Barack Obama

Read the latest post-presidency news about President Barack Obama on Newser.com

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Biden Plan Would Target al-Qaeda, not Taliban

 Biden Plan 
 Would Target 
 al-Qaeda, 
 not Taliban 
Afghan war rethink
Sep 23, 2009 7:27 AM CDT

Biden Plan Would Target al-Qaeda, not Taliban

No consensus has emerged in White House war room

(Newser) - The Obama administration’s national security heavyweights have yet to reach any kind of consensus on a strategy for Afghanistan, the New York Times reports. Obama is considering both increasing troop levels to carry out his original counterinsurgency strategy, and an alternative plan from Joe Biden that would pull troops...

Black Caucus Worries About Resurgent Racism

Anti-Obama anger troubles CBC ahead of triumphant annual conferences

(Newser) - The Congressional Black Caucus is enjoying unprecedented power, with more of their members in leadership roles than ever before, not to speak of one of their number in the White House, but many are disturbed by changes in the political atmosphere, Politico reports. As the 42-member group holds its annual...

Obama to Israeli, Palestinian Leaders: Get to Work

President meets with Netanyahu, Abbas, calls for progress on negotiations

(Newser) - President Obama urged Israeli and Palestinian leaders to restart peace talks, saying it was “time to move forward” on finding compromises to the contentious final status issues, the New York Times reports. Obama delivered his comments today after separate one-on-one meetings with Benjamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas and just...

Barack Flirts Earned Wrath of Michelle
 Barack Flirts Earned 
 Wrath of Michelle 
BOOK EXCERPT
Sep 22, 2009 9:02 AM CDT

Barack Flirts Earned Wrath of Michelle

Obama didn't like women—like Vera Baker—throwing themselves at her husband

(Newser) - The latest tidbit from Christopher Andersen’s Barack and Michelle: Portrait of an American Marriage, out today, reveals the punishment Michelle Obama meted out for women who “pushed their bodies up against his, slipped phone numbers into his pockets,” and grabbed his butt, the New York Post reports....

Obama on Letterman: Funniest Moments

The president sums up his thoughts on health care, and more from the interview

(Newser) - Yes, there was that whole potato thing. But President Obama’s stint on Letterman included more funny moments, and Time runs down the top 10:
  • During Dave’s Top 10 list, the No. 2 reason why Obama agreed to appear on the show: “Said yes without thinking, like Bush
...

'I Was Black Before the Election'
 'I Was Black Before the Election' 
'late show' sneak peek
Sep 21, 2009 5:53 PM CDT

'I Was Black Before the Election'

Obama and Letterman tackle the tough topics, including potatoes

(Newser) - President Obama's media blitz continues tonight on The Late Show With David Letterman, where he'll remind the host, "I think it's important to realize that I was actually black before the election." Snippets CBS released after this afternoon's taping reveal lighthearted moments and more serious stretches, as well...

How the Crazies Took Over
 How the Crazies Took Over 
Sep 21, 2009 3:58 PM CDT

How the Crazies Took Over

Birthers, Limbaugh, Beck fill vacuum as Obama tries to stay above the fray

(Newser) - As recently as this spring, the Tea Party movement seemed anemic and wonky. But in the months that followed, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and others whipped the right-wing fringe into such a frenzy that a “separate reality grew like a second head on the American polity,” Philip Weiss...

Will Real Senate Leaders Please Stand Up?

Kennedy's death left a void—and no one is stepping up to fill it

(Newser) - As Democrats fight among themselves over health care, it’s becoming painfully clear that they lack a clear public leader on the issue, writes Manu Raju for Politico. In part it’s because, with a number of House and Senate committees involved, there are too many cooks stirring the pot,...

Fed Shows Backbone, but Obama Cowers Before Banks

Reining in pay is good politics, good economics: Krugman

(Newser) - Just as the recession wanes and the financial system shows signs of the health, banks are returning to their worst habits, says Paul Krugman. Not only are paychecks soaring to pre-Lehman levels, but the financial sector is using its muscle to block "even the most minimal reforms." While...

Obama to Pentagon: Scale Back Nuke Arsenal

President rejects Defense review, plans international deal

(Newser) - Barack Obama rejected the first draft of a Pentagon report on the US nuclear arsenal and is demanding a radical review ahead of deep cuts, according to the Guardian. The president, whose stated goal is the complete abolition of nuclear weapons, wants to see a range of options: cutting the...

