BARNSTABLE, Mass. – Eunice Kennedy Shriver, a sister of President John F. Kennedy and a longtime champion for the disabled, was in a Massachusetts hospital with family at her side.
The 88-year-old Shriver, who has been weakened in recent years by a series of strokes, was in critical condition Friday.
Her husband, 1972 vice presidential candidate and former Peace Corps director R. Sargent Shriver, was at her side along with their children and grandchildren at Cape Cod Hospital in Barnstable, said family spokesman Stephen Rivers.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the husband of Shriver’s daughter, Maria, was also there, said Aaron McLear, a spokesman for the governor.
The Shrivers live in Hyannis Port, near the family compound where her brother, U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, has been staying as he undergoes treatment for brain cancer. He left the compound Friday in a golf cart with his wife and dog, headed toward the area where the family sailboat is docked.
Eunice Shriver is the fifth of the nine Kennedy children. Edward Kennedy and Jean Kennedy Smith are her sole surviving siblings.
In a recent interview posted on eunicekennedyshriver.org, Sen. Kennedy said his sister has never backed down from the rest of the competitive clan.
“She always strived to be the best, and she in many respects has made such an extraordinary difference in the lives of so many people around the world,” he said.
Shriver is perhaps best known for her work to establish the Special Olympics, inspired in part by the struggles of her mentally disabled sister, Rosemary.
She organized the first Special Olympics in 1968 in Chicago. The two-day event drew more than 1,000 participants from 26 states and Canada. By 2003, the Special Olympics World Summer Games, held that year in Dublin, Ireland, involved more than 6,500 athletes from 150 countries.
WIMBLEDON, England – As American Andy Roddick plotted and perspired over the years to get back to the place and the round where he once belonged, the opponent he visualized across the net in the Wimbledon final was always Roger Federer of Switzerland.
“It’s the only thing I’ve known in a Wimbledon final,” Roddick said. “It’s expected that it’s Roger. Pretty much, if you want to win a Slam, it’s got to go through him.”
Roddick was surprisingly measured, even mellow Friday evening after experiencing the high of defeating Andy Murray of Scotland at the All England Club in the semifinals.
“You spend the better part of three hours stressing out, high drama and the whole deal,” Roddick said. “I think afterward you’re just kind of trying to maybe calm down a little bit.”
Calm down and come up with a good plan, which is what will presumably be required if Roddick is finally to beat Federer on a big occasion. Federer comes into today’s Wimbledon final with an 18-2 lead over Roddick.
“It’s clear that it helps me to have this record against him,” Federer said after his practice Saturday. “But if I don’t win, it’s not going to help me. So I have to remain concentrated and, above all, not underestimate him, because things can go quickly.”
Federer beat Roddick in the 2004 and 2005 Wimbledon finals.
Federer is seeking his 15th major title, which would snap a tie with American Pete Sampras for the most of all time.
Federer is seeking his sixth Wimbledon title and a victory in the final would vault him over Rafael Nadal of Spain for the No. 1 ranking in the world.
“Records are part of this great match right now,” Federer said, “so it’s obviously even more of an incentive to try really hard.”
NEW YORK – A New York Police Department rookie just couldn’t wait to get started.
One of the NYPD’s newest officers made his first arrest Thursday just minutes after graduating from the Police Academy in a ceremony at Madison Square Garden.
Officer Dariel Firpo, 23, was leaving the midtown Manhattan ceremony when he saw a 79-year-old man being robbed of his wallet and thrown to the ground by a mugger, police said.
The mugger tried to run away, but Firpo caught him without incident, they said.
“Officer Firpo made us all proud,” police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. “He’s off to a great start.”
The man Firpo arrested, Jeffrey Grant, was being charged with robbery. Grant, 47, has 48 previous arrests and was just released last week from Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, N.Y., after serving time for a robbery conviction, police said.
Grant, of Manhattan, was in custody late Thursday and couldn’t be contacted. The name of his attorney wasn’t yet on record.
