NEWS,03.11.2012

President Barack Obama

As the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama, aged 51, passed a revamp of the national healthcare system and authorised the raid that killed Osama bin Laden but struggled to revive the economy and create jobs.Ahead of the US presidential election on Tuesday, here are key facts about Obama, the nation's first black president.Barack Obama has a personal background like no other president in US history. His mother, Ann Dunham, was a white woman from Kansas and his father, Barack Obama Snr, was a black Kenyan who saw little of his son after a divorce when the boy was a toddler. Obama spent much of his childhood in Indonesia and then Hawaii, where he lived with his maternal grandparents.Obama struggled with his mixed racial background while growing up, writing in a memoir that he wondered "if something was wrong with me". He also was troubled by the absence of his father, who he considered a "myth", and said that may have contributed to him using marijuana and cocaine in his youth.Obama graduated from New York's Columbia University in 1983 and then worked in the business sector in New York and for a Chicago community group. In 1988 he went to Harvard Law School, where he became the first black president of the prestigious Harvard Law Review.Obama's relationship with Congress is not great. Even when Democrats controlled the House of Representatives and the Senate, Republicans often stymied his initiatives. The situation became more difficult when tax-averse Republicans took over in the House in 2010.In the early 1990s Obama worked in a voter registration campaign in Chicago, taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago and joined a law firm that specialised in civil rights and neighbourhood development. He married Michelle Robinson, who he met at a law firm when he was an intern and she was assigned to be his adviser.In his rare spare moments, the lanky Obama pursues his lifelong love of basketball with semi-regular games at an FBI gym. He also makes time for school functions and sports events of daughters Sasha and Malia and tries to get out for an occasional "date night" with his wife.Obama's political career began with election to the Illinois State Senate in 1996 and soared in 2004 when he gave a rousing keynote address at the Democratic National Convention. In November of that year he was elected to the US Senate.Obama won the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination by defeating Hilary Clinton, the former first lady and New York senator, and then took the presidency by beating Republican Senator John McCain. His energetic campaign was built on a theme of "hope and change" fuelled by powerful oratory.A mood of national optimism prevailed at Obama's 20 January 2009, inauguration, which drew an estimated 1.8 million people to the National Mall in Washington despite bitter cold. He began his presidency with a 68% approval rating.Obama simultaneously oversaw wars in Iraq, which he ended in 2011, and Afghanistan, as well as the US military involvement in Libya that helped oust Muammar Gaddafi. In May 2011 he authorised the raid in which US Navy Seals killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan - a triumph he points to as indicative of a strong national security policy.Obama inherited an economic crisis so persistent that it remains a threat to his re-election. Almost 800 000 jobs were lost the month he took over. In the early days of his administration, he pushed through an $831bn economic stimulus package and renewed loans to automakers, even making the government a temporary part-owner of General Motors.The centrepiece of his domestic agenda was the Affordable Care Act, the healthcare reform law better known as Obamacare. Its purpose is to give all Americans affordable insurance and more protections but critics say it is expensive federal interference. A key aspect of the reform requiring most Americans to get insurance or pay a penalty survived a 2012 US Supreme Court challenge.Obama has a reputation as a charming communicator but he also is criticised for being aloof and not building better relationships with congressional leaders. Some have questioned his preparation skills, especially after a sub-par performance in a presidential debate with Republican opponent Mitt Romney.

