All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

Political campaigns for the 2010 elections are kicking off across the country, and CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris will be regularly tracking their developments here at the Hotsheet.

There is little analysis to provide at this point, with the midterm election season in a relatively early state, but Chaggaris has pulled together news from the most important campaigns to watch over the next year. In states like Florida and Texas, the national controversy surrounding the community organizing group ACORN has seeped into statewide races. Meanwhile, the Republican Party's senatorial fundraising arm has pulled in some noteworthy support.

2010 FUNDRAISING: "The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) has outraised its Democratic counterpart for the second consecutive month, ending August with a larger net bank account," writes The Hill's Reid Wilson. "The NRSC pulled in just under $3.1 million last month, beginning September with $5.1 million in the bank. The committee ended the 2008 cycle with considerably less debt than the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) and does not owe any creditors.

"The DSCC raised $2.2 million and ended August with just shy of $6.9 million in the bank. But the DSCC still owes $2.9 million from the last cycle — considerably down from the end of 2008, when it was more than $10.9 million in the red.

"Both parties have yet to ramp up fundraising to levels they achieved two years ago. The DSCC has raised about $27.5 million after pulling in $162 million between 2007 and 2008. The NRSC's pace is faster than it was two years ago, having raised $26.5 million so far this year after pulling in $94 million in the 2008 cycle."

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President Obama gave an impassioned speech to turn the tide of dissent over health care reform, but was it enough?

According to Steve Chaggaris, CBS News Director of Political Coverage, "It will take a few days to shake out whether Americans were swayed by what he said tonight."

Chaggaris also notes that his decision to keep a public option plan isn't going over well with some moderate Republicans he hopes to court, namely Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), who expressed her wish that the President took a public option off the table.

Watch Steve Chaggaris' analysis of President Obama's address to a joint session of Congress above.

In his new book "Inside the President's Secret Service", author Ronald Kessler alleges mismanagement within the Secret Service. Kessler discussed his claims and the new challenges the agency faces with CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris on Monday's edition of "Washington Unplugged."

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Democrats are having a field day musing over who the “leader” of the Republican Party might be, in no way hiding their glee as they point and snicker at the messy circumstances the GOP currently finds itself in.

Is Rush Limbaugh the voice of the Republicans? Or perhaps Dick Cheney? Newt Gingrich? Michael Steele? Sarah Palin? Mitt Romney? Karl Rove? Eric Cantor?

And the list goes on.

The Democratic National Committee calls it "GOP Survivor" and is reveling in their rivals’ quagmire.

But Democrats, while understandably giddy, should remember that they were in a comparable situation just over four years ago.

After President George W. Bush defeated John Kerry in 2004, there was similar quagmire talk and the identical question was being asked of the Democrats. They had lost ground in both the House and Senate, Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle failed in his re-election bid, and a newly minted senator, Barack Obama, was just a glimmer in the eyes of the crystal ball readers.

Was John Kerry the voice of the Democratic Party? Or perhaps Al Gore? Nancy Pelosi? Hillary Clinton? Howard Dean?

And the list went on.

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It’s day one of a weeks-long nomination process for Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama’s selection for the Supreme Court, and given today’s political climate, the initial analysis of his choice is turning out to be quite positive. Because of this climate, the president clearly feels he has the political capital to get Sotomayor, someone that conservatives feel was the most liberal on his short list, onto the Court.

With his choice, the president pleased his base and Hispanic groups. Are there risks? Of course. But the risk-reward ratio weighs heavily in the president’s favor. Barring any major issues that have yet to be uncovered about Judge Sotomayor, even many Republicans are resigned to the fact that she’ll most likely wind up being confirmed.

The Republicans, however, will do their best to not make it a cakewalk.

And this is where Mr. Obama’s choice of Sotomayor gets interesting. He’s put the onus on the Republicans to figure out how to react.

Normally, the opposition - Republican or Democrat, depending on the president - would come out guns ablaze after the nominee, doing their darndest to tar him or her from the moment of the announcement through the confirmation process. And, normally, this tactic works in the opposition’s favor; if they can't derail the nominee, at least they can use the partisan fight as an opportunity to raise money from their base.

This year is much different, and the nomination of Sotomayor “does create a difficult situation politically for the Republicans,” said one Democratic strategist, who asked for anonymity because of their relationship with the White House.

