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Returning from Hawaii. (Photo/WWR)

Friday, February 26, 2010

President's Friday Schedule

Good morning from WWR -

So the clock is ticking.

After yesterday’s seven hour and 15-minute “Battle of Blair House” ended in stalemate, President Obama has given Democratic and Republican lawmakers six weeks to bridge the gulf between them over healthcare reform. The principle sticking point appears to be just how many more Americans would be covered by reform. The House and Senate bills passed by the Democrats would cover 30 million uninsured Americans; the Republicans propose to cover 3 million.

"I don't know, frankly, whether we can close that gap," Obama said, hinting that the door to reconciliation – a parliamentary procedure that means the Democrats could pass their version of health care with just 51 Senate votes – is wide open. “I think the American people aren't always all that interested in procedures inside the Senate. I do think that they want a vote on how they're going to move this forward. I think that Americans think that a majority makes sense."

Republicans counter that to a majority of Americans, it doesn’t make sense. They proposed an incremental approach that was quickly rejected by the president and Democratic congressional leaders.

But Obama did appear receptive to some GOP ideas, including overhauling medical malpractice awards and allowing insurance companies to sell policies across state lines. And one major area of agreement: both sides say it's time to end insurers' ability to deny patient coverage for preexisting conditions.

That’s the common ground he seeks – and which he says can be the basis for a broader agreement between the two parties.

But the overall tone during the daylong session was bitter and, at times, acrimonious, like a rough exchange between the president and the man he beat in 2008, Arizona Sen. John McCain. McCain reminded Obama that the campaign was about delivering “change” and that the president had promised to televise healthcare negotiations on C-Span. Instead, McCain said, Democrats produced their bills “behind closed doors” with “unsavory deals.”

Obama: “John, we’re not campaigning anymore, the election is over.”

McCain, laughing: “I’m reminded of that every day.”


***************

Today, it’s a day of no drama for Obama. After his usual intelligence and economic briefings, the president signs an executive order for a White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

The Schedule:

10:35AM THE PRESIDENT and THE VICE PRESIDENT receive the
Presidential Daily Briefing, Oval Office

11:05AM THE PRESIDENT and THE VICE PRESIDENT receive the
Economic Daily Briefing, Oval Office

11:35AM THE PRESIDENT meets with Senior Advisors
Oval Office

2:00PM THE PRESIDENT and THE VICE PRESIDENT meet with
Secretary of State Clinton, Oval Office

4:40PM THE PRESIDENT delivers remarks and signs an
executive order for the White House Initiative
on Historically Black Colleges and Universities
East Room



On This Day
1929: President Coolidge, in one of his final acts as president, dedicated land in the Grand Teton mountain range as a national park. A Vermont native, Coolidge appreciated the outdoors and, like many Americans, enjoyed the romance of the American Wild West. He was an experienced rider and had an electric bucking horse installed in the White House as a form of exercise. Coolidge s term coincided with the growth in popularity of dude ranches, particularly in Wyoming and Montana. Coolidge enjoyed them so much that the normally staid and unexpressive president even allowed photographers to photograph him in Indian headdress or cowboy attire. – Courtesy of the History Channel


Presidential Quote:

"If it were not for the reporters, I would tell you the truth." - Chester Alan Arthur

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Thursday, February 25, 2010

President's Thursday Schedule

Good Morning from WWR!

The Battle of Blair House

It is finally here: this morning’s long-awaited healthcare showdown between President Obama and lawmakers on the signature issue of Mr. Obama's presidency. It'll be on TV like everyone is clamoring for and is expected to last six hours.

It begins at 10am with opening comments from Mr. Obama, then Republican and Democratic leaders. The conference will focus on four key areas:

• Controlling costs
• Insurance reforms
• Reducing the deficit
• Expanding coverage

The White House clearly hopes it'll be like that recent appearance by Obama before at a House GOP issues conference in Baltimore. Obama was at his best that day – sharp, engaging, witty – and the Republican lawmakers, while no slouches themselves, appeared to be somewhat deferential to the president, engaging in verbal combat – though not aggressively enough, some of them said afterwards – before crowding around Obama to shake his hand afterwards.

Obama will bring those same skills to the table tomorrow – they come naturally to him - but if the White House is expecting Republicans to act as they did in Charm City, they are probably mistaken. This is more than evident in some of the verbal sparring that’s already underway. To wit, the GOP leadership has already blasted Obama’s plan as “a costly job-killing” initiative. They’re demanding that the president rip up his plan and start from scratch. But that “doesn’t make sense,” says Dan Pfeiffer, the White House communications director.

Even so, the White House is, on the surface, hopeful that something can come of tomorrow’s showdown. Obama’s spokesman, Robert Gibbs, says the president’s plan is “a starting point…(that) can be added to by the ideas that Republicans bring,” he said.

What are the Republican ideas, anyway? For starters, they want insurance policies to be sold across state lines – if you live in Florida, you can buy health insurance from a company in Illinois. They favor universal access to healthcare, even for people with pre-existing conditions and they favor pooling small companies together to buy health insurance policies in bulk.

And the Obama plan? The president also wants to end discrimination against citizens with pre-existing conditions. The White House plan (and bills that have passed the House and Senate) also requires, in its essence, everyone to have insurance and subsidizing coverage for small businesses and the uninsured.

But the conference isn’t just about healthcare, no, no, no. This is Washington and it’s an even-numbered year, which means everyone is looking to the November midterm election. Fresh off victories in New Jersey, Virginia and Massachusetts, Republicans have every reason to believe public sentiment is shifting their way – hardly an incentive to help give a Democratic President something he so desperately wants.

The calendar has Democrats leery too – and that’s not even counting the Dems who are livid with the White House for omitting the public option from the Obama plan.

It would appear that the calendar and the political winds are less than favorable to the President. The “Battle of Blair House” may make for some interesting TV, but don’t look for healthcare reform – the holy grail that has eluded Presidents for decades – to emerge.

President’s Thursday Schedule


9:15 AM THE PRESIDENT and THE VICE PRESIDENT receive the
Presidential Daily Briefing (Oval Office)

10:00 AM THE PRESIDENT hosts a bipartisan meeting to discuss
health reform legislation (Blair House)

4:30 PM THE PRESIDENT delivers remarks and presents the
awards for the 2009 National Medal of Arts and
National Humanities Medal (East Room)

On This Day
1793 – President Washington held the first cabinet meeting.

Presidential Quote of the Day
"The goal to strive for is a poor government but a rich people." = Andrew Johnson

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

President's Wednesday Schedule

Good morning from WWR!

The White House is gearing up for tomorrow's televised healthcare showdown - and that's the word, showdown - with bipartisan members of Congress. It'll be held at Blair House, across the street from 1600 Pennsylvania. Now, if you think the President has to overcome just Republican opposition tomorrow - yes, he sure does - that's only part of the story. Moderate Democrats, with their eye on November's mid-term election, are increasingly leery of Obama's plan, and some left-wing Dems are downright angry with the White House for leaving out the public option.

Both sides are even arguing over whether the Republicans have even posted their plan online. Here is what WWR has on both sides:

Obama's proposal: http://bit.ly/dmCOXT
House GOP proposal: http://bit.ly/28E7jq

But WWR is getting a little ahead of him/herself. This is only Wednesday. Today, the president addresses the Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs. Obama hosted a dinner for many of them last night - bosses from GE, JPMorgan, Boeing, Wal-Mart, PepsiCo. and so forth - and today he'll address the larger group at a Washington hotel. Many of the executives aren't sure Obama is pro-business; a Bloomberg poll last month said 77% of U.S. investors have their doubts.

The Schedule (EST)


10:00AM THE PRESIDENT and THE VICE PRESIDENT receive the
Presidential Daily Briefing (Oval Office)

10:30AM THE PRESIDENT and THE VICE PRESIDENT receive the
Economic Daily Briefing (Oval Office)

11:00AM THE PRESIDENT meets with senior advisors
(Oval Office)

1:00PM THE PRESIDENT addresses the Business Roundtable

3:15PM THE PRESIDENT participates in a credentialing
ceremony for foreign ambassadors
(Oval Office)

4:15PM THE PRESIDENT and THE VICE PRESIDENT meet with
Secretary of Commerce Locke
(Oval Office)

On This Day
1868 - The House of Representatives impeached President Andrew Johnson over his attempt to fire Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. The Senate later acquitted Johnson - by one vote.

Presidential Quote
"Politics, when I am in it, makes me sick." - William Howard Taft


What's YOUR question for the President?
E-mail WWR: westwingrpt@gmail.com - it COULD be asked at the next White House news conference! And follow us on Twitter: WestWingReport!

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

President's Tuesday Schedule

WWR hears the President will spend part of the day gearing up for Thursday's televised - and bipartisan - healthcare summit with House and Republican leaders. He has no publicly scheduled appointments today, so barring developments, he will not appear before the cameras.

Aside from his usual intelligence and economic briefings, Obama meets with U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and has his weekly lunch with the Vice President. He'll also meet with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and in the evening, Obama will host a dinner with a variety of Fortune 500 CEOs. Invited are the chief executives of JPMorgan, Verizon, PepsiCo and Honeywell, among others. The CEOs are members of the "Business Roundtable," an association of executives from top U.S. companies. Obama will address the group on Wednesday. He has been reaching out to CEOs, who in general see him as unfriendly to business. A Bloomberg poll in January said 77% of U.S. investors have this perception.

The Schedule:

EST

9:30AM THE PRESIDENT and THE VICE PRESIDENT receive the Presidential Daily Briefing
Oval Office

10:00AM THE PRESIDENT and THE VICE PRESIDENT receive the Economic Daily Briefing
Oval Office

10:45AM THE PRESIDENT meets with senior advisors
Oval Office

12:15PM THE PRESIDENT and THE VICE PRESIDENT have lunch
Private Dining Room

3:00PM THE PRESIDENT meets with U.S. Trade Representative Kirk
Oval Office

4:30PM THE PRESIDENT and THE VICE PRESIDENT meet with Secretary of Defense Gates
Oval Office

6:45PM THE PRESIDENT has dinner with business leaders
State Dining Room

Latest Obama Job Approval Polls
Gallup: 49% approve, 43% don't. Three weeks ago: 47%-47%.
Rasmusen: 45% approve, 54% don't. Three weeks ago: 49%-51%.
RealClearPolitics.com average of all presidential polls: 47.2% approve, 45.8% don't.

On This Day
1861: U.S. President-elect Lincoln arrived secretly in Washington to take his office after an assassination attempt in Baltimore.
1848: The sixth president of the United States, John Quincy Adams, died.


Presidential Quote
"If the rabble were lopped off at one end and the aristocrat at the other, all would be well with the country." - Andrew Johnson

What's YOUR question for the President?
E-mail WWR: westwingrpt@gmail.com - it COULD be asked at the next White House news conference! And follow us on Twitter: WestWingReport!

Sunday, February 21, 2010

This and That

A Twitter follower tells WWR: "Obama has placed our nation in financial jeopardy." Fact is, both Democratic and Republican presidents have been running up the debt for decades. Some (sad) numbers: in the 1970s, the public debt increased 151%. It tripled in the '80s, increased 41% in the '90s, and it's undeniable Bush added nearly $5 trillion more.

Another way of looking at debt is as a percentage of GDP. In 1970 it was 28%. 1980: 26%. 1990: 42%. 2000: 35%. 2010: 67% (estimated). So yes, it's true that debt has soared in the Obama presidency - but this is hardly any different from behavior going back decades. So who has put the United States in "financial jeopardy"? WWR says Republicans and Democrats are to blame, Congress and the White House are to blame, and we're to blame too - for asking for programs, entitlements and other things that we're not willing to pay for.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

President's Sunday Schedule

7:10 - The President & First Lady host the 2010 National Governors Association Ball

The Fine Print:

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WWR