He also staked out a position that anyone in the country legally should be covered – a major break with the 1996 welfare reform bill, which limited most federal public assistance programs only to citizens and longtime immigrants.

“Even though I do not believe we can extend coverage to those who are here illegally, I also don’t simply believe we can simply ignore the fact that our immigration system is broken,” Mr. Obama said Wednesday evening in a speech to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. “That’s why I strongly support making sure folks who are here legally have access to affordable, quality health insurance under this plan, just like everybody else.

Mr. Obama added, “If anything, this debate underscores the necessity of passing comprehensive immigration reform and resolving the issue of 12 million undocumented people living and working in this country once and for all.”

Republicans said that amounts to an amnesty, calling it a backdoor effort to make sure current illegal immigrants get health care.

Ed:

In other words, not only should everyone pay for Americans to get health care, we should pay for health care for those who came here illegally.  That’s going to be a winning argument in 2010, especially in Blue Dog districts!  We’re going to bust the budget and infringe on your personal choices, and we’re going to make you pay for insurance for illegal immigrants!

The White House indicated last week that they intended to take on immigration next..looks like they just did.

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights voted on Aug. 7 to send a letter to Justice expanding its own investigation and demanding more complete answers. “We believe the Department’s defense of its actions thus far undermines respect for rule of law,” its letter stated. It noted “the peculiar logic” of one Justice argument, that defendants’ failure to show up in court was a reason for dismissing the case: “Such an argument sends a perverse message to wrongdoers—that attempts at voter suppression will be tolerated so long as the persons who engage in them are careful not to appear in court to answer the government’s complaint.”

The commission noted that it could subpoena witnesses and documents if Justice doesn’t better explain its actions.

President Obama needs to clear the air. As a former law professor who specialized in voting rights, he is aware of how important even-handed application of the law is to election integrity. In 2007, then-Sen. Obama introduced a bill to protect Americans from tactics that intimidate voters. It also increased the criminal penalty for voter intimidation to five years in prison from one year.

“There is no place for politics in this debate,” he testified before Mr. Conyers’s committee in March, 2007. “Both parties at different periods in our history have been guilty in different regions of preventing people from voting for a tactical advantage. We should be beyond that.”

One way to get there is for Mr. Obama to insist his Justice Department reinstate the Black Panther case or provide a full explanation for why it was dropped.

Hat tip to Michelle Malkin and Newsalert

Michelle Malkin » Hey, Harry Reid, do you think we have an entitlement crisis yet?.

Social Security and Medicare are fading even faster under the weight of the recession, heading for insolvency years sooner than previously expected, the government warned Tuesday. Social Security will start paying out more in benefits than it collects in taxes in 2016, a year sooner than projected last year, and the giant trust fund will be depleted by 2037, four years sooner, trustees reported.

Medicare is in even worse shape. The trustees said the program for hospital expenses will pay out more in benefits than it collects this year, just as it did for the first time in 2008. The trustees project that the Medicare fund will be depleted by 2017, two years earlier than the date projected in last year’s report.

The trust funds — which exist in paper form in a filing cabinet in Parkersburg, W.Va. — are bonds that are backed by the government’s “full faith and credit” but not by any actual assets. That money has been spent over the years to fund other parts of government. To redeem the trust fund bonds, the government would have to borrow in public debt markets or raise taxes.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, the head of the trustees group, said the new reports were a reminder that “the longer we wait to address the long-term solvency of Medicare and Social Security, the sooner those challenges will be upon us and the harder the options will be.”

• U.S. employers cut  539,000 jobs in April

• The Labor Department said the unemployment rate soared to 8.9 percent, the highest since September 1983

• March’s payrolls figure was revised to show a decline of 699,000, compared with a previously reported drop of 663,000

• Job losses in February were bumped up to 681,000 from the previously estimated 651,000

• The manufacturing sector lost 149,000 jobs in April, after shedding 167,000 the prior month.

• Construction industries cut 110,000 jobs after losing 135,000 in March.

• The service-providing industry slashed 269,000 positions after eliminating 381,000 in March

The author of the article is careful to lump 2008 in with 2009, so as not to make the One look bad:

Since the start of the recession in December 2007, the economy has lost 5.7 million jobs, the department said

So let’s take that figure of 5.7 million jobs and subtract the total job lost  in  2008, which is 2.6 million.  We have shed 3.1 million jobs in 2009

Look on the bright side though,  the government and education and health services sectors added jobs

Now take a look at this Hot Air headline: Howard Dean: “I think we’ve had quite enough capitalism in the last eight years”

“From James Carville …

“I knew it was going to take an extraordinary effort to help pay off Hillary Clinton’s campaign debt. But now, I think we can do it and have some fun at the same time! I won’t spend a lot of time trying to convince you to help Hillary. I know what she means to you, and I’m sure you know how important it is for her to have her campaign pay off all its obligations.