Why is it different? Because Sotomayor is Hispanic and she’s a woman.

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A roundup of news, schedules, and key stories from CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris:

President Obama will announce new fuel efficiency standards for automobiles and the first-ever national emissions limits today at the White House.

The program will begin with model year 2012 cars and by 2016, the average fuel efficiency will be 35.5 miles per gallon, according to a senior administration official, hitting that standard four years before the previously passed CAFE law required. The 2009 model year average fuel efficiency is 25 mpg.

Also, “the program is also projected to achieve reductions of 900 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions under the life of the program. That is equivalent to taking 177 million cars off the road or shutting down 194 coal plants,” said the senior administration official.

The new rules are expected to bump up auto prices an average of $1,300 per vehicle.

“The plan coordinates two separate standards for fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, aiming for cars that achieve higher miles per gallon and have lower-polluting air conditioning systems,” reports the Detroit News’ David Shepardson. “General Motors Corp. President and CEO Fritz Henderson, Ford Motor Co. CEO Alan Mulally, Chrysler Chairman and CEO Robert Nardelli, Daimler AG CEO Dieter Zetsche, Toyota's top U.S. executive Jim Lentz and UAW President Ron Gettelfinger will be at the White House today when President Barack Obama announces the deal. Top execs from Honda and Volkswagen AG will also attend. So will Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick."

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A roundup of news, schedules, and key stories from CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris:

President Obama meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House at 10:30am ET where the Israeli-Palestinan dispute will be the main topic of conversation.

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is signaling he may resist President Barack Obama's pressure to support Palestinian statehood as the two leaders try to tackle an array of Mideast issues Monday on which they disagree,” reports the Associated Press Amy Tiebel. “A senior aide to Netanyahu, national security adviser Uzi Arad, suggested the Israeli leader might not yield to pressure from Obama for a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict. He also seemed to hint that Israel might consider military action against Iran when he said there was a ‘sense of urgency’ in Israel over the Iranian nuclear threat."

"Such rhetoric suggests diplomatic high stakes as the two men hold their first White House meeting against a backdrop of disagreement over several key issues: U.S. overtures to once-shunned Iran and Syria and pressure on Israel to support a Palestinian state. The Obama administration is trying to promote dialogue with Iran and Syria, Israel's arch foes. Israel fears such efforts could lead to greater tolerance for Iran's nuclear ambitions. Before his Feb. 10 election, Netanyahu derided the latest round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, which stalled late last year, as a waste of time. While not opposing the Obama administration's efforts to promote dialogue with Iran and Syria, Israel is skeptical. Like Washington, it dismisses Tehran's claims that its nuclear program is peaceful and fears the U.S. outreach could lead to greater tolerance for Iran's nuclear ambitions. The Israelis are also worried by the recent diplomatic shuttles to Syria for fear they reward Damascus even as it maintains close ties to Tehran and harbors Iranian proxies that have warred with Israel, Lebanon's Hezbollah and Gaza's Hamas.”

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A roundup of news, schedules, and key stories from CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris:

President Obama will meet with leaders from various health care industry groups this morning when they’ll detail their agreement to curtail $2 trillion in health costs over the next 10 years.

At 11:30 a.m. ET, “They will present a letter (saying that they plan) to reduce the growth rate of health care spending by 1.5 percentage points a year over the next 10 years…This is a major and unprecedented move by this group made up of very sophisticated trade associations and groups, some of which have been opponents of health care reform in the past,” said a White House official.

“This fundamentally allies these groups with the President’s goal of getting health care reform this year and that’s a game changer, in our opinion…and it makes clearer than ever that health care reform is going to happen this year in Congress. These groups realize that we are all in the same boat and we are rolling in the same direction towards health care reform.”

The groups include the American Hospital Association, American Medical Association, PHrMA, AvMed, America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), The Greater NY Hospital Association, and The California Hospital Association.

Following the meeting, at 12:30 p.m., President Obama will speak about health care reform and will say, according to excerpts released by the White House, “"We cannot continue down the same dangerous road we've been traveling for so many years, with costs that are out of control, because reform is not a luxury that can be postponed, but a necessity that cannot wait.”

