House Democrats Clear Budget Bill for Passage

House Democrats resolved an internal squabble over a $3.5 trillion fiscal 2010 budget plan, clearing the way for final passage of the blueprint tomorrow, to mark President Obama's 100th day in office.

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Bruised by Stimulus Battle, Obama Changed His Approach to Wa

The night before the Senate vote on President Obama's $787 billion stimulus bill, one question echoed through the West Wing:

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Madeleine Albright: One Hundred Days

The President is off to a good start, but the first 100 days is only a small part of a long task.

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Obama's First 100 Days: The Good, The Bad & the Geithner

Arianna Huffington ~ In his Grant Park acceptance speech on election night, the newly elected president warned that "the road ahead will be long," and "our climb will be steep." But his poll numbers are a vindication of the idea that, with the right leadership, Americans are mature enough to heed those words and not expect immediate results.

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Obama's Enchanting Quizfest

The questions put to Barack Obama at his news conference last night covered nearly every topic but the Craigslist Killer, and if that had come up, Obama probably would have answered it in stride. You ask, he'll answer -- earnestly, disarmingly, enchantingly, even -- and most of the time...

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The Senate's Facebook

Whatever the effects of Specter's defection, one can certainly say this of the Senate in the supposed age of postpartisanship: Of the 99 senators, 95 remain safely ensconced in their parties, huddling together for warmth.

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A Torturous Compromise

Though president’s decision to expose but not prosecute those responsible for torture is surely unsatisfying, but it is the best solution for right now.

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One Hundred

In his first 14 weeks plus two days, President Obama has made a strong start at addressing the most critical of the failed policies and urgent threats that he inherited.

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Judging Presidents in 100 Days

What Post opinion writers wrote about previous presidents.

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Clinton Says U.S. Is Ready to Lead on Climate

After eight years largely on the sidelines, the United States is prepared to lead negotiations toward a new global warming treaty, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday.

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Jimmy Carter: What Happened to the Ban on Assault Weapons?

Congress must not give up on reinstating a ban on weapons designed only to kill people, even if it may be politically difficult.

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Doctor Shortage Proves Obstacle to Obama Goals

Let the squabbling begin! Re-vamping the train-wreck that is US health care is going to require changing things for a lot of very wealthy and powerful people, not just insurance big-wigs, but docs too. A proposed increase in Medicare payments to general practitioners, at the expense of high-paid specialists — has touched off a lobbying fight.

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Moore’s Law and the Law of More

Without a fixed, durable price on carbon, none of the Obama clean-tech initiatives will have an impact on climate change or make America the leader in the next great industrial revolution.

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First Lady in Control of Building Her Image

Conservatives once called her an angry black woman, but by focusing on her domestic persona, Michelle Obama and her team have engineered a remarkable political transformation.

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Secretary of State Makes Surprise Visit to Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq, April 25 - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton flew to Iraq on Saturday, stressing the Obama administration's commitment to the country as a series of horrific suicide bombings fanned fears about its precarious stability.

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Robert F. Kennedy's Stand on Cuba Travel

FTA: 'The present travel restrictions are inconsistent with traditional American liberties,' the then-U.S. attorney general argued in a behind-the-scenes debate over the ban on U.S. citizens traveling to Cuba. I hope that this will soon be the position advanced by Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.

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Obama's Foreign Policy Challenge

The president's multilateral approach arrives at a moment ripe with possibility.

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Service Bill Signing a Tribute to Kennedy

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Obama Signs Volunteer Bill With Nod to Kennedy Era

President Obama signed legislation to triple the size of the Americorps program and called on Americans to volunteer time to improve their communities.

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Swimming Without a Suit

America needs to invest money and energy into schools with a sense of urgency that the economic and moral stakes demand.

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Rising Expectations on Cuba Follow Obama

A day after the president pledged a new future in relations with Cuba, Latin American leaders said the future is now.

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At Summit of the Americas, the Issue Is Cuba

The big question is whether Hugo Chávez and Barack Obama will clash over Cuba, whose leader, Raúl Castro, was not invited.

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At Summit of the Americas, the Issue Is Cuba

The big question is whether Hugo Chávez and Barack Obama will clash over Cuba, whose leader, Raúl Castro, was not invited.

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At Summit of the Americas, the Issue Is Cuba

The big question is whether Hugo Chávez and Barack Obama will clash over Cuba, whose leader, Raúl Castro, was not invited.

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Administration: No Charges Over CIA's Enhanced Interrogation

The Justice Department will not prosecute CIA officers who used harsh interrogation techniques against terrorism suspects with the blessing of lawyers, Obama administration officials said this afternoon, as they released four Bush-era legal memos detailing practices that critics have likened to t...

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Latin American Leaders Aim to Redefine Relationship With Uni

At the fifth Summit of the Americas, Latin American leaders are expected to press President Obama on the global economy and U.S. policies on Cuba and on drugs.

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Obama Rules Out Charging C.I.A. Agents in Interrogations

As the White House released secret memos describing interrogation techniques, it said it would not prosecute those who carried out the practices.

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Obama Rules Out Charging C.I.A. Agents in Interrogations

As the White House released secret memos describing interrogation techniques, it said it would not prosecute those who carried out the practices.

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Obama Rules Out Charging C.I.A. Agents in Interrogations

As the White House released secret memos describing interrogation techniques, it said it would not prosecute those who carried out the practices.

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The Caucus: The Colbert Space Machine

It's not a node; it's not an elliptical; it's a treadmill.

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In the Age of Pirates

This is increasingly an age of pirates, failed states, nonstate actors and nation-building — the stuff of snipers, drones and generals, not diplomats.

