Administration -- Obama Meets The Press Again

March 25, 2009

by Faiz Shakir, Amanda Terkel, Satyam Khanna, Matt Corley, Benjamin Armbruster, Ali Frick, and Ryan Powers

ADMINISTRATION

Obama Meets The Press Again

Last night, President Obama held his second prime-time press conference from the White House, where he sought "to reassure the nation that he could solve the crisis that has gripped the economy for more than a year." Before taking questions, Obama delivered a prepared "update" on the steps that his administration is "taking to move this economy from recession to recovery, and ultimately to prosperity." "We've put in place a comprehensive strategy designed to attack this crisis on all fronts," said Obama. "It's a strategy to create jobs, to help responsible homeowners, to restart lending, and to grow our economy over the long term. And we're beginning to see signs of progress." After noting his stimulus, housing, and financial rescue plans, Obama said that "the most critical part" of his recovery strategy is the budget he proposed to Congress last month, which he said "will build our economic recovery on a stronger foundation so that we don't face another crisis like this 10 or 20 years from now." "That's why this budget is inseparable from this recovery, because it is what lays the foundation for a secure and lasting prosperity," said Obama. But the budget proposal was the main target of the press corps, with four of the 13 questions asked focusing on its elements. Responding to claims that he is "passing on our problems to the next generation," Obama steadfastly made the case for his budget, saying that "the best way to bring our deficit down in the long run" is "with a budget that leads to broad economic growth by moving from an era of borrow-and-spend to one where we save and invest."

FOUR BASIC PRINCIPLES: In his weekly video address this past weekend, Obama said that as Congress takes up his budget, he expected that the final product will maintain "four basic principles": putting America on "a path to a clean, renewable energy future," renewing a "commitment to a complete and competitive education for every American child," making "a serious investment in health care reform," and reducing the deficit in the long term. Noting press reports of some pushback from Senate Democrats, ABC News' Jake Tapper asked Obama last night if he would "sign a budget if it does not contain a middle-class tax cut, does not contain cap-and- trade." Obama replied that he never expected Congress to take his budget proposal and "simply Xerox it and vote on it," but he is "confident" that the final budget will have his four principles in place. Asked by CBS News' Chip Reid about the Congressional Budget Office's (CBO) more pessimistic assessment of the deficit Obama's budget would create, Obama said that his administration's assessment and the CBO's assessment simply differed on "assumptions about growth," with Obama assuming a growth rate of 2.6 and the CBO assuming a growth rate of 2.2. He then returned to the four basic principles, saying, "Here's what I do know: If we don't tackle energy, if we don't improve our education system, if we don't drive down the costs of health care, if we're not making serious investments in science and technology and our infrastructure, then we won't grow 2.6 percent; we won't grow 2.2 percent. We won't grow."

'FOLKS ARE SACRIFICING LEFT AND RIGHT': One of the odder questions posed to Obama was NBC News's Chuck Todd's query about why he hadn't "asked for something specific that the public should be sacrificing to participate in this economic recovery." As Center for American Progress Action Fund fellow Matt Yglesias notes, Obama responded with a "progressive answer," saying that "folks are sacrificing left and right." "You've got a lot of parents who are cutting back on everything to make sure that their kids can still go to college," said Obama. "You've got workers who are deciding to cut an entire day and entire day's worth of pay so that their fellow co-workers aren't laid off. I think that across the board people are making adjustments, large and small, to accommodate the fact that we’re in very difficult times right now." Indeed, Obama's assessment of Americans' sacrifice was emphasized later in the press conference when Ebony magazine's Kevin Chappell asked about a recent report, which "found that as a result of the economic downturn, one in 50 children are now homeless in America." "Part of the change in attitudes that I want to see here in Washington and all across the country is a belief that it is not acceptable for children and families to be without a roof over their heads in a country as wealthy as ours," replied Obama, pledging to initiate "a range of programs as well to deal with homelessness."

