by Mark Silva and updated
President Barack Obama hoped to sell his economic stimulus tonight, with a round of five network TV interviews.
Instead, he was talking first about "screwing up'' with a key Cabinet appointment. And the president, who campaigned with promises to "change'' Washington, says that he worries, with the Cabinet fiasco, about sending the wrong message -- that "there are two sets of standards, one for powerful people, and one for ordinary folks.''
As Obama reminds NBC News' Brian Williams, the president is attempting to usher in a "new era of responsibility.''
"I'm frustrated with myself, with our team," Obama told Williams, "but ultimately my job is to get this thing back on track, because what we need to focus on is a deteriorating economy and getting people back to work."
The president told ABC News' Charlie Gibson that he "can't afford glitches because, right now, what I should be spending time talking to you about is how we're going to put three to four million people back to work.
"This is a self-induced injury that I'm angry about," Obama added, "and we're going to make sure we get it fixed."
As the talks from the Oval Office start rolling out in a cascade of confessions this evening, Tom Daschle was on everyone's minds. Daschle, the president's nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services, withdrew today because of major tax problems.
"Tom made the decision that he was going to be too much of a distraction,'' Obama told FOX News Channel's Chris Wallace, in the first interview to air on Special Report with Brett Baier. "What I did tell him is that I take responsibility for this mistake...
"Tom made the mistake on his taxes,'' Obama said. "What became clear to me is, we can't send a message to the American people that we've got two sets of rules, one for prominent people'' and one for the rest.
"I consider this a mistake on my part, one that I intend to fix and make sure that we're not screwing up again,'' Obama told Wallace. "This is a mistake, probably not the first one I am going to make in this office, but what I am absolutely committed to is fixing it.''
In an interview with Obama that will air on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 this evening, Obama says: "Yes. I think I made a mistake. And I told Tom that...
"I think my mistake is not in selecting Tom originally, because I think nobody was better equipped to deal both with the substance and policy of health care. He understands it as well as anybody, but also the politics, which is going to be required to actually get it done.
"But I think that, look, ultimately, I campaigned on changing Washington and bottom-up politics. And I don't want to send a message to the American people that there are two sets of standards, one for powerful people, and one for ordinary folks who are working every day and paying their taxes.''
Katie Couric, anchor of the CBS Evening News, asked the president what he and Daschle talked about today.
"Well, you know we had a conversation and obviously that conversation's private, but, uh, it's frustrating for me and it's something that I take responsibility for,'' Obama said. "Tom, I think, is an outstanding individual. I am absolutely convinced that he would've been the best person to help shepherd through, uh, what's going to be a very difficult process to get healthcare for American families.''
Here are some more excerpts from FOX, and a transcript courtesy of CNN:
Here, courtesy of CNN's Anderson Cooper 360, is a transcript of the talk with the president that will be broadcast at 10 pm EST:
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks very much for sitting down with us today. Explain what happened today, Tom Daschle, you've let one of the most important domestic issues, which is health care, get caught up in what looks to many Americans like politics as usual.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I think what happened was that Tom made an assessment that having made a mistake on his taxes that he took responsibility for, and indicated was a mistake, made the assessment that he was going to be too much of a distraction in trying to lead what is going to be a very heavy lift, trying to deliver health care.
And...
COOPER: Do you feel you messed up in letting it get this far?
OBAMA: Yes. I think I made a mistake. And I told Tom that. I take
responsibility for the appointees and...
COOPER: What was your mistake, letting it get this far? You should have
pulled it earlier?
OBAMA: Well, I think my mistake is not in selecting Tom originally,
because I think nobody was better equipped to deal both with the
substance and policy of health care. He understands it as well as
anybody, but also the politics, which is going to be required to
actually get it done.
But I think that, look, ultimately, I campaigned on changing Washington
and bottom-up politics. And I don't want to send a message to the
American people that there are two sets of standards, one for powerful
people, and one for ordinary folks who are working every day and paying
their taxes.
COOPER: Do you feel you've lost some of that moral high ground which you
set for yourself on day one with the...
(CROSSTALK)
OBAMA: Well, you know, I think this was a mistake. I think I screwed up.
And, you know, I take responsibility for it and we're going to make sure
we fix it so it doesn't happen again.
COOPER: Let's talk about the economy, the stimulus. Every day you get an
economic briefing, along with an intelligence briefing. Which to you is
more sobering? The economic news you get or the national intelligence?
