Politics Today: A Second Stimulus?
Politics Today is CBSNews.com's inside look at the key stories driving the day in Politics, written by CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris:
**Day 2: President Obama in Russia...
**Palin explains herself...
**Obama adviser says a second stimulus package should be considered...
**Sanford censured by S.C. GOP...
**Franken to be sworn in today...
"'The pursuit of power is no longer a zero-sum game,' Obama said, speaking in the Russian capital to graduates of the New Economic School but also hoping to reach the whole nation. 'Progress must be shared.' Obama used his speech to further define his view of the United States' place in the world and, specifically, to argue that his country shares compelling interests with Russia. 'Let me be clear: America wants a strong, peaceful and prosperous Russia,' he declared.
"Obama's upbeat comments came on the second day of his summit in Russia, where polls show people are wary of the United States and taking a skeptical measure of Obama himself. Earlier Tuesday, Obama held private breakfast talks with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at Putin's country home outside Moscow. The atmosphere seemed cordial, and both voiced hope for improved relations between Washington and Moscow."
"He thinks in terms of what's good for Russia and will pursue interests aggressively, but he also wants to approach U.S.-Russian relations in a pragmatic way," the president added.
Meantime, yesterday, "President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev reached a preliminary agreement Monday to cut the American and Russian nuclear arsenals by as much as a third while exploring options for cooperation on missile defense," reports the Washington Post's Michael A. Fletcher and Philip P. Pan.
"The agreement lays out a clear yet difficult path to replace a landmark arms-control treaty that will expire in December. The pact was the most significant among those signed at a summit designed to show that 'resetting' relations between the two nations could bridge longstanding differences. ... The deal instructs negotiators to draft a new accord that would maintain the critical verification mechanisms of the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) and reduce the number of deployed nuclear warheads in each country to between 1,500 and 1,675, down from the previous ceiling of 2,200. …
Times of London's Tony Halpin, "US and Russia to cut nuclear warheads - but no deal on missile defence"
LA Times' Paul Richter, "U.S.-Russia relations still far from reaching solid footing"
5132045SARAH PALIN: "Gov. Sarah Palin, three days after abruptly announcing she would resign as governor, said Monday that she did it because ethics complaints and politically ambitious state legislators would have been paralyzing," reports the Anchorage Daily News' Sean Cockerham.
"'Especially when all these lawmakers are lining up for office. Their desire would be to clobber the administration left and right so that they can position themselves for office. I'm not going to put Alaskans through that,' the governor said, wearing a Cabela's fishing bib as she stood on a Bristol Bay beach outside Dillingham.
Palin, who will hand power over to Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell on July 26, said she was particularly frustrated by the ethics complaints filed against her and costs and time involved for the state in dealing with them. 'It's a combination of things that has brought me to this place of knowing. I love Alaskans too much to put them through a lame duck session heading into my final year in office; I was going to be honest and tell them I'm not going to run for re-election. I'm not going to let Alaskans go through a year of stymied, paralyzed administration and not getting anything done. I'm going to let Sean Parnell take this and we will see that things will let up,' she said. 'With Sean in the governor's seat it won't be the politics of personal destruction, I don't believe,' Palin said."
Palin also spoke to Fox News, CNN, NBC and ABC.
"Politically speaking -- if I die, I die. So be it," Palin told ABC News' Kate Snow. When asked about a possible 2012 presidential run, Palin added, "Don't know what the future holds. I'm not gonna shut any door."
Washington Post's Kimberly Kindy, "Alaskans Consider Palin's Legacy As She Prepares to Leave Office"
ANOTHER STIMULUS?: Bloomberg News' Shamim Adam reports: "The U.S. should consider drafting a second stimulus package focusing on infrastructure projects because the $787 billion approved in February was 'a bit too small,' said Laura Tyson, an adviser to President Barack Obama. The current plan 'will have a positive effect, but the real economy is a sicker patient,' Tyson said in a speech in Singapore today. The package will have a more pronounced impact in the third and fourth quarters, she added, stressing that she was speaking for herself and not the administration.
"Tyson's comments contrast with remarks made two days ago by Vice President Joe Biden and fellow Obama adviser Austan Goolsbee, who said it was premature to discuss crafting another stimulus because the current measures have yet to fully take effect. The government is facing criticism that the first package was rolled out too slowly and failed to stop unemployment from soaring to the highest in almost 26 years."
Wall Street Journal's Gerald Seib, "Is a Stimulus Sequel in the Offing?"
"While the vote reveals how the state's GOP leadership feels about the scandal, it has no practical effect on whether the governor remains in office. 'The events of the past two weeks have been as divisive as they have been disappointing for Republicans,' S.C. Republican Party chairman Karen Floyd said late Monday in a prepared statement. "But today has brought a large measure of resolution to a sad chapter in our state party's history. Republicans came together to speak with a unified voice, and now is the time for healing."