The mugging victim was treated at a hospital for a broken wrist.
Firpo’s feat “may be the fastest police action upon graduation in department history,” said chief police spokesman Paul Browne, who was at the graduation ceremony for the class of 250 new officers.
Firpo, who graduated from Lehman College in January with a degree in political science, said he wants to focus on community affairs while working in the nation’s biggest police department.
“I’m really trying to stick in the community,” he said.
Legendary Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said goodbye to public service yesterday at age 89, opting to spend time with his family and tend to his upstate farm rather than run for a 10th term this year.
“Some people are slow learners and it took me a long time to realize I was getting older,” Morgenthau said jokingly at a packed news conference. “I decided I wouldn’t push my luck any further and quit while I was ahead.”
Morgenthau prosecuted common street criminals, Wall Street crooks and banks suspected of facilitating money transfers for terrorists.
His retirement after 35 years will open one of the most coveted jobs in law enforcement at year’s end.
Former Judge Leslie Crocker Snyder, who lost to him in 2005, appears to be a front-runner. Other challengers include Cyrus Vance Jr., a prosecutor under Morgenthau and the son of former President Jimmy Carter’s secretary of state; Richard Aborn, president of the Citizens Crime Commission; and Dan Castelman, Morgenthau’s right-hand man but perhaps better known for his cameo role in “The Sopranos.”
The new district attorney follows an imposing figure. The patrician Morgenthau, who turns 90 in July, served longer than any of his predecessors.
“He is the dean of law enforcement for the last 50 years,” said Michael Cherkaskey, who served as Morgenthau’s chief of investigations in the 1980s and part of the 1990s. “This is a great man who will be terribly missed.”
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said Morgenthau set the template for professionalism and “always maintained the highest ethical standards,” while Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes said he “raised the bar for what district attorneys should be.”
Born into a storied family, Morgenthau seemed destined for public service. His grandfather, Henry Morgenthau Sr., served as ambassador to the Ottoman Empire for President Woodrow Wilson and his father, Henry Jr., was President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s treasury secretary.
Morgenthau in 1961 was appointed Manhattan U.S. attorney by President John F. Kennedy, a boyhood friend. He was fired by Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal – a badge of honor, he said – then won election for Manhattan district attorney in 1974.
Morgenthau has served ever since, supervising close to 500 prosecutors and presiding over some of the city’s most sensational and important cases.
There were also some setbacks, most notably the prosecution of those charged in the 1989 Central Park jogger case. The suspects were convicted, but Morgenthau in 2002 threw the convictions out after another man stepped forward to claim sole responsibility.
By then, however, Morgenthau’s reputation had long been established, in real life and on screen, with “Law and Order” District Attorney Adam Schiff modeled after Morgenthau.
Morgenthau’s simple advice for his successor: “Fly straight.”
Legendary Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said goodbye to public service yesterday at age 89, opting to spend time with his family and tend to his upstate farm rather than run for a 10th term this year.
“Some people are slow learners and it took me a long time to realize I was getting older,” Morgenthau said jokingly at a packed news conference. “I decided I wouldn’t push my luck any further and quit while I was ahead.”
Morgenthau prosecuted common street criminals, Wall Street crooks and banks suspected of facilitating money transfers for terrorists.
His retirement after 35 years will open one of the most coveted jobs in law enforcement at year’s end.
Former Judge Leslie Crocker Snyder, who lost to him in 2005, appears to be a front-runner. Other challengers include Cyrus Vance Jr., a prosecutor under Morgenthau and the son of former President Jimmy Carter’s secretary of state; Richard Aborn, president of the Citizens Crime Commission; and Dan Castelman, Morgenthau’s right-hand man but perhaps better known for his cameo role in “The Sopranos.”
The new district attorney follows an imposing figure. The patrician Morgenthau, who turns 90 in July, served longer than any of his predecessors.
“He is the dean of law enforcement for the last 50 years,” said Michael Cherkaskey, who served as Morgenthau’s chief of investigations in the 1980s and part of the 1990s. “This is a great man who will be terribly missed.”
