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  • The midterms: Total Recall

    “Tea party forces are seizing on a new strategy in their attempt to purge Senate incumbents from office: the recall,” Politico writes. “While it’s not entirely clear whether their approach will meet constitutional muster, that hasn’t stopped determined groups of grass-roots activists from trying in nearly a half-dozen states.”

    (Two questions: 1) How did that recall work out in California? 2) Isn’t the best way to remove a democratically elected official through the ballot box?)

    “White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel on Sunday ratcheted up the Democrats' effort to turn a House Republican's apology to BP into a political pivot point, saying last week's comments by Rep. Joe L. Barton (Tex.) were a reminder of the ‘governing philosophy’ that Republicans would bring into power if they win big in November.”

    COLORADO: The Washington Post: “Colorado Senate candidate Ken Buck's (R) recent wave of momentum has positioned him as the next grassroots outsider who could potentially win in a Republican primary -- following in the footsteps of Nevada Senate nominee Sharron Angle (R) and Kentucky Senate nominee Rand Paul (R).”

    FLORIDA: A Florida Chamber of Commerce poll shows Charlie Crist opening up a 42%-31%- 14% lead over Marco Rubio and Kendrick Meek, respectively. “It also found Rick Scott leading Bill McCollum for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, 35 percent to 30 percent,” the Tampa Bay Tribune writes.

    ILLINOIS: Lynn Sweet: “The playing field has become surprisingly level in the race to fill the Illinois Senate seat once held by President Obama. Questions about whether the Obama White House is fully backing Democratic nominee Alexi Giannoulias, the state treasurer, will be answered once and for all on Monday, when Vice President Biden hits Chicago for an afternoon fund-raiser for him. Monday is a big day in the Illinois Senate contest. Besides Biden's visit, GOP Senate candidate Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Giannoulias will be making back-to-back appearances at a forum in downtown Chicago to discuss regional planning and environmental issues. While it's not a debate and the pair will not be on the same stage at the same time, the session sponsored by the Metropolitan Planning Council will be the first time the rivals have shared any kind of joint platform and it comes as the race is heating up.”

    KENTUCKY: The Louisville Courier-Journal: He ignited a furor with his explosive remarks that private business should have the right to discriminate -- and that President Barack Obama's administration sounded ‘un-American’ in criticizing BP too harshly for the Gulf oil spill. But Rand Paul, Kentucky's Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate, has a long history of making unconventional comments about social programs, housing discrimination, military spending and limiting the role of government. A Courier-Journal review of two-dozen public appearances by the Bowling Green eye surgeon since 1998 shows that Paul has condemned Medicare as ‘socialism;’ denounced seat-belt and anti-smoking laws as ‘Nanny-state’ paternalism; called for voluntary, rather than mandatory, accommodation of people with disabilities; and suggested using satellites to monitor America's borders for illegal immigrants.”

    Business Week quotes Paul from an event on Friday: “I don't like the idea of vilifying people. ... If you're the president of the United States, you can talk a business out of business simply by talking down their stock. I don't think that's good." And: “Before his speech, Paul declined to comment when asked by a reporter to respond to Texas Republican Congressman Joe Barton's remarks that the White House conducted a ‘$20 billion shakedown’ by requiring BP to establish a compensation fund for those harmed by the Gulf Coast oil spill.”

    MASSACHUSETTS: “Republican gubernatorial hopeful Charles D. Baker, who opposes Cape Wind and has sidestepped concerns about global warming, is skipping a candidate forum on environmental issues, according to leaders of a Massachusetts coalition of conservation and environmental groups,” The Boston Globe reports. “Baker aides say the June 29 forum conflicts with two campaign fund-raising events, and that Baker has met leaders of the groups privately to discuss the issues.”

    NEVADA: Politico: “Soccer fans in Nevada watching the World Cup on Univision are suddenly seeing a lot of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who is flooding the Spanish-language station with an ad campaign courting Latinos, who could help save his uphill reelection campaign. But as he positions himself back home as a friend to Hispanics -- who could account for 15 percent of the Nevada electorate -- Reid is running into a different reality on Capitol Hill: Senate Democrats now concede they probably can’t do much about overhauling immigration policy, despite its importance to Latino voters.”

    SOUTH CAROLINA: Sarah Palin endorsed Tim Scott in SC-1.

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  • Week Ahead: Runoff Tuesday

    AP

    From left to right: Mitt Romney, Jenny Sanford (ex-wife of Gov. Mark Sanford), Nikki Haley, and state Attorney General Henry McMaster campaign June 18 for Haley, who faces Rep. Gresham Barrett in a June 22nd gubernatorial runoff.

    A look at the week ahead in politics.

    CLICK HERE to WATCH what's coming up in The Week Ahead.

    Can Nikki Haley (R) become the first female governor of South Carolina? She faces off with Rep. Gresham Barrett.

    It's Elaine Marshall (D) vs. Cal Cunningham (D) in NC.

    Who will be Bob Bennett's (R) replacement in Utah?

    Plus, Obama's fatherhood speech on Monday. ... Medvedev comes to Washington on Tuesday. ... The latest NBC/WSJ poll is released Wednesday. ... Obama's bipartisan meeting with senators on climate/energy legislation.

    CLICK HERE to WATCH what's coming up in The Week Ahead.

  • All signs point to Obama adm. suit against AZ law

    From NBC's Pete Williams
    Justice Department officials say it's only a matter of when -- not if -- the federal government will sue Arizona over its new immigration law.

    Justice Department lawyers have been working for weeks to draft their complaint, an effort that is not yet complete, officials say. Though the lawsuit will likely not be filed within the next several days, the government's goal is to go to court before the Arizona law takes effect in late July.

    A comment earlier this month by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, which came to light late this week, has caused a stir. Asked about the Arizona law in a June 8 television interview in Ecuador, Clinton said: "President Obama has spoken out against the law because he thinks that the federal government should be determining immigration policy. And the Justice Department, under his direction, will be bringing a lawsuit against the act."

