June 11, 2008

Leaders of the United American Nurses, AFL-CIO, announced today that the union of staff nurses endorsed Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) for president of the United States and will be working to ensure that Obama is elected. Full release

Since 9/11, President George W. Bush has fundamentally challenged the rule of law by making extraordinary assertions of executive power -- but the U.S. Constitution deliberately divides powers among the three branches of government. The new Brookings Institution Press book Power Play explains how the Bush presidency has weakened the separation of powers. Noted presidency scholar James P. Pfiffner analyzes how this happened and why it is a threat to America's republican style of government. Full release

The following is being issued by the Republican National Committee: Obama Shifts On Taxes: Said He May "Defer" Tax Hikes Depending On The Economic Situation - A Tacit Acknowledgment That Higher Taxes Hurt The Economy And Affect Job Creation. Full release

The following editorial from The Wall Street Journal was released today by the Republican National Committee: Barack Obama may have come up with a creative way to solve the housing recession: Let everyone buy property at a discount the way he did from Tony Rezko, and give everyone in America a discount mortgage the way Angelo Mozilo of Countrywide did for Fannie Mae's Jim Johnson. Team Obama's real estate and mortgage transactions are certainly a change from business as usual. They suggest old-fashioned back-scratching below even current Beltway standards. Full release

Jim Johnson, A Former CEO Of Fannie Mae And Top Campaign Adviser, Earned Large Bonuses Due To An Accounting Manipulation: In 1998, Fannie Mae's Earnings Were Manipulated, Which Resulted In "Maximum Payouts" To Executives Including CEO Jim Johnson. "As CEO of Fannie Mae, Johnson, a former chief of staff to Vice President Walter F. Mondale and chairman of the board of the Kennedy Center, was the beneficiary of accounting in which Fannie Mae's earnings were manipulated so that executives could earn larger bonuses." Full release

John McCain says he has "several near-term, tangible plans to address some of the challenges confronting Americans today." Yet just last month the non-partisan FactCheck.org called McCain out on his economic plan, showing that McCain's comments on taxes--which he says are central to his plans to get the economy back on track--have been riddled with "exaggerations and distortions." The analysis shows "McCain is wrong in his claim that Sens. Clinton and Obama want to implement 'the single largest tax increase since the Second World War" and that many of his other comments on taxes have been misleading. [johnmccain.com, 5/14/08] Full release

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement today in response to Senate Republicans blocking consideration of the Consumer-First Energy Act and the Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008: "Senate Republicans have once again shown themselves to be unwilling to break free of the costly, failed Bush energy policies of the past. They have again adopted President Bush's 'drill and veto' policy that is driving up the price of oil, diesel, and gasoline and leaving us dangerously reliant on Middle East oil." Full release

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