Somehow, many media miss James Hoffa's S.O.B. quote, but not Jake Tapper

Quite a few national media outlets must have missed Teamsters President James Hoffa's Labor Day speech introducing President Obama in Detroit. (Not the L.A. Times, of course.)

Because they neglected to mention the union boss' canine quote about the tea party:

Let's take these sons of bitches out and give America back to an America where we belong.

Let's assume for the moment, that the son of the still-missing Teamster President Jimmy Hoffa, who was taken out somewhere once never to reappear, was not suggesting the enthusiastic union crowd start dating tea party members.

The living Hoffa's statement doesn't seem to quite fit Democrat Obama's past pleas for and promises of a new civility in the nation's political discourse.

You won't be surprised to learn that the media rep who tenaciously pursued this....

4 NASCAR drivers will be missing from the field at Obama's White House photo op

NASCAR driver Tony Stewart battles off Kevin Harvick during the rain-delayed 500-mile race at Atlanta Motor Speedway today. (Jeff Gordon won, his 85th career checkered flag to place him now as the third all-time victory lane visitor.)

But that's not the point of this story.

 The point of this story is that, like millions of Americans, neither Stewart nor Harvick will be at the White House on Wednesday for one of those grandiose photo ops that presidents in deep poll trouble love.

The schedulers of President Obama, a basketball fan, have invited over the 12 drivers who made last season's Chase for the Championship, NASCAR's season-ending playoff race series.

The White House can usually count on anyone who's been invited there eagerly showing up at the appointed time as an excited and willing prop for whatever the scheduled activity is.

However, this year a third of those 12 NASCAR drivers invited begged off -- Stewart, Harvick, Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards.

They cited scheduling conflicts. They said the invitations came late, which is standard White House protocol. And, frankly, they have other commitments.

Which may well be true in some cases.

Although NASCAR races may not be programmed into the White House TiVo, these are after all the closing weeks of this year's Chase for the cup.

Although race fans only see their favorite drivers on race day, it's not like they sit around the other six days of each week.

In return for the multimillions invested by sponsors, these guys (and next year, gal, if Danica Patrick switches over successfully from Indy Cars) are headline celebrities at promotional events.

Biffle, for instance, is required to appear in Minneapolis on Wednesday at a 3M event built around him. Biffle says he has a photo in his office of himself and Obama shaking hands, and that there's no presidential disrespect intended by blowing off the White House this time.

Stewart says he too would have rescheduled other events if he could, which he can't, so he won't.

NASCAR is, to be honest, a red-state kind of scene, not counting California. C'mon, who'd look more comfortable standing next to Richard Petty and his hat -- the Harvard grad in pressed khakis or Texas Gov. Rick Perry in boots?

Now, being hand-over-the-heart, face-the-flag-don't-talk-during-the-anthem patriotic and all, none of these millionaire NASCAR guys would want to directly disrespect the president, even if he was a Democrat. Which he is.

Hence, the unavoidable scheduling conflicts.

Which may be true.

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-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: Todd Warshaw / Getty Images (NASCAR's Tony Stewart leads Kevin Harvick during the Atlanta 500, Sept. 6); Joe Sebo / Associated Press (the field in Atlanta).

Hurricane Irene: Obama issues his own storm warning, then takes his own advice

President Obama issued his own Hurricane Irene warning this morning and then decided to take his own advice.

He's cutting short his vacation on Martha's Vineyard off the New England Coast and returning to the White House this evening instead of this weekend. His family is not.

In a three-minute statement for the benefit of media cameras (Scroll down for full text), Obama underlined the federal government's preparations and stressed that anyone in the projected path of the storm should take immediate precautions.

"Don’t wait," he said. "Don’t delay. We all hope for the best, but we have to be prepared for the worst.  All of us have to take this storm seriously."

He noted the Pentagon had ordered an aircraft carrier group of 27 ships based in Virginia out to sea to protect itself, one of those counter-intuitive military maneuvers that puzzles some civilian minds. But, of course, they're crossing in front of the storm's path and will be safely out of its way to the east side by late today rather than helplessly tied up at docks.