    Though her statement contradicted the Obama administration's public line -- that the issue of a lawsuit was "under review " -- it accurately captured what officials say is the virtually certain outcome. Attorney General Eric Holder has repeatedly expressed concern about the law, and he recently met with a group of police chiefs who oppose it.

    Nonetheless, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) said she was "stunned and angered" by Clinton's flat-out statement that a lawsuit is coming.

    "If our own government intends to sue our state to prevent illegal immigration enforcement, the least it can do is inform us before it informs the citizens of another nation," she said in a statement from her office.

  • Obama hits the road to sell the stimulus, again

    AP

    From NBC's Athena Jones
    President Obama headed to Ohio Friday as part of the White House's efforts to highlight the progress they say the stimulus package has made in pulling the American economy out of the worst recession since the Great Depression.

    Calling America's infrastructure "one of the keys to our future prosperity", Obama visited a construction site outside a downtown children's hospital for the groundbreaking of the 10,000th stimulus-funded road project to get underway, one that is expected to create 300 jobs.

    With the economy and jobs at the top of voters' minds this election year, the administration is keen to make the case for what Obama has done to turn the economy around and to paint Republicans as the party that stood in the way. Today in Ohio, the president made a point of thanking Democratic members of Congress for their help.

    "We knew that if we failed to act, then things were only going to get much worse and that's why with the support of Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, but also members of the House of the Representatives Mary Jo Kilroy [OH-15], Steve Driehaus [OH-1] and Charlie Wilson [OH-6] who are all here. Wave, guys," Obama said. "That's why these folks worked so hard to pass the Recovery Act."

    The Columbus event -- which marked the president's eighth trip to this important bellwether state since taking office -- kicked off what the White House is calling its "Recovery Summer", the most active season yet for stimulus projects. For the next six weeks, the president, the vice president and administration officials like Labor Sec. Hilda Solis and Agriculture Sec. Tom Vilsack will visit some two dozen stimulus projects around the country to highlight ramped up stimulus spending on infrastructure projects and the jobs they will create.

    Obama touted the 4.5 million Ohio families who received tax cuts from the stimulus, the roughly 450 transportation projects that are underway or have been completed in the state and the more than 100,000 Ohioans who are at work today as a result of the law and said the economy nationwide had also been helped by policies his administration helped push through Congress.

    "For the last -- six out of the last seven months, we've increased jobs here in the United States of America, in part because of the policies that these members of Congress were willing to step up and implement," he said. "

    Critics say the $787 billion stimulus package has added to the deficit, while doing little to create jobs. The White House says the Recovery Act has already funded tens of thousands of projects and "saved or created" about 2.5 million jobs.

    But the administration's message about the Recovery Act's positive effect on the economy doesn't seem to be getting through to the American public. Last month's NBC/WSJ poll, just 38% said the stimulus was helping to improve the economy or helping to improve the economy in the future.

    Unemployment remains high at 9.7 percent and only about one-10th of the 400-thousand plus jobs created last month were in the private sector. Vice President Joe Biden yesterday stood by the administration's prediction that 90 percent of the jobs ultimately created by the stimulus would be in the private sector, even though many of the positions the law has "saved" so far have been those of teachers, police and firefighters.

  • Another shoe drops on Etheridge

    Days after conservatives made a video go viral of North Carolina Rep. Bob Etheridge (D) getting rough with an unidentified videographer, a North Carolina paper quotes a former resident who alleges that Etheridge also got rough with him.

    Brandon Leslie, who moved away seven years ago and is now an attorney in Oxford, Miss., said he had an encounter with the now seven-term Democratic congressman from Lillington almost 14 years ago.

    In the fall of 1996, when Leslie was a senior at Pinecrest High School, he said he met Etheridge at a Pinecrest football game. Etheridge - then the state superintendent of public instruction - was challenging incumbent Republican David Funderburk for his congressional seat. At the time, Moore County was part of the 2nd District, which Etheridge now represents.

    Leslie said he introduced himself to Etheridge and asked him about his stance on a particular education program. He said Etheridge didn't answer his question, so he pressed him two more times.

    "And that's when he grabbed me by the shoulders, he shook me, and I'll never forget it, he said, 'Son, you need to learn to respect your elders,'" he said by phone on Wednesday. "I was just so taken aback, I think my jaw just dropped, and he walked off."

    Leslie said he was angrier about Etheridge's attitude and "patronizing" tone than the physical contact.

    "It wasn't to hurt me, it wasn't to harm me," he says. "It was that he was irritated and wanted to get my attention."

    *** UDPATE *** Etheridge's office emails a statement from Bob Greene, the retired principal of Pinecrest High School, who served in that post in 1996: “The story in today’s Pilot is inaccurate. I witnessed the event firsthand 14 years ago. The student was in the wrong, and Bob Etheridge acted appropriately at all times. I would have been happy to tell the newspaper reporter the facts in this matter, but I was never contacted before the story appeared in the newspaper.”

  • Hayward to be relieved of operational control in Gulf

    AP

    BP CEO Tony Hayward, right, followed by BP Managing Director Bob Dudley, back left, leave the White House in Washington, Wednesday, June 16, 2010, following a meeting with President Barack Obama.

    Per NBC's foreign desk: BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg told Sky News in Britain that, at some time soon, CEO Tony Hayward will return to the U.K. and hand over day-to-day operational control for BP's salvage operation in the Gulf.

    Svanberg told Sky News business correspondent Jeff Randall: "[Hayward] is now handing over the operation to Bob Dudley."

    Mr. Dudley is the managing director of the oil giant.

    Mr. Svanberg also told Randall that comments by Mr. Hayward have had detrimental effects as the company seeks to control the fallout from the disaster.

    "It is clear Tony has made remarks that have upset people," Mr. Svanberg said.

    Mr. Svanberg admitted that the disaster is turning from an industrial accident into a much broader concern and he will now expand his own involvement.

    "This has now turned into a reputation matter, financial, and political and that is why you will now see more of me," Mr. Svanberg.

