Stephen Dinan

Climate-bill foes likely to seize on CBO’s scoring

Congress' chief scorekeeper says the global warming bill moving through Congress will either be scored as a major tax increase or a massive expansion of the federal government - and either one could give opponents substantial ammunition to complicate Democrats' efforts to pass a bill.

May 19, 2009

Notre Dame cheers, jeers Obama

Engaging the culture war directly, President Obama made a plea Sunday at the University of Notre Dame for both sides to talk to each other with "open hearts, open minds, fair-minded words" on abortion and other fiery issues.

May 18, 2009

Obama calls for ‘open minds’ in Notre Dame speech

Engaging the culture war directly at the University of Notre Dame, President Obama made a plea for both sides to talk to each other on abortion and other fiery debates with "open hearts, open minds, fair-minded words."

May 17, 2009

Notre Dame address to touch on abortion

Protesting pro-life leaders have been arrested, Catholic bishops have objected and some students have promised a boycott when President Obama gives a commencement address today at the University of Notre Dame.

May 17, 2009

Republicans salute Obama’s military tack

Even as congressional Democrats feuded last week with the CIA in what at times seemed to be a throwback to the 1970s, President Obama was headed in the other direction in what may have been his most active week yet as commander in chief.

May 17, 2009

Panetta: ‘Not our policy to mislead Congress’

UPDATED: CIA Director Leon Panetta said Friday that agency officials gave a truthful account to Capitol Hill lawmakers in 2002 about harsh interrogation techniques on suspected terrorists.

May 15, 2009

Obama: Not enough votes for labor’s ‘card check’ bill

President Obama on Thursday acknowledged there aren't the votes to pass the union-sought bill to make it easier to form labor unions, and said congressional backers will have to rewrite the bill to find common ground.

May 14, 2009

Stimulus spending’s goal now 5% less

The White House on Wednesday moved the goalposts for judging the success of President Obama's stimulus spending bill, saying it now wants to have 70 percent of the money spent before the end of fiscal 2010 -- 5 percent less than the goal set during the congressional debate over the stimulus bill.

May 14, 2009

Obama: Photo release would endanger troops

UPDATED: The president has reversed course and decided to fight the release of photos of apparent abuse of suspected terrorist detainees, a move driven by his newfound belief that the photos would hurt the military.

May 13, 2009

Obama, Dems set deadlines for health reform

Saying the "stars are aligned," President Obama said Wednesday that Congress must send him a health care bill this year, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi promised her chamber would vote on one before August.

May 13, 2009

Sessions offers fair fight on Supreme Court

Republicans' new top man on the Senate Judiciary Committee said even without a new Supreme Court nominee having been named, Republicans will begin looking into the shortlist of names President Obama reportedly is considering and even could warn the White House confidentially if they think a nominee is unacceptable.

May 12, 2009

Obama move on abortion funds riles both sides

President Obama called for overturning a decade-old ban on publicly funded abortions in the District as part of his budget proposal Thursday, but did not overturn the national ban on federal funding.

May 8, 2009

Obama reverses stance on immigration

President Obama has embraced the enforcement-first position on immigration and he now says he can't move forward with the type of comprehensive bill he wants until voters are convinced that the borders can be enforced.

May 8, 2009

Obama trims budget, but less than Bush

President Obama on Thursday will announce fewer budget cuts and for a lesser dollar amount than President George W. Bush did in his final budget - and is counting on being able to eliminate some programs that his predecessor repeatedly tried, but failed, to slash.

May 7, 2009

Biden: Dismantle West Bank settlements

Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Tuesday called for dismantling Israeli settlements in the West Bank and repeated guarantees that the United States under President Obama will defend Israel's security.

May 5, 2009

Hatch cites Obama assurance not to appoint ‘radical’ justice

Sen. Orrin G. Hatch on Monday said President Obama promised him he would not nominate a radical liberal to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter.

May 5, 2009

Obama wants court pick to have ‘empathy’

President Obama said Friday he will look beyond traditional legal experience to fill the seat of retiring Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter — to someone who can relate to average Americans.

May 2, 2009

GOP leaders form group to reconnect with voters

Top Republican leaders seeking to stabilize their battered party said Thursday that they have formed a new national group to try to reconnect Republicans to the voters who have fled from their ranks.

May 1, 2009

Biden hits panic button on swine flu

Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. went off-script Thursday and said he would advise his family not to take an airplane or even get on a subway to avoid the swine flu -- just a day after his boss, President Obama, told Americans only far more modest measures are needed, such as washing hands and stifling coughs.

April 30, 2009

Obama: Torture not worth trade-off

President Obama acknowledged that waterboarding may glean information from terrorists but said those techniques constitute "torture" and that the country is made safer by not using them.

April 30, 2009