OBAMA: Well, look, the national security briefing is always sobering
because my most important job is obviously keeping the American people
safe. And we have to remain vigilant; the threats are still out there.
But I will tell you in terms of what is alarming right now is how fast
the economy has been deteriorating. I think even two or three months
ago, most economists would not have predicted us being in as bad of a
situation as we are in right now. And...
COOPER: It keeps a lot of Americans right now up at night, does it keep
you up at night?
OBAMA: Absolutely. It keeps me up at night and it gets me up...
COOPER: Literally?
OBAMA: Literally, because we've got a range of different problems and
there is no silver bullet. We're just going to have to work our way
through the problem. So number one we've got have a recovery package
that puts people back to work and ensures that states that are dealing
with rising unemployment can deal with unemployment insurance, can
provide health care for people who have lost their jobs.
So that's one set of problems. Then you've got a banking system that has
undergone close to a meltdown. And we've got to figure out how do we
intelligently get credit flowing again so that small businesses and
large businesses can hire people and keep their doors open and sell
their products.
And you know, part of the problem, unfortunately, is that the first
round of TARP, I think, drew a lot of scorn. You know, we learned -- you
know, we've now learned that people are still getting huge bonuses
despite the fact that they're getting taxpayer money, which I think
infuriates the public.
So we also have to set in place some rules of the road. And tomorrow I'm
going to be talking about executive compensation and changes we're going
to be making there.
Even after we get that done, we still have to get a financial regulatory
system in place that assures this crisis never happens again. And we've
got to do this in the context of a world economy that is declining,
because in some ways the Europeans are actually doing at least as badly
as we are.
You've even seen China, which has been growing in leaps and bounds over
the last two decades starting to decline. So trying to do all of those
things on parallel tracks at a time when people are scared and
legitimately so, I think is going to be a big challenge.
I think we're up to the challenge. But it's going to take some time and
I think the American people recognize that.
COOPER: On executive compensation, Paul Krugman suggested in The Time on
Sunday that your tough talk may be just for show. What can you really do?
OBAMA: Well, I think, you know, we'll talk about it tomorrow, but we're
going to be laying down some very clear conditions in terms of where...
COOPER: Do you support Claire McCaskill's idea of capping...
OBAMA: Well, I -- again, I don't want to completely preempt my
announcement tomorrow.
COOPER: You could here.
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: But I think there are ways -- there are mechanisms in place to
make sure that institutions that are taking taxpayer money are not using
that money for excessive executive compensation.
And I think that when you see the announcement that we make, people will
say, this is a reasonable approach. It's not a government takeover.
Private enterprise will still be taking place. But people will be
accountable and responsible. And that's what we have to restore in the
financial system generally.
COOPER: On the stimulus plan for you, what is non-negotiable with
Republicans?
OBAMA: The unemployment insurance, health care for people who have lost
their jobs, you know, providing some relief to the states on those
fronts, and providing families relief, that's very important.
Infrastructure investments that lay the groundwork for long-term
economic growth, I think, is critical. You know, so, for example, when
we say we're going to weatherize 2 million homes, that's not just
make-work.
First of all, you can employ people weatherizing those homes. We are
also then saving families -- individual families on their energy bills,
but the third thing is, it's making this country less dependent on
foreign oil.
So the same is true for health IT, the same is true when it comes to
education. We want to train thousands of teachers in math and science,
and invest in science and technology research.
All of those things will make us more competitive over the long-term.
What I do think is negotiable is some programs that I think are good,
good policy, but may not really stimulate the economy right now.
COOPER: How did they even get into the bill in the first place? I mean,
why did they get this far?
OBAMA: Well, I understood -- you know, there are 535 members of Congress
who have their own opinions.
COOPER: Do you think some of the House Democrats went too far?
OBAMA: You know, I think that if you look at -- first of all, I think,
in fairness to the House Democrats, and this hasn't been talked about
enough, if you tally up all of the programs that have been criticized on
AC 360 or anywhere else, that amounts to less than 1 percent of the
total package.
So they actually were remarkably disciplined considering the size of
this package. We've -- they left out, at my request, all earmarks, so
there aren't private pet projects. And by the way, many of the critics
of the current package can't say that about any of the budgets they
passed over the previous six or eight years.
COOPER: But this is what American people are hearing about, whether
rightly or wrongly. And I mean, did the Republicans beat you on selling
this? On selling the message? Did you lose the message?
