The Swamp

Consumers strangely more upbeat: Gallup

2009-01-08T19:05:00Z

by Frank James

There's been precious little good economic news lately. But that somehow hasn't kept consumer sentiment from improving recently according to Gallup's pollsters.

As Gallup reports:

Consumer expectations are getting a little better as the new year gets underway. The percentage of consumers saying the economy is "getting better" minus the percentage saying it is "getting worse" improved to -58 points during the week ending Jan. 4, 2009, after having hit -70 in mid-December as a reflection of deteriorating consumer expectations.

Gallup notes the oddity of this, given the aforementioned lack of good news.

It seems rather ironic that consumer expectations for the future of the U.S. economy have improved somewhat even as President-elect Obama describes the economic situation as "dire," the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City suggests the outlook for the first half of 2009 is "grim," and recent economic reports show economic activity plummeted during the fourth quarter of last year. Of course, the uptick in consumer expectations could simply reflect more positive spirits associated with the Christmas/New Year's period. Lower gas prices may also be helping encourage consumers. However, it seems more likely that many consumers, like many on Wall Street, are encouraged by talk of an enormous government stimulus plan and the soon-to-arrive Obama inauguration.

]]> Whether consumers are encouraged by holiday cheer, talk of a new stimulus plan, or something else, it will be interesting to see how they respond to the economic headlines over the days and weeks ahead. On the one hand, they will hear about an increasingly depressing jobs situation. They are also likely to see numerous references to the potential for economic disaster as political leaders make the case for the economic stimulus legislation. Worst of all, they may end up seeing a rash of bankruptcies as the fallout of dismal holiday sales is realized.

On the other hand, there is likely to be at least a temporary euphoria as the nation celebrates the historic inauguration of the new president-elect. This optimistic atmosphere could gain momentum as the planned dramatic action by the federal government is outlined in more detail and the unprecedented actions of the Fed begin to be felt on Main Street.

Bush: Read more than you watch TV

2009-01-08T17:00:00Z

by Mark Silva

We've seen President Bush in classrooms before - we saw him there on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, at Emma Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Fla., listening to second-graders reading.

And we saw him there again today, at the General Philip Kearny School in Philadelphia, celebrating the seventh anniversary of his signing of the No Child Left Behind Act. - on what is expected to be his second to last journey aboard Air Force One as president.

And this morning, the president was telling second-graders in Philadelphia the same thing he told second-graders in Sarasota on the morning of 9/11.

"Reading more than they watch TV?... Anybody do that?" the president asked the schoolchildren that morning in 2001.

"Make sure you read more than you watch TV,'' Bush told the schoolkids this morning.

(Read on about the mornings with the second grade -- (Photo, right, of Bush getting word of a second airliner hitting a second tower of the World Trade Center / AP)

]]> The No Child Left Behind Act was the most significant domestic reform of the president's first term - save, perhaps, for his two big tax cuts. It was overshadowed by 9/11 and everything that followed, and indeed criticism for NCLB has only grown during its several years of demanding annual student testing. It was enacted with a fanfare of bipartisan support, but critics complain the government never provided schools with the funding needed for reforms in classrooms failing to make "adequate yearly progress.''

At 9:00 am EST, three green and white Marine helicopters approached the tarmac at Andrews Air Force Base on a clear and cold morning. The President and First Lady Laura Bush stepped out of Marine One and climbed the starts to Air Force One, wheels up at 9:13 a.m.

"There was some modest turbulence at the start of the flight,'' print pooler David Cook of the Christian Science Monitor reports, "bu not enough to keep your pooler from sampling breakfast. Menu: fruit bowl, muffin, and orange juice. ''

Education Secretary Margaret Spellings and Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter joined Bush.

AF One landed in Philly in 9:36 am. The presidential motorcade headed into Philadelphia on I-95 north, and arrived at the General Philip Kearny School at 10:07. In the second-grade classroom of Cheryl Feldscher, the boys all dressed in blue shirts, the girls in blue dresses, one wall displayed the sign, "Math Word Wall,'' another displayed the sign "Science Word Wall."

"Good morning, press,'' the teacher said to the pool. She prompted the class in questions for press including, "why is their fur on the microphone?'' Before the Bushes entered the classroom, a number of Secret Service agents arrived. The teacher explained to the class that they were e there to "keep him safe, so no harm comes to him."

At 10:17 am, Mrs. Bush, a onetime school librarian, entered with a "Hi everybody."