  • DNC solicits $$$ to air TV ad aimed at Barton

    DNC Web site

    The above image appears on the Democratic National Committee's Web site.

    From NBC's Luke Russert
    It hasn’t taken long for Democrats to use Rep. Joe Barton’s (R) political blunder to try and solicit donations to the party and keep the heat on Republicans.

    In an email to supporters, the DNC asks for money to begin airing a TV ad targeting Barton's remarks. "We're whipping together an ad as fast as possible to make sure voters know exactly whose side Barton and the GOP are on and to demand they stop apologizing to big oil, but we need your help to get it on the air," the email says. "If you're as furious as I am, will you chip in $5 to help us fight back?"

    The DNC tells NBC News that the ad will be completely funded through direct donations and that it will run “the first of next week on national cable (CNN and MSNBC).”

    Democrats are actively trying to keep Barton’s gaffe a national story as the news cycle slows down heading into the weekend. One GOP aide tells NBC that Barton’s comment and subsequent awkward apologies were, “beyond moronic.” Hence why the weekend can’t come soon enough for Republicans.

    *** UPDATE *** NBC has obtained the script of the ad:
    VO: BP caused the worst oil spill in American history.
    Images or video of spill
    VO: Now, at President Obama's direction, BP's set aside 20 billion for recovery on the Gulf coast.
    Photo from WH of POTUS w/BP from this week, images of video of spill
    VO: But if Republicans were in charge, this is the guy who'd be overseeing BP Blurred/grainy video of Barton
    VIDEO BARTON: "...I apologize"
    VO: He apologized to BP and called the recovery fund a "tragedy"
    VIDEO BARTON: "So I apologize"
    VO: Republicans apologizing to BP? Tell Republicans: Stop apologizing to big oil.
    VO: The Democratic National Committee is responsible for the content of this advertising.

  • Why aren't Democrats 'fired up and ready to go'?

    Howard Dean, after the 2004 Iowa caucuses, was definitely "fired up and ready to go."

    From NBC's Mark Murray
    Over the past few days, prominent liberal and Obama-supporting commentators have asked this question or something similar: Why aren't more Democrats fired up about Obama's presidency or the coming midterms? Indeed, the enthusiasm advantage is perhaps the Republicans' most significant advantage heading into November.

    As E.J. Dionne wrote yesterday: "Democrats should feel a lot better than they do. They enacted a health-care bill that had been their dream for more than 60 years. They pulled the country out of a terrifying economic spiral. They are on the verge of passing the biggest reform of Wall Street since the New Deal. The public has identified enemies that are typically seen as Republican allies: oil companies and big bankers. And given the Republicans' past policies, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill is at least as much their problem as Obama's."

    He added, "Yet it is Democrats who are petrified, uncertain and hesitant -- and this was true before the oil spill made matters worse... Why does it so often seem that Republicans are full of passionate intensity while Democrats lack all conviction?"

    And here's the Atlantic's Andrew Sullivan on Obama getting BP to set up a $20 billion fund for Gulf Coast relief: "If leftwing populism in America were anything like as potent as right-wing populism ... there would be cheering in the streets. But there's nada, but more leftist utopianism and outrage on MSNBC."

    There are a few theories as to why Democrats aren't energized. The first is the liberal disappointment with Obama and his policies (examples: no public option in the health care law, the likelihood that cap-and-trade won't be enacted, the fact that Gitmo has yet to close).

    But Michael Tomasky has a response to those criticisms. "Too often, when progressives think of American history, we think only of the snapshots: those glorious moments when a historic bill is signed into law, or when the great progressive leader thunderingly confronts the forces of reaction. It’s good to remember those; they are our lodestars. But they are moments. Actual history is slower, more tedious, and certainly less uplifting... The changes we want to see won’t happen in 18 months, or in two years, or four, or probably even eight. Indeed, the entire Obama era, if it lasts eight years, is best thought of not as a culmination, or a self-contained time frame that should be judged a failure if X, Y, and Z don’t happen."

    On the comparisons between Obama and FDR, Tomasky adds: "The New Deal was not a seamless narrative of aggressively liberal steps in which conservatives were sent scampering. It was full of starts and stops, and it took a long time. There were many reasons for this, but a chief one had to do with Roosevelt himself–seen by the more impatient reformers of his day as equivocal and adhering to too few core beliefs, exactly the way some see Obama today. Alan Brinkley, in Liberalism and Its Discontents, reminds us that the general historians’ view of Roosevelt, quite far removed from that presented in the sound bites and summaries employed today, was that of 'a man without an ideological core and thus unable to exercise genuine leadership.'"

    A second theory -- related to what Tomasky says above -- is the nature of the 24-7 news environment and the impatience of the American public.

    A third theory is that Democrats, especially in the blogosphere and on cable TV, have yet to really adjust to a political world without George W. Bush. Indeed, human nature suggests that it's easier to oppose something more vigorously than support it. That could be playing a role here.

    What do First Readers think?

