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The Politics and Government blog of The New York Times
May 4, 2009, 8:05 AM
Obama Takes Aim at Offshore Tax Havens
By JEFF ZELENY
Updated
President Obama will present a set of proposals on Monday aimed at changing international tax policy, calling for the elimination of benefits for companies and wealthy individuals that harbor their cash in offshore accounts.

The president and Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner will announce their plans during a late-morning appearance at the White House. The proposed overhaul in the tax code, which will be fully unveiled in the administration’s budget later this week, could help raise $210 billion in revenues over the next 10 years.

One of the key proposed changes would restrict companies from deferring the payment of taxes on profits earned overseas. Administration officials said the plan also would keep firms from taking deductions against their taxes by inflating the amount of foreign taxes they paid.

Mr. Obama raised the idea frequently during his presidential campaign. In a speech to Congress in February, as he outlined his priorities for the year, he pledged to make the tax code more equitable by “finally ending the tax breaks for corporations that ship our jobs overseas.”
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May 4, 2009, 7:15 AM
Credit Card Law Is First Up in Congress This Week
By CARL HULSE
The Senate is set to take its crack at credit card companies this week after the House voted overwhelmingly to limit the ability of credit card issuers to change interest rates on their customers.

As senators await the name of President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, they are scheduled to consider legislation authored by Senator Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut, the Democratic chairman of the Banking Committee. His measure is even tougher than the House bill in restricting a card company’s power to boost interest rates on borrowers, offering protection to those behind on their payments.

The bill would also require more notice to consumers about changes in the terms of their agreements with the companies and end what lawmakers have described as other abusive practices.

Mr. Dodd’s bill could be weakened on the floor, but considering the strong House vote last week, some new limits on credit card companies appear headed for Congressional approval as lawmakers respond to voter complaints about seeing their interest rates and fees go up. Democrats are already turning up the heat on Republicans who have opposed the legislation.
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May 3, 2009, 10:27 PM
Link to Economic Crisis Is Vital to Obama Agenda
By JOHN HARWOOD
Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, encapsulated President Obama’s goal long before the first of the First 100 Days: “Never let a serious crisis go to waste.”

That post-election formulation remains the fulcrum for the legislative battle only now starting in earnest. Over the Next 100 Days, the outcome may turn on how convincingly the White House preserves the link between Mr. Obama’s agenda and the painful recession he inherited.

Team Obama casts his initiatives on health care, energy, education and the auto and financial industries as responses to that crisis. His Republican adversaries call the recession merely an excuse for big-government ambitions that liberals have failed to achieve for decades. Read more…
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May 3, 2009, 12:12 PM
Obama Offers Tribute to Kemp
By JEFF ZELENY
President Obama added his voice on Sunday to the lengthy list of tributes being delivered to Jack Kemp, the quarterback-turned-Congressman, who died late Saturday.

Mr. Obama praised Mr. Kemp’s commitment to bridging the divide between race and class in America.

“Jack Kemp’s commitment to public service and his passion for politics influenced not only the direction of his party, but his country,” Mr. Obama said in a statement. “From his tenure as a Buffalo congressman to his ascent in national politics, Jack Kemp was a man who could fiercely advocate his own beliefs and principles while also remembering the lessons he learned years earlier on the football field: that bitter divisiveness between race and class and station only stood in the way of the common aim of a team to win.”

He added, “Michelle and I extend our prayers and deepest condolences to the entire Kemp family.”
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May 3, 2009, 10:34 AM
The Sunday Word: Empathy, From Kemp to the Court
By SARAH WHEATON AND ASHLEY SOUTHALL
Jack Kemp, the former congressman and running mate to Bob Dole in 1996, succumbed to a battle with cancer on Saturday night. He called himself a “bleeding-heart Republican” and, as Adam Clymer writes in The Times’s obituary, he played a significant role in the G.O.P.’s “commitment to tax cuts as the central focus of economic policy.”

He also stood out among Republicans in his commitment to civil rights and helping the poor. A former professional football player, Mr. Kemp once said to Vin Weber, “I can’t help but care about the rights of the people I used to shower with.”