The president asked the class: "Are you learning how to read?" He also told the class: "Make sure you read more than you watch TV... With all due respect to the TV cameras, you learn more reading than from TV."

Several years ago, I was the print pool reporter as Bush arrived at an elementary school in Florida amid news that an airplane had struck the World Trade Center. As he settled into a chair next to the teacher who played host to the president in Sarasota that morning, Bush asked the children:

"Reading more than they watch TV?... Anybody do that?"

The children's hands shot up.

"Really good readers -- whew!" said Bush, delivering the ultimate compliment: "This must be Sixth Grade."

Andy Card, the president's chief of staff, had entered that classroom and quietly whispered in the president's ear the news that a second airliner had hit a second tower, that the first crash was no accident, that the U.S. was under attack. The president withheld that news from the children during the few minutes that he remained in the room listening to them read.

As the children finished reading, they closed with this phrase: "more to come." Bush asked them what that means. Something is happening, they replied.

"That's exactly right,'' the president said.

Federal bailouts: $267 billion, counting

2009-01-08T16:05:22Z

by Mark Silva

As President Barack Obama starts campaigning for a $775-billion-or-bigger economic stimulus plan - he concedes that his advisors have launched a plan at "the low end'' and that it may grow before Congress is finished with it - the Treasury Department is continuing to dole out some of the $700 billion that Congress already has authorized.

The latest parcels of aid to the ailing auto industry - something which Congress would not approve and left to the Bush administration to handle under the authority of the "Targeted Investment Program'' - have added up to $266.9 billion, Treasury reports today.

This includes $187.5 billion of transactions under the Capital Purchase Program - investments in financial institutions -- and a $40 billion transaction under the program for Systemically Significant Failing Institutions. Treasury has completed CPP "transactions'' with 215 U.S. financial institutions in more than 40 states and Puerto Rico.

Under the Automotive Industry Financing Program, Treasury has committed $19.4 billion in TARP funds. On Dec, 29, Treasury purchased $5 billion of senior preferred equity with an 8 percent annual distribution right from GMAC. Treasury has delivered $1 billion of TARP funds to GM and has agreed to provide GM with up to $13.4 billion in a three-year loan from the TARP, secured by various collateral.

On Jan. 2, Treasury provided a three-year $4 billion loan to Chrysler Holding. The loan is secured by various collateral, including parts inventory, real estate, and certain equity interests held by Chrysler.

"Like the GM agreement, this agreement requires Chrysler to submit a restructuring plan to achieve long-term viability for review by the president's designee and provides for acceleration of the loan if those goals are not met,'' Treasury reports. "The agreement includes other binding terms and conditions designed to protect taxpayer
funds, including compliance with certain enhanced executive compensation and expense-control requirements. Furthermore, Treasury received a senior unsecured note of Chrysler payable to Treasury in the principal amount of $267 million.''

Digital TV shift may be delayed

2009-01-08T15:45:00Z

by Frank James

Don't get rid of those old analog televisions yet. The national transition to digital television was supposed to occur next month on Feb. 17. But some key members of Congress and the Obama presidential transition may engineer a delay of a few months because of problems in the transition.

There's been growing concern that the Federal Communications Commission has mishandled the roll-out in a way that could potentially leave millions of viewers with analog TVs unconnected to cable without the ability to get a signal.

The problem is a backlog in the federal program that provides coupons to the TV owners to offset the cost of converter boxes that will be needed by analog TVs to receive a signal once TV broadcasters completely change over to transmitting digital signals alone.

According to Broadcasting and Cable magazine's website:

Consumers Union (CU) late Wednesday asked the heads of the congressional committees with telecommunications oversight, as well as the current and future administrations, to consider delaying the Feb. 17, 2009 transition date.

And at least one of those key Congressional players, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Telecommunications & Internet Subcommittee, says the date may have to move.

In a letter to Rep. Markey, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), the incoming chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committe, and others, the CU requested that Congress consider a delay "until a plan is in place to minimize the number of consumers who will lose TV signals, particularly by fixing the flaws in the federal coupon program created to offset the cost of this transition."

]]> The National Telecommunications & Information Administration this week announced that it had hit the funding ceiling for its program to distribute government subsidies for DTV-to-analog converter boxes and that new applications would have to be put on a waiting list unless the cap were raised or the Antideficiency Act (ADA) rule preventing it from spending money it expected to be freed up by expired coupons was waived.

