Democratic News Chatter 4-13-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

Today, the President and Vice President will visit the Department of Transportation - they will talk about how the Stimulus bill is creating jobs in this area. Over 2000 projects are underway and president Obama is expected to say they are "ahead of schedule and under budget." You can read more here.

Yesterday, the Obama family attended Easter services at St. John's Church where they took Communion. This is a church many presidents have attended over the years as it is located conveniently a block away from the White House. President Obama and Michelle are still discussing which Church to join in Washington. You can read more here.

Today, the traditional White House Easter Egg Roll will take place and thousands are expected to participate.

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Navy Seals free U.S. Captain from Pirates - in what almost seemed like a scene from a movie ( it most likely will be one in the future), Navy Seal Snipers shot and killed the three pirates who were holding the captain hostage on board the lifeboat. It certainly made for a very happy Easter for Captain Richard Philips and his family. CNN.com has more here.

The OK for this action came from the very top - President Obama. While this may not have the same magnitude as the Bay of Pigs fiasco or the ill fated decision to attempt to rescue American hostages in Iran, it was a command decision with a successful outcome. This will only aid President Obama in his future relationships with the military.

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UN to finally issue statement condemning N. Korea missile launch - the security council had been mixed in their reaction to the launch with Russia and China saying it was only an attempt to launch a satellite. Their fear was also that N. Korea would break off any further 6-party discussions on the dismantling of their nuclear-arms program. The U.S. and Japan had pushed for sanctions. the UN statement is expected to be released today. the Wall Street Journal has more here.

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Panetta and Hagel pass on being Ambassador to China - this is a position once held by President George H.W. Bush. Chuck Hagel is a former Republican Senator from Nebraska and Leon Panetta was the White House chief of staff under President Clinton. Former Iowa Representative Jim Leach (R) is currently under consideration for the position. Politico.com has more here.

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Senator Evan Bayh explains why he was only one of two Democratic Senators to vote against Obama's proposed budget - interestingly, Bayh was on Obama's Vice President short list. He is from the moderate state of Indiana and says he feels the proposed budget does not lessen the national debt and yearly deficit as much as he would like to see. The other Democratic Senator to vote against the budget was Bill Nelson of Nebraska. TheHill.com has more here.

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