Topic: Barack Obama

The IRS Scandal Was First Revealed by an IRS Official Asking to Be Asked About It

Associated Press

The IRS official who revealed the IRS had inappropriately targeted conservative groups on Friday did so on purpose -- by asking a tax lawyer to ask her about it at American Bar Association tax section’s annual meeting.

By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 15, 2013

After a Bombing in Boston, All Quiet In Washington

President Obama did call the bombing of the Boston marathon "terrorism" in a brief statement on the event Monday, saying instead, "We still do not know who did this or why. People shouldn't jump to conclusions before we have all the facts."

Comments | 26,447 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 15, 2013

A Guide to Keeping Your Post-Obama Career Classy

After years of long hours and low-ish pay, many of President Obama's old aides are cashing in on their political connections. But as The New Republic's Noam Scheiber explains, there's some squabbling among the Obama alumni network over who looks like a crass sellout and who's a classy sellout.

Comments | 749 Views

By Sara Morrison

Apr 12, 2013

Obama's Other Job Doesn't Pay Like It Used To

President Obama may want to think twice about that sequester pay cut. His tax returns, released Friday, show that his main source of income -- which used to be royalties from the sale of his books -- is now his presidential salary.

Comments | 2,061 Views

By Philip Bump

Apr 11, 2013

Goodbye, New Deal: Obama Proposes Selling the TVA

Buried on page 51 of President Obama's budget proposal is a short section titled "Reform TVA" — where "reform" is likely to mean "privatize." It's the quiet beginning of a late chapter in the story of the New Deal, made necessary in part by Obama himself.

Comments | 2,553 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 11, 2013

Obama's Agenda Was Only Mostly Dead

Senators have come up with compromises on immigration and gun control even though Washington was supposed to be paralyzed and President Obama's agenda was supposed to be pretty much dead, smothered by the fiscal cliff, the sequester, and the NRA.

Comments | 368 Views

By Philip Bump

Apr 10, 2013

How Many Shootings Would the Senate's Background Check Deal Have Prevented?

Opponents criticize Wednesday's background check compromise, suggesting it wouldn't have prevented several high profile mass shootings. Indeed, of the 30 incidents since 2003 that we looked at, the new deal would quite possibly only have stopped one.

Comments | 2,745 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Apr 10, 2013

Is Sri Srinivasan Our Next Supreme Court Justice?

The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a confirmation hearing on Wednesday for an open spot on U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C. — and it could open the door for the next Supreme Court nominee. Here's how.

Comments | 4,967 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 10, 2013

Even Congress Is Too Bored by the Budget Battle to Pay Attention to Details

Many Republicans were unaware that Obama's been offering chained CPI for a while. It seems they were also unaware that Grover Norquist, conservatives' No. 1 anti-tax activist and an important GOP ally for decades, opposes chained CPI as a bad deal and a tax increase.

Comments | 920 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Apr 10, 2013

The Obama Budget Has Something for Everyone to Hate

By offering to raise taxes and cut entitlement spending at the same time, the new formal budget proposal from the Obama administration should sufficiently upset just about everyone who will have to vote on it.

Comments | 184 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Apr 9, 2013

Obama Fails to Croon to the Crowd at White House Memphis Soul Party

It's always fun to watch President Obama go to music-related events, most especially because there's usually a good chance that he might get on stage to sing. Tuesday night was one of those nights. Except he didn't sing a thing!

Comments | 4,379 Views

By Philip Bump

Apr 8, 2013

Obama's Last Weapon in the Fight for Gun Regulations: Emotion

President Obama, tired and clearly emotional, made another pitch for Congress to act on new gun restrictions Monday evening in Connecticut. His task: to translate the fury and urgency of the boisterous crowd in front of him into action in DC.

Comments | 2,198 Views

By Philip Bump

Apr 8, 2013

You're Not Really Following @BarackObama on Twitter

The 29,503,030 people who follow Barack Obama's Twitter account might see his picture, see his name, see that little blue verified account badge and think they're following the President — but it's not him.