Maybe not exactly the type of empathy President Obama has said he wants to see in a Supreme Court nominee. But Mr. Obama, who approaches the choice with a trough of knowledge about the court and how its decisions affect people’s real lives, is likely to choose a pragmatist to replace Justice David H. Souter, The Times’s Jodi Kantor found in talking to his students and colleagues.

No matter who it is, chances are good that Republicans will try to block Mr. Obama’s nominee. The Times’s Carl Hulse looks at how the hearings – the first for a Democrat’s Supreme Court nominee in 15 years – could affect politics in the Senate more generally.
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May 2, 2009, 11:01 PM
Jack Kemp, Dole’s Running Mate, Dies at 73
By THE NEW YORK TIMES
Jack Kemp, the former football star turned congressman who with an evangelist’s fervor moved the Republican Party to a commitment to tax cuts as the central focus of economic policy, died Saturday evening at his home in Bethesda, Md. He was 73. Read more…
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May 2, 2009, 7:45 PM
After 100 Days, a Date
By JEFF ZELENY

Jim Watson/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
President and Michelle Obama stroll on the White House lawn after going out to dinner in Washington on Saturday night.
It’s date night at the White House.

As one of the most action-packed weeks of the administration drew to a close, President Obama and the first lady, Michelle Obama, headed out for a quiet dinner on Saturday night.

Their destination was Citronelle, a Georgetown fixture that has one of the most renowned chefs in Washington. The Obamas were frequent guests at some of Chicago’s finest restaurants in recent years, but they have largely stayed home during their first 100 days in the White House.

Not so on Saturday evening, when the president directed his advisers to take the night off to recharge their batteries for the next 100 days and beyond.

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May 2, 2009, 1:55 PM
Sunday Breakfast Menu, May 3
By JANIE LORBER
Brace yourself for a particularly newsy morning that tracks closely with the waves of events that occurred this past week. You might want to order a double or triple espresso to digest it all.

As they have been everpresent since the outbreak of swine flu began dominating the airwaves, the Obama administration’s top health, security and disease officials continue their full-court press to try to reassure the public and encourage residents to wash their hands routinely.

Early on Saturday, World Health Organization officials were saying they saw no reason to raise the level of alert to Phase 6, the formal designation of a pandemic. But at Phase 5 now, health officials in North America are busily tamping down signs of panic, so the news shows should offer clues to renewed efforts to try to calm the public’s fears.

The rosters for all five Sunday shows include Secretary Janet Napolitano of Homeland Security, Richard Besser, the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the newest member of the team, Secretary Kathleen Sebelius of Health and Human Services, who was confirmed in the Senate just last week amid the burgeoning flu crisis.

So, cozy up with your eggs and breakfast meat — no need to hold the bacon, the three will most likely assure you that eating pork doesn’t cause swine flu — for an education on the H1N1 influenza, as the White House, lawmakers and the W.H.O. take pains to call the flu by its official label.

The flu aside, this Sunday’s shows provide more opportunities for speculation following Friday’s announcement that Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter plans to retire, as lawmakers and journalists try to game out the president’s thinking on his first nominee to the nation’s highest court.
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May 2, 2009, 10:21 AM
The Saturday Word: Readiness
By JANIE LORBER AND SARAH WHEATON
As President Obama taped his Saturday radio address focusing on the swine flu pandemic, a Washington-bound flight was rerouted to Boston when a woman complained of flu like symptoms – though it might be too late to keep the disease out of the Washington area.

In the address, Mr. Obama repeats his advice to wash your hands and keep the kids out of school if they’re sick. He patiently explains that “because we haven’t developed an immunity to it, it has more potential to cause us harm.” But that’s not to say there has been no preparation to deal with an animal outbreak. Indeed, he gives an unusual bit of credit to his predecessor.



5/2/09: Your Weekly Address from White House on Vimeo.

“Finally, thanks to the work that the last administration and Congress did to prepare for a possible avian flu pandemic in 2005, states and the federal government have fully operable influenza readiness plans and are better prepared to deal with such a challenge than ever before.”

