President Obama news briefs

As we breathlessly await our President’s “Reaganesque” first primetime speech before Congress in his administration, let’s take a look at some Obama headlines making the news today:

Of course, no day during the Obama administration would be complete without some WH “official” making claims that equate to our President looking like Superman. Today, one senior official claimed – on “background” – that President Obama had accomplished more in 30 days “than any president in modern history.” Ahem. By whose standards? Can we define “accomplishment,” too, while we’re at it, please?

Another senior official – or perhaps the same one – told reporters today that Team Obama was getting ready to announce that most US troops would be out of Iraq in 18 months. It goes without saying that this is assuming security remains relatively stable. Leave it to the mainstream mediots to try and paint this as an Obama “promise fulfilled” without mentioning the fact that he’s able to do so because the military strategy that he opposed and continued to oppose even after it was proven successful in quelling violence and opening up political reconciliation has been largely successful. Don’t expect any acknowledgment on this front from any of Obama’s loyal supporters in the press or Obama and anyone in his administration, on “background” or not. They’ll just continue to throw Bush even farther underneath the bus on the issue of the global war on terror just as Obama did in his first interview as President with the Al Arabiya news network, while privately continuing many of the policies of the Bush administration on the counterterrorism front.

The NYTimes reports (h/t: Memeo) that tonight President Obama will make that case that we had no choice but to implement a “New Deal”-style economic/bailout plan and will also suggest that, “if done right,” the new New Deal won’t last for long.

Uh huh. As I recall, the last “New Deal” this country was sold was done so with the thought in mind that it was going to be “temporary help.” How’d that work out again?

Fed Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke is trying to soothe the worries of many over the idea that banks will be “nationalized” by saying that, well, they won’t be – not fully nationalized, anyway. Anyone believe him?

File this under “I would have, too, but only if I weren’t head of the NEC”: Larry Summers fell asleep on the stage yesterday during Obama’s economic “fiscal sustainability summit.”

In the middle of everything going on, President Obama and VP Biden took the time to meet with actor George Clooney Monday night on the issue of Darfur. Clooney, who serves the UN in the capacity of a “UN Messenger of Peace,” also informally advised candidate Obama on foreign policy issues last year. No word yet on whether Clooney still believes that the late Charlton Heston “deserved” Alzheimer’s disease.

Did you hear the news? The invocations that are being given prior to Obama’s speeches are being commissioned and vetted by the White House. Example:

During Obama’s recent visit to Fort Myers, Fla., to promote his economic stimulus plan, a black Baptist preacher delivered a prayer that carefully avoided mentioning Jesus, lest he offend anyone in the audience. And at Obama’s appearance last week near Phoenix to unveil his mortgage bailout plan, an administrator for the Tohono O’odham Nation delivered the prayer, taking the unusual step of writing it down so he could E-mail it to the White House for vetting. American Indian prayers are typically improvised.

Though invocations have long been commonplace at presidential inaugurations and certain events like graduations or religious services at which presidents are guests, the practice of commissioning and vetting prayers for presidential rallies is unprecedented in modern history, according to religion and politics experts.

Sigh …

Related: The Obamedia lovefest in advance of tonight’s speech has already started.