Politics Today: Obama Talks Swine Flu, Health Care
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:
**President Obama wraps up meeting with leaders of Canada, Mexico...
**Health care reform debate outside the Beltway...
**Sarah Palin on health care, behavior at town meeting-style events...
"President Barack Obama's first North American summit is proving it's a lot easier to agree on battling a killer flu virus than to untangle knotty disputes over cross-border trade," writes the Associated Press' Mark S. Smith. "Obama flew into Mexico's second-largest city late Sunday for a two-day speed summit ... a meeting whose main accomplishment will likely be a joint plan of attack for swine flu.
"But there was little chance of any breakthrough in long-running squabbles over Mexican trucks, or U.S. 'Buy American' rules or how best to curb the deadly flow of drugs across the frontier.
"The so called 'Three Amigos' summit began over dinner at an ornate cultural center here and was to conclude a mere 17 hours later at a joint news conference."
"President Obama arrived here Sunday on his second official visit this year and quickly headed for a 45-minute meeting with his Mexican counterpart, Felipe Calderon," report the Los Angeles Times' Peter Nicholas and Tracy Wilkinson from Guadalajara, Mexico.
"In the session, which one senior U.S. official called 'cordial,' Calderon broached the U.S. ban on Mexican truckers, which has sparked punitive action by Mexico and cries of protectionism…
"As for Canada, Prime Minister Stephen Harper is displeased with 'Buy American' provisions in the stimulus bill Obama signed into law in February. And Canada and Mexico are sparring over Ottawa's requirement that visitors from Mexico obtain visas -- triggering a retaliatory requirement that officials working in Mexico for Canada also acquire visas."
"The North American Leaders' Summit is an annual gathering for the presidents of the United States and Mexico and the prime minister of Canada to work collaboratively on issues such as border security, immigration reform and economic recovery," adds the Washington Post's Cheryl W. Thompson. "It is Obama's second visit to Mexico since he became president and his second meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who is scheduled to visit the White House next month. Obama and Harper met in Ottawa in February and agreed to work together to fight the global economic recession."
Politico's Carol E. Lee, "Barack Obama arrives in Guadalajara, Mexico for a summit"
Bloomberg News' Nicholas Johnston and Jens Erik Gould, "Obama Promises Calderon Solution to U.S.-Mexico Trucking Spat"
The Los Angeles Times' Peter Wallsten reports: "To win the White House, Barack Obama and his political team built a vast grass-roots network of supporters and volunteers that came to be considered one of the most valuable assets in American politics. Their ambition after the election was to reshape the network, with its trained organizers and 13 million e-mail addresses, into a ground-level force to push the new president's policy goals.
"But now, entering a crucial congressional recess month in which Obama's healthcare plan faces stiffened opposition, some members of the network say that the group is still figuring out how to operate. Some also say their work has been slowed by tensions over tactics, disenchantment among some core supporters and an effective GOP resistance...
"The network is powered by local volunteers who often have left-leaning goals. But the president, now that he is in office, has in many cases adopted a centrist approach that accommodates Republicans and business groups. That means some activists are being asked to devote evenings and weekends to build support for policies they may feel only lukewarm about.
"Last year, 'Obama's sexy, he was hot, and everybody wanted a piece of that,' said Candice Davies, a speech therapist in Cary who trained canvassers for last year's campaign and is trying to organize support for healthcare legislation. 'Now, people are going to have to work for something that is not quite as slick or sexy.'"
5013473Meantime, "The nation's drugmakers stand ready to spend $150 million to help President Barack Obama overhaul health care this fall, according to numerous officials, a staggering sum that could dwarf attempts to derail his chief domestic priority," reports the Associated Press' David Espo. "The White House and allies in Congress are well aware of the effort by Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a somewhat surprising political alliance, given the industry's recent history of siding with Republicans and the Democrats' disdain for special interests.
"The campaign, now in its early stages, includes television advertising under PhRMA's own name and commercials aired in conjunction with the liberal group, Families USA.
"Numerous people with knowledge of PhRMA's plans said they had been told it would likely reach $150 million and perhaps $200 million. They spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they were not authorized to divulge details."
The AARP is out with three new TV ads calling for health care reform. Watch here.
USA Today's Kathy Kiely and John Fritze, "Passions flare up at health care forums"
CBS News' Kelly Cobiella, "Health Care Debate Heads to Town Halls"
Washington Post's Peter Slevin, "Key Democrat Feels the Heat in Indiana District After Voting for House Plan"
New York Times' Robert Pear and David M. Herszenhorn, "A Primer on the Details of Health Care Reform"
Los Angeles Times' Noam N. Levey, "Sorting out claims about healthcare legislation"
McClatchy Newspapers' James Rose, "South Carolina senator takes on Obama over healthcare"
New York Times' John Harwood, "Tumultuous Environment Makes a Health Care Compromise More Unlikely"
First, CBSNews.com's Dan Farber reports, "Palin, nearly two weeks into her new life outside of Alaska politics, is adding her voice to the health care reform debate via her Facebook page, suggesting that implementing the Obama administration's proposed plan would allow bureaucrats to decide whether the sick, elderly and disabled, including children with Down Syndrome (like her own baby, Trig), are worthy of health care.
