Warren Buffett Tells CNN’s Poppy Harlow That The Housing Market “Remains In A Depression” And That It Is Having An Effect On Business

CNN’s Poppy Harlow: “It's always interesting to hear his take on the economy because he's a man who invests with very simple, straightforward rules but I was a little surprised to hear how sorta — how  he just doesn't think that the housing recovery is here really in any way, shape, or form. The word he used for housing, still, today is a ‘depression.’ That's how we started out our interview. Take a listen to his words.”

Warren Buffett: “The housing market is the one big element that still remains in a depression. Not just a recession. It will come back …”

Harlow: “Still in a depression?”

Buffett: “Well it still is, when you're building 600,000 housing units a year in a country like ours, that is really – that is depressed so that affects our business, it affects our insulation business, it affects our carpet business and every place else we see ... more

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Speaking To The Washington Post’s Peter Wallsten, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka Said He Has Conversations With President Obama And His Staff About His Potential Second Term Agenda. WALLSTEN: “Have you had specific conversations with President Obama about what his agenda in a second term might be?” TRUMKA: “We have, I have had conversations with the President and I have had conversations with his staff, his cabinet, about things of that sort, yeah.” (C-SPAN’s “Newsmakers,” 5/6/12)

• AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka Said That He Has “Conversations Every Day With Someone In The White House Or The Administration.” “‘I'm at the White House a couple times a week — two or three times a week,’ Trumka boasts in a new video posted by the Workforce Fairness Institute, a foe of organized labor. ‘I have conversations every day with someone in the White House or the administration. Every day,’ he adds. ‘And that includes weekends, by the way.’” (Michael O’Brien, “Video Seizes ... more
  
  

On NBC’s “Meet The Press” This Morning, Vice President Biden Said That “Standing Up For Freedom” Was The Most Important Priority For The Obama Administration In Relations With China. NBC’S DAVID GREGORY: “What’s more important to this administration, standing up for freedom in china or maintaining a very delicate relationship with this emerging power?” VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: “Standing up for freedom. Look, I’ve spent more time with the soon-to-be president of China, Vice President Xi, I’ve spent a total of roughly ten days with him, five in China five here. I’ve been alone with him for over 30 hours of meeting, just he and I. Publicly and privately, I have never failed, including when he was hosted at the State Department, to say human rights, human rights is critical to us. As a matter of fact, I tried to explain, I didn’t try, I explained to him why it's so critical, why Americans as part of our DNA. And I pointed out that almost everybody who came here in the 17^th, 18^th, 19th ... more

Obama Spoke To An Arena “Two-Thirds To Three-Quarters Full, With Around Half Of The Seating In the Upper Deck Empty.” “The arena, which holds seating for around 20,000 people, appeared to be around two-thirds to three-quarters full, with around half of the seating in the upper deck empty. The Columbus fire department estimated the crowd size at 14,000.” (Jessica Yellin, Paul Steinhauser, And Adam Aigner-Treworgy, “Obama Outlines Case For Re-Election At First Official Campaign Rally,” CNN, 5/5/12)

• Despite “An Aggressive Push To Fill The Cavernous Arena,” Audience Members Were Asked “To Move Accordingly In Order For Seats To Look Full For TV.” “The campaign had made an aggressive push to fill the cavernous arena, and turnout fell well short of Obama’s fall 2010 campus rally, which attracted an estimated 30,000 people to the campus quad. About an hour before Obama spoke, editors with OSU’s student newspaper, The Lantern, tweeted: ‘Ushers are asking audience members to move ... more
  
  

THEN: In 2008, Obama Promised Ohioans To Tighten The Belt On Fiscal Spending. OBAMA: “I won't stand here and pretend that any of this will be easy - especially now. The cost of this economic crisis, and the cost of the war in Iraq, means that Washington will have to tighten its belt and put off spending on things we don't need. As President, I will go through the federal budget, line-by-line, ending programs that we don't need and making the ones we do need work better and cost less.” (Senator Barack Obama, Remarks, Columbus, OH, 11/2/08)

• NOW: Obama Promised To “Pay Down Our Debt In A Way That’s Balanced And Responsible.” “I'm running to pay down our debt in a way that's balanced and responsible. After inheriting a trillion dollar deficit, I signed $2 trillion of spending cuts into law and now I want to finish the job by streamlining government and cutting more waste and reforming our tax code so that it is simpler and fairer and asks the wealthiest Americans to pay a little bit ... more
  
  

Today, Barack Obama moved the goal posts about how he’s done as president by asking will the country be better off? He must have forgotten about how he asked in 2008, “will this country be better off four years from now?” With a record like Obama’s four years in the Oval Office, it’s no wonder he’s left wondering will we be better off.