OBAMA: Well, no, no. I don't think we've lost the message. That's why
I'm here with you. Everybody is going to be watching me talk to you
today. But I think that the American people understand something has to
be done.
They want to make sure that we're serious about it, and that we're not
using this to promote politics as usual. And that's what I'm insisting
on. You asked earlier, do I lose sleep? Look, the only measure of my
success as president when people look back five years from now or nine
years from now is going to be, did I get this economy fixed?
I have no interest in promoting a package that doesn't work. Because I'm
not going to be judged on whether or not I got a pet project here or
there, I'm going to be judged on, have we pulled ourselves out of
recession?
I think the members of Congress understand that as well. I don't
question the sincerity of some Republican critics who may think that
they can do better on this. And I'm happy to negotiate with them if
they've got better ideas, I'm happy to do it.
What I won't do is in some cases, some of the criticism has suggested
that the better approach would be to do exactly what we did over the
last eight years that got us into this problem in the first place.
There is going to be some differences ideologically or in terms, you
know, recipes for how to fix the economy. And, you know, those
differences we can live with. But I think -- I still think we can arrive
at a package that works for the American people.
COOPER: So, five years or nine years, which one are you hoping for right
now?
(LAUGHTER)
COOPER: Based on what you've seen so far?
OBAMA: You know, listen, you want to be president when times are tough,
because, you know, I didn't do all of this just to occupy this fancy
office. I did -- I came here to change things.
COOPER: I've noticed you don't use the term "war on terror," I think I
read an article that you've only used it once since the Inauguration. Is
that conscious? Is there something about that term you find
objectionable or not useful?
OBAMA: Well, you know, I think it is very important for us to recognize
that we have a battle or a war against some terrorist organizations. But
that those organizations aren't representative of a broader Arab
community, Muslim community.
I think we have to -- you know, words matter in this situation because
one of the ways we're going to win this struggle is through the battle
of hearts and minds.
COOPER: So that's not a term you're going to be using much in the future?
OBAMA: You know, what I want to do is make sure that I'm constantly
talking about al Qaeda and other affiliated organizations because we, I
believe, can win over moderate Muslims to recognize that that kind of
destruction and nihilism ultimately leads to a dead end, and that we
should be working together to make sure that everybody has got a better
life.
COOPER: Final questions, just a quick lightning round, just a couple of
fun questions. What's the latest on the dog search?
OBAMA: We are going to get it in the spring. I think the theory was that
the girls might be less inclined to do the walking when it was cold outside.
COOPER: Portuguese water dog? You don't know yet?
OBAMA: You know, we're still experimenting.
COOPER: Coolest thing about your new car?
OBAMA: You know, I thought it was the phones until I realized that I
didn't know which button to press. That was a little embarrassing.
COOPER: Have you had a cigarette since you've been to the White House?
OBAMA: No, I haven't had one on these grounds. And I -- you know,
sometimes it's hard, but, you know, I'm sticking to it.
COOPER: You said, on these grounds, I'll let you pass on that. And final
question, you've read a lot about Abraham Lincoln. What is the greatest
thing that you've learned from your studies of Lincoln that you're
bringing to the office right now?
OBAMA: You know, when I think about Abraham Lincoln, what I'm struck by
is the fact that he constantly learned on the job. He got better. You
know, he wasn't defensive. He wasn't arrogant about his tasks. He was
very systematic in saying I'm going to master the job and I understand
it's going to take some time.
But in his case, obviously, the Civil War was the central issue, and he
spent a lot of time learning about military matters, even though that
wasn't his area of experience.
Right now I'm learning an awful lot about the economy. I'm not a trained
economist, but I'm spending a lot of time thinking about that so that I
can make the very best decisions possible for the American people.
COOPER: Mr. President, thank you very much.
OBAMA: Thank you. Appreciate it.
And here, courtesy of FOX News Channel, are excerpts of the president's talk with Chris Wallace:
On Tom Daschle stepping down:
"I take responsibility for this mistake."
"We can't send a message to the American people that we have two sets of rules- one for prominent people and one for ordinary people."
On if you would continue to back him if he didn't step down:
"I think Tom is an outstanding person. I think this was an unintentional mistake on his part, but a substantial one and there's no excuse for the mistake."
"Ultimately I have to take responsibility for a process that resulted in us not having an HHS Secretary at a time when people need relief on their healthcare costs. This is a mistake, probably not the first one I am going to be making in this office, but what I'm absolutely committed to doing is fixing it, getting a highly qualified HHS Secretary, and then making sure we start delivering some healthcare relief to families who so desperately need it."
