New America Today: August 2009 Archives

Maineline on a Mission: God Still Speaking to UCC, by Geoffrey A. Black

As I begin my term of service as General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ, I have no illusions. I am taking on a leadership role in a Christian communion that has been in decline for decades. Like many of its ecumenical partners, the United Church of Christ has experienced loss of members and financial support steadily since the 1960's, not long after the UCC came into existence in 1957. In the first decades of decline the signs were not so visible. However, those signs have been hard to ignore in recent years.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney hinted that, in the waning days of the Bush administration, he had pushed for a military strike to destroy Iran's nuclear-weapons program.

On this, the fourth anniversary of the destruction of New Orleans, let us resolve to replace the political heat of accusation with the penetrating light of reason.

First Family Headed Back to Washington

The First Family ended a seven-day vacation on Martha's Vineyard Sunday, taking off at about 5 p.m. for a return trip to the White House.

President Obama to Visit New Orleans

President Barack Obama, marking the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, said in his weekly address that he will visit New Orleans later this year.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee claimed Friday that under the health-care plan proposed by President Barack Obama, Sen. Ted Kennedy would have been told to 'go home to take pain pills and die' after he was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

08.30.09 / Sunday Show Highlights

Ted Kennedy's death is an end to several different eras, but Politics Daily's David Gibson warns against seeing it as the end of an era for the socially minded ethnic Catholic tradition in Democratic politics:

Maria Shriver, John Kerry, Chris Dodd, Bob Shrum, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Doris Kearns Goodwin

Panel Plus on 'FOX News Sunday'

Interview With Senators Dodd, Hatch, Cantwell

08. 30.09 / Face The Nation Full Broadcast

08. 30.09 / Remembering "The Liberal Lion"

McCain: CIA Abuse Probe "Serious Mistake"

Says Abuse of Detainees Helped al Qaeda Recruit Terrorists, But Opposes Investigation into "Enhanced" Interrogations

Remembering an American Dynasty's Scion Who Overcame Tragedy and Flaws to Achieve Greatness

Colleagues Remember Ted Kennedy

Feinstein, McCain, Hatch, Frank Look Back on the Late Senator's Work

ABC NEWS, THIS WEEK WITH GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS INTERVIEW WITH SENATOR JOHN KERRY AND SENATOR ORRIN HATCH

Here's the exchange between Sam Donaldson and Liz Cheney:

Kerry and Hatch on "What Would Teddy Do?"

Sen. John Kerry says if his colleague Ted Kennedy had lived, he would have tried to keep the public option in the health care bill, but the 'Liberal Lion' of the Senate would have compromised if that's what it took to get a bill through.

Kerry Slams Cheney on 'This Week'

In George Stephanopoulos' interview this morning, John Kerry hit back at Dick Cheney's charge on Fox News that the Attorney General's decision to investigate possible CIA abuses is an "outrageous political act."

Hundreds Gather for Kennedy Funeral Mass

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., arrives for the funeral Mass for Sen. Edward Kennedy.

Boston service will feature 3 former presidents, 7 priests, 40 pallbearers

Edward M. Kennedy was getting a final tribute fitting his huge profile on the American political scene, his life celebrated Saturday at a funeral Mass by President Barack Obama, three former presidents and dozens of current and former congressmen.

With the death of Ted Kennedy, let the word go forth: the summer of '09 has become the bookend to 1969. In a biblically appropriate 40 years, the baby-boom generation has gone from making history to being it.

Half of South Carolina voters want Republican Gov. Mark Sanford to resign, according to a new poll. The InsiderAdvantage poll, out Friday, shows that 49.5 percent of voters say it is time for Sanford to go, while 36.6 percent said the embattled governor should remain in office.

Kennedy's Legacy Shapes Obama's Path

Through two years of wearying campaigning, defeats and victories, the cool, disciplined Sen. Barack Obama rarely was overcome by emotion. Once was on the eve of the election, when his grandmother died.

Ted Kennedy sat back in the soft upholstery of the car and looked out at the dark countryside speeding by the window. Every now and then, an oncoming car's headlights would light the famous features that once tantalized a nation, and then the car would pass and leave him bathed in darkness again.

Democrats are hoping that the memory of Sen. Ted Kennedy will revive the Democratic Party's flagging push for health care reform.

Remembering Ted Kennedy

Ted Kennedy, 'Lion of the Senate,' passed away Tuesday night. He was 77.

