Obama

Obama is still campaigning

Sheila Liaugminas | 09 March 2010

Throughout the past year and more so in recent times, some analysts have said Barack Obama is much more skilled at campaigning than governing.  He likes to take issues directly to the people and whip up emotional reaction in the crowds through commanding rhetoric. But that routine has grown more transparent. Just recently, MSNBC noted Obama is trying to tap into the anger his administration has caused and lead the call for change. Even though what the people want is change from his administration’s politics.

Obama’s shifting strategy

Sheila Liaugminas | 04 March 2010

His rapid trajectory of political success started on the streets and in neighborhood gatherings on the south side of Chicago, and now the Community Organizer-in-Chief is applying his street savvy instincts again to the conditions he finds people in, which is change they didn’t count on.

The Summit and the Fall

Sheila Liaugminas | 01 March 2010

Most of the media ignored last Thursday’s health care summit because, frankly, the president and top Democrats didn’t come off so well, and it didn’t achieve its purpose. Was it a waste of time?

Political summit or theater?

Sheila Liaugminas | 26 February 2010

Before the health care ’summit’ began Thursday morning, there was plenty of media skepticism over whether Washington politicians, in the Congress and the administration, can actually put bitter partisanship aside and finally and responsibly deliberate over the people’s business. Consensus is that it’s doubtful.

The ‘real’ reason Bayh is leaving

Sheila Liaugminas | 18 February 2010

Actually, Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh made it perfectly and startlingly clear why he’s leaving Congress in the press conference he gave when he dropped that bombshell announcement. Washington is a mess, it’s broken, mired in partisan political bickering, and nothing’s getting done for the people. In fact, the business of running the nation’s affairs is just one more business that’s gone bankrupt.

Voters speak?

Sheila Liaugminas | 03 February 2010

What a bizarre primary Illinois just had. After the Chicago Tribune editors ran a series on the ’state of corruption’ urging voters in the strongest terms to grab their brooms and shovels, shoulder the sword, marshall their forces and get out the vote to clean up ‘politics as usual’ once and for all…….the primary went down with a record low turnout. With the majority of the voters staying home, what they said was “I don’t care”, which is equal to saying ‘let the status quo just be’…

Just call the budget…an investment

Sheila Liaugminas | 02 February 2010

Why didn’t the president think of that? After all, politicians are so good at spin. "“Don’t talk about the deficit as a historic deficit. Talk about it as a historic investment. Make the subject record unemployment relief, and record state relief, and record job spending, and record small business investments, and record tax cuts. Tell a positive story you want to defend rather than a negative story you want to apologize for."

Budget busting records

Sheila Liaugminas | 02 February 2010

This is where it gets wonkish, even for the most informed and actively engaged citizens. Health care battles are over for now (fickle Congress), and last weeks’ jobs emphasis has just been displaced by the Obama budget proposal for fiscal 2011.

State of Disunion

Sheila Liaugminas | 02 February 2010

The fallout from President Obama’s highly unusual address before the Joint Session of Congress and all branches of government and the American people last week is still generating buzz. What made it unusual was his rancor, blaming everyone but himself for failures in Washington and anger in the nation over the past year. It didn’t lift people up….it put them down. Starting with the previous administration, which is getting old. He has to own his office and what he’s done with it for the past year, and since he won’t, pundits are working overtime counting all the misleading or downright untrue statements he made.

SOTU in check

Sheila Liaugminas | 28 January 2010

That alone, the move by big media to fact-check the president’s State of the Union address, is almost as astonishing a reversal as was president Obama’s and the Democratic Congressional leadership’s since last Tuesday’s loss of Ted Kennedy’s seat in Massachusetts to a Republican, taking away their 60 seat majority.

NOW they say the hype was unwarranted

Sheila Liaugminas | 20 January 2010

On the car radio a couple of days ago, I caught an interesting interview on Beeb radio with Tina Brown about media in decline and President Obama in….well, decline. Brown now claims he should have never been so built up in the first place.

What a year

Sheila Liaugminas | 20 January 2010

In the aftermath of Tuesday’s Massachusetts election, today’s anniversary of President Obama’s inauguration has been all but overloooked in the media, although some did start their analysis early, like The Economist suggesting it’s time for Obama to get tough, after a year of being….just adequate. And not altogether consistent with his promises.

One year later

Sheila Liaugminas | 19 January 2010

Because you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression, we now have one year of the Obama presidency by which to judge the accuracy of our impressions of the man and his promises.

Mass. upheaval

Sheila Liaugminas | 19 January 2010

The health care bill making its way through the Senate is named after Ted Kennedy. Of all the ways it may yet be dismantled, the unlikeliest just happened Tuesday evening.

The Washington Circus

Sheila Liaugminas | 11 January 2010

As the Harry Reid affair continues to build steam and draw fire and counter-volleys among political partisans…..it’s getting to be the latest spectator sport.

You’re accountable for what you say

Sheila Liaugminas | 09 January 2010

Well, we have to add some qualifiers here. Some people are accountable for some things they say, under certain conditions, depending on who they offend.

This did not seem inevitable

Sheila Liaugminas | 21 December 2009

Is movement towards a third party inevitable?

It got him elected

Sheila Liaugminas | 21 December 2009

Regrettable if it turns out to be “a parody of leadership”.

‘People should be able to hold their government accountable’

Sheila Liaugminas | 16 November 2009

Early media coverage of President Obama’s visit to China wondered how widely his remarks there would be allowed to be heard because of strict censorship by that government.

‘There is no worship of Obama’

Sheila Liaugminas | 16 November 2009

Then he got to China. Here’s how the New York Times handicapped that visit.

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