Sunday, February 22, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Opinion: Is the senate's stimulus package positive progress or a step backwards?
Next Big Hurdle for Stimulus: House-Senate Negotiations
By Joseph J. Schatz, Paul M. Krawzak, Richard Rubin and Dave Clarke, CQ Staff
A day after striking a deal with moderate Republicans on a massive but pared-back economic stimulus package, Senate Democratic leaders moved toward a Feb. 9 procedural vote, a vote on final passage a day later and difficult negotiations with the House.
With the backing of three Republican moderates — Susan Collins and Olympia J. Snowe of Maine and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania — Democratic leaders have the 60 votes needed to overcome opposition from conservatives who remain opposed to the package.
The exact cost of the compromise remained somewhat in flux as the Senate engaged in three hours of debate Saturday and Democratic leaders put the finishing touches on legislative language. While the revised plan released Friday night carried an estimated cost of about $780 billion, amendments adopted during Senate floor debate are likely to push the total cost past $800 billion. Those additions include a provision sponsored by Johnny Isakson , R-Ga., that would create a $15,000 tax credit for homebuyers.
Majority Leader Harry Reid , D-Nev., was expected to file a motion to limit debate on the package before the Senate adjourned for the day on Saturday, setting the stage for Monday’s pivotal vote.
Democratic leaders want to quickly conclude a House-Senate conference this week and clear the bill before the Presidents Day recess begins next weekend. But meeting that goal will require a heavy lift both procedurally and to sort out substantive differences between the House and Senate packages.
The Senate will vote at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 9 on a motion to limit debate, or invoke cloture, on an amendment containing the compromise version of the stimulus. Assuming the motion is adopted, the Senate will consider the amendment itself at noon the following day. Republicans are expected to raise a budgetary point of order against the amendment, but Democrats will have the 60 votes needed to override the objection. Then, the Senate will move to a final vote on the amendment.
At the behest of moderates, the Friday night compromise shaved about $108 billion from the original Senate proposal. Appropriators cut $83 billion in discretionary spending from the Senate plan, including funding for school construction and other programs favored by Democrats in the House and Senate. The Finance Committee pared back health care spending provisions by $7 billion, and scaled back the tax cut package by $18 billion.
Democrats appeared to be united behind the latest plan assembled by a group of moderates, despite some grumbling about the changes needed to attract a handful of GOP votes.
“It’s not a perfect bill from my perspective, and I don’t agree with everything that’s in it and everything that came out, but literally we can’t afford to wait any longer to get something passed,” Amy Klobuchar , D-Minn., said on the Senate floor Saturday.
The tradeoffs needed to get enough votes for the plan in the Senate presaged tough bargaining with the House before a final bill is delivered to President Obama, who, according to one lawmaker, signed off on the Senate deal. Top House Democrats were already complaining about the Senate moves before the agreement was formally announced.
The single biggest spending cut to the original Senate plan comes out of a $79 billion state fiscal stabilization allocation that would help states avoid tax increases and cutbacks in education and other high priority services. The compromise trims that funding to $39 billion and sets up a conflict with the House-passed bill that allocates $79 billion.
Another major difference between the House and Senate bills involves school construction. The House allocated $14 billion to renovate, repair and build public schools. The Senate zeroed out the $16 billion its original bill set aside for that purpose.
The compromise also eliminates $3.5 billion for higher education facility modernization and purchase of instructional equipment. The House voted to provide $6 billion for higher education.
The compromise would cut additional funding for Head Start and Early Head Start, programs to prepare children to succeed in school, from $2.1 billion to 1.05 billion. That’s half of the $2.1 billion in the House bill.
The Senate substitute eliminates $5.8 billion in the original measure that would have been spent on grants and contracts to prevent illness through health screenings, education, immunization, nutrition counseling, media campaigns and other activities. The House has set aside $3 billion for prevention and wellness.
Funds to expand the use of electronic record keeping in health care are cut from $5 billion to $3 billion in the substitute, still more than the $2 billion in the House plan. Under the new Senate plan, a national coordinator would distribute the money to pay for technology, planning and training.
The compromise eliminates funding for pandemic flu preparedness, a prominent target of critics who said figuring out how to increase the supply of vaccine would not create jobs. The House bill includes $900 million for flu, and the original Senate proposal had $870 million.
The Senate substitute zeroes out $2.25 billion in funding for a neighborhood stabilization program, which would have provided funds to states, local units of government and organizations to purchase and rehabilitate abandoned and foreclosed upon homes. The House allocated $4.19 billion for the program.
In the compromise, funding to increase broadband access in rural areas and other underserved parts of the country is reduced by $2 billion, from $9 billion to $7 billion. That’s still more than twice as much as the $3.175 billion in the House bill.
The Senate proposal also trims additions to the Byrne justice assistance grant program, which provides formula funding to state and local police. The compromise would cut $450 million from the Byrne grants, reducing funding from $1.5 billion to $1.05 billion, according to information provided by Ben Nelson , D-Neb., an author of the compromise. The House allocated $3 billion for Byrne grants.