Then again, there might be a little pat on the back slipped in that line, too. The Times’s Ginger Thompson and Jeff Zeleny report that as a freshman senator in 2005, “Mr. Obama took the lead on a bill devoting $25 million to help prevent an avian flu outbreak. It was one of his first pieces of legislation — and, arguably, his most substantial — in his brief time on Capitol Hill.”

He has also instructed every government agency–from Education to State–to play a role in preparing the United States for a pandemic.
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May 1, 2009, 4:55 PM
Schwarzenegger May Support a Democrat
By JENNIFER STEINHAUER
LOS ANGELES — If Republican candidates for governor of California are hoping for an automatic high five from the sitting governor, they ought not to get too comfortable.

When asked Friday after giving a speech on health care in which he highly praised President Obama and other Democrats whether he would ever consider endorsing a Democrat to replace him, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said, “It could happen, yes.”

The governor offered no specifics on any particular candidate he might support.

Mr. Schwarzenegger, estranged from the leaders in his state party and at odds with some national Republicans on matters fiscal and environmental, remains a powerful figure in the national party, with his celebrity status and engaging speaking style. While low in the polls, he remains a governor voters are highly attuned to.

The field for 2010 candidates for governor include Jerry Brown, a former governor and current state attorney general; the mayor of San Francisco, Gavin Newsom; and the Los Angeles mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, who spoke at the Beverly Hilton at the same event Mr. Schwarzenegger appeared at — the 40th anniversary celebration of the community health care network AltaMed. In his remarks, Mayor Villaraigosa praised the sitting governor for his work on state health care reform.
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May 1, 2009, 3:35 PM
Obama Announces Souter’s Retirement
By JEFF ZELENY

Charles Dharapak/Associated Press
Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, said that he was surprised by Mr. Obama’s arrival in the briefing room.

In a surprising move, President Obama personally announced the retirement of Justice David H. Souter from the Supreme Court shortly after 3 p.m. on Friday, arriving unannounced into the White House briefing room. He praised the tenure of Mr. Souter, saying that he served with integrity and “consistently defied labels.”

“I will seek someone with a sharp, independent mind and a record of excellence and integrity,” Mr. Obama said in brief remarks at the podium. He added that he would “seek somebody who shares my respect for constitutional values.”

The president took no questions from reporters, but said the decision would be among his most important duties as president. He said he would aim to have a new justice on the bench at the beginning of October, when the court’s next term starts.

It was a rare appearance from Mr. Obama in the White House briefing room. He spoke for a few minutes, joking that he might as well take over the briefing job himself to make the announcement, before returning to the Oval Office.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, who quickly stepped aside when the president entered the room, said a nomination would likely be made by July. He said the vetting challenges of the first three months of the administration, where several high-profile tax problems for other Cabinet nominees came to light, would be considered.

“You can be assured that we’ll have a rigorous process in place,” Mr. Gibbs said.

Justice Souter’s letter of resignation.
President Obama’s remarks.
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May 1, 2009, 3:33 PM
Blogtalk: Supreme Selection and Obama’s Surprise
By KATE PHILLIPS
Whoa. It’s official. President Obama just surprised everyone by walking into the daily White House briefing, where Robert Gibbs, the press secretary had been saying there had been no official word from the Supreme Court that anyone was retiring.

Oops. The president said he had spoken by telephone to Justice David H. Souter, who announced his intention to retire at the end of this term in June. Mr. Obama said that he wished the Justice a welcome return home to New Hampshire, and then he outlined what he would be looking for in a Supreme Court nominee.

Mr. Obama said he wanted someone with a sharp intellect, but also reiterated his campaign’s promise that he would seek out a candidate who shared an empathy, understanding and would identify with everyday people’s hopes and struggles. His words.

So, the time-tested battle over Supreme Court nominees is now enjoined once again.

And Justice Souter has sent his official notification to the White House, reports The Times’s Adam Nagourney.

