The Boston Globe: “President Obama gave a vociferous defense of his signature health care law on Wednesday in Boston, returning to the intellectual birthplace of the legislation as he attempted defend his signature accomplishment after a difficult debut.”
“Facing a sluggish economy, Obama is helping connect foreign and domestic companies and investors with economic development organizations across the country while promoting the United States as a sound business environment,” AP writes. “Obama is speaking Thursday before the SelectUSA 2013 Investment Summit, a project of the Commerce Department designed to coordinate efforts to attract foreign investments.”
“Just two weeks after President Barack Obama saw his Democratic Party put up an unyielding front against Republicans, his coalition is showing signs of stress,” AP writes. “From health care to spying to pending budget deals, many congressional Democrats are challenging the administration and pushing for measures that the White House has not embraced.”
NBC’s Michael O’Brien: “President Barack Obama’s seemingly hands-off management style is raising fresh questions and concerns that could upend his second-term legacy. Claims by the administration and other Democrats that Obama didn’t know about sensitive matters in his own administration -- such as problems with the health care website and revelations of National Security Agency surveillance on foreign leaders -- have many in Washington scratching their heads.”
More: “Even Democratic allies of the administration question why Obama didn’t know about the serious problems, and express concern about his personal response. ‘I think he might have been better off by standing up and saying this happened up on my watch and take responsibility for it. I think that's better than saying he didn't know,’ said veteran Democratic strategist Bob Shrum. ‘I think people expect the president, on his signature program, to be on top of it.’”
“Confronted with missteps in his own administration, President Barack Obama has frequently pleaded ignorance — suggesting he could not be at fault about things he did not know,” AP writes. “It’s an argument with clear benefits but also inherent risks for the White House. Used too often, the tactic emboldens critics who claim the president is incompetent, detached and not fully in control. Eager to protect Obama’s time and concentration, his aides deliberate intensively about what to tell the president, current and former White House officials said. His advisers act as a triage team for an endless flood of information coming into the White House, continually making decisions about which snippets of data Obama might need.”
Here’s Vice President Biden’s defense of the website not working: “Neither he and I are technology geeks, and we assumed that it was up and ready to run.”
Obama tried to get Hillary Clinton to stay on, according to a book by Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes.