Comments | 74,653 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 5, 2013

Obama Apologized to Kamala Harris for Saying She's Hot

President Obama called California Attorney General Kamala Harris to say he was sorry for calling her the hottest attorney general in all the land, White House press secretary Jay Carney explained Friday afternoon, after a ton of criticism that Obama acted like an unenlightened bro.

Comments | 1,967 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 5, 2013

Obama's Budget Will Force GOP to Admit What Obama's Been Offering All Along

The proposals will include cuts to Medicare and Social Security and tax increases... which doesn't change what the president was offering Republicans last fall — but it does mean pundits will declare Obama is offering a serious budget for serious times, DOA or not.

Comments | 892 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 4, 2013

Obama Praises Female California Attorney General for Being a Hottie

President Obama revealed his secret adherence to fascist beauty standards when he praised the female California attorney general for being, like, mad hot at a DNC fundraiser Thursday afternoon in Atherton, California.

Comments | 3,926 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 3, 2013

The Way the Gun Fight Was Won in Colorado

President Obama's trip to Denver today to lift up Colorado as "a model of what's possible" on gun control in D.C. The interesting comparison, though, isn't why Congress won't stand up to the NRA — that answer is obvious — but what happened to the Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, the state's gun lobby that is, if anything, more radical than the NRA.

Comments | 1,233 Views

By Philip Bump

Apr 3, 2013

Obama Sequesters Himself to Prove the Wrong Point

In a measure of solidarity with those affected by the budget-slashing government sequestration, President Obama is giving up 5 percent of his salary for rest of the year, which is almost as admirable and sensible as a mansion-owner shutting off his marble fountains during a drought.

Comments | 5,342 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Apr 3, 2013

Obama's New Home Loan Plan Sounds Dangerously Familiar

The economy is doing well, but could be doing better. So President Obama is reportedly reaching for a old idea that didn't work so well the last time.

Comments | 3,027 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Apr 1, 2013

White House Easter Egg Roll Gets Weird

Kid President welcomed the real-life president and first family to the makeshift stage during the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, which is always high on the pomp and silliness, but not always quite this awkward. Also: terrifying Easter Bunny.

Comments | 3,541 Views

By Philip Bump

Mar 29, 2013

Obama Calls for Infrastructure Spending — for the Fifth Time in Five Years

Speaking Friday in Miami, President Obama called for $21 billion in new national infrastructure investment. This is a strong break from past years — when he called for the creation of an infrastructure bank in the autumn.

Comments | 1,409 Views

By Philip Bump

Mar 29, 2013

Obama's Moneyball Environmentalism Takes Aim at Pollution from Gasoline

The president's environmental moves, like today's announcement on gasoline emissions, seem to favor small dial-turns focused on economics and short-term health improvements. It's environmental smallball — and environmentalists may have given up on hoping for a home run.

Comments | 703 Views

By J.K. Trotter

Mar 28, 2013

Obama on Guns: 'Shame on Us' — and the Gun Lobby

Depsite rumors to the contrary, President Obama isn't giving up on gun violence. In an event at the White House on Thursday morning, the President averred that he continued to toil under the memory of the mass shooting in Newtown.

Comments | 877 Views

By Philip Bump

Mar 27, 2013

All Congress Needs to Do to Get People to Like It: Its Job

There are a few lessons for Washington in the new ABC/Washington Post poll released today. One is that (non-Republican) people still like Obama. The second is that one option for Congress to turn its horrible ratings around would be for it to actually do something.

Comments | 525 Views

By Philip Bump

Mar 25, 2013

The Window for Embracing Same-Sex Marriage Has Closed

Mark Warner became the latest member of the Senate to announce his support for gay marriage Monday afternoon — and perhaps the last to do so with any effectiveness. In the recent history of buzzer-beaters for political benefit, others have not been quite so advantageous on the once hot-button issue.

