Mori Dinauer

Short of Michael Gerson, Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gincrich, I think it’s safe to say that Bobby Jindal‘s national debut last night was viewed as an epic fail by just about everybody. Some random samples: “Obama was wrong: We haven’t outlawed every form of torture.” (Franklin Foer); “He was telling stories that seemed very simplistic […]

The president is giving what amounts to a State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress tonight, where he will detail his road map for the United States’ economy, health care and energy policies over the next few years. In the practical but macabre tradition of anticipating the worst, AG Eric Holder […]

President Obama hosted a fiscal responsibility summit at the White House today to address the long-term implications of our chronic budget shortfall, and over the weekend leaked a preview of what will be in his administration’s first budget, due this Thursday. In addition, Obama named former Washington Governor Gary Locke as his third Commerce secretary […]

The good: the Obama administration announces the end of accounting gimmicks and other budgetary chicanery when he submits his first federal budget to Congress next week. The bad: Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood suggests a a mileage tax instead of a gas tax to fund infrastructure investment, although the administration appears to be ruling it out. […]

CQ Politics reports that over 100 members of Congress have been tied to a lobbying firm closely associated with John Murtha, who all went on to receive millions in earmarks and campaign contributions. Adam and Tim have more on this corrupt affair and the list of shame can be found here. Kathleen Sebelius is reportedly […]

The Obama administration unveiled its housing plan today, reactions to which Tim has helpfully rounded up here and here. Yesterday the president pledged to send an additional 17,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan, leading USA Today to declare the escalation part of “Obama’s war.” Bobby Jindal, slated to give the Republican response to next week’s presidential […]

Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law during a ceremony at the Museum of Nature and Science in Denver, CO today and recovery.gov finally went live, detailing how the stimulus dollars will be spent. Marc Ambinder notes that by including one of the largest tax cuts in American history in the […]

“It’s eerie,” says pollster Ann Seltzer, “I read the news from the Beltway, and there’s this disconnect with the polls from the Midwest that I see all around me.” And indeed there is. We’re into week four of the Obama administration and the president is set to sign a $780 billion economic stimulus plan in […]

The final version of the economic stimulus package passed in a House vote today, 246-183, with seven Democrats joining unanimous Republican opposition to the bill. A Senate vote is scheduled this evening when Sherrod Brown (D-OH) returns from his mother’s funeral. Senator Kennedy will not be present for the vote and Judd Gregg is expected […]

Details on the reconciled economic stimulus package are becoming available, and Elana Schor reports that the final text of the bill was left intentionally incomplete, allowing Harry Reid and Senate Democrats to upstage their House counterparts yesterday by announcing the existence of the reconciled bill before the details of education spending had been worked out. […]