David Scheiner, a Chicago, Illinois-based doctor, has taken a hard look at the president's prescription for health care reform and sees bad medicine.
"This isn't that kind of health care plan that's going to work," he said.
So what makes Scheiner so special? He was Obama's personal physician for 22 years, and voted for the former Illinois senator in the 2008 presidential election.
Scheiner thinks the president's plan doesn't go far enough.
WASHINGTON (CNN) - Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander said Thursday he would vote in favor of Judge Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court - the sixth Republican, and the first member of GOP congressional leadership, to back President Obama's nominee.
Full statement as released by the senator's office:
Statement of U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander on the Nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to Serve as Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme CourtJuly 30th, 2009 – WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today made the following remarks on the floor of the U.S. Senate on the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to serve as Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court:
"Mr. President, I have a statement to make about the President’s nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to be Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
“Even though Judge Sotomayor’s political and judicial philosophy may be different than mine, especially regarding Second Amendments rights, I will vote to confirm her because she is well qualified by experience, temperament, character and intellect to serve as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
(CNN) - As President Obama pushes forward with his agenda, he may find that a homecoming king's likeability is just as integral as the power and authority inherent to the Oval Office.
"I just don't think you can be effective without being liked," said Bruce Newman, a professor of marketing at DePaul University and editor of the Journal of Political Marketing.
Newman describes Obama's leadership as a "two-pronged support system of both being popular but yet having the respect."
"I don't think you can be effective without that first step of making that emotional connection with the voter, but to continue to be effective, it's not enough," he said.
Newman pointed to three recent examples of presidential candidates who lacked the appeal of their opponent: Bob Dole vs. Bill Clinton, John Kerry vs. George W. Bush, and John McCain vs. Obama.
"We are looking for leaders that we could relate to, that we would like to have dinner with or have a beer with or a glass of wine with," he added.
Obama has been likened to Republican President Ronald Reagan, who was generally considered more popular than his policies at the start of his first term.
The president eyed a tasty peach after discussing health care reform in the produce aisle of a Bristol, Virginia Kroger supermarket Wednesday. (Photo Credit: Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) – Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty will sharply criticize President Obama in a speech to national Republicans Thursday in what is being viewed as a step towards a potential presidential run in 2012.
Pawlenty will take Obama to task for his approach to reforming the nation's health care system as well as the president's efforts to revive the ailing economy, a source close to the governor told CNN.
The source added that Pawlenty's address to the Republican National Committee Summer Meeting will give him an opportunity to "introduce himself" to these GOP leaders.
Pawlenty was said to be on the short list in 2008 to be Sen. John McCain's vice presidential running mate, and he was recently named to a leadership position in the Republican Governors Association.
The CNN Washington Bureau’s morning speed read of the top stories making news from around the country and the world.
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CNN: Senators: No health care deal until recess is over
Two of the three Senate Republicans negotiating a bipartisan deal on health care reform said they consider an agreement out of reach before the Senate goes on its August recess.
CNN: Lee raises 'concerns' over Blue Dog deal
The deal Democratic House leaders struck with a group of conservative Blue Dogs Democrats Wednesday was not embraced by one leading liberal House Democrat: Rep. Barbara Lee, D-California, chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus. "I have a lot of concerns," she told reporters Wednesday.
CNN: Obama mocks Newsweek cover, Newsweek hits back
Newsweek magazine got some unsolicited PR Wednesday from President Obama, but it wasn't exactly a ringing endorsement of periodical's latest issue.
CNN: Polls show Obama's approval continues to slip
Five national polls released Wednesday suggest Barack Obama's approval rating as president continues to slip.
CNN: Public's help needed in terror fight, Napolitano says
Almost eight years after the September 11 attacks, the American public remains insufficiently engaged in the fight against terrorism, the nation's homeland security chief warned Wednesday.
CNN: VA claims processing sees strides, setbacks, report says
The Veterans Administration's handling of disability claims has seen improvements and setbacks, a congressional watchdog said Wednesday.
SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) – Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty will sharply criticize President Obama in a speech to national Republicans Thursday in what is being viewed as a step towards a potential presidential run in 2012.
Pawlenty will take Obama to task for his approach to reforming the nation's health care system as well as the president's efforts to revive the ailing economy, a source close to the governor told CNN.
The source added that Pawlenty's address to the Republican National Committee Summer Meeting will give him an opportunity to "introduce himself" to these GOP leaders.
Pawlenty was said to be on the short list in 2008 to be Sen. John McCain's vice presidential running mate, and he was recently named to a leadership position in the Republican Governors Association.
(CNN) - The upcoming White House meeting with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and the Cambridge police officer who arrested him earlier this month appears to have touched off a fresh debate all on its own: what kind of beer should be served?
Earlier this week the White House indicated each man would drink the beer of their choice - Bud Light for President Obama, Blue Moon for the police officer, and perhaps Red Stripe or Beck's for Gates.
But one Massachusetts congressman thinks another beer entirely should be served: Boston's own Sam Adams.
In a letter to Obama dated Wednesday, Massachusetts Rep. Richard Neal strongly urges the president not to drink Budweiser, now owned by a Belgian company. Nor should the White House consider serving Miller or Coors, Neal writes, both owned by a United Kingdom conglomerate.
Instead, the White House should serve the three men - all with ties to Massachusetts - the local favorite, not only because of its popularity in the region but also because it remains the largest American-owned and brewed beer, Neal says.
But Sam Adams founder and brewer Jim Koch told NPR if it was up to him he would make a special beer just for the event.
"I'd make a blend of ingredients from all over the world. Which is certainly what's represented there with the three participants," he said. "I would blend those ingredients together artfully and harmoniously, because that's really what we all hope for."
WASHINGTON (CNN) - Five national polls released Wednesday suggest Barack Obama's approval rating as president continues to slip.
Obama's approval rating stands at 53 percent in new surveys from NBC/Wall Street Journal, NPR and Gallup's daily tracking poll, 56 percent in a Time Magazine survey, and 58 percent in a CBS/New York Times poll.
"Every poll that has been publicly released in July has shown Obama's approval rating below 60 percent," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.
The results from July's surveys are a drop from last month, when the president's approval rating averaged 62 percent in early June and 61 percent in late June.
The polls also indicate a deterioration in Obama's approval rating on health care reform, the issue that's come to dominate the White House and Congress this summer. The NBC-Wall Street Journal, CBS-New York Times and Time Magazine surveys all place the president's approval rating on health care below 50 percent. But people questioned in all three surveys give Obama higher marks on the issue than Republicans in Congress.
The president's drop in the polls apparently doesn't equal a similar rise for Republicans.
Giuliani lamented the lack of a strong Republican leader who could direct the party's attention to what he called "the most left-wing agenda … since Roosevelt."
"We don't have a real leader of the party right now because we don't have a president, we don't have presidential candidates," Giuliani said in the CNN interview. "So everybody gets to speak their minds."
An unsuccessful candidate for the Republican presidential nomination for 2008, Giuliani criticized Obama's domestic policies, including the economic stimulus package and proposed overhaul of the health care system, saying they expanded government and threatened economic stability.
"I think he has gone much further to the left than I thought he would," Giuliani said.
He was less critical of Obama's foreign policy so far, agreeing with the increased military focus on Afghanistan and Obama's low-key approach to the controversial Iranian election, and the subsequent demonstrations and government crackdown.
From CNN Politics
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