President Barack Obama described himself as the first "Pacific President" of the United States during a speech at Tokyo before heading to Singapore for the APEC conference. Obama is in Asia primarily to help jumpstart the world economy and to encourage Asians to buy American goods. However, Obama is hesitant to ink free trade deals in the region because of labor opposition. Paul Kekai Manansala is a freelance author and blogger from Sacramento, California.
A rather predictable move. Democratic candidates moving "toward the center" supposedly to attract more votes. Such a strategy had been in practice for a long time until Barack Obama and Howard Dean came along. Now it seems fashionable to follow the same pattern as candidates seek to distance themselves from the president and his "liberal" agenda. Never mind that the president is still popular while both Democrats and Republicans are experiencing deep lows in popularity. It seems that it's hard to break old habits. Well, the evidence is coming in that many of Obama's supporters stayed home last election as the Democratic candidates tried to make their agendas not too much different from those of their Republican opponents. The young and other normally detached populace got excited during the Obama campaign, but they might not be that excited about the status quo. Now, Obama himself has suffered somewhat from the rather slow pace of reforms, but this is not ...
The job economy is weighting down on Democrats who are beginning to take some heat for the lagging growth in employment. The stimulus may take some time to work because most of the money is going toward programs that require a rather long development process. There are some who believe that President Barack Obama should increase the number of government jobs, which is one of the fastest ways that Washington can create new employment. The job summit, though, will probably explore other ways to help the private sector get back on its feet. I think it would be good for Obama to invite more unconventional experts rather than just those who adhere to the types of economic policy that caused the present meltdown. There is need for more "outside the box" thinking, even though there could be some friction in the process from people representing different schools of thought. Paul Kekai Manansala is a freelance author and blogger from Sacramento, California.
President Barack Obama paid homage to the 13 soldiers who died at Ft. Hood, Texas, after an attack by a fellow soldier. Paul Kekai Manansala is a freelance author and blogger from Sacramento, California.
With the passage of the House version of the health care reform bill passing last night, the issue now moves to the Senate, which must pass its own version. Since it is expected that the Republicans will try to filibuster the senate bill, there are two ways that the Democrats can beat a filibuster. The most common method would be a vote for cloture to stop debate on the legislation, which requires 60 votes. There are 58 Republicans and two Independents, but one of the latter, Joe Lieberman, has said that he will support a filibuster. Not known whether any Republicans will break ranks. Olympia Snowe from Maine is probably the best bet although she has said she doesn't support an opt-out public option. The other senator from Maine, Susan Collins, is another possible crossover Republican. She's known to be quite moderate and pragmatic. If the Democrats do not have enough votes for cloture, there is parliamentary procedure that can allow them to force a vote with a simple ...
