President Barack Obama's ambitious plans to cut middle-class taxes, overhaul health care and expand access to college would require massive borrowing during the next decade, leaving the nation mired far deeper in debt than the White House has previously estimated, congressional budget analysts said Friday. ...more

March 21, 2009

President Barack Obama's former nominee to become commerce secretary, Sen. Judd Gregg, steered taxpayer money to his home state's redevelopment of a former Air Force base even as he and his brother engaged in real estate deals there, an Associated Press investigation found. ...more

February 27, 2009

WASHINGTON - Republican Sen. Judd Gregg said Friday that he pulled out of the job of commerce secretary after realizing that "I'm just going to be a little too conservative" for President Barack Obama's administration. ...more

February 13, 2009

Summoning the pride of a nation, President Barack Obama paid fond tribute Thursday to Abraham Lincoln by challenging people to embrace his vision of a collective union and reject a "knee-jerk disdain for government." ...more

February 12, 2009

After swiftly naming his Cabinet nominations, President Barack Obama has been beset with problems. ...more

February 9, 2009

Barack Obama on Tuesday abruptly abandoned his nomination fight for Tom Daschle and a second major appointee who failed to pay all their taxes, fearing a lingering ethics dispute would undercut his claims to moral high ground and cripple his presidency in just its second week. "I screwed up," Obama declared. ...more

February 3, 2009

President Barack Obama plans to nominate Sen. Judd Gregg as commerce secretary on Tuesday, the White House confirmed on the eve of the announcement as the New Hampshire Republican disclosed an apparent deal that would keep his seat out of Democratic hands. ...more

February 2, 2009

Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., is the top contender to be President Barack Obama's nominee for commerce secretary, the White House said Saturday, a move that could bolster the Democratic majority in Congress. ...more

February 1, 2009

President Barack Obama appeared Saturday to be leaning toward appointing a third Republican to his Cabinet, a move that would place the fiscally conservative Sen. Judd Gregg at the head of the Commerce Department even though a liberal Democrat was initially tapped for the post. ...more

January 31, 2009

Some of the personnel stumbles of the Obama administration - including the aborted nomination of Bill Richardson as commerce secretary - resulted from incompetent vetting. William Lynn's reception as deputy secretary of defense has been complicated by hypocrisy - the administration's attempt to gain political credit for a restrictive lobbying ban it swiftly violated to get a qualified appointee. ...more

January 31, 2009