George W. Bush

I was a bit surprised this morning to see an AP poll showing the President at a 60 percent approval rating, and the number of Americans saying he should be reelected above 50 percent. Numerous other polls have shown a small post-Osama bounce, but they've also shown his approval on the economy being exceptionally weak.

"Obama is rude and unresponsive to sister of 9/11 victim"

NLRB's Craig Becker: "Save Unions by 'Restraining Freedom of Capital'”

"Pawlenty Hopes ‘I’m Sorry’ Is Enough"

Yesterday, President Barack Obama announced his plans to run for reelection in 2012, 582 days before Election Day and before most major Republican opponents officially announced that they'd be entering the race. This is the earliest any incumbent president has officially signed up to run again.

Reports from Egypt say that protests across the country’s major cities are getting violent. And now the ruling National Democratic Party’s headquarters are on fire in Cairo (follow the live stream here). But even before the demonstrations that were held after Friday prayers today turned volatile, Egyptian authorities had turned up the heat. Here’s a disturbing YouTube video of a lone protestor shot in the back, presumably by security officials.

In his State of the Union address tonight, President Obama will reportedly issue a call for "responsible" efforts to reduce deficits (while simultaneously calling for new federal spending). In light of the President's expected rhetorical nod to fiscal responsibility, it's worth keeping in mind his record on deficits to date. When President Obama took office two years ago, the national debt stood at $10.626 trillion. It now stands at $14.071 trillion -- a staggering increase of $3.445 trillion in just 735 days (about $5 billion a day).

Decision Points
by George W. Bush
Crown, 512 pp., $35

George W. Bush made some news during a session with a small group of reporters and editors this morning at the Mandarin Hotel in Washington, D.C. Bush, who is touring the country to promote his new book, Decision Points, spoke candidly about a number of issues – past and current.

Berlin 

Observers of U.S.-German relations were probably not startled by former President Bush’s disclosure in his memoir, Decision Points, that former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder deceived the U.S. government about his pledge to support America’s toppling of Saddam's regime in Iraq.

Last night former president George W. Bush said in a speech: "I believe this country is engaged in an ideological struggle of a kind we have never seen before."

Peter Baker reports in the New York Times--"As Mission Shifts in Iraq, Risks Linger for Obama"--that President Obama has so far marked the official end of America's combat mission in Iraq only with a written statement, and one sentence at a pair of fund-raisers: "We are keeping the promise I made when I began my campaign for the presidency: by the end of this month, we will have removed 100,000 troops from Iraq, and our combat mission will be over in Iraq." But, Baker

“Breaking a Promise on Surveillance,” is the headline of a New York Times editorial this morning. At issue is an Obama administration proposal to allow the FBI to obtain lists of anyone’s email correspondents and web browsing history by issuing a National Security Letter without going to court.

“Breaking a Promise on Surveillance,” is the headline of a New York Times editorial this morning. At issue is an Obama administration proposal to allow the FBI to obtain lists of anyone’s email correspondents and web browsing history by issuing a National Security Letter without going to court.