"Congressman Markey is working on an exemption to the ADA to deal with the immediate waiting list issue," said Daniel Reilly, a spokesman for Markey. "But with the date looming, moving the date back certainly warrants further discussion and may be a wise choice."

According to several sources, the Obama FCC transition team has been "very busy" on the issue and has been floating the possibility of moving the date. The transition press office had not returned an e-mail request for comment at press time.

Joel Kelsey, a policy analyst for Consumers Union and one of the two signatories on the letter, said CU had met with the transition team about the issue, and that they are "rightly concerned that this is a mess that they are now going to have to clean up in a very short time frame."

He would not comment on whether they favored moving the date beyond only saying that the transition team has been "extremely active on the DTV transition issue." He said the Obama transition team had not asked Consumers Union to send the letter.

Consumers Union has suggested a move of four months or so, according to a CNBC interview with CU senior counsel Chris Murray, the other signature on the CU letter. Murray told CNBC that he thought there was a "reasonably good chance" that Congress would push the date back four months or so. "We're not ready to say there will be a delay yet," he said. "We believe that Congress should consider a delay [but] I don't think I can talk about this as something that is readily going to happen," he said.

Army apology: 'John Doe' notes for dead

2009-01-08T13:40:00Z

by Julian E. Barnes

The Army issued a formal apology to the families of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan after it sent them letters with the salutation "Dear John Doe."

In December, the Army sent out 7,000 letters to the families of most of the 3,544 soldiers killed in Iraq or Afghanistan since 2001 containing information about services or gifts for which they may be eligible.

Although the envelopes were properly addressed, a software problem caused an error that printed the place-holder salutation of "Dear John Doe" at the top of the letter. The letters were printed by a private contractor.

J. Paul Boyce, an Army spokesman, said the service had not received any angry complaints, but several families called to alert the military to the error on their letters. That prompted an investigation showing that most likely all the letters were misprinted.

"There are no words to adequately apologize for this mistake or for the hurt it may have caused," Brig. Gen. Reuben Jones, the Army's adjutant general, said in a statement. In addition to the formal apology from the military, Gen. George Casey, the Army chief of staff, is sending the families a letter explaining the error.

See the rest of the report on the Army's Dear John Doe letter in Tribune newspapers and here in the Swamp:

]]> Bonnie Brown of Troy, Ala., whose son John was killed in Iraq, said she received a copy of the letter this week. She said she found the salutation odd but not offensive. "I did notice it said 'Dear John Doe,' " she said. "But it didn't really bother me."

Several veterans groups took different positions on the larger issue of how well the Army supports families of soldiers killed in action.

Joe Davis, a spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, said the greetings were an "unfortunate mistake." Davis, who was briefed on the error by Army officials, applauded the military's efforts to stay in touch with families.

"It is embarrassing," Davis said. "But it's very good that they are trying to reach out to families to say the Army is there to support you."

The founder of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Paul Rieckhoff, was less forgiving, arguing the Army needs to do more. Rieckhoff said that after the controversy generated by disclosures that former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had used a robotic pen to sign casualty letters, the military should take extra care when communicating with the families of fallen soldiers.

"How much does it take to proofread letters?" Rieckhoff said. "You have to remember the amount of hurt the families are going through."

The Army declined to release the name of the California-based company that printed the letters. "We take full responsibility," Boyce said.

jbarnes@tribune.com

E-mailShare Digg Del.icio.us Facebook Fark Google Reddit Buzz up!Mixx it! PrintReprint
Be the first to rate this [?]

You might like:
Army apologizes for error in letters (@chicagotribune.com - Nation/World)Army sorry for letter that called surviving family members 'John Doe' rather than real names (@chicagotribune.com - Politics)Army extends full honors at Arlington to all troops killed in action, not just officers (@chicagotribune.com - Politics)2 more recommended posts »
Related topic galleries: Armed Forces, California, Veterans Affairs, Defense, Death and Dying
All topicsMake a difference for the area's neediest: Give to Chicago Tribune Charities

Read all 14 comments »
Type in your comments to post to the forum
Name
(appears on your post) You are currently logged in as . Not ?
Name
(appears on your post)
Comments
Type the numbers you see in the image on the right:

Please note by clicking on "Post Comment" you acknowledge that you have read the Terms of Service and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms. Be polite. Inappropriate posts may be removed by the moderator. Send us your feedback.