The question arises, will this time be different? Certainly the dynamics for confirmation hearings in the Senate have changed from the last time, with Democrats holding a solid majority close to overcoming judicial filibusters coupled with a Democratic White House. And the shift of Senator Arlen Specter, the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee who decided this week to become a Democrat, adds another wrinkle to the mix.

But it would be unwise for Democrats to ignore another historical fact: Conservatives, however weakened or in disarray they may be because of election losses right now, traditionally find their bearings and rally troops in mighty ways whenever the Supreme Court’s future comes to the foreground. (Recall their fury over President Bush’s desire to nominate Attorney General Alberto Gonzales — long before he became ensnared in the United States attorneys scandal. The base jettisoned that idea quickly.)

It’s all fodder for a lively day in the blog world, spurred by the news of Justice Souter’s retirement rippling far and wide and indeed lifting the profiles of the law blogs well in place.

The link-backs alone by writers (including legal scholars) to others’ takes on what Mr. Obama might do, and the candidate field he would choose from, fall into the deeply rich mine of historical compositions of the Supreme Court over time. But the news also poses interesting questions on Day 102 of the new presidency: How will Mr. Obama’s choice define him or round out what we know about his constitutional leanings? And would this singular nomination in any way alter the decision-making on the court itself? You can bet the president will be intimately involved, given his background.

Our own Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court, wrote of the president’s possible Scotus leanings back in late January.

Predictions, of course, are dicey. Just as the clamor was loud in 2005 for another woman on the court, when Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s retirement left Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg alone there, so it begins anew. In fact, much of the speculation centers solely on female candidates for the post – from appellate judges like Sonia Sotomayor to “sleeper” possibilities like Gov. Jennifer Granholm of Michigan.

But there’s an an abundance of disagreement on the way forward. Vetting and choosing a candidate — with possibly more to come given the age of the court — take time and become freighted with how much of a fight the nascent Obama presidency is willing to wage. Context is important here, because confirmation hearings would likely be held in the summer — set up alongside or against the backdrop in Congress of a probable divisive debate over health care reform and even perhaps the ambitious proposals for climate change.
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May 1, 2009, 2:52 PM
Souter Sends Resignation Letter to Obama
By ADAM NAGOURNEY

Updated Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter has written a letter formally informing President Obama of his decision to step down at the end of the term, and the letter is now en route to the White House, according to senior Democrats.

The letter has been released.

Until Justice Souter makes the statement himself, the process of finding a replacement has been held in suspended animation. The White House and Senate Democrats have refrained from commenting on what will happen.

Although word about Justice Souter’s decision was reported Thursday night, Mr. Obama said through a spokesman on Friday that he had no direct knowledge of Justice Souter’s plans. Read more…
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May 1, 2009, 1:37 PM
Liberal Activists Call for Pennsylvania Primary
By BERNIE BECKER
Democratic heavyweights are lining up to support their newest colleague, Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter, in his re-election bid next year. But liberal activists have vowed to oppose any efforts to clear the Democratic field for him.

Describing Mr. Specter as a “valuable member of the Democratic caucus,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Friday morning that he would back Mr. Specter’s attempts for a sixth term.

“He started out as a Democrat,” Mr. Reid said. “He’s just come home.”

Democrat Bob Casey, the other Pennsylvanian senator, also expressed support for Mr. Specter on Friday.

“It doesn’t mean he doesn’t have some work to do to go around the state and to listen to people in our party and go through a process,” Mr. Casey told Bill Press on his radio show. But, Mr. Casey added, “it is my goal and it has to be my goal to … make sure we have two Democrats in the Senate in 2011.” Read more…
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May 1, 2009, 12:31 PM
President Obama’s New Twitter Feed
By NEW YORK TIMES
Twitter, the fast-growing micro-blogging site, helped drive President Obama’s campaign, both as a fundraising tool and as proof that the candidate had a firm grasp of the new, participatory Internet. But Mr. Obama’s Twitter feed has only been updated twice since he took office on January 20th.

But the president will be back, and soon, this time at twitter.com/whitehouse.

Read More in Gadgetwise…
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