Politics

Morning Bulletin - Thursday, April 30, 2009

By Steve Chaggaris

April 30, 2009 / 11:01 AM EDT / CBS News

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

(CBS/ AP)

PRESIDENT'S PRESS CONFERENCE:"A somber President Obama warned a recession-weary nation Wednesday that its resilience would be tested even more in the second hundred days of his presidency, as he grapples with a series of crises including two wars, a teetering economy and an outbreak of swine flu," report the LA Times' Peter Nicholas and Christi Parsons."On the 100th day of his administration, Obama used a prime-time news conference to appeal for patience from Americans who have given him high approval ratings, laying out in unsparing detail the full scope of what the country faces. The typical president, he said, 'has two or three big problems. We've got seven or eight big problems. And so we've had to move very quickly.'

"At times Obama sounded almost wistful as he suggested that some past presidents had only a war or a natural disaster to contend with. 'If you could tell me right now when I walked into this office . . . that all you had to worry about was Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea, getting healthcare passed, figuring out how to deal with energy independence, deal with Iran and a pandemic flu, I would take that deal,' he said. 'I would love a nice, lean portfolio to deal with, but that's not the hand that's been dealt us.' Underscoring the severity of the domestic problems, Wednesday began with a sober reminder of the recession's depth: The U.S. economy shrank at a rate of 6.1% in the quarter that ended last month. Given so many serious problems demanding such urgent action, Obama said, improvement would not come quickly. 'The ship of state is an ocean liner; it's not a speedboat,' the president said. 'If we can move this big battleship a few degrees in a different direction, we may not see all the consequences of that change a week from now or three months from now, but 10 years from now, or 20 years from now.'"

"One hundred days into his term, President Obama used a pair of public events Wednesday to chart how far he has steered the country from the course set by the Bush administration, saying, 'We are off to a good start, but it is just a start,'" add the Washington Post's Michael D. Shear, Michael A. Fletcher and Scott Wilson. "Capitalizing on the heightened public attention surrounding the milestone, Obama said his early achievements include setting a timeline to end the U.S. combat role in Iraq -- a war he inherited from President George W. Bush -- and moving quickly to remake an economy suffering as a result of irresponsible borrowing during Bush's tenure. But his most pointed comments during a day that included a prime-time news conference at the White House and a town-hall forum in Missouri involved his decision to ban waterboarding and other abusive interrogation methods sanctioned by the Bush administration for use against terrorism suspects.

Last night, Obama flatly called those techniques 'torture' and said the practice 'corrodes the character of a country.' He said the 'public justification' of those methods, including assertions by former vice president Richard B. Cheney that they helped save American lives, 'doesn't answer the core question, which is: Could we have gotten that same information without resorting to these techniques? And it doesn't answer the broader question: Are we safer as a consequence of having used these techniques?' 'This is a decision that I'm very comfortable with,' Obama said. 'And I think the American people over time will recognize that it is better for us to stick to who we are, even when we're taking on an unscrupulous enemy.'"

Politico's John F. Harris and Jonathan Martin observe: "The television networks have given President Barack Obama airtime for three prime-time news conferences in three months for an obvious reason: He is an exciting politician governing in a too-exciting-for-comfort time. But this was sometimes hard to remember during Obama's hour-long outing before White House reporters Tuesday night. The questions were greeted by slow nods and thoughtful pauses. When the answers came, they were precise, considered, sometimes academic, always articulate, not usually all that newsy, and, let's face it, occasionally long-winded. Far from electric, this was a tranquilizing performance. So much so that it was impossible not to conclude that a president who certainly knows how to be exciting was making a calculated effort not to be."

(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

SWINE FLU: AP: "Vice President Joe Biden and the acting head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in televised interviews Thursday there would be no practical benefit to closing the U.S.-Mexican border. Biden said on CBS [The Early Show] that it would be a 'monumental undertaking' with far-reaching consequences. Biden also said on NBC's 'Today' show that he is advising his own family to stay off commercial airlines and even subways because of swine flu. If one person sneezes on a confined aircraft, he said, 'it goes all the way through the aircraft.' His precautions go beyond official advice from the U.S. government."