Barack Obama's 'new course' for nation

2009-01-08T13:00:00Z

by Mark Silva

President-elect Barack Obama, pledging to "set a new course'' for an ailing American economy, will deliver a pointed public appeal for his nearly $1-trillion recovery plan today, the start of a campaign asking Americans to accept massive new spending as a "reinvestment'' in the nation.

With it, Obama will say, the nation should be able to generate 3 million new jobs over the next few years. Without it, he will say, the nation's unemployment rate could climb into double-digits.

Appearing at George Mason University in suburban Virginia for his premier economic address in the run-up to inauguration on Jan. 20, Obama will deliver his first appeal for an American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan which, he will say, is not simply a "public works program.''

It's an attempt to invest in areas of the economy that promise new growth, he will say, and a turnaround from a recession that "could linger for years'' if the nation does not act swiftly.

"I don't believe it's too late to change course, but it will be if we don't take dramatic action as soon as possible,'' Obama plans to say, according to excerpts of his speech that the transition team released this morning. " If nothing is done, this recession could linger for years.''

]]> With unemployment already reaching levels unseen in years, the president-elect paints a dire prediction of where it still yet may be headed.

"The unemployment rate could reach double digit,'' he will say. "Our economy could fall $1 trillion short of its full capacity, which translates into more than $12,000 in lost income for a family of four.

"We could lose a generation of potential and promise, as more young Americans are forced to forgo dreams of college or the chance to train for the jobs of the future,'' he will say. "And our nation could lose the competitive edge that has served as a foundation for our strength and standing in the world.

"In short,'' he will say, "a bad situation could become dramatically worse.
"There is no doubt that the cost of this plan will be considerable. It will certainly add to the budget deficit in the short-term. But equally certain are the consequences of doing too little or nothing at all, for that will lead to an even greater deficit of jobs, incomes, and confidence in our economy.

"It is true that we cannot depend on government alone to create jobs or long-term growth, but at this particular moment, only government can provide the short-term boost necessary to lift us from a recession this deep and severe. Only government can break the vicious cycles that are crippling our economy - where a lack of spending leads to lost jobs which leads to even less spending; where an inability to lend and borrow stops growth and leads to even less credit.

"That is why we need to act boldly and act now to reverse these cycles,'' Obama plans to say. "That's why we need to put money in the pockets of the American people, create new jobs, and invest in our future. That's why we need to re-start the flow of credit and restore the rules of the road that will ensure a crisis like this never happens again.

"That work begins with this plan - a plan I am confident will save or create at least three million jobs over the next few years,'' he will say. "It is not just another public works program. It's a plan that recognizes both the paradox and the promise of this moment - the fact that there are millions of Americans trying to find work, even as, all around the country, there is so much work to be done.

"That's why we'll invest in priorities like energy and education; health care and a new infrastructure that are necessary to keep us strong and competitive in the 21st century. That's why the overwhelming majority of the jobs created will be in the private sector, while our plan will save the public sector jobs of teachers, cops, firefighters and others who provide vital services.

"I understand that some might be skeptical of this plan. Our government has already spent a good deal of money, but we haven't yet seen that translate into more jobs or higher incomes or renewed confidence in our economy,'' he will say. "That's why the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan won't just throw money at our problems - we'll invest in what works. The true test of the policies we'll pursue won't be whether they're Democratic or Republican ideas, but whether they create jobs, grow our economy, and put the American Dream within reach of the American people.

"Instead of politicians doling out money behind a veil of secrecy, decisions about where we invest will be made transparently, and informed by independent experts wherever possible,'' he will say. "Every American will be able to hold Washington accountable for these decisions by going online to see how and where their tax dollars are being spent. And as I announced yesterday, we will launch an unprecedented effort to eliminate unwise and unnecessary spending that has never been more unaffordable for our nation and our children's future than it is right now.

"Now, this recovery plan alone will not solve all the problems that led us into this crisis. We must also work with the same sense of urgency to stabilize and repair the financial system we all depend on.

"That means using our full arsenal of tools to get credit flowing again to families and business, while restoring confidence in our markets. It means launching a sweeping effort to address the foreclosure crisis so that we can keep responsible families in their homes. It means preventing the catastrophic failure of financial institutions whose collapse could endanger the entire economy, but only with maximum protections for taxpayers and a clear understanding that government support for any company is an extraordinary action that must come with significant restrictions on the firms that receive support. And it means reforming a weak and outdated regulatory system so that we can better withstand financial shocks and better protect consumers, investors, and businesses from the reckless greed and risk-taking that must never endanger our prosperity again.

