blogging the beltway

We’re now hours, not days, away from finding out if Democrat and Republican lawmakers can cut a deal on the 2011 budget and, thus, whether the government will keep running. A worst-case-scenario government shutdown would have broad consequences — 800,000 federal workers could be furloughed, bringing a screeching halt to home and small business loans,…

President Obama officially launched his re-election campaign on Monday, filing papers with the Federal Election Commission and releasing “It Begins With Us,” a video pitching his 2012 bid as a grassroots effort powered by the people. It worked once before, so why not try it again? The president himself is absent during the two-minute spot,…

Historically known as the analytical arm of the civil rights movement, the National Urban League has long advocated for racial equality through the spectrum of research and data. The organization continued that tradition on Thursday with the release of its annual The State of Black America report, this year under the theme “Jobs Rebuild America:…

The East Room of the White House was an explosion of pink on Wednesday night, as First Lady Michelle Obama hosted a dinner program for 120 teenage girls – fuchsia tablecloths, centerpiece bouquets of pink and red roses, floral-print plates (Johnson presidential china), and even color-coordinated glasses of cranberry juice. It was the latest event to focus…

Recy Taylor hadn’t asked for much. More than six decades after she was raped by six white men in her hometown of Abbeville, Alabama – a horrific crime that the sheriff’s department covered up, never to speak of again – she wasn’t interested in reopening the case or pressing charges. Taylor, now 91 years old,…

In his defense, President Obama and members of his administration have given public statements on Libya every day since the U.N. resolution authorizing a no-fly zone was first imposed. But until Monday night, the president had yet to deliver a prime-time address on the subject, a lapse that only became more glaring as people from…

Wednesday marks the first anniversary of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the law better known as health care reform. But despite the passage of time, according to a new Kaiser Family Foundation survey, most Americans are still confused about how it will impact them personally. If all goes according to plan, by 2019…

This weekend President Obama embarked on his five-day Latin America trip to Brazil, Chile (where he touched down on Monday) and El Salvador to strengthen relationships, with a particular focus on the U.S. trading role in some of the world’s fastest growing markets. Addressing Brazilians directly in a speech from Rio de Janeiro on Sunday afternoon,…

Following heavy criticism of his cautious leadership style on Libya, on Friday President Obama gave remarks about the crisis surrounding Col. Muammar Qaddafi’s escalating violence against the Libyan people. Obama announced that the United States is preparing to take a more aggressive approach in the conflict, but also tried to assure that American military engagement would…

As college basketball fans tune in to the NCAA tournament, the Obama administration hopes that they’ll also start thinking about their favorite teams’ academic credentials. A new report (pdf) from the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports (TIDES) shows unconscionable disparities in the graduation rates between black and white players on men’s…