On the executive order on lobbyist waivers:
"It's 3 out of hundreds of appointments we have made."
"We disclosed these ahead of time. We set a very high bar, and everyone acknowledges we have the toughest standards."
On if the economic stimulus plan will work:
"I think we are closer to getting it right than all of these critics."
"There is no magic bullet to these situations."
"I think Mitch McConnell is right. We should have some tax cuts in this package."
On if the February 16th deadline is firm:
"Yes because nobody disagrees with if we keep on putting this off that we're going to end up seeing more months with a half a million people losing their jobs each month. We can't afford to wait."
On changes to the Stimulus:
Federally guaranteed lower mortgage rates:
"Our intention has always been that, in addition to this recovery and reinvestment package, that we're also going to have a housing bill, that we have also got to fix the banking system, that we're going to have to make sure that, for example, issues like executive compensation for banks that are getting money through the TARP, that that's dealt with."
Strip out the buy American part of the bill:
"I agree that we can't send a protectionist message."
On President Obama's quote about FOX News to the GOP Caucus:
"I said it in good humor. I think everyone understood that was a joke."
"I think it's fair to say that I don't always get my most favorable coverage on Fox, but that's part of how a democracy is supposed to work. We're not all supposed to be in lock step here."
Comments
Not screwing up again? Hmmm... why is that hard to believe?
Posted by: MJ | February 3, 2009 6:16 PM
The obstrutionist Republicans keep whining about how corporations have a higher tax rate than anyone else. What they fail to mention is the corporate shenanigans that result in their paying NO taxes...moving offshore and taking advantage of a host of other loopholes that allow them to function without contributing a dime to society.
Thanks alot, Bush!
Posted by: Flubba Porter | February 3, 2009 6:18 PM
Republicans FAILED. Democrats should constantly repeat the words "fail", "failed" and "failure" when addressing Republican concerns. Now is a great time to sunder the foundations of Republican B.S. economics.
If the Republicans are going to be obstructionists, Democrats should seize the opportunity to bury them and their failed trickledown economic ideas.
Posted by: Nate Huvercraft | February 3, 2009 6:28 PM
If he "takes responsibility for the mistake" then why did he publicly say he's standing by Daschle before he pulled out? Is he saying one thing behind closed doors and the exact opposite to the american people?
Posted by: Jeff | February 3, 2009 6:29 PM
I am always impressed by his rhetoric and he talks a great game, but his decisions defy belief in them. Where has he criticized the House Democrats and the Pork? How did this stimulus idea get so outlandish? Who really vetted all these appointments? After his poll numbers were free falling he decides to change "politics as usual" and the deception within his Pork Act! Yes sir, real change. Nah, just the ol' Chicago shuffle.
Posted by: Bubba Porter | February 3, 2009 7:04 PM
It's nice to finally have a President who will admit his mistakes and work to correct them.
Bush would have "stayed the course" and his Repuglican minions in Congress would have rammed it through for him, that or Bush would have done it behind everyones back and made it a recess appointment.
Posted by: Mr. Face | February 3, 2009 7:04 PM
Look as if the word CHANGE means "SCREW UP"
For sure its not working out like his camapign CHANGE.
Posted by: Inky | February 3, 2009 7:05 PM
http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/08/march_of_the_obots.html
March of the Obots
Posted by: Obama Nanny State | February 3, 2009 7:05 PM
During his entire eight years in office (while presiding over a disaster of a presidency), how times did you hears VP Cheney (or his puppet, George W. Bush), say "I screwed up"? Once? Twice? Ever? With power comes responsibility and accountability (or at least it should) - something the previous administration never appeared to "get".
Posted by: Buster | February 3, 2009 7:07 PM
Obama didn't make a mistake. He knew what he was doing. He was cleaning up the backlog at the IRS by shaming people into paying their taxes.
http://bearmancartoons.wordpress.com/2009/02/03/bearman-cartoon-obamas-economic-recovery-plan/
Posted by: Bearman | February 3, 2009 7:33 PM
To admit mishandling should be a sure sign of reform / change, I think. There can be a great number of qualified candidates out there.
Posted by: hsr0601 | February 3, 2009 7:45 PM
Flubber,
You do know the Democrat's control the Executive Branch and Congress, right? And have held Congress for a couple of years.
If the Democrat controlled Stimulus Bill was so good then why didn't Sen. Reid, just have an up or down vote of the House Bill?
