by Mark Silva and Christi Parsons
President Barack Obama (rooting for the Saints) plans a Super Bowl party on Sunday at the White House.
A mere 30 to 40 guests are invited -- a bipartisan guest-list heavy on members of Congress from Louisiana and Indiana, home states of the competing Saints and Colts.
He also plans to host members of the armed services injuried in Iraq and Afganistan, according to White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.
Obama also will make an appearance on CBS in its pre-game coverage of the Super Bowl, with the president sitting for a talk with CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric.
Senators, however, will be going home this weekend -- with a blizzard predicted tonight by the National Weather Service.
That's probably just as well for Alabama's Sen. Richard Shelby, a Republican, who has placed a hold on Obama's executive branch nominees because of frustration over the Pentagon's bidding process for air-to-air refueling tankers, which could lead to the creation of jobs in Mobile, Ala. Shelby spokesman Jonathan Graffeo says the senator is also "deeply concerned" that the administration "will not release" funds appropriated for a Terrorist Explosive Device Analytical Center to be built in Alabama.
"If this administration were as worried about hunting down terrorists as it is about the confirmation of low-level political nominations, America would be a safer place," the senator's spokesman says.
The White House's Gibbs, a good Alabaman, said today: "I guess if you needed one example of what's wrong with this town," Shelby's move would be "the poster child."
"It boggles the mind to hold up qualified nominees for positions that are needed . . . because you didn't get two earmarks,'' Gibbs said.
On with the Super Bowl party, sans Shelby.
(A New Orleans Saints helmet is pictured at the NFC Head Coach Press Conference in Fort Lauderdale -- where it is definitely not snowing -- today. Photo by Chris Graythen / Getty Images)
Comments
WHERE'S ALL THE MEDIA OUTRAGE ABOUT MAOBAMA NOT BEING ABLE TO PRONOUNCE THE WORD CORPSMAN???? OH AND THREE TIMES THIS FROM THE "COMMANDER IN CHIEF" . . . JUST WONDERING.
TelePrompter lets Commander-in-Chief Down as He Misprounces ‘Corpsman,’ Mangles French
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http://bigjournalism.com/mwalsh/2010/02/05/teleprompter-lets-commander-in-chief-down-as-he-misprounces-corpsman-mangles-french/
Posted by: Bobby Mobbie | February 5, 2010 11:47 AM
Who Killed Obamacare?
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Obamacare is dead. The politicians, journalists and bloggers who continue to talk about passing "reform" via reconciliation or some other procedural skullduggery are like those characters in the comedy, Weekend at Bernie's, who lug a corpse around pretending it's still alive. It is, of course, possible -- even likely -- that the Democrats will pass some anemic health care bill that will allow the President to declare victory and give his congressional accomplices a talking point for the midterms. It will not, however, be the grandiose program that everyone expected Obama to sign into law. So, it's worth considering how a piece of legislation whose passage seemed all but inevitable less than a year ago met with such an ignominious fate. What, or rather who brought about the very timely demise of this nanny-state abomination?
Searching for telltale signs of the "real killer" amidst the scattered debris of last year's tumultuous health reform debate, it is difficult to miss the trail of blood that leads to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. As counterintuitive as it may seem, a preponderance of the evidence suggests that Obamacare met its unexpected end at the hands of the President himself. Obama killed his signature initiative by creating what he referred to in his State of the Union address, with no apparent sense of irony, as a "deficit of trust." He has broken virtually every campaign promise he made concerning reform, presided over a series of shady back room deals, and treated the voters like an irritating group of poorly behaved and dull-witted children.
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http://spectator.org/archives/2010/02/05/who-killed-obamacare
Posted by: Bobby Mobbie | February 5, 2010 11:55 AM
Looks like i am skipping the pregame and turning the game on right when it starts. When will this clown figure out that we are sick of seeing him on tv, especially during sporting events.Sheesh......
Posted by: Dave | February 5, 2010 12:01 PM
If this was a Donk pulling a pro-pork political ploy, I would be calling for his head come election time.
Wise up Shelby, or perhaps it's time for you to go, too.
Posted by: Chris | February 5, 2010 12:42 PM
Notice that Obama is denouncing the same "hold" tactic used by Obama when HE was a senator.
"Mr. Obama made use of that power when he was in the Senate. He was one of several senators in 2007 to put a hold on Hans A. von Spakovsky, whom Mr. Bush nominated to serve on the Federal Election Commission.
And, according to news reports, Mr. Obama in late 2005 also put a hold on all Environmental Protection Agency nominees. Mr. Obama said he was trying to force the EPA to move more quickly to issue rules on lead-paint exposure." (WA Times)
Holds are good when Obama does it, bad when anyone else does it....
Hypocrisy You Can Believe In
Posted by: Equal time | February 5, 2010 12:53 PM
The symptoms of ADHD include inattention and/or hyperactivity and impulsivity. These are traits that most children display at some point or another. But with ADHD, which stands for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, or what was referred to as ADD -- attention deficit disorder -- the symptoms are inappropriate for the child's age.
Posted by: bill r. | February 5, 2010 1:16 PM
Let's hope the GOPers at Obama's Super Bowl party behave themselves. Surely they won't invite their Tea Party friends...
http://www.political-buzz.com/
Posted by: matt | February 5, 2010 1:59 PM
THANKS FOR YOUR MEDICAL UPDATE, BILLYBOY!
Posted by: Bobby Mobbie | February 5, 2010 2:02 PM
Why in the world would Gibbs be considered a "good Alabaman", I guess it's because he's almost in love with obama as silva seems to be!
I guess this will be obama's idea of bipartisianship - I'm sure he's serving his koolaid.
Posted by: worsethanbefore | February 5, 2010 2:03 PM
Holds are good when Obama does it, bad when anyone else does it....
Hypocrisy You Can Believe In
Posted by: Equal time | February 5, 2010 12:53 PM
Right on, Unequal time...
Sort of the the Republicans and 'bug eyes' McConnell filibustering every bill and piece of legislation coming through the Senate. No longer the rubber stamp like they were for boy George Bush.
That's also hypocrisy you can believe in.
Posted by: Doug R. | February 5, 2010 2:22 PM
Mark...Please post another "scratch pad" for "off topic" rabid responses. This one soon will be filled. Hand out crayons as necessary.
Posted by: bill r. | February 5, 2010 2:58 PM
Pres Obama is holding a Super Bowl party? Hmmmm.
Sounds like a Fascist/Commie/Socialist/Nazi plot to kill Granny to me.
Quick, someone call Glenn Beck!
Posted by: Wingnut Teabagger | February 5, 2010 3:15 PM
What's new with this...nothing. The only thing panty waist does anymore is party.
Millions have lost their jobs and homes because of his failed policies and all he does is vacation and throw parties.
He knows he's a one-term-er....nobody can be that stupid.
Paulo
Posted by: Paulo | February 5, 2010 3:37 PM
The Shelby maneuver is idiotic and i hope the fellow GOPers tell him so and get it removed posthaste.
People don't take others seriously when you pull stupid stunts like this.
Posted by: Beth | February 5, 2010 3:42 PM