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Last time the Obama Administration pitched its plan for economic recovery, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was ridiculed for his lack of details and shaky performance. This week, Geithner was mostly hidden from the cameras and Obama did the selling. Political reporter Peter Nicholas says the Pitchman-in-Chief was pretty much everywhere.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a.k.a. the Stimulus bill, passed last month in a firestorm of debate, but how many people have actually sat down to read the whole thing? The New Yorker's Steve Coll is doing just that, and blogging along the way.
Rush Limbaugh's keynote speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in DC last weekend received much media attention and left pundits wondering if he's the de facto leader of the republican party? A question the White House was more than happy to discuss. But Limbaugh wasn't the only radio professional at CPAC. We too were curious about the future of conservatism and its future media message. So Bob attended and came back with this report.
During his campaign, President Obama criticized the Bush Administration's profligate use of the State Secrets Privilege. But this week, lawyers for the Obama administration invoked that rule in an ongoing trial. Slate's Dahlia Lithwick has some possible explanations for the shift.
When President Obama won his fight on Thursday to keep his beloved Blackberry, White House communications leapt headlong into the 21st century. But technology and open-government expert Ari Schwartz says that with technological progress comes great responsibility.
The inaugural address is one of the first tests of the incoming president; a rhetorical declaration that is supposed to speak to the moment, address a world audience, inspire with eloquence and stand the test of time. Harvard historian and New Yorker contributor Jill Lepore explains the stakes for President Barack Obama and the lyrical lessons of the past.
Robert Gibbs, tapped by President-elect Obama as the new press secretary, will guide the administration's relationship with the media. But New York Times reporter Mark Leibovich says Gibbs' combative style may be a surprise to those expecting the transparency and openness promised during the election.
It’s that time of year again, the season of the presidential pardon. Much used and little understood it’s the one truly discretionary power of the president. Pardon historian P.S. Ruckman explains why the get-out-of-jail-free card is a constant subject of fascination and frustration for the public and the press.
