Obama Focuses On Stimulus Tax Cuts In YouTube Address
In his latest YouTube address, President Obama seeks to focus the public’s attention on the tax-cut portions of the stimulus bill. “Never before in our history has a tax cut taken effect faster or gone to so many hardworking Americans,” he says:
But Obama also stresses work remains to be done on helping people pay their bills, unlocking the credit markets, solving the housing crisis, generating growth and restoring fiscal discipline — and that these issues are all inter-connected: “In short, we cannot successfully address any of our problems without addressing them all.”
GOP Keeps Up Debunked Math About Stimulus
In the new weekly Republican response to president Obama’s YouTube, Congressman Dave Camp (R-MI) continues to push the GOP’s line that their own plan would have created more jobs at half the cost:
As we’ve pointed out, this claim is based on some very questionable math — it involves reversing prior calculations about what a tax increase would do, and declaring the mirror image to be true for a tax cut, and also ignores the fact that the current deflationary crisis involves different fundamental economic assumptions than usual.
Governors In Washington This Weekend
The National Governors Association is meeting in Washington this weekend, and are set to have dinner at the White House tomorrow with President Obama. CQ points out that several of the Republican governors have also been seen as potential presidential candidates — Sarah Palin, Bobby Jindal and Charlie Crist, among others — and could be testing any potential support while they’re in Washington.
WaPo Profiles Jim Messina, Obama’s ‘Fixer’
The Washington Post has a new profile of President Obama’s Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina, dubbing him “the fixer” who deals with solving Obama’s problems. “The exact nature of that task changes from day to day,” the Post says — ranging from smoothing over the confirmation of Tim Geithner, to finding new potential nominees for Health and Human Services, or devising a strategy to track stimulus spending.
National GOP Sending Big Bucks To Minnesota Senate Fight
The Hill reports that the national Republican Party has invested heavily in the Minnesota election dispute, with the RNC sending $250,000 to the Minnesota GOP. John McCain has sent $142,000 to the state GOP, as well, and other national figures have also sent money. “The RNC made the Minnesota recount a priority because we think Sen. Coleman has a strong case and deserves to return to the Senate,” RNC spokesman Alex Conant told The Hill.
Report: Burris Has No Plans To Quit — For Now
Roll Call reports that Roland Burris has no plans to resign — at least not yet. “Resigning has not been an option discussed,” a source told the paper. “Who knows what’s going to happen over the weekend? Anything can change.”
Hillary Asks China For Cooperation On Climate Change
While touring China, Hillary Clinton called upon the country to work with the United States to curb greenhouse gases, and to manage its economic growth in an environmentally sound way. “When we were industrializing and growing, we didn’t know any better; neither did Europe,” said Hillary. “Now we’re smart enough to figure out how to have the right kind of growth.”
Socks The Cat Dies
Socks, the cat formerly owned by the Clintons during their years in the White House, and then given to personal secretary Betty Currie, has died at age 19. “Socks brought much happiness to Chelsea and us over the years, and enjoyment to kids and cat lovers everywhere,” the Clintons said in a statement.