Romney, Obama power into final weekend

President Barack Obama and Republican foe Mitt Romney on Saturday power into a final weekend of campaigning before handing their fates to voters after a bitter, gruelling White House race.The rivals will chase one another through the battleground states that will decide Tuesday's election, with Obama seeking to solidify his midwestern line of defence, while Romney seeks an eleventh hour breakthrough.Obama will campaign in Ohio, the possible tipping point state, before heading to Wisconsin and Iowa, his trio of "firewall" battlegrounds ahead of a late night rally in Virginia, where he still hopes for an insurance win.Romney, fresh from the biggest rally of his campaign, which drew around 18 000 people on a cold night in West Chester, Ohio, on Friday will travel to New Hampshire, Iowa and Colorado.In a show of close combat on the last weekend of the campaign, both candidates will be in the eastern Iowa town of Dubuque, within hours of one another.Romney warmed up for the frenzied last weekend with a huge rally in Ohio, bringing together his former primary rivals Rick Santorum and Rick Perry, along with Obama's 2008 rival John McCain.In all, 45 lawmakers and relatives of the candidate and running mate Paul Ryan wearing Romney jackets attended the rally near the Republican stronghold of Cincinnati."We're almost home. One final push will get us there," Romney said before a crowd police estimated to be at least 18 000 strong. "We are so very, very close. The door to a brighter future is there, it's open, it's waiting for us."Obama had earlier evaded a last-minute time bomb as the economy pumped out more jobs than expected in October, delivering a boost to his re-election hopes as the final weekend of campaigning begins.Romney, however, seized on an uptick in the jobless rate by a tenth of a point to 7.9% to bemoan an economy at a "virtual standstill".After several weeks of polls suggesting a neck-and-neck race, there were new signs that Obama's position, as he seeks a second term, may be solidifying.National polls of the popular vote now mostly show a tied race or with either man up one point but with time running out Obama's position in key battleground states seems to be holding.The candidate that wins the White House will need to mass 270 electoral votes on the state-by-state map.Obama is asking voters for a second term, despite the sluggish economic recovery, while Romney is seeking a quick comeback for Republicans after George W Bush left office in 2009 with the party in disarray.All Obama's polling leads were within the margin of error, however, and both campaigns, though expressing confidence, will face a nervous night as results roll in on Tuesday and test their assumptions about the race.Obama, perhaps mindful of millions of Americans suffering from the lingering impact of the worst recession since the 1930s, avoided a triumphal tone on the jobs data that sent relief rippling through his campaign team."We have made real progress," Obama said, in Hilliard, on the first stop of a day-long swing through small towns in Ohio, which could be a tipping point state in a tied-up election.Romney highlighted the fact that, although the economy is creating jobs at a moderate pace, unemployment remains at historically high levels."For four years, President Obama's policies have crushed America's middle class," Romney said in a statement."When I'm president, I'm going to make real changes that lead to a real recovery, so that the next four years are better than the last," said Romney, who started his day in Wisconsin and ended it in Ohio.The release of the final major economic data before the election had worried Obama aides who feared that a leap in the rate above the psychological 8% mark could have sent late-deciding voters to Romney.But although the data was far from spectacular - with 171 000 jobs created last month - there was enough in the report, including upward revisions of previous monthly figures, for Obama to argue the economy was improving.Obama, campaigning in Ohio on Friday repudiated Romney's claim to being an agent of change, accusing him instead of trying to "massage the facts", highlighting a Romney ad that claims that Chrysler plans to outsource jobs to China to produce its Jeep vehicles."I know we are close to an election, but this isn't a game. These are people's jobs. These are people's lives," Obama said, noting that auto bosses had directly contradicted Romney on the attack.The president repeatedly touts his decision to bail out indebted US automakers in a politically unpopular 2009 move that helped restore the industry to health.One in eight jobs in Ohio are linked to the sector, and Romney's opposition to the bailout has emerged as a liability for the Republican.A CNN/Opinion Research poll showed Obama up three points in Ohio, raising his average in the RealClearPolitics aggregate of opinion surveys in the state to 2.4 points.The president also leads Romney in enough of the eight or so swing states to assure himself of the 270 electoral votes needed for re-election, if polling data is confirmed by voting.