THEN: Obama 2008: “The Real Question Is, ‘Will This Country Be Better Off Four Years From Now?’” OBAMA: “It is time, Canton, to try something new. The question in this election is not ‘Are you better off than you were four years ago?’ We all know the answer to that. The real question is, ‘Will this country be better off four years from now?’” (Senator Barack Obama, Remarks At Campaign Event, Canton, OH, 10/27/08)

NOW: Obama 2012: Obama Asks “Will We Be Better Off?”  OBAMA:  “They won't offer a better vision or new set of ideas, but they will be spending more money than we've ever seen before on negative ads, on TV, on radio, in the mail, on the ... more

Florida

Quinnipiac University Poll: Romney Leads Obama 44-43 Percent In Florida. (Quinnipiac University, 1169 V, MoE 2.9%, 4/25-5/1/12)

• Romney Leads Obama 41-38 Percent Among Florida Independent Voters. (Quinnipiac University, 1169 V, MoE 2.9%, 4/25-5/1/12)

Quinnipiac University Poll: 49 Percent Of Florida Voters Think Romney Would Do A Better Job Of Handling The Economy While 40 Percent Think Obama Would. (Quinnipiac University, 1169 V, MoE 2.9%, 4/25-5/1/12)

• 48 Percent Of Florida Independent Voters Think Romney Would Do A Better Job Of Handling The Economy While 37 Percent Of Independents Think Obama Would. (Quinnipiac University, 1169 V, MoE 2.9%, 4/25-5/1/12)

Quinnipiac University Poll:  50 Percent Of Florida Voters Disapprove Of President Obama’s Job Performance, While 46 Percent Approve. (Quinnipiac University, 1169 V, MoE 2.9%, 4/25-5/1/12)

• 49 Percent Of Florida Independent Voters Disapprove Of President Obama’s Job Performance, While 45 Percent Approve. (Quinnipiac ... more
  
  

Another Democrat Refuses To Support The President

Yesterday, Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-NC) Was Added To A Group Of Elected Democrat “Fence-Sitters” Who “Haven't Decided Whether To Vote For Obama”

WECT’s Frances Weller: “This week, national political media is making hay about Democrats who won't openly support President Obama's reelection. Some are going so far as saying they haven't decided whether to vote for Obama or his likely Republican opponent, Mitt Romney. One of those on the list of fence-sitters appears to be our own Congressman, Mike McIntyre. He has not committed publicly on an endorsement yet. So today, WECT.com's Nadine Maeser attempted to get a direct answer from the representative while he visited the area.”

WECT’s Nadine Maeser:  “Yeah Fran, this is not what Congressman McIntyre wanted to talk about today with me. Our first stop was a prayer breakfast in Brunswick County. Congressman McIntyre spoke to members of the sheriff's office and the community. But said since the ... more

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV): “New Jobs Report Shows That While The Unemployment Rate Continues To Fall, Too Many Americans In NV & Nationwide Are Struggling To Find Work” (Sen. Harry Reid, Twitter Feed, 5/4/12)

The Wall Street Journal: “U.S. Job Growth Slowed Again In April, A Fresh Sign That The Economy Could Be Settling Into A Sluggish Spring.” (Jeffrey Sparshoot and Josh Mitchell, “Jobs Data Point To Sluggishness,” The Wall Street Journal, 5/4/12)

The New York Times: “The United States Had Another Month Of Disappointing Job Growth In April, The Latest Government Report Showed Friday.” (Catherine Rampell, “U.S. Added Only 115,000 Jobs In April; Rate Is 8.1%,” The New York Times, 5/4/12)

• The New York Times: “The share of working-age Americans who are in the labor force, either by working or actively looking for a job, is now at its lowest level since 1981 — when far fewer women were doing paid work.” (Catherine Rampell, “U.S. Added Only 115,000 Jobs In April; Rate Is 8.1%,” The New ... more
  
  

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NBC’s Chuck Todd: "The New York Times reported this morning that senior U.S. officials privately are acknowledging missteps in the handling of the case. And yesterday the White House, frankly, looked flat-footed.”

WH Spokesman Jay Carney: “All of our diplomacy was directed at putting him in the best possible position to achieve his objectives.”

Todd: “But was the diplomacy rushed because Clinton and Geithner were coming to China? Now the full story isn't clear.” (MSNBC’S “Daily Rundown,” 5/4/12)