See the satellite photo above of Irene taken today just off the East coast of Florida headed for the Carolinas.

The political point of all this the year before a presidential election, of course, is to show decisive executive action in the face of a possible crisis. The reality is he was not going to get any more golf in overnight anyway and the appearance of being at the helm in the White House is politically important.

And, the letter I as in Hurricane Irene is not that far from the letter K as in Hurricane Katrina.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Statement by President Obama on Hurricane Irene, as provided by the White House

THE PRESIDENT:  Good morning, everybody. I want to say a few words about Hurricane Irene, urge Americans to take it seriously, and provide an overview of our ongoing federal preparations for what's likely to be an extremely dangerous and costly storm.

I’ve just convened a conference call with senior members of my emergency response team and....

Obama safe on the golf course during earthquake, but gets briefed later anyway

Poor President Obama can't catch a break.

He goes on this expensive island vacation without releasing an overdue jobs program and people complain he's had 930+ days, where's he been?

On Monday he gets some family time and this Libya conflict he started hits a turning point. So he has to go on TV and talk democracy for eight minutes. Mission Accomplished, almost

Today the Democrat did the family thing on the beach and bikes all morning.

The afternoon was scheduled guy time on the golf course, which wasn't going too well in the putting department, according to eyewitnesses. And then there's this magnitude 5.8 earthquake up and down the East Coast.

First of all, POTUS is safe. No panic. He was outdoors. He didn't even feel it, clueless. Fortunately, he has a lot of non-vacationing aides around. And they could tell him about the public shock of millions across the region and the Pentagon and monument evacuations and no initial reports of anything wrong.

He could also learn a little about approaching Hurricane Irene, which threatens to screw up his vacation weekend plans, among other things.

Aides set up an emergency conference call for the president in an undisclosed area near the golf course to be told again that everything is OK. Here's the White House report on that crowded call:

At 2:50 p.m. EDT this afternoon, the president led a conference call with DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley, National Security Advisor Tom Donilon, Homeland Security Advisor John Brennan, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, Senior Science Advisor for Earthquake and Geologic Hazards with the Department of Interior Dr. David Applegate, Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Greg Jaczko, Deputy Homeland Security Advisor Heidi Avery and Deputy National Security Advisor Denis McDonough to discuss the earthquake and status of critical infrastructure. 

The president was told that there are no initial reports of major infrastructure damage, including at airports and nuclear facilities and that there were currently no requests for assistance. The president asked for regular updates on the situation. The president also was provided an update on preparations for Hurricane Irene by Secretary Napolitano and Administrator Fugate.

Vice President Joe Biden, meanwhile, was over in Japan expressing sympathy for their quake-tsunami disaster last spring. So he can't be blamed for the day's discouraging new poll numbers.

Also, the president ordered that people keep bringing him any new information.

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-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: Kevin Lamarque / Reuters (Obama missing putts on vacation, Aug. 23).

Dow Jones plunges 512 points; but don't worry, President Obama's birthday parties unaffected

Uh, what in the world is going on here?

That humongous hard-fought debt ceiling deal that was supposed to settle things down in D.C. financially and politically seems to be doing precisely the opposite there and now around the world. And all within 48 hours.

Europe isn't buying the deal.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged almost 513 points today, erasing all of its gains this year, as fears grew of yet another recession before most people believed the first one was over. This White House returned to SOP immediately anyway. And George W. Bush is nowhere in sight to blame for this one.

Could Texas Rep. Ron Paul be right again?  He said: "You don’t get out of the problem of having too much debt by allowing Congress to spend a lot more."

Former GOP Sen. Alan Simpson, who served on Obama's deficit commission, explained the financial battering of the U.S. as similar to crises in Portugal, Greece, Ireland, Spain and Italy.

"It is a global, global economy," he said to Neil Cavuto on the Fox News Channel. "It is so different from anything we have ever had in our whole history, and all of these countries have this trajectory of deficit and interest which is unconscionable and unsustainable."

