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Is Obama Aloof?

May 20, 2013 at 8:17 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Paul Begala: “This much we know: Barack Obama is no Ronald Reagan. The Gipper wasn’t aloof and detached, no siree. The fact that he called his Housing Secretary ‘Mr. Mayor’ — that showed he was engaged in what the American people cared about, not Washington arcana like the names of the people he had appointed to his Cabinet. Of course, the Gipper was also so deeply and properly engaged that he had to say he did not recall no fewer than 124 times in eight hours of testimony on the Iran-Contra affair.”

“Barack Obama is also far more aloof and disengaged than George W. Bush. Bush and his vice president, Darth Vader, were veritable paragons of engagement. That’s how their aides ended up leaking the identity of an undercover CIA operative. President Bush and Vice President Strangelove were so busy supervising the conduct of the IRS that they didn’t know what Karl Rove and Scooter Libby were up to.”

Bachmann Faces Tough Re-Election Fight

May 20, 2013 at 7:15 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Public Policy Polling survey in Minnesota shows Jim Graves (D) leads Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) in a replay of their 2012 match up, 47% to 45%.

Meanwhile, MinnPost reports the FBI is now investigating complaints of alleged campaign finance violations in Bachmann’s presidential campaign.

Snowe Recalls Offer to Play Joan of Arc

May 20, 2013 at 6:42 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

While promoting her new book, former Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) recounted a phone call with President Obama in which he told her she could be “a modern-day Joan of Arc” by supporting his health care bill, the Portland Press Herald reports.

When Snowe pointed out Joan of Arc had been burned at the stake, Obama reportedly replied: “Don’t worry, I’ll be there with a fire hose!” She still voted against the bill on the Senate floor.

Shrinking Deficit Reduces Likelihood for Grand Bargain

May 20, 2013 at 6:32 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The chances of a deal between Democratic and Republican lawmakers that would overhaul the tax system, trim government spending and reform safety net spending programs appear to be fading,” Reuters reports.

“A sudden improvement in the outlook for the government deficit over the next decade has alleviated some of the pressure on lawmakers to act. And a spate of scandals, involving the Internal Revenue Service, security for the U.S. mission in Benghazi and the seizure of phone records from the Associated Press news agency, has distracted Congress and the White House.”

Cuccinelli Says He’s Exempt from Public Records Laws

May 20, 2013 at 6:26 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Virginia Attorney Gen. Ken Cuccinelli (R) “has asserted that the state’s freedom of information laws do not apply to the Office of the Attorney General, a break from past practice,” the Washington Post reports.

“While Cuccinelli’s office has continued to respond to requests for documents under the law — which says that except in certain instances, all records of public bodies should be accessible to the public — it has begun to insert new language into its responses citing a 2011 Virginia Supreme Court case to support the claim that the law does not apply to the office.”

Arkansas State Treasurer Jailed

May 20, 2013 at 6:03 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Arkansas Treasurer Martha Shoffner (D) has been arrested for extortion by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the AP reports.

Union of Immigration Officers to Oppose Bill

May 20, 2013 at 6:00 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

NBC News: “A union representing 12,000 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officers will publicly oppose the Senate Gang of Eight immigration plan Monday, giving critics of the overhaul effort additional political ammunition as they work to defeat legislation working its way through the Senate Judiciary Committee.”

Justice Department Spied on Fox News Reporter

May 19, 2013 at 10:39 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“When the Justice Department began investigating possible leaks of classified information about North Korea in 2009, investigators did more than obtain telephone records of a working journalist suspected of receiving the secret material,” the Washington Post reports.

“They used security badge access records to track the reporter’s comings and goings from the State Department, according to a newly obtained court affidavit. They traced the timing of his calls with a State Department security adviser suspected of sharing the classified report. They obtained a search warrant for the reporter’s personal e-mails.”

Virginia Nominee Said Planned Parenthood Worse Than KKK

May 19, 2013 at 8:55 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Virginia Lt. Gov. nominee E.W. Jackson once compared Planned Parenthood to the Ku Klux Klan and bemoaned black voters’ “slavish devotion” to the Democratic Party, Politico reports.