  • Top 10 candidate gaffes of 2010

    From NBC's Mark Murray, Domenico Montanaro, and Sarah Blackwill
    In the past few days, we've seen how the BP chairman's "small people" gaffe turned into a media frenzy and forced the chairman to issue an apology. For our weekly Friday Top 10 list, we take a look at what we consider the Top 10 candidate gaffes of 2010 -- and by gaffes, we mean the unscripted moments that turn into giant headaches for the candidate, sometimes even end up costing them the election.
    1. Gordon Brown's "bigoted woman": This gaffe took place across the Atlantic Ocean, but it impacted Britain's election this year and ensured that Gordon Brown and the Labour Party would be voted out of power.
    2. Martha Coakley's Schilling-is-a-Yankee fan: This statement in a radio interview showed that she was out of touch with Massachusetts voters. No Boston Red Sox fan would mistakenly say that Curt Schilling is a Yankee fan. This gaffe turned out to be the final nail in Coakley's coffin.
    3. Sue Lowden and Barter-gate/Chicken-gate: This gaffe by Lowden -- touting that bartering for health care, like paying doctors with chickens, could benefit the health system -- contributed to her June 8 defeat in the Nevada Senate GOP primary, a contest in which she was once the front-runner. It also inspired videos like the one linked here.
    4. Vaughn Ward's Puerto Rico is a country: Ward once was a front-runner, too -- in an Idaho GOP congressional primary. But after a few gaffes -- like calling Puerto Rico a country when it's a territory -- he ended up losing this primary.
    5. Arlen Specter and the College Republicans: Specter mistakenly saying that he was endorsed by the College Republicans, instead of the College Democrats, highlighted his biggest weakness in the Democratic Senate primary he lost: He was a long-time Republican before switching parties.
    6. Carly Fiorina's hairy situation: California’s GOP Senate nominee became the latest victim of the open mic, when she was caught dissing the hairstyle of fall opponent, Barbara Boxer. ("God, what is that hair? Soooo yesterday.")
    7. J.D. Hayworth's 'history' lesson: At a town hall, Hayworth served up this whopper: "As I recall, in MY history, Germany declared war on the United States not vice versa." In fact, as was pointed out to him by a questioner (who Hayworth didn't believe), the U.S. DID declare war on Germany on Dec. 11, 1941.
    8. Jim Gibbons -- the mistress and the airplane: ‘What's it to you? … You're full of s---': It was painful to watch as Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons tried to deny, deny, deny that there was a woman with him on a plane back from DC that was actually his mistress. Gibbons apologized but lost his reelection bid badly in the primary. In fairness, though this gaffe was hardly the only thing that did him in.
    9. Jerry Brown and Nazi propaganda: We've said it before, and we'll say it again, the first to bring up Nazis in politics, loses the argument. In a conversation with a reporter while out for a morning jog, longtime pol Jerry Brown, running as the Democratic nominee for governor in California, likened his fall opponent Meg Whitman and her big spending habits to Nazi propagandists.
    10. Bob Etheridge gets too close for comfort: It's never a good idea to grab, slap, pull, manhandle, or "hug, as in wrestling," another person -- no matter how annoying they are -- and especially if it's on camera (!!!). This might not have any effect on his re-election bid, but it provided a lesson politicians should already know: When the camera is on, it can be uploaded and sent around the world in minutes.

  • First thoughts: The week's inflection point

    Did the Obama White House get its inflection point on the Gulf spill?... Joe Barton and the GOP’s worst day since health care passed in March… Obama -- once again -- tries to sell the stimulus, this time at a 12:15 pm ET speech from Columbus, OH… Meg Whitman’s pivot on immigration… First Read’s Top 10 candidate gaffes of 2010… Sharron Angle meets the press (and it’s not pretty)… And Mitt Romney and Jenny Sanford stump for Nikki Haley.

    From Mark Murray and Domenico Montanaro
    *** The week’s inflection point: Looking back at the past week, the White House might have been right: The week did serve as an inflection point in its handling of the BP spill. A two-day visit to the Gulf, a primetime Oval Office speech (though panned by pundits), the $20 billion BP escrow account, and GOP Rep. Joe Barton’s gift yesterday to Democrats all served to change the direction of the story about the spill -- at least temporarily. In Washington, the questions “Why isn’t the administration doing more?” or “Is Obama on top of this situation?” or “Will BP pay for the damages?” have died down.

    *** “Plug the damn hole”: What remains, however, is this central question: “When will the leak finally be stopped?” Only until that is answered will the spill no longer be a political problem for the White House. As one Democratic strategist emails First Read: "Obama could go on WWE and pin Tony Hayward to the mat and it wouldn't matter. We stop the leak and I think the improving political environment for us starts to get more notice" -- referring to better economic news and the GOP’s slate of very conservative candidates this fall.

    *** Barton’s three different apologies: For Republicans, yesterday might have been their worst day since health care passed in March. Barton’s statement that BP's $20 billion fund was a White House “shakedown,” and then his apology to BP, made it seem that he was more concerned about the oil company than about relief for Gulf residents. Barton’s “shakedown”/"slush fund" remark wasn't isolated. Republicans Tom Price and Michele Bachmann said similar things about the $20 billion account, and a writer from the Heritage Foundation also justified Barton’s comments. But realizing that political damage had been done, GOP House leaders -- who rarely back down from a political fight with the administration -- said that Barton was wrong and threatened to strip his plum position on the House Energy Committee if he didn’t retreat. The Texas congressman eventually apologized twice (once for being misconstrued, the other time retracting his apology to BP).

    *** Hello, Columbus: Moving from the Gulf spill to the U.S. economy, President Obama heads to Columbus, OH, where he will deliver a speech at 12:15 pm ET marking the economic stimulus’ 10,000th road project. Yet despite evidence that the stimulus has helped stabilized the economy and create jobs, the public isn't buying the law. In last month’s NBC/WSJ poll, just 38% said the stimulus was helping to improve the economy or helping to improve the economy in the future. A plurality, 42%, said it would not help the economy. Those numbers are the reason why the president is still trying to sell the stimulus.

    *** Meg Whitman’s pivot on immigration: In California, Meg Whitman is up with a new Spanish-language TV ad that strikes a very different tone than her TV ads from the GOP gubernatorial primary. The new ad, per NBC’s Sarah Blackwill, says (when translated in English): "Meg Whitman is a different kind of candidate. She is a business leader ready to fix Sacramento, ready to create more jobs and better schools in California. She respects our community. She is the Republican who opposes the Arizona law and opposed Prop. 187. She means real change..." But during the primary, Whitman ran a radio ad featuring former California Gov. Pete Wilson (R), the man behind Prop. 187, who said in it: “Meg Whitman will be as tough as nails on illegal immigration.” And in a TV ad during the primary, Whitman looked directly at the camera and said she opposes amnesty and will send National Guard troops to the border, if necessary. http://bit.ly/dboJ2H, http://bit.ly/brAQjX, and http://bit.ly/dq8RoD

    *** More midterm news: In Colorado, GOP Senate candidate Jane Norton has a tough Web video hitting Obama on national security… In Nevada, don’t miss a local CBS affiliate reporter trying to ask Sharron Angle about her positions on the issues… In South Carolina, Mitt Romney and Jenny Sanford stump for Nikki Haley… Also in the state, "S.C. Democrats rejected a protest of last week’s U.S. Senate primary vote tonight, meaning unknown Alvin Greene, who is facing a felony obscenity charge, is set to represent the party against Republican U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint," The State newspaper writes.