Other differences that will have to be resolved in conference include the additional funding for a federal program that provides home weatherization services to increase energy efficiency for low-income families. The Senate allocates $2.9 billion for the program, while the House bill has $6.2 billion.
The Senate bill includes $2 billion for FutureGen, a near-zero emissions, coal-fired plant that backers want to build in Mattoon, Ill. The project has been a priority for Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin , D-Ill., and for Obama when he was an Illinois senator. The House bill does not include the project.
Unlike the House bill, the Senate version does not include additional funds for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which helps low-income families pay utility bills. The House bill has another $1 billion for the program.
Kathleen Hunter, Lydia Gensheimer, Bart Jansen, Catharine Richert and Edward Epstein contributed to this story.
By Joseph J. Schatz, Paul M. Krawzak, Richard Rubin and Dave Clarke, CQ Staff
A day after striking a deal with moderate Republicans on a massive but pared-back economic stimulus package, Senate Democratic leaders moved toward a Feb. 9 procedural vote, a vote on final passage a day later and difficult negotiations with the House.
With the backing of three Republican moderates — Susan Collins and Olympia J. Snowe of Maine and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania — Democratic leaders have the 60 votes needed to overcome opposition from conservatives who remain opposed to the package.
The exact cost of the compromise remained somewhat in flux as the Senate engaged in three hours of debate Saturday and Democratic leaders put the finishing touches on legislative language. While the revised plan released Friday night carried an estimated cost of about $780 billion, amendments adopted during Senate floor debate are likely to push the total cost past $800 billion. Those additions include a provision sponsored by Johnny Isakson , R-Ga., that would create a $15,000 tax credit for homebuyers.
Majority Leader Harry Reid , D-Nev., was expected to file a motion to limit debate on the package before the Senate adjourned for the day on Saturday, setting the stage for Monday’s pivotal vote.
Democratic leaders want to quickly conclude a House-Senate conference this week and clear the bill before the Presidents Day recess begins next weekend. But meeting that goal will require a heavy lift both procedurally and to sort out substantive differences between the House and Senate packages.
The Senate will vote at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 9 on a motion to limit debate, or invoke cloture, on an amendment containing the compromise version of the stimulus. Assuming the motion is adopted, the Senate will consider the amendment itself at noon the following day. Republicans are expected to raise a budgetary point of order against the amendment, but Democrats will have the 60 votes needed to override the objection. Then, the Senate will move to a final vote on the amendment.
At the behest of moderates, the Friday night compromise shaved about $108 billion from the original Senate proposal. Appropriators cut $83 billion in discretionary spending from the Senate plan, including funding for school construction and other programs favored by Democrats in the House and Senate. The Finance Committee pared back health care spending provisions by $7 billion, and scaled back the tax cut package by $18 billion.
Democrats appeared to be united behind the latest plan assembled by a group of moderates, despite some grumbling about the changes needed to attract a handful of GOP votes.
“It’s not a perfect bill from my perspective, and I don’t agree with everything that’s in it and everything that came out, but literally we can’t afford to wait any longer to get something passed,” Amy Klobuchar , D-Minn., said on the Senate floor Saturday.
The tradeoffs needed to get enough votes for the plan in the Senate presaged tough bargaining with the House before a final bill is delivered to President Obama, who, according to one lawmaker, signed off on the Senate deal. Top House Democrats were already complaining about the Senate moves before the agreement was formally announced.
The single biggest spending cut to the original Senate plan comes out of a $79 billion state fiscal stabilization allocation that would help states avoid tax increases and cutbacks in education and other high priority services. The compromise trims that funding to $39 billion and sets up a conflict with the House-passed bill that allocates $79 billion.
Another major difference between the House and Senate bills involves school construction. The House allocated $14 billion to renovate, repair and build public schools. The Senate zeroed out the $16 billion its original bill set aside for that purpose.
The compromise also eliminates $3.5 billion for higher education facility modernization and purchase of instructional equipment. The House voted to provide $6 billion for higher education.
The compromise would cut additional funding for Head Start and Early Head Start, programs to prepare children to succeed in school, from $2.1 billion to 1.05 billion. That’s half of the $2.1 billion in the House bill.
The Senate substitute eliminates $5.8 billion in the original measure that would have been spent on grants and contracts to prevent illness through health screenings, education, immunization, nutrition counseling, media campaigns and other activities. The House has set aside $3 billion for prevention and wellness.
Funds to expand the use of electronic record keeping in health care are cut from $5 billion to $3 billion in the substitute, still more than the $2 billion in the House plan. Under the new Senate plan, a national coordinator would distribute the money to pay for technology, planning and training.
The compromise eliminates funding for pandemic flu preparedness, a prominent target of critics who said figuring out how to increase the supply of vaccine would not create jobs. The House bill includes $900 million for flu, and the original Senate proposal had $870 million.
