Obama Pledges Campaign For Health Care Bill And Democrats
Speaking to the House Democratic caucus yesterday, President Obama pledged to mount a nationwide campaign for them in this year’s elections, promoting the health care bill: “I’ll be out there waging a great campaign from one end of the country to the other, telling Americans with insurance or without what they stand to gain.”
Obama’s Day Ahead
President Obama will receive the presidential daily briefing at 9:30 a.m. ET, and meet at 10 a.m. ET with senior advisers. He will receive the economic daily briefing at 1:45 p.m. ET, and he will meet at 3:45 p.m. ET with Secretary of Treasury Tim Geithner.
Biden’s Day Ahead
Vice President will be in Louisiana today. At 1 p.m. ET, he will announce in New Orleans the steps that the administration is taking to assist in recovery and rebuilding efforts in the Gulf Coast Region after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. He will be joined by Sen. Mary Landrieu, Gov. Bobby Jindal, Rep. Joseph Cao, and Mayor Ray Nagin. He will then travel to Grand Lake, Louisiana, and deliver remarks at 4:30 p.m. ET on rebuilding efforts. In the evening, Biden and his wife Dr. Jill Biden will travel to South Florida.
Powell: I’m ‘Very Impressed’ With Obama’s Performance On Haiti Quake
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell has praised President Obama’s response to the Haiti earthquake, telling CNN that he is “very impressed” with the administration’s handling of the situation. “I think the Commander-in-chief, he seems to have everything under control,” Powell said.
Cantor: GOP Will Win House; Ten Months Not Enough Time For Dems To Recover
House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) is predicting that the Republicans Party will win the House this fall — and says it’s too late for Democrats to change the public’s mind about the condition of the country. “It is in the mind-set of the public right now: Washington’s out of control,” Cantor said. “They do not have the economic security in their life yet. The 10 months’ time [until the election] is not enough for people to regain their sense of security, no matter where this unemployment rate goes.”
Reid: Senate Has Time For Climate Bill
Speaking to a geothermal energy group in New York yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said that the Senate has time for climate change, in addition to all the other issues it’s dealing with. “We have a lot on our plate,” said Reid, according to the prepared remarks. “We have to finish reforming health insurance and Wall Street, and also must help bring Americans out of unemployment. But we are not so busy that we can’t find the time to address comprehensive energy and climate legislation.”
Axelrod Hits Back At Karl Rove On The Deficit
White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod has written a guest column in the Washington Post, firing back at former Bush White House Political Director Karl Rove’s criticism of the Obama administration on the deficit. Axelrod points to the Bush administration’s own spending: “To put the breathtaking scope of this irresponsibility in perspective, the Bush administration’s swing from surpluses to deficits added more debt in its eight years than all the previous administrations in the history of our republic combined. And its spending spree is the unwelcome gift that keeps on giving: Going forward, these unpaid-for policies will continue to add trillions to our deficit.”