Here's what the world was witnessing as it hoped to see this country start controlling its craving for fiscal cheeseburgers and fries for every meal:

Obama was so pleased with the bipartisan deal to control spending and cut the nation's $14.3 trillion national debt that he signed it in private. Within hours he was talking about spending much more on bridges, roads, clean energy and unemployment extensions.

Despite his sagging poll numbers, Obama then resumed fundraising for his reelection. He flew to Chicago for a $35,800-per-plate dinner that raised millions. He gave a 22-minute oration that still blamed what's-his-face the Texas guy from nearly three years ago, did not contain the word retrenchment and was widely applauded by Windy City fans.

Dick Durbin, another Illinois Democrat and the Senate's No. 2 ruling leader, said he's not giving up the fight for new taxes for government to spend. He wants on the new super Congress panel.

Vice President Joe Biden was out of public sight back at his Delaware home for a couple of days.

Obama's Press Secretary Jay Carney was pummeled today with questions on exactly what the president was doing to stop rising unemployment, restore consumer confidence and take control of what appears a chaotic Washington scene. Here's his reply;

"He is working very closely with his senior economic advisers to come up with new proposals to help advance growth and job creation."

Which, actually, is what many people thought the president had been doing all along during these 926 days of his presidency. To little economic effect, so far.

Carney also said Obama has planned several trips to talk with Americans about things. Sites include northern Virginia, the Midwest for a three-day bus tour and Michigan next week to talk about clean energy again.

The stock market plunge, however, was not expected to affect the White House's next pair of parties, a staff gathering this afternoon and another this evening with more friends and family to celebrate the aging Obama's well-documented birth a half-century ago today.

To help mark the happy occasion Michelle Obama sent out an email to millions of her husband's supporters. She didn't directly ask for money or mention the nation's ongoing financial troubles. She asked instead for people to sign an e-book of birthday wishes that the campaign is compiling, which will require leaving contact information.

"Every day," she said, "I see Barack make choices he knows will affect every American family. That's no small task for anyone -- and more proof that he's earning every last one of those gray hairs."

Just what every hubby wants to hear.

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-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photos: Mario Tama / Getty Images (New York Stock Exchange traders react to the market's plunge on President Obama's birthday, Aug. 4); Jim Young / Reuters (happy Obama at his first 50th birthday in Chicago); Win McNamee / Getty Images (Obama's birthday celebrated with a party hat at Madame Tussaud's wax museum).

 

Secret Service captures second White House intruder in 48 hours

For the second time since Sunday an intruder made it onto the White House grounds Tuesday night before being captured by Secret Service agents with guns drawn. It was not Joe Biden.

The incident occurred during a live CNN show, "John King USA." The capture was captured on video. Scroll down to watch.

The incident began when a man threw a backpack onto the lawn and then climbed over the fence.

Although the Salahis and before them Kevin Kline in "Dave" made entering and exiting the White House look easy, truth is it's a very secure place. Those wide open grassy areas may look empty, but they are not.

Within seconds, Secret Service agents with pistols and automatic weapons were cautiously approaching and shouting at the man to lie face down on the ground. He complied. He was frisked, handcuffed and led away under arrest.

Officials identified Tuesday's intruder as James Crudup, a 41-year-old homeless man. Due to previous incidents there, he was charged with violating a court order to stay away from the presidential residence and with unlawful entry.

Sunday night another intruder made it onto the grounds before apprehension. But she was a 6-year-old girl who slipped through the bars of the fence.

The youngster is still undergoing interrogation. No, just kidding. She was returned to her parents outside the fence. 

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-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press (guards came from everywhere during the intrusion on the White House grounds).

Warren Buffett bets $1 that unemployment will drop to 8% by November 2012

Warren Buffett, one of the richest men in the world, knows a few things about money. He's putting his money where his mouth is, betting that unemployment will sink by late 2012.

During an interview Thursday on CNBC, Buffett revealed that he has a bet with Peter Orszag, the former director of the Office of Management and Budget, that unemployment will fall from its current rate of 9.1% to below 8% before the next presidential election.

