White House

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Helen Thomas: Nixon Didn't Try to Control Press Like This

(Newser) - Helen Thomas has covered a lot of presidents, and she’s not much of a fan of how the current one manages the press. The 89-year-old reporter tells CNS that Obama’s White House tries to stage-manage news conferences and other media events like no other. “Nixon didn’t...

Dems Put Pragmatism Before Policy
Dems Put Pragmatism Before Policy
OPINION
Jun 30, 2009 8:56 AM CDT

Dems Put Pragmatism Before Policy

Desperate to pass bills, Congress quick to forgo ideals: Brooks

(Newser) - The Democrats learned lasting lessons from the Clinton health care battle: Let Congress, not the White House, write the bills; don’t try to fight the corporations; and avoid failure at all costs. As a consequence, writes David Brooks in the New York Times. the party has taken a “...

Obamas Treat Lawmakers to White House Luau

Gibbs, Emanuel dunked as guests sip Mai Tais

(Newser) - America's first Hawaiian-born president gave the annual congressional picnic yesterday a decidedly Pacific flavor, the AP reports. Tiki torches lined the White House grounds as lawmakers and their families sipped drinks under potted palm trees. "I wish I could give you all trips to Hawaii," the president said....

Emanuel's Media Blitz Goes 'Relentlessly' 24/7

'Aggressive,' 'relentless' Rahm 'in constant touch'

(Newser) - Rahm Emanuel is “in constant touch” with journalists, offering a “round-the-clock offensive” on behalf of the White House, writes Howard Kurtz in the Washington Post. “He calls, drops a few F-bombs, makes his point and hangs up,” says one commentator. Brief he may be, but “...

Obama: World 'Appalled' by Iran Violence

(Newser) - President Obama today declared the United States and the entire world are "appalled and outraged" by Iran's violent efforts to crush dissent, a clear toughening of his rhetoric as Republican critics at home pound him for being too passive. Obama condemned the "threats, beatings, and imprisonments of the...

Obama Invites Gay Advocates to White House

But angered rights campaigners want more than just talk

(Newser) - President Obama has invited gay rights leaders to the White House next Monday to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion, the New York protests seen as the start of gay liberation. It's unclear whether Obama will address the strong criticism he's recently faced from gay and lesbian advocates....

Collect Him! Trade Him! Bo Stars on Baseball Card

(Newser) - Do you—or does someone you love—have Bo fever? Are you one of the apparently considerable number of people who have bombarded the White House with requests for info about him? Michelle Obama's press staff has heard your call. Send a request (and preferably an SASE), and your new...

Super Fly No Match for Obama Death Slap

Lightning-fast prez pulverizes persistent fly during White House interview

(Newser) - A fly that invaded a CNBC White House interview yesterday was no match for the leader of the free world, the Christian Science Monitor reports. After repeatedly warning the fly to get out of there and let him discuss financial regulation in peace, President Obama delivered a surgical strike, dispatching...

Italy to Take 3 Gitmo Detainees
 Italy to Take 3 Gitmo Detainees 
Jun 16, 2009 8:54 AM CDT

Italy to Take 3 Gitmo Detainees

Obama, Berlusconi discuss range of issues

(Newser) - Silvio Berlusconi, seeking to restore some shine to his tattered international image, yesterday agreed to take three detainees from Guantanamo Bay. The Italian PM praised President Obama for his "deep knowledge" after a 2-hour-plus meeting at the White House, the AP reports. The leaders discussed topics ranging from...

Obama's Cell Phone Plea Helps Clear War Funds

Last-minute tensions healed; measure set to pass next week

(Newser) - Congressional leaders settled on a $106 billion spending bill for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan last night, but it took a last-minute intervention by President Obama via Rahm Emanuel's cell phone. When talks got bogged down over the release of detainee photos, Emanuel rushed to the Capitol and had...

6 Conservatives Worth Obama's Time
 6 Conservatives 
 Worth Obama's Time 
OPINION
Jun 10, 2009 2:48 PM CDT

6 Conservatives Worth Obama's Time

(Newser) - There are a few in the conservative camp who the Obama administration respects. “By respect, I mean, quite simply, the degree to which the White House responds to their worries and needs and believes that the time spent responding is useful and necessary,” Marc Ambinder writes in the...

Simon Cowell Comforts Boyle

(Newser) - Notoriously crusty Simon Cowell personally called Britain’s Got Talent runner-up Susan Boyle to comfort her, vowing to support her unconditionally and offering to rip up her tour contract if it would ease her stress. “Simon told her she had done brilliantly and that she was a great singer...

Obamas' Marriage Once 'Frosty'

He was too ambitious; she was cold and ungrateful, says new book

(Newser) - It may be hard to believe now, but Barack and Michelle Obama have weathered "frosty" times in their marriage because of politics, according to a new book. During a painful stretch in 2000 "there was little conversation and even less romance," said Renegade author Michael Wolffe, who...

Woodward Working on Obama Book

(Newser) - It's almost a political rite of passage at this point: Bob Woodward is writing a book about the Obama administration, reports Gabriel Sherman in the New Republic. No word on the focus, but Sherman notes that Woodward has a knack for making administrations nervous. “Every White House is wary...

Boehner's No. 1 in Obama's Online Suggestion Box

GOP leader plays along with new tool

(Newser) - House Minority Leader John Boehner didn’t like how the House Democrats were operating, so where did he appeal? The White House, of course. More specifically, reports Politico, Boehner used the White House online suggestion box to ask the president to back a 72-hour review period before any spending bill...

Ooops: Socialist Quote Sure to Dog Sotomayor
Ooops: Socialist Quote Sure to Dog Sotomayor
OPINION
May 27, 2009 8:36 AM CDT

Ooops: Socialist Quote Sure to Dog Sotomayor

Princeton yearbook cites would-be prez Norman Thomas

(Newser) - Conservatives are likely to go crazy any second now, when they realize that Sonia Sotomayor is a (gasp) socialist. Sotomayor’s Princeton yearbook quote—“I am not a champion of lost causes, but of causes not yet won”—is from Norman Thomas, a six-time presidential candidate of the...

Obama's Inclusive Message Extends to White House Walls

Call for art includes minority painters, abstract works

(Newser) - More change is coming to Washington, and this time it’s aesthetic. President Obama’s request for works from African-American, Hispanic, and female artists to adorn the White House walls stems from a desire to “round out the permanent collection” and “give new voices” to non-traditional or low-profile...

'I Wasn't Meant to Be Here': Michelle

 'I Wasn't Meant 
 to Be Here': Michelle 
OPINION
May 21, 2009 11:13 AM CDT

'I Wasn't Meant to Be Here': Michelle

First Lady puts tries to do things differently

(Newser) - Michelle Obama often says she “wasn’t meant to be” in the White House, but those watching her “natural” progression to international figure might beg to differ, write Nancy Gibbs and Michael Scherer in Time. Most First Ladies get asked about what they’re “really like”—...

Palestinians Must Accept Israel: Netanyahu

(Newser) - In a White House meeting today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he is ready to resume peace talks with the Palestinians immediately, but any agreement is contingent on their acceptance of Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state. Netanyahu and President Obama met for more than two hours...

Obama Courts GOP Moderates, but Quietly

President seeks support on health care

(Newser) - President Obama would love to have a few Republicans in his corner on health care, but he’s keeping courting efforts low-key, Politico reports. Last week, chief of staff Rahm Emanuel invited a dozen moderate House Republicans to a casual White House meeting, and the president stopped by to chat....

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