tense president stresses over state of union speech

President Barack Obama works on his State of the Union Speech with Director of Speechwriting Jon Favreau in the Oval Office, Jan. 24, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

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he’s a sell-out! he’s a traitor! he’s cutting social security!

Oh, wait

Professional Leftie

Washington Post: Obama won’t endorse raising retirement age or reducing Social Security benefits

President Obama has decided not to endorse his deficit commission’s recommendation to raise the retirement age, and otherwise reduce Social Security benefits, in Tuesday’s State of the Union address, cheering liberals and drawing a stark line between the White House and key Republicans in Congress.

Over the weekend, the White House informed Democratic lawmakers and advocates for seniors that Obama will emphasize the need to reduce record deficits in the speech, but that he will not call for reducing spending on Social Security – the single largest federal program – as part of that effort.

Full article here

headway

USA Today: Economists are more optimistic about the recovery than they were just a few months ago, significantly upgrading their forecasts for 2011 as consumers open their wallets.

When asked to predict, nine of 10 economists said they’re more optimistic than three months ago, according to a USA TODAY survey of 46 economists conducted Jan. 13-19.

….”This growth is now becoming self-reinforcing,” says Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics. “Businesses are going to take their stronger sales and begin to hire more aggressively, generate more income, and we’re off and running.”

…The economists say the more robust growth will help cut the unemployment rate to 9% by year’s end from 9.4% in December. They expect employers to add 200,000 jobs a month by the second half of the year, more than double last year’s rate.

…the brighter outlook is largely a response to a recent flurry of positive reports. Car and truck sales rose 11.1% last month from the year-ago period. Holiday retail sales appear to have jumped 5%, their best showing since 2005. Factory output is rising. Even the sluggish housing market has picked up.

…cash-rich U.S. corporations are feeling more confident in the recovery’s durability. That will prompt them to hire more, says David Wyss, chief economist at Standard & Poor’s.

Full article here

sign of the times

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a novel approach

Author Geri Krotow hands President Obama a gift for First Lady Michelle Obama, a signed copy of her romance novel ‘A Rendezvous to Remember’, in Moscow, 2009. Krotow is a former naval intelligence officer and is the wife of the naval attache stationed at the American Embassy in Moscow.

More here

take one

May, 2009

‘the only person more over-hyped than me is you’

November, 2005

‘enhanced state of the union’

Read all about it here

‘resurgent obama sets sights on centre ground’

The Guardian: Less than three months ago, Barack Obama was being declared a political corpse as his opponents seized control of the lower house of Congress and suggested that he would be president in name only.

But buttressed by a rapid turnaround in the polls, Obama will use his annual state of the union address tomorrow to position himself as the voice of the centre, appealing for his political opponents to find common ground in the face of the Republicans’ declared policy of obstructionism.

The president’s approval rating has risen back to about 50%, a much quicker rebound than either Bill Clinton or Ronald Reagan managed following midterm defeats in Congressional elections – and both went on to win re-election comfortably.

The polls show that the president scored points, particularly among independent voters, for compromising with the outgoing Congress on extending tax cuts for the wealthy and showing he could deliver results with a burst of legislation that lifted the bar on gay people in the military and won approval of a nuclear missile treaty with Russia.

Obama’s inspiring speech in the wake of the Tucson shootings also stood in stark contrast to Sarah Palin’s self-serving attempt to justify the often violent political rhetoric on the right….

Full article here

good job

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama at an event in the East Room of the White House, where Dr Jill Biden was also in attendance, at which a presidential initiative to support military families was announced

Is Adm. Mike Mullen about to be demoted? 😕

Information on the initiative here