Obama White House Takes Credit for Iraq Success

As senators, Barack Obama and Joe Biden both opposed the troop surge in Iraq -- and Biden even wanted to divide the country into three sections.

But as vice president, Biden is taking credit for success in Iraq.

"I am very optimistic about Iraq," he said. "I mean, this could be one of the great achievements of this administration."

But Republican Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, a member of the Armed Services Committee, said you cannot oppose the surge and then claim it for your legacy.

"When Joe Biden was in the Senate and Obama was in the Senate, they authored and were the chief architect of the resolution opposing the surge," he said.

The vice president also took credit for the troop drawdown.

"You're going to see 90,000 American troops come marching home by the end of the summer," he said. "You're going to see a stable government in Iraq that is actually moving toward a representative government."

But the drawdown was negotiated in the Status of Forces Agreement before the Obama administration took office.

"The reduction in U.S. forces that is under way right now is in fact important and it's largely the continuation of the policy that President Bush had set in place when he negotiated the drawdown schedule with Prime Minister Maliki at the end of 2008," Michael O'Hanlon of the Brookings Institution told Fox News.

In fact, the agreement called for having U.S. troops out of Iraqi cities by June 30, 2009, and all U.S. combat troops out by the end of 2011.

"The timetable for withdrawing those troops had been worked on for a long time, way preceding this administration coming into power, and that timetable really centered on success in Iraq," said Col. Bill Cowan, a Fox News contributor. "That success starting really after the surge that was implemented by the previous administration." - FOX News Story

Obama Set to Raise Taxes - Some Dems say No

President Barack Obama doubled-down this year on his campaign pledge to roll back the Bush-era tax cuts for the richest Americans while keeping them in place for the middle class.

Raising taxes is always tough to do. But Democrats this year would be doing so within a particularly brutal political environment — during a midterm election season, in a still-limping economy, amid a ballooning federal budget deficit.

And a newly emboldened Republican Party would just love to pounce on the issue, too.

The situation promises to cause plenty of heartburn, especially for vulnerable incumbents campaigning in Republican-leaning districts, over letting any of the Bush tax cuts expire in December as scheduled, even on individuals making more than $200,000 and families making more than $250,000, as Obama has proposed.

The situation could be particularly treacherous in the Senate, where Democrats no longer enjoy a filibuster-proof majority.

“I don’t agree with letting the tax cuts expire,” said Sen. Ben Nelson, a conservative Democrat from Nebraska. Up for reelection in 2012, Nelson has seen his poll numbers back home plummet after he backed health care reform legislation.

“I have serious concerns about raising taxes at any time,” he said, “but particularly at a time when the economy is suffering as it is right now.”

“That raises serious concerns for small businesses that file individual tax returns. They’re predominantly the ones that create the jobs,” said Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), a moderate who is generally among Democrats’ best bets for bipartisan cooperation.

“I think that [letting top-tier tax cuts expire] would have a profound impact at this moment in time.” - Politico Story

Obama's Lack of Leadership Frustrating Democrats

Congressional liberals were heartened when Barack Obama pledged to repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell,” but their initial elation has given way to concerns the repeal will stall in the penalty box of presidential promises: the U.S. Senate.

Obama’s historic commitment — featured prominently in his State of the Union speech last month — helped soothe his frayed relationship with the politically powerful gay and lesbian community.

It also sent a strong signal to the Democrats’ demoralized, demobilized progressive base that he’s still on their side, after delays and compromises on the public option, cap and trade and the closing of Guantanamo Bay.

But House Democratic leadership aides tell POLITICO they are growing increasingly worried over the lack of a detailed White House road map for passing a repeal — and that without such a road map, repeal will end up in the same kind of Senate gridlock that hobbled health reform.

And hopes that Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) would galvanize moderates in both parties to the cause by introducing the repeal bill have yet to materialize despite months of negotiations between Lieberman and the White House, according to people familiar with the situation.

“Not only did Obama toss [‘don’t ask, don’t tell’] to a Congress that’s preoccupied with the economy and the midterms — he tossed it to perhaps the most dysfunctional Congress in the history of the country,” said a senior aide to a Senate Democrat who has been pushing for repeal. - Politico Story

Trouble Mounts for Democrats in Latest ABC Poll

The Republican Party has grown dramatically more competitive in public trust to handle the country's most pressing issues, capitalizing on seething economic discontent and doubt about President Obama's performance to challenge the Democrats in midterm election preferences.

Among registered voters in this ABC News/Washington Post poll, 48 percent say they'd support the Republican candidate in their congressional district if the midterm elections were today, 45 percent the Democrat. That's a rare level of GOP support in nearly three decades of polls. - ABC News Story

Activists Unhappy with Obama and His Flipflopping

A few weeks ago, President Barack Obama was blasting Wall Street bonuses as “obscene” and criticizing recipients as “fat cats who are getting awarded for their failure.”

