We denizens of CHB emit, emote, and eviscerate (rhetorically), but just how much does the “outside world” really know about what’s up, politically? Apparently not much!
https://rawstory.com/2010/01/poll-americans-pretty-clueless-politics-world/
Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke won confirmation to a second term as the US central banker, despite sharp attacks on his role before the 2008 financial meltdown and in its aftermath.
After a bitter debate that roiled global stock markets, the US Senate voted 70-30 to approve Bernanke after easily dispatching an effort to block the nomination days before his term was to expire on Sunday.
President Barack Obama declared himself “gratified” by the vote and said Bernanke was needed because “while the worst of the storm has passed, its devastation remains and we have a lot of work to do to rebuild our economy.”
President Barack Obama is taking another swing at offering tax credits to companies that hire new workers, a plan that drew a cool reception from Congress last month despite the nation’s high unemployment rate.
With polls showing that jobs are Americans’ top priority, Obama cited the retooled plan in his State of the Union address, and he is to detail it Friday when he visits a small business and speaks to House Republicans meeting in Baltimore.
His proposal would give companies a $5,000 tax credit for each net new worker they hire in 2010. Businesses that increase wages or hours for their existing workers in 2010 would be reimbursed for the extra Social Security payroll taxes they would pay.
Trying to bury a year of polarization, President Barack Obama on Thursday escalated his appeal for politicians and voters alike to settle differences without tearing each other apart. His plea: “Let’s start thinking of each other as Americans first.”
Obama made sure to weave that message throughout his stop in Florida, one otherwise intended to promote his economic agenda by announcing $8 billion in high-speed rail awards.
Coming one day after his State of the Union address, and one day before meeting with House Republican leaders with whom he continues to battle, Obama’s emphasis on civility was a nod to political reality. He needs Republicans more than ever to get his agenda passed, and he is getting saddled with more public blame for the partisanship he promised to change.
President Barack Obama’s health care appeal failed to break the congressional gridlock Thursday, dimming hopes for millions of uninsured Americans. Democrats stared down a political nightmare — getting clobbered for voting last year for ambitious, politically risky bills, yet having nothing to show for it in November.
The grim reality opened a divide between the rank and file and congressional leaders, who insisted health care would get done, even though last week’s special election in Massachusetts denied Democrats the 60-vote majority they need to deliver in the Senate. Many Democrats saw a problem with no clear solution.
“It’s very possible that health care is just a stalemate and you can’t solve it this year,” said Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark.
If the Massachusetts special election was a kick in the shins for President Barack Obama, the political turmoil in Illinois, his home state, is a pain in the neck that never seems to go away.
His former Senate seat, already stained by an ethics scandal, is a major takeover target for Republicans. So is the governor’s office.
Going into Tuesday’s Illinois primary, the first of the 2010 campaign season, Democrats are in disarray, with no political heavyweights in their lineup for the Senate seat that Obama gave up for the White House.
Losing it would be a bigger personal embarrassment for the president than Republican Scott Brown’s upset victory in Massachusetts, which took away the late Edward M. Kennedy’s Senate seat.