You couldn't lose and then you'd be able to blame "ALL" the Republicans you want. You have a minor problem, Democrat's don't like the Democrat controlled Bill either. Otherwise why not vote.
As much as you might want to blame the Republicans for this Bill, your dead wrong. For me, I'm more concerned about the now and the future of the Country than trying to blame someone (Pres. Bush) for something he didn't write (he or his Admin').
Posted by: PG | February 3, 2009 7:48 PM
Wow. This is the closest I've seen the Trib. come to saying ANYTHING critical of Obama. Way to stick out your neck, Mark! I hope you still have a job tomorrow.
Posted by: surprised | February 3, 2009 7:50 PM
AT LEAST PRESIDENT OBAMA IS WILLING TO ADMIT MISTAKES. BUSH AND CHENEY STILL WON'T ADMIT THAT THEIR EIGHT YEAR REIGN OF TERROR WAS A MISTAKE!
Posted by: Bubba Porter is Jeff | February 3, 2009 7:57 PM
New era of responsibility? Let's start by figuring out how we're going to pay back those loans? How we're going to reward working people for working.
Instead we're going to put our efforts to socialism and get closer to bigger government and abandoning individual responsibility.
Posted by: Tim | February 3, 2009 8:05 PM
America is listening to the President (Obama) take reponsibility for a choice he made. How refreshing to have an honorable man leading our Country...Unlike the last two dodge artists...
A lot of people were (rightly) upset abotu Daschle, but I love that my President is man enough to come before us and say "yeah, I really screwed that one up" instead of ignoring the problem or acting like he's infallible. It's like the Rezko situation when he came out and said "yeah that was a boneheaded thing to do."
Prez Obama's taking responsibility, and I bet he won't make the same mistake again. Frankly, I find it refreshing, and it's easier to "forgive" when he just comes right out and admits he made a mistake and apologizes. He has a pattern of not hiding away when the going gets tough, remember the Rev. Wright stuff? He went on every network (even crazy Seany Hannity) and sat through interviews about it when it shouldn't have even been an issue.
I think we need a little time to adjust to having adults in charge again.
Posted by: Muzical123 | February 3, 2009 8:06 PM
Mr. President said in his campaign that there will be mistakes. At least he admitted it. It took Bush 8 YEARS to admit he made mistakes.
Posted by: Rosie | February 3, 2009 8:24 PM
Flubber, you do know the Democrat's control the Executive Branch and Congress, right? And have held Congress for a couple of years.
Posted by: PG | February 3, 2009 7:48 PM
Wingnut Clown,
Yeah, I'm aware that Dems had a very small majority for two years with which they could do nothing with and even if they did Bush would have vetoed it, so what?
You Wingnutter crybabies need to learn to own up to your own mistakes, like Prez Obama did today, or your Repug party is going to go the way of the Whigs.
Posted by: lllllllllllllllllllll//////////////////```````````````____________ | February 3, 2009 8:25 PM
Daschle is not the only one. Tim Geithner is a tax evading cheat and a liar, and he is also the treasury secretary appointed by the president who campaigned on a ticket of true change. GEITHNER MUST GO FOR THE PRESIDENT'S WORDS TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY. If the president is sincere, he will undo his mistakes where he can, not talk about the ones that were already sorted out, by Daschle.....not by the president.
Get rid of Geithner Mr. President, and we may believe you.
Posted by: Anton | February 3, 2009 8:32 PM
I am not embarrassed for Pres. Obama. I am embarrassed for the horrible media coverage of this non-controversy. Daschel was a very Qualified choice who made a mistake with his taxes. Not that this is a good thing. he did the right thing by stepping down and living up to the huge and unprecedented ethical standards that Pres. Obama set.What I would like to see is all the republican senators (especially all the hypocrites that are whining and pointing their fingers)and house members release their tax information and any that made a mistake or failed to pay on time resign. I would like all of them to release their records on lobbying and any that have worked for them, if they have any ties or have gotten money from them they should resign.This sounds silly right? Well that is the bar that Obama set and all of the hypocrites that are trying to take him down with those huge expectations, should look in the mirror and stop acting like children and drama queens.This President has more guts and integrity than any recent president has and he showed this with his apology on national TV . He didn't try and destroy the constitution, he did not send men and women to a war on lies. He just tried to appoint a man who had a lot to bring to the cause of health care reform, that would help us all.
