President Barack Obama continues his push Tuesday to get Congress to extend a payroll tax cut, a day after House Republican leaders agreed to remove an obstacle in the passage of the tax cut extension. Obama released Tuesday a video about what he called the need to extend the tax cut by the end of…
Tag: obama
Long Time Coming: Obama’s Approval Rating Goes Positive
It was a long road back, but President Obama is now back in positive territory in our TPM Poll Average. The shift comes on the heels of a completed Iraq withdrawal, a legislative win on the payroll tax cut before Christmas, and perhaps most importantly, good economic numbers in January and early February. The President’s…
President’s Weekly Address: Extending the Payroll Tax Cut for the Middle Class
WEEKLY ADDRESS: Extending the Payroll Tax Cut for the Middle Class In this week’s address, President Obama urged Congress to quickly pass the payroll tax cut extension to prevent a tax hike on 160 million hardworking Americans who are still recovering from the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. This is not the time…
Obama holds edge over Romney in general election matchup, poll finds
Boosted by improved public confidence in his economic stewardship, President Obama for the first time holds a clear edge over Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in a hypothetical general-election matchup, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. Romney, who notched his second consecutive victory Saturday by easily winning the Nevada caucuses, continues to solidify…
Nevada Republican Voters Asked: What Would It Take For You To Support Barack Obama?
In order to understand how deeply ingrained Republican hatred for President Barack Obama truly is, you need only ask one question: What would the president have to do to win your support? It’s rhetorical. There is nothing the president could do, save become a Republican himself, to placate many angry Republican voters. But when asked…
Did Obama make the economy worse? Not according to most statistics
For example, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office found that the economic stimulus Obama signed into law added — in the 4th quarter of 2009 — between 1 million and 2 million employed workers and boosted the GDP between 1.5% to 3.5% higher than it would have been without the stimulus. In addition, a more recent…
The Hannity Challenge: How To Make The Case That The Economy Is Improving
Sean Hannity pushed the myth that President Obama has made the economy worse, arguing that you could not “make the case” that it has improved during Obama’s watch. In fact, when Obama took office, he inherited an economy that was shrinking faster than it had in 50 years and that had lost 2 million jobs…
President Obama Hangs Out With America
Just after 5:30 PM ET today, President Obama sat down for a discussion with a group of Americans from across the country in a Google+ Hangout. It was the first online conversation to happen at the White House in real time — ever. Even before the event, more than 227,000 people had taken time to…
On Google+, Big Question for Obama Is Weeded Out
President Obama did not tackle the subject most on the minds of some questioners during an online forum Monday. What drew many citizens to a Google+ chat with the president was their interest in how soon marijuana could be legalized, according to the rated popularity of questions posted before the event. “With over 850,000 Americans…
Obama to host Google hangout
In the latest iteration of the administrations efforts to connect to supporters via social media, President Barack Obama will take part Monday in a Google+ Hangout,” a chat room-like feature of Google+ that allows users to connect with each other via video connections. The White House pledges the president will answer “several of the most…
White House visitor records made available to the public
From the White House blog: In September 2009, the President announced that—for the first time in history—White House visitor records would be made available to the public on an ongoing basis. Today, the White House releases visitor records that were generated in October 2011. Today’s release also includes visitor records generated prior to September 16,…
Arizona Gov. Brewer Sticks Her Finger in the President’s Face
The two leaders could be seen engaged in an intense conversation at the base of Air Force One’s steps. Both could be seen smiling, but speaking at the same time. Asked moments later what the conversation was about, Brewer, a Republican, said: “He was a little disturbed about my book.” Brewer recently published a book,…
Five policies to watch from Obama’s State of the Union
Obama proposed much more policy, of course. You can see it all in Wonkblog’s policy-only edit of the speech. But the caveat to almost every idea he offered is the same: Most all of them require congressional cooperation. Cooperation the Obama administration is not likely to get. All tax bills, for instance, must originate in…
Tax rates of presidential candidates, in one chart
Late on Monday, Mitt Romney released his 2010 tax returns, showing that he paid 13.9 percent of his income in federal taxes. His rate is relatively low because most of his money comes from investment income, which is taxed at a lower rate than wages. But how does Romney stack up to previous presidential candidates?…
Your State of the Union Interview with President Obama
Tomorrow, President Obama will deliver his State of the Union address. He will lay out his vision for a nation where hard work and responsibility are rewarded, where everyone does their fair share, and where everyone is held accountable for their actions. Starting immediately after the speech, the White House will be using social media…
What Obama’s Proposal to Move NOAA Means for Our Oceans
On January 13, President Barack Obama announced his plan to implement a sweeping reorganization of the Department of Commerce by consolidating six agencies involved in trade and economic competitiveness. One unintended consequence of this reshuffling is that by redesigning the Commerce Department, we now must find a home for the agency that comprised more than…
Oil and Gas Jobs Increase by 75,000 Under Obama — 69,000 More Than Would Be Created By Keystone XL
Approximately 75,000 jobs were created in the oil and gas sector under the Obama Administration between 2009 to 2011, according to analysis of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s roughly 69,000 more jobs than would be created by construction of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. The figures, reviewed by the Center for…
Obama Seeks Power To Merge Agencies
A senior administration official says President Barack Obama will ask Congress for more power to streamline the government by merging agencies. And if Obama gets the fast-track power he wants, his first proposal would be to combine trade and commerce operations into one. The official says Obama is seeking what the White House is calling…
Three More Recess Appointments
Doubling down on President Barack Obama’s bold recess appointment of Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the White House announced Wednesday that Obama would also use his recess powers to fill three vacancies on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the federal agency charged with enforcing labor law. The move is sure…
Team Obama Sketches Out Path To 270
In a video to supporters Thursday, Obama 2012 campaign manager Jim Messina made public the many paths to 270 electoral votes he sketched out for reporters last month. The major highlights: Messina says the campaign is working with more than 40 pathways to victory next year, including strategies that run through Florida and the Midwest…