Statement from Biden's spokeswoman: "On the Today Show this morning the Vice President was asked what he would tell a family member who was considering air travel to Mexico this week. The advice he is giving family members is the same advice the Administration is giving to all Americans: that they should avoid unnecessary air travel to and from Mexico. If they are sick, they should avoid airplanes and other confined public spaces, such as subways. This is the advice the Vice President has given family members who are traveling by commercial airline this week. As the President said just last night, every American should take the same steps you would take to prevent any other flu: keep your hands washed; cover your mouth when you cough; stay home from work if you're sick; and keep your children home from school if they're sick."

4973210CHRYSLER: "The Obama administration will take Chrysler LLC into a historic bankruptcy to force a cut in debt key to a partnership with Fiat S.p.A. after three firms refused a sweetened offer," reports the Detroit Free Press' Justin Hyde. "With the UAW late Wednesday ratifying cost cuts in its contract and cuts in the money due its retiree health-care trust fund, President Barack Obama will likely announce a Chrysler-Fiat deal and the government's "surgical" bankruptcy plan later today. The administration has gone to great lengths to portray the first bankruptcy of one of Detroit's major automakers as just a legal chore, rather than the threat to Chrysler's existence and the entire U.S. auto industry that Chrysler itself had described less than three months ago. The U.S. Treasury had guaranteed the warranties of Chrysler and General Motors Corp. in part to assuage worries of customers who might think twice before buying from a bankrupt automaker. GM has a June 1 deadline to reach its own debt agreement or go through a similar move. President Obama said Wednesday that 'even if they (Chrysler) ended up having to go through some sort of bankruptcy, it would be a very quick type of bankruptcy and they could continue operating and emerge on the other side in a much stronger position.'"

An Obama administration official said in a statement this morning: "After a month of tireless negotiations, the Administration went into yesterday afternoon with the full support of Chrysler's key stakeholders, including the UAW and the largest creditors. That support remains. The remaining creditors were provided a final opportunity to approve an increased offer of $2.25 billion. They were given a deadline of 6 pm Wednesday. While the Administration was willing to give the holdout creditors a final opportunity to do the right thing, the agreement of all other key stakeholders ensured that no hedge fund could have a veto over Chrysler's future success. Their failure to act in either their own economic interest or the national interest does not diminish the accomplishments made by Chrysler, Fiat and its stakeholders nor will it impede the new opportunity Chrysler now has to restructure and emerge stronger going forward."

President Obama will make remarks about the auto industry at Noon ET today.

Meantime, "A group of current and former Chrysler LLC workers who have long sought to have employees buy the auto maker are appealing to the Obama administration's auto task in a long-shot bit to win support for the idea," reports the Wall Street Journal's Alex P. Kellogg. "The group was hoping to have a meeting with the task force on Wednesday but the session was canceled, said Michele Mauder, president of the American Auto Worker Ownership Committee, the group leading the effort. The group led a similar bid to purchase the company in 2007 but were unsuccessful. Chrysler instead was acquired by Cerberus Capital Management LP from its previous owners, Daimler AG. The 2007 effort was mainly led by members of the United Auto Workers union who opposed the acquisition by Cerberus, a private equity firm. The current effort includes a broader band of Chrysler stakeholders, including former managers, small retiree groups and a number of suppliers, Ms. Mauder said. The United Auto Workers has agreed to a deal with Chrysler that cuts labor costs and would leave a union-controlled health care trust owning 55% of the company, if its planned restructuring proceeds as hoped."

(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

SPECTER SWITCH: "Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.) began his first full day as a Democrat since the early 1960s at a party-switching celebration hosted by President Obama and Vice President Biden. He ended it by casting another vote against Obama, opposing his budget as too authoritarian in the rules it establishes for the health-care debate later this year. Same Arlen Specter, different party label," writes the Washington Post's Paul Kane. "For almost 30 years, Specter vexed Republicans with a zigzagging legislative agenda that at times made him their closest ally and at others their worst enemy. Now he has decided to cross the aisle to join Democrats, and his intention to be provocative in his party remains evident. After two days of telling his colleagues his decision, Specter settled in yesterday for a mix of celebration and an effort to return to his routine. He went from the White House to a 20-minute meeting in Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid's office to discuss his committee work, then met with postmasters from Pennsylvania and other constituents. By this morning, the transformation will be officially complete, as Senate officials plan to unbolt Specter's desk from the right side of the chamber, where he has sat since January 1981, and wedge it into the cramped quarters on the Democratic side of the aisle. 'I'm interested in staying in the Senate, for good reason,' Specter said in an interview yesterday. His decision places the Democrats on the cusp of a 60-vote majority, pending the state Supreme Court hearings of the Minnesota Senate race."