EXPANDING THE MEDIA UNIVERSE: As with his first press conference, Obama went out of his way to take questions from news outlets beyond the major newspapers and television networks. Though he began with the tradition of taking the first question from the AP, followed by the three major networks, Obama also took questions from outlets such as the Spanish-language network Univision, the military's Stars and Stripes newspaper, Agence France-Presse, and Ebony magazine. As Politico's Michael Calderone noted, "Obama skipped over the nation's top newspapers" as "there were no questions from the NY Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal or USA Today." "The president covered a range of topics, including his commitment to addressing the economic crisis, by calling on a wide range of outlets -- including some that rarely, if ever, are given the opportunity to pose a question at a presidential news conference," White House Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest told the AP. As with his first prime time presser, Obama also opened up the conference to new media, admitting more online reporters, including The Progress Report's Faiz Shakir, who had polled his audience for suggestions of questions

CONGRESS -- SPECTER ANNOUNCES HIS INTENT TO VOTE AGAINST EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT: Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) was the only Republican to vote for cloture -- and thus end debate and allow a vote -- when the Employee Free Choice Act was last considered in 2007. But yesterday on the Senate floor, Specter announced his intention to vote against cloture on the same bill when it comes up this year. During his announcement, Specter noted his previous support for the bill, but suggested that the dire condition of the economy makes "this a particularly bad time to enact" employee choice legislation. Earlier this month, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) countered this right-wing talking point, observing, "In 1935, we passed the Wagner Act that promoted unionization and allowed unions to flourish, and at the time we were at around 20 percent unemployment. ... This is exactly the time we should be insisting on a fairer playing field for people to organize themselves." As evidence of the right-wing pressure he was facing, one of Specter's first calls was to Grover Norquist, the head of Americans for Tax Reform, to inform him of his decision. Further, Specter is "likely to face a major primary challenge from Club For Growth president Pat Toomey in the 2010 election, which may have factored into this apparent decision." Specter also suggested that he did not want to bear the political cost of being the "decisive vote" in favor of the legislation.

CIVIL RIGHTS -- FOX NEWS FURIOUS THAT BARNEY FRANK ACCURATELY CHARACTERIZED SCALIA'S VIEWS AS HOMOPHOBIC: In a recent interview with 365gay.com, Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) called Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia a "homophobe." Unsurprisingly, Fox News was apoplectic, insisting that Scalia made "no direct attack...on the homosexual community" and that his anti-gay rhetoric has not been "necessarily harsh." However, Scalia's animus toward gay people -- i.e., his homophobia -- is clear. During oral arguments for the 2003 case Lawrence v. Texas -- in which the Court eventually struck down a Texas law making gay sex illegal -- Scalia suggested that homosexuality was somehow contagious, saying that a potential "harm" from having gay teachers is that "children might be induced to follow the path to homosexuality." In his written dissent for the same case, Scalia said laws against homosexuality served "the same interest" as those against incest and bestiality. In a 1996 case, Romer v. Evans, Scalia compared homosexuality to murder. Sounding like a conspiracy theorist, he said it was "preposterous" to call gay people "politically unpopular" when they are a group "which enjoys enormous influence in American media and politics." And concluding his Lawrence dissent, Scalia blasted the Court's majority for having "signed on to the so-called homosexual agenda."

MILITARY -- VETS SAY OLD DEFINITION OF 'COMBAT' PREVENTS DISABILITY BENEFITS TO IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN VETS: In testimony yesterday, members of veterans groups blamed an outdated law for blocking soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan from receiving needed disability benefits. The World-War II-era law "established that veterans who 'engaged in combat with the enemy' receive special treatment when they seek disability compensation, making it less burdensome for them to prove the injury was from their time in service." But many veterans "are struggling to obtain disability benefits because they don't meet the definition" of having engaged in combat. The veterans that have been affected the most are those with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), including nightmares, flashbacks, and "an inability to think clearly or remember things well, which makes performing basic daily tasks difficult." Earlier this month, the Air Force Times reported that "as many as 300,000 troops had PTSD and received inadequate care." According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, only "about half of all disability claims for PTSD are approved." President Obama addressed the problem at his news conference last night, saying, "Unfortunately, over the last several years, all too often the VA has been under-resourced when it comes to dealing with things like post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury."

