As part of its mission to capture the voices of women whose points of view might not be found elsewhere, as well as to document the use of blogs and other forms of web publishing by American women in the early 21st century, the Schlesinger Library has selected and archived a sample of blogs. These blogs illuminate the lives of African-American and Latina women, lesbians, and women grappling with health and reproductive issues, and typically reflect their engagement with politics, their personal lives and philosophies, and their work lives.
TIMESTAMPS
The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20090313150732/http://politicalwire.com/
Pollsters Doug Schoen and Scott Rasmussen argue in the Wall Street Journal that it's wrong to compare President Obama's approval rates to those of former President Bush just six or twelve months ago. They say the better comparison is to other presidents early in their terms.
"A detailed examination of presidential popularity after 50 days on the job similarly demonstrates a substantial drop in presidential approval relative to other elected presidents in the 20th and 21st centuries. The reason for this decline most likely has to do with doubts about the administration's policies and their impact on peoples' lives."
Karl Rove and pollster Charles Franklin have made similar points.
That's the first part of the interview, the other parts can be found on the Comedy Central website.
Andrew Sullivan: "I watched the Daily Show with growing shock last night. Did you expect that? I expected a jolly and ultimately congenial discussion, after some banter. What Cramer walked into was an ambush of anger. He crumbled from the beginning. From then on, with the almost cruel broadcasting of his earlier glorifying of financial high-jinks, you almost had to look away. This was, in my view, a real cultural moment. It was a storming of the Bastille."
Politico: "Having campaigned on a promise that lobbyists won't run his White House, President Barack Obama is discovering that what may make for a good sound bite on the campaign trail can complicate governing. As he strives to build an administration beyond his top Cabinet officers, Obama is finding that he has limited his pool of potential appointees because of a ban on individuals from agencies that they have lobbied within the past two years. Some of the very people who would best serve in politically sensitive posts -- interest group veterans, former campaign operatives or ex-Hill staffers -- earn a living through lobbying."
First Read: "By the way, so the first couple has now both visited North Carolina, one of the states Obama only narrowly won. And the Obama presidency isn't two months old... Hmmmm."
The Daily Beast: "In the span of a few short months, Richardson has gone from a luminous
star in America's political galaxy to a powerless pariah in the
twilight zone. The second-term governor of New Mexico, whose term does
not expire until 2011, is now plagued by the aura of scandal and is the
lamest of lame ducks. Fending off a plethora of accusations, Richardson
has watched his in-state approval ratings plummet to his all-time low
of 41 percent. His political clout with the state legislature is
severely weakened, and party leaders are discreetly lobbying for his
resignation so that Democratic Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish can
ascend as planned."
CQ Politics: "Harry Reid is in a difficult spot. As Senate majority leader, he
juggles myriad competing political interests. He also has to balance
those against his own best interest as he gears up for a potentially
tough re-election battle in 2010."
Apparently campaign contributions didn't get you a ticket to today's Business Roundtable meeting with President Obama. Of those executives attending who gave to a presidential campaign last year, $141,790 went to Sen. John McCain while just $59,300 went to Obama.
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke will give a rare interview to 60 Minutes this Sunday -- the first by a sitting chairman in two decades -- in which he will describe "what he thinks went wrong with America's financial system, how it caused the economic crisis, what the Federal Reserve is doing to help fix it and when he expects the crippling recession to end."
Former rival Ken Blackwell joins the parade of Republicans blasting RNC chief Michael Steele:
From an interview with Townhall: "Chairman Steele, as the leader of America's Pro-Life conservative
party, needs to re-read the Bible, the U.S. Constitution, and the 2008
GOP Platform. He then needs to get to work -- or get out of the way."
Important point: In their race to head the GOP, it was Blackwell's surprise 4th round endorsement that helped push Steele to victory.
According to CQ Politics, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who opened the door to a possible second stimulus package, said that she wanted to see how
the first $787 billion stimulus package and the $410 omnibus spending
law signed Wednesday play out before moving toward a new stimulus.
After delivering "seemingly ironclad vows" that he would run for New York City mayor, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) "cast serious doubt on his candidacy... telling supporters that he would not decide whether to enter the race until late spring," the New York Times reports.