"Historic though the ratio may be, it does not give Obama an unfettered hand," add Time Magazine's Karen Tumulty and Jay Newton-Small. "On all sorts of issues, from health care to energy policy, Senate majority leader Harry Reid will still have to bring along his own right flank — moderate Democrats such as Nelson, Louisiana's Mary Landrieu, Indiana's Evan Bayh and now Specter. And not everything that is about to come before the Senate splits the Democrats along ideological lines. On climate change, for instance, the make-or-break votes come from a diverse group of 16 Democrats from left and center who say they will not support any bill that would impose crippling costs on the polluters who provide jobs for their constituents. As for Specter, he has already declared that the majority to which he now belongs should not count him as an 'automatic 60th vote.' That's an understatement. Independent to the point of being exasperating, Specter was never a reliable Republican vote and isn't likely to be much more dependable for Democrats. He played a pivotal role in defeating the Supreme Court nomination of conservative icon Robert Bork in 1987 and famously invoked Scottish law to vote 'not proved,' therefore not guilty, in Bill Clinton's impeachment trial. Yet Democrats should not forget that he voted for George W. Bush's tax cuts and Supreme Court nominees and the Iraq invasion."

Washington Post's David Broder warns Democrats that Specter's switch has some negatives. "[M]uch as Specter's decision reflects an increasingly serious weakness in the Republican Party, there is no escaping the fact that it is also an opportunistic move by one of the most opportunistic politicians of modern times. The one consistency in the history of Arlen Specter has been his willingness to do whatever will best protect and advance the career of Arlen Specter. In 2004, when some in the GOP caucus challenged his elevation to the chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Specter assured them that he would not use the post to block any of President Bush's Supreme Court nominees. And despite his sometimes liberal record, he voted for both Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito. Just a few weeks ago, when he was still calculating how he might survive a Republican primary against Toomey, he announced that -- despite his friendship with labor -- he would not support the so-called card check legislation that is the No. 1 priority of the unions. This is the man who now has the strongest claim upon the Democratic nomination in Pennsylvania. Specter has been welcomed to the Democratic Party by President Obama and Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, the most influential Democrat in Harrisburg. ... So, once again, Specter is likely to reap political rewards from his maneuvering. But the Democrats should be open-eyed about what they are gaining from his return to his original political home. Specter's history shouts the lesson that he will stick with you only as long as it serves his own interests -- and not a day longer."

Republicans, on the other hand, are playing the finger-pointing game. "Faced with a high-profile defection and the prospect of political irrelevance in the Senate, Republicans took off the gloves Wednesday for a ferocious game of finger-pointing," write Politico's Jonathan Martin, Manu Raju and John Bresnahan. "Republican Sens. Orrin Hatch and George Voinovich blamed the Club for Growth for imposing a right-wing litmus test that chased Arlen Specter out of the Republican Party. The Club for Growth blamed Specter — first for helping to ruin the GOP and then for leaving it. A leading Republican strategist blamed the party for turning its back on moderates. Sen. Lindsey Graham sniped at Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele. Specter's pollster blamed the stimulus bill. Karl Rove blamed Specter himself. And the National Republican Senatorial Committee set about trying to taint Specter among Pennsylvania Democrats by reminding them that he was once aligned with Republican President George W. Bush. In the nasty game of Who Lost Specter, only Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell seemed to go unscathed — although his pain will come as he tries to lead a caucus that is likely to be too small to stand in the way of anything the Democrats want to do."

