All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

President Obama spoke at a memorial service for the men and women killed at the shooting rampage at Fort Hood Army post, honoring the dead and predicting justice for the shooter responsible for their murder.

"It may be hard to comprehend the twisted logic that led to this tragedy," Mr. Obama said. "But this much we do know – no faith justifies these murderous and craven acts; no just and loving God looks upon them with favor. For what he has done, we know that the killer will be met with justice – in this world, and the next."

The president said the fact that the shooting took place on American soil "makes the tragedy even more painful and even more incomprehensible." He said those who were killed will endure "through the life of our nation."

"Every evening that the sun sets on a tranquil town; every dawn that a flag is unfurled; every moment that an American enjoys life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness – that is their legacy," said the president.

Photos: Fort Hood Memorial Service

Mr. Obama spoke individually about those who were killed in the shootings, offering background information and details about their lives. When Staff Sergeant Amy Krueger's mother told Krueger she couldn't take Osama bin Laden on by herself, the president noted, "Amy replied: 'Watch me.'"

"Their lives speak to the strength, the dignity the decency of those who serve, and that's how they will be remembered," Mr. Obama said of the fallen.

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Updated 3:54 p.m. ET

President Obama spoke Tuesday afternoon at the memorial service for those killed at Fort Hood Army post last week. Below are his full remarks, as provided by the White House.

President Obama: To the Fort Hood community; to Admiral Mullen; General Casey; General Cone; Secretary McHugh; Secretary Gates; most importantly, to family, friends and members of our Armed Forces. We come together filled with sorrow for the 13 Americans that we have lost; with gratitude for the lives that they led; and with a determination to honor them through the work we carry on.

This is a time of war. Yet these Americans did not die on a foreign field of battle. They were killed here, on American soil, in the heart of this great state and the heart of this great American community. This is the fact that makes the tragedy even more painful, even more incomprehensible.

For those families who have lost a loved one, no words can fill the void that's been left. We knew these men and women as soldiers and caregivers. You knew them as mothers and fathers; sons and daughters; sisters and brothers.

But here is what you must also know: Your loved ones endure through the life of our nation. Their memory will be honored in the places they lived and by the people they touched. Their life's work is our security, and the freedom that we all too often take for granted. Every evening that the sun sets on a tranquil town; every dawn that a flag is unfurled; every moment that an American enjoys life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness -- that is their legacy.

Neither this country -- nor the values upon which we were founded -- could exist without men and women like these 13 Americans. And that is why we must pay tribute to their stories.

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The White House has released President Obama's planned remarks on financial regulatory reform, which he plans to deliver at 12:50 p.m. Eastern Time today.

The remarks lay out his administration's plan to reshape the financial system in the wake of the global financial meltdown, a plan that still must pass Congress. Though the proposal is scaled back, Mr. Obama is deeming it "a transformation on a scale not seen since the reforms that followed the Great Depression."

"It is an indisputable fact that one of the most significant contributors to our economic downturn was an unraveling of major financial institutions and the lack of adequate regulatory structures to prevent abuse and excess," the president plans to say. "A culture of irresponsibility took root from Wall Street to Washington to Main Street. And a regulatory regime basically crafted in the wake of a 20th century economic crisis – the Great Depression – was overwhelmed by the speed, scope, and sophistication of a 21st century global economy."

Key points:

"[W]e are proposing the creation of what is called 'resolution authority' for large and interconnected financial firms so that we are not only putting in place safeguards to prevent the failure of these firms, but also a set of orderly procedures that will allow us to protect the economy if such a firm does in fact go under."

"[W]e are proposing a new and powerful agency charged with just one job: looking out for ordinary consumers. This is essential, for this crisis was not just the result of decisions made by the mightiest of financial firms; it was also the result of decisions made by ordinary Americans to open credit cards, take out home loans, and take on other financial obligations."

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President Obama this morning introduced his choice to replace David Souter on the Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor. He said she has the experience "that can give a person a common touch and a sense of compassion, an understanding of how the world works and how ordinary people live."

"She's faced down barriers, overcome the odds, and lived out the American dream that brought her parents here so long ago," he said. "And even as she has accomplished so much in her life, she has never forgotten where she began, never lost touch with the community that supported her."

The president also called Sotomayor "inspiring" and said she "saved baseball" by quickly announcing a decision that ended the strike in the mid-1990s.

Sotomayor, appearing after the president, said the nomination was "the most humbling honor of my life."

She said she strives "never to forget the real world consequences of my decisions on individuals, businesses and government." In what may have been a bid to win over skeptical Republicans she noted that she has long been "inspired by the achievement of our founding fathers," noting that they have "set forth principles that have endured for than more two centuries."

"Those principles are as meaningful and relevant in each generation as the generation before," she said.

The full remarks by President Obama and Sotomayor, as provided by the White House, are below.

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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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President Obama this morning detailed his administration's proposal to reduce or eliminate more than 100 programs and save taxpayers $17 billion next year.

In his comments, the president responded to criticism that the savings amount to just a tiny portion of the budget, which totals $3.4 trillion next year.

"A few of the programs we eliminate will produce less than a million dollars in savings," the president said. "And in Washington, I guess that's considered trivial. Outside of Washington, that's still considered a lot of money."

The president went on to detail some of the programs that would be cut, including a long-range radio navigation system, the National Institute for Literacy, and a Paris office maintained by the Department of Education.

His full remarks, as provided by the White House, are below. And here is a blog post from OMB Director Peter Orszag detailing some of the proposed cuts.

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President Obama today went to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, to explain to an audience of Marines his plans for ending the war in Iraq.

The president promised that the combat mission will end by August 31st of next year and said all troops will be out by the end of 2011, as laid out in an agreement between the U.S. and Iraq near the end of George W. Bush's presidency.

“We cannot sustain indefinitely a commitment that has put a strain on our military, and will cost the American people nearly a trillion dollars,” he said. “America’s men and women in uniform have fought block by block, province by province, year after year, to give the Iraqis this chance to choose a better future. Now, we must ask the Iraqi people to seize it.”

President Obama’s full remarks, as prepared for delivery, are below.

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Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner today laid out the Obama administration's overhaul of the so-called TARP $700 billion bailout program for banks and financial sectors.

The new Financial Stability Plan, he said, "will help restart the flow of credit, clean up and strengthen our banks, and provide critical aid for homeowners and for small businesses."

"As we do each of these things, we will impose new, higher standards for transparency and accountability," he added.

Geithner laid out the details in his remarks this morning. Read them in full below.

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