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said Morgenthau set the template for professionalism and “always maintained the highest ethical standards,” while Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes said he “raised the bar for what district attorneys should be.”
Born into a storied family, Morgenthau seemed destined for public service. His grandfather, Henry Morgenthau Sr., served as ambassador to the Ottoman Empire for President Woodrow Wilson and his father, Henry Jr., was President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s treasury secretary.
Morgenthau in 1961 was appointed Manhattan U.S. attorney by President John F. Kennedy, a boyhood friend. He was fired by Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal – a badge of honor, he said – then won election for Manhattan district attorney in 1974.
Morgenthau has served ever since, supervising close to 500 prosecutors and presiding over some of the city’s most sensational and important cases.
There were also some setbacks, most notably the prosecution of those charged in the 1989 Central Park jogger case. The suspects were convicted, but Morgenthau in 2002 threw the convictions out after another man stepped forward to claim sole responsibility.
By then, however, Morgenthau’s reputation had long been established, in real life and on screen, with “Law and Order” District Attorney Adam Schiff modeled after Morgenthau.
Morgenthau’s simple advice for his successor: “Fly straight.”
(CNN) — President Obama on Thursday presented a budget that he said is an “honest accounting of where we are and where we intend to go.”President Obama says he can halve the deficit by 2013.
Congress received a 140-page summary of the budget Thursday morning. The full details are expected in April.
In introducing the budget, Obama slammed what he called a “dishonest accounting” in regard to the costs of war, and reiterated his commitment to make government “more open and transparent.”
“For too long, our budget has not told the whole truth about how precious tax dollars are spent,” he said.
“Large sums have been left off the books, including the true cost of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. And that kind of dishonest accounting is not how you run your family budgets at home; it’s not how your government should run its budgets either.”
The president said his budget includes investments in renewable energy, education, and health care — priorities he outlined during his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday.
Despite an ambitious agenda that requires “significant resources,” Obama aims to halve the $1.3 trillion deficit by 2013.
Don’t Miss
Sources: Weapons, subsidies, loopholes among budget cuts
Budget leaves room for more bailouts
Obama seeks $200 billion for war spending
“While we must add to our deficits in the short term to provide immediate relief to families and get our economy moving, it is only by restoring fiscal discipline over the long run that we can produce sustained growth and shared prosperity,” Obama said.
“And that is precisely the purpose of the budget that I’m submitting to Congress today,” he said.
The president says his team has already identified $2 trillion in budget savings by scouring the federal budget.
Obama said the country will save billions of dollars by rolling back the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, “while giving a middle class tax cut to 95 percent of hard-working families.”
Obama warned Thursday that there will be “some hard choices that lie ahead.”
A list of some of the proposed spending cuts obtained by CNN shows that the programs on the chopping block range from outdated farm subsidy programs to pricey Pentagon weapons programs and the so-called “carried-interest” loophole on Wall Street.
Each program, however, has political patrons on Capitol Hill who will fight to save the budget items, setting the stage for major political battles as the details of the budget are debated by lawmakers in the months ahead.
One high-profile proposal involves closing the loophole that has allowed some Wall Street investment managers to pay lower tax rates than their low-paid assistants. Wall Street lobbyists have fought such changes in the past and won, but the current political environment is so sour on financial executives that the proposal could garner more support now.
On agriculture, the Obama administration is aiming to save $9.8 billion over 10 years by phasing out direct payments to farmers with sales revenues of $500,000 or more per year. The list of spending cuts claims that “about 25 percent of direct payments go to farmers with farm sales (revenue) of greater than $500,000.”
On education, the administration is considering elimination of the Federal Mentoring Program created by the previous Bush administration to save nearly $50 million.
On defense, the administration’s list suggests it will target expensive weapons systems but does not specify which programs will be cut or how much money will be saved. White House officials said they are letting Defense Secretary Robert Gates take the lead on specific announcements Thursday.
