By Colin Campbell 5/14 6:31pm

fyi

Congressman Grimm is not pleased. (Photo: Facebook)

Michael Grimm Has Had It Up to Here With President Obama

As President Barack Obama’s opponents pile on in the aftermath of multiple recent controversies–notably his reaction to the Benghazi attacks, revelations that the Internal Revenue Service focused on conservative-aligned nonprofits and the Justice Department’s unprecedented snooping on press communications–one local congressman wants it to be known that he is also not pleased.

To wit, Republican Rep. Michael Grimm, who represents Staten Island and southern Brooklyn, released a lengthy statement this afternoon blasting Mr. Obama for “bringing Chicago-style politics to the White House.” This style of underhanded rule, Mr. Grimm said, has resulted in a presidency that is “the most secretive, deceptive, and divisive we’ve seen in modern times.” Read More

By Colin Campbell 4/29 3:43pm

Claims

John Catsimatidis. (Photo: Getty)

John Catsimatidis Says He Could Have Defeated Barack Obama

The Greek-born John Catsimatidis is ineligible to run for President of the United States, but that doesn’t mean the GOP mayoral candidate hasn’t thought about it. Indeed, during yesterday’s rowdy event at the Brooklyn Young Republican Club, Mr. Catsimatidis talked extensively about federal policy before proclaiming that he would have defeated President Barack Obama’s re-election bid if he were in the race.

“I’m running for mayor, I can’t run for president!” he declared. “But let me tell you something, I would have won. I could have beat Obama. Buy me a box of Kleenex.” Read More

By Jill Colvin 4/29 12:23pm

What White House?

Gov. Andrew Cuomo (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Cuomo Shoots Down Latest Report on His Presidential Ambitions

Gov. Andrew Cuomo shot down a report Monday that he’s been telling confidantes he knows he can’t run for president in 2016 if Hillary Clinton enters the race.

“There is no truth to the assertion that I’m talking presidential politics and strategy and what Hillary Clinton should do or shouldn’t do or what I’m doing presidentially,” Mr. Cuomo told WCNY’s Susan Arbetter this morning.

“The only discussions I’m having are about how to help the state, how to get the state running, how to make the government a better government,” he added. “And to the extend I’m focusing on politics, it’s my race next year.” Read More

By Colin Campbell 4/08 10:52am

Reactions

(Photo: Getty)

Obama Says Thatcher Was ‘One of the Great Champions of Freedom’

President Barack Obama joined other the United States officials lamenting the passing of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher this morning. In particular, Mr. Obama touted both Ms. Thatcher’s humble upbringing and her status as one of the world’s “great champions of freedom and liberty.”

“With the passing of Baroness Margaret Thatcher, the world has lost one of the great champions of freedom and liberty, and America has lost a true friend,” Mr. Obama said in a statement. Read More

By Colin Campbell 2/28 1:45pm

Rock You Like a Hurricane

marco-rubio-getty

Pete King Can’t Believe Rubio Has the ‘Balls’ to Fundraise in New York

Congressman Pete King was not pleased with his fellow Republicans who opposed the federal Hurricane Sandy relief package. Accordingly, Mr. King told us he was shocked to learn that Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who’s widely seen as a potential 2016 presidential contender, has been raising cash on Wall Street after voting against the Sandy bill.

“Being from New York we’re not supposed to be suckers,” Mr. King told Politicker this morning. “It’s bad enough that these guys voted against it, that’s inexcusable enough. But to have the balls to come in and say, ‘We screwed you now make us president?’” Read More

By Ross Barkan 2/21 5:01pm

The Fourth Estate

Bloomberg Presents City's 2014 Preliminary Budget

Mayor Bloomberg Wishes the Press Would Let Obama Golf in Peace

In a chapel on Rikers Island today, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the press shouldn’t be irked about being barred from photographing a round of golf between President Barack Obama and Tiger Woods.

“I don’t know why the president has to have people watch what he does,” said Mr. Bloomberg, responding to a question from CBS’s Rich Lamb during a press conference introducing an anti-recidivism program. “He has a right to a vacation. You take a vacation occasionally, you don’t work 24/7. He does. He works very hard and he certainly has a right to his private life.” Read More

By Colin Campbell 2/19 1:08pm

Charles in Charge

(Photo: Getty)

Charlie Rangel Says Sequester Is ‘Un-American in Every Sense of the Word’

Earlier today, President Barack Obama held a press conference to decry the upcoming sequestration–steep automatic budget cuts set to occur in just ten days unless a debt deal is reached–as a “meat cleaver”  that will cut essential services and harm the military. And in a subsequent MSNBC interview, veteran Harlem Congressman Charlie Rangel weighed in on the topic and took his criticism even further, declaring the entire country “is embarrassed by this whole thing.”

“Before it was, ‘Protect the top 1 percent and don’t increase their tax rates.’ Now they’re saying, ‘If anything else is wrong with the tax system, don’t correct it if it means raising revenue,’” Mr. Rangel said, characterizing and dismissing the Republicans’ negotiating position. “That doesn’t make any sense!” Read More

By Colin Campbell and Hunter Walker 2/13 12:44am

Hack Attack

(Photo: Getty)

Obama Unveils Executive Order on Cybersecurity

In his State of the Union address last night, President Barack Obama announced a new initiative to protect American citizens and businesses from hack attacks. Cybersecurity, of course, has recently made the news as complex attacks–allegedly linked to the Chinese military–have been waged against both government institutions and the media. President Obama’s executive order, which he announced in his speech after the White House sent reporters a preview, aims to curb this activity as well as more pedestrian hacking threats.

“America must also face the rapidly growing threat from cyber-attacks,” Mr. Obama declared. “We know hackers steal people’s identities and infiltrate private e-mail. We know foreign countries and companies swipe our corporate secrets. Now our enemies are also seeking the ability to sabotage our power grid, our financial institutions, and our air traffic control systems. We cannot look back years from now and wonder why we did nothing in the face of real threats to our security and our economy. Read More

By Colin Campbell and Hunter Walker 2/12 10:55pm

Foreign Affairs

(photo: whitehouse.gov)

President Obama Promises an End to the War in Afghanistan and ‘Firm Action’ on North Korea and Iran

In his State of the Union speech tonight, President Barack Obama addressed many of the most pressing issues on the world stage including the tense diplomatic situations in Iran and North Korea and the War on Terror in Afghanistan.

On the campaign trail, President Obama vowed to pull all American troops out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014. However, shortly after the election, the White House said they would not be able to commit to a specific withdrawal schedule in Afghanistan. Addressing the nation tonight, President Obama returned to his campaign promise and said the remaining U.S. troops in that country would be withdrawn in the next 22 months. Read More