President Barack Obama was notified of Senator Edward M. Kennedy's death just after 2 a.m., the White House said. The president spoke with the senator's wife, Victoria Kennedy, at about 2:25 a.m.

08.26.09 / Pundits Remember Ted Kennedy

08.26.09 / Ted Kennedy's Life and Legacy

On this day in 1994, Bill Clinton's presidency was saved.

Some excerpts from speeches by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.

Sen. Edward Kennedy, who began his public life as the prodigal son of a political dynasty and ended as its respected patriarch, died late Tuesday at his home in Hyannis Port, Mass. He was 77 and had been battling brain cancer.

Change is Tough: Obama Supporters Must Fight

I must report to you that the mood is somewhat grim these days among American liberals. Some feel President Obama has already sold them out. Others are angrier at conservatives and their deliberate lies about aspects of healthcare reform. But even many in this latter cohort think the White House hasn't been pushing back against the lies hard enough. Either way, expectations are diminished - nerves are fraying, temples are greying.

It's crunch time for the Obama administration on two of its toughest foreign policy challenges -- the Arab-Israeli peace process and the war in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, these tests are coming at a moment when Obama is weakened by the health-care debate and has less political capital to spend.

Ralph Reed: My GOP Comeback Plan

The Shameful Silence Over Lockerbie

In the public eye, the worst terrorist atrocity ever carried out in Britain, the murder of 270 people, remains a crime unsolved. Its perpetrators are unpunished.

'Aloha Obama Family'

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, with daughter Sasha, center, walk to board Air Force One heading for a week of vacation in Martha's Vineyard on Sunday.

08.23.09 / Sunday Show Highlights

Cash for Clunkers to End Tomorrow

The Obama Administration announced Thursday that it will end the hugely popular cash-for-clunkers auto rebate program on Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time - and it's urging consumers and dealers to finish their deals in time to get their paperwork in by that deadline.

08.23.09 / Meet the Press Full Broadcast

CNN 'Face the Nation' Transcript

Interview With Admiral Mullen, Ambassador Eikenberry; Interview With 3 Key U.S. Senators

08.23.09 / Sen. Specter & Rep. Ryan 'FNS'

Will Democrats drop public-option or efforts at health care bipartisanship?

CHRIS WALLACE, HOST: Here now to give us the latest on where the president's push for health care reform stands are two leading members of Congress.

The following is a rush transcript of the August 23, 2009, edition of "FOX News Sunday With Chris Wallace." This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

08.23.09 / What Would LBJ Do?

On "Face The Nation" Bob Schieffer offers insight into how President Lyndon Johnson would have approached President Obama's battle for health care reform.

Face the Nation: Senators Grassley and Conrad Both Agree Public Option Won't Pass Senate

ABC 'This Week' Transcript with John McCain

ABC NEWS, THIS WEEK WITH GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS INTERVIEW WITH SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN.

John McCain told Stephanopoulos he has no quarrel with how President Obama is prosecuting the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. But he's worried that the commanding general in Afghanistan, Stanley McChrystal, is being pressured not to produce a clean recommendation for more troops.

ABC 's 'This Week' Roundtable

A powerhouse roundtable ABC 'This Week'...Reich, Krugman, Will and Frum..all under one roof.

Obama's Lost Summer

Nine months into the year, the health care reform effort is in serious trouble. What went wrong?

Nineteenth-century French novelist Alphonse Karr is credited with coining the phrase, but his words ring true nearly 200 years later, especially when it comes to American politics.

Obama: Be 'ambassadors' for truth'

After a few days out of the health care reform spotlight, President Obama returned to action on Thursday by reaching out to liberals and conservatives as he tries to regain control of the debate.

It is possible to believe in a compassionate justice system, oppose the death penalty, and still be outraged at the release of Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, the cancer-stricken man convicted of bombing Pam Am Flight 103. With due respect for the humanity displayed by the Scottish officials who gave Megrahi the chance to die in Libya, their sympathy is misguided.

1:05 P.M. EDT

MR. SMERCONISH: Hi, everybody. Welcome back to the program. I'm Michael Smerconish. What an honor for me to say I'm live at the White House and I'm joined by the President of the United States.

Obama Turns to Faith Leaders

With his health reform efforts on the ropes, President Barack Obama is courting the religious community with an unabashedly moral message that played little role in the White House's earlier arguments for changing America's health care system.

Testing Obama's Effect on Racial Attitudes

After decades of exposure to all of those stereotypes -- the Aunt Jemimas and the gangsta rappers, the Willie Hortons and TV drug dealers -- this just wasn't supposed to be happening.