But in an interview with Bloomberg Business Week, Obama made it sound like he doesn’t “begrudge” the multi-million dollar bonuses collected by JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon or Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein.

Asked directly whether bonus payouts of $17 million to Dimon and $9 million to Blankfein were acceptable, Obama replied by praising both men as “savvy businessmen.” He went on to say, “I, like most of the American people, don’t begrudge people success or wealth. That is part of the free- market system.”

Recognizing how damaging the comments could be, the White House press team launched a full-fledged pushback, saying that Bloomberg took the remarks out of context. They also posted an entry on the White House blog to clarify the remarks, saying Obama doesn’t agree with the big bonuses and has been saying the same thing dating back to the 2008 campaign.

But Obama’s comments have angered activists and policy experts on the left who say Dimon or Blankfein are the kinds of Wall Street bankers who helped bring the financial system to its knees with risky practices – the very kinds of people Obama has targeted in his recent anti-bonus comments.

“He was being much tougher on the banks. He was recognizing that they are engaged in repeat reckless risk-taking,” of which their compensation practices are a reflection, said Simon Johnson, an economist at M.I.T. who testified favorably on the so-called “Volcker rule” to the Senate Banking Committee last week.

Now the president sounds like “doesn’t care, doesn’t understand, doesn’t get it. … It’s called flip-flopping.”

“[H]ow is it possible, at this late date, for Obama to be this clueless?” Paul Krugman, liberal economist and Nobel Laureate, wrote on his New York Times blog. - Politico Story

Unions Unhappy with Democrats Lack of Performance

Labor groups are furious with the Democrats they helped put in office — and are threatening to stay home this fall when Democratic incumbents will need their help fending off Republican challengers.

The Senate’s failure to confirm labor lawyer Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board was just the latest blow, but the frustrations have been building for months.

"Here's labor getting thrown under the bus again," said John Gage, the national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents 600,000 workers. "It's really frustrating for labor, and a lot of union people are thinking: We put out big time in money and volunteers and support. And it seems like the little things that could have been aren't being done."

The 52-33 vote on Becker — who needed 60 to be confirmed — really set labor unions on edge, but the list of setbacks is growing.

The so-called “card check” bill that would make it easier to unionize employees has gone nowhere. A pro-union Transportation Security Administration nominee quit before he even got a confirmation vote. And even though unions got a sweetheart deal to keep their health plans tax-free under the Senate health care bill, that bill has collapsed, leaving unions exposed again.

Union leaders warn that the Democrats' lackluster performance in power is sapping the morale of activists going into the midterm elections. - Politico Story

Unemployment Taxes Hinders Companies from Hiring Workers

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Employers are getting hit with a massive tax hike at a time when they can least afford it.

Companies in at least 35 states will have to fork over more in unemployment insurance taxes this year, according to the National Association of State Workforce Agencies.

The median increase will be 27.5%. And employers in places such as Hawaii and Florida could see levies skyrocket more than ten-fold.

Many of these hikes happened automatically as prolonged joblessness triggered state laws governing their unemployment insurance systems. But at least seven states voted to raise their taxable wage bases, the level of income subject to unemployment tax. And another 10 are looking at upping the wage bases or tax rates.

The states are scrambling to restore their unemployment insurance trust funds, which cover claims.

State trust funds have been decimated by the Great Recession, forcing a record 26 states to borrow a total of more than $30 billion from the federal government. The numbers are expected to grow to 40 states borrowing $90 billion by 2012, said George Wentworth, policy analyst at the National Employment Law Project.

"States are going to be facing higher unemployment tax rates for some period of time," Wentworth said.

In addition, employers pay federal unemployment taxes. If states don't repay their federal loans, businesses could see their this federal tax go up as well in coming years, said Rich Hobbie, executive director of the National Association of State Workforce Agencies.

Higher taxes, however, dampen employers' ability to hire new workers, crimping any nascent economic recovery. Companies pay taxes on each employee on the payroll. - CNN Story

Can't imagine why they are all running out of Unemployment funding and having to borrow billions. Congress seems to think that the best way to help out is to allow people to stay on unemployment for upwards of 2 years. Want to save some money and help the economy at the same time, forget Health Care reform, lets get down to this unemployment and reform that system. Kick the lazy people out and force people to take a job even if it isn't their dream job.

Obama Doesn't Get it

WASHINGTON -- Even as Republicans publicly welcome President Barack Obama's call for a bipartisan summit on health care reform, some privately worry that he might be laying a trap to portray their ideas as flimsy.

If so, a shaky showing by Republican leaders could possibly embolden congressional Democrats to make a final, aggressive push to overhaul the U.S. health care system, with or without any Republican votes.