Posted by: chicago truth squad | February 3, 2009 8:38 PM
Someone should make the point that the theory on which Daschle did not pay taxes on an extraordinary non-salary benefit provided by his employer (car and driver) is exactly the theory on which Palin did not pay taxes on an extraordinary benefit (free air travel for her children, and 60 dollar per day per diem payments for use of her own house).
Palin never paid back taxes but simply produced a squirrelly letter from her lawyers saying that someone could believe in good faith that taxes were not owed on the travel or per diems she received, so her failure to report those items as income was excusable?
Fair is fair trolls.
Posted by: mort | February 3, 2009 8:47 PM
Money is to be made in conflict, it's why Republicans are obstructing the stimulus bill and it's how and why we have war profiteers etc in the Rep party. Just look at what Cheney did with energy policies and Enron; Iraq and Halliburton speak for themselves and now we have the TARP and the new Masters of the Universe getting the taxpayers money. And it's why government should prosecute profiteers. They undermine everything our government should try to do, which is to provide some structure and stability to the country and the economy.
We also can't forget the private prisons. Cheney and his Republican pals have made millions with what they have wrought by privatizing and making them for-profit. It is both unethical and immoral to create a business for retribution. It reflects on all of us just like the torture situation. It's done in our names and it's money directly from our pocketbooks.
Posted by: Juan Hernando | February 3, 2009 8:49 PM
I think that the leader of the nation could find more elegant words than "screwed up." He certainly does not lead by example.
Posted by: Susanna | February 3, 2009 8:58 PM
You do know the Democrat's control the Executive Branch and Congress, right? And have held Congress for a couple of years.
Posted by: PG | February 3, 2009 7:48 PM
Fathead,
Flubba was talking about the Republican led nightmare of the last eight years.
I'd suggest that you quit making excuses for the Repugs, America doesn't want to hear it anymore.
Posted by: jhgfsa | February 3, 2009 9:08 PM
It takes time to change things. I think Obama and Biden are on the right path. There is more transparency now than has been for a very long time. Better for the Obama administration to be finding their bearings now--in the initial first few weeks--than to still have pug chicken hawks, Bill of Rights burners and "war" plunderers running the country. Let the engines of the Obama admin. warm up a bit.
Posted by: Vivian | February 3, 2009 9:13 PM
I do not see this as a 'screw up'--It's too bad Daschle hadn't just paid it back before this. But, the reality is--we do have an oligarchy--until we have real campaign finance reform--our pols must be oligarcy rich to buy all that media.
But the 'gotcha' media--the same folks who let torture go on under their news while they bashed John Walker Lindh is stuck on stupid.
war. torture. off shore tax havens.
Posted by: and obama has to waste time on this? | February 3, 2009 9:27 PM
Oh Susanna, don't you cry.....
Find something worthwhile to whine about. And elegant.
Posted by: Flo | February 3, 2009 9:47 PM
Until Geithner resigns for committing essentially the same crime as Daschle, I will not accept Obama's word that he really understands what all the hullabaloo was about here. Just yesterday, Obama was "standing by" Daschle. Now, after Daschle is out, he is worried about sending mixed messages? Understand this, America: Obama has offered nothing but mixed messages since taking his oath of office as junior senator from Illinois. Remember when he told us he wouldn't run for president, that he was committed to being Illinois' senator? Or how about when he said he'd have no lobbyists in his campaign/administration? Or when he said he backed up Rev. Wright? That's just the tip of the iceberg. With Obama, it's always been about fake leadership: Take a stand. Claim you will never waiver. Then, when the people decide you are wrong, quickly run to the front of the moving pack and claim that you were there all along. It's a pattern. It's disturbing. And we've got four more years of this garbage to deal with.
Posted by: JB | February 3, 2009 9:54 PM
Hey, " Hail to the Chief "is out and causal wear and Sting is in. Give him a break, I was worried Ludacris would be played as the new Prez. intro.
Posted by: Bubba Porter | February 3, 2009 9:59 PM
Hey, " Hail to the Chief "is out and causal wear and Sting is in. Give him a break, I was worried Ludacris would be played as the new Prez. intro.
Posted by: Bubba Porter | February 3, 2009 9:59 PM
Who is in control? the Dems...
A guy sitting in the white house and his pals figured no one would care is someone had overlooked paying taxes...What they call it these days....? "...an honest mistake..." Aha, lets see how far that line takes you with the IRS, if you were John and Jane Doe. Bunch of hypocrite dems!