The president will address more than 1,000 leaders of different faiths in two conference calls, hoping they will pass on his ideas about the overhaul to their parishioners.

In this May 4, 2004 file photo, Don Hewitt, the creator of CBS' '60 Minutes' news program, is shown in New York.

This healthcare town hall was only nominally about healthcare. It was really about something else. It was about anger and fear. It was about a trenchant sense of disillusionment, resentment, and powerlessness.

Now we say good-bye to Robert Novak, who passed away early Tuesday morning at the age of 78. Yet another conservative icon has left us. He was a good friend, and an amazing reporter. In fact, I believe he was the best reporter of his generation, which spans all the way back to the Eisenhower years.

On Feb. 5, 2009, two weeks after taking office, President Barack Obama signed an executive order establishing the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

Does the Bible Belong in a Public Classroom?

Starting this year, Public high schools in Texas will be required to teach students about the Bible.

It's true that politics is the art of the possible, but it's also true that great leaders expand the scope of possibility. Barack Obama took office pledging to be a transformational president. The fate of a government-run public health insurance option will be an early test of his ability to end the way Washington's big-money, special-interest politics suffocates true reform.

Obama Invited to Salute Cronkite

Does Obama Have the Guts?

Could Hillary Clinton have been right about Barack Obama?

Mark Sanford's estranged wife Jenny -- the most interesting person in that whole scandal with the best quotes -- opens up to Vogue magazine for its September issue. Snippets:

A 1996 law banning federal recognition of same-sex marriage is discriminatory and should be repealed, lawyers for the Obama administration said in court papers filed Monday, offering symbolic support for a constitutional challenge brought by a gay couple from Orange County, Calif.

A Reception for the New Justice

Justice Sotomayor's Confirmation Journey

A supporter wears a Sonia button during a confirmation reception for Justice Sonia Sotomayor in the East Room of the White House August 12, 2009.

Israelis Sour on Rahm Emanuel

Israelis increasingly focus their disappointment not on Obama, but rather on his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel.

Obama Family Takes Vacation

GOP Gains Steam as Health Care Bill Sputters

GOP-ers have a spring back in their step thanks to a health care debate that has cooled Obama-mania. Pictured: Rudy Giuliani and Tim Pawlenty.

President Barack Obama and his top aides are signaling that they're prepared to drop a government insurance option from a final health-reform deal if that's what's needed to strike a compromise on Obama's top legislative priority.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has released a letter condemning the House Democrats' healthcare plan, alleging that the plan's purported prohibition on federal funds for abortion is a "legal fiction."

Could one of the most prominent Democratic families of the 20th century have produced a poster girl for the antiabortion movement? Apparently yes. Check out this statement from the Susan B. Anthony List, an antiabortion group, upon the death of Eunice Shriver, sister of John, Robert, and Ted Kennedy:

WATCH: Remembering Eunice Kennedy Shriver

Dick Armey, Tom Coburn, Tom Daschle, Rachel Maddow, Charlie Rangel, Bruce Josten, Bill Ritter

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08.16.09 / Sunday Show Highlights

Iraq Co-Study Chairman Lee Hamilton and Former Senator Chuck Hagel spoke with CBS Early Show anchor Harry Smith about where U.S. focus should be in Afghanistan.

Health Secretary Says Government Alternative 'Not The Essential Element' of Reform; Gibbs Extols Public Option's Benefits

President Still Favors Public Option as a Means of Creating Competition and Choice, the White House Press Secretary Said

"This Week" Transcript with HHS Sec. Kathleen Sebelius and Sens. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah)

On 'This Week': HHS Sec. Kathleen Sebelius, Sens. Arlen Specter and Orrin Hatch

Sunday Talk Shows

ABC's "This Week" with Jake Tapper: Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius; Sens. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) and Arlen Specter (D-Pa.). Round table with Donna Brazile, Ron Brownstein, Anne Kornblut and GOP strategist Ed Gillespie.

Perhaps no region of the country better illustrates Barack Obama's political vulnerabilities than the mountain West, a region traditionally wary of the federal government.

Obama to Rally Religious Left on Health Care

A colleague sends over this e-mail from PICO, a faith-based community organizing group that supports health care reform:

Health Care Town Hall Anger Rages On

Out on the health care firing line, senators and members of Congress continued to get battered by constituents angry over President Barack Obama's reform plan Wednesday -- with voters raising questions about everything from assisted suicide to coverage for illegal immigrants.

