Results tagged “vicepresidentbiden”

Now that beers have been had by Henry Louis Gates Jr, James Crowley and President Obama, now we've entered the post-beer summit phase. Such as brewery Sam Adams being thrilled that the Harvard academic chose its beer (founder Jim Koch said, "After all, Boston is our home and home to both of the president’s guests. I’m honored that the president chose to serve Professor Gates an American craft beer"), funny headlines (“TOUCH OF GLASS” — New York Daily News) and an expert analyzing the body language of the three men plus Vice President Biden (Crowley: defense; Gates: conciliatory; Obama: relaxed; Biden: odd man out).

The most-eagerly awaited executive office beer/photo op/cherry-on-top- of-a-controversy -that-spurred-a- discussion-about- race-relations has happened. President Barack Obama welcomed Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Cambridge Police Sergeant James Crowley, two men whose last meeting was much more fraught. Vice President Joe Biden joined in for a (non-alcoholic) brew as well. According to the Caucus, "What are they drinking? Well, for those who believed Bud Lite would be the drink of choice for Mr. Obama, they are in luck, as are those who thought Sgt. Crowley would stay with Blue Moon. Mr. Gates drank Sam Adams Light (a Massachusetts-based brew), and Mr. Biden chose a Bucklers, a non-alcohol beer. Maybe Mr. Biden has to drive home."

• Use a Queens manufacturer as an example: The NY Times reports that Crystal Window & Door System of Flushing benefited from the federal stimulus bill's "tax credit for homeowners who install energy-saving windows and doors. Last year, Crystal began improving the energy efficiency of its products, a shift that has been more effective than it could have hoped...A day after the president signed the bill, Crystal began getting calls for its products that met the standards to qualify for the tax credit." Which avoided layoffs and further reductions.
• Defend the pace of stimulus spending: Biden said, "There's been some criticism that we've not gotten enough money out so far. Well look, since I'm the guy who was put in charge of it, I want to make sure in the first 100 days we do it right...The one thing that could undermine this whole effort is if you'd read stories in the last 100 days about how this money is being wasted in the tens of billions of dollars." He did promise that spending on roads and bridges would speed up in the coming months.
• Have a bit of a gaffe: On Monday night, Biden referred to Governor Paterson as NY's "once and future" governor, which was taken as an endorsement. Biden later said, "It was a statement of friendship and admiration for the governor, and was not intended as a political statement."

Senator Arlen Specter, reborn as a Democrat, appeared at the White House with President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden and said, "I think that I can be of assistance to you, Mr. President. ... There are a lot of big issues we're tackling now that I've been deeply involved in." Specter and Biden are good friends; the NY Times reports that Biden had been pressing Specter about switching parties lately: In the past 10 weeks, "Mr. Biden and Mr. Specter had spoken 14 times — six times in person and eight in telephone conversations. [Each time] Mr. Biden argued that the Republican Party had increasingly drifted away from Mr. Specter since the election and that ideologically, he was closer to the Democratic Party." Today, Obama said, "I don't expect Arlen to be a rubber stamp. In fact, I'd like to think that Arlen's decision reflects recognition that this administration is open to many different ideas and many different points of view... I'm eager to receive his counsel and his advice, especially when he disagrees."

With considerably less fanfare than when the Obamas met the Bushes earlier this week, Vice President-elect Joe Biden and Jill Biden met Vice President Dick Cheney and Lynne Cheney at the vice presidential residence, the Naval Observatory. The AFP reports that during the 50-minute visit, "the couples held a private meeting and the Cheneys gave their guests a tour of the" Naval Observatory residence.