Some Republicans doubt that scenario, saying Democrats have lost momentum for any plan that's certain to draw fierce criticism. But they noted Monday that the White House has not backed away from its support of legislation similar to what the Democratic-controlled House and Senate passed separately in December over strong Republican objections.

"This is a clever tactic by the president to try to put the Republicans on the defensive," said John Feehery, a Republican consultant and former congressional aide. "There's a vast ideological gulf" between the two parties on health care, he said, making it likely that the Feb. 25 half-day meeting will be more showmanship than substance.

The House's top two Republican leaders openly questioned Obama's sincerity and hinted they might skip the meeting if he uses the Democratic bills as the starting point for discussions.

"Assuming the president is sincere about moving forward on health care in a bipartisan way, does that mean he will agree to start over?" said a letter to White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel from House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio and Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia.

"If the starting point for this meeting is the job-killing bills the American people have already soundly rejected, Republicans would rightly be reluctant to participate," Boehner and Cantor wrote.

They asked Obama to rule out the possibility of using "budget reconciliation" rules, which could allow Democrats to enact some health care provisions with a simple Senate majority, not the 60-vote super majority needed to overcome procedural roadblocks and bring bills to a final vote. Democrats control 59 of the Senate's 100 seats.

In response to the letter, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs released a statement contending that Obama is "open to including any good ideas that stand up to objective scrutiny."

White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer said the president will not rule out the reconciliation route but is sincere in wanting to hear Republicans' ideas for improving the health care legislation.

In announcing his call for the bipartisan event in a CBS News interview Sunday, Obama was vague when asked whether he was willing to start from scratch on health care. But the White House circulated talking points saying the president is "adamant about passing comprehensive reform similar to the bills passed by the House and the Senate" shortly before Democrats lost their 60-vote Senate majority. - FOX News Story

Dems to Push Same Health Care Bill

Immediately after President Barack Obama announced a bipartisan health reform summit, Democrats and Republicans made clear they have almost no expectation the half-day meeting can break a bitter yearlong standoff.

The two parties are staking out positions that leave them completely at odds even before they sit down.

Republicans say they’re open to compromise — as long as Obama tears up the House and Senate bills, restarts the legislative process and drops several key parts of his wish list.

Democrats say, not a chance.

And in fact, Obama hopes to walk into the Feb. 25 summit with an agreement in hand between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on a final Democratic bill, so they can move ahead with a reform package after the sit-down.

House Republican leaders delivered a letter to the White House Monday that included a list of pointed questions that they would like answered before the meeting at Blair House, such as whether Obama would give up on using reconciliation, a way to pass health reform in the Senate with just 51 votes.

“If the starting point for this meeting is the job-killing bills the American people have already soundly rejected, Republicans would rightly be reluctant to participate,” the letter read. - Politico Story

Democrat Sen. Ben Nelson Supports GOP Filibuster of Obama Nominee

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) announced Monday evening that he will support a Republican-led filibuster over President Barack Obama's nominee to serve on the National Labor Relations Board.

The move is likely to infuriate labor groups who have fought hard for Craig Becker's nomination to serve on the five-member NLRB - and will likely give Republicans enough support to sustain a filibuster Tuesday.

“Mr. Becker’s previous statements strongly indicate that he would take an aggressive personal agenda to the NLRB, and that he would pursue a personal agenda there, rather than that of the administration,” Nelson said in a statement. “This is of great concern, considering that the board’s main responsibility is to resolve labor disputes with an even and impartial hand."

Nelson, a conservative Democrat up for reelection in 2012, has seen his approval ratings drop sharply since he lent his support for Obama's health care bill in December and secured deals for Nebraska's Medicaid payments.

His latest decision could help him tout his independent credentials back home, but will likely generate anger from the left, which says Becker is a well-qualified nominee who has been denigrated by his opponents.

Republicans have tried to make Becker's nomination a referendum on the Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it easier to unionize. In his statement, Nelson said Becker has made several statements that "fly in the face of Nebraska’s Right to Work laws." - Politico Story

Obama Looking for GOP Help to Save Him & Health Care

(CBS/AP) In the first major step to revive his health care agenda after his party's loss of a filibuster-proof Senate majority, President Barack Obama on Sunday invited Republican and Democratic leaders to discuss possible compromises in a televised gathering later this month.

Obama's move came amid widespread complaints that efforts so far by him and his Democratic allies in Congress have been too partisan and secretive.

In a pre-Super Bowl interview Feb. 7, Mr. Obama told CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric that health care reform is still a priority for his administration and that he will meet with both Democrats and Republicans at the White House next week to move the process forward.

"I want to ask them to put their ideas on the table, and then after the recess, which will be a few weeks away, I want to come back and have a large meeting, the Republicans and Democrats, to go through systematically all the best ideas that are out there and move it forward," Mr. Obama said.

