LiveBlog for Monday, October 12, 2009

ProducerChris — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:42:36 +0000

• Eric Boehlert, Senior Fellow at Media Matters for America, calls in at 7:05am Pacific to co-host Right Wing World.

• The Rude Pundit (Lee Papa) joins Steph in studio in NYC at 8:05am Pacific for “Rude Mondays”

• Tim Robbins calls in at 8:35am Pacific to promote “The WTF Festival” at The Actors Gang in Culver City, CA.

• President Obama pledged to end the ban on gays serving openly in the military in a speech to the Human Rights Campaign Saturday, but acknowledged to a cheering crowd that the policy changes he promised on the campaign trail are not coming as quickly as they expected.

• Secretary of State Hillary Clinton travels to Russia today hoping to win Moscow’s backing for a strong stance on Iran’s nuclear program and looking for progress on a new arms control pact.

• Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said yesterday that any added military deployment in Afghanistan smaller than the 40,000 troops reportedly requested by the top U.S. commander there “would be an error of historic proportions.” McCain also said that the war there could not be won with fewer than the 40,000 troops requested.

LiveBlog for Monday, January 26, 2009

admin — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 15:46:10 +0000

• President Barack Obama dispatched his top economic adviser and vice president yesterday to relentlessly press their sales pitch for an $825 billion stimulus package to halt the U.S. economic slide, as the plan came under more fire from GOP leaders. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) opposes the plan because he says the plan doesn’t create enough jobs.

• Economists expect an already deep recession to get even worse in 2009, according to the National Association for Business Economics survey released this morning. Companies will lay off more workers and hoard more cash during the next 12 months.

• Obama is enjoying about a two-thirds approval rating for his first days as president, a poll released Saturday found. The Gallup survey found 68% of Americans approve of Obama’s performance as president. That’s a number near the high end for new presidents, but short of President John F. Kennedy’s 72% in 1961.

• New York Senator-designate Kirsten Gillibrand said yesterday that she plans to “hit the ground running.” She spoke to reporters after finishing a congratulatory lunch in New York City with newly minted Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), and NY Gov. David Paterson.

• President Obama struck down a rule Friday that prohibits U.S. money from funding international family-planning clinics that promote abortion or provide counseling or referrals about abortion service. Obama says that he plans to “initiate a fresh conversation on family planning.”