Today: The 2009 Elections
Today is Election Day in the Virginia gubernatorial race, the New Jersey gubernatorial election, the NY-23 special House election and other local races. The polls will close in Virginia at 7 p.m. ET, in New Jersey at 8 p.m. ET, and in New York at 9 p.m. ET. TPM will be live-blogging and keeping a scoreboard of the results.
Obama’s Day Ahead
President Obama will meet at 9:10 a.m. ET with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. He will meet at 11:25 a.m. ET with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. At 2:40 p.m. ET, he will participate in the U.S.-European Union Summit. At 4:30 p.m. ET, he and Vice President Biden will meet with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. He will meet at 5:15 p.m. ET with Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR).
Biden’s Day Ahead
Vice President Biden will attend a 10:30 a.m. ET Joint Session of Congress, which will be addressed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. At 12:30 p.m. ET, Biden will host a working lunch at the Blair House with U.S.-European Union Summit participants. At 4 p.m. ET, Biden will administer of the oath of office at the ceremonial swearing-in of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. Afterwards, he will meet at 4:30 p.m. ET with President Obama and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.
Hillary Clinton Urges Restraint In Mideast Peace Process
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called upon Arabs and Israelis to practice restraint with each other. Clinton stressed her dedication to the peace process: “And I think that does require that all parties should be careful about what we say — the kind of recriminations that are so understandable. But we need to work together in a constructive spirit toward this shared goal of a comprehensive peace. I feel very strongly that it is attainable.”
NYT: Urban Hospitals Worry About Cost-Control Efforts
The New York Times reports that hospitals in urban areas worry about government efforts to cut costs, which could have the effect of hurting urban hospitals and benefitting lower-cost rural hospitals. “This line of inquiry is destructive to urban centers,” said Dr. Kenneth L. Davis, chief executive at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York. “Unless we deal with the problems of poverty in underserved areas, health care will be expensive in urban areas.”
Poll: One Year Later, Obama’s Approval Nearly Matches Percentage Who Voted For Him
A new CNN poll gives President Obama a 54% approval rating, with 45% disapproval. “Obama’s approval rating of 54 percent is nearly identical to the 53 percent of the vote he won a year ago,” said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. “And in nearly every demographic category, the percent that approve of Obama today is within two to three points of the percent who voted for him in 2008.”
Bill Clinton: If We Didn’t Have Term Limits, I’d Have Been ‘Carried Away In A Coffin’
At a conference in Istanbul, former President Bill Clinton explained the virtues of term limits. “It’s good that we have a (term) limit. Otherwise I would have stayed until I was carried away in a coffin. Or defeated in an election,” said Clinton, also adding: “I loved doing the job.”
