Pres Obama visits South America

 Pres. Obama faced domestic criticism of his trip to South America as the ongoing disaster looms in Japan and the situation in Libya is all but uncertain. 

Pres. Obama travels to Asia

Pres. Obama travels to Asia for Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Singapore while also dealing with a decsion to send additional troops to Afghanistan.

Health Care reform on life support

Pres. Obama today stumped in Montana to shore support for Health care reform. The road to Health care reform has been a bumpy ride for him. Several weeks ago the blue dog democrats forced a change in the bill that would be strip language regarding government run health care. Members of congress have been pelted with questions from constituents about the cost of health care and general concern among many that the government is spending too much money without their consent. As the president pushes for health care reform democrats could be vulnerable if they pass a bill that is not politically popular that could affect the 2010 mid term elections.

Pres. Obama pushes for Health Care Reform

President Obama continued to press the congress for his passage for health care reform. He stated it was part of his strategy to turn the economy around. Meanwhile on Capitol Hill several committees have wrestled with several bills designed to give more affordable access to health carewhich has been unreachable to approximately 43 milllion Americans. The White House has urged congress to get a bill to the president desk before the August recess.

Obama picks Sotomayer for Supreme Court

President Obama announced his first pick for the US Supreme Court to fill the vacancy of retired Justice David Souter. Sotomayer is currently a federal appeals court judge.

Obama gets first Supreme Court appointment

With the retirement of Justice David Souter President Obama will have his first opportunity at naming a Justice to the highest court. The president himself is a lawyer and former law professor. Rumor has it that Obama is likely to pick a woman or minority to fill the vacancy.

Fed Chairman says Economy will rebound

In statement to Congress Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke stated that the economy would likely rebound later this year. He however cautioned his remarks stating that this recovery would be slow and not to expect great results any time soon. Most economic experts believe that the economy will stop getting worse.

H1N1 Flu

The US government renamed the Swine Flu because of its false implications to the pork industry. Pork prices fell by almost 20% due to confusion of the swine flu which has killed several in Mexico City. Many countries have already confirmed cases of the flu which has many symptoms of the common flu. Health officials have advised anyone having the symptoms to stay home but also stated that last year 36,000 were killed by the traditional flu. In a unrelated story the Health and Human Services Secretary the Governor of Kansas was sworn in as well as the former Governor of Washington state for Commerce Secretary.

Congress to bailout Wall Street

The Congressional leaders are meeting this weekend to hash out an agreement that will save the US economy and global economy from collapse. Financial ananlysts say that if the deal is not reached soon there could be very serious consequences. While the public is not liking a multibillion dollar bailout of Wall Street. Most believe that this is the only way to curtail a fiscal crisis since the Great Depression. The importance of this is to save Main street, keep jobs and credit flowing throughout the economy. Banks are holding on to bad debt that keeps them from lending to businesses and consumers. The government would buy this bad debt until the real estate market turns around in few years and turn a small profit. There is also a concern is that foreign investors may pull out of the US if they do not believe that the economy will turn around soon.

Russia sends planes to Venezuela

In the latest round of political and diplomatic sparing the US and Russia may be involved in round 2. Round 2 you say, yes, that is round of 2 of the infamous cold war. The first showdown was in the Republic of Georgia and recently has gotten involved Venezuela. The United States and Venezuela have sent their respective diplomats home in protest of their countries recent positions. Furtherin the strained relationship is Russia's decision to send military planes to Venezuela.

Ike makes landfall on Texas gulf coast

Hurricane Ike has made landfall on the Texas gulf coast. Residents of Galveston were urged to evacuate and Houston were advised to stay.

Candidates Remember 9/11

In a moment of bipartisanship during a presidential campaign Senators Barack Obama and John McCain joined together to remember the victims of 9/11. Both candidates set a side this time because they said this is about being Americans first.

Hurricane Ike to bear down on Gulf Coast

Obama vs McCain

Senator John McCain has been the presumptive republican nominee for quite sometime but Senator Obama is likely the democratic nominee at this point. The math just doesnt work for Hillary and it would be impossible for her to win the nomination barring a major catastrophe by the Obama campaign. Although Obama has waged a much better campaign than Hillary. Obama has surpassed Hillary in virtually every area number of delegates, popular vote and super delegates. The question will be when will Hillary exit the stage. Will she go out willingly and gracefully or be forced off the stage.

Clinton, Obama continue tussle

Senators Clinton and Obama continue on the campaign trail as both try to gain the endorsement of the Democratic party. Currently Obama has a slight lead in the popular vote and delegate count. Pennsylvania is the next biggest state where Clinton currently has the lead. Some democratic insiders are privately concerned about the consequences of not having a nominee going into the national convention in Denver. While the democrats slugg it out republican nominee Senator John McCain continue his campaign to reintroduce himself to America and to convince republicans that he is truly a conservative candidate.

Wisconsin primary expected to be close for Dems.

Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are locked in battle for delegates in Wisconsin as both try to gain momentum to be the standard bearer for the democratic party. Both candidates are close in delegate count but Obama has won the last eight states giving him a significant momentum advantage. Hillary's firewall is expected to be on March 4th with delegate rich Ohio and Texas.
Senator John McCain is expected to lock up the nomination soon as he is coming close to the 1191 delegates needed for the republican endorsement. Former President George Bush endorsed McCain in Texas signaling that party leaders are ready to wrap this thing up. While Huckabee remains in the race he is scene as a long shot and would be statistically difficult to overcome McCains lead.

Castro resigns

After serving nearly 50 years as Cuba's leader Castro announced he will not accept another term as the leader of Cuba. His brother Raoul is expected to fill the vacancy. Castro has not been seen publicly for quite sometime.

Obama and McCain likely nominees

Senator Barack Obama and John McCain are likely to be their respective party nominees come this fall. Although the race for democrats is much tighter than the republicans. Huckabee is hopelessly falling further behind in the delegate count, momentum and endorsements by key GOP officials. A McCain rival former presidential candidate Mitt Romney also endorsed McCain. There could be a battle for delegates and super delegates as the race for the democratic primary remains close. Obama however continues to build momentum while Hillary faulters.

Congress passes stimulus package

In a rare moment of bipartisanship the House and Senate passed a stimulus package in hopes of staving off or slowing down a recession. Some were concerned that the Senate would add more items to the bill to which Treasury Secretary Paulson was concerned that the bill would get too big and unpassable. Bush had warned congress earlier that he wanted a clean bill to sign. Checks are expected to begin in early May and will be based on the 2007 tax return.

Candidates gear up for Super Tuesday

With no clear front runners political experts believe that Super Tuesday will be very important for the candidates vying for their parties nomination. Candidates will be forced to decide which states they will hit as 22 states will be up for grabs. States have pushed up their primary or caucus dates in order to have more influence in the process. Some state parties have been penalized and delagate counts when violating the national parties directives.