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provided by AlterNet WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 29: U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Congressional Leaders to discuss legislative priorities through the end of 2022, at the White House on November 29, 2022 in Washington, DC. Biden met with

In 2011, Barack Obama entered into negotiations with House Republicans. They wanted the president to cut future spending in exchange for voting to raise the debt ceiling to borrow more money to pay for existing debts.

Ultimately, Obama agreed to $2 trillion in cuts. The debt ceiling was raised, but the damage was done. The United States experienced its first credit rating downgrade and the stock market plunged, according to USA Today.

Joe Biden, as vice president, learned a lesson that day. He evidently shared it Wednesday with Kevin McCarthy after inviting the House speaker to the White House. He said: There will be no negotiations over the debt ceiling.

READ MORE: 'Where is it?': Kevin McCarthy mocked for lacking a cohesive plan to negotiate the debt ceiling

McCarthy has shown his hand. To Margaret Brennan, host of Face the Nation, he said, were not going to default. What has he to bargain with after giving away his leverage? I dont know. But the moment seems to illustrate a new pattern of behavior coming out of the White House.

There will be no benefit of the doubt.

A problem for the Republicans

According to reporters Alexander Nazaryan and Michael Isikoff, the White House is prepared to work with House investigations but theres a but.

READ MORE: Watch: Kevin McCarthy leads Republicans in prayer at hate group-sponsored event

When it comes to Congress, we intend to review and respond to oversight inquiries in good faith, White House communications officer Ian Sams said last month. We're going to call it out when we see rampant hypocrisy.

Sams said the Republicans have a total lack of credibility.

Hes not wrong.

Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan is head of the House Judiciary Committee. A ferocious Trump defender, he said hed turn to a compulsory process if the White House refused to be forthcoming with requested information.

This is the same congressman who balked when the J6 committee subpoenaed him for testimony on his role in Donald Trumps coup.

Sams went on.

He said Kentucky Congressman James Comer, head of the House Oversight Committee, is playing political theater. Sams said that when a Democrat is involved with government secrets, hes very concerned. When Trump was involved, he was la-di-da. Sams said, via Nazaryan and Michael Isikoff, that:

Comer had downplayed Trumps mishandling of sensitive documents after arguing in an interview with Newsmax last August that the matter 'didnt amount to a hill of beans' and would not 'be a priority' in terms of an investigation.

This is not Barack Obamas White House.

The average white American probably didnt give the first Black president the benefit of the doubt on account of his being the first Black president.

The average white American does give Joe Biden the benefit of the doubt on account of his being white as well as being widely regarded as moderate.

With ample benefit of the doubt behind him from the average white American, Biden seems to believe that he owes none to the Republicans.

Thats a problem.

For the Republicans.

Blunting their attacks

What is the benefit of the doubt? Why is it important?

First, Merriam-Websters definition: its the state of accepting something or someone as honest or deserving of trust even though there are doubts.

Second, its important because virtually everything the Republicans in the House hope to accomplish with their phony investigations, of the Biden administration and the Biden family, depends on the president trusting them just enough for the Republicans to turn that trust against him.

Obama gave the House Republicans the benefit of the doubt. They dragged out the process so long global investors panicked. Obama lost once by conceding to $2 trillion in cuts. He lost twice after markets plunged. In the end, Obama was complicit in the GOPs sabotage of his administration.

But because he was the first Black president, and because his party had just experienced a shellacking in the 2010 midterms, he had to play along.

Things are different now.

The president is white. The House Republicans are barely a majority. The benefit of the doubt of the average white American is not on their side.

Todays House Republicans plan all kinds of investigations of the 2020 election, Bidens return of classified documents and Hunter Bidens laptop.

But what they are actually doing is searching for reasonsreasons that would provide the appearance of proof of their allegations. They want to credibly accuse the president of something. But doing that requires Bidens help.

The appearance of proof.

Thats why Sams leaned into their total lack of credibility.

By refusing to give the Republicans the benefit of the doubt, the White House is depriving them of that appearance, blunting their attacks.

This isnt Barack Obamas White House

McCarthy tried hard to make it look like Biden is the one being hypocritical. He literally led the talks in 2011 and he praised having those talks, he told CBSs Margaret Brennan. This is what hes always done in the past.

The House Republicans dont know what they want, however, and the White House knows that the House Republicans dont know what they want.

The House Republicans keep asking for spending cuts, but wont say which domestic programs they want to cut. The reason for that is pretty clear. If they say what they want to cut spending on Social Security, for instance, which is broadly popular it will undermine demands for spending cuts.

The Biden administration believes it has the advantage. In a memo to McCarthy, the White House asked if McCarthy will commit to the bedrock principle that the United States will never default on its obligations and when the Speaker and the House Republicans will release their budget.

He wont and they wont, because he cant and they cant.

The Biden administration believes Americans will view the Republican brinkmanship more unfavorably as willing to jeopardize the economy and cut popular programs for ideological reasons, according to USA Today.

Biden is probably right.

After all, this isnt Barack Obamas White House.

READ MORE: Speaker Kevin McCarthy clashes with quarreling House Republicans over spending cuts: report

Forcing a 'debt limit fight' with Biden can only end badly for Republicans: former Bush/Rumsfeld speechwriter

On the debt ceiling, the Democrats are the party of no

'Blackmailers without a cause': Economist says House GOP just wants to 'watch things burn' in debt ceiling fight

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Not Barack Obama's White House: Why Republicans no longer get the ...

Last year, in October, the couple celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary.

Barack and Michelle Obama are one of the internet's favourite couples and we keep on gushing about their cute love story and strong marriage. The former first lady appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, four years ago, to promote her book, 'Becoming'. During the interaction, she shared some lesser-known facts about her marriage, including how the 44th US President originally proposed to her. Now, the same video is going viral and people are absolutely loving the details.