"No longer can we allow Wall Street wrongdoers to slip through regulatory cracks. No longer can we allow special interests to put their thumbs on the economic scales. No longer can we allow the unscrupulous lending and borrowing that leads only to destructive cycles of bubble and bust.

"It is time to set a new course for this economy, and that change must begin now,'' he will say. "We should have an open and honest discussion about this recovery plan in the days ahead, but I urge Congress to move as quickly as possible on behalf of the American people.

"For every day we wait or point fingers or drag our feet, more Americans will lose their jobs. More families will lose their savings. More dreams will be deferred and denied. And our nation will sink deeper into a crisis that, at some point, we may not be able to reverse.''

Obama: Let's act on economy or else

2009-01-08T12:52:54Z

by Frank James

President-elect Barack Obama is due to make a major speech on the economy today at George Mason University in Northern Virginia just outside Washington, D.C.

It is essentially a call for support of what is expected to be a huge economic stimulus package he hopes to get enacted in the first few months of his presidency. He warns that if an economic stimulus isn't passed quickly enough, it may come too late to stave off a dramatic decline not of just the economy but the nation too.

His presidential transition office has released excerpts:

I don't believe it's too late to change course, but it will be if we don't take dramatic action as soon as possible. If nothing is done, this recession could linger for years. The unemployment rate could reach double digits. Our economy could fall $1 trillion short of its full capacity, which translates into more than $12,000 in lost income for a family of four. We could lose a generation of potential and promise, as more young Americans are forced to forgo dreams of college or the chance to train for the jobs of the future. And our nation could lose the competitive edge that has served as a foundation for our strength and standing in the world.

In short, a bad situation could become dramatically worse.
.....

There is no doubt that the cost of this plan will be considerable. It will certainly add to the budget deficit in the short-term. But equally certain are the consequences of doing too little or nothing at all, for that will lead to an even greater deficit of jobs, incomes, and confidence in our economy. It is true that we cannot depend on government alone to create jobs or long-term growth, but at this particular moment, only government can provide the short-term boost necessary to lift us from a recession this deep and severe. Only government can break the vicious cycles that are crippling our economy - where a lack of spending leads to lost jobs which leads to even less spending; where an inability to lend and borrow stops growth and leads to even less credit.

]]> That is why we need to act boldly and act now to reverse these cycles. That's why we need to put money in the pockets of the American people, create new jobs, and invest in our future. That's why we need to re-start the flow of credit and restore the rules of the road that will ensure a crisis like this never happens again.

That work begins with this plan - a plan I am confident will save or create at least three million jobs over the next few years. It is not just another public works program. It's a plan that recognizes both the paradox and the promise of this moment - the fact that there are millions of Americans trying to find work, even as, all around the country, there is so much work to be done. That's why we'll invest in priorities like energy and education; health care and a new infrastructure that are necessary to keep us strong and competitive in the 21st century. That's why the overwhelming majority of the jobs created will be in the private sector, while our plan will save the public sector jobs of teachers, cops, firefighters and others who provide vital services.

....

I understand that some might be skeptical of this plan. Our government has already spent a good deal of money, but we haven't yet seen that translate into more jobs or higher incomes or renewed confidence in our economy. That's why the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan won't just throw money at our problems - we'll invest in what works. The true test of the policies we'll pursue won't be whether they're Democratic or Republican ideas, but whether they create jobs, grow our economy, and put the American Dream within reach of the American people.

Instead of politicians doling out money behind a veil of secrecy, decisions about where we invest will be made transparently, and informed by independent experts wherever possible. Every American will be able to hold Washington accountable for these decisions by going online to see how and where their tax dollars are being spent. And as I announced yesterday, we will launch an unprecedented effort to eliminate unwise and unnecessary spending that has never been more unaffordable for our nation and our children's future than it is right now.

....

Now, this recovery plan alone will not solve all the problems that led us into this crisis. We must also work with the same sense of urgency to stabilize and repair the financial system we all depend on. That means using our full arsenal of tools to get credit flowing again to families and business, while restoring confidence in our markets. It means launching a sweeping effort to address the foreclosure crisis so that we can keep responsible families in their homes. It means preventing the catastrophic failure of financial institutions whose collapse could endanger the entire economy, but only with maximum protections for taxpayers and a clear understanding that government support for any company is an extraordinary action that must come with significant restrictions on the firms that receive support. And it means reforming a weak and outdated regulatory system so that we can better withstand financial shocks and better protect consumers, investors, and businesses from the reckless greed and risk-taking that must never endanger our prosperity again.

