’d make things interesting, because we know how drab the White House gets when there’s no change. We can be that change you promised, Barack.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

05 Jan 2011 22:36

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Politics: Robert Gibbs: My leaving the White House useful for Obama

  • The best service I can provide this president is, for the next couple of years, outside this building.
  • Obama Press Secretary Robert Gibbs • Explaining his reasoning for leaving the warm confines of the White House. Essentially, he won’t be working for Obama inside of the press room, but on the public circuit, where he can show off his feisty nature a bit more freely. It says a lot about Obama’s presidency that two of his top three first-term guys in the White House will still play major roles in his second term – even if it’s not inside the stoic walls of the White House itself. His lead confidantes are mostly loyal. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Jan 2011 10:26

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Politics: Sigh: Robert Gibbs stepping down as Obama’s press secretary

  • You know, we like Robert Gibbs. Endlessly entertaining, more willing to make waves than any other recent press secretary, and a great fit for Obama. He’s feisty where Obama is measured. He isn’t a mouthpiece. He’s a contributor and played a huge role in Obama’s first two years. And that’s why, even though he’s leaving as press secretary in February, he’s still likely to play a role in Obama’s future campaigns. We salute you, Robert Gibbs. You make Scott McClellan look like the straight-up mouthpiece he was. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

04 Jan 2011 11:20

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Politics: Obama’s optimistic that GOP will be less obstructionist in 2011

  • And so my expectation, my hope is that John Boehner and Mitch McConnell will realize that there will be plenty of time to campaign for 2012 in 2012, and that our job this year is to make sure that we build on the recovery.
  • Barack Obama • Offering up a pretty solid statement of intent for 2011. Obama, whose vacation to Hawaii just ended, says that he expects some playing of politics in 2011 (McConnell has already promised it). “But I’m pretty confident,” he continued, “that they’re going to recognize that our job is to govern and make sure that we are delivering jobs for the American people and that we’re creating a competitive economy for the 21st century, not just for this generation but for the next one.” Wishful thinking? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Jan 2011 22:07

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Politics: Obama’s eyeing William Daley … possibly for Rahm’s old spot?

So Rahm’s probably gonna be mayor of Chicago, replacing Richard Daley. What does Obama do now? Well, he may be eyeing Richie’s brother William, a former commerce secretary. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Dec 2010 21:31

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Politics: Obama, Huckabee looking good, Palin failin’ in early 2012 poll

  • So, CNN just released this poll on the 2012 race. Because it’s never too early to talk about this sort of thing, right? Anyway, the big winner in this whole thing is Barack Obama. He’s doing better in this poll than he has at any point in the last nine months, suggesting that he’s still feeling the love from most Democrats, even if he does get labeled a weak, wimpy something-or-other. The loser? Sarah Palin. This poll just sucks for her. But it looks really good for Mike Huckabee and a couple other GOP candidates. The details:
  • 78% of Democrats want Obama to run again in 2012
  • 49% of Republicanswould vote for Sarah Palin as president in 2012
  • 18% the decline in that particular number from late 2008; uh-oh
  • 67% of Republicans would support Mike Huckabee in 2012 – more than any other GOP candidate
  • 59% of GOP kids would go for Mitt Romney in 2012, which is still pretty darn solid, guys
  • 54% of GOPers are okay with Newt Gingrich in 2012; we personally think he smells funny source
  • » Did the tax deal hurt Obama? In the short-term, it did, with 72 percent of self-described progressives approving of Obama after the deal, down from 79 percent before the deal. However, in the long-term, 85 percent of progressives would vote for Obama again, suggesting that the tax compromise thang is something he can bounce back from.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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