Politico's Jonathan Martin and Andy Barr, "Sanford survives: Gov. rides out storm"
Minneapolis Star Tribune's Kevin Diaz, "Sen. Al Franken to take oath of office today"
St. Paul Pioneer Press' Rachel E. Stassen-Berger, "Ex-funnyman Al Franken is ready to get serious"
Washington Times' Kara Rowland, "Democrats: 60 votes mean only so much": "Mr. Franken - plus the chamber's two independents - put the Democratic caucus at the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome Republican procedural objections to their agenda. The boon comes as the Senate is gearing up to act on two of President Obama's biggest initiatives - health care and climate change - in addition to his nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court.
"But Mr. Franken, a former comedian whose claim to fame includes being a writer and cast member on 'Saturday Night Live,' echoed [Senate Majority Leader Harry] Reid in cautioning against high expectations now that Democrats have - at least on paper - enough votes to defeat a Republican filibuster. …
"Just as fervently as Democrats are seeking to temper the news of Mr. Franken's seating, Senate Republicans are ascribing them full responsibility for what happens next on Capitol Hill - suggesting that Democrats will risk embarrassment if they fail to push through Mr. Obama's agenda or that voters will punish them at the polls if the policies turn out to be unpopular."
***For more on the Democrats' 60 Senate votes, watch "Washington Unplugged" on CBSNews.com today at 12:30pm ET. Congressional Correspondent Nancy Cordes will talk with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and the Politico's Manu Raju.
"There are certain figures in our popular culture that just capture peoples' imagination, and in death they become even larger. I have to admit that it's also fed by a 24/7 media that is insatiable," before adding that "it's not surprising" that so many are "mourning" the "loss" of Jackson.
Mr. Obama said it's similar to the reactions to the deaths of Elvis Presley, John Lennon and Frank Sinatra.
HEALTH CARE REFORM
Washington Post's Ceci Connolly and Michael D. Shear, "Hospitals Reach Deal With Administration": "The nation's hospitals agreed last night to contribute $155 billion over 10 years toward the cost of insuring the 47 million Americans without health coverage, according to two industry sources. The agreement that three hospital associations reached with White House officials and leaders of the Senate Finance Committee is the latest in a series of side deals that aim to reduce the cost of revamping the nation's health-care system and to neutralize influential industries that have historically opposed such reforms. With President Obama out of the country, a formal announcement is expected tomorrow from Vice President Biden."
Wall Street Journal's Laura Meckler and Janet Adamy, "White House Open to Deal on Public Health Plan"
The Hill's Jeffrey Young, "Dems to show how they will find $1 trillion"
CONGRESS
Washington Times' S.A. Miller and Jennifer Haberkorn, "Obama agenda lacks Democratic support": "Congress returns from the July Fourth holiday this week, but the fireworks on Capitol Hill are just getting started, with debates heating up over President Obama's health care plan and his pick for the Supreme Court. Democratic leaders have five weeks to advance the president's health care agenda, which is proving divisive among Democrats and encountering stiff resistance from Republicans, as well as pass annual appropriations bills before the August recess. In both chambers, top Democrats called on Republicans to help pass the ambitious agenda."
The Hill's Alexander Bolton, "Centrists threaten Obama's agenda": "Half a dozen members of the Senate Democratic Conference pose the biggest threat to President Obama's agenda, giving Senate Republicans a fighting chance to block the administration's major expansions of government. GOP leaders have begun reaching out to these centrists, hoping they will buck their party on Obama's two biggest initiatives: healthcare reform and climate change legislation. Now that Democrats control 60 votes, Republicans must peel off a few members of the majority to stage a filibuster. Leading the pack of potential defectors are Sen. Ben Nelson, a pro-business Democrat from Nebraska; Sen. Joe Lieberman, a self-described Independent Democrat from Connecticut; and Sen. Mary Landrieu, a Louisiana Democrat who represents a conservative state."
Washington Post's Paul Kane, "Push and Pull in Senate May Recast Climate Bill": "President Obama's climate-change legislation begins a daunting march through the Senate this week, with supporters acknowledging they are as many as 15 votes shy of victory and well aware that deals to attract more votes could erode the bill's environment-friendly objectives."
SOTOMAYOR
NY Times' Serge F. Kovaleski, "Little Information Given About Solo Law Practice Run by Sotomayor in '80s"
FUTURE RACES
2009 NJ Governor: WCBS-TV, "GOP's Christie Calls For NJ To Go Greener"
2009 VA Governor: Northern Virginia Daily's Garren Shipley, "McDonnell proposes 10 debates in governor's race"
2010 MA Governor: Boston Globe's Andrea Estes, "Cahill plans to leave Democratic Party; bid for governor still uncertain"
2010 FL Senate: Pensacola News Journal's Bill Cotterell, "Meek woos Panhandle voters"
2010 KY Senate: WYMT-TV, "Lt. Governor Daniel Mongiardo on Issues and Answers"
2010 NY Senate: CQ Politics' Jonathan Allen, "Why Abortion Rights Groups Back Gillibrand Over Maloney"
2010 PA Senate: Washington Times' Donald Lambro, "Specter faces hurdles in Democratic re-election"
ETC.
Washington Post's Tim Craig and Hamil R. Harris, "Canceled Trip Started Barry's Bad Day"