Tag: Margaret Hartmann

Those bored with speculation about the 2016 presidential race can turn their attention to the increasingly complex game of guessing who will join President Obama’s cabinet. Senior administration officials tell the New York Times that John Kerry and Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, are the two frontrunners, but things aren’t looking good for the Massachusetts senator. If Obama picks Rice he’ll have to battle with congressional Republicans, who have targeted Rice in their criticism of the response to the Benghazi attack, yet the Washington Post reports that the nomination will still “almost certainly go” to Rice. Officials say Obama is considering asking Kerry to be his defense secretary, but he may have to rethink his whole cabinet strategy if scandals keep breaking at the current rate.

Read more posts by Margaret Hartmann

Filed Under:
john kerry
,susan rice

via Daily Intel http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/11/john-kerry-probaby-wont-be-secretary-of-state.html

When we last checked in on the referendum that would ratify a marriage equality law passed in Washington’s legislature earlier this year, the vote was close with only half of the ballots counted. On Thursday opponents of the referendum conceded, allowing same-sex couples in Washington to start getting hitched in December. The vote makes the 2012 election a full sweep for marriage equality. In Maryland and Maine voters approved gay marriage, and in Minnesota voters rejected a constitutional amendment that would have banned same-sex marriage. Gay marriage is now legal in nine states, plus the District of Columbia.

Read more posts by Margaret Hartmann

Filed Under:
equal rites
,gay marriage
,washington

via Daily Intel http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/11/gay-marriage-passes-in-washington-state.html

While staff shake-ups are common when campaigns run into trouble, Mitt Romney has remained unusually loyal to his team. The Wall Street Journal reports that this may be due to his habit of putting staffers in a “penalty box.” The paper notes that after major screwups, advisers tend to disappear from the campaign trail for a time. After Rick Gorka cursed at reporters over the summer, he was sent to visit his girlfriend in New Jersey. When anonymous staffers told Politico that Romney’s campaign missteps could be traced to Stuart Stevens, the chief strategist headed to Boston to work on TV ads. Senior adviser Eric Fehrnstrom took time off after making his infamous Etch A Sketch remark and saying the health care mandate wasn’t a tax, but he still had a job when he returned (albeit one with less press interaction). Yet for some reason, Romney staffers object to the suggestion that they’re disciplined like children.

Stevens denied that the policy exists, saying, “The Romney campaign is an all hands on deck, 24/7 sort of operation and this description is simply not accurate in any regard,” though it actually makes Romney sound pretty generous. Especially in light of his “I like being able to fire people” gaffe, Romney should let voters know that he merely sends employees to New Jersey to think about what they’ve done.

Read more posts by Margaret Hartmann

Filed Under:
stuck in the mittle
,mitt romney
,politics

via Daily Intel http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/10/does-romney-give-wayward-staffers-time-outs.html

“Governor Romney is a good debater. I’m just okay,” Obama told a crowd of 11,200 in Las Vegas on Sunday night. “Folks in the media are already speculating on who is going to have the best zingers, who is going to put the most points on the board,” he added, saying that he’s more interested in giving “serious” answers to policy questions. Either he’s given up on his strategy of not boring the American people, or he wants us to be surprised when Wednesday night’s debate takes the tone of a Friars Club roast.

Read more posts by Margaret Hartmann

Filed Under:
master debaters
,barack obama
,mitt romney
,debates

via Daily Intel http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/09/obama-lowers-debate-expectations.html

The Apple fanboy-in-chief made an interesting switch during his convention speech. Mashable notes that in his prepared remarks released to the press, Obama said, “We believe that a little girl who’s offered an escape from poverty by a great teacher or a grant for college could become the founder of the next Google.” As delivered, the line ended, “could become the next Steve Jobs.” The switch may have something to do with Jobs’s widow, Laurene Powell Jobs, attending the convention with Chelsea Clinton this week — or maybe the president just really wants to get his hands on an iPhone 5.

Read more posts by Margaret Hartmann

Filed Under:
democratic national convention
,politics
,steve jobs
,apple
,technology
,google
,tech feuds

via Daily Intel http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/09/obama-swaps-google-shout-out-for-steve-jobs.html

Cory Booker met with county chairs  in New Jersey on Thursday to inform them that the years of speculation about a clash between himself and Chris Christie may finally be coming to a head, Politicker NJ reports. Last month Booker said that he’s weighing whether he should challenge the Republican governor in 2013 or go for Democratic Senator Frank Lautenberg’s seat in 2014, and sources say he indicated today that he’d make the decision by December. Either way, Christie might want to start rescuing people just to be on the safe side.