(AP)

GOP'S FUTURE: "A fundamental debate broke out among Republicans on Wednesday over how to rebuild the party in the wake of Senator Arlen Specter's departure: Should it purge moderate voices like Mr. Specter and embrace its conservative roots or seek to broaden its appeal to regain a competitive position against Democrats?" write the New York Times' Adam Nagourney and David M. Herszenhorn. "With consensus growing among Republicans that the party is in its worst political position in recent memory, some conservatives applauded Mr. Specter's departure. They said it cleared the way for the party to distance itself from its record of expanding government during the Bush years and to re-emphasize the calls for tax cuts and reduced federal spending that have dominated Republican thought for more than 30 years. 'We strayed from our principles of limited government, individual responsibility and economic freedom,' said Chris Chocola, a former Indiana congressman who is head of Club for Growth, a group that has financed primary challenges against Republicans it considers insufficiently conservative. 'We have to adhere to those principles to rebuild the party. Those are the brand of the Republican Party, and people feel that we betrayed the brand.' But Republican leaders in Washington argued that Republicans would be permanently marginalized unless they showed flexibility on social issues as well as economic ones. Senator John Cornyn of Texas, the head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said he would seek to recruit candidates who he thought could win in Democratic or swing states, even if it meant supporting candidates who might disagree with his own conservative views. ... Senator Lindsay Graham, Republican of South Carolina, said: 'We are not losing blue states and shrinking as a party because we are not conservative enough. If we pursue a party that has no place for someone who agrees with me 70 percent of the time, that is based on an ideological purity test rather than a coalition test, then we are going to keep losing.'"

"Looking to rebrand a struggling Republican Party, a group of party heavyweights including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) are launching a new group that will hold town halls around the country and look to produce GOP ideas on issues like education and health care," reports the Washington Post's Perry Bacon Jr. "Republicans will announce today the creation of the 'National Council for a New America,' a group led by congressional party leaders that includes Bush, McCain, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal as its 'national panel of experts.' A letter announcing the group's creation does not specifically say that it is separate from the Republican National Committee, but controversial RNC chair Michael Steele is not involved in the effort. ... The letter says the group is not 'a Republican-only forum.' But GOP sources said House Minority Whip Eric Cantor played a top role in crating it. The group seems aimed at offering a conservative alternative at time when Democrats are lambasting the Republicans as the 'Party of No' that simply attacks President Obama without offering policy ideas of its own. Its leadership does not include any Democrats. ... The new group says it will focus on developing Republican ideas on energy, education, health care, national security and the economy. Its first town hall session will be Saturday at a restaurant in Northern Virginia. Cantor, Romney, Bush and other congressional leaders will attend."

(AP)

BUDGET: "The Democratically controlled Congress yesterday easily approved a $3.4 trillion spending plan, setting the stage for President Obama to pursue the first major overhaul of the nation's health-care system in a generation along with other far-reaching domestic initiatives," reports the Washington Post's Lori Montgomery. "Despite a persistent recession and soaring budget deficits, Democrats overwhelmingly endorsed the president's request for hundreds of billions of dollars in new spending over the next decade for college loans, early childhood education programs, veterans' benefits and investments in renewable energy aimed at reducing the nation's dependence on foreign oil. Lawmakers also agreed to use a powerful procedural tool known as reconciliation to advance the president's proposal to expand health coverage for the uninsured -- a move that ensures Republicans would not be able to filibuster the legislation. Unlike in 1993, when then-President Bill Clinton unveiled a universal coverage plan that went nowhere on Capitol Hill, Obama has a strong mandate for change from both chambers of Congress and a mid-October deadline for key congressional committees to send legislation to the full House and Senate."

LA Times' Janet Hook, "Congress' budget shorts Obama plans to shift wealth"

(AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)

