Airport Security Uproar Frustrates White House Advisers
The Washington Post reports: “For a White House often accused of being lax on national security, the uproar over invasive security techniques at airports is a head-snapping swing in the other direction…’Everyone is a little bit surprised that less than one year after a suicide bomber was sent to the United States to blow up a plane over Detroit with a bomb in his underwear we would be having the debate that we’re having right now,’ another administration official said Monday.”
Obama’s Day Ahead
President Obama will receive the presidential daily briefing at 9:15 a.m. ET. President Obama and Vice President Biden will depart from the White House at 9:55 a.m. ET, and depart from Andrews Air Force Base at 10:10 a.m. ET. They will arrive at 11:45 a.m. ET in Peru, Indiana. At 1:20 p.m. ET, they will tour the Chrysler Indiana Transmission Plant II, and deliver remarks to workers at 1:35 p.m. ET. They will depart from Indiana at 3:45 p.m. ET, arriving at Andrews Air Force Base at 5:10 p.m. ET, and back at the White House at 5:25 p.m. ET.
Auto Industry Success A Hard Sell For White House
The Associated Press reports: “The auto industry is providing President Barack Obama a good news story — automakers are making money, plants are hiring and the taxpayers’ stake in General Motors is dwindling. Things are looking up for the president in assembly line country — just not the voting. Obama, fresh from claiming vindication after last week’s GM public stock offering, is joining Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday at a Chrysler auto plant in Kokomo, Ind. This month in Indiana, Democrats lost a Senate seat and two House seats and were driven into the minority in the state legislature.”
Campaign Promises Complicate Debt Limit Problem For GOP
Roll Call reports: “House Republican leaders will have an array of options at their disposal to try to pass a debt limit increase next year, but avowed opposition from the tea party means none will be a slam dunk. Raising the $14.3 trillion federal debt ceiling will be necessary in the first half of 2011 to avoid a government shutdown, according to the Treasury Department. But it also runs counter to the campaign promises of a number of tea-party-backed freshman Members.”
GOP Leadership Warns Freshmen About Press, Ethics Traps
The Hill reports: “The incoming class of House Republicans is being urged to re-read the Constitution, carefully deal with the press and become very familiar with congressional ethics rules. In a 144-page how-to House guidebook titled Hit the Ground Running, House Republican leaders advise the soon-to-be-freshmen on a range of issues both big and small. The book, compiled by No. 2-ranked House GOP Rep. Eric Cantor (Va.) and provided to The Hill by his office, seeks to educate GOP congressmen-elect on the many challenges they face in the coming months.”
Business: Barack Obama’s Outreach Not Enough
Politico reports: “After business leaders sunk millions into the midterms to defeat Democrats, a chastened Obama administration is seeking reconciliation with the corporate community. But after two years of building frustration, the executives say they won’t be won over by another round of private lunches and photo opportunities at the White House.”
