Obama Mobilizes Grassroots Support For Health Care Reform
(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
President Obama on Thursday spoke on a conference call with his grassroots supporters, telling them he needs their help to pass health care reform legislation this year -- otherwise, he said, it will not get done.
"If we don't get it done this year, we're not going to get it done," the president said, calling in from Air Force One. "We're going to need to mobilize all of you."
As both conservative and liberal groups push their messages either for or against health care reforms, Mr. Obama's own group called Organizing for America is preparing to kick off a national campaign to win nationwide support for his health care agenda.
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Specter Now Faces Primary Challenger
(CBS)
Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Penn.) confirmed on CNN on Wednesday night that he intends to enter the race, so long as his family approves.
"I personally have made a decision that I intend to get in this race with one other item," Sestak said. "I haven't … had the time to sit down with my eight-year-old daughter or my wife to make sure that we are all ready to get in."
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Take Two: Obama To Visit Landstuhl
(U.S. Air Force)
Unmentioned in the email, however, was the dustup last summer, when during a campaign trip through Europe the Obama team cancelled a visit to the facility.
Remember that? The campaign said it cancelled the trip because the then-senator did not want to "politicize" the visit.
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Liberals Concerned About Sotomayor's Abortion Views
(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Pro-abortion rights groups are concerned about the fact that Sotomayor's judicial record does not reveal much about her position on abortion rights or the right to privacy. Not once in her 11 years as a federal appeals court judge has Sotomayor addressed the issue of abortion rights directly -- though in related cases, she has sided with both pro-abortion rights groups and anti-abortion rights groups.
"We simply don't know Judge Sotomayor's view on the bedrock constitutional case of Roe v. Wade," Nancy Northup, the president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, told CBS News Supreme Court correspondent Wyatt Andrews on Wednesday night.
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Morning Bulletin: Thursday, May 28, 2009
A roundup of news, schedules, and key stories from CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris:
President Obama returns from his western campaign-style trip which not only included fund-raisers but sales pitches for climate change, his economic recovery plan and - the week's big news - Sonia Sotomayor, his choice for the Supreme Court.
In Washington, however, the right and the left ratcheted up their grumbling over Sotomayor as Senate Republicans stayed their course and honored their leaders' wishes not to "pre-judge" or "pre-confirm" Sotomayor.
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(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
In Washington, however, the right and the left ratcheted up their grumbling over Sotomayor as Senate Republicans stayed their course and honored their leaders' wishes not to "pre-judge" or "pre-confirm" Sotomayor.
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President Obama's Schedule Today
President Obama returns from his fundraiser in Los Angeles this morning and he arrives in Washington this afternoon.
Later he will hold a one-on-one meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the Oval Office before inviting other officials into the meeting.
Finally, the president will meet with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and then meet with senior advisers in the Oval Office. Here is more from the White House press office (all times Eastern):
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Later he will hold a one-on-one meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the Oval Office before inviting other officials into the meeting.
Finally, the president will meet with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and then meet with senior advisers in the Oval Office. Here is more from the White House press office (all times Eastern):
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"Background Briefings" Now The White House Norm
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
It's not plagiarism, but most if not all the news stories on President Obama's selection of a Supreme Court nominee quoted the same unnamed White House officials.
Even before Mr. Obama formally disclosed his intention to nominate federal Judge Sonia Sotomayor, White House reporters were e-mailed invitations to a "background briefing in the Roosevelt Room with senior administration officials." It would take place shortly after the president's announcement.
On one condition, the officials were ready to answer questions about the choice and how Mr. Obama came to make it. The condition: that reporters don't disclose the official's names.
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My First Trip With The Obama White House
President Obama's Hotel in Las Vegas:
The Press Hotel:
LAS VEGAS -- It's been an eye-opening first trip with the Obama White House.
First rule: press cheese. There's a cheese platter that greets you on the press charter that is to die for. (And diet after.)
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(CBS)
The Press Hotel:
(CBS)
LAS VEGAS -- It's been an eye-opening first trip with the Obama White House.
First rule: press cheese. There's a cheese platter that greets you on the press charter that is to die for. (And diet after.)