Romney hits Obama on 'revenge' vow

Republican nominee Mitt Romney chided President Barack Obama on Saturday for calling on Americans to vote for "revenge" as the battle for the White House raced to an ill-tempered climax.Three days before voters chose between giving Obama a second term or sending him packing back to Chicago, the rivals chased one another through a handful of states that will decide Tuesday's too-close-to-call election.Romney was up early in New Hampshire, which has only four of the 270 electoral votes needed to claim the White House but could punch above its weight in a tight finish, accusing Obama of "demonising" political foes."I won't represent just one party, I'll represent one nation," Romney told a crowd at an airport rally outside Portsmouth, and warned Obama would find it impossible to work with congressional Republicans if he wins re-election.Romney also debuted a new political ad on Saturday, seizing on Obama's comment in Ohio on Friday when he told supporters angry at the Republicans not to boo but to vote, saying "voting's the best revenge".The ad featured Romney telling his biggest crowd of the campaign in Ohio also Friday that Obama "asked his supporters to vote for revenge - for revenge"."Instead, I ask the American people to vote for love of country," Romney said.While Romney was campaigning, Obama was back in Washington visiting the headquarters of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as New York and New Jersey struggle to deal with the aftermath of murderous superstorm Sandy."We still have a long way to go," said Obama, stressing he had no time for government "red tape" which could hold up the relief effort, after discussing the crisis with the governors of New Jersey, Connecticut and New York.The Obama campaign enjoys the comparison between Obama doing his job managing the government while Romney campaigns as polls show a majority of Americans approve of the president's handling of Sandy.With time running down until the election, Obama soon headed back to the campaign trail, with a long day of campaign stops planned in Ohio, the possible tipping point state before heading to Wisconsin and Iowa.He will wrap up his day with a late night rally in Virginia, a state where he and Romney are locked in a tight race.Romney, fresh from the biggest rally of his campaign, which drew at least 18 000 people on a cold night in West Chester, Ohio, left New Hampshire for trips to Colorado and Iowa.In a show of close combat on the last weekend of the campaign, both candidates will be in the eastern Iowa town of Dubuque, within hours of one another.Latest polls show Obama and Romney tied nationally, but Obama appears to be solidifying his position in enough of the eight or so swing states that will decide the election to support his hopes of a second term.New surveys by the Wall Street Journal and NBC News Saturday showed the president up by 47-49% in Florida and leading Romney by 51-45 % n Ohio, double the margin in the current RealClearPolitics average.A Mason Dixon poll for the Miami Herald, however, had Romney up by six points in Florida, which the Republican, who also needs Ohio, cannot afford to lose if he is to be elected America's 45th president.The Obama and Romney campaigns have sharply differing views of the race.The president's team believe that early voting and polling data, plus the president's grass roots turnout machine, mean that Obama will prevail in a close race.But Romney's camp believes opinion polls are overstating the proportion of Democrats in the electorate and that their candidate is poised to ride the support of independent voters to victory on Tuesday.On Friday, Obama earlier evaded a last-minute time bomb as the economy pumped out more jobs than expected in October.Romney, however, seized on an uptick in the jobless rate by a tenth of a point to 7.9% to bemoan an economy at a "virtual standstill".Obama, campaigning in Ohio Friday repudiated Romney's claim to being an agent of change, accusing him instead of trying to "massage the facts", highlighting a Romney ad that claims that Chrysler plans to outsource jobs to China to produce its Jeep vehicles."I know we are close to an election, but this isn't a game. These are people's jobs. These are people's lives," Obama said, noting that auto bosses had directly contradicted Romney on the attack.The president repeatedly touts his decision to bail out indebted US automakers in a politically unpopular 2009 move that helped restore the industry to health.One in eight jobs in Ohio are linked to the sector, and Romney's opposition to the bailout has emerged as a liability for the Republican.

