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John King: “So, the president had no responsibility, Mr. Mayor, or is that a cop-out?”

Mayor Michael Bloomberg: “I would argue that the president, as the chief executive of the country, has the responsibility to make things come together. I understand the problems of partisanship and the jealousies and the pettiness and selfishness that occur at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue. But in the end, no CEO would send a proposal and just say, ‘well, let's see what happens.’ You send a proposal and then you go fight for it. Nor would any CEO let the other side write the proposal. The job of the president is to lead the country and to lead congress and I think the president should now just stand up and say, ‘we aren’t gonna to take it anymore.’” (CNN’s “John King, USA,” 11/21/11)

Over The Weekend, Biden Spoke At A Meeting Just Hours After The Attendees Were Hit Up For Donations To Super PACs Supporting Obama’s Campaign

OBAMA PROMISED TO KEEP SPECIAL INTEREST MONEY OUT OF HIS CAMPAIGN

CANDIDATE OBAMA: "We Will Not Take A Dime From Washington Lobbyists Or Special Interest PACs - We're Going To Change How Washington Works. They Will Not Fund My Party ..." (Sunlen Miller, "Obama Commends DNC For Cutting Lobbyist Contributions," ABC News' "Political Radar" Blog, 6/5/08)

• When Announcing His Campaign For Presidency, Obama Pledged To End Special Interest Access. “Special interests have turned our government into a game only they can afford to play … They get the access while you get to write a letter … The time for that kind of politics is over. It’s through.” (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks Announcing Campaign For President, Springfield, IL, 2/17/07)

Obama “Made Clear That He Didn’t Want Outside Money Groups Working On His Behalf.” “Some Democrats bristled at what ... more

As Obama has shown a failure of leadership on the Super Committee, the Democrat co-chair from his fiscal commission, Erskine Bowles,  reveals that he is “surprised” Obama didn’t embrace the commission’s work or lead.

Audience Member: “How surprised were you that your commission gave the president tremendous coverage to do something, and it wasn’t even mentioned in the State of the Union?”

Erskine Bowles: “If you think you were surprised, you should have looked at us. I negotiated the budget for President Clinton. And every investment banker will tell you the key to success is knowing your client and defining success up front. So, I knew what success was on his part, and I could go in there and negotiate the deal. I did not know President Obama, and neither did Alan. So we spent a tremendous amount of time with him and his economic team up-front defining success. And we negotiated a deal that got a majority of Republicans to vote for it, so he had plenty of cover on the other side. ... more

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) Says That The President Is Going To Be Judged On The Results Of The Super Committee And Should Be Part Of The Fight For A Solution

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV):  “Well, you know, Mika, it's the leader – if – I was the governor of the state of West Virginia, people relied on me to make, set the tone of what we were going to do and push it through and everybody has a different style. I'm not going to criticize it, but people are going to judge the results we receive, and if we don't get results, we're in trouble. Right now, if the committee of 12 is not able to come to an agreement, we have about 140 members of congress, about 44 senators and about a 100 members of the house that are saying go big, be bold, stand tall, let’s pull out Simpson and Bowles and let's vote on this thing, let's move it forward for the next generation.”

Mika Brezinski:  “Do you want the president – I mean, I'm just looking at your comments made on "Face the Nation" for the president, that ... more

Voters Are Citing The Economy As Their Top Issue In 2012

66 Percent Of Americans Cite Economic Issues Among Their Primary Concerns. “Economic issues overshadow all others as Americans' primary concerns. Thirty-six percent say unemployment or jobs and 30% say the economy in general is the most important problem facing the United States.” (Jeffrey Jones, “Jobs, Economy Remain Dominant Concerns For Americans,” Gallup, 11/14/11)

“From A Broader Perspective, Americans Are Nearly Twice As Likely To Mention Any Economic Issue, 76%, As Any Non-Economic Issue, 39%, As The Nation's Top Problem.” (Jeffrey Jones, “Jobs, Economy Remain Dominant Concerns For Americans,” Gallup, 11/14/11)

Economic Issues Have Been Among The Top Concerns Of Voters Since February 2008. “The results are based on a Nov. 3-6 Gallup poll. The economy in general or unemployment has ranked as the No. 1 overall issue since February 2008, with unemployment leading in the last three months.” (Jeffrey Jones, “Jobs, Economy ... more

