In terms of urban policy, the Obama administration certainly will not be lacking input from New Yorkers. With new appointments announced today in Washington, it doesn’t escape notice that now the three voices with probably the most influence on urban affairs nationally are officials from New York. That’s no insignificant step, given that the Obama administration has repeatedly made clear that urban areas will get fresh attention. On everything from transportation policy to housing... READ MORE»
On Sunday's Meet the Press, David Gregory confronted David Axelrod, one of President Obama's chief advisers, with a respected economist's grim conclusion that the stimulus package Obama will sign on Tuesday simply isn't big enough and that the unemployment rate will hover around 10 percent at the end of 2010. "You heard people saying it was too small, you had people saying it was too large," Axelrod replied. "We believe it's where it should be." That... READ MORE»
Democrats are still in good shape to win Judd Gregg's New Hampshire Senate seat in 2010, despite the Republican's abrupt withdrawal on Thursday as Barack Obama's nominee for Commerce secretary. As it now stands, Gregg will return to the Senate and serve out the remainder of his third term, which expires after the 2010 election. This means that Gregg's former aide, 63-year-old Bonnie Newman, who had been tapped to serve as his successor, will not... READ MORE»
Bobby Jindal has been selected to deliver the televised Republican response to Barack Obama's Feb. 24 address to Congress, which means Jindal will now be the subject of a wave of news stories hyping him as a rising national star. Take it away, New York Times: "The Louisiana governor has become one to watch among those in the next generation of leaders." For Jindal, this will probably be the main benefit of his moment in the... READ MORE»
By | February 10, 2009 | 7:23 pm
The nation is facing a deep and deepening economic crisis. Unemployment is rising, foreclosures are up, retail sales are down and people are worried about their future. The federal government must intervene in the economy and do whatever it takes to stimulate economic activity. And so we are shocked—although perhaps not surprised—that Republicans have decided to come out swinging against Barack Obama’s stimulus package, thereby ignoring the nation’s problems, with the hope of winning... READ MORE»
By now, Condé Nast's belt-tightening is well known, but with the recent shuttering of Domino and widespread concern of a so-called "Domino effect" at the magazine company, just how bad are things over at 4 Times Square? Pretty bad, apparently. According to a shocking report on Vanity Fair's Web site by Jessica Flint and Elizabeth Hurlbut, Vanity Fair employees are being forced to brown bag it. Coming only a week after it was revealed that the... READ MORE»
Jenna Lyons, the creative director of J. Crew, was on the phone, discussing her Fashion Week plans. “I would love to go,” she said, her voice streaming buoyantly through the receiver. “Omigod, it would be so much fun.” She was hoping to squeeze the shows of Derek Lam (a friend from Parsons) and Chris Benz (a former J. Crew dress designer) into her schedule. But she had pressing matters to focus on: sketches... READ MORE»
Having allowed his Republican opponents to dominate the economic debate for two weeks as his stimulus proposal languished, President Obama used his first news conference to rebut them—coolly and civilly, yet without leaving any doubt that he can strike back harder if necessary. He drew the lines that had to be drawn, calling out the opposition’s hypocrisy on spending and identifying conservatives whose answer is to do nothing (except cut taxes for the... READ MORE»
Anyone with a grasp of modern domestic political history should have seen last week's stimulus package impasse in the Senate coming. It was not at all surprising that Republicans loudly demagogued the package as a massive dose of pork, even as their examples of "pork" accounted for a tiny fraction of the overall bill. Nor was it surprising that the G.O.P.—the same party that added nearly $8 trillion to the national debt between the Reagan-Bush... READ MORE»
It took less than a month for the 24-7 news media and political pundit class to pile on President Obama and resume their old habit of underestimating him. "His appointments were not properly vetted". "The stimulus package is a pork-laden mishmash". "He's too nice to the conservatives" "He still hasn't gotten his kids a dog". Through all of the endless analysis our new President maintains his balance and seems to coolly rise above... READ MORE»
In the wake of Tom Daschle's implosion, media speculation on Barack Obama's next nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services has focused mainly on four names. Three of them are (fairly) logical candidates for the job. One is not. The name that doesn't belong is Howard Dean's. The former DNC chairman remains a beloved figure among his party's grass roots and his background as a physician and as a governor who pursued... READ MORE»
Barack Obama's posture toward recalcitrant Congressional Republicans took a sharp turn toward the confrontational on Thursday—and just in time. The new president spent the last few weeks playing the role of magnanimous bipartisan leader, making public shows of outreach to Republicans and shying away from direct attacks. It won him a grand total of zero Republican votes in the House for his economic stimulus package. On Thursday, with public opinion turning against the plan and emboldened... READ MORE»
Three weeks ago, on the eve of his Senate confirmation hearings and his would-be boss' inauguration, word broke that Tim Geithner, Barack Obama's pick for Treasury secretary, had failed to pay $34,000 in Social Security and Medicare taxes between 2001 and 2004. The error had actually been turned up a month earlier by the Senate Finance Committee, at which point Geithner quietly paid his tax bill, but when it became public knowledge, the fate of... READ MORE»
By | February 3, 2009 | 7:01 pm
With jobs in jeopardy and investments limping, it’s understandable that Main Street takes comfort in finding a bogeyman to blame for the country’s current economic miseries. And last month, when the New York State comptroller announced that Wall Street handed out $18.4 billion in bonuses for 2008, Main Street didn’t even have to get up from its easy chair to find a suitable villain. The White House amplified the chorus of boos, as... READ MORE»