Comments | 2,438 Views

By Philip Bump

Mar 22, 2013

Another of Obama's Blocked Judicial Nominee Gives Up

In a quiet news statement sent out at 3 p.m. on a Friday, the Obama administration officially withdrew the nomination of Caitlin Halligan to sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals' D.C. Circuit, replacing John Roberts. The withdrawal leaves the court with only seven of its eleven members in place — and reemphasizes the problem of slow or blocked judicial nominations.

Comments | 867 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Mar 22, 2013

Obama Wants to Connect Civil Rights to Middle East Peace, but It's Not That Easy

The civil rights movement wanted to integrate black people into American society. Obama, most Israelis, and Palestinians want a two-state solution. That takes more than changing hearts and minds of average people.

Comments | 520 Views

By Philip Bump

Mar 21, 2013

Welcome to the Bracket of Bracket Picks

What's important about the NCAA tournament isn't who wins the championship. What's important is who gets humiliated by their embarrassing picks. For too long, celebrities and reporters have been immune to that humiliation. No longer.

Comments | 4,670 Views

By J.K. Trotter

Mar 21, 2013

Obama Heckled at Jerusalem Speech, but College Kids Still Love Him

Barack Obama knows how to work a crowd. While speaking to a group of 600 college students at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem, the President was briefly heckled by a lonestudent speaking in Hebrew. Here's the video of Obama's reaction.

Comments | 3,459 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Mar 21, 2013

Obama and Congress Are Some of Obamacare's First Test Subjects

President Obama, members of Congress, and their aides will have to enroll in Obamacare's health exchanges next year — Congress because they legally have to, and Obama because he publicly promised to.

Comments | 865 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 21, 2013

Gaza Fires Rockets into Israel as Obama Goes to the West Bank

On the same Barack Obama made his first visit to the West Bank as President and held talks with Mahmoud Abbas, militants in Gaza fired rockets into southern Israel, underlining the divisions still faced between not just Israelis and Palestinian, but within the two factions.

Comments | 519 Views

By J.K. Trotter

Mar 20, 2013

Obama Paints His Red Line on Syria

President Obama faced a simple question: Did the dueling accusations about chemical weapons in Syria cross his supposed line to engage or not? Well, in a press conference with Benjamin Netanyahu, he said the line is still there, and chemical weapons are a "game changer" — he's just not sure who crossed it yet. But he's "deeply skeptical" the opposition did.

Comments | 1,727 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 20, 2013

Obama's 1st Day in Israel, in Photo-Ops

The President of the United States is in Israel, in case you hadn't heard. How did he spend his first presidential afternoon in the Holy Land? Let's take a visual tour, with vacation slides!

Comments | 1,036 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 20, 2013

Reading Between the Red Lines in Syria

Did Syria use chemical weapons on its own people? If the verdict comes back "yes," then what? Will U.S. troops invade or bomb the country, as Republicans have suggested? Give the rebels all the guns they need? Welcome to the land of no consequences.

Comments | 861 Views

By Connor Simpson

Mar 20, 2013

Obama's March Madness Bracket for 2013 Is as Predictable as Ever

The world's most powerful basketball fan (sorry, friends of Rodman) has Indiana coming out on top. So, yeah, he's playing it pretty safe. Again. We'll see how that turns out for him.

Comments | 34,251 Views

By Philip Bump

Mar 20, 2013

Politico Links Obama, Reid, and Many, Many Others to Menendez Donor

Politico goes long this morning with a report finding that Salomon Melgen, the ophthalmologist and political donor who may have received favors from Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey, also donated to other politicians! According to the Daily Caller, this is big news.

Comments | 1,895 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 19, 2013

What's at Stake for Obama in Israel

Barack Obama climbs aboard Air Force One tonight for what is, in some circles, the most anticipated trip of his precedency: a two-day visit to Israel and the West Bank.

Comments | 517 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Mar 18, 2013

Glenn Beck and Conservatives See the Devil in Barack Obama on 'The Bible'

Along with maybe a few actual viewers, they're brewing a high-profile controversy because, well, the actor who played the devil on Sunday night's episode maybe kind of sort of looks like the President of the United States.

