Washington News

Obamas Host Bushes At White House For Cordial Portrait Unveiling All three broadcast networks and many local television stations and major national newspapers cover President Obama's hosting of both his immediate predecessor George W. Bush, his father George H.W. Bush, and their wives for the official unveiling of the White House portraits of the 43rd president and Laura Bush. The reports are mostly positive in tone, noting that Obama and the younger Bush were friendly and cheerful, and that their differences on policy matters were put aside for the day.
While none of the network reports came near the top of the broadcasts, each was about two minutes long. ABC World News reported, "Former President George W. Bush has been keeping a low profile since he left office. But he and Mrs. Bush were back at the White House today, alongside President and Mrs. Obama. It's one of those nice traditions, the unveiling of the official portraits." President George W. Bush: "Thank you so much for inviting our rowdy friends to my hanging."
The CBS Evening News reported, "Only 43 people have served as president of the United States. Three of them were at the White House today for the unveiling of the official portraits of one member of that club and his first lady, the work of artist John Howard Sanden." CBS added, "It was one of those rare occasions in Washington where politics gives way to tradition." President Obama: "We may have our differences politically, but the presidency transcends those differences."
NBC Nightly News, in its report on the event, noted, "Guests included the President's parents, former President George Herbert Walker Bush wearing some colorful socks, and his wife Barbara, as the current President paid tribute to his predecessor." President Obama: "All of us will always remember the image President Bush standing on that pile of rubble, bullhorn in hand, conveying extraordinary strength and resolve to the American people but also representing the strength and resolve of the American people."
The AP reports, "It's Barack Obama's house now, but his predecessor and political foil, George W. Bush, stole the show at the White House on Thursday with his wisecracks and grin." Bush "told the current president he was pleased to know 'that when you are wandering these halls as you wrestle with tough decisions, you will now be able to gaze at this portrait and ask, 'What would George do?'"

Edwards Acquitted On One Count, Mistrial Declared On Five Others Former Sen. John Edwards was acquitted on one charge of violating campaign finance laws, and the trial judge declared a mistrial on five other counts. The verdict was the lead story on all three network newscasts, and dominated news coverage last night and this morning, with nearly 15-and-a-half minutes of total network newscast coverage. The verdict is generally portrayed as a significant defeat for federal prosecutors, and a retrial is seen as unlikely.
NBC Nightly News reported, "For Edwards and his family, the day was an emotional roller coaster. First, anxiety as the jury announced it had reached a verdict. Then surprise when the jury said it had only been able to reach a unanimous verdict on one of six counts. Judge Catherine Eagles then asked the jury to go back and try harder. After another hour of deliberating, the jury came back again, saying it was unable to agree on any other charges." NBC noted, "The government was highly criticized for bringing this case and now must decide on whether to retry Edwards on the five counts the jury couldn't agree on."
The AP reports, "The trial exposed a sordid sex scandal that unfolded while Edwards' wife was dying of cancer, but prosecutors couldn't convince jurors that the ex-US senator and 2004 vice presidential candidate masterminded a $1 million cover-up of his affair. Jurors acquitted him on a charge of accepting illegal campaign contributions, involving $375,000 from elderly heiress Rachel 'Bunny' Mellon in 2008. He had also been charged with illegally accepting $350,000 from Mellon in 2007, other donations from wealthy Texas attorney Fred Baron, filing a false campaign finance report and conspiracy. Federal prosecutors are unlikely to retry the case, a law enforcement official told AP on the condition of anonymity because the decision will undergo review in the coming days."
The Washington Post reports, "Edwards made no mention of Rielle Hunter, the videographer he had carried on a torrid affair with during his 2008 presidential campaign. But his voice cracked with emotion when he spoke of the child she bore him, 'my precious Quinn, who I love more than any of you could ever imagine.' And he suggested there might be a future for him in public life, citing his concerns about poverty, the signature issue of his failed campaign."
USA Today reports, "The Justice Department declined to comment on the outcome and whether prosecutors would seek to retry Edwards. But a source familiar with the case who wasn't authorized to speak on the record said another prosecution was unlikely.

Jobless Claims Up Unexpectedly Last Week Bloomberg News reported, "First-time claims for jobless benefits increased by 10,000 to 383,000 in the week ended May 26 from a revised 373,000 the prior week, the Labor Department said today. The initial claims exceeded the median estimate of 370,000 in a Bloomberg News survey of economists." Bloomberg added, "The four-week moving average, a less-volatile measure, rose to 374,500 from 370,750."
ADP Data Show Job Growth Remains Weak The Washington Post says the ADP National Employment Report revealed a weaker-than-expected gain of 133,000 jobs last month. According to the report, "Most of the increase was driven by the service industry, while manufacturing and construction employment declined." The numbers "could indicate more fundamental challenges to the recovery. The May unemployment rate is expected to remain 8.1 percent."
USA Today cites Diane Swonk, chief economist of Mesirow Financial, who "says the ADP survey prompted her to revise her estimate of job gains in Labor's survey to 125,000 from 150,000. She says she expects the economy to continue to grow but at a modest pace this year. RDQ Economics says job growth this year is still noticeably stronger than in the second half of 2011."
Federal Workforce Drops After Explosive Growth USA Today reports, "The federal government has started to trim its workforce, ending several years of explosive and controversial growth that came at a time when private companies and state and local governments slashed jobs. Federal employment has fallen for seven months in a row, the longest sustained drop in more than a decade. The decline is tiny: Just 11,600 fewer workers in April compared with a year earlier, excluding temporary Census workers, reports the Bureau of Labor Statistics."
Q2 GDP Revised Down To 1.9% Rate Bloomberg News reports the GDP "climbed at a 1.9 percent annual rate from January through March, down from a 2.2 percent prior estimate, revised Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington." Bloomberg adds, "Consumer spending at retailers and car dealerships kept the economy moving forward last quarter just as businesses investment cooled, showing why the economy needs to generate bigger job gains to sustain the expansion."
The CBS Evening News added, "Economic numbers that we got today weren't all that great. The government says that economic growth in the first quarter of this year was just 1.9%. That's not enough to create a lot of jobs, and it's worse than we first thought."

Campaign News

Axelrod: Romney's Massachusetts Job-Creation Record Is "Alarmingly Weak" NBC Nightly News reported, "The Obama campaign traveled to Romney's home state of Massachusetts for a press conference on the State House steps to slam Romney's record as a one-term governor." Obama campaign senior advisor David Axelrod was shown saying, "Romney economics didn't work then and it won't work now."
The AP reports, "The Massachusetts Statehouse became a highly-charged backdrop for the White House campaign on Thursday as President Barack Obama's top political strategist assailed Mitt Romney's record as governor while competing against a steady stream of chants and catcalls from a group of Romney backers." Axelrod is quoted as saying, "After selling himself to Massachusetts as an economic savior, his Massachusetts record was alarmingly weak. Under Governor Romney, the state was 47th in job creation, manufacturing jobs vanished at twice the national rate and household incomes fell even when they were rising nationally."
The Financial Times reports that Axelrod was heard telling the Romney supporters, "You can't handle the truth, my friends." Politico reported that Axelrod also quipped: "You can shout down speakers, my friends, but it's hard to Etch-A-Sketch the truth away."
According to the Boston Globe , "The campaign event played out more like a battle for political turf than a discussion of policy histories," and "Romney backers -- many of them young -- outnumbered Obama supporters." The Globe says the Romney partisans "hoisted signs that read 'Obama isn't working,' traded chants with the Obama faction, and yelled throughout speeches delivered by Axelrod and Massachusetts Democrats."
The Washington Post reports that the Obama campaign also "released a five-page memo and a four-minute Web video Wednesday characterizing Romney's leadership of Massachusetts as a failure. The Web video uses dire music and a series of interviews with local elected leaders to describe fees Romney raised, the increase in state debt during his tenure and the state's ranking in job creation during his term (47th)."
Bill Clinton Lauds Romney's "Sterling Business Career" Byron Tau, in a post for Politico , said former president Bill Clinton "veered sharply off message Thursday, telling CNN that Mitt Romney's business record at Bain Capital was 'sterling.'" Clinton is quoted as saying, "The man who has been governor and had a sterling business career crosses the qualification threshold."

Romney Grades Obama "An 'F'...Across The Board" The CBS Evening News interviewed Mitt Romney about President Obama's record. CBS' Jan Crawford asked Romney, "Has President Obama, in your view, done anything well?" Romney: "I'm sure he has. I appreciate, for instance, the decision he made to go after Osama bin Laden, and to make sure he was executed." Crawford: "What grade would you give President Obama?" Romney: "Oh, an 'F,' there's no question about that." Crawford: "Across the board?" Romney: "Across the board."
Romney Blasts Obama During Surprise Stop At Closed Solyndra Headquarters The AP reports that Romney "made a surprise trip to the former California headquarters of solar-panel manufacturer Solyndra" Thursday to accuse President Obama "of currying favor with campaign supporters by giving a federal loan to the green energy company that later went bankrupt." Romney "staged what amounted to almost a taunt to the president" with the trip.
Bloomberg News says Romney spoke "outside the factory Solyndra constructed with government funds at its headquarters in Fremont, California, terming it 'the Taj Mahal of corporate headquarters.'" He continued, "This building, this half-a-billion dollar taxpayer investment, represents a serious conflict of interest on the part of the President and his team."
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Romney "said Solyndra, which received a $528 million federal loan before it closed abruptly in 2011, was 'a symbol of gross waste...and serious conflict of interest' by Obama officials involved in what he called 'crony capitalism.'"
The New York Times says the Solyndra stop "represents a new effort by the Romney campaign to win over independent voters and draw further scrutiny to the struggling economy under Mr. Obama. The Romney campaign also believes that criticizing Mr. Obama over Solyndra will help deflect attention from the Obama campaign's recent attacks over Mr. Romney's time at the helm of Bain Capital."
The Washington Post says Romney "has accused Obama of not understanding how the 'real economy' works and Solyndra has become his Exhibit A."

Clinton To Campaign In Wisconsin With Barrett Today The AP reports Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett (D) "will get a high-profile campaign visit from former President Bill Clinton on Friday, part of a last-ditch effort by Democrats to prevent" Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) "from becoming the first governor in US history to survive a recall vote." The AP adds, "Though President Barack Obama hasn't gotten publicly involved in the campaign, Clinton is the third prominent Democrat in recent days to appear in the state on behalf of...Barrett." According to the AP, "Clinton's visit is a nod to the importance of turnout for Democrats in Milwaukee, a stronghold for the party where Barrett must do well in order to win."
Maggie Haberman, in Politico , wrote, "That Clinton would agree to go at this date may mean the race against Scott Walker is showing signs of being tighter than public polls have indicated."
CNN reports, "As of now, there are no plans for President Barack Obama or Vice President Joe Biden to travel to Wisconsin prior to next Tuesday's election."
Walker, Barrett Clash In Debate The AP reports that Walker and Barrett "repeatedly sparred over collective bargaining rights, Wisconsin's economy and an ongoing criminal investigation into Walker's former aides during a contentious debate Thursday, their last matchup before Tuesday's recall election." During the debate, Walker "defended his record and said the election is about 'whether we want politicians to act on tough decisions.'" Barrett, meanwhile, "said Walker's policies are 'working for the wealthiest people in the state but they're not working for the middle class.'"
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Barrett "stayed on the offensive" during the forum, "focusing on an ongoing secret investigation of Walker aides and divisions within the state since Walker was sworn in 17 months ago." According to the report, "The sharpest exchange came when Barrett focused on the John Doe probe of Walker aides and the governor called on Barrett to release police reports after a Journal Sentinel investigation found hundreds of serious crimes misclassified as lesser offenses. 'I have a police department that arrests felons,' Barrett said. 'He has a practice of hiring them.'"