Just published: Barack Obama and the New America edited by Larry Sabato.
Hickenlooper’s Wife Offered to Stay if he Ran for President
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) tells Frank Bruni about his amicable separation from his wife, Helen Thorpe, and her “amazingly generous” offer.
Hickenlooper volunteered that when they discussed separating, she had told him: “If you want to run for president, I’m in. We’ll stay married. I’ll figure it out and I’ll be fine.”
“He turned down that offer, he told me, because he didn’t want to prolong her unhappiness and had ‘pretty much made my mind up to focus on Colorado and not to spend time imagining any national campaigns.’ There are few signs that he’s gearing up for one.”
Netanyahu Faces Weaker Coalition After Elections
“As Israeli voters turned out in far higher numbers than expected on Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made an urgent evening plea for support as his challengers anticipated results that could significantly weaken his power in the third term that he was widely expected to win,” the New York Times reports.
“While Mr. Netanyahu’s joint campaign list with the ultranationalist Yisrael Beiteinu faction was still expected to win far more of Parliament’s 120 seats than the next-largest party, making him the likeliest candidate to lead the next government, a relatively weak showing and a surge for centrist and left-leaning parties could force him to moderate his policies and leave him with a fragile coalition of competing interests.”
Words from the White House
Just published: Words from the White House: Words and Phrases Coined or Popularized by America’s Presidents by Paul Dickson.
Beyoncé Lip-Synched the National Anthem
Beyoncé did not sing the national anthem live at President Obama’s inauguration, the London Times reports.
“Millions of viewers around the world were stunned by the singer’s spectacular rendition of the anthem but The Times has learnt that she was lip-syncing to a pre-recorded backing track.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“In a couple years, I think he’s going to take a hard look at it. I hope he does.”
— Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden (D), quoted by NBC News, on Vice President Joe Biden running for president in 2016.
Filibuster Reform is Mostly Dead
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) “will present colleagues with options for reforming the Senate’s filibuster rules in a Democratic caucus meeting Tuesday,” The Hill reports.
The proposal “is not expected to include the talking filibuster, which would require senators who want to block action on legislation to actually hold the floor and debate for hours on end. In recent days, Reid has begun to focus on a proposal to tweak the filibuster rule by requiring the minority party to muster 41 votes to stall a bill or nominee. Under current rules, the responsibility is on the majority to round up 60 votes to end a filibuster.”
According to Roll Call, Reid said that he plans “to continue to extend the legislative
day of Jan. 3 — the first day of the 113th Congress — until the
situation with the chamber’s rules can be resolved.”
David Frum: “In short, we’re getting a very watered down version of what could have been a major step in pushing the Senate down the road to a parliamentary body.”
House GOP Proposes to Ignore Debt Ceiling
House Republicans plan to vote on Wednesday not to raise the federal debt limit — but to ignore it altogether — at least until May 18, the Washington Post reports.
“The House plans to vote Wednesday on a measure that would leave the $16.4 trillion debt limit intact, but declares it ‘shall not apply’ from the date the measure passes until mid-May. This approach — novel in modern times — would let Republicans avoid a potentially disastrous fight over the debt limit without actually voting to let the Treasury borrow more money.”
Battle Rages Over Tech that Got Obama Reelected
The Verge: “The tech team behind the 2012 Obama campaign has probably received more attention than any political programmers in history… But in the aftermath of the election, a stark divide has emerged between political operatives and the techies who worked side-by-side.”
“At issue is the code created during the Obama for America (OFA) 2012 campaign: the digital architecture behind the campaign’s website, its system for collecting donations, its email operation, and its mobile app. When the campaign ended, these programmers wanted to put their work back into the coding community for other developers to study and improve upon. Politicians in the Democratic party felt otherwise, arguing that sharing the tech would give away a key advantage to the Republicans. Three months after the election, the data and software is still tightly controlled by the president and his campaign staff, with the fate of the code still largely undecided. It’s a choice the OFA developers warn could not only squander the digital advantage the Democrats now hold, but also severely impact their ability to recruit top tech talent in the future.”
Ohio Official Defends Hitler Facebook Post
Ohio Board of Education President Debe Terhar (R) said she was not comparing President Obama to Adolf Hitler “when she posted a photograph of the Nazi leader on her Facebook page with a message critical of the administration’s new gun-control efforts,” the Columbus Dispatch reports.
Said Terhar: “I’m not comparing the president to Adolf Hitler. It’s the thought of disarming citizens, and this has happened throughout history. What’s the true intention of the Second Amendment? It was to protect us from a tyrannical government, God forbid.”
McDonnell Not Pleased with GOP Surprise Move
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) said that surprise redistricting effort from the members of his party in the state Senate was something he only learned about right before it happened, the Fredericksburg Star reports.
Said McDonnell: “I certainly don’t think that’s a good way to do business.”
“He said he has not yet spoken to House leadership about the redistricting issue. The Senate redistricting plan must go to the House next.”
Obama’s Striking Comments on Gay Rights
First Read: “Maybe the most striking (and memorable) lines of Obama’s inaugural speech were his remarks on gay rights. ‘All of us are created equal’ is the star that guides us still — just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall,’ he said. He later added, ‘Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law.’ It’s important to remember that Obama was someone who opposed gay marriage in presidential run in ’08, and who later said he was evolving on the subject. Obama’s shift is a reflection of how quickly the politics of gay marriage have changed in this country. (The train was leaving the station, and Obama jumped on board.) And so is the fact that there has been little to no backlash to those remarks — at least so far.”
Few Olive Branches
The Cloakroom: 5 unmistakable shots at Republicans in President Obama’s inaugural address.
The Lupe Fiasco Fiasco
Rapper Lupe Fiasco was escorted off the stage at an inaugural party last night after spending 30 minutes on an anti-war song, Politico reports.
Now This News shows Fiasco dropping lines critical of President Obama before the lights went off and security escorted him off the stage.
A Closer Look at the Inaugural Ceremony
The New York Times has a good graphic identifying the notables sitting on the stage with President Obama yesterday.
Hagel is Obama’s First Second Term Test
The New York Times reports President Obama will get the first test of his second term when former Sen. Chuck Hagel’s (R-NE) confirmation hearing to be the next secretary of defense gets underway this week.
Hagel “has begun the uphill task of winning over hostile Republicans… Privately, administration officials figure that Mr. Hagel could get as
many as 60 votes, a threshold that would allow him to overcome a
filibuster. Even with a few votes shy of 60, Congressional aides said,
it is not clear Republicans will try to block his confirmation.”
Quote of the Day
“I surprised myself by turning to him and saying, ‘Thank you. Thanks for the chance, the chance to continue to serve.'”
— Vice President Joe Biden, quoted by the Washington Post, recounting what he said to President Obama as they left the inaugural platform.
A Different Leader
Dan Balz: “President Obama has never lacked for confidence, but rarely has that attribute been on display as clearly as on Monday in an inaugural address that underscored the distance he has traveled after four contentious years in office. This was not the politician who campaigned in 2008 on themes of transcending the divisive politics of the past, though there were ritual calls for the country and its political leaders to seize this moment together. Instead, it was a president who has accepted the reality of those divisions and is determined to prevail on his terms.”
Ezra Klein: “In 2009, Barack Obama came to change Washington. Today’s speech showed how much Washington has changed him.”