The White House is "Open for Questions." Americans can submit economy-focused questions to the White House website -- and vote others' questions up or down -- and President Obama will answer them during a web townhall tomorrow. View the more than 10,000 questions that have already been submitted, or ask your own, here.

Sens. Evan Bayh (D-IN), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), and Tom Carper (D-DE), who recently created a coalition of moderate Democrats, respond to their progressive critics in an op-ed. "We understand the Beltway impulse to emphasize conflict and the blogosphere's concern that Democrats stick together," they write. "Without Democratic moderates...the president's agenda could well be filibustered into oblivion."

In a report to be released today, the Government Accountability Office finds that the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division is failing to properly enforce minimum wage and other labor laws, "leaving millions of workers vulnerable." In fact, the division "mishandled 9 of the 10 cases brought by a team of undercover agents posing as aggrieved workers."

The Senate debated a bill yesterday that would wipe out credit card debt for people in bankruptcy. The bill is "aimed at punishing credit card companies that raise their interest rates to a high level and at giving consumers who may be on the verge of bankruptcy greater leverage to negotiate better deals with those lenders."

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-ND) is crafting a budget that will leave a deficit of "$1.2 trillion next year, compared with $1.4 trillion under Obama's policies." Conrad "said he would leave out new spending for Obama's proposed expansion of health care coverage...as well as the president's proposal to make permanent an $800 tax credit for working families."

Obama will go to Capitol Hill today to meet with Senate Democrats about his proposed budget and "his efforts to stabilize the financial markets and his multipronged approach to the problem." Roll Call reports that Obama plans to "devote a substantial amount of time to answering Senators' questions."

In an attempt to prevent "a spillover of drug-related violence from Mexico," the Obama administration said yesterday that it would be sending "360 agents would be sent to the Border Patrol and to Immigration and Customs Enforcement units" at the border. Further, 100 agents will be sent to augment ATF units. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano called it the "first wave of things that will be happening."

And finally: Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI) isn't a big fan of the congressional gym. The "chain-smoking" congressman told Fox News on Monday that he doesn't "go there very much because A, they don’t have ashtrays. ... And B, the one time I was there, my first trip, someone sort of was talc-ing themselves, and offered their hand and I just said, 'Hey, we're cool, dude.'" McCotter didn't reveal the name of the senator.

The Obama administration "appears to be backing away from the phrase 'global war on terror,' a signature rhetorical legacy of its predecessor." A Pentagon memo e-mailed this week said that the term "Overseas Contingency Operation" should be used instead.

THINK PROGRESS: The Progress Report's Amanda Terkel discusses Bill O'Reilly's harassment machine with MSNBC's Keith Olbermann.

WONK ROOM: Analysis: Conservative budget alternative saves average CEO $1.5 million every year.

YGLESIAS: Looming ecological catastrophe is a substantive problem, not a political one.

VIDEO CAFE: Fox Business anchor compares tax on AIG bonuses to sexual abuse.

NEW YORK: Gov. David Paterson (D) orders "layoffs that could total about 4 percent of state workers after unions refused concessions."

MINNESOTA: Former Republican senator Norm Coleman says he isn't ruling out more legal challenges in his election recount.

TEXAS: State Board of Education "will hold a public hearing today on proposed science curriculum standards that would delete a long-time requirement that 'weaknesses' in the theory of evolution be taught in high school science classes."

"In defense of Justice Scalia, in that dissent Lawrence v. Texas, he wasn't necessarily harsh [on gays]."
-- Fox News's Megyn Kelly, 3/24/09

VERSUS

"The Texas statute undeniably seeks to further the belief of its citizens that certain forms of sexual behavior are 'immoral and unacceptable,' ... the same interest furthered by criminal laws against fornication, bigamy, adultery, adult incest, bestiality, and obscenity."
-- Scalia dissenting in Lawrence v. Texas, 6/26/03, on same-sex relationships

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Obama Meets The Press Again

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