Tag: Obama (page 3)

Jacob Sullum has the October cover story at Reason on President Obama: Bummer: Barack Obama Turns Out to Be Just Another Drug Warrior." As if anyone should be surprised.

I'm not. I've been writing since 2007 that he would do little to temper the War on Drugs. I would have called the article "Bummer: Barack Obama is Still A Drug Warrior." Why?

Obama's 2011 Southwest Border Drug Policy Released

Obama Plans to Extend Meridia Initiative in Drug War Fight

Obama to Ramp Up Drug War in Afghanistan

Obama Withdraws Support for Marijuana Decriminalization

Obama's 2011 Drug Policy Unveiled: Hype v. Reality

Obama's Drug Control Budget

Obama Wavers on Crack Sentencing

[More....]

President Obama appeared on Jon Stewart's Daily Show Wednesday night. The show's website says video will be up shortly. But HuffPo already has it, in three parts, here.

WaPo's Dana Milbank has all the details and lots of quotes. Stewart actually called Obama "Dude."

The Daily Show host was giving Obama a tough time about hiring the conventional and Clintonian Larry Summers as his top economic advisor. "In fairness," the president replied defensively, "Larry Summers did a heckuva job."

"You don't want to use that phrase, dude," Stewart recommended with a laugh.

Milbank says Obama was "serious and defensive", even pointing his finger at Stewart when he said something he disagreed with. The LA Times report on the interview is here.

Update: Here's the text of Obama's remarks.

President Obama will be in Denver this afternoon to appear at fundraisers for Sen. Michael Bennet. According to his schedule (times changed to Mountain Time):

• 2:50PM: President Obama arrives in Aurora, Colorado
• 3:30PM: President Obama delivers remarks at a grassroots fundraiser for Senator Bennet
• 4:40PM: President Obama delivers remarks at a fundraising reception for Senator Bennet
• 5:35PM: President Obama departs Aurora, Colorado en route Las Vegas, Nevada

Locations:

He will deliver remarks at a fundraiser for Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) at the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver. He will also deliver remarks at a fundraising reception for Bennet at the Sheraton Hotel.

Medical marijuana activists are holding protests, "Patients Picket Obama: "Get the DEA Out of Colorado" across from the Fillmore. One of the reasons for the protest is the Feb. 12 raid on Chris Bartkowicz. Bartokowicz has a detention/bail hearing this afternoon.

Here's what's going to happen come Tuesday.  This is my naked prediction, i.e., independent of any outside information.  I've been sitting on this for two days, more out of laziness in putting it on the screen than anything else.

And those of you who remember these things, will remember I am usually pretty darn good at my predictions being right.

The flub apparently made people nervous. Chief Justice Roberts re-administered the oath of office to President Obama tonight, out of an abundance of caution.

Don't worry, the White House says: Obama has still been president since noon on Inauguration Day.

Nevertheless, Obama and Roberts went through the drill again out of what White House counsel Greg Craig called "an abundance of caution."

Shorter version: It was unnecessary but made everybody feel better.

Via the LA Times

Obama's Neighborhood Ball, airing on ABC (7pm MT but earlier on the east coast.) Guests include: Beyonce, Jay-Z, will.i.am, Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys, Shakira, Sting, Faith Hill, Mary J. Blige, Stevie Wonder and Maroon 5. The Obamas will have their first dance as Beyonce sings the Etta James' classic, At Last.

The Youth Ball airs on MTV at 8pm MT (check your time zone.) It features Kanye West, Kid Rock and Fall Out Boy, among others. Unfortunately, it's not in HD on Comcast here.

As I wrote earlier, you can also catch Bon Jovi at the Commander in Chief's ball. Here's the Pentagon Channel Live Stream.

This is an open inaugural entertainment thread.

Bon Jovi is headlining the Commander in Chief's ball. It's playing on the Pentagon Channel if your cable or satellite system gets it. If not, here's the live feed, courtesy of our United States Military.

They take some breaks but I don't mind waiting. I'll also be watching the Neighborhood Ball on ABC and Youth Inaugural Ball on MTV when they start.

Update 7:37 pm MT: Bon Jovi is on, he just sang "You Can't Go Home" and he announced he's being upstaged. It's President Barack Obama. Obama's comments below:

Check out the new White House website. It even has a blog.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

12:08 pm: President Barack Obama begins his inaugural speech, expected to last 20 minutes.

The full text of the speech is here.

On challenges: "Know this America, they will be met."

He acknowledges the different religions, including "non-believers." Followed by tough talk against those who need to "unclench their fist."

12:26 p.m. Speech over. We have a new President. What a relief.

This is a thread for your reactions. I'll be back tonight to cover the televised inaugural balls.

Best seats in the house...in front of the tv, watching in HD

10:45 am: The Clintons, Ted Kennedy, Michelle Obama and Dick Cheney (in a wheelchair) are arriving.

President Bush and soon to be President Barack Obama are walking into their car to cheers.

Update 11:01 am: Michelle Obama and Laura Bush just entered, Michelle looking happy. GW and Obama entered next. There are hundreds of thousands of people in the crowd watching, with the Washington Monument in the background. John Roberts is arriving.

Interesting tidbit: Roberts will be swearing in a new president who voted against his confirmation. More updates below:

Decisions, decisions, decisions.  Right now, there is a really ridiculous op-ed in the NYT about rendition that promotes the deepest Bushisms we are fighting against - and the ones that make Rand Beers and other cosigners of the Campaign to Ban Torture such great choices.  

It is a demonstration of how difficult it can be to dominate the narrative.  Never expect the MSM to agree with you.

And watch when they forward something you hate - Newsweek has Mark Hosenball publishing an article that I considered completely improbable - on Obama keeping Steve Kappes.  I thought this was some AP joke.

Yesterday, Glenn Greenwald linked to what he describes as a "very realistic, and rather Obama-sympathetic, point of view regarding his appointments and what he intends to do."  This link was to Jane Hamsher's diary "Obama and a Paucity of Progressives."