Obama,act like a staunch Democrat?

The only thing he hasn't done so far is act like a staunch Democrat, and take cuts to key Democratic programs off the table. That might not work either, but we don't know, because it hasn't been tried.

It could have been Obama's starting point,but as Joan Walsh at Salon.com points out it has proven to be the one thing that was never tried.

The president sincerely believes that the intense polarization of American politics isn't merely a symptom of our problems but a problem in itself – and thus compromise is not just a means to an end but an end in itself, to try to create a safe harbor for people to reach some new common ground. I actually have some sympathy with that point of view. But having now watched two smart Democratic presidents devote themselves to compromise with Republicans, only to be savaged with increasing intensity, I've lost faith that compromise itself holds some healing magic. Maybe it just emboldens bullies.

Another Chicagoan for Obama?

Rahm Emanuel,the president’s former chief of staff has gone back to run Chicago and speculation is that Obama may be about to name fellow Chicagoan William Daley as his chief of staff.

Guess he won't be missed by some.
Former VT Governor Howard Dean weighs in as only he can .

The atmosphere of what he called contempt “will change dramatically especially if Bill Daley comes in,” Dean said. He added that he disagrees with Daley on a “lot of stuff politically, but I do think, A, he is a grown-up and B, he gets that you don’t treat people like you know everything and they don’t.”

A president's chief of staff is a personalized accessory item that reflects the style and particular needs of a president. The position has been described as "gatekeeper", "the power behind the throne" and even "co-president".
Styles vary from extremes,H.R. Haldeman Nixon’s chief palace gatekeeper who described himself as the president’s son-of-a-bitch all the way to the Bush family retainer Andrew Card, G.W. Bush’s Chief of Staff who once sniffed primly about Oval Office etiquette after Obama took office: "there should be a dress code of respect....I wish that [Obama] would wear a suit coat and tie."

What is President Obama needing these days in a chief of staff?

William Daley brother of the Mayor of Chicago and son of the former mayor Richard J.Daley as described by longtime Chicago journalist Ben Joravsky:

William Daley has picked up his brother’s [Richard M.] affinity for Republicans. So much so that if young William had not been raised in the household of his father, the legendary Democratic Party chieftain, Mayor Richard J. Daley, I doubt he would even be a Democrat.
Examine William Daley’s resume, and you’ll see he’s essentially a businessman who would fit in well with what’s left of the moderate wing of the Republican Party.

William Daley, 63 was vice chairman of Amalgamated Bank, a corporate lawyer and Sec. of Commerce to Bill Clinton and helped with the North American Free Trade Agreement. He was also advisor to VP Biden’s early 1988 presidential run, chairman of Al Gore’s 2000 campaign and later did legislative lobbying for San Antonio based SBC telecom. Currently he is a top official with JPMorgan Chase.

Three Mile Island & 53 new nukes worldwide

At Three Mile Island this past weekend it seems Exelon was too busy for five hours to notify the state about a radiation leak and Gov.Ed Rendell is making some appropriate noises in the form of a strongly worded letter.
Amid renewed criticism from Gov. Rendell for a five-hour delay in telling emergency officials of a weekend radiation incident.

Ventilation fans probably caused the release of a small amount of radiation inside one building on Saturday afternoon, Exelon officials said. They said that the ventilation system had since been modified and that the 150 workers stationed in the building had all returned to work.
"Things are back to normal," site vice president Bill Noll said yesterday.

Indeed-------No reason this all won’t work out for the best, right ?
Meanwhile The Washington Post explores the new positive attitude environmentalists worldwide have toward new nukes as part of a well rounded clean energy strategy. Obama is prepared to prop-up a whole new generation of nuclear power plants with new tax dollars and incentives.

The Obama administration and leading Democrats, in an effort to win greater support for climate change legislation, are eyeing federal tax incentives and loan guarantees to fund a new crop of nuclear power plants across the United States that could eventually help drive down carbon emissions.
From China to Brazil, 53 plants are now under construction worldwide, with Poland, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia seeking to build their first reactors, according to global watchdog groups and industry associations. The number of plants being built is double the total of just five years ago.

An industry expert does not see the lack of long term storage as a problem and claims traditional business factors will determine nuclear industry plans . Says Steven Kraft the Nuclear Energy Institute group’s senior director for used fuel management in an interview this past Fall “Whether or not you build new nuclear plants in this country will be determined by traditional business factors,” he says. “We have to have a plan to deal with spent fuel, but we do not see it as an impediment.”

