Obama Calls For Credit Card Reforms
In this weekend’s Presidential YouTube Address, President Obama spoke of the need for a bill to reform the credit-card industry, and called upon Congress to have it ready for him to sign by Memorial Day:
“There is no time for delay,” said Obama. “We need a durable and successful flow of credit in our economy, but we can’t tolerate profits that depend upon misleading working families. Those days are over.”
GOP YouTube Address Blasts Obama On Gitmo
In this weekend’s Republican YouTube, Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) criticized President Obama for planning to close the detainee camp at Guantanamo Bay:
“Closing our terrorist-detention facility with no backup plan is one campaign promise that can’t hold up to national security realities,” said Bond. “While the President has made closing Guantanamo Bay a priority, the highest priority must be keeping America safe.”
Obama Attending White House Correspondents’ Dinner
President Obama and the First Lady will be attending tonight’s annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner, essentially a comedy roast with the President himself as the guest of “honor.” This year’s guest-list includes an illustrious list of political and pop-culture notables, including Rahm Emanuel, Tim Geithner, Newt Gingrich, Ben Affleck, Jon Bon Jovi and others.
No Joe Biden Events Today; Jill Speaking To National Guardsmen
Vice President Biden is in Wilmington, Delaware, and does not have any public events today. Jill Biden, meanwhile, is speaking at a 1 p.m. ET departure ceremony for 140 members of the Delaware National Guard 262nd Component Repair Company, who are deploying to Iraq.
WaPo: Obama To Revive Military Commissions, In Newer Form
The Washington Post reports that the Obama Administration is set to bring back the military commissions process at Guantanamo Bay, with new rules forbidding the use of evidence obtained through torture, giving defendants greater ability to choose their own attorneys, and making other changes. Said one anonymous official: “It looks a lot more difficult now than it did on Jan. 20.”
Obama To Speak In Egypt Next Month
President Obama is set to deliver a speech in Egypt on June 4, fulfilling a campaign promise to reach out to the Muslim world by making a speech from a major Muslim capital in the first few months of his term. It is not yet clear whether the speech will be in Cairo or elsewhere in the country.
Specter’s Cancer Site Now More Clearly Promoting Re-Election
Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) has modified his controversial “Specter for the Cure” site, making it clear that donations to the site are meant to aid his re-election battle in 2010. The site came under fire yesterday after the campaign was accused of constructing a site that would make people think they were donating to medical research.
NYT: Obama Faces Need To Hit Right Note Of Optimism
The New York Times points out that President Obama faces a delicate balancing act in encouraging economic optimism in order to spur the economy itself, but without being too sunny so as to defy credibility. Explained presidential historian Robert Dallek: “Hoover’s ‘Happy days are here again’ wasn’t credible. Bush’s ‘Mission accomplished’ became a running joke. No one wants to make that mistake again.”
