This is one of those "when a tree falls in a forest" sorts of questions, I suppose. Because, frankly, I grow weary of the "I know you are, but what am I?" level of retort from the self-same bozos who lambasted anyone who dared question the mispronunciation of nuke-u-lar as unpatriotic communism.

I mean, hell, David Letterman is able to encapsulate "the stupid, it burns" in a mere matter of minutes. (YouTube)

But, honestly, watch these YouTubes and tell me that you don’t get a sense of who might be well informed and who might be a wee bit on the disengaged and doltish side of things.

First one, George W. Bush at SAIS, answering a question from a first-year student on legal questions pertaining to contractors in Iraq:

Now this one is President Obama from last night’s news conference, the one right-wing blogs and pundits have called dull and uninformed. I found Obama to be more than conversant on the issues last night, and the fact that he speaks in complete sentences using real words was a net plus for me. (more…)

President Obama met with small business leaders and others at the White House today to discuss administration plans for that sector of the economy. Prior to the meeting, he delivered some remarks regarding the current kerfuffle over AIG which I found rather vague but potentially indicating that a due diligence review may be underway at Treasury now that public outrage is pushing that forward a bit more.  See what you think.

What follows are those remarks as prepared for delivery:

But before I talk about the new steps we’re taking to get credit flowing to small businesses across our country, I want to comment on the news about executive bonuses at AIG.

This is a corporation that finds itself in financial distress due to recklessness and greed.

Under these circumstances, it’s hard to understand how derivative traders at AIG warranted any bonuses, much less $165 million in extra pay. How do they justify this outrage to the taxpayers who are keeping the company afloat?

In the last six months, AIG has received substantial sums from the US Treasury. I’ve asked Secretary Geithner to use that leverage and pursue every legal avenue to block these bonuses and make the American taxpayers whole.

(more…)

Contemplation of Justice at SCOTUS via kimberly faye.

This hit my in-box while we were chatting with Jameel Jaffer from ACLU. Perfect timing.

Have not had a chance to do a read through this memo from the Obama administration regarding signing statements as yet.  (And won’t for a bit because I’ve got dinner to finish and other things to do.)

But I wanted to give folks an opportunity to read it as well as comment. More on this when I’ve had an opportunity to read, digest and contemplate.  In the meantime, here’s the memo in full:

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
March 9, 2009

MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES
SUBJECT: Presidential Signing Statements

For nearly two centuries, Presidents have issued statements addressing constitutional or other legal questions upon signing bills into law (signing statements). Particularly since omnibus bills have become prevalent, signing statements have often been used to ensure that concerns about the constitutionality of discrete statutory provisions do not require a veto of the entire bill.

In recent years, there has been considerable public discussion and criticism of the use of signing statements to raise constitutional objections to statutory provisions. There is no doubt that the practice of issuing such statements can be abused. Constitutional signing statements should not be used to suggest that the President will disregard statutory requirements on the basis of policy disagreements. At the same time, such signing statements serve a legitimate function in our system, at least when based on well-founded constitutional objections. In appropriately limited circumstances, they represent an exercise of the President’s constitutional obligation to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and they promote a healthy dialogue between the executive branch and the Congress.

(more…)

Today, President Obama convened a health care summit at the White House, in what is billed as the first of many steps toward health care reform in this country.  The savvy Obama crew had Congressional leadership over for Wednesday cocktails last night — perhaps stroking a few of the more surly egos in advance for today’s summit?

This morning, Vice President Biden, OMB director Peter Orszag and newly minted oversight tough guy Earl Delaney met with President Obama’s cabinet in the Roosevelt Room at the White House to go over the ground rules for increasing transparency for stimulus initiatives.

What follows is a transcript of their remarks this morning — thought folks would want a peek at this:

This was an awfully interesting back and forth from yesterday’s White House press briefing, to which I want to refer in an upcoming post.

But I wanted to give you a read in its entirety simply because so many places in this briefing transcript Press Secretary Robert Gibbs is asked about several issues we’ve all been discussing of late.

So many things to research, mock and snark about, so little time: Attaturk made me spew my coffee this morning. Bastard. And John Cole followed up with marketing advice for morans. Be sure to watch the Daily Show video at the end. Digby has a problem with moles.

As Ben Smith reports, President Obama invited several folks over for a White House cocktail soiree yesterday evening.

I’m told by a source that Valerie Jarrett’s office organized the get-together. On the menu?  From the guest list, it sure looks like the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) was on the White House front burner.