    Countdown to UT primary and NC and SC run-offs: 4 days
    Countdown to AL run-off: 25 days
    Countdown to GA primary: 32 days
    Countdown to OK primary: 39 days
    Countdown to KS and MO primaries: 46 days
    Countdown to CO and CT primaries: 53 days
    Countdown to Election Day 2010: 137 days

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  • Congress: I'm sorry, so sorry...

    AP

    BP CEO Tony Hayward (left). Rep. Joe Barden R-Texas (right).

    The Washington Post on all the apologies yesterday -- by BP CEO Tony Hayward and GOP Rep. Joe Barton: “The much-anticipated congressional hearing Thursday on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill came down to a single word: Sorry. In a room packed with cameras and spectators, BP chief executive Tony Hayward said, ‘I am deeply sorry’ for the lost lives and environmental damage from his company's doomed offshore rig.”

    “But the British businessman's apology before the House Energy and Commerce Committee was upstaged by another one. Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex.) apologized to BP, saying the deal made at the White House Wednesday to set up an escrow fund to cover oil-spill damages and claims amounted to a ‘$20 billion shakedown.’”

    "The top three House Republican leaders condemned Rep. Joe Barton’s (R-Texas) apology to BP and reiterated that the oil giant should pay to clean up the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and compensate Gulf Coast residents who have been hurt by it," Roll Call says. "The leaders' joint statement Thursday came after Barton met with Minority Leader John Boehner (Ohio) and Minority Whip Eric Cantor (Va.) in the afternoon and was told to either apologize or he would lose his position as ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, according to GOP leadership aides familiar with the exchange. Barton issued an apology later in the afternoon."

    "Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.), whose Pensacola district is among the most affected areas in the Gulf by the oil spill, condemned Barton for apologizing to BP CEO Tony Hayward during a committee meeting on Thursday," The Hill reports. "'I condemn Mr. Barton’s statement. Mr. Barton’s remarks are out of touch with this tragedy and I feel his comments call into question his judgment and ability to serve in a leadership on the Energy and Commerce Committee,' Miller said in a statement. 'He should step down as ranking member of the Committee.'"

    The Washington Post's Milbank observes, "There, in front of the cameras, one of the most senior Republicans in the House had suffered an acute attack of Obama Derangement Syndrome. The president had just secured from a British oil company a promise to set aside $20 billion to help devastated Americans -- and Barton had sided with the firm that has devastated the Gulf of Mexico. Suddenly, the hearing was not about Hayward."

    The Hill: "A senior Republican gift-wrapped a gaffe about the oil spill and handed it to President Barack Obama on Thursday, ceding the GOP’s advantage on a disaster that has plagued the administration for weeks and called its competence into question."

    The liberal group Americans United for Change piles on Joe Barton with this Web video -- and even brings in Bernie Madoff?

    We’re all Jim Bunnings now? "A time-sensitive tax extenders bill stalled in the Senate on Thursday, creating another political headache for Senate Democrats as they seek to extend jobless benefits and middle-class tax breaks that have already expired," Roll Call writes, adding, "The vote was 56-40, and 60 votes were needed to beat back a GOP-led filibuster."

  • Obama agenda: Obama and business

    The New York Times has an interesting take on the Obama White House's extraction of that $20 billion fund from BP, as well as Joe Barton's criticism of it. "With that display of raw arm-twisting, Mr. Obama reinvigorated a debate about the renewed reach of government power, or, alternatively, the power of government overreach. It is an argument that has come to define Mr. Obama’s first 18 months in office, and one that Mr. Obama clearly hopes to make a central issue in November’s midterm elections."

    "To Mr. Obama, this is all about rebalancing the books after two decades in which multinationals sometimes acted like mini-states beyond government reach... When Representative Joe L. Barton, the Texas Republican, opened hearings Thursday about the gulf oil gusher by accusing Mr. Obama of an unconstitutional 'shakedown' of BP to create a “slush fund,” he was giving voice to an alternative narrative, a bubbling certainty in corporate suites that Mr. Obama, whenever faced with crisis that involves private-sector players, reveals himself to be viscerally antibusiness. The reality, not surprisingly, is more complex."

    "The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee says the Senate likely will vote in July on confirming Elena Kagan to a seat on the Supreme Court," AP reports.

    Peggy Noonan, who must have filed her Friday column on Wednesday morning, calls Obama a "snakebit" president and compares him to Jimmy Carter. "The president is starting to look snakebit. He's starting to look unlucky, like Jimmy Carter. It wasn't Mr. Carter's fault that the American diplomats were taken hostage in Tehran, but he handled it badly, and suffered. He defied the rule of the King in 'Pippin,' the Broadway show of Carter's era, who spoke of 'the rule that every general knows by heart, that it's smarter to be lucky than it's lucky to be smart.' Mr. Carter's opposite was Bill Clinton, on whom fortune smiled with eight years of relative peace and a worldwide economic boom. What misfortune Mr. Clinton experienced he mostly created himself. History didn't impose it."

    "But Mr. Obama is starting to look unlucky, and–file this under Mysteries of Leadership–that is dangerous for him because Americans get nervous when they have a snakebit president. They want presidents on whom the sun shines."

  • The midterms: The re-runs

    "Ousted congressmen trying to reclaim their old seats is a hallmark of any election year, but the anti-establishment political climate is adding to the challenge for this year’s class of reruns," The Hill reports. "Five former Republican House members are mounting comeback attempts in 2010, hoping to capitalize on voter dissatisfaction with a sluggish economy and Democratic control of government. Two other GOP ex-congressmen -- Mike Sodrel (Ind.) and Richard Pombo (Calif.) -- have already lost in primaries. On the Democratic side, former Rep. Ed Case (Hawaii) lost in a three-way special election."

