First Read : Barack Obama

Obama grants 'Courage' a pardon

Domenico Montanaro — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:57:00 GMT

From NBC's Athena Jones
It was a festive atmosphere on the White House North Portico on Wednesday morning for the president's annual Thanksgiving turkey pardon.

Despite the drizzle, dozens of press joined dozens of guests and White House staffers to witness President Obama pardon a 45-pound turkey dubbed Courage, from Goldsboro, NC. Courage will soon head to Dulles Airport for a flight to California where he will be the grand marshal of tomorrow's Thanksgiving Day Parade at Disneyland.

"You know, there are certain days that remind me of why I ran for this office and then there are moments like this where I pardon a turkey and send it to Disneyland," the president said to laughter.

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Beg your (Turkey) pardon

Domenico Montanaro — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:52:00 GMT

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
I know, we at First Read are "off" today, but with the president about to pardon a turkey (11:35 am ET), we thought we'd shed some light on the history of presidential turkey pardons. It's actually not as long a history as you might think.

President Harry Truman is often cited, incorrectly, as the first president to pardon a Thanksgiving turkey. (Just Google first president to pardon a turkey and see how many wiki Truman answers you get.)

Adding to the confusion, President Bill Clinton claimed on Nov. 26, 1997 at his pardoning ceremony: "President Truman was the first President to pardon a turkey."

But the Truman Library wrote in 2003: "The Library's staff has found no documents, speeches, newspaper clippings, photographs, or other contemporary records in our holdings which refer to Truman pardoning a turkey that he received as a gift in 1947, or at any other time during his Presidency."

In fact, "Truman sometimes indicated to reporters that the turkeys he received were destined for the family dinner table," the library wrote.

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Obama wants to 'finish' Afghan job

Mark Murray — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:15:00 GMT

From NBC's Athena Jones
After weeks of high-level meetings to review his administration's strategy in Afghanistan, President Obama said he would announce his troop decision soon and declared his intention to finish a job that began more than eight years ago.

The main goal in the region remains the same: to destroy and dismantle al Qaeda and prevent the group and its extremist allies from operating effectively. After Thanksgiving -- and likely as soon as Dec. 1 -- the president plans to explain the rationale behind his decision to send what it expected to be thousands more troops to Afghanistan.

"After eight years, some of those years in which we did not have I think either the resources or the strategy to get the job done, it is my intention to finish the job," Obama said today at a joint news conference with India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. "And I feel very confident that when the American people hear a clear rationale for what we're doing there and how we intend to achieve our goals, that they will be supportive."

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Obama on US-India relationship

Domenico Montanaro — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:43:00 GMT

From NBC's Domenico Montanaro President Obama welcomed India's Prime Minister Singh to the White House this morning. He stressed the importance of the U.S.'s relationship with India, mentioning briefly climate change and only alluding to its regional significance as it relates to Pakistan in particular. Pakistan and India are main rivals, clashing often over the disputed Kashmir region. India also wants more done by the Pakistanis to hold accountable those responsible for the deadly Mumbai bombings....(read more)

Obama agenda: Afghanistan, state visit

Domenico Montanaro — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:16:00 GMT

The Washington Post says that “President Obama has finished gathering information about troop options in Afghanistan and will likely announce his decision in an address to the nation next Tuesday, Dec. 1… On Monday night, Obama met for two hours in the White House Situation Room with his senior national security advisers, including Eikenberry and McChrystal, who participated by teleconference from Kabul.”

USA Today: “Obama has been considering several options, including a proposed strategy by U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal that would add up to 40,000 more troops to the war along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.”

“Military officials and others expect Obama to settle on a middle-ground option that would deploy an eventual 32,000 to 35,000 U.S. forces. That rough figure has stood as the most likely option since before Obama's last large war council meeting earlier this month, when he tasked military planners with rearranging the timing and makeup of some of the deployments.”

The New York Times notes that key House and Senate committees are already planning hearings on Afghanistan for next week. “[W]itnesses might include Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.”

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Obama talks jobs at Cabinet meeting

Domenico Montanaro — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:28:00 GMT

From NBC's Athena Jones
In a Cabinet meeting Monday afternoon, President Obama acknowledged fledgling economic growth had not yet improved things on the jobs front and previewed a summit next week aimed at helping find ways to spur job creation.