ELIZABETH EDWARDS: "Campaign cad John Edwards' cheating ways made his wife, Elizabeth, sick to her stomach – literally," writes the NY Daily News' Celeste Katz. "After the former presidential hopeful confessed his betrayal, Elizabeth Edwards writes in her new book, 'I cried and screamed, I went to the bathroom and threw up.' ... Elizabeth, 59, who is terminally ill with cancer, speaks in far more detail than before about her husband's infidelity in her new memoir, 'Resilience,' due to be published May 12 by Broadway Books. A copy was obtained by the Daily News. Despite feeling deeply deceived, Elizabeth Edwards nonetheless publicly stood by her husband's side, lending his candidacy the aura of a warm, loving family life. But she had actually wanted him to quit the race to protect the family. Edwards admitted the hanky-panky to her days after declaring his candidacy in 2006 - almost a year before the National Enquirer reported it. She was afraid of the destructive questions Edwards' affair with videographer Rielle Hunter would raise. Later events proved her right. 'He should not have run,' she says. ... unter initially seduced Edwards using a worn come-on line, Elizabeth writes: 'You are so hot,' Hunter told him outside a swank New York hotel. The campaign ultimately paid Hunter $114,000 to produce a batch of short films on his candidacy. She lashes out at Hunter, now 45, whose name she never actually uses in the book, as a parasitic groupie who invaded the Edwardses' life. Her own life may be tragic, she concludes, but Hunter's is 'pathetic.' Even when Edwards confessed to his wife, he lied, claiming he had slipped up just once, Elizabeth writes. His original version of the story 'left most of the truth out,' she writes. While Elizabeth still hasn't fully come to terms with her man's roaming, the memoir is laced with a powerful dose of forgiveness. 'I lie in bed, circles under my eyes, my sparse hair sticking in too many directions, and he looks at me as if I am the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. It matters,' she writes."

TODAY'S WHITE HOUSE SCHEDULE: At Noon, President Obama will make a statement on the auto industry. Also today, per the White House "In the morning, the President will receive the Presidential Daily Briefing, the Economic Daily Briefing, and meet with senior advisors in the Oval Office. ... In the afternoon, the President will meet with Senator John McCain, Senator Carl Levin, Rep. Ike Skelton, and Rep. John McHugh in the Oval Office. ... [At 2:30pm ET], the President will deliver remarks at the 'White House to Light House' Wounded Warrior Soldier's Ride on the South Lawn. The program raises public awareness of the challenges facing veterans as they recover from life-altering injuries. Defense Secretary Robert Gates will introduce the President. Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, National Security Advisor General Jim Jones, and Veterans Affairs Assistant Secretary of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs Tammy Duckworth will also attend. ... Following the event, the President will meet with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the Oval Office."

ECONOMY / STIMULUS / BAILOUTS
Wall Street Journal's Laura Meckler and Jonathan Weisman, "Obama Aims for Fast Private Sector Exit"

Associated Press' Marcy Gordon, "Credit card reform legislation nears passage"

FOREIGN POLICY
Wall Street Journal's Charles Levinson, "Baghdad Bombings Stir New Insurgency Concerns"

NY Times' Helene Cooper and Jeff Zeleny, "Obama 'Gravely Concerned' About Pakistan"

Associated Press' Matthew Lee, "US sees spike in Afghanistan, Pakistan attacks"

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION
Associated Press' Lolita C. Baldor, "Gates asks Congress for fast action on war funding"

NY Times' Solomon Moore, "Justice Dept. Seeks Equity in Sentences for Cocaine"

MINNESOTA SENATE RECOUNT
Minneapolis Star Tribune's Kevin Duchschere, "Coleman appeal ready; Franken hiring"

Wall Street Journal's Douglas Belkin, "Tough Call Looms for Minnesota Governor"

FUTURE RACES
Politico's Glenn Thrush, "Memo: Dems target 29 House GOPers in '10"

2009 VA Governor: Roanoke Times' Michael Sluss, "Democratic candidates make stop in Blacksburg"

2009 VA Governor: Washington Post's Anita Kumar, "Tone Toughens in Race for Governor"

2010 CO Governor: Fort Collins Now, "Red flag for Gov. Ritter in new Public Policy poll"

2010 FL Senate: Lakeland Ledger, "Democrats Run Ads Chiding Crist Senate Bid"

2010 NV Senate: Ely Times' Molly Ball, "New York banker from Ely may run against Harry Reid"

2010 PA Senate: The Hill's J. Taylor Rushing, "NRSC using Dem voters to go after Specter"

2010 PA Senate: Washington Times' S.A. Miller, "Donors demand refund from Specter"

ETC.
Washington Post's Carol D. Leonnig, "Murtha Airport Got Military Upgrades"

Washington Post's Robert Barnes, "Court Reveals Customary Divide in Wrestling With Anti-Bias Law - Kennedy's Vote Will Be Key in Challenge to Voting Rights Act"