Susan Crabtree
Articles by Susan Crabtree
Obama steps up attacks on Romney’s 47 percent remarks
President Obama sharpened his attack on Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney's critical comments on the 47 percent of voters who don't pay federal income taxes, hammering his opponent during an appearance in the critical swing state of Virginia Friday for the caught-on-tape remarks at a private fundraiser that surfaced earlier this week. Published September 21, 2012
Calif. Rep. Waters cleared on ethics charges
The House Ethics committee has cleared Rep. Maxine Waters, a Democrat from California, of any wrongdoing in a 3-year-old, conflict-of-interest case involving her work on behalf of minority-owned banks during the height of the economic crisis even though her husband had a financial stake in one of them. Published September 21, 2012
Obama pulls Clinton from his arsenal for help
President Obama is turning to one of his most lethal political weapons — former President Clinton — as he tries to take advantage of some Romney missteps this week by having Mr. Clinton make the case for his re-election in some ways better than the president can himself. Published September 20, 2012
White House challenges China trade on car parts
President Obama used a campaign stop in Ohio on Monday to take aim at China and Mitt Romney by announcing a trade complaint against China for subsidizing auto parts made for export and amplifying attacks on Mr. Romney's investments in companies that ship jobs overseas. Published September 17, 2012
White House: Aid to Egypt will continue
The White House flatly rejected calls from House conservatives to halt U.S. aid to Egypt after a slow response from Cairo in rebuking violent attacks on the U.S. Embassy there Tuesday night. Published September 13, 2012
Despite deaths in Libya, Egypt posing bigger problem for Obama
Despite the deaths of a beloved U.S. ambassador and three others during an attack on the American embassy in Benghazi, the Obama administration is quickly realizing that it has a far bigger problem on its hand in Egypt. Published September 13, 2012
Cantor warns against defense cuts, says U.S. national security at stake
The day after rioting mobs attacked a U.S. consulate in Libya leaving four officials dead, House Republicans said the future of the U.S. national security "hangs in the balance" because the nation can't risk deep, across-the-board defense cuts scheduled to take place at the end of the year unless Congress acts. Published September 12, 2012
Biden mixes beer with barnyard epithet
Vice President Joseph R. Biden told a group of firefighters they could trust him to make good on a bet and have them over to the White House for beers — throwing in an expletive for emphasis in trademark Biden form. Published September 11, 2012
Obama: 9/11 victims ‘will never be forgotten’
President Obama on Tuesday led the nation in paying tribute to the thousands of people who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001, noting that the "true legacy" of the attacks that day is "a safer world, a stronger nation and a people more united than ever before." Published September 11, 2012
After missed deadline, White House to outline defense cuts by Friday
After missing last week's deadline to produce plans on how it would implement deep, automatic across-the-board cuts to defense spending early next year, the White House now says it will produce the report by Friday. Published September 10, 2012
Obama silent on ‘red line’ nuclear warning to Iran
The White House refused Monday to delineate what would constitute a "red line" for the Iranian nuclear program after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was in discussions with U.S. officials on setting one. Published September 10, 2012
Obama hopes for positive jobs report upon return to trail
Hoping for good economic news in the wake of his renomination at the Democratic National Convention, President Obama will embark Friday on a three-day campaign trip to battleground states culminating in a bus tour of the crucial Interstate 4 corridor in Florida. Published September 6, 2012
Convention head Villaraigosa blames delegates in ugly platform fight at DNC
Furiously trying to paper over a platform battle that muddied the party's message and forced President Obama to intervene, Democratic National Convention chairman Antonio Villaraigosa said the anger and confusion over the way he managed a vote restoring passages on God and Jerusalem as Israel's capital to the platform Wednesday was the fault of unhappy delegates who failed to object to his ruling. Published September 6, 2012
Clinton charisma a concern for Democrats
Bill Clinton is a president who loves the limelight and being adored, and is so good at performing on a grand stage that there's always a chance he will overshadow anyone that comes after him. On Wednesday night, his charisma and spotlight-stealing skills faced a major test as he spoke for another Democratic candidate, President Obama. Published September 5, 2012
Democrats scramble to restore Jerusalem plank to platform
The White House scrambled Wednesday to alter the Democratic Party platform after they adopted a version that left out references to Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and made no mention of God. Published September 5, 2012
Kennedy political torch passes to a new generation of Democrats
For three days in Charlotte, a parade of prominent Democrats — including former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter and President Obama himself — will try to rev up the base with live speeches. But one voice that dominated party politics for decades will be notably absent: the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. Published September 4, 2012
Opposite Biden attracts Obama loyalty
When explaining why President Obama has stuck by Joseph R. Biden for 3½ years of gaffes, overly exuberant flourishes and fumbles, political observers like to say the vice president is everything Mr. Obama is not: a garrulous, unscripted, yet seasoned political operator who loves to glad-hand and connect one on one. Published September 4, 2012
Democrats travel tricky electoral path with gay marriage
President Obama's conversion on gay marriage back in May was a bold, public celebration of gay community pride, punctuated with a flurry of lavish Hollywood fundraisers. It played extremely well in Los Angeles, New York and blue regions across the country. Published September 3, 2012
Democrats’ glitterati not as sparkly as 2008
Republicans are usually scrambling to add a little star power to their conventions, but in Tampa, Fla., last week, Clint Eastwood stole the spotlight and set off his very own Twitter war, galvanizing both the right and the left like few other convention speeches in recent memory. Published September 2, 2012
President Obama jabs Romney, woos college voters
President Obama spent Wednesday trying to grab a few headlines of his own by sharpening his attacks against GOP rival Mitt Romney during the middle of the Republican convention and appealing to young people on college campuses to get behind his campaign again. Published August 29, 2012