Exclusive ! A Sneigwhblog Halloween Costume Preview

President Obama and Vice President Biden happily show off their costumes for the cameras.Early Friday the White House released images of Obama and Biden in their light hearted Halloween garb.

image courtesy of The Hyper Kitchen
Admiralty Collection

Curious Future for Health Care Legislation

At the start, the polls showed good support for health care reform. A Democratic House and the Senate; this time it would work differently than the Clinton attempt years ago. With polls showing public support, it could be fixed, right? Change.
The curious future of health care legislation may now determine the future of Obama's term.

Late yesterday leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus wrote to Obama saying “A health reform bill without a robust public option will not achieve the health reform this country so desperately needs,” the letter continues. “We cannot vote for anything less…..We look forward to meeting with you regarding a robust public option in any final health reform bill and request that that meeting take place as soon as possible,”

Obama needed a reminder even during the campaign in 2008 about where a big chunk of his support was coming from. An online petition and letter from the Nation Magazine forwarded to Obama urged him to follow up his rhetoric with support of progressive issues. Part of the letter read We recognize that compromise is necessary in any democracy…………. But retreating from the stands that have been the signature of your campaign will weaken the movement whose vigorous backing you need in order to win and then deliver the change you have promised.

First Snowe , then squeeze a caucus.

Maybe it was predicable .Here from an article in late 2008 about Obama and his Chicago guys. The author a reporter with long Chicago experience who wrote in the Washington Independent said of the Obama Chicago team By and large, this is a bunch of pragmatic deal makers who view ideology — especially extreme left-wing ideology — as a weakness.
This seems relevant with news that the White House is still negotiating for a compromise bill with Maine Republican Olympia Snow. Snowe is perhaps the last remaining Republican member of what had been the bi-partisan "Gang of Six".Now a "Gang of One". Still searching for a middle where none exists.
CNN reports that the compromise would not include a public option but leave the door open for a public option provision added at a later date.
The Plum Line blog says should Obama jettison the public option, progressives will come under tremendous pressure to back the plan anyway. White House advisers will likely insist that liberals mustn’t deny the president a historic victory and enable a defeat that could cripple the first African-American presidency

Obama live online Thursday

Obama and the media of change
President Obama did not call on any National papers at his press conference Tuesday night (noted in a bit of pique by the New York Times political reporters) and recently, he delivered a snub to the Gridiron Club (widely recognized by most insiders as the ultimate insiders club) by declining their invitation to attend their annual dinner.
A recent poll reports that nearly one-third of Americans under the age of 40 say programs like The Colbert Report and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart are taking the place of traditional news outlets.
Thirty-nine percent (39%) of adults say programs of this nature are making Americans more informed about news events, while 21% believe they make people less informed. Twelve percent (12%) say they have no impact.

Now this--- no media at all.A press conference of sorts online with no press at all .A live online event from the White house in which he will answer citizen submitted questions .Submitted in advance at http://www.whitehouse.gov/OpenForQuestions/ and ranked by participants regarding interest and importance. I looked at the site earlier and it has a video message from Obama and is quite easy to navigate around .I did not pass up the opportunity and did submit a question.

White House to Host Online Town Hall after Ignoring National Papers at Press Conference

Participants can submit questions in writing or video. They can also vote for questions they want most to be answered. The questions are listed by topic, and then ranked by interest in them. On Wednesday afternoon , there were 22,596 people to have submitted 24,737 questions and cast 835,484 votes. A ticker at the top of each list of topical questions keeps an updating count.

This event may provide a model for how to engage participants in an online event. Registration requires first name, e-mail, and ZIP code and "catch" verification. The "Terms of Participation" are explicit. Participants can flag questions that violate the policy and if several flag one question, it will be downplayed then reviewed and either removed or restored to the rotation. People who want to submit a question outside the event can do so.
Questions and voting are hosted by Google Inc., but whitehouse.gov owns and has access to the data related to the questions and voting, which will be treated in accordance with the whitehouse.gov privacy policy. Google never receives your email address and does not store the IP addresses related to open for Questions.

http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=101

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/lifestyle/entertainment/nearly_one_third_of_younger_americans_see_colbert_
stewart_as_alternatives_to_traditional_news_outlets

Signs of the times old and new

Where you see this sign ,your tax dollars at work
"These emblems are symbols of our commitment to you, the American people — a commitment to investing your tax dollars wisely, to put Americans to work doing the work that needs to be done. So when you see them on projects that your tax dollars made possible, let it be a reminder that our government — your government — is doing its part to put the economy back on the road of recovery."President Obama speaking at the Transportation Department.

The NRA Blue Eagle,that's National Recovery Agency from the FDR's first one hundred days

http://www.federaltimes.com/federal-times-blog/tag/arra-emblem/

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/03/emblems-to-stam.html