"If he leaves the field, what many had expected to be a spirited Democratic primary could dissolve into a placid affair, with William C. Thompson Jr., the city comptroller, easily winning the nomination in the fall."
Polls suggest incumbent mayor Michael Bloomberg would crush either Weiner or Thompson in a head-to-head race.
In a statement, Mike Huckabee says the recent comments RNC Chairman Michael Steele made about abortion "are very troubling and despite his clarification today the party stands
to lose many of its members and a great deal of its support in the
trenches of grassroots politics."
Meanwhile, Marc Ambinder reports Steele is meeting with former rival Katon Dawson today "to make nice."
With less than three weeks until the NY-20 special election, Scott Murphy (D) has cut James Tedisco's 12 point lead to just 4 points, according to a new Siena Research Institute poll.
Tedisco now leads the race 45% to 41%.
Key factor: "While two weeks ago, voters said Tedisco would do a better job than Murphy representing them on six issues, Murphy now leads on two of those issues, including the most important issue for 20th C.D. voters: the economy."
A Democratic poll yesterday also showed the race tightening.
Christopher Christie (R) leads New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine (D) 46% to 37%, "even though 61 percent of voters don't know enough about the former U.S. Attorney to form an opinion of him," according to a new Quinnipiac poll.
Said pollster Clay Richards: "There are no good numbers for Gov. Jon Corzine in this poll, and since it was taken before his Draconian budget was released, his numbers could be even worse today."
Gallup Poll: "Americans' job approval rating of Congress is up an additional 8 points this month, after a 12-point increase last month, and now stands at 39% -- the most positive assessment of Congress since February 2005."
Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) is backing Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) "in his reelection bid even though Dodd endorsed anti-war activist Ned Lamont in 2006," The Hill reports.
Said Lieberman: "Oh yes, I'm going to support him. I think he's
been a great senator and a great colleague. We haven't agreed on
everything, but nobody does."
A poll released earlier this week showed Dodd vulnerable in his re-election race.
RNC Chairman Michael Steele said that despite telling an interviewer he supports "individual choice" on abortion, he in fact opposes abortion and supports a Constitutional ban, Ben Smith reports.
Steele "has also been reaching out to anti-abortion leaders to damp down the controversy."
First Read: "The interview might serve to create more room for Steele critics inside the GOP to, well, push him aside -- either physically from his position, or like some Dems did with Howard Dean (to be the excuse to start up rival or alternative party building organizations)."
Margaret Carlson says Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is "at his most
impressive when the cameras are off."
"Here's Geithner's problem: He's an Inside Man. Inside Man has the brain of Einstein and the presence of a flea. Inside Man can't catch a break in our telegenic age."
CQ Politics: "A defense lobbyist and his family made $1.5 million in political contributions from 2000 through 2008 as the lobbyist's now-embattled firm helped clients win billions of dollars in federal contracts. A sizable chunk of those campaign dollars went to the House members who control Pentagon spending."
The Transportation Security Administration "is examining Sen. David Vitter's much-reported decision to open the closed gateway door to his plane -- even though he was warned against it by an airline worker," reports The Hotline.
In an interview with GQ, RNC Chairman Michael Steele made some statements that will likely be controversial with many of his Republican constituents.
On if women have the right to choose an abortion: "Yeah. I mean, again, I think that's an individual choice."
On whether homosexuality is a choice: "Oh, no. I don't think I've ever really subscribed to that view, that you can turn it on and off like a water tap. Um, you know, I think that there's a whole lot that goes into the
makeup of an individual that, uh, you just can't simply say, oh, like, 'Tomorrow morning I'm gonna stop being gay.' It's like saying, 'Tomorrow morning I'm gonna stop being black.'"
President Obama and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner received failing grades for their efforts to revive the economy from participants in the latest Wall Street Journalforecasting survey."
"On average, they gave the president a grade of 59 out of 100, and although there was a broad range of marks, 42% of respondents rated Mr. Obama below 60. Mr. Geithner received an average grade of 51. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke scored better, with an average 71."
