NY's only statewide political program
Barack Obama
‘Hottie’ Obama T-Shirts Flying Off Shelves in WNY
May 16th - 11:19 pm
It appears President Obama’s brief visit to Buffalo Thursday has already triggered some economic growth in the region. But, it wasn’t anything the president said that caused one area business to see a major boost in sales.
It’s all thanks to Luann Haley, a Chaffee resident who is now famous for telling the Commander-in-Chief he’s a “hottie with a smokin’ little body” during a stop for wings at Duff’s.
Susan Nelson and Dave Putzbach, owners of “Yours or Mine by Design,” quickly seized the opportunity after Haley became a prominent fixture of that day’s news cycle.
Putzbach told YNN’s Kaitlyn Lionti that the pair planned on creating a T-shirt design as a test to see how fast they could produce a product for their new business, but things escalated quickly after orders started pouring in.
“It was one shirt. What are we going to do with this shirt? Let’s contact Luann, give her a shirt…and had no idea it was going to blow up as big as it did.”
The team is also planning to send a shirt to the White House.
Bloomberg Makes His Case, But Nicely
May 14th - 8:51 am
Mayor Bloomberg is continuing his “catch more flies with honey” approach to fighting for the Obama administration to restore cuts to NYC’s anti-terrorism funding, even as fellow New York elected officials on both sides of the aisle are being sharply – and very publicly – critical of the decision to slash the city’s cash.
“You can yell at them or you can make the case and say, ‘Come on now; we’ve got to work together on this,’ and that’s the strategy,” Bloomberg told WOR’s John Gambling this morning. “…This is one time I think we did get treated unfairly.”
Bloomberg said he and NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly personally pleaded their case with Obama yesterday just before the president’s “thank-you” visit to officers who had participated in the failed Times Square bombing case.
More >
Saujani To Maloney: I’m More Pro-Obama Than You (Updated)
May 13th - 5:03 pm
Reshma Saujani is trying to capitalize on a report that her primary opponent, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, took a pass on raising $25,000 to get on the host list for tonight’s DCCC fundraiser to focus on her own money-gathering efforts.
Maloney spokesman George Arzt told City Hall’s David Freedlander that the DCCC doesn’t ask incumbents with primaries to raise, because, as he put it: “You are raising money for your primary. It is a burden to do that.”
In an e-mail to supporters, Saujani’s campaign manager Kevin Lawler referenced Arzt’s quote, saying:
“Her campaign said that raising money is ‘a burden.’ She’s decided to focus on preserving her own job.
“Maybe the incumbent simply chose not to help raise money because President Obama doesn’t take special interest corporate PAC contributions at his events. After all, those special interest donors have lined Maloney’s pockets throughout her career.”
“Rather than focusing solely on her own electoral prospects, Reshma Saujani is encouraging her supporters to raise money for Democrats around the country. Please donate to the DCCC and let President Obama know that if we elect Reshma, the 14th District of New York won’t let him down.”
Obama’s Speech
May 13th - 2:49 pm
As promised, President Obama is taking Republicans to task in his Buffalo speech on the economy, accusing them of being too focused on making political points than collaborating with Democrats to help create jobs and speed the recovery.
After the obligatory joke about the Buffalo weather – “And I thought Chicago was bad!” – and some ad-libbing about his wings pit-stop at Duff’s, Obama got down to business, defending his government-funded economic bailouts (a favorite GOP target) by saying:
” If we simply gave in to the partisan posturing in Washington – all the poll-taking and calculation that caused an entire party to sit on the sidelines – the same party that was in charge when this crisis unfolded – millions more Americans would lose their jobs, their businesses, and their homes.”
“…Buffalo, I didn’t run for President to preside over decline. I didn’t run for President to watch the erosion of the middle class continue. I ran for President to keep the American Dream alive in our time. So we met our responsibilities. We did what the moment required.”
Later, Obama panned the Republican opposition to his small business agenda, calling it “a lot of noise from some of our friends on the other side of the aisle that this is nothing more than ‘big government.’”
A Buffalonian On Air Force One
May 13th - 2:18 pm
On press duty for President Obama’s visit to Buffalo today is Bill Burton, a Queens City native who quite clearly hasn’t lost that fierce devotion to his hometown that so many Buffalonians share.
Told during the media gaggle on Air Force One en route to Buffalo that some residents are chagrined about the brevity of the president’s visit (a mere three hours, give or take), Burton replied:
“I share their disappointment. If it were up to me, we’d stay here for a week and I’d be able to take the President all over town and see all the great places to eat, maybe even go to Niagara Falls.”
“But as I said before, the President has a lot on his plate. He’s coming here to have what he hopes is a very robust discussion about the economy. And we’re spending every second that we can in this great American city.”
A Buffalo Greeting For ‘Hottie’ Obama (Updatedx2)
May 13th - 1:45 pm
You just cannot make this stuff up.
From The Buffalo News’ liveblog of the president’s visit comes this little gem from Obama’s stop at the Cheektowaga Amherst outpost of the chicken wing eatery, Duff’s:
1:23 p.m.: Louann Haley, of Chaffee, greeted the president with the words: “You’re a hottie with a smokin’ little body.”
Obama’s response: He hugged her.
UPDATE1: A reader provided a correction about the restaurant’s location, which was subsequently re-corrected by Erie County Comptroller Mark C. Poloncarz, which was then re-re-corrected by a commenter. I give up! As I’m – clearly – not from Buffalo, I’ll let you guys work it out.
