The Revolving Door of the Obama White House Continues

President Barack Obama announced on Friday that White House counsel Greg Craig will resign and named as his replacement Robert Bauer, a Democratic election lawyer who also has served as Obama’s personal lawyer.

Craig fell into disfavor with other top officials over his handling of Obama’s plan to close the Guantanamo Bay prison. The announcement, made in a written statement, came just hours after the president arrived in Japan for a weeklong trip to Asia.

The White House said Bauer, currently lead counsel to the Democratic National Committee, would take over by year’s end. In the statement, Obama praised Craig as a “close friend and trusted adviser who tackled many tough challenges as White House counsel.” He cited Craig’s work in helping to select Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, setting new ethics policies at the White House and crafting new legal policies regarding national security.

In a letter to the president, Craig said, “It has been a busy first year, and I feel very lucky to have been part of it.”

Neither man mentioned Gitmo. But Craig’s exit was announced on the same day that Attorney General Eric Holder will announce the U.S. is bringing five detainees from Guantanamo Bay — including self-proclaimed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed — to New York City to stand trial. - Politico Story

Lack of Leadership in White House Dooms Troops / Afghanistan

Some White House officials thought that President Obama's 8th "war council" meeting Wednesday to decide on a strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan might be the last. But by the time it wrapped up, no decisions had been made and so many lingering questions remained about the strategy forward, it seemed clear that more meetings were necessary and any announcement will be delayed far beyond the unofficial November 11 deadline administration aides had been shooting for.

In Wednesday's meeting, Pentagon officials presented more details about four strategies -- two from Gen. Stanley McChrystal, and two others -- but President Obama was not satisfied with their assessments.

Specicially, he pushed the generals to clarify how and when U.S. troops would be able to turn over responsibility to the Afghan government.

"The key sticking points appear to be timelines and mounting questions about the credibility of the Afghan government," an administration official said, adding that the President "wants to make it clear that the U.S. commitment in Afghanistan is not open-ended. After years of substantial investments by the American people, governance in Afghanistan must improve in a reasonable period of time to ensure a successful transition to our Afghan partner."

Currently 68,000 US troops are in Afghanistan. All four of the options the president and his war council are discussing add more troops, but with different troop levels, costs and strategies. The most ambitious strategy, from Gen. McChrystal, would send 40,000 more troops.

In London, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced that he expects President Obama "to announce in a few days what his numbers for Afghanistan will be."

But White House officials disagreed, saying a decision was still weeks away. - ABC News Story

Bush - "I came home to Texas with my values intact."

At a speech about his presidential center at Southern Methodist University in Dallas this afternoon, George W. Bush told a supportive crowd that he has had time to reflect in office over the past nine months.

Mr. Bush said there were ups and downs, but through it all he "always did what I believed was in the best interests of our country."

And, he told the crowd to raucous applause, "I came home to Texas with my values intact."

Mr. Bush was speaking to launch the George W. Bush Presidential Center, which includes a public policy institute with the mission of promoting the goals and values of his presidency. - CBS News Story

Democrats in Deep Trouble in Ohio

For the first time, President Obama holds a net disapproval rating in the battleground state of Ohio, according to a new Quinnipiac poll. Half of the state’s voters disapprove of the president’s job performance, while 45 percent approve.

A 53 percent majority said they disapproved of Obama’s handling of the economy, while 57 percent said they disapproved of his handling of health care. Voters are now split at 40 percent on whether Obama or Congressional Republicans are doing a better job dealing with health care.

Those numbers should send shivers down the spines of statewide Democratic candidates, who have a lot at stake in next year’s midterm elections. Gov. Ted Strickland is up for re-election, and the once-popular governor has seen his popularity crater as he faces a tough race against Republican John Kasich.

There’s an open-seat Senate race, pitting Rob Portman against either lieutenant governor Lee Fisher or Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. The poll shows Portman with an early lead over his Democratic opponents and, equally important, he holds a significant financial edge over them as well.

And as many as four House Democrats – all freshman and second-term members – face the prospect of difficult re-election campaigns. Reps. Zack Space (D-Ohio), John Boccieri (D-Ohio), Steve Driehaus (D-Ohio), and Mary Jo Kilroy (D-Ohio) all are facing strong Republican challengers.

