Christina Bellantoni

Killing-Obama poll raises online questions

Christina Bellantoni — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 08:45:00 GMT

UPDATED:

A Facebook poll asking whether President Obama should be assassinated has sparked an Internet uproar - with new polls calling for the offending poll creator's arrest and other social-networking sites questioning their policies amid an unprecedented level of online vitriol.

"It's like free speech ...

Dems expect gains from Obama's Texas trip

Christina Bellantoni — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 08:45:00 GMT

President Obama will get a Texas twofer next month when he headlines the Presidential Forum on Service at former President George H.W. Bush's library — a bipartisan photo-op plus a chance to aid state Democrats itching for national political relevance.

Texas Democrats — bolstered by party officials ...

Obama, Ban Ki-moon warn world about warming

Christina Bellantoni — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:21:21 GMT

President Obama cautioned world leaders Tuesday about the potential for an "irreversible catastrophe" if they ignore global warming, telling them at a United Nations summit on climate change that reversing the trend is still possible.

"No nation, however large or small, wealthy or poor, can escape the ...

White House quietly lobbies Senate as climate bill stalls

Christina Bellantoni — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 08:45:00 GMT

Climate-change legislation has stalled on Capitol Hill, but the White House's unofficial "Green Cabinet" is quietly trying to revive the effort by lobbying dozens of senators.

President Obama has dispatched Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson to ...

Obama: Tougher Wall Street rules needed

Christina Bellantoni — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 10:00:00 GMT

On the eve of the G-20 summit of world leaders, President Obama told Americans Saturday he wants tougher rules for Wall Street, saying that stopping the economic "bleeding" is not enough.

Mr. Obama said after passing the economic stimulus he wants to strengthen the rules that govern ...

Good eating on the menu

Christina Bellantoni — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 08:45:00 GMT

First lady Michelle Obama christened a new farmer's market just across the street from the White House Thursday, telling shoppers if they eat locally that helps to advance health care reform.

"I have never seen so many people so excited about fruits and vegetables," Mrs. Obama told ...

Green Zone attacked during Biden's visit

Christina Bellantoni — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 08:45:00 GMT

Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. paid a surprise visit to Iraqi leaders in Baghdad on Tuesday, arriving for his second trip to the country this summer just as the fortified Green Zone was hit by an insurgent mortar attack that killed two civilians.

Mr. Biden was ...

Dems portray Gov. Pawlenty as moving to the right

Christina Bellantoni — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 08:45:00 GMT

In a possible opening skirmish for the 2012 presidential race, the Democratic National Committee is going after Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty by mocking the Republican as a cross between former conservative GOP Govs. Sarah Palin of Alaska and Mike Huckabee or Arkansas.

A new DNC Web video, ...

Mortar fire hits Green Zone as Biden visits

Christina Bellantoni — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 12:42:06 GMT

UPDATED:

Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., on his second visit to the Iraq war zone this summer, met with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad on Tuesday as the Green Zone was hit by four rounds of mortar fire.

Mr. Biden was fine and no damage ...

Former HHS secretary lauds Obama for plainspoken address

Christina Bellantoni — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 21:44:00 GMT

A top Clinton health care official said President Obama scored a big win with his speech to Congress by avoiding some of the wonky language that doomed the last Democratic administration's effort.

Donna Shalala, who as Health and Human Services Secretary for President Clinton spearheaded the failed ...

Obama: Census shows need for reform

Christina Bellantoni — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:20:59 GMT

President Obama on Thursday morning returned to bat for health care reform, arguing that new Census Bureau data showing the number of uninsured people increased in 2008 is another example of how the plan cannot wait any longer.

Mr. Obama, at a White House event with nurses, ...

GOP lawmaker's heckling draws fire, cash

Christina Bellantoni — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 08:45:07 GMT

UPDATED:

Republican Congressman Joe Wilson hastily apologized for accusing President Obama of lying during the president's prime-time TV speech, as Democrats began a fundraising effort to defeat him next year.

"This evening I let my emotions get the best of me," Mr. Wilson, South Carolina ...

Republican shouts 'You lie' during Obama speech

Christina Bellantoni — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 08:45:00 GMT

It took less than an hour after he heckled President Obama for Rep. Joe Wilson to become an Internet sensation.

When Mr. Obama told lawmakers during a joint address to Congress that his health care plan does not cover illegal immigrants, Mr. Wilson, a South Carolina Republican, ...

Obama invokes Kennedy in health speech

Christina Bellantoni — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 08:45:00 GMT

President Obama invoked the late Sen. Edward Kennedy in his health care speech, telling members of Congress and Americans watching across the country that the Massachusetts Democratic senator sent him a letter to be delivered upon his death.

"He expressed confidence that this would be the year ...

Obama invokes Kennedy's letter, delivered after death

Christina Bellantoni — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 08:45:00 GMT

President Obama invoked the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy in his health care speech Wednesday, telling members of Congress and Americans watching across the country that the senator sent him a letter to be delivered upon his death.

Health care was the cause of Mr. Kennedy's career, ...

Obama urges Congress to act

Christina Bellantoni — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 20:07:04 GMT

President Obama Wednesday night began to lay out details of a health care proposal he said incorporates ideas from Democrats and Republicans and planned to warn opponents against opposing his plan purely for political gain.

In an offering to Republicans concerned about the issue, Mr. Obama announced ...

Ex-Clinton aides: Obama's health plan needs direction

Christina Bellantoni — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 08:45:04 GMT

President Obama went out of his way to avoid the mistakes President Clinton made during his own health care reform battle 16 years ago - springing his own, hyper-detailed 1,342-page reform plan on Congress - but veterans of that White House say the new president has gone too far ...

Obama school talk urges responsibility

Christina Bellantoni — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 08:45:00 GMT

Invoking his own fatherless childhood and ignoring the political firestorm sparked by the address, President Obama on Tuesday asked the nation's students to take personal responsibility for their future and said he expected them to put their best effort into their schoolwork.

"Don't let us down - ...

Obama urges students to set goals

Christina Bellantoni — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:20:17 GMT

Recalling his own humble roots and fatherless childhood, President Obama on Tuesday asked the nation's students to take personal responsibility for their future, imploring them: "Do your part."

"I expect all of you to get serious this year, put your best effort into everything you do. I ...

WH to reveal names of most visitors

Christina Bellantoni — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 08:45:05 GMT

The Obama administration, responding to lawsuits and complaints from private government watchdog groups, announced Friday that it will post online the names of almost all public visitors to the White House for the first time in history.

In a separate release going into the Labor Day holiday, ...

'Gang of six' takes up health care plan

Christina Bellantoni and Jennifer Haberkorn — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 08:45:00 GMT

The Senate Finance Committee's bipartisan negotiating team is expected to continue talks Friday on a health care reform plan that the vice president predicted would eventually pass the Congress.

"As bleak as it looks, you know, always darkest before the dawn," Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. ...