The list did contend the Pentagon’s new weapons programs are “among the largest, most expensive, and technically difficult that the Department has ever tried to develop. Consequently, they carry a high risk of performance failure, cost increases and schedule delays.”
Obama is asking Congress for more than $200 billion to fund U.S. war efforts for the next year and a half, according to defense officials.
The request will be for $75.5 billion for 2009 to cover the cost of sending more troops to Afghanistan this year and an additional $130 billion for fiscal year 2010, according to the sources.
War spending for 2010 will be part of the president’s overall defense funding request. The money will be in addition to $534 billion for the U.S. Defense Department’s other expenditures, which the president is expected to request from Congress.
Congress gave the Pentagon $65.9 billion for the first half of fiscal 2009.
Obama is also proposing a $634 billion health care “reserve fund” aimed at reforming the system, according to senior administration officials. In order to fund it, Obama will ask wealthy Americans to deal with a tax increase and wealthy seniors to pay higher Medicare premiums.
The reserve fund will essentially be a piggy bank to be used only for reforming the system by cutting costs and trying to deal with the 46 million Americans without health insurance.
Rep. John Boehner, the House minority leader, questioned Obama’s proposal to fund health care.
“Everyone agrees that all Americans deserve access to affordable health care, but is increasing taxes during an economic recession, especially on small businesses, the right way to accomplish that goal?” he asked.
The budget will leave the actual details of how to reform the system to be worked out by Congress, and top Obama officials are already acknowledging this is only a start — it will take more money to get the job done.
“This is a substantial down payment for health-care reform,” one senior administration official said of the president’s plan.
Source:cnn
WASHINGTON, Jan 24: Hours after US missiles killed 22 people in Fata, President Barack Obama convened a meeting of his top national security advisers and endorsed the decision to continue drone strikes into Pakistan.
The US media, quoting unidentified official sources, reported that the first meeting of Mr Obama’s National Security Council focused on Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The New York Times reported on Saturday that the decision to attack alleged terrorist targets in Fata on Friday “dispelled for the moment any notion that Mr Obama would rein in the Predator attacks.”
The Washington Post noted that the strikes “offered the first tangible sign of President Obama’s commitment to sustained military pressure on the terrorist groups” in Fata.
At his daily White House briefing, press secretary Robert Gibbs declined to answer questions about the strikes, saying: “I’m not going to get into these matters.”
Remotely piloted Predator drones operated by the Central Intelligence Agency have carried out 28 missile attacks in Fata since last summer, killing at least 132 people.
The NYT, quoting Pakistani officials, reported that as many as 100 of them were civilians.
Although US and Pakistani officials insist that the missiles targeted Al Qaeda and Taliban suspects, many civilians were also killed in the attacks, making it harder for the country’s shaky government to win support for its decision to join the US-led war against terror.
After Friday’s strikes, a Pakistani security official said in Islamabad that at least 10 insurgents, including five foreign nationals and possibly a high-value target such as a senior Al Qaeda or Taliban official, were among the 22 killed.
But US officials told NYT in Washington that “there were no immediate signs that the strikes had killed any senior Qaeda leaders.”
Husain Haqqani, Pakistan’s ambassador to Washington, however, said that Islamabad “hopes President Obama will be more patient while dealing with Pakistan”.
Appealing to the new US administration to “hear us out,” Mr Haqqani said: “We will review all options if Obama does not adopt a positive policy towards us.”
Meanwhile, the US media reported that President Obama and his top national security team are likely in the coming days to review other counterterrorism measures put in place by the Bush administration. These include former President George W. Bush’s decision to send US Special Operations forces to Fata in July to carry out ground attacks without the approval of the Pakistan government.
The Washington Post noted that the ‘shaky’ Zardari government had hoped for warm relations with the Obama administration, “but members of Mr Obama’s new national security team have already telegraphed their intention to make firmer demands of Islamabad than the Bush administration.”
The Obama administration, the report said, backed up those demands with a threatened curtailment of the plentiful military aid that has been at the heart of US-Pakistan ties for the past three decades.
