Democratic News Chatter 4-4-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

Today, in his weekly address to the nation, President Barack Obama speaks of the global challenges we face. He discusses the highlights of his overseas trip to date and the potential for the U.S. to face these challenges with renewed international alliances.

download .mp3 or HD .mp4 (51.5 Mb) read prepared remarks

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NATO Summit has shaky start - Turkey was the only one of 28 nations who would not agree on the new Secretary-General. This blocked the announcement of danish prime Minister Andres Fogh Rasmussen to the post. Violent demonstrations continue to mar the site of the meeting in Strasbourg, France. President Obama announced he was not asking for NATO troops in Afghanistan but was looking for support. Reuters.com has more here.

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Will NY special election be a Minnesota redo? - as the final vote tallies are coming in from precincts the vote is now tied between Republican Jim Tedisco and Democrat Scott Murphy for the Congressional seat in District 20. Let's hope this is settled in a shorter time frame than the U.S. senate race in Minnesota where legal maneuvering has kept that seat open with no winner decided between Norm Coleman (R) and Al Franken (D). Politico.com has more here.

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Top Obama economic adviser Lawrence Summers earned 5 million salary while working for Hedge fund D.E. Shaw & Co. - Summers was named by the president to be director of the White House National Economic Council. Summers also earned considerable speaking fees from the same Banks receiving federal bailout funds today. Bloomberg.com has more here.

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Democratic News Chatter 4-3-2009

George Wenschhof Bio

President Barack Obama continues his whirlwind trip to Europe arriving in Strasbourg, France - He will meet with President Nicolas Sarkozy whose wife Carla Bruni along with Michelle Obama have captured the media attention away from the world leaders.

This morning he attended a French town hall and received questions from students at the Rhenus Sports Arena in Strasbourg. ThePage.time.com has more on this town hall meeting here. An ambitious statement made by Obama is a hope for a world without nuclear weapons.

Obama also plans to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Baden-Baden Germany today. Next up is the NATO summit.

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Yesterday, the G-20 Summit was very productive as measures were taken to help stabilize the world economy - in addition to the 1.1 trillion pledged to provide loans and guarantees, agreements was reached on financial market regulation and rules on compensation and bonuses. Bloomberg.com has more here.

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Yesterday the House and Senate passed non-binding resolutions on President Obama's 3.55 trillion budget - No Republican in either chamber voted for the budget. The House vote was 233-196 and the Senate was 55-43. The Budgets passed were similar to what had been proposed by the president and now further discussion will take place prior to the expected passage later this month. Politico.com has more here.

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Federal Prosecutors reveal 19 count indictment of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich - as expected the charges relate to "pay-to-play" politics. Also charged were five associates of the former Governor, including his brother and former chief of staff. The NY Times has more here.

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Unemployment now at 8.5% - latest news from the Labor Department is not good. There have been 2 million in job losses this year alone and since the beginning of 2008, 5.1 million have lost jobs. CNN.com has more here.

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