A SUMMARY OF WHAT’S IN THE MAJOR U.S. NEWSPAPERS / Obama: Bankers Did a Bad, Bad Thing

 

By Daniel Politi

Just in case the recent flood of depressing economic indicators hasn’t been enough to convey how great this recession really is, the Washington Post leads with more data that came down the pipeline yesterday. Sales of new homes plunged, 13,000 U.S. jobs were slashed, corporate earnings went deep in the red, and unemployment increased. The New York Times leads with President Obama harshly criticizing Wall Street bankers for receiving nearly $20 billion in bonuses last year even as the economy collapsed. “That is the height of irresponsibility,” Obama said. “It is shameful.”

A SUMMARY OF WHAT’S IN THE MAJOR U.S. NEWSPAPERS / Republicans Just Say No to Obama

By Daniel Politi

The House approved the $819 billion stimulus package, but President Obama’s efforts to bring Republicans to his side didn’t pay off. The bill passed without a single Republican vote, and 11 Democrats also opposed the measure. The Los Angeles Times declares that the package is “the largest attempt since World War II to use the federal budget to redirect the course of the nation’s economy.” The Washington Post specifies that the price tag is larger “than the combined total cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan so far,” and the Wall Street Journal points out the cost of the bill is “almost equal to the entire cost of annual federal spending under Congress’s discretion.”

A SUMMARY OF WHAT’S IN THE MAJOR U.S. NEWSPAPERS / Republicans Refuse To Play Ball on Stimulus

By Daniel Politi

 

All the papers give front-page play to the massive economic stimulus package that will come up for a vote in the House today, which USA Today says is President Obama’s “first test of the bipartisanship he pledged in his campaign.” Obama visited Capitol Hill yesterday to urge Republican lawmakers to support the $825 billion stimulus plan, but most Republicans are still unconvinced even as they were careful to praise the president for listening to their concerns.

A SUMMARY OF WHAT’S IN THE MAJOR U.S. NEWSPAPERS / Fed May Become Great Overseer

By Daniel Politi

All the papers give front-page play to the massive economic stimulus package that will come up for a vote in the House today, which USA Today says is President Obama’s “first test of the bipartisanship he pledged in his campaign.” Obama visited Capitol Hill yesterday to urge Republican lawmakers to support the $825 billion stimulus plan, but most Republicans are still unconvinced even as they were careful to praise the president for listening to their concerns.

Blagojevich: I’m the victim of plot to raise taxes

Launching an all-out media blitz as his impeachment trial draws near, Gov. Rod Blagojevich compared himself Friday to an honest, hardworking cowboy and said he was about to be lynched by a band of black-hatted political insiders eager to raise taxes.

 

After keeping mostly out of the public eye since his arrest on federal corruption charges, Blagojevich reversed course with a series of interviews and public statements portraying himself as the victim of vengeful lawmakers eager to toss him out of office.

 

23 ene 09/Media analysis/ Fighting Terror, Obama Style

By Daniel Politi, Slate Magazine

The Washington Post leads with a look at how congressional Republicans are increasingly raising grievances about the economic-stimulus plan that President Obama wants to pass with broad bipartisan support. Republicans say Democratic lawmakers are high on power and have written the $850 billion legislation largely by themselves while ignoring their concerns that many items included in the draft bill wouldn’t do much to stimulate the economy. The New York Times leads with Obama’s nominee for treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, accusing the Chinese government of “manipulating” its currency, suggesting the new administration will be more confrontational in dealing with Beijing’s controversial exchange-rate policies.