The Senate substitute zeroes out $2.25 billion in funding for a neighborhood stabilization program, which would have provided funds to states, local units of government and organizations to purchase and rehabilitate abandoned and foreclosed upon homes. The House allocated $4.19 billion for the program.
In the compromise, funding to increase broadband access in rural areas and other underserved parts of the country is reduced by $2 billion, from $9 billion to $7 billion. That’s still more than twice as much as the $3.175 billion in the House bill.
The Senate proposal also trims additions to the Byrne justice assistance grant program, which provides formula funding to state and local police. The compromise would cut $450 million from the Byrne grants, reducing funding from $1.5 billion to $1.05 billion, according to information provided by Ben Nelson , D-Neb., an author of the compromise. The House allocated $3 billion for Byrne grants.
Other differences that will have to be resolved in conference include the additional funding for a federal program that provides home weatherization services to increase energy efficiency for low-income families. The Senate allocates $2.9 billion for the program, while the House bill has $6.2 billion.
The Senate bill includes $2 billion for FutureGen, a near-zero emissions, coal-fired plant that backers want to build in Mattoon, Ill. The project has been a priority for Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin , D-Ill., and for Obama when he was an Illinois senator. The House bill does not include the project.
Unlike the House bill, the Senate version does not include additional funds for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which helps low-income families pay utility bills. The House bill has another $1 billion for the program.
Kathleen Hunter, Lydia Gensheimer, Bart Jansen, Catharine Richert and Edward Epstein contributed to this story.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Opinion: Who should the new GOP Chair be and what should his focus be?
GOP insiders say Friday’s contest to elect the next chairman of the Republican National Committee will be a long and drawn-out affair, with multiple ballots necessary to determine the winner.
In part, it’s a reflection of a party that, even after a nearly three month-long chairman’s race, remains deeply uncertain of which candidate can best lead the GOP back to power.
Linda Ackerman, the Republican committeewoman for California, said Wednesday that she was waiting to see the candidates interact with each other at the RNC meeting at Washington Capital Hilton hotel before making up her mind.
“They’re all saying pretty much the same thing. They’re all saying what we want to do for the party. They all have a little different twist, but they all know what we want,” Ackerman said. “Other than that, I just want to get a sense, a personal sense, of who would be the best one to lead.”
The RNC’s voting rules require a candidate to collect a simple majority of 85 votes in order to claim victory. In the absence of a consensus choice among the field of five candidates, though, the election appears destined for numerous ballots, involving many hours of deliberations punctuated by intense lobbying and political horse-trading between votes.
Public estimates of the five candidates’ support have tended to place incumbent RNC Chairman Mike Duncan at the head of the pack, followed by former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele and South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Katon Dawson, with Michigan Republican Party Chairman Saul Anuzis and former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell behind them.
This story continues at: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0109/18188.html
In part, it’s a reflection of a party that, even after a nearly three month-long chairman’s race, remains deeply uncertain of which candidate can best lead the GOP back to power.
Linda Ackerman, the Republican committeewoman for California, said Wednesday that she was waiting to see the candidates interact with each other at the RNC meeting at Washington Capital Hilton hotel before making up her mind.
“They’re all saying pretty much the same thing. They’re all saying what we want to do for the party. They all have a little different twist, but they all know what we want,” Ackerman said. “Other than that, I just want to get a sense, a personal sense, of who would be the best one to lead.”
The RNC’s voting rules require a candidate to collect a simple majority of 85 votes in order to claim victory. In the absence of a consensus choice among the field of five candidates, though, the election appears destined for numerous ballots, involving many hours of deliberations punctuated by intense lobbying and political horse-trading between votes.
Public estimates of the five candidates’ support have tended to place incumbent RNC Chairman Mike Duncan at the head of the pack, followed by former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele and South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Katon Dawson, with Michigan Republican Party Chairman Saul Anuzis and former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell behind them.
This story continues at: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0109/18188.html
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Update: My mistake, the Youth Ball is aired TONIGHT on MTV at 9:00p.m. our time.
Maybe MTV will finally broadcast some music.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Analysis: What does the new president need to say to the American people in his inaugural address? (not a prediction, but what he should say)
'I Was Summoned by My Country'
Nobody knows, yet, but maybe there's a clue in the inaugural addresses of the past. The headline of this post comes from George Washington's first:
Among the vicissitudes incident to life no event could have filled me with greater anxieties than that of which the notification was transmitted by your order, and received on the 14th day of the present month.
On the one hand, I was summoned by my Country, whose voice I can never hear but with veneration and love, from a retreat which I had chosen with the fondest predilection, and, in my flattering hopes, with an immutable decision, as the asylum of my declining years -- a retreat which was rendered every day more necessary as well as more dear to me by the addition of habit to inclination, and of frequent interruptions in my health to the gradual waste committed on it by time.
On the other hand, the magnitude and difficulty of the trust to which the voice of my country called me, being sufficient to awaken in the wisest and most experienced of her citizens a distrustful scrutiny into his qualifications, could not but overwhelm with despondence one who (inheriting inferior endowments from nature and unpracticed in the duties of civil administration) ought to be peculiarly conscious of his own deficiencies.