Said Jackson in a video posted last year: “The Democrat Party has created an unholy alliance between certain so-called civil rights leaders and Planned Parenthood, which has killed unborn black babies by the tens of millions. Planned Parenthood has been far more lethal to black lives than the KKK ever was.”

Key Clinton Advisers Unlikely to Sign On for 2016

May 19, 2013 at 8:35 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The Washington Post says Hillary Clinton’s top presidential campaign advisers from 2008 will not be signing up again if she runs in 2016.

“As core members of a dysfunctional ‘Team of Rivals,’ these top advisers were seared, scattered and, to different degrees, forged by the 2008 experience. Haunted by the failures in management and messaging, they have worked hard to get over their shattered White House dreams and rejection by a Democratic base enamored with Barack Obama. They express their requisite hope that Clinton will run and win, but also their lack of interest in jumping back in.”

Not Watergate But Nixonian

May 19, 2013 at 8:11 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Veteran journalist Bob Woodward “accused Obama administration officials of invoking the worst instincts of former President Richard Nixon in their response to last year’s deadly attack on two U.S. compounds in Benghazi, Libya,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

Said Woodward: “This is not Watergate, but there are some people in the administration who have acted as if they want to be Nixonian, and that’s a very big problem.”

He added: “This is a business where you have to tell the truth — and that did not happen.”

Paul Claims Revealing IRS Memo Exists

May 19, 2013 at 7:56 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) told CNN there was a “written policy” floating around the agency that said IRS officials were “targeting people who were opposed to the president.”

Said Paul: “And when that comes forward, we need to know who wrote the policy and who approved the policy.”

When pressed for details about the memo he was referring to, Paul said he hasn’t seen such a policy statement but has heard about it.

Extra Bonus Quote of the Day

May 19, 2013 at 7:31 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“I’m running a Colin Powell military operation, which is assemble an
overwhelming force, focus on a single target and have the stomach to see
it all the way through to the end.”

— Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), quoted by Politico, on how he’s avoided having a primary challenge so far.

Obama Aide Says IRS Actions Unjustified Regardless of Law

May 19, 2013 at 7:02 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer said the question of whether any laws were broken in the IRS scandal is “irrelevant” because the agency’s actions were wrong and unjustifiable, the Washington Post reports.

Said Pfeiffer: “I can’t speak to the law here. The law is irrelevant. The activity was outrageous and inexcusable, and it was stopped and it needs to be fixed to ensure it never happens again.”

Flashback of the Day

May 19, 2013 at 11:42 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Obama clearly has Muslim sensibilities. He sees the world and Israel from a Muslim perspective.”

— Virginina Lt. Gov. nominee E.W. Jackson (R), quoted by BuzzFeed, writing in 2010.

McConnell Says Obamacare Will Dominate Midterms

May 19, 2013 at 11:40 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) predicted that President Obama’s health care law will be the biggest issue of the 2014 midterm elections, the Washington Post reports.

Said McConnell: “I don’t know what the issues will be next year. If I were predicting what’s likely to be the biggest issue in the 2014 election, I think it would be Obamacare. I think it’s coming back big-time.”

Former Governor Suggests Buono Should Drop Race

May 19, 2013 at 11:36 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Former New Jersey Gov. Brendan Byrne (D) told the Newark Star Ledger that Barbara Buono (D) should consider dropping her challenge to Gov. Chris Christie (R).

Said Byrne: “Buono is way behind. I was way behind in 1977 and I was thinking, if it gets worse, I’m going to withdraw. It didn’t get worse. As a matter fact, it got better. But at one point I thought of dropping out in favor of a better-positioned candidate. I don’t know whether that consideration would appeal to Buono, but I would advise she make that evaluation.”

Bonus Quote of the Day

May 19, 2013 at 10:30 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“What we’ve seen in the last seven or eight days have really shaken me. History teaches us that when government is too large and too powerful, no matter who’s in charge, it will lead to abuses.”

— Sen. Marco Rubio (R-VA), quoted by the Tampa Bay Times.