4 UN Debuts to Watch
 4 UN Debuts to Watch 
Sep 21, 2009 6:26 AM CDT

4 UN Debuts to Watch

Leaders of China, Libya, Japan, US make first General Assembly speeches

(Newser) - This week the world's heads of government gather in New York for the annual UN General Assembly, and attention will be focused on four leaders—two new to office, two long in power—making their debuts at the green marble lectern. NPR outlines who to watch:
  • Hu Jintao: He'll be
...

Et tu, Barack? Teachers Lose Another Ally

Embattled unions don't want evaluation based on test scores

(Newser) - Teachers union members are fuming over President Obama's desire to stay the course and evaluate educators based on student test scores, McClatchy reports. Obama is even threatening to withhold California stimulus money unless the state enshrines the student-teacher performance link into law. "It takes more than the ability to...

Sorry, Jimmy: Race Ain't the Only Card in the Deck

Obama anger not just about skin color: Rich

(Newser) - Jimmy Carter and other Obama defenders playing the race card must remember that it’s just one in a deck that’s driving the I’ve-had-it-up-to-here rhetoric of Joe Wilson and Glenn Beck, Frank Rich writes in the New York Times. “There is a national conversation we must have...

Obama 'Skeptical' About More Troops in Afghanistan

Pres calls Russians 'paranoid' and refuses to comment on ACORN

(Newser) - If it’s Sunday, it’s President Obama, who took to five Sunday talk shows today (including Univision, but excluding Fox) to promote his agenda. Among the highlights:
  • Obama warned US commanders on This Week he’s “skeptical” that more US troops in Afghanistan will make a difference.
  • On
...

Prez to Paterson: Get Out of NY Gov Race

Obama fears Dem's unpopularity could hand race to GOP

(Newser) - President Obama has told New York Gov. David Paterson not to run in next year's gubernatorial election, reports the New York Times. Obama's fear is that the unpopular Democrat could give otherwise listless Republicans incentive to storm the polls, sources say. That would be doubly true if former New York...

Russia Says It Won't Deploy Missiles Near Poland

Kremlin also criticizes Iran's president for denying Holocaust

(Newser) - Russia said today it will scrap a plan to deploy missiles near Poland since Washington has dumped a planned missile shield in Eastern Europe. It also harshly criticized Iran's president for new comments denying the Holocaust. Neither move, however, represented ceding any significant ground. A plan to place Iskander missiles...

Obama Courts Risk With Sunday's 'Full Ginsburg'

President may risk overexposure by appearing in 5 talk shows

(Newser) - They call it "the full Ginsburg" because Monica Lewinsky's lawyer, William Ginsburg, was the first to do the five-fecta of Sunday talk shows back in 1999. What Obama's doing tomorrow is a slightly (if significantly) modified version, Politico notes, with the president swapping out Fox for Univision in the...

Obama: Anger Not About Race
 Obama: Anger Not About Race 
Sep 19, 2009 8:55 AM CDT

Obama: Anger Not About Race

He says anti-government feeling, fear of change fuel rage

(Newser) - Fear of "big changes" and hostility to the growth of government—not racism—are what's driving angry criticisms about his health care agenda, President Obama said in a series of network television interviews that will air tomorrow morning. "Are there people out there who don't like me because...

GOP 'Riding a Wave of Racism'
 GOP 'Riding a Wave of Racism' 
OPINION
Sep 19, 2009 7:20 AM CDT

GOP 'Riding a Wave of Racism'

Racially charged attacks on Obama show scourge of racism is still with us

(Newser) - Racism is alive and well in today's America and the Republican Party is feeding off it, Bob Herbert writes in the New York Times. Nobody should need Jimmy Carter—who wasn't above pandering to racists himself in his 1976 presidential campaign—to point out the racist undertones behind many of...

Obama at the UN: Eloquence Is Not Enough
Obama at the UN: 
Eloquence Is Not Enough
ANALYSIS
Sep 18, 2009 5:53 PM CDT

Obama at the UN: Eloquence Is Not Enough

The president may face tough questions on N. Korea, Iran, and climate change

(Newser) - President Obama will get a respite from America’s rancorous political scene when he appears at the United Nations next week, but he may find international squabbles just as heated, Economist writes. An enthusiastic multilateralist, Obama is loved by leaders around the world. But topics like North Korea, Iran, and...

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