In August 2007, Mr Obama had declared that he favoured taking direct action in Pakistan against potential threats to US security if Pakistani security forces do not act.
Islamabad, however, had hoped that Mr Obama will tone down his rhetoric after the election.
But his Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton indicated during her Senate confirmation hearing that the new administration will not relent in holding Pakistan to account for any shortfalls in the continuing battle against extremists.
In her written answers to the lawmakers’ questions, published in the US media on Saturday, Secretary Clinton pledged that Washington will “condition” future US military aid on Pakistan’s efforts to close down terrorist training camps and evict foreign fighters.
She also demanded that Pakistan “prevent” the continued use of its historically lawless northern territories as a sanctuary by either the Taliban or Al Qaeda. And she promised that Washington would provide all the support Pakistan needs if it specifically goes after targets such as Osama bin Laden, who is believed to be using Pakistani mountains as a hideout.
At the same time, Ms Clinton pledged to triple non-military aid to Pakistan, long dwarfed by the more than $6 billion funnelled to Pakistani military forces under President George W. Bush through the Pentagon’s counterterrorism office in Islamabad.
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama took to the airwaves yesterday to promote his economic aid plan in what’s-it-mean-for-me terms: thousands of better schools, lower electricity bills, health coverage for millions who lose insurance.
It was the latest appeal from the new president for a massive spending bill designed to inject almost $1 trillion into the economy and fulfill campaign pledges.
As lawmakers consider an $825-billion plan and Obama woos them with an eye toward a second economic package, he used his first White House-based radio and Internet address to update the public about his goals.
“Our economy could fall $1 trillion short of its full capacity, which translates into more than $12,000 in lost income for a family of four. And we could lose a generation of potential, as more young Americans are forced to forgo college dreams or the chance to train for the jobs of the future,” Obama said in a five-minute address.
“In short, if we do not act boldly and swiftly, a bad situation could become dramatically worse.”
Obama aides have refused to rule out that the administration would seek a second economic recovery plan – even before Congress approves the first – to patch an ailing economy. Some are considering a sequel to assuage members of their own Democratic Party who fret that too little of the money is going toward public works projects that would employ constituents.
Along with the speech, Obama’s economic team released a report designed to outline tangible benefits of the plan and shore up support. Aides said they wanted people to understand exactly what they could expect if Congress supported the proposed legislation.
The stimulus plan
Aspects of the $825-billion stimulus plan being put together by the Obama administration and Congress
CASH PAYMENTS
Seniors, disabled and veterans: $300 payments to Social Security beneficiaries, and $300 payments under the Supplemental Security income program for elderly and disabled people living in poverty. Veterans receiving disability or pension payments would also receive $300. The cash payments are one-time only.
TAXES
Individuals: $500-per-worker, $1,000-per-couple tax cut for two years, costing about $142 billion; greater access to the $1,000-per-child tax credit for the working poor; expanding the earned-income tax credit to include families with three children; a $2,500 college tuition tax credit; $7,500 tax credit for middle-income, first-time home buyers who purchase homes in the first half of 2009; temporarily suspends taxation of unemployment benefits.
Businesses: An infusion of cash into money-losing companies by allowing them to claim tax credits on past profits dating back five years instead of two; bonus depreciation for businesses investing in new plants and equipment; a doubling of the amount small businesses can write off for capital investments and new equipment purchases.
Energy: $31 billion in tax credits to boost renewable energy production and promote energy efficiency, including making it easier for money-losing companies to benefit from energy tax credits. Makes tax credits for energy-efficient homes more generous.
SPENDING
Aid to the poor and unemployed: $40 billion to provide extended unemployment benefits through Dec. 31, increase them by $25 a week and provide them to part-time and other workers.
Health care: $27 billion to subsidize health care insurance for the unemployed and provide coverage through Medicaid; $87 billion to help states with Medicaid.
