By Simon Denyer
WASHINGTON, Nov 18 (Reuters) - It must be more than a little frustrating to win the Nobel Peace Prize for your best intentions -- ridding the world of nuclear weapons - and then struggle to even get the START Treaty ratified this year. Not surprising, then, that President Barack Obama told his deputy to work "day and night" to get this thing through.
But whatever the temptation to throw a little egg on the president's face, many security analysts still find it amazing to see Republicans blocking a treaty that the U.S. military so strongly backs. Welcome to bipartisan Washington, again, I guess.
Despite the uneven start to the week, Wednesday was not a bad day for Obama by any means.
The president was able to celebrate GM's successful blockbuster initial public offering, by implication a victory for his controversial bailout of the automobile industry. The offering cut the government's stake in the company to 26 percent from 61 percent and raised more than $20 billion, with investors betting on a positive future for the automaker which so nearly went out of business. Obama said taxpayers would end up recovering more from General Motors than his administration spent on the bailout, adding that a million jobs were saved and many more were now being created.
Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will travel to auto town Kokomo, Indiana next week to celebrate. The rescues of the banking and auto industries certainly didn't make great politics in the midterm elections, but with much of the money coming back to the public purse, "bailout" might not be such a poisonous word in the 2012 campaign.
The other better news for the Democrats was the fact that they finally seemed to get their act together on taxes, after weeks of seeming to flounder without a clear strategy. Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi will first present the middle class tax cuts to the Senate and House respectively for a vote, before a separate vote on the cuts for wealthier Americans. They may not win the Senate vote, but at least Dems reckon they will be able to pin any failure to get a deal squarely on their rivals.
Here are our top stories from Washington today:
Obama: Russia treaty is national security imperative
President Obama ramped up his push for the Senate to pass a new nuclear arms treaty with Russia, calling it a national security imperative that the pact be ratified this year. "The stakes for American national security are clear and they are high," Obama told reporters, sitting with former Republican Secretary of State Henry Kissinger at his side. [nN18276560]
Jobless benefits extension fails in U.S. House
Millions of jobless Americans could see unemployment benefits run out in coming weeks after an effort to extend them failed in the House of Representatives. House Democratic leaders said they would take up the measure again, but Congress has little time before the benefits expire on Nov. 30. [nN1899246]
Democrats plan vote on middle class tax cuts
Democrats said they would vote to extend Bush-era tax cuts for the lower and middle classes only, setting up a clash with Republicans over the issue. The moves end days of handwringing by Democrats as they struggled to find a common strategy ahead of a Dec. 31 deadline for expiration of tax cuts. [nN18262352]
Obama, Biden head to auto city in wake of GM IPO
President Obama and VP Biden will travel to Kokomo, Indiana, is home to several automobile plants next week, the White House said, in the wake of General Motors' successful stock offering. Major employers include Chrysler LLC and the auto parts supplier Delphi Corp. [nN1897036]
US factory, jobless data show some economic strength
A closely watched gauge of jobless benefits hit a two-year low last week, suggesting the economy's recovery was gaining speed. While the data is the latest to show the economy shaking off a summer slowdown, it is unlikely to deter the Fed from buying $600 billion of government debt. [nN18277350]
Republican leader slams Obama over terrorism case
Republicans criticized the Obama administration for pursuing terrorism cases in federal court after a jury acquitted a man once held at the Guantanamo Bay prison on almost all of the charges related to the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Africa. [nN1897871]
Lawmakers hit banks, regulators on foreclosures
Lawmakers hauled top mortgage lenders and regulators to Capitol Hill to chastise them for widespread flaws in foreclosure documents, but failed to extract any promises of fines or fresh loan modification programs. [nN18281274]
House Republicans renew voluntary earmark ban
Republicans in the House of Representatives adopted a voluntary ban on pet projects known as earmarks when they take control of the chamber in January from President Obama's Democrats. [nN18293560]
Senate Republican leader opposes spending bill
Prospects for a comprehensive bill to fund the government appeared to dim after Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said he would not support the bill, which would fund everything from national parks to the military through September 2011. [nN18290794]
Pentagon says 2014 Afghan deadline "aspirational"
President Hamid Karzai's target to take the lead from NATO in securing Afghanistan by the end of 2014 is "aspirational" and may not be possible everywhere in the country, the Pentagon said. [nN18111788]
US urged to cut military edge to help plug deficit
The United States should trim its lopsided military edge over the rest of the world as part of efforts to cut its deficit, a nonpartisan group of national security experts. [nN18105652]
US says Iraq pullout won't cause dramatic violence
The planned withdrawal from Iraq by the end of next year is not expected to trigger a dramatic increase in violence, a senior defense official told Congress. [nN18121465]
Senate panel passes bill against piracy websites
Agencies and officials would get new powers to go after foreign websites that sell counterfeit goods and pirated music, movies and books under a bill passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee. [nN18289225]
What we are blogging:
For Biden, it's START "day and night"
Instead of counting sheep to fall asleep at night, we imagine VP Biden may be counting votes. http://blogs.reuters.com/frontrow/2010/11/18/for-biden-its-start-day-and-night/
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