No longer can we allow Wall Street wrongdoers to slip through regulatory cracks. No longer can we allow special interests to put their thumbs on the economic scales. No longer can we allow the unscrupulous lending and borrowing that leads only to destructive cycles of bubble and bust.

It is time to set a new course for this economy, and that change must begin now. We should have an open and honest discussion about this recovery plan in the days ahead, but I urge Congress to move as quickly as possible on behalf of the American people. For every day we wait or point fingers or drag our feet, more Americans will lose their jobs. More families will lose their savings. More dreams will be deferred and denied. And our nation will sink deeper into a crisis that, at some point, we may not be able to reverse.

###

Swamp Sunrise

2009-01-08T12:19:07Z

Jack Kemp has cancer: Report

2009-01-07T22:51:00Z

Jack Kemp, right, at a National Commission on Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity hearing at Access Chicago on Tuesday, July 15, 2008. He was accompanied by fellow former HUD secretary Henry Cisneros. (Chicago Tribune photo by Tom Van Dyke.)

by Frank James

Jack Kemp, the former congressman, Housing and Urban Development secretary and vice presidential running mate to 1996 for Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole, has cancer -- though details on the type of cancer haven't been made public.

Before Kemp entered politics, he was the star quarterback for the Buffalo Bills.

The Associated Press reports a statement was issued by his office. According to the AP:

The 73-year-old Kemp said he will continue to serve as chairman of his Washington-based Kemp Partners consulting firm and will remain involved in charitable and political work.

After his football career, Kemp represented western New York for nine terms in Congress.

He ran unsuccessfully for president bid in 1988, then later was President George H.W. Bush's housing secretary and ran for vice president as Bob Dole's running mate.

Reacting to news of Kemp's cancer, Dole called Kemp "this larger than life person."

"He's a tough guy, of deep faith, and his multitudes of friends are praying for the best," Dole said today.

Minority discrimination: Progress seen

2009-01-07T20:45:00Z

by Mark Silva

As President-elect Barack Obama prepares to take the oath of office, most people worry that the nation is losing ground on an array of problems.

The one front on which a majority of Americans believe the nation actually is making progress: Minority discrimination. 53 percent see progress there.

That's a notable exception in a long list of concerns on which most Americans see the nation as losing ground, according to a survey run by the Pew Research Center.

With a federal budget deficit now projected at $1.2 trillion this year, it's little surprise that the greatest majority of those surveyed see the country as losing ground on the deficit: 79 percent.

With unemployment soaring, a similar attitude prevails about job availability: 72 percent say we're losing ground.

Sixty-percent say we're losing ground on the cost of living, 59 percent on the gap between the rich and poor, 56 percent in lowering moral standards, 56 percent in health care, 52 percent in poverty and homelessness, 50 percent in education.

"Notably, the only issue where most people see progress being achieved is no doubt related to Obama's historic election: 53 percent say the country is making progress on discrimination against minorities, compared with just 15 percent who say the country is losing ground, and 28 percent who see little change,'' Pew reports. "During the mid-1990s, far fewer people said progress was being achieved reducing discrimination (40 percent in 1995, 38 percent in 1994).

The survey was conducted Dec. 3-7 among 1,489 adults and carries a possible margin of error of plus or minus three percent - which always makes it possible that a majority of people don't really think we are making progress on that one front (but we'll err on the side of optimism here in the Swamp.)

Obama to inherit 'broken government'

2009-01-07T20:06:00Z

(Photo illustration from the Center for Public Integrity "Broken Government" project.)

by Frank James

It's bad enough President-elect Barack Obama will assume office amid the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and two wars.

But the non-partisan Center for Public Government reminds us in its aptly named "Broken Government" report that Obama will also take up the reins of a seriously buggy Executive Branch (not that Congress functions much better.

An excerpt:

In this, a comprehensive assessment of these failures, we found more than 125 examplesof government breakdown in areas as diverse as education, energy, the environment, justice and security, the military and veterans affairs, health care, transportation, financial management, consumer and worker safety, and more -- failures which adversely affected ordinary people and made the nation a less open or less secure place to live. While some are, by now, depressingly familiar, many are less well-known but equally distressing.

And though the list is diverse, it also reflects some recurring -- and troubling -- themes.