(Yes, those are some seriously long sentences.)
You can read every inaugural address ever made at a web site set up by Yale Law School.
By David Marino-Nachison November 19, 2008; 3:09 PM ET Category: Inaugural History
Nobody knows, yet, but maybe there's a clue in the inaugural addresses of the past. The headline of this post comes from George Washington's first:
Among the vicissitudes incident to life no event could have filled me with greater anxieties than that of which the notification was transmitted by your order, and received on the 14th day of the present month.
On the one hand, I was summoned by my Country, whose voice I can never hear but with veneration and love, from a retreat which I had chosen with the fondest predilection, and, in my flattering hopes, with an immutable decision, as the asylum of my declining years -- a retreat which was rendered every day more necessary as well as more dear to me by the addition of habit to inclination, and of frequent interruptions in my health to the gradual waste committed on it by time.
On the other hand, the magnitude and difficulty of the trust to which the voice of my country called me, being sufficient to awaken in the wisest and most experienced of her citizens a distrustful scrutiny into his qualifications, could not but overwhelm with despondence one who (inheriting inferior endowments from nature and unpracticed in the duties of civil administration) ought to be peculiarly conscious of his own deficiencies.
(Yes, those are some seriously long sentences.)
You can read every inaugural address ever made at a web site set up by Yale Law School.
By David Marino-Nachison November 19, 2008; 3:09 PM ET Category: Inaugural History
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Sunday, December 21, 2008
End of 2008 Hodge Podge Edition:
(PICK A QUESTION, OR ANSWER ALL OF THEM. HAVE FUN!)
What do you think about the possibility of a Senator Al Franken?
Caroline Kennedy, Andrew Cuomo, or somebody else for NY Senator; who is your choice?
Are there too many familial dynasties in American politics, or is it just about name recognition (Kennedy, Cuomo, Clinton, Bush, Salazar, Sununu and the several members of congress who hold their husbands' former seats)?
Deep Throat has died at 95. What an important person in the history of our government working properly (and a symbol of how others tried to stop it from working).
"I will fight...I will fight...I will fight." Governor Blagojevich (almost didn't include this because I had to look up how to spell his name).
What are you looking forward to in government and politics for 2009?
Science and Technology:
What do you think about the possibility of a Senator Al Franken?
Caroline Kennedy, Andrew Cuomo, or somebody else for NY Senator; who is your choice?
Are there too many familial dynasties in American politics, or is it just about name recognition (Kennedy, Cuomo, Clinton, Bush, Salazar, Sununu and the several members of congress who hold their husbands' former seats)?
Deep Throat has died at 95. What an important person in the history of our government working properly (and a symbol of how others tried to stop it from working).
"I will fight...I will fight...I will fight." Governor Blagojevich (almost didn't include this because I had to look up how to spell his name).
What are you looking forward to in government and politics for 2009?
Science and Technology:
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Analysis: How will the tech-savvy Obama team remake the presidency using modern technology.
What would you like to see the new administration do?
Will these new ways improve American democracy or cheapen the democratic process?
By Chris Cillizza
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 14, 2008; Page A05
In the 26 years since the weekly radio address became a modern White House staple, presidents have often treated the speech to the nation as a task to be endured rather than an opportunity.
Not so with President-elect Barack Obama, who has been using his four minutes of weekend airtime not only to speak directly to the American people, but also to create news.
Yesterday, Obama used the address to announce Shaun Donovan, New York City's housing commissioner, as his nominee to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Obama has previously outlined a series of specific proposals aimed at reversing the nation's economic torpor, and he sketched out a plan to save or create 2.5 million jobs over the next two years.
Dan Pfeiffer, the incoming White House deputy communications director, said Obama will continue to use the addresses "to make significant news."
That contrasts sharply with President Bush, who presented little policy or political perspective in his radio addresses.
Bush's topic yesterday was the fight against illegal drugs; other recent subjects have included Thanksgiving and the transition process. Even when Bush dedicated six straight radio addresses to the economy -- from mid-September to late October -- the tone was more review than preview.
The incoming president's approach to the address also differs in how content is presented, by marrying the 100-year-old technology of radio to 21st-century tools: The speech is still beamed out to radio stations nationwide on Saturday mornings, but now it is also recorded for digital video and audio downloads from YouTube, iTunes and the like, so people can access it whenever and wherever they want.
"One of the fundamental precepts of our campaign was to use the new technology to reinvigorate our democracy. That's a commitment we will bring to this administration," senior Obama adviser David Axelrod said.
That strategy speaks to a broader revolution of how Obama will communicate with the American public, said Doug Sosnik, who was a senior aide in the Clinton White House.
"Once a decade or two, a president comes in and redefines how the White House communicates," Sosnik said. He noted that President Ronald Reagan, who introduced the weekly radio address in 1982, also perfected the political power of television broadcasts. That built on the concepts first grasped by John F. Kennedy in the early 1960s, while President Bill Clinton took it a step further by focusing on cable and satellite television.