Infrastructure: About $140 billion, including $27 billion for road and bridge construction and repair; $20 billion to repair and renovate school and university buildings; $9 billion for improved access to broadband; and $1.4 billion for western water projects.
Education: Almost $100 billion, including $77 billion in grants to states for special education, local school districts, and a $500 increase in the maximum Pell Grant.
GOALS
Double within three years the amount of energy that could be produced from renewable resources.
Upgrade 10,000 schools for about 5 million students.
Save $2 billion a year by making federal buildings energy efficient.
Triple the number of undergraduate and graduate fellowships in science.
Tighten security at 90 ports.
Source:newsday
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama took to the airwaves Saturday to promote his economic aid plan in what’s-it-mean-to-me terms: thousands of better schools, lower electricity bills, health coverage for millions who lose insurance.
It was the latest appeal from the new president for a massive spending bill designed to inject almost $1 trillion into the economy and fulfill campaign pledges. As lawmakers consider an $825 billion plan and Obama woos them with an eye toward a second economic package, he used his first radio and Internet address from the White House to update the public about his goals.
“Our economy could fall $1 trillion short of its full capacity, which translates into more than $12,000 in lost income for a family of four. And we could lose a generation of potential, as more young Americans are forced to forgo college dreams or the chance to train for the jobs of the future,” Obama said in a five-minute address.
“In short, if we do not act boldly and swiftly, a bad situation could become dramatically worse.”
Obama aides have refused to rule out that the administration would seek a second economic recovery plan – even before Congress approves the first – to patch an ailing economy. Some are considering a sequel to assuage members of their own Democratic Party who fret that too little of the money is being spent on infrastructure that would employ their constituents.
“Look, let’s get one done, and start seeing that impact on the economy before I get into hypotheticals about what we might do later on in the year,” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said on Friday.
Along with the speech, Obama’s economic team released a report designed to outline tangible benefits of the plan and shore up support. Aides said they wanted people to understand exactly what they could expect if Congress supported the proposed legislation.
The United States lost 2.6 million jobs last year, the most in any single year since World War II. Manufacturing is at a 28-year low and even Obama’s economists say unemployment could top 10 percent before the recession ends. One in 10 homeowners is at risk of foreclosure and the dollar continues its slide in value.
That harsh reality has dominated Obama’s first days in office. He scheduled a meeting late Saturday morning with his economic team to talk about the proposed stimulus package and the federal budget.
A day earlier, he invited Democratic and Republican leaders to the White House to hear their ideas on the economy. At that visit, he did not share the details he released Saturday.
“We presented President Obama with our ideas to jump start the economy through fast-acting tax relief – not slow-moving government spending programs,” House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio said in the weekly GOP address. “We let families, entrepreneurs, small businesses, and the self-employed keep more of what they earn to encourage investment and create millions of new private-sector jobs.”
Boehner said the Republicans would cut taxes for every taxpayer, dropping even the lowest income tax rates. “That’s up to an extra $3,200 per family every year – money that can be saved, spent or invested in any way you see fit,” Boehner said. He also proposed a tax credit for home purchases, an end of taxation of unemployment benefits and tax incentives for small businesses to invest in new equipment and hire new employees.
“We cannot borrow and spend our way back to prosperity,” Boehner said.
Obama also plans to travel to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to meet with Republican leaders, his latest move to bring along his rival party to pass an economic package that has GOP support.
Many of the goals in the speech and report were familiar from Obama’s two-year campaign, such as shifting to electronic medical records and investing in preventive health care. Other parts added specifics.
Obama’s recovery package aims to:
_double within three years the amount of energy that could be produced from renewable resources. That is an ambitious goal, given the 30 years it took to reach current levels. Advisers say that could power 6 million households.
_upgrade 10,000 schools and improve learning for about 5 million students.
_save $2 billion a year by making federal buildings energy efficient.
_triple the number of undergraduate and graduate fellowships in science.
_tighten security at 90 major ports.
The plan would spend at least 75 percent of the total cost – or more than $600 billion – within the first 18 months, either through bricks-and-shovels projects favored by Democrats or tax cuts that Republicans have pushed.