NEWS,01.11.2012

Bloomberg endorses Obama over climate change

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has endorsed US President Barack Obama for a second term, citing the importance of Obama's record on climate change.The endorsement follows the devastating blow dealt to the New York area by superstorm Sandy."Our climate ischanging,""And while the increase in extreme weather we have experienced in New York City andaround the world may or may not be the result of it, the risk that it might be given this week's devastation should compel all elected leaders to take immediate action."Bloomberg said Obama had taken significant steps to reduce carbon consumption, whereas Republican challenger Mitt Romney had backtracked on earlier positions he had taken as governor of Massachusetts to battle climate change.Obama 'honoured' The nod from Bloomberg, a Republican turned independent, comes after Obama won praise from New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a Republican, for his quick reaction to the storm."I'm honored to have Mayor Bloomberg's endorsement," Obama said in a statement."I deeply respect him for his leadership in business, philanthropy and government, and appreciate the extraordinary job he's doing right now, leading New York City through these difficult days."'Divisive populist agenda' But Mayor Bloomberg also criticised Obama in his article, accusing him of embracing a "divisive populist agenda".He also said Obama had "devoted little time and effort to developing and sustaining a coalition of centrists, which doomed hope for any real progress on illegal guns, immigration, tax reform, job creation and deficit reduction".However, Bloomberg concluded that on a number of issues dear to him, Obama stood closer to him than Romney, who he chastised for changing some of his positions - including his policy on climate change."If the 1994 or 2003 version of Mitt Romney were running for president, I may well have voted for him because, like so many other independents, I have found the past four years to be, in a word, disappointing," Bloomberg said.'Work not yet done' Obama returned to the campaign trail for the first time in four days on Thursday, declaring "our work is not yet done" and reviving his successful 2008 campaign slogan: change.The president, who won the White House four years ago thanks in part to his themes of "hope" and "change," had largely avoided the same themes until now.Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, sought to portray himself as the new candidate of change, Obama aimed to reclaim that mantle in a neck-and-neck race with just five days to go before Election Day on November 6."I know what change looks like because I've fought for it," Obama told a crowd of some 2,600 on an airport tarmac in Wisconsin, one of a handful of battleground states that will determine the winner of the election.Obama said Romney's proposals to reduce regulations for banks and cut taxes for the wealthiest Americans were examples of policies that had led to the economic problems that he inherited when he became president in 2009.'Salesman' Romney "Governor Romney has been using all his talents as a salesman to dress up these very same policies that failed our country so badly - the very same policies we've been cleaning up after for the past four years - and he is offering them up as change," Obama said."Well, let me tell you Wisconsin, we know what change looks like. And what the governor is offering sure ain't change."The Romney campaign, boosted by their candidate's surge in the polls over the past month, dismissed Obama's arguments."We've said all along this election is a choice between the status quo and real change  change that offers promise that the future will be better than the past," said Romney spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg."President Obama's misguided policies and broken promises have let down millions of Americans, and we can't afford four more years like the last four."Obama conceded that he had not been able to make progress on all the changes he promised in 2008, but he noted as he repeatedly does that he ended the war in Iraq, repealed a policy that prevented gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military, and ordered the US mission that killed Osama bin Laden.Keeping a slightly more positive tone, Obama drew distinctions with Romney without being as aggressive as he has been in recent weeks.He did not mention the word "Romnesia" - the term he has used to delight crowds when describing what he says are Romney's tendencies to shift positions.But he kept up strong criticism of his opponent. Obama portrayed the Republican challenger as someone who would not bring bipartisanship to Washington - a promise Obama also made four years ago and has had trouble keeping.Superstorm Sandy Obama, who has focused his campaign primarily on appealing to middle class Americans, also used a section of his speech to praise the record of former President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, who has become the top surrogate for Obama in the final days of the campaign.The remarks were Obama's first at a political event since Sandy devastated parts of the eastern United States earlier this week.The president spent three days off the campaign trail to oversee the response effort.Obama opened his remarks with a nod to the suffering experienced by those affected by the storm, and aides said he would be briefed about the recovery process throughout the day.Meanwhile, Romney returned to campaign attacks against Obama, hitting the Democrat for proposing more governmentbureaucracy.Romney returns to Obama criticism Romney swept into must-win Virginia looking to increase turnout among Republican voters in a conservative area of the state to help offset the Democrats' advantage the northern area.Virginia went for Obama in 2008 but may flip for the Republican this year."Turnout here makes a big difference," Romney told a crowd gathered inside a window and door factory.The former governor of Massachusetts had not mentioned Obama's name in two days of events this week as he toned down campaign rhetoric while Americans along the East Coast reeled from the superstorm Sandy.But with the recovery now under way, Romney resumed his standard campaign fare of singling out the president for criticism.He leaped on a comment that Obama made in an interview aired by MSNBC on Monday in which the president said he would like to create a new government agency headed by a "secretary of business' to try to help businesses create jobs."I've said that I want to consolidate a whole bunch of government agencies. We should have one Secretary of Business, instead of nine different departments that are dealing with things like giving loans to SBA (the Small Business Administration) or helping companies with exports," Obama had said.This comment bolstered Romney's charge that the president wants to expand government rather than boost the private sector."I don't think adding a new chair to his cabinet will help add millions of jobs on Main Street," Romney said.The race for the White House remained effectively tied on Thursday, with Obama backed by 47% of likely voters and Romney supported by 46% in a Reuters/Ipsos daily tracking poll. That margin has been constant in the online poll for three days running and is statistically insignificant.