Yesterday, Obama Praised Boeing For Creating Jobs

President Obama’s Statement On Deal Between Boeing And Lion Air: "Well, I just want to make a brief statement. This is a remarkable example of the trade investment and commercial opportunities that exist in the Asia Pacific region.” (“Obama’s Statement On Boeing Deal,” Politico, 11/18/11)

• Obama Said The Multibillion-Dollar Deal “Can Result Directly In Jobs At Home.” “‘For the last several days I’ve been talking about how we have to make sure that we’ve got a presence in this region, that it can result directly in jobs at home. And what we see here -- a multibillion-dollar deal between Lion Air -- one of the fastest-growing airlines not just in the region, but in the world -- and Boeing is going to result in over 100,000 jobs back in the United States of America, over a long period of time.’ ‘This represents the largest deal, if I’m not mistaken, that Boeing has ever done. We are looking at over 200 planes that are going to be ... more
  
  

Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN):  “Thank you, Mr. Chairman. and I have to tell you, Mr. Secretary, it's really troublesome to me, the number of times I've heard you say today that this is the first time you've been made aware of something, or that you know something now, you didn't know it then. So it leads me to believe that maybe you had some staff that was kind of keeping you out of the loop on some decisions. Let me ask you this. Did anyone from DOE talk to anyone from the White House about restructuring or subordination? Was there any communication between DOE and the White House about the restructuring and the subordination of that loan?”

Sec. Chu:  “Certainly at the time that we were discussing this, I was aware of no communication whatsoever with the White House.”

Rep. Blackburn:  “Are you aware of any communication now?”

Sec. Chu:  “I was made aware of it as of yesterday.”

(House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee, U.S. House Of Representatives, Hearing, 11/17/11)

AP: “Chu Said He Was Unaware Of His Staff Predictions In 2009 That Solyndra Was Likely To Face Severe Cash-Flow Problems.”

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/11/17/2506556/chu-takes-responsibility-for-solyndra.html#ixzz1dzAiJeRp

Energy Secretary Steven Chu said Thursday that no one from the White House ever contacted him to make a political decision on a half-billion-dollar loan to a California solar company that later went bankrupt. Testifying under oath on a widening controversy, Chu said he was unaware of his staff predictions in 2009 that Solyndra was likely to face severe cash-flow problems. He said that market changes which led to a steep decline in the price of solar panels were "totally unexpected."

National Journal: “Told Lawmakers On Thursday That He Was Unaware That Officials At His Department Urged Solyndra To Hold Off On Announcing Planned Layoffs…”

http://www.nationaljournal.com/chu-politics-had-no-influence-on-solyndra-20111117

Chu also told lawmakers on Thursday that ... more

Here’s a quick review of the more notable and troubling moments from Energy Secretary Steven Chu’s testimony today before the House Energy & Commerce committee.

When asked if taxpayers will recover any of the $535 million taxpayers loaned to Solyndra, Secretary Chu responded that Americans won’t recovery “very much” at all.

Unfortunately, Secretary Chu (and presumably, the rest of the Obama administration including President Obama) refused to apologize for Solyndra’s failure. In other words, half a billion dollars lost isn’t exactly a big deal.

What is probably most troubling of all is that Secretary Chu testified today that he was NOT AWARE of Solyndra’s red flags, despite all of the warnings from various staff.

Secretary Of Energy Steven Chu said knowing what he knows now, he wouldn’t approve the Solyndra loan. But he did try to spin that it was impossible for him to know… guess he must have missed all the warning signs.

In a more troubling development, Secretary Chu said he ... more

Today Biden Has A Secret Transparency Meeting

“Spot The Irony”: Vice President Biden Is Holding A Closed-Door Meeting With The Government Accountability And Transparency Board. (Matt Negrin, “VP’s Closed-Door Transparency Chat,” Politico, 11/17/11)

Sound Familiar?

“President Obama Finally And Quietly Accepted His ‘Transparency’ Award From The Open Government Community This Week — In A Closed, Undisclosed Meeting At The White House On Monday.” (Abby Phillip, “Shh! Obama Wins Anti-Secrecy Award,” Politico, 3/30/11)

• Obama Was Supposed To Accept The Award In Front Of The Press Pool 2 Weeks Earlier, But The Actual Acceptance Ceremony Wasn’t Disclosed On The Public Schedule And No Reporters Were Present. “The secret presentation happened almost two weeks after the White House inexplicably postponed the ceremony, which was expected to be open to the press pool. This time, Obama met quietly in the Oval Office with Gary Bass of OMB Watch, Tom Blanton of the National Security Archive, ... more