Some of these problems were in place well before George W. Bush's inauguration, but were exacerbated by his policies or worsened by his administration's actions (or inactions). Many of the failings are tied to Bush appointees who appear to have been selected primarily on the basis of ideology and loyalty, rather than competence. Every administration has its share of political cronies, of course, but the examples of the past eight years seem especially stark:

· a National Aeronautics and Space Administration inspector general who blocked multiple investigations -- Republican Senator Charles Grassley said of his leadership: "I thought he'd be gone by now. . . . You'd like to have him get the message."

· a secretary of Housing and Urban Development who openly encouraged his staffto consider political affiliation when awarding contracts

]]> · a team leading the Department of the Interior that was so flagrantly involved in political activity that the department's own inspector general noted that "short of a crime, anything goes at the highest levels of the Department of the Interior."

The administration has also displayed what's at best a lukewarm interest in independent oversight, often siding with business over consumers and special interests over the public.The results have had dramatic consequences in a variety of sectors. Among the examples:

· an Environmental Protection Agency that largely ignored and underutilized its own office and task force on children's health, leaving the governmental entity responsible for air quality and other regulations without any "high-level infrastructure or mandate" to protect children.

· a Food and Drug Administration unable to guarantee food and drug safety -- causing conservative Republican Congressman Joe Barton of Texas to repeatedly blast the agency for "stonewalling, slowrolling, and plain incompetency."

· a Federal Labor Relations Board that in the past year has been without a general counsel and the required quorum necessary to handle hundreds of complaints regarding unfair labor practices.

Much of the function of the federal government shifted from public employees to private contractors, as federal spending on contractors nearly doubled from FY 2001 to FY 2006, jumping from $234.8 billion to $415 billion. These contracts often lacked competitive bidding processes and effective oversight and suffered from cost overruns and poor execution.

Finally, the White House and its political appointees have frequently inserted themselves into matters of science, overruling experts and suppressing reports that did not coincide with the administration's philosophy. The nonpartisan Union of Concerned Scientists warned that "political interference in federal government science is weakening our nation's ability to respond to the complex challenges we face."

"I think we'll look back on this period as one of the most destructive periods in American public life . . . both in terms of policy and process," Thomas E. Mann, senior fellow at the nonpartisan Brookings Institution, told the Center. "The broken government is not limited to one end of Pennsylvania Avenue; it involves the executive and legislative branches, which both contributed to embracing policies and actions that have come back to haunt us."

Former LAT editor now snr Kerry aide

2009-01-07T19:10:00Z

by Paul Richter

Douglas Frantz, a former managing editor of the Los Angeles Times, has been chosen to be chief investigator for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as it reorganizes under its new chairman, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.)

Frantz was the managing editor of the Times from 2005 to 2007, and has also been an investigative reporter for the Times, the Chicago Tribune, the New York Times, and that paper's Istanbul bureau chief.

The committee, the focus of the Senate's foreign affairs deliberations, will have as its chief of staff David McKean. McKean has been chief of staff in Kerry's personal office since 1999, and helped lay the groundwork for Kerry's presidential run in 2004.

Frederick L. Jones, a career foreign service officer and White House official in the Bush and Clinton administrations, will be the committee's communications director.

The committee's chairmanship came open when former chairman Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) became vice president.

Bush to Obama: 'Want you to succeed'

2009-01-07T18:00:00Z

by Mark Silva

It rained on the Rose Garden picture that President Bush hoped to take with his predecessors, including his father, and his successor, President-elect Barack Obama, at the White House today.

So the nation's living and future presidents assembled in the Oval Office for a family photo before lunch in the private dining room of the White House. The five men stood side-by-side and close together in front of Bush's desk. President Bush looked at Obama several times as he spoke and Obama nodded his head. They shook hands.

"How are you guys? Good to see you,'' Obama told the group.

"I want to thank the president-elect for joining the ex-presidents for lunch,'' Bush said. "And one message that I have and I think we all share is that we want you to succeed.

"Whether we're Democrat or Republican, we care deeply about this country,'' Bush said: "And to the extent we can we look forward to sharing our experiences with you. All of us who have served in this office understand that the office itself transcends the individual and we wish you all the very best and so does the country."

"I just want to thank the president for hosting us,'' Obama said. "This is an extraordinary gathering. All the gentlemen here understand both the pressures and possibilities of this office, and for me to have the opportunity to get advice, good counsel and fellowship with these individuals is extraordinary and I'm very grateful to all of them. But again thank you, Mr. President, for hosting.''

