hey, the president has a message for us: ‘stop your crying, i got this’

See you tomorrow

😉

it’s thursday

Statement from the W.H. press secretary:

“Today, the President asked to address the Congress about the need for urgent action on the economic situation facing the American people as soon as Congress returned from recess. Both Houses will be back in session after their August recess on Wednesday, September 7th, so that was the date that was requested.

We consulted with the Speaker about that date before the letter was released, but he determined Thursday would work better. The President is focused on the urgent need to create jobs and grow our economy, so he welcomes the opportunity to address a Joint Session of Congress on Thursday, September 8th and challenge our nation’s leaders to start focusing 100% of their attention on doing whatever they can to help the American people.”

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You know, sometimes I don’t want him to be the only adult in the room …. sometimes I just want him to shout “ENOUGH!”.

But that’s just me. I’ll trust him on this, there are bigger battles to be won.

‘it’s all over’

Raw Story: American University professor Allan Lichtman is on a winning streak spanning nearly three decades …. Lichtman created a formula that has correctly predicted the winner of each election since 1984, beginning with the reelection of President Ronald Reagan. The formula that predicted Obama’s 2008 win is again showing that the incumbent president will win the election, despite the term-low approval rating Obama has been maintaining for past weeks.

“Even if I am being conservative, I don’t see how Obama can lose,” Lichtman said.

His model … relies on 13 “keys” that gauge the performance of the sitting president’s party. If six or more of these aspects are in the party’s favor, the candidate they present will win. Nine of the keys fall in Obama’s favor, Lichtman said – more than enough for reelection.

Created in 1981 and first tested against the 1984 election, Lichtman’s model hasn’t failed yet. Even in 1992, when President George H.W. Bush was riding a wave of popularity and widely expected to win, Lichtman thought otherwise.

getting on with the people’s business

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden meet with senior advisors in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Aug. 31, 2011. Pictured, from left, are Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Chief of Staff Bill Daley, and Senior Advisor David Plouffe. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

‘an unprecedented diss’

House Speaker John Boehner says he wants President Obama to talk to Congress not Wednesday evening next week, but on Thursday.

Boehner wrote the President a letter this afternoon, giving this explanation:

“As your spokesperson today said, there are considerations about the Congressional calendar that must be made prior to scheduling such an extraordinary event. As you know, the House of Representatives and Senate are each required to adopt a Concurrent Resolution to allow for a Joint Session of Congress to receive the President. And as the Majority Leader announced more than a month ago, the House will not be in session until Wednesday, September 7, with votes at 6:30 that evening. With the significant amount of time – typically more than three hours – that is required to allow for a security sweep of the House Chamber before receiving a President, it is my recommendation that your address be held on the following evening, when we can ensure there will be no parliamentary or logistical impediments that might detract from your remarks. As such, on behalf of the bipartisan leadership and membership of both the House and Senate, I respectfully invite you to address a Joint Session of Congress on Thursday, September 8, 2011 in the House Chamber, at a time that works best for your schedule.”

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Steve Benen: ….. This only helps capture the larger farce: the parties are so far apart, they can’t even agree on when to schedule a speech. It’s not exactly a good sign.

I haven’t the foggiest idea what happens next, and/or whether Boehner is just trying to throw his weight around a bit. Will the White House say, “Thanks for the recommendation, but we want Wednesday”? And then what?

And if Obama accepts Thursday, will Boehner change his mind again and say, “You know what? Let’s make it Friday”?

For that matter, has there ever been an instance in which a president requested a joint session and the Speaker of the House replied, “Pick a different day”?

More here

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TPM: For the first time in history, a U.S. House Speaker has publicly rebuffed – or at least moved to rebuff – a request from the President of the United States to address a joint session of Congress.

The unexpected request, and unprecedented diss, have touched off a round of public partisan sniping….

The White House confirms to TPM that it gave Congressional leadership the heads up before announcing its request publicly and no objections were raised at the time. Republicans say they never signed off, and were never asked to sign off.

….The offices of both Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi confirm that Boehner did not ask them to sign off on the delay.

“The childish behavior coming out of the Speaker’s office today is truly historic,” said another senior Dem aide. “It is unprecedented to reject the date that a President wants to address a Joint Session of the Congress. People die and state funerals are held with less fuss, so the logistics excuse by the Speaker’s office is laughable. Yes, consultation always occurs, but the President always gets the date he wants.”

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in essence

Blacksnob.com

Thank you lamh34 😉

‘why would anybody volunteer for that job?’

CBS: George Clooney plays a presidential candidate in the political drama “The Ides of March,” but he’s not looking to be one in real life. Clooney told reporters at the Venice Film Festival on Wednesday that he has “no interest” in heading to the White House.

“As for running for president, look, there’s a guy in office right now who is smarter than almost anyone you know, who’s nicer and who has more compassion than almost anyone you know. And he’s having an almost impossible time governing. Why would anybody volunteer for that job?”

More here

Thank you What is Working

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Flashback:

April, 2006

the ‘moderate’ republican?

ThinkProgress: …. Jon Huntsman is releasing an economic plan today that is as bad for the middle-class – and as nutty – as any proposed by his rivals. It would pay for a half-million-dollar tax break for the richest 0.1 percent of Americans with tax increases on the middle-class and new taxes on seniors, veterans, and poor families.

…. Huntsman would drop the marginal rate paid by the richest Americans by more than a third to 23 percent …. He would also eliminate all taxes on all capital gains and dividend income – the primary forms of income for the wealthiest Americans…..

– All Social Security benefits would become taxable. Senior citizens who currently receive the average Social Security benefit as their primary income source (as is the case for most seniors) currently pay no income taxes on those benefits, but would under Huntsman’s plan.

– Many middle-class parents would lose child tax credits and tax benefits for education and child care that are more valuable to them than a tax rate cut.

– Huntsman’s tax plan would also eliminate the employer health insurance exclusion, which helps enable some 160 million Americans get coverage through their jobs.

– One of the most successful pro-work, anti-poverty initiatives, the Earned Income Tax Credit, would be abolished.

– Veterans pensions and disability benefits would become subject to tax, as would all military combat pay, military housing allowances and meals, workers compensation payments, public assistance benefits, and state foster care payments…..

More here

Thank you Hopefruit

‘antitrust action, at last’

The Guardian: Antitrust enforcement is back in America, perhaps in a serious way. If so, it’s long overdue.

But even though the US justice department is suing to block AT&T’s buyout of T-Mobile’s US wireless operations, competition in America’s telecommunications industry is fading…..

Still, Wednesday’s legal action, filed by the department’s antitrust division, is welcome. The George W Bush administration was easily the most lax in antitrust enforcement in recent history, and the Obama administration hadn’t been significantly more ardent to protect competition…..

…. (but) the government’s complaint in this case says what most people – apart from those who stood to gain directly – already knew: The deal would reduce competition in a marketplace that is already an oligopoly.

The deal could still happen, in one of several ways …. the act of going to court, however, suggests that either AT&T wasn’t interested in dealing or that the government simply found this buyout unacceptable on its face.

…. AT&T’s lobbying efforts on behalf of this deal, and its brazen lack of regard for reality, have been epic …. the primary motive for the buyout was to reduce competition, contrary to countless statements about how this would be great for customers…

More here

sunday

Paterson, New Jersey, August 31

President Obama will visit New Jersey on Sunday to tour damage left by Hurricane Irene, the White House has announced.