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Obama Sees More Pain Now but Hope Later on Economy

President Obama said the battered economy was showing signs that it was beginning to recover but warned Americans that more pain still lay ahead.

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Obama Lifts Broad Set Of Sanctions Against Cuba

President Obama yesterday announced a series of steps aimed at easing the U.S. relationship with Cuba, breaking from policies first imposed by the Kennedy administration and stepping into an emotional debate over the best way to bring democratic change to one of the last remaining communist regimes.

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Obama Opens Door to Cuba, but Only a Crack

The shifts in policy cover three main areas: family travel, remittances and telecommunications.

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How the politics of Cuba changed - Carol E. Lee - POLITICO.c

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The First Puppy Makes a Big Splash

Who let the dog out? That's the Washington mystery du jour. The identity of the first puppy -- the one that the Washington press corps has been yelping about for months, the one President Obama has seemed to delight in dropping hints about -- leaked out yesterday. This despite White House efforts...

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Afghan Law Ignites Debate on Religion, Sex

KABUL, April 10 -- When Afghanistan's government quietly enacted a sweeping law last month restricting the rights of minority Shiite women, few Afghans were aware of what it said. But since the law's contents became known here just over a week ago, it has provoked an extraordinary public debate o...

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No Honorary Degree For Obama at Arizona State

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Homegrown Aid

Washington’s plan to promote economic growth and political stability in developing nations should include, beyond funds, participation by recipient countries.

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U.S. Imagines the Bailout as an Investment Tool

The White House is considering encouraging taxpayers to invest in the bank bailouts that they are already financing.

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Show Us the Ball

A cap-and-trade system to reduce carbon emissions is actually a carbon tax. So let’s stop hiding the ball and have a strategy, message and messenger that tell it like it is.

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President Makes Surprise Visit to Unbelievable Mess in Iraq

BAGHDAD, April 7 -- President Obama arrived in Baghdad Tuesday afternoon, making his first trip to Iraq as commander in chief as the war here enters its seventh year. And what moral stance will it be for what we have done to them. Will he at least spring the shoe thrower???

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President Makes Surprise Visit to Unbelievable Mess in Iraq

BAGHDAD, April 7 -- President Obama arrived in Baghdad Tuesday afternoon, making his first trip to Iraq as commander in chief as the war here enters its seventh year. And what moral stance will it be for what we have done to them. Will he at least spring the shoe thrower???

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As Obama Ends Trip, Advisers Hail Progress

ISTANBUL, April 7 -- President Obama closed out his eight-day tour of Europe and Turkey on Tuesday by reaching across cultural barriers -- meeting with Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders, slipping off his shoes to tour a 400-year-old mosque and urging an audience of university students to 'buil...

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Outlines of an Obama Grand Strategy Emerge

During his eight days in Europe, President Obama described the restoration of an old order rather than a vast realignment.

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Obama Makes Unannounced Visit to Iraq

Punctuating his week-long overseas trip, President Obama arrived on Tuesday in Baghdad, where he plans to talk to American troops and Iraqi leaders.

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Poll Finds New Optimism on Economy Since Inauguration

President Obama is enjoying some success in rebuilding confidence in a troubled nation, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

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The Geithner-Summers Plan is Even Worse Than We Thought

Insiders can easily game the system created by Geithner and Summers to cost up to a trillion dollars or more to the taxpayers.Here's how.

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After Launch, Obama Focuses On Disarmament

ANKARA, Turkey, April 6 -- President Obama arrived in Turkey on Sunday night as global condemnation of North Korea gave way to intense diplomatic debate about how to punish the rogue nation for the brazen weekend launch of a rocket over Japan and into the Pacific Ocean.

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Obama Asks Security Council to Punish N. Korea

President Obama said that North Korea violated international rules when it tested a rocket that could be used for long-range missiles. Obama is correct. North Korea said they were putting a satellite in orbit.

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Obama’s Big, Bold Bet

The emergency economic policies represent a huge bet that the administration can confine this crisis to a really nasty recession.

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A Lifeline for Nations Both Rich and Poor

LONDON, April 2 -- The $1.1 trillion pledged by world leaders to combat the worst economic crisis since World War II effectively amounts to a rescue package for both poor and rich countries, potentially including the United States.

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Congress Approves Budget

Democrats overwhelmingly embraced President Obama's expensive agenda for the nation yesterday, endorsing a $3.5 trillion spending plan that sets the stage for the president to pursue his most far-reaching intentions.

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U.S. Signals New Era for Global Economy

LONDON, April 1 -- On the eve of a global economic summit here, President Obama delivered an unusual warning Wednesday for an American leader: The 'voracious' U.S. economy can no longer be the sole engine of global growth.

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Obamas gift to Queen Elizabeth II an iPod Video

Seriously. An Obama aide reports that Mr. Obama gave the queen an iPod loaded with video and photos of her 2007 trip to the United States, as well as other songs and accessories, and a rare songbook signed by Richard Rodgers, of Rodgers and Hammerstein fame.

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Clinton Confirms Envoy’s Contact With Iranian

The Obama administration’s first public face-to-face encounter with Iran’s government took place on Tuesday.

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Democrats Agree on a Health Plan; Now Comes the Hard Part

The insurance industry has made several major concessions, while the chairmen of five Congressional committees reached a consensus on the main legislative points.

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The Price Is Not Right

It’s obvious that the reason we’re experiencing meltdowns in both the financial system and the climate system is because we have been mispricing risk in both arenas.

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U.S. to Seek Seat on U.N. Human Rights Council

UNITED NATIONS, March 31 -- The Obama administration has decided to seek a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced Tuesday, reversing a decision by the Bush administration to shun the U.N.'s premier rights body to protest the repressive states a...

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