Democratic Chatter 3-24-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

This morning, President Barack Obama meets with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd - Time.com has more here. Tonight, the president will address the nation from the White House at 8:00 PM ET. He will be discussing his proposed budget, his economic recovery plans, and most likely the A.I.G. bonuses.

The president also wrote an Op-Ed which was published in 31 newspapers around the world today on the need for global cooperation in the economic crisis. The Chicago Tribune has it here.

--------------------

Dow Jones jumps by 500 yesterday after news of Geithner plan to rid Banks of toxic assets - it was the highest one day increase since October. The last two weeks also showed gains and were the the first time this happened this year. In early trading today, the Dow is down 60. MSNBC.com has more here.

Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner testify before Congress today. Their testimony and the reaction to it will most likely impact the markets today.

--------------------

Help is on the way for Geithner as Obama names appointments to Treasury - the top slots have been difficult to fill. White House economic adviser Neal Wolin has been named deputy Treasurer, Lael Brainard undersecretary of international affairs, and Stuart Levey undersecretary of terrorism and financial intelligence. CNN.com has more here.

--------------------

DNC Chair Governor Tim Kaine (Va.) appoints 37 member commission to study Democratic primary system - He charged the group to make recommendations in three areas - 1. changing the window for primaries and caucuses, 2. reducing the number of superdelegates, and 3. improving the caucus system. The NY Times Caucus Blog has more here.

Let's see if anything substantive comes out of this committee. In August 2008 another committee was charged with similar tasks. All as a result of the 2008 Democratic primary which exposed the many flaws in the nominating process. I wrote a column about this process during the campaign last year. You can read it here. Reform is definitely needed in the Democratic party presidential nominating process.

--------------------

To receive "Daily Updates" from Air-it-Out with George Wenschhof, click on "Subscribe to this feed" below.

Democratic Chatter 3-23-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

President Barack Obama returns to the White House from Camp David this morning - later the president will discuss the energy independence part of his proposed budget. Increased funds will be provided for clean energy technologies. Tomorrow night at 8:00 PM ET, the president will address the nation during prime time. He is expected to address the A.I.G. bonuses and efforts being made to correct the dismal economy. Time.com has more here.

--------------------

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announces the latest bailout plan for Banks - this has been talked about for some time but the details were lacking on this proposed public-private partnership to purchase up to 1 trillion of troubled mortgages and related assets of banks. CNN.com has more here. Initially the Treasury would buy between 75-100 billion of bad debt and then auction the debt securities to the private sector. There is already hesitancy from the private sector due to the government attempting to limit executive pay so don't expect the private sector to be lining up to buy these bad debt securities.

Geithner has an Op-Ed which appeared in the Wall Street Journal today describing this program and the efforts to date of the Obama administration to stem the financial crisis. You can read his Op-Ed column here.

Perhaps the Obama administration has finally realized Geithner is not a good public relations man - Dr. Christina Romer, chair of the White House council of economic advisers is the one appearing on TV early today to push the program.

--------------------

Wall Street reacts favorably to Geithner's plan - at least for this morning. The Dow Jones is up 150 points after stocks in Asia and Europe gained on news of the latest U.S. government plan to aid troubled banks. Bloomberg.com has more here.

--------------------

For those of you who are MSNBC junkies - Chris Matthews and Keith Olberman have signed contracts through the 2012 campaign - this will ensure loyal viewers these political pundits will be discussing the first term of the Obama administration and the 2012 election. Politico.com has more here.

--------------------

On the foreign policy front, Obama spoke yesterday on "Sixty Minutes" of the need for a comprehensive strategy and exit plan for Afghanistan - he spoke of the need to improve the economy, further diplomacy with Pakistan and increase regional assistance in the effort. The exit strategy is important as this was absent in the planning when George W. Bush administration sent U.S. troops into Iraq. MSNBC.com has more here.

--------------------

To receive "Daily Email Updates" from Air-it-Out with George Wenschhof, click on "Subscribe to this feed" below.

Democratic Chatter 3-6-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

Today, President Barack Obama will be in Columbus, Ohio - He will speak at a police graduating ceremony where recruits will be able to keep their jobs due to the Stimulus bill. The Washington Post has more here.

At the conclusion of the Health Care Summit yesterday at the White House, Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) spoke of the time is now. Kennedy has long been a supporter of health care reform. ThePage.time.com has a video of his remarks here.

--------------------

Sanjay Gupta withdraws from consideration for U.S. Surgeon General - He informed the President he will be staying on as CNN commentator and as a practicing neurosurgeon. He is a very good communicator for those who have watched his reporting on CNN and would have excelled in this area as Surgeon General. The stated reason he gave was a standard line of being able to stay closer to family, etc. Politico.com has more and a video here.