“So let’s get to the fun part — enter today to win one of three truly once in a lifetime opportunities and you will also be doing something great to help finish off Hillary’s debt. With a contribution today, one of these exclusive prizes could be yours:

“* Spend a day with President Clinton. Head to New York City to attend several interesting events with President Clinton followed by your own special New York City weekend.

“* Attend the “American Idol” season finale. You and a guest will watch live as the “American Idol” judges make their final comments and decisions on this year’s most anticipated season finale!

“* Want to talk politics with me? How about a spending a weekend in D.C. You will have lunch with me and my great friend Paul Begala. We will talk about politics, you will get to tour all the amazing sites D.C. has to offer and who knows what else could happen!

“Make a $5 contribution today, and you could be on your way to one of these once in a lifetime opportunities! Your contribution today not only gives you the chance at winning one of these fantastic prizes — it’ll also help our dear friend, Hillary Clinton, pay off the very last of her campaign debt. This means a whole lot to Hillary, and I know she appreciates everything you do for her. These amazing prizes are only being offered online and are available only for a limited time — so please don’t delay in acting today.

“Sincerely,

“James Carville

“P.S. This is a truly once in a lifetime opportunity to win one of three amazing prizes AND to help Hillary pay off her debt. I hope you’ll seize it. Click here to enter today!”

Remember when she had at her disposal  a handful of accounting maneuvers?

Good news: “Capitalism will be different” now, declares Geithner

Obama on pork: Gone With The Change

WSJ survey: Economists give Obama, Geithner failing grades so far

Hypocrisy Thy Name Is Obama

By all means Obama, keep talking about Rush, or make more promises you have no intention of keeping.  Newsflash..Half of those that voted to get you in are not following what you do, which is good news for you.  The bad news is that the other half is paying attention

February 2, 2009

He is livid, seething, and he is warming up the Oldsmobile:

An “apoplectic” Kennedy family is seething over the rough treatment that heiress apparent Caroline got from Gov. Paterson’s office and is spoiling for revenge, several sources close to the clan have told The Post.

“The governor’s going to pay for this,” said a well-placed Democrat. “Ted is furious. The family is furious. The Kennedys are now against the governor.”

MAKES DECISION AFTER LEARNING SHE WASN’T GOING TO BE PICKED AS SENATOR…

Caroline Kennedy tonight withdrew her name from consideration to replace Hillary Clinton in the U.S. Senate after learning that Gov. David Paterson wasn’t going to choose her, The Post has learned.

Kennedy’s decision removes the highest-profile name in the ring to step into Clinton’s now-vacant seat, as she departs after getting confirmed today as President Obama’s Secretary of State.

Sources said the reason Paterson had decided not to tap the daughter of John F. Kennedy was her poor performances in media interviews and in in private sessions with various officials.

Aides to Kennedy couldn’t be reached for comment.

Paterson has said he is not yet sure who he will select, but plans to announce his pick by this weekend – and an announcement is expected either Friday or Saturday.

For the first time on Tuesday, shortly after Obama was inaugurated, Paterson acknowledged publicly that he is considering state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo for the slot.

Cuomo, who has soared in public polls over Kennedy in the past two weeks in popularity for the seat, has not said whether he’s interested in the job, but has not tamped down speculation that he’s making a play for it.

Kennedy’s entrance into the bidding for Clinton’s seat was intended to have the effect of clearing the field, and forcing other contenders to see her as the inevitable choice for the post once held by her uncle, Robert F. Kennedy.

Mayor Bloomberg privately backed her and publicly praised her abilities, and his top deputy, Kevin Sheekey, worked the phones aggressively on Kennedy’s behalf, and set her up with powerhouse consulting firm Knickerbocker SKD.

But her rollout received stiff criticism, as she ducked press questions during her first trip upstate, fared poorly in her initial round of media interviews – and several critics said she had a lack of a clear rationale for her candidacy.

The decision to appoint Clinton’s successor is solely Paterson’s, and he has offered conflicting comments about where he is in the process over the past few days – suggesting almost simultaneously that he’d made up his mind, and then that he hadn’t.

The surprise decision leaves a crowded field of about 15 people, mostly elected officials, vying to replace Clinton – including Long Island Rep. Steve Israel, Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, upstate Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, Rep. Carolyn Maloney and teachers union head Randi Weingarten.

Kennedy’s brief foray into politics lasted just under a month, from the time she roiled New York politics shortly before Christmas to say she was interested in being picked for the seat to today.

Kennedy, who attended Obama’s inauguration on Tuesday, campaigned aggressively for the new president – and infuriated Clinton loyalists by dissing her during the primary races – and her relationship with him was often cited by her boosters as a value add if she had been picked.

Several sources said Obama was pulling for Kennedy as the pick, and Kennedy herself said the president had been “encouraging” about her making a play for it.

Clinton, meanwhile, was confirmed by the Senate today almost unanimously, in a vote of 94-2.

She can always try for Ted’s seat!