Fiscal cliff helps mend Obama-CEO relations
November 25, 2012

Fiscal cliff negotiations are proving to be the perfect excuse for President Obama and the business community to smooth over a rocky four years.
The White House has struggled to make and keep friends in the business community, thanks to contentious policy fights over financial and health care reforms. Obama famously dubbed Wall Street as "fat cat bankers" and bashed health insurers for raising premiums and denying coverage.
The tension grew worse during the election when business groups doubled down their contributions to defeat Obama. The financial sector spent more $50 million supporting the President's opponent Mitt Romney, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Thanks to a new crisis at hand -- the fiscal cliff -- there are some signs that the ice may be breaking. It helps that the White House and leaders of big businesses are united in their desire to avoid the fiscal cliff -- the Jan. 1 expiration of the Bush tax cuts and the Jan. 2 across-the-board spending cuts -- which economists fear will lead to an economic maelstrom.

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Obama Should Bring Back CIA Chief Petraeus, Pundits Say
November 24, 2012

The idea of a David Petraeus rehire has been floated by several political writers, including Emily Yoffe at Slate, who says that Barack Obama should nominate the former chief to serve as the next CIA director.
There is good reason to think that a David Petraeus rehire could be in the cards, The Week noted. For one, he remains very popular with both Republicans and Democrats in Washington, having been first nominated by George W. Bush and re-appointed by Obama.
Also, though his now very public affair with Paula Broadwell may have caused controversy and brought some shame to the CIA, Petraeus broke no laws and didn't violate national security.
"Thanks to our ever-faster cycle of humiliation and rehabilitation, [Petraeus] has already been punished and paroled," Yoffe write. "It's time to let Petraeus get back to work. It would probably even please Mrs. Petraeus to see less of him around the house right now."
A David Petraeus rehire could also be seen favorably by Americans. Before the affair scandal that ended his tenure with the CIA, Petraeus was viewed favorably by many Americans and even floated as a possibly vice presidential candidate for GOP nominee Mitt Romney.

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US Ambassador Rice defends comments on Benghazi attack
November 23, 2012

U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice is defending her early account of the attack that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans in Benghazi, saying that her statements were made based on initial information from the intelligence community.
Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, has been under fire after she appeared on television five days after the Sept. 11 attacks and said in several interviews that the strikes on U.S. outposts were "spontaneous" and were sparked by outrage over an anti-Islamic video.
But three days later, National Counterterrorism Director Matthew Olsen acknowledged the Benghazi attacks were acts of terror and that Al Qaeda might have played a role.
"When discussing he attack against our facilities in Benghazi, I relied solely and squarely on the information provided to me by the intelligence community," Rice said Wednesday evening to reporters outside the U.N. Security Council.
"I made clear that the information was preliminary, and that our investigations would give us the definitive answers," she added. "As a senior U.S. diplomat, I agreed to a White House request to appear on the Sunday shows to talk about the full range of national security issues of the day, which at that time were primarily and particularly the protests that were enveloping and threatening many diplomatic facilities, American diplomatic facilities around the world, and Iran's nuclear program."

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What the cease-fire means to Israel and Hamas
November 22, 2012

The White House was quick to credit President Obama for brokering the cease-fire deal between Israel, Egypt and in turn, Hamas. In the official statement released by the White House Wednesday, it said "The President commended the Prime Minister [of Israel] for agreeing to the Egyptian cease-fire proposal -- which the President recommended the Prime Minister do."
Obama sent Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the last minute to broker the deal as 30,000 Israeli troops sat poised to enter the Gaza Strip, even though State Department officials said Tuesday that Clinton was not carrying any proposals. Clinton spent 24 hours shuttling between Jerusalem, Ramallah and Cairo putting the final touches on a deal that Hamas had agreed to with Egypt 24 hours before.
In fact, Hamas spokesmen had leaked to the press that the cease-fire would begin at 9 p.m. local time on Tuesday, but that was before Clinton had landed in Jerusalem. It would take another 24 hours for the deal to be finalized. In the meantime, just hours before the cease-fire was formally announced, a Palestinian placed a bomb on a Tel Aviv bus, injuring more than 24 Israelis. It was the first terror attack in Tel Aviv since 2006. Hamas praised the bombing, but did not take responsibility. Israel did not respond, a break from its usual belief that a strong response to terrorism provides deterrence.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed skeptics Wednesday, many of whom wondered whether Israel had completed its goal of degrading Hamas' Iranian supplied rockets and why Israel did not respond to the first terror attack in Tel Aviv since 2006.
Netanyahu hinted that a ground invasion wasn't off the table if the cease-fire didn't hold. Five rockets were fired from Gaza in the first 3 hours after the truce began. "No country can tolerate a wanton attack on its civilians," Netanyahu said today in reference to the verbal agreement with the United States. There was no written agreement.
"Now, if there is a possibility of achieving a long-term solution to this problem through diplomatic means, we prefer that," Netanyahu added. "But if not, I am sure you understand that Israel will have to take whatever action is necessary to defend its people."