--------------------

Two candidates for high level Treasury department positions withdraw from consideration - This can not help Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner whose roll out on how the remaining TARP funds would be spent was less than spectacular. Annette Nazareth was under consideration for deputy Treasury Secretary and Caroline Atkinson for International Affairs undersecretary. Both had been vetted but had not yet been nominated. Reuters.com has more here

--------------------

Yesterday, the Dow dropped again - the Dow dropped 281.40 to close at 6544.44. To put all of this into perspective, the Dow high was reached on October 9, 2007 and was 14,164.53. So, in less than 18 months, the losses have exceeded 50%. This shows the seriousness of the current global economic crisis. MSNBC.com has more here.

--------------------

Unemployment hits 8.1% - further illustrating the tough times Americans are experiencing, the Labor Department released figures today that unemployment has risen to the highest level in 25 years. 4.4 million jobs have been lost since December 2007. Bloomberg.com has more here.

--------------------

410 Billion spending bill stopped in Senate - the house had voted earlier on this bill to not only continue, but also increase the funding of government agencies through the end of this fiscal year which is September 30, 2009. Democratic Senators Russ Feingold (Wisc.) and Evan Bayh (IN) both were against the bill and wanted time to review the many amendments. In what has now become a routine practice, the house will have to submit a continuing resolution bill to the Senate and have them agree prior to midnight tonight in order to keep funding government agencies. TheHill.com has more here.

--------------------

To receive "Daily Email Updates" from Air-it-out with George Wenschhof, click on "Subscribe to this feed" below.

Democratic Chatter 3-5-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

President Barack Obama will convene a Health Care Summit at the White House today - over 120 are expected to attend to discuss health care reforms. The president will make opening remarks and then break out groups will be formed to discuss different areas of needed health care reform for the country. Kathleen Sebelius who has been nominated for HHS Secretary is not expected to be there today. Reuters.com has more here.

--------------------

Karl Rove and Harriet Miers will testify before Congress - a federal judge recent ruled they could not use executive privilege as a reason not to testify. The House judiciary committee chaired by John Conyers (D-NY) have been investigating the firing of U.S. attorneys for political reasons during the George W. Bush administration. Rove was a White house political adviser and Miers was White House counsel. CNN.com has more here.

--------------------

California Supreme Court to hear arguments on ban of same-sex marriages - Proposition 8 was recently passed which banned same-sex marriages in the state. Questions surround if this action was constitutional and what to do in regard to the estimated 19,000 same-sex marriages which took place prior to the ban. McClatchydc.com has more here.

--------------------

Is Michael Steele on the way out as RNC Chair? - he was selected as chair after six rounds of balloting about one month ago. Ever since then, he has been stumbling as the newly elected chair of the Republican National Committee. Whether it has been his boisterous comments of "either work with us or get out of the way..." or his recent public spat with Republican talk show host Rush Limbaugh, republicans are wondering if they made the right choice. Politico.com has more here.

--------------------

On the economic front, the Dow Jones is down 100 today in early trading - GM announced it may not be able to avoid bankruptcy and China indicated they will not be adding to their current stimulus plan. Bloomberg.com has more here.

--------------------

On the foreign policy front, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been busy in meetings with NATO - she proposed NATO resume formal relations with Russia which had been suspended after the Georgia republic-Russia flare up. NATO voted to resume relations with Russia today. In a smart move, Clinton also proposed a international meeting on Afghanistan. It will take more than just the U.S. involvement to stabilize Afghanistan. Tomorrow, she travels to Geneva to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. You can read more here.

--------------------

To receive "Daily Email Updates" from Air-it-Out with George Wenschhof, click on "Subscribe to this feed" below.

Democratic Chatter 3-3-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

This morning, President Barack Obama will speak at the Departments of Transportation and Interior - he will be discussing his Stimulus bill and how it affects them. He will be accompanied by Vice President Joe Biden. Later, the President will meet with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. ThePage.Time.com has more here.

--------------------

Yesterday, the Dow Jones lost 300 to close below 7000 - at 6,763.29, this is the lowest close since 1997 and has investors wondering what is the bottom? The news that the government was going to be in for another 30 billion for AIG along with Warren Buffet's dire comments on the prospects for this year's economy helped to spur the selling yesterday. Bloomberg.com has more here.

--------------------

Steele - Limbaugh battle as Republican party infighting grows - the conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh and the chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) Michael Steele are attacking each other as the Republican party continues it's meltdown. After losing the House, the Senate and the Presidency, Republicans are struggling to find a message and a leader. TheHill.com has more here.

--------------------

CIA acknowledges it destroyed close to 100 interrogation tapes, Obama releases Bush administration Justice Department memos on warrantless search and seizure - Wow! a double whammy for the George W. Bush administration that gives support for Democratic leaders who are calling for investigations. Seems close to 100 tapes of terrorists being interrogated were destroyed. You can read more here.

In addition, it was revealed today a total of nine memos were released by the Justice Department with one dated back in 2001 in which the Bush administration claimed the military could search and seizure without warrants. You can read more here.

--------------------

Oops! another Obama nominee with back tax issues - this time it is Ron Kirk, the nominee for U.S. Trade Representative. The Senate finance committee discovered the $10,000 in owed backed taxes during the confirmation process. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) chair of the committee still called Kirk the right man for the job. MSNBC.com has more here.

