WASHINGTON (CNN) – By unanimous consent, the Senate Tuesday confirmed former Washington Gov. Gary Locke to be Secretary of Commerce.

Locke was President Barack Obama's third choice — New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson took his name out of consideration on January 5, citing the distraction of a federal investigation into ties to a company that has done business with his state.

Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire — Obama's second Commerce pick — cited "irresolvable conflicts" with the administration over the economic stimulus bill when he withdrew his name from consideration on February 12.

 

 

Publisher Rodale Books announced Tuesday that the former vice president's book, "Our Choice," will be released in November, printed on 100 percent recycled paper. The book, which proposes solutions to the global warming crisis documented in "Inconvenient Truth," was called "The Path to Survival" when first announced two years ago.

US President Barack Obama has indirectly praised former French president Jacques Chirac's fierce opposition to the US-led invasion of Iraq, the online edition of the daily Le Figaro reported on Thursday.

In a letter described by Chirac as 'very nice,' Obama wrote, "I am certain that we will be able to work together, in the coming four years, in a spirit of peace and friendship to build a safer world."

The use of the word 'peace' was taken to be an indirect reference to Chirac's stance against the US intervention in Iraq, which Obama had also opposed as senator.

Now Obama has insulted French President Sarkozy!

Oh no! Obama sent a letter to Chirac, saying he looks forward to working with him the next four years. Le Figaro, French newspaper is horrified at the faux pas. Doesn't Obama ever consult his staff before acting? Sarkozy is the President there! It's like Sarko writing to George Bush and saying he looks forward to working with him. Chirac is the FORMER president.

President Obama is going back to school in his first year in office. He will be delivering commencement speeches at three universities this May, touching three distinct parts of the country and three different types of educational institutions.

The White House said on Friday that Mr. Obama will speak first at Arizona State University, in Tempe, a public school, on May 13. His next stop, on May 17, will be at a private university, Notre Dame, in South Bend, Ind. Former President George W. Bush delivered his first commencement speech as the nation’s chief executive there in 2001.

President Obama will conclude his tour at a service academy — the United States Naval Academy, in Annapolis — on May 22.

 

The Cardinal Newman Society, an advocacy group for orthodoxy on Catholic college and university campuses, calls the invitation to Obama "a scandal and an outrage."

As of Monday evening, the society said more than 33,000 people had signed its online petition urging Notre Dame's president, the Rev. John Jenkins, to withdraw the invitation.

Obama, touring a California electric car plant on Thursday, said, "The 1908 Model T _ think about this _ the 1908 Model T earned better gas mileage than the typical SUV in 2008."

"Think about that: 100 years later, and we're getting worse gas mileage, not better, on SUVs," Obama said.

Ford's own Web site says the Model T's mileage ranged from 13 to 21 miles per gallon. Some Tin Lizzie enthusiasts who still drive the vehicles report numbers closer to the bottom end of that range. A typical SUV sold in 2008 gets 18.7 miles per gallon.

But even comparing vehicles that are so different is misleading, say auto industry officials and fans of Henry Ford's pioneering car.

The 1909 Model T _ which debuted in September 1908 _ weighed 1,200 pounds. A 1909 Model T ad told consumers it could reach 40 to 50 miles per hour on its 4-cylinder, 20-horsepower engine. It had a 10-gallon gasoline tank with an advertised range of 200 to 225 miles carrying four passengers.

By contrast, a typical SUV sold in 2008 weighs about 4,600 lbs and carries equipment not dreamed of 100 years ago: emission controls, safety equipment like air bags, antilock brakes and an aerodynamic body. Model Ts featured hand-crank starters and tail lamps fueled by kerosene.

"It's not a comparison that holds up well today," said Ford spokeswoman Jennifer Moore.

Moore said that by comparison, a 2009 Ford Escape achieves 20 mpg in the city and 28 mpg on the highway while providing 200 horsepower, a tenfold improvement over the Model T.

Obama's line echoed a 2003 advertisement from the Sierra Club which was published around Ford Motor Co.'s 100th anniversary. The ad compared the fuel efficiencies of a Model T and a Ford Explorer and urged the Dearborn, Mich., company to "use existing technology to make cleaner cars that go farther on a gallon of gas."

"The point is that the average Ford today does not compare favorably to the Model T's fuel economy," said Dan Becker, a former director of the Sierra Club's Global Warming and Energy Program.

Many Model T enthusiasts report varying gas mileage levels _ from 10 mpg to 25 mpg _ and note that dirt roads commonly found in the early 20th century would have reduced the fuel efficiency.

Tom Miles, of Albuquerque, N.M., the vice president of the Model T Ford Club of America, says he typically gets 12 mpg on his 1926 Model T Touring car and the fuel efficiency suffers when he drives uphill.

When he heard Obama make the comparison, he thought, "Well, yeah, but you've got to look at all the other things modern cars do."

Waters' comments were the strongest criticism yet from a Democrat over a controversy that continues to grow.

It was a reversal from Dodd's position a day earlier, when he strongly denied he had anything to do with adding the provision.

The provision added to the stimulus bill was a broad measure that applied to all companies receiving bailout money, not just AIG, though the AIG bonuses in particular have caused outrage in Washington and around the country after the insurance giant received more than $170 billion in federal aid.

The movie industry's digital protection schemes have turned President Obama's present for British Prime Minister Gordon Brown into little more than a set of coasters.

British newspapers earlier this month made hay out of the supposedly unequal exchange of gifts between the two leaders during Brown's visit to Washington. Brown gave an ornamental pen holder with an indirect tie to the Oval Office desk — both items were made from the timber of sister ships — and a first-edition set of a seven-volume biography about Winston Churchill.

Obama responded with a DVD set featuring 25 classic American movies. "About as exciting as a pair of socks," declared The Daily Mail.

Now it turns out Brown can't play the discs because of region-specific limitations, The Daily Telegraph reports.

DVD players are coded to limit themselves to material meant for specific geographic areas. The United States and Canada are Region 1. Western and Central Europe are Region 2.

Players sold in one region aren't supposed to play discs sold in another. Had the same sort of protection applied to Brown's gift, Obama would need a special key sold only in Europe to open the Churchill books.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, speaking at her weekly presser this morning, says she had nothing - nothing -- to do with Chris Dodd's AIG amendment.

“If you want to talk about what happened in the Senate, go to the Senate and talk to them,” she said when asked about her possible involvement with the weakened "clawback" provision, which was approved by both Houses as part of the stimulus conference report.

“This was never brought to conference,” she said -- rejecting Dodd's initial claim that his anti-bonus amendment was stricken, without his say-so, during the conference process..

“This never came to the House side, and you can talk to any of our conferees. It’s a matter of fact and record,” she said.

Administration Launches New Consumer Website For Responsible Homeowners Seeking Relief

MakingHomeAffordable.gov Features Self Assessment Tools, Calculators
to Help Borrowers Determine Eligibility, Payment Reductions
under Administration's Refinancing and Loan Modification Program