Daily Political Wire 6-22-2010

George Wenschhof

Obama's newest problem is General Stanley McChrystal - the man in charge of the U.S. wars. Problems between the two were apparent when discussion was taking place on whether to ratchet up the war in Afghanistan or take a different approach. McChrystal leaked his internal report asking for up to 60,000 additional troops. After months of meeting with advisers, President Obama announced a "surge" in troops up to 30,000 and a withdrawal date of summer 2011.

Now, the General is at it again, slamming the President and his advisers in an article in Rolling Stone which you can read here. Not exactly what the President wanted to get the attention off the ever flowing oil into the Gulf.

Differences between Generals and Presidents have occurred before in U.S. history. Most noticeable was General Patton and President Dwight Eisenhower during World War II and Douglas MacArthur by President Harry Truman during the Korean War.

Now, it's McChrystal who has been summoned to the White House for a talk with Obama. Let's see if McChrystal survives this latest flap. You can read more here.

McChrytal has issued a public apology which you can read here. However, it may be too late. The war in Afghanistan continues to go poorly as the U.S. tries to prop up a corrupt government led by President Hamid Karzai.

Stay tuned.......

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White House Budget Director Peter Orzag to resign - the unofficial rumor is the resignation will be effective in July. This would be the first of President Obama's cabinet to leave, if you do not count White House counsel Greg Craig. Reportedly, he was pushing for more deficit reducing measures while others continue to push for more stimulus, The NY Times has more here.

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House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) to announce they will not pass budget blueprint this year - he is expected to say more in a speech to a think tank entitled "The Third Way". Instead, a budget enforcement resolution will be passed by the House.

The excuse for avoiding passing a budget blueprint is waiting for the recommendations offered by the bipartisan "Budget Reduction Commission" due in December. TheHill.com has more here.

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Ehrlich for Governor campaign uses former television reporter in campaign - Republican Robert Ehrlich, the former one term Governor of Maryland is trying to recapture his position this year. To help the campaign, he has hired Andy Barth a long time Baltimore television reporter to tape "Reporter Segments" which will be aired on social media used by the Ehrlich for Governor campaign. The Washington Post has more here.

That's one way to may sure reporting says what you want it to say

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