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Gun Rights Groups Are Wary Of Sotomayor
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Second Amendment advocates are responding warily to President Obama's nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, said on Wednesday that "Judge Sotomayor's position on the Second Amendment is a clear signal that Mr. Obama's claim that he supports gun rights is nothing but lip service."
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Second Amendment advocates are responding warily to President Obama's nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, said on Wednesday that "Judge Sotomayor's position on the Second Amendment is a clear signal that Mr. Obama's claim that he supports gun rights is nothing but lip service."
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Burris Responds To Wiretap Revelations
(AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)
Sen. Ronald Burris was defiant today in answering criticism stemming from the FBI's release of tape recordings detailing conversations between the senator and the brother of impeached former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
"Please understand, that there was no pay to play in this or any intention of pay to play," Burris said this morning on "The John Williams Show," as reported by the Chicago Tribune. "And therefore, that should be the end of the story. The transcripts bear that out. There's no conjecture."
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Obama: We're Seeing Results From Stimulus
(AP)
The speech was the latest volley in Mr. Obama's public relations battle with Republicans over the bill, known formally as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The GOP has painted the package as a waste of taxpayer money that has done little to help the economy.
Earlier today, Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele released a statement arguing that a report put out by the Obama administration celebrating the stimulus package amounted to PR from the president designed "to convince voters his reckless spending plan is working."
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National Service Pick Withdraws Nomination
(AP (file))
Citing unspecified health issues, Maria Eitel has withdrawn her nomination to become the head of the Corporation for National and Community Service. President Obama had tapped Eitel, the president of the Nike Foundation, to oversee organizations such as AmeriCorps and Volunteers in Service to America.
In an e-mail to employees reported by the Washington Post, officials at the National Service Agency announced that Eitel will remain at the Nike Foundation because of "a previously unknown health condition."
"Our thoughts are with Maria as she focuses on her personal health," acting chief executive Nicola Goren said in the e-mail. "Finding leadership for the Corporation continues to be a very high priority for the White House."
The post was to have been Eitel's second presidential assignment. She served under President George H.W. Bush as Deputy Director of media relations and later as special assistant to the president for media affairs.
Obama, GOP Battle Over Impact Of Stimulus
(AP)
The first is a speech by the president at 2:40 ET in Nevada "on the important early investments included in the Recovery Act." And the second is a just-released report on the results of the $787 billion piece of legislation, from Vice President Joe Biden.
In the report, the administration argues that the stimulus package has already created or saved 150,000 jobs – though it should be noted that jobs "created or saved" is a notoriously difficult figure to measure. It also says that $112 billion in money from the package has been "obligated" to programs and projects so far.
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GOP Pushback Continues, With Limbaugh Calling Sotomayor A "Reverse Racist"
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Updated at 2:20 ET with comments from Newt Gingrich.
Republican senators continued through Tuesday and Wednesday to express reservations about Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, as some conservative interest groups and pundits ratcheted up the pressure for the GOP to oppose the nomination. Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich have gone so far as to call Sotomayor a "racist."
Sen. Jeff Sessions, the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, had a measured response on Tuesday to Sotomayor's nomination, calling for thorough Senate confirmation hearings.
This morning Sessions reiterated the need for a thorough vetting, adding that "the nominee has serious problems," according to the Associated Press. He specifically said he found certain remarks from Sotomayor regarding policymaking from the bench to be "troubling."
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Updated at 2:20 ET with comments from Newt Gingrich.
Republican senators continued through Tuesday and Wednesday to express reservations about Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, as some conservative interest groups and pundits ratcheted up the pressure for the GOP to oppose the nomination. Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich have gone so far as to call Sotomayor a "racist."
Sen. Jeff Sessions, the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, had a measured response on Tuesday to Sotomayor's nomination, calling for thorough Senate confirmation hearings.
This morning Sessions reiterated the need for a thorough vetting, adding that "the nominee has serious problems," according to the Associated Press. He specifically said he found certain remarks from Sotomayor regarding policymaking from the bench to be "troubling."
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Campaign-Style Ad Supporting Sotomayor Released
(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
The 30-second spot features audio of the president discussing what he seeks in a nominee as Sotomayor's accomplishments and biography appear onscreen, along with photos of the judge.
The accomplishments listed as the president speaks of seeking "someone with a sharp and independent mind" include the fact that Sotomayor was first appointed by George H.W. Bush, a Republican president.
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