All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

In remarks on his administration's proposed $17 billion in cuts from the 2010 budget this morning, President Obama was somewhat on the defensive against charges that his cuts don't amount to much considering that next year's total budget amounts to $3.4 trillion.

As Steve Chaggaris noted in Hotsheet's morning bulletin today, the news that the cuts totaled $17 billion "landed with a bit of a thud" in the media. Reporters stressed that the cuts made up "a tiny fraction" of the total budget and that they would be hard to push through; USA Today noted that the "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."

In his remarks today, the president sought to change that tenor of that coverage. He mocked the notion that smaller savings are considered "trivial" in Washington and stressed that "these savings, large and small, add up."

And he told journalists directly that they should stress the fact that the cuts are "significant" – a surprisingly direct appeal to reporters concerning which angle they should take in their coverage.

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The eye-witnesses to history, from near and far. What was seen as a president is sworn in.

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Following what some saw as an attempt to lose his travelling press corps this weekend, it appears that President-elect Obama is still coming to terms with his fame…and the accompanying entourage.

CBS News’ Ben Tracy reports that Mr. Obama’s popularity has reached a fever pitch in his home state, where guided tour buses drive visitors to important places in his Honolulu childhood and local tee shirt chains print fan favorites.

Wherever the man in waiting has gone during his Hawaiian vacation, the fans and the journalists anxious to catch a glimpse have followed. And don’t forget the secret service anxious to keep these crowds at bay. From the gym to the 18th hole to a shave ice errand, Mr. Obama is rarely alone.

Here are some of those circling masses: