Washington News

Obama Signs Bipartisan JOBS Act, With Cantor Looking On President Obama's signing into law of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act on Thursday received little network television coverage -- ABC mentioned it toward the end of a larger report on employment -- but was covered in more than 200 local TV reports and in several major newspapers. Moreover, many technology websites covered the new law in detail. While the mainstream media stories focus on the political ramifications, and on the bipartisan coalition that led to the law's adoption, the specialty publications consider how effective the law will be in boosting startup businesses in their sector.
ABC World News reported that the President "signed bipartisan jobs legislation aimed to put small business on the fast track to raising money, going public for so many Americans dreaming of creating the next Facebook." The AP also says the legislation was "bipartisan," but said some Democrats "raised concerns" that it "softened investment protections enacted after the dot.com excesses and Wall Street meltdowns."
The Washington Post reports in a blog post that House Majority Leader Cantor stood behind the President during the signing, and "the two, who have been frequent nemeses over the past year, even shook hands after Obama finished putting his signature to paper. ... It was the second day in a row that the president was hailing a newfound bipartisan spirit. On Wednesday, Obama signed the STOCK Act, which aims to curb insider trading by Congress and senior federal employee."
Several sources highlight Cantor's appearance. AFP says Obama "was joined by one of his chief antagonists in Congress," while Bloomberg News says Cantor said "the law 'shows we can set aside our differences and work together on areas of common ground to grow the economy and get people back to work.'" The Hill (4/6, Easley) says "after clashing repeatedly last year," Obama and Cantor "made nice."
The Los Angeles Times reports that though the new law "was only a small portion of the larger jobs bill Obama pushed last year," the President "sought to draw attention to the bill and the image of cooperation in a town that is sharply divided along party lines and moving no closer together in an election year." But even as Obama and Cantor "said they hoped the agreement on this measure would signal more to come, many in Washington suspect the JOBS Act may be the last -- and the only -- bill aimed at boosting the economy to pass the divided Congress this year."
The Washington Times reports the President "gathered Democrats and Republicans" for the signing. In addition to Cantor, Republicans on hand included Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts, and Reps. Spencer Bachus (R-AL), Scott Garrett (R-NJ), and Patrick McHenry (R-NC). The New York Post quotes the President saying, "I've always said the best engine for growth is the private sector, not the government."
PC Magazine noted, "Among the provisions in the JOBS Act is a federal Kickstarter of sorts, or crowdfunding. Startups and small businesses will be allowed to raise up to $1 million from small-dollar investments via Web-based platforms that are monitored" by the SEC.

Holder Acknowledges Supreme Court's Power To Overturn Affordable Care Act President Barack Obama's comments earlier this week on the role of the Supreme Court as it considers the challenge to the Affordable Care Act continue to generate a great deal of coverage, including lead stories last night on the CBS Evening News, Fox News' Special Report, Fox News' O'Reilly Factor and Fox News' Hannity. Notable in this coverage is Bill O'Reilly's contention, expressed on Fox News' O'Reilly Factor, that "everybody knew" that Attorney General Holder "was going to uphold the Constitution," including Judge Jerry Smith, and Smith "just wanted to embarrass the President" by demanding Holder's response.
Much of the coverage Thursday night focused on Attorney General Holder's letter on judicial supremacy to the Fifth Circuit, but this morning's coverage explores the political implications of the President's Monday remarks. For instance, the AP , in an analysis titled "Obama Setting Up Supreme Court As A Campaign Issue," says the President is "laying groundwork to make the majority-conservative Supreme Court a campaign issue this fall." And USA Today has an article titled "Other Presidents Took On High Court Before Obama."
The CBS Evening News reported that Attorney General Holder has "conceded" that the Supreme Court "does have the power to overturn the new healthcare law" after a "federal appeals court demanded an explanation by noon today of what the President meant this week when he suggested that the Supreme Court should think twice about overturning the law." In what correspondent Jan Crawford described as a "terse response," Holder wrote that "there is no dispute" that "courts have the power to decide the constitutionality of Federal laws." However, according to Crawford, Holder also "suggested the Court should take a backseat."
Brett Baier, at the opening of Fox News' Special Report, said, "If you heard that someone turned in a three-page paper about the Supreme Court's right to overturn laws passed by Congress you might think it was from a first year law student in his or her first month of law school, but today, the attorney general of the United States turned in that assignment." Correspondent Shannon Bream added that Holder's response was to a "direct question by federal judge Jerry Smith on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in response to what appeared to be the President's suggestion...that a decision...to strike down the [ACA] could be unprecedented." Bream said that "the bulk of the DOJ letter was spent outlining why the Supreme Court should give deference to the legislative branch."
The New York Times , says Holder "stipulated the incontestable to a disgruntled federal court." According to the Times, Holder "made official the backpedaling of the past few days" during which the White House "has been struggling to explain what the president meant."
The Washington Post , in a brief item, calls Holder's letter a "pointed response," and describes as "unusual presidential observations" the President's remarks Monday.
Carney: Obama Was Speaking In "Shorthand" Monday Roll Call reported that White House Press Secretary Jay Carney "recalibrated his spin" on the President's "verbal goof...contending that the president's statement...amounted to 'shorthand.'" Carney said, "Because he is a constitutional law professor, he spoke in shorthand."

New Jobless Claims Fall To Four-Year Low The government said yesterday that in the week ending March 31, the number of new jobless claims fell to 357,000, its lowest level since April 2008. NBC Nightly News reported, "Employers have added an average of 245,000 jobs a month since December. ... One-third of employers have added full-time employees this year, the highest since the recession began."
ABC World News reported, "A lot of Americans simply want to know, who is getting hired? ... More men hired in manufacturing, automotive, even retail. Some dubbing it a 'mancovery.' They're willing to take jobs they didn't want before. But women are certainly in the race, too. ... And what about age? Who is getting hired first? Younger or older workers? Turns out older."
The Washington Post reports that the number adds "to a growing sense among economists that job creation is continuing at a healthy clip."
The Financial Times says the weekly numbers are another reminder of the labor market's recovery but notes that the Fed remains concerned about the high jobless rate.
Economists Predict Job Growth Of 200,000 For March Bloomberg News reports that economists predict that a Labor Department report today will show that employers "added more than 200,000 workers to payrolls in March for a fourth straight month as US companies gained confidence sales will keep improving." The median projection of 80 economists surveyed by Bloomberg indicates that hiring "increased by 205,000 after rising by 227,000 in February."

Campaign News

Campaigning In Pennsylvania, Romney Continues Shift To General Election Mode The AP reports that as Mitt Romney moves on to Pennsylvania, he "is sharpening his focus" on President Obama "and broadening his pitch to independents and Democrats." Though he is campaigning for the April 24 primary, "the transition from the primary season is well under way for Romney," and the upcoming contest gives him exposure in what "is sure to be a general election battleground state." Speaking in Harrisburg on Thursday, he said, "We're Republicans and Democrats in this campaign, but we're all connected with one destiny for America."
The Los Angeles Times similarly says Romney's "shift from Republican primary partisan to general election candidate has begun in earnest. ... In the last couple of days, Romney has virtually ignored his remaining GOP rivals."
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that Romney "considers Pennsylvania a key swing state for the fall presidential election and is certain he will win here, he told the Tribune-Review in an interview on Thursday. 'Voters in this state and across the country are looking for a conservative leader to guide and serve the American people so that we can reignite the economy, put the country back on track and balance the budget,' he said." Romney "said he is certain 'the people of Pennsylvania will elect me president because they see the need for conservative, principled leadership.'"
The Hill reported on its website that in predicting he would defeat Obama in Pennsylvania this fall, Romney said, "The reason that's going to happen, by the way, is that the people of Pennsylvania have taken a good look at conservative leadership. They've seen your senator, Pat Toomey, they've seen your governor, they've seen that conservative leaders are the people who will help grow the middle class."
Romney Uses Ethics Law Loophole To Avoid Full Disclosure Of Holdings The Washington Post reports that Romney, "whose wealth has become a central issue in the 2012 campaign, has taken advantage of an obscure exception in federal ethics laws to avoid disclosing the nature and extent of his holdings. By offering a limited description of his assets, Romney has made it difficult to know precisely where his money is invested, whether it is offshore or in controversial companies, or whether those holdings could affect his policies or present any conflicts of interest." Politico reports on its website that President Obama's campaign "is issuing its second demand in a week for the former Massachusetts governor to open up the books."
Obama Campaign Hits Romney On Energy Stance The Boston Globe reports, "The Obama campaign on Thursday accused Mitt Romney of another Etch A Sketch moment after the Republican front-runner's campaign told the Globe that Romney supports an 'all-of-the-above energy strategy.' President Obama has used the same phrase to describe his own energy policy." Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt said, "That's the energy strategy that Gov. Romney has attacked President Obama for pursuing. You never know when Gov. Romney shakes his Etch A Sketch in an attempt to wipe away his past positions and statements."
Portman, Ryan Among Names Floated For Vice President The Wall Street Journal says House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan is one of the new favorites to be tapped as Mitt Romney's running mate, comparing him to 1996 GOP vice presidential nominee Jack Kemp. Meanwhile, Stephen Koff writes in the Cleveland Plain Dealer that freshman Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, who "is smart, knows policy, knows Washington's players and has been vetted already," is also on some pundits' lists.

Santorum Meets With Conservatives, Who Will Push Gingrich To Quit Race NBC Nightly News reported that Rick Santorum on Thursday "had a private meeting with a bunch of conservative leaders in Washington who used it as a pep talk to tell him they were going to try to push Newt Gingrich out of the race. There's still this belief among those in the Santorum camp that if Gingrich gets out, lines his delegates behind Santorum, and if somehow they can change the rules in Texas and the way the delegates do it in the Texas primary in May, then suddenly, they have a viable way forward."
The AP says the "meeting included a host of fiscal and social conservatives who have long doubted Romney's conservative credentials." The group "decided to apply more pressure on Gingrich to quit, which they see as allowing divided conservatives to unite behind Santorum, according to an official close to the campaign."
Politico reports that Santorum "met in Tysons Corner with a crew of GOP fixtures, led by Reagan-era activists Richard Viguerie and Rebecca Hagelin, to discuss a path forward in the presidential race." Ex-Family Research Council chief Gary Bauer, "who was present at the sit-down with Santorum, called it a 'strategy meeting to discuss how Sen. Santorum prevails.'"
The Washington Post notes that Gingrich "has pledged to remain in the race -- albeit in a scaled-down campaign -- until the Republican National Convention." And "even if he did leave the race and endorse Santorum, there's little evidence that he could deliver a significant bloc of voters to Santorum or change the delegate math, which is close to determinative in Romney's favor."

Gingrich Healthcare Think Tank Files For Bankruptcy The Washington Post reports that the Center for Health Transformation, "the once high-flying healthcare think tank" created "nearly a decade ago" by Newt Gingrich, "has filed for bankruptcy, its fortunes having sunk rapidly last year as its compelling leader turned his energies to the political campaign trail." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution calls it "a stunning turnaround for a group that reportedly collected tens of millions of dollars from major healthcare interests and others while he was at the helm."

Poll: Indiana's Lugar Leads Mourdock 42%-35% In GOP Primary The Evansville (IN) Courier & Press reports that a Howey/DePauw Indiana Battleground Poll of 503 likely Indiana GOP primary voters taken March 26-28 shows US Sen. Dick Lugar (R) leading state Treasurer Richard Mourdock (R) 42%-35%, with 23% undecided. In another report on the poll, Roll Call notes that in hypothetical general election matchups, the survey showed Lugar leading US Rep. Joe Donnelly (D) 50%-29%, while Mourdock and Donnelly were tied with 35% apiece.