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Wal-Mart shrugs off threats of Black Friday labor unrest
November 22, 2012

Wal-Mart worker protests and walk-offs planned for Thursday night and Black Friday had the retailer taking them seriously enough to send a top executive to the TODAY show this morning to downplay the story.
Widespread picketing was not expected, Duncan Mac Naughton, Wal-Mart's chief merchandising and marketing officer, told TODAY's Savannah Guthrie. "We'll have 4,000 stores ready to go," said Naughton, staffed by "one million associates serving our customer."
The group behind the protest actions, OUR Walmart, told TODAY they are striking to protest what they say is manager retaliation against any employees who complain about working conditions.
"We have a really open culture of listening to our associates, it's based on integrity, respect for the individual," Mac Naughton told TODAY.
An OUR Walmart organizer, William Fletcher, 23, disputed this, telling TODAY that Walmart's "open door policy" where any associate can speak to a manager to bring up issues was instead used to "find out who's complaining so they can silence them with indirect threats. "They're very good at doing that while still staying within the law."

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GOP must avoid the fiscal cliff
November 22, 2012

After much introspection, the GOP faces its first true post-election test: the so-called fiscal cliff. Will House Republicans hold out against President Barack Obama's tax hike demands, or will they be willing to make a deal?
Plunging off the fiscal cliff should be the GOP's last possible resort, even if that means making a "grand bargain" first. If Republicans are seen (or portrayed in the media) as purposely trying to push the country toward the fiscal cliff for political reasons, then it will only further affirm the "47%" stereotype that has haunted the party.
According to the 2012 exit polls, Obama won voters who said a candidate who "cares about people" is their most important quality by a dumbfounding 81% to 18%.
Republicans must change this narrative, and they can't if they rely solely on resistance to tax hikes. While tax hikes alone on the richest Americans will not solve the debt problem or avert the fiscal cliff -- a point Republicans rightly make -- neither will the status quo.
Instead, Republicans should go on offense with a serious, comprehensive budget plan that will educate the public to the larger conservative principles of fiscal responsibility and governance, even if it means compromising on tax rates for the wealthiest Americans.

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Calm elusive as rockets rain in Gaza, Israel
November 21, 2012

Hopes were briefly raised then dashed Tuesday for an imminent calm between Israel and Hamas as diplomats fervently sought a way to stop the deadly violence.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in the region, where she met for more than two hours with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. She is expected to meet later with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy, who is working to broker a cease-fire.
Gaza is run by Hamas, which the United States and other countries consider a terrorist organization.
Clinton offered Israel the support of the United States and expressed hope for a lasting solution as she spoke to reporters alongside Netanyahu at the prime minister's office in Jerusalem. She thanked Egypt and especially Morsy for their efforts.

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Wal-Mart files legal complaint against growing protests ahead of Black Friday
November 21, 2012

Wal-Mart is taking legal action against its organized labor opponents, filing an unfair labor practice charge over widespread protests at its stores across the country - as well as rallies planned for Black Friday, considered the biggest shopping day of the year.
The company filed a complaint on Friday against the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, claiming the labor union - one of the nation's largest - has unlawfully disrupted business by staging protests at Wal-Mart's stores and warehouses around the country over the past six months.
The retail giant, which has roughly 1.3 million U.S. workers, is asking the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for an injunction against the rallies and pickets - even flash mobs - that have sprung up at stores nationwide, according to the Wall Street Journal.
"We are taking this action now because we cannot allow the UFCW to continue to intentionally seek to create an environment that could directly and adversely impact our customers and associates," Wal-Mart spokesman David Tovar said in a statement obtained by Reuters. "If they do, they will be held accountable."

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Despite slow recovery, Bernanke says no new stimulus
November 21, 2012

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke called the economic recovery "disappointingly slow" but outlined no further stimulative measures, in a speech delivered at the Economic Club in New York.
Rather than meet expectations for more central bank easing, Bernanke instead again took Congress to task for leading the nation close to a dire fiscal situation that could cause another recession.
Bernanke has been preaching against the series of spending cuts and tax increases that will take place automatically in 2013, and he delivered yet another warning of what he has called the "fiscal cliff."
"The realization of all of the automatic tax increases and spending cuts that make up the fiscal cliff, absent offsetting changes, would pose a substantial threat to the recovery - indeed, by the reckoning of the Congressional Budget Office and that of many outside observers, a fiscal shock of that size would send the economy toppling back into recession," Bernanke said, according to prepared remarks.
While an address two days before a major holiday otherwise might not get much notice, chatter had increased that Bernanke would indicate additional stimulative measures from the central bank.
The Dow industrials turned modestly negative as the chairman's remarks were made public and uncertainty increased over the Fed's future plans.

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New Plan to Fix the Cliff, or More Can Kicking?
November 20, 2012

A potential solution to the fiscal cliff is another elaborate process featuring considerable, politically unpopular changes to federal policies to compel Republicans and Democrats to agree to a broader fiscal package next year.
In what has been described as a trigger to avoid the sequester, both sides would agree to establish benchmarks for entitlement and tax reform over the next year. If unmet, the agreement would activate sizable spending or entitlement cuts and revenue increases.
Given Washington and Wall Street's frustration with the first sequestration process, the likelihood of a second is still uncertain.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi alluded to a lengthy process following Friday's high-level White House meeting. "We should have a goal in terms of how much deficit reduction" said Pelosi. "We should show some milestones of success so that confidence can build as we reach our solution."
Though neither of the congressional Democrats explicitly mentioned entitlements, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid acknowledged that Democrats and Republicans are "going to have to give up some of the things that we know are a problem."

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