Barack Obama

Vox Pop : Open Forum - The Politics of Sequestration and Fracking in NY : 3/5/13

Patrick Donges — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 20:00:00 +0000

Today we are discussing two hot topics – how the so-called sequester could affect the 2014 midterm elections, and fracking in New York.

The budget cuts known as sequestration took effect last Friday, and while the overall effects of the cuts on national and local economies and government efficiency have yet to be realized, the effect of the cuts on the national political landscape may be coming into focus this week.

What Now? Obama Leads Polarized Government Into Second Term

editor — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 13:37:00 +0000

Feelings of hope and change have mostly faded.

The country is in better shape than it was when Barack Obama became president four years ago. The economy is no longer in free fall, and the nation has for the most part extricated itself from seemingly endless wars abroad.

Yet as Obama prepares to enter his second term, there seems to be less optimism about his ability to address the nation's problems than was the case when he first entered the White House.

A lot of that has to do with rancorous relations with Congress.

Crowds Begin Converging On Washington, D.C.

Renee Montagne — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 12:18:00 +0000

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

And I'm Renee Montagne. We are glad you are listening on this Monday morning, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and Inauguration Day. We have a team spreading out, getting a feel for how things are going in different parts of Washington, D.C. as hundreds of thousands of people descend on the capital to be part of President Obama's second Inauguration. Standing by over at the Martin Luther King Memorial is our own David Greene, MORNING EDITION's David Greene.

Obama Taps Top Aide Lew For Treasury

Mark Memmott — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 19:14:00 +0000

Saying he "cannot think of a better person" to take the job, President Obama this afternoon formally announced he is nominating Jacob "Jack" Lew, his chief of staff, to be the next Treasury secretary.

Word of Obama's decision to tap Lew, who previously served as budget director in the Obama and Clinton administration, broke Wednesday.

"Jack has my complete trust," Obama said.

Of Geithner, the president said, "when the history books a

In picking Lew, Obama turns a page at Treasury

JIM KUHNHENN and Associated Press — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 13:01:53 +0000

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's likely nominee for Treasury secretary, Jack Lew, is a premier federal budget expert, an administration insider also known as a tough bargainer.

If confirmed by the Senate, Lew would take the helm of the government's main agency for economic and fiscal policy just as the administration girds itself for a new confrontation with congressional Republicans over debt and deficits.

Herbert London: Politics As Culture

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 16:37:56 +0000

In Jacques Barzun’s masterwork on cultural history he describes modernity as decadent. Pitirim Sorokin’s narrative of contemporary society includes sensate culture, a belief that the senses are superordinated over ideas and beliefs.