Obama’s popularity is critical to the hopes of these down-ballot Democrats – particularly, in selling a skeptical public on his health care legislation and ability to restore confidence on the economy. - Politico Story

House Democrats Swear in Rep to vote for Health Care who hasn't won Election yet?

The special election last week for the 23rd Congressional District seat in New York may not be over after all.

Though Conservative candidate Doug Hoffman conceded and Democrat Bill Owens was sworn into Congress last week, the routine recanvassing of votes shows Owens' lead has narrowed to 3,026 votes, with about 5,800 absentee ballots received so far that have yet to be counted. The final outcome rests on uncounted absentee ballots, and more than 10,000 were sent out.

The county Boards of Election are still recanvassing votes and it could be the end of November before a final count is certified. If the count overturns the election, Owens could be removed from office.

The Hoffman campaign conceded when it learned it had a narrow edge in Oswego County -- considered the Conservative candidate's base -- and after campaign workers learned Owens led by 5,335 votes with 93 percent of the returns in.

"On election night we were kind of stunned -- and that's kind of why we conceded -- how poorly we did in Oswego," Hoffman spokesman Rob Ryan said. "Then we found out a few days later that the numbers were narrowing because of reporting problems."

Initially Hoffman was reported to have a 500-vote lead in Oswego County, but recanvassing indicates he actually won there by 1,748 votes: 12,748 to 11,000.

"Who knows? We may have a shot," Ryan said.

"Having just gone through this race, and having seen everything that's gone on, it's possible," he said.

The Syracuse Post-Standard first reported that problems in some counties resulted in underreporting of votes for Hoffman on election night Nov. 3.

"Mistakes are found, somebody put the wrong number in a column, or numbers are transposed. ... It's not uncommon," said John Conklin, a spokesman for the state Board of Elections.

It's still unlikely that Hoffman could come back; he would need to win roughly 75 percent of the 5,800 absentee ballots that have been returned, Conklin said.

The counties have 15 days after the election to complete recanvassing and they don't have to forward the results to the state until Nov. 28.

"Doug Hoffman conceded, knowing that there was no way he could take the lead in the finally tally, and that's exactly why the election results were not contested," said Shripal Shah, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Owens was sworn in Friday, in time to cast a vote on a historic health care overhaul bill, helping House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reach the majority she needed to pass it. The House passed the legislation 220-215.

The state Board of Elections wrote to the House clerk last week explaining that the state hasn't certified the election because there wasn't an official winner yet. - FOX News Story

ACORN Sueing for Our Tax Dollars

Representatives for ACORN sued the federal government Thursday morning in an attempt to regain the millions of dollars in funding the community organizing group lost after filmmakers videotaped its workers offering advice on how to commit tax fraud and various other felonies.

The suit charges Congress with violating the Constitution when it passed legislation in September that specifically targeted ACORN to lose federal housing, education and transportation funds.

That qualifies the legislation as bills of attainder, according to the Center for Constitutional Rights, which filed the suit on behalf of ACORN. A bill of attainder punishes a person or group without the benefit of a trial, and is illegal under Article 1 of the Constitution.

Bills of attainder have traditionally been understood to have more serious legal consequences -- including the seizure of private property and even capital punishment -- than Congress' decision to withhold funds that are at its discretion to disseminate. Though members of Congress have accused ACORN of corruption, it is not clear how the exercise of its own prerogative is outside the bounds of legislative power.

Critics of the group in Congress blasted the lawsuit as a last-ditch effort to save the foundering organization's bottom line.

"ACORN's baseless lawsuit is the first public acknowledgement we've seen from ACORN of just how desperate they are to use any mechanism available to subsidize an organization that is teetering on bankruptcy and financial insolvency," said Kurt Bardella, spokesman for Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif.