"The mainframe for this White House will be the Internet, not TV," Sosnik added. "They will cater to TV. And it will be integrated into the overall digital strategy. But it's not going to be the end-all."
In its availability and its immediacy, online video offers a powerful newsmaking tool for the president-elect, Pfeiffer said. It is also easy to produce: A videographer can record Obama delivering the address in his transition office in fewer than 15 minutes.
"Turning the weekly radio address from audio to video and making it on-demand has turned the radio address from a blip on the radar to something that can be a major newsmaking event any Saturday we choose," Pfeiffer added.
The roots of this digital communication strategy can be found in Obama's campaign for his party's nomination for president. Faced with the prospect of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's financial juggernaut during the Democratic primaries, Obama and his team made a series of early investments in building a direct-to-voter contact operation that relied heavily on the use of Web video. That helped to reaffirm the idea that each and every supporter had a hand in any successes the campaign enjoyed, and to forge a firsthand connection.
Obama announced his intent to seek the presidency via Web video, and throughout the primaries and general-election campaign, he used the medium to sidestep mainstream media and to speak directly with voters. Campaign manager David Plouffe became something of a cult hero to Democrats around the country, thanks to a series of purposely rudimentary video messages shot in his office and sent to supporters.
And some Obama videos have become YouTube phenomena: His speech on the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. and race in America has been viewed more than 5.5 million times, while his victory speech in Grant Park on Nov. 4 is nearing 4 million views.
"Through their new-age communications brilliance and their resultant electronic fundraising, they have changed politics forever," said Fred Davis, a Republican media consultant and the lead ad man for Republican Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign. "They have given the Democrats a major advantage in presidential politics long into the future."
Making the success of that communication strategy work equally well from the Oval Office is the task of the coming weeks and months. Obama's decision to use the weekly address as a platform from which to make news represents the leading edge of that effort.
Now, instead of asking backers to register friends to vote, Obama will aim to use technological advances to build grass-roots support for policy initiatives, according to Joe Trippi, who managed former Vermont governor Howard Dean's 2004 Democratic presidential bid.
"Obama will be more directly connected to millions of Americans than any president who has come before him, and he will be able to communicate directly to people using the social networking and Web-based tools such as YouTube that his campaign mastered," Trippi said. "Obama's could become the most powerful presidency that we have ever seen."
Will these new ways improve American democracy or cheapen the democratic process?
By Chris Cillizza
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 14, 2008; Page A05
In the 26 years since the weekly radio address became a modern White House staple, presidents have often treated the speech to the nation as a task to be endured rather than an opportunity.
Not so with President-elect Barack Obama, who has been using his four minutes of weekend airtime not only to speak directly to the American people, but also to create news.
Yesterday, Obama used the address to announce Shaun Donovan, New York City's housing commissioner, as his nominee to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Obama has previously outlined a series of specific proposals aimed at reversing the nation's economic torpor, and he sketched out a plan to save or create 2.5 million jobs over the next two years.
Dan Pfeiffer, the incoming White House deputy communications director, said Obama will continue to use the addresses "to make significant news."
That contrasts sharply with President Bush, who presented little policy or political perspective in his radio addresses.
Bush's topic yesterday was the fight against illegal drugs; other recent subjects have included Thanksgiving and the transition process. Even when Bush dedicated six straight radio addresses to the economy -- from mid-September to late October -- the tone was more review than preview.
The incoming president's approach to the address also differs in how content is presented, by marrying the 100-year-old technology of radio to 21st-century tools: The speech is still beamed out to radio stations nationwide on Saturday mornings, but now it is also recorded for digital video and audio downloads from YouTube, iTunes and the like, so people can access it whenever and wherever they want.
"One of the fundamental precepts of our campaign was to use the new technology to reinvigorate our democracy. That's a commitment we will bring to this administration," senior Obama adviser David Axelrod said.
That strategy speaks to a broader revolution of how Obama will communicate with the American public, said Doug Sosnik, who was a senior aide in the Clinton White House.
"Once a decade or two, a president comes in and redefines how the White House communicates," Sosnik said. He noted that President Ronald Reagan, who introduced the weekly radio address in 1982, also perfected the political power of television broadcasts. That built on the concepts first grasped by John F. Kennedy in the early 1960s, while President Bill Clinton took it a step further by focusing on cable and satellite television.
"The mainframe for this White House will be the Internet, not TV," Sosnik added. "They will cater to TV. And it will be integrated into the overall digital strategy. But it's not going to be the end-all."
In its availability and its immediacy, online video offers a powerful newsmaking tool for the president-elect, Pfeiffer said. It is also easy to produce: A videographer can record Obama delivering the address in his transition office in fewer than 15 minutes.
"Turning the weekly radio address from audio to video and making it on-demand has turned the radio address from a blip on the radar to something that can be a major newsmaking event any Saturday we choose," Pfeiffer added.