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Filed Under:
cory booker
,chris christie

via Daily Intel http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/08/cory-booker-considering-run-against-christie.html

Sterling Cooper gave up on political advertising after its run-in with Richard Nixon, but the Washington Post reports that Romney has assembled his own crack team of advertising gurus, who’ve dubbed themselves the “Mad Men.” Who needs a stupid carousel when you have the dude who came up with “Beef, it’s what’s for dinner”?

Read more posts by Margaret Hartmann

Filed Under:
politcs
,mitt romney
,campaign 2012
,ads
,ad wars
,mad men

via Daily Intel http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/08/romney-hires-self-described-mad-men.html

Though President Obama frequently cites his role in overseeing the operation that killed Osama bin Laden as one of his biggest successes, he usually makes it clear that he didn’t pull an Air Force One and take out the terrorist leader on his own. However, Reuters reports that a group of former U.S. intelligence and Special Forces operatives is launching a media campaign attacking President Obama for taking credit for bin Laden’s death and allegedly leaking classified information. “Mr. President, you did not kill Osama bin Laden, America did. The work that the American military has done killed Osama bin Laden. You did not,” says Navy SEAL Ben Smith in a short film set to be released on Wednesday. “As a citizen, it is my civic duty to tell the president to stop leaking information to the enemy … It will get Americans killed.”

A spokesman for the Special Operations OPSEC Education Fund Inc. says the group has about $1 million and is hoping to raise more with the release of its 22-minute documentary about the Obama administration’s alleged leaks (which Reuters describes as “spy-movie style”). It’s also planning to air TV ads in several swing states.

Like the group behind the swift boat ads that criticized John Kerry, the Special Operations OPSEC Education Fund Inc. claims it’s nonpartisan, though it seems singularly focused on criticizing President Obama. (The FEC eventually fined Swift Boat Veterans for Truth after finding it was mainly working against Kerry.) Scott Taylor, a former Navy SEAL, said the group is merely a “watchdog organization,” but added that the Obama administration “has certainly leaked more than others.” Another spokesman, former CIA case officer Fred Rustmann, said the White House has been leaking classified information “to help this guy get re-elected, at the expense of peoples’ lives…. We want to see that they don’t do this again.” The White House insists that it didn’t leak any information, and two federal prosecutors are currently investigating.

The Obama campaign responded that no one in the group has the authority to comment on these national security issues, and highlighted recent comments from Admiral Bill McRaven, commander of the raid, about Obama’s close involvement in the operation. The campaign added, “it’s clear they’ve resorted to making things up for purely political reasons.” Conveniently, there’s no way of knowing exactly who “they” are. The group has set itself up as a 501(c)(4) — a group that’s supposed to be aimed at educating the public rather than getting candidates elected or defeated — and thus it isn’t required to disclose the names of its donors.

Read more posts by Margaret Hartmann

Filed Under:
campaign 2012
,attack ads
,politics
,national security leaks
,osama bin killed

via Daily Intel http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/08/group-says-obama-exaggerated-bin-laden-role.html

The faithful are still flocking to the knot in a New Jersey tree trunk that either clearly shows the outline of the Virgin of Guadalupe or a generic oval shape, and things have taken a violent turn. Some say those who’ve gathered around the tree are indulging in idol worship, and The New York Times reports that when a man approached the crowd yelling, “This is witchcraft; you are worshiping devils!”one believer charged at him and a 90-year-old woman hit him repeatedly with white long-stemmed roses. If this continues playing out like a Simpsons episode, it should end in a few days when the holy tree is unintentionally ripped down by an angry mob.

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Filed Under:
miracles
,west new york
,trees
,virgin mary

via Daily Intel http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/07/virgin-mary-shaped-tree-knot-now-sparks-fighting.html

Takeshi Miyakawa, the artist who was arrested when his “I Love New York” bag art installation was mistaken for a bomb, has passed a mental health exam. Miyakawa, whose sweet project landed him at Riker’s Island for five days, told NY1:

I did the installation to send a simple message. I love New York too, to people in the street. It’s such a positive and simple message. I thought it was going to work out fine. There was some misunderstanding. I’m sorry about that.

He should watch himself. Presumably gushing about wanting to share his love of the city with his fellow New Yorkers is what made the court think he might be crazy in the first place. Unfortunately, Miyakawa’s ordeal still isn’t over. He’s still facing charges for planting false bombs, reckless endangerment, and criminal nuisance, and is scheduled to be back in court on July 19.

Read more posts by Margaret Hartmann

Filed Under:
takeshi miyakawa
,bomb scare
,art
,crimes and misdemeanors
,neighborhood news
,brooklyn

via Daily Intel http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/06/brooklyn-artist-deemed-sane-following-bomb-scare.html