Stephen Dinan

Obama says he’ll fight for tax cut

President Obama says he's still committed to middle-class tax cuts and will fight Congress to get them passed and made permanent.

March 30, 2009

Obama says he’ll fight for tax cuts

President Obama says he's still committed to his middle-class tax cuts and will fight Congress to get them passed and made permanent.

March 29, 2009

McCain: Public financing is ‘dead’

Sen. John McCain, an architect of campaign-finance reform who got walloped by a candidate armed with more than $750 million, predicts that no one will ever again accept federal matching funds to run for the nation's highest office.

March 29, 2009

McCain: Obama breaks promise of bipartisanship

EXCLUSIVE: Sen. John McCain says President Obama is breaking campaign promises he made to the American people and has passed up numerous opportunities to reach out to Republicans.

March 28, 2009

Harry Reid: Justice Roberts lied to Congress

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Friday that Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. lied to Congress during his confirmation hearings by pretending to be open-minded about his judicial philosophy.

March 28, 2009

Obama: Taliban and al Qaeda must be stopped

UPDATED: President Obama on Friday announced he will send 4,000 more troops this spring to Afghanistan, saying the situation is "increasingly perilous" and pledging U.S. aid for Pakistan as part of an international diplomatic effort.

March 27, 2009

U.S. boosting force in Afghanistan

President Obama on Friday will order 4,000 more military advisers to Afghan forces and look to forge an international diplomatic coalition determined to dismantle al Qaeda in Pakistan and root out the Taliban in Afghanistan. ]]>

March 27, 2009

Senate, House budgets ‘98% the same’ as Obama’s

The White House declared victory Wednesday saying the House and Senate budget proposals are "98 percent the same" as President Obama requested.

March 25, 2009

U.S. readies plan for drug cartel threat

The federal government has begun planning what it would do if the Mexican government fails in its fight with drug cartels and the United States has to deal with a broken government and refugees streaming across the border.

March 25, 2009

Deficit to hit $9.3 trillion in next decade

Staggering numbers released Friday show President Obama's new budget will nearly double the cumulative deficit over the next decade to $9.3 trillion, damaging plans to overhaul health care and boost alternative energy.

March 21, 2009

Obama’s budget doubles deficit in 10 years

Staggering budget numbers released Friday showed President Obama's budget plans will nearly double the cumulative deficit over the next 10 years, higher than the president himself projected and damaging his ambitious plans to overhaul health care and boost sources of alternative energy.

March 20, 2009

Aides attempt to cover for Obama

To hear his camp tell it, President Obama has been in the dark about at least two issues that broiled into controversies this week. Republicans are jumping at the chance to cast doubts about the White House's operations.

March 20, 2009

Treasury cleared way for AIG bonuses

The Obama administration and one of its key allies in Congress belatedly acknowledged Wednesday that they were responsible more than a month ago for clearing the way for large bonuses to be paid inside taxpayer-supported companies like AIG, undercutting the White House's attempts to distance itself from a growing political embarrassment.

March 19, 2009

Obama names first court pick

President Obama named his first judicial nomination Tuesday, tapping a federal district judge from Indiana to serve on a Midwest federal appeals court and making good on his goal of working with senators to find consensus picks.

March 18, 2009

Economy a likely blame game

With the economy still teetering, Republicans and Democrats are engaged in a high-stakes game of blame fixing, all with an eye to preparing voters to pin the blame on the donkey - or elephant - before the next election.

March 17, 2009

GOP reverses stance on filibusters

When it comes to judicial nominations, Republican senators are finding themselves defending hills they sought to storm just a few years ago.

March 17, 2009

Obama to foreign investors: Have confidence

President Obama said Saturday that investors can have "absolute confidence" in the U.S. economy, continuing a recent push to shore up markets after months of dire warnings drove stock indexes to decade lows.

March 15, 2009

Obama forms group to protect U.S. food supply

President Obama on Saturday created a food safety working group to advise him on new rules and tools to protect the U.S. food supply and tapped two people to serve at the top of the Food and Drug Administration.

March 15, 2009

Obama: Have confidence in U.S. economy

President Obama said Saturday that investors can have "absolute confidence" in the U.S. economy, continuing a recent push to try to shore up markets after months of dire warnings had driven stock indexes to decade-long lows.

March 14, 2009

Obama creates food-safety group

President Obama on Saturday created a food safety working group to advise him on new rules and tools to protect the U.S. food supply and tapped two people to serve at the top of the Food and Drug Administration.

March 14, 2009