He Wasn’t The One We’ve Been Waiting For

Paul Krugman
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Maybe House Democrats can pull this out, even with a gaping hole in White House leadership. Barney Frank seems to have thought better of his initial defeatism. But I have to say, I’m pretty close to giving up on Mr. Obama, who seems determined to confirm every doubt I and others ever had about whether he was ready to fight for what his supporters believed in

Read more: NY Times

A revolution begins

By Boston Herald Editorial Staff
Wednesday, January 20, 2010 – Updated 3h ago

It was – for the second time in Massachusetts history – the shot heard round the world, or at the very least from coast to coast and surely in the halls of Congress.

Scott Brown won this one fair and square with his down-to-earth charm, his hard work and his forthright position on issues – and with the help of that much-disparaged by the opposition pick-up truck

Read more: Boston Herald

Independent Voters Abandon Democrats

To Win Back Vital Bloc, Party Plans to Retool Midterm-Election Message to Focus on Economy and Play Down Health Care

By PETER WALLSTEN

WASHINGTON—Democrats’ loss in Tuesday’s race for a Massachusetts Senate seat is a stark illustration of how support from independent voters has collapsed, a phenomenon that’s prompting party leaders to revamp their playbook for this year’s midterm elections

Read more: WSJ

Buffett Says He Can’t See Rationale for Bank Levy

By Andrew Frye, Betty Liu and Jamie McGee

Jan. 20 (Bloomberg) — Warren Buffett opposes President Barack Obama’s proposed levy on financial institutions because firms including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. already repaid bailout funds.

Read more: Bloomberg

Democrats propose $1.9T increase in debt limit

 By ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press Writer Andrew Taylor, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 49 mins ago

WASHINGTON – Senate Democrats on Wednesday proposed allowing the federal government to borrow an additional $1.9 trillion to pay its bills, a record increase that would permit the national debt to reach $14.3 trillion

Read more: AP

Louisiana Legislature Floating Bill Making Obamacare Illegal in State

-By Warner Todd Huston

Louisiana State Senator A.G. Crowe (R, Slidell) is introducing a bill for the 2010 legislative session in Baton Rouge that would make Obamacare illegal if it violates state laws, effectively making Obamacare null and void in the Pelican State.

Senator Crowe states that his bill “provides that no law or rule shall compel, directly or indirectly, any person, employer or health care provider to participate in any health care system or health insurance.”

Read more: Publius Forum

Dow Drops 200: No Celebrating GOP Victory on Wall Street

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Analyst Hugh Johnson says traders are viewing the Massachusetts upset through a different prism today.  Today the reality is setting in that loss of Democratic control in Washington could mean less federal spending, less fiscal stimulus, less government support of a weak economy.  He says the change in the political landscape casts a shadow over the assumption that if the economy were to falter again, the federal government would step in with another round of stimulus.   As a result, stocks, commodities, oil, even gold are all down today on fears of slower growth.

Read more: ABC News

Jobless rates seen high for many more years

By Lisa Lambert Lisa Lambert – Wed Jan 20, 9:40 am ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Unemployment rates will likely peak in most U.S. cities in 2010, but it will be many more years before jobless rates hit their lows of the last decade, a report released by a U.S. mayors group shows

Read more: Reuters

Exclusive: President Obama: We Lost Touch with American People Last Year

Obama Says Focus on Policymaking Distracted White House From Speaking Directly to American People

By KAREN TRAVERS
Jan. 20, 2010

President Obama said today that he believes he lost a direct connection to the American people in his first year in office because he focused too heavily on policy spending.

One year into the president’s term, George Stephanopoulos interviews Obama.

“If there’s one thing that I regret this year is that we were so busy just getting stuff done and dealing with the immediate crises that were in front of us that I think we lost some of that sense of speaking directly to the American people about what their core values are and why we have to make sure those institutions are matching up with those values,” Obama told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos in an exclusive interview at the White House

Read more: ABC News

Hugo Chavez: A U.S. Weapons Test Caused The Haitian Earthquake

Hugo Chavez must be delusional.

Russia Today is reporting that Venezuelan dictator Huge Chavez claims the recent earthquakes in Haiti were caused by the United States.

More specifically, he claims the U.S. Navy used a weapon that was powerful enough to induce earthquakes. You can watch the video below and draw your own conclusion

Read more: Business Insider