Much has been written about the quantity and complexity of foreign and domestic challenges confronting the Obama administration. If you convened a bipartisan group of wise men and women of Washington, how might it assess the dangers and advise the president on how to meet them? One early answer came with the release of "Saving America's Future: A Challenge to the American People," the first report from a bipartisan steering group formed by the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, a think tank in Washington.
The group's "Letter to the American People" offers a sobering analysis of the United States' current position. "It is hard to imagine that things may worsen -- and yet, sadly, today's economic reality is only the tip of the iceberg," the letter begins. It goes on to outline serious structural challenges, including America's ability to finance the federal government and rescue a listing economy; move toward energy independence; fix a broken health care system; and reclaim the mantle of global leadership. "If we do not take measures to right our course, a far greater crisis awaits below the surface and threatens to sink our ship of state."
Recently, National Journal correspondents and editors sat down with five members of the steering group for the Strengthening America's Future Initiative: David Abshire, project sponsor and president of the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress; Co-Chairman Roy Romer, former Colorado governor; former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Thomas Pickering; retired Rear Adm. Susan Blumenthal, a former assistant surgeon general; and Daniel Yergin, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, & Power.
Continue reading edited excerpts from National Journal's interview.
As first lady Michelle Obama raises her profile on issues of importance to her husband's administration, Jocelyn Frye is likely to be at the center of the action. Frye, who went to Harvard Law School with Mrs. Obama in the 1980s, is the first lady's policy chief, with an office in the East Wing, but she also has a seat on the president's Domestic Policy Council with other West Wing officials.
Frye sat down last month with National Journal's James A. Barnes to talk about her dual roles, her friend Mrs. Obama and how to think "outside the box". What follows is an edited transcript of that interview.Continue reading East Wing Meets West Wing On First Lady's Staff.
Continue reading Markey: Obama Will Sign Climate Bill Before '10.
There are no job descriptions for being first lady. Each spouse of the president brings unique interests and qualities to the East Wing that define her role in the life of the nation. Working with a first lady as dynamic as Michelle Obama requires a unique approach.
When Jackie Norris, Mrs. Obama's first chief of staff, left to advise the Corporation for National and Community Service, it was no surprise that the first lady would turn to White House associate counsel Susan Sher, an old friend, to step into the breach.
As the first woman to be Chicago's corporation counsel -- the city's top lawyer -- Sher met Mrs. Obama in 1991, when she interviewed her for a job in the city's legal department. The two later worked together at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Prior to becoming chief of staff, Sher had been advising the first lady's office on legal issues as well as working on health care reform and outreach to the Jewish community -- two areas she hoped to continue while she works in the East Wing.
A few days before she completed her move from the West Wing to the East Wing, Sher sat down to talk about her new assignment with National Journal's James A. Barnes. Edited excerpts follow after the jump below the video.
Continue reading Michelle Obama's Inner Circle On The First Lady.
Continue reading For Jackson, EPA Feels Like Home.
Twenty-five U.S. banks failed in 2008, making it the busiest year in recent memory for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation -- until this year, when bank failures are at 37 and counting.
As the FDIC has scrambled, so has the Government Accountability Office. As the FDIC's official auditor, GAO is responsible for reporting on the agency's fiscal health and transparency, and what it's seen is an "unprecedented drop" in reserve funds over the past year, according to Steven Sebastian, the GAO's director of financial management and assurance.
In a conversation with NationalJournal.com's Michelle Williams, Sebastian talked about why 2008 was a particularly painful year for FDIC and how 2009 will be another challenging one. Edited excerpts follow.Continue reading GAO: More Stress Ahead For FDIC.
What's it like being in charge of the agency charged with, among
other things, insuring customer deposits and taking over insolvent
banks in the midst of the largest financial crisis in eight decades?
For starters, making sure the meltdown never repeats.
To Federal
Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairwoman Sheila Bair, that means "common-sense regulation" that includes a panel of regulators with "ownership of the system."
Bair spoke with National Journal's Julie Kosterlitz about the job in early June. Edited excerpts follow.
Continue reading At FDIC, A Check On 'Free-For-All Markets'.
Since moving from the Senate to the Obama administration early this year, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has wasted no time making his mark. The former senator from Colorado raised eyebrows on the right by canceling sales of oil and natural-gas leases in Utah. His decision came after a U.S. District Court judge ruled that the Bureau of Land Management had not adequately weighed the effects of lease development on nearby protected areas. Senate Republicans responded to Salazar's move by temporarily blocking confirmation of Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayes.
At the same time, Salazar drew criticism from environmentalists when he declined to use the Endangered Species Act to curb emissions of greenhouse gases, which wildlife advocates say are endangering polar bear habitats. The secretary did, however, overturn a Bush administration rule that allowed federal agencies to begin construction projects without first checking with the Fish and Wildlife Service on potential threats to endangered species.
Continue reading edited excerpts from a National Journal interview with Salazar.
When President Obama announced Sonia Sotomayor as his pick for the Supreme Court, the pundits warned Republicans of a trap -- attacking the first Hispanic nominee for the court could backfire, they said. That didn't stop former presidential candidate Tom Tancredo from going on cable news to decry Sotomayor's involvement with the National Council of La Raza, which he called a racist organization. Sotomayor herself was called a racist by Rush Limbaugh and then Newt Gingrich, who later withdrew his statement.
NationalJournal.com's Lucas Grindley spoke with La Raza's president, Janet Murguia, about whether these voices have harmed the Republican Party's standing among Hispanics, a growing part of the electorate. Edited excerpts of the interview follow.Continue reading Hispanic Activist Warns GOP On Sotomayor Response.
When President George H.W. Bush nominated conservative appellate judge Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court in 1991, Former Sen. John Danforth, R-Mo., happily agreed to guide him through the Senate confirmation process. Though liberal interest groups fiercely opposed Thomas, Danforth was confident that Thomas, his friend who had worked for him as a legislative assistant and, earlier, as an assistant state attorney general, would be confirmed. But the hearings took an unexpected turn when Anita Hill, a former subordinate, charged that Thomas had sexually harassed her.
Danforth watched as his friend went through personal hell. An ordained Episcopal minister, Danforth angrily battled for Thomas' confirmation. After explosive hearings, the Senate narrowly confirmed Thomas, the second African-American to serve on the Court, 52-48.
That experience had a searing impact on Danforth, who served in the Senate from 1977 through 1994. In a recent interview with National Journal's Kirk Victor, Danforth spoke of lessons from that acrimonious battle 18 years ago that may be applicable today as the Senate considers Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court. As Republicans develop their strategy for the hearings, they have a chance to repair the broken hearing process, Danforth said. Edited excerpts of the interview follow.Continue reading GOP Should Learn From Thomas Hearings.
Continue reading How Obama Made Things Harder For Sotomayor.
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