    COLORADO: Politico reports: "Democratic veterans in Colorado plan to target Republican Senate candidate Jane Norton Friday for posting what they'll call a 'deeply offensive web video that seeks to exploit the tragic events of September 11th and politicize the brave service of our men and women in uniform.' In the video, Norton warns that 'liberals in Washington seem to have forgotten' -- at which point the screen goes dark, and the sound of airplane jets is briefly heard before Norton returns to view and concludes: 'But we haven't. Let's win the war on terror.'" Here's the Norton video, which at about 30 seconds in, you hear the planes flying. The ticking is reminiscent of Tom Tancredo's ad that depicts a mall about to explode.)

    FLORIDA: "While it’s not surprising for candidates in a tight race to sling mud at each other, Florida real estate mogul Jeff Greene took the unusual step Thursday of buying television advertising in the Washington, D.C. market," CQ Politics writes. "The ads are directed at the House ethics committee. Greene, who is running for the Democratic Senate nomination, wants the committee to open an investigation into his primary opponent, Rep. Kendrick B. Meek."

    NEVADA: Sharron Angle hasn't taken questions from the traditional media. She took a few yesterday at a local event and had a rough time trying to explain (or not explain) her views on "transitioning out" of Social Security and creating personal accounts despite the 2008 financial collapse, eliminating the EPA during the Gulf oil spill, and a previous statement in which she said, "If this Congress keeps going the way it is, people are really looking towards those Second Amendment remedies." According to the local reporter, her campaign later called him an "idiot" and "another term that can't be repeated." (Hat tip: Political Wire.)

    The left-leaning Web site Talking Points Memo unearths a 2004 questionnaire in which Angle said she was undecided about the Patriot Act and "she supported making campaign spending reports '100% voluntary.'"

    OKLAHOMA: Rep. Mary Fallin looks on track to be the state's next governor. She leads her GOP primary opponents and Democrats in the general election in a new Sooner poll.

    SOUTH CAROLINA: "S.C. Democrats rejected a protest of last week’s U.S. Senate primary vote tonight, meaning unknown Alvin Greene, who is facing a felony obscenity charge, is set to represent the party against Republican U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint," The State writes. The party's executive committee "voted 33-7 to uphold the election result." http://bit.ly/aAdMAc

    Here's the (Columbia) State's lead: "State Rep. Nikki Haley of Lexington County says she is not as close with Gov. Mark Sanford as many think." The paper lists "40 things you should know about her." On Thursday, the paper did 40 things to know about Rep. Gresham Barrett.

    AP also profiles Haley: "Just months ago, Haley, 38, was an obscure state lawmaker. Now she's the odds-on favorite to become the state's first female governor. ... Haley is set to appear Friday with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and his wife, Ann, who has battled multiple sclerosis and other health problems and doesn't campaign frequently. On the trip with them: Attorney General Henry McMaster, a former state GOP chairman who had been seen as the man to beat but came in third in the primary. Haley will also be joined on the campaign trail by Jenny Sanford, ex-wife of Gov. Mark Sanford, who became hugely popular here after her husband disappeared from the state last summer and returned to confess an affair with an Argentine woman."

    UTAH: Roll Call previews Tuesday's runoff between attorney Mike Lee and Tim Bridgewater, who has Bob Bennett's endorsement: "With just five days to go, the GOP Senate primary in Utah between businessman Tim Bridgewater and lawyer Mike Lee is getting nasty -- at least by Beehive State standards. Lee’s campaign has challenged Bridgewater’s conservative credentials by insisting that his business interests were built with government earmarks and stimulus money. Some Lee backers are also drawing connections between Bridgewater and a controversial mailer that was distributed in the days before the convention that used a picture of Lee and the Mormon Temple.”

  • Pac-Man to the rescue?

    Can naturally occurring microbes help clean up the oil spill? Some experts say yes.

    Scientists say microbes, some of the smallest living things on Earth, can gobble up some of the oil, much like the pint-sized yellow chompers who swallow dots in the Pac-Man video game.

    "You take natural oil-eating microbes in the water and give them fertilizer to make them multiply and degrade the oil faster. Oil is a natural product. It's inherently biodegradable,'' Terry Hazen, microbial ecologist in the Earth Sciences Division of the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab in California, tells the Miamia Herald.

    Florida Gov. Charlie Crist on Thursday visited a Sarasota company that sells microbes that eat oil. BP says it's open to using them. And the federal government is contacting its pre-approved list of companies to see how quickly they can ramp up production.

    Read more here.

  • Poll: Obama more popular abroad than at home

    Pew Research Project

    From NBC's Ellie Hall
    While President Obama’s approval rating has slipped in the United States after the partisan fight over health care and during a struggling economy, a survey released today by the Pew Research Center indicates that Obama is more popular abroad than he is at home.

    It also suggests that his presidency has increased the United States' favorability in other countries, particularly in Europe, since the Bush years.

    The Pew Global Attitudes poll found that a majority of individuals in 16 of the 21 countries surveyed feel confident in Obama as an international leader. Ten of these countries, in fact, express a higher confidence in the president than America does (at 65%). Obama’s popularity remains high in Europe, especially in Germany (where he enjoys a 90% confidence rating), France (87%), and Great Britain (84%).

    That said, confidence in Obama fell in Asian countries. Still, more than seven in 10 in Japan (76%), South Korea (75%), and India (73%) approve of the president and his actions. Even in China, a slim majority of the population (52%) has confidence in the American president. Global support for Obama’s foreign policies is not as widespread as it was when he first took office in 2009, but still remains favorable in most countries.

    Also in the poll, 17 out of the 21 countries surveyed reported a very favorable or somewhat favorable opinion of the United States, including significant popularity increases over the past year in Russia (up 13%) and China (up 11%). The rehabilitation of the American image after the steep decline in popularity during the Bush presidency is especially visible in Western European nations, where American favorability ratings remained positive and relatively stable, with little change from last year’s numbers.