Congress began cracking down on its funding to ACORN after its employees were secretly videotaped in a number of cities offering to help a man and woman posing as a pimp and prostitute to lie to the IRS and acquire illegal home loans. - FOX News Story

Senate up for Grabs in Election 2010

After struggling for two consecutive cycles on the Senate battlefield, Republicans seem poised to make a comeback in 2010. With 37 seats up for grabs — and Democrats defending 19 of them — the GOP is flexing its muscles in Democratic-leaning states like Delaware, Connecticut and Illinois. Recruiting coups by National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn of Texas are one big reason Republicans feel a new sense of confidence. Democrats, meanwhile, are taking on an increasingly defensive crouch as the party in power, which must defend President Barack Obama’s ambitious — and expensive — agenda.

Without further ado, here is POLITICO’s list of the 10 best pickup opportunities among next year’s Senate contests. - Politico Story

Democrats Losing the American People

Republican candidates have stretched their lead over Democrats to six points in the Generic Congressional Ballot.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 43% would vote for their district’s Republican congressional candidate while 37% would opt for his or her Democratic opponent. Republicans have held the lead for over four months now.

Voters not affiliated with either party continue to heavily favor Republicans, 43% to 20%. - Rasmussen Reports Poll

What does the House Health Care Do for Me?

Democrats scored a big win this weekend on health care legislation, bringing an overhaul of the U.S. health care system closer to reality. And while the legislation still needs to work its way through the Senate, the House bill offers a glimpse of what could be in store for Americans next year.

Under the House Democrats' bill, which passed Saturday night, all Americans would be required to have health insurance.

Large companies would have to offer coverage to their employees, and both consumers and companies would be slapped with penalties if they defy the government's mandate.

For low-income Americans, the bill would provide subsidies for buying insurance if they don't receive it through an employer. It would also create a federally regulated insurance exchange where individual Americans could shop for coverage. - ABC News

Senate Says Health Care Bill Dead on Arrival?

(CBS/AP) The glow from a health care triumph faded quickly for President Obama as Democrats realized the bill they fought so hard to pass in the House of Representatives has nowhere to go in the Senate.

Speaking from the White House about 14 hours after the late Saturday vote, Mr. Obama urged senators to be like runners on a relay team and "take the baton and bring this effort to the finish line on behalf of the American people."

The problem is that the Senate won't run with it. The government health insurance plan included in the House bill is unacceptable to a few Democratic moderates who hold the balance of power in the Senate.

If a government plan is part of the deal, "as a matter of conscience, I will not allow this bill to come to a final vote," said Sen. Joe Lieberman, the independent whose vote Democrats need to overcome Republican maneuvers to kill the bill. He spoke on the Fox television network. - CBS News Story

Health Care Passes House Despite Public Outcry

Over the weekend, Democratic leaders spoke of an historic moment as health care reform legislation passed the House of Representatives. But that legislative victory failed to significantly move public opinion.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 45% now favor the health care plan proposed by President Obama and congressional Democrats. Most (52%) remain opposed.

Only 25% Strongly Support the plan while 42% are Strongly Opposed. - Rasmussen Reports Poll

Dems Vote for Health Care

One by one, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had leaned on her rank-and-file Democrats for months to cast off personal prerogatives for the sake of a history-making health care bill.

But for Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, this was too much to ask.

So when Pelosi announced late Friday that she would allow an amendment strictly limiting insurance coverage of abortions, it touched off an angry yelling match between DeLauro and another Pelosi confidant, California Rep. George Miller, and tears from some veteran female lawmakers, according to people in the room.

Some of the lawmakers argued that Pelosi was turning her back on a decades-long campaign by female Democratic members in support of abortion rights. Miller rose to Pelosi’s defense, which resulted in an angry confrontation between him and DeLauro, said the sources.

Miller told DeLauro that there were “more pro-life votes in the House than pro-choice” and that abortion-rights advocates had better acknowledge that reality.

In the end, Pelosi’s strategy paid off in a big win for her and President Barack Obama. After Rep. Bart Stupak’s (D-Mich.) amendment banning abortion funding was approved with 64 Democratic votes, Pelosi was able to push through the health care reform package on a virtually straight-line party vote, 220-215. - Politico Story

Is it just me? Democrats voting for the Health Care even though they disagree with it? They vote for it because that is what the party wants? What about what you think and what your district wants? Do you represent Nancy Pelosi or the people who elected you?