Barack Obama proposed to Michelle Obama at a restaurant in Chicago. However, the "hotshot lawyer" picked up a fight with her over the topic of marriage and misled her into thinking that he was not sure of it right now. She was referring to the time in 1989 when she was given the responsibility of mentoring Barack Obama at their law firm. It was a celebratory dinner as Mr Obama had passed his bar exam.

"He made an argument out of it (the proposal)," Michelle Obama said on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

She continued telling the host, "We would have these deep discussions about whether marriage was really necessary if two people loved each other, and he would make his lawyer-ly arguments and I would be irritated. And that's how he decided to propose to me by starting that argument at dinner."

Michelle Obama then states that she started making her points as a lawyer. "He picks a fight, and so I deliver, because I too am a lawyer and I have my points to be made. And by then, dessert was coming out and the waiter put a platter in front of me with a little box, with a ring on it."

Also Read: Michelle Obama Reveals How Secret Service Would React To Her And Barack Obama's Public Display Of Affection

She could not believe it at first because the waiter put the ring in front of her while they were having a heated argument. "And in the middle of the argument, I was like 'Whaaat? He opened up the box and he said, 'Now that ought to shut you up.' And it did," she told the host.

Last year, in October, the couple celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary. To mark the occasion, the former President shared a few pictures on Instagram including a photo of himself resting his head on his wife's shoulder while at the beach. Other pictures included their names engraved in a heart in the sand and a black-and-white wedding photo.

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Michelle Obama insists she played no role in helping embattled FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh secure her position.

Rumors ignited within the FDNY that Obama gave Kavanaugh a former campaign staffer for her husband, Barack a glowing endorsement and urged New York City Mayor Eric Adams to promote her to commissioner last year, sources told The Post.

Now, nearly a year into the job, sources within the department are complaining she was wrongfully appointed thanks to her lofty connections.

Shes essentially a PR person without any firefighting experience, and sheslost the respect of the force, said one of the sources.

A spokesperson for the former first lady shot down the allegations that she had a hand in Kavanughs promotion.

Michelle Obama was never involved in any way with Commissioner Kavanaghs appointment to the FDNY, Obamas office told The Post in a statement.

Kavanagh, who cut her teeth working on campaigns for Barack Obama and other Democratic politicians beginning in 2006, was named the interim chief after former Commissioner Daniel Nigro retired in February 2022.

Adams waited more than seven months to name Kavanaugh, 40, to the top job.

A spokesman for Adams also strongly denied that Obama was involved in Kavanaghs hiring and referred The Post to the citys press release announcing her appointment in October 2022.

New Yorkers and New York CitysBravestdeserve an exceptional leaderand CommissionerKavanagh has the vision, the skills,and the compassion to lead the FDNY into the future, said Adams in the press statement.

Thereleasealso featured quotes from politicians, including US Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY) of Brooklyn. Kavanagh worked for Clarke in 2008.

Kavanagh the first woman in history to become commissioner of the more than 17,000-strong force whipped up turmoil among the FDNYs rank and file after she demoted three high-ranking fire chiefs this week. In response, two other FDNY bigwigs, Chief of Department John Hodgens and Chief of Operations John Esposito, voluntarily sought their own demotions, in protest about reportedly being kept in the dark.

Hodgens is one of the most honorable individuals I have ever met, said former New York City firefighter and now attorney Pete Gleason. I have no doubt that she [Kavanagh] undermined his ability to be the uniformed leader of the FDNY, and that shows how treacherous she is. Shes demoting people and she is supposed to run it past him. What she created is a very public embarrassment for the FDNY.

Before joining former Mayor Bill de Blasios administration, where she spearheaded public health campaigns with former first lady Chirlane McCray, California-born Kavanaugh worked for the Advance Group, according to her LinkedIn page. She is listed as the companys vice president of campaigns and elections, and worked for the Democratic lobbyist between 2006 and 2012, when she went on to head up get-out-the-vote operations in Pennsylvania for the Obama campaign.

She became a senior adviser to de Blasios campaign in 2013 and began her career at the FDNY as director of external affairs in 2014. Since then, Kavanagh has risen through the ranks despite having no experience as a firefighter.

As deputy fire commissioner, she partnered with McCray in November 2020 to launch a mental health initiative allowing crisis counselors to be dispatched through 911 calls instead of the NYPD.

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Michelle Obama denies being involved in hiring of FDNY boss

MC Business Quiz January 10, 2023: Travel edit, Barack Obama breakfast cereal, and Around the World in 80...  Moneycontrol

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Jenna Bush Hagerknows a thing or two about growing up as the daughter of a U.S. President.In fact, this month marked 14 years since Jennadaughter of George W. Bush and former First Lady Laura Bushdrove from her teaching job in Maryland to give the daughters of the next sitting President, Barack Obama, a tour of their new home at the White House in 2008. Now, looking back on that moment of herself alongside a then 10-year-old Sasha Obama and a 7-year-old Malia Obama, Jenna can't help gush over how far they've come."I can't believe it," the Today With Jenna & Hoda co-host exclusively told E! News. "You know, they were the same age that we were when my grandfather [George H. W. Bush] became president. They were first and fourth graders." It's a recollection that serves as a full circle moment for Jenna, whoshares kids Mila, 9, Poppy, 7, and Hal, 3, with husband Henry Chase Hager. "I have first and fourth graders," she shared. "Fourteen years ago, those little babies were just twinkles in my eyes when I was a teacher in Baltimore, Maryland." Referring to Today, she added, "I did not have this job quite yet."

Read more:
Why Jenna Bush Hager Is "Emotional Over Malia, Sasha Obama Growing Up ...