Obama Ends Year Strong
Obama gets a poll bump for Christmas. McClatchy: "A CNN/ORC poll released Tuesday showed 48 percent of Americans approved of Obama's job performance ... a 20-month high ... [Gallup's] had Obama at 47 percent over the weekend, the highest level of the year ... [It was] the first time a majority in the [CNN] poll had been positive about the economy in seven years..."
"U.S. judge throws out Arizona sheriff's immigration suit against Obama" reports Reuters: "A federal judge on Tuesday threw out a lawsuit brought against Barack Obama by an Arizona police chief who called the U.S. president's sweeping immigration reforms unconstitutional, saying the plaintiff lacked legal standing in the case ... An Arizona federal judge in May 2013 ruled that deputies of [Sheriff] Arpaio's office had racially profiled Latino drivers."
McConnell lacks a strategy for blunting Obama. McClatchy: "Cuba. Coal. Immigration. The Keystone XL pipeline ... He’s eager to challenge President Barack Obama. That much was clear during a wide-ranging interview with McClatchy ... Precisely what he will do to counter the president was less clear."
Enviros have a 2015 wish list for Obama. TNR's Rebecca Leber: "Designate [more] national monuments ... Crack down on illegal fishing ... Deliver a methane strategy ... Veto the Keystone XL pipeline ..."
Weiss Fight Simmers
Salon's David Dayen slams Antonio Weiss for deals that cause layoffs: "...Weiss’ history symbolizes what has gone wrong with American-style capitalism, with its focus on financial engineering rather than creating good products people might want. His deal-making has led directly to tens of thousands of lost jobs and billions in bonuses and stock options for top executives and money managers, who in many cases loot the companies they acquire."'
W. Post's David Ignatius slams Sen. Warren for fighting Weiss: "The revival of the U.S. financial system after the crash of 2008 is arguably the Obama administration’s biggest domestic policy success. But Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), in her jihad against Wall Street, seems determined to devalue this accomplishment — and to make financial expertise a mark of shame for Democrats, rather than a source of pride."