The Feb. 25 meeting's prospects for success are far from clear. GOP leaders demanded Sunday that Democrats start from scratch, and White House aides said Obama had no plans to do so.

"If we are to reach a bipartisan consensus, the White House can start by shelving the current health spending bill," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio also threw some jabs while accepting Obama's invitation. He said he was glad the White House "finally seems interested in a real, bipartisan conversation," adding that Americans have rejected "the job-killing, trillion-dollar government takeover of health care bills passed by the House and Senate." - CBS News Story

Obama's Iranian Problem Persists

A senior Iranian envoy says he has formally told the U.N. nuclear agency that his country will enrich uranium to higher levels.

Ali Asghar Soltanieh says Tehran will start enriching up to 20 percent from its present stock of lower enriched uranium.

Soltanieh is Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency. He told the AP Monday that the production is meant for fuel for Iran's research reactor, which produces medical isotopes. World powers fear higher enrichment could ease the way for the production of nuclear weapons.

Iran has ignored five U.N. Security Council resolutions that it freeze its enrichment program. - ABC News Story

Obama had a plan to solve this. Remember how he scolded the Bush Administration for not being more open to talking to the Iranians and doing more to solve this issue. hmmmmmm. How's that working for ya?

Obama - The Man in Charge of Everything

For a president who ran on uplifting themes like change and hope, Barack Obama spends an awful lot of time scolding Americans about how he hopes they’ll change.

He has advised parents to “replace that video game with a book and make sure that homework gets done.” He has urged members of Congress not to read blogs or watch 24-hour cable news. And he’s challenged lobbyists, lawmakers, bankers, journalists, insurance companies and other heads of state to do a better job.

He’s prodded people to get off the couch, eat healthier and exercise more. He’s even suggested Americans buy stocks, U.S.-made cars and energy-efficient light bulbs, while cautioning them not to max out their credit cards.

At times, having Obama in the Oval Office is like having a really powerful Dr. Phil around.

But lately, Obama’s tsk-tsking has gotten him into some trouble. At the very moment he’s trying to recover his declining popularity and revive his party heading into the November elections, even some Democrats worry that he risks coming off not as the inspirational figure who galvanized the electorate in 2008 but as the embodiment of a dour Democrat that turns off some voters.

Dee Dee Myers, a former White House press secretary under President Bill Clinton, pointed out that, while Obama has long promised to tell people the truth even when it hurts, he needs to strike a balance.

“Part of what people liked about him during the campaign is that he talks to the American people like they’re grown-ups — you don’t have to pretend that you can eat ice cream and lose weight in order to be president,” Myers said. “He did that during the campaign by appealing to hope. ... I think little of that has been lost.”

Added Democratic strategist Paul Begala, another Clinton veteran, “You got to be careful about that stuff, or you become a scold.”

Obama drew criticism for his unusual finger-wagging at Supreme Court justices as they sat in the House chamber during his State of the Union address. He also used the speech to once again press Congress to go public with its earmarks. And Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, Obama’s fellow Democrat, recently told him to “lay off Las Vegas” when Obama urged fiscal restraint by explaining, “You don’t blow a bunch of cash on Vegas when you’re trying to save for college.” - Politico Story

Unions Partly to Blame for Automakers Tumble

Growing up in Michigan in the heyday of the United Auto Workers, I long assumed that labor unions were part of the natural order of things.

That's no longer clear. Last month, the Labor Department reported that private-sector unions lost 834,000 members last year and now represent only 7.2 percent of private-sector employees. That's down from the all-time peak of 36 percent in 1953-54.

But union membership is still growing in the public sector. Last year, 37.4 percent of public sector employees were union members. That percentage was down near zero in the 1950s. For the first time in history, a majority of union members are government employees.

In my view, the outlook for both private- and public-sector unionism is problematic.

Private-sector unionism is adversarial. Economic studies show that such unions do extract premium wages and benefits from employers. But that puts employers at a competitive disadvantage. Back in the 1950s, the Big Three auto companies dominated the industry and were at the top of the Fortune 500. Last year, General Motors and Chrysler went bankrupt and are now owned by the government and the UAW. Ford only barely escaped.

Adversarial unionism tends to produce rigid work rules that retard adaptation and innovation. We have had a three-decade experiment pitting UAW work rules against the flexible management of Japanese- and European-owned non-union auto firms.

The results are in. Yes, clueless management at the Detroit firms for years ignored problems with product quality and made bonehead investment mistakes. But adversarial unionism made it much, much harder for Detroit to produce high-quality vehicles than it was for non-unionized companies. - Rasmussen Reports

Obama Loses Poll Bump from SOTU

Obama's bump in the polls after the State of the Union has all but disappeared in no time. His and the Democrats continue to struggle. See Rasmussen Reports