First thoughts: Obama on Putin
Posted: Tuesday, July 07, 2009 8:56 AM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under:
First Thoughts
From Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Ali Weinberg
*** Obama on Putin: During his second day in Russia, President Obama already has met with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, chatted with former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, and delivered a speech on U.S.-Russia relations. In an interview afterward with NBC News, Obama described his first meeting with Putin. “My impression of the prime minister is that he is strong, he cares deeply about Russia, he has understandable concerns about Russia's role in the world, and I think he has suspicions about the United States.” Asked whether Putin still has a foot planted in the Cold War, the president replied, “I think he would be the first to admit as somebody who grew up in Soviet Russia, he's somebody who knows the pains and the hardships and difficulties of the Russian past, and that still informs some of his views. But I will say this: I found him to be very smart, and I found him to have a practical bent.” More Obama: “[Putin] is not sentimental about how he views the world, and where there are common interests between the United States and Russia, my belief is that we can potentially pursue those common interests to the benefit of both countries.”
*** On Iran and the economy: Also in the interview with NBC, Obama discussed Russia’s relationship with Iran. “They've had an ongoing diplomatic relationship and commercial relationships with Iran for the last 30 years, and we have not. So, obviously, they view Iran differently.” He added, “I am persuaded that they do not want to see Iran possess a nuclear weapon, and I think they are concerned about the potentially destabilizing effect of the nuclear arms race in the Middle East. And one of the things that we are going to need to explore jointly over the next several months is can we provide a door for Iran to walk through where they say that they are not going to develop a nuclear weapon.” Turning to domestic issues, Obama was asked whether he misread the economy, as Vice President Biden asserted over the weekend. “Well, I would actually rather than say ‘misread,’ we had incomplete information. We came in January 20th. It was only after the first-quarter numbers came in, if you recall, that suddenly everybody looked and said the economy shrank 6%.” Also, the president seemed to return back to downplaying expectations about the economy’s recovery. “What we always knew was that: A) this recession was going to be deep, B) it was going to last for awhile, and C) even when the economy pulls out of recession that you are going to see jobs emerging only at the end of that process rather than the beginning.”
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Video: President Obama speaks to the graduates of Moscow's New Economic School and outlines his hopes for cooperation between the U.S. and Russia.
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The revolution -- as well as the speech -- won’t be televised: Here’s the
AP’s lead of Obama’s speech today in Russia: “President Barack Obama, working to drastically reshape U.S. relations with a skeptical Russia, said Tuesday the two countries are not ‘destined to be antagonists.’ ‘The pursuit of power is no longer a zero-sum game,’ Obama said, speaking in the Russian capital to graduates of the New Economic School but also hoping to reach the whole nation. ‘Progress must be shared.’” Obama's speech was billed as the third of a series of four major speeches about America's role in the world. The first two: Prague and Cairo. But unlike those two speeches, it's not clear the intended audience even heard the president's words. There were empty seats at the graduation ceremony and very little local media coverage. Indeed, per the AP: “It was carried live on 24-hour news channel Vesti, but not on any of the main, more widely watched Russian TV channels like First Channel, Rossiya, or NTV." By the way, the fourth speech in this series takes place in Ghana this weekend.
*** 'I am a fighter. I thrive on challenge': Meanwhile, Obama wasn’t the only American politician to speak to NBC News… In an interview in Alaska with NBC’s Andrea Mitchell, Sarah Palin further explained why she’s walking away from her job as governor. “I think that some people may not be fully aware of all of the conditions. And it’s perplexed me that we have sat down with many reporters, and we have shown them how it’s cost thousands and thousands of hours and state time and millions of dollars in state resources to continually send off these frivolous, ridiculous, wasteful ethics violations,” she said, adding that her legal bill is about half a million dollars. Asked by Mitchell whether she was tired of the nitty, gritty work of a governor after the presidential campaign, Palin replied, "I am a fighter. I thrive on challenge.”
*** That next fish run: Palin on her political future: “I don’t know what the future holds. I can’t predict what the next fish run’s gonna look like, much less what’s gonna happen in a couple years. But my focus is on my state still, and it always will be -- and my family and what is best for them. What is best for them is to not run for re-election and to avoid a lame duck, wasteful session in a final year of office.” On whether it was a mistake to agree to be John McCain’s running mate: “Not in the least. Absolutely not. It was a great honor to stand by a true American hero. I believe in John McCain, I appreciate him, I honor him, and I would’ve done all that again in a heartbeat.” In his interview with NBC, Obama said this about Palin’s decision to resign from office: “She says that this is something that is best for her family, and I respect that.”
Video: Katrina vanden Heuvel, Sam Stein and Tim Griffin weigh in on Sarah Palin’s resignation. Is another shoe about to drop?
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Dems at 60: Today, it becomes official: Democrats will have a filibuster-proof 60 Senate seats when Al Franken gets sworn in by Vice President Biden at 12:15 pm ET. And as the New York Times and others have pointed out, Franken no longer seems to be the profane comedian. “‘I’m ready to get to work, thank you,’ Mr. Franken said in a sober monotone on Monday after posing for photographs with Senator Harry Reid, the majority leader. That was about as much of a knee-slapper as Mr. Franken told, at least in public.” Meanwhile, with the Dems now at 60, the National Republican Senatorial Committee releases a
new Web ad, which states: “The Democrats have total control. No checks. No balances… In 2010, you can hold them accountable.”
Video: Kent Jones joins guest host Alison Stewart to take a look at Al Franken’s improbable run from comedian to Senator.
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Hillary watch: Also today, Secretary of State Clinton meets with ousted Honduras President Zelaya.
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Eight is enough? Looking back at that close
219-212 energy vote from late last month, one thing didn’t get the attention it probably deserved: the eight Republicans who voted for the legislation and who helped pass it. Those Republicans were Mary Bono Mack (CA), Mike Castle (DE), Mark Kirk (IL), Leonard Lance (NJ), Frank LoBiondo (NJ), John McHugh (NY), Dave Reichert (WA), and Chris Smith (NJ). What do these folks have in common? They either hail from the coasts (Bono Mack. Castle, Lance, LoBiondo, McHugh, Reichert, and Smith), are thinking about statewide office in blue states (Castle, Kirk), or are joining the Obama administration (McHugh). In short, these are your remaining House GOP moderates, and their ranks will likely decrease by one when McHugh leaves.
*** Censure time: Thanks to Michael Jackson’s death and funeral, Sarah Palin’s resignation, and Obama overseas trip, embattled South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford has escaped the media’s scrutiny in the past few days. But that doesn’t mean his job is still entirely secure. Last night, per South Carolina’s The State, members of the state GOP voted to censure Sanford (22 voted to reprimand him, 10 asked for him to resign, and nine voted to support him). “The governor’s spokesman, Joel Sawyer, reiterated Monday night after the vote that the governor will stay on. ‘The governor fully appreciates the party’s position and he intends to work diligently to earn back its trust,’ Sawyer said.”
Countdown to Election Day 2009: 119 days
Countdown to Election Day 2010: 483 days
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