For the second time, Obama has named John Brennan, his chief counterterrorism adviser, to lead the CIA. Four years ago Brennan was a top candidate for the job but withdrew amid controversy over his past service in the George W. Bush administration.
The New York Times writes, “Who would have thought the nation’s first black president would have an optics problem? But his parade of second-term nominations so far is white, male, and of a certain average age (62.3, to be exact)” and included a front page photo that shows Obama meeting...
The White House on Wednesday stiffened its insistence that Congress expand the federal borrowing capacity, reiterating its stance that the administration cannot invoke the 14th Amendment to borrow above the debt ceiling. “I can tell you that the president does not believe that there is a backup plan or a...
National Journal’s Ronald Brownstein writes that no one should underestimate how much of a missed opportunity it represents. In this article, Brownstein argues that the deal stands as the rare event that could simultaneously set back the goals of the left, right, and center. http://bit.ly/RJdNJk
The Washington Post’s Wonk team sums it up as follows. “Thanks to an odd loophole in current law, the U.S. Treasury is technically allowed to mint as many coins made of platinum as it wants and can assign them whatever value it pleases. Under this scenario, the U.S. Mint would...
The VP, long one of the most maligned public figures operating in national politics, is on something of a roll. Biden stepped into (and negotiated) the fiscal cliff deal and he is now front and center on one of the Obama administration’s biggest — and certainly most high-profile — second-term...