Hello
Friday mishmash ahead.
President Obama's Gallup numbers today: 52-41
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MSM response:
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Robert Gibbs twittering:
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Washington Post: Despite political uncertainties in Iraq, U.S. sticking with drawdown plan
BAGHDAD -- The U.S. military is on track to draw down to 50,000 troops in Iraq by the end of the summer, but it now faces the long-dreaded prospect that its exit could coincide with a power vacuum similar to the one that drove the country to civil war in 2006...
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...But the Obama administration has so far stuck to its timeline that calls for a drawdown to 50,000 troops -- roughly half the current total -- by Sept. 1, and the complete pullout of U.S. forces by the end of 2011. It has also disappointed some Iraqis who would like to see Washington play a more assertive role in brokering the political impasse.
At the height of the 2007 troop surge, the U.S. military had 20 combat brigades in Iraq -- roughly 170,000 troops -- with the densest concentration in Baghdad and Anbar. It has gradually drawn down to roughly 94,000. The departure of tens of thousands of troops in the coming months -- with most leaving toward the end of summer -- will mark the military's sharpest pullout at any stage of the war...
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And people actually want to let "them" take back the car keys, when the reality is this: More jobs might be created this year than during the ENTIRE Bush's presidency
If the economy produces jobs over the next eight months at the same pace as it did over the past four months, the nation will have created more jobs in 2010 alone than it did over the entire eight years of George W. Bush's presidency....
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First, the numbers: From February 2001, Bush's first full month in office, through January 2009, his last, total U.S. nonfarm employment grew from 132.5 million to 133.5 million, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's an increase, obviously, of just 1 million. From January through April of this year, the economy created 573,000 jobs. Over a full year, that projects to 1.72 million jobs. Job-creation numbers are notoriously volatile, so the actual result could run above or below that estimate. But Obama administration economists are increasingly optimistic that job growth this year will exceed expectations...(More)
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Industrial production surges, fueling recovery
WASHINGTON - Industrial production logged a stronger-than-expected gain in April, more evidence that manufacturing is playing a lead role in powering the economic recovery.
The 0.8 percent increase in output at the nation's factories, mines and utilities reported by the Federal Reserve on Friday marked an improvement from the 0.2 percent rise registered in March. It marked the best showing since a 1.2 percent jump in January. The performance of the industrial sector in April was even stronger than the 0.6 percent gain that economists were predicting.
Factories -- the single biggest slice of industrial activity -- ratcheted up production by a brisk 1 percent for the second straight month, the Fed reported.
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Stronger manufacturing activity has prompted factories to step up hiring.
Manufacturers added 44,000 jobs in April, the most since 1998, the government reported last week. Businesses that produce fabricated metal products, machinery, electrical equipment and appliances, plastics, food, and paper products all posted job gains.
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Sometimes the truth finds itself the most unexpected messengers:
Unexpected praise in Louisiana for Obama administration's spill response
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Another Louisiana Republican who is very much on the front line of the oil spill response is Plaquemines Parish President William "Billy" Nungesser, elected in 2006 and a self-styled "Reagan Republican." I visited Nungesser at his Port Sulfur home to discuss his plans to bulk up the barrier islands off the Louisana shore as a way to protect the invaluable marshes inland, and was surprised to hear him volunteer a very different assessment of the Obama administration's performance.
Nungesser said that he had met with Obama for two hours when he came to Louisiana, and that he had met several times with EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. He came away from the first meeting convinced that Obama "really cares" and "understands exactly what we face," and that that Jackson "was making things happen." He said he and Jackson hugged after a three-hour meeting.
"He's a Democrat and I'm a Republican, so we'll have our differences," Nungesser said. "But Obama did something I've never seen before at that level - he came out, listened to what we had to say, and has been delivering on what he said he would."
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He also said that as far as he knew, Obama was giving other Louisiana officials what they asked for and needed as well. He saved his criticism for the media coverage, which he said have not accurately reflected how well the different levels of government were working together.
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White House sends new START treaty to Senate
WASHINGTON — The White House Thursday sent a new START arms treaty to Senate, backed by a call for 80 billion dollars to help modernize the US nuclear stockpile, in a first step towards ratifying the historic deal with Russia.
"The treaty will enhance the national security of the United States," President Barack Obama said in a message transmitting the treaty to senators.
"It mandates mutual reductions and limitations on the world's two largest nuclear arsenals," the president added, saying the treaty would also ensure both Moscow and Washington could "verify that the other party is complying with its obligations."
The new arms reduction deal was signed by Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev in a landmark ceremony in Prague in April, and commits the two former Cold War foes to slashing their nuclear arsenals.
Each nation will be allowed a maximum of 1,550 deployed warheads, about 30 percent lower than a limit set in 2002. They are also restricted to 700 air, ground and submarine-launched intercontinental ballistic missiles that carry warheads.
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Adding his voice to the White House bid to overcome lingering reservations in Congress, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who served under the former Republican Bush administration, said the new treaty "has the unanimous support of America's military leadership."
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Obama has said he wants to see the treaty ratified this year. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said last month the ratification might have to wait until 2011, after November mid-terms elections.
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I'd say that president Obama causes women to levitate in his presence, but maybe i shouldn't....And, some angry comments from the birthers on Youtube: YOU TELL THE WORLD OUR SECRET TECHNOLOGY???!!!!! !!!!!.
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All by AP.
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Just a guy in Buffalo.
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DCCC fundraiser in New York, Thursday, May 13.
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The president with Directorate of Emergency Services, Ft. Hood Police Dept., Sgt. Kimberly Munley center, after delivering remarks at a ceremony honoring the Top Cops award winners in the Rose Garden, Friday, May 14, 2010. On the left is U.S. Ranger Alexandra Burke.
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President Obama at Duff's Famous Wings in Cheektowaga, N.Y., May 13, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton)
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President Obama visiting the Real Time Crime Center in New York City, Thursday, May 13.