The roots of this digital communication strategy can be found in Obama's campaign for his party's nomination for president. Faced with the prospect of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's financial juggernaut during the Democratic primaries, Obama and his team made a series of early investments in building a direct-to-voter contact operation that relied heavily on the use of Web video. That helped to reaffirm the idea that each and every supporter had a hand in any successes the campaign enjoyed, and to forge a firsthand connection.
Obama announced his intent to seek the presidency via Web video, and throughout the primaries and general-election campaign, he used the medium to sidestep mainstream media and to speak directly with voters. Campaign manager David Plouffe became something of a cult hero to Democrats around the country, thanks to a series of purposely rudimentary video messages shot in his office and sent to supporters.
And some Obama videos have become YouTube phenomena: His speech on the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. and race in America has been viewed more than 5.5 million times, while his victory speech in Grant Park on Nov. 4 is nearing 4 million views.
"Through their new-age communications brilliance and their resultant electronic fundraising, they have changed politics forever," said Fred Davis, a Republican media consultant and the lead ad man for Republican Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign. "They have given the Democrats a major advantage in presidential politics long into the future."
Making the success of that communication strategy work equally well from the Oval Office is the task of the coming weeks and months. Obama's decision to use the weekly address as a platform from which to make news represents the leading edge of that effort.
Now, instead of asking backers to register friends to vote, Obama will aim to use technological advances to build grass-roots support for policy initiatives, according to Joe Trippi, who managed former Vermont governor Howard Dean's 2004 Democratic presidential bid.
"Obama will be more directly connected to millions of Americans than any president who has come before him, and he will be able to communicate directly to people using the social networking and Web-based tools such as YouTube that his campaign mastered," Trippi said. "Obama's could become the most powerful presidency that we have ever seen."
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Opinion: Is a New New Deal the right course of action for the United States?
Obama Offers First Look at Massive Plan To Create Jobs
Project Would Be the Largest Since the Interstate
System
By Michael D. ShearWashington Post Staff Writer Sunday, December 7, 2008; Page A01
On the heels of more grim unemployment news, President-elect Barack Obama yesterday offered the first glimpse of what would be the largest public works program since President Dwight D. Eisenhower created the federal interstate system in the 1950s.
Obama said the massive government spending program he proposes to lift the country out of economic recession will include a renewed effort to make public buildings energy-efficient, rebuild the nation's highways, renovate aging schools and install computers in classrooms, extend high-speed Internet to underserved areas and modernize hospitals by giving them access to electronic medical records.
"We need to act with the urgency this moment demands to save or create at least 2 1/2 million jobs so that the nearly 2 million Americans who've lost them know that they have a future," Obama said in his weekly address, broadcast on the radio and the Internet.
Obama offered few details and no cost estimate for the investment in public infrastructure. But it is intended to be part of a broader effort to stimulate economic activity that will also include tax cuts for middle-class Americans and direct aid to state governments to forestall layoffs as programs shrink.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has called for spending between $400 billion and $500 billion on the overall package. Some Senate Democrats and other economists have suggested spending even more -- potentially $1 trillion -- in the hope of jolting the economy into shape more quickly.
On Friday, the government reported that 533,000 jobs were eliminated in November, the largest one-month drop since 1974, raising unemployment to 6.7 percent. And last week, the National Bureau of Economic Research officially declared that the country has been in a recession since last December.
"We have faced difficult times before, times when our economic destiny seemed to be slipping out of our hands," Obama said. "And at each moment, we have risen to meet the challenge, as one people united by a sense of common purpose. And I know that Americans can rise to the moment once again."
Governors praised Obama's proposals, saying their states stand ready with billions of dollars' worth of road and school projects that could be started quickly with an infusion of federal cash. At a meeting with Obama in Philadelphia last week, governors estimated that there are $136 billion worth of projects that are "ready to go" once money rolls in.
"Here in Virginia, we have more than a billion dollars in ready-to-go bridge, highway, rail, transit, port and airport projects that have been through appropriate local, regional and state planning processes and that can be under contract within 180 days," Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) said in a statement.
Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) said the plan would "help keep people employed and create new jobs, [and] it would allow us to deliver infrastructure improvements that will last beyond the immediate economic crisis and benefit generations to come."
In keeping with the secrecy that surrounds the development of his recovery plan, Obama has given the governors no commitment about how much money they would receive for such projects. But Pennsylvania Gov. Edward G. Rendell (D), chairman of the National Governors Association, said yesterday that he is not worried.
"Is it going to be big or little? It's going to be big," Rendell said. "I have no doubt that it's going to be substantial. [Obama] didn't blink an eye when we talked about $136 billion."
This article continues at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/06/AR2008120602187.html
Click for Obama "Radio" Address 12-6-08
Project Would Be the Largest Since the Interstate
System
By Michael D. ShearWashington Post Staff Writer Sunday, December 7, 2008; Page A01
On the heels of more grim unemployment news, President-elect Barack Obama yesterday offered the first glimpse of what would be the largest public works program since President Dwight D. Eisenhower created the federal interstate system in the 1950s.