    “We are documenting a revival of the global image in many parts of the world ... reflecting confidence in Barack Obama. Opinions about the U.S. are now about as positive as they were at the beginning of the decade before George W. Bush took office,” says Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Project, noting the overall revival of America’s global image in the past year.

    Obama’s popularity abroad is directly responsible for the improved view of America internationally, Kohut added. “Analysis of the survey ... shows that this new attitude toward the United States is being driven by personal views of Obama and confidence in him. I don’t only mean style but confidence in him rather than opinions about his policies or expectations about specific things he is going to do.”

    Yet despite Obama’s repeated rhetorical efforts to promote approval of the United States in the Muslim world -- from his call to “seek a new way forward” in his inaugural address, to his speech to the Muslim world from Cairo last year -- Obama’s (and America’s) biggest decline in popularity over the past year occurred in predominately in Muslim countries. A majority of the population in five out of the six Muslim nations surveyed lack confidence in the president. The exception is Indonesia, where the president lived as a child. But even there Obama’s popularity has slipped 4% in the past year.

    It remains to be seen whether this overall improvement in the American global image will encourage other nations to support the United States in the implementation of American foreign policy. “World opinion likes the idea of Obama more than the reality of Obama,” said former GOP Sen. John Danforth, a co-chair of the Pew Global Attitudes Project, at a breakfast with reporters this morning. “The numbers fall off very dramatically the more concrete the issue…the harder the issue, the more concrete the problem, the more concrete the actions, the less support they receive.”

    Danforth, a former ambassador to the United Nations, debated the effect of the president’s popularity on America’s international relations with his fellow co-chair, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

    “It is going to be very important for [Obama] to translate his personal popularity into the actions that are supportive of a different agenda,” Albright said.

  • After meeting, Dems agree only on another meeting

    From NBC's Ken Strickland
    There was only one thing Senate Democrats reached consensus on at the conclusion of their closed door meeting on how to move forward on energy/climate change legislation: to have another meeting next week.

    Majority Leader Harry Reid said the hour long meeting was consumed by the presentations of various bills, but left no time for questions or discussion. Sens. Bingaman, Cantwell, Kerry/Lieberman, and Boxer made presentations of their bills.

    At a news conference with the senators, Reid acknowledged the challenge of trying to draft legislation that members of his party could coalesce.

    "There are many strong passions and arguments about the best way to achieve these goals and I'm always focused on what is possible, that's why I'm going to work with these ladies and gentlemen behind me," he said.

    But with only 59 votes in his caucus, Reid said he'd also need the "cooperation of brave Republicans."

    A bipartisan group of senator have been invited to the White House next week to discuss the issue.

  • U.S. welcomes Israel's ease of Gaza blockade

    From NBC's Courtney Kube
    A State Department spokesperson says that the U.S. "welcomes the general principles announced earlier today by the Israeli government," about easing the blockade of goods into Gaza.

    "They reflect the type of changes we've been discussing with our Israeli friends and Senator Mitchell, who is in the region, will continue working on them in the coming days," Mark Toner, director of the State Department's press office, said today. "As these principles get further developed and implemented, we're hopeful that the situation in Gaza will improve. We want to see an expansion of the scope and types of goods allowed into Gaza to address the Palestinians' legitimate needs for sustained humanitarian assistance and regular access for reconstruction materials, while addressing Israel's legitimate security needs."

    Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is meeting with Quartet Representative Tony Blair this afternoon, but the event is not open to press.

  • Holder defends role in BP escrow fund

    From NBC's Mike Kosnar
    At a press conference this morning in Washington, Attorney General Eric Holder responded to the accusations of a "shakedown" regarding the BP deal and the meeting at the White House.

    He said:

    "The criminal investigations and the civil investigations, those are walled off. The Justice Department, in the person of Tom Perelli, the associate attorney general, was very intimately involved in working out the deal with BP.

    Let me be clear: I don't apologize for the justice department's role in this matter. And I don't apologize for the way in which this administration has approached this question. We have dealt with this issue I think in a tough way, to ensure that Americans who did no wrong will be compensated, that we do all that we can to protect our environment and that not a penny comes from american taxpayers to do both of those things. So I think what we have done has been entirely appropriate."

  • US officials meet with 'Rocky Mountain Rambo'

    AP

    Gary Faulkner, the so-called "Rocky Mountain Rambo" pictured above in 2006, as provided by by the Larimer County, Colo. Sheriff's Office.

    From NBC's Courtney Kube
    Three members of the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan met with detained American Gary Faulkner in Islamabad earlier today. A State Department spokesperson could not say much about the meeting, citing privacy concerns, nor could he talk about Faulkner's health or whether the Embassy is arranging dialysis for him (his family has said that the Colorado man has kidney problems).

    State Department spokesperson Mark Toner would not speculate on why Faulkner was in Pakistan, nor confirm whether he was in fact hunting Osama bin Laden

    "It's unclear what he was doing in Pakistan and this is a legal matter for the Pakistanis to determine," Toner said.

  • Biden, Gibbs pounce on Barton's comments

    From NBC's Athena Jones
    The firestorm over a Texas Republican's apology to BP continued at today's White House press briefing, with Vice President Biden calling the remarks "incredibly insensitive" and "out of touch." White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs went further, suggesting that Rep. Joe Barton (R) might not be a suitable ranking member of a committee investigating the worst environmental disaster in American history.

    After joking about never saying what's on his mind, Biden responded to a question about Barton's characterization of the $20 billion escrow fund BP has agreed to establish for spill victims as a "shakedown." He called the congressman's remarks "astounding" and "outrageous," and urged people -- including those in Barton's home state of Texas -- to disassociate themselves from the comment.

    "I find it incredibly insensitive, incredibly out of touch," Biden said. "There's no shakedown. It's insisting on responsible conduct and a responsible response to something [BP] caused."

    Gibbs went even further when he questioned Barton's ability to participate in a congressional investigation into the BP incident. Barton is the ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which held today's hearing on BP, where Barton made the remarks.