The nation's unemployment rate hit 10.2 percent last month, the highest number in decades. The proportion of jobless in more than a dozen states remains in the double digits, with Michigan in the worst shape at 15.1 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

"Our economy is growing for the first time in more than a year, and we know that economic growth is a prerequisite for job growth," Obama said. "But, having said that, what I emphasize today is we cannot sit back and be satisfied, given the extraordinarily high unemployment levels that we've seen. We have only taken the first step in curing our economy and making sure that it is moving on the right track and I will not rest until businesses are investing again and businesses are hiring again and people have work again."

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Obama agenda: The jobs debate

Mark Murray — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:15:00 GMT

“The White House is lukewarm about proposals by congressional Democrats to introduce broad legislation to create jobs, instead favoring targeted measures that would be less likely to inflate the deficit,” the Wall Street Journal says. “There is as yet no agreement within the White House or in Congress on how to try to curb the U.S. jobless rate. But the differences in opinion suggest that rifts could emerge among Democrats as they wrestle with how to beat back the highest unemployment rate in a generation.”

The president said his Asia trip was about American jobs. "As we emerge from the worst recession in generations, there is nothing more important than to do everything we can to get our economy moving again and put Americans back to work, and I will go anywhere to pursue that goal," Obama says in his weekly radio/Internet address, recorded in the South Korean capital of Seoul, his last stop. "That’s one of the main reasons I took this trip. Asia is a region where we now buy more goods and do more trade with than any other place in the world -- commerce that supports millions of jobs back home."

Video: A Morning Meeting panel debates how President Obama should handle the growing unemployment problem.

The New York Times has a primer on the military options President Obama is weighing on Afghanistan.

Writing about the president’s campaign to promote science and math education, which he announces later this morning, the New York Times says the White House is recruiting Big Bird, Elmo, and video-game programmers. “The campaign, called Educate to Innovate, will focus mainly on activities outside the classroom. For example, Discovery Communications has promised to use two hours of the afternoon schedule on its Science Channel cable network for commercial-free programming geared toward middle school students. Science and engineering societies are promising to provide volunteers to work with students in the classroom, culminating in a National Lab Day in May.”

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Obama approval below 50% in Iowa

Domenico Montanaro — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:03:00 GMT

From msnbc.com’s Carrie DannJust shy of two years after Iowans propelled Barack Obama to victory in the first major test of the 2008 Democratic primary, the president’s approval rating in the first caucus state has fallen below 50 percent. A new Des Moines Register poll conducted by the revered Selzer and Co. shows Obama’s positive rating at just 49 percent, a full 19 points below his approval in the state at the time of his inauguration. (Selzer, you might remember, was the same pollster that...(read more)

Obama approval drops below 50%

Domenico Montanaro — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:43:00 GMT

From NBC's Domenico MontanaroPresident Obama has now dropped, for the first time, below 50% approval in the Gallup poll. It's the second poll this week to show that result. This puts Obama on par with Ronald Reagan, who also fell below 50% 10 months into the job -- and better than Bill Clinton, who fell below in his fourth month. Reagan was dealing with similar economic numbers. For context, here's what we wrote about this when the possibility was first floated that Obama could fall below 50%...(read more)

Obama agenda: A very rough Thursday

Domenico Montanaro — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:44:00 GMT

“Growing discontent over the economy and frustration with efforts to speed its recovery boiled over Thursday on Capitol Hill in a wave of criticism and outright anger directed at the Obama administration,” the Washington Post writes. “President Obama's allies in the Congressional Black Caucus, exasperated by the administration's handling of the economy, unexpectedly blocked one his top priorities, using a legislative maneuver to postpone the approval of financial reform legislation by a key House committee.”

“Two buildings away, at a session of the Joint Economic Committee, Republicans escalated their attacks on Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, including a call for his resignation.”

In addition, per the Wall Street Journal: “The House Financial Services Committee voted, 43-26, to approve a measure sponsored by Texas Republican Ron Paul, vociferously opposed by the Fed, that would direct the congressional Government Accountability Office to expand its audits of the Fed to include decisions about interest rates and lending to individual banks. The Fed says the provision threatens its ability to make monetary policy without political interference.”

"Geithner is coming under new pressure from conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats to resign," The Hill writes. "Reps. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) and Kevin Brady (R-Texas) this week joined a small group of lawmakers publicly calling for Geithner to step down. Former Republican Rep. Rob Simmons, who is challenging Sen. Chris Dodd (D) for Senate in Connecticut, has made Geithner’s resignation a campaign issue. Geithner was forced to defend himself Thursday at a public hearing on Capitol Hill during which he was pointedly asked by Brady to resign."

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