"It is a recognition that the fictional television couple, Harry and Louise, who became the iconic faces of those who opposed health care reform in the ‘90s, desperately need health care reform in 2009. And so does America.”

"That is why these groups are voluntarily coming together to make an unprecedented commitment. Over the next ten years - from 2010 to 2019 - they are pledging to cut the growth rate of national health care spending by 1.5 percentage points each year - an amount that’s equal to over $2 trillion."

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A roundup of news, schedules, and key stories from CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris:

On the heels of the new unemployment numbers released this morning, President Obama will talk about jobs today at 11:30am ET. He'll unveil a plan for the unemployed to pursue education and training while keeping their unemployment benefits.

The Associated Press' Darlene Superville reports, " Under the measures Obama was scheduled to outline, according to the White House: The Labor Department will encourage states to update rules during economic downturns so that the unemployed can enroll in community colleges and other education or training programs without giving up their benefits.

"States generally require people who collect unemployment to be actively looking for work, which can make it difficult to sign up for school or job training. Going to school will satisfy the requirement that they be actively seeking new employment. The Education Department will encourage colleges to increase financial aid packages for the unemployed. Colleges can consider an unemployed worker's situation and make them eligible for Pell Grants, which help low-income students afford college, and other aid. An unemployed person could get a Pell Grant and use it to pay for education or job training without giving up unemployment benefits. Beginning in July, the maximum Pell Grant will be boosted by $500, to $5,350."

PRESIDENT'S BUDGET: "President Barack Obama released details of his $3.6 trillion fiscal-2010 budget Thursday, showing how he would expand the government's reach with programs ranging from a low-cost housing trust fund to adding 50,000 cops on the beat to spreading automatic 401(k) enrollments. What remains unclear in the nearly 1,500 pages is how the president would try to narrow the gaping federal deficit," writes the Wall Street Journal's Jonathan Weisman.

"The added cost of new programs detailed in Mr. Obama's budget appendix will swamp the $17 billion of potential savings anticipated from eliminating or cutting back 121 programs, enumerated in a separate document. At a time when state and local governments are slashing services, the Obama budget for 2010 shows little real sign of belt-tightening."

"Restraint has not been the hallmark of President Obama's first budget," adds the Washington Post's Dan Balz.

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A roundup of news, schedules, and key stories from CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris:

At 10:30 a.m. ET, President Obama unveils more details of his proposed FY 2010 budget today but the part of the announcement the White House has been enthusiastically touting is the result of their “line-by-line” scrubbing of the budget, resulting in 121 budget cuts totaling $17 billion.

Those figures, however, have landed with a bit of a thud.

The Washington Post’s Lori Montgomery and Amy Goldstein write that it’s “a tiny fraction of next year's $3.4 trillion budget. The plan is less ambitious than the hit list former president George W. Bush produced last year, targeting 151 programs for $34 billion in savings.

"And like most of the cuts Bush sought, congressional sources and independent budget analysts yesterday predicted that Obama's, too, would be a tough sell. ‘Even if you got all of those things, it would be saving pennies, not dollars. And you're not going to begin to get all of them,’ said Isabel Sawhill, a Brookings Institution economist who waged her own battles with Congress as a senior official in the Clinton White House budget office.

"‘This is a good government exercise without much prospect of putting a significant dent in spending.’ Administration officials defended their approach, saying the list of program reductions and terminations is just the start of a broader effort to cut spending and rein in a skyrocketing budget deficit, which is projected to approach $1.7 trillion this year. They also noted that the list does not include more than $300 billion in savings Obama proposes to squeeze from federal health programs and use to finance an expansion of coverage for the uninsured.”

“Obama's proposed cuts are about one-fiftieth the size of this year's $787 billion economic stimulus package — all of which was added to the deficit. The overall budget is $3.6 trillion,” adds USA Today’s Richard Wolf.

“The programs that would be reduced or eliminated would require approval by Congress. In all, 121 programs would be affected, said the officials, who briefed reporters in a conference call but refused to be identified ahead of Obama's official announcement. The programs Obama will try to shrink or eliminate vary from a long-range radio navigation system made obsolete by the Global Positioning System to the Even Start early childhood education program, the officials said. Those programs will have defenders in Congress and across the country that will make it hard for him to get the desired savings.”

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