There is heavy emphasis on public works projects, which have lagged as state budgets contracted. Governors have lobbied Obama to help them patch holes in their budgets, drained by sinking tax revenues and increased need for public assistance such as Medicaid and children’s health insurance. Obama’s plan would increase the federal portion of those programs so no state would have to cut any of the 20 million children whose eligibility is now at risk.
Obama’s plan would also provide health care coverage for 8.5 million people who lose their insurance when they either lose or shift jobs.
“It’s a plan that will save or create 3 to 4 million jobs over the next few years” and recognizes “there are millions of Americans trying to find work even as, all around the country, there’s so much work to be done,” he said.
But Obama cautioned again against expecting instant results: “No one policy or program will solve the challenges we face right now, nor will this crisis recede in a short period of time.”
WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has said no nation is more important to the United States than China. But ties between the two powers may be off to a rocky start just days into the Obama administration.
In his inaugural address Tuesday, President Barack Obama spoke of how earlier generations of Americans had “faced down fascism and communism.” China’s state broadcaster quickly faded out the audio of its live broadcast, the camera cutting back to a flustered studio anchor.
Then, on Thursday, Obama’s choice to lead the Treasury Department, Timothy Geithner, wrote that Obama believes China is “manipulating” its currency, which American manufacturers say Beijing does to make its goods cheaper for U.S. consumers and American products more expensive in China.
Chinese officials closely follow U.S. political rhetoric and frequently decry what they consider foreign interference in China’s internal affairs. The United States often criticizes China about human rights and trade abuses, but Washington and Beijing find themselves increasingly intertwined in a host of crucial economic, military and diplomatic efforts.
State media in China reported Saturday that a deputy governor of China’s central bank dismissed Geithner’s comment. Su Ning was cited as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency that the remarks were “not in line with the facts.”
“We thought in the face of the financial crisis, there would be a spirit of self-criticism beneficial to finding ways of resolving the issue and overcoming the crisis,” Su said, adding that it was imperative to avoid any excuses to encourage trade protectionism.
Earlier, China’s foreign minister, Yang Jiechi, said Beijing was committed to working with the Obama administration to strengthen ties and cooperation.
Selig Harrison, director of the Asia program at the U.S.-based Center for International Policy, said it was “very ill-advised for the new administration to confront China as if this were 10 years ago and we were in a strong financial position internationally.”
“We are dependent on Chinese goodwill for our economic survival and viability, and, therefore, it seems to me that this type of posture is very risky,” he said.
Despite an early face-off with China over an intercepted U.S. spy plane, former President George W. Bush made it a priority to strengthen relations with China while also pushing the country to live up to what he considered its duties as an emerging global superpower and a veto-holding member of the U.N. Security Council.
Trade ties between the United States and China often are tense. China says it has made progress on currency changes and worries about bills introduced in Congress that would impose economic sanctions on China unless it moves more quickly to let its currency rise in value against the dollar.
Although Geithner said China is “manipulating its currency,” he suggested Thursday that now might not be the right time to brand Beijing as a currency manipulator under U.S. trade law, which could lead to U.S. trade penalties against imports from China.
His testimony may not have been a complete shock to China. Yang, the foreign minister, has said he studies American television and newspapers. Obama and Clinton, during their long campaigns to secure the Democratic nomination for president, made no secret of their desires for a tougher position with China about its human rights record and its trade practices.
Still, Obama’s young administration is not complete. He has yet to name many of the officials who will be dealing with China issues. He also has not yet decided whether to continue the high-level economic discussions the Bush administration has held twice a year with China since late 2006.
Bonnie Glaser, an analyst with the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, said the Chinese have said during the past few months that they want a good start to their relationship with the new U.S. administration.
“Everybody just needs to be a little patient on this,” Glaser said. “I would not draw any premature conclusions that the administration has decided to take a tougher stance, and hopefully the Chinese will be patient while the administration works this out.”
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