No fuel as NY pumps run dry

 

Drivers and homeowners scrambled to secure fuel for their cars and generators in the US Northeast on Wednesday as storm-hit petrol stations started to run dry.More than half of all petrol service stations in the New York City area and New Jersey were shut because of depleted fuel supplies and power outages, frustrating attempts to restore normal life, industry officials said.Reports of long lines, dark stations and empty tanks circulated across the region, with some station owners unable to pump fuel due to a lack of power. Others quickly ran their tanks dry because of intensified demand and logistical problems in delivering fresh supplies.The lack of working petrol stations is likely to compound travel problems in the region, with the New York City subway system down until at least Thursday and overland rail and bus services severely disrupted. Homeowners running back-up generators during the power cuts may also run short of fuel.“I don’t have any lights and need this gasoline for my generator,” said Abdul Rahim Anwar at a Getty service station in Gowanus, Brooklyn, as he put two full jerry cans into his trunk.Tempers flared as a queue of at least 30 cars spilled down the street, with drivers blaring horns, shouting and getting out of their cars. Pump attendant Nadim Amid said the station had already run out of regular gasoline and only had a tiny amount of super unleaded and diesel left. One driver, a doctor who asked not to be named, said she had driven from New Jersey, where half of all businesses and homes are still without power. More than 80% of filling stations in the state were unable to sell gasoline as of Wednesday morning, said Sal Risalvato, head of the New Jersey Gasoline, Convenience, Automotive Association.“It’s going to be an ugly few days until we can see both power and supplies restored,” Risalvato said. Petrol stations on New York’s Long Island and the city borough of Staten Island also reported shortages, while lengthy lines were seen in the borough of Queens. Commuters may see higher prices at the pumps in the coming days, though oil traders said it will also dampen demand for fuel and increase stockpiles in the region.A source at the US Environmental Protection Agency said it has received a request from a state hit by the storm to waive a clean gasoline requirement to help ease increase supplies. Gas but no power, power but no gasKevin Beyer, president of the Long Island Gasoline Retailers Association in Smithtown, New York, estimated that less than half of all stations were able to sell fuel from Wednesday morning.“I have gas in the ground but no power. For many others they’re facing the opposite problem, with power but no gasoline. For the few stations that are lucky enough to have both they’ve got huge lines out front,” Beyer said.Beyer estimated it could take until the end of next week to get all fuel stations operating again.The problem is not a severe shortage of fuel in the Northeast, but widespread power outages and the storm-related logistical problems of getting the fuel from refineries and terminals to those who need it.Jenn Hibbs, an account director at marketing firm Marden-Kane in Garden City, Long Island, said there was only one fuel station open within 16km of her house. Friends were sharing tips on Facebook about where they could get fuel, but two lines for gas leading to the service station were both over half a mile long.“It’s making people think about whether they can get to work, whether they have enough gas in the tank to get there and back,” Hibbs said.