Roland Burris-Senate standoff 'thaws'

2009-01-07T17:45:00Z

by Mike Dorning

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid opened a potential path to seating Roland Burris in the Senate after a 45-minute meeting with the former Illinois attorney general at the Capitol this morning.

After days in which Senate leaders had demonstrated determined resistance to Burris's appointment to the Senate by scandal-tainted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Reid praised Burris as "candid and forthright." And he suggested that testimony which Burris is to give before the state legislature's impeachment committee on Thursday could be crucial to his prospects of gaining the seat.

"He's going to go answer any other questions they might have. He's not trying to avoid any responsibility and trying to hide anything," said Reid (D-Nev.) "Once that's done, we'll be in a different position and see what we are going to do."

One Democratic aide said the Senate leadership's attitude toward the appointment had now "thawed."

Still, citing a Senate rule, Reid said the Senate would not seat Burris until his certificate of appointment is signed by Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White. White has declined to sign the certificate but Burris has gone to court to seek an order requiring White to certify the governor's appointment.

Reid said he still would ask a Senate committee to examine the circumstances surrounding the appointment before Burris is seated but said he hoped the process would move swiftly.

"There's going to come a time when the entire Senate is going to have to act on this, and that day I hope would come sooner rather than later," Reid said.

Burris's appearance at the opening of the Senate session and the refusal to seat him stirred saturation media coverage, eclipsing efforts by Democrats to promote their economic stimulus plans.

On Tuesday, an influential Democrat, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) broke with the Senate leadership and urged them to seat Burris.

Obama: Waste-patrol to control spending

2009-01-07T17:15:00Z

by Peter Nicholas

President-elect Barack Obama announced today that he is creating a new high-level position to wring waste and inefficiencies from government, as part of a broader push to bring more discipline to federal spending.

At a news conference, Obama introduced a Chief Performance Officer -- Nancy Killefer, a partner at the management consulting firm McKinsey and Company, and a former Treasury Department official in former President Bill Clinton's administration from 1997-2000.

Part of her job will be eliminating unnecessary spending - an essential goal at a time when the federal deficit is expected to reach $1.2 trillion, Obama said. He cast Killefer's appointment as one of the most important he will make as president. And he said he would order his new Cabinet and staff to meet with Killefer following his inauguration on Jan. 20 "to discuss how they can run their agencies with greater efficiency, transparency and accountability.''

Obama conceded that his economic timulus package would add to the deficit, but he defended it as a step needed to revive the ailing economy.

His transition team estimates that the two-year stimulus would range from $675-$775 billion. Taking questions from reporters, Obama said he is consulting with members of Congress about the "final size of the package,'' but added that "we expect it will be on the high end of our estimates.''

]]> He seemed to reject calls for an even more aggressive stimulus bill in the range of $1 trillion. He cited as a reason "the constraints and concerns we have about the existing deficit.''

Republican members of Congress have insisted the stimulus not be freighted with dubious pork-barrel projects. Obama sought to allay such fears, pledging to root out "earmarks'' -- spending that favors special interest groups.

He said the goal is to "use this money wisely, effectively, in a two-year time span so we're not creating long-term obligations that would add to the structural deficit that exits, but would provide an immediate boost to the economy.''

On other matters, Obama reiterated that he did not want to stake out a position on the fighting in Gaza, cautioning that he is not yet president and did not want to send mixed signals that could undermine the Bush administration's diplomatic efforts.

Though he is willing to give detailed prescriptions on the economy, he said foreign policy is a different matter, requiring more discretion.

The president-elect said his comparative silence on the Middle East should not be construed as a lack of "concern.'' He added that, "until I take office it would be imprudent of me to start sending out signals that we are running foreign policy when I am not legally authorized to do so.''

As for the high drama surrounding his replacement in the U.S. Senate, Obama sidestepped a question about whether Roland Burris should be seated as the junior senator from Illinois.

"That is a Senate matter,'' he said. "But I know Roland Burris. Obviously, he is from my home state. I think he's a fine public servant. If he gets seated then I'm going to work with Roland Burris, just like I'll work with all the other senators to make sure that the people of Illinois and the people of the country are served.''

On a rainy day in Washington, with problems piling up on both the foreign and domestic fronts, Obama allowed himself one light-hearted retort.

"Welcome to Washington,'' a reporter said.

"It's great to be here,'' the president-elect replied.