"I think the number that went around yesterday was that you would need 217,000 jobs created every month between now and the election in order to get that number below [an] 8 1/2 or 8 percent unemployment rate. How likely do you think it is that when we get to the election next year we'll be looking at unemployment below 8 percent?" CNBC "Squawk Box" host Becky Quick asked the billionaire philanthropist.

"I've got a bet with a fellow that it will be -- and he's a very smart fellow, ... if you asked any economist who you should bet on, they would bet on the other fellow," Buffett said, referring to Orszag, who last July stepped as President Obama's budget director to become the vice chairman of global banking at Citigroup.

"But I've got ... a bet with a fellow that -- it's only for $1 -- I've got a bet with him that it'll be below that figure [of 8%]. But ... that's because I think housing will come back before that," Buffett explained. "If I'm wrong about housing, I lose the bet."

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-- Tony Pierce
Twitter.com/busblog

Photo: During a 2007 meeting with workers of TaeguTec in Daegu, South Korea, Warren Buffett counts the money from his wallet after an employee asked how much money he had in it. Credit: Jo Yong-Hak / Reuters.

Andrew Malcolm is on assignment.

Obama reverses policy; will now send condolences to families of those who commit suicide in combat zones

President Obama on Wednesday reversed a longstanding White House policy of not sending condolences to families of service members who committed suicides in combat zones. The previous administrations believed that such acknowledgments may lead to an increase in suicides.

In a statement released by the White House, the president said after meeting with the secretary of Defense and other military brass, he has decided to do things differently than his predecessors because these service members "didn’t die because they were weak."

"As Commander in Chief, I am deeply grateful for the service of all our men and women in uniform, and grieve for the loss of those who suffer from the wounds of war -- seen and unseen. Since taking office, I’ve been committed to removing the stigma associated with the unseen wounds of war, which is why I’ve worked to expand our mental health budgets, and ensure that all our men and women in uniform receive the care they need," the president said in the statement.

"As a next step and in consultation with the Secretary of Defense and the military chain of command, I have also decided to reverse a long-standing policy of not sending condolence letters to the families of service members who commit suicide while deployed to a combat zone. This decision was made after a difficult and exhaustive review of the former policy, and I did not make it lightly. This issue is emotional, painful, and complicated, but these Americans served our nation bravely. They didn’t die because they were weak. And the fact that they didn’t get the help they needed must change. Our men and women in uniform have borne the incredible burden of our wars, and we need to do everything in our power to honor their service, and to help them stay strong for themselves, for their families and for our nation," Obama said.

Twitter Town Hall: The complete transcript of Barack Obama and Jack Dorsey

President Barack Obama answered a lot of questions about jobs, the economy, and taxes in his first Twitter Town Hall on Wednesday.

One of the most memorable statements the president delivered was when he said that one of the things he would have have done differently "would have been to explain to the American people that it was going to take a while for us to get out of this." 

Obama admitted, "I think even I did not realize the magnitude, because most economists didn’t realize the magnitude of the recession until fairly far into it, maybe two or three months into my presidency where we started realizing that we had lost 4 million jobs before I was even sworn in."

After the jump: The entire transcript of the Twitter Town Hall, as provided by the White House.

The most interesting (and silly) questions Obama didn't answer in Twitter town hall

President Obama spent more than an hour Wednesday answering questions during the first "Twitter Townhall @ the White House." At his side was Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey serving as the stiff, sweaty and serious emcee.

While the president answered many questions about jobs, the debt and taxes, as well as letting America know that he doesn't think "the continuing decline in the housing market is something that hasn't bottomed out," there were several controversial questions that weren't fed to him by any of the eight "moderators."

Some of the unanswered questions were serious, some were not. Kevin Rhea asked a simple question that could have been answered in one syllable, "will Vice President Biden run on your ticket in 2012?"

Another Twitter user asked, "does it bug you that the tea party hates you, when youve upheld or magnified all the policies of the bush administration?"

After the jump many more silly and interesting unanswered questions that appeared on Twitter with the hashtag #askobama.