Obama, Romney get back to campaigning

President Barack Obama returned to full-force campaigning on Thursday, ending a three-day pause to manage the federal response to the historic storm that battered the East Coast. He holds slim leads in many of the key US battleground states five days before the 6 November election.Polling, however, also shows Obama locked in a tie nationwide with Republican challenger Mitt Romney, who tempered his criticism of the president this week to avoid the appearance of seeking political advantage in the midst of a natural disaster.Both candidates faced a day of trying to strike the right tone in an intensely stressful race.Battleground statesObama's lead in a majority of the nine so-called battleground states could determine the outcome. Those states are neither reliably Republican nor Democratic, giving them outsized importance in the US system for choosing the president. The winner is not the candidate with the most popular votes nationwide but the one who manages to accumulate at least 270 electoral votes in state-by-state contests. Those votes are determined by a combination of a state's population and representation in Congress.Despite a Romney surge nationwide after the three presidential debates, polling shows Obama holding on to leads in enough of the all-important swing states - most notably Ohio - to win at least the necessary 270 electors. No Republican candidate for the White House has ever won the election without capturing Ohio.Both candidates are battling to win over the thin slice of the electorate that remains undecided while ensuring that their supporters go to the polls. SandySuperstorm Sandy was bound to hurt turnout in hard-hit New Jersey and New York, but both are heavily Democratic, and it was unlikely to have a significant effect on results. Election officials were promising every effort to have polls open or direct voters to alternative locations where necessary.This week's storm, and the federal government response to the devastation, could serve to cause voters to make up their minds.The contest between Obama and Romney, at heart, has been an argument over the role of the federal government in the lives of Americans.Obama believes Washington can have a positive effect. Romney believes the government should become much smaller and, therefore, collect much less in taxes.Obama has been given high marks, even from some of his harshest Republican critics, for his handling of this week's storm crisis and the dispatch of massive federal aid to victims. Romney has been forced to answer questions about his earlier campaign statements that the key federal emergency relief organisation, the Federal Emergency Management Agency or Fema, should turn its role over to the states.Heavy travelAs his campaign resumes, Obama will try to make up for lost time with a heavy travel itinerary in the coming days, including rallies on Thursday in Wisconsin, Nevada and Colorado.Obama spokesperson Jennifer Psaki said the president remains focused on the storm recovery, but must resume campaigning because of the "reality" of Tuesday's election and the need to continue making the case for Americans to give him four more years in the White House.The partisan sniping continued this week from the candidates' surrogates and their running mates. Much of it focused on Romney's new television and radio ads in critical Ohio that suggest automakers General Motors and Chrysler are adding jobs in China at the expense of workers in the Midwestern swing state. Vice President Joe Biden said the spots were "one of the most flagrantly dishonest ads I can ever remember".Obama's campaign planned to keep pressing its criticism of the ads as it seeks to block Romney's prospects for a breakthrough in Ohio and other Midwestern states where the auto industry is deeply important to the economy, the most important issue in the 2012 election.The Republican ticket hasn't backed away from the ad. Running mate Paul Ryan said in a statement that "American taxpayers are on track to lose $25bna s a result of President Obama's handling of the auto bailout, and GM and Chrysler are expanding their production overseas".FactsIn fact, Chrysler is adding 1 100 jobs to its plant in Toledo, Ohio. It's also adding production facilities in China as demand for cars there grows. Because of trade rules, it's easier for companies to build cars for the Chinese market in China. It's also more efficient. Japanese automakers, for example, have plants in the US to meet American demand.Romney was campaigning Thursday in Virginia, while Ryan was appearing at events in Nevada and Colorado.Biden had two events scheduled in Iowa. Obama was starting his day in Wisconsin, making up an event that was cancelled earlier in the week because of the storm. He had a rally planned later in Las Vegas, as well as Boulder, Colorado, a heavily Democratic area.More than 19 million people have already voted in the presidential, either by mail or in person. No votes will be counted until 6 November, but some key states are releasing the party affiliation of those who have voted.Democrats have an edge in votes cast in battleground states Florida, Iowa, Nevada, North Carolina and Ohio. Republicans have an advantage in Colorado.