Free Republic

Dear President Obama, Every citizen with a modicum of insight into public affairs would say that America is now at a crossroads of decision about what kind of future we want for our nation - and, by extension, for the rest of the world. Whether we like it or not, you are the one who is designated by a vote of the electorate to lead us in that decision-making process. You have asked for the job, and you have proposed yourself as being competent for it. History will judge your Administration on its own merits when your term is complete,...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic governors said Sunday they worry about President Barack Obama's track record on fighting Republican political attacks and urged him to better connect with anxious voters. Some allies pleaded for a new election-year strategy focused on the economy. "It's got to be better thought out," Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said. "It's got to be more proactive." And, he said, Democrats must hit back just as hard as they are hit by Republicans.

Or just a really good lookalike? A tipster tells me that the man who was pushing me outside of a Capitol Hill fundraiser Tuesday night for Massachusetts Democratic Senate candidate Martha Coakley is Michael Meehan. Meehan heads up a firm called Blue Line Strategic Communications along with his partner David DiMartino, who was outside the fundraiser with Coakley tonight and introduced himself to me there. The AP reported on Monday that Meehan is also working for Coakley: "The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee also dispatched Michael Meehan, a media consultant with ties to Massachusetts, to assist the Coakley camp with messaging."

WASHINGTON – The Federal Reserve Bank of New York pressed American International Group Inc. to withhold details of controversial deals that funneled billions in bailout money to Goldman Sachs and other banks. E-mails show lawyers representing the New York Fed asked AIG to remove the information from a draft financial disclosure. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was president of the New York Fed at the time. The deals were part of a massive rescue effort at the peak of the financial crisis. Lawmakers and others have accused Geithner's Fed of overpaying banks, including Goldman and Deutsche Bank, to cancel deals with...