Comments | 10,518 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Mar 16, 2013

Bachmann's Vision for a New GOP: More Caring, More Benghazi

Like many of the politicians at CPAC with ambitions for higher office, Michele Bachmann offered a vision of a new path forward for Republicans. Bachmann's was unique in that it combined a more inclusive message — "We care about people!" — with her signature cable news-ready attacks on President Obama.

Comments | 1,897 Views

By Philip Bump

Mar 15, 2013

Obama Has a Friend in Rising Gas Prices

New government data suggests that spiking gas prices are making everything else more expensive — data that could help the president on Friday as he continues to make the case for expanded investment in alternative fuel sources.

Comments | 517 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 15, 2013

Obama Says Iran Is a Year Away from a Nuke

As part of a mini press-tour to set up his first presidential trip to Israel next week, Barack Obama told an Israeli television station that Iran is at least a year away from developing a nuclear weapon.

Comments | 1,379 Views

By Philip Bump

Mar 14, 2013

Ryan vs. Obama May Be March Madness, but Can Anybody Win?

The only things that have changed from the bracket-laden budget fight of the campaign are a few specific numbers, like switching the second two in "2012" to a three. Indeed, Washington is gearing up for an Obama-Ryan budget rematch — and it's a contest that each side seems all too eager to have.

Comments | 345 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Mar 14, 2013

How the GOP Wants Obama to Cut a Deal with the GOP

Pundits are skeptical about whether President Obama will be able to charm Republicans into agreeing to a "grand bargain," but Republicans have plenty of tips for the president for getting a deal done.

Comments | 1,379 Views

By Philip Bump

Mar 13, 2013

Nope, Obama Didn't Share Keystone Decision with House Republicans

The president of the United States chose not to reveal how he planned to decide on a highly controversial issue to a group of political opponents. This is only news because of what you may have read earlier.

Comments | 1,897 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Mar 13, 2013

What Does the GOP Really Want?

Now that the sequester has settled in, we've learned that Republicans do not feel much urgency to protect defense spending. After President Obama's dinner diplomacy failed to produce a grand bargain, it doesn't look like they were after party invitations. And, now, we're learning that Republicans aren't all that enthusiastic about entitlement reform, either.

Comments | 3,966 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Mar 12, 2013

The Hypocrisy of Schmooze

President Obama's biggest problem used to be that he wasn't schmoozing with Congress. His biggest problem now is that he's schmoozing with Congress. Who gave him such terrible advice? The very same reporters who were demanding he get snacks with senators in the first place, obviously.

Comments | 862 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Mar 12, 2013

Is Obama About to Have His Jed Bartlet Moment?

President Obama is headed to Capitol Hill this week, starting Tuesday afternoon, in his continued pursuit of that mythical grand bargain — taking a page from the playbook of the greatest president who never lived.

Comments | 4,817 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Mar 8, 2013

One Meal to Rule Them All

President Obama is finally having the dinner parties that Washington is so obsessed with in an attempt to get some Republicans to support a deal to replace the sequester that includes more tax revenue.

Comments | 1,822 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Mar 7, 2013

DOMA Is Unconstitutional, Says Charismatic President Who Signed It into Law

Bill Clinton does most things right. His entire life, the former president's done nothing but succeed tremendously at everything he does. But even Bubba messes up sometimes.

Comments | 3,621 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Mar 7, 2013

Rand Paul Gets His Answer on Drones: 'No'

Attorney General Eric Holder has answered Sen. Ran Paul's question of whether the government can use a drone to kill an American citizen on American soil if that person is not engaged in combat: "The answer to that question is no."

Comments | 4,421 Views

By Philip Bump

Mar 7, 2013

Obama's Organizing Group Changes Its Rules So You'll Stop Worrying About It

In a subtlety-laden opinion piece, Jim Messina outlined the amendments to Organizing for Action's plans. Here's what has changed and what hasn't in response to critiques.

Comments | 345 Views

  • The Atlantic Wire on Twitter
  • The Atlantic Wire RSS Feed
  • The Atlantic Wire iPhone App