presidency news stories on Newser

President's Power Grab Riles Once-Stable Senegal

Matt Cantor — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:17:02 CST

Protesters took to Senegal's streets last week after a court ruled that the country's president could serve a third term. Yesterday, paramilitary forces reportedly opened fire on demonstrators, killing two. It's an unusual moment of unrest in a West African democracy that's been largely stable, never having seen a military...

Presidents Have to Be 35? Time to Scrap That Rule

John Johnson — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 13:36:32 CDT

Americans require their presidents to be at least 35 years old because surely nobody younger could run the country. It's time to retire this "undemocratic, and even un-American" rule, writes Daniel Freedman at Forbes . People can decide for themselves whether "they want the 'wise' 45-year-old or the 'inexperienced' 32-year-old," he...

50 Years After Inaugural, JFK's Archive Goes Online

Polly Davis Doig — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 09:07:42 CST

It's been a half-century since John F Kennedy admonished his fellow citizens to ask not what their country could do for them, and his presidential archive is going online today, just ahead of the anniversary, reports the Boston Globe. The $10 million project took four years to complete, but Camelot...

Why the White House Struggles to Be Heard

Matt Cantor — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 12:39:00 CDT

Even if it seems like the president is constantly on TV and in the press, the White House says it’s struggling to get its message out: the “bully pulpit” is no more, writes Howard Kurtz for the Daily Beast . “There’s an alternative story here that we’re trying to tell,” says...

Petraeus for President?

Jane Yager — Mon, 17 May 2010 04:08:41 CDT

Gen. David Petraeus ramped up speculation that he has his eye on the White House last week when he spoke at the annual dinner of a conservative DC think tank. In handing Petraeus an award, Bill Kristol joked that the general might be the one to correct the "curious and...

Big Mistakes of Obama's First Year

Harry Kimball — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 12:20:00 CST

Scott Brown’s Senate victory in Massachusetts is the final nail in the coffin of the Obama administration’s first-year political strategy, John F. Harris and Carol E. Lee write for Politico . The miscalculations cover “three major counts": Believing 2008 was a game-changer: The Obama team thought the "election represented something seismic....

Monica Lewinsky: Bill Lied

Nick McMaster — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 18:22:31 CST

The first history of Clinton scandal has been written, and Bill is unlikely to be happy about it. In a new book, Monica Lewinsky is quoted as saying she thinks he lied to a grand jury about their relationship, reports Politico . "There was no leeway (there) on the veracity of...

Palin Not Fit for Presidency: Poll

Nick McMaster — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:43:18 CST

With a blockbuster memoir and national tour, Sarah Palin is again grabbing headlines. But does she have what it takes for a 2012 presidential bid? The answer is a resounding “no,” according a CNN and Opinion Research poll. Only 28% believe she’s qualified for the nation’s top job, and 70%...

Bush Redux? Runaway Exec Power Traps Obama, Too

Jason Farago — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 07:34:35 CDT

George W. Bush expanded executive power to an extreme degree, but he wasn't an exception, writes historian Garry Wills. Since World War II, the presidency has accrued massive, unintended authority—controlling nuclear weapons, intelligence agencies, and a worldwide military network under "the cult of the commander in chief." Barack Obama...