    "I think Republicans are going to have to ask themselves whether Congressman Barton should be the ranking member of a committee that's doing what it's doing today -- given the fact that he believes we owe an apology to BP, rather than BP owing an apology to the Gulf," Gibbs said. "As somebody who is going to oversee, as we look into what the company is doing, to begin by apologizing to the company I think is an interesting way to start."

    The White House scored an important victory yesterday when BP agreed to establish the escrow fund -- contributing $5 billion a year for four years -- to cover economic damages from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico at its deep water drilling operation and to set up a $100 million foundation to help compensate idled oil workers suffering under a six-month moratorium on deep water exploratory drilling operations.

    In response to other Republican critics of the escrow fund who have called it a "big government initiative", Gibbs said "it's hard to tell what planet these people live on."

    Hours after the remarks heard round the Beltway, Barton delivered something like an apology for them. "If anything I've said this morning has been misconstrued... I want to apologize for that .. misconstruction," he said.

    Barton then released statement, which read: "I apologize for using the term 'shakedown' with regard to yesterday's actions at the White House in my opening statement this morning, and I retract my apology to BP. As I told my colleagues yesterday and said again this morning, BP should bear the full financial responsibility for the accident on their lease in the Gulf of Mexico. BP should fully compensate those families and businesses that have been hurt by this accident. BP and the federal government need to stop the leak, clean up the damage, and take whatever steps necessary to prevent a similar accident in the future. I regret the impact that my statement this morning implied that BP should not pay for the consequences of their decisions and actions in this incident."

  • Hearing as campaign soundbites? Not exactly

    From msnbc.com's Carrie Dann
    The strong words of the House members sternly quizzing BP CEO Tony Hayward today may seem made for a soaringly soundtracked “Your Congressperson fights for you” campaign ad.

    But most of the lawmakers basking in today’s news spotlight appear to be pretty safe when it comes to the November election.

    Of the 19 members of the House investigations subcommittee hosting the hearing (counting ex officio members), only two are running for re-election in seats not rated as “solid” by the Cook Political Report.

    (Cook rates the race in Arkansas’ 4th district, where Democrat Mike Ross of Arkansas will face former Huckabee aide Beth Anne Rankin in the November election, as “likely D.” Rep. Betty Sutton of Ohio is heading into what’s shaping up to look like a tough race against car dealer Tom Ganley.)

    Two of the members of the subcommittee who could have faced electoral woes are retiring. After becoming a flashpoint for activists on both sides of the abortion debate, subcommittee chairman Bart Stupak of Michigan announced in April that he would not run again. And committee member Rep. Parker Griffith, who switched parties to become a Republican last December, lost his Alabama GOP primary on June 1.

  • Barton retracts apology to BP

    From NBC's Domenico Montanaro and Shawna Thomas
    Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) has apologized -- for the third time today.

    This time, he apologized for apologizing to BP. Earlier, during testimony, he apologized "if anything I've said this morning has been misconstrued."

    He said, "And if anything I've said this morning has been misconstrued ... I want to apologize for that ... misconstruction."

    But now Barton has put out a written statement explicitly apologizing for his original comments this morning and went so far as to "retract my apology to BP."

    Here's his statement:

    "I apologize for using the term 'shakedown' with regard to yesterday's actions at the White House in my opening statement this morning, and I retract my apology to BP. As I told my colleagues yesterday and said again this morning, BP should bear the full financial responsibility for the accident on their lease in the Gulf of Mexico. BP should fully compensate those families and businesses that have been hurt by this accident. BP and the federal government need to stop the leak, clean up the damage, and take whatever steps necessary to prevent a similar accident in the future. I regret the impact that my statement this morning implied that BP should not pay for the consequences of their decisions and actions in this incident."

  • DCCC buys anti-Barton Facebook ads

    A screen shot of an ad bought by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, hitting Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) for his comments today.

    From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
    Keyword "Barton" on Facebook and up pops an ad (on the right) that says, "Stop Apologizing to BP!" with Rep. Joe Barton's face on it.

    The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is responsible for it, becoming the latest Democratic political arm to try and capitalize on the Texas congressman's comments this morning.

    The committee is not disclosing the buy at this point. But they say the Facebook ads are projected to get 20 million ad views today. The committee has also set up a Web site to try and raise money off the comments.

    “The DCCC will hold these out-of-touch House Republicans accountable who have no shame when it comes to jumping to the defense of BP and Big Oil,” said Ryan Rudominer, spokesman for the committee.

    The DCCC also says it is also "sending out targeted press releases to House Republicans and Republican candidates on the topic."

    Barton's seat is not competitive this fall. He was first elected in 1984 and has won with more than 60% in every election for more than 20 years, since 1988. But Democrats appear intent on getting all Republicans on the record on this.

  • White House slams Barton comments as 'shameful'

    AP

    Texas Rep. Joe Barton (R)

    From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
    The White House, in a rare move, blasted comments made by Rep. Joe Barton, who criticized the administration's efforts to create the BP-funded $20 billion escrow fund.

    The Texas congressman, who is the ranking Republican member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee (in other words, he would be the chairman if Republicans took control of the House), said at this morning's hearing with BP CEO Tony Hayward that he is "ashamed of what happened at the White House yesterday."

    He even "apologized" to BP for the establishment of the fund, which would pay for oil spill damages in the Gulf region. Barton called it a "slush fund," stemming from a "shakedown"

    Here's the White House's full statement.

    Statement by the Press Secretary on Congressman Joe Barton's Apology to BP

    "What is shameful is that Joe Barton seems to have more concern for big corporations that caused this disaster than the fishermen, small business owners and communities whose lives have been devastated by the destruction. Congressman Barton may think that a fund to compensate these Americans is a 'tragedy', but most Americans know that the real tragedy is what the men and women of the Gulf Coast are going through right now. Members from both parties should repudiate his comments."

    [EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to a glitch in our software, the original version of this post, put up around noon ET, mysteriously disappeared. Our apologies to our readers.]

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