November 21st, 2011
07:09 PM ET
'Super Committee' fails to reach a debt dealWASHINGTON (CNN) - President Barack Obama and congressional leaders traded blame Monday for the failure of the congressional "super committee" to forge a deficit reduction deal, but they also called for Congress to work out an agreement before painful automatic budget cuts take place in 2013. Earlier, the co-chairs of the bipartisan special joint committee said in a statement that "after months of hard work and intense deliberations, we have come to the conclusion today that it will not be possible to make any bipartisan agreement available to the public before the committee's deadline." Markets dropped as news spread of the panel's expected failure. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 248 points Monday, with a minor recovery after being down more than 300 points earlier in the afternoon. Initial reaction had Democrats and Republicans blaming each other for the inability of the bipartisan committee to negotiate at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction measures. Obama said Republicans in Congress rejected what he called a balanced approach to deficit reduction that included tax increases on the wealthy. "Despite the broad agreement that exists for such an approach, there are still to many Republicans in Congress that have refused to listen to the voices of reason and compromise that are coming from outside of Washington," Obama told reporters after the super committee announced its failure. For the full story, click here. 
November 21st, 2011
02:04 PM ET
Obama signs tax benefits for vet hires into law President Obama signed legislation Monday that provides significant tax credits to businesses that hire unemployed and disabled veterans, the only measure in the president’s larger jobs proposal to receive any bipartisan support. In a signing ceremony in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Obama offered rare praise to a Congress he has otherwise chastised for months over failure to take significant action on the nation’s struggling economy. “I'm pleased that both parties came together to make this happen,” Obama said. “So once again I want to thank all the members of Congress who were involved.” FULL POST
November 21st, 2011
11:39 AM ET
First lady & Mrs. Biden greeted with boos at NASCAR eventThe White House didn’t quite get the reaction it was hoping for at the season-finale NASCAR event Sunday that featured a special appearance by first lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden. Obama and Biden were honorary grand marshals at the event in an effort to highlight their Joining Forces campaign – a cause that spotlights veteran issues and seeks to provide assistance to service members and their families. But while the effort has drawn bipartisan support and praise, Obama and Biden were greeted by loud boos from several in the massive crowd when they were introduced on stage to officially begin the race. Obama and Biden did not appear to react to the boos and they were soon drowned out by loud jets flying over head. Kristina Schake, the first lady’s communication’s director, did not respond directly to the booing crowd members but said, “Mrs. Obama and Dr. Biden were proud to stand with a true American hero and join NASCAR to honor all the men and woman who serve our country and the families who support them.” Meanwhile, the two reportedly received a standing ovation at a private reception before the race with NASCAR drivers. Less-than polite fans are hardly out of the ordinary when politicians appear at a sporting event. President Obama was greeted with a mixture of boos and cheers himself when he threw out the first pitch at a Washington Nationals game last year. The same goes for Sarah Palin, who received an unenthusiastic reception while dropping first puck at Philadelphia Flyers-New York Rangers hockey game in 2008. 
November 21st, 2011
08:42 AM ET
Morning Briefing: November 21The 1600 Report's daily roundup of what the White House is reading this morning online and in the papers: So that Super committee idea didn’t really work [CNN.com] But who’s going to get the blame? [NYTimes] Grover Norquist says it’s not him [POLITICO] And what will the market impact be? [WashPost] Obama gets energized in land down under [NYTimes] While the first lady is booed at a NASCAR event [Mediaite] Does Obama actually have to worry about his base? [WashPost] White House taking steps to isolate Iran [WSJ] The White House shooter’s path the extremism [NYTimes] 
November 21st, 2011
08:24 AM ET
POTUS' Day Ahead: Vets in the morning, country music at nightGood morning form the White House. President Obama is set to appear on camera later this morning to sign the only piece of his jobs proposal that has cleared Congress: tax credits for businesses that hire veterans. Obama is expected to deliver remarks hailing the legislation before signing the bill at 11:10 a.m. ET. In the evening, the president will host several country music stars for a concert in the East Room celebrating the genre. Among the artists expected to perform are Lauren Alaina, The Band Perry, Dierks Bentley, Alison Krauss, Kris Kristofferson, Lyle Lovett, Mickey, Darius Rucker and James Taylor. Meanwhile, Jay carney is expected to brief reporters at 12:30 p.m. ET. |
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