Palin wrote: "As more Americans delve into the disturbing details of the nationalized health care plan that the current administration is rushing through Congress, our collective jaw is dropping, and we're saying not just no, but hell no! ...
"And who will suffer the most when they ration care? The sick, the elderly, and the disabled, of course. The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama's 'death panel' so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their 'level of productivity in society,' whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil."
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich defended Palin's comments yesterday on ABC's "This Week" saying, "Communal standards historically is a very dangerous concept. ... You are asking us to trust turning power over to the government, when there are clearly people in American who believe in establishing euthanasia, including selective standards."
Former Gov. Howard Dean, D-Vt., rebutted her, however, saying on CNN's "State of the Union" yesterday, "Euthanasia's not in this bill."
5215995Meantime, the White House unveils its new "Reality Check" website "that focuses on what reform really means for you and your family, debunks some common myths along the way and provides you with online tools and content to share the facts with friends, family and anyone else in your social network."
One issue the White House tries to debunk: the euthanasia "distortion." In a 3-minute video, Melody Barnes, the President's Director of the Domestic Policy Council, says that "one of the worst" "wild rumors" that she's heard about is the euthanasia rumor, calling it "the malicious myth that reform would encourage or even require euthanasia for seniors."
Also, last night Palin wrote another entry on her Facebook page talking about Alaska politics and behavior at health care-related town hall meetings.
"Alaskans will join Senators Murkowski and Begich in town hall meetings to discuss the current health care legislation," Palin wrote. "There are many disturbing details in the current bill that Washington is trying to rush through Congress, but we must stick to a discussion of the issues and not get sidetracked by tactics that can be accused of leading to intimidation or harassment. Such tactics diminish our nation's civil discourse which we need now more than ever because the fine print in this outrageous health care proposal must be understood clearly and not get lost in conscientious voters' passion to want to make elected officials hear what we are saying. Let's not give the proponents of nationalized health care any reason to criticize us."
On Wednesday morning, the President will host a reception for Justice Sonia Sotomayor at the White House. In the afternoon, the President will host the Medal of Freedom ceremony at the White House.
On Thursday, the President will attend meetings at the White House.
On Friday, August 14th, the First Family will visit the Bozeman area of Montana. On August 15th, they will travel to Yellowstone, Wyoming and Grand Junction, Colorado. They will then travel to the Grand Canyon and Phoenix, Arizona on August 16th. They will return to Washington, DC on Monday, August 17th."
FOREIGN POLICY
CBS News "Face the Nation", "Gen Jones: More Troops Not 'Off the Table'"
Associated Press' Anne Gearan, "White House: Afghan war not in crisis"
Washington Post's Walter Pincus, "Military Analysts Expect Long-Term, Costly U.S. Effort in Afghanistan"
NY Times' James Risen, "U.S. to Hunt Down Afghan Drug Lords Tied to Taliban"
LA Times' Paul Richter, "Kim Jong Il seems 'in full control' of North Korea, U.S. official says"
Washington Post's Mary Beth Sheridan, "Clinton Building Ties With Angola"
CONGRESS
Wall Street Journal's Brody Mullins and T.W. Farnam, "Opposition Emerges to House's Jet Spree"
GOV. MARK SANFORD
Associated Press' Jim Davenport, "Sanford Took Personal Trips on Plane"
FUTURE RACES
Wall Street Journal's Douglas A. Blackmon and Valerie Bauerlein, "Republicans Gather to Plot Strategy for 2010"
McClatchy Newspapers' David Lightman, "Republicans bet on attacking Democrats"
Politics Daily's Jill Lawrence, "Maybe the Economy Won't Sink Democrats This Year After All"
2009 NJ Governor: Courier Post's Michael Symons, "Corzine, Christie far apart on jobs"
2009 VA Governor: Washington Times' Sarah Abruzzese, "GOP gives McDonnell national stage"
2009 VA Governor: Richmond Times-Dispatch's Jim Nolan, "Deeds proposes regular audits of every state agency"
2010 FL Senate: Palm Beach Post's George Bennett, "Is seemingly invincible Crist in trouble with his party's conservative base?"
2012 Presidential: Politico's Kenneth P. Vogel, "Republicans banking on 2012 election"