If this guy is supposed to clean house, lets start with everyone in his team...I bet they would start to drop like flies! Empty promises, that's all they are...
Posted by: pam | February 3, 2009 10:18 PM
Now Illinois Republican Ray LaHood needs to withdraw as the nominee from Secretary of Tranportation. LaHood's close connection to indicted Illinois kingpen William Cellini is well known. This can only taint Obama's reputation.www.consulthammer.com, or google consulthammer.
Posted by: consulthammer | February 3, 2009 10:43 PM
Daschle, Geithner and 2 of Obama's sub-cabinet appointees have been implicated in tax evasion. At least 2 appointees have major corporate lobbying backgrounds and Richardson stepped aside when news of a criminal probe came forth. "Screw up" looks like an understatement. The Obama operation is beginning to look as confused and befuddled as the Jimmy Carter administration, which eventually required all cabinet members to submit their resignations so he could start over.
Posted by: politwriter | February 3, 2009 10:50 PM
He want to put 3 to 4 million back to work, but just this pass weekend he ordered the top brass at DoD to trim next years budget by 10 percent. How many workers, in and out of the military, are going to lose their jobs, at the same time that the world is getting unsafer every day?
Posted by: DEMojica | February 3, 2009 10:52 PM
Obama's candor is so refreshing after 8 years of not admitting any mistakes were made by any Republican, anywhere. Bravo, president Obama! Finally, a class act in the White House.
Posted by: Jeff | February 3, 2009 10:58 PM
It's been a long time since I've heard these words from any politican, much less from a President:
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"I'm here on television saying I screwed up, and that's part of the era of responsibility. It's not never making mistakes; it's owning up to them and trying to make sure you never repeat them and that's what we intend to do" - Prez Obama
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When the nation watched horrified while the Department of Homeland Security fumbled painfully in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Michael Chertoff blamed it on phantom headlines, George Bush assured Brownie he was 'doing a heckuva job,' and right-wing pundits eagerly acquitted the Whitehouse by trying to lay the whole mess at the feet of the victims and any democrat within 1000 miles. When George Bush and his merry band of neoclowns stampeded a panicked nation into an ill-conceived war against Iraq and rolled snake-eyes on catching bin Laden it was all because of 'bad intel' and blown all out of proportion by biased, 'liberal reporters' feeding the progressive pathology of 'Bush Derangement Syndrome.'
On and on it went like a runaway freight train. The economic meltdown was brought on by the unbridled greed of middle class wage earners; politicization of the Justice Department was an artifact of an overzealous congressional witch hunt; Sarah Palin was a superbly qualified candidate unfairly slimed by savage bloggers. If excuses were arseholes, the conservative beast would be studded with ugly sphincters oozing an endless stream of foul crap from head to toe.
I'd prefer a President who is flawless. But after eight years of conservative 'blame gaming,' endless Republican evasion and stone walling, and crazed wingnut finger pointing, I'd have settle for one that can construct coherent sentences and tell the truth at the same time. I'll happily support a President (Obama) with enough basic respect for We the People to look us in the eye and own up. We'd almost forgotten what honesty looks like. It looks like change.
Posted by: CS Nowik | February 4, 2009 12:05 AM
Posted by: lllllllllllllllllllll//////////////////```````````````____________ | February 3, 2009 8:25 PM
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Blubber Head,
No matter how many post names you come up with, you always copy and paste the same vague, slobbering rants. Haven't you noticed that nobody cares?
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And here's a helpful hint for you -- the Bush Administration is now over. It has been for about a month now. Really... it was all over the TV and newspapers. So you have to find some new slogans to copy and paste.
Posted by: The Last Word | February 4, 2009 6:00 AM
Don't think this wil be the last with the crew he has around him, tax cheats included.
Who ever heard of a President with tax cheats in his cabinet, very sad for America.
Posted by: Inky | February 4, 2009 7:36 AM
This link will give you some "insight" into the hypocrisy of the GOP.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/01/AR2006110103146.html.It is a while ago but something tells me nothing has changed. Especially when you look at all the lobbyists that worked for mcain. Plus mcain"s own scandals. Obama's picks have not come close to any of the above scandels. All of the acting,drama and manipulation that the GOP tries will never change the truth.people will be fooled by them as I can see from reading some of these posts. The media will revel in the tabloid part of the story.But the correct perspective and the reality of the situation we are in, plus the realization that the president is trying to better america thru better healthcare and helping to get our economy on track, will cut thru all the drama and spin.