UPDATE2: As per The Times’ Sheryl Stolberg, the traveling pooler, the president told Haley that First Lady Michelle Obama was likely watching this exchange, to which Haley responded as the cameras rolled: “That’s allright. Hi Michelle, eat your heart out.”
In case you’re curious, the president ordered 10 wings medium, 5 regular/5 extra crispy, french fries and onion rings. He called Buffalo “the wings capitol” – good advance prep, press office. But if he eats all that, it’s not going to help him maintain that “hottie” figure.
Also, from the pool report:
About 100 people were at Duff’s when the president arrived, and he greeted the surprised patrons with handshakes and hugs.
Earlier the president met privately with a small group of people who lost loved ones in the February 2009 plane crash in Clarence, N.Y., which claimed 50 lives.
In Obama’s Buffalo Audience (Updated)
May 13th - 12:56 pm
The White House has released a list of elected officials expected to be on hand for President Obama’s Buffalo speech, and it is as follows:
Members of Congress:
- Representative Louise Slaughter, D-NY
- Representative Brian Higgins, D-NY
- Representative Chris Lee, R-NY, (tentative)
Local elected officials
-Mayor Byron Brown, Buffalo
- Chris Collins, Erie County Executive
- Patrick Curley, NY State Power Authority
- Mayor Paul Dyster, Niagara Falls
- David Franczyk, Buffalo Common Council Member
- Jean Kessner, Syracuse City Council Member
-Assemblywoman Crystal Peoples-Stokes
- State Senator William Stachowski
- State Senator Antoine Thompson
Brown, Higgins and Slaughter met Obama at the airport. Higgins had the foresight to bring an umbrella with him, and gallantly provided cover for the trio from the rain while they exchanged brief pleasantries on the tarmac.
More >
While Gillibrand’s Stuck In D.C., Brown Gets An Obama Moment
May 13th - 12:04 pm
Score one for Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown.
Brown, who had a bit of a tiff with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand over who was more responsible for President Obama’s visit to the Queen City today, is on the list of elected officials expected to be on hand for the big speech at Industrial Support Inc., while the junior senator is not.
Gillibrand spokesman Matt Canter confirmed the senator is not making it to Buffalo because, as he put it, there are “votes to do with the very important Wall Street reform bill today.”
“This is an important debate for the future of New York State’s economy, so she will be unable to attend,” Canter said.
Immediately after news of Obama’s trip to Buffalo broke last week, Gillibrand’s office made it known that she had urged the president to include the city on his Main Street tour.
More >
Cuomo Won’t Join Obama In Buffalo, Will Paterson? (Updated: No, Paterson Will Not Be In Buffalo)
May 12th - 2:04 pm
AG Andrew Cuomo will not among the political dignitaries cheering President Obama as he delivers a speech on the economy in Buffalo tomorrow, a source close to the AG confirmed.
Cuomo also will not be attending either the post-Buffalo DCCC fundraiser Obama will headline at the St. Regis in Manhattan or the state DSCC fundraiser headlined by his former boss, ex-President Clinton.
The AG will be working out of his Manhattan office, the source said, and he has a “full day” that will prevent him from making the trip to Western NY for the president’s visit. At night he has “family obligations” that will keep him away from the fundraising events.
Cuomo was on hand for Obama’s Wall Street speech at Cooper Union last month.
He was also front-and-center at HVCC last fall when Obama joked about the “shy and retiring” attorney general and shot Cuomo a big grin. (Recall that this was in the wake of the news that the White House had urged Gov. David Paterson not to run this fall, clearing the way for Cuomo).
Paterson took listeners aback earlier this week when he said on a Buffalo radio station that he didn’t know whether he had been invited to Obama’s speech.
UPDATE: Late this afternoon, a Paterson spokesperson said that his office tried to adjust the governor’s schedule to make the event with the president, but couldn’t make it work. Although, the spokesperson says the governor appreciates the invitation.
Tasini Gives Up On Gillibrand, Sets Sights On Rangel
May 12th - 12:11 pm
And then there were none.
Labor activist Jonathan Tasini, the last remaining primary challenger to Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, confirmed today he has given up on his quest to oust the appointed junior senator and has decided to join the fray against embattled Rep. Charlie Rangel instead.
Tasini, who lost a longshot primary challenge to Gillibrand’s predecessor, Hillary Clinton, in 2006, admitted his decision to drop out of the race this year was mostly motivated by his failure to raise sufficient funds to, as he put it, “be heard.”
To date, Tasini has managed to raise just $124,244, where he had hoped to bring in between $2 million and $3 million. He has $7,938 on hand and $5,482 worth of debt.
Gillibrand, by contrast, has raised $8.7 million and has $6 million on hand.
Tasini said he had “no expectation” of winning in 2006, but someone needed to challenge Clinton from the left and debate her “yes” vote for the Iraq War.
He said even if he had managed to raise $10 million four years ago, he would not have been able to defeat former First Lady, who was well-known and very popular at the time.
“That was not true of Kirsten Gillibrand, who continues to be unpopular, and has never been elected,” said Tasini, who called it a “sad commentary on the Democratic Party” that the Obama administration and top New York leaders have systematically pushed Gillibrand’s challengers out of the race.
More >
Take Capital Tonight and the State of Politics blog with you everywhere you go with our iPhone app! The mobile application features our blog posts, interviews, and a report news tool to send us your political news tips.