White House Watch: May 10, 2009 - May 16, 2009
Cheney's Motives
I'm taking Friday off. Blogging will resume Monday morning. I've been amazed at how little media pickup there's been of the revalation by the Senate Armed Services Committee last month that the White House started pushing the use of torture...
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Dan Froomkin
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May 14, 2009; 1:50 PM ET |
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Quick Takes
Shailagh Murray writes in The Washington Post: "President Obama told senators at a White House meeting yesterday that he would review names of potential Supreme Court nominees over the weekend, leading participants to believe an announcement could come within days,...
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Dan Froomkin
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May 14, 2009; 1:45 PM ET |
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Obama's Great 'Honor'
In his commencement address at Arizona State University, President Obama last night made repeated cracks about the university's controversial decision not to grant him an honorary degree. A university spokesman at one point had said that Obama had not established...
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Dan Froomkin
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May 14, 2009; 11:00 AM ET |
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Deconstructing Obama's Excuses
In trying to explain his startling decision to oppose the public release of more photos depicting detainee abuse, President Obama and his aides yesterday put forth six excuses for his about-face, one more flawed than the next. First, there was...
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Dan Froomkin
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May 14, 2009; 10:45 AM ET |
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Torture
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Cartoon Watch
Editorial cartoonists celebrate the return of their greatest muse: Tony Auth on Comrade Cheney, Steve Sack on Cheney's progenitors, Pat Bagley on Cheney's credibility, Jim Morin, Rob Rogers and RJ Matson on Cheney torture, Mike Luckovich on Cheney's camera, Stuart...
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Dan Froomkin
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May 14, 2009; 9:22 AM ET |
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Obama Joins the Cover-Up
President Obama's about-face on the release of more photos depicting detainee abuse is a colossal mistake. The president who came into office promising to restore our international reputation and return responsibility to government now seems to be buying into the...
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Dan Froomkin
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May 13, 2009; 2:33 PM ET |
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Torture
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The Empathy War
It's kind of ironic that empathy may turn out to be one of the most contentious topics in modern American politics. But empathy is at the very core of President Obama's political philosophy. And -- as seen in the response...
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Dan Froomkin
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May 13, 2009; 1:35 PM ET |
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Quick Takes
David Leonhardt writes in the New York Times: "The events of the last few weeks have raised the odds that a health care overhaul will really happen this year." But, he writes, there's still the matter of a missing $90...
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Dan Froomkin
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May 13, 2009; 1:20 PM ET |
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The Wrong Entitlement Debate
The release of the latest official status report on the Social Security and Medicare trust funds -- which unsurprisingly finds that both are suffering somewhat due to the recession -- has spawned the predictable headlines of doom. After all, the...
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Dan Froomkin
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May 13, 2009; 11:45 AM ET |
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Cartoon Watch
Tom Toles on Cheney torture, David Horsey on Cheney's defense, RJ Matson on Cheney's latest excuse, Dan Wasserman on Cheney's biggest fans, Jeff Danziger, Ed Gamble and Jeff Darcy on Cheney's BFF, Stuart Carlson on the GOP's lack of empathy,...
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Dan Froomkin
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May 13, 2009; 7:42 AM ET |
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What's Obama's Afghan Plan?
U.S. soldiers (including one still in boxer shorts) come under fire from the Taliban yesterday in northeastern Afghanistan. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder) President Obama still doesn't have an exit strategy for Afghanistan. The benchmarks he promised over six weeks ago are...
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Dan Froomkin
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May 12, 2009; 1:15 PM ET |
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Afghanistan
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Quick Takes
Robert Pear writes in the New York Times: "President Obama engineered a political coup on Monday by bringing leaders of the health care industry to the White House to build momentum for his ambitious health care agenda....For the health care...
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Dan Froomkin
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May 12, 2009; 12:55 PM ET |
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Torture Watch
Catching you up on the torture beat: R. Jeffrey Smith wrote in Sunday's Washington Post that Senate intelligence committee investigators are looking into whether CIA interrogators working in secret prisons exceeded their instructions from the Justice Department. "The issue has...
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Dan Froomkin
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May 12, 2009; 12:40 PM ET |
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Torture
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Cartoon Watch
Ann Telnaes on Cheney's unwitting target, Pat Oliphant on Cheney's choice, Mike Luckovich on Cheney's refusal to leave, Jeff Danziger on the new Republican message, Matt Davies on unlikely allies in health care, Scott Stantis on Barack the blameless, Stuart...
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Dan Froomkin
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May 12, 2009; 9:55 AM ET |
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Now We're Talking Real Money
When you're trying to crunch the numbers for America's future, the prospect of ever-skyrocketing health care costs makes everything look really grim. And that's why the White House's announcement today -- that a broad coalition of health-industry groups is vowing...
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Dan Froomkin
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May 11, 2009; 2:21 PM ET |
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Quick Takes
Lydia Saad reports for Gallup: "President Barack Obama appears to be slightly more popular with Americans at the start of his second 100 days in office than he was, on average, during his first 100. Gallup Poll Daily tracking from...
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Dan Froomkin
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May 11, 2009; 2:16 PM ET |
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Cheney Torture Tour Comes to CBS
If torture saved American lives, was it worth it? That, with the words "enhanced interrogation" instead of torture, is the question former vice president Dick Cheney wants people considering when the subject of the Bush-era interrogation practices comes up. Cheney...
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Dan Froomkin
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May 11, 2009; 1:35 PM ET |
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Torture
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Funny Speech, Dismal Dinner
President Obama's speech to the White House Correspondents' Association dinner on Saturday night was full of delightfully deflating zingers in which Obama gently mocked his reputation, his top aides -- and his political opponents. Here's the full text. When...
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Dan Froomkin
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May 11, 2009; 11:23 AM ET |
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Press Watch
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Cartoon Watch
Joel Pett on Obama's new slogan, Kevin Siers and Jim Morin on Obama's budget trims, Ted Rall on what's changed, and August J. Pollak on after the dinner....
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Dan Froomkin
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May 11, 2009; 10:16 AM ET |
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