Posted by: chicago truth squad | February 4, 2009 10:19 AM
Man, some of you are very sensitive. It's unfortunate really, because I keep trying to point out facts (you obviously don't get) and you respond with insults.
You can call me anything you want but the Democrat Stimulus Bill, written in the House without Republican input is being changed in the Senate by Democrats and Republicans.
Please answer 1 simple question:
The Democrats control the House the Senate and the Executive Branch. This Stimulus Bill can go through without any Republican input, so why didn't the Senate have an up or down vote on this Democrat Stimulus Bill and then send it onto Pres. Obama?
That's it very simple.
Posted by: PG | February 4, 2009 12:14 PM
No more ethics policy waivers, period.
Posted by: Walk Your Talk | February 4, 2009 12:18 PM
George Bush and the Republican party are the ones who have screwed up the past 8 years. Obama has inheritted their mess and is trying ot correct it. It's not going to be easy.
Posted by: Doug R. | February 4, 2009 12:37 PM
Are any of you Swamp liberals capable of objectively analyzing Obama's performance? Finally an article that is at least somewhat critical of Obama, and Swamp liberals panic and start spewing non-responsive babble about George Bush. Relax. Obama is human and is going to make mistakes.
I don't really blame Obama for the tax cheats. I blame the tax cheats themselves. I think it is a reasonable assumption for Obama to make that the former head of the NY reserve and the former Senate majority leader pay their taxes. You can argue his vetting team dropped the ball, but I wouldn't call that Obama's "failure".
IMO, the mistake Obama made is not standing up to House Democrats re the stimulus package. Obama and his financial team sent a proposal to the House that had at least partial GOP support, and Obama indicated he would be flexible and wanted to work in a bipartisan fashion. Pelosi et al. get ahold of this, and added so much garbage to it that it has no chance of becoming law. Obama knows this, yet he wont call House Democrats out. At least not publicly. Instead, he defends them with arguments like the obvious pork spending is a small percentage of the total package, etc. That misses the point. The stimulus package is a huge amount of our money that is supposed to be narrowly tailored to create jobs. Some of the pork is well intentioned (e.g., fight STDs), and some is absolutely ridiculous (e.g., millions for starving Hollywood producers(?)), but the point is these programs have nothing to do with creating jobs and don't belong in an emergency spending package. Pelosi knows this, and is basically defying Obama by including this garbage. She is isolating the Democrats by alienating the GOP. Obama is a smart politician. He wants bipartisan support because he knows if a stimulus bill is rammed through with no GOP support, it will be his baby, and he will get the blame if it doesn't work. Pelosi has put Obama in a very difficult situation, and I think he needs to take her to the woodshed, whether it be public or private.
Posted by: Herbie H. | February 4, 2009 12:45 PM
PG... the answer is filibuster--60 votes needed in the Senate.
What you want to hear: the House bill wasn't perfect; we all know that.
Posted by: rupert | February 4, 2009 1:27 PM
Prez O wants to change the system for the better but look who is there helping him.
Barney(Freddie Mac)Frank,
Charlie (I don't pay da taxes I writes em) Rangel,
Chris (Countrywide) Dodd.
Trying to do the right thing with this crew is so funny I wet myself. Now I have to go and "Change I can believe in"
Posted by: Bushwacker | February 4, 2009 1:30 PM
Rupert, I agree, the House Bill would probably have been filibustered. With that said that is part of my point.
If you (not you directly) want to call the Republicans obstructionist's then you would have had the up or down vote. Then everyone here taking simple shots at me could say, "see it's the repug's fault". A perfect opportunity.
The point is Sen. Reid couldn't do that because Democrat's in the Democrat controlled Senate, were also opposed to the Democrat written House Stimulus Package.
Sorry for the continued mention of Democrat, as I know you know who is in control but there seems to be some that don't.
I would've liked to have seen a vote on the House Bill, just to see how many Democrats would have NOT voted for it. And as you said, you don't have to be in the minority to filibuster. Any Democrat could have as well. And if it passed, if Pres. Obama would have vetoed it.
Posted by: PG | February 4, 2009 2:34 PM
Posted by: DEMojica | February 3, 2009 10:52 PM
Please spare us the right wingnut BS. President Obama wants to cut 10% from the proposed budget for the Pentagon - which will still give them billions more than they received last year. So tell us, how will giving the Pentagon more money this year over last year make the world "less safe"?
Posted by: BC | February 4, 2009 4:33 PM