--------------------

Howard Dean returns to Democracy for America (DFA) - he sent a email to supporters last night informing them he was back with the organization he founded. After his failed bid for the Democratic party nomination for president in 2004, he founded DFA to promote Democratic candidates across the country. He was then elected chair of the Democratic National Committee and his brother took over at DFA. Today, with one million members, DFA provides grassroots training, training for candidates, and fundraising for candidates.

--------------------

To receive "Daily Email Updates" from Air-it-Out with George Wenschhof, click on "Subscribe to this feed" below.

Democratic Chatter 2-24-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

Tonight, President Barack Obama will address a joint session of Congress - his speech is being billed as similar to a "State of the Union" speech and will last about one hour beginning at 9:00 PM ET. It will be carried by all the major television networks. Obviously, the president will address the economy, but also expect him to touch on foreign policy, education health care, and energy. CNN.com has more here.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal will deliver the Republican response following the President's speech.

--------------------

Yesterday, President Obama held a White House fiscal summit - included were members of Congress, union and business leaders. In what I found to be a first, Obama answered questions from participants behind a podium at the end of the summit. It was similar to a White House press briefing except the questioners were members of Congress. The President did a good job answering the questions, including one from Senator John McCain (R-AZ) who asked about the need for a new fleet of Presidential Helicopters. MSNBC.com has more here.

Next week, the President will be holding a health care summit.

--------------------

Dow Jones drops to lowest point in a decade - yesterday, the Dow Jones dropped another 250 points to close at 7114.78. This is the lowest close since 1997. It will be important for President Obama to include some hope and optimism in his speech tonight as the overwhelming majority of Americans are in fear of the economy. Bloomberg.com has more here.

--------------------

Gary Locke to be named Commerce Secretary - is the third time the charm? The former two term Governor of Washington is expected to be named this week. He will follow the nominations by the President of New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH). Politico.com has more here.

--------------------

Hilda Solis inches toward confirmation for Labor Secretary - her confirmation has been delayed by Republican concerns with her support of organized Labor. If a filibuster does not transpire by the Republicans, it is being reported she will be confirmed by the senate this week. Time.com has more here.

--------------------

Meanwhile, the Minnesota trial surrounding the Senate election continues - it has been almost three months since the November 2008 elections and Minnesota is still short one U.S. Senator. Arguments from the Norm Coleman (R) and Al Franken (D) campaigns continue before a three judge panel over previously rejected absentee ballots. After a state required recount, Franken was declared the winner by a margin of 225 votes. The StarTribune has more here.

--------------------

To receive "Daily Email Updates" from Air-it-Out with George Wenschhof, click on "Subscribe to this feed" below.

Democratic Chatter 2-18-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

Today, President Barack Obama will announce his mortgage relief program in Phoenix, Arizona - this is the home state of his 2008 presidential opponent, Senator John McCain. Phoenix has experienced high levels of foreclosures. The program is part of the revised 700 billion Bailout bill (TARP), Secretary Timothy Geithner tried to explain last week. Reportedly, 50-100 billion will be made available to help banks restructure loans resulting in lower monthly payments to homeowners. CNN.com has more here.

--------------------

Unfortunately, the first reaction by Wall Street to the Stimulus bill signing yesterday was a 297.1 drop in the Dow Jones - the close was 7552.60, the lowest in ten years. We could see this coming as we reported the drop on Global stocks yesterday morning. It did not help when former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said the U.S. is not doing enough to stabilize the financial markets. Bloomberg.com has more here.

--------------------

All of this while the auto industry asks for more money - the 13.4 billion GM and Chrysler received earlier under the bailout bill required restructuring plans to be submitted to congress yesterday. The plans were submitted and included - guess what? - a request for more money while cutting a total of 50,000 jobs. Chrysler wants 5 billion and GM wants 16.6 billion. Meanwhile, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union has agreed to restructure current agreements. MCNBC.com has more here.

--------------------

The President announces a 17,000 troop level increase in Afghanistan - hardly a surprise as he campaigned that the U.S. had lost it's focus in Afghanistan under the previous administration. Currently, the U.S. has 38,000 troops deployed and NATO has another 30,000 troops in Afghanistan. It is anticipated President Obama will increase the troop level again as he continues a review of the military strategy for the region. In Iraq, there are currently 146,000 U.S. troops. Reuters.com has more here.

--------------------

Senate Ethics Committee to investigate Illinois Democratic Senator Roland Burris - the more the former Governor Rod Blagojevich appointed Senator speaks, the more trouble he stirs up. First, it was an amendment to his statement to his testimony given to the Illinois impeachment panel which said the former Governor's brother had solicited campaign funds from him. The state of Illinois is considering charges of perjury. The latest revelation is Burris says he did try to hold a fundraiser for the Governor but no one was interested. Now it seems the Senate Ethics committee, chaired by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calf.) has opened an investigation. TheHill.com has more here.

--------------------

To receive "Daily Email Updates" from Air-it-Out with George Wenschhof, click on "Subscribe to this feed" below.