Every president has his rough-and-tumble or mundane days, but also some that float above the norm and compel him to take stock of society's changes.

Deep in summer's doldrums, Wednesday was one of those days for President Barack Obama.

THE PRESIDENT: There are many honors and privileges bestowed on the occupant of this house, but few mean as much to me as the chance to award America's highest civilian medal to the recipients that are here today. This is a chance for me -- and for the United States of America -- to say thank you to some of the finest citizens of this country, and of all countries.

Obama Takes the Stand on Healthcare

President Obama ventured into the summer's unpredictable town hall meetings on healthcare Tuesday, facing a polite audience, while lawmakers elsewhere continued to confront enraged citizens -- a contrast that showed how far the administration still must go to bridge the divide.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver Dies at 88

President John F. Kennedy's sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who carried on the family's public service tradition by founding the Special Olympics and championing the rights of the mentally disabled, died Tuesday morning, her family said in a statement. She was 88.

Israel Clouds Obama's Nuclear Summit

President Barack Obama's call for a nuclear security summit next March could end up turning an uncomfortable spotlight on at least one nation -- Israel - and further strain the administration's relations with the Jewish state, analysts said.

Leaders' Summit 'Cordial' So Far

Barack Obama waves as he leaves the White House en route to Mexico.

When Arne Duncan was the head of the Chicago public schools, one of the calls he dreaded most came from a certain federal bureaucracy -- the Department of Education.

President Barack Obama next month will send Congress a new plan for measuring progress in Afghanistan and Pakistan, in an effort to build confidence among wavering Democrats and give sharper direction to a costly and increasingly bloody war, White House officials told POLITICO on Saturday.

President Obama once looked to the August congressional recess as the moment to gain a decisive advantage in the fight to overhaul the nation's health-care system. Instead, he needs to use the month to rebalance his presidency.

Obama's Poor Lesson On Race

While I recently was abroad, one of my hosts mentioned she had heard or read somewhere that President Barack Obama had "gotten into some kind of trouble" related to race.

08.09.09 / Sunday show highlights

A New Genocide Rages

GOP's Steele, other leading blacks urged to act

Republicans Banking on 2012

Sen. Dick Durbin (D, IL), on "State of the Union" says of the town hall protesters, "clearly this is being orchestrated."

WATCH: Jones - 'No Promises' to N. Korea

National Security Adviser Jim Jones says there was nothing offered to North Korea in order to procure the release of two American journalists turned over to former President Bill Clinton during a visit there last week.

08.09.09 / Full Broadcast of Meet the Press

David Brooks, Erin Burnett and Jon Meacham discuss the fight over health care reform.

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Newark Mayor Cory Booker on president's recovery plan.

08.09.09 / Jones: Iran has 3 U.S. hikers

National Security Adviser Gen. James Jones on the detaining of three U.S. tourists in the Islamic republic.

National Security Adviser Gen. James Jones on the impact of former President Bill Clinton's private trip.

James Jones, Michael Bloomberg, Cory Booker, David Brooks, Erin Burnett, Jon Meacham

FOX News Sunday: The 'FNS' Post-Game Show

'FOX News Sunday' panel continues their debate on health care reform after the show

08.09.09 / The Plane Truth

Bob Schieffer examines plans to spend $500,000,000 to enlarge the fleet of Air Force planes that chauffeur members of Congress and federal government officials.

ABC NEWS, THIS WEEK WITH GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS INTERVIEW WITH FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER NEWT GINGRICH AND FORMER DNC CHAIRMAN HOWARD DEAN

Spiritual Politics's Mark Silk flags a new Gallup poll showing that the country is now evenly split between those calling themselves "pro-life" and "pro-choice":

How much are the identities of the nation's different regions determined by their particular religious composition? Quite a lot, according to an intriguing set of faith-based U.S. maps released by Gallup today.

Guest Lineup for the Sunday TV News Shows

ABC's "This Week" -- Former national Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean; former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga.

Jenny Sanford Out of Governor's Mansion

08.07.09 / RNC: Obama 'In Denial'

Whatever happened to that "post-racial" America we were supposed to be living in? Whatever happened to those warm and fuzzy feelings we got when we elected America's first black president? Whatever happened to being so proud of ourselves for having bridged the racial divide?

Last week, Demaris Miller and her husband, James, drove their red 1995 truck to a dealership 70 miles from their cattle farm in Washington, Virginia. It was Cash for Clunkers time.