Obama said the massive government spending program he proposes to lift the country out of economic recession will include a renewed effort to make public buildings energy-efficient, rebuild the nation's highways, renovate aging schools and install computers in classrooms, extend high-speed Internet to underserved areas and modernize hospitals by giving them access to electronic medical records.
"We need to act with the urgency this moment demands to save or create at least 2 1/2 million jobs so that the nearly 2 million Americans who've lost them know that they have a future," Obama said in his weekly address, broadcast on the radio and the Internet.
Obama offered few details and no cost estimate for the investment in public infrastructure. But it is intended to be part of a broader effort to stimulate economic activity that will also include tax cuts for middle-class Americans and direct aid to state governments to forestall layoffs as programs shrink.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has called for spending between $400 billion and $500 billion on the overall package. Some Senate Democrats and other economists have suggested spending even more -- potentially $1 trillion -- in the hope of jolting the economy into shape more quickly.
On Friday, the government reported that 533,000 jobs were eliminated in November, the largest one-month drop since 1974, raising unemployment to 6.7 percent. And last week, the National Bureau of Economic Research officially declared that the country has been in a recession since last December.
"We have faced difficult times before, times when our economic destiny seemed to be slipping out of our hands," Obama said. "And at each moment, we have risen to meet the challenge, as one people united by a sense of common purpose. And I know that Americans can rise to the moment once again."
Governors praised Obama's proposals, saying their states stand ready with billions of dollars' worth of road and school projects that could be started quickly with an infusion of federal cash. At a meeting with Obama in Philadelphia last week, governors estimated that there are $136 billion worth of projects that are "ready to go" once money rolls in.
"Here in Virginia, we have more than a billion dollars in ready-to-go bridge, highway, rail, transit, port and airport projects that have been through appropriate local, regional and state planning processes and that can be under contract within 180 days," Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) said in a statement.
Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) said the plan would "help keep people employed and create new jobs, [and] it would allow us to deliver infrastructure improvements that will last beyond the immediate economic crisis and benefit generations to come."
In keeping with the secrecy that surrounds the development of his recovery plan, Obama has given the governors no commitment about how much money they would receive for such projects. But Pennsylvania Gov. Edward G. Rendell (D), chairman of the National Governors Association, said yesterday that he is not worried.
"Is it going to be big or little? It's going to be big," Rendell said. "I have no doubt that it's going to be substantial. [Obama] didn't blink an eye when we talked about $136 billion."
This article continues at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/06/AR2008120602187.html
Click for Obama "Radio" Address 12-6-08
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Analysis: Predict who you think will fill top spots in an Obama Administration and tell why these are good choices or not.
Here is a good site to predict and keep track. What will they think of next?!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/interactivity/predict-the-administration.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/interactivity/predict-the-administration.html
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
November 4, 2008 -- General Election Day in the United States of America.
From the simple to the complex, from the trivial to the sophisticated, what are your thoughts about this election cycle? What were your favorite or least favorite moments...or haven't they happend yet? What are your predictions for the election results or your predictions for what happens next? Will voting problems have an impact on the results (2000 all over again)? What did you find most interesting and what would you rather not see next time around?
Reflect on, think about, and comment on what Americans learned from the 2008 elections.
Reflect on, think about, and comment on what Americans learned from the 2008 elections.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Analysis: Which congressional races are you watching and why?
Did you know that there is more than a presidential election happening on November 4 (the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November)?
Time Dot Com 08 Congressional Races to Watch
Take a look at the 17 races discussed in the above pieces. I haven't read all of them yet, but the ones I've read are well done and make me want to do more research and find out more. You should do that too (there are House and Senate races that are discussed).
All 435 members of the House are up for election every two years. A third of the Senate is up for election every two years (6 year terms, of course).
Bonus Question: With the conviction of Ted Stevens of Alaska, can the Democrats pick up enough seats in the U.S. Senate to get to 60 votes? This would allow them to pass a cloture motion with 60 votes and stop any Republican filibusters (implied bonus, bonus questions: is this a threat to Pluralism and will Joe Lieberman (I) caucus with the Democrats to help them get to the 60 vote supermajority). The fun and intrigue are just beginning...
Advanced Placement Politics and Government
(AP POGO: Hopping from one topic to the next...)
Time Dot Com 08 Congressional Races to Watch
Take a look at the 17 races discussed in the above pieces. I haven't read all of them yet, but the ones I've read are well done and make me want to do more research and find out more. You should do that too (there are House and Senate races that are discussed).
All 435 members of the House are up for election every two years. A third of the Senate is up for election every two years (6 year terms, of course).
Bonus Question: With the conviction of Ted Stevens of Alaska, can the Democrats pick up enough seats in the U.S. Senate to get to 60 votes? This would allow them to pass a cloture motion with 60 votes and stop any Republican filibusters (implied bonus, bonus questions: is this a threat to Pluralism and will Joe Lieberman (I) caucus with the Democrats to help them get to the 60 vote supermajority). The fun and intrigue are just beginning...
Advanced Placement Politics and Government
(AP POGO: Hopping from one topic to the next...)
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Stuff to be completed NOW ! Comments? Progress?
By Monday:
Ballots completed (includes Democrat, Republican, WI Green, Libertarian)
Second announcement explaining the Mock Election completed and submitted by second hour.
Announcement explaining why to vote and how to vote in the real election completed and submitted by second hour.
Each lunch shows 2 ads on flatscreens (Mr. Bretzmann facilitates)
Each lunch has two t.v.'s that show as many ads as possible. See Alex H. to find out who is in charge of the t.v.'s for each lunch.
Ballots completed (includes Democrat, Republican, WI Green, Libertarian)
Second announcement explaining the Mock Election completed and submitted by second hour.
Announcement explaining why to vote and how to vote in the real election completed and submitted by second hour.
Each lunch shows 2 ads on flatscreens (Mr. Bretzmann facilitates)
Each lunch has two t.v.'s that show as many ads as possible. See Alex H. to find out who is in charge of the t.v.'s for each lunch.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
CLEARINGHOUSE: Use this post as a clearinghouse to share your information and progress regarding the mock election.
What would we need?
Ballots
Matt C.
Limit who is on the ballot and not allow write-in candidates
Scott W.
Nathan L.
Matt L.
Jake K.
Pencils
Ryan H.
Poll workers
See next page
Collect votes at lunch
5a
Steph V.
Nathan L.
Tyler L.
Scott W.
Savannah B.
5b
Matt C.
Ryan H.
Steph V.
Tyler L.
Addie B.
5c
Kyle C. K.
Jessie R.
Ryan K.
Alli B.
Erik K.
Alex K.
Jake K.
Vote counters
Hour 6, Hour 7
Kyle K. (Coordinator)
List of students (divided alphabetically into 4 separate lists)
Matt C.
Scott W.
2 tables
Kyle K.
“Vote Here” signs (2)
Vince T.
Alphabetical order signs (4)
Tyler L.
Marketing Campaign Coordination
Scott W.
Kyle K.
Erik K.
Ballot Box
Jenni F.
Ask Election Commission for “I Voted” stickers
Addie B.
Information on registering to vote for real election
Jessie R.
Addie B.
Ask Administration for permission to vote and permission to run campaign ads and GOTV ads on flat screens
Scott W.
Fliers describing how and where to register for real and how to find out where to vote for real
Shannon O’
Vina A.
Copies of Fliers
Steph V.
Voting Statistics Research Coordinator
Matt L.
Civicsblog post for clearinghouse of info.
Mr. Bretzmann
Announcement that announces mock election
Scott W.
Announcement that announces real election
Scott W.
Announcement announcing results of mock election and encouraging 18 year-olds to vote today
Scott W.
Invitations to outside speakers
Nathan L.
Matt L.
WHEN WOULD IT HAPPEN?
Planning, preparation and contacts:
NOW
Voting:
November 3
Counting:
November 3 -- 6th, 7th, and after school
Results Announced:
November 4 in announcements
Ballots
Matt C.
Limit who is on the ballot and not allow write-in candidates
Scott W.
Nathan L.
Matt L.
Jake K.
Pencils
Ryan H.
Poll workers
See next page
Collect votes at lunch
5a
Steph V.
Nathan L.
Tyler L.
Scott W.
Savannah B.
5b
Matt C.
Ryan H.
Steph V.
Tyler L.
Addie B.
5c
Kyle C. K.
Jessie R.
Ryan K.
Alli B.
Erik K.
Alex K.
Jake K.
Vote counters
Hour 6, Hour 7
Kyle K. (Coordinator)
List of students (divided alphabetically into 4 separate lists)
Matt C.
Scott W.
2 tables
Kyle K.
“Vote Here” signs (2)
Vince T.
Alphabetical order signs (4)
Tyler L.
Marketing Campaign Coordination
Scott W.
Kyle K.
Erik K.
Ballot Box
Jenni F.
Ask Election Commission for “I Voted” stickers
Addie B.
Information on registering to vote for real election
Jessie R.
Addie B.
Ask Administration for permission to vote and permission to run campaign ads and GOTV ads on flat screens
Scott W.
Fliers describing how and where to register for real and how to find out where to vote for real
Shannon O’
Vina A.
Copies of Fliers
Steph V.
Voting Statistics Research Coordinator
Matt L.
Civicsblog post for clearinghouse of info.
Mr. Bretzmann
Announcement that announces mock election
Scott W.
Announcement that announces real election
Scott W.
Announcement announcing results of mock election and encouraging 18 year-olds to vote today
Scott W.
Invitations to outside speakers
Nathan L.
Matt L.
WHEN WOULD IT HAPPEN?
Planning, preparation and contacts:
NOW
Voting:
November 3
Counting:
November 3 -- 6th, 7th, and after school
Results Announced:
November 4 in announcements
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