When President Barack Obama heads to Martha's Vineyard for a little rest and relaxation later this month, it will be his first vacation in the seven months since he took office. And while the boss is away, the West Wing will finally empty out, too.

08.06.09 / Senate Confirms Sotomayor

08.06.09 / Obama on Sotomayor Vote

The Senate confirmed Sonia Sotomayor on Thursday as the 111th justice of the Supreme Court, making her the first Hispanic and third female justice, reshaping the highest court in the land.

Barack Obama had his 48th birthday this week. Since we learned during last year's campaign that he can be blamed for anything bad that's happened in this country since he was a toddler, perhaps this is a good time to suggest that it's his fault the Beatles didn't perform at Woodstock.

08.06.09 / Sotomayor faithful rally on Hill

Former Rep. William Jefferson was convicted Wednesday on 11 of 16 criminal counts filed against him -- including charges that he accepted bribes and engaged in money laundering while serving in Congress.

President Barack Obama said Wednesday he's determined to get an overhaul of the health care system before the end of the year and, if necessary, without bipartisan support.

Promising new jobs and money, President Barack Obama on Wednesday told a hurting Midwestern region that its recovery will be like America's: tough but certain.

As soon as the images of former President Clinton alongside North Korean leader Kim Jong Il appeared, it seemed certain that freedom was at hand for two American journalists captured in March and sentenced to 12 years of hard labor on charges of hostile acts and entering the country illegally.

08.04.09 / W.H. to POTUS: Happy 48th!

08.04.09 / Bill Clinton in North Korea

North Korea has ordered the release of the two American journalists detained since May following former President Bill Clinton's meeting Tuesday with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.

08.04.09 / Gates Jokes About Crowley

08.04.09 / Rep. King on Jackson / Elvis

Barack Obama's Quiet War in Afghanistan

John McCain, in the Middle, Says No

Cementing his role as Barack Obama's critic-in-chief, Arizona Sen. John McCain announced Monday that he'll vote against Sonia Sotomayor, the president's pick for the Supreme Court.

A Saturday New York Times story looks back at George W. Bush's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and notes a curious innovation in President Obama's faith-based office. It's led mostly by campaign operatives, as opposed to folks with policy-heavy or academic backgrounds:

Former President Bill Clinton was greeted with flowers at the airport in Pyongyany, North Korea, on Tuesday as he began a mission to win the release of two women journalists who have been detained since March 17.

As Recess Begins, the Heat Is On

Before rank-and-file House Democrats bolted for summer break last week, Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave them each a three-by-eight-inch pocket card and told them never to leave home without it.

For Pelosi and her top aides, the two-sided, blue-and-maroon glossy -- a personalized cheat sheet to help Democratic members tell their constituents what they'll gain from health care reform -- is the key to winning the critical month of August.

The president worked with dozens but put his own delicate touch onto a blunt address that would grab global attention -- and some criticism.

08.02.09 / Sunday show highlights

The President discusses the state of the economy amidst positive signs from the GDP. Making clear that this is little comfort to those struggling, he notes that we appear to have averted an even worse disaster and offers hope for the time ahead.

President Barack Obama used his weekly radio and internet address to take political credit for the lessening severity of the recession Saturday. But he walked a delicate line, arguing that the economic situation remains so dire that Congress should still push forward with his initiatives.

RNC Chairman Michael Steele Finds his Voice

Michael Steele has for now calmed some in a party who a few months ago were wondering if they had only compounded their many problems by electing a pol-turned-pundit (AP photo).

08.02.09 / Meet the Press full broadcast

Larry Summers, Dan Balz, Haynes Johnson, Harold Ford Jr., J.C. Watts

WATCH: FOX News Sunday Panel Plus

The 'FOX News Sunday' panel continues their debate on the economy after the show

STATE OF THE UNION WITH JOHN KING

Interview With Christina Romer; Interview With John McCain

Aired August 2, 2009 - 09:00 ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

Bob Woodward, Kathleen Parker, and David Brooks join Bob Schieffer for a roundtable discussion on the latest on Afghanistan, Health Care, and 'Cash For Clunkers'.

Tons of news today from my exclusive interview with Alan Greenspan. The former Fed chairman told me he's "pretty sure we've already seen the bottom."

To get the economy back on track, will President Barack Obama have to break his pledge not to raise taxes on 95 percent of Americans? In a "This Week" exclusive, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner told me, "We're going to have to do what's necessary